Today’s article continues our Love Letters Series, in which readers of the page submit an ode to their favorite warband. The Love Letter Series was kicked off by this post encouraging people to play the warbands they love and tell others about the experience, inviting readers to contribute their passion to this website – if you have something to say, by all means let me know wherever you found this posted or by emailing me at SpentGlory@Gmail.com. Let’s read below as Simon details his favorite Warband (and one very near and dear to my own heart) – Khagra’s Ravagers.

Who are you, and where are you from? How did you get into Underworlds? 

Hey everyone! I’m an Italian guy who’s been living abroad for a while now. You can find me as Mockingbird on Discord, where I’m pretty active as an online player.

Well, actually Khargra’s Ravagers is the band that brought me into Warhammer, and the modern table top gaming world in general, as before that Risk was the only game I used to play. It all started in the spring of 2021 during semi-lock down. I discovered that the slaves to darkness existed, and that there was a brand new slaves to darkness warband with 4 miniatures for a game called “Underworlds”. After a bit of research on miniatures games and painting techniques, I took the plunge. I walked into a Warhammer store in Amsterdam and picked up a box of Khagra’s Ravagers along with the Direchasm box. As soon as I got home, I put them together and gave them a quick paint job in just one afternoon.

The same day, I roped in some friends for a game. We didn’t have a proper third board, so we improvised with some hand-drawn hexes. It was chaotic, but a lot of fun.

From there, I dove into championships, mainly online. It was tough! I sometimes wondered why I didn’t just quit after losing so many games. After about 50 games, I only had one or two wins under my belt. I even forgot Razek went to 3 smash inspired, as I never saw him inspired! 

Despite the rough start, I stuck with it. I expanded my collection and tried out different warbands, but Khagra’s Ravagers always held a special place and I always tinkered their deck trying to make them work. When GW changed the rules for inspiration to just two desecrated objectives, it made things a bit easier. I loved using cards like Mighty Swing and Savage Soldier on Khagra and Army of One.. on whoever was left. Even today, after having played and prepared decks for all 56 bands, Khagra’s Ravagers remains my favorite for casual games. Plus, they have the coolest upgrade in the game: the Hellfire Sword!

Even during the dark periods of Harrowdeep and Nethermaze, when objectives were to be discovered by delving into the gloom, Khagra’s Ravagers’ inspiration was somewhat reliable but always very expensive in terms of activations, especially when you were up against a pro player who knew how to deny you at just the right moment.

Do you have a local group you play with, and if so, do they have an online presence to help people find you?

I now live in Belgium and in a city called Halle there is a good community that meets weekly for some games. We also organize some tournaments a couple of times per year, so it is pretty fun!

What’s the warband/deck/pairing you love, and how did you two sweethearts meet? – What makes the deck so fun to play in your experience?

Nemesis has become my go-to game mode. Let’s take a look at the warband: the leader Khagra has solid stats, but the base attack of 3 damage lacks accuracy, just like all 2 smash attacks. When inspired, the 2 shields offer good durability, and the movement of 4 is a crucial improvement. Razek is also a strong fighter, and when inspired, he becomes even better with a 3 smash attack and 2 shields for defense. Cragan is another reliable fighter, gaining cleave when inspired. Now, Zarshia should be the most powerful mage of the game, as she is the only mage with a 2 lightning 2 damage attack, however, even with a good dice statistics on your side missing an attack is always very common and receiving 1 damage from her spite- tongue curse from a failed attack is a huge drawback for her. 

The Ravagers have a solid selection of ploys, spells, and upgrades. Combining them with a rival deck for nemesis games makes the warband quite good, especially when playing a counterpunch strategy. The drawback, as always with the Ravagers, is that you might need to spend 2 or even 3 activations to move Cragan or Razek onto an objective waiting for the Despoil reaction to desecrate it. If your opponent places fighters on objectives, try to go for the kill and use the Sacrifice reaction, which is available to all fighters – Flames of Spite can assist with this, as it also works with Zarshia’s magic attack.

With Breakneck Slaughter, you get boosts in movement, accuracy, damage and defense, along with good objectives. This combo is quite enjoyable to use. BNS has reliable easy surges and end phases, and Fastest Around is very much scorable, especially in the second or third round. The BNS ploys like Breakneck Pace, Devastating Charge, Reckless Charge give you that extra move/damage/accuracy that the band needs to be aggressive. Of course the Momentum token you get will not let you remain on the objectives, unless Battering Ram is already equipped. So usually I use them with care, and in the first round mainly with Khagra, while Razek and Cragan take care of getting the desecration going. If you draw the 2 desecration cards you have a very good hand. Once you inspire, focus on getting your opponent’s fighters down. Roll with the Punches, Blasphemous Cuirass, Grudging Defence help you to increase your survivability and Moving Mark and Tumbler go straight on Cagran and Zarshia. You could also consider going for Absolute Desecration: if your opponent is neglecting objectives and you’ve secured desecration in your territory, you might have a chance to score it, especially in best of one games. It is hard, but I managed to pull it off in some games.

Here is the Breakneck Slaughter deck

Lately, I’ve been really enjoying a combo with the Hungering Parasite deck. While it doesn’t boost movement and defense, it enhances accuracy with the Bane of Heroes, staggering everyone nearby. Plus, some upgrades let you do cool things: Frenetic Efforts let’s you barge and attack into enemies, Tenacious Resilience allows you to heal 2, and Wicked Aim is great as your range 1 attack becomes range 3! Don’t forget to use Divine Fortitude to avoid getting pinged by the parasite if you’re not adjacent to anyone. The Curse Hungers is an excellent ploy, as you can repeat the attack for cases in which the reroll from stagger didn’t help. This combo is currently my favorite and it allows you to be very aggressive. You also have access to easy surges like Deadly Influence and Driven by the Curse and the increase in aggressiveness can also make Hurricane of Violence and Glorious Slaughter easily scorable. If the game allows it, Dark Approval (the in-faction Victorious Duel) can be a valid but situational two glory surge. Right now, I like giving the parasite to Cagran at the beginning of the game. As for deployment, I try to be always careful and have safe access to the two objectives on my board aiming for inspiration and to score Desolate Domain. If my testing continues well, I might take them to a local tournament.

Here is the Hungering Parasite deck

How have you found success and/or fun with the deck?

With both decks, I’ve had some success in casual games. Always position Zarshia behind for safety and be cautious with her magic attack. I make sure to aim for inspiration in round 1, even though it’s not always necessary with the Hungering Parasite deck.

What advice do you have for other players who might want to try your warband on for size? – What threats do you find most challenging to face? 

There’s a reason why this warband isn’t top-tier; they’re challenging to get going. Deploy them defensively and mulligan heavily for easy surges, desecration ploys, key parasite upgrades or BNS accuracy ploys. Play cautiously and avoid being too greedy; one shield isn’t great for defense, and your mage becomes important but risky when inspired, and your opponent will always go for her if they have a chance. Adjust your play style based on your opponent: counter punch against aggressive opponents, and be more aggressive against those focusing on objectives. I always aim to desecrate in my territory and then take down opponents. When the stars align you will leave the battlefield victorious. 

Are there any warbands or strategies that others can use to beat this warband or pairing?

This is a warband that comes with a complex and costly inspiration mechanic, along with some objectives tied to it, a fragile spellcaster and you can forget to take advantage of hold objectives play. Khagra will probably become the main target of your opponent’s attacks. But don’t worry, your warband can still function effectively even without her.

Anything else you’d like to tell the community?

To me, this warband has some of the coolest miniatures of the game, and while it’s thematic (maybe a bit too much!), it’s been overlooked as “bad” since its release. Nemesis is giving them a second chance to shine. Who knows, maybe GW will work on the Spite Tongue reaction or give the Despoil reaction to every fighter or modify the holding of desecrated objectives (even for resolving ties in the last round!!) if we ask together! Be ready for a steep learning curve, and as always, hope that the dice gods are merciful!

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That’s a Wrap! Thank you again to Simon for putting this together. I have tried the Hungering Parasite myself – I included none of the magic/wizard options (though the second leader backup ‘Power Reclaimed’ could be nice for scoring Powerful Pawn, which he did not take) and none of the ‘give the parasite away’ stuff for the most part. Despite our relatively different builds, I had a lot of fun and did pretty well – ends up Dour Cragan hits pretty consistently with a stagger reroll, and giving any of these fighters Wicked Aim is a mean move. Combo that with the Hellfire Sword, and you only get one try but nobody’s safe. I have also seen Alexx do pretty well with Breakneck Slaughter at a few Grand Clash events. Simon is right that they may never be ‘great’ but I promise you Khagra’s Ravagers can be “good”.

While there are a few Love Letters in the works, there is always room for more. I’d love to hear your thoughts about an older or lesser or weird warband/pairing, what drove you to fall in love with it, and how you’ve piloted it to success – and especially piloting it to fun. If you have a warband you’d love to wax poetic about and serenade the wider community, let me know! I’m always accepting new submissions at SpentGlory@gmail.com. Until next time, grab the warband you love, a couple friends, and Spend some Glory!