Love Letter: The Grymlock Watch by Graham/Graybags

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.

This entry was penned by Graham (Graybags on Discord), who recently took the Grymwatch paired with Rimelocked Relics to a second place finish at NOVA this year. Duke Crackmarrow on the podium at a Grand Clash! Not something I thought I would ever type again. Despite being quite new to Underworlds, he was able to take a favorite of his to an incredibly strong finish at a high level event, and hopes that this letter might be encouraging to players thinking of getting in. Just because you’re new doesn’t mean you’re out of luck! (especially considering soon enough, we’ll all be new to the new edition). Let’s hear this thoughts below.

Who are you, and where are you from? How did you get into Underworlds? Do you have a local group you play with, and if so, do they have an online presence to help people find you?

I’m Graham – from Ottawa, Ontario, CA. My journey to Underworlds was a bit of a winding road. A buddy introduced me to Warhammer Fantasy Battle about 20 years ago. I picked Vampire Counts, of course, because they were emo and looked cool. Built a Black Coach and a bunch of skeletons, then boxed everything up before I got to play a game and promptly forgot about them.

Two decades later I eventually worked up the courage to head back into a Warhammer shop. I tooled around with 40k and a little Kill Team, but neither really scratched that itch. Then came the release of the Flesh-Eater Courts army box in December 2023 and that really got my attention.

For the uninitiated, the Flesh-Eaters are insane cannibals whose minds, broken by suffering, starvation and loss, have been corrupted by the vampire ghouls (Abhorrants) who reign over them. The Courts congregate in this nightmarish parody of civilization, seeing themselves as noble lords and ladies acting out daily life in court, when in fact they are hordes of cannibals rooting through fetid piles of the dead. I was hooked! I listened to lore podcasts endlessly for weeks and grabbed any Black Library books I could find that had anything to say about FEC. The best so far has been Darius Hinks’ ‘Ghoulslayer’, ostensibly a Gotrek Gurnisson book, but actually a great Flesh-Eater Courts book.

Which brings us to Wintermaw…

I had seen the Underworlds boxes on the shelves, of course, but always dismissed those as a squeeze for existing GW customers. But when Wintermaw released with a Flesh-Eater Courts warband, I caved – ghouls who believe they’re gourmets? C’mon!

I persuaded a few friends to try the game, and we all instantly realized just how good this game is. I say with zero reservations that Underworlds is the by far the best game GW has released. All bets are off though if they release Kill Team with a hex board and a deck-building element! It’s been about 5 months since the Wintermaw release, and we already have a growing core group of players meeting up at our local GW shop here in Ottawa. We’ve lucked out a bit in that the store manager – shout out to Lucas – is now an enthusiastic Domitan’s enjoyer. We also have an Underworlds celebrity here in “G” (Guillaume), who organized the Underworlds tournament at CTC (Canadian Tabletop Championships) this summer and has been generously mentoring us neophytes. Anyone in the area looking for a game just needs to drop by the shop and say ‘hi’.

What’s the warband/deck/pairing you love, and how did you two sweethearts meet?

Grymwatch + Rimelocked Relics! I had originally wanted Skinnerkin to work competitively, but they’re squishy, and too often need to put themselves in a vulnerable position to score. I needed something else. And so when I heard the guys Path to Glory and What the Hex podcasts both talking about the possibility of a Rimelocked pairing with another Flesh-Eater warband, it was all the excuse I needed to go track down a box on eBay.

As for Rimelocked Relics, that deck, in my opinion, is the best flex/hold deck in Underworlds. I own four copies, so I don’t have to pull certain pairings apart, and frankly every time I’m looking at a warband I’m trying to sort out how I can build it with Rimelocked. It’s an obsession, granted… but if ever a nemesis deck was built for a team, Rimelocked was made for Grymwatch!

What makes the deck fun to play in your experience?

I know what you’re thinking: Grymwatch doesn’t rank high in the ‘meta’. They may look like a straightforward hold team, but what’s cool about Grymwatch is that they have a higher ceiling than you’d think at first glance. These guys score primarily by controlling objectives, but can also pack a punch if your opponent allows you to inspire. And because their inspire mechanic requires ‘fewer than two enemy fighters in your territory at the end of the action phase’ it can force an uncomfortable choice on your opponent, making them stretch their fighters out of position to prevent the inspire. You really don’t want to let these guys to inspire…

Inspired Grymwatch are fast (not GSP fast, but Movement 5), with a few fighters that can reliably hit for 3 damage (with upgrades). They have movement shenanigans and a resurrection mechanic that gives you access to the full board, so your opponent also has to be cognizant of the fact that you can just pop up in their backfield to grab what they thought was a protected objective. All of this makes for some unpredictable play and can tax your opponent as they try to guard their backfield as well as their front line.

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

I recently took these guys to a second place finish at NOVA with this build

This deck synergizes really well, and there were several games at NOVA where I managed to score the entire deck. With Rimelocked Grymwatch, you really need to lean into the Rimelocked upgrades to support the scoring. Earlier iterations of the deck took only three of the keyword upgrades and I always found myself holding objectives just waiting to draw into the right cards which stagnating a lot of scoring. Frostgale and Polar Connection, for example, ended up being relatively useless for me in the tournament other than having the ‘rimelocked’ keyword.

The deck is designed to score early Glory without much interaction, and get those rimelocked upgrades on your fighters as soon as possible. In The Name of the King (2), Pervasive Delusion (1), and Shifting Madness (1) are three surges that reliably score round one. With good objective placement, you can even count on end phase cards like Incomprehensible Scheme (1) or Icebound Defenders (2) to score for you in the first round. If you’re fast with your rimelocked upgrades, you might even grab Glacial Dominion (1) round 1. That’s potentially 7 objectives that can score for you in the opening round without having to engage the enemy.

The general plan is to leverage the crypt ghouls to capture objectives, knowing that you could bring them back with a Ghoul Call action or Muster. If your opponent is attacking your crypt ghouls they’re leaving your real threats alone, which is good for you. Gristlewell and Valreek you hold back until they inspire or you’re forced to engage. Crackmarrow you position in safety to protect your recursion, but not so far away that his Range 2 / 2 Dmg attack isn’t a threat.

One of my favourite starting combos was to drop Glacial Advance or Pack, Advance! in my opponent’s power step, moving fighters onto two or three objectives, and then immediately score In the Name of the King for (2) after my first activation. It’s such a strong opening and can really put your opponent on their back foot as you’re upgrading your fighters right out of the gates. I drew or intentionally mulliganed into this combo in at least half my games at NOVA.

What advice do you have for other players who might want to try your warband on for size?

You have to play pretty cagey with these guys. A good deal of your success with Grymwatch + Rimelocked will come down to boards and objective placement. You will score by executing your game plan, but you’re also going to bleed glory with such a squishy warband. Using an offset or longboard orientation for your boards can help limit access to your territory.

For objective placement, try to drop your first objective just inside enemy territory. This limits their ability to place their objectives in the neutral territory or just inside friendly territory. Ideally you want two more safe objectives in your territory for Icebound Defenders.

General Notes:

Leyfrost Conduit: get this on one of your crypt ghouls holding an objective in your back line as quickly as possible. The support on attack and defense is a difference maker in every game.
Frozen Solid: This was intended primarily as anti-Parasite tech. Even if you’re not facing a Parasite player, this can have a huge impact by turning off +1 Wounds on a vulnerable fighter, or freezing a card that’s required for scoring. I never once faced a Parasite player at NOVA, but the card still had a significant impact by turning off key upgrades for my opponent. This one’s an auto include.

NOTE: Frostbite was included for the same reason. I never once used this card and would recommend swapping it for something with more utility.

You have limited push tech in this deck, but they can be used to great effect. Glacial Advance and Pack, Advance! are going to get your fighters onto objectives early. Appalling Visage can be your ace-in-the-hole at the end of a round if your opponent has only two fighters in your territory. Use Visage to push the enemy 2 hexes back into neutral or enemy territory in the last activation and you secure your inspire.
Recycled Riches is a great card for two reasons. First, playing it can help you score Pervasive Delusion (1). Second, it lets you focus on taking only the strongest faction cards and getting extra use out of them. Playing this card often means you’re pulling your push tech back into your hand, or getting another free ghoul call with Strident Summons. This card is an auto-include for me.
Combat Drill and Double Time are both reactions that can be used to slingshot fighters in very unpredictable ways. For instance, charging a fighter and using Combat Drill to pull another fighter up from the backfield, and then dropping Double Time to get another full move out of them essentially means you’ve got three move activations out of one. Depending on whether they’re inspired or not, this means 8 to 10 hexes of movement for the second fighter which is very hard to guard against.
Seized Weapon is thematically hilarious. Ripping an arm off your opponent to beat them with it is exactly the sort of Flesh Eater Courts shenanigans we like to see. Applying the upgrade also lets you ping an adjacent fighter. It’s your ONLY ping, so use it wisely.

What threats do you find most challenging to face? Are there any warbands or strategies that others can use to beat this warband or pairing?

Charging into Grymwatch territory with a couple fighters supporting each other is a great way to prevent them from inspiring. And since the game is primarily designed around a battle for the centre, once you prevent them from inspiring after the first round, you’ve basically won the inspire game. This is a huge advantage for most warbands, and Grymwatch players need to be comfortable playing their game with base fighters.

Out of the 10 games I played at NOVA, I inspired only three times. Frankly that sucked. But it goes to show just how well this warband can hold its own.

When playing against Grymwatch, your focus should be on keeping their fighters off objectives. Ping the crypt ghouls so they die before they can score, or push them off as often as possible. For the most part, if Grymwatch aren’t sitting on objectives, they aren’t scoring.

These guys are pretty fragile, not terribly accurate, and only have a couple fighters that can snap back. If you can trade a fighter or two and take Gristlewell and Valreek off the table, you’re in good shape.

Ignore the bats. The bats are a distraction.

Anything else you’d like to tell the community?

If you’re the type of player who really enjoys Underworlds, but haven’t worked up the courage to test your skills at a tournament yet, I highly recommend getting out there and giving it a shot. Tournament play unlocks a whole other level of the game, and you’ll learn a ton about your warband in the process. The Underworlds tournament community is also one of the best I’ve encountered, welcoming players of all skill levels. If you approach tournaments as an opportunity to make new friends and enjoy the game, it’ll be a great time.

Don’t forget to Plunder!

Congratulations again to Graham for taking these underdogs to the top tables at the biggest event of the year. If you’re looking to play the Grymwatch competitively in the Underworlds First Edition, this is probably the best build I’ve seen for them yet – yes, it’s even better than my Maskwatch. You can also pop over to this article from The Underdogs: Certainty of Death page which details a Fearsome Fortress build so there’s some overlap in strategy, and is written by a Grymwatch veteran.

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!