Today I wanted to talk about a couple approaches I have taken to variety to my experience in Underworlds. I hope that some of these hooks catch your interest and allow you to up your game and mix things up with little challenges you set for yourself (or your group). Let’s talk about setting your sights on a little side-project and mini-goal, and what that can do for your skill, your fun, and your friends.

You can find value in a dozen different ways through this game, and while some enjoy stepping on the gas competitively and really refining their build and skills with one specific thing, not everybody has the motivation and steam to keep that going for long. You also run the risk of alienating and driving away local players if you’re going too hard in the paint, as discussed previously. Another approach you might find useful, either because you want to mix things up for yourself, explore the variety the game has to offer, explore a new challenge, is to set little goals for yourself. These can be effectively anything you’d like, but they can be motivating and keep you coming back to the gaming table.

I’ve personally set challenges for myself in Embergard that have given me a lot of play experience and exposure to the full variety of the game, have made me a better player, and also have been a lot of fun besides. It started with ‘play a game with every warband you have’, and then became ‘win a game with each warband’. At this point I have played with all 43 of the teams I have, and only have Headsmen’s Curse, Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers, Rippa’s Snarlfangs, and The Wurmspat left to win a game with to check that list off. The next thing I worked through was seeing if I could play with each nemesis combo, even the really bad ones and the pretty bad ones. I’m currently working through ‘win a game with each nemesis pairing’, and only have RF/Edge, HG/Cataclysm, and ES/RF to go. After that, who knows?

If you’re somebody who is looking for something new, some way to re-engage with the hobby, another challenge, or a way to build a community, consider giving yourself small projects and short-term goals! I have a handful of suggestions if you’re lost on what to start with.

Sample Individual Goals

• Play a game with every warband you have
• Win 5 games with a new warband
• Play a single warband in Rivals, but one game with every Rivals deck
• Try every Nemesis Combination available to you
• Pick a rivals deck you play less often and win 5 games with it
• Choose an archetype you’re less experienced with (Take and Hold, Flex, etc) and commit a month to playing that
• Find a funky card you ‘never play’ and work to find a warband it fits with, then build a deck around that card. See if you can’t make it work!
• Try out every tournament-winning deck on the BattleMallet or Staggerers libraries

Sample Group Goals

• Try playing exclusively one Grand Alliance for a period of time, or holding a league/tournament with only one Grand Alliance allowed
• If there’s an overrepresented deck in your local meta (Pillage, Reckless Fury, Deadly Synergy, etc) consider soft-banning it for a month to see what play lines open up in its absence
• First one to five wins with a ‘garbage’ warband wins some small prize. Agree as a group to a handful of ‘bad’ warbands, and then see who can be the best of the worst
• Choose a rivals deck to be the week or the month’s ‘special feature’ – everybody brings that deck (or includes that deck in a Nemesis pairing) as a theme. Who’s the Edgiest (of the Knife-st) player you have? Which Slayer Rages the hardest?
• Prearranged mirror matches – a handful of players agree to take the same pairing (e.g. Jaws with BA/RR) but have full leeway in card choices. Play a few games and see who made the ‘best’ deck out of the combo!

Wrap

Have you ever set a mini-goal for yourself in Underworlds? What other ideas do you have for exploring the game, challenging yourself, or engaging your group? However you choose to set your sights, I hope you’re able to change things up for yourself and your local community – and if you’ve been stuck in a rut lately, that you can find a way to enjoy Spending your Glory once again.

Cheers!
Fish