My First Underworlds Tournament

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On Saturday, July 17, 2023, I embarked on a journey to Market Harborough, with Robin and Pete (Agents of Sigmar YouTube channel), for the highly anticipated Willen Games Nemesis Clash, my first Warhammer Underworlds tournament.

I decided to bring Xandire's Truthseekers combined with Tooth and Claw, aiming for a straightforward aggressive playstyle focused on eliminating my opponents. However, during practice games, I encountered two recurring issues with my deck. First, unless I could get one of my fighters (usually Dhoraz) killed quickly, the rest of my warriors would remain uninspired, making them less effective in combat, and causing my objective deck to ‘brick’. Second, my deck's Glory Ceiling was limited to 14, and I consistently scored only 10 in each game. How would these challenges
manifest themselves throughout the day? Let's find out.

My Deck

Prepared with a hearty dose of coffee and doughnuts, I entered the tournament's first round filled with anticipation.

Round 1

In the opening round, my Truthseekers clashed against Richard Wilkinson's formidable Hedkrakka's Madmob combined with Seismic Shock. In the initial game, I pushed forward, targeting the Savage Orruks and focusing on eliminating their key melee fighters, Toofdagga and Wollop da Skull. Progress was going well, even with Hedkrakk casting numerous spells. Crucially (or unfortunately), my fighters all managed to survive. By the end of the third activation in the third round, I was leading the game with a score of 10-7. However, everything changed during the final activation. Unbeknownst to me, when I had slain Dakko in my third activation at the back of my opponent's territory, I inadvertently helped him score Great Hunters. In the closing moments, Hedkrakka, the sole surviving Orruk, charged into my half of the board. My opponent then scored all his end phase cards, along with the spent glory for Primacy, resulting in a swing of 8. The game concluded with a
disappointing 11-15 loss for me.


The second game followed a similar pattern to the first. However, this time, I was aware of the sheer power of the Primacy mechanic when you lack cards to counter it. In Beastgrave, every warband could make use of Primacy, but now it was exclusive to Hedkrakka's Madmob. Each turn, the Orruks gained Primacy either through ploys or by eliminating my fighters. Frustratingly, my fighters didn't start falling until the second turn. Whenever the Orruks claimed Primacy, one of their fighters would inspire, and at the end of each round, they would earn spent glory (a total of 3 free glory per game). Reclaiming Primacy required me to either eliminate Hedkrakka (who hid behind a wall of Orruks, casting spells) or directly kill one of the other 4-wound fighters (while my highest damage-dealer inflicted only 3 damage).
Consequently, my fighters remained uninspired until the second turn, resulting
in limited damage output. On the other hand, the Orruks steadily accrued glory
through the Seismic Shock objectives. By the game's end, I had slain two Orruks,
but the remaining enemies occupied my territory. Another defeat ensued, with a
score of 10-19.

At the conclusion of Round 1, I felt somewhat battered and attributed my struggles to the overwhelming power of Orruk Primacy and the delayed inspiration of my fighters. However, I had yet to grasp the true problem lying within my deck.

Round 2

After a satisfying lunch break, I faced James Waters' Hexbane's Hunters with Tooth and Claw. This round promised to be a ‘Ordered’ brawl in no-man's land.

The first game followed the planned strategy flawlessly. I seized the initiative, and Dhoraz charged in, swiftly dispatching Aemos. However, Hexbane and Brydget retaliated, eliminating Dhoraz. Great, my fighters were all inspired, and I charged Xandire into my opponents half killing Quiet Pock. This also left me a position to score Focal Point and all my opponent’s fighters had either moved or charged so, I falsely believed I was in a good position. My opponent reacted to Quiet Pock’s death with Price of Victory and removed a charge token from Brydget. For his fourth activation, Bryget charged and killed Xandire! My plan crumbled. For the remainder of the game, I was left with Stormrider and Taros, both 1-damage fighters, attempting to overcome Hexbane, Brydget, and a pair of dogs. Unsurprisingly, I didn't amass much Glory, resulting in an 8-10 loss.

The second game followed a similar pattern, but this time I managed to protect Xandire. Notably, James effectively exploited the movement tricks of Grotbiter and Ratspike, the two dogs in his warband. Throughout the game, the dogs impeded my charges or ensured that my targets had support when defending. With each of James' activations, the dogs lingered around my fighters, bolstering his attacks. At the end of the second turn, James scored three powerful 2 Glory End Phase cards: Lives Well Spent, Proof of Guilt, and Ferocious Rampage. Despite the close encounter, I emerged victorious with a slim 16-15 margin. It was a hard-fought win, as I needed to score nearly every objective in my deck.

Close to end of the game, Aaron found a gong to help him make announcements for each round, which was an amusing surprise. 

Since we each won one game, a tiebreaker was necessary, but time was running short. The third game progressed similarly to the first two, with Dhoraz charging headlong to vanquish a Hunter, triggering the Eye for an Eye objective card in James’ Deck. The dogs scurried around, while my opponent continuously scored 2 GLory cards, and I struggled to score anything beyond 1 Glory cards. Ultimately, I lost with a score of 11-14. All three games were tightly contested and incredibly enjoyable. However, after Round 2, I finally began to recognize the flaws in my deck: a low Glory Ceiling and a dearth of powerful 2 Glory End Phase cards, which my opponents exploited. Additionally, I realized that I underutilized my upgrades, often focusing on keeping my fighters alive or enhancing their mobility, rather than scoring objectives.

 

Round 3


Round 3 arrived after a brief break, and I found myself facing Jack Sheaf, utilizing Mollog's Mob combined with Voidcursed Thralls. I felt a sense of apprehension by this point, having experienced defeats throughout the day. I was now facing the infamous Troggoth who could potentially eliminate each of my warriors in a single strike. Mollog inspired upon suffering three wounds, which directly contradicted my warband's strategy of injuring and subsequently slaying opponents. It was bound to be a challenging round.

In the first game, I decided to charge Dhoraz straight at Mollog. Dhoraz landed three wounds, instantly inspiring the towering creature. Mollog took a couple of activations, but eventually slew Dhoraz in retaliation, thereby inspiring my entire warband. By the end of the first turn, Mollog lay lifeless on the battlefield, and the rest of my warband spent the game eliminating squigs and fulfilling objective cards. Unfortunately, Jack's warband could do little in response, resulting in a comfortable 18-5 victory for me.

Having achieved success with the same game plan in the first game, I attempted to replicate it in the second. This time, it took longer to bring Mollog down. Nevertheless, by the end of the first activation in the second turn, Mollog met his demise once again, and my warband clinched a 17-7 victory.

 

Final Placing:

With the tournament concluded, I had won 1 round and lost 2. Overall, I secured the 13th position out of 22 participants. Robin finished 14th with Elathian's Soulraid combined with Toxic Terrors. Pete finished 8th with Ephilim's Pandemonium combined with Seismic Shock.

Ephilim's Pandemonium, in conjunction with Fearsome Fortress, emerged victorious as the tournament's winning combination. Securing a well-deserved second place was Ephilim's paired with Daring Delvers, while Ironsoul's Condemnors, accompanied by Tooth and Claw, claimed a respectable third place in the rankings. 


What Did I Learn?

The tournament provided me with valuable insights. The most significant takeaway was that the Glory Ceiling of my deck proved too low. While I had successfully scored the 1 Glory cards and efficiently cycled through my deck during practice games, my opponents outscored me consistently. Reflecting on the matches, I realized that even when I held the advantage, my opponents managed to accumulate multiple 2 and 3 glory cards, while I had only two 2 glory cards in my entire deck. Moving forward, I recognize the need to incorporate riskier yet more rewarding objective cards, aiming to raise my Glory Ceiling to around 18. Additionally, I must learn to employ my upgrades more effectively, following my opponents' example of utilizing them to score objectives rather than solely focusing on enhancing survivability or mobility.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Market Harborough,meeting great people, engaging in fun games, engaging in lighthearted conversations, and indulging in delicious doughnuts. I am eagerly looking forward to future events and tournaments in the Warhammer Underworlds community. Thank you to everyone, especially Aaron from Willen Games, for a great day.

Check out my warbands from other seasons of Warhammer Underworlds:


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