Warband Review: The Emberwatch.

The first warband for the new edition of Warhammer Underworlds, Embergard, features the Age of Sigmar poster boys, the Emberwatch. The Emberwatch is a group of three Stormcast Eternals who have spent many long years in the fiery, emotion-riven realm of Aqshy. 

The warband comprises the leader, Ardorn Flamerunner [1], and he is backed up by the assassin, Farasa Twice-Risen [2], and the marksman, Yurik Velzaine [3].

Fighter Characteristics

The pre-inspired Save, Move, and Health characteristics of the three fighters are identical, at 1 Block, 3 Move, and 5 Health each. Ardorn provides a Bounty of 3, while Farasa and Yurik each provide 2.

Each fighter in the warband is equipped with two weapon profiles, one melee and the other a ranged attack. These weapons all attack with 2 Hammers, with the exception of Farasa's melee attack, which uses 3 Swords. Her attack is, therefore, the least accurate but has a greater chance for more successes and crit success. No fighter has any special abilities on their weapons.

All ratings out of 5 (What do the stats mean?)

Each fighter in the Emberwatch inspires individually after an Action Step if that friendly fighter began the Action Step in enemy territory and used a core ability (Move, Charge, Guard, etc.).

This is an easy inspire condition, but it often requires each fighter to activate twice to complete. In addition, it requires you to put your fighters in harm's way. Still, the benefits gained from inspiration are worth it, especially their Save.

All fighters increase their Save to 2 Block and gain additional dice in attack (Ardorn gains 3 Hammers for each attack, Farasa's melee attack goes from 3 to 4 Swords, and the ranged attack goes from 2 Hammers to 3 Swords, which is a loss of accuracy but an increase in the chance for more successes).

The warband has excellent durability, especially when inspired, but I feel they lack the ability to deal significant damage. After all, no fighter in the warband deals 3 damage with any attack. They also lack speed, with a low Move value of 3. The lack of movement is countered by the warband's abilities (more on this later), but also by each fighter having both ranged and melee weapons. In many ways, this warband feels like the Farstriders from Shadespire. 

Warscroll Abilities

The warband's faction ability is Alone We Stand. This ability allows you to push each friendly fighter who is in a different territory than another friendly fighter, ensuring they do not end up adjacent to another friendly fighter. In summary, this ability allows you to push friendly fighters in the last Power Step of a round. This requires some planning but will be made easier when one or more friendly fighters are out of action.

This is a great strategic ability. Used well, it could be employed to grab a Treasure Token to score an objective, move a fighter to another territory, or set up an attack for the next round. Pushes have always been extremely valuable in Underworlds, and I rate this ability highly. It could synergize extremely well with Take and Hold decks. Overall, I’d rate this 4 out of 5, as the restriction due to the positioning of fighters within different territories can make it challenging to use.

One-Use Abilities

All the one-use abilities from the Warscroll are Surge abilities.

Vanguard Dash is an interesting tactical ability. After your action step, pick a friendly fighter, remove that fighter from the board, and place them in an empty edge hex. Firstly, it does not have to be the friendly fighter used in that turn, so it could be used to set up an inspire in your next turn, which is extremely useful, especially when combined with ranged attacks. Secondly, it could be used to prevent your opponent from scoring Objective cards that require no enemy fighters in friendly terrain, such as Denial. This ability could be particularly useful after the final action step of a round, especially when combined with Alone We Stand to hold a Treasure Token. The only restriction on this ability is that you have to move to an edge hex, but this still provides a wide range of options. Overall, 4 out of 5.

Deadly Sentries is a useful strategic ability. It gives a weapon +1 range for an attack, allowing you to increase your threat range. It could be used to attack an enemy fighter who your opponent thought was in a safe position. I think this is an ability I would save until needed. Later in the game, I might use it to keep my opponent's fighter out of range while still attacking. I also like the idea of increasing a melee weapon’s range to 2. This might not be a game-winning ability, but it is useful. Overall, 3 out of 5.

The Raptors of Sigmar is a great ability. After a successful attack that leaves an enemy fighter Vulnerable, deal 1 damage. Interestingly, there is no range limit on this ability, so it could be used with Yurik's range 4 attack. I think this is a really powerful ability, but it does require the enemy to be left Vulnerable. This is an ability I would use as soon as possible. Overall, 5 out of 5.

Possible Playstyle Pairings

I am still working through this section. Until I see the decks this is going to be hard to determine.

Strike - this pairing could work with this warband as they have the durability to engage with enemy warbands, although I think they somewhat lack the ability to deal damage to excel at Strike. Overall, 3 out of 5.

Take and Hold - this will be difficult for this warband because of the low Move and fighter count.  Overall, 2 out of 5.

Flex - this is the playstyle that I think best fits this warband. Against, Take and Hold warband, the Emberwatch can be quite aggressive. Against, Strike warbands, the Emberwatch can use its durability to resist enemy warbands whilst climing Treasure tokens. Overall, 4 out of 5.

Mastery  - Currently unsure what Mastery is.

Conclusion

Personally, I am looking forward to using this warband. I really learned to play the last edition competitively when I focused on using Xandire's Truthseekers. The Emberwatch feels like an evolution of the Farstriders rather than the Truthseekers, and these Stormcast Eternals could be the warband I learn to play the new edition with.

Their durability appears very good, but they seem like they may struggle to deal enough damage to fully embrace the Strike playstyle. I feel they should aim for opportunistic kills and focus on holding Treasure tokens, playing a Flex playstyle (I am a fan of Flex). Where I think this warband's real strength lies is in its ability to move out of sequence to new positions on the board. It will be very difficult for opponents to predict where the Emberwatch will be at the end of a round.

What do you think to the new warband? How do you think they might play?

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you soon in the Underworlds.