Reckless Fury - Deck Review
Unleash unrelenting aggression with the Reckless Fury Rivals deck, a high-risk, high-reward playstyle designed for those who thrive in the heat of battle. This deck is all about relentless charges, brutal attacks, and an all-or-nothing approach to victory.
Playstyle: Strike
Plot card: No
The Objectives
The Objective deck is made up of 12 cards, 6 Surges and 6 End Phase for a total of 16 Glory.
1. Aim for the Top - End Phase - Glory 1
Score if the total Bounty of slain and/or damaged enemy fighters is four or more.
A relatively easy card to score, especially against more elite warbands. Simply deal out some damage but remember to spread it around. Later in the game, I tend to find I have scored this card as soon as I draw it (of course I have to wait until the End Phase to claim the Glory). The main downsides are that it is only 1 Glory and in the first Round it can be a little dice dependent, as you need some luck to deal the damage, especially against horde warbands.
Overall, still a card I regularly use, 4 out of 5.
2. Best foot Forwards - Surge - Glory 1
Score immediately after a friendly fighter's successful attack, if that fighter has any Charge Tokens and is in enemy territory.
This is a great card for any aggressive warband. Simply charge into your opponent's territory and attack someone. As long as the dice are on your side this is an easy Surge to score.
Overall, 5 out of 5.
3. Frenzied Rush - Surge - Glory 1
Score this immediately if a friendly fighter with a total Bounty of 3 or more have Charge tokens and are in enemy Territory.
This card is even better than Best Foot Forwards as it is not dice dependent. Simply, charge your fighters into enemy territory and score. If you have a fighter with a Bounty of 3, you can score this with one fighter!
Overall, 5 out of 5.
4. Bloody Momentum - End Phase - Glory 2
Score this in an End Phase if 2 or more friendly fighters with a total Bounty of 4 or more have Charge tokens in enemy territory.
This card pairs well with the theme of the deck, to Always Be Charging (the ABC of Underworlds). It is easier to achieve with more elite Strike Warbands as these fighters tend to be able to enter enemy territory and survive for a least a few activations. When using Reckless Fury, this is a card I always take as it is a relatively straightforward 2 Glory card. The only problem can be getting this card late in the game and not having two fighters remaining.
Overall, it is a good 4 out of 5.
5. Vicious Brawl - Surge - Glory 1
Score immediately after an Action step if there are 3 or more fighters with Charge tokens adjacent to each other. If you are the underdog, there can be 2 or more fighters.
This is another favourite of mine, especially if I behind in the game. The card requires no dice rolls and can simply be achieved with a move, although it is far more likely with a Charge. it can even be scored following an opponent's charge! One aspect to look out for with this objective. The first condition requires 3 or more fighters to be adjacent to each other, so they must be in a triangle formation!
Overall, 4 out 5.
6. Unrelenting Massacre - End Phase - Glory 3
Score this in the End phase if all fighters have Charge tokens.
This card is a gamble, but one I think is well worth taking with an elite Strike warband. To score all your fighter and, importantly, all enemy fighters need to have a Charge Token. Against an enemy Strike warband this is likely to be an autoscore. However, it only takes a single miniature to stay still or move to prevent you from taking this Glory. Late in the game this card is easier to score and can even be scored if there is only one fighter (theirs or yours) remaining, as long as they have a Charge token.
Overall, a good card, that can be stopped reasonably easily but pays out in a big way if scored, 3 out 5.
7. Red aftermath - End Phase - Glory 1
Score if the total Bounty of slain enemy fighters is two or more.
A straightforward Strike End Phase objective, simply kill stuff. Easy enough, but only 1 Glory. I often include this card in my deck, but it will quickly make way for a harder to score 2 Glory End Phase card.
Overall, 3 out 5.
8. Bloodbathed Rampager - End Phase - Glory 1
Score in the End Phase if a fighter has 2 or more Charge tokens.
I am not fond of this card, as it requires support from my Power Deck to achieve, e.g. the Ploy Get it Done, which is now Forsaken. As such, to score this card regularly, I will need multiple cards that will allow me to put additional Charge tokens on a fighters. This does not seem worth it for 1 Glory.
Overall, this is a card I leave at home, 1 out of 5.
9. Sally Forth - Surge - Glory 1
Score immediately after an opponent's Action step if a friendly fighter with any Charge tokens holds a treasure token in enemy territory.
This card plays into the general flavour of the deck, as it requires a friendly fighter to be in enemy territory with a Charge token. The final condition of this card could be easy to achieve, but it will depend upon the board condition, as sometimes, you will be unable to make the Charge and be standing on an objective. This Objective does, however, not require any dice rolls, significantly improving its reliability.
Overall, 4 out 5.
10. Savage Sprinter - Surge - Glory 1
Score Immediately after an Action Step if a Friendly Fighter in enemy territory has 2 or Move tokens.
The rest of the Reckless Fury deck is about charging, and this card requires you to move, not once but twice. In a Strike deck, I do not see the point of this card, as it detracts away from ABC. Having stated this, when used in Nemesis, I can see its value to a warband that just needs to move around and hold objectives. It is a reasonably easy card to score, but it does not fit with the rest of the Objectives.
Overall, 2 out of 5.
11. Arena Mortis - End Phase - Glory 2
Score in an End Phase if all fighters in the same territory have Charge tokens and their total Bounty is 4 or more.
The first item to note is that it is all fighters, yours and your opponents. As such, an opponent can stop you scoring this card by ensuring a fighter has not charged, this is particularly easy if they are playing a Take and Hold warband. Against an aggressive opponent, this card is almost always automatically scored, unless of course, too many fighters have been slain.
Overall, 4 out 5.
12. Living Bludgeon - Surge - Glory 1
Score Immediately after an Action Step if a Friendly Fighter has a Guard Token and a Charge Token and is not in friendly territory.
As with other Objective cards in this deck, you need a friendly fighter in enemy territory to score this card. The final condition of the Objective is that the fighter requires a Guard token. Without back-up from the Power deck this could be quite difficult to achieve, as unless the warband it will be difficult to activate the fighter for a second time in the Round. Therefore, to score this card it is likely that you will need Power cards to achieve this condition, or if you are lucky a warscroll ability. This card could be a reliable Surge in more elite warbands, but I think there are better options out there.
Overall, 3 out 5.
Ploys
1. Braced - Ploy
Give a friendly fighter a charge token. A simple card that allows you to place a Charge token on a friendly fighter.
A useful card for helping to score a range of Objectives from this deck, or for achieving a charged-out status with your warband, so that you can have an extra activation with a more important fighter. This is a card which is more useful for some warbands than other.
Overall, 2 out 5.
2. Catch Weapon - Ploy
Play this immediately after a fighter's successful Attack. Give that fighter a Charge token.
This card can be used to give your own or opponents fighters following a successful attack. Firstly, I would not use it on my own fighter as I could have simply charged in the first place. I do like the idea of using it on an enemy fighter who has chosen to simply attack rather than charge. In this way, I can foil my opponent's plans for the round. Additionally, this card can help me to score Objectives such as Unrelenting Massacre or Arena Mortis. Having stated all this, in practice I have found that the card has never been in my hand when I have needed it and is always there when I do not.
Overall, I like the idea of the card but have never really got it to work for me, 3 out 5.
3. Diving in - Ploy
Pick a Friendly fighter. Push the chosen fighter up to 2 hexes. Their push must end adjacent to any fighters with Charge tokens.
A nice little push card. While there is a limitation in that the fighter must adjacent to another fighter (friend or foe) with a Charge token, the fact this is a 2 hex push gives the card plenty of utility. In addition, if the fighter you push already has a Charge token, this could allow you to set up an unseen attack with a charge-out fighter or to score Vicious Brawl. I have also used this card to pull one of my fighters back out of danger after an attack.
Overall, 4 out 5.
4. Get it Done - Ploy - (FORSAKEN)
Pick 2 friendly fighters. Remove a Charge token from one fighter and give it to the other.
This is an excellent card. Take a Charge token from an important fighter and give it to a less useful fighter, allowing the more important fighter to be used again. Essentially, the card allows you to make a second charge in a round with a fighter. Additionally, this card combines well with a range of Objectives (Unrelenting Massacre, Vicious Brawl, Arena Mortis etc.)
Overall, an excellent card, 5 out of 5.
5. Reckless Attitudes - Ploy
Enemy fighters cannot use Core abilities other than the Charge ability in the next Action step.
This is a card that becomes increasingly useful in the later stages of the game, when the opponent has fewer fighters remaining. I have found it to have its optimal use in the third or fourth activation of Round 2 or 3. At this stage of the game, opponents are unable to make the necessary action to achieve some or all of their Objective cards.
Overall, a good card, but can be pointless in the early game, 3 out of 5.
6. Outburst - Ploy
Pick a friendly fighter with any Charge Tokens. Roll an attack dice for each enemy fighter adjacent to them. If you are the Underdog, roll a number of dice equal to the battle round number instead. If the roll contains any Hammers, inflict 1 damage on that fighter.
Firstly, Ping damage is always nice to have access to, but I prefer not to have to roll dice to get it. Secondly, the fact this card can target multiple enemy fighters does offset the dice roll and make it considerably better. Finally, the Underdog condition improves the reliability of this card. Having stated all this, I have never used this card in any of my decks. I have always found other cards that I have wanted before this one.
Overall, 2 out 5.
7. Pushed Though - Ploy
Pick a friendly fighter with a Bounty of 2 or less. Inflict 1 damage on that fighter. In your next activation, you can use Core abilities with that fighter as if they did not have any Move or Charge tokens.
This card allows you access to an additional activation with a fighter but at the cost of damage. The Bounty condition of 2 or less suggests the fighter is unlikely to be the best in the warband, unless you are running a horde like the Thorns or Gitz. So, in reality you are probably making one of your mid-range fighters susceptible to being slain in return for an additional charge. I can see plenty of occasions when this might be useful, but this is a card that will take practice to use carefully. However, the chance of an extra Charge could be invaluable, but I do not like damaging my own fighters.
Overall, 3 out 5.
8. Lost Legacy - Ploy
Play this immediately after you discard a slain friendly fighter's Upgrades. Pick 1 of those Upgrades put it in your hand and then draw 1 Power card.
This is a nice card allowing you to recycle a favourite upgrade. This upgrade can then be immediately played on another fighter as you will now have the Glory available. In addition, the card also allows you to draw a Power card. Draw-Tech is always useful. The only downside to this card is that requires a fighter to be slain to be used, but this will happen in a game and if it doesn't you are probably winning anyway.
Overall, 4 out of 5.
9. Over to you - Ploy
Play this immediately before removing a slain friendly fighter's tokens if that fighter was slain by an attacker and had any Move, Charge, Guard and/or Stagger tokens. Pick a friendly fighter or the attacker. Give the fighter you picked all of the slain fighter's Move, Charge, Guard and Stagger tokens.
This is not a card I really considered using until I started writing this article. Now I look at it, the card allows me to move Charge counters onto my own fighters to help score Objectives. I really like the idea of moving a Guard token from a slain fighter to another fighter within my warband, helping to increase the survivability of other fighters (and again Living Bludgeon). There is then also the option of using the card to throw my tokens onto an opponent's fighter. Maybe preventing them from charging or giving them a Stagger.
Overall, this looks to be a useful card, 3 out 5.
10. Quick Shift - Ploy
Pick a friendly fighter that has any Move tokens. Remove 1 of that fighter's Move tokens and then give that fighter a Charge token.
This has the potential to be a very useful card in this deck. There are always times in a game when it would be better to move rather than charge. Maybe you need to get onto a Treasure token, or into a particular territory, or maybe there isn't a target in range to charge. This card allows you to move and then swap the Move token for a Charge token, allowing you to access the Objective from this deck. The problem, I always find with cards like this is that there are better cards that help with my Strike playstyle, although I can see this card getting some play within certain Flex Nemesis decks.
Overall, 3 out 5.
Upgrades
1. Bellowing Tyrant - Upgrade [1]
Give the fighter the Core Ability Bellow - This fighter can use this core ability if they have any Charge tokens. Push each other friendly fighter with Charge tokens up to 2 hexes. Then pick one of those fighters. Remove 1 of that fighter's Charge tokens.
This is an interesting upgrade, as it provides a warband multiple pushes towards the end of a round, allowing fighters to reposition, following charges, into different territories and onto Treasure tokens. In addition, one of the fighters that was pushed then loses one of their Charge tokens, allowing that fighter to Charge again. This card seems designed to allow for a 'big boy' to have multiple charges at the expense of an action from a 'minion'. I am thinking, Mollog, Balckpowder and Kainan here.
Overall, a card that suits some warbands more than others, 3 out 5.
2. Blades of Wrath - Upgrade [1]
If this fighter is slain, before removing them from the battlefield, roll a number of attack dice equal to the battle round number for each adjacent enemy fighter. If the roll contains any Hammers, inflict 1 damage on that fighter.
I am not fond of this upgrade as it only works when the fighter is slain. Even then, if no enemy fighters are adjacent to the slain fighter, then the upgrade cannot be used. Finally, the upgrade only works on a successful dice roll of Hammers, which becomes increasingly likely in later rounds. Having stated this, the upgrade is a way to gain some Ping in the deck, which is always valuable, but Outburst is better.
3. Furious Might - Upgrade [1]
This fighter's melee weapons have Grevious, whilst this fighter has any Charge tokens and is not using the Charge ability.
It can be a little difficult to get the most from this card, without using Ploys such as Braced or Diving In. Without these cards, you will need to have already activated the fighter to have charged, then still be in melee weapon range to then attack again, assuming the rest of your warband has charged out. For me, there are too many conditions that need to meet up at the same time. In addition, the extra damage is only caused if the attack is successful (and you know if you have managed to engineer this situation, you are definitely going to miss).
Overall, I would prefer to take Great Strength from another Rivals deck, 2 out 5.
4. Headcase - Upgrade [0]
If this fighter has no Charge tokens, instead of playing a Power card in the Power Step, you can give this fighter a charge token.
A useful card for a warband with more than four fighters. This card allows you to place a charge counter on your weakest fighter, without activating them. Why would you want to do this? Firstly, to achieve a charged-out status to activate a more important fighter for a second time in a round. Secondly, to score the Objectives from this deck, that require fighters to have Charge tokens. It is also worth noting, that this upgrade is free, so effectively behaves like a persisting Ploy.
Overall, a useful card depending on the warband, 4 out of 5.
5. Headlong Charge - Upgrade [0]
This fighter has +2 move while using the Charge ability.
A free upgrade that gives +2 Move. This is an excellent card. In fact, it so good it is worth 'mulliganning' your opening hand to try and draw. The only downside to that card is that it can only be used whilst charging, but in Underworlds, with certain warbands, that is all you want to be doing.
Overall, 5 out of 5
6. Keen Eye - Upgrade [2]
This fighter's melee weapons have +1 dice.
As more dice equals more successes this is a great card. Additionally, more dice increases the chances that an opponent will not have enough to stop an attack even if they only roll successes.
Overall, an auto-include 5 out of 5.
7. Still Swinging - Upgrade [1]
This fighter's melee weapons have Ensnare, whilst this fighter has any charge tokens and is not using the charge ability.
Why put additional conditions on top of Ensnare to make this card hard to use? Sure, if you want to make the cost of this card 0 Glory add the stipulations, but for Ensnare, which can only be used when not charging if the fighter already has a Charge token, this upgrade is not worth the cost of 1 Glory.
Overall, leave this at home, 1 out of 5.
8. Utter Ignorance - Upgrade [2] - (FORSAKEN)
If this fighter would be slain, they are not slain. Remove damage tokens from the fighter until they are vulnerable and then discard this card.
Simply Epic! What else can be said about this upgrade, place it on your most important fighter and it will take your opponent at least an extra Power phase, if not an Action step to kill them. Shame it is now Forsaken.
Overall, 5 out of 5.
9. Fury of Aqshy - Upgrade [1] - (FORSAKEN)
Fighters adjacent to this fighter cannot use Core abilities other than the Charge ability.
An amazing card, which later in the game can really ruin your opponent's plans. Once an opponent is down to a single fighter, who is adjacent to the fighter upgraded with card, there is very little your opponent will be doing in the round. Why? A fighter adjacent to a fighter with Fury of Aqshy can only charge. Once they have Charged, even if they are the last fighter in a warband, and are therefore charged-out, they still cannot make any more attacks. The card does produce a negative play experience; hence it has now made it onto the Forsaken list.
Overall, when the card was still available for Nemesis, it was an auto include, 5 out of 5.
10. Bladecatcher - Upgrade [1] - (FORSAKEN)
While this fighter is the target of an attack, the attacker cannot use weapon ability upgrades. The equipped fighters is immune from Grevious, Cleave, Ensnare, Grapple and Stagger (caused by a weapon).
This is an amazing upgrade, especially when place on a fighter with a Save of 2 Block and a high wound count. Unfortunately, this upgrade is now Forsaken.
Overall, 5 out of 5.
Countering Reckless Fury
When playing against Reckless Fury it is essential to keep on eye on which fighters have Charge tokens. If you can make sure that some of your fighters do not have Charge tokens. This will help to counter Objectives such as Unrelenting Massacre and Arena Mortis. Stopping these two cards could seriously hamper your opponent's ability to gain enough Glory to win the game. In additon, if your opponent chooses to hold to either of these card after an End Phase, then they may brick their Objective deck.
Conclusion
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| Average rating of the cards for each subcategory |
This deck is a solid Strike deck. It works on the principle of ABC (Always Be Charging) of Underworlds. The idea is to get Charge tokens on your and opponent's fighters. The deck is, therefore, aggressive and powerful, but it can be counterplayed by an opponent, especially if they avoid charging by playing into Take and Hold.
The objectives within this deck are great, in particular the 2 Glory End Phase cards (Arena Mortis and Bloody Momentum), which are better than anything in Blazing Assault. The surge cards are all scorable, and some are almost impossible to stop.
The Ploys and Upgrades are also very good, so good in fact that four cards are now Forsaken and can no long be used in Nemesis decks. As a result, the remaining cards, whilst providing useful options are not quite as good as Blazing Assault. For example, why take Furious Might when you could take Great Strength instead?
Possible pairing for this deck include, as already mentioned, Blazing Assault for when you want to go for an all-out Strike playstyle. I also like mixing the Reckless Fury with Countdown to Cataclysm or Wrack and Ruin. I do think that this deck will struggle to work well with Emberstone Sentinel. Why? It is difficult to both Charge consistently and hold Treasure tokens at the same time.
Finally, I have really enjoyed using this deck, one that I have played more than any other. However, as players get increasingly used to playing against this deck, I think it will become increasingly less competitive.
Thank you for reading. Have you any thoughts, if so drop them in the comment below.
Bye for now.
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