Thricefold Discord - Warband Review

 

Introduction

The Thricefold Discord are a trio of Slaaneshi Daemons, cursed to wander the Underworlds as punishment for their relentless bickering. Tasked with harvesting souls, they cannot return to their master until they have claimed six hundred and sixty-six—an ordeal meant to teach them the cooperation they so sorely lack.

Leading the trio is Vexmor, the Excessively Indolent [1], accompanied by Vashtiss, the Coiled [2], and Lascivyr, the Blessed Blade [3]. Bound by fate and rivalry, they scheme and squabble even as they carry out their decadent duty, each seeking to outshine the others in the eyes of their dark patron.

Fighter Characteristics

The leader of the Thricefold Discord is the Vexmor, the Indolent. He has a Move of 3, a Save of 1 Block, 5 Health, and a Bounty of 3. His single melee attack has a Range of 2, hits on 1 Hammers, and deals 2 damage. Upon inspiration, his attack improves to 2 Hammer. Additionally, Vexmor makes use of the Indolent warscroll ability (see below).

Vashtiss, the Coiled has a Move of 4, a Save of 1 Dodge, 4 Health, and a Bounty of 2. She has two attack profiles. A single melee attack with a Range of 2, hitting on 2 Hammers for 1 damage and a ranged attack with a Range of 3, hitting on 2 Hammers for 1 damage. Upon inspiration, her Save improves to 2 Dodge, and her melee attack improves to 2 damage, and her ranged attack improves to Range 4. Vashtiss also has the Flying and Evasive (more on this below).

For the final fighter, we have Lascivyr, the Blessed Blade. She has a Move of 5, a Save of 1 Dodge, 4 Health, and a Bounty of 2. His melee attack has a Range of 1, hits on 3 Swords, and deals 2 damage. Upon inspiration, her Save improves to 2 Dodge, and her melee attack improves to 3 Hammers. Lascivyr also has Evasive (more on this below). Additionally, Lascivyr makes use of the Wicked Slice warscroll ability (see below).

How do the fighters inspire?

Immediately after making an Attack or Save roll that contained no successes, or after a friendly fighter is slain. Inspire another friendly fighter.

This inspiration mechanic is particularly interesting—it triggers on failure, but only when the roll contains no successes at all. Since each fighter starts with just one Save die, failed Save rolls, rather than Attacks, will likely be the most common way to activate it.

Strategically, I would prioritize inspiring Lascivyr and Vexmor before Vashtiss, as their accuracy improves significantly. Vexmor’s melee attack upgrading from 1 Hammer to 2 Hammers is a major boost in reliability, while Lascivyr’s attack shifting from 3 Swords to 3 Hammers makes her much more consistent. Additionally, Lascivyr also gains improved survivability (2 Dodge).

Vashtiss, on the other hand, gains better survivability (2 Dodge) and increased range, but her offensive power doesn’t scale as dramatically. Unless her mobility and ranged pressure are critical early on, it makes sense to focus on Vexmor and Lascivyr first.

Warscroll Abilities

Multi-use abilities

Evasive

Immediately before damage is inflicted on an Evasive fighter, you can roll an Attack dice. On the roll of a Sword or a Crit, subtract 1 from the damage inflicted.

This is a handy little ability, offering a 33% chance to reduce damage taken by Lascivyr or Vashtiss by 1. In practice, without this ability, it would typically take four successful 2-damage attacks to eliminate both fighters. However, with Evasive, at least one of those attacks is likely to be reduced, meaning a fifth attack would be needed to finish them off.

Additionally, if a Saving roll results in a Critical success (Standfast), it could first negate 1 damage, and then Evasive could reduce another point, further improving survivability. That said, keep in mind:

• Damage cannot be reduced to 0.

• Evasive does not work against non-Attack damage.

A solid ability, but situational—3 out of 5.

Indolent 

Vexmor's weapons (excluding upgrades) have +1 dice and Grevious while that fighter has no Move or Charge tokens. 

This is a great ability that turns Vexmor into a serious threat. Once Inspired, he attacks with a Range of 2, hitting on 3 Hammers for 3 Damage—a truly fearsome attack profile.

Realistically, a smart opponent will avoid standing near an Indolent Vexmor, so you’ll need to use push cards to reposition him effectively. Alternatively, in the first round, it’s best to move Vexmor into an optimal position so that by Round 2, he can start dishing out heavy damage.

From experience, playing against the Thricecursed Discord, an Inspired Indolent Vexmor is a terrifying force on the battlefield.

Overall: 3 out of 5.

Wicked Slice

Immediately after an Attack made by a friendly Lascivyr, pick an enemy fighter that is not vulnerable and with 2 hexes. Inflict 1 damage on that fighter.

This is a great ability that adds consistent chip damage. After attacking, you can deal extra damage to either the target or another fighter within 2 hexes. This makes it an excellent tool for softening up enemies, making them easier to finish off later.

A few key points make this ability even better:

• The extra damage cannot be applied to vulnerable fighters, so you’ll need to spread it wisely.

• The initial attack does not need to succeed for this ability to trigger, meaning you’re guaranteed some value from every attack.

An interesting thought arise here, if you use Improvised Attack (from Countdown to Cataclysm) with Lascivyr, then you can use the this ability.

Overall, this ability allows you to maximize your offensive pressure and keep the damage rolling. 4 out of 5.

One Use Abilities

Eldritch Enmity

Once per game, you can use this ability in the Power step, instead of playing a card. Pick 2 friendly fighters. Push each fighter up to 1 hex. After each push, both fighters must be further from the other.

This ability allows you to push two friendly fighters, with the caveat that they must end up further apart than where they started.

There are a couple of strong applications for this:

1. Jumping fighters onto Treasure tokens, securing objectives early.

2. Repositioning—for example, pushing Vexmor forward while pulling Vashtiss back. This helps get Vexmor into range, while Vashtiss can rely on her speed and ranged attacks to stay in the fight.

A key consideration is that you must move two fighters, so it’s often better to use this ability earlier in the round when you have more positioning flexibility.

Overall, while a free push is always valuable, the forced separation reduces some of its tactical utility. 3 out of 5.

Feuding

Once per game, you can use this ability immediately after your Action step. Pick one Inspired friendly fighter and one un-Inspired friendly fighter. Un-Inspire the Inspired fighter, then Inspire the other fighter.

This ability seems most effective toward the end of the first round. A fighter who has already Charged and Inspired can be Un-Inspired to Inspire another fighter before their activation, boosting their effectiveness. Additionally, if the newly Inspired fighter then fails their attack roll, they could immediately re-Inspire the fighter who was just Un-Inspired, creating a clever cycle of efficiency.

Overall, 3 out of 5.

Vile Temptations

Once per game, in your Power step, you can pick an enemy fighter and pick 1 of their equipped Upgrades. That upgrade is discarded. Then equip that fighter with an Upgrade from your hand whose coast is equal to or less than the discarded upgrade.

The first and most obvious use of this ability is to remove "Great Fortitude" from a vulnerable enemy fighter, killing them. While this situation will come up occasionally, the real power of the ability lies in its flexibility—you can strip away common but impactful upgrades like:

• Keen Eye (+1 Dice)

• Great Strength (Grievous or +1 Damage)

• Other accuracy or damage boosts that enhance enemy fighters' effectiveness.

But beyond simply weakening enemy fighters, there's another strategic layer: disrupting objective scoring. Many niche upgrades help opponents fulfill their game plans, so targeting these can be even more effective.

What do you replace them with? Ideally, upgrades that provide no benefit to your opponent. I personally like using:

• Extinction's Blade

• Bringer of Doom

Both are from Countdown to Cataclysm and are useless unless your opponent is also playing from that set, making them excellent "junk" replacements.

Overall, this ability is a strong disruption tool, but its impact depends on what upgrades your opponent has in play. 3 out of 5.

Possible Pairings

My Thricefold Discord

As a three-fighter warband, this is an elite group of warriors. They lack the numbers to reliably take and hold Treasure tokens, meaning the warband is better suited to Strike or Strike combined with Flex. With that in mind, Blazing Assault seems like a good starting point.

Blazing Assault provides this trio of daemons with accuracy and damage boosts to improve their combat efficiency, with cards such as Keen Eye, Accuracy, Twist the Knife, and Great Strength. The Objective cards in this deck are easy to score, though they don’t generate much Glory.

Reckless Fury is, at present, the other Strike deck. This deck is all about charging, which doesn’t necessarily pair well with Vexmor’s Indolent ability. That said, it does offer some 2 Glory end-phase cards, which aren’t too difficult to score—Arena Mortis and Bloody Momentum both spring to mind.

Beyond Strike decks, the ever-useful Countdown to Cataclysm seems an appropriate fit with the Discord. As mentioned earlier, it offers some useful upgrades that work well with Vile Temptation. Additionally, the 2 Glory end-phase cards in this deck score well, especially Wreckers when paired with Wicked Slice. I would also be keen to place Driven by Pain on Vexmor—firstly, because it’s lore-friendly, and secondly because it forces the opponent to make a choice:

• Drive Vexmor back, allowing him to heal.

• Keep him engaged, letting him continue attacking.

The final deck to consider is Wrack and Ruin. Again, this deck provides good 2 Glory end-phase cards, but it also includes a range of cards that reduce incoming damage. These combine well with Evasive, which could really stymie the attacks of some of the game’s biggest hitters. Additionally, this deck provides chip damage options to soften up enemy fighters before moving in for the killing blow.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, this warband does not have enough fighters to play into Take and Hold, suggesting that Emberstone Sentinel and possibly Pillage and Plunder will not work well for them.

Conclusions

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

In conclusion, the Thricefold Discord is a unique and compelling warband, combining the high damage potential of their fighters with the challenge of cooperation. The trio of Vexmor, Vashtiss, and Lascivyr each offer distinct strengths and abilities, making them versatile on the battlefield. Their inspiration mechanic, which triggers on failed rolls, adds an interesting dynamic to gameplay, allowing you to strategically improve their effectiveness when things go wrong.

However, their small size and fragility, particularly when un-Inspired, present challenges. This warband excels at Strike-based tactics but struggles with objective control, making decks like Blazing Assault and Countdown to Cataclysm ideal pairings. Cards that boost their combat efficiency, like Keen Eye and Great Strength, are crucial to enhance their effectiveness in battle.

Despite their limited numbers, the Thricefold Discord can disrupt opponents with abilities like Vile Temptations and Wicked Slice, as well as providing consistent chip damage and damage mitigation with Evasive. While they may lack the staying power of larger warbands, their elite status allows them to deal significant damage and outmanoeuvre foes if played strategically.

Overall, the Thricefold Discord is a formidable warband with a unique playstyle. Their small size requires careful tactical decisions, but with the right deck and a focus on aggression and disruption, they can become a devastating force in the Underworlds. I can really see why they did so well at the World Championship '24.

What do you think to this warband? Do you use them? If so what decks do you pair with them?

Checkout my Warhammer Underworlds for more articles.

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