Warhammer Underworlds Birthday Weekend Shenanigans

Originally I'd planned to run two games of Warhammer, Age of Sigmar: Soulbound - the role-playing game set in the Age of Sigmar. On the Saturday I was going to run a one-shot game for a few local friends (hoping they might be interested in continuing a campaign!) and on Sunday I was to run a game for some friends online, picking up a campaign we started THREE YEARS AGO (also on my birthday!?). 

Because I had the big Warhammer 40K tournament a week earlier and I've been UTTERLY OBSESSED WITH WARHAMMER UNDERWORLDS(!?) I kind of left a lot of the preparation for these games until the last week before the sessions were to be run...

And then my mother ended up in hospital... 

And things looked pretty grim... 

and I didn't get much preparation done this past week.... 

Earlier in the week, I honestly wasn't sure if I'd be sitting in a palliative care unit over the weekend watching my mom slowly die... So I cancelled the role-playing games. Regardless of how I spent the weekend, by mid-week it was clear I was NOT going to be ready to play... 

In the end, my mom got a bit better through the week, relatively speaking, so I wasn't spending the weekend in hospital, but I'd done none of the preparations I'd needed... 

So instead I played  a BUNCH of Warhammer Underworlds over the weekend... 

(HOPEFULLY, I'll get to running those Soulbound games sometime in March!)

SATURDAY

GAME ONE

Saturday, in the late afternoon, Orion came over at the time we were originally going to play Soulbound. Nic was originally supposed to come to the role-playing games, but ended up bowing out as he had a bunch of other stuff to do, so the first few games were just me and Orion and Amanda. 

Orion brought Hexbane's Hunters with a new Nemesis deck that included Elements of Voidcursed Thralls. I played with Wurmspat in Rivals format, using the Breakneck Slaughter deck, to see how it worked out. Amanda played Drepur's Wraithcreepers. 

First Activation Brydget  charged and blasted Sire Haqfel in his weird ghostly horse-face with her pistol! 

There was a lot of running about and stabbing and shooting and it was over 24 hours ago and I haven't had a lot of sleep... so I don't remember what happened. 

We chose VIOLENCE, that's what happened, I guess... 

Orion cleaned our collective clocks nearly scoring more than Amanda and me combined!?

GAME TWO

I game two I continued to play Wurmspat, but this time took the Force of Frost Rivals deck and played with that. Amanda wanted to try out Cyreni's Razors, which Orion had also brought along. Orion continued with the Voidcursed Hexbane's Hunters. 

I wondered if she was trying to get in a lot of practice with them, thinking she might head to Alberta for one of the Golden Ticket events (There are THREE Warhammer Underworlds events coming up in Alberta - the next province over - in the next few months, that the winner of which will automatically qualify for the World Championships in Atlanta, later in the year!). 

There's a part of me that wouldn't mind going to an event like that - not that I think I'd have a hope of winning and qualifying for worlds... but just to play with some different people, especially people who really know what they're doing, to see how they play! 

Once again, Brydget started off charding straight into MY territory this time and blasting at Ghuloch

Much later in the game... Hexbane's Hunters were tabled and it was just down to Fecula and Sepsimus and the two Idoneth Thralls... 

And then there was ONE Thrall... 

And we just kind of eyed each other up and tried to score Objective Cards that didn't require marching across that board and FIGHTING each other!? 

I started off REALLY slow... like I had ZERO Glory Points at the end of round one... and maybe four at the end of Round Two... I'm sure Amanda had four at the end of Round One and Orion maybe had two... They were both way ahead of me at the end of Round Two... but I pulled it out of the fire in Round Three and caught up enough to make it an insanely close game! Amanda ended the game (playing a warband that she had never read the cards for until drawing them in the game!) with 13 Glory... and Orion and I were tied for second with 12 each!!! (okay, technically I was in 2nd and Orion in 3rd because tie-breaker is who is sitting on the highest valued Objectives and I was... because I had living fighers... that were sitting on objectives!) 

Orion took off after that to go home and make supper and Amanda and i did the same... 

GAME THREE

For Game Three Amanda thought it would be fun to try making a Nemesis deck for Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven... but rather than spending hours going through all the cards, I quickly found a list on Underworlds DB using Toxic Terrors - which we used as a basis for a Nemesis deck... she canned a few cards she was less keen on and added in a few from Morgwaeth's deck she liked and felt she regularly scored or made use of... 

I likewise found a list for a Nemesis deck using Wurmspat and Force of Frost and quickly put that together... substituting in a few more of the Wurmspat cards that I do find useful at times. but leaving out a few of the spells... 

I set up on The Mistmarsh Tangle and Amanda took the Frost-Wracked Ruins. 

Again, so busy trying to figure out how to make something out of the MESS I kept drawing... I didn't take ANY pictures until the very end... This is Ghuloch fleeing the two remaining Daughters of Khaine trying to score an "If Every Surviving Fighter..." objective... by having at least ONE surviving fighter that met the condition! 

Amanda won this one as well... 11-9... 

After this game I stayed up WAY TOO LATE trying to put together my OWN nemesis deck for Wurmspat. I read through ALL the Generic Rivals decks that I own (a dozen, now, maybe...?) and settled on Breakneck Slaughter. 

SUNDAY 

In the morning I helped Amanda build a Nemesis deck for Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven using Paths of Prophecy (which is all about HOLDING OBJECTIVES!) 

In the afternoon our friends Shannon and Kevin came by to play games. I expected to play some other games... but as Amanda was finishing up her deck she said: I wonder if Shannon would play Warhammer Underworlds. 

I said there is NO WAY Shannon would be the least interested in playing Warhammer Underworlds... it's a "boy game" (she refers to most historial military strategy games - like the ones her ex likes to play - as "Boy Games" and she has no interest in playing "Boy Games" and I was fairly certain Warhammer Underworlds would qualify as such...) 

Somehow Amanda convinced her to give it a try... I should have just said NO and suggest something else... Amanda said it's your birthday, play the games you want and Shannon agreed...

Ehhhhh.... 

GAME FOUR

So we played ANOTHER games of Warhammer Underworlds...

Shannon ended up playing Morgok's Krushas - because we assured her they would be easy to play - charge stuff and HIT IT! Kevin decided he'd like to try out Lady Harrow's Mournflight. I took Wurmspat with my freshly constructed Nemesis Deck and Amanda took Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven with HER freshly constructed Nemesis Deck...

Gluloch loaded up with Breakneck Slaughter plots tore off into Lady Harrows territory and smacked down one of those banshees! 

Orruks started charging too - Kyrae managed to dodge 'Ardskulls blows! 

Guloch kind of got ganked by the rest of the mournflight... but that kept them busy while the Wurmspat hatched other treacherous plans... 

Kyrae slipped away from 'Ardskull to slip onto another objective location... Where she was charged by Thugg. She slipped away from him as well... 

Only to be assaulted by Sepsimus! 

Khamyss and one of the Banshees went after Thugg... 

Sepsimus stabbed Kyrae and eventually took her out of action. 

Ghosties ganging up on Thugg (just off the right side of the picture) and Sepsimus bashing Khamyss.

Orruks and Wyches duking it out in one corner... 

Banshees and Sepsimus all picking on poor Thugg... 

Eventaylly Thugg and Sepsimus were taken out... and Fecula went wandering off into the far corner of the table to score some Objectives... Sitting on an Objective in Enemy Territory and All Surviving Friendly Fighters Being inspired and similar (have to be surviving to score those!) 

Everything got pretty spread out by the end of the game! 

The game ended up being pretty one-sided. My dice were on fire and my deck just WENT OFF!? I scored FOURTEEN Glory Points - which, I'm quite sure, is the most I've even scored with Wurmspat! This might be the Nemesis Deck for them! 

Amanda's new deck didn't work out so well... she ended up only scoring five Glory points. Shannon did okay with SMASHING THINGS and scored nine. Kevin only scored four...!? Both did quite well, considering it was their first game ever and have never looked at the cards before drawing them and trying to figure out what to do with them!? 

In the end, Shannon decided it was "very definitely a Boy Game" and she did not love it... but was very good natured about it - playing until the end and saying, "well, now I know...!"

GAME FIVE

Orion had been playing in a Song of Ice and Fire miniature game tournament in the afternoon and I was not expecting her and Nic until sometime after 6pm... but they ended up showing up around 5pm, just as we were finishing up the game with Shannon and Kevin. 

We set up the next game while waiting for my fake-ice-cream-cake thawed a bit... ate some cake... and then got down to playing some MORE games... 

Orion brought Skaeth's Wild Hunt with a Nemesis deck using Breakneck Slaughter. Nic saw Morgok's on the table and wanted to give them a try. Amanda and I stuck with what we'd been using in the previous game - wanting to play with our new Nemesis decks to see how they worked... 

To start things off, Sheoch charged into the Daughters of Khaine territory and tried to stab Lethyr... 

Ghulock loaded up on Ploy cards and momentum counters charged into the Blade-Coven's territory as well... and one-shotted Sheoch! And then slid into the wall and ended up staggered! 

Khamyss tried to take the opportunity to take down Ghuloch... but my stinky poo nurgle dice were ONE FIRE (a bunch of the dice that came in Gnarlwood and Wyrdhollow are in varying shades of brown-ish colours and I've claimed them as my nurgle poo dice for Wurmspat... and they've been doing much better than the other dice I've been using lately!!) 

Orrucks charging into Blade-Coven territory... it was like EVERYONE was ganging up on them!? 

Fecula and Sepsimus ended up fighting Morgok - as he'd moved close enough for them to do so! 

Skaeth and friends took down 'Ardskull... 

People still attacking Ghuloch... Ghuloch still not dying...  

Kyrae tried to sneak onto an objective behind Sepsimus, clearly forgetting how that worked out for her in the past... 

Thugg came after Fecula, after she'd taken out Morgok... 

Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven and Morgok's Krushas had both been reduced to ONE fighter by the Third Round... I still had my entire warband... and Skaeth was still around with a few of his deadly friends. 

Skaeth charged in and, I think, finished off BOTH Fecula and Thugg!? 

Sepsimus and Ghuloch just wandered off into the corner trying to score points for being alive and inspired and having more move and charge tokens than other warbands and all fighters having at least ONE move or charge token... but then I FORGOT to move Ghuloch... so I didn't SCORE  that last one!? BAH!

Orion totally won this one with SEVENTEEN Glory Points?! I did okay, again scoring fourteen Glory Points... which was enough to win by a landslide in the first game... not nearly enough to keep up with Orion, though! Amanda's new Nemesis Deck also did MUCH better - tying me at fourteen - even though her warband was tabled! Nic... also tabled... only managed 6 Glory... 

That was FIVE games with Wurmspat this weekend... and TEN in the last month... I decided I needed a break... 

GAME SIX

Amanda also wanted to try something new and had seen Magore's Fiends, when I was presenting options to Shannon and Keven, and decided she wanted to play with them. I dug out the Thricefold Discord and tried playing them with their Rivals deck to remind myself of how they played and what worked in their deck and what didn't (so I coudl start thinking about possibly coming up with a nemesis deck to use with them) 

Nic dug out Drepur's Wraithcreepers and Orion played the Chosen Axes with a Fearsome Fortress Nemesis Deck! 

For the first round the Thricefold discord kind of just stood in the back, cherry-picking... drawing power cards, cycling through Objective cards... 

Waiting for the others to thin themselves out a bit...? 

Magore's fiends and Drepur's Wraithcreepers exchanged blows! 

Magore's are particularly fierce! 

On my final activation, Lascivyr charged Drepur, who was injured and I would have been able to finish off... but I totally missed... 

Drepur ducked away and killed the Fleshhound 

And then battled with the Blood Warriors

Starting off the Second Round, the impetuous Lascyvr was taken out and Vashtiss inspired... So she and Vexmor moved up to get in on the action. 

Fyredlayers and Wraithcreepers started battling it out on the wall that Fjul-Grimnir was trying to build. 

Ghartok, the Blood Warrior, got in on that action too. 

Someone killed Vashtiss... Ghartok and Fjul-Grimnir killed each other... Vexmor just moped about the board (and killed the last of the Blood Warriors) and tried to score a few objectives... being alive, standing on an Objective in enemy territory... but it wasn't enough to make up for not doing much in the first round. I ended up dead last with ten Glory. Nic had twelve, despite being tabled again. Orion won, again with 15 Glory and Amanda wasn't far behind with 13... which was pretty good considering she'd never looked at the cards before playing... 

Long-time readers will no doubt be aware how Amanda just can't stop rolling Crits in Warhammer Underworlds, constantly foiling my every plan and attack... Always beating me down with them... as a testament to just HOW MANY CRITS Amanda can roll... halfway through the game, we noticed SHE'D BEEN USING DEFENCE DICE to roll all her attacks... and, despite that, had KILLED FOUR OTHER FIGHTERS... because she CAN'T NOT ROLL CRITS when attacking!!!?!?! Afterwards she wondered how much better she'd have done if we'd noticed earlier!? 

All in all, a very fun weekend of playing Warhammer Underworlds... 

After these six games, I've played TWENTY -TWO games of Warhammer Underworlds so far this year - ten of them being with Wurmspat... of which they have won two... Maybe they are just terrible and I need to try something different...? I'm determined to try a few more times with this Nemesis Deck, though... but also might try more with the Thricefold Discord (or maybe the Dread Pageant...?) 

THE LOOT

For my birthday Amanda got me two books - Scions of Voodoo an art book by John Blanche - one of my favourite artists, ever, who headed up the art department at Games Workshop for... three decades...? or more...?

The other book was Blanche: Rise of the Grimdark a biography of John Blanche - which has even MORE art! 

I kind of knew I was getting these, but it was nice to finally have them and I'm super-excited to read the Blache biography! 

Also she got me this as a "surprise". It looks like some sort of party game like Apples to Apples or something...? But Schitt$ Creek themed. She found it at the dollar store for $2-3 and knew I LOVED Schitt$ Creek (as did Keiran) and Amanda has seen it too... so... MAYBE we'll try it out sometime... and if not, it was $2-3... 

It was supposed to be a "surprise" but she left it on her bookshelf, in our bedroom, in pain view... I spotted it one day and wondered what it was because I hadn't seen in there and walked over to investigate... realized it was probably a little something extra she'd picked up for my birthday... 

Ah, well... It's the thought that counts, right?

Shannon and Kevin also brought over a gift - a Warhammer Underworlds warband... Shannon works right by the Warhammer Store... and I wasn't quite clear if she went in specifically looking for something for Warhammer Underworlds...? I think so, and John was pointing out Skabbik's Plaguepack - as it was one he'd got in recently. Shannon mentioned she wasn't quite sure as she thought I'd bought one here recently and mentioned I'd have come on a bike and John said "Oh, you mean Tim!? Yeah, he definitely has that one already!" and then suggested The Exiled Dead... and said if I already had it, I could just bring it in and trade it for another one.. 

The dude at the Warhammer Store knows who i am... am I THAT much of a weirdo or are there that few people going into the store...? 

I do have The Exiled Dead. So I'll be taking it back later this week and getting a different one. 

This was an absolutely delightful surprise! And, honestly, I'd rather get one I'd already have and have to trade it back in than a gift certificate or something. Getting a thing kind of means they really tried and, y'know, if they'd guesses one that I didn't have, that would have been AMAZING! 

Hopefully they have Gorechosen of Dromm or Gryselle's Arenai in stock still (I THINK I saw those there...?) or maybe The Headsmen's Curse...? Not ones I'd really planned to get, but wouldn't mind trying out... Surprising he didn't suggest Daggok's Stab-ladz, being THE LATEST one... I'm less interested in the Stab-ladz... but if those were what turned up, would have painted them up and tried them! I'm not THAT picky!  

Alternatively... I've been thinking I could use the credit towards a Chaos Gargant. Back in 2018, there was a White Dwarf that included an articles with rules for playing a Gargant in Warhammer Underworlds!? I know I still have the Gargant fighter card, somewhere (and presumably the White Dwarf with the rules)!? That might be fun to try out something completely different!?