Warhammer Underworlds Spitewood
What did we find in Spitewood?
In this forest full of spite, we came across a few new additions that have spiced up our Underworlds games. I should mention that this is an expansion for Embergard, so it’s nice to have the base game or an extra set of dice which, unfortunately, aren’t included in this box.
First off, we get 2 new warbands.
Kurnoth’s Heralds are majestic, galloping centaurs who value the comfort of home above all else. These self-proclaimed domesticated creatures love to hang out in their own M4, but once they head out into the town and pick up speed, nothing can stop them. If you manage to inspire the leader and Cullon, they can even pack quite a punch. It’s just a shame they don’t gain extra defense when they do. That would definitely come in handy.
Goblin and the Four Dwarves is another gang introduced in this expansion. Their core mechanic revolves around demonic dice, which increase the number of dice rolled during an attack or defense. To do this, you need to delve treasure tokens, making them a perfect fit for the Pillage and Plunder deck. Their fighters have fairly standard stats, but at least when inspired, they gain extra dice for defense. Grisk doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the gang in terms of appearance, but once we position him correctly on the map, he can support his comrades. It’s simply a fairy tale.
Another new feature is two new decks.
Hunting Grounds focuses on performing actions in our home. This isn’t about cleaning or folding laundry, though it’s more about sitting on our butts and waiting for the enemy to come to us. Sometimes this is hard to pull off, given how much we depend on our rivals’ moves. I’d rather not play this deck, considering how poorly I’ve been scoring with it every time.
Deadly Synergy, on the other hand, has made us very united in our belief that this is a very good deck. The strategy relies on having at least two of our fighters standing next to each other just like on a school field trip. Most of the objectives are based on this, and the power cards in this deck help us be even more united. It’s the perfect deck for bands with a larger number of fighters who want to take full advantage of the accuracy bonus gained from flanking or surrounding opponents
Spitewood introduces a new map with a slightly woodsy vibe. It features new features token and waystone hexes, which will also add a bit of variety to our games. Waystone hexes allow us to reroll a die during an attack or defense if we’re standing on one. Aqua Ghyranis encourages us to make aggressive raids into enemy territory to score a point at the end of the round and heal ourselves. It’s a nice change of pace, and I’d love to see more themed maps and special tokens like this in future expansions.
Summary
Warhammer Underworlds: Spitewood is the first major expansion for the new edition of my favorite Warhammer skirmish game. The main strength of this set is its varied content, which has brought more diversity to our home games.
The best thing for me is the introduction of a themed map with new feature tokens. I hope that future expansions will also include such features.
Of the two new warbands, I’m more inclined to play Blood of the Bull, whose demonic powers boost our chances of defense or attack. Additionally, I’ll add a deck that grants them United, and that will be true Deadly Synergy.
Final verdict: Spitewood is a new spiteful addition to my Warhammer love.
[self bought]
