Today, we’re looking at where Shadespire sits in the Soul Wars – and taking a sneak peek at some of the new warbands you can expect to see…

The Story so far…

Shadespire is a cursed city held between the realms of Light and Shadow in a perpetual twilight. Once, countless years ago, Shadespire was a paradise of a city, a jewel in the desert sands of the Realm of Death ruled by the Katophranes – ancient sorcerer lords who used arcane science to defy death itself.

It was the Katophranes who discovered shadeglass, the crystallised form of the realmstone of Shyish, grave-sand. Rich in Death magic, each grain of grave-sand is said to represent a moment in the life of the living, and it was of this substance that Nagash built his Great Black Pyramid.

Shadeglass could be fashioned into mirrors, trinkets and other artefacts that could safely store the soul after death, allowing the Katophranes to live eternally.

Nagash, furious at being denied his due, transformed the city into the cursed place it is today, leaving its physical form in ruins and creating a dark reflection where the Katophranes would be eternally trapped, denied death and forced to live in endless torment.

The legends of Shadespire would draw countless adventurers from across the realms, many of whom would end up trapped in the Mirrored City. Sigmar himself dispatched Stormcast Eternals in search of Shadeglass, believing it to hold the secret to fixing the flaw in reforging.

The Soul Wars

The Shyish Necroquake has weakened the barriers that divide Shadespire from reality, offering its inhabitants tantalising yet impossible glimpses at the world outside. Despite the dangers, adventurers still flock to the city. Sigmar, now armed with the Sacrosanct Chamber, seeks not just to unlock the secrets of Shadespire but to break its curse – but Nagash has a secret weapon.

n the Age of Myth, the inhabitants of Shadespire built the Nightvault – part arcane prison, part laboratory. It was here that the Katophranes confined their worst enemies and conducted their darkest experiments.

Nagash has opened the Nightvault, and freed the vengeful spirits within. Led by the Briar Queen, they seek to scour the Mirrored City of any that would defy the will of the Great Necromancer. But they are far from the only warbands to stake a claim for control…

New Challengers arise

While we can’t reveal just who you’ll be able to battle with (and against) in Nightvault just yet, we do have some tantalising hints – see who you can spot in this sneak preview:

Let us know who you’re looking forward to on the Warhammer Underworlds Facebook page – and make sure to come back on Saturday to pre-order your Core Set.

Warband Focus: Thorns of the Briar Queen

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault is almost upon us, and it all kicks off with a fantastic new Core Set. This week, we’ll be previewing everything inside in detail, starting today with a look at one of the warbands joining us this season – the Thorns of the Briar Queen.

Featured in the Core Set, this is Warhammer Underworlds’ first Nighthaunt warband, made up of a pack of sinister Chainrasps and their evil commanders – the Briar Queen herself and Varclav the Cruel. But how do they play? Join us as we take a closer look at the fighters, some cards and some tactical tricks to get you going…

Why Play Thorns of the Briar Queen?

• Overwhelm Your Enemies: With seven fighters, the Thorns of the Briar Queen are one of the most numerous warbands in the game, allowing you to swarm enemies and dominate the objectives game.
• Go ANYWHERE: Every single fighter in this warband ignores lethal hexes, fighters and blocked hexes while moving – there’s no escaping the Nighthaunt!
• Nagash is the rightful ruler of all the Mortal Realms – and beyond: If you’ve just grabbed a new Nighthaunt army and want to expand the reach of Nagash to those traitors who’d invade his city, this is the warband for you.

The Briar Queen is the leader of your warband and possesses the crucial ability to cast spells. See that 2 on her card next to her name? That means the Briar Queen is a level two wizard, making her one of the better wizards in the game. With two Dodge and four Wounds, the Briar Queen can also be surprisingly durable – particularly if you can find a way to put her on Guard…

Varclav the Cruel is the key to success for a Thorns of the Briar Queen Warband, with his ability to push each fighter in your warband two hexes and allowing you to quickly swarm the foe without wasting activations. While it’ll be tempting to get stuck in straight away with his powerful Watchman’s Blade attack, you’ll want to keep him as safe as possible during your first activations.

The Ever-hanged is a beefier version of an “ordinary” Chainrasp, armed with a pretty reliable attack. You’ll want to try to Inspire him fast and use him as your main finisher, adding the benefits of Cleave to his already solid Damage.

The remaining fighters in the Thorns of the Briar Queen are Chainrasps. While unassuming at first, woe betide the enemy that thinks they can ignore them! The Thorns of the Briar Queen Inspire when next to their enemies – by using Varclav to surround your enemy with Chainrasp, you’ll be able to Inspire multiple fighters at once and overwhelm your foe.

Chainrasps are also great objective-holders, capable of moving through fighters, lethal hexes and blocked hexes with impunity. Just watch out for enemies with attacks that hit multiple fighters – nothing stings quite like watching The Harvester take down four Chainrasps in a single fell swoop…

The Cards

The Thorns of the Briar Queen gambit cards are designed for tricking your foes and maximising the effectiveness of your Chainrasps. Some are downright evil – like Maddening Cackle, a ploy that punishes an enemy fighter who fails their attack by un-Inspiring them. Permanently:

As for spells, you’ll have some excellent choices. Howling Vortex is one of the most deadly tools in the arsenal of the Briar Queen.

Gambit spells work a little differently from normal actions. To cast one, you roll a number of magic dice equal to the level of the wizard casting them. This means that more powerful wizards have an easier time casting the same spell as a weaker wizard.

The magic dice each feature a Critical Success symbol, Focus (two swirls) and Channel (three lightning bolts). To cast Howling Vortex, you’d roll two dice (because the Briar Queen is a level 2 wizard) and need at least one Focus to succeed. In this case, it’s a pretty simple spell to cast – and a fantastic way to knock enemy fighters off objectives or bring them closer to your Chainrasps…

Upgrades, meanwhile, offer deadly new attacks, like Varclav the Cruel’s Sadistic Strike, or potent abilities such as the Curse of Unbinding:

If you’re looking to dominate the objectives game, looking for a more offensive twist on the Sepulchral Guard or want to win your games through sheer malicious trickery, the Thorns of the Briar Queen are your dream warband. If you’d prefer something more noble – well, we’ve got you covered as well! Check back tomorrow for a look at Stormsire’s Cursebreakers…

Warband Focus: Stormsire’s Cursebreakers

The new season of Warhammer Underworlds is mere days away, bringing with it a host of new cards, new mechanics and new warbands. Having looked at the sinister forces of the Thorns of the Briar Queen, today we’re looking at the stalwart crusaders of Stormsire’s Cursebreakers – a lightning-wielding warband of Stormcast Eternals. Read on for a closer look at the fighters, spells and tactics you can try…

Why play Stormsire’s Cursebreakers?

• You want to cast LOADS of spells: With THREE wizards and a deck full of powerful sorcery, Stormsire’s Cursebreakers make greater use of magic than anyone else in the game.
• You hate dying: It is a truth universally acknowledged that dying is rubbish – thankfully, Stormsire’s Cursebreakers are durable enough to limit losses in your games.
• You’re looking to learn: Stormsire’s Cursebreakers are a great starter warband, thanks to their forgiving playstyle, while also providing loads of depth for more experienced players.

The Fighters

Averon Stormsire is the leader of Stormsire’s Cursebreakers, combining the durability of the Stormcast Eternals from other warbands with his status as a level two wizard and a nifty ranged spell Attack.

Spell Attack actions work like normal Attack actions, except instead of rolling Attack dice, you roll magic dice for each wizard level you have – then your enemy rolls defence dice as normal. In Stormsire’s case, this attack is great for chipping away foes without having to Charge or finishing off a faraway foe.

Ammis Dawnguard is an Evocator and so, as well as possessing a fair bit of punch in close combat, is also a level one wizard who can enhance her own weapons! This makes her a reliable, flexible fighter, while her ability to knock fighters back combines superbly with the number of lethal hexes found in Nightvault.

Rastus the Charmed fights much like Ammis Dawnguard, trading Knockback for Cleave on his tempest blade. As such, he’s a great fighter for finishing off heavily armoured enemies with Block.

The Cards

Stormsire’s Cursebreakers have a largely offensive deck, with simple but effective gambits that increase the effectiveness of your fighters and lots (lots) of spells. Take Chain Lightning:

Chain Lightning uses a new mechanic known as Scatter. To resolve Scatter skills, you’ll get to place the following template:

After that, you’ll roll dice equal to the Scatter number for the card in question – in this case, 3 dice. Each dice corresponds to a direction on the scatter marker – you’ll be able to use your rolls to create a “chain”. In this case, you’ll be able to potentially damage multiple fighters at once, making it key for tackling larger warbands like the Thorns of the Briar Queen or Garrek’s Reavers.

Like their brethren in Steelheart’s Champions and The Fastriders, Stormsire’s Cursebreakers possess some powerful upgrades, too. Disarming Blow can be devastating – failing an Attack is one thing, but losing an Attack upgrade is another entirely! Lightning Whip, on the other hand, adds a little extra bite to your Attacks and helps Stormsire’s Cursebreakers tackle more durable warbands.

If you’ve already played a Stormcast Eternals warband and fancy a twist on the formula, or just want to make the most of the new magic system, this is the warband for you.

Of course, Warhammer Underworlds: Nigthvault isn’t just about new warbands – it’s packed with cards that have a place in any deck. Check back tomorrow when we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the best from the Core Set…

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault New Universal Cards

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault – the new season of Warhammer Underworlds – features a LOT of new cards. How many?

The keen-eyed among you will have already noticed the little number on the edge of the cards we’ve revealed so far, but we can now confirm officially – Nightvault will feature no less than 557 cards.

The set will feature 80 upgrades, 80 gambits (which are spells and ploys) and 88 objectives usable by any warband in the game. These are sure to find a place in any deck and open up a host of new strategies, offering you new combos to try, and sure to shake up the competitive scene forever.

These include some particularly nifty means for dealing with enemy wizards – like Lucky Trinket, from the Core Set, or the deadly nullstone weapons found in future expansions…

In short, if you’ve been playing Garrek’s Reavers (or another warband of your choice from Shadespire!) from the very start, then you’ll be able to keep playing – and winning! – with them.

The Nightvault Core Set also has reprints of a few classic cards, such as the five Hold Objective cards and Confusion. This means that if you have both the Shadespire and Nightvault sets, it’s that much easier to have multiple decks on the go without having to switch the most commonly used cards out every time.

While there are a lot of cards to think about, if you’re a new player, we’ve made getting started super easy, as the Nightvault Core Set contains everything you need, including two pre-made starter decks, to help you begin playing right away. This lets you get to grips with the basic rules before you embark on making your own decks.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar ist unter anderem bei unserem Partner Fantasy-In erhältlich.

Quelle: Warhammer Community