The fantasy franchise Warhammer has its roots in large, complicated games. In the last century, there was a notion that more rules meant more fun. In this century, the reverse seems to be true; it makes the game as easy as possible to play but still interesting, tactical, and deep. A tall order, but one that Games Workshop’s fantasy skirmish tabletop, Warhammer Underworlds, has been doing for a while.
Warhammer Underworlds – Embergard is the latest iteration of a card-powered, board-game-like skirmish board game. This is the core box; it contains the basic rules, board and cards you’ll need to play the game, and two warbands so two people can play the game. Additional warbands (and their cards) are available separately.
Our copy arrived at Starburst Towers (courtesy of GW) in top condition, and they’ve kept the same style of box as previous generations, so if you’re the sort of person who likes everything to look neat on the shelf, you’ll be satisfied.
The box has the usual gubbins: some nice looking dice, a double-sided board, rules, rules references, tokens, a lot of different decks of cards and eight easy to assemble models.
Three of those models are The Emberwatch; bold and brave Stormcast Eternals (essentially magic knights), who seek out trouble. Rangers, essentially, but with crossbows and paired knives. These are fun, dynamically posed heroes which assemble easily, though the cloaks are a bit fiddly. They also have their own ‘cheat’ cards so you can track their special rules.
The other team are Skaven, aka Ratmen. Zikkit’s Tunnelpack is five models, though one of those is a big rat with a bomb strapped to its back. They wield either explosives or big scary looking magical rifles. One of these rides a ‘hamster wheel’ themed vehicle. They’re silly and gorgeous at the same time, and a joy to paint. The models click together easily, and are fun to paint. They also have their own cheat cards. The two warbands work nicely against each other; the fast and breakable Skaven pulling off tricks and cunning against the relentless and stealthy knights. It makes for fun, thematic game.
Each warband has its own deck of cards that adds flavour and power to the gameplay. We also get four ‘rivals’ decks and themed cards that add specific storytelling and tactics to the game, and they will work with any warband. The card art has been changed to model photography, highlighting Games Workshop’s supply of beautifully painted models. You’d think that would lessen the game’s sense of wonder and fantasy, but it really doesn’t. You can tell stories with good models and excellent photography just as well.
This is a fast-paced combat game with pretty straightforward rules. Previous versions of the game got a little bit bogged down in exactly what each model could do and when, and this new version keeps it simple. Mostly, the cards dictate ‘cool’ powers and the like, and the game trusts the player to know when to play the right card. (That does mean that when you’re teaching the game to someone new you’ll need to be familiar with all the cards you’re using.)
This is a great introduction to Warhammer’s fantasy range. If you like your skirmish games a little more rules heavy and crunchy, consider Warcry Crypt of Blood or the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Starter Set, but Embergard really does have that sweet mix of fun models and fun rules.
