Hello all! Today we have another celebratory article in a similar faction to the one done precisely one year ago. This past year has been pretty good for Staggerers, with the launch of the Staggerers discord server which I have been religiously plugging in every article as well as an overall increase in the quality of articles. However, the amount of articles released has gone down which we aim to address this year.
Before we get started, I would like to address the ‘major blog announcement’ that might (or might not) have grabbed your attention in the title. I don’t know if anyone here is a grammar fanatic but if you are you may have noticed I used the word ‘we’ in the intro of this article a solid one time, which is a major increase from the usual zero times.
This is because officially starting from today, the Staggerers blog team is expanding! I would like to introduce Ben (Leonchampion125), who is an up and coming Underworlds player with lots to say about this game. He has already podiumed in a tournament and (I think) aims to keep improving his skills – as I am not certain, I will let him tell you himself!
Leonchampion125: Hi, I’m Ben aka Leonchampion125 (Yes, I’m not called Leon) and I started playing Underworlds during Direchasm. I have been trying to get better over the time and this December I joined my first tournament, the First Flames of Emberguard, and got third out of 14 players playing Blazing Assault, Countdown to Cataclysm Thricefold. Currently I am playing Jaws of Itzl with Emberstone and Countdown (You can find my deck on the Staggerers Nemesis Deck Repository) and am a vivid enjoyer of the snakes. I aim to continue to improve at my gameplay and deck building. However, thats enough of me, let’s continue with the article.
Now that Ben has introduced himself, I will finish the article. You can expect Ben’s first article to be released at some point in the not so distant future!
5th Place – The Headsmen’s Curse
At first glance, you may be confused. They have nothing Stagger related on their warscroll! However, a careful inspection will yield that none other than the Scriptor have access to Stagger when inspired.
The Headsmen’s Curse are a warband that seriously benefits from Stagger. Terminus is not the most accurate of weapons, hitting on 2 hammers, but a simple re-roll can be the difference between a dead Stormcast and a dead poltergeist.
Their Stagger output may not be the highest, as previously stated, only the Scriptor Inspired can do so. However, he does hit at Range 3, which is tied for the highest Range Stagger in the game with Enrik Ironhail and Snorbo da Spore. The Scriptor is the least accurate of all 3 fighters here, however.
What makes this warband shine as the 5th Staggerer of the year is the amount that they benefit from a simple Stagger token. The Wielder gets a massive accuracy boost and he packs a PUNCH if he hits, doing the highest damage in the game at 4. This alone puts this single-Staggerer warband ahead of the other 2 contenders for this spot.
4th Place – Blackpowder’s Buccaneers
The pirate is finally winning at something!
Blackpowder may not seem like a warband you think of as a Staggerer warband. What puts them in 4th?
First of all. Swag Shrapnel. This ability has the highest Stagger-per-attack ratio in the game, at 2. This alone is enough to propel Blackpowder into 4th place. Second, Blackpowder has one of the most accurate Stagger attacks in the game if he uses Swag Blast, which grants him Cleave AND Stagger. This is the only attack in the game that can do both! While Blackpowder may not be able to use these abilities more than once a game, these are some very potent Stagger abilities. The 2 person Stagger from Swag Shrapnel is amazing, and the only Cleave/Stagger attack in the game is game-breaking and a serious threat to the Stagger meta.
Now for Stagger benefits. Blackpowder had a ‘big attack’ with his melee, which is decently accurate when inspire but only 2 hammers when uninspired. This means Stagger is vital here, to make this attack constantly hit. Second, all the minions are not known for being the most accurate creatures on the block. Stagger ramps up their accuracy significantly and is therefore really important to the warband’s function. Finally, Swag counter generation only takes place if you hit the attack, meaning that the more accuracy this warband has the better.
Overall, some great Stagger output and great benefits from attacking Staggered targets make Blackpowder a prime contender for 4th place. There isn’t much that can beat this pirate!
3rd Place – Brethren of the Bolt
The Brethren shock everyone with their amazing performance.
The Brethren have 0 Stagger output on their fighter cards. Why are they even here?
Mainly, because their Stagger output is concentrated in their warscroll. With the Fulminating Hymn ability, they can pick Faithful Dynamos. By doing so, THE ENTIRE WARBAND GETS STAGGER. Most newer players don’t understand how game breaking this is, but experienced Staggerers know that an entire warband that can Stagger has severe implications for the meta. Yes, you can only pick one ability per round, but there is like 0 reasons to pick any other ability. Also, the Brethren don’t have a single runemark on their fighters to compete with the Stagger granted by Faithful Dynamos. This is by far one of the highest Stagger outputs in the game.
Now for Stagger benefits. The Brethren are not the most accurate followers of Sigmar. This means that any stray re-roll that comes their way is praised like a blessing from Sigmar himself. Their attacks do 2 damage each when inspired, meaning if they hit some serious damage will follow. Overall, Stagger is a serious boon to these crazy zealots.
3rd place is granted to the Brethren for their unmatched Stagger output as well as their inability to hit an attack without it. Somehow, there are warbands who are better Staggerers yet!
2nd Place – Mollog’s Mob
Mollog’s Mob is somehow in second?
You may be extremely confused as to how in the Stagger token did Mollog make it into second. Well, it’s really simple.
First of all, Mollog has the ability on his warscroll (Tripping Hazard) to turn all his minions into not one but 6 STAGGER HEXES, which means that there are 18 stagger hexes from minions as well as 2 base on the board, which makes a total of 20 STAGGER HEXES. This is unprecedented. 20 hexes where if an enemy enters, they get Staggered. I personally cannot comprehend how this got past the balance team. However, this is only half of what makes the Mob such a great Staggering warband.
Mollog is known for being Mighty. His attack is one of the highest damage attacks in the game, but comes with a lack of accuracy to compensate. As a result, Stagger tokens are very welcomed by this troggoth. Mollog is the type of guy who can kill you instantly because he got a re-roll of a Stagger token. The minions love the tokens as well, as their accuracy is not the best. If for some bizarre reason you choose the ‘Nasty Critters’ ability over the Stagger one, a re-roll reduces the odds of a rolling a Hammer (the only non-success) to pretty much 0 (roughly – I haven’t done the math).
Overall, Mollog is in second due to his superior Stagger output compared to other warbands as well as the sheer benefit that all the re-rolls bring to this Mighty Troggoth and his Mob of minions.
1st Place – Cyreni’s Razors
No one saw this coming! (ok, maybe half of you saw it coming)
Cyreni’s Razors actually podiumed in last year’s Staggerer of the year competition and this time managed to make it into 1st place! What has changed?
First of all in the new edition of Warhammer Underworlds, there are very few ‘guaranteed’ Staggers around. Cyreni’s Razors hold one of the only 3 guaranteed Stagger abilities in the game. These include Mollog’s minions, and Ephilim’s change sequence-esque ability. However, the Razors have the only forced guaranteed Stagger ability in the entire game – otherwise known as Hammertide. Hammertide has no range restriction, the only way to dodge it is to take a step to the left get behind one of the blocked hexes, only 2 of which exist in the game. This means it is practically impossible to avoid a Stagger token that a Stagger-happy Cyreni wants to give to you. Additionally, Cyreni is the only fighter in the game who can still use the ‘Stun’ action from last edition by Hammertiding an adjacent fighter. Super important.
Stagger benefit wise, Cyreni isn’t actually lacking in accuracy. However, in combination with Deadly Riposte, a Stagger token makes them almost guaranteed to hit. Imagine you miss an attack against an Inspired Alathyrr, at which point she gets Cleave and Ensnare, as well as you being Staggered from Hammertide. This means Alathyrr has 3 hammers, with a re-roll, and Cleave/Ensnare/Brutal depending on what she needs. It’s pretty much undodgable.
Overall, Cyreni is in first place due to having the most reliable Stagger output in the entire game as well as Stagger complimenting their already-high accuracy attacks. The Razors also happen to have the only unlimited range Stagger in the game, which plays a major role.
Honorable Mention: Ephilim’s Pandaemonium
Ephilim deserves a spot on the top Staggerer list, but doesn’t Stagger enemies at all.
Honorable Mention goes to Ephilim’s Pandeamonium, who have the most reliable Stagger output in the entire game. Every game you play against an Ephilim, I can guarantee you will see at least 1 Stagger token on the board. Why aren’t they first then, you may ask? Well, Ephilim can only Stagger himself, which unfortunately does not pair well with the current objectives that are available to a Stagger-centric playstyle (none). Hopefully a Stagger token deck will release soon, creating a place where Ephilim can reliably play.
And that’s it! 2024 has been a good year for Staggerers, and 2025 seems to be looking even better. Our main goals for this year are to:
a) get out more articles
b) improve the overall quality even more
c) plug in the Staggers discord everywhere possible
d) get more decks on the Nemesis Deck repository
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article! If you have any questions, comments, feedback or just want to say ‘hello’ to the new Staggerer on the team, please do contact us on any Discord server you may see us in! With that, I wish you a happy 2025, and hope to see you again soon!
Staggerers - A Warhammer Underworlds Blog 