Hello guys! Michael here. At Staggerers, we are hardcore believes in that every warband has a place in the meta. With a recent rise in the ‘play for fun’ movement, today my goal is to show that EVERY warband has something that it is best at that sets it apart from others.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of superlatives, it is when people vote for awards for each other in order to commemorate moments. In an Underworlds context, we incorporated this by giving each warband an award for something it is best at. Without further ado, let us begin!
Spiteclaw’s Swarm
To start with the greatest warband of all time, people often cite their reason for not playing this warband as ‘they have an unusable warscroll’.
First of all, I have definitive proof to their success in my Copenhagen experience. Their warscroll is VERY strong in early game and can definitely win games in literally Activation 1 if used properly!
However, what I wanted to highlight as ‘the greatest’s’ strength is their uncanny survivability and tankiness. For Skaven especially! A warband whose entire roster is 3+ health (making them difficult to kill early game) and has 4/5 fighters inspire to two dodges, AS WELL as 2/5 start on two dodges, on top of having a built-in Guard in the warscroll, ON TOP OF being Raisable with full health, this warband truly is very tanky. Another important highlight is their mobility. Entire battlefield worth of Raise spots, as well as 5 move, make them super hard to catch.
This all combines into making this warband the best in the game at taking and maintaining board control (especially when mastered). If you like being in charge of the battlefield, with a fighter in each crevice, give the swarm a spin!
THE DREAD PAGEANT
People often say that these guys have a secret warscroll ability that reads ‘when Vasillac dies, lose the game’. By ‘people’, I mean myself and Ben. Still – you have to agree that it is an often cited reason for ignoring these guys.
Their strength definitely lies in the sheer power buried in their warscroll abilities. An on-demand ping, a potential 4 person push, a potential 4 person Guard, a VERY strong re-roll, as well as +1 move while damaged. These are all very strong! However, they all require your fighters to be damaged. Thus, this makes these guys the have the most reward-per-damage-taken.
If you like playing Wrack & Ruin pings like Fault Lines and Volcanic Eruption, no one benefits from it more. The powerful warscroll coming online as well as strong inspires do support this!
Khagra’s Ravagers
While they don’t immediately come to mind when someone says ‘weak warband’, it is important to list off at least one strength for every warband – even strong ones.
Khagra’s are notorious for their compatability with Emberstone Sentinels and holding. They benefit from doing so a lot, but by far the warband with the highest amount of tools to stay on tokens (maybe tied with Thundrik) are these guys. Two fighters can go to 2 Shields, you have an on-demand +Save on a token, you have your built in multi-hex push. Holding is also necessary to inspire these guys!
If you want to play Emberstone Sentinels, play it with these guys. They won’t dissappoint!
Gorechosen of Dromm
My least favorite warband. But we have to name a strength for every warband, and I will try an unconventional one with these guys:
People often say that their stats are hyper strong – and they are! But in this game, only the Gorechosen have such an insane amount of displacement tools built directly into the warband. Enrage is hands-down the best way to get someone off of a token, and Call of Blood is also very powerful for knocking enemies out of key positions.
If you hate your opponents standing in certain places, the Call of the Gorechosen will beckon you!
Ephilim’s Pandaemonium
This one might seem kind of obvious…
Ephilim has the best area damage capability in Underworlds. Even if it may be not the best playstyle for them, two pings that can splash to hit up to 6 targets is absolutely nuts. Pair it with a Sunder the Realm or Outburst and let the pings go wild!
If your local meta has lots of swarms who are ASKING to get pinged, show them the Pandaemonium.
The Thricefold Discord
The most heavily nerfed warband this edition still has a silver lining.
These guys are the best in the game at playing a punish playstyle. If your opponent makes a mistake, a Vexmor empowered by Indolent or a cheeky Vile Temptations is sure to throw some salt into the wound.
– Missed charges are punished by Indolent
– Bad positioning is annihilated by Wicked Slice
– Bad luck is punished by Evasive (I had to go there)
– Improper upgrade timing is wrecked by Vile Temptations
– Thinking you are a safe distance from Vexmor is hurt by Eldrith Emnity
– Hitting these guys is made worse by their Inspire.
If your opponents play anything less than perfect, the Discord are definitely fun to try!
Zikkit’s Tunnelpack
Zikkit’s have a lot of explosive power, and that’s where their main strength stems from.
The Tunnelpack is for sure the best comeback-for-no-reason-in-particular warband. Behind by 3 glory, with no chargeable fighters, with the last enemy in kill range? More-more Warp-power! A large group of Gitz is gathered in a corner? Kaboom! Is there an enemy with an unholy amount of Save dice? Warp-charge(d)! If your games call for desperate measures – Zikkit will provide those measures.
Basically, if you often feel that the difference between a lot of your games came down to one dice roll, Zikkit’s will help mitigate AND amplify that. They definitely have the riskiest warscroll in the game but also one of the most powerful if dice go your way.
Grandfather’s Gardeners
These are probably one of the best warbands in the game right now by popular consensus.
The thing that sets them apart is their superb tankiness. They can’t be one shot and heal for like 3-4 times a game on average, on top of getting more health upon going vulnerable – must I say more?
Kamandora’s Blades
The new kids on the block definitely have strengths of their own!
I would say that the combination of having 5 pushes at the start of each round along with Slashing make them one of the best warbands in the game at taking early board control.
This is different from Spiteclaw’s just plain ‘board control’ – if you like INSTANTLY being on several tokens or just in weird position, these guys are the best in the game at doing so with their Slashing (to deny enemy positions) and Worthy Skull (for pushes).
Sepulchral Guard
I want to go out on a limb here and make a bold claim.
These guys are the best in the game to deny the Wrack and Ruin objectives. Ironically, the have gone from one of the best WnR players to one of the most hated ones. They can deny Alone in the Darkness and Stay Close with a single Raise (as it raises two guys), a single double move (as you can move them all adjacent), and on top of that they can make Bloody and Bruised extremely difficult with their low health pool. I’d argue no other warband can do such expert denial.
Thorns of the Briar Queen
This warband has several things going for it but it seems outclassed in anything it attempts… or does it?
Well, I’d say this warband wins ‘most viable deck combinations’. It is the only warband in the game who can reliably play pretty much any deck combo in the game.
Blazing Assault: Anyone can play it but this is one of the few who can solo score Go All Out. Also, Shields Up! is busted for them.
Emberstone Sentinels: Soul Warden makes even Supremacy scorable with them and Stare of Death makes getting you off tokens hard.
Pillage & Plunder: Anyone can do this, but Soul Warden and Stare of Death make these guys even better.
Countdown to Cataclysm: Anyone can play Cataclysm but these guys are one of the few who can play BOTH the hold stuff and the aggro stuff without crumbling!
Wrack & Ruin: Anyone can play Wrack, and while these guys do suffer for being a swarm, they can score Living on the Edge with their low health and the positional cards with Soul Warden.
Reckless Fury: This is one of the only warbands who can give 5 of their fighters charge tokens without power cards!
Edge of the Knife: Only two un-tempered fighters!
Realmstone Raiders: Pretty good inspired accuracy and accuracy support in the warscroll.
Raging Slayers: This is the ONLY deck that these guys don’t excel in – at least for objectives. The power cards are fantastic.
Name a warband who can play more deck combinations!
The Grymwatch
The Grymwatch have a wide variety of strengths but I would give them a probably very obvious one.
Grymwatch are the masters of the Underdog mechanic. Being able to control the amount of dead bounty on the board while also benefitting a LOT from it makes the ideal combination.
The Crimson Court
This warband is one that is often memed on.
The Crimson Court have the highest speed ceiling in the game. They are the only warband in the game who can hit 6 move off of just their warscroll abilities with not one but two fighters, making them already the fastest when adding power cards. (Ferlain can hit 6 move but he is alone, while Crimson Court have two fighters)
If you like high speed stuff, check Ennias and Co. out!
Kainan’s Reapers
When one sees this warband, they think of ‘big cool skeleton dude’.
People who do so may be surprised then that I give the ‘most influential minions’ award to these guys. With the minions already boasting pretty decent stats themselves, the fact that the entire warcroll is based on them makes it a pretty clear choice. Mortek Advance gives the minion some much need mobility, Dire Ultimatum and Monolith Stance give them survivability, Ranks Unbroken by Dissent gives them damage, and finally Unrelenting Assault gives them more activations.
What can I say, Kainan takes care of his little buddies!
The Headsmen’s Curse
This warband will be dethroned with the Spitewood release, but for now they hold the crown of:
‘Best assassin warband’. By ‘assassin’, I mean they are best at picking a target and MAKING SURE the target dies. First of all, they literally Condemn someone to die each time. Second, Discorporate make them impossible to hide from. Third, Cackling Court makes them VERY accurate. And the elephant in the room is the guy with a pretty big sword who also happens to have the highest base damage in the game.
Overall, if you have that one fighter you cannot stand – the Headsmen may be able to help you out!
Zondara’s Gravebreakers
This can go one of many ways! Zondara’s are decent all around.
However, what they do best then literally any other warband in the game is die. They get SO MUCH benefit from doing so. First of all, minions inspire (upon being Raised but still). Second, you get to draw an unholy amount of power cards. Third, if a lover dies, then the other lover gets +1 Move and dice! This is pretty major!
Overall, if you feel like your fighters just die to often, play some Gravebreakers to at least feel good about it.
The Skinnerkin
I know some of you are only here for these guys, don’t lie.
I was really tempted to say ‘biggest falloff post nerf’ but that’s cheating as we are talking about strengths here. Or trying to. However, after a bit of brainstorming I concluded that these guys DO have their own niche. First of all I want to mention that these guys have one of the highest warscroll uses per round potential. The issue is Daggok’s Stab-ladz exist, which make this argument invalid. HOWEVER, the Skinnerkin have the highest damage that can kill for using a generic core ability without attacking. Which is oddly specific.
What I mean by that is that these guys have the highest damage per move action in the game without charging, that can kill. Sure, Stab-ladz can do a lot of damage while moving, and Cyreni and Co. can do a lot of damage without attacking, but the former cannot kill while the latter cannot move. This makes Skinnerkin fill a unique niche in between them!
How’d I do with these guys? 🙂
Zarbag’s Gitz
Ummm… there’s a lot I can go here.
I will choose to go with ‘most core abilities per activation. Sure, they also fill the niche of ‘highest damage at Range 3’ and ‘most irritiating’, but no other warband make four core abilities in one activation – especially not more than once per game!
Mollog’s Mob
Mollog is cool and all but his minions are arguably cooler.
I think the award that goes to Mollog and his minions is highest accuracy per point of damage. There are some warbands who can do crazy damage but hit on 2 hammers. There are some warbands who can make 5 HAMMER ATTACKS AND STILL HIT FOR 2 DAMAGE AND ARE SOMEHOW BALANCED.
Mollog is the only warband who can consistently hit with 2 hammers and surrounded as well as dealing 3-4 damage per attack. Not unexpected but also not bad!
Morgok’s Krushas
This is the only warband in the game who has a counterspell but I will go for something much more fun!
Morgok’s are the only warband in the game who have 3 damage capabilities on all their raw inspired fighter cards, giving them the award of ‘most likely to do 3 damage’. Not too shabby!
Da Kunnin’ Krew
Lots of Kunnin options here. Most supportive would work.
However, here I will go with ‘hardest to hit’ warband in the game. With proper deck support especially. Even without, you have a guy who is one 2 Shields, a grot who is on 2 Dodge, a gambler who is also on 2 Dodge (all when inspired but still). On top of that, their warscroll gives them two ways to manipulate the outcome of a save roll. Very very Kunnin.
Blackpowder’s Buccaneers
These guys definitely get the ‘swaggiest warband’ award.
On a more serious note, Blackpowder has the highest ranged damage in the game. Ephilim and Thundrik can compete, but the buccaneer has two ways to do two damage at Range 3 as well as Ranged splash damage, compared to each of the other warbands have only ranged splash damage. Pretty neat!
Grinkrak’s Looncourt
For anyone who doesn’t know yet I went on a noble quest with these guys some days ago, check it out here!
Anyways, I would say that Looncourt are definitely the best in the game at having 2 Shields. This isn’t a joke, for once. No other warband in the game has 3 fighters on 2 shields save. Do with this knowledge what you will.
Daggok’s Stab-ladz
These guys will get the award for being the stabbiest.
Out of all the warbands in the game, only one can bring a 8 health fighter down to one health in a single activation and that’s these guys. However, to do so you have to get close to them. There is another niche these guys occupy that I already talked about that revolves around this!
The Stab-ladz are for people who like spamming warscroll abilities. They can hit AT LEAST 16 a round with just their Stabs. Add onto that their 3 warscroll abilities, as well as their Kunnin’ Tricks, you can get 23 warscroll abilities per round, and up to 63 per game! No other warband even comes close!
Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz
Borgit’s hold a special place in my heart for their Underworlds ‘best’.
This is the warband with the most built in Stagger on weapon abilities! It’s a shame they weren’t out for the Staggering competition earlier this year, cause they just may have won it! No other warband has access to two fighters with Stagger, yet alone a Ranged 3 staggerer is very rare to see.
The Farstriders
The rangers from Season 1 definitely have their niche.
For me, I would say the Farstriders are best warband for hero plays. If Army of One still existed, it would be fit here. They are most likely to lose all their fighters and still have the last guy be unnecessarily OP. This is because their last fighter has access to unparalleled mobility in the warscroll and free Guard, on top of occasionally shooting out Raptor Strikes onto unsuspecting enemies. While all of these abilities are usable even without there being more than one fighter on the board, they are VERY impactful in the even only a lone ranger stands.
Thundrik’s Profiteers
The duradin will always profit from their awards.
These guys definitely have the most ‘hyper accurate’ fighters in the game. By hyper accurate, I mean fighters who have 4 hammers/5 swords or more. These guys have two guys on native 4 Hammers, but they also have the ability to gain extra dice once per game, in order to get to 5 HAMMERS on two fighters. Gorehulk is not impressed, but everyone else surely is.
Ylthari’s Guardian’s
I would say these guys have a lot of strengths that have already been taken by other warbands but that’s fine.
This warband has the highest potential damage in the game. This is due to the nature of their warscroll not actually using runemarks but rather being a flat modifer, meaning it can stack with Runemarks. The way to get maximum damage with them is to grab Raging Slayers, activate your warscroll ability with 3 fighters dead for an extra +3 damage, and then throw a cheeky Haymaker. This will do a solid 7 damage, which can kill all but one fighter in the game.
Ironsoul’s Condemners
These guys are known for their high accuracy and their work with Edge of the Knife!
This will also be their award. They can get the highest dice in the game and it’s in a very very weird way. You have to play Blazing Assault + Edge of the Knife. Brodus has to have Fuelled By Pain, Great Fortitude, and Keen Eye, as well as has to have taken 5 damage. Then, you use Punishing Blow in order to get +3 dice, as well as underdog-ed Determined Effort for another +2. This will yield a staggering 6+1+3+2 = 12 dice!!!
You may think Blackpowder can do better with the same combo, but he can only get 8+3 dice, for a solid 11. If you want accuracy, go with Ironsouls!
Myari’s Purifiers
To be honest, Myari are pretty decent at everything but don’t excel at much in particular. So what do they get?
They get a boring award, but a perfect one nonetheless. This warband has the highest chance of scoring Perfect Strike. This is due to Myari’s one Hammer attack in order to make it a solid 50/50. “But Michael, doesn’t Vexmor also have one dice?” Yes, he does, but Myari has his Heightened Sense ability to get a re-roll on his attack, therefore doubling his chances to a 75/25. This is the highest chance in the game, and it only gets better with Surrounded!
Hexbane’s Hunters
Other than ‘biggest falloff post V1’, Hexbane and his hunters do win another award.
An often overlooked part of Hexbane that also happens to be their main mechanic is their Marked ability. When you kill a marked fighter, you can either draw a power card, OR remove your own Move/Charge tokens. This makes Hexbane the warband who can charge the most times in a single round with a singular fighter! If you keep charging and hitting attacks, (and your fighters keep dying to mark new enemies), then you can get even four charges in a round!
Cyreni’s Razors
Longtime readers of the blog know I am a massive Cyreni fan and currently main them in this edition (as well as last edition)!
Cyreni are the best at multiple things in the game but I might be slightly biased here. Therefore I will go with an objective truth (kind of): best one bounty fighter in the game. Alathyrr has one of the only Range 2 Damage 2 attacks in the game (for one bounties), has 1 shield, has Brutal, and potentially Cleave and Ensnare, as well as having 4 Health. Not to mention the three hammers as well as near permanent Stagger from Hammertide support. Not to mention – she gets access to all of these stats from literally turn 1! Very very not shabby.
Brethren of the Bolt
The one for Brethren may be slightly obvious but I will say it nonetheless.
Brethren have the highest potential range for any attack in the game! This is pretty nice. It is important to note the distinction between ‘attack’ and ‘damage’ because ‘damage wise’ Cyreni will win, but only the Brethren can hit a cheeky 7 Range attack!
The Emberwatch
I will go for a slightly subjective but pretty undebatable choice for them.
I will say Emberwatch are the best in the game for ‘hit-and-run’ tactics. Through the combination of Alone I Stand! as well as Vanguard Dash, on top of their high Save dice and very high Range, allows them to hit while being unhittable themselves. I cannot think of a better warband to be able to get in and get out as scot-free as these guys.
Jaws of Itzl
Jaws of Itzl have a very clear thing they are best at.
I would say these guys have the highest potential to do damage during your opponent’s activation. This is definitely cliche but it also true! No other warband have a repeatable way to do damage during their opponent’s turn.
Knives of the Crone
The last warband of them all!
The Knives are good at several things but to be the best at something is much harder. Still, I would give them an award for most potential Save dice rolled. This isn’t the same as Da Kunnin’ Krew, who are harder to hit! The Knives have the highest save die rolled potential due to their Foretold Protection. They can use Impossibly Quick for 3 Save, then use Agile as well as Honed Reflexes as well as their Foretold Protection for a total of 6 save dice in one roll!
FINAL PODIUM
Here is a final list of award winners:
Best Board Control: Spiteclaw’s Swarm
Most benefit from taking damage: Dread Pagaent
Best at Emberstone Sentinels: Khagra’s Ravagers
Best Disruption Potential: Gorechosen of Dromm
Best at Area Damage: Ephilim’s Pandaemonium
Best at punishing opponent mistakes: Thricefold Discord
Most swingy warscroll: Zikkit’s Tunnelpack
Most tankiest: Grandfather’s Gardeners
Best early board taking: Kamandora’s Blades
Best at denying Wrack and Ruin: Sepulchral Guard
Most playable deck pairings: Thorns of the Briar Queen
Best underdog abusers: The Grymwatch
Most ‘speed cap’ fighters: The Crimson Court
Most minion-oriented: Kainan’s Reapers
Best assassins: Headsmen’s Curse
Best at dying: Zondara’s Gravebreakers
Highest chance to kill per move without attacking: The Skinnerkin
Most core abilities in one activation: Zarbag’s Gitz
Highest accuracy-per-damage average: Mollog’s Mob
Most likely to do 3 damage: Morgok’s Krushas
Hardest to hit: Da Kunnin’ Krew
Highest Ranged Damage: Blackpowder’s Buccaneers
Most 2 Shield Fighters: Grinkrak’s Looncourt
Most warscroll abilities per game: Daggok’s Stabladz
Most native stagger fighters: Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz
Best at hero plays: Farstriders
Most hyper-accurate: Thundrik’s Profiteers
Highest damage potential: Ylthari’s Guardians
Highest dice potential: Ironsoul’s Condemnors
Most likely to score Perfect Strike: Myari’s Purifiers
Most charges on a single fighter per round: Hexbane’s Hunters
Best One Bounty Fighter: Cyreni’s Razors
Highest range potential: Brethren of the Bolt
Best at guerilla warfare: The Emberwatch
Most likely to kill you on your turn: Jaws of Itzl
Highest dice rolled in a Save roll: Knives of the Crone
How’d I do? 🙂 If you have anything you want to tell me about this list (or Underworlds in general), you can contact me on Discord! With that, I hope your favorite warband did get done justice here, and I hope to see you again soon!
Staggerers - A Warhammer Underworlds Blog 