Post by Fadril Adren on Sept 15, 2017 9:53:29 GMT -5
Warhammer Underworlds is a new tactical arena combat game on its way later this year. This is a system designed for balanced, small-scale tactical games, that can be played quickly and easily by anyone, but which even experienced players will find challenging to master. The game rules are designed with competitive play in mind; matches can be played in under 45 minutes, on a smaller surface than our larger-scale games, and will be ideal for club or tournament play. And not only that, we’ll be fully supporting an organised play system for this game, right from day one.
What is Shadespire?
Shadespire (or to use it's full name - Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire) is a upcoming game from Games Workshop that is set in the Age of Sigmar universe. The easiest way to explain how the game works, is that it's an combination of a collectable card game and the X Wing miniature game.
You control a Warband fighting out in the ruins of Shadespire, a city that once attracted the attention of Nagash and he got annoyed that the residents of the city had found a way of prolonging their lives. Not something you want to do in the Realm of Death, which is ruled over by Nagash who just happens to be the God of Death and expects every soul from the dead to be his. So he cursed the city and everybody in it and put them in a state of limbo. Anybody who finds themselves here, will be trapped forever! You will battle it out to survive and hopefully find a way of escaping this cursed city.
The game has been designed to be played in a competitive manner and it is easy to pick up and learn but difficult to master. Games are designed to last around 45 minutes, which makes it ideal for Club or Tournament play.
While the format of the game is a big departure from the game of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire is still firmly set in the Mortal Realms. The game is set in the Shadespire – an ancient and damned city, cursed by the Lord of Undeath to eternally sit in limbo between the realms of Light and Shadow – a haunted metropolis of mirrors, unquiet spirits and ever-shifting chambers.
The forces you can use in this game will be drawn from races across the Mortal Realms, including some for factions that have not received any new miniatures since we first ventured into the Age of Sigmar. Each of these sets will be composed of a small band of easy-to-assemble, push-fit miniatures in the style of our single-pose heroes to represent a specific band of warriors from that faction. These are provided in coloured plastic, and clip together, so you can quite literally be playing with them within minutes of opening the box with no glue or paint needed! (Though they do look great painted, and your dice will roll better – probably.)
Whats in it?
According to the recently released pic of the back of the game box, contents include: 3 Stormcast Eternal Liberator Fighters, 3 Khorne Bloodbound Bloodreaver Fighters, 8 fighter cards, 2 double-sided game boards, 96 upgrade, ploy, and objective cards, 126 tokens, 8 Warhammer Underworld dice, 32-page rulebook, and a quick-start sheet.
Why should I be excited?
Well for a start, it's a brand new game from Games Workshop which is a departure from what they have previously done! But if that doesn't float your boat, there will be loads of cool new miniatures for the various Warbands and it's a competitive type game which seems to play a bit like a cross between X Wing and Collectable Card Games. It also seems ideal for those of us who are older and have reached achievements such as getting married, having children and full time jobs (basically all that stuff that stops us from playing with our cool toys all the time).
I get distracted by work and GW drop a load of cool news about Shadespire! So firstly they have confirmed that Orruks are the forth Warband for Shadespire and this was confirmed at the Nova Open a few weeks ago (www.warhammer-community.com/2017/08/31/breaking-news-studio-preview-from-the-nova-open/).
Here's a cool trailer for them if you can't be bothered clicking the link:
And don't forget.. another new Shadepire faction: Death Sepulchral Guard!!
We also have the back box art! Shadespire will be released in November 2017!
How exactly does the game play?
The game is played using unique dice and card decks, and these will, to an extent, be unique to each faction. Both decks of cards used in the game are fully customisable – meaning you can choose to create all manner of combinations of overlapping abilities to use and objectives to achieve. This can be a really rewarding part of the game – and means that even the same faction can be played in wildly different ways. We’re expecting to see all sorts of combinations tried out at game stores, clubs and in tournaments.
Bell of Lost Souls had recently recorded a complete demo game! Check it out!
Here are some pics of Shadespire in-game action! This is also a great example of just how much room is needed on a table to play the game.
