Shadespire

More dark-fantasy based, 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. Warhammer Underworlds is a tense showdown between two warbands in the darkest depths of the Mortal Realms, seeking answers, glory, or treasure. This is a game for two players that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes, in which finely detailed miniatures battle it out across three rounds using dice and cunning cardplay.

You can use any of the newest warbands (starting from Harrowdeep), any of the previous warbands that have at least 12 faction objective cards and 20 faction power cards.

Lay your warband hero cards out in front of you, with their associated models. Hero cards have two sides: silver basic side and a golden “inspired” side. See more in becoming inspired later in the review. You’ll also need two decks of Shadespire cards: an objectives deck and a power deck.

The starter Shadespire set allows two players to pit two warbands against one another. Games take place over 3 rounds, each of four turns per player. The base set comprises two warbands with two more to be released on November 4. Each warband consists of a specific set of Citadel Miniatures. Extra players can be added to make 3- or 4-player games, but currently, this would require another base set, since the game requires a board section per player.

The core game mechanic uses custom dice and cards, 2 decks per player; one of objective cards, the other, power cards. Players can build their own custom decks from any available cards they have, though some cards can only be used by specific warbands. Games last around 30-60 mins and take place on boards marked with hexagons. Tournament play is possible, with warbands fighting over the best of three games, with unchanging card decks.

Its core rules are simple to learn and game set up time is negligible. Play-time is quick too. The small model count makes the game an excellent jumping-off point into the wider world of hobby painting.