Spiteclaw's Swarm
Welcome to our rundown of new Spiteclaw’s Swarm! We’ll be celebrating this giant release of new Underworlds content with a whole week of content! That’s right, you’ll be getting a podcast episode every day for six days until we’ve covered it all! And to kick it all off, below are links to each of our card-by-card rundowns for your perusing pleasure.
Thanks go to GW for providing a review copy to make this content possible.
Introduction
[B]RIAN & [S]KYLER
S: Your favorite expendable Skaven are back-backstabbing! Will their blades find friend or foe as they emerge from the sewers once again? Over the years, Spiteclaw’s Swarm has proven to be a versatile warband flexing into a variety of playstyles while maintaining a lurking presence in the competitive scene. That is until their three Third End Phase objectives finally met a match they could not overcome... meeting a Nemesis pairing halfway. Will their refresh equip them to stand to such a task? Let’s find out!
Historical Intrigue
If you’d like to reference their previous cards, here’s an Underworlds DB link pre-loaded with all their cards. Click the [Fighter cards] button above the deck list to gain quick access to those as well.
Uninspired
B: Gained a defense dice, excellent. Swarm action (their resurrection) stayed effectively the same, nice. Offensive change, instead of a crit to gain cleave on his attack, a Minion support now grants Grievous to his Range 1 or 2 attacks. An interesting choice, seems more versatile as this can apply to a weapon upgrade. Side grade, if maybe slightly better?
B: Also note, their inspire mechanic remains the same as before across the whole warband.
S: That defensive boon is no joke. Helps alleviate pressure away from spending your first "choose" ploy on your leader to improve his survivability.
Inspired
B: Same baseline profile at previously. His Wicked Halberd remains at 2 damage here instead of going up to 3, but gains Cleave. Swarm and Schemer stay the same as his uninspired side. Biggest change is he gains a new Scything attack profile. Scything 3-dice Grievous is serious new tech tool. Skritch is largely improved and thus the best, yes-yes.
S: Hold on. I need to pick my jaw up off the floor over here. An incredibly exciting start. Skritch was a formidable leader before, but now he’s an absolute unit.
Uninspired
B: Krrk has the same base profile stats. His weapon profile gains range up to two, excellent. Range one never made sense given his model's staff is sufficiently long enough to be a range two weapon. Gains THREE abilities, which strongly elevates the narrative of "the Almost-trusted". He too has Skritch's Schemer ability, love it. Krrk now becomes the leader when Skritch dies, fantastic. He also draws two power cards for you when that happens, excellent!
S: What an update! And enthusiastically drawing cards when Skritch dies is just hilarious.
Inspired
B: Inspired he goes from 1 Block up to 2 Dodge. That is an improvement, but a downgrade from his previous iteration where he is on 2 Block. If he assumes leadership while inspired you get to draw three power cards, fantastic yes-yes.
S: Yeah, 2-Dodge is perfectly respectable and he's not exactly armor clad. Feels right here.
Uninspired
B: First off, Lurking Skaven has gained "THE” Lurking Skaven. Big distinction there. Not really. Otherwise, his stats remain the same as before.
S: As before, that attack is nothing to be excited about so he makes up for it by starting out a little harder to hit. One thing has changed though, the errata had granted him both the Assassin and Minion keywords previously but Assassin is now notably absent. His revenge will come from the shadows, unseen and complete.
Inspired
B: Inspired all stats remain the same, but he gains a ranged weapon profile. Two swords for one damage isn't great but cant argue with added versatility.
S: Word. Nice to have some built in range to allow for easier charging to objectives and whatnot.
Uninspired
B: "The" Hungering Skaven gains a defensive upgrade from 1 Dodge to 1 Block now. Additionally his attack profile gained the Scything keyword. A great boon for an otherwise expendable minion.
S: All upside here. Two fighters threatening Scything attacks means you'll want to mind your footing when up against them.
Inspired
B: His inspired side only grants an improvement to his attack profile which gets more accurate, in keeping with his previous iteration. His defense remains on 1 Block, which isn't as good as his previous iteration inspired side of 2 Dodge. Seems they want him to remain an easy target to shift.
S: Knowing that his increased accuracy is rolling into Scything now, I’d say that 1 Block is a pretty fair trade off. Won't mind being Voidcursed either.
Uninspired
B: Finally we have "The" Festering Skaven, whose only change from the previous iteration is gaining the minion keyword. The lack of improvement may lead one to believing him the most expendable minion, or was he just perfect as he was?
S: Answer: Perfect as he was... assuming you mean perfect candidate for an early inspiration away from those stats, haha.
Inspired
B: On his inspired side his attack profile gained Grievous, a boon indeed!
S: Yeah, when you're throwing 3 dice looking for Fury, grievous is a natural bone to throw you - and an appreciated one.
Objectives
B: You already wanted to pack as many choose Ploys as possible. If you have the right card draw you could score this in the first power step. Strong choice for following the warband's nature to score glory. Likely an auto Include.
S: Well said. A surge for leaning into their shtick, yes-yes.
B: As long as you keep Skritch alive this is very doable. Solid early-mid game, questionable in round 3. Guessing there's also going to be a ploy resurrect.
S: A fair ask for 2 glory, and one that feels well suited to their game plan.
B: Gonna have to rely heavily on Skritch and Krrk for their more accurate attack profiles. The new scything attacks help a lot too. Iffy, but a solid consideration for a 2 glory end phase.
S: Scything is a great callout. I’m happy to see that even fighters out of action when scoring could have contributed to the successful attack actions piece before being taken out. Seems a fair ask once again or 2 glory, but not overly reliable.
B: Very unlikely round one unless you're up against an elite Warband. Invade and you'll score this. That second condition saves this card. Very solid card so long as you're not building passive.
S: Agreed. The type of surge you’ll usually want to mulligan away and hopefully not draw back into until later rounds.
B: Kill surge with the leader. He was the workhorse before, and now he's got scything. Strongly consider taking. Kill surge with the leader. He was the workhorse before, and now he's got scything. Strongly consider taking.
S: With leader redundancy and both options bringing Move 5 & Range 2, this is certainly worth considering.
B: Hard to guarantee your opponent's cooperation in killing fighters. You're inherently down 2 glory to bounty and plus one for their bounty, so this is a net positive 1 glory. I suspect this almost scores automatically, but with the bounty considerations I'm less excited.
S: I can’t wait to listen to our live react for this one (featuring Phil & Davy). I guarantee Phil was especially excited for this one. This is a suicide aggro piece, and I’m about it. But in general if I’m going to be losing fighters anyway, I’ll totally take a payout for it.
B: Hilarious title, goal, and quote.
S: Absolutely, haha.
B: Kill surge at range 2+, I'd say very doable with the added range profile changes to the fighter cards. Numerous Nemesis deck pairings also offer ranged weapon upgrades. Similar to the previous Arms Length, but I'd say better.
S: And similar to “I Am The Greatest, Yes-Yes”, but also better. I’d take this one first between the two.
B: Again, probably scores automatically in most games, but merely mitigates the bounty bleed and timing could be awkward. Not sure if it's worth it.
S: Phil, I’ve got you and your Reavers backs! I’m in for this one. Just make sure to saturate your choose Ploys as much as possible.
B: Lovely quote. 😂 Likely a third end phase objective, but if your dice are hot this can be great. Only take this if you're going full aggro, murder-hobo build.
S: Lol, yeah this one will generally be a pass from me, but it’s not outside the realm of possible and including.
B: Not ideal as during round one the minions are pretty sad in their accuracy, but that can change with a choose Ploy to inspire beforehand. Probably good given that.
S: Yeah, I’d echo those thoughts. I’d generally prefer a surge looking for a successful Attack over a kill surge. I think you’ll average 2 shots at this a round? More if you’re utilizing Hungering’s scything for it.
B: Hilarious, 2 glory for having a personal Game of Thrones. I prefer the second scenario as I'll always value Skritch's respawn ability over Krrk. Not sure this makes it into most builds, but Nemesis always has suboptimal cards in a deck and I'd be happy if this was one.
S: I wouldn’t be lumping this one into the suboptimal filler category. Big fan of this one! In a best of three, your opponent is really going to think twice about knocking one of these two down if they can only hit one of them that round.
B: One glory end phase immediately needs to be reliable to not be replaced by a two glory end phase. Being dependent on the opponent's Warband crushes this card and lands it as the first stinker for me. (Especially notable as it's released along side two swarm Warbands in Thorns and Gitz). Only one objective that I dislike is good for the deck as a whole though.
S: Feeling 11/12 objectives is a pretty cool achievement. I agree on this one. It’s not a bad Rivals card but definitely my first swap beyond that.
Gambits
B: So sad this isn't a "choose" card, but still a great effect. Love push tech and gaining support will greatly help their accuracy, as well as help their invasion strategy.
S: Haha, yeah but it would be busted if it also inspired three fighters. I really appreciate this card focusing on a subsection of your fighters. If it said “each friendly fighter” then I’d be leaving it at home because I wouldn’t be able to hold preferred positions with Skritch & Krrrk as I’d be forced to include them on the push. Focusing on pushing the minions is great.
B: +1 damage is rare in Nemesis and a strong tool for an in-faction deck. One time use limits its usefulness, but more so it's not a "choose" which this faction desires most to inspire.
S: Certainly a conscious design decision. It’s a strong tool on its own, even stronger if it also cranked up your attack profile in the process.
B: Push two to reposition after a death is solid for an adaptive strategy. Again, not a choose... Sad. Solid card nonetheless.
S: Solid indeed. Great window too. Could allow you to beat your opponent to any repositioning granted by post-attack reactions.
B: Not a choose, but a blanket +1 defense is solid. In many instances you're increasing defense to 3 Dodge or 2 Block. I like it, but I need to see some "choose" cards soon!
S: Great tool to have access to. Won’t make it into every build, but certain builds will be super grateful for it.
S: Bring on the choose cards! Spoilers: The next 6 cards. 😉
B: Hallelujah! A choose card at last! And it's an out of sequence inspired attack!?! Glorious. American Express card, never leave home without it!
S: Positioning for this will be tricky, but oh will it be worth it. An out of action Minion is one on malicious standby. Although in that case, they won’t inspire until after the attack due to meeting their condition mid-power step.
B: Excellent. Charge with a fighter, then play this to put them on inspired defense + guard. -or- Don't care about defense? Play it before the charge to get that inspired attack profile. Take it.
S: A warband staple. Without a doubt.
B: Mkay, Confusion card among your own ranks. Main benefit is you can inspire two fighters. Best case scenario I see is you swap the charged fighter onto an objective, thus freeing the previous objective holder up to charge away. At a minimum while this is in your deck, always pick a board with at least two adjacent starting hexes.
S: Good thought processes. Sometimes you’ll just be happy with the Confusion effect or inspiring a single fighter off of it. Could even use Swarm to pop up next to an objective holder and swap spots with them, friendly or enemy.
B: Gambit respawn, plus inspiration if they weren't already inspired. Probably an auto take as it saves you a Swarm activation.
S: I can’t imagine not taking this card. The choice of token is a nice touch, and can help maintain a charged out state.
B: Essentially a second activation done in your power step, plus possible inspiration. "In your power step" reasonably limits its usefulness, but still a strong card anytime you get free activations. Additionally giving a charge counter is great for the current Charged out rule. Yup I'm taking this. Can also help score Endless Swarm in round one.
S: Swift take-bring.
B: Excellent. Requires some set up. Inspire, and +1 dice with a support will be really accurate in most cases. Swiftskitter plus this card is a strong combo to launch a missile attack.
S: Word. A great card to round out their gambits. I think it’s safe to say there’s enough tech in here to support bringing those successful attack action objectives.
B: And in total we have 6 choose gambits in-faction, very happy with that. Yes-yes.
Upgrades
B: Amazing, love that Krrk does this better than a minion. Fantastic redundancy in an upgrade. Not sure you run this in every deck, but a gem of a tool to have in their deck.
S: Phenomenal. Even opens the ability up to all empty hexes instead of just starting hexes. I’m not sure I’ll ever leave home without this one.
B: Such an accurate attack with cleave and ensnare, add any supports and it gets crazy accurate. Tainted seems fair and if you brought any "dead minion" objectives this can be used to your benefit. Just don't give your opponent seed glory, and be very mindful of how many ping cards they can have. Each use will open your minion up to being potentially killed in the following power step.
S: Nasty! A worthy weapon consideration for sure.
B: Expendable did not stay the same, but love this Completely Expendable concept almost more. I think this is very strong considering the amount of ping in the game, and it’s great on a tooled up minion. Hilarious flavor text!
S: Love. Go ahead, take me down. Or don’t… I’m happy either way.
B: FYI this is not a ploy, so the "choose" does not inspire your fighters. Probably didn't need to be said, but there.
B: Two actions for the price of one is solid. Very good for a Warband that cares about holding, but their faction objectives don't. Probably leave this out, but if you pair with a Nemesis deck that does care *cough Rimelock cough*, then this is a great option to have.
S: Great tech to have in-faction access to. Like you said, not a shoe in but certain builds will love it.
B: In faction Great Strength, phenomenal. One time use? Womp. At least you don't lose it until it works, unlike Frenzied Stabbing. A worthy inclusion in the deck in my opinion.
S: Aptly named given the breakage. With two in-house scything attacks, I can appreciate the balance struck here. Certainly taking it 99% of the time.
B: Additional ranged profile can help with Safely Does It. If you're trying to hold objectives, could be helpful in turning a melee minion into a turret.
S: Fairly average ranged weapon, but glad to have access to the option nonetheless.
B: Note however much damage it is, it will kill the minion. No sense passing one damage off to kill a two wound fighter outright. As a reaction, you can choose not to pass it off to the minion and to tank the damage on the upgrade bearer. Perhaps this works in the moment with the "dead minions" objectives, combos with Completely Expendable for max effectiveness and fun Skaven schemes yes-yes.
S: Brutal. I’m about it!
B: What. Just add an innate success to your successful roll. I think that's pretty dam good!
S: Oh, this is hot as hell! Love that narratively a little-rat biter has joined in on the attack.
B: With charges this is fine when used after the attack action. Barges this is fine after you Stagger the opponent. So basically the "end sequence" clause only exists so you can interrupt a scything attack to push into a hex you desire, and not resume the scything. An interesting card, but with 5 move I think you'll largely be able to reach the hex you want anyway.
S: When used with Barge, you actually get to terminate the Barge before receiving a Stagger token yourself. Do with that information what you will, haha. In general I’m a huge fan of being able to react into a push following my activation/actions. Here you also get to benefit from the effect during actions taken out of sequence - like during the Power Step. Really great push tech piece.
S: OH! You know what. This could get extremely nasty when combined with Refashioned Reactions or Refashioned Priorities as you could interrupt and end an opponent’s superaction. Be on the lookout for that when playing into a Voidcursed Spiteclaw pairing. Thankfully those effects are limited to once per round, but still that is brutal…
B: Solid upgrade to pull possibilities out of nowhere on your opponent. Love me a flank'em & spank'em tech card.
S: So good, especially on Skritch or Krrrk. Surfing around with that Range 2 reach.
B: I'm sure this card will cause plenty of debate online regarding what is/isn't a superaction.
S: Yeah, make sure your opponent and you are on the same page on whether or not this will be counted as a superaction. There’s arguments to be made in favor of either ruling.
Summary
S: If you couldn’t tell from Brian and my excitement throughout, we’re nothing less than thrilled with their refresh. Their identity feels intact and fully realized in-house like never before. With a kit that feels ready to carry the torch of build flexibility and take on the challenge of bringing enough sauce to a Nemesis pairing to get cooking. Now for the tough question… which pairing to try first? How about you? What are you excited to try? Tell us what’s got you think-scheming!
Week of Warhammer Underworlds
Spiteclaw’s Swarm will return to your ears… Tuesday, March 19th.