There's color in the Underworld

  It's been well over a year since Games Workshop released Underworlds: Shadespire.  The wife and I have played many games and I've even gotten buddies from out-of-state to fall for it on a visit.  Unfortunately, the game is so fast that blogging about it isn't really that interesting.  Now battle reports about it, well, that's a different story.  I've tried to get a bit of blogging about the game going here, but it just didn't work.  I think much of that had to do with the fact that the models weren't painted.  

  That all leads to the next hobby resolution for the year- paint up all the Shadespire warbands.  This will eventually lead to painting all the Underworlds: Nightvault warbands as well, but I'll get to that.  One edition at a time, ya know?

  If you haven't picked up the game or tried it out yet, you may be out of luck for this first edition.  The second edition I mentioned above just adds magic to the game, but everything is still good.  Luckily, you'd be able to get the starter warbands if you wanted to start at the beginning.  That old starter kit came with a Stormcast warband, including three beastly models all armed differently, and a Blood Reavers warband of five scantily-clad berzerkers.  I promise that you'll love the game itself, but the models are all of a character-level quality and are a blast to paint.  Although I didn't put the most effort into my models that I probably should have (it is a board game, after all), the painted models make the games look absolutely fantastic!  The wife and I have found ourselves admiring the models on the board more than paying attention to the game a couple of times.  

Steelheart's Champions (Stormcast Eternals)

Garrek's Reavers (Blood Reavers)

  I use Garrek's Reavers most of the time that I play.  I've found that they can really hit hard and do some real damage to the weaker opponents and otherwise speed around and deny objectives to the opponents.  Steelheart's Champions rarely get used, but they are tanks- simply soaking damage while smashing whatever they have to and moving together to support each other.  Other warbands are used more, but I'm working on getting them painted before I show them off here.  

  If you really want to learn some tactics and see decks built for the competitive scene, check out warhammerunderworlds.com, where you can learn all about the background, get painting advice, and see what the latest 'netlists' are for the game.  Like most of the blogosphere on this topic, I can't bray enough about how awesome this game is.  And look at those models!

  Let me know what you think and if you've played Warhammer Underworlds yet.  Happy Gaming!