Stalking out of the shadows of death, Drepur’s Wraithcreepers drift onto the scene!
Welcome to another warband review, this time of Drepur’s Wraithcreepers. This warband is a special release from the new Warhammer Underworlds starter set. As always thanks to Games Workshop for providing these to review for free. Still, I always aim to be impartial and honest. With that all out-of-the-way, back to the article at hand.
As an aside, if you prefer video format, I’ve done a YouTube version of the review which you can watch below:
Narrative
Originally noblemen hunters who lived only to hunt, upon death Nagash bound them to his service. In their new ethereal forms, Drepur’s Wraithcreepers found themselves hunting the denizens of the Mirrored City. However, this is not exactly at their pleasure. They now hunt because they have to, only finding respite from the never-ending desire to kill Nagash’s quarry upon a kill. After this fleeting somnolence, they quickly return to their plight as they long for their old mortal bodies and silently weep inside.
Miniatures
Drepur’s Wraithcreepers are another 4 fighter warband. This warband consists of: Viceroy Drepur, The Patrician, Sire Haqfel and Grodig the Lance. Each miniature is another aspect of the Nighthaunt army with ties to UK Pagan mythology. The fighters are a little plain but my favourite is the Patrician for his drum and the sick beats he drops. First I bang the drum, then I bang your m-
The miniatures come in a ghostly green colour like the Thorns of the Briar Queen and Lady Harrow’s Mournflight, an amazingly GREEN choice! Assembly is a bit annoying due to the aged nature of these easy to build Age of Sigmar kits. I find clipping off the pegs helps a lot but even then there are gaps. However, once assembly is completed, they are fairly sturdy.
KEY POINT: Remember not to build the Patrician with the optional 4th spear. Give him the drum or you will never be able to hear his sick beats. This is a really bad aspect of using older miniatures so just be careful and read the instructions for building first.
The Fighters
Drepur’s Wraithcreepers are a 4 fighter warband which puts them closer towards the elite spectrum of warband size. As a 4 fighter warband, Drepur’s Wraithcreepers occupies a great space in terms of defensive and offensive deployment while also helping you use your activations more efficiently (1 activation per fighter each round). The fighters generally all share a movement characteristic of 3 (increasing to 4 when inspired), 4 wounds and defend on single dodge symbols.
A big factor with this warband is that they do not ignore lethal hexes thanks to their Intangible rule. They ignore blocked hexes while moving but must end their move in an empty hex. While this is a great balancing move, it only makes sense if both the Thorns of the Briar Queen and Lady Harrow’s Mournflight get this rule change too.
Another interesting point is that the majority of the fighters in this warband have range 2 attacks. Despite their movement of 3, this still gives them a great threat range of 5 which makes the warband deceptively slow for those not paying attention.
The warband also generally has the same inspire condition. Drepur’s Wraithcreepers inspire at the start of your activation when within 2 hexes of an enemy fighter. This is very easy to do and great. Score after a charge or when charged by the opponent. Reliable and strong.
Viceroy Drepur
Viceroy Drepur is the leader of the warband. He has the Hunter’s Glaive (despite not being a Hunter) which is range 2, 2 smash and 2 damage. He also has 2 dodge as the leader.
Drepur Inspired
Drepur Inspired has his Hunter’s Glaive go to 3 smash and gains an Awakened Weapon effect by getting to re-roll 1 dice when attacking with this attack action. It’s a very good inspired profile as he basically becomes super accurate with his attack. Just needs damage buffs.
The Patrician
The Patrician is the drummer extraordinaire. He is armed with a Deathly Bite which is range 1, 3 fury and 1 damage. His real power comes from his Deathbeat reaction. After an opponent’s power step, choose 1 friendly fighter and push them 1 hex towards the closest enemy fighter. This offers amazing mobility, triggering basically 4 times a round as long as he is not out of action! He has 2 dodge as well for that extra durability. He also has a unique inspire condition which is when all other friendly fighters are in enemy territory. This means he is quite slow to inspire but it is a very controlled and reliable condition.
Patrician Inspired
Patrician Inspired has his Deathly Bite increase to 2 damage. More importantly, however, his Deathbeat lets him push 2 friendly fighters! Crazy!
Sire Haqfel
Sire Haqfel has a Hunter’s Glaive too. Range 2, 2 smash and 2 damage. He is, in a change, 1 dodge and has a wounds characteristic of 3 making him quite fragile.
Haqfel Inspired
Haqfel Inspired gains Cleave on his Hunter’s Glaive which is very nice. He also goes up to 2 dodge, making him a little bit better at defence although he remains at 3 wounds.
Grodig the Lance
Grodig the Lance is exactly the same as Sire Haqfel.
Grodig Inspired
Grodig Inspired gains Ensnare on his Hunter’s Glaive, allowing some nice target flexibility depending on your opponent. Otherwise he is, once again, exactly the same as Haqfel Inspired.
Faction Cards
Now we’re at the card part of the review! As always faction cards then universals.
Faction Objectives
Death’s Bounty gives you a massive 3 glory for taking 4 or more enemy fighters out of action. While this is useless against 3 fighter warbands, this feels fairer than Annihilation. Risky but I like it. Your usage may vary however.
Death’s Triumph is just too difficult for this warband to score, even in round 2. Controlling 2 or more objectives in enemy territory is just tough with a movement 3 warband uninspired.
Faction Objectives – Top Picks
Deathly Blooms is a fairly easy and reliable end phase objective. 1 glory for holding an objective in enemy territory. Let down slightly with the uninspired movement of 3 but still a reasonable ask even in round 1.
Dread Harvest gives you 1 glory for having 2 or more enemy fighters out of action. Simple but effective.
Ethereal Hunters is a Surge which gives 1 glory for charging through a blocked or occupied hex. Incredibly easy, especially with the occupied hex part. Charge through your own fighters to score this!
Inevitable Advance is another good end phase objective. 1 glory for having each surviving friendly fighter with move or charge tokens. A slightly more difficult Team Effort but still easy glory. Play around with token-applying cards for even faster scoring.
Massed Blades is a Surge you score for making any attack action with a supporting fighter for 1 glory. Even if you miss you can score this and thanks to the Patrician’s Deathbeat reaction. Easy and fast to score.
Piercing Blow is faction What Armour? Score 1 glory by making a successful attack action with Cleave. You have Haqfel who gains Cleave upon inspiring and there are a lot of upgrades that give Cleave too now.
Scythed Down is another commonly seen aggro objective. 2 glory for having 3 or more enemy fighters out of action. It’s probably a toss-up between running this or Death’s Bounty as running both will lead to a very bricky deck. In the end, it will come down to player choice and who you feel you are more likely to face in terms of enemy warbands.
The Hunt Pursues is faction Swift Advance. Gain 1 glory for having all your fighters in enemy territory. Simple and very doable.
Unstoppable Death is scored when you kill an enemy fighter during a charge action. This Surge is good but the low damage of the warband makes it a little questionable in elite warband metas. Still nice yet may take some investment to score either via upgrades or repeated charges on a single target.
Vengeance of Nagash is a toned-down Victorious Duel. Score 1 glory as a Surge for killing an enemy leader. It’s not amazing but I still put it down as good in my book as any of your fighters can score it.
Faction Gambits
Enervating Beat reduces damage by 1 for enemy range 1 or 2 attack actions in the next activation as long as the Patrician is alive. It even works on multiple attack actions via Scything but that range 1 and 2 limitation is a bit of a downside for me. Otherwise this card is fine if you want to play more defensive Wraithcreepers.
Somnolent Beat is fine but extremely limit in the current Direchasm meta. -1 movement to enemy fighters in the next activation to a minimum of 0! Can only play when the Patrician is alive but there are so many +2 movement cards in Direchasm that I don’t feel this is worth running at all.
Stuff of Nightmares is a 1 in 3 chance to do 1 damage to an enemy fighter. Pick an enemy fighter within 2 hexes and do 1 damage on the roll of a smash. Considering the limited range, this would have been marginally better if it worked on crits too.
Faction Gambits – Top Picks
Deadly Vengeance is an interesting reaction. Play this after a friendly fighter is taken out of action, make an attack action with that fighter. Not only is it guaranteed, but it also doesn’t have to target the attacker! Flexible, reliable and can make surprise attacks your opponent may not expect.
Drifting Death pushes up to 2 friendly fighters 1 hex towards the nearest enemy fighter. Extra mobility is always loved to see, especially when it affects more than 1 fighter at once.
Fevered Beat is my jam! You can only play this if the Patrician is alive but it makes all your enemy attack actions have the fury characteristic instead for the next activation. Screws up magic attacks but really towns down the accuracy for a lot of enemy attacks.
Heart-Piercer gives 1 of your fighters Cleave in the next activation. Great for confirming kills and scoring Piercing Blow!
Horrifying Shriek is a limited faction Distraction. Choose an enemy fighter within 3 hexes of a friendly fighter and push them 1 hex. It’s very nice.
Methodical Attacks is faction Tireless Assault for my Shadespire fans. After a failed attack action, attack again! You can also use this to attack a different target for some reason if you choose. Still, always run this.
Unending Pursuit is a faction Sidestep. Great for keeping within harassment range of the opponent.
Faction Upgrades
Carrion Companion is Tome of Offerings but only for Haqfel. The fact the target needs to be adjacent when taken out of action is just unfortunate as well. Fine but not really something you would take regularly. Shame it wasn’t for Drepur instead.
Death Grasp is for Drepur and gives him a range 1, 3 smash 2 damage attack which gives the target a move token after the attack action. The move token application is good but the range isn’t. I would just rather focus on buffing his main attack instead of using this range 1 attack action with movement 3 base.
Memories of the Hunt is faction Great Speed. It is fine but there are now so many good +1 move universal cards that I’d just recommend taking those instead.
Murderous Accomplice is limited to Grodrig and lets him be pushed 2 hexes after another friendly fighter’s charge action as long as he can get adjacent to the target. It’s just very limiting and locked into an alright but fragile fighter.
Tearing Claws is only for the Patrician and gives him a range 1, 2 fury, 2 damage attack action with Cleave and Ensnare. The keyword bonuses are nice but 2 fury is not.
Faction Upgrades – Top Picks
Bitter Strength is faction Great Strength, another auto-include!
Deathly Vigour is faction Great Fortitude. Once again, always take.
Murderpact is slightly complicated but very good. The equipped fighter gets +1 damage if they have a supporting fighter or +1 dice to friendly fighter attack actions if this eqipped fighter is a supporting fighter. Really flexible if you’re really good with your positioning. Setup for +1 damage in an activation then in the next activation you now get a dice bonus!
Pall of Fear makes enemy fighters with range 1 and 2 attack actions have -1 dice when targeting the equipped fighter. Very strong, can go on any friendly fighter and helps with durability.
The Point of Death is faction Awakened Weapon but only on a charge. Balanced but really strong.
Universal Cards
There are no universal cards in the Starter Set that Drepur’s Wraithcreepers come in so this part will be skipped!
Decks
Now to the deck section! Once again these are sample decks to get you going and build off of. They’re not super competitive but designed to be optimal and fun. As I’m not sure if this warband is legal for Vanguard format, I’ll just be making a Championship Format deck.
Special thanks goes to Underworldsdb.com! As Games Workshop released all the cards during the week I now have an up-to-date deck builder to use for this. It’s a lifesaver.
Championship Format
Playstyle: Aggro
This is a standard aggro deck. You have lots of objectives related to killing as well as objectives that you can score via just attacking without needing to succeed. Bold Conquest for example. Surge of Aggression is good and unlocks Primacy. Gambits support mobility with 3 push cards helping to inspire and counter hold objectives players. Upgrades focus on durability and damage with 4 sources of +1 damage. Predator’s Trinket helps with Piercing Blow and Cleave in general is really good. Vision of Glory was taken over Survival Instincts just because of the Patrician and double charging is more useful.
Warband Overview
Drepur’s Wraithcreepers are a simple but fun warband. They do a good job at being a persistent aggro threat that your opponent cannot easily hide from. The warband packs a lot of reach and accuracy, making them good at their job. The low movement of 3 is offset by the majority range 2 attacks so that they have a threat range of 5 hexes and their easy inspire condition means getting to movement 4 won’t be hard at all. Haqfel and Grodig are rather flimsy with their 3 wounds and 1 dodge, but at least they gain 2 dodge when inspired. They lack big damage but make up for it with consistently reliable attacks and pressure. The Patrician’s Deathbeat tunes are not to be underestimated!
Pros:
- Straightforward and fun to use
- Great at aggro with persistent pressure
- Good threat range, mobility and accuracy
Cons:
- Limited in scope, basically an aggro only warband
- Half of the warband is very susceptible to being taken out early with only 1 dodge and 3 wounds
- All have Hunter’s Glaives but aren’t don’t have the Hunter keyword
- Currently the only ghost warband to be hurt by lethal hexes (ignore this if the Thorns of the Briar Queen and Lady Harrow’s Mournflight gain the same rules change)
In summary, Drepur’s Wraithcreepers are a really good warband to start the game with as a new player. They’re simple but effective and reliable. They suffer against more elite opponents and really feel that 2 damage baseline yet they have lots of faction and universal cards to help bring their damage up. Even more experienced players will be able to maximise the pressure and threat range the warband offers, using the copious range 2 attack actions to set up webs of counter attacks for unwitting opponents charging in. You must remember, however, that they basically only do aggro and hold objective play at a big stretch, so fitting in passive glory that doesn’t rely on killing may be a bit of struggle. The lack of having Hunter hurts a bit too in terms of universal card synergy in the current Direchasm meta.
So, would I recommend getting Drepur’s Wraithcreepers? Yes! Especially if you’re new to the game and can regularly play Warhammer Underworlds safely where you are in the world right now. This is a fun warband that players on either end of the competitive spectrum will find fun to use. They’re just very consistent. Remember that half the warband is still fair fragile so maybe focus on getting some fighters inspired instead of just going in deep with early charges. Also I highly recommend getting something like resin nameplates to help tell Haqfel and Grodig apart.
If you want to buy Drepur’s Reapers, you can get them only in the new Warhammer Underworlds Starter Set via the direct link to Games Workshop here or via my affiliate link to Element Games here which will net you a minimum 15% discount (20% during pre-order week) while helping to support my content, all at no additional cost to you.
Closing Crit
Here is the end of this warband review on Drepur’s Wraithcreepers. They’re a simple aggro warband, perfect for learning how to play Warhammer Underworlds with, even if that limits the scope of what they can actually do at the highest levels of competition. They are a huge bane to horde/swarm warbands although find elite warbands more difficult to deal with. It’s great to see a ghost warband that is strong yet neither oppressive or overpowered.
So until you get caught by the hunting Drepur’s Wraithcreepers, remember that only rolling a lonely crit may be what prevents you from being dragged down to Nagash!
Can You Roll A Crit? 
a very good review! thanks and cheers from Venezuela
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