It’s time to see what’s in the box!
Welcome to this product review of 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:
Warhammer Underworlds has launched a new starter set called the…Warhammer Underworlds starter set! Er. I guess Doomruin was taken. And Shadespire 2. Anyway, this new starter set is aimed mainly at new players, being a new way to get into Warhammer Underworlds in a more general manner. The starter set is missing some stuff, like universal cards, but I’ll cover that all below.
A big question people will ask is, do we actually need this when seasonal core sets exist? Well, that’s a difficult question to answer dear reader. I think so, personally. Warhammer Underworlds is getting very difficult to get into as a new player and the casual scene is almost dead for the game at the time of Direchasm. A new starter set to let people jump in at any time is always good in my books.
Now for some questions!
Q: Will the contents be legal for competitive play like Championship Format?
A: Yes, I’m sure Games Workshop will update the competitive format documents to officialise it but everything will be legal.
Q: What about rotation?
A: The products in here (and the Essentials Card pack) should all be immune to rotation.
Q: Will the warbands be made separately available?
A: Unlikely as the Champions of Dreadfane warbands have not been broken down separately either.
The Contents
The starter set comes with the main staples you’d expect from a core set for Warhammer Underworlds. You get 2 double-sided game boards, 2 warbands, 2 32 card faction card decks, (Shadespire) dice and card tokens/counters to use in your games. You also get the rulebook which I’ll cover too. Overall rules remain unchanged generally. If you want a more in-depth look at the rules, read one of my core set reviews like the Direchasm one.
The rulebook covers all the general rules you need to know from setup, fighter actions and card rules. Notable missing segments are: lethal hexes, feature tokens, the scatter mechanic, magic and different types of objectives (Hybrid and Dual). Some of these exclusions make sense but I question the exclusion of Hybrid and Dual objectives as well as lethal hexes and feature tokens. Does it mean these mechanics will be removed in future seasons of Warhammer Underworlds? Unlikely. I still feel these were made to streamline the game for new players but it still feels odd.
The boards are great to have back in circulation. If you want a full overview of them, check out my Warhammer Underworlds gameboards article. The boards found within the starter set are: the Mirror Well, the Shyishian Stardial, the Cursed Oubliette and the Soul Refractor. All really good and you can use your old versions if you have them. Unfortunately, each of these reprinted boards doesn’t mirror their original counterparts in terms of what boards they were paired with but this is just a minor concern.
The Warbands
The Warhammer Underworlds starter set comes with 2 warbands: the Storm of Celestus and Drepur’s Wraithcreepers. I cover their warbands each in their own respective reviews which you can find by clicking on each warband’s name.
They are both honestly fun and great ways to learn Warhammer Underworlds with. Simple, strong and consistent. Not too slow but not too strong either. Arguably the best starter warbands made for Warhammer Underworlds so far. Even experienced players can use both warbands to competitive success but don’t expect them to be overpowered or broken.
Starter Set Overview
The Warhammer Underworlds starter set is a really good way to get into the game. I keep saying it because it is true! Simplified rules and easy to learn warbands make it a good point to use this to hop into the game at any point during a season. Not only that but this starter set is very easy to play with friends or family straight out of the box.
Pros:
- Great introduction to Warhammer Underworlds
- Simple yet strong starter set warbands
- Good board selection, which also brings them back into use for the main competitive season
Cons:
- No universal cards
- Missing key rules like lethal hexes and other objective classes
There are some still minor niggles like price. It’s £40 in the UK which is only £10 less than a core set currently is. With the Essentials Pack that puts you to £52 but you do get 28 more universal cards. I would have loved to see this at £35 but £40 is still okay to me.
So, would I recommend getting THE Warhammer Underworlds starter set? Yes if you’re a new Warhammer Underworlds player. It’s a great way to get into the game with minimal rules overload. Even veteran players will likely want it due to the very good warbands introduced with this boxed game.
If you want to buy the Warhammer Underworlds starter set, you can get it 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.
Until next time dear reader! Learn how to play Warhammer Underworlds with this new starter set and soon you too will be able to roll a crit!
Can You Roll A Crit? 
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