Nethermaze

Time to review season 6 of Warhammer Underworlds!

Today I’m review the Nethermaze core set for Warhammer Underworlds Nethermaze season 6. First thing, thanks to Games Workshop for providing this to review for free. As always I aim to be honest, impartial and constructively critical. I’ve also done this as a more in-depth YouTube video which you can check out here:

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New Seasons

Warhammer Underworlds Nethermaze is season 6 for Warhammer Underworlds. This is because the game has switched to 6 monthly seasons from 12 monthly seasons. A season is now a core set, 2 warband expansions and a rival deck. Some people love this and some people hate it. Personally I’m not a fan of the change but it is what it is.

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Narrative

The narrative is Nethermaze is just a deeper, more secret part of the Harrowdeep. Just like with Nightvault and Direchasm before it. Now it’s a giant shadow maze. Interestingly enough, make it through the Nethermaze and you make it to the realm of Hysh so we have the realm for season 7 confirmed!

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Box Contents

The core set contains everything as before: 2 warbands, 2 double-sided boards, 2 token sheets, rulebook, building instructions and new dice.

Boards are pretty neat. Look like a nice balance of special hexes and I do love the new colouring.

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Rivals of Harrowdeep

This is like the Champions of Dreadfane, 2 warbands and their faction cards. For £47.50 it’s not really worth it. Just buy the Harrowdeep core set instead if you can or Ebay. Would have been much better as £35 instead of its current pricing.

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Rulebook Changes

So it’s time for the BIG changes in the Nethermaze rule book! I’ve read through it several times and here are the MAJOR changes that will ROCK the Underworlds!

Large fighters are now 5 wounds for 2 glory kills, mainly because of the broken Morgok’s Krushas.

New narrative.

That’s it.

Note the reaction steps aren’t reflective of the FAQ changes, likely because this went into print far before Games Workshop realised the reaction windows were wrong so you’ll have to follow the FAQ.

Otherwise nothing else has changed. If you want a summary for how the game flows, just check my Harrowdeep review.

Now I’m not against much changing or needing several new rules each season, just make the rulebook a permanent online free rulebook that GW just update every 6 months.

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Warbands

I won’t go too in-depth for these teams, instead I’ll do separate articles for both Skittershank’s Clawpack and the Shadeborn. Both warbands are some fun and neat aggro teams. The miniatures are amazing, especially for the Skaven, although the Shadeborn are a little bland as reposing of the Warcry team and having the same problem of looking a pain to paint due to the shadow effects. Overall they’re 2 great warbands and much better than the last core set’s offerings.

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Grand Alliance Cards

Now I’ll briefly go over the many cards found within the core set starting with Grand Alliance cards. Remember grand alliance cards can only be used by factions with the appropriate grand alliance as covered in the core rulebook and FAQs.

Objectives

Can’t Take It With You is just a really bad 3rd end phase objective.

Forbidden Ground just is too tough to score, especially now.

Masters of Death only really works for the Crimson Court and even then the moment you lose a fighter it is a dead objective.

Into the Fray just has too much positional requirements, even for Mollog.

Keeping it Simple is not worth it for 1 glory.

You Can’t Hide is alright but too situational for my liking.

Loyal Service just doesn’t have great scoring conditions.

Ordered Defence only really works for a super defenive Steelheart or Myari build.

Unsanctioned is not good with the current meta and overall encouragement of aggro.

Objectives Top Picks

Arcane Schemes is great for Chaos spell builds.

Dark Domain is good overall and especially for the Dread Pageant.

Gifts of the Gods is just another solid objective for Chaos.

Gambits

Methodical Destruction would be good for destruction teams if they had more way to push onto objectives outside of Snirk.

Shadow Jaws is a bit limited due to the cover hex limitation.

Spiteful Channeling requires your wizard to die for use and only does 1 damage, so no.

Too much reliance on stagger with an…odd interaction for Nurgle.

Martial Discipline is bad accuracy buffs.

Shaft of Light is alright but only flips gloom tokens.

Gambits Top Picks

Opportunistic Mob is nice draw tech for aggro destruction.

Vile Offering is nice Chaos draw tech as well.

Disciplined Defence is a nice way for guard/more mobility.

Buried Treasure is nice upgrade recycling.

Death’s Soldiers is AMAZING damage negation for death. Play then wait to declare. Not balanced at all.

Lethal Advance is great push tech for death.

Upgrades

Daemonic Agility is not good except for maybe the Wurmspat?

Reckless Pact is bad aggro re-rolls.

There are better attack action upgrades.

Counterpunch should just stagger after succeeding.

Rabble Wrecker is locked to your leader and is bad.

Upgrades Top Picks

Brigade Strength is amazing for any brawler or 3 dice fighter.

Disciplined Formation is great for supporting re-rolls of all defence dice.

Bonds of Death is great resurrection.

Instinctive Shield is effectively +1 wounds without giving you +1 wounds. Hilarious.

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Universal Cards

Now I’ll do the same for universal cards.

Objectives

It’s not bad, just too situational.

Claim it All is not reliable considering it has to be the only fighter.

Too situational for magic as well.

A highly situational Advancing Strike.

Making a Statement is better.

Requires Domain cards to be scored.

Way too situational, even for 2 glory.

Lost Leader is not worth it for 2 glory and is unreliable.

Needs Map upgrades for 1 glory.

A far more situational defensive strike.

Objectives Top Picks

Great for Mollog-like builds.

A better end phase defensive strike variant.

Great for 2 glory, even with the damage allocation.

More easy surge flipping glory, just use the leader part.

I think this is pretty good, Shifting Walls just requires practice.

Sudden Revelation. Hidden Purpose reborn. “How could they have been so blind” for balance indeed Severin.

Gambits

Better accuracy cards exist.

Alright but should have been cast on a channel.

Healing Potion is better.

Pushed Around is alright push tech but better push cards exist.

Reckless Rush is too puinshing for double movement.

Tainted Waters requires Domain cards.

Vicious Struggle isn’t great. Too hard to use easily and consistently.

Gambits Top Picks

Desperate Flight but…better?? Yes push me 5 hexes and potentially damage someone.

Creaking Ceiling is great for extra daamge, even if it hurts you as well.

Dark Inversion is nice swapping of feature tokens.

Great anti guard tech.

The Penumbral Lock exists because of all the too powerful flip objectives hahaha. Still good.

A great spell that buffs your caster.

Step Between Shadows is great for an slow fighters.

Suffocating Mists is great ping damage.

Swarming Darkness is nice for feature token manipulation.

Upgrades

There are better attack action upgrades. Spent glory on kill is not desirable.

Dark Fortitude is too situational healing.

Dark Majesty is kinda too situational for my liking. Better with range 2 attack actions as well.

Dark Strength would have been better if worked on range 2 as well.

Faceless Mask is just not good.

Not worth -1 wounds for innate dodge.

Revealing Fog is okay but you could always just move instead.

Shadow Spear is not bad but there are better attacks.

Shrewd Wits requires someone to be using scatter to work.

Not bad but just situational.

Upgrades Top Picks

Abysasal Summoner is great defensive tech.

Dark Intellect is a 50% chance to draw an additional card after spending an activation to draw a card.

Despite the plain name, Map is great played at the end of a round or when your opponent has no power cards left. The reaction is moot though.

Ferocious Bite is great for beasts and all range 1 attacks.

Honed Instincts is great for CRAB TIME.

Nether Defence means you can’t go on guard but I’ll take that +1 defence.

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Nethermaze Overview

Overall Nethermaze is good. I like the warbands and they’re fun to play. I’m less thrilled with most of the grand alliance cards and universal cards being bad outside of a few very broken few which feels like repeating the mistakes of the past with overpowered cards. Still, I think it’s a good entry for new players and much better than what Harrowdeep offered.

Pros:

• 2 great starter warbands
• Nice aesthetic
• Great for new players
• New boards are nice and look good

Cons:

• Once again you have to buy if a championship player for those key universal and grand alliance cards
• Not a fan of the change to narrative still with the loss of the Katophrane curse
• 6 monthly seasons isn’t appealing for new players

If you want to buy this warband you can do so via Games Workshop or my affiliate link at Element Games that will get you a 25% to 15% discount.

I also have a Patreon you can check out if you want to give me a little more support.

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Closing Crit

So yeah, that’s it for my thoughts on Nethermaze. Remember to check out my individual warband reviews but all-in-all I think this is a good core set that will appeal to a lot of people. Games Workshop just has to decide whether they want to focus on casual or competitive players with Warhammer Underworlds as they cannot do both with this game and it is definitely not the “Ultimate Competitive Miniatures Game” anymore, all there other games are more competitive. But yeah, still good overall for Nethermaze.

Until next time, no matter how deep you get lost in the Nethermaze, remember you can always roll a crit!