Oh man, here we go! The final two warbands are up for pre-order this week and they do not disappoint. In this article, we will going over Thundrik's Profiteers who are debuting the Kharadron Overlords into the Underworlds system. They are ranged warband that focuses on overwhelming firepower to obliterate their opponents. Should their opponents get too close, key fighters can charge in and finish them off.
In this article you can expect a model review, warband analysis, card reviews for both the faction and universal cards, a look at the faction dice, and my thoughts on the warband as a whole.
In this section, I will be reviewing the the physical contents of the box set, primarily the packaging and the models. Since I do not have the models at this time, this will be updated later. Stay tuned!
Warband Overview:
Our fearless leader has quite the pool of hefty stats. Like his fellow Fyreslayer counterpart, Thundrik starts things off with four wounds, two movement, and a single block for defense. In terms of offensive capabilities, Bjorgen has two different attack options. The first attack has a range of three, hits on two smash, and deals a single point of damage. It's fairly standard compared to most ranged attacks. One thing to note is that it does indeed hit on smash instead of fury (something I predicted 😎). This would perhaps represent the fact that these duardin are expert marksmen. His second attack has a range of one, hits on two smash, and deals a single point of damage. That does seem to be on the lower side of things but again, since this is a ranged warband, it makes sense for ranged combatants to have weaker melee abilities.
Upon inspiring, the duardin commander bumps his movement characteristic to three, gains another block for defense, and most importantly - gains another wound. As you will see with the rest of the warband, duardin tend to get slightly faster and tougher as the game goes on. This also matches the statistical buffs The Chosen Axes got when they inspired so it keeps it thematic. Thundrik becomes quite tanky and can withstand some punishing hits. Still, I'd advise that you don't be too aggressive with him.
The most interesting thing to note on this fighter's card is the special rule: Promotion. This ability allows Thundrik to select (read promote) members of his warband, including himself, to inspire every time you score an objective. That's pretty neat and quite flavorful in terms of the lore. If you build a deck with some reliable objectives as well as a generous heaping of some score immediately's, this can get your entire warband performing at optimal levels fairly early on.
One thing to note is that if Bjorgen experiences misfortune early on and is removed from the board, you don't have a way to inspire your fighters outside of certain gambits. Keep him protected and well guarded. He is a solid combatant in his own right but that ability is integral to your success.
The last thing to note on Bjorgen is that has quite the interesting reaction. After an activation made by Thundrik, the hexes adjacent to him, except blocked hexes, are considered lethal hexes to his enemies. Although not game breaking, it's a pretty neat rule which will hopefully deal a damage or two throughout the course of a game. Who knows, it might even dissuade players from charging him.
Dead-Eye Lund might have difficulty hearing but that's no problem at all as he is one sharpshooter indeed. Lund starts things off in typical duardin fashion in that he has a movement of two, a single block, and three health. However, his Aethershot Rifle is something of a beaut. The fighter hits on two smash, has a range of three, and a typical damage characteristic of one. Oh, and it has cleave! That's gonna be particularly nasty against some of the more popular warbands in the current meta as they tend to use block.
Upon inspiring, Dead-Eye gains a bump in movement and health. His ranged attack also becomes a bit stronger as it jumps to two damage. Lund will not only be your main source of scoring What Armour?, but he will also be reliably damaging and eliminating some of the tougher fighters out there.
In terms of promotion order, it depends on the situation. However, it seems he will be high on the list quite regularly.
Enrik is another ranged fighter in the warband and boy is he pretty dang good at shooting! He get's two movement, two health, and surprisingly, a single dodge off the bat. His Athermatic Volley Gun, his only offensive capability, has a range of three, hits on three fury, and deals a single point of damage. Interestingly, his gun has the knockback special rule.
Upon inspiring, Ironhail gains a point in movement and health while his defensive stat switches to block. I guess he has to really hunker down and rely on his armor while ripping away with his machine gun. That makes sense as he is unleashing a hail (see what I did there) of bullets with a hit characteristic of four fury.
Enrik seems to be most accurate bunch of the group and is perfect for disrupting the enemy's positioning. Think of him as your controller - he's gonna be blasting foes off objectives and out of charge range. Also, with four dice, he's gonna be rolling crits more often than not and can truly benefit from cards that provide bonuses off crits like Fighter's Ferocity.
Garodd Alensen is the first of your melee centric fighters. Characteristic wise, his profile starts off exactly the same as Enrik Ironhail. In terms of of his attack actions, we have a melee attack that hits on two smash and deals one damage. Not very imposing. His three hex ranged attack is slightly worse in that it hits on two fury and one damage.
After inspiring, Alensen becomes a bit better. His cutter deals two damage, which is fairly respectable, and his sharpshooting skills gain a bit of accuracy at three fury. Oh, and he apparently learns how to parry which makes his defensive capabilities a bit better. He also gains the usual bump in health and movement.
Garodd is best used as someone who can protect his brethren, who are better at shooting, as well as be used as bait. Setting up key counter charges or even support buffs to your stronger ranged fighters can be a boon. In terms of promotion order, I would rank him last on the list. Again, it always depends on the situation but I don't see him being your MVP - especially if he goes down early as bait.
Last, but certainly not the least, we have Khazgan Drakkskewer. This guy is your combat monster. He has an insane move of four, thanks to his jetpack device, a single block, and three wounds. Furthermore, he ignores lethal hexes and can traverse over blocked hexes. Drakkskewer is also equipped with two attack actions. His Skypike has a range of two, hits on two smash, and deals two damage. The accuracy and damage is not uncommon but that range of two is nice. Keeping in fashion with the rest of his shooting compatriots, he also has a ranged attack that has a range of three, hits on two fury, and deals a single damage.
Upon inspiring, Khazgan becomes the duardin equivalent of an un-inspired Mollog. His melee attack bumps up to three damage and he gains a bump in health.
This Sky Warden is a powerful and integral piece of your warband. A majority of your melee damage is going to come from him. Again, like Alensen, he is best used as an assistant to your ranged fighters. Soften your foes at range and then play cleanup with Khazgan. Also, he'll be able to get to enemy fighters fairly quickly with his threat range of six and seven, respectively. If you need something eliminated, Drakkskewer is you dwarf to do it. In regards to promotion, he's probably going to be your number one most times, if not number two in terms of priority.
Factions Cards:
As per my previous articles, I'll be doing a thorough review of every faction card included with Thundrik's Profiteers. We'll start with objectives, then head on to power cards, and finally finish with upgrades. I'll be using a rating system as well.
A score of "A" means that the card is very powerful and should almost always be included in your deck builds. "B" means that the card is strong and will usually be included, but not always. A score of "C" means that card can be good in certain situations but will usually require extra support. Lastly, a score of "D" means the card is on the weaker side of things. It doesn't mean that it is inherently bad but perhaps can be considered hard to use or counter intuitive to your game plan.
Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions. You might rate these cards differently.
Note: The format today will be slightly different in terms of appearance. Since I do not yet have the physical cards at of the time of this writing, I reached out to John Reese from 'Can You Roll a Crit' and he was kind enough to let me use the images from his blog. If you haven't had a chance to check out his site, I highly recommend you do so. His content is ace and was one of my main inspirations when launching Hexes & Warbands. You can find his blog here.
Headshot: Although reliant on rolling a critical this card is fairly reliable to score for the sole reason that you'll be rolling for a bunch of ranged attacks throughout the course of the game. This becomes considerably easier when Enrik Ironhail becomes inspired.
Rating: A
Focus Fire: This is a faction version of Concerted Attack. Although you'll probably be able to score this from time to time because of the initial low output of damage coming from your warband, I doubt you'll need three different fighters to attack the same enemy. Yes, Mollog is a thing but you won't be playing him every time, right?
Rating: C
Seeking Advancement: Five of the fourteen current warbands are composed entirely of fighters with four or more health. Out of the remaining eleven, nine of them have at least one fighter with four or more health. Very rarely will you not be able to score this card; just know its a dead card against two warbands unless they are playing wound increasing upgrades. Fortunately, most people do, so you should be in good hands. Plus, its a score immediate!
Rating: A
Search the City: An in-faction version of Our Only Way Out, this card is good if you are going for an objective based strategy. At the moment, I am not sure if that play style will be optimal for the Profiteers but if you wanna hoard some objectives, this is for you.
Rating: B
Live by the Code: I think this is a good card. Sure, you are somewhat limiting yourself but you can mulligan this out if you draw poorly before the game begins. Furthermore, if your deck is built correctly and you aren't drawing too poorly, you can usually score this reliably in the second phase. In the third phase, this becomes much harder as its not uncommon for you to phish for a certain objective or two.
Rating: B
It's Ours Now: This is hard to score because your warband has a low movement characteristic. Furthermore, if your opponent knows you are going for it, it's not hard for them to push you out of no man's land.
Rating: D
Collect Bounty: This is a faction version of Assassinate. You'll probably take the enemy commander out of action at one point in the game but if it's a sub-optimal play or counter intuitive to your current game plan, it's worth the effort for one glory.
Rating: C
Stake a Claim: This is tough. On one hand, your warband wants to stay away for the most part and pepper the foe with lead. On the other hand, if you are the aggressor, or need to nab an objective on the other side of the board, you fail to score this card.
Rating: D
Sound Finances: This is another interesting card. You can technically score this if you score a bunch of cards in the end phase since you control the order of what cards you score. However, because the card is difficult to score early and can force you to be a bit more aggressive if you're trying to get that fifth glory from an elimination - I don't think its reliable.
Rating: D
Protect the Boss: A neat card that lets you push two fighters other than your leader and move them closer to Thundrik. It's a bit limiting when compared to cards like Quick Advance and Inspired Command. I'd rather go with one of those unless you are trying to score Well Guarded.
Rating: C
Atmospheric Isolation: An in-faction version of the card, No Time. It has the same effect but relies on your leader to stay alive, which you is important to your success, at least at the beginning of the game. It's a bit limiting.
Rating: D
Ambitious Attack: A common card we are seeing amongst warbands, this is fairly decent if you want Drakkskewer, Thundrik, or Alensen to do a bit more damage in melee. It does take up a power card slot though, which is even more competitive now than ever, and I feel there are upgrades out there that do the same thing.
Rating: C
Unyielding: If you are camping on objectives, this can be useful. Other than that, I don't see much use.
Rating: D
Timed Charge: This would be great if it didn't require the roll off. Due to that inconsistency and the effect being more of a nice to have, I don't see it being taken often.
Rating: D
Quiet Contemplation: If you are looking to score objectives that rely on you drawing a bunch or don't want to use an activation to draw cards than this can be useful. Again, due to it taking up a competitive power card slot, it's not appealing to me.
Rating: D
Prepared Position: This guard is great. You can put a fighter on guard without spending an activation to do so and easily score Change of Tactics which is not only good because of the instant glory, you also get to inspire a fighter if Thundrik is around.
Rating: A
Aetheric Augmentation: Making your attacks more reliable to hit is always nice, especially when trying to score Headshot.
Rating: B
Toxic Gases: I really, really like this card. Kudos to the design team for forcing your opponent to make a choice. Depending on the situation, they'll probably choose the lesser of two evils according to their positioning. Best case, it's a Raptor Strike anywhere on the board and worst case, their fighter just got moved way out of position. Seem's like a win-win.
Rating: A
Seek the Skyvessel: This is solid. Since you have five fighters, you'll usually be interacting with only four of them an activation. If you really need to slam on the pedal and make some last minute moves, this card can get you where you need to go.
Rating: B
Breath of Grungi: This upgrade gives Thundrik the ability to knockback foes, should he hit. It can be useful but you already have access to that via Ironhail.
Rating: C
Augmented Buoyancy: If you want Drakkskewer to move faster than even an aelf, then this could be a decent method to do it. It does double up well with Cover Ground but you are heavily reliant on drawing this or another card like Faneway Crystal.
Rating: C
Ancestral Fortitude: A in-faction version of Great Fortitude, this is fairly solid, especially with Sudden Growth and Deathly Fortitude being on the restricted list. Triple up with Great Fortitude, Tome of Vitality, and Ancestral Fortitude and your duardin should be much stickier.
Rating: B
Rapid Reload: This card is seems good despite my hesitance towards fighter specific cards. If you can keep Ironhail alive, he can shoot his Volley Gun two times in a row the first time he fires in an activation. That's nice.
Rating: B
Paymaster: Re-rolls are nice on attack rolls but limiting them to adjacent fighters next to Thundrik seems lackluster.
Rating: D
Magmalt Draught: Similar effect to Potion of Constitution, this card can be used to minimize the damage on some of your key fighters. It can definitely be useful but I am unsure on if it will make the final cut since you rarely see the potion variant.
Rating: C
Empowered Aethershot: This card is fairly decent. You can give either Alensen or Ironhail cleave on their attacks. It's not game changer on the former, but on Ironhail, it can be pretty devastating as it would give him both cleave and knockback. The card is a bit limiting and I personally don't like that. It does score you What Armour? fairly easily though because an inspired Ironhail is rolling four fury.
Rating: C
Swashbuckler: Giving Alensen a boost in accuracy is okay but not great. Plus, I have a feeling that he will rarely stick around much.
Rating: C
Punishing Retort: This upgrade allows Lund Dead-Eye make a melee attack as a reaction. Interesting concept with a similar profile to un-inspired Gartok and Zharkus. Not a fan but I can see how this could be useful.
Rating: D
Ancestral Might: In-faction Great Strength is pretty useful. If you're wanting Drakkskewer to get very strong or just provide some consistency in your upgrades, then this might be for you.
Rating: C
Universal Cards:
Now, I'll be covering all the universal cards included with Thundrik's Profiteers. We'll start with objectives, then head on to power cards, and finally finish with upgrades. Like the faction cards above, I will using the same rating system.
Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions. You might rate these cards differently.
Master of Mayhem: This card is an interesting one. This is fairly easily with the Gitz but it may force sub-optimal activations.
Rating: D
Death From Afar: This card is busted for any warband with a ranged attack of three or more. I can't wait to use it with Stormsire.
Rating: A
Calculated Risk: As long as there is a lethal hex on the board, this card is extremely easy to score. Take a damage for a glory? Yes please.
Rating: A
Versatile Fighter: This is another great card. Fighter's with ranged and melee attacks can score this easily enough like Stormsire, Vortemis, and even Ylthari. If it was a score immediate, it'd be next level.
Rating: B
Tactical Supremacy 2-5: Another tactical supremacy. These cards have always been good and adding in more was only natural. Objectives based strategies just got a bit stronger and less predictable.
Rating: B
Patient Commander: We knew we'd see this one coming. Going second every time isn't a problem for most warbands but you're giving up tactical aggressiveness and perhaps even a key moment in the game for two glory. Not worth it in my opinion.
Rating:D
Branching Fate: This card is a bit too limiting especially in the fact that you can't control the outcome. Yes, it happens but you can't plan for it.
Rating: D
Bidding Your Time: Again, another card you can't really plan for. Too many specific requirements to successfully score.
Rating: D
Tireless Slayer: The only fighter who can perhaps consistently score this card is Mollog. Technically you can do it with a well timed AOE attack or with a bit of help from Mighty Swing but it's not likely.
Rating: D
Every Trick in the Book: If you have the glory to play upgrades and can properly use your power cards then this card is good. However for one glory, I don't think it's wise to force yourself to play upgrades and power cards when you don't need to. Plus, you could help your opponent score Escalation.
Rating: D
Building Momentum: A better and less limiting version of Combination Strike, I like this card. It's like a baby Victory After Victory and acts like a force multiplier.
Rating: B
Empathic Exchange: It's a bit limiting as you have to have a fighter adjacent to your spell caster. Still, if you are focusing on hunkering your fighters together to weather storm, this could be useful, especially for Ylthari's Guardians. It's also fairly easy to score with the requirement of just a single channel.
Rating: C
Sphere of Aqshy: This card is bonkers and is a solid representation of the realm of fire. It's essentially Raptor Strike as a spell. Sure you have to roll for it but its fairly easy to roll a single channel on two dice.
Rating: A
Amnesiac Backlash: Rolling a crit to cast is hard but man if you can do it, this card is scary! You can shut down an enemy wizard for the rest of the game. Not only will that neuter an enemy wizard's capabilities, it can also completely derail your opponent's game plan. Still, that requirement lowers this card's value as well as because you won't always be facing against a wizard.
Rating: C
Magical Dearth: Effectively shuts down magic for a phase. Very good but remember, you won't always be fighting against warbands with wizards.
Rating: B
Aetherflux: This card can be used offensively and defensively. You can either make certain spells easier to cast for you or harder for your opponent.
Rating: B
Stand and Shoot: It's overwatch for Underworlds! If someone is about to charge your fighter that has a range three attack, you can shoot them before they roll to hit. I love out of activation attacks. It's like My Turn without having to take the damage.
Rating: A
Shifting Reflection: Boy is this card great. You can effectively get an opponent's backfield or bring one of their key fighters to you so you can smash 'em. This can also hamper you opponent's abilities to score Tactical Supremacy cards. Broken on Mollog with Regal Visions.
Rating: A
Trading Up: Can be useful if you need a different upgrade on your fighter and you don't have the glory to afford it. Still, you put upgrades on your fighters for a reason and switching one on and off doesn't feel optimal. This can technically make Escalation easier to score as well.
Rating: C
Piling On: If you've got a warband with a bunch of fighters and tend to gang up on their opponents (Thorns & Gitz) this card can make those attacks a bit stronger. Too situational for me though.
Rating: D
Black Powder Sphere: You have to scatter and roll a dice for this to effectively go off and even then, you can end up near no opponents. Too unreliable and not worth the effort.
Rating: D
Hunter's Tenacity: This card is good if you are trying to claim an objective that an enemy fighter is on. Other than that, I don't see the point. Why give them a chance to attack you again?
Rating: C
Crown of Average: This card pretty much negates the glory differential your opponent gains for eliminating one of your fighters. A smart opponent will make sure they have no unspent glory if they can control it thought since they know you have this card equipped.
Rating: D
Tome of Healing: Another tome to help round off the set with an interesting effect. If you are stacking tomes, this can help you tome bearer stay alive. Could be useful with Ylthari's Guardians too.
Rating: C
Paradox Armour: You're giving up crits to increase your chances of blocking by a margin. This also stops you from beating your opponent's critical attacks with crits of your own.
Rating: D
Hammer of Scorn: A respectable weapon profile with double knockback! It certainly has its uses and can help keep your opponents at bay.
Rating: C
Earthing Stone: Really good for anti-objective play. If you manage to get one of your fighter on an objective in their zone, you effectively stop them from scoring Supremacy, etc. Just know your opponent will see it coming as the card is equipped.
Rating: B
Blessing of Hydragos: This card is really good. If you have a close combat monster on the board, you can effectively trek up the board and wail away. Great on Mollog, Fjul, Ammis, etc. Even for ranged fighters, you can shoot and fall back.
Rating: A
Voidsceptre: It ends a persisting spell but limits you in that you have to be two hexes away from the afflicted target. Might be useful in some cases but not my cup of tea.
Rating: C
Reinforced Armour: If I am reading this correctly, any attack that deals one damage on its base profile is negating unless the attack is a critical success. Seems good. Slap this on your tankiest fighter and eat those ranged attacks. Doesn't stop you from getting driven back though.
Rating: B
Nullstone Mace: Another nullstone weapon with a respectable weapon profile. Great for weaker fighters like Hakka and Basha.
Rating: C
The Dice:
I love dice and I have every's faction specific dice. I'm a big fan of the amber colored attack dice with the wine colored in-lay. They look like they'll be pretty easy to read too.
The defensive dice are nice too although I am afraid they might be too similar to the Cursebreaker ones. Sure, they are more of a bronze but still - it could be confusing. Again, easy enough to read!
Whether you are playing Thundrik's Profiteers or not, if you like these dice, you should pick them up. They look great!
Final thoughts:
So, should you invest in Thundrik's Profiteers?
Hell yes.
First of all, you get to play a brand new warband that looks fun and engaging. Although they seem like they just stand there and shoot, that's far from the case. The warband introduces a very unique inspiration mechanic while also giving you a solid blend of ranged and melee options. They can also be played in many ways. If you want to play objectives, you have the resources. If you want to play aggro, you definitely can. If you want to play hybrid, which I think seems the best at first glance, then you most certainly can. Plus, you get to say "pew pew" over and over again. What's not to like?
Now if you aren't planning on playing them or even collecting the gorgeous models, I still recommend that players eventually buy all the current warbands. Every expansion, just like this one, comes with a set of universal cards that can potentially benefit any warband. This set specifically has Death From Afar, Calculating Risk, Sphere of Aqshy, and Shifting Reflection to name but a few. Cards like these can enhance any warband's play and keep you competitive.
I hope you found this format and review helpful. I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions on what I should add, or even remove, in the future.
Thanks again to John Reese from Can You Roll a Crit.
Next up, Ylthari's Guardians!
Cheers,
Aman