Review: Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaw

Venture into the frigid depths of the Deathgorge, where the Rimewyrms lurk in perpetual cold, and treacherous caverns hold secrets waiting to be unearthed. This is the Wintermaw, the chilling backdrop for the next season of Warhammer Underworlds. In our review of Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaw, we’ll explore the icy battlegrounds, the new warbands, and the thrilling Rivals decks that await players in this frostbitten realm.

The Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaw box can be preordered from Saturday, March 30, 2024. It goes on sale two weeks later, following a two-week preorder window.

Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaw unboxing

Wintermaw follows the established formula of Warhammer Underworld core boxes: Two new warbands, two new game boards, four new rival decks (one for each warband plus two universal ones), an updated rulebook, plus tokens and dice.

Brotherhood of the Bolt review

The Brotherhood of the Bolt is a five model warband, hailing from the Cities of Sigmar. These human lightning rods belong to a sect of the Cults Unberogen who worship Sigmar in his aspect as the master of Azyr’s divine lightning. I think the models are extremely full of character and showcase a new facet of the culture of the Cities of Sigmar, leaning into the Cities’ dark fantasy vibe with their peculiar lightning rod contraptions. Pater Filius, the leader, is a wonderfully grotesque model that rides on the shoulders of his adopted son, preventing his super-charged body from touching the ground.

Like all Underworlds warbands, these models are monopose and spread over two small sprues. The colour of the plastic is light grey. Pater Filius comes on a 40mm base, his bodyguard Friar Galvic on a 32mm vase, the rest of the Brotherhood have 25mm bases.

The Brethren of the Bolt have a unique gimmick, as they start the game inspired thanks to the Crackling with Faith plot. They can shoot Bolts of Azyr with a range of 3 hexes, but after successful attack actions, they discharge and uninspire. The catch is that you can chain discharging Attack actions through adjacent friendly fighters, recharging and re-inspiring them this way. This rewards careful positioning and control play, so they are one of the warbands that require a higher skill level.

Skinnerkin review

The Skinnerkin are a warband of the Flesh-eater Courts featuring five models, making them the second Underworlds warband. Compared to the Grimwatch that came before, I feel that the quality of the designs has significantly improved, which was to be expected after the fantastic recent wave of releases (which we reviewed here). Armed with butcher tools and cleavers, in their delusions they see themselves as chefs, hacking up their opponents to cook up their best parts. My favourite model is of course the leader, Gristla Tenderhooke, but I also like the winged Carnskyr, which seems to be a prototype of a smaller Vargheist-type ghoul unit we might see in the future.

Just as with the Brotherhood of the Bold, the Skinnerkin models are monopose and come on two small sprues. They are cast in green plastic, the base sizes range from 32mm for Gristla and 25mm for the rest.

In the game, the Skynnerkyn are an aggro warband. In keeping with the butcher theme, their Inspire condition is based on successful attack actions (hacking off prime cuts from their opponents), for which they collect Haunch counters. With three counters, fighters inspire and become stronger and faster.

Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaw rules & components review

The rulebook comprises 64 pages, with 11 pages dedicated to new lore. The setting for this box is the Wintermaw, a place deep within the Deathgorge, where a shard of the Everwinter lies, threatening to transform Ghur into a frozen wasteland. The Wintermaw is also home to the Rimewyrms, descendants of the godbeast Fangathrak, who live there in constant freezing misery, preying on adventurers who stray into their lairs.

The rules are presented in a clear and highly structured manner, but I must repeat on what I’ve criticised in the last couple of Warhammer Underworlds core boxes: the rules have become quite complex. Almost 50 densely filled pages of rules feel excessive for a game lasting 30 to 45 minutes, especially considering the need to internalise all the card interactions, too. I would appreciate a new, streamlined edition. Alternatively, for beginner-friendliness, I would prefer a rulebook structure where basic rules and advanced rules are separated rather than constantly presented together on a single page. However, this is undoubtedly a matter of preference.

If you know the Deathgorge rulebook, you know what to expect. The structure is identical and no new mechanics have been added.

Additionally, along with the rulebook, you’ll receive two new double-sided boards featuring the wintry design of the Wintermaw. Alongside these are colour-coordinated tokens and dice in cyan blue, purple, and dark grey. Changing the colour of the dice for each season is a nice touch.

The four Rivals Decks each consist of 32 cards, one specific to the Brotherhood of Bolt and the Symmerkyn respectively. The two universal decks are “Rimewyrm’s bite” and “Hungering Parasite”. The first deck is about mastering the environmental dangers of the Wintermaw and their Rymwyrme dwellers, the other is a flexible control deck featuring the name-giving parasite that lurks in the depths of Wintermaw. One positive thing I noticed is that the decks are no longer shrink-wrapped in plastic, but are packed in a cardboard folder.

Value

Warhammer Underworlds: Wintermaze has the same price as recent core boxes, which is £65 / 80 € / $95. I think that’s reasonable for the number of components.

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