The Grymwatch are coming this weekend for Beastgrave! here is a preview
via the Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/10/02/warband-focus-the-grymwatchgw-homepage-post-4/
Forget Stormcast Eternals – at last, Warhammer Underworlds has some real heroes. Riding across Ghur in search of adventure come the Grymwatch. These bold warriors are here to slay monsters, honour their king, and SUCK THE MARROW FROM YOUR VERY BONES – and today, we’re looking at just how they play!
Who are the Grymwatch?
So, maybe the Grymwatch aren’t actually brave, knightly heroes, but in fact a pack of deluded, cannibalistic killers. Hailing from the blasted and ruined kingdoms to the North of Beastgrave, the Grymwatch are on a wild quest to slay a beast that dwells within the living mountain – or so they believe. While their intentions may be ostensibly pure, they’re still as flesh-hungry as the rest of their Flesh-eater Courts kin – woe betide any who happen upon the Grymwatch in the dark and twisting tunnels of Beastgrave…
The Fighters
Fast, brutal in close combat and capable of bringing fighters back to the battlefield in a terrifying torrent, Duke Crakmarrow is a fine leader for the Grymwatch and should be at the heart of any strategy. When Inspired, Crakmarrow’s speed, huge damage output and access to Cleave make him ideal for finishing off wounded enemies. Before he’s Inspired, you’ll want to play cautiously, as losing him will seriously compromise your warband’s skills.
The Duke’s Ghoul Call and Muster abilities are the Grymwatch’s secret weapons, allowing them to turn dead fighters to their advantage. In practice, the Ghoul Call ability allows Crypt Ghouls to reappear from board edges – just be careful when positioning that scatter token! Muster means that every action phase kicks off with a free Ghoul Call Action, so you won’t have to worry about sacrificing valuable activations to bring them back – and that an enemy who slays your Crypt Ghouls may well end up surrounding themselves…
Gristlewel is a simple and savagely effective fighter, using speed and a deadly attack action to deal devastating damage to enemies. You’ll want to use Gristlewel’s swift pace to keep him away from enemies or chase down and slay anyone who you can kill with a single blow.
Master Talon isn’t a particularly deadly fighter but has both the Crypt Ghoul and Hunter keywords, entitling him to some nifty upgrades. When Inspired, Master Talon also has a deadly mechanic where his Wounds characteristic grows as adjacent enemy fighters are taken out of action, meaning that with some careful positioning, he can become very durable indeed.
Night’s Herald is a fighter you’ll want to use primarily to support your other combatants, taking full advantage of his special ability when Inspired to penalise the Dice characteristic of enemy fighters’ Attack actions.
The Royal Butcher is your go-to fighter in the Grymwatch for cutting down slippery foes with low Wounds characteristics. Boasting Ensnare and a hefty 4 Fury dice when Inspired, he’s ideal for inflicting that last little bit of damage.
Valreek is a solid fighter with decent attack characteristics, while her Hunter keyword makes her eligible for a variety of powerful upgrades – including one incredible option we’ll look at below. She lacks the Crypt Ghoul keyword, which means you won’t be able to resurrect her with Duke Crakmarrow, so play cautiously.
Last up, we’ve got the Duke’s Harriers. You’ll want to use this fighter’s blisteringly high movement to deny enemies key objectives or nip in to provide support to friendly combatants.
The Tactics
The Grymwatch are a territory-control warband, using their superior speed, high body count and Duke Crakmarrow’s Ghoul Call ability to claim a numerical and positional advantage throughout the game. Making the most of your Inspire condition is absolutely key when playing the Grymwatch – you’ll want to fight tooth and nail to keep enemy fighters out of your territory in the first action phase. However, this Inspire condition isn’t just a challenge for you – your enemy will have to come into your territory and risk getting piled on by ghouls if they want to slow you down. Even then, you’ve got plenty of tricks up your sleeves…
Key Gambits
As you might have noticed, the Grymwatch have a bit of a tricky Inspire condition – that’s why you’ll want to take Horrifying Spectacle in your decks. This nifty gambit can Inspire several fighters at once. With a powerful push like Pack, Advance!, you’ll be able to quickly surround foes, while Scrabbling Claws can make for a very nasty surprise indeed for any foes relying on key upgrades.
Key Upgrades
Lots of this season’s cards interact with the Quarry keyword – but what if your enemy hasn’t got any? Simple – just equip Valreek with Hunter’s Nose, and suddenly, every enemy has the Quarry keyword, opening up all sorts of deadly synergies! Another cracking upgrade is Impervious Delusion, which makes your fighters much less likely to be killed in a single blow, so it’s a great choice against elite warbands. Finally, Seized Weapon is an upgrade that behaves much like a gambit, providing some nifty direct damage when given to a fighter.
Key Objectives
The Grymwatch are what’s known in the Warhammer Underworlds community as a “flex” warband, meaning they work well for both aggressive and objective-based play. For instance, Bravely Done! is a Surge objective that rewards you for ganging up on enemies, while In the Name of the King gives you glory when you scatter and hold objectives instead. We’d recommend using gambits that let you push fighters to both nab the best objectives and attack enemy fighters – and to trigger Pervasive Delusion, another excellent Surge objective.
If you’re looking for a warband capable of swarming (and slaying) even the most dedicated enemies while dominating objectives, you’ll love the Grymwatch – pre-order yours this weekend
