How I choose a Warhammer Underworlds Warband for a Tournament - Deck selection

Introduction

In my last article, I discussed how I choose the warband I want to take to a tournament. Read the article here.

Spoiler alert: I chose Cyreni’s Razors as my warband for this season of Warhammer Underworlds. I now need to decide on a playstyle and a deck pairing for my fighters.

In this article, I want to talk through:

• Choosing my warband’s playstyle

• Picking the Rivals decks to use for my Nemesis pairing

• Deciding how many cards to take

Playstyle

Cyreni’s Razors are listed in Warhammer Underworlds as a Flex warband. Having played them, I would agree, this is an accurate description of their playstyle. They’re designed to exert control over the board state, while also picking off a few of the opponent’s fighters.

My idea is to build a deck that primarily focuses on gaining glory through a mix of attacks and control over feature tokens. That gives me the flexibility to respond to different opponent playstyles, whether that’s aggressive, control-based, or passive scoring.

Picking Decks for My Warband

I’ve played Cyreni’s Razors a few times before, winning a Rivals tournament when paired with Countdown to Cataclysm. 

When I have looked around the internet, I found most people take the warband with Emberstone Sentinel and Countdown to Cataclysm.

My Razors

The No-Nos

While I don’t like to dismiss any Rivals deck outright, I need to narrow things down to a manageable shortlist.

1. Edge of the Knife
   Although it's a Flex deck, I’m ruling this one out. Why? Because my fighters only become Tempered when injured. And if my Razors are injured, they’re usually not long for the battlefield. To score Objectives from this deck, I’d have to intentionally expose my fighters to damage, not a good trade-off.

2. Reckless Fury
   This deck relies heavily on Charging, both for my fighters and sometimes my opponent's. From experience, I know the Razors don’t always want to charge. Plus, four cards from this deck have been Forsaken, reducing the value and flexibility of the deck.

3. Realmstone Raiders
   I’m rejecting this one unless I can find another deck from which I want to use all of the Objectives. Why? The plot mechanic of Realmstone Raiders is central to scoring its Objectives, but it locks me into including but not using Emberstone power cards. That limits my ability to build a Power deck that boosts my warband’s effectiveness. If I want to use Realmstone’s Power cards, I will need to pair it with a non-Realmstone Objective deck.

Potential Decks

Here are the five decks I’m seriously considering:

1. Countdown to Cataclysm (C2C)
   This is the deck my Razors used to win a Rivals tournament, so I know it can work. It has several strong Objective cards but does require extra support from the Power deck to shine. Although labeled a Mastery deck, it actually plays more like a Flex deck, scoring glory from both Feature token interactions and damaging enemy fighters.

2. Blazing Assault (BA)
   This deck features easily scorable Objectives, though most only award low amounts of glory. The big draw here is its excellent Power deck, especially cards that improve attack reliability. This could be valuable, but I do wonder whether the Razors, who already have solid attacks, might benefit more from defensive buffs instead.

3. Emberstone Sentinel (ES)
   A Take and Hold deck, which isn’t normally my playstyle, I usually prefer a more aggressive approach. However, Emberstone includes fantastic Power cards, especially some valuable defensive upgrades, which could really help mitigate the Razors’ fragility.

4. Wrack and Ruin (WR)
   This Mastery deck is one I use often. While it only offers a few Objectives that directly suit the Razors, it’s the Power deck that’s attractive. It includes some solid defensive options and a few ping damage cards, which can help boost my overall damage output.

5. Pillage and Plunder (PAP)
   A Flex deck I have little direct experience with; either playing or facing. However, it’s well-regarded for having a balanced set of Objectives, many of which involve Feature tokens. The Power deck provides push tech and a few useful attack action Ploys and Upgrades, which could be very handy for my Razors.

Of the five, only Countdown to Cataclysm includes a plot card, so that leaves me with ten potential deck pairings to consider.

Number of Cards and Glory Ceiling

Looking back at the last tournament I played in, most players in the top 8 were winning with glory scores in the low 20s. If I assume I’ll average around 4–5 glory from Bounty each game, I’ll need a deck with an Objective glory ceiling around 17 to stay competitive.

In my typical builds, I run 13 Objective cards:

• 6 Surges

• 7 End Phase

To hit that 17-glory ceiling, I’ll likely need at least four 2-glory cards, which could make using Blazing Assault more difficult, it doesn't offer many high-glory End Phase options.

For the Power deck, I plan to stick with the standard 20 cards:

• 10 Ploys

• 10 Upgrades

This setup provides enough flexibility for three rounds of 5-card draws, with:

• 3 additional cards from losing priority rolls (round start roll offs), and

• 2 bonus cards from the Razors' warband ability.

This structure gives me the hand size I want for consistent performance across a game.

Choosing My Decks

When selecting my pairing, I want a deck that not only synergizes with Cyreni’s Razors' playstyle, but also compensates for their weaknesses.

So, what are the Razors’ core strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths

• Good mobility – All fighters have Move 4, and Cephanyr has Fly.

• Decent attack range – Three out of four fighters have Range 2 attacks.

• Accurate attacks – Especially once inspired, they’re reliable hitters.

• Consistent inspiration – Their inspire condition is straightforward to trigger and provides meaningful benefits.

Weaknesses

• Low durability – Most fighters begin with just 1 Dodge; they’re not built to take hits.

• Limited damage output – None of them can naturally deal more than 2 Damage without Power card support.

Based on this, I see two potential approaches to deck-building:

Option 1: Defensive Control (If You Want It, Come and Claim It)

Boost their survivability, interact with Feature tokens to score Objectives, and only engage when favorable.

Ideal decks to consider:

• Emberstone Sentinel

• Pillage and Plunder

• Countdown to Cataclysm

Downside: This strategy relies heavily on drawing key defensive Power cards early. If I don’t get those, I risk being overrun before my game plan can stabilize.

Option 2: Aggressive Glass Hammer (Strike First, Strike Hard)

Lean into a Strike-style play, increasing their damage potential and going aggressive to disrupt opponents quickly.

Ideal decks to consider:

• Blazing Assault

• Countdown to Cataclysm

• Wrack and Ruin

This option feels more appealing. By hitting hard and fast, I can take the initiative, reduce threats early, and maybe prevent counterattacks entirely. It also suits the lore of the Idoneth Deepkin, who raid fast and vanish like the tide.

So—Option 2 it is!
I’ll be building a Strike-style deck for my Razors.

Choosing the Deck Pairing

For a straight-up Strike-style deck, it’s hard to beat Blazing Assault (BA). It offers a strong set of Surges and some easy-to-score—though mostly low-glory—End Phase Objectives.

The main drawback? It lacks 2-glory End Phase cards, which makes reaching my target glory ceiling of 17 more difficult—unless I include Annihilation, which I rarely achieve with the Razors.

That said, BA excels when it comes to Power cards:

• Twist the Knife and Great Strength help boost the Razors' modest damage output.

• Great Fortitude adds survivability—especially useful on Cephanyr.

• Sidestep and other push tech help reposition fighters for more effective attacks.

So, Blazing Assault is in—but what do I pair it with?

Option 1: Countdown to Cataclysm (C2C)

If I choose C2C, it’s mostly for the Objectives:

• Solid 2-glory End Phase cards like Spread Havoc, Wreckers, and Set Explosives.

• A couple of versatile Surges.

• The Power deck includes ping damage (great for softening enemies) and Utter Conviction, which can boost a fighter’s defense in a pinch.

• Plus, I know this deck works with the Razors

Option 2: Wrack and Ruin (WR)

WR is another strong candidate. Its Objectives include:

• Stay Close and Alone in the Dark, which both score 2 glory (though they’re easier for opponents to disrupt).

Its Power deck also offers:

• Ping damage (similar to C2C).

• Fireproof and Desperate Defence, which reduce incoming damage—valuable for a fragile warband like the Razors.

A Quick Reconsideration: Reckless Fury

Initially, I ruled out Reckless Fury, but I'm reconsidering it—mainly because I’m struggling to hit a 17-glory ceiling with BA + C2C or BA + WR.

However, after reviewing its Objectives, I can still only reach 16 glory, and I’d need to include cards I don’t particularly like. So for now, Reckless Fury stays off the table.

Final Decision

In the end, I’m going with Blazing Assault + Countdown to Cataclysm.

• This pairing lets me reach a 16-glory ceiling using 13 Objectives I actually like.

• It gives me access to a solid Power deck with ping damage, accuracy buffs, and some limited defensive tools.

• Most importantly, it amplifies the Razors’ strengths while helping mitigate their weaknesses—hopefully turning them into more of a glass hammer than just glass.

Here’s hoping this pairing hits as hard on the table as it looks on paper.

Conclusion

After careful testing and analysis, I’ve settled on a Strike-style build for my Cyreni’s Razors, pairing Blazing Assault with Countdown to Cataclysm. This combo offers a strong mix of aggressive Power cards and reliable scoring potential, all while supporting the Razors' strengths—speed, range, and accuracy—and shoring up their weaknesses, like fragility and low damage.

While the 16-glory ceiling is a touch lower than ideal, I’m confident that with smart play, ping damage, and pressure, this warband can punch well above its weight.

Next up: testing this pairing in real games and tweaking it for performance. I’ll be back soon with results from some practice matches and, hopefully, a tournament report from the upcoming Agent’s Clash.

Thanks for reading—and if you’ve tried Razors in Nemesis, I’d love to hear what worked for you!

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