Kamandora’s Blades - Warband Review

Kamandora’s Blades worship Khorne, but they are not front line warriors. These scavengers stalk the bloodsoaked battlefields left behind by the Blades of Khorne, preying on stragglers and survivors. They hunt not for glory, but for skulls, bleeding out their victims with slow, deliberate malice before claiming their grisly prize.

Kamandora, the Mother of Hate [1], leads this brutal warband with her loyal hound Kannat [2]. Alongside her are the grim and dependable Throkk [3], and the ruthless scavengers Ghalista [4] and Antro Krast [5]. Together, they pick their way through the aftermath of battle, hunting down those who slipped through the net of Khorne’s fury. Every skull they claim is another offering in service to their dark purpose.

But they do not keep these trophies. Each skull is meant for a singular destination: the towering pyramid of bone where Korghos Khul ascended to daemonhood. The Blades' purpose is grim, but resolute. After all, even in the shadow of madness, it helps to have a goal, even one as macabre as this.

Fighter Characteristics

Kamandora, the Mother of Hate is the leader of Kamandora’s Blade. She has a Move of 4, a Save of 2 Dodge, and 3 Health, with a Bounty of 2. She is armed with a single melee attack: Range 1, 2 Hammers for 2 Damage, with the Slashing weapon ability (more on this later). Upon Inspiration, her attack improves to 3 Hammers. It’s not a huge boost, which is worth keeping in mind when deciding which fighters to prioritise for Inspiration.

Throkk is Kamandora’s executioner. He has a Move of 4, a Save of 1 Dodge, and 4 Health, also with a Bounty of 2. His melee profile matches Kamandora’s: Range 1, 2 Hammers for 2 Damage with Slashing. Once Inspired, Throkk gains a 2 Dodge Save and his attack improves to 3 Hammers, making him slightly better than Kamandora once Inspired, particularly due to his higher health.

Ghalista and Antro Krast share identical fighter characteristics. Both have a Move of 4, a Save of 1 Dodge, and 3 Health for a Bounty of 1. Each wields a single melee attack: Range 1, 3 Swords for 1 Damage, again with Slashing. Upon Inspiration, their attacks improve to 4 Swords for 2 Damage, and they also gain a 2 Dodge Save. These two fighters have serious MVP potential in this warband, and having a pair of them makes it hard for an opponent to shut them both down before one is Inspired and upgraded.

Kannat, the bulldog minion, rounds out the warband. He’s got a Move of 4, a Save of 1 Dodge, and just 2 Health, with a Bounty of 1. His single melee attack is Range 1, 2 Swords for 1 Damage, also with the Slashing ability. Once Inspired, he improves to 3 Swords and gains a 2 Dodge Save. While fragile, Kannat can still deliver the finishing blow when needed, and he’s another body to contest objectives or act as a distraction. Overall, I think his role is of a positional piece.

All ratings out of 5 (What do the stats mean?)

Comparing Kamandora's Blades Fighter Characteristics to Other Embergard Warbands

At first glance, Kamandora’s Blades may seem underpowered when stacked against the other Embergard warbands. They match the Knives of the Crone in speed and strike with a level of accuracy and power closer to the Beastgrabbaz. However, it is their durability, or lack thereof, that stands out as a key weakness.

While their survivability improves after Inspiration, they are still more fragile than many of their peers. This makes them ill-suited to extended brawls where attrition plays a major role. Instead, they perform best when using their mobility, positional control, and bleed mechanics to pick apart isolated enemies. Early timing of their inspiration and careful target selection are essential to keeping them in the game.

How do the fighter's inspire?

Kamandora’s Blade have an Inspire mechanic that centres around the Worthy Skull, a single enemy fighter that your warband marks for death at the start of each round. You choose one enemy fighter to be the Worthy Skull, and that fighter remains marked for the entire round.

Fighters in Kamandora’s Blade can Inspire in two ways. The most common method is to simply be adjacent to the Worthy Skull at the end of any Power Step, not just your own, but your opponent’s as well. This means that you can move or charge next to the Worthy Skull and, even if you fail to take them out or drive them back, your fighter will Inspire at the end of that Power Step. Likewise, if the Worthy Skull charges one of your fighters and doesn’t manage to kill or push them, your fighter will Inspire after that Power Step too. This timing also allows for positioning using Push cards; you can nudge your fighters into place after actions, setting them up to Inspire immediately.

The second method is to kill the Worthy Skull. If one of your fighters takes them out, they Inspire immediately. However, once the Worthy Skull is slain, you cannot select a new one until the start of the next round, so you lose the opportunity to Inspire other fighters through adjacency.

This creates an interesting choice. Sometimes it’s better to keep the Worthy Skull alive for a turn or two, using their presence to Inspire multiple fighters across the board. Other times, taking them out in one clean strike is the right play, especially if the kill scores Objectives or removes a key threat. Managing when and how to Inspire your fighters is one of the keys to success with this warband.



Warscroll Abilities

Multiple use abilities

A Worthy Skull

At the start of the first Action step in each battle round, if there are any enemy fighters on the battlefield, you must pick an enemy fighter to be the worthy skull until the end of the battle round. 

This ability is absolutely central to your Inspire mechanic, and in the early game it is crucial to choose the right enemy fighter as the Worthy Skull. You’ll want to think carefully. While it might be tempting to pick an easy target, someone your opponent won’t mind losing, it is often better to choose a fighter who needs to come to you, one who is likely to engage rather than retreat. Ideally, the enemy fighter should be within five hexes of the majority of your fighters during setup. This positioning gives you the best chance of closing the gap early and triggering your Inspire. Your opponent could try to move the Worthy Skull away to block your Inspire triggers, but doing so costs them an activation and could disrupt their own strategy.

It is also worth considering the durability of your chosen target. Selecting a fighter with a high Health pool allows your fighters to charge and attack without the risk of taking them out too quickly. This keeps them alive long enough for your fighters to stand adjacent and trigger the Inspire. Timing and positioning are everything here, and getting this right in the first round can set up a powerful mid game with multiple Inspired fighters ready to make the most of their upgraded stats.

  

Slaughterous Pilgrimage

Immediately after you pick an enemy fighter to be the worthy skull, you must push each friendly fighter 1 hex closer to the enemy worthy skull.

The key word in this ability appears to be must. In the early game, before your fighters are Inspired, pushing them towards the Worthy Skull is something you will generally want to do. It allows you to close the distance, potentially setting up charges and building the momentum of your warband. However, once your fighters are Inspired, this automatic push can become a double-edged sword. For instance, if you have a fighter carefully positioned to block a Treasure token, being forced to move could open up that hex and make it easier for a Take and Hold warband to score their objectives. An opponent who is aware of this mechanic can absolutely try to exploit it, especially as the game progresses.

That said, it is important to highlight the positives. This is a free push for every fighter in your warband each round, and that is a strong tool to have. Early on, it can help position your fighters more aggressively, bringing them closer to key enemy targets for easier charging. With some careful preplanning, you can also use this ability to move fighters onto Treasure tokens, especially in the first round. Placing tokens thoughtfully during setup will increase your chances of using the push to claim ground early, forcing your opponent to work harder to take it back. In later rounds, the location of the Worthy Skull will be harder to control, which may limit the tactical usefulness of the push outside of charge positioning.

Over time, with experience and awareness, this will become a valuable ability. Used well, it makes the warband feel fast and assertive and offers a subtle yet effective way to disrupt opponents relying on positional play and holding objectives.




Blood for Khorne!

Slashing: When a weapon with this Weapon ability inflicts damage on an enemy fighter, give the target a bleed token.

If an enemy fighter with any Bleed tokens uses a Core ability, inflict 1 damage on that fighter after resolving that ability, and then remove that fighter’s Bleed tokens. Otherwise, remove all Bleed tokens from enemy fighters immediately after your opponent’s Power step or at the end of the battle round.

While Slashing is certainly not as powerful as Grievous, it is still a valuable weapon ability—certainly better than having no ability at all. When you make an attack with Slashing, the target receives a Bleed token. This token introduces a subtle but effective layer of control: any fighter with a Bleed token will suffer one damage if they make an action. That gives your fighter a degree of protection, as it punishes your opponent for responding in kind or trying to reposition.

This effect becomes especially useful against large, high-health fighters like Mollog or Blackpowder. These fighters may be able to absorb damage in the short term, but being forced to take wounds just to function means they either need to rely on their minions for support or risk bleeding out over the course of a few activations.

In the late game, the impact of Bleed can become even more significant. A vulnerable enemy fighter with a Bleed token may be left in a difficult position, any attempt to act could result in their death. Of course, some opponents may choose to take the damage anyway if it means scoring key objectives, but even then, the pressure and decision-making burden is on them. Bleed does not dominate a game, but in the right situation, it can absolutely swing it.


One Use Abilities

Call the Pursuit

Use this in the Power Step instead of playing a Power card. Pick a friendly minion. Push that fighter up to 4 hexes so it is adjacent to a friendly leader. This ability can only be used once per game.

This ability relies on both Kamandora and Kannat being alive, which means you're likely to get the most value from it in Round 1. Early use can help secure an Inspiration for Kannat, boosting his defence to 2 Dodge, or it can position him to trigger Flanking for Kamandora, provided she's already adjacent to an enemy. This not only increases Kamandora’s attack accuracy but also gives her extra protection, making her more resilient.

There are, however, two notable limitations. First, it’s entirely dependent on both fighters being on the board. If either falls early, the ability becomes unusable. Second, since this is triggered in the Power step, it’s not always possible to follow it up with an attack action, so using it purely to set up Flanking can be awkward without proper setup.

That said, this ability’s value might lie more in positioning than direct offense. If you think about Kannat as a piece meant for early board control, then this push becomes a way to get him onto a Treasure token without spending an activation. Pairing this with cards like Slaughterous Pilgrimage could let you occupy multiple tokens from the beginning of the first round. Once he is sitting on a token, it puts pressure on your opponent to deal with him, often forcing them to waste an activation just to clear a path to objectives. For a two wound minion, that’s already good value.

Possible Pairings

Playstyle: Strike (into Flex)

My immediate sense is that this warband benefits from support in a few key areas: Grievous, additional Health, healing, and solid push tech. There is also value in ping damage, which can complement the Bleed mechanic, chipping away at enemy to make them vulnerable or reluctant to take actions due to the risk of self-inflicted wounds.

The warband is reasonably accurate, fairly mobile, and has decent defensive stats, making it adaptable on the board. With five fighters, there's also real potential to interact with Treasure tokens, either by holding them or delving, which opens up additional scoring options and counterplay against objective-heavy warbands.

Blazing Assault stands out immediately as a strong pairing. It includes some excellent Surge Objectives such as Get Stuck In, Critical Effort, and Branching Fate, which synergise well with the warband's multi-fighter brawling style. The deck also contains several top-tier cards: the excellent Great Fortitude and Great Strength, alongside strong Ploys like Sidestep, Commanding Stride, and Twist the Knife.

If there’s a downside, it’s in the End Phase scoring. The surges are great, but the deck lacks some of the more high-value endgame payoffs that other decks provide.

Another strong option is Countdown to Cataclysm. This deck has a versatile Objective set that rewards aggressive play (Overwhelming Force, Wreckers, Hounds of War) and Treasure token interaction (Set Explosives, Shocking Assault). It also comes with some excellent ping damage tools, such as Total Collapse and Sunder the Realm, which can help tip the balance in grindy fights or finish off Bleeding enemies without committing to another attack.

Wrack and Ruin adds even more ping damage to your toolkit, with cards like Ominous Rumbling, Damned If You Do, and Fault Lines. It also brings solid End Phase scoring options, such as Stay Close and Out of the Frying Pan. These objectives align well with the warband’s natural tendency to cluster around priority targets, especially the Worthy Skull, and offer reasonably reliable reliable passive scoring opportunities without needing to overextend.

Additionally, the Surge objective Bloodied and Bruised pairs particularly well with the Slashing mechanic. By applying Bleed tokens through attacks, you can threaten damage outside of activations and set up easy scoring if multiple enemy fighters end a round both wounded and vulnerable. 

I don't believe Reckless Fury is a strong fit. At first glance, it seems promising, it is aggressive, and the warband wants to fight, but the deck demands both players to Charge frequently, which isn't always viable. With five fighters, you can't afford to commit everyone to a Charge each round, and the Slashing mechanic could actually discourage enemy Charges, making it harder to score from your own deck.

Similarly, Edge of the Knife doesn’t seem like a good match. Too many of your fighters need to be Tempered for it to be effective. Making this pairing unreliable.

For now, I’ll be starting with the tried-and-tested Blazing Assault and Countdown to Cataclysm pairing. It gives me the damage, movement, and flexibility I want, with plenty of scoring options to explore and refine. From there, I’ll adjust based on matchups and see if a splash of Wrack and Ruin is worth the trade-off in deck consistency.

Conclusion

I’m genuinely impressed by the fighter characteristics and inspiration mechanic of this warband. My first instinct is clear, inspire as many fighters as early as possible, worry about dealing damage later.

My ideal Round 1 plan looks something like this: use Throkk to charge the Worthy Skull early. The goal here isn’t necessarily to get a kill, but to inflict damage, apply a Bleed token, and hopefully hold them in place.

Once Throkk has engaged, I’d aim to bring both Ghalista and Antro Krast into adjacency with the Worthy Skull to trigger their inspirations. These two are arguably the most important fighters once inspired and getting them there early can really swing the momentum in your favour.

Then I would look to advance Kamandora and Kannat, ideally using Call the Pursuit to get the movement I need without spending activations.

Overall, I think this is one of the most interesting and tactically demanding warbands in the Embergard season. Their playstyle demands you think carefully about positioning. Your fighters can dish out damage, but they’re also relatively fragile, especially pre-inspiration. You’ll need to strike a careful balance between aggression and survivability to truly get the best from them.

What do you think to this warband? Do you use them? If so, what decks do you pair with them?

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