Raging Slayer - Deck Review

Overview

Raging Slayer is the third Strike-style Rivals deck released for Warhammer Underworlds: Embergard. It introduces a bold new mechanic that rewards players who embrace relentless aggression and combat efficiency.

Core Mechanic: Rage and Rerolls

This deck features a Plot card, making it the fourth out of nine Rivals decks to include one. As with other decks using a Plot card, this limits compatibility in Nemesis mode. (See Nemesis Pairing section below)

Built around the new Rage mechanic, the deck thrives on raw offensive pressure supported by reliable dice control.

The Plot card introduces Rage, which serves as the heart of the deck. Whenever a fighter Charges, they become enraged, gaining a rage token that grants them a reroll on their next melee attack. This transforms every Charge into a genuine threat and makes the deck ideal for players who prefer sustained aggression over cautious positioning.

This re-roll mechanic is one of the biggest reasons to play the deck. It provides the most impactful Plot card effects so far, giving your fighters a clear advantage from the very first activation. Even a small boost to accuracy can tilt the game early in your favour and help you maintain pressure across multiple rounds. This effect is so strong that it may eventually see a balance adjustment.

The secondary rule, Poor Footing, pushes an enraged fighter after they are attacked. While this can disrupt warbands that rely on adjacency or positioning for Treasure tokens, it may benefit those with ranged attacks or hit-and-run strategies. It also reduces the risk of being trapped or surrounded.

The balance between benefits and drawbacks in this mechanic leans heavily toward the positive.

Objectives – Strike and Slay

The Objectives in Raging Slayer reward direct, aggressive play, often encouraging you to invade enemy territory. This is not a deck designed to hold ground or play passively. It wants you charging forward and striking down enemies at every opportunity.

However, many of the Objectives come with multiple strict conditions, which limits scoring consistency, especially in the Rivals format.

• Best Foot Forward (Surge) – Score after Charging into enemy territory and landing a hit. A simple and reliable choice.

• Aggressive Expansion – Get three enraged fighters into enemy territory. Very achievable in the early game but can become harder in later rounds.

• Coordinated Assault (Surge) – All fighters must be enraged and in enemy territory. Best suited to smaller elite warbands. Can be very easy in later rounds.

• No Contest – Score if the enemy leader is taken out. A flexible one-glory Objective that can slot in easily.

• Unrelenting Massacre – Every fighter must have a Charge token. A risky end-phase Objective that requires careful setup.

While there are scoring opportunities, the Objective pool is the deck’s weakest element. Many cards rely on overlapping or situational conditions that reduce their reliability.

Ploys – Offensive Momentum

The ploys in Raging Slayer are built to keep your fighters moving and fighting. Many interact directly with rage tokens, either enhancing them or converting them into other advantages. These cards help you sustain pressure, boost accuracy, and occasionally manage defense or positioning. Several Domain ploys also give you control over the board state.

A little tip: if rage tokens are not required for Objectives, using them on ploys can reduce the chance of being disrupted by Poor Footing.

• Honed Reflexes (Domain) – Grants defense re-rolls to all enraged fighters. Excellent synergy with the core mechanic.

• Knife to the Heart – Deals one damage to adjacent enemies if your fighter is enraged. Feels like a second edition version of Dark Command.

• Venting Strike – Spend a rage token to gain an extra attack die. Useful for extra accuracy, particularly on a second attack, when you wouldn't get the re-roll.

• What Pain? – Heals and staggers two fighters. A rare multi-target support tool with strong utility.

• Murderlust – After a failed Charge, gain +1 attack dice against the same target. Encourages aggression and adds threat to follow-up attacks.

These ploys give you strong options to maintain offensive pressure. They pair well with the Rage mechanic and provide just enough flexibility to support various game states. Just be mindful of how using rage tokens might interfere with Objective scoring.

Upgrades – Rage Empowered Combat

The upgrades in Raging Slayer focus on turning your enraged fighters into high-impact threats. Many of them enhance accuracy, add unique attack actions, or stack useful abilities like Cleave, Grapple, or Brutal. Most are efficient and easy to apply, making them effective both early and late in the game.

• Aggressive Ambusher – Grants Cleave and Ensnare after a Charge. A strong setup tool for dealing with opponents.

• Assured Bloodshed – Gains Brutal and Grapple when the fighter is enraged. Another strong set of tools for dealing with opponents in cover or with support.

• Haymaker – Grants a one-time +2 damage Lethal attack, capped at 4. This can allow minions to eliminate key threats with the right setup.

• United in Anger – Grants a Push after another friendly fighter is pushed. Combos well with the Plot card and other push mechanics.

• Gifted Vitality – Heals at the end of each round. When combined with Great Fortitude, it significantly boosts survivability. Since the healing triggers in the end phase, it can even be equipped just before the round ends for immediate value.

These upgrades create strong attack combos that help your fighters stay effective from the opening turn to the final clash.

Strengths

• Excellent melee accuracy thanks to consistent re-rolls on every Charge

• Access to key combat keywords including Cleave, Ensnare, Grapple, and Brutal

• Strong synergy with fast and elite Strike warbands

• Versatile Domain effects for tactical flexibility

Weaknesses

• Poor Footing can push you into danger or out of scoring positions

• Many Objectives are condition-heavy and difficult to score consistently

• Very limited midrange or control options

• Still reliant on dice rolls, even with re-rolls

Nemesis Pairings

As Raging Slayer has weak Objective support, it works best as a secondary deck in Nemesis. Despite this limitation, it remains a highly valuable deck thanks to its powerful Plot card, and it worth using the deck for this sole reason. That said, the inclusion of a Plot card does reduce the number of decks you can legally pair it with.

Nemesis Deck Pairings

Blazing Assault with Raging Slayer – Frenzied Charge

Blazing Assault complements Raging Slayer perfectly by adding strong surges, attack boosts, and powerful ploys. The main drawback is a low glory ceiling unless you include Annihilation, but with the accuracy provided by Rage, that becomes a viable path. This pairing excels with elite warbands who can maximize both decks’ offensive tools. Interestingly, with this pairing you could use Keen Eye from Raging Assault, to effectively just use Blazing Assault as a Rivals Deck with the Plot reroll from Raging Slayer.

Pillage and Plunder with Raging Slayer – Aggressive Takeover
Pillage and Plunder offers token control and positional play, creating a more balanced approach. Its Objectives are easier to score, letting you focus Raging Slayer entirely on upgrades and ploys. You can work on scoring your Objectives because delved tokens remain valid even after being pushed as a result of Poor Footing, this combination suits larger warbands that want flexibility and sustained pressure.

One deck that does not work well with Raging Slayer is Emberstone Sentinel. Poor Footing makes it difficult to maintain control of Treasure tokens, which are central to that deck’s strategy.

Warband Pairings

Raging Slayer is best with elite or standard-size Strike warbands that benefit from accuracy and powerful attacks.

• Knives of the Crone – Re-rolls help trigger Inspire and increase the odds of landing Foretold Slaughter. More hits also unlock Foretold Protection, improving their defense. This is a crazy combination!

• Headsman’s Curse, Jaws of Itzl, Gorechosen of Dromm – These elite warbands have the durability and raw damage to take full advantage of Raging Slayer's tools. The extra accuracy keeps their attacks deadly and consistent.

Final Thoughts

You do not bring Raging Slayer for its Objectives. You bring it for the most powerful and reliable Plot card effects in the game. It gives you raw momentum, excellent dice control, and a flexible Power card suite that rewards decisive, aggressive play.

Veteran players may notice echoes of classic First Edition decks in Raging Slayer. Several card names return from Tooth and Claw, including Stubborn to the Bone and Gifted Vitality, while other cards share similar effects to old favourites from that set. Into the Fire recalls the positional scoring style of Focal Point, encouraging aggressive board positioning with your leader. Knife to the Heart echoes the crowd-pleaser Dark Command, offering ping damage for enraged fighters. Meanwhile, the movement-focused aggression enabled by Poor Footing is reminiscent of Breakneck Slaughter's Impetus, pushing fighters after activations to create dynamic board states.

In short, Raging Slayer blends old-school aggression with modern design sensibilities. While it can be challenging to run as a standalone Rivals deck, it offers significant tactical depth when used in Nemesis. For players who enjoy pressing the attack and controlling the game through relentless momentum, Raging Slayer could become a go-to pairing.

What do you think to this deck? Do you will use it? If so, what decks and/or warbands will you pair it with?

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