Jon Grant Miniatures

Playing to Win… But Not How You Think Most of us, when we hear the phrase “playing to win,” immediately think of tournaments, competitive play, and the latest meta warbands. Winning, in that world, means taking the strongest warband available, scouring the internet for the best deck, learning the sharpest strategies, and mastering every nuance until your hands are on the glass. There is no denying the thrill of that kind of competition, and I will be honest: I like winning. I do not enjoy losing (who does?). However, in reality, I do not have the time to grind out endless practice games, study tournament results to track the shifting meta, or rehearse strategies for hours on end. This means that, realistically, I will win very few tournaments. So where does that leave me? I am not giving up, but I am redefining what “winning” really means. For me, it is less about being the sharpest competitor in the room and more about embracing the challenge of less frequently played warbands, t...

Overview Deadly Synergy is the fourth Mastery-style Rivals deck to be released for the second edition of Warhammer Underworlds: Embergard. It’s a deck that rewards precise positioning, careful planning, and timing. The central idea here is simple: your fighters are more effective when they work together. The new United mechanic encourages you to position adjacent fighters to attack, defend, and score as a cohesive group. Instead of sprinting out for solo charges, this deck wants you to fight in formation, side by side, pressing the attack as a single, disciplined unit. I cannot help but think of Khainan's Reapers here. It’s a refreshing twist on aggro play. Rather than brute force or reckless charging, Deadly Synergy asks you to think about your spacing and timing. It is a deck that can be devastating in the hands of a player who can control the flow of the game through positioning and planning. Core Mechanic The core of Deadly Synergy is its Plot card, introducing the United m...

Overview Hunting Grounds is designated as a Strike deck with no plot card. However, as you will see, I think this deck plays far more like a Flex deck. Unlike most Strike decks that push aggressively into enemy territory, this one flips the concept entirely. It rewards defensive play, punishing invaders who dare to step into your land. Core Theme: “Get Off My Land” Ordinarily, Strike decks focus on driving your fighters forward into the opponent’s half of the board. Hunting Grounds , however, demands the opposite approach. It wants the enemy to come to you. You will score by holding your ground, pushing intruders back, and maintaining control of your territory, but interestingly not necessarily by killing them. Objectives The objective suite in Hunting Grounds leans heavily on maintaining your position and luring enemies into your territory. Once they step over the border, there is not much glory to be gained from outright slaying them. Instead, you are rewarded for how you co...

On the 4th of October 2025 , I loaded up the car early in the morning and set off at 6am for the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Market Harborough . For any Australian or American readers, that’s considered a fairly long journey here in the UK! I arrived around 9am, got myself into the right frame of mind, and set up my custom board (for display purposes only). I knew the day was going to be tough. I’d chosen to bring Blackpowder's Buccaneers ,  a piratical Ogor Maneater roaming the realms in search of treasure, glory, and something suitably exotic to eat. From my practice games with Gorlock Blackpowder and his crew, I already knew what to expect: results that swung wildly between crushing wins and equally crushing losses. To make matters more challenging, I was aware that several World Championship qualifiers had also bought tickets for this event. For this tournament, I paired the Buccaneers with Blazing Assault and Countdown to Cataclysm . My plan was to lean heavily into Gorlock...