Hunting Ground - Deck Review
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.
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.
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 control, disrupt, and repel them.
Attack and push (importantly!) an enemy off a feature token. You will need to find a way to make or even force enemy fighters onto feature tokens. Using the Aqua Ghyranis token could be vital bait for scoring this card.
Home Advantage (Surge)
Score when your opponent fails an attack against your fighter in your territory. In theory, they will miss eventually, but this card is outside of your control. You can increase the odds by improving your fighter’s defence through Guard, delving for cover, or gaining extra defence dice, but you cannot make your opponent attack you.
No Trespasser (Surge)
Gain bonus glory for killing an enemy fighter in your territory. Very straightforward.
No Business Here (Surge)
Score after an attack on an enemy fighter in your territory that was flanked or surrounded. This card can be scored even if the attack does not succeed, which makes it a flexible and reliable surge.
Lead by Example (End Phase)
Have your leader remain in your territory and make two or more attacks. A highly dependable two glory End Phase card for a leader with a ranged attack.
Pinned! (End Phase)
Score in the End Phase if an enemy fighter was pushed into an edge hex within your territory during that round. This requires careful planning, but once achieved it is a rewarding and difficult card for opponents to prevent.
To score this deck effectively, you will need to bait your opponent into your territory and plan each move carefully to set up your scoring windows. Warbands with access to ranged attacks will find this deck much easier to pilot.
The ploys in Hunting Grounds are designed to support defensive aggression.
A few standout ones:
Secrets of the Realm
Staggers any enemy fighters in your territory who stand adjacent to your fighters or feature tokens. Very useful for improving your attacks so that you can drive them back.
Paths Unknown
Prevents a friendly fighter from being targeted next turn. Late in the game, this can seriously disrupt your opponent’s scoring. It is also excellent for hold warbands.
Mind Your Step
Push an enemy fighter two hexes, as long as they land in neutral or enemy territory. This helps set up positioning for objectives such as Pinned! and is also great for disrupting your opponent’s Take and Hold plans.
Poor Footing
Gives an enemy fighter a Move token if they are within one hex of a feature token and in your territory. This requires a little positioning, but the ability to stop a key enemy fighter from charging could be pivotal.
Keep Them at Bay
Increases friendly fighters’ melee attack range to two for one turn. This can allow you to produce an unexpected attack without needing to charge. Any card that boosts your action economy is extremely powerful.
Hidden Snares
Reduces the number of attack dice your opponent’s fighters have for a turn. It becomes even more effective when you are the underdog, making it another excellent control tool.
This ploy package is extremely effective at disrupting your opponent’s plans but is less focused on directly boosting your fighters. Other notable ploys include the ever-useful Sidestep and the very niche but potentially valuable Audacious Denial, though I have yet to find the perfect warband to use it with.
The upgrades in Hunting Grounds provide a unique set of abilities that extend beyond the usual Great cards.
Hidden Aid
A great old favourite with excellent synergy for scoring No Business Here. This upgrade helps your fighters with both offence and defence.
Crippling Blow
A range 2, low-damage melee weapon that places a Move token on the target when used, even if the attack was unsuccessful. The potential to disrupt an opponent's entire game plan with this weapon is immense. Importantly, the Move token does not come from a weapon ability, so it can be combined with other upgrades such as Great Strength, Keen Eye and Killing Blow. Being only one damage also means it can be used with Audacious Denial.
Balance of Ghyran
An upgrade that can injure a fighter who attacks the bearer. It is especially good on fighters with a large number of wounds. In the later stages of the game, even powerful enemies may think twice before attacking a fighter with this upgrade.
Bounty of Ghyran
For some warbands it can be difficult to inspire, or they may need to wait until later in the game. This upgrade provides a one-turn inspiration, which may be all that is needed to unlock improved offensive or defensive stats. Think of it as a ploy locked behind a one-glory paywall.
Goading Defender
This upgrade grants +1 Save until the fighter is damaged or targeted by a ploy. There is no limit to the Save value, so it could increase to 3 Block or higher. Although it is removed once the bearer is damaged or targeted, the +1 Save can be huge while it lasts. It can also force opponents to waste resources just to remove your buff.
Blocked
Provides the fighter with a passive ability that has a fifty-fifty chance of stopping enemy fighters who move into an adjacent hex from moving past them. It does not stop charges, as the target is chosen after the Move. Used in conjunction with blocked hexes, this upgrade can turn even low-value fighters into large nuisances.
The upgrades in this deck, like the ploys, do not increase the striking potential of your warband’s fighters, but they greatly improve your ability to control the board and disrupt your opponent.
- No plot card means full pairing flexibility in Nemesis.
- Strong defensive theme that can be used to counter enemy fighters that invade your territory.
- Lots of useful tools to push, control positioning, and disrupt the opponent.
- Good synergy with ranged fighters who can stay safe while exerting control.
- Some objectives have tight or awkward conditions, making them difficult to score reliably.
- The focus is on pushing back and injuring enemy fighter rather than outright slaying, you may earn less bounty, making overall glory accumulation slower.
- Requires a warband that can counter punch and/or shoot. Warbands built around charging or rushing may struggle.
Hunting Grounds feels more like a secondary deck for a Nemesis pairing. Since it is not plot locked, it can be combined with any other deck, allowing plenty of room for experimentation and creative gameplay.
The key to making Hunting Grounds work lies in finding the correct pairing, one that complements its defensive playstyle and enhances its control elements without undermining its ability to generate glory.
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| Current deck pairings as of October 2025 |
(Hunting Grounds combined with Emberstone Sentinel)
The core idea of this pairing is to stay within your own territory and aim to score Supremacy and Iron Grasp. These objectives act as bait, drawing your opponent forward as they attempt to stop you from scoring big. Once they cross into your land, you can spring the trap and use Hunting Grounds to punish them for their intrusion.
Emberstone Sentinel provides access to the powerful “Great” upgrades: Great Strength, Great Speed, Great Fortitude, and Keen Eye — giving your fighters the tools they need to endure and strike back. Meanwhile, Hunting Grounds reinforces your defence, allowing you to hold firm and keep scoring from your territory.
(Hunting Grounds combined with Countdown to Cataclysm)
This pairing uses the Take and Hold objectives from Cataclysm as bait, encouraging opponents to move into your territory. You then use the push and ping mechanics from both decks to help score your Hunting Grounds objectives.
Countdown to Cataclysm also grants access to additional ranged weapons such as Hurled Weapon and Improvised Attack, allowing you to chip away at enemies safely from within your territory.
Be cautious with Wrecker — once the Aqua Ghyranis tokens are in play, they add extra feature tokens to the board, which accelerates the Countdown tracker. This can be advantageous for cards like Improvised Attack, Sunder the Realm, and Utter Conviction, but it will make Wrecker even harder to score.
This deck works best with warbands that can defend effectively and strike from within their own territory. Warbands with ranged attacks or safe melee reach are ideal candidates.
Some strong fits include:
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Cyreni's Razors
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Wurmspat
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Grandfather's Gardeners
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Thundrik’s Profiteers
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Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers
Grymwatch
These warbands can hold position, push back enemies, and take full advantage of the Hunting Grounds’ defensive scoring potential.
Hunting Grounds is not truly a Strike deck, it is a Flex deck that seeks to lure your opponent into your killing ground. It encourages a defensive, reactive playstyle that focuses on control rather than raw damage.
As it lacks a plot card, it can be paired broadly, giving you the freedom to combine it with decks that offer additional offensive power or objective support. The essence of Hunting Grounds remains consistent: force the fight into your territory and turn your opponent’s aggression against them.
If you enjoy controlling tempo, manipulating positioning, and punishing opponents for daring to invade your domain, Hunting Grounds offers a rich, tactical, and deeply satisfying experience. It is not about charging headlong into battle, it is about making your enemies regret ever setting foot on your land.
Checkout my Warhammer Underworlds for more articles.
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