Warhammer Underworlds - Invaders
Invade or Entice? Enemy Territory in Warhammer Underworlds Rivals Decks
I was heading home from my club games the other day thinking about which Rivals decks I might want to pair with Blackpowder’s Buccaneers. I naturally gravitate toward a counter‑attack style of play: inviting my opponent into my territory, absorbing the initial pressure and then striking back when the moment is right.
But Warhammer Underworlds is ultimately a game won on Objectives and Glory, not just positioning and clever traps. That made me stop and ask a key question:
Which Rivals decks force you to cross the board, and which let you stay comfortably at home?
To answer that, I analysed every current Rivals deck to see how many Objective cards, and how much Glory, are locked behind some form of interaction with enemy territory. This also has knock‑on effects for Nemesis pairings, because combining two decks with similar territorial demands can strongly shape how a warband must play.
What Do We Mean by Enemy Territory?
Before going any further it’s worth clarifying the basics.
A Warhammer Underworlds board is divided into three territories:
- Friendly territory – your half of the board
- Enemy territory – your opponent’s half of the board
- Neutral territory – the hexes that run along the centre line
Any Objective card that requires a fighter to be in enemy territory, or requires an enemy fighter to be in your territory, effectively pressures one player to cross Neutral territory.
Why Does Enemy Territory Matter?
Objective cards that require interaction with enemy territory are almost by definition higher risk. Moving fighters forward puts them closer to the opponent’s threats and makes them more vulnerable to being taken out before they can score.
That risk isn’t the same for every warband:
Some warbands benefit from invading enemy territory — Emberwatch, for example, inspire when they begin an activation in enemy territory.
Others are far happier remaining at home — Kurnoth’s Hunters being a prime example.
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| My Kurnoth's Heralds |
Understanding how much of a Rivals deck’s Glory is locked behind enemy territory interaction helps determine whether it complements, or actively fights against, your preferred playstyle.
Methodology
For each Rivals deck I identified:
- How many Objective cards require an interaction with enemy territory
- How much total Glory those cards represent
- Whether those cards are Surges or End Phase Objectives
The decks below are ordered from most to least dependent on enemy territory interaction, first by number of cards and then by total Glory.
Rivals Deck Breakdown
Raging Slayers – 6 cards | 8 Glory
Unsurprisingly, the aggressive Strike deck tops the list. Raging Slayers revolves heavily around having multiple, if not all, of your fighters deep in enemy territory, often requiring secondary conditions such as successful attacks.
This deck clearly favours elite Strike warbands like Morgok’s Krushas, which have no problem charging headlong across the board.
- 3 Surge cards (3 Glory): Best Foot Forwards, Coordinated Assault, No Respite
- 3 End Phase cards (5 Glory): Aggressive Expansion, Into the Fire, No Escape
Emberstone Sentinels – 6 cards | 8 Glory
This was my biggest surprise. As a Hold deck I expected Emberstone Sentinels to be less aggressive, but many of its objectives require fighters to invade enemy territory and hold Treasure tokens. Three of the remaining End Phase cards require you to hold specific Treasure tokens, which may also be in enemy territory.
For mid‑sized warbands of four or five fighters this can be a tall order. They often lack the durability or numbers to maintain those positions for long.
- 4 Surge cards (4 Glory): Careful Advance, Sally Forth, Step by Step, Stand Firm
- 2 End Phase cards (4 Glory): Iron Grasp, Slow Advance
Reckless Fury – 5 cards | 6 Glory
Our second Strike deck takes third place. Like Raging Slayers, Reckless Fury rewards presence in enemy territory, but instead of counting fighters it often focuses on the Bounty of your fighters.
Most cards include a secondary condition such as holding a Treasure token or making a successful attack. Interestingly here the enemy territory Glory is bound up in the Surge package.
- 4 Surge cards (4 Glory): Best Foot Forwards, Frenzied Rush, Sally Forth, Savage Sprinter
- 1 End Phase card (2 Glory): Bloody Momentum
Wrack and Ruin – 4 cards | 6 Glory
Wrack and Ruin is a Mastery deck, and its enemy territory objectives often require fighters to be injured. That combination creates a particular challenge: fighters must survive while wounded and exposed.
This again pushes the deck toward more elite, resilient warbands with fewer but tougher fighters. Having said that, I have found this deck, a favourite of mine, to be very versatile and I have rarely used these enemy territory cards.
- 1 Surge card (1 Glory): Careful Advance
- 3 End Phase cards (5 Glory): Living on the Edge, Out of the Frying Pan, Spread Out
Edge of the Knife – 4 cards | 4 Glory
Our first Flex deck. Enemy territory objectives here revolve around the Tempered keyword, usually with additional positioning requirements.
The deck clearly supports horde warbands but can also work well with injured elite fighters, making it an interesting pairing alongside Wrack and Ruin.
- 1 Surge card (1 Glory): Behind Enemy Lines
- 3 End Phase cards (3 Glory): All In, Risky Positions, Two Pronged Assault
Pillage and Plunder – 2 cards | 2 Glory
With Pillage and Plunder enemy territory interaction drops off sharply, as do the rest of the decks on this list. Only a single fighter needs to cross the board, usually to stand in enemy territory or delve a Treasure token. Even then, to achieve the scoring conditions of Strip the Realm or Torn Landscape you may have to send your fighters in.
From this point downward, decks become far more compatible with defensive or reactive playstyles.
- 2 Surge cards (2 Glory): Careful Survey, Claim the Prize
Realmstone Raiders – 1 card | 1 Glory
A Mastery deck with just a single Surge objective interacting with enemy territory. This card is Pillage, which is unlikely to see much play as it has far too many scoring conditions.
With only a single card, this deck does not need to invade enemy territory, but you may need to chase your opponent’s fighters down in order to Raid.
- 1 Surge card (1 Glory): Pillage
Deadly Synergy – 1 card | 1 Glory
Another Mastery deck with minimal territorial pressure. This card is Infiltrate, which requires a successful attack against a target in enemy or neutral territory when the target is flanked or surrounded, or the attacker is United. There are easier Surges to score but this card is definitely scorable.
- 1 Surge card (1 Glory): Infiltrate
Countdown to Cataclysm – 1 card | 1 Glory
This deck includes a single End Phase objective, Nowhere to Run, requiring a friendly fighter in each territory with either a Move or a Charge token. Outside of that, the deck largely avoids enemy territory interaction.
- 1 End Phase card (1 Glory): Nowhere to Run
Blazing Assault – 1 card | 1 Glory
This was another surprise. For a Strike deck, Blazing Assault places very little emphasis on invading enemy territory.
The only relevant card, Get Stuck In, merely requires attacking an enemy fighter in enemy territory. With ranged weapons your fighter doesn’t even need to cross the line to score.
- 1 Surge card (1 Glory): Get Stuck In
Hunting Grounds – 0 cards | 0 Glory
At the bottom of the list, Hunting Grounds contains no Objective cards that require interaction with enemy territory at all.
Repeated Cards Across Decks
The repeated cards highlight that these decks share a common overall objective. Cards like Best Foot Forwards, Sally Forth, and Careful Advance appear in multiple decks, showing that, despite differences in playstyle, many Rivals decks are built around similar tactical goals. Recognising these overlaps can help you plan your Nemesis pairings and anticipate how your opponent might score, giving you a clearer picture of the strategic threads that run across the game.
- Best Foot Forwards – Raging Slayers, Reckless Fury
- Sally Forth – Emberstone Sentinels, Reckless Fury
- Careful Advance – Emberstone Sentinels, Wrack and Ruin
What This Means for Play
Interestingly, my favourite pairing has been either Countdown to Cataclysm and Blazing Assault or Countdown to Cataclysm and Wrack and Ruin. Both pairings have limited interactions with enemy territory and allow me to play my preferred style of drawing my opponent in rather than charging headlong into danger.
Equally, I can now see why Emberstone Sentinels and Raging Slayers is actually a workable pairing, having faced it a few times without really understanding why it worked. This pairing could be very interesting with a warband like Khagra’s Ravagers.
I am also keen to find a warband, probably something fairly elite, to pair with Edge of the Knife and Wrack and Ruin. Here I can take more elite fighters and run across the board. As my opponent injures me, they only help my scoring.
- Hunting Grounds and Countdown to Cataclysm could also work well as a pairing. Fighters do not have to enter enemy territory and you have the Hold Objectives to potentially bait your opponent into your territory.
- Hunting Grounds combined with Blazing Assault could also be surprisingly effective as it allows you to aggressively defend your own territory.
- Blazing Assault and Deadly Synergy also appear to be a strong combination, as they both require little interaction with enemy territory and instead focus on pure aggression wherever it is needed on the battlefield.
- Reckless Fury and Raging Slayers is a perfect combination for a warband that wants to invade and conquer an opponent’s territory.
Once I start to see a deck contains three or more Objective cards that require an interaction with enemy territory, then I know my warband is going to have to cross Neutral territory.
Final Thoughts
If, like me, you prefer to draw your opponent in rather than charge headlong into danger, understanding these territorial demands is crucial. Some Rivals decks actively reward patience and positioning, while others practically demand aggression.
Knowing where each deck sits on that spectrum makes it far easier to choose Rivals and Nemesis pairings that support your warband and your personal playstyle, rather than fighting against them.
Checkout my Warhammer Underworlds for more articles.
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