Saturday 8^th February 2025 saw the day dawn cold and dreary for the assembling nerds outside the hallowed ground of Nottingham’s Warhammer World. Underworlds had undergone major renovative surgery in recent months and this was the first time a ‘Proppa Big’ event had been hosted since the start of Season 2. 124 folk, seasoned players, Youtube celebrities and a significant representation of beards had gathered to do battle for the ultimate prize of 2 Golden tickets (flights, accom and entry) to the Warhammer World Champs in Atalanta later this year. Let’s face it, 122 people weren’t going to win those tickets and I doubt a large portion had any such aims – most of us were there for the craic and opportunity to play in a big event and test ourselves. 6 rounds of Best of 1 Nemesis Underworlds is a real test of the grey matter.

Dice & Bolter were represented by Underworlds tournament stalwarts Rhys & Will, and were joined by shiny new player David Hunter who literally has a handful of Underworlds games under his belt. Obviously the cold weather had no effect on the hardy Cumbrians and a hot breakfast in Bugman’s had us fueled up and ready for action.

David chose to represent rodent-kind with Zikkit’s Tunnelpack, the poster rats for the new season and recently crowned Las Vegas Open champions. He paired them up with the aggressive Blazing Assault/Pillage & Plunder combo. First up for David was an old enemy/love of Rhys and Will’s respectively, Ephilim’s Pandaemonium. A tough opener and he took out a few minions, though they have a nasty habit of being ressurectable whilst Ephilim survives. By the time Ephilim got squashed, the game was out of reach and ended 20-7 to the demon. Next up was straight out of the core box, facing down The Emberwatch. This was much closer and David thought he might’ve snook it but his opponenet scored well at the end to take it 15-11. Post-luncheon, round 3 brought the botanically challenged Grandfather’s Gardeners to the table. This was a super tight one, ending 9-9 but the filthy Gardeners took it on a tiebreaker. So close to his first win!

Round 4 was another Emberwatch matchup, with the dratted Stormcast using their ranged attacks to good effect and taking it 14-10. Round 5 passed in a blur of large lizards as the sexy new Jaws of Itzl brought dino-power and smashed up the mini doomwheel early doors, spending the rest of the game smashing little rats into the dirt and winning 13-6. The end of this marathon was Thundriks Profiteers taking a very close game by killing David’s leader and squeaking a tight one 16-12.

David’s losses being mostly very close meant he successfully avoided the wooden spoon and finished 123rd. Its always tough to dive straight into a tournament when you’re still learning the game but David says it was a great day and he can’t wait for the next one. It was good to see he wasn’t disheartened by the experience and his first tournament win will likely be just round the corner, hopefully at Stockport in April.

Will took the opportunity to run Khagra’s Ravagers, a warband that was sadly underpowered in the previous edition but now carries a new lease of life and can certainly hold their own. He paired them with Emberstone Sentinels & Countdown to Cataclysm, so leaning heavily into Holding their own…Unfortunately for Will, he lost his opening game heavily 21-5 against Myari’s Purifiers which ruled him out of winning contention but did mean he could relax and enjoy the rest of the day. Round two found him on the bottom table but there was no way a player of Will’s ability is staying down there for long, and he knocked his opponent’s Zondara’s Gravebreakers (a popular choice in the eventual top 10) aside 18-13, following that up post refuelling with a replica 18-13 win over the Emberwatch. Round 4 he finally got to play the Gardeners, a matchup he has consistently beaten when Rhys has piloted them. This game came down to a missed attack that allowed the Gardeners to score enough to win 19-15. On another day, the dice go your way and you win it – Underworlds can be very cruel. Round 5 and Will had to face up the ghostly Headsmen’s Curse and was behind for much of the game before mounting an impressive comeback to sneak it 13-11. Will rounded off his tournament with another Gravebreakers matchup and surged into an early lead, with his opponent unable to catch back up, winning 19-14. 

Will usually has two modes in tournaments – outright smashing everyone in sight and winning or abject failure (mild exaggeration, moi?) so it was refreshing to see him shake off the early disappointment and come out 4-2 with a display of mental grit and a solid showing to finish 40th. Will had a great time and all his opponents were good fun (as is par the course in Underworlds 99.9% of the time).

Rhys, being a relatively disgusting individual at heart, had brought the Grandfather’s Gardeners with the same combo (but some different card choices) as Will’s Ravagers. He was keen to put on a good showing but he followed suite with the other D&B members by losing his opening game against the vampiric Crimson Court with some sloppy play and a few sub par dice rolls. Despite getting his act together later on, his opponent punished him 20-17 with a strong and aggressive approach. Dusting himself off, he snook the next one against Ephilim’s Pandaemonium with a deck mirror match, so it really came down to dice rolls, with Rhys coming out on top 19-18 after killing a Changer with his last activation. Rounds 3 & 4 were both Zondara’s players. The first was a fairly straightforward affair with Rhys able to put his deck homework to good use and block his opponents scoring, winning 18-11. Partway through round 4, Rhys’ opponent announced he’d made a big mistake and it had cost him a lot, spending the rest of game with his head in his hands, unable to shake off the disappointment. We’ve all been there, so Rhys made some sympathetic noises and finished him off 20-8. Rhys found himself up on table 11 with a big jump up the rankings, facing off against the Thricefold Discord in round 5. A very solid opponent provided a stern test, and Rhys thought he might’ve lost it despite killing the obese leader who boasted a fruitful 3 bounty. Luckily, another game snuck his way 17-16 after a tense finale. Somehow, Rhys ended the day of table 7 against former ‘Eavy Metal painter and founder of Army Painter Jonas Faering and his beautifully painted Morgok’s Krushas, complete with stunning diorama (I believe he finished 3^rd in the high standard painting competition). The dice gods were watching this one with their cruel hats on and decided Jonas was going to take the brunt of it, missing all 5 of his opening attacks and then fluffing a crucial dice roll that would have completely scuppered Rhys’ finishing score. Rhys came away from this one knowing his 10-9 win was almost entirely down to a huge stroke of luck. Finishing the day 5-1 meant he placed 11^th and was very pleased with his recovery from an opening round loss, also finishing as top Gardener and will be known as Alan Titchmarsh from now on.

The Golden tickets were won by a couple of overseas raiders so the UK players may have to step up their Underworlds game!

All in all, the day seemed to be a big success and hopefully the first of many. Will & David took the time to enjoy the WHW model showcase and hit the shop. Rhys completely forgot that existed. 

Underworlds is in a perfect place to start right now, so if anyone at the club is interested in a demo game then please do get in touch on the FB group. 

Written by Rhys