Warhammer Underworlds, a competitively popular player versus player combat strategy card game hybrid, will make its transition fromtabletop gamingto the digital realm as it hits Steam’s Early Access in less than two weeks.
Warhammer Underworlds: Onlinemay be one to keep an eye on, especially as deck-building card games seem to be gaining a foothold in crossing various genres and game types, seen recently with games such asSlay the Spire.Warhammer Underworldsis no ordinary strategy or card game, though, and has established itself to be one of the most competitive miniatures games in its tabletop gaming communities for good reason.
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Warhammer Underworldspresents an opportunity to create an extremely competitive online community that bypasses the traditionalpay-to-win modelsseen in other card games, such asHearthstone, while still offering deep customization in the deck-building and card-collecting aspects of its card battling system. There is no immediate way to describe or categorize whatWarhammer Underworldsis, since there is nothing else quite like it.
Warhammer Underworldsuses a hex board to set the battlefield and tone for this particular setting in theWarhammer universe. Its gameplay consists of turn-based strategy combat, as players pick a Warband to do battle against another player, or in this case, the option to play against the computer AI is included as well. Each Warband typically consists of anywhere from 3 to 9 fighters, typically. Obviously, Games Workshop put a lot of time into balancing these Warbands, so that those with fewer fighters have other ways to compensate, such as more maneuverability or defensive traits.
What makesWarhammer Underworldsincredibly unique is that players also create a custom deck of cards for their Warband from their card collection. These provide various abilities, upgrades for particular fighters, and objectives to undermine their opponents or score Glory points, which a player needs to accumulate to ultimately win the game.
Warhammer Underworld’sstrategy is equally dependent on the deck the player chooses to build, their choice of fighters' movements and actions on the hex map, and the cards they play during the Power Phase, which comes last in the sequence of events. The deck the player builds will also largely determine how the player must plan his or her strategy during all the phases, including movement and actions on the hex map.
Perhaps the most satisfactory part ofWarhammer Underworlds’card system is that it is not pay to win in a traditional sense, but it certainly has limits that are friendly toplayers who are on a budget and want to build a strong deck, or who have ethical dilemmas about the “gambling” essence in purchasing collectible card games in general.
For example,Warhammer Underworldshas no randomized cards in any of the purchases, unlikeMagic: The Gatheringdecks, for example. Players purchase a Warband, and that Warband comes with the same set of cards that every other player will also own if they purchase that same Warband. For example, if a player purchases the Godsworn Hunt’s warband, it comes with the same 66 cards for any other player who also buys that warband.
This system makes it enjoyable for players' to collect cards while maintaining a reasonably small budget, without the need to feel pressured or obligated to make additional purchases in hopes of snagging rare cards.Warhammer Underworldstotally does away with the randomized card purchasing systems that most pay-to-win collectible card games depend on. Even better, each Warband comes with a certain number of cards that are unique and only used for that Warband, but also includes many universal cards which can be used for any other Warband’s deck.
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This means that even if a player chooses to play with a different Warband than the Godsworn Hunt, they can still use some of the unique Universal cards that came with that Warband to help build a useful deck that may take advantage of a different Warband’s strengths. This also provides an incentive to purchase a Warband, even if the player may not necessarily use that particular Warband all the time, as the content can be utilized elsewhere as well.
Currently, the Early Access version of the game will come with only two Warbands available, which is typical considering that the physical tabletop base games also only come with two Warbands. More Warbands will be added throughout the period of Early Access, but it is unclear at this point whether they will be for free or paid DLC. If it is for free, it would certainly give customers a huge advantage over the physical version of the game, especially in consideration that the digital base game will likely already be much cheaper in price. This makes sense, given that physicalminiature figuresand components are expensive to manufacture.
The game plays quick, perhaps even quicker in digital form, with sessions taking between 20-30 minutes often times. It is unclear how exactly how extra content will be obtained in the future, such as extra Warbands, but it is doubtful that Games Workshop would want to undermine its own tabletop game by offering them all for free. Though it could certainly be a possibility that the game gets an all-content purchase option in the future, for a heftier price.
It is currently not known what the price will be, but most people do not anticipate that the game will be anywhere close to a $60 price tag, as it would be smart to avoid controversies over prices similar toLink’s Awakening’s$60 price tag.Warhammer Underworlds: Onlinewill launch on Steam’s Early Access on January 28 and we will find out. Online video game players and tabletop war game enthusiasts alike will finally get their chance to experience this game’s unique and competitive blend of card combat, deckbuilding and turn-based strategy in all its glory.
Warhammer Underworlds: Onlineis currently in development its beta will be available for purchase on Steam on Jun 15, 2025.
