As few weeks ago, at the time of writing this, I decided to give Warhammer Underworlds a go. Seeing how goblin-obsessed I've been as of late, it should come as no surprise that my 1st warband would be none other than Zarbag's Gitz! With this post, I plan to go through each model, talking about my thoughts while painting them, what I learned, and what I'd try differently next time. I'm also going to show my current deck for these gitz as well...
- The warband as a whole -
Overall, they were a lot of fun to paint, and pretty easy to assemble. Things went together pretty smoothly, albeit with some seam lines which I did my best to take care of. I hadn't painted a goblin in easily13 years or so, so I was kind of just winging it a bit! I do plan to do a write up on how I did my cave bases, which I also did on Mollog's Mob, and will also do should I ever expand into AoS proper. Other than that, I did my best to follow the basic color scheme. I also attempted to try my hand at Non-Metallic-Metal (NMM), and while I thought it looked fine at the time, it is something I wish to continue and improve on. The issue with nmm on goblins is that I didn't want the netal parts to look too bright, clean, and shiny, so I didn't use a lot of white. While not using a lot of white did keep the metal parts from looking too shiny, it also kept things a bit too muted, a bit too grey imo. I'll just have to keep practicing it. Still, I'm pleased overall the by the results, and took a week in total, start to finish...
- BoneKrakka & Gobbaluk -
Not sure why, but I decided to work on the squigs first. I'm guessing it's because of all the red, and the lack of black/green. (I like to work colors on all models at the same time) I cannot recall ever painting a squig before, so this was definitely trial and error. In fact, I originally had their bellies a skin tone color, but my kiddo suggested they'd look better with more pink-ish bellies, and so I changed it up. Other than that, it was pretty straightforward until I got to the moon-shaped burn scar. (as you can see a bit of on Bonekrakka's leg) I had no clue how to make it look like a scarred, burnt area, and it required a bit of work, lots of trial and error, work and re-working. I ended up with this raw-looking, purple-ish wound and I think it works!
- Prog, Dibbz, Stikkit, & Redkap -
Allthough I worked on all the goblins simultaneously, these guys ended up being the first ones fully completed. In a lot of ways, I'd practice something on them before moving onto the rest of the gobbos. I will say this: I do love just how full of character each of these guys are. I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to tell them all apart on the board, but it's actually fairly simple due to their distinct hats. I do wish however, I had been a bit more brave with the skin tone on the noses. Originally, it was a lot more pronounced, but I was afraid of how it would turn out, and toned it back with some more green. I feel I could have left it, as spraying the model with clear coat, further turned done the skin tone. All in all, pretty pleased with how they turned out.
- Zarbag -
Next, I finished up the valiant leader, Zarbag! There were a few struggles here and there, with a few of the mushrooms, the nmm portions, and the slight object source lighting (osl) given off from the caged sprite. Overall though, I'm still pleased. If I were to redo hime now, I'd probably punch up the highlight in robes a bit more, be braver with the skin tone of his nose, wet blend the mushrooms more, punch up the nmm a bit more, and maybe clean up the osl a bit more where it hits the mushroom. Still, all in all, I think he looks plenty good on the tabletop!
- Snirk & Drizgit -
Snirk was fairly straightforward. Sure, there is plenty of metal, but it really wasn't so bad... Drizgit though, he was a bit tougher! First off, the fire effects were pretty tough, but his branding iron, and the coals on his back. I've never really attempted to paint something glowing hot before, and like the scar on the squigs, it was just trial and error, work, and rework. In the end, it may not be "glowing" but I can live with it. The coals were also tough, as I had no idea how to create a sort of under-glow effect. Maybe a touch of yellow to show the really hot spots, maybe some osl to show heat or a reflection? Between this and the nmm everywhere, Drizgit was definitely the most difficult of the bunch!
- The Deck -With the models out of the way, let me speak just a little about the deck I've constructed and my experience with them. First up, experience: I have none! Yep, at the time of writing this, I still haven't gotten to use them! In fact, I've only played a single game of Underworlds, which was actually AGAINST a Zarbag player! So, I have at least some inkling as to how they perform, from the other side of the table. I also want to note that I have a very limited collection of cards to pull from at the time of writing this. I KNOW there are better options out there, this is by no means a final deck, and it will continue to evolve over time. That said, I'll still break down my concept and ideas.
Objective deck wise, it centers around claiming objectives. I figured, seeing as I'll have the largest warband and scurry can make their movement a bit more efficient, grabbing objectives would be a viable option. As a whole, the goblins don't seem to output a ton of damage, so I'm going to have to find a way to pick up the slack if I want to gain glory. (going to have to gang-up on people too if I wanna knock em out!)
As far as the gambits go, I came up with the idea of punishing an opponent for either whiffs or for knocking out my gobbos, hence cards like Sorcerous/Grievous Riposte. It's inevitable that I'll lose goblins, so the goal is to try and stack on a bit of damage on the way out. I'm not sure how potent Zarbag's magic will be, so I've opted for only 3 spells.
Upgrade wise, I'm not really sure what to bring here either. I wanted to try and limit as much of the single model specific upgrades as I can, since I'm not sure how much each model will be sticking around. Parrying Blade is in to reinforce the riposte theme as mentioned, and Challenge seeker seems like a no-brainer as pretty much everything else will have more wounds than a goblin! The rest of the upgrades primarily focused on boosting damage, something the goblins lack, and Chained Spite is in their mostly for fluff. (I like to think if the card representing the caged sprite getting free and going on a mini rampage!)
So, there you have it! Have you played Zarbag's before, if so, what did you do differently, and what worked well for you? Let me know in the comments below!
#AD
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