Warcry: Pyre and Flood review - "Another excellent set"

Sometimes a Games Workshop starter set comes along that's targeted specifically at you. Friends, that is the case for me with Pyre and Flood, the latest Warcry expansion. As with last year's ace Hunter and Hunted box, the set once again includes two rival warbands and a standout piece of scenery. Much to my delight, however, the factions this time are the Lumineth Realmlords (my current Age of Sigmar army) and the Nighthaunt (my first Age of Sigmar army). I immediately wanted both of these warbands for my collection and it helps that the scenery piece this time, the Idol of the Old Ones - a massive piece of ruined Seraphon iconography - is equally cool. 

Of course, Games Workshop will want this box to appeal to people outside of the "voraciously collects both Lumineth and Nighthaunt minis" demographic (fine, I suppose...), but I'm happy to report that whether you have a built-in love for these factions or not, Pyre and Flood is another excellent Warcry set. These board games for adults feel like they've hit a certain rhythm now, providing characterful warbands and scenery while also expanding the story of the current season.

Pyre and Flood: Features & design

• Small, focused set with only one piece terrain
• Excellent and unique warbands with great sculpts
• Good for existing players, but not aimed at beginners

In the box you get the two complete warbands (which breaks down as the 10 members of the Ydrilan Riverblades and the eight members of the Nighthaunt Pyregheists).

As with Hunter and Hunted, however, it's important to note up front that this is not a complete game in a box. It's an expansion set and you will need both the Warcry Core Book and a decent amount of terrain before you can really make use of this set. Terrain is vital for Warcry and you won't be able to make do with just the Idol. If you need to add more, then the separate Ravaged Lands: Scales of Talaxis set, which is entirely made up of big pieces of terrain, or the larger Heart of Ghur set, which adds more swamp-themed pieces, are both available separately.

You also get all the necessary cards (62 of them, split between 14 fighter cards, 42 battleplan cards, 3 ability cards, and 3 divider cards), and the usual 64-page Warband Tome which explains the lore and lays out the rules for both warbands, as well as laying out a new campaign arc: War of Power Undammed.

No, that's not a typo, it's a sort of rubbish water pun, as this whole set has a swampy, aquatic theme.

Now, let's take a look at the two Warbands fighting over the waterways...

Ydrilan Riverblades
The Ydrilan Riverblades are a 10-strong team of Lumineth warriors dedicated to protecting and encouraging rivers and streams. A new unit for the Lumineth, they're made up of veteran Crestdancers and younger Stream-runners, all led by a Pureflood Seneschal. Photos really don't do these miniatures justice - they can look a little flat on the page or screen, but in reality have incredibly dynamic poses. The masked Crestdancers in particularly remind me of Harlequins from the 40K Aeldari range.

Nighthaunt Pyregheists
The Nighthaunt Pyregheists are slightly less numerous at eight models, their forces divided up between Torchwraiths, Flamewraiths, and Balefire Guards, and led by a Deacon of Flames. Again, these are all new warrior types for the range, though their design will be immediately familiar to Nighthaunt collectors. At first these seem a little more vulnerable than the fast and deadly Lumineth, but they have some fearsome special rules.

Pyre and Flood: Gameplay

• The Ydrilan Riverblades are ridiculously fast - and can fly, kind of
• The Nighthaunt Pyregheists have a very nasty Cremate special rule
• The Idol can be activated as a laser gun, basically

Both of these warbands are strong and pleasingly punchy. The Nighthaunt in particular have an aggressive playstyle, thanks to their special 'Cremate' ability. Before we get into those in more detail, however, let's take a look at the Idol of the Old Ones.

I love this piece of terrain. It's pretty easy to build and all the gaps were filled by turning the model upside down and smooshing the cracks full of Citadel Liquid Green Stuff - finally, a good use for it! Painting was fast and fun, and I mainly copied the scheme from the box. I'm going to go back and add some more highlights and details later.

In terms of the game, it adds a nice element of chance. Using a triple on the gem on top enables you to fire a Stuttering Beam at opponents - though a roll of 1 causes it to backfire. Alternatively, you can search the Idol for treasure. This time a 1-2 causes damage to your fighter, but a 3-4 can heal 3 damage points to a fighter, while a 5-6 adds one wild dice to your saved wild dice pool. 

Now, about those warbands...

Ydrilan Riverblades

The Riverblades are formed of warriors from the Ydrilan Temples - a water-themed part of the faction that we've heard of before, but are getting our first proper glimpse at here.

As you'd probably expect from such lithe models, this warband is all about speed and movement. In the lore they are the guardians of rivers and waterways, their long-term goal being to purify the Gnarlwood and restore the waterways of Hysh, in order to bring about the return of the great spirit Daixo Whitecrest - a big spooky ghost horse, by the sound of it. That explains the equine iconography on their helm and also seems like a whopping great tease for future models that maybe we'll see when the next Lumineth Battle Tome arrives.

All of the Riverblades have access to a pretty tasty special rule: Lethal Gyre. Any model targeted by a melee attack can make this reaction before the hit rolls are made. On a roll of 1 from the attacker, 3 points of damage are allocated to the attacking fighter instead. If this happens to one of the super-agile Stream-runners with Crestblades then that 3 damage is allocated to every enemy fighter within 1" as they nimble dance around the blows.

The other faction rules are neatly split between combat and movement - and sometimes both at the same time. Riverblades allows any model to add 1 to their movement characteristic and, after each action (except wait actions), on a roll of 2+, deal an additional 1 damage to nearby visible enemies. Whitecrest Strike temporarily adds 1 to the strength of a fighter's attack. Standing Wave, meanwhile, gives a temporary boost to both the Attacks and Strengths characteristics of a fighter, while also boosting the model's Toughness by 1 until the end of the battle round.

Other skills emphasise movement over combat. Rapids Rising Leap allows fighters to temporarily fly. They can only move 3" vertically up, but this is a great skill for dodging over difficult terrain. Release the River boosts the movement of a group of nearby fighters.

Finally, the Quad Boiling Wrath is useful for late game attempts to turn the tables. It enables a fighter to make any combination of move, attack, disengage actions equal to the number of loyal fighters taken down. If things haven't been going your way, this could be just the thing to give you a fighting chance.

Nighthaunt Pyregheists

Nagash is known for holding a grudge and for turning mortal souls into twisted reflections of what they were in life. In the lore, the Pyregheists were alchemists and holy men who sanctified corpses before death, as well as graverobbers (presumably because they just annoy the Great Necromancer). In death their souls have been transformed into burning Pyregheists who "burn forever in the same hellish nightmare." Never accuse Nagash of not being a petty a-hole...

The Pyregheists are slightly unusual in that they don't have a standard warband Reaction. Instead, they have the Balefire Cremation rule. This works in conjunction with several of the warband's abilities (namely Pyrerobber's Curse, Light the Pyre and Agonising Penance). When an enemy model is cremated, a Pyre token is placed on the battlefield. At the end of the round, any enemy model within 1" of one of these tokens takes 3 damage, as their friends go violently up in flames.

In terms of those abilities, Fan the Flames adds 1 to the damage points allocated by hits and crits in melee attacks. Pyrerobber's Curse boosts a fighter's strength by 1 until the end of an activation, while also enabling them to Cremate enemies. Unblinking Guardian temporarily boosts by 1 the Toughness of Deacon of Flames and Balefire Guard models. Light the Pyre allows you to Cremate enemy fighters, while Soulblaze allows you to make bonus move or attack actions with friendly models if an opponent has been taken down in the same battle round.

Finally, Agonising Penance is a nicely, themey Quad that forces nearby opponents to leap away from Nighthaunt models and run closer to their allies, while taking 3 damage and dealing the same to any of their comrades in the process. If any of these warriors go down, then they are cremated.

Should you buy Warcry: Pyre and Flood?

As with my review of the previous set, Hunter and Hunted, I'd suggest that newbies start by checking out one of the larger starter boxes. But if you've been playing the game for a while, or are particularly drawn to one (or, as in my case, both) of the warbands, then this will make an excellent addition to your collection. 

The way the ongoing Gnarlwood narrative is being played out in the included scenery in these boxes is really smart, here giving us a piece of the Seraphon vessel, the Eye of Chotec, which was responsible for altering the landscape in the first place. 

And it goes without saying that the warbands themselves are great, both in terms of the beautiful miniatures, and in how their rules ably reflect the themes and character of the factions. Overall, it's a real winner.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...