Warcry: Hunter and Hunted review - "Contains some of the best miniatures yet"

Warcry: Hunter and Hunted sees the Age of Sigmar skirmish game move its expansion sets into a new format – and contains some of the best miniatures yet for the system.

Previously, every Warcry box would contain two warbands and a whole heap of scenery. That was great at first, but if you’re anything like us, you’ll already have quite a lot of terrain by this point – and much of it still sitting on the sprue! With that in mind, the plan for both Warcry and Kill Team going forward is that the new sets will be slimmed down and cheaper. You still get your warbands, as is the case with Warcry: Hunter and Hunted, but there’s only one piece of scenery included. (For those that don’t have enough terrain, or who want more, a separate box called Ravaged Lands: Scales of Talaxis is also available.)

It doesn’t shake up the lore, though, because there’s still plenty left to mine in that regard. Since the game’s second edition launched in 2022, the setting for Warcry has been Ghur, the Realm of Beasts. Hunter and Hunted continues this ongoing narrative. Earthquakes are wracking the Gnarlwood, particularly in the Sundered Scales – rumored to be the crash site of an ancient Seraphon star-ship. The Gorger Mawpack (that’s yer big lads with the clubs) believe that the quakes are a sign that the Gulping God has stirred, while the brave men and dogs of the God-King’s Wildercorps are hot on their trail and determined to destroy their monstrous foes. 

And that’s where you, the player, come in.

Features & design

• Smaller, more focused set with less terrain
• Excellent and unique warbands with great sculpts
• Good for existing players, not beginners

The first thing to clarify is that Hunter and Hunted is NOT a complete game, or a starter set. It's a campaign box, and you need to be able to access a copy of the core rules. (Handily, Games Workshop has made them available to download for free here.) And as I mentioned earlier, you’ll need a good amount of terrain – it’s more vital to the game than it is in the likes of Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar. 

That's what you don't get. This is what you do: two excellent new warbands, the Gorger Mawpack and the Wildercorps Hunters, complete with all the rules, background, and the cards you need to play with them. You also get an impressive centerpiece in the Mawpit scenery. This is a brilliant model (despite a few annoying gaps that needed to be filled during assembly). I've been short of painting time, so haven't been able to paint up either the Gorger or the Wildercorp models yet, but I did tackle this. I think it turned out pretty well (drybrushing is your friend with this kit), but boy did I spend a lot of time staring into a fleshy, toothy abyss in the process.  

Finally, you get the Warband Tome which fills you in on the background for the two warbands, gives you all the rules needed to play with them, and presents you with two new campaigns Hunters and Hunted and Seek and Destroy. Both of these have essentially the same premise – the Wildercorps must track and destroy the Gorgers – but are varied enough for you to get a good few games out of them.

Let’s meet the two Warbands:

Gorger Mawpack
The Mawpack is a five-strong band of ogors described in the campaign book as "both wretched and terrifying," which is a vibe I am very here for. The models are huge, roughly twice the size of the human figures, and packed with details and alternative build options. As you might imagine these guys are tough, averaging out at around 30 (!) wounds each.

Wildercorps Hunters
In comparison, the Hunters are both far more numerous and killable. In the box you get nine humans and four dogs (technically five, as the leading Wildercorps Warden comes with his own mutt on the same stand). Part of the Cities of Sigmar range, these guys are so characterful. If you've painted up the Hexbane's Hunters warband for Underworlds, you'll have an idea of the look – all scrappy leather, beaten up armor, and whatever weapons they can lay their hands on. I love them and it’s taking real effort not to abandon my current Lumineth Realm Lords army in favour of starting a new Cities army for AoS.

Gameplay

• Gorgers are powerfully nasty in close-combat
• Wildercorps are more organized and excel in a pack
• Mawpit scenery adds fun new rules of its own

Let’s get into the rules a bit. As always, both Warbands have access to a special Reaction, various abilities, and individual character mechanics. Namely, while the Gorgers are incredibly powerful, there aren't many of them and they're comparatively slow. The Wildercorps Hunters, on the other hand, are nimble but squishy. 

The Mawpit has a few simple rules to be aware of as well. Number one: don’t end up in the mouth at the end of an activation, as it will swallow you whole. You can chuck enemy fighters in there, and if you end the game with a fighter standing triumphantly on the skull platform, then you can add 1 to their renown roll. Fun stuff.

Here's a more detailed look at how those warbands shake out.

Gorger Mawpack

The Gorgers are a five-strong warband. While some are armed with clubs, others prefer to attack using just their massive claws and gaping maws. 

This warband’s Reaction is Rending Bite, which means that if they are targeted, and the enemy fails to roll a six on any of their hit rolls, then the attacking enemy fighter will take six wounds as the Gorger takes a quick chomp out of them. This is a nifty rule for making your opponent think twice before attacking you.  

When it comes to special rules, all of the Gorgers, with the exception of the Clawback leader, have Glimmer of Consciousness. These are usually mindless beasts driven by hunger, but when this rule is activated they can, until the end of the turn, move through closed doors and carry treasure.  

At the other end of the scale, the Cave Howler has an Agonizing Roar. This means you roll a dice for every enemy fighter within 6” and, on a 4+, the fighter being rolled for can no longer make disengage actions.  

The Gorger with Great Club, meanwhile, can pound enemies with brutal Maddened Blows, which makes hit rolls for attacks crit on 5+.  

On top of these, all of the Gorgers have access to Bounding Leaps, which means that if there’s an enemy within 6-inches of a Gorger, then they can make a bonus move action to get up close and personal. Starving Rampage, on the other hand, gives the fighter the 'Beast' runemark, granting them a bonus melee attack on any enemy model within 1” until the end of the turn. 

Wildercorp Hunters

The Wildercorp are a much more numerous warband, generally armed with axes, spears, and crossbows. They’re supported by the Arbalester, who can deal serious ranged damage, and led by a Warden who can be kitted out with a variety of different weapons as well as a pet mutt. 

The Wildercorps’ Reaction is Smart Step Backwards, which enables fighters that have been wounded in melee combat to make a bonus disengage action to help them get out of trouble. Not the sexiest of skills, but definitely useful. 

When it comes to special rules, some of these are only accessible to the humans and some only to the Trailhounds. For starters, Hunting Pack encourages your fighters to stick together. Once a fighter chooses to use it, a friendly model within 2” gets a bonus attack action on a nearby enemy. Similarly, Hunter’s Eye adds 1 damage point to hits and critical hits inflicted on enemies until the end of the turn – very nice. Last but by no means least, Trailblazer’s Might makes attack crits 5+ until the end of a turn. 

Deathgrip is one for the dogs. If a fighter scores a hit then the enemy fighter loses one action. If it has no actions left to lose then it takes three damage instead. Kill! is only available to the Warden with Trailhound, but effectively orders all the dogs within 3” of a targeted fighter to take a bite out of the enemy. 

Finally, Regroup! enables you to reorganize fighters and Trailhounds within 6” by giving them a bonus move or bonus disengage action. 

Should you buy Warcry: Hunter and Hunted?

If you’re just starting out with Warcry then I’d perhaps suggest getting one of the larger starter sets instead, so that you’ve got the core book and scenery. If, however, you’re looking to expand your games, this is just great. Both of the warbands look amazing and favor different play styles. The Gorgers are mighty beasts, but their small numbers and comparative slowness can make them targets for the nimbler – but far more breakable – Wildercorps Hunters. The Mawpit, meanwhile, is a fantastic piece of terrain that will also fit right into games of Age of Sigmar (and, honestly, could proxy for a Sarlacc Pit in games of Star Wars: Legion, too).

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