Top 5 Details on Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz for Warhammer Underworlds
I have long stated, and I’m sure that many would agree, that Warhammer Underworlds has some of the absolute best miniatures that Games Workshop release across their myriad of game systems. Thanks to the nature of Warhammer Underworlds, each model is a character and has a story or a specific purpose and this allows for some superb chances to imbue these models with more exaggerated senses of individuality and memorable idiosyncrasies in their sculpts. The latest warband release in the form of Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz does not skimp on this and, in fact, accomplishes this with gusto. Let’s look at some of my absolute favourite details and distinctions on this gaggle of wolf-snagging gits.
Firstly, many thanks to Games Workshop for providing this warband for the purposes of this content. Whilst those who are still riding the wave of the new edition of Underworlds may well be rolling their eyes over “yet another goblin warband”, I find myself cackling with glee - you can never have too many spiteful, lunatic goblins. For those unaware, Warhammer Underworlds is a skirmish boxed game from Games Workshop where players field warbands against eachother, building decks of cards to defeat enemy warbands and accrue glory points to attain victory. It’s a superb game system and the new edition, despite salting the earth in its wake from the previous edition and all existing cards, is a real upgrade with the game flowing nicely and losing a lot of superfluous dead weight that it had accrued over nearly a decade.
I digress, let’s get stuck into Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz. This warband of five models is a crew of nasty goblins along with a fledgling Troggoth who have skulked into the Embergard (where the current season of Underworlds takes place) in order to hunt and snatch as many fleeing beasts as they can. With the Skaven invasion in full swing, this means there are plenty of creatures and critters for the taking. Their hunting intention is as plain to see across nearly all of the models, and this is where we’ll start our list.
They Look the Part.
Be it from Borgit’s impressive wolf pelt over his back, or the grabbing claw held by —, the models fully and brilliantly support the narrative and context that they’ve been given. Every model in the warband has a clear purpose in Borgit’s hunting pack, be it to physically snatch creatures as they run by, or club them and sling them in a shoulder-mounted basket. This wily band of hunters are here to do a very clear job, whether they do it well or not will be up to the dice…
Uglog, the Little Big Troggoth.
The rare chance to see a smaller Troggoth is a precious, precious thing. In Age of Sigmar these monsters tower over their goblin and squig fellows, waving massive clubs or hurling huge boulders. To see an infant Troggoth in Uglog gives us a fascinating insight into how they grow into the hulking creatures as they mature. This is prevelent in the eyes on Uglog, which seem to be lower, below his big nose, which paints a potentially brutal picture of how the skull of a Troggoth shifts and adjusts as it ages. This is just a nice detail that I found quite interesting as I painted from an anatomical standpoint.
However, the spotlight detail here for Uglog is the wolf pelt that he holds aloft, covering his head via a wooden pole that he can raise or lower, seemingly to obscure his face. The image that this paints is that, seemingly, Uglog will cover his face to disguise himself as a wolf, allowing him to approach other wolves and creatures before giving them a bone-shattering bonk with his club. Troggoths are renowned for their supreme lack of smarts and wits, so the prospect of one covering his face, hoping to pass as a wolf in order to surprise its prey, is a hilarious gimmick. I, for one, commend Uglog for his efforts and clearly elevated intelligence for a Troggoth - let alone a young one!
Poor, Poor Snotlings.
For those uninitiated in the ways of the Gloomspite Gitz, Snotlings are even more diminutive compared to the regular Grots that comprise the Moonclans. Snotlings are also more trodden-upon (literally and metaphorically) because, well, they’re smaller. This means that they get the sour end of most deals when cavorting with other greenskins. For Borgit’s crew, this is is no exception. These sculpts are littered with Snotlings that are in various unfortunate situations. Be it the Snotling at the end of the snatching claw, clearly there as bait for any hungry beasts. Or the sorrowful sod handling the poisoned arrows. Life can be so cruel in the dank world of the Gloomspite.
They’re All Funguys.
Typically, for a great many of the Gloomspite Gitz, where they go there are often a great many mushrooms, spores and other fungus sprouting up from where they tread amidst the sickly light of the Bad Moon. These invariably give a great chance to splash some colour on the models that are otherwise drab with lots of block robes and sneering green faces.
Borgit’s Beastgrabbaz do feature this, but it isn’t overdone - which is very welcome. I’m all for the odd spot colour here and there, be they bright red toadstools or dank, musky moulds. Although, it’s too easy to lean into this too heavily and can lead to your models being a little “disco fantastic”. I feel that the balance achieved with the Beastgrabbaz is great, adding some visusal interest without distracting too much from the models themselves. Naturally, your flavour may vary and that’s up to you!
Pure Gittishness.
Lastly, and never least, is that the Gloomspite Gitz are a horde of scheming, coniving, nasty little goblins. Each of them as likely to stab a fellow goblin in the back for an inch of power as they would be to cut the throat of an enemy. This is another element of the faction that is encapsulated perfectly across these models, and that’s not just against the poor aforementioned Snotlings. I said there were five goblins, but there are technically six, as Rigg and Shamm both scamper around in the hide of a Cave Squig. Typical, duplicitous Grots!
Nearly each goblin has a spiteful, cruel sneer plastered upon their face, immitating their praised evil celestial body. Be it snarling in order to (attempt to) scare or intimidate an enemy in front of them, or donning a face-splitting, leering grin as they pull an arrow back, knowing that once it finds its mark the poisons on its sharpened tip will commit unspeakable pain upon its target. The balance between silly and goofy goblins that also commit heinous, unspeakable horror upon whomever they wish can be exceptionally difficult to accomplish. Nevertheless, these models achieve this perfectly. The flawless blend of comic relief and cruelty plastered across Gorbit’s Beastgrabbaz have had them catapult to right near the top of my list of favourite Underworlds models.
Those who play Underworlds may well be asking “are their cards good in Underworlds?”. I’ll say that they seem a curious and tricky warband, with lots of sneaky tricks and traps in order to lure enemy warbands into vulnarable spots and they could work very well with some of the current decks, though they are unlikely to be a powerhouse of damage and defence - after all, they’re goblins. Despite the uncertainty as to where they sit in the meta, I am ecstatic to use this warband moving forward. Even if they don’t top tournaments and grand clashes, they look stupendous and the stories to be told from them cavorting through the Embergard snatching anything and everything in reach will leave me enjoying myself and having the best time regardless of the glory scored on my side.
I’ll also add that all of the models in this article were painted with Monument Hobbies Pro Synthetic brushes, which we put to the test in a previous article found here.
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Written by Kenny at The Unrelenting Brush.