Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire: A 30-minute grimdark fantasy war

Enlarge (credit: Charles Theel)

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Games Workshop is making a play. While the large UK publisher has dominated the miniatures world for decades, it has only recently returned to the cardboard jungle. New game Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire is the key element in Games Workshop's push to capture the overlapping market of miniatures and board game enthusiasts-much like Fantasy Flight Games has done with its enormous hit, X-Wing. But where X-Wing will let you yell "pew-pew" as you move spaceships around the table, Shadespire has you screaming, "Blood for the blood god!"

Here's the setup: the mirror city of Shadespire has been sealed off by the enraged Nagash, Lord of Undeath. Trapped within the walls of the labyrinthine ruins are bands of warriors representing several iconic factions from the Warhammer "Age of Sigmar" universe. These gangs clash, seeking glory and the death of their foes.

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