Designer’s Commentary: Countdown to Cataclysm Re-Balanced

A promotional graphic displays the title Warhammer Underworlds with the subtitle Countdown to Cataclysm Rebalanced against a red background featuring several game cards.

Have you ever felt that the tracker used in the Warhammer Underworlds Rivals deck Countdown to Cataclysm is somewhat pointless? Or that the deck, despite being categorized as a “Mastery” deck, lacks a clear personality? My attempt at rebalancing the deck aims to address both issues.

This is the second deck I have reimagined, following Blazing Assault and the release of my design template for creating custom decks. My approach is to change only a subset of cards from the original deck and to bring the rebalanced decks to an equal power level.

In the original, the rising Cataclysm value doesn’t have much depth. It rises more or less automatically, some Power cards benefit from a high value, and the Objective card Wreckers is the only one that adds some tension between keeping the tracker low and just letting it rise. Another issue is that there are very few ways to influence the Cataclysm value directly. Influence is mostly indirect, with your opponent deciding whether to occupy tokens. Sure, you can try to push them off, but I have only rarely encountered a situation in which there is real pressure to keep feature tokens free of enemy fighters.

Overall, my designs are much more conditional, especially in the Objectives department. Getting this right was hard, and my solutions probably need more testing. The existing rules language of Underworlds also doesn’t work well with multiple interdependent conditions on the same card. I hope that, as a result of these changes, there is real tension between keeping the tracker low and letting it rise.

The print file for these cards is freely available.

So let’s take a look at the cards in each category:

Objectives

A game card titled SPREAD Havoc displays rules for scoring points based on Cataclysm values and Bounty characteristics, accompanied by a black-and-white image of a figure raising their arm near a rocky landscape.

A game card titled Uneven Contest features a black and white illustration of two armored figures in combat and provides scoring instructions based on treasure tokens and Cataclysm values held by the player.

A game card titled Collateral Damage displays an illustration of warriors battling among rocks and provides instructions for scoring points related to a Cataclysm tracker when a friendly fighter is slain.

A black-and-white strategic game card titled Too Close for Comfort features an illustration of combat-ready soldiers and contains instructions for scoring based on the proximity of friendly and enemy fighters on the battlefield.

A black and white card titled Nowhere to Run depicts skeleton-like figures in a dramatic scene and contains gameplay instructions for scoring during an opponent’s Power step.

Ploys

A black and white card titled Savage Blow depicts three warrior figures and describes a game action allowing a weapon attack with either Cleave or Ensnare effects.

A game card titled Total Collapse shows a black and white image of a person’s hand reaching out from rubble, accompanied by instructions for rolling dice and inflicting damage in a game scenario.

A fantasy-themed game card titled Counter-Charge features artwork of a warrior with a crossbow aiming at an approaching armored opponent, accompanied by instructions for gameplay.

A game card titled Do or Die features black-and-white artwork of fighters in combat and describes an effect involving inspiring a friendly fighter, dealing damage, and adjusting the Cataclysm tracker.

A card titled Improvised Attack depicts a character wielding a large weapon and describes an attack ability using the player’s Cataclysm value in a game.

Upgrades

A monochrome card titled Bringer of Doom features an illustration of two characters in combat, with one character swinging a large weapon at another, along with text describing a game mechanic involving the Cataclysm tracker.

A game card titled Extinction’s Edge features a black and white illustration of a figure wielding a large curved blade and includes a special ability that affects the Cataclysm tracker after defeating an enemy fighter.

A game card titled Utter Conviction features an armored warrior illustration and details restrictions on the fighter’s abilities related to Save characteristic, Critical Weapon usage, and Guard tokens.

A card features the title Great Fortitude with the text describing its effect of granting +1 Health to a fighter while noting that Guard tokens have no effect on that fighter, set against a high-contrast black and white illustration of warriors in battle.

Interested?

I would really love to hear your feedback. It would motivate me to continue working on the next deck, Pillage and Plunder. You can reach me on the Warhammer Underworlds subreddit and on Discord!