
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault – Garrek’s Reavers
- 2 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2018

2018
Rules assistance for Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault is a board game released in 2018 for 2 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by David Sanders and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Dice Rolling.
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault is an action-packed combat game for two players. Build your warband, construct your deck, and defeat your rivals. Shadespire was once a city of wonder and magic, a mercantile metropolis whose rulers defied death, to the fury of Nagash. During the height of the city’s powers, rivals, thieves and would-be conquerors were locked away in the sprawling dungeon known as the Nightvault. After the city’s fall, Nagash broke open the chains that bound the shackled spirits within, giving them weapons to freeze the hearts of the living and enough memory of their torment to fill them with hatred and jealousy. The spectral dead delight in the chance to inflict this hatred upon the living, and the streets of Shadespire echo to the sounds of terrifying screams and cruel, mocking laughter... The Game In Warhammer Underworlds, you and your opponent pick a warband – 2 are included in this box – and build a deck of power and objective cards. After placing your warband on the hex-tiled game boards, you take turns making actions – movement and attacks – until 3 phases are played. Between actions, you can use the power cards to introduce effects and reactions that can swing the battle in your favour; building the best deck you can and using cunning to deploy these abilities at the perfect time is the secret to mastering the game and dominating your foe. Merely vanquishing your opponent’s warband does not guarantee victory – capturing objectives, standing your ground, making the best tactical choices and deploying the right cards at the right time will gain you the glory points you need to win! Once you’re familiar with the rules, games will take around 30 minutes – you’ll always have time for a rematch. In The Box Everything you and a friend need to play games of Warhammer Underworlds is included in this box. Contained within: A Stormcast Eternals warband – Stormsire’s Cursebreakers – made up of 3 push-fit, blue plastic miniatures (Rastus the Charmed, Ammis Dawnguard and the leader, Averon Stormsire); A Nighthaunt warband – the Thorns of the Briarqueen – made up of 7 push-fit, bone-coloured plastic miniatures (The Ever-Hanged, Varclav the Cruel, the leader Briar Queen and 4 Chainrasps whom Nagash has not afforded the dignity of names). Both of these warbands are Easy To Build, with no glue necessary and a comprehensive, easy to follow construction guide; A 32-page rulebook, including the story of Shadespire’s rise and fall, the opening of the Nightvault, the background of the 2 included warbands and all the rules you need to play – including new scatter mechanics, rules for resolving magic spells, and the use of lethal hexes, sections of game board that are fatal to those pushed in; An 8-page quick start guide, covering the contents of the box, understanding your cards, movement and attacks, and playing your first game; 2 double-sided game boards, featuring hexes and objectives; 2 pre-built decks of power and objective cards – 96 in total – for use with the included warbands; 10 double-sided Fighter cards, providing the stats and information needed for the fighters in each warband at a glance; 5 attack dice, 3 defence dice and 3 magic dice; 11 double-sided objective tokens; A scatter template; 30 wound tokens; 46 double-sided glory point tokens; 15 double-sided move and charge tokens; 15 Guard tokens; 8 activation counters. Extra Rules Warhammer Underworlds has an intense, fast and fun core ruleset, but the book contains a host of extras - new game modes, competitive and multiplayer rules: Matched Play: designed for competitive play, this is a set of rules that level the playing field to the finest degree – perfect for fast, friendly rivalries and tournaments; Multiplayer games: extra rules that allow you to combine 2 core sets of Warhammer Underworlds to create 3-or-4-player games, with clarified rules for resolving attacks and adjustments to victory conditions. Also included is a glossary for quick and easy reference and a sample chapter of The Mirrored City, a Black Library novel set in Shadespire. —description from the publisher
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault has a complexity rating of 2.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Wargame. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault are: David Sanders. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.