Necromunday: Can We Bash It? Warhammer Underworlds

It's time to pick back up our kitbashing journey through the four grand alliances of Warhammer Underworlds. Which warbands are good for Necromunda (and beyond)? This time around we are looking at Destruction.

The Destruction Grand Alliance warbrands bring the inherent hurdle of corralling the various greenskins and abhumans of the Sigmar setting into Warhammer Underworlds. If you specifically want to be building within that framework, great! If not, you’ll likely feel squeezed on utility.

Another unfortunate throughline across many of these sets: many models that were initially unique and novel have since been outdone by full AoS multipart plastic releases that are “strictly better than” options for any building or kitbashing. I’m quite happy with many of those AoS sets, but it is a bummer that Destruction has stayed so close to its core visual identity and themes while the other three Grand Alliances have taken opportunities to get weird, niche, or wild.

Blackpowder's Buccaneers. Credit: Games Workshop

Blackpowder’s Buccaneers

It’s no Jokaero, but a monkey coming at you wielding a knife with its tail? Yes. The big parrot has a great pose and makes a solid-tier pet choice or stand-in for a single Grapplehawk or Sheen Bird. The Gnoblars have no inherent place in the future, but they’re great sculpts of characterful models. Of all the small greenskins across Underworlds, these are most likely to make it into a project of mine. Looking at them now, they might be ripe for a Cherub head swap?

Blackpowder himself is quite good. The assembly unfortunately separates his head and beard from the torso in an odd way, but it’s workable! The refreshed Venator rules make Blackpowder a great pickup if you’re wanting a single Ogryn bounty hunter, as you could honestly slap him on a 40mm ZM base and call it a day. I myself have repurposed his pistol as a sawed off shotgun for Necromunda, with Ogryn-sized guns being a luxury item in the world of bits. The sword hand is well posed to allow you to swap in any melee weapon and prop it up on something if it’s not quite long enough to reach the ground. The coat is great, and I’ve come around on the beard over time even if I would prefer the whole head on another model to keep it further from a straight instructions build. He is a good model.

The only gripe with this set is that it is pet-centric, with just one actual character mini. He is thankfully a good one, and easy to find around MSRP as of late with the UW 2nd Edition multipacks getting pieced out on eBay. As good a single Ogor model as you’re going to get in the current state of that faction, and priced in line with that before you factor in his small buddies.

Some of the stuff that Hive Market Minis does with Ogres (and friends).

The other concern? He’s an Ogor at Ogor scale, and you’re going to be putting in a lot of work to bend this into anything else. I am an avowed Ogre fanatic with a never-ending Ogryn gang project stretching beyond the horizon, so this is a total non-issue for me. For the rest of you? It might be an issue! It’s a far cry from human-centric sets in Order and Chaos which offer up a lot of possible options when repurposing the models. I still really like the monkey, though.

7 out of 10. Nice additions fully supported by the Venators Apocrypha drop, but it would be hard to make these into anything except an Ogryn and some pets.

Da Kunnin' Krew. Credit: Rich Nutter

Da Kunnin’ Krew

Ahhh, yes. The skinny Orks. This krew of five ork-ish models has a few compelling options, but they’re our first group to fall under the “but still Orks” clause.

I have a nice little tidbit to share about Mannok Da Kunnin’. That cage over his head? It’s built from two separate pieces that connect to the central torso bit which conveniently includes the head. This offers some wicked bits swapping potential for the most human-like model of the group, with strong Redemptionist, Sanctifier, or Chaos Cult vibes in play. The robe is nice, though I could do without the dangling keys from the chest armor. I like both the whip and the Krule pitchfork, but I’d rather swap both arms along with the head for something that feels distinctly less green and more imperial. In all, a nice model ripe for unique conversions. I am less sold on the four remaining models.

The other large ork has a great weapon for slaver purposes, but he’s got the hallmark cartoonish proportions and elongated torso of the thin greenies. You could pull a head swap, trim the spikiest armor details, and switch in, say, a blunderpole or chain glaive to save our grabber weapon bit for another project.

The three small models are pretty limited in their uses, though I find them far better than the standard hooded Gitz we’ll see later on. Two are clearly inspired by “Master” of “Master Blaster” fame, and one is a little too hooded for my liking. Mr. Hood does have a nice little knife hand, and another one has a very neat spiked ball/chain/cuff combo we haven’t seen elsewhere. The key hurdle, though, is scale. You could make a case for these as Gretchins, Ratlings, or tiny muties, and that’s about it. They’re nice sculpts and far from useless, but I’d rather keep them in AoS.

4 out of 10. The leader of the krew is a solid piece to work with, but the rest are better left at home on the fantasy side of things.

Daggok's Stab-Ladz. Credit: Games Workshop

Daggok’s Stab-Ladz

Our other slender greenskin offering. These jump out as a possible win with getting two unique and dynamic hero-type builds, one “basically a Gutrippa” model, and a musician. I like these guys as a base for possible muties or outlanders, and they do have a little Cawdor potential in ‘em. The weapons are reasonably grim, and the lean bodies, scrappy cloth, and makeshift armor have a “went thrifting in an underhive trash heap” appeal. They are unfortunately Orks, though, and it will take some effort and head swapping to make them look less like Orks.

The flail wielder is just a headswap away from passing as human, and the weapon is quite nice. A unique option from the Kruleboyz line. The horn blower is going to be an immediate thumbs-up or thumbs-down depending on if that’s a road you want to toot down. If not, you’ll have some odd trimming and cleanup to do for any other purpose, though the actual cloth torso is a great look. The third warrior model is a slight upgrade on your standard Gutrippa from the AoS kit. He’s fine, but I’d prefer the nice and scummy-looking weapon options from the main kit despite them being pretty near monopose themselves.

Daggok himself is an interesting one. The pose, weapon, and armor are all nice, even if they read more overtly Kruleboyz than the rest of the bunch. The shield on the back is the biggest visual hurdle, and though you can leave it off, it’s tough for me to say what exactly is back there without handling the model (I don’t own this one). The head is also quite silly in any other context, and his proportions are more exaggerated than the rest. I still think there’s some potential for a cool mutie if you threw a cloak on the back, swapped in a larger ghoul head (hello Warcry!), and looked into hand swaps.

Do I think there’s a clearly superior pickup in the limited Kruleboyz line? Not really. The aforementioned Gutrippaz are monopose with multiple weapon options, so it’s a bit of a wash factoring in more basic bodies at a higher price point. Warcry’s Mosta-Killaz have a great leader, two warped primates, and five freaky little guys. If the monkeys aren’t of special interest (Chaos Jokaeros?) it feels like another toss-up to me. Everything else is from the Dominion box, a single model blister, or a larger monster. I may own a majority of those larger monsters for Necromunda purposes, so that’s what my wallet has voted for.

6 out of 10. Solid aesthetic, and not bad at all if you’re wanting to build Orks!

Fowler: Pardon me Kool-Aid-Man-ing into the article here, but I am going to plug my new best friend Kitbash Chaos' excellent video showing his Mordheim Warband. He turns a bunch of Kruelboyz into Chaos Marauders. You could follow the thread to make some pretty cool Muties or feral Goliaths.

Grashrak’s Despoilers

Hive Market Minis: Yes! Some of the final AoS Beastmen sculpts to drop before they were unceremoniously set adrift only to return in The Old World with a single new model. These showcase just how good a refresh of the whole line could look.

Grashrak is a certifiable badass and a simple weapon swap away from leading your frenzon’d beastmen. I put him on par with the fantastic $30 Beastman Chieftain that closed out the AoS era. The shaman is a great model that could build as a lot of things depending on how you switch up the left arm. It’s a second full-on character in the same set, with heaps of conversion potential. The four Urgors are a little small for my taste, though the two spear buddies have some potential.

These play nicely with the Fellgor Ravagers Kill Team set, which has plenty of 40k weaponry to spare. They make a perfect pair in getting to a 16-model squad. You can also pull plenty of nice bits from various 40k chaos mortals for quick handswaps between the various cultist sets, the Khorne human offerings, and even the Chaos Space Marines themselves. They aren’t as inherently chaos-y as the Ravagers, which makes them a bit more flexible for various Underhive roles.

8 out of 10. I know I’m picking on Orks for being limited as Orks, but there are a ton of 40k ork models out there and very few contemporary beastmen sculpts. It helps that these are excellent sculpts with such easy swap potential. For Grashrak!

Tally-ho! Grinkrak’s Looncourt is ready to take on a series of quests. Credit: Jake Bennington

Grinkrak’s Looncourt

You already either love or hate these little Gitz. Either way, I’d keep them out of the grim darkness of the far future. They’re great sculpts, but a far cry from proper Gretchins. They’re also too small and too hooded to be much else, and not the best place to snag a Squig if that’s the thing you’re after. If you’re going green, I’d stick with full blooded Orks for most 40k and Necro purposes. Even then, I group them with Necrons and Aeldari as the trio of “but really why are you here?” Xenos factions with Necromunda. Keep it to your Cold Trader Shore Party, folks!

If you insist on gitz-ifying the 41st millennium, I say go all in and pick up an Arachnarok Spider. Sure, you snag a few feral-looking goblins, but those come alongside a GIANT SPIDER that certainly has a home in your Underhive journeys. It’s still $65 as of writing, so honestly, just pick one up. If you need Squigs, you can always nicely ask your goblin-loving friends or grab the whole Squig Herd box. They are nice models.

1 out of 10. Go giant spider or go home.

Hedkrakka's Madmob

Hedkrakka’s Madmob

But what about Savage Orks, hmmmm? Great sculpts, but as mostly shirtless Orks, these are going to be the most “love it or leave it” of the larger greenskins. Like Grashrak and his Despoilers, they’re one of the very few “Savage Orks” releases from GW in over a decade. Being novel, however, does not equate to being useful for kitbashing.

Hedkrakka’s mask and cloak are great, but I can’t justify picking up the set for these alone. I do like the pair of claw weapons on the warrior dual-wielding them, and would consider slapping those onto a pit fighter kitbash in the future. The archer and bone axe wielder are both nice additions for a proper Old World Ork force, but not models I’d try to repurpose.

These seem stuck in the no man’s land of being too old to be found collecting dust on store shelves, but too recent to be a priority for the 2nd edition rereleases. With the price of these on the secondhand market, I would pass unless you already have a set or find any of the loose minis on sale for a couple of bucks.

2 out of 10. I do like the shaman mask, but can’t justify the purchase for that alone.

Warhammer Underworlds: Hrothgorn's Mantrappers by ineptmule

Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers

Our other Ogor selection, Hrothgorn comes locked and loaded as your Venator Ogryn with a harpoon gun. You could slap on a head from the Necromunda kit and call it a day, if that’s what you’re into.

As with our boy Blackpowder, the monopose gods were unkind when chopping Hrothgorn up into sprue-sized pieces, making him practically impossible to repose. Unlike Blackpowder, the head is, blessedly, an entirely separate bit. The other win is that the crossbow top is also separate, leaving a base wooden stock you could repurpose into a wide range of gun options after clipping off the hanging harpoon chain.

It’s a solid model, though the molded-on ranged weapon bars him from joining a proper Ogryn gang (with me being firmly anti-Storm Welder) while making him one of the easier conversions for a gun-toting Venator. Especially that aforementioned harpoon gun. I will also note, as your local Ogryn superfan, he’s a tad on the smaller side in line with the Renegade Ogryn from the BSF expansion and more recently found in the Blooded Kill Team set. Totally workable, but be forewarned.

Outside of Hrothgorn himself, you get three extremely goofy Gnoblars. They’re silly in a gitz-ish way, and not really something I’d use outside of UW. Blackpowder handily wins on this front.

Next up, there’s an AoS bear trap. A beast trap, perhaps? I’ve got a weird soft spot for it as a scenario prop I’d be happy to make duplicates of, but it’s ultimately a tiny little terrain piece.

Lastly, we have our other heavy hitter in the form of Hrothgorn’s Sabertusk. I do find the sculpt a little off, but it is miles better than our previous metal Sabertusks dating back to 2003. The metal ones are some of the ugliest models still sold directly by GW, and so on that front, this is a colossal upgrade. It’s a big cat when compared to standard models in Necro and 40k, so it certainly has some fun utility as a pet. You could run it as a Sump Beast without issue, and as a proxy Phyrr Cat for our Escher players out there. Like Hrothgorn, it’s solid-but-specialized.

Even with the big cat, I feel that I have to score Hrothgorn a full two points below Blackpowder on account of the latter’s increased versatility, better Gnoblar options, and pair of pets being much more universally viable. On the plus side, this set has made its way into the Ogor Mawtribes Spearhead refresh, so it’s easy to snag. If you’re a little Ogryn freak like me, there’s no reason to avoid picking this up. For the rest of you, I’d pass until you’re in need of a beefy Venator with a gun.

5 out of 10. Niche, but nice.

Ironskull's Boyz by Alfredo Ramirez

Ironskull's Boyz Credit: Alfredo Ramirez

Ironskull’s Boyz

The original Ork entry in the Destruction lineup. They’re also the chunkiest. They read like older Ironjawz modes, which they are, and so I would again use them for Orks or not at all. These were novel for their dynamic poses back before the 2023 Ironjawz refresh, but they’re now strictly worse than the current Ardboyz kit.

That Ardboyz kit has excellent updated sculpts, a nice spread of weapon options, cool masked heads, nice shields, and a number of useful armor bits between the shoulders and fantasy metal jockstraps. I like them quite a bit, and have pulled from them for a number of different bashes. If you’re looking for anything aside from aged orruk models, stick with the Ardboyz.

2 out of 10. These Orks would make decent Orks, and that’s about it.

Mollog's Mob, for Warhammer Underworlds. Credit: Rich Nutter

Mollog’s Mob

A very fun model and an interesting collection of…things? Unfortunately, I can’t imagine a worthwhile use for him in the far future. Keep him home in AoS.

If you need a troll, I absolutely love the Kruleboyz Mirebrute Troggoth for its more serious look and solid scale. The Rockgut Troggoths are too cartoonish for my taste, but you do get a number of options with three models. It’s worth mentioning that Mollog was also at the top of the reseller heap at up to $200 for the original boxed set, which has been brought back down to MSRP through his appearance in one of the weekly sprue magazines and the UW 2nd edition multipacks. I still wouldn’t buy one, but hey, it’s available.

You could also turn Mollog into this grody monstrosity.

2 out of 10. If you need a space troll, look elsewhere.

Does it Mordheim? Yes. Credit: Fowler

Morgok’s Krushas

Morgok's been on a bit of an odd journey. At launch back in 2020, I thought they were pretty spiffy compared to the rest of the aging AoS Orruk line. With the 2023 refresh, they are now the aged sculpts.

You’re getting three models, which pretty closely approximate an Ardboyz leader, a shoeless Brute, and one of the Weirdbrute Wrekkaz. Much like with Ironskull and friends, I’d skip straight to those respective multipart AoS kits which all happen to be packaged together in the excellent Spearhead box for the faction. I’ve been breaking down one of those for my own Necromunda Ogryn purposes of late, and will vouch for the excellent spread of weapons in the Weirdbrute sprues plus the solid armor and weapon bits with the Brutes in addition to my previous praise of the Ardboyz.

Of note in this set are the twin spiked clubs and larger two-handed maul, all in a brutish kanabo style. Awesome weapons, but you do get three full-sized ones (a full club as well as a two and four-segment option) with the Weirdbrutes.

I must, of course, end with the usual greenskin disclaimer here: they’re still Orks, and aside from the weapons, you won’t be able to easily sell these as anything else.

2 out of 10. They’re solid models, but I can’t justify why you’d pick these over the AoS plastics here.

Rippa's Snarlfangs

Credit: Raf Cordero

Rippa’s Snarlfangs

Three goofy little goblins riding wolves. Much like with Morgok, these were more impressive before a full plastic multipart kit dropped in AoS with the Snarlfang Riders. Again, I would skip right over to those.

The worthwhile elements here come in the form of three wolf mounts. The AoS Snarlfang Riders kit gives each model 2-3 build loadouts, and the only bummer is that the legs come molded to the saddle bits. Clip and sand those down or roll with the leather shoes, and we’re all set to plop on a Cawdor rider or another smaller humanoid of your choice.

Rippa’s wolves are less armored, come in fewer pieces, and have most of the Gitz torsos molded on. My hunch is that both kits were sculpted at or around the same time, so I don’t think one looks noticeably better than the other. I’d take the multipart Riders for the heavier armor and two extra wolves, though I don’t foresee working with either option anytime soon.

I’m torn on both the UW and AoS kits, as they have some great potential but are limited by the smaller scale. The scale concern and overall superiority of the AoS models has me rating these on the low end, but I do think these are the best of the Gitz options in Underworlds. Unless you want to kitbash LITERAL Wolf Guard.

3 out of 10 to honor our three good boys.

Zarbag's Gitz. Credit: SRM

Zarbag’s Gitz

More Gitz doing wild Gitz things! No thank you. A whopping nine models, though. Everything I wrote about the Looncourt applies here, too.

Let me implore you one final time to grab your own Arachnarok Spider before it inevitably gets phased out or aggressively repriced. I mean this completely independently of snagging any Gitz! You should have a giant underhive spider for your scenarios. As a bonus, you’d have a few Gitz lying around as well.

2 out of 10. These are the superior Underworlds Squigs, at least.

Ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide which of these are worth adding to your own bits arsenal. I find the trio of abhuman warbands worthy of a look, and our Krule buds have some nice uses. The classic Orks aren’t bad, but they’re outdone by their refreshed AoS plastic counterparts. And the Gitz? Just get the damn spider already.

That’s all for round three of Can We Bash It? Warhammer Underworlds Edition. We’ll be back next time with a feature on the Chaos Warbands. Got a cool kitbash using some Warhammer Underworlds bits that you want us to put in an article? Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.

Tags: necromunda | Necromunday | warhammer underworlds | kitbash