Lost Hemisphere

While the gatormen of the Blindwater Congregation hold sway in most of the wetlands and marshes of the Iron Kingdoms, especially with their demigod Barnabas channeling the power of the Devourer Wurm, one should never underestimate the other, “lesser” races of the swamps. Swamp Gobbers, Bog Trogs and Croaks often fill support roles in the armies of their larger scalier brethren, but deem them less of a threat at your peril. Underchief Mire is a Croak Shaman of no small repute, and today we’re taking a look at his sweet model.

A two part model, Underchief Mire needs little cleanup – remove a couple of resin nubs, scrape away a little flash, and your done. As with most Croaks, Mire has an enormous, bulbous chin and a bare belly to match. Suckers on his finger- and toe-tips mean he can occasionally pretend to be Spider-Man. Teeth and skulls are scattered around the model, but so are feathers, making Underchief Mire both creepy -and- fabulous.

Painting Underchief Mire was a lot of fun. I haven’t had a lot of practice with feathers – they’re not really a feature on most Menite models – but if I ever hope to paint a Storm Raptor one day, Mire’s headdress was a good start. Painting the hands and feet was also an interesting experiment in layering and glazing. I’m really pleased with how he turned out, and he looks pretty neat on his Dragon Forge resin base, which adds a little weight to an otherwise very light resin model.

In terms of play, Underchief Mire is a Lesser Warlock. This means he packs his own Fury stat, can cast a couple of spells, but more interestingly, he opens up the Warbeast stable a little. He’ll play for all four of the core Hordes factions – Trollbloods, Skorne, Circle and Legion – and he’ll bring with him any of the Gatorman Warbeasts, but he can also bring Swamp Trolls. This can add a Drag element to any faction he’s played with (yes, I know how that sounds).

He also ups the Fury efficiency with Attuned Spirit, allowing him to cast one of his warbeast’s animi for free once per turn. Stack that with Caustic Mist and Weald Secrets on his own spell list, and you’ve got a decently versatile 4 pt addition to your army. Note that he can also cast Caustic Mist and step into the AoE himself without harm, being immune to Corrosion, and let his Prowl ability turn that cover into Stealth as he moves up the table.

Underchief Mire is ready to stab your opponents with his poisoned spear, or maybe just add Swamp Trolls to your Legion of Everblight list. Either way, check with your FLGS or preferred online retailer. Ribbit.