I remember staring at my first Undergrowth box.
Factions everywhere. Rules scattered across three booklets. No idea where to even open the damn thing.
You’re not alone. Most people quit before they paint their first model.
Why? Because nobody tells you what actually matters first.
I’ve played every faction. Built every army. Read every rule twice.
Not just once. Not for fun. To figure out what actually works for beginners.
This isn’t theory. It’s what I wish someone had handed me on day one.
You’ll get a real roadmap. No fluff, no jargon, no guessing.
Just a clear path into the Undergrowthgameline.
Start here. Not there. Not anywhere else.
You’ll know which faction fits your playstyle before you buy a single sprue.
And yes (it) really is that simple.
What Is Undergrowth? Not Another Fantasy Clone
It’s a skirmish game. Not big-army. Not massed ranks.
Just five to ten models per side, fighting over tight terrain.
You control insectoid factions. Ants, beetles, wasps. Who live in the forest floor.
Not on it. In it. Think rotting logs as fortresses. Fungal caps as cover.
Root systems as tunnels. (Yes, it’s weird. Yes, it works.)
The miniatures are 28mm heroic. Resin. Sharp detail.
Slightly exaggerated proportions so you see the mandibles, the chitin, the tiny weapons strapped to thoraxes.
This isn’t about killing everything that moves. It’s about controlling spore nodes. Harvesting mycelium.
Securing nest entrances. You win by holding ground (not) just bodies on the board.
I tried the starter set last month. Lost twice. Loved every second.
The lore doesn’t drown you in exposition. It shows up in model names, scenario titles, and how units interact. No infodumps.
Just vibes. And venom.
Undergrowthgameline is where the rules live. Not buried in forums. Not locked behind Patreon.
Right there.
Some people call it “D&D meets Ant-Man.” I call it focused. Weird. Refreshingly small.
You don’t need a 4×4 table.
You need a coffee table. And maybe tweezers for gluing antennae.
Does your warband have a queen? Mine does. She’s terrifying.
Meet the Factions: Finding Your Playstyle
I’ve painted every model in the Undergrowthgameline. Twice. Not because I love glue fumes.
Because each faction feels different on the table.
The Iron Covenant
They wear heavy armor forged from scrap and stubbornness.
Their lore says they hold ground. Not for glory, but because someone has to.
They play slow. They play hard. You’ll see them dig in, trade damage, and win fights by outlasting you.
That’s not boring. That’s deliberate.
The Bastion Warden is their anchor. A walking turret with a shield that blocks line of sight and makes your opponent sigh.
Then there’s the Hammerfall Squad: three models, one shared wound pool, and zero interest in retreating.
Play this faction if you get annoyed when games end before turn five.
Or if you’ve ever said “just let me get into position” while staring at a dice roll.
The Hollow Veil
Pale skin. Glowing glyphs. Weapons that hum like broken radios.
They don’t believe in permanence. Not in life. Not in terrain. Not in your plans.
They’re fast. They’re sneaky. And they punish hesitation harder than most factions punish mistakes.
You’ll see them vanish behind cover, reappear behind you, and flip the game in two turns.
The Shade Stalker is their signature unit. It moves after you declare charges. Yes, really.
I go into much more detail on this in Undergrowthgameline hosted by under growth games.
And the Veilweaver isn’t just a spellcaster. It erases your buffs as a reaction.
Play this faction if you’ve ever skipped your own turn just to watch someone else’s plan collapse. (That’s not evil. That’s plan.)
The Verdant Pact
Moss grows on their rifles. Vines coil around their barrels.
They don’t conquer land. They reclaim it (slowly,) relentlessly, beautifully.
They control the board through terrain manipulation and healing under cover. It’s not flashy. But it works.
Every time.
The Grove Sentinel walks forward, and forests sprout behind it. Literally. The Thornwarden heals allies and gives them thorn attacks (which) means your medic hits harder than your frontline.
Play this faction if you hate rolling dice for healing.
Or if you’ve ever looked at a barren tabletop and thought “this needs more trees.”
I’m not sure any faction is objectively better.
But I am sure you’ll hate playing the wrong one.
How to Start Your First Undergrowth Army
You don’t need ten models, three paints, and a rulebook binder on day one.
I started with the Starter Set. It had six models, a slim rulebook, two dice, and some tokens (nothing) fancy. Just enough to do something.
That set got me playing in under twenty minutes. No prep. No research.
Just open, assemble, read page 3, and go.
What if you can’t find the Starter Set? Or you hate boxed sets?
Buy the Core Rulebook first. Not the app. Not a PDF.
The physical book. You’ll flip it open mid-game. You’ll dog-ear page 12.
You’ll spill coffee on it (it happens).
Then grab a Faction Starter Box. Pick one that looks cool to you. Not the one with the best stats.
Not the one your friend likes. The one with the mold lines you want to sand down.
Then get clippers, glue, and primer. Not fancy airbrushes. Not seventeen brushes.
Just those three things.
Your First 3 Purchases:
- The Core Rulebook
- A Faction Starter Box
3.
Important Hobby Supplies (clippers, glue, primer)
Start with one model. Just one. Assemble it.
Prime it. Paint one color on it. Done.
Don’t try to finish a squad. Don’t stress about shading or washes. You’re learning muscle memory (not) winning tournaments.
The Undergrowthgameline Hosted by Under Growth Games has free print-and-play rules if you want to test drive before buying.
But here’s the thing: paper rules won’t teach you how primer feels on sprue. Only doing it does.
So stop reading. Go open a box.
Which model are you painting first?
Undergrowth Miniatures: Not Your Dad’s Fantasy
Warhammer’s got its grimdark. Warmachine’s all brass and grit. Undergrowthgameline?
It’s alien botany meets ballet.
I paint these miniatures because they move. Not just pose (twist,) coil, bend like something grown, not cast. Most sculpts feel stiff.
These feel alive. (And yes, I’ve dropped a Warhammer ogre mid-glue and stared at an Undergrowth vine-spear for ten minutes.)
The lore isn’t “chosen one saves world.” It’s symbiosis. Fungal networks. Light-eating mosses.
Real ecology (not) magic-as-physics.
You want drama? Try explaining why your opponent’s 40mm base is half-submerged in sculpted mycelium. That’s not terrain.
That’s intention.
No internal link provided. So none used.
Begin Your Adventure in the Undergrowth
You stared at the box. Factions everywhere. Rules half-explained.
That first step felt impossible.
I’ve been there. You don’t need to decode everything before you play.
Understanding the factions cuts through the noise. The purchasing path is clear now. Not buried, not confusing.
That’s why Undergrowthgameline works. It doesn’t drown you in lore before you hold a card.
It gives you ground to stand on. Then lets you grow.
Which faction made your pulse jump? Not the “smart” pick. Not the “safe” one.
The one that felt right.
Review the factions above. Pick the one that excites you most.
Then go straight to its starter set.
No waiting. No overthinking.
Your first game starts today.