If you were lurking around the hobby scene back in early 2022, you probably remember the absolute chaos of the Fury of the Deep release. It was one of those moments where Games Workshop tried to strike a balance between two factions that, frankly, didn't have much in common besides a shared love for burning things or drowning them. You had the Fyreslayers—stout, orange-bearded duardin who literally hammer runes into their skin—and the Idoneth Deepkin, soul-stealing elves who ride giant seahorses and sharks. On paper? It’s a weird match. In practice? It became a flashpoint for a lot of discussions about the value of battleboxes in Age of Sigmar.
Honestly, the box wasn't just about the plastic. It was a lore milestone. We’re talking about the Ryftmar campaign, a desperate struggle over a magma-hold that was basically sinking into the sea. It’s metal. It’s grim. And it’s exactly the kind of high-concept fantasy that makes the Mortal Realms feel more than just a generic map.
The Hero Problem in Fury of the Deep
Most people bought this box for two specific pieces of plastic. The Auric Flamekeeper and the Akhelian Thrallmaster. Back then, you couldn’t get these guys anywhere else. It’s a classic GW move. Lock the new shiny stuff behind a $170 price tag and see who bites.
The Flamekeeper is a weird one. He doesn't just hit things; he draws power from his own allies dying. It’s a morbid mechanic for the Fyreslayers, who are usually just about being too angry to die. If your Vulkite Berzerkers get wiped, this guy gets "Grimnir’s Fury" and starts buffing everyone else. It changed how people looked at "chaff" units in a Fyreslayer army. Suddenly, losing models was part of the plan. Sorta.
Then you have the Thrallmaster. If you’re an Idoneth player, you know the struggle of making Namarti Thralls actually stay on the board. The Thrallmaster was designed to fix that, or at least make them hit hard enough that it didn't matter if they died. He has these "stances" he can switch between. One makes them better against hordes, another helps against big monsters. It’s tactical. It’s fiddly. It’s very "elf."
Is the value still there?
Let’s talk money because that’s why people actually search for Fury of the Deep three years later. When it launched, the savings were roughly 35% to 40% compared to buying the kits individually. That’s solid.
📖 Related: Why Your Zelda Ocarina of Time N64 Walkthrough Always Feels Like It's Missing Something
You got:
- 10 Namarti Thralls
- 10 Namarti Reavers
- 1 Akhelian Allopex (the shark)
- The Thrallmaster
- 10 Vulkite Berzerkers
- 10 Auric Hearthguard (which could also be built as Hearthguard Berzerkers)
- The Flamekeeper
If you go to eBay now, you’ll find people parting this out constantly. The funny thing is, the Fyreslayer half is often cheaper. Why? Because Fyreslayer players usually already have 60 Berzerkers and they don't need more. The Idoneth half, specifically that Allopex, stays relevant because sharks are cool and, more importantly, they are a staple in almost every competitive Deepkin list.
What most people get wrong about the Ryftmar Lore
There’s this misconception that Fury of the Deep was just a random skirmish. It wasn’t. It was part of the Era of the Beast. The lore inside the booklet actually explains why the Idoneth are getting more desperate. Their souls are rotting. They need more, faster. Attacking a magma-hold of the Lofnir Lodge wasn’t a tactical choice; it was a "we are going to go extinct if we don't do this" choice.
The Lofnir are the ones who ride Magmadroths, by the way. They’re the "beast-tamer" Fyreslayers. So you had these two cultures who both rely on massive, ancient creatures clashing in a subterranean warzone. It’s a shame the box didn’t actually include a Magmadroth, though. That would have made it a legendary release. Instead, we got more infantry. Lots of infantry.
The Actual Gameplay Experience
Playing the missions included in the box is... an experience. If you’re playing the Fyreslayers, you’re basically a brick wall. You sit on the objective. You dare the elves to come closer. If you’re the Idoneth, you have to play like a surgeon. If you charge in at the wrong time, the duardin will just grind you into fish paste.
📖 Related: Why the FNAF Security Breach trailer still feels like a fever dream
The "Tides of Death" mechanic for the Idoneth means you’re basically waiting for Turn 3. That’s High Tide. That’s when you strike. If the Fyreslayer player can survive until Turn 4, the momentum usually swings back to them. It’s a game of chicken. A very expensive, very orange game of chicken.
Why this box set aged the way it did
When Age of Sigmar 4.0 launched, a lot of these older boxes lost their "official" status as Spearhead or Vanguard sets. Fury of the Deep is a bit of an orphan now. You can’t just buy it and have a legal "Spearhead" force without some tweaking. However, the models are still 100% legal for standard Matched Play.
The Hearthguard Berzerkers you build from this box are still the heavy hitters of the Fyreslayer army. They haven't been replaced. They likely won't be for a long time. Same goes for the Namarti. They are the backbone of the faction.
If you find a dusty copy of this on a local game store shelf for the original MSRP? Grab it. Even if you don’t play both armies, you can sell the other half in ten minutes on any trade group. The demand for the Akhelian Allopex alone ensures that.
Actionable Steps for Collectors and Players
If you’re looking to get into either of these armies via the secondary market or a lucky find, keep these points in mind:
Focus on the build options. The Hearthguard kit in the box is a dual-build. Always, always build them as Hearthguard Berzerkers with Broadaxes or Poleaxes unless you have a very specific reason to want the shooting version. The melee version is significantly more impactful in the current meta.
Check the bases. This was a transitional period for some base sizes in AoS. Ensure you’re mounting the characters on the 32mm bases provided. Putting a Flamekeeper on a larger base might look cool, but it'll get you "um, actually-ed" at a tournament because of his aura ranges.
Don't sleep on the Thrallmaster stance. If you’re playing the Idoneth half, remember that his "Way of the Vortex" stance allows Namarti to parry. It gives them a 5+ ward save against melee attacks. In a box where you’re fighting high-damage Fyreslayers, that 5+ ward is literally the difference between having an army and having a pile of dead elves.
Paint the Flamekeeper's runes separately. Seriously. If you glue that model together completely before painting, you will never reach the runes on his chest or the ones hidden by his brazier. Sub-assemblies are your friend here.
Verify the contents if buying used. Because this box had so many "10-man" squads, it’s easy for sellers to accidentally (or purposely) leave out a sprue. A complete box should have five main sprues for the units plus the two character sprues and the tokens.
The era of these massive "versus" boxes seems to be slowing down in favor of the smaller Vanguard/Spearhead formats, making Fury of the Deep a bit of a relic from a time when GW was throwing massive amounts of infantry at us. It’s a solid chunk of hobby time. Just be prepared to paint a lot of skin tones.