Update: This material will be available to pre-order via Games Workshop on January 6, 2024.
At long last, concrete news about Warhammer: The Old World‘s releases and launch line-up have arrived. Games Workshop has two opposing core box sets, a collection of stand-alone books, and more prepared. Pre-orders do not have a date, but are expected to open soon.
Tomb Kings and Bretonnia Core Boxes
Unlike previous editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, there will not be a traditional core box containing two clashing armies. Instead, Games Workshop is offering two core box sets. Each contains a 1,250-point army, the hardback rulebook for Warhammer: The Old World, reference sheets, 20 traditional D6 dice, one six-sided scatter die, three weapon templates, measuring sticks (the familiar red plastic), and transfer sheets for players who would not like to paint complex designs free-handed.
The Tomb King set contains 93 miniatures, including the new Liche Priest and Necrolith Bone Dragon. The remainder are classic miniatures: 40 Skeleton Warriors, 32 Skeleton archers, 16 Skeleton Horsemen, and 3 Skeleton Chariots.
The Bretonnian set contains 76 miniatures. The new Lord on Royal Pegasus miniature, and a mixture of classic and new models: 12 Bretonnian Knights of the Realm, 36 Bretonnian Men-at-Arms, 24 Peasant Bowmen with two defence stakes, and 3 Pegasus Knights. This set also includes a Kingdom of Bretonnia Transfer sheet with 176 transfers.
The Core Rulebook
The core rulebook will also be available separately. Clocking in at 352 pages, it features roughly 70 pages of background and lore on the world of Warhammer Fantasy, core and advanced rules, an explanation of the Winds of Magic and rules for casting spells, a gallery of armies painted by their house team ‘Eavy Metal Studio, as well as the expected rules for building your armies and setting up battlefields. The rules will also be released in digital in the ePub format.
Arcane Journals
Arcane Journals are the equivalent of the classic army books and codices. These are softback books for each faction that contain all of their specific rules, army lists, and items – while also including history, maps, and a deeper dive into the fictional world.
These will release alongside each army. At launch, only Arcane Journal: Kingdom of Bretonnia and Arcane Journal: Tomb Kings of Khemri will be available. These include rules for playing alternate army sets such as Bretonnian Exiles and Errantry Crusaders, or the Kehekharan Royal Host or the Mortuary Cults.
The full rules and options for each faction will only be available in the Arcane Journals.
Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes
Partial rules for each army are assembled across two hardcover volumes which are available at launch, intended to cover both Good and Evil factions: Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes respectively.
Forces of Fantasy contains the Dwarfen Mountain Holds, the Empire of Man, the Kingdom of Bretonnia, the Wood Elf Realms, and the High Elf Realms.
Ravening Hordes contains the Orc and Goblin Tribes, the Warriors of Chaos, the Beastmen Brayherds, and the Tomb Kings of Khemri.
These books do not contain the rules for factions currently outside of Warhammer: The Old World‘s meta-plot, such as the Lizardmen, the Skaven, or the Dark Elves.
We will discuss these books, and why they are not the sanity-saver they may seem, in the Analysis section below.
Additional News
A handful of new Tomb King miniatures were revealed: Nekaph, Emissary of Settra; Battle Standard Bearer; Tomb Swarm. No rules were revealed at this time.
Games Workshop confirmed that PDFs for “Legacy Army List” factions such as the Lizardmen or Chaos Dwarfs will be available at launch.
Analysis
The new box sets are largely comprised of old models, and the box sets will seemingly be sold at a comparative discount to match. If that discount will be worth it remains to be seen, but I love the concept.
The army rule compendiums Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes simply aren’t worth it. You are paying a hardback premium price for incomplete rules: not only do they lack the setting material and scenarios of the Arcane Journals, they lack the alternate army compositions that many players will want to use over the core unit arrangement.
But it get worse. It’s unlikely the armies in these books will not receive some amount rebalancing early in Warhammer: The Old World‘s lifecycle, very quickly rendering these books out of date.
Moreover, it’s likely more factions will be added over time. Kislev and Grand Cathey were previously confirmed for Warhammer: The Old World, and it seems unlikely that iconic factions like the Skaven will always exist on the margins.
You are best off waiting for a faction’s Arcane Journal.
It also seems odd that the Tomb Kings are in the “bad guy” book, considering the lengths their rulebooks and fiction have gone to paint them as tragic, but not evil. It’s a worrying sign, though it may also be an acknowledgement that because many of the evil factions are outside of the game’s meta-plot, they only had three evil factions to fill an entire hardback.
Ultimately, the news for Warhammer: The Old World continues to tend toward the better. Their news story implies that pre-orders will open soon, and that launch is not far away. We will continue to report as the news develops.
Source: Warhammer Community
Featured Image: Warhammer Community
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