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The Old World: Dwarfen Mountain Holds – Arcane Journal Review

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Lore Review

The Dwarfen Mountain Holds are a series of mountain holds collectively known as the Karaz Ankor to the Dwarfs. The Dwarfs have a strong sense of identity and are an incredibly proud race. In times past, the Dwarfs were found throughout the mountain ranges of the Old World and beyond, mining for precious metals and creating a vast underground empire linked together by long tunnels known as they Underway.

However, the Dwarfs now find themselves besieged from all sides by the Ravening Hordes after a calamitous earthquake rocked the Worlds Edge Mountains where the majority of Dwarfen Holds stood. The Dwarfen empire is now in a slow decline as with each passing century, further holds are lost to the enemies that surround them. Don’t say that to the Dwarfs though….

There are three distinct flavours of Dwarfen army playable with the release of the new Arcane Journal, with options for you whether you want to run a traditional Dwarfen army of the sort that is constantly fighting to protect its holds, or a more focused force representing the experience troops that make up a Dwarf Kings throng, or the forces of an expeditionary force looking to reclaim a lost hold.

The lore section of the Arcane Journal focuses on the various Dwarf holds spread throughout the Old World, before expanding into exploring Dwarf society, from clans to the guilds.

The main focus of the lore is around Burlok Damminson and his expedition to reclaim the lost hold of Khazid Vosk, for which there is also a narrative scenario to allow you to recreate the battle. This section is perhaps the most detailed, going into the background of Burlok and the reasons for his expedition as well as the mustering of his troops. This is clearly intended to give some inspiration for creating a background for your own force.

The Book

As with our other Arcane Tome reviews, the core rules for an army from the Dwarfen Mountain Holds exist within the appropriate tome, with this one being the “Forces of Fantasy” book that also includes rules for Bretonnia, Empire, Wood Elves, and High Elves.

As a supplement to that, and the focus of this article, the Arcane Journal for the Dwarfen Mountain Holds includes two alternative ways to represent the Dwarfs, either as part of a Royal Clan Army or as an Expeditionary Force.

Besides containing two new “Armies of Infamy” as these alternative compositions are known, there is a selection of named characters, and a slew of extra runes and also runic tattoos that can be used both for these armies of infamy, many of which can also be selected as choices for your standard Dwarf army lists.

Armies of Infamy

The Armies of Infamy offers novel and thematic approaches to constructing your faction’s army lists. Introducing unique army-wide special rules and granting access to upgraded units that enhance specific playstyles. However, opting for an army of infamy imposes greater restrictions on your army composition compared to the base books by excluding certain units.

It’s important to mention that these Arcane Journals differ from traditional army books from previous editions. They act as supplements to the unit lists and army rules found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy books. Playing a game in the Old World only using the Arcane Journals is not possible, as they rely on references to the special rules from Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy. These journals provide new ways to play your faction, including special characters, but they don’t provide details on specific rules.

Royal Clan Army

The Royal Clan Army represents the throngs of the most experienced warriors available to the Kings and Queens of the Karaz Ankor. Notably for this army is the lack of Engineers and Slayers and black powder units such as the Cannon and Thunderers. However, this army list does allow your to field more than 1 King, but also an Anvil of Doom alongside of them. A Royal Clan army is all about the elite troops. Royal Clan Warriors replace the standard Dwarf Warriors, and, aside from points, there’s no limit on the number of Hammerers you can fit into your Special section.

Special Rules

Ancestral Fury – Units in a Royal Clan army that have made a charge of 3″ or more, or have made a follow up move gain a +1 modifier to their strength characteristic. Excellent for Dwarfs and encourages you to charge the enemy rather than standing and waiting to be charged.

Riches & Heirlooms – All character models in the army an spend an additional 25 points on runes. Units that have access to Standard runes may also spend an additional 25 points on Standard runes. The latter does not apply to the Royal Clan Warriors who have this bonus already included in their unit entry.

Striking a Grudge – You may nominate a single enemy character to become hated by all friendly models, regardless of the army you are facing. As well as this, you win a bonus of 75 victory points if the nominated character is slain, has fled or is fleeing the when the game ends.

List Composition

As a result of the army representing the experienced army of a King or Thane, there no limits on the amount of Royal Clan Warriors or Longbeards in an army.

There are enough changes to the general composition that it would make it a dull read to list them all here, but some highlights are that Royal Clan Warriors replace Dwarf Warriors as a core choice, Longbeards become an optional core choice, while Thunderers, Engineers, Slayers (of all kinds), Cannons and Flame Cannons have been removed entirely. Hammerers are now no longer limited to 1 per King of Thane (0-1 per 1k), and Ironbreakers move from Special to Rare.

Unique Units

Royal Clan Warriors are more experienced versions of Dwarf Warriors and are only available in Royal Clan armies. These come with shields as default, as well as gaining the Gromril Armour (re-roll natural 1 when making an armour save) and Gromril Weapons (Gives hand weapons Armour Piercing of -1) special rules. They can also spend 25 points more than Dwarf Warriors on Standard runes, while their champion gains access to Talismanic runes. 2pts more than the Dwarf Warriors, but I consider this a bargain when comparing the two units like for like.

Expeditionary Force

As a nice counter to the experienced Royal Clan Army, you have the option to create an Expeditionary Force. A force which may be tasked with testing a new invention created by the Engineers Guild, or tasked with reclaiming a lost hold and the treasures within. The Expeditionary Force selection features a lot of Black Powder weapons and no Kings or Runelords.

It goes to some length to explain the reason why Doomseekers and Slayers accompany these expeditionary forces and this does feel a little shoe-horned in. But it still makes for a nice read and still gives plenty of inspiration for players looking to create their own lore backgrounds.

Special Rules

Expeditionary Marksmen – As mentioned, the focus of the Expeditionary Force are it’s Engineers and black powder weapons. So one unit of Thunderers per 1,000 points may be upgraded to Expeditionary Marksmen for +1 point per model. This allows the unit to ignore the negative effects on hit modifiers for moving and shooting. It also allows any Dwarf Engineer to also have the same rule.

Function Over Form – To represent the Expeditionary Force being a mobile army, you can reduce the toughness of any Cannons, Organ Guns or Flame Cannons by 1, which then allows them to lose the Move or Shoot special rule.

Subterranean Ambush – If the army includes a unit of Miners, the Dwarf player may deploy two 32mm round Mine markers, plus one additional marker for each additional unit of Miners in the army. There are conditions on where these markers may be placed, for example, not within the enemy deployment zone or within 12″ of another marker. However, this does allow the Dwarf player to place Miner units held in reserve within 6″ of a mine marker rather than a board edge.

List Composition

No Kings, Runelords or Anvils of Doom here. However, you do gain access to the Engineer Sapper character.

In Core there are no more Quarrellers, but they have been replaced by Dwarf Carts. While the usual 0-1 Longbeards for a King have been replaced by 0-1 units of Scout Gyrocopters per 1,000. Joining them are the Rangers, but instead of a 0-1 per army, this is now 0-1 per 1,000 points.

Miners, Scout Gyrocopters and Gyrocopters are the main units in the Special category and are joined by 0-3 of Bolt Thrower, Grudge Thrower and Cannon.

In the Rare section, your choices have jumped up to 33% of your army from the usual 25%. Gyrobombers have no limit and are joined by up to 1 unit of Slayers and up to 2 war machines per 1,000 points, made up of, Organ Guns and Flame Cannons.

Unique Units

Dwarf Engineer Sapper – Is essentially the same as the standard Dwarf Engineer but for the additional 20 points in its price you lose the Entrenchment, “Stand Back Chief!” and Artillery Master abilities for the “Dig In!” special rule, which can be used during any Command sub-phase. This allows the character and any unit they are with to be considered behind partial cover. On top of this, you also have the Hostile Terrain special rule, causing any enemy model that ends its movement within the combat range of this character to make a Dangerous Terrain test.

Scout Gyrocopter – The Scout Gyrocopter are more manoeuverable than the regular versions, and have increased speed over less armour and weapons. They’re the same price as the regular Gyrocopter but in that price you lose the Dive Bomb special rule and gain a host of others. Gaining the Extended Formation, Fly (10) rather than Fly (9), and Hatred (Orcs & Goblins). They also lose a little armour and count as having heavy armour rather than full plate. They do gain Hit & Run, this allows them to Fall Back in Good Order rather than having to make a follow up or pursuit move after winning a round of combat. They have the clattergun as their only weapon.

Miner’s Cart – Dwarfs haul a lot of baggage when mounting an expedition, from barrels of Black Powder, to barrels of Bugman’s XXXXXX. There are two types of Dwarf Cart. The Miner’s Cart allows any unit within 3″ to make a Stand & Shoot charge reaction as if it were equipped with Blasting Charges. When it loses its last wound to an enemy in the combat phase, on a roll of 4+ it explodes and each unit within 3″ suffers D6 Strength 3 hits at AP -1 with the Flaming Attacks special rule.

Bugman’s Cart – Any Dwarf unit that is within 6″ of a friendly Bugman’s Cart in the Command sub-phase gains a +1 modifier to its Movement characteristic until the end of the turn (not cumulative).

Special Characters

The main army composition lists found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy notably lacked the array of special characters that enthusiasts have grown fond of within their cherished factions. While it’s understandable considering the shift in time period, with many of these iconic figures potentially not yet existing, it leaves a void in the hearts of fans longing for something extraordinary to connect with. The Arcane Journals address this gap by introducing a selection of special characters, both familiar and new, to their respective armies

Thorgim Ulleksson, Kharl of the Dammaz Kron

At first you may not have realised that Thorgim Ulleksson is non other than Thorgrim Grudgebearer from the original Warhammer Fantasy Battle series and the Warhammer Total War franchise. (His ignominious death still hurts….).

Here, we’re treated to playing Thorgrim before he became High King, and you can read about his younger years and how he became intrinsically linked to the Book of Grudges.

At 250 points, Thorgim is already a beast of a model. Wielding Grudge-settler which is not classified as a great weapon and so does not have the Strike Last or Requires Two Hands special rules. It still has S+2 and -1 AP in combat, along with Armour Bane (1) and Magical Attacks. It is inscribed with the Master Rune of Smiting (Multiple Wounds – D6) and the Rune of Parrying (Enemies suffer a -1 to hit modifier when targeting Thogrim in the combat phase).

He wears the Armour of Skaldour, which is classified as heavy armour but with the benefit of a 4+ Ward save against a Killing Blow, or against any wounds suffered that has the Multiple Wounds (X) special rule.

He has the Grudgestone, which once set, allows Thogrim and any unit he has joined to gain the Unbreakable special rule and automatically pass any Panic tests they may be required to make. However, once placed, Thogrim and his unit cannot Flee as a charge reaction and cannot move other than to Give Ground or to make a follow up move or reform.

As well as this, being a master of Grudgelore, allows he and any unit he is with to replace the Hatred (Orcs & Goblins) with Hatred (all enemies) when the Grudgestone has been set.

Ungrim Ironfist, Slayer King of Karak Kadrin

Players of both the original series of Warhammer Fantasy Battle games, and the Warhammer Total War franchise will recognise the second special character to be listed in the book – Ungrim Ironfist.

Obviously a younger version than we’ve seen in previous editions, the lore talks about his background and how he became a Slayer King as did his father, and his father before him, for their Ancestor King Baragor. Who at the loss of his daughter on her way to wed the High King in Karaz-a-Karak, lost his battle against grief. Unable to to hold anyone else accountable other than his own decision not to travel with her, the King chose to shave his beard short and swore oaths to the Slayer Cult.

At 315 points, Ungrim Ironfist is available to any Dwarfen Mountain Holds army. As King of the Slayer Hold, Ungrim Ironfist allows for Daemon Slayers and Dragon Slayers to be taken as character choices in a Royal Clan army. He will also allow 1 unit of Slayers to be taken per 1,000 points as a core choice and up to 4 Doomseekers in every 1,000 points to be taken as Special choices.

Ungrim Ironfist can join a unit of Hammerers or Slayers. If he does join a unit of Hammerers, they benefit from gaining the Immune to Psychology and Unbreakable special rules for however long he remains with them.

Unlike other Slayers, Ungrim Ironfist does have armour, albeit only light armour. However, this is made up for with the Slayer Crown, which allows him to improve his armour value by 2 and have a 5+ Ward save against any wounds suffered.

His axe, the Axe of Dargo, is not classified as a great weapon, enabling Ungrim to attack at the Initiative 5 step, with both Magical Attacks and Monster Slayer at Strength +2 and -3 armour penetration. As with other, Slayer models, his rolls to wound of 4+ are always regarded as a success, regardless of the target’s toughness.

Burlok Damminson

It’s three for three with returning characters from the original Warhammer Fantasy battle series.

Following in the vein of the previous Arcane Journals released so far, Burlok Damminson is the prime focus of the lore within the first few pages of the book. This allows players to either recreate the historical battle in the book, or create new stories with the character.

Damminson is the cheapest of the three special characters in the book, coming in at only 85 points. This makes him only slightly more expensive than a regular Dwarf Engineer.

He has Range Finding Optics, which allows one friendly unit of Quarrellers, Thunders or Dwarf war machine to re-roll any rolls to hit of 1, or re-roll a single artillery dice. Provided that unit or war machine is not engaged in combat or fleeing. Any unit he accompanies do not suffer the usual -1 to hit modifier when shooting at long range either.

Mercenaries

Before we move to the two Armies of Infamy available in the journal, we should point out that there are three units provided in the book that can act as Mercenaries in any Dwarfen Mountain Holds force (Armies of Infamy or Grand Army) or Empire of Man Grand Army.

Doomseekers

Doomseekers are considered crazed individuals, even amongst the Slayers. Often covered in tattoos, Doomseekers throw themselves at the enemy without fore thought, flailing around themselves with axes attached to chains known as the whirling blades of death.

At 50 points, they’re cheap and versatile. They also have a host of options to tool them up Weapon runes and Runic Tattoos which we’ll cover later in this review.

Having no armour, you’d expect they wouldn’t survive long and you’d be right. However, the clever narrative influenced rule ‘Doomseeker‘ comes into play here. If you’re opponent does kill them during the battle, then they are worth no points to the enemy player. However, if the enemy player allows them to survive, they’ll gain bonus victory points equal to 100% of their points cost.

0-3 Doomseekers may be included as Mercenaries in any Dwarfen Mountain Holds or Empire of Man Grand Army. As a result they will be subject to the Misbehaving Mercenaries special rule.

Imperial Dwarf Mercenaries

Imperial Dwarfs, are those Dwarfs who have made homes for themselves within the Empire of Man. Here they’ll help humans build their homes, walls and craft weapons. When called to muster, they can be seen marching alongside the troops of the Empire, their weapons and armour often mimicking that of their Human allies.

Imperial Dwarf Mercenaries have a wide weapon selection, but come with light armour rather than the usual heavy armour as standard. Though this can be purchased as an upgrade. They have access to great weapons, thrusting spears, crossbows and handguns. As well as being able to purchase the Drilled or Veteran special rules for them, they can also take up to 50 points of Standard runes for one unit per 1,000 points.

However, only 1 unit of Imperial Dwarf Mercenaries can be included in any Dwarf Mountain Holds or Empire of Man Grand Army, and, like the Doomseekers, are subject to the Misbehaving Mercenaries rules.

Goblin-Hewer

The Goblin-hewer is rare amongst Dwarf armies due to its less than honourable origins. The original blueprints said to have been stolen from a famous engineer and rushed to completion by a thief. When unveiled, a fight broke out, resulting in many of the Engineering Guild shaving their beards in shame and taking the design with them.

The Goblin-hewer is a mercenary unit that may be taken in any Dwarf Army of Infamy and so, subject to the Misbehaving Mercenaries special rule.

Though if your Grand Army or your Expeditionary Force includes a Slayer of Legend, you may include 0-1 Goblin-hewer per 1,000 points as a rare choice. If included in this way, they’re also not subject to the Misbehaving Mercenaries special rule.

The Goblin-hewer fires a salvo of axes at their foes. An artillery dice roll determines the number of shots it fires plus a D3 modifier per rank or file depending upon which facing of an enemy unit the war machine fires upon. The Goblin-hewer has a 36″ range at Strength 4 and AP -1, plus Armour Bane (1).

Runic Tattoos

Not available in the Forces of Fantasy book, GW have expanded here to allows Doomseekers, Daemon Slayers and Dragon Slayers runic tattoos. Doomseekers are allowed up to 3 tattoos, Daemon Slayers, two and Dragon Slayers One. They cannot be duplicated on the same model and no two characters may have the same combination of tattoos. But with 10 tattoos there’s a decent enough choice.

I’ve picked the most how powered to go through rather than list each tattoo.

At 50 points Rune of the Dishonoured will allow Daemon Slayers and Dragon Slayers to benefit from a 3+ Ward save when losing their final wound. This also allows the enemy player to score bonus victory points up to the models points cost if it is still alive at the games end.

Rune of Endless Battle will allow a model with this runic tattoo which charged to make an additional attack for each unsaved wound.

Rune of the Reckless gives the model the Frenzy special rule (+1 attack and automatically pass Fear, Panic or Terror tests) as well as a +1 modifier to its to hit roll in combat. However, this is offset by the opponent also gaining a +1 to hit in the combat phase.

Engineers’ Weapon Runes

The runes can only be inscribed upon a crossbow or handgun, and follow the normal rules for Weapon runes described in Forces of Fantasy.

With 8 runes available, each gives varying benefits. Perhaps the most needed considering the current game state is the Master Rune of Slaying. This allows a to wound roll of 3+ to always be considered a success against an enemy whose troop type is behemoth. It also gives the weapon the Multiple Wounds (D3) special rule.

The Master Rune of Piercing gives the weapon a +1 modifier on its Strength characteristic and allows the weapon to shoot like a Bolt Thrower with the Through & Through special rule.

The Master Rune of Bursting Flame will allow the weapon to cause 2D3 hits on the target for each successful to hit roll.

The lesser runes all have smaller benefits such as the target of the shooting attack suffering from the Stupidity special rule until the start of the next turn, or the weapon not suffering from any negative to hit modifiers.

Wrap Up

Overall I think the book is a great benefit to Dwarf players, both Armies of Infamy bring something new to the table, with the addition of some of the Runes from this book, the Dwarfs no longer have to be terrified when an opponent brings a behemoth to the table.

As a long time Fantasy player I was pleased to see younger versions of three returning special characters. Although it may have been nice to have a one special character that hadn’t featured in the original Warhammer Fantasy series.

The Armies of Infamy are full of flavour and counteract each other perfectly (for Dwarfs at least) in their unit compositions.

The additional runes will go someway to help Dwarf players to take on Behemoths as well, and at range. Well done GW.

Given the relatively low cost of the Arcane Journals and the amount of lore and new play options, it feels worth picking up regardless of the army you collect.


Black Library, Book Reviews, Declan Waters, Games Workshop

Book Review – Shadowbreed

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A Warhammer Novel by David Ferring

David Ferring’s (David S Garnett’s) trilogy set in the Old World was first published in the 1980s but can still be picked up in the right shops… unfortunately it is not available on Black Library website.

From the book:

In a time of blood and darkness, the mutated hordes of Chaos rampage across the borders of the civilized world, sowing death and destruction in their wake. Drive by the power of his own mysterious destiny, Konrad continue his fight against the evil forces that seek to destroy the Empire – but at what cost to his own soul.

Things are going from bad to worse for Konrad. He has left his friend of the last five years to chase Skullface – the one he shot when his village was attacked by Beastmen and everyone was killed. In chasing Skullface he is captured by the Beastmen horde, escapes and eventually finds himself in Middenheim… where there are skaven to deal with.

Much like the first in the trilogy, this book paints the picture of a dark Empire falling apart from within and with enemies at every corner. There is chaos, corruption and warpstones and a Thanquol like Grey Seer.

Despite all this, it didn’t quite live up to the promise of Konrad (Book 1) and fell a little flat in places. The series is struggling a little from Konrad constantly surviving against all odds, but some of the escapes are somewhat unbelievable. That said, it is still a fun read and I am hoping that the story will pay off in book 3 – Warblade – which I have just started to read.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but if your friendly local book store doesn’t have this available, we have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.

— Declan & Eeyore

Black Library, Book Reviews, Declan Waters, Games Workshop

Book Review – Konrad

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A Warhammer Novel by David Ferring

David Ferring’s (David S Garnett’s) trilogy set in the Old World was first published in 1980s but can still be picked up in the right shops… unfortunately it is not available on Black Library website.

From the book:

Deep in an isolated corner of the Empire, the young Konrad is flung into a life of desperate exile after the village where he has grown up is razed to the ground by marauding beastmen. In a constant battle for survival, he must seek the answers to his mysterious past in a savage land teeming with the foul servants of the Dark Gods.

Konrad is a youngster growing up in the forests of the Empire as an orphan. The local tavern owner ’employs’ Konrad to work in the stables and when not working he walks and explores the forest. He meets Elyssa, the daughter of the local Lord who gives him his name, and teaches him to read, to shoot a bow, and to love.

Unfortunately this is the Empire in the Old World and soon Beastmen arrive… destroy the village… and kill everyone – except, of course, Konrad. He does the only thing he can do – he runs from the village and finds a pair of men who promise to take him to the local town… but it only gets worse for Konrad from here.

This book was published in 1989 – the year I first started to play massed battle wargames (Space Marine) – but the Warhammer Fantasy Old World history is still well developed and David Ferring weaves all this in with the adventure of Konrad. In a journey that sees him go from the forests of the Empire, to the frozen wastes of Kislev Konrad grows from a child to a warrior. Willing and capable to defend himself and his friends.

This is a great start to the series, and has really good representations of the beastmen (from the time that they included all forms of humanoid life including skaven and orcs), and superbly sets the scene of an Empire (and Kislev) beset on all sides by Beastmen from within and Chaos from the north.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but if your friendly local book store doesn’t have this available, we have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.

— Declan & Eeyore

Faction Focus, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, Kingdom of Bretonnia, Reviews, Royal Rich, The Old World

The Old World: Kingdom of Bretonnia – Arcane Journal Review

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Lore Review

Bretonnia is a feudal kingdom in the west of the Old World known for its chivalric knights, mystical enchantresses, and… well… and peasants. Its knights live by a code of honour known as, “The Code Chivalric” that defines its society, promising to protect the weak from the wicked and to defend the lands of Bretonnia.

Once these lands were occupied by the High Elves of Ulthuan, who built many harbours and cities along the western coast and thrived on trade with the Dwarfs, however when this relationship broke down (impressively…) the land became a wilderness which orcs and humans fought to control until the Bretonni tribe emerged triumphant.

There are three distinct flavours of Bretonnian army playable with the release of the new Arcane Journal, with options for you whether you want to run a traditional Bretonnian army of the sort that is constantly fighting to protect its borders and forests, or a more focused force representing knights participating in an Errantry Crusade, or the forces of an outcast lord establishing his place in the Border Princes.

The lore section of the Arcane Journal focuses initially on the codes of chivalry that the knights are beholden to, before expanding into exploring the various areas of Bretonnia, from mountain frontiers to the great forests and walled towns that dot its landscape.

The main focus of the lore in there is on the Border Princes and the description of a crusade force riding to battle the undead legions, for which there is also a narrative battle plan to allow you to recreate the battle. The section on Outcast Nobility is somewhat shorter (2 pages vs 8) but gives some great ideas as to how and why a Lord may become an outcast and leaves plenty of narrative hooks for you to establish your own Lord’s background.

The Book

As with our Tomb Kings review, the core rules for an army from the Kingdoms of Bretonnia exist within the appropriate tome, with this one being the “Forces of Fantasy” book that also includes rules for Dwarfs, Empire, Wood Elves, and High Elves.

As a supplement to that, and the focus of this article, the Arcane Journal for the Kingdom of Bretonnia includes two alternative ways to represent the Bretonnians, either as part of an Errantry Crusade or as Outcast Exiles.

Besides containing two new “Armies of Infamy” as these alternative compositions are known, there is a selection of named characters, and a slew of extra magic items that can be used both for these armies of infamy, many of which can also be selected as choices for your standard Bretonnian army lists.

Armies of Infamy

The Armies of Infamy offers novel and thematic approaches to constructing your faction’s army lists. Introducing unique army-wide special rules and granting access to upgraded units that enhance specific playstyles. However, opting for an army of infamy imposes greater restrictions on your army composition compared to the base books by excluding certain units.

It’s important to mention that these Arcane Journals differ from traditional army books from previous editions. They act as supplements to the unit lists and army rules found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy books. Playing a game in the Old World only using the Arcane Journals is not possible, as they rely on references to the special rules from Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy. These journals provide new ways to play your faction, including special characters, but they don’t provide details on specific rules.

Bretonnian Exiles

The immediate standout for this army is the ability to bring outcast wizards and artillery. An army of Exiles will likely be looking to leverage the powerful Border Princes Bombard alongside some of the other unique units in this book.

Special Rules

Banished Lords – Barons and Paladins lose access to the Grail Vow, and instead, they and several other units get access to the Exiles Vow, granting them the Stubborn and Veteran rules, as well as not having to take panic tests from units with Levies or Peasantry rules.

Reclaimed Glory – Exiles cannot pray for the Blessings of the Lady at the beginning of a game. Instead, if a unit with the Blessings of the Lady special rule runs down an opponent’s unit, they get the benefits of this rule as if they had prayed at the start of the game. Alternatively, a character killing an enemy character in a challenge will do the same for them (and any unit they have joined)

List Composition

As a result of the army representing outcast nobility, there are restrictions in place on Grail Knights, Dukes and Prophetesses (Not present) and Damsels (1 per army).

There are enough changes to the general composition that it would make it a dull read to list them all here, but some highlights are that Yeoman Guard replace Men-at-Arms as a mandatory core choice, mounted yeomen become an optional core choice, battle pilgrims are more limited (0-1 per 1k), and Questing Knights move from Special to Rare.

Free Company Milita and Empire Archers can also be included as Mercenaries.

Unique Units

Outcast Wizards give the option to include a level 1-3 wizard in your Exiles army, with access to a wide variety of lores. These roll an extra dice when rolling on the Miscast table and discard the highest, but at 105pts for a level 3 come in very cheap.

Yeoman Guards seem to be more professional versions of Men-at-Arms… they lose Polearms as default and instead take a spear or halberd, but can buy them back for a point. BS and LD increases aren’t hugely important by the time you add a Yeoman to a unit of men at arms, so if we take that into account then, they gain an extra WS and Veteran for 2 points as well as having access to a 25pt magic banner. The extra WS may not seem huge but can offer significant defensive benefit vs other WS3 units (now hit on a 4+), or WS5 units (hit you on a 3+ instead of a 2+)

Border Princes Brigands are a rare choice in an Exiles army and have a huge amount of variety when choosing weaponry and special rules. They come default with Open Order but can change that to Close Order or Skirmishers, can Ambush, Scout, and have Motley Crew so can take a mix of weaponry within the unit. That weaponry can consist of anything from the default hand weapon to additional hand weapons, shields, pistols, blunderbuss, and crossbows, giving you many ways to run these. I’m interested to see what people come up with!

The Border Princes Bombard is perhaps the highlight here and the one that I think most people taking an Exiles army may be attracted to. Effectively this is something between a Cannon and a Great Cannon, with the strength and range of a cannon, but with the armour piercing and damage of the Great Cannon.

Errantry Crusade

A little less dramatic a change than with the Exiles, the main distinctive feature of Errantry Crusades are that Knights Errant are likely to be in much greater prevalence, and you can run a higher than normal points value of rare choices such as Grail Knights.

Special Rules

Crusading Knights – The majority of units, anything from Mounted Yeomen to Grail Knights, gain the “Crusader’s Zeal” special rule and can swap their knight’s vow with the crusader’s vow.

Crusader’s Zeal increases a unit’s charge range but gives them impetuous meaning they have to charge, a nice bonus to have, but with a significant drawback.

The Crusader’s Vow gives a unit the Veteran ability and makes them immune to panicking peasantry or levies.

Earn Your Spurs is the final special rule and is very useful, boosting Knights Errant by giving them re-rolls of 1 to hit when within 6” of a Lord of Bretonnia or a friendly model with the Grail Vow. Additionally, should they capture an enemy standard, it’s worth 100 points rather than the normal 50 points at the end of the game.

List Composition

Characters remain unchanged in the main although Paladins become 1+, you were likely taking one anyway though given they retain the ability to upgrade one Paladin to a Battle Standard Bearer for no cost.

Core and Rare immediately jump out as the percentages for these have changed, with you requiring 33% minimum in core, and up to 33% in Rare, rather than the usual 25% for each of these. That shouldn’t be a huge problem however as your mandatory unit is Knights Errant (1+ per 1000) and you will likely be building around an all-mounted force, with no requirement for Men-at-Arms or Peasant Bowmen in an Errantry Crusade. Notably, you could take a unit of Battle Pilgrims as core, but I feel most players will be spending their core on a mixture of Knights Errant and Knights of the Realm.

You retain the ability to run Pegasus Knights in Special, which I’m sure will continue to be very popular.

Empire Knights and Inner Circle Knights are available as Mercenaries should you wish to bring some knights along to support your knights…

Unique Units

N/A – No change here

Special Characters

The main army composition lists found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy notably lacked the array of special characters that enthusiasts have grown fond of within their cherished factions. While it’s understandable considering the shift in time period, with many of these iconic figures potentially not yet existing, it leaves a void in the hearts of fans longing for something extraordinary to connect with. The Arcane Journals address this gap by introducing a selection of special characters, both familiar and new, to their respective armies

The Green Knight

One of the most recognisable characters and models available for Bretonnia, the Green Knight comes in at 275 points and is available to any Bretonnian army. Interestingly you don’t deploy him at the start of the battle but begin to roll from the first turn. On a 3+ he appears completely within a “natural” terrain feature (on most tables I imagine this will be a forest or water feature). He can’t (Edit: We stand corrected! 16/07/24) He can charge that turn. Being able to appear from nowhere, or even just the threat of him doing so, will keep an opponent thinking.

When removed from play, the Green Knight is not slain and may continue to appear, but becomes weaker each time, with -1 to the roll and -1 wound when he appears.

With ethereal, a 5+ ward, and terror, he can potentially hold up whole units by himself, and with the Dolorous Blade giving him a choice of D6 extra attacks (potentially 10 at ap-1) or +2 strength and multiple wounds, he can put out some hurt as well.

Sir Cecil Gastonne, The Worm Slayer

A named baron and the leader of the army of Bretonnian Exiles that stood in the path of Settra’s legions, Sir Cecil has a profile typical of a Bretonnian Baron, except for an extra weapon skill (WS7)

Notably, he is unmounted and comes with the Exiles Vow (Stubborn and Veteran) and a Dragonhide Cloak (a 3+ ward save vs flaming attacks as well as reducing AP of attacks against him by 2 and making him immune to Killing Blow and Multiple Wounds)

Sir Cecil wields an axe known as “Sorrow’s End” which means he’ll be striking at strength 5, with -1AP, Monster Slayer, and multiple wounds (2)

Overall though at 165 points and without an option for a mount I’m not sure how much we’ll see of the Wyrm Slayer.

Lady Élisse Duchaard, Prophetess of Brionne

Lady Élisse is a little different in that as a Prophetess she is not available to an army of Exiles, although will find a place in generic Bretonnian lists and Errantry Crusades. She was tutored by the Fae Enchantress and as a result, is exceptionally gifted at dispelling an enemy’s magic.

225 points is expensive for a level 3 wizard but with 5 wounds, the ability to switch two of her randomly generated spells rather than one, and the “Arcane Backlash” special rule that allows her to dominate an opponent’s wizards, it feels like she is great value.

Likely, the reason that you’re bringing Lady Élisse (other than that awesome model!) is her ability to dispel. She dispels at +4 due to an additional +1 to the roll, but more importantly, any natural double on that roll (not including a double 1) means the spell is immediately unbound and additionally the caster immediately loses a wound.

Magic Items

Within this section are 18 new magical items usable for Bretonnian armies. Of these four are usable only in an Errantry crusade army, six are reserved for Exiles, and the remaining eight are freely available to any Bretonnian army. I’ve picked a few that jumped out at first read below:

The Frontier Axe, reserved for Exiles and acting similarly to a great weapon with an extra point of AP, Multiple Wounds (2) and without Always Strikes Last (S+2, AP -3, MW(2), Requires two hands) which at 30pts seems pretty solid.

Ironspike Shield, another that’s locked to Exiles, is a shield that causes a strength 3 hit at AP-1 whenever an opponent rolls a natural 1 to hit or wound.

Crusaders Clarion, an enchanted item reserved for Erranty Crusade armies and giving mounts in the unit +1 strength when they charge

Of the items not locked to an Army of Infamy, I don’t feel many are particularly competitive, perhaps the choice is the Banner of Honourable Warfare which for 25pts gives re-rolls to hit in the first round of combat if the enemy is equipped with any missile weapons.

Wrap Up

Overall I think the book delivers well, two Special Characters are likely to see play, both Armies of Infamy bring something new to the table, and we’re seeing some good results competitively from them. (As I write this there’s an Errantry Crusade army undefeated from the first four games in a 100-player online tournament)

I do think I would have preferred if the armies of infamy locked down the Pegasus Knights in the same way that the Orc and Goblin book restricts access to Night Goblin Fanatics, as I feel they seem so much better than other units in the book it’s a shame to see competitive lists rush straight to take as many as they can so perhaps a missed opportunity there.

Given the relatively low cost of the Arcane Journals and the amount of lore and new play options, it feels worth picking up regardless of the army you collect.


Army Lists, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Ravening Hordes, The Empire of Man, The Old World, Tomb Kings of Khemri, Top three lists, Tournaments, Warriors of Chaos

Top Three Old World Lists for Battles in the Border Princes (1,500pts)

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This is the top three Old World lists for Battles in the Border Princes that took place in the United Kingdom on the 20th and 21st of April at Warhammer World. It saw 56 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.

Before I jump into the Top Three Old World Lists, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.

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Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.

The Top Three Old World Lists

CHARACTERS
High Priest [212 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Level 4 Wizard
– General
– Skeletal Steed
– Lore Familiar
– Necromancy
Mortuary Priest [80 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Battle Standard Bearer (Mortuary Cult Only)
– On foot
– Illusion

CORE
4 Ushabti [196 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Greatbows
– Heavy armour
4 Tomb Swarms [148 pts]
– Hand weapons (Venemous Bites and Stings)
5 Skeleton Horse Archers [55 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Warbows
5 Skeleton Horse Archers [55 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Warbows
19 Skeleton Warriors [86 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Shields
– Master of Arms (Champion)
– Standard bearer

SPECIAL
Tomb Scorpion [70 pts]
– Decapitating Claws
– Envenomed Sting
– Heavy armour (Bone Carapace)
Necrosphinx [195 pts]
– Cleaving Blades
– Decapitating Strike
– Heavy armour
Tomb Scorpion [70 pts]
– Decapitating Claws
– Envenomed Sting
– Heavy armour (Bone Carapace)

RARE
Necrosphinx [195 pts]
– Cleaving Blades
– Decapitating Strike
– Heavy armour
Casket of Souls [135 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Great weapons
– Light armour

CHARACTERS
Chaos Lord [570 pts]
– Flail
– Full plate armour
– Shield
– Mark of Nurgle
– General
– Chaos Dragon
– Crown of Everlasting Conquest
– Enchanting Aura
Exalted Sorcerer [145 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Light armour
– Mark of Tzeentch
– Wizard Level 2
– On foot
– Spell Familiar
– Daemonology

CORE
5 Marauder Horsemen [70 pts]
– Flails
– Throwing axes
– Light armour
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
5 Marauder Horsemen [70 pts]
– Flails
– Throwing axes
– Light armour
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
12 Chaos Warriors [235 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Heavy armour
– Shields
– Mark of Tzeentch
– Champion
– Standard bearer [War Banner]
– Musician

SPECIAL
Chaos Chariot [110 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Halberds
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
Chaos Chariot [110 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Halberds
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
3 Dragon Ogres [189 pts]
– Great weapons
– Heavy armour

CHARACTERS
Chaos Lord [632 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Full plate armour
– Shield
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
– Chaos Dragon
– Crown of Everlasting Conquest
– 3x Favour of the Gods
– Chaos Runesword
– Enchanting Aura
– Acid Ichor

CORE
4 Chaos Knights [142 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Heavy armour
– Mark of Khorne
– Champion
– Standard bearer
– Musician
4 Chaos Knights [167 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Heavy armour
– Mark of Khorne
– Champion
– Standard bearer [War Banner]
– Musician
4 Chaos Knights [142 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Heavy armour
– Mark of Khorne
– Champion
– Standard bearer
– Musician

SPECIAL
3 Dragon Ogres [196 pts]
– Great weapons
– Heavy armour
– Shartak
4 Chosen Chaos Knights [220 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Full plate armour
– Mark of Chaos Undivided
– Champion
– Standard bearer [Banner of Rage]

CHARACTERS
Lector of Sigmar [279 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Great weapon
– Light armour
– General
– War Alter of Sigmar
– The White Cloak
Captain of the Empire [165 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Lance (if appropriately mounted)
– Full plate armour
– Battle Standard Bearer
– Demigryph
– Ruby Ring of Ruin
– Charmed Shield

CORE
8 Empire Knights [203 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Lances
– Shields
– Heavy armour
– Preceptor (champion) [The Silver Horn]
– Standard bearer
10 State Missile Troops [95 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Handguns
– No armour
– Sergeant (champion) [Repeater handgun]
– Standard bearer
5 Empire Archers [40 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Warbows
– Scouts
5 Empire Archers [40 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Warbows
– Scouts

SPECIAL
3 Demigryph Knights [203 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Full plate armour
– Demigryph Preceptor (champion)
– Standard bearer
2 Demigryph Knights [133 pts]
– Lances
– Shields
– Full plate armour
– Demigryph Preceptor (champion)
4 Outriders [76 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Pistols
– Repeater handguns
– Heavy armour

RARE
Steam Tank [265 pts]
– Steam Cannon
– Steam gun Empire

Final Tournament Placings

Beastmen Brayherds, Chaos Dwarfs, Daemons of Chaos, Dark Elves, Dwarfen Mountain Holds, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, High Elf Realms, Kingdom of Bretonnia, Lizardmen, Meta Analysis, Ogre Kingdoms, Orc and Goblin Tribes, Peter Holland, Ravening Hordes, Skaven, The Empire of Man, The Old World, Tomb Kings of Khemri, Tournaments, Vampire Counts, Warriors of Chaos, Wood Elf Realms

Old World Win Rates: 21st April 2024

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Below are the Old World win rates for each faction since the release of Old World. These win rates are for every 2,000 point event that has 10 or more participants and that include legacy factions. Mirror matches have been excluded, as have matches where information is not available for both participants.

Points LevelNumber of Events
2,500 Points1 Event
2,250 Points1 Event
2,000 Points41 Events (Inc 5 GTs)
1,999 Points6 Events
1,750 Points1 Event
1,500 Points23 Events (Inc 1 GT)
1,250 Points13 Events
1,000 Points3 Events
500 Points1 Event

The above table shows the number of events with meaningful data available to us on Best Coast Pairings, Stats and Ladders and Ecksen since the release of Old World. This does show that 2,000 and 1,500 points are the more popular points values for tournaments.

The above chart shows the win rates for 2,000 point events under the January FAQ only. The chart below shows all 2k events for the current FAQ released in April. As with the first chart, these events have at least 10 participants and include legacy factions. They also exclude mirror matches and matches where the information isn’t available for both players.

This is very early days, so take with a heavy dose of salt.

Want to view our database? Download the Excel file below. Why not come and join our friendly Discord while you’re here?

The Old World Database: 24th April 2024Download
Faction Focus, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Meta Analysis, Orc and Goblin Tribes, Peter Holland, Ravening Hordes, The Old World, Tournaments

Old World: Orc and Goblin Tribes Deep Dive

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Following on from our Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes unit performance posts, I thought it may be interesting to take a deep dive into each faction at 2,000 point events. All of these results are taken from competitive 2k events that included Legacy factions and a minimum of 10 players.

Orc and Goblin Tribes currently sit at 55%, which is perhaps a little high, but still within the tolerance.

The Night Goblins appear to be perhaps the more popular part of the Orc and Goblin Tribes army at present.

The Trolls are among the least popular units, along with my favourite, the Snotling Pump Wagon.

While the Night Goblins appear to be more popular with players, the Orcs appear to have more success on the battlefield.

Trollhide Trousers (bearer earns +1 to their save and has 5+ regeneration) and the Big Red Raggedy Flag (+1 to a units WS and +1 to combat results) lead the way in the most popular magic items.

Interestingly, the Orc and Goblins appear to do well against both the Tomb Kings and Kingdlm of Bretonnia but appear to struggle at first glance against Warriors of Chaos.

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Old World: High Elf Realms Deep Dive

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Following on from our Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes unit performance posts, I thought it may be interesting to take a deep dive into each faction at 2,000 point events. All of these results are taken from competitive 2k events that included Legacy factions and a minimum of 10 players.

High Elf Realms are very well balanced externally at 51%

The Archmage makes it into every single 2k point High Elf list to date. As opposed to the Mage, who only made it into 1 list. The Prince appears to be the go-to leader. The Star Dragon is the most popular of the three Dragon choices.

The other two dragons are seeing little play compared to the Star Dragon, and neither Phoenix appears to be attracting players either.

The above shows the win rates for units with more than 20 game results. With an overall win rate of 51% for the High Elf Realms, the only units currently exceeding this are the Lothern Sea Guard, the Star Dragon and the Ellyrian Reavers.

In terms of popularity of the Elven Honours, Pure of Heart (All units in command range use leadership of character and any unit the character has joined auto passes any Panic tests) and Loremaster (gains armour, has sword of Hoeth) are by far the most popular in lists.

There’s a more even distribution among the High Elf magic items. However, Seed of Rebirth (bearer has 5+ regeneration), Dragon Helm (improve armour save by +1 and 6+ ward against flaming attacks), and the Silvery Wand (Bearer knows one more spell than normal for their level) lead the way.

As we only include factions where there are more than 10 matches on record we are unable to show and matchups for the High Elves at present.

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Old World: Tomb Kings of Khemri Deep Dive

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Following on from our Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes unit performance posts, I thought it may be interesting to take a deep dive into each faction at 2,000 point events. All of these results are taken from competitive 2k events that included Legacy factions and a minimum of 10 players.

Firstly, from what we can see, most of the forces are constructed using the army composition list inside the Ravening Hordes book rather than the Tomb Kings of Khemri: Arcane Journal.

The Tomb Kings are slightly overpowered externally at 58%. But this could yet fall with the new FAQ and people adjusting to the new edition.

It’ll be no surprise that units such as the Bone Dragon, Necrosphinx, and Casket of Spuls can be found on this list.

The least popular units are mostly those from the Arcane Journal, with the exception of Skeleton Horsemen, Tomb Prince, Khemrian Warsphinx, and SepulchralStalkers.

The above shows the win rates for units with more than 20 game results. With an overall win rate of 58% for the Tomb Kings, the only units currently exceeding this are the Mortuary Priest, Tomb King, Necrolith Bone Dragon, Necrosphinx, Skeleton Chariots and Royal Herald.

There’s a more even distribution among the Tomb Kings magic items. However, Armour of the Ages (Enemies reroll successful to wound rolls against the bearer), Icon of the Sacred Eye (+1 modifier to weapon skill), and Flail of Skulls (S+3, Multiple Wounds (3)) lead the way.

We’ve only included factions where there are more than 10 matches on record. While this is still low data, the trend shows a poor performance against Orc and Goblin Tribes. While appearing to perform well against Kingdom of Bretonnia and Warriors of Chaos.

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Faction Focus, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, Kingdom of Bretonnia, Meta Analysis, Peter Holland, The Old World, Tournaments

Old World: Kingdom of Bretonnia Deep Dive

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Following on from our Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes unit performance posts, I thought it may be interesting to take a deep dive into each faction at 2,000 point events. All of these results are taken from competitive 2k events that included Legacy factions and a minimum of 10 players.

Firstly, from what we can see, most of the forces are constructed using the army composition list inside the Forces of Fantasy book rather than the Kingdom of Bretonnia: Arcane Journal.

The Kingdom of Bretonnia is perfectly balanced externally at 52%

It’ll be no surprise that many of these units are mandatory according to the Forces of Fantasy composition list.

The least popular units are mostly those from the Arcane Journal, with the exception of the Damsel, Squires, Foot Knights, and Sergeant-At-Arms.

The above shows the win rates for units with more than 20 game results. With an overall win rate of 52% for the Kingdom of Bretonnia, the only units currently exceeding this are the Knights Errant, the Duke and the Paladin.

In terms of popularity of the knightly virtues, the Virtue of Heroism (Killing Blow and Monster Slayer special rules- Excellent against what appears to be a Dragon dominated game at present) and the Virtue of Knightly Temper (extra D3 attacks and Hatred) are by far the most popular in lists.

There’s a more even distribution among the Bretonnians magic items. However, Gauntlet of the Duel (challenges can’tbe refused), Gromril Great Helm (improve armour save by +1 and reroll natural 1s on armour saves), and the Falcon Horn of Fredemund (cancel fly on enemy units) lead the way.

We’ve only included factions where there are more than 10 matches on record. While this is still low data, the trend shows a poor performance against Orc and Goblin Tribes and Tomb Kings of Khemri. While appearing to perform well against Wood Elf Realms.

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