GW’s choice of armies for Warhammer The Old World has some people scratching their heads, but we think this is the shocking reason behind it!
If you missed it earlier in the year, GW has basically day one moved a ton of armies from Warhammer Old World to Legends Status, and said they wouldn’t be getting much support past their initial rules. However, we don’t really know if that means for the entirety of the game or if they are just trying to start slow. From the sounds of it, they won’t be supporting them other than a single set of rules… This editorial is 100% pure speculation from donning the mythical tinfoil hat for another gluten-free GW gut check. So, while Games Workshop will probably never confirm something like this, it certainly seems to make sense to us and might explain why they chose to support the army factions they did for Warhammer Old World.
RUMORS: The Shocking Reasons Behind GW’s Choice of Armies for Warhammer The Old World!
This Day 1 list of legacy Legends Warhammer the Old World Armies comes from Warhammer Community.
Certain factions people remember from Warhammer Fantasy Battles are not part of the narrative we’re telling with The Old World, but will be provided with rules at the launch of the game.
- Dark Elves
- Skaven
- Vampire Counts
- Daemons of Chaos
- Ogre Kingdoms
- Lizardmen
- Chaos Dwarfs
These legacy faction army lists will be made available for free as pdfs as a service to fans who have these classic armies on their shelf, so they can still bring them to battle for old times sake. We don’t plan to publish rules for Warhammer Age of Sigmar miniatures, except for those units that were part of the game and setting during the final edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
If you notice, every single army on the list of legacy factions is currently (or rumored to be coming soon) in Age of Sigmar. Plus, according to the stores we polled, these seven factions are the armies that actually sell for the range. The only outlier is Chaos, and that faction always seems to sell no matter what system it is in.
So you could argue that it is almost like Games Workshop doesn’t want Old World to compete with the products that are successful from their AoS game system. Reviving Old World allows GW to sell older existing models at a lower cost to market (game store shelves) and leaves room to make new models going forward based on those factions.
Basically, by focusing on a Warhammer Fantasy reboot, minus the “successful” AoS factions, Games Workshop can remonetize the system they literally blew up while still allowing AoS to move forward. Plus, as we mentioned earlier, it allows the two games to exist in the same space without directly competing with one another. In a few years, we’ll know if this speculation is true, and GW never adds those armies back into Old World after focusing on this new narrative with the launch armies that they were talking about. If they never supported these armies, it would only make sense that they did this to stop Old World from competing with the Age of Sigmar game by locking out these factions. In case you missed the past Warhammer Old World announcements since 2019, we’ve included them below.
- Warhammer The Old World: New Rules Changes & Models
- There Will be NO Warhammer The Old World Starter Set
- The Shocking Reason Behind GW’s Choice of Armies for Warhammer Old World!
The Tomb Kings Army Launch Box for Warhammer the Old World has been leaked with pretty clear pictures of the contents! Read More Here
Click Here For The Latest on Warhammer Old World!
What do you think about the core factions for Warhammer Old World and our idea of why GW isn’t supporting them for OW?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
