Warhammer The Old World players are in for some bad news, as Cathay and Kislev don’t look like they’ll be arriving anytime soon.
When it comes to enjoying Fantasy Warhammer, it sometimes feels like the physical tabletop gets left in the dust. Games Workshop has recently released an update for those with the Shadows of Change DLC for Total War: Warhammer 3, discussing Grand Cathay and Kislev faction updates. Unfortunately, they dropped a little reminder for Old World players, which may be a bit disappointing.
Kislev & Cathay Not Joining Warhammer The Old World Anytime Soon
This little tidbit was hidden inside a Total War update on Warhammer Community.
While the changes do look good in this Total War advertisement disguised as a faction update, they didn’t waste this opportunity to update Old World fans about Cathay and Kislev…
Tied to the bottom of this update like a nice little bow, things are not looking good for Cathay and Kislev’s future on the tabletop. That is, for the next several years at least. Who knows, maybe we’ll see them in 2029… (this is a joke, sort of)
Now, as a reminder, GW announced Old World initially after having nothing more than the logo done. In their 2019 post, they were willing to talk about its future when it was set to drop three or more years in the future.
In the deepest dungeons of the Warhammer Studio, the counsel of the wise have convened, ancient forges have been re-lit and work has already begun. So far… we’ve made the logo.
Next up, everything else.
You get the idea – this is a long way off. Years. More than two. Like three or more. Definitely not soon.
GW Previews New Concept Art For Iceguard of Kislev: (May, 2020)
In May 2020, Games Workshop put out an update on Kislev for Warhammer the Old World, but we haven’t seen much since, sadly.
One of the coolest aspects of returning to the world-that-was is the opportunity to revisit certain aspects of its classic lore and delve into them in greater detail than ever before. A perfect candidate for further investigation is the harsh, frozen realm found to the north of the Empire – Kislev, the land of the Ice Queens. To that end, let’s take a look at a project that’s currently in development…
One new unit that’s in the early stages of development is set in the Ice Court – the seat of the ruling Tsar or Tsarina. Known as the Ice Guard, they’re an elite fighting formation of warrior women, equally skilled with bow and blade. But where they differ significantly from the other Kislevite units we’ve seen in the past is that they’re able to channel the elemental magic of their realm in a similar manner to their Ice Queen – the most powerful practitioner of this unique form of sorcery. Here are some awesome pieces of concept art for the Ice Guard, courtesy of Forge World’s Mark Bedford.
The artwork is definitely dope, and from the looks of their weapons, they might all be imbued with some level of magic. See the way they glow? They were also mentioned as elites serving their Ice Queen.
Check out the artwork on that banner. Doesn’t that look exactly like the old Ice Queen model from back in the day?
The Blast From The Past
Model Credit: Beasts of War
Since GW is pulling a massive nostalgia move with Warhammer: Old World, it would be really dope to see the old models updated with the newer technology available. All while still keeping staple pieces of the model unchanged.
While brand new artwork for some new ice ladies has been revealed, we also can’t forget about the classic cavalry units of Kislev. The Ungol Horse Archers and Kislevite Winged Lancers may be in the same boat, getting a model overhaul as well
Fantasy Bears! More Kislev Previews For Warhammer Old World
Many heroes of Kislev tame great bears and ride them to war. Forming a bond with their mighty beasts is not easy, but for those who do, it is lifelong – indeed, legend says that when Tsar Boris died, his loyal bear guarded his corpse for a day and a night before disappearing into the snow. Some of you might actually remember this classic model of Boris riding his bear from years past…
GW is taking a deeper step into the Kislev faction and blowing the dust off the old Tsar Boris model. While he’s probably not coming back, they did mention that bear-mounted cavalry is under development.
Kislev Bear Mount Concept Art: (May 2020)
All we’ve really got to see is some artwork renderings of what may be ahead in the far, far future. With the silhouette of a man riding the bear for scale, things look sweet.
From what we can tell, the bear cavalry is going to have a few different armor styles. The shields are going to be mounted on the shoulder of the bear as some armor is added to the mount while the rider is not using it. Whatever horns/antlers are found are turned into weapons on the bear’s helmet.
Finally, to match what we’ve seen with the weapons of the Kislev, this bear has some ice shards on its armor. Also, for what it’s worth, this mount looks like it’s meant for someone especially important.
Kislev Rumor Engine (December 2023)
This looks like a pretty fancy fur-lined boot. Even better, there is an old Kislev model that matches this exceptionally closely. You can also see in the groin area that this is a pair of bent legs, meaning it’s most likely a cavalry model that is meant to be mounted on top of a horse.
This foot could be either of these old units above. If you ask us, they look more like the Ungol Horse Archers as they don’t have any stirrups, and the boots don’t have any armor. Obviously, it will be reworked a little, so it’s not 100% exact, but it’s about as close as we’ve seen for a rumor engine this far.
It could also be for a new character on a bear! Especially since GW released updated concept artwork for this back in 2020. While there isn’t much about the boots on this drawing, who doesn’t want to ride a bear into battle? Now that Warhammer The Old World is out, perhaps we can look forward to seeing Cathay & Kislev on the tabletop at some point?
Do you think that Old World fans will ever see Cathay and Kislev? Do you think we’ll see them in the next 4-5 years?
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About the Author: John Von Canon
John Von Canon
Job Title: Miniatures & Trading Card Games Writer
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About John Von Cannon: Tabletop gaming since 2016; John joined the Spikey Bits team in 2023 and covers new miniature products, trading card games, and RPGs.
He spends his evenings working at his local game store for the full hobby experience. So if you’re looking for niche and convoluted ways to sneak out a win in your next Commander game or a cool new hobby product for miniatures, he’s your guy.
