Here’s the latest on the new Warhammer The Old World game, including all the models, release dates, and rumors so far!
Warhammer: The Old World, the highly anticipated upcoming tabletop game by Games Workshop, has garnered immense excitement among enthusiasts. Positioned as a potential revival of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the game has generated significant buzz since its initial announcement. In this article, we’ve compiled all confirmed rules available from places like Warhammer Community.
Warhammer The Old World Models, New Releases, & Rumors
Since the initial revelation in 2019, tons of announcements have led to this thorough recap of all we currently know about Warhammer: The Old World. A particularly exciting revelation is that all 8th Edition Fantasy armies will be playable in Warhammer: The Old World. So, once again, we will see armies featuring plastic, resin, and metal miniatures all on the tabletop together.
Perhaps the biggest reveal we’ve seen yet for Warhammer The Old World is the release date of January 20th, 2024.
Warhammer The Old World is returning with two launch army boxes featuring box sets for Tomb Kings and Brettonia, new minis, and rulebooks! You can read the latest on the two featured launch factions, new models, and rules in our coverage here.
Recent New Model Articles
- Warhammer Old World Launch Army Box Sets (December, 26th 2023)
- Warhammer Old World Tomb Kings Get New Life With the Necrolith Bone Dragon! (November, 18th 2023)
- Warhammer Old World Bretonnian Army Launch Line-Up Revealed: (October, 15th 2023)
- Built Plastic Warhammer Old World Pegasus Spotted in the Wild: (October 5th, 2023)
- Élisse Duchaard Model For Warhammer The Old World: (August 30th, 2023)
- GW Reveals the Main Factions For Warhammer Old World: (May 25th, 2023)
What is Warhammer The Old World?
Warhammer: The Old World refers to the fictional realm that served as the backdrop for Games Workshop’s retired game system, Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Before the emergence of Age of Sigmar, Fantasy Battles represented the fantasy counterpart to Warhammer 40k, a rank-and-file tabletop wargame where diverse armies clashed on square bases in eight editions of its ruleset.
The Old World holds historical significance as the birthplace of iconic miniatures, many of which found a new lease of life in the Age of Sigmar. Notable examples include models from the Cities of Sigmar and miniatures representing Death, Destruction, Chaos factions, and formidable creatures like Treelords or Stormfiends.
Beyond being a gaming setting, The Old World distinguished itself with profoundly detailed and darkly-toned fantasy lore. Its influence extends beyond the gaming realm, inspiring fantasy settings like those in video game universes like Diablo and Warcraft. Characterized by its massive scale and immersive narrative, Warhammer The Old World ignited the imagination of enthusiasts and set a distinctive tone in the fantasy genre.
Despite its success, the discontinuation of the Fantasy Battles franchise led to speculation about the reasons behind its demise. Games Workshop concluded this chapter through a series of books called The End Times. They culminated in a catastrophic chaos invasion that brought about the total apocalypse for The Old World. Consequently, the classic lore of The Old World remained dormant for many years. Sadly, leaving fans to ponder the reasons behind the end of Warhammer Fantasy.
Warhammer Old World Release Date & Announcement
It looks like now that the Age of Sigmar is well underway, the GW team has decided to take a step back into the past and revamp an older medieval fantasy setting that’s loaded to the brim with lore. Warhammer: The Old World will be returning before Archaon’s efforts bring about the End Times!
Warhammer The Old World was released on January 20th, 2024. Nearly three dozen products were released with the two launch army boxes and rulebooks. You can browse the whole lineup of releases for the launch of the game in this article here.
As 30k tells of events/lore that happened leading up to the 40k setting, Warhammer’s The Old World will be a setting before the Age of Sigmar- with square bases.
The Old World is to Warhammer Age of Sigmar, as the Horus Heresy is to Warhammer 40,000. The bedrock of lore from which mortals rose to godhood and legends were forged. And like the Horus Heresy, seeing those mythic heroes in action has an undeniable appeal, as does re-creating the glorious armies of a previous epoch – an exciting proposition for hobbyists and gamers alike. And now, we have a dedicated team in the Warhammer Studio beginning the work of bringing all that awesome back to the tabletop.
What Will be the Main Factions in Warhammer The Old World?
According to Warhammer Community, some big armies are included, and it looks like they will all have rules when the game drops.
The game will be set firmly within the Old World itself – the lands between the coast of Bretonnia to the west and the World’s Edge Mountains to the east – during the decades immediately before the Great War Against Chaos and the Siege of Praag.
Much of the action in the first wave of books and supplements takes place in and around the Border Princes – the barrier lands between the Empire and Orc territory. Accordingly, we will be focusing on nine core factions.
These armies will have rules published alongside the launch of the Old World, and will be the pivotal players in the events covered in narrative expansions and supplements. Fans of these armies can also all look forward to some shiny new miniatures that will accompany the return of many classic kits.
So while all Warhammer the Old World armies will get rules at the game’s launch, these core factions seem to be the only ones that will get models (at least for a while) and be included in the game’s main narrative. We have also seen miniatures (renders and pictures) for Cathay and Kislev, so maybe they will be included in the Empire of Man or get their own releases later.
As you can see, though, some significant factions are not included in the picture above.
What Happens With Other Armies?
While every one of the Warhammer The Old World army factions will be playable, these are the ones that won’t be getting any ongoing support and will not be playable in tournaments.
A few of the factions from the previous Warhammer Fantasy Battle game will not feature in Warhammer: The Old World – this is in terms of game rules, model ranges, and the ongoing background narrative. These ‘Legacy’ factions will however get free, downloadable army lists so people can try out the new system using their older model collections. More about this in the coming weeks, though please note that they won’t be considered legal for tournaments, and won’t receive ongoing support.
If you want to come on this long-term journey with us, the factions in the Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes books are the ones to collect and play – and we want to be pretty clear about that.
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.
For some, it’s disappointing that some of these are not included, as they were in the game forever. Just weeks before this announcement, GW went out of their way to say ALL 8th Edition Fantasy armies would be playable in Old World, but it seems that most hobbyists, including us, missed the catch in the last line below:
Many of these factions are still well-loved, and hobbyists who still have them have been looking forward to playing with them again since 2019.
Warhammer The Old World Launch Boxes Arrive
Warhammer The Old World is returning with two launch army boxes featuring box sets for Tomb Kings and Brettonia, new minis, and rulebooks! Warhammer Community gifted the details of the official launch products, rules, box sets and more for Warhammer: The Old World on December 26th, 2023.
There is no single launch box for Warhammer: The Old World. Instead, there are two separate – and massive – core army boxes, each containing a full 1,250-point army with dozens of all-plastic miniatures each. On top of that, you get a complete 352-page hardback Warhammer: The Old World rulebook, a four-page reference sheet, 20 D6 dice, one six-sided scatter dice, three weapon templates, two classic red plastic measuring sticks, and transfer sheets.
We knew for a while that these were the two launch factions. It’s great to see they’ll split up the Tomb Kings and Brettonians into separate Warhammer the Old World launch boxes. Now, you’ll get a full core rulebook, along with templates, dice, and other necessities to get started playing!
Raise your banners to the Lady with the Kingdom of Bretonnia box, which contains 76 miniatures. The resplendent new Lord on Royal Pegasus can be built as a Duke or a Baron. They’re backed up by a lance formation of 12 Bretonnian Knights of the Realm, 36 Bretonnian Men-at-Arms, 24 Peasant Bowmen with two defence stakes, three Pegasus Knights, and a Kingdom of Bretonnian Transfer sheet with 176 transfers.
We got Bretonnia reveals drip-fed for a while. So we’ve seen all of these models already. However, seeing the Bretonnian army box in full view looks spectacular!
Warhammer The Old World Base Sizes Guide
Games Workshop has released a Warhammer The Old World base sizes guide; check out what is changing and what models need rebasing. Read MoreBretonnian Army Launch Box Set Pricing & Value
Don’t miss the wild pricing, value, and savings we may see with the new Bretonnian Army Launch Box for Warhammer the Old World. Read More
Tomb Kings Army Launch Box Value is Pretty Shocking
Warhammer The Old World Fantasy Battles in the World of Legend Rulebook
The rulebook will also be available separately. This weighty 352-page tome features over 70 pages of background on the World of Legend, plus Core and Advanced rules for the game, an explanation of the Winds of Magic and rules for casting spells, a gallery of armies painted by the ’Eavy Metal studio, and rules for building armies and setting up your battlefields. It will also be released as a digital ePub version for easy access to rules on the go.
A huge rulebook is a requirement when it is for an entire game/world reboot! This thing is massive and will surely be full of great lore and art. Oh, and, of course, the rules to play. Fortunately, you get the Warhammer The Old World Rulebook in both the army box sets at launch. For those who just want the rules, it will be sold separately as well.
Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes
Rules for all nine factions in the game will be available at launch, in one of two tomes covering the forces of Good and Evil – Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes respectively.
Forces of Fantasy is a 192-page book available in hardback and ePub formats covering five factions: the Dwarfen Mountain Holds, the Empire of Man, the Kingdom of Bretonnia, the Wood Elf Realms, and the High Elf Realms.
Each army gets an introduction, a gallery of miniatures, a grand army composition list, a complete set of unit profiles (so you’ll have no need for a separate army book to play), special rules, magic items, and unique spells.
Ravening Hordes contains all your Evil factions – it’s a 160-page hardback book or ePub containing similar material for the Orc and Goblin Tribes, the Warriors of Chaos, the Beastmen Brayherds, and the Tomb Kings of Khemri.
You’ll need the main Warhammer: The Old World rulebook to use either book.
This time around, what is essentially the Grand Alliances are grouped into two rulebooks. From the looks of it, you’ll need one of these depending on if you are more “good” or “evil” inclined. Some of you may remember Ravening Hordes. It was the stop-gap set of points and rules GW would publish at the launch of new editions of Warhammer Fantasy as well.
Warhammer The Old World launch looks slightly different, though. While it has new compilation versions of the army books, they are also putting out something a bit new…
Arcane Journals
In addition to these hefty hardback books, there are the Arcane Journals – softback books for each faction that expand it all out with history, heraldry, maps, special characters (including a certain undead emperor), magic items, spells, a historical scenario, and thematic Armies of Infamy which let you select armies of very different compositions.
For instance, Arcane Journal: Kingdoms of Bretonnia has rules for armies of Bretonnian Exiles and Errantry Crusades, while Arcane Journal: Tomb Kings of Khemri provides the Nehekharan Royal Host and the Mortuary Cults. It is important to know that you don’t require an Arcane Journal to play your chosen faction – all the units and army rules are contained in Ravening Hordes or Forces of Fantasy – but they do provide a trove of extra options and extra depth for discerning generals.
The Arcane Journals for the Kingdom of Bretonnia and Tomb Kings of Khemri will arrive at launch alongside their army releases, with those for other factions following in the future.
On top of the Core rulebook and Army List books, each faction will have this sort of expansion book. These also don’t come with the Warhammer The Old World launch army boxes. However, you still get the massive core rulebook.
Now, it appears that purchasing your army’s fluff and lore will cost extra. But those books will also contain the rules for their Army lists, which is nice. You may want to pick up the Grand Alliance book (Forces of Fantasy or Ravening Hordes) and these faction-specific Arcane Journals to get everything for your faction.
New Tomb Kings of Khemri Miniature Reveals!
Not wanting to be outdone by the self-important short-lived mortals of Bretonnia, the venal and power-hungry royalty of Khemri have a handful of other new miniatures up their sandy sleeves.
Nekaph, Emissary of Settra
Settra the Imperishable has accumulated a truly prodigious number of epithets and achievements over the long centuries of his un-life, and this seemingly endless list of titles and victories is recounted in full by his loyal servant Nekaph before each battle – luckily, animated skeletons are very patient. Armed with the enchanted Flail of Conquered Kings, Nekaph, Emissary of Settra, pulverises those who refuse to kneel before his immortal liege.
Settra is a BAMF, and this new emissary looks sick to match his master’s energy. It also sounds like he won’t be too shabby in combat, either!
Battle Standard Bearer
Royal Heralds are the personal champions of Nehekharan royalty, mighty combatants in life who retain their strength in undeath despite their withered forms. The greatest of these champions often bear banners featuring the personal heraldry of their master, inspiring the deathly legions that accompany them into battle.
Battle Standard Bearers are iconic; every fantasy-style army needs them to look the part. This new one will fit right in and make armies stand out on a board filled with minis.
Tomb Swarm
The Liche Priests of the Mortuary Cults are well-versed in the dark arts of necromancy, and they bolster the armies of their masters with writhing Tomb Swarms. Comprised of the reanimated corpses of scorpions, scarabs, and all the other critters that infest the necropolises of Khemri, these shifting, swirling masses can overpower well-trained combatants with a storm of bites and stings.
On top of all of these, a full range of classic Khemri miniatures will be returning to bolster the forces featured in this article, with much more to come in the future.
Holy moly! These new swarms are fantastic! Who saw this coming!? These are sure to be a new favorite from now on over the old Carrion ones.
Warhammer The Old World Release Schedule:
The Bretonnians and Tomb Kings are just the first two of nine factions arriving in the World of Legend. The rules for the other seven will be available at launch in Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes – and look out for miniature releases for the other seven in due course.
Don’t worry if you’re more of a follower of Hashut or interpreter of the Great Plan – Legacy army list PDFs for the other seven factions from Warhammer Fantasy Battles will be available shortly after launch.
All that’s left now is to reveal the pre-order date for this avalanche in the World of Legend. We’ve got a suspicion it might be quite soon – keep an eye on Warhammer Community to find out exactly when.
While we are getting these two factions at launch, it’s great to know we’ll get access to all the faction’s rules! To see what armies will be legacy versus fully supported, read this article here.
Warhammer Old World Tomb Kings Get New Life With the Necrolith Bone Dragon!
The Necrolith Bone Dragon is a totally new plastic kit, featuring an osseous overlord sitting upon a throne decorated with Khemrian paraphernalia.
We’re really happy this is in plastic because if it was resin… well, let’s not think about that.
This kit builds either a Tomb King or a High Priest on Necrolith Bone Dragon, each with their own palanquin.* The High Priest has a tasteful canopy, shielding his delicate mummified skin from further bleaching in the sun – and if you choose him, you can also make a Monarch of Nehekhara on foot, to lead the charge from terra firma.
Getting two rider options is really cool for this kit and should give you a bunch of extra bits to convert the rest of your army with.
This kit will be available when the Tomb Kings launch alongside the valiant Bretonnians in early 2024. We’ll have more details to share about Warhammer: The Old World before the end of the year…
Unfortunately, they didn’t really give any more insight into the launch date of the game, but they did say early 2024 many times.
Warhammer Old World Bretonnian Army Launch Line-Up
This is the biggest reveal we’ve seen yet for Old World, and they mentioned the release date will be Early 2024. However, as they said before, not everything will be new (or even in plastic), so we’ll start with the new plastic minis, then hop into all the upcoming releases in resin, and old repackaged models.
New Plastic Bretonnian Model Releases
You can’t have a Bretonnian army without a mighty general to lead them, and where better for such a supercilious strategist to survey the battlefield than from atop a soaring Pegasus?
We saw this pegasus out in the wild not too long ago, but no rider. It’s nice to see who will be sitting atop the steed!
You can build your choice of either lofty Duke, or slightly less high-ranking Baron.
Whichever you choose to build, both models look amazing!
Bretonnian armies frequently march to war under the banner of their realm, a massive flag that embodies the glory of their lord. We’ve revealed one on foot, one on horse, and completing the trio is a Battle Standard Bearer on Pegasus.
When you’re going into battle as the most chivalric army out there, you need a giant standard bearer flying your flag high!
What does a knight do when they are called upon to protect the realm, but their noble steed is having its hooves reshod? Slog into battle on foot, naturally, beautifully represented by this diverse kit of heavily armoured warriors who can be equipped with two-handed great weapons or swords and shields.
This kit is exceptionally flexible as the heads and arms can be used on any torso, so you can add oodles of character to each noble Knight. These arms and heads also present an opportunity for you to spruce up any returning Knights. Speaking of which…
This kit looks fantastic, and from the sounds of it, there will be plenty of extra bits to kit out your knights!
Look, not everyone is rich enough to buy a pegasus, but you still must support your king!
Old Kits Returning in Plastic
The richest and most influential knights may have a shot at owning a battle-trained pegasus, the ultimate status symbol in the Kingdom of Bretonnia. These airborne cavaliers are swift and deadly combatants that are perfect for tackling exposed flanks.
Compared to the new ones, these are looking a little old. Still, it will be nice to get them back in plastic, and maybe with a few bits from the new Knights on Foot kit, you’ll have some fantastic minis.
Much like their on-foot brethren the Knights of the Realm are minor nobles, often from the extended family of a baron or duke. They enthusiastically charge into battle bearing their lord’s heraldry, which means lance formations are back – and they’re good! This kit can also build the impetuous Knights Errant.
It’s nice to see the old formations back, and they still look really cool. Maybe just a few head swaps.
The noble families aren’t numerous enough to maintain a standing army, so the peasants of the realm are pressed into service. Peasant Bowmen are canny shots with their longbows, and have the good sense to bring defensive stakes with them to defend them from charges.
These regiments and other future regiments are returning in boxes that contain enough plastic miniatures to make a full regiment, not just a rank or two. With the Peasant Bowmen box, you’ll be able to build a unit of 32 archers, complete with a command group and Defensive Stakes. So dreams of creating massive armies of ranked-up troops will be well within your grasp.
Serving the Lord of the Realm in battle is a great honour, and Men-at-Arms are militia trained by the noble households, ready to give their lives in support of the knights, often accompanied by pious monks who have dedicated themselves to the Lady of the Lake.
You need some peasants to help your knights, and this kit was released right near the end of fantasy, so they hold up pretty well.
New Resin Characters
Magic in Bretonnia is the preserve of the women, who as children are abducted by the Fay Enchantress and taken to the Otherworld. When they return, they are trained into powerful sorceresses who can smite their foes and bless their allies with little more than a simple gesture.
You can’t be having your Knights casting spells, so bring some Handmaidens of the Lady and destroy your enemies with magic.
Previously revealed this year are the Battle Standard Bearer on Foot, Questing Knight Paladin with Great Weapon, and the positively radiant Lady Élisse Duchaard. They will all be available at launch, or shortly after, in resin.
We had already seen these four models, but now we know 100% that they will all be in resin and most likely from Forge World.
Old Kits Coming Back in Resin
Last but not least, add siege engines to your Kingdom of Bretonnia army with this returning kit which does one thing very well – slinging massive hunks of stone into enemy regiments with devastating effect. It has been remastered as a Forge World resin kit – a lot of work went into ensuring a beautifully crisp casting.
Alongside these new and returning kits which form the bulk (or entirety) of your force, there will also be a selection of returning metal heroes and specialist units that will be available to order direct from games-workshop.com.
While having this in resin isn’t ideal, it’s much better than a giant chunk of pewter!
Built Plastic Warhammer Old World Pegasus Spotted in the Wild
Here is the latest on the new Warhammer The Old World Bretonnian Pegasus model.
If you saw the older sprue, the OP made an update about this mini:
I just want to be really clear because I can’t edit my original post – while this is the same model as the recently leaked sprue, it is not the exact same specific sprue and the source is different.
Sorry folks, worded it poorly and it looks like some people are thinking it’s two different models that are coming. It’s not.
Even though it’s the same model as before, it really looks amazing all built up! The detail on it is really amazing, and if this is what the plastic minis will look like, we’re all for it!
Unfortunately, they didn’t have the rider, but with how detailed this is, we expect it to be some character.
Now, all we really need to see is how the resin minis will look unpainted, and we’ll have a really good idea of how the game will shape in terms of minis! They also mentioned they didn’t bid on this on eBay, and someone gave it to them.
Who knows who that is, but it could always be someone like Games Workshop trying to build hype.
GW’s Pegasus Preview
Here’s the image Games Workshop used back in April 2023 of the Pegasus Knight when they revealed they would be back in some way.
The leaked model seems to show just the mount itself with no rider, so judge for yourself if these are revamped models or if this sprue will end up making something completely different (like a special character.)
This gives more credence to the game dropping soon, so let’s hope it does.
Élisse Duchaard Model For Warhammer The Old World
Bretonnian Élisse Duchaard and majestic Unicorn mount were revealed for Warhammer The Old World at the NOVA Open GW Preview!
Élisse Duchaard bears all the symbols of her station – a golden grail, flowing robes of finest silk, and a mystical glowing sceptre. Her unicorn mount Ariandir needs no saddle, but is wreathed with vines and flowers that tighten his rider’s bond with nature.
This gorgeous resin miniature can trace its noble lineage back to previous Grail Damsels from Warhammer Fantasy Battles, though in the Old World Élisse Duchaard predates these characters, due to the time frame of the game.
From the looks of it, Elisse will be a resin character model, which we assume will be available from Forge World upon release.
News for Old World is few and far between, so every time a new model gets revealed, it’s pretty hype! That being said, reveals do seem to be getting slightly more frequent…
What do you think about all the new Warhammer The Old World models?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Joined: 2019
Socials: @paschbass
Bio: Dark Eldar Dracon and Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the third edition in 1998. He also loves camping because you can only paint so much! He joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the main daily writer since 2020.
Maybe one day, he’ll finish converting all his Ad Mech models and turn into a true tech enjoyer, complete with sad and happy robot noises!
