Warhammer: The Old World is finally here. Available to pre-order today and releasing on January 20, it has old school fans ravenous for the taste of Khemri bones and Brettonian heraldry. Games Workshop is putting full support behind the rereleased specialist game with huge rulebooks, reference cards, custom sleeves, and two humongous army boxes.
This is probably Games Workshop’s biggest single release since Age of Sigmar. Legions Imperialis got one standalone box, and even the plastic Warhammer 30K units have been drip-fed to fans rather than exploding onto the scene all at once. Of course, we have a lot more armies to go for The Old World, but most can already proxy their current range of figures in the system.
Both Bretonnians and Tomb Kings, the two races that were eliminated when Games Workshop destroyed the entire Warhammer Fantasy universe and made the switch to Age of Sigmar, receive new army boxes for the first time in years. Priced at an exorbitant £175, this might be the biggest Warhammer box I have ever held with my own hands.
And yet, there is just one new model inside. The Necrolith Bone Dragon is a big boi, don’t get me wrong, but you’re dropping a lot of money on a lot of 20-year-old miniatures. If you want to start an army fresh, this might sit well with you, but if you’re a returning Tomb Kings player from the Fantasy days, then it might not feel like such a good deal. It’s an army in a box, but it’s an army from two decades ago, with all the pitfalls that entails.
Of course, many people are clamouring for exactly this. There is a nice retro feel to the models, but as someone who only played the last ten years of Fantasy’s lifespan, the monopose skeletons feel like a step back from the dynamic poses of newer releases. However, they work for regimental warfare, they fit on movement trays (now priced £25), and, if you’re coming to this release for those old school rules, static poses and arms clutched to the sides of skeletal bodies fit perfectly in tight spaces. However, I can’t help but think that I’ll spend some time converting the rank-and-file troops to be a bit more exciting, even if it means they only fit on the trays in a certain order.
The new character is good. I’m still not sure about the skeleton dragon’s skull, but the bony wings look great, and the character on top – a Liche Priest – is a brilliant blend of old school vibes and modern miniature design. It’s a fitting centrepiece for the army, but I suspect it might not be to everyone’s tastes. The alternate model for Bretonnians, the Lord on Pegasus, is much easier to stomach and more comfortably fits into the army’s existing aesthetic.
I received this box from Games Workshop two days before embargo, so have not yet had a chance to build or paint the models.
The skeletal dragon (not to be confused with the far cooler Zombie Dragon), is a kit comprising of two large (think approximately A4 size) sprues, with a couple of different options for the rider; either a Liche Priest or Tomb King, the latter of whom can be built on foot if not riding the dragon.
This whole thing is a gamble. It’s a gamble for fans, who will be dropping nearly £300 if they want every release for one of the two armies. At least the rulebook is included in the army boxes, or that price would shoot even higher. However, it’s also a gamble for Games Workshop.
GW stopped producing Warhammer Fantasy because it wasn’t selling well enough. It dropped Bretonnians and Tomb Kings from Age of Sigmar because they were the worst-selling armies. While it will not have the same expectations for The Old World, as it’s a specialist side-release rather than part of the core game, it has clearly put a lot of resources into this release. It can’t have been cheap to resurrect old moulds – which will be harder to work with than their modern counterparts – produce new rulebooks and packaging, and essentially release a whole new game system, albeit one with stark similarities to Warhammer Fantasy.
The Old World will be an expensive gamble for fans and Games Workshop alike, and the potential outcry if the company abandons it again in a few years time will be unbearable. It’s great that players get the opportunity to play a completely different, more tactical and traditional wargame with Games Workshop models, though, and I hope they can continue to do so for years to come.
Preview sets were provided by Games Workshop for this article.