‘Warhammer: The Old World’ – The Orc & Goblin Arcane Journal Brings The WAAAGH!
We dive into the just released The Old World Orc & Goblin Tribes Arcane Journal. It packs a mighty WAAAGH!
Warhammer The Old World is off to a great start. Its a great game with a ton of depth. Though it had a more limited release than some people had hoped, we are getting constant new releases. Take in point the upcoming Orc & Goblin release. A little more than two months after the game came out we are already getting a third wave of releases with a third army. That’s a pretty good schedule. Along with the model release Orcs are also getting an Arcane Journal, and its a doozy. Today, take a look at what we’ve got in the new book.
Armies of Infamy
Like the other Journals this one comes with two new Armies of Infamy, alternate ways to run your Orcs and Goblins. The first is the Nomadic Waaagh! This is a very limited list that focuses on an all-mounted army. If you like chariots and wolf riders, then you will be in love with this one. The list mostly has buffs for Goblin Wolf Riders, with some other minor ones for Orc Boar Boyz. It seems like a very fun list, but I’m not sure it’s a major powerhouse. Using Wolf Riders to effect will take some real work. However, there may be a pretty solid build in an all chariot list.
The second army is the Troll Horde. In exchange for losing Night Goblins and Warmachines , along with a few other things, you get a big focus on Trolls. Not only can you take a lot more, especially in core, but they are better. The major buff here is getting to re-roll regeneration saves vs non-magical attacks. Shamans and Troll Hags also share their LD with nearby trolls. Both of these rules are serious buff Troll units leading to a strong force.
Named Heroes
The book introduces two new named characters as well. Kiknik Toofsnatcha is a Goblin Warboss on a wolf. He is particularly good in a Nomadic army as he buffs all ambushing Wolf Riders (and in that list all Wolf Riders can buy Ambush). However he is just a good character in his own right. With a solid stat line, a great magic weapon, and some other good rules he is a steal at 105 pts. I’d expect to see him a ton on the tabletop.
Ogdruz Swampdigga is the other character. An Orc he who thinks he is a troll, or at least has convinced the Trolls that he is. He’s… not really that great. A lvl 3 that near Trolls casts like a lvl 4, he doesn’t do much you can’t already get. Despite being the a hero that focues on Trolls he brings almost nothing to a Troll Horde army. His main use is to bring some of the Troll Horde rules into a normal army.
Powerful New Units
Possibly, the best part of the book is a set of great new units you get. First up you’ve got the Troll Hag. She can be taken in either the Troll Horde or in a regular O&G army. She’s basically a cross between a Giant and Wizard. She can be up to a lvl 2, is unbreakable, super hard to kill, and rocks a -1 to be hit in combat. She has a breath weapon for shooting and in combat… well. In combat she rolls on a Giant-like chart, with the possibly to drop a 5″ S6 ap -2 templet on the enemy. YIKES!
Badlands Ogre Bulls are another new unit, that brings a bit of Ogre Kingdoms into the official game. The unit isn’t groundbreaking, but the option to have a unit with a 4+ save and 4 attack each doesn’t seem too horrible. Most interestingly they are the first official Dogs of War unit, able to be taken as Mercenaries in any Grand Army!
Black Orc Boar Chariots are upgraded Orc Boar Chariots and hit pretty hard. They don’t do anything particularly new or special outside of that but are still a solid choice. They do seem to be a really good option as a mount for a Black Orc character giving them a lot of punch. Interestingly while the chariot it on its own is limited to the Nomadic Waaagh!, as a mount it seems to be able to be taken in all O&G armies.
Grinding Bones and Fixing Linehammer
The last new unit is the massive Bonegrinder Gaint. Like the Ogres its not limited to just Orcs & Goblins. It can be taken in O&G armies yes, but also as a Mercenary in Warriors of Chaos and Beastmen Brayherds Grand Armies. This guy is scary! He is basically a normal giant on steroids. Bigger, stronger and harder to kill, he’s going to take a lot to put down.
Meanwhile he’s got a big old chart of attacks that changes depending on what he is attacking. He can drop S7 Ap -3 templets on the enemy, or simply do D3+1 wounds to a big enemy model. However maybe the best attack he has forces an enemies fighting rank to take Initiative tests or die. It’s the perfect counter to Linehammer as it punishes wide units.
Magic And Magic Items
Lastly, the book contains a whole new lore of magic, Troll Magic, and a stack of new magic items. Troll magic is… OK. A decent amount of it buffs Troll units, and a lot of the rest reads similar to Dark Magic. It’s a decent option but not an auto-take.
For magic items you’ve got a nice selcetion, and unlike other Journals, none of these are limited to the Armies of Infamy. A few standouts to me are:
- Dead ‘Ard Amour – Limited to Black Orc/Orc Bosses who are infantry, cavalry or chariot, its full plate with +1 toughness. Seems solid.
- Effigy of Mork – gives you a minus 1 to be hit in combat as a Talisman. Easy to combine with other options to be at a -2 to be hit, meaning for a Warboss pretty much everything in the game will hit you on a 6+ with a very few things getting 5+/
- Idol of Gork – gives your spells +3″ range and you can re-roll a casting roll once a turn. Want to be a High Elf?
Overall the solid magic section rounds out what is a very powerful book that gives your Orcs & Goblins a ton of new options.
Let us know what you think about this book, down in the comments!
