‘Warhammer: The Old World’- The Five Best Legacy Heavy Infantry Units

In Warhammer: The Old World not all armies are created equal, but the Legacy armies still have some good heavy infantry. These are the best!

We’ve all had our hands on The Old World for a bit. The game is starting to shake out. We’ve got a decent look at what is good and bad and how people like to play. Today, we are continuing our series, looking at the best units from various categories. We’ve looked at basic core infantry, elite heavy infantry, monstrous infantry, and ranged infantry. That’s covered most of the infantry, and we’ve gotten into cavalry.

In all of this, we’ve mostly been looking at the Core armies in the game. However, a lot of people are still in love with and playing the Legacy factions, so it’s only fair to give them their due. As I had promised before, we started looking at some of the Legacy Armies infantry units. Today let’s continue that by looking at the best Heavy Infantry available to these armies. Fair warning, there will be less diversity of armies today as only four of the Legacy factions even have Heavy Infantry!

Bloodletters – Daemons of Chaos

First up we’ve got some demonic buddies in the classic Bloodletters of Khorne. They’ve got a few things going for them. Move 5 and I4 are decent, and they are the fastest unit on this list. WS 5 is also very solid. S4, Hellbaldes and being Khorne gets then S5 on the charge with no initiative loss and cleaving blow, so pretty scary! On top of that, they are demonic. This means they won’t run away and get a (limited) ward save.

Sadly, their upsides kind of end there. They are by far the most fragile unit on the list (or indeed of any Legacy heavy infantry). At only T3 and with a 6+ save they will take a lot of wounds. Anything that is magical and bypasses their ward will rip them apart. Being unbreakable, of course, is nice, but Instability isn’t and a lot of the other heavy infantry have ways around breaking. Still, used correctly, Bloodletters can do some damage.

Infernal Guard – Chaos Dwarfs

We are going to stay in the “realm” of Chaos here and jump over to the vertically challenged section. Infernal Guard are a mixed-use heavy infantry unit that can fight and shoot. Heavy Armor, S, T and WS 4 are all great things you want to see in a unit like this. Shieldwall and Stubborn is a great combo, and let them really absorb a charge and stick around. You can give them great weapons or choose from a few unique guns. Both guns are solid, with a choice between better shots and better combat attacks or a lot of OK shots. It’s a flexible unit with a lot going for it. One could even argue that they are better than the Ironsworn due to their better threat range.

However, I think a couple things make them fall a bit short. The first is BS 3.  This isn’t great if you want them to be ranged-focused. On top of that, their guns have pretty short range (18 or 12 inches) and the unit itself is stuck with that Dwarf movement 3. This means most other ranged units will outshoot them; their Dwarf counterparts, for instance. As a solid bunker that you kind of don’t want to charge, they are good, but still have limited uses.

Temple Guard – Lizardmen

It’s Lizard time! Lizardmen have two heavy infantry units, but the Temple Guard are so much better it’s not really a contest. S and T4. Heavy Armor and a shield. These are all the things you’d except. Stubborn and Shieldwall remain a great combo. Cold Blooded is also nice. They are good with a Slann around. These are pretty solid things. But the big thing they have going for them is 2 Attacks. This simply lets them outfight most other infantry and put out a lot of pretty good attacks. On the downside WS 4 isn’t amazing and I1 is a real detriment, not only meaning they hit last pretty much all the time, but also makes anything that forces I tests very deadly.

Infernal Ironsworn – Chaos Dwarfs

Infernal Ironsworn are effectively the Chaos Dwarf version of normal Dwarf Iron Breakers. They are a solid unit with some of the best infantry saves in the game. WS 5, S and T 4, two attacks- these are the stats you really want to see. They can take shields and choose between Halbreds and Great Weapons, for lots of options about being tank-y or kill-y. Sheildwall, Stubborn, Drilled, Veteran, these are some of the best rules you can have.  They get a bonus vs flaming attacks, which is rare. They also get magical AP  -1 hand weapons, which is very nice if you need magical attacks or want to be tank-y.

The unit is really held back of course by being Dwarfs. Movement 3, and less movement tricks than regular Dwarfs these days, makes it harder for them to get into combat (I2 isn’t great either). Without ranged threat they can suffer. On top of that they lack the great unit buffing runes that normal Dwarfs have. Infernal Ironsworn is still a solid unit.

Grave Guard – Vampire Counts

Grave Guard are the most dangerous unit in Warhammer: The Old World. Just ask anyone who has slammed their hand down on top of their ranked up metal halberds or great weapons. I’ve seen the blood flow.  They are also pretty good in the game. S and T 4 are what you’d expect from a heavy unit. Beyond that, they don’t have amazing stats, WS 3 is pretty meh, and move 4 isn’t anything exciting. Somehow, their I3 makes them the second fastest unit on the list – which is something! They do get heavy armor and a shield, but have to give up the shield to take great weapons, giving them a pretty bad save, though Reg 6+ helps a bit. Overall, from their stats they are pretty mid.

It’s everything else that helps them out. Being able to give some Drilled is nice. Implacable Defense and Undead means you can make it so they just don’t ever go anywhere, though there are tricks that make this maybe not a great buy. Cleaving Blow is nifty. What they really have for them of course is cost and being undead. At 11 pts, they are a fair bit cheaper than other units on the list. Undead is also a strong rule. Unlike daemons of course, who have a similar rule, Grave Guard can be brought back. The option to heal them makes them a really really strong unit that can outlast most enemies and is really hard to score points off of. They also have some of the best buff options open to them. Within the context of their army, they become far far more than their stats suggest.

Let us know about your favorite heavy infantry, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.