Warhammer: The Old World – Warriors of Chaos Rules Previews
The Warriors of Chaos are getting two new Armies of Infamy in the new Arcane Journal. Let’s see how they’ll work in The Old World!
Games Workshop is showcasing some of the rules for the upcoming Warriors of Chaos Arcane Journal. There will be a few different ways to play the army. While you’ll have the more traditional army available to play there’s also two Armies of Infamy you can try. These both focus on different aspects of the army and let you play very divergent lists. Here come the Wolves of the Sea and the Heralds of Darkness.
Wolves of the Sea
The first Army of Infamy up is the Wolves of the Sea. This list has a much heavier focus on Marauders instead of Chaos Warriors. The big thing with them is you’ll get access to different units and also you can pay points to take Ambushers for the army.
That’s a lot of rules so let’s break that down really fast. First up, there’s a new unit of Huscarls to bring with this army. They are essentially beefier versions of Marauder Horsemen. They’ll have access to heavier armor and can also ride in Close Order, too. They have access to Furious Charge as well as Counter Charge. And finally you can pay extra to make them Drilled. All-in, you’ll get a rather cost-effective unit that can really pack a punch!
The next unit they’ll have access to is the Berzerkers. No, not Khorne Berzerkers…but not that far removed either. This unit is a skirmishing unit that brings buckets of attacks to the table. They do this by bringing Frenzy with them and they also have access to an additional hand weapon. That alone would provide a lot of swings! And to keep them berzerking and in combat they also have Relentless Warriors which is a 6+ Ward. Overall, not too shabby!
There’s yet another rule that really adds some options for your Wolves of the Sea army and that’s a pre-turn 1 Warrior’s Duel.
The breakdown of this rule is simple: It’s a duel! The duel takes place between a two single unit champions with a Wounds characteristic of 1. They both have to be either infantry or cavalry. This fight goes on until one of these champions is dead and the winner gets to go first. If the opponent refuses the duel, then the Wolves of the Sea army counts as having won the roll-off for first turn!
This is a flavorful rule and a unique way to kick off the game for sure. I also like that it’s a fight between two single wound models. Hopefully that means the fight will go fast either way.
One more thing for the army is the return of the Skin Wolves. This is a Forge World resin unit that’s got some potential in a Wolves of the Sea list. They have a movement of 7 and toughness of 5. They hit hard but can’t take too much damage back. But what really makes them useful is their Warped Flesh rule that makes them super flexible.
I know GW described them as Glass Hammers but uh…that Toughened Flesh option seems really potent for keeping them around!
Heralds of Darkness
The other Army of Infamy is the Heralds of Darkness. This army is described as an ultra-elite army of roaming cavalry. It’s got a restricted list of options but those options are very hard hitting. It’s going to be the army for folks who want to run Chaos Knights and lots of them!
This army brings the beef at the cost of not having screening units or skirmisher. But when your “screen” is another brick of Knights, do you really need one?
This list is going to rely heavily on mounted options so expect a lot of knights and chariots to run all over the board. Chosen Chariots are going to be an option for them, too!
That’s all for now from the Warriors of Chaos Arcane Journal. The Warriors of Chaos are marching to war — are you ready?
All Knights, All The Time!
