‘Warhammer: The Old World’: All The Best Things From ‘Arcane Journal – Warriors of Chaos’

Warriors of Chaos are the latest Warhammer: The Old World army to get an Arcane Journal – here are the best things in it!

Following hot on the short footsteps of the Dwarfs, the Warriors of Chaos are getting a full release with another great Arcane Journal. It’s got everything you’d expect from one of these books. Two Armies of Infamy. New (and old) named heroes. Several new units to rock your enemies’ worlds, and a lot of magic items. Let’s take a look at some of the best things to come out of the Arcane Journal and why they rock.

The Duel

This is an army special rule of Wolves of the Sea Army of Infamy. It’s also one of the coolest and best (not most powerful) rules in the game. Effectively, instead of rolling off for first turn – each player picks a champion to fight a dual, with the winner taking first turn. It’s fun and super flavorful and actually has a real impact on the game beyond some buff to a unit. I think it’s just a super fun rule that can be good. This is the kind of flavorful rules we all love, and want more of in the game.

Skin Wolves

The Wolves of the Sea also get a cool new unit, the Skin Wolves. These are basically fast Ogres, with a solid, if pretty normal Monstrous Infantry stat line. What helps set them apart is that they have Skirmish, Movement 7 and Swiftstride. While they aren’t quite as mobile as Pegasus Knights they are up there and have a lot of mobility. Warped Form also lets them get some flexibility it. They aren’t quite as hard-hitting or tanky as some options, but very, very mobile.

Gigantic Spawn of Chaos

Another new unit, this one can be taken by all Chaos army and Beastmen Grand Armies. It is what it says, a gigantic Spawn. S and T 6, 6 Wounds, d6+1 Attacks, d6 Atomp. It’s a hard-hitting a pretty brutal model. It is also Unbreakable. Its main handicap is the randomness, with random Attacks and Stomps and 3d6 random Movement. However it’s also a steal at 145 pts, making it quite cheap. For extra points you can give it a mark with a list of abilities. I think my favorite is Khorne which gives it d3 Impact hits and Killing Blow. That makes it a major threat to a ton of things in the game and it can rock up to 16 attacks. Not bad at that price point.

The Warpfire Dragon

A third amazing unit for Chaos is the new Warpfire Dargon. Pretty much any Chaos army can take 0-1 of these and most will at least think about it. Unlike the Spwan they aren’t all that cheap at 375 pts. But they bring a lot to the table. WS, S,T and Wounds of 6 are solid, though only 5 attacks is a tad sad. Fly 10, Swiftstride, Terror, d6 Stomps, MR 2, 5+ Reg and a 4+ save, magical attacks, its just a host of rocking rules and it doesn’t stop there. The Dragon can also be either a lvl 1 or 2 wizard if you want, with access to Battle, Dark or Demonology magic. The upgrade might not be worth it, but it’s a solid option.

The Warpfire Dragon also blows up when killed, doing d6 S5 ap 2 hits to every unit within 6 inches, which is pretty brutal. On top of that other models with in 3 inches don’t get ward saves. It however gains a 5+ vs flaming or magical attacks (coupled with MR 2 makes it pretty hard to hurt it with magic), great for shrugging off enemy heroes. Oh, and it’s also a flying stone thrower that can move and shoot. This guy does everything: it casts, it shoots, it can fight in combat and it can tank stuff. It’s a real all-rounder. Throw it into the enemy lines and let it blow up. Hang back and throw stones and magic missiles. Whatever you need. As it’s a rare it also means you can now run 2 or even three dragon lists. Fun!

Solid New Warriors of Chaos Items

Lastly, we’ve got some really useful items – here are a handful of my favorites for your Chaos warband:

Daemonic Platemail:  Infantry or Cav only – Plate armor and +1 T and I for 50 pts – real solid.

Talisman of the Carrion Crow: 45 pts for Regen 5+ and poison – is solid also.

Banner of the Braying Hound:  25 pts and locked to the Heralds of Darkness army – but gives a unit Vanguard. Look out first turn charging Chosen Knights!

Icon of Darkness: 25 pts and gives a unit -1 to be hit from shooting Combo this with Diabolic Splendor to give any unit a -2 to be hit from shooting.

Rod of the Damned:  40 pts to cast The Summoning as lvl 2 Bound spell. Combo with Ruby Ring for two extra magic missiles a turn.

There are plenty of good items in the book but these are the ones that really stand out to me.

Let us know what you think are the best things from the new Journal, 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.