Need your bad guys to stay alive in Warhammer: the Old World? These are the best magic armors the villains of The Old World can don!
We’ve spent a fair bit of time looking at the best units in the game lately. However, units aren’t the only things that make up an army. Weapons, upgrades and especially magic items are a huge part of the game. Picking the best things to take can make or break your army. We’ve looked at the best common magic items before, but now I’ve started to drill down a little deeper into what is good and worth taking. However, there are a lot of items out there so we are going to have to break things down a lot.
Today, I want to take a look at the best magic armors from the ‘Ravening Horde’ armies (and their AJs). Obviously, what is best depends a lot on your build. I said, I thought the ‘Forces of Fantasy‘ options were a little weak the other week. Well that ain’t true for the baddies, this is a pretty stacked list. Let’s take a look.
5. Pelt of the Dark Young (Beastmen)
I’ve mentioned before that I really like armors that can be combined with others. So Pelt of the Dark Young falls into this category, as it gives you a +1 to your save that can be combined with other saves. That alone makes it pretty useful. On top of that, it also gives you MR (2). This makes it a nice bit of armor and a utility item. Considering the item is 4o pts and getting MR(2) normally costs 40 pts on its own, it’s nice and cost-effective. There are a few Beastmen who get decent armor saves and this lets you do some fun anti-magic builds. Likely not game-changing, but really good.
4. Armor of the Damned (Warriors of Chaos)
Full plate, plus in combat, the enemy has to re-roll hits vs you. That’s pretty solid. Now the full plate doesn’t matter a ton, as pretty much anyone who would take this already has it, but it is at least not a downgrade, like some armors are. Re-roll hits vs you is really solid and will help keep you alive longer for sure. Its real downside is being 70 pts. That will eat up pretty much all your magic item allowance and means you won’t be as kill-y as you should be. Choas simply has cheaper options to make your guys not die.
3. Dead ‘Ard Armour/Demonic Full Plate (Orcs and Goblins/Warriors Of Chaos)
Speaking of, I’ve lumped these two together since they do basically the same thing. Both are full plate, give you +1 T, and are limited to infantry and cavalry models. The Orc version can also be taken by chariots and the Chaos version gives you +1 I. These let you get a non-monster, normally in a unit, with T6 and a up to a 2+ save. That’s really good. If you aren’t throwing your guy on a big monster this is an armor you really want to look at. They are also both cheap enough to let you put plenty of other magic on them.
2. Troll Hide Trousers (Orcs And Goblins)
Even better than the ‘Ard Armor for Orcs, you’ve got the Troll Hide Trousers. This is another armor that can be worn with others and gives you +1 to your save. Love it already. On top of that, it also gives you a nice 5+ Regen save making it just a massive bump in your saves (assuming you don’t already have a Regen). Without any restrictions on who can take it (I mean aside for the normal ones) this is a great bit to drop on your chariot or Wyvern or whatever. At 40 pts you can still take other items and it’s extremely common, so you can hand them out to really whoever you need to buff up.
1. Armor of Ages (Tomb Kings)
The Armor of Ages is good enough that some events have FAQ’d it. That should give you an idea of what we are dealing with here. It is light armor, and in addition, the enemy has to re-roll successful wounds vs you. Now this is always pretty good. But its particularly good when dropped on top of a dragon-riding model. While it will make your armor save worse, it can keep you from having to make many saves in the first place.
On a dragon with most enemies wounding you at 5s/6s forcing those re-rolls cuts down on a lot of the damage you could take. Armor of Ages also works vs shooting, making S3/S4 attacks functionally useless vs you, with even stronger ranged attacks having a low chance of doing much. As an additional bonus, it makes monster slayer much harder to get off vs you. Combined with healing and Regen really make its next to impossible to kill a Tomb Kings dragon-lord.
Let us know what armors you think are best, down in the comments!
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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.
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