Let’s talk about the newly announced Warhammer: Old World books. Hello Cathay and Settra!
It has been a pretty crazy year for Warhammer: The Old World. In fact it’s been a pretty crazy 19 months since the game came out. This year alone we’ve gotten six books, including a brand freaking new army! As I’ve said before, ToW continues to exceed my exceptions, and we are only halfway thought the year. We’ll we’ve just had it announced that we are getting (at least) two more books this year. Give it’s only July we could still get more books after this, but that means at a minimum we are getting 8 books this year, which is… crazy! So lets take a look at what was announced and what we can expect.
Ugh, Not More Tomb Kings!
The first of the two books coming out is Arcane Journal: War of Settra’s Fury. I’ve seen a lot of people out there asking if Tomb Kings, one of, if not the, best armies right now really needed a second Arcane Journal. And I do get that frustration, Tomb Kings are in a very strong place and really don’t need a ton of buffs. But, despite the fact that they are getting a few really cool models, I feel like that’s the wrong way to look at this book, and future books.
A Campaign Book
This book does not seem like it is Tomb Kings 2.0.. Rather its being portrayed as a campaign book. Back when I looked at what books we might get after Cathay this was one of the obvious choices I talked about. So I think it’s pretty cool that we are getting them. This is a great way to expand the story and add more things in. So from what’s been told this book does feature the TKs, but its not entirely about them. We do know a few things that are coming in it.
The first is rules for mounts for TK characters. I’m a little confused by this, since they already have mounts and rules for these. Are they getting more mounts? Or are they changing the rules for mounts? Who knows. After that TKs are also getting Mortuary Cult Incantations. Now… I don’t think Mort Cult needs any buffs, but sure? I’m guessing these are more signature spells, but could be something else. However that’s all that been announced for TKs in this book.
Meanwhile several other armies are also getting things out of this book. I know a ton of people are likely very happy at the news that the book will have a Slayer Army of Infamy, which is great. We are also getting a Border Princes Army of Infamy. I assume this is an Empire army, but it could be something else. It also sounds like there will be some other AoIs in the book, which I am 100% down for. I love them and want a bunch. We are also getting rules for small games, so something for everyone.
Cathay 2.0?
The second book we are getting is Arcane Journal: Dawn of the Storm Dragon. This is the promised second Cathay Arcane Journal. And yet like Settra’s Fury, this seems like its more of a Campaign book that focuses on Cathay. The book is coming with the Jade Fleet Army of Infamy, which seems like a kind of cross between Cathay and Empire. It’s also got a lot more general game rules, like multiplayer rules and more terrain rules. It’s not even clear if this book will have all that much for Cathay other than the AoI. But we likely don’t know everything in it as that doesn’t seem like a ton of things.
The Shape Of Things To Come
So this seems like what we might be looking at for a lot of the upcoming Journals. More minor expansions to the game. Each one focusing on an event and likely “starting” an army that gets some extra things. But on top of that the books will have some goodies for a few other armies to spread the love around. And then they will include some kind of general rules expansion. Terrain rules or skirmish or something. I’m guessing they will also have some missions and lore. It seems very focused around giving us more Armies of Infamy, which I love love love. So that makes me pretty happy.
All in all this seems like a pretty good way to expand the game and add more things in. Its going to give players a lot more options for how they play games and build their armies. It’s not a very model heavy release, but we knew things were going to have to slow down. I’m gunna guess they are building up either to another big Cathay wave or Kislev at this point. While still adding more and more things into the game. And at the same time they progressing the story line. Dawn of the Storm Dragon is set in Spring of 2277. This means the timeline has progressed a year from ToW’s launch, which is really cool. Of course at this rate it means we will get the Great War Against Chaos in 2050 – only 25 more years to wait!
Overall, now that all the armies are out, I’m a fan of this. A slower model release while still getting some cool rules expansions seems great. This will let players catch up and build out armies. It’s also great for narrative and hobby focused people, so a real win. And we could still get more books this year! After all if these two come out in the next three months that leaves Christmas open for a winter themed army…
Let us know what you think of the newly announced books, 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 Warhammer: The Old World, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe mourned over loss of WFB for its entire hiatus, but has been reborn like a gaming phoenix with Warhammer: The Old World.
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