‘Warhammer: The Old World’ – What Secondary Objectives Should We Be Using?

What Secondary Objectives we should be playing with in Warhammer: the Old World?  These are the best!

The other month ToW got a major update. Between FAQs, Erratas and the Matched Play book the game has shifted a lot. One of the biggest ways in which the game has shifted is when it comes to missions. Now the new missions themselves are not radically different than before. And in fact you can use any kind of mission. However the introduction of Secondary and Secret Objectives is a big shift. These can be added on to any mission, either those from the Matched Play book, or others, and can really change the flow of the game. But there are a few of these objectives and it can be hard to know which we should really be using. So today lets take a little look at the objectives and which I think are best to use and how.

Secondary #1- Baggage Trains

The first of the objectives is Baggage Train. This has each player put a 60 x 100 mm objective down on the table. At the end of the game you gain 100 VP for each baggage train you control. They can be controlled by a US 10 or more unit and are controlled by the closest unit, as long as you are US 10 or more the size does not matter.

WIP on my Exile’s baggage train

A baggage train can also be destroyed if you leave it alone with an enemy unit for long enough. Importantly you only need a US 5 unit to destroy a train, and doing so to the enemy’s train nets you 250 vp at the end of the game. This means at max there is 350 VP in play for the baggage trains.

350 VP isn’t nothing, but its also not a ton and it could swing a tight battle, or let you up the scale of your victory. It gives you some great modeling opportunities and for that alone its really worth it. It also gives you some interesting play options for things like Ambushers, which up till now have been pretty bad, and is can lead to something for small infantry units to do to punch above their weight.

Secondary #2- Special Features

Next up we have the Special Features objective. This places an up to 6 inches piece of terrain in the center of the table. It’s impassable and blocks LOS. The feature is controlled by a Core units of US 10 or more. The closest unit controls it, but if they are equally close then the larger unit controls it. At the end of the game you get 200 VP for controlling it. 

In addition to the VP from controlling it the special feature also gives the controlling unit a randomly rolled buff each turn. This makes it useful to control even if its not the end of the game. At only 200 VP the special feature has the least impact on who wins the game, at least points wise. However the mere presence of one will have a greater impact on the game the than the others. Putting a large impassable and LOS blocking thing in the middle of the table will change how a game is fought. I think because of that this is one of the secondaries you want to use a little sparingly.

Secondary #3- Domination

Domination is simply put, table quarters, and lots of players should be familure with this kind of objective. It’s the easiest to do of the objectives, simply requiring you to have more US  in a table quarter at the end of the game than the enemy does. You can also get extra bonus for having twice the US of the enemy or from holding an uncontested table quarter.  This puts a total of 800 (or 1000 I’ve seen events divided on if you can earn both the bonus amounts) into play. That’s a pretty significant amount and can be a big boon for horde armies. In theory this gives you something for fast, light and ambushing troops to do to score points.

However since its scored at the end of the game I often find this kind of mission is more just a way for the victory to get extra points and have a bigger victory, rather than really a deciding factor. After all scoring max points is only possible if you’ve tabled the other player! Because of that, and because its not going to have a big effect on the early turns of the game, it’s my least favorite.

Secondary #4 – Strategic Locations

Lastly we have Strategic Locations. This involves placing 2-4 objective markers in pre-determined locations on the table and fighting over them. Objectives are controlled by a US +10 Core unit, again the closest unit will control it, but if they are equally close then the biggest unit controls. These objectives are scored at the end of each players turn. They are worth 30 VP. Now this isn’t a ton, but since it’s scored each turn it really adds up. If you are using 4 objectives there are a total of 1,440 pts up for grabs in a 6 turn game. 

That’s enough points to really make a difference. Players are going to want to fight for those objectives. Since only core units score these it really gives you a place for those units to take part in the action. They are also another nice area for some modeling. This is really the most dynamic of the secondaries and the most likely to affect the winner.

So Which Secondaries Should You Be Using?

So which of these should you be using? Well I think all of them! Plus more. Now, you can use them all in the same mission, and that leads to a lot of things to keep track of. It puts 1000s of points into play for controlling objectives and it gives you a lot of different places to control (7 plus quarters) meaning you need a lot of units. This is a great way to disincentivize Death Star units for instance. On the other hand its a lot and will greatly effect how the game is played. I think an event should maybe have one mission like this, but not all of them.

Personally I do think that Baggage Train and Strategic Locations (though maybe not always 4 of them) could be in pretty much any mission. I think special feature is very interesting, but changes up the game a lot and shouldn’t be in every mission. Domination is my least favorite, but I do think can be nice to mix in.

Please Add Your Own!

I also think players/TOs should be adding in their secondaries into the mix. Now that we have this kind of format its a great thing to play around with. The King of The Hill mission in the matched play book already kind of adds in a special Secondary, and I’d like to see more of that. I think there is a lot of fun and flavorful things you can do here. It’s also a great way to give units that might not normally be the stars of the game a role. Having several objectives you need core units to score alone gives you a reason to bring more of them. Arguably these kind of a objectives are a better way of guiding what army lists look like then comp rules are.

A Word  On Secret Objectives

The matched play book also introduced Secret Objectives as an option. There are 12 of these and when they write a list players pick 6 to use. At the start of each game players then chose one of these to secretly try to achieve during the game. You can only use each secret objective once per event.

These objectives are things like “Kill the most expensive unit in the enemy army” and “Cast 3 spells in the same turn”. They are worth between 50 VP and 300 VP, though most (half of them) are worth 75 VP. Overall, I’m just not a huge fan of them. They aren’t worth enough points to really be worth it, and its a lot of work for an odd mini-game that just won’t have a huge impact. It’s also a secret thing you have to keep track of and score at the end of the game, which could lead to some dispute. To me while they are kind of fun, they are just a lot more effort than they are worth and are better in a casual format. But if an event wants to use them, I think the impact is so little that it’s not really high stakes!

Let us know which objectives you’ve been liking, down in the comments! 

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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