Take a look at the recent LVO winning list for Warhammer: The Old World, and why it works.
The other weekend saw the fall LVO (the Las Vegas Open) 2025 take place. LVO is one of the top wargaming events in the world. The 40K Grand Tournament had over a thousand players, making it (I’m pretty sure) the largest in the world. But LVO isn’t just 40K, there are a lot of other events there as well. There was of course a large Warhammer: The Old World event there. The January event had around 70 players, while this October drew 42 players, making it a large, though not the largest event.
When the dust had settled on five epic rounds of The Old World, only one list had won all five round (two other lists were technically undefeated going four wins a tie). Kevin Morgan with Grand Cathay swooped in with 5 solid wins and the most battle points at 93 (Andrea Ninni of Sun Tzu Secrets, also with Grand Cathay got the second most battle pts). So today lets take a look at the list and why works.
Kevin Morgan’s Winning List – Grand Cathay
Kevin’s Army at the NOVA Open this year.
LVO Kevin Morgan [2000 pts]
Warhammer: The Old World, Grand Cathay, Grand Melee + Combined Arms
Characters [835 pts]
– Lord Magistrate [325 pts]
-# (Hand weapon, Light armour, Dragon fire bombs, General, Sky Lantern [Iron hail guns, Dragon fire bombs + Sky Lantern bombs], Armour of Meteoric Iron, Talisman of Protection, Ring Of Jet)
– Lord Magistrate [320 pts]
-# (Hand weapon, Light armour, Dragon fire bombs, Sky Lantern [Iron hail guns, Dragon fire bombs + Sky Lantern bombs], Alchemist’s Mask, Jade Armour Of Beichai)
– Gate Keeper [95 pts]
-# (Hand weapon, Cathayan lance (if appropriately mounted), Heavy armour, Shield, Cathayan Warhorse, Ring Of Jet)
– Gate Keeper [95 pts]
-# (Hand weapon, Cathayan lance (if appropriately mounted), Heavy armour, Shield, Cathayan Warhorse, Ring Of Jet)
Core Units [500 pts]
– 10 Jade Lancers [258 pts]
-# (Hand weapons, Cathayan lances, Shields, Heavy armour, Barding, Drilled, Jade Lancer Officer (champion) [Ring Of Jet], Standard bearer, Musician)
– 28 Jade Warriors [242 pts]
-# (Hand weapons, Shields, Heavy armour, Jade Officer (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)
Special Units [665 pts]
– Sky Lantern [170 pts]
-# (Iron hail guns, Dragon fire bombs, 4+, Sky Lantern bombs)
– Cathayan Grand Cannon [165 pts]
-# (Grand cannon, Hand weapons, Light armour, Ogre Loader)
– Cathayan Grand Cannon [165 pts]
-# (Grand cannon, Hand weapons, Light armour, Ogre Loader)
– Cathayan Grand Cannon [165 pts]
-# (Grand cannon, Hand weapons, Light armour, Ogre Loader)
How The List Works
Kevin at NOVA this year.
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Kevin’s list is a combo of the normal Cathay units we’ve been seeing. While he did also run Cathay at NOVA this year, and went undefeated there with a tie, this list changes things up. It is ultimate a pretty oppressive shooting list, and ditched some of the combat elements he had at NOVA. The most obviously scary part of the list is the 3 Sky Lanterns, one on it’s own and two as powerful character mounts. We’ve talked a lot about how these units are very broken and Kevin is getting the most out of them here. I don’t think I need to go into a ton of detail about why these are an issue.
Next up he’s got 3 Cannons with ogre loaders. These can put out a lot of damage, and allow a max of six shots in one turn if he wants. The cannons can deal a lot of damage, but are also amazing at board control, locking down enemy units and giving him a massive mobility advantage. These in particular let him take advantage of LVO ruling that the -1 to movement from the cannons stacked. Three cannons can give an enemy unit a -3 to movement, while with double shooting you can get up to a -6, and no swift stride. There are several armies that can just freeze in place. These not only help him control the enemy but help keep his Lanterns alive. They also are pretty key in a mirror match, being one of the better ways to kill enemy Lanterns.
For core he is running a pretty standard one block of Lancers and one of Jade Warriors. These are fairly tank-y and can score objectives (though he only has two scoring units). They are mostly there to fill up core slots and stay alive. That may seem like its really the whole list but there is anther hidden element there. Between a couple of cheap Gate Keepers, the Lancers and one of the Lanterns he also brings in 4 Rings of Jet. This allows him to throw out 4 solid magic missiles a turn, giving him magical attacks and more firepower. Over all this is a list that is mobile and punishing in it’s fire power.
The Characters In Detail
Lets take a moment to look at Kevin’s characters in a bit more detail as that is where a lot of the list is.
Kevin’s first character is the more shoot-y of his two Magistrates. They are mounted on a Sky Lantern with all the bombs for close up firepower. Armor of Meteoric Iron and the Talisman of Protection mean that its 10 wounds are normally getting a 5+/5++ save, making it very survivable, while a ring of jet allows it to do some extra shooting.
He’s also got a second Magistrate on a lantern with all the bombs once again. The Alchemist’s Mask gives him a really strong Plague of Rust (at power lvl 3 its better than what a lvl 4 can cast). Combined with the AP -1 and -2 of the Lanterns attacks he can basically pick a target to not have armor each turn. Despite not having any wizards in this list, 5 bound spells gives him a lot of casting. The Jade Armor also gives the model a Ward Save and MR-2. It’s little weaker to high ap attacks than the other lantern, but still very survivable and better for dealing with magic.
Lastly he’s got two cheap Gate Keepers to round out the list. Both of these are mounted and have the Ring of Jet, but are kept pretty cheap. They are there to act as flexible magic missle platforms. Running them either near or in the Lancers gives him a block of guys that throw out 3 magic missiles a turn, and are mobile enough to try and stay away from enemy dispel range. They might not be the flashiest bit of the army, but they do add more damage out.
Let us know what you think of the list, down in the comments!
Don’t Miss:
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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