‘Warhammer: The Old World’ – Lets Guess The New Grand Cathay Units’ Stats

Let’s take an educated guess at what Warhammer: The Old World’s new Grand Cathay units might be getting in the way of stats.

Grand Cathay is getting a whole new wave of units. We are hoping that this might just be part of the fix needed to bring the army into line with everyone else. Now anytime we get a host of new units it’s always exiting to see what they bring to the table and do. However this time around we actually have some decent ideas of what the new units might do. So today lets take a look at what the stats and rules of these new units just might be.

1. Astromancers

First up we have the new Astromancers. For stats we can guess that they are likely going to be fairly standard for human wizards. That’s going to mean a lot of 3s, 2/3 wounds for a lvl 1-2/3-4 and likely around LD 7/8 depending on the lvl of the wizard. There is a possibility that they will be stuck at lvl 1-2, leaving the Shugengan as your lvl 4s, but that’s a guess. In terms of rules we have less to go on here. They will probably get the base Cathay rules. Beyond that it’s a little hard to guess what they might have. It would not shock me if they had less lore options than the Shugengan, possibly not getting access to High Magic.

2. Crane Gun Teams

Next up are the Crane Gun Teams, and I think we’ve got a decent idea of what these guys will bring to the table. Of course the main thing is going to be Crane Guns. We do already has a pretty good idea of those stats.

Now those are the stats for the “Sky Lantern Crane Gun” so these are likely going to be slightly different. I think the base stats will remain the same but they will likely either add Ponderous (-2 to move and shot) or Move Or Shoot as rules. Based on the models they will likely have have pistols as well.

For the rest of their stats I would not be surprised if they looked something like the Jezzail, who they are conceptually very close to (it would not be the first time Cathay has stolen something from Skaven). Even the Pavise rule seem to check out. I am guessing they will only M4, but get a higher LD. But I think this gives us a solid clue for their stats. It’s hard to tell if they will have any special rules beyond the base Cathay ones. The biggest question is going to be their BS. (And cost like… 12 pts?)

3. Iron Hail Gunners

This is another unit that I think we have a decent idea of what they will do. Their stats are likely going to be close to standard human. I’m hoping they are just BS 3, but it could be 4. Other than that I would not expect anything crazy stat wise.

Their guns also aren’t really a mystery here as they appear on the Sky Lantern. I do think the infantry version will gain Volley Fire as a rule, since it’s mentioned they fire in volleys and all other blunderbusses have it (the Sky Lantern being a single model didn’t need it). Past that we are just looking at special rules, and again its hard to guess if they will get any unique ones. Based on their uses and the small unit sizes we are shown I think they might get the detachment rule. This would make them a pretty interesting unit, in theory able to support a big unit of Jade Warriors by standing and shooting for them.

4. Peasants

Lastly we’ve got the Peasants with their various weapon options. Again we are likely looking at very standard human stats with lots of 3s. Now Bret peasants are stuck at WS 2, so I wonder if these will suffer the same fate? I do think they will have BS 3, as 2 is pretty rare and would make it almost not worth giving them bows. For LD I’m going to guess 6-7, with the Champion bringing Jade Warrior LD 8 to the unit. However I’d love for it to be on the lower end.

Equipment wise I’m guess they have/can have light armor and a weapon choice. Shields don’t seem to be on the table.  The Warhammer Community Article describes them as having “Long Spear” and “War bows”. If we take this literally then we know the bow stats, but it might mean they are getting a new type of spear. Maybe they are trading shields to gain yet another rank or some other bonus. Of course this could also just be descriptive and they will end up with normal thrusting spears. I’ve also guessing they will be dirt cheap, in the 4-5 pts range.

Lastly we don’t know special rules they will get. I would not be surprised if they missed out on Will of The Dragons since Cannons/Sky Lanterns don’t get it, it may be something reserved for the more elite warriors. I would also suspect they will get Horde, but not I hope Warband. As they are called a Levy I also hope they get the Leveis rules. This would actually be pretty interesting for them as it would lock them out of using the General’s LD, but  they could still gain LD from a nearby Strategist, giving those dudes something to do other than float around in a balloon. I rather hope they keep these folks pretty basic and cheap.

Let us know what you think the new units will do, 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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