The fate of the world, be it damnation or salvation, hangs in the balance. This is a world of eternal war and fleeting glory. This is Warhammer: the Old World, the game of fantasy battles in a world of legends.

Yes, the wait is over! It’s been over 4 years since Warhammer Community first announced it back in November 2019, but Warhammer The Old World is up for pre order today with a whole host of releases and re-releases.

Massive thanks to Games Workshop for sending us the Kingdom of Bretonnia Edition, along with the new Battle Standard Bearer on Pegasus, the Modular Movement Trays and the card sets. If you would like to support the site then why not order your Old World goodies through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

In this article we’re going to be checking out the Kingdom of Bretonnia Edition of Warhammer The Old World, taking a look at what you get inside and seeing what the value of contents is (Games Workshop have also released a Tomb King of Khemri Edition too, which while a little more expensive than this set contains a full 1250 point TK army!), but the main bulk of this article will be a deep dive and review into the core rules of Warhammer The Old World – we’ll be taking a look into how the game plays, what’s new and sharing our thoughts on the game and if it is fun to play with square bases as we remember.

We’re also going to take a look at the new Bretonnian BSB on Pegasus and the returning modular movement trays.

In addition to this full written review, we’ve also filmed a number of videos unboxing the massive Bretonnian set along with a couple of the other releases which you can watch just below or over on YouTube

Over the weeks running up to release we’ll also be taking a look at the factions within the two army books Forces of Fantasy and Ravening Hordes, along with the contents of the two Arcane Journal books to check out what is available for each faction and talk about how they play.

So without further ado let’s kick off our Warhammer The Old World coverage starting with taking a look at what is inside that massive Kingdom of Bretonnia boxed set!

Warhammer The Old World Kingdom of Bretonnia Edition Unboxing

So where to start with this massive box? It really is quite the beast, most likely due to how many frames classic models came on! It’s a little thicker than the Age of Darkness box for Horus Heresy and equally stuffed with models. The set costs £155 which is amazing considering what is contained within (The Khemri edition is a little more expensive at £175, most likely because of the Dragon inside it!) and out of any Warhammer Starter Set feels like the core of an army, as it contains a full 1250 point force (And yes, it also contains the full rules for the models in the box and a pre-written army list for everything inside (Including magic items, standards and army specific special rules related to the units in the set) – so you really can play straight out of the box!)

Taking a look at the non-miniature components first, we get some familiar items such as the ever faithful measuring sticks marked with inches for using instead of a tape measure (And yes, they still have that oh so satisfying and nostalgic whipping sound if you whoosh them through the air), a set of templates and a set of 20 dice plus a scatter dice. I’ve seen some grumbling online that the box doesn’t contain an artillery dice – though as no Bretonnian unit actually uses them, this doesn’t surprise me! They are available in the seperatley available dice packs though for people who are new to square bases and don’t have any tucked to one side from Warhammer Fantasy.

The star attraction here though are the miniatures. You get an absolute stack of them with enough here to build an entire 1250 point army (Which is a really nice size to start out with, especially if other factions are going to get similar boxes in the future)

Now, to set expectations most of these models are from the previous Bretonnian release back in the heady days of 2003 – Though while some are a little dated they still have charm and look great ranked up on the battlefield. For value I’ll be quoting their prices from their previous release, so feel free to adjust for inflation as I suspect they would cost more in their separate release! Returning models include:

12 Bretonnian Knights of the Realm (Can also be built as Knights Errant) (£30 – previously released at £20 for 8)

24 Peasant Bowmen (£30 – previously released at £20 for 16)

36 Men at arms (£40 – previously £20 for 16)

3 Pegasus Knights (£37.50)

Also included is a brand new model the Bretonnian Duke on Pegasus (Which can also build a baron) (£40 based on the Battle Standard Bearer cost)

This gives us a total miniatures value of £187.50 which when added to the value of the full hard back rulebook (£42.50) gives us a total value of £230 or a saving of £72 compared to getting the contents individually.

The Duke is a gorgeous model, though make sure you take your time as he can be a little fiddly to build. It seems that Games Workshop have taken a similar approach to Horus Heresy vehicles by creating a universal Monster sprue that can then be packaged with separate rider sprues in order to cover a large number of different unit entries. This is a great idea and means that if each range gets a new core monster model we should see options for each character type that can ride it.

Bases have been scaled up in most cases with all infantry in this box on 25mm bases, the cav on 30×60 and the Pegasus Hero on 50mm with Pegasus Knights on 75×50

One of the big surprises for me was the assembly instructions containing the full rules for the miniatures in the box along with a full pre-written army list. So even if you don’t pick up Forces of Fantasy on day 1, you’ll still be able to use this army in full straight out of the box. All rules relevant to the models in the box are included from weapons, to special rules and even the Lance formation. What’s also cool is that some of the units have been given magic weapons and banners, and the rules for them are also included in the profile. As the points are included here for each unit, it also makes this a great springboard for expanding into a full 2000 point force once you have played a few games with them.

Another handy thing included in the box is a nice reference sheet covering all the main info regarding turn summary – honestly, all you’d really nice for reference other than this is a list of the Universal Special Rules and perhaps the chart of maximum rank bonuses along with the different flavours of falling back conditions – but as each section has page references, it again makes it super easy to look things up.

Finally we get the big core book itself containig the rules on how to play The Old World, so make yourself a brew and get comfy as we’ll be jumping into the our revew of the core rulebook next.

Warhammer The Old World Rulebook Review and Deep Dive

So do you remember when the core rules to Warhammer Age of Sigmar was only a couple of pages long? Well no fears here, as the core book for The Old World clocks in at 352 pages with over 200 of them dedicated to the rules themselves, making this possibly the most in-depth rulebook yet for Warhammer Fantasy.

First things first, the presentation is gorgeous, with loads of new and returning art (A shout out here has to go to the box art for both the core sets and the individual boxes, done in mixture of classic and new style with artwork flanking model photos) and army shots oozing nostalgia taken on a fully sculpted and flocked gaming table with scenery converted from the classic Fortified Manor House kit (I really hope this is returning to the range) – no realm of battle boards here, it all looks hand crafted and utterly beautiful!

The Lore

The first 90 pages of the book are dedicated to the lore of The Old World, and this covers the entire history of the Warhammer World right up to the time period the new edition is set in. This includes the time before the Old Ones (The Time of Dragons), through to the Cataclysm and the Coming of Chaos along to what the New World races were up to (Even though they are not covered in the continuing narative of this edition, we still learn about the Lizardmen and the Dark Elves)

We also get quite a lot of information about the Celestial Dragon and the Empire of Grand Cathay along with Kislev the land of Snow and Ice. I know a lot of people were disappointed that Kislev and Cathay were not mentioned in the “core” factions for the game, but their very overt inclusion in the lore alongside the other races is to me a massive pointer that they will indeed be heading to the game in a future supplement (Perhaps as a “paired” release similar to how Bretonnia and Khemri have been released)

Another thing that is also detailed in the lore are the Dogs of War, something I also think that will be coming in game as every army has an allowance of their total points to spend on Mercenaries.

There’s lots to get your teeth into here, and it’s exciting that this will be expanded further in supplements such as Arcane Journals that dig deeper into a particular faction in much the same way the old Warhammer Armies books did.

The Rules

First things first, this is a brand new game. While it is based on Warhammer Fantasy, the game looks to have taken the best parts of all previous editions and created something new. While old time fans will notice things that they recognise, it is worth giving the book a proper read, as you may mistakenly miss things or get things wrong on your first playthrough if you are used to 8th edition.

One of the questions I’ve seen pop up regularly is what an “average” game of Warhammer The Old World looks like, how many points it is and how big is the battlefield. The rulebook goes out of its way to show that you can have a fun game of Warhammer at any points level (and using armies such as the 1250 forces in these new boxes is still great fun) but lists an “average” game of Warhammer as between 2000 and 3000 points and fought over a 6′ by 4′ battlefield – though a list of smaller battlefield sizes are listed for those who do not have space for a full table. These are in line with the table setups for other current GW games, with 1000 point games played on a minimum 30″ x 44″, 2000 – 3000 on 44″ x 60″ and larger games on 44″ x 90″. I think a lot of people will be glad that both classic and new style battlefield sizes are listed as this makes it easy for a lot of people to play on a dining room table who may not have the space for a full 6×4 board, and for those worried about a smaller battlefield I suspect most events and old school players will continue to play on a 6×4 board as honestly it gives units a little more space to breath, especially given how units are now a little larger with base size increases.

Most principles are the same as you remember them, with units having the same statlines they used to, and things such as scatter and artillery dice still existing in order to randomise the accuracy of warmachines. One big change from older editions is the fact that you are allowed to measure at any time – no longer do you have to try and eyeball the range of a shot, or judge how far a charge is going to be. This makes games quicker as you can set up charges and cannon shots with much less faffing about that in the past.

Formations

Another change in The Old World is in how formations and ranks work. We now have a number of different Formation types, with each offering up new rules and abilities based on how you are formed up in them. Like with what base size they are mounted on, units will show in their rules what formations they can adopt

Close Order is the most common, being the classic block of troops arrange with touching bases. What is new here is that you can shift this into one of two orders – Combat Order is what most people will be used to, a unit that is either square or wider than it is deep is said to be in Combat Order, and when in this formation you gain a rank bonus in combat (up to a maximum based on your unit type) for each full rank that you have. The number of models you need to count as a rank and the maximum rank bonus is determined by what your unit type is.

For example a regular infantry unit requires 5 models per rank and can claim a maximum rank bonus of +2 (So any additional ranks after this grant no benefit). On the other hand a unit of Heavy Cavalry only needs 4 models to claim a rank, but can only have a maximum rank bonus of +1.

Rank Bonus can be increased in some ways, the Horde Universal Special Rule (Don’t panic, it’s changed) now allows a unit to gain an additional rank bonus, rewarding deeper units of things such as Goblins a maximum rank bonus of +3 while still only needing to be 5 wide.

On the other hand, if you want to move quicker you can switch formation to a Marching Column by making the unit deeper than it is wide – you are no longer allowed to charge, and no longer have a rank bonus, but instead you get to march at triple speed, allowing you to get around the battlefield much quicker. This also makes units that can get a free reform very good as they can swap to the formation that will benefit them for free before they make a move.

Open Order units are another new formation type, they still rank up as normal and they can go into Combat Order to Marching Column much like Close Order units, however they are allowed to turn up to 90* at the end of their move and are not disrupted by terrain, making them much more manuverable.

Skirmish Formation also still exists, with models being in a loose formation with up to 1″ between models. They have the massive advantage of not having facing so can move and shoot as they want (Though models within the unit will block line of sight for other models in the unit – so keep that in mind if you want to maximise shots). Skirmishers also never have a rank bonus, so may fall foul to larger units with that bonus.

One massive change to how formations work is in casualties. While models are still removed from the back of units to represent models stepping forward to take the place of those slain, models that step up are not allowed to fight in that round of combat. So if you have for example a unit of 10 Skeletons in 5×2 formation that is changed by a unit of 5 Knights, and the Knights manage to kill 4 skeletons, then only 1 Skeleton can fight back as the 4 skeletons that have “stepped forward” to take the place of slain models are now allowed to fight. This makes initiative and making sure you can fight first, or having the damage mitigation to ensure you can hold up to a charge very important. As we’ll see later there are a couple of different results now for losing a combat, but weathering that initial charge is going to be a very important factor as is weapon choice, as great weapon wielders will want to make sure they are still alive in order to swing back!

Magic

One of the things I was most worried about with The Old World was how magic would work. In 8th Edition, Magic often dominated the game with “6 dicing” spells often being a way of getting off an unstoppable spell that would win you the game. I was also a fan of the old card based magic system from earlier editions of the game however, and was worried that magic would simply boil down to something as simple as reroll auras for example.

Thankfully, magic is still very much a thing that still captures the feeling of rival wizards battling to control and dispel spells. While the resource element of using dice to cast spells is gone, they are still randomly generated and now take effect in different phases of the turn.

Essentially a wizard will pick a lore of magic and roll a number of dice in order to generate what spells they know, re rolling any doubles. They can then opt to swap a single spell to the “signature” spell of that lore, or instead swap it for one of the spells in the lore listed in their army list. For example a Level 2 Wood Elf could roll two dice on the Battle Magic lore, and then choose to swap one of those spells for a spell from the lore of Athel Loren. This is nice as it gives you a little bit of adaptability in order to swap out an important spell, without the ability to know for sure what you’re going to get. There’s actually an argument here for multiple low level wizards in order to maximise what you can swap out to get the spells that you want!

Casting works by rolling 2D6 and adding your wizard level, with you having to try and equal or beat the casting value in order for it to go off. As mentioned earlier, certain spells are cast in different phases – meaning that one of your wizards may be casting spells in the strategy phase and movement phase, with the other knowing spells for the shooting and combat phase. Dispelling works in much the same way, with you rolling 2D6 and adding the level of the wizard trying to stop it. There’s no limit to the number of spells a wizard can try and dispel, however level 1 and 2 wizards only have a dispel range of 18″ and 3 and 4 having a 24″ range. If your wizards are out of range (or you have no wizards), once per turn you can attempt a fated dispel – this is just a base 2D6 with no bonus, but you only get one per turn so use it wisely. There is now a risk to dispelling however, as if you roll a double 1 to dispel you have to roll on the miscast table to show what horrific things happen due to you being outclassed by the casting wizard. On the other hand a dispel roll of a double 6 will always stop any cast regardless of modifiers.

Magic feels fun, and while powerful, not at all as powerful as it was in previous editions. I’m leaning towards multiple lower level casters rather than a single level 4 as we saw in 8th edition, and there’s a nice wide range of spells available.

Strategy Phase

The opening phase of the turn is now the Strategy Phase and it’s here where start of turn effects happen, and where Command abilities can be used. A lot of these rules seem to be a lot rarer than in Age of Sigmar for example, with many armies not having Command abilities. One example is a Beastmen Beastlord being able to sound their horn in the strategy phase in order to allow your reserves to re roll their reserve rolls.

Enchantment and Hex spells are also cast here – essentially buffing your units and debuffing enemy units

Finally units that are fleeing are rallied here by attempting a leadership test in order to stop them from running away, but if a unit has suffered 50% casualties then they have a -1 modifier and if they are unlucky enough to have lost 75% then they only rally on snake eyes!

Movement Phase

The movement phase will bring back memories of previous editions of Warhammer Fantasy with much the same structure.

Charges are declared first, with the maximum range a unit can charge being it’s movement value plus 6 (Though some rules such as Swiftstride can increase this further). The active player declares all the units that will be charging (Putting two dice next to the unit is a nice visual indicator that they are going to charge) and then their opponent chooses which reaction they will do with each unit. This can include holding firm to receive the charge, unleashing their ranged weapons as they get charged or even in desperate situations to run away! Once those have been resolved the chargers are then moved by rolling 2D6, discarding the lowest dice and adding the highest dice to their movement – as you can see that gives you a range of charge distances with a random element – so a movement 6 unit can charge anywhere between 7 and 12 inches.

I really like this as it allows you to make some informed decisions on when is best to charge and when to hold your nerve. It also means that you can move in your turn knowing what enemy units are potentially in position to charge into you in their turn. If a charge is failed then your unit moves the value of the highest dice – so in our above example they will move between 1 and 6 inches, potentially pulling them out of position and ready for a counter charge!

Remaining movement is then done for all your other units, with returning things such as marching (moving double movement, but with a chance of the unit refusing if it is near the enemy) and wheeling and turning reducing movement much as it did in previous editions. It’s worth noting that while a charging unit can make a wheel as part of its charge it does have to “pay” for this out of it’s movement, meaning that if it has to wheel a particularly far move then it could fail it’s charge – though the wheel at the end of the charge to bring the unit into contact with as many models as possible is free.

Fleeing has also changed somewhat in the new edition of the game. A standard flee is still a 2D6 move directly away from the unit that caused it to flee, but we also have two new types of fleeing – Give Ground causes the unit to be pushed back but retain it’s facing – it doesnt count as fleeing and has simply conceded the ground ready to face the enemy again. Fall Back in Good Order is a 2D6 roll but the lowest dice is discarded, and the unit rallies at the end of its move. As we’ll see in the combat phase later, this adds quite a few new degrees of loss in a battle rather than just running away.

Finally, Conveyance spells can be cast at any point in the movement phase – these are normally spells that let you move models

Shooting Phase

Shooting will again be familiar to anyone who has played previous editions of the game. We still pick units and targets, still roll to hit and wound, and the target gets to make save rolls.

Units that charged or marched cannot shoot, not can units that are in combat or are fleeing. In addition, only the first rank of a unit can shoot, unless it is on a hill which allows two ranks to shoot. Some rules such as Volley allows additional models to shoot – in the case of Volley half of every rank after the first.

Shooting is a lot less accurate than players of other modern systems may be used to with a number of modifiers for shooting – for example a unit that moves is -1 to shoot, and if that is shooting at long range (More than half maximum range) that would be another -1 penalty on top of that. As you can imagine these cumulative modifiers might make it so that you need a 7 or worse to hit. In those cases you have to first roll a 6, followed by a 4+ for a 7 to hit, 5+ for an 8 to hit or 6+ for a 9 to hit. Anything worst than that will always miss.

Wounding works much like it used to, with some low strength weapons not being able to harm particularly tough targets, but a roll of 1 always failing when wounding.

Saving also works the same way, with armour being modifed by the Armour Piercing value of the weapon. It’s worth noting that Strength no longer has an innate AP bonus, with the weapon itself having a set value. Some weapons also have the Armour Bane rule, which increases AP by 1 on a wound roll of a 6

In addition to an armour save, a unit may have a Ward Save – this is a fixed save that cannot be modified, and can always be taken after a failed armour save. High ward saves are pretty rare in the game, making those that exist pretty powerful.

Units still have a chance of running away if you cause enough casualties, and ranged spells and template based spells can also be cast during the shooting phase

Combat Phase

The Combat Phase probably has some of the bigger changes in the game. One biggie is the number of models that can fight. With the old Horde rule gone, in the majority of cases it’s only the first rank that can fight (Spears can fight in two ranks in they are charged, and some weapons such as polearms can always fight in two ranks)

To make up for this, every model on the front rank gets to fight, though those not in base contact only get to make a single attack each

Initiative is very important, as we mentioned earlier if a model is slain it cannot fight in that combat, meaning doing damage before the enemy is critical. Once big change to initiative is that the charging unit gets an initiative modifier of +1 for every full inch it charge up to a maximum of +3. Due to this most charging units will fight first, but there’s some interesting interactions with Strikes Last here. Previously Strikes Last weapons would be always fighting last, were now they change their unmodified Initiative to 1. This means that a unit with Strikes Last that charges at least 3 inches actually has an Initiative of 4 (I changed to 1 +3 for charging 3″) which can cause them to fight first or at least simultaneously in a lot of instances. this still makes Great Weapons worth taking in a lot of circumstances if you think you can get the charge off. Strikes First works in a similar way, now changing the unmodified initiative to 10, meaning that someone with Initiative 7 (such as a daemon prince) and charging 3″ will fight at the same time as them. This opens up lots of interesting options for weapons and some thought going into what roles each unit will have.

Hitting targets in close combat is a lot more forgiving that shooting with even a WS 1 model hitting a WS 10 model on a 5+. This makes it much easier to hit targets, though once you have a higher WS it quickly ramps up to 2+ to hit them. Considering models that step up can’t fight, this makes sure that there’s always a chance you manage to do some damage in return if the charger fluffs their attacks.

Once combat is completed, each side works out their combat result, with a point scored for every wound caused, and then modifiers for rank bonus, banners, flank and rear attack, higher ground and overkill added. The side with the highest score wins, with any ties being won by the side with a musician. If the result is still a draw then both units stay in combat for next turn. If one side wins then the defeated unit makes a leadership test modified against the difference in combat with three possible results – if the natural roll is higher than the leadership you break and flee, if the natual roll is lower than the leadership but the modified result is higher then it Falls Back in Good Order, and finally if the modified roll is lower than leadership or a double 1 is rolled then the unit gives ground.

One thing to keep in mind about leadership tests is that you can use the leadership of characters when within their command rage (Equal to their leadership stat), with generals and BSBs having a command range of 12″

This is a great change that represents the shifting lines of the battle – it’s now much less likely for a unit to fall back and be cut down unless they have a naturally low leadership, making for some more interesting back and forths to combat as both sides jostle for supremacy.

Again, we have some spells that can be cast in this phase, in this case Assailment spells

Universal Special Rules

Just like with The Horus Heresy, a lot of Universal Special Rules have been created in order to supply the rules for effects and abilities that are common within the game. Thankfully, unlike Heresy however these are a lot easier to find all being in a single book rather than being spread across multiple! 15 pages of rules are included here including stuff we’ve seen in the past such as Feigned Flight (allows a unit to shoot and then flee as a charge reaction) or Impact Hits (A number of attacks that automatically hit at initiative 10 on the charge) along side rules that are new or have changed such as Swiftstride (Increases a units maximum charge range by 3 and allows an extra D6 modifier on the charge) or Monster Slayer (When a natural wound of a 6 is made against a monster they may make a single ward save if they have one, or they are slain – normal or regeneration saves cannot be made!)

There’s lots of fun stuff here, and I found this list easier to remember than the ones in Heresy (again, this is a side effect of the rules for that being split over multiple books, which even with the two “army books” is not an issue in Old World)

Unit types, characters, command options and weapons all have their own special rules – but again it is really easy to look up what they do in the heat of battle and they all become second nature after a couple of games. Weapons in particular have had some big changes and there’s pros and cons to lots of them. Great Weapons are very strong hitting at S+2 with an innate AP-2 and armour bane (1) (Meaning that a wound of 6 makes it AP3) however Strikes Last is a big downside if you are fighting anything with I5 or higher, or get charged first. Spears have been split into two types – Throwing (Fight in an extra rank on the charge, but then lose the weapon for future rounds of combat) or Thrusting (Fight in an extra rank on the turn they are charged at +1 initiative)

Full rules for War machines, Terrain, magic and magic items are also included in the book along with their points values in the case of items – these are then expanded upon further in the two army books and Arcane Journals.

Building an Army

So how do you go about building an army? Well it’s pretty straight forward – first select the points limit, games can be any size but a 2k battle will last a couple of hours.

You then have to include at least 3 units and one character to be the general.

You then select your army list from either Forces of Fantasy (For the “good” armies) or Ravening Hordes (for the “evil” armies) These books contain the full army list for your armies along with all their special rules, magic items and spell lores. In addition to this there’s the option to pick up an Arcane Journal – these are narrative supplements that contain named characters from the time period the game is set in along with some non-standard army lists (Such as an all chariot Khemri army, or an army of disgraced Bretonnians who have had to employ the service of Empire mercenaries) that introduce fun new ways to use your army. Each book also contains a number of new units themed around these non-standard lists that are encouraged to be converted (with examples given of models that might work well for this). For example in the Tomb Kings book theres an option for Tomb Guard in Chariots or for the Bretonnains the aforementioned Border Mercenaries. The Arcane Journals are in no way required to run a competitive list, and I feel they are more aimed at players who want to put together a fun narrative force.

Alternatively, you can use the PDF for one of the “Legends” armies. These are full army lists with as much scope as the lists in the two Army Books, but they will not get any model releases or lore developments during the initial run of The Old World.

Once you have selected your army you are then presented with percentages of what you can take – some of these change for some more niche armies, but on the whole they are as follows:

Characters up to 50%

Core at least 25%

Special up to 50%

Rare up to 25%

Mercenaries up to 20%

Allies up to 25% (The list will show what forces you can ally with and what the level of their allegiance is – with some forces having more uneasy alliances)

In addition to this there are often limits to units (0-1 Sorcerer per 1000 points for Chaos for example) or minimum unit choices (At least 1 unit of Knights Errant per 1000 points in the Bretonnian Errant Crusade list from the Arcane Journal)

This makes list building nice and straight forward. Unit entries show their base sizes, the minimum number of models (And in some cases maximum unit size) along with all their options, special rules and what magic items they can take

While some list building apps will exist soon after launch, I’d always highly recommend writing lists the old fashioned way with pen and paper for that extra Warhammer nostalgia!

The rulebook contains 6 Matched Play missions for traditional tournament style play, along with campaign rules, rules for running games with Games Masters and a trio of narrative battles – I suspect we will see future supplements that expand this further and tell the story of The Old World.

In summary, I feel this is a triumphant return for Warhammer Fantasy. Rather than just giving us an updated 8th edition, the team has gone back through Warhammer history and taken the best parts of each edition, bringing it all together for the definitive edition of the game. While some may be frustrated at the changes to base sizes and the trickle of armies being released (While all armies have rules day 1, only Khemri and Bretonnia have model support, I suspect others will follow quarterly) it does mean that if you have an existing Warhammer Army (Yes, even one of the “non-core” ones) you’ll be able to get playing the game in no time at all.

We’ve had a couple of games using the new edition and it was both a nostalgia trip and a fun packed experience that left both players wanting another game straight away!

The box itself is great value not only containing the core rulebook but a full 1250 point Bretonnian army that can easily be expanded into a full 2k force. The fact that full rules for the units in the box are included is the cherry on top.

Also, I’ve heard that these two core boxes are a continuous range item, meaning that if you want to dip your toe into Warhammer The Old World but can’t afford it right now, you’ll be able to pick up these big discount boxes at a later date, which is great!

With our look at the core book done, let’s take a look at some of the other pre orders today.

Card Decks

Alongside the release, Games Workshop also have multiple sets of cards up for pre order – One for Bretonnia, one for Khemri, one for Magic items and a final one containing the Lores of Magic

While not essential for the game, these are really handy for remembering what magic items and spells you have on your heroes without having to keep referring to the rulebooks. The cost of these may add up if you opted to pick up all the decks, But I’ll certainly be picking up the ones for the armies that I play as I find gaming aids like these really useful

Modular Movement Trays

Love them or hate them, the classic Warhammer Fantasy Modular Movement Trays are also back! Back in the mists of time you used to get a single sheet along with a sprue of edging for £10. Fast forward to 2024 and they are now boxed with double that for £25 – which does seem a little on the pricey side.

With one box I was able to make movement trays for every unit in the box plus a tray ready for a unit of 20 Knights on Foot – this includes some lance movement trays made of off cuts from other trays.

Now, as much as I personally liked these back in 8th edition, I do have some grumbles with these for The Old World – One side of the tray has 25mm squares on it and the other 20mm squares. For 8th Edition that was great as that fitted most unit sizes, but with 20mm gone for the Old World I’d have liked to have seen one side with 25mm squares and the other with 30mm - unfortunately as they have just used the original molds this is not the case, making bases bigger than 25mm a little tricky to cut.

I am probably going to pick up another box, as I did get a lot of trays out of this, but be aware these some good options out there now for wooden or magnetic trays that may work out cheaper than this

Bretonnian Battle Standard Bearer on Royal Pegasus

Another new kit that is released alongside the Kingdom of Bretonnia Edition box is the Paladin Battle Standard Bearer on Royal Pegasus. This is a great kit that is built on the foundations of the Lord kit contained within the main box, but featuring a different sprue for the rider allowing you to build a Paladin with Battle Standard (Something that you will want to take in your list, as the BSB is a free upgrade for him!)

Again, like with the Lord I found this a tricky build, but it does look great once fully assembled! Sadly all these kits arrived a little too late for me to get them painted for this review, but we’ll be updating this post as I get them done!

And that is all the initial releases we are covering today! Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a deep dive and reviewing all the armies in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy along with the two Arcane Journals, so make sure to stay tuned to Sprues & Brews for the rest of our Warhammer The Old World coverage! We’re also planning on doing some Battle Reports, so keep an eye on our YouTube for those! And again, if you would like to support the site then why not order your models through our affiliate Element Games!

All these products are up for pre order today and are released Saturday 20th January

Games Workshop provided Sprues & Brews with free copies for review purposes