The armies of the Khazalite Holds have returned from their years of exile to reclaim their empire, restore their mighty Karaks and rid the realms of the Thaggoraki menace! Available for pre-order today, the Khazalite Holds Army Set allows Dawi fans to pick up the brand new Battletome and a few of the new Khazalite Holds miniatures.

In this full review we’ll be having a close look at the contents of the Army Set and a thorough look through the Battletome itself. As always, thank you to Games Workshop for sending a copy of the new Army Set over to Sprues and Brews to review.

If you would like to support the site then why not order your copy of the Khazalite Holds Army Set via our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money as well!

As always, to accompany our written review we have a filmed a full unboxing and review of the new Army Set which you can see just below or over on our YouTube channel.

Khazalite Holds Army Set Review

Whilst the Duardin have been well represented in the Age of Sigmar game with Fyreslayers, Kharadron Overlords and of course Helsmiths all possessing Battletomes and large miniature ranges I have to admit that I have long awaited the moment that the Dispossessed, those Duardin who most closely resemble the Dwarfs of the Old World. Games Workshop have rewarded that patience with a brand new faction and miniatures line and the new Khazalite Holds Army Set is a great way to get started with the new faction.

At £125 RRP the Army Set contains a handful of the new miniatures – a set of 10 Clanshields, 3 Gholems (which can be built as either of the two versions, Gazul or Valaya), a cannon (again able to be assembled as either of the two versions, Oathkeeper Cannon or Stonebreaker Mortar) and Hjulda Drakkblud, the new named Thrynn hero. These kits do form the Spearhead army but instructions are provided on Warhammer Community to build them using the alternate units if you wish.

Alongside the models you’ll also find a special edition of the new Battletome with a special ‘metallic gold’ enhanced cover and gilt-edged pages in addition to a set of Warscoll cards for all the new units (including Spearhead), Traits, Artefacts and Formations, Prayers, Spells and Regiments of Renown.

A Spearhead set and Battletome normally sets you back about £135 so this is not a bad set in terms of value for money at £125. Two sets gets you a good foundation of a lager force with just the Battletome/Warscroll Cards and Hjulda being redundant. It is a shame that the generic Thyrnn hero was not included in her place, this would be my only criticism.

We put together and painted all the models in the box, what did we think?

First up with have the Clanshields, the mainstay of a Khazalite Holds army equipped with heavy plate armour, solid metal shields and of course an abundance of axes and hammers. There is a good mix of bearded male heads alongside cloaked female heads with which to use freely across the models. What is quite cool is that in the lore the various clans specialise in different trades and many of the warriors will favour an axe or a hammer dependant on their craft. Their choice of helm is often influenced by this preference and you can build the models with either a flat, anvil style helm or a more blade like style. There is a choice of banners and iconography and a large number of round and more ‘square edged’ style shields to ensure that multiple units look distinct from one another. They are a great looking unit once assembled, thick plate armour and deadly looking axes and hammers – a great reimagining of the Dwarf warriors of old.

The cannon kit was also great fun to build and has lots of character, almost like a little diorama really with the three crew on the same base. The cannon itself is huge, occupying the majority of the base. Inscribed with runic details it is a very imposing looking warmachine. The crew itself consists of a smithy, a runestriker and an acolyte of Inghilde, one of the Ancestor Gods of the Duardin. I especially like the way the crew are magically extracting the stone ammunition from the ground around the cannon itself.

Included in the set is a unit of three Gholems which can be built as either the hammer wielding Gholems of Gazul or the shield bearing Gholems of Valaya. We chose to build ours as the former. The models are adorned with runic inscriptions and iconography and you get a variety of components such as armour plates, weapons and trinkets to customise each model. There are both Gazul and Valaya inspired shoulder guards to use on the two different units to further distinguish them.

Finally we have Hjulda Drakkblud, a named Hero for the Khazlid Holds. She is bedecked in gromil plate armour and wields a large axe – very ‘dwarfy’. There are lots of nice little details on the model itself – the small talisman she carries in her hand, the hefty book of grudges on her belt and the pelt of Trogg hide across her back. She is a very nice looking figure to lead the force.

Overall I think Games Workshop have done a good job of ‘porting’ the Old World style dwarf aesthetic to the Age of Sigmar setting – as a big fan of the old Ironbreakers, Hammerers and Cannon models I’m really happy with the look of the Khazalite Holds miniatures line.

Khazalite Holds Battletome Review (2026) 4th Edition

The Khazalite Holds Battletome does a great job of ‘re-introducing’ the Khazalites into the Age of Sigmar setting. The book does a great of job of explaining the history of the Khazalites and the founding of their empire during the Age of Myth. We learn about what happened to them during the Age of Chaos when they abandoned their Karaks and took refuge the realm of Death under the Ancestor God Gazul’s protection. There is some great artwork throughout the Battletome and a nice fold out spread which provides some detail on the various Karaks which have since been re-established during the Age of Sigmar. There is also some interesting background covering the fall of the various Fyreslayer Magmaholds and their unification with the Khazalite empire.

Battle Traits

On to the rules then! The Khazalite Holds get a large number of Battle Traits which in the main are split between a ‘grudge mark’ mechanic and a number of ‘once per game’ Ancestral Vows. At the end of each turn you’ll be able to distribute up to three ‘grudge marks’ across units in your army if certain conditions are met. For example if your General has been slain that’s a flat three ‘grudge marks’ to distribute, otherwise you run through a list of conditions and for each one you satisfy you distribute a single ‘grudge mark’, up to a maximum of three. Examples include If your General suffered damage, a unit was destroyed or one of your units is currently contesting an objective. There is also a passive Battle Trait which triggers when an opponent gains control of an objective in your territory, immediately allowing you to give one unit in your army a ‘grudge mark’. Finally there is a Command Ability which allows you to temporarily grant a friendly unit a ‘grudge mark’ until the next turn. These ‘grudge marks’ themselves do not do anything and are removed from a unit if they ever perform a ‘Retreat’ ability. Most Warscrolls in the book have some ability that is triggered or some bonus that can be applied in the event that the unit is in possession of one or more ‘grudge marks’ meaning you’ll definitely want to ensure your units are ‘powered up’ on grudges, or at least ‘grudged up’ at the right time!

Before moving on the Ancestral Vows there is also one other passive Battle Trait we need to cover – “Gazul, Remember the Fallen”. When half the models in a unit have been slain the remaining models each get +1 attack with melee weapons meaning even battle ravaged units are still a threat to your opponent.

There are five ‘Once Per Battle’ Ancestral Vow abilities you can trigger in any Hero Phase. These provide some great utility, with effects including healing units, redeploying units, reducing the effectiveness of Rend against your units, improving wound rolls and finally improving casting and chanting rolls. Each of the Ancestral Vows targets up to three units in your army and should be pretty impactful if you can get the timing right.

Battle Formations

There are four Battle Formations to choose from. “War Callers” provides a great passive ability which reduces the control scores of enemy units engaged with your Khazalite Holds units and synergises nicely with some other effects in the Battletome to really hinder your opponent’s ability to contest objectives.

“Hearthsworn Defenders” provides some additional ranged defence for your army, inflicting a -1 to Hit penalty on ranged attacks that target your units whilst they are within friendly territory or contesting an objective.

“Unyielding Anvil” reduces the distance the opponent’s units are able to move when making a pile in move – with careful positioning this can make a real difference to the number of attacks that unit is able to make and also disrupt in their ability to manoeuvre onto objectives during the Combat Phase.

Lastly, “Wayfarer Nomads” provides a bit of reliability when making run and charge moves but does require the unit to be outside of 6″ of any other friendly unit to be able to trigger the re-roll effect. Keep in mind also that there are other, perhaps less limiting, ways to provide a re-roll charge rolls effect as you’ll see later in the review.

Heroic Traits, Artefacts, Spells and Prayers

“Long of Beard or Braid” is a nice Heroic Trait which adds 3 additional dice to rally attempts for nearby units – useful on large units of reinforced Clanshields or even Gholem units.

“Sworn to Vengeance” is a great pick for melee focussed characters, allowing them accumulate additional attacks over the course of a battle.

Lastly, and probably my favourite pick, is “Innate Resonance”. This Heroic Trait allows you to either upgrade a Wizard (1) unit to Wizard (2) or just give a unit Wizard (1). This a great pick for Fyreslayer heavy armies which lack any Wizard but also for a pure Khazalite force, allowing you to better utilise the excellent Spell Lores across the battlefield. As a bonus all enemy Manifestations within 12″ of the bearer gain Strike-Last!

Artefact wise again there are some good options. “Hearthflares” is my favourite and synergises really well with the “War Callers” Battle Formation – during your Hero Phase you pick an objective within 12″ and 5 to the control score of friendly Khazalite Holds units while they are contesting it.

The “Flamescale Rune Cloak” inflicts a -1 to Hit for attacks that target the bearer (provided they have not charged) whereas the “Deep-Earth Runic Weapon” provides a boost to both the Rend characteristic of a melee weapon the bearer is equipped with. It also includes a little ‘push your luck’ option to potentially increase the Attack and/or Rend characteristic as well.

There are two Spell Lores in the Battletome, the Reverberation of the Runes and the Resonance of the Runes. Both provide a good mix of offensive, defensive and utility bonuses.

“Rune of Dismay” is an unlimited spell which reduces the Attacks characteristic of enemy unit’s melee weapons by 1 whilst within 6″. Ensuring one or two Wizards with this spell are nestled in your frontline will be a great defensive boost for your army. Note also that it is possible to extend the range of this (and all other spells) as you’ll see when we get to the Runewright’s Warscroll.

“Rune of Courage” grants a re-roll charge rolls to ‘all’ nearby Khazalite Holds units whereas “Rune of the Furnance” provides a simple AoE style mortal damage effect.

“Rune of Might” is another unlimited spell which adds 1 to the Rend characteristic to nearby units. The range is quite small (just 3″) but can be extended via the Runewright’s “Rythmic Hammering” ability. This spell will synergise very nicely with the Clanshields’ “Anti-Infantry (+1 Rend)” weapon ability meaning your basic infantry is at at +2 Rend against other infantry.

“Rune of Sanctuary” is a great pick against an opponent with dangerous ranged units, preventing nearby friendly units from being visible to enemy units outside of 12″.

Finally “Rune of Warding” negates the effects of any critical hits (counting them as normal) that the opponent’s units might otherwise have inflicted on friendly nearby units.

The biggest issue for a Khazalite Holds player is that your likely to only have one or two Wizard (1) units in your army with so many great spells to choose from!

There is one Prayer Lore in the book, “Ancestor God Recitations”. It’s also worth noting that that the only Priest units in the book belong to the Fyreslayers. “Recitation of Valaya” grants a single unit a buff which inflicts a -1 to wound penalty on the opponent’s attacks. The prayer can be applied to a second unit should an 8+ be rolled for the chanting roll.

“Recitation to Gazul” provides a nice area denial effect, preventing enemy units and Manifestations from being set up within range of targetted friendly unit.

Finally, “Recitation to Grimnir” can target an enemy unit causing them to suffer 1 mortal damage (boosted to D3 on a higher chanting roll) each time they use a Core ability.

Khazalite Holds Warscrolls

Alongside all the new Khazalite Holds Warscrolls we also find a number of Fyreslayer Warscolls which we’ll look through below.

High Kyng Valankrom is the new High King Kyng of the Khazalites and rides to battle atop a rune empowered stone throne. He has a respectable melee and ranged profile and decent speed (especially when compared to the rest of the army). He also provides a lot of utility for the army too, able to distribute additional ‘grudge marks’ and apply a number of buffs to nearby units such as ‘Anti-charge (+1 Rend)’, bonuses to chanting and casting rolls. He can also apply some debuffs to enemy units, reducing control scores and even preventing units from using commands. He also has some movement tricks in the form of a command that allows him to move in either player’s Movement Phase and dish out some mortal damage along the way.

Thyrnn on Warthrone fills a similar role in the army as Valankrom offering slightly more utility at the cost of a reduced melee profile. I really like the “Forge a Path” ability which allows the Warthrone to act as a kind of transport for a nearby Khazalite Holds unit helping to somewhat mitigate the generally low movement across the army. In keeping with this theme the Thyrnn also has a command that allows them to increase the move characteristic of nearby units.

Hjulda Drakkbludd is a strong melee Hero who also provides some offensive and defensive buffs to nearby units. She is able to ‘mark’ an enemy unit, granting other friendly units the ability to re-roll charges against the ‘marked’ unit whilst it is within 12 ” or instead adding another 3 to the control score of nearby units should the ‘marked’ unit be outside of this range (or indeed off the table). She also provides a passive +1 to Hit to nearby units and small damage mitigation effect.

Thyrnns provide a decent melee profile which improves depending on the number of ‘grudge marks’ the unit possesses. They can also choose a nearby friendly unit to attack either immediately before or after the Thyrnn attacks, granting a +1 to Hit bonus to the unit that fights second.

The Runewright is a Wizard (1) who gains a casting bonus whilst in possession of any ‘grudge marks’. His ‘Rythmic Hammering’ ability allows him to attempt to extend the range of any spells by repeatedly attempting to cast the spell – but be careful, should you fail any of these attempts the spell fails. It’s a nice ability to have available should the need arise for the extra range and there are a few ways to gain a +1 to casting rolls bonus.

Clanshields are your primary unit with a decent melee profile and a decent 3+ save and an innate -1 Rend on incoming attacks whilst they are contesting an objective. Whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’ they add +1 to wound, combined with their ‘Anti-Infantry (Rend +1) significantly improves their fairly average melee profile. They are, like most units in the book, Move 4″ however.

Clangunners can be armed with either the longer ranged and better Rend Thrundok Rifles or a shorter ranged but better ‘to wound’ Thrundok Shotcannon. The former has a chance to half the movement characteristic of the target unit whilst the latter can potentially strip charge dice from the target unit. Whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’ models make 3 attacks with the Thrundok Shotcannon whilst the Thundok Rifle gains a +1 to Wound bonus.

The Oathkeeper Cannon makes two attacks at 24″ range with Rend 2 and D3+2 damage. Whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’ the unit gains ‘Crit (2 Hits)’ which really increases the chance to do quite a lot of damage if you roll lucky. It’s not just damage though, the Oathkeeper Cannon has a chance to inflict one of a number of debuffs on its target, including ‘Strike-last’.

The Stonebreaker Mortar has a longer range than the cannon and is more suited to targeting larger units of infantry with more attacks but less rend and damage. It shares the same ‘Crit (2 Hits)’ bonus whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’ and with its base of 5 attacks is more likely to see this trigger. It is also able to inflict one of a number of debuffs and effects on its target, including some additional mortal damage.

Valayan Guardians come in two flavours, both possessing 1 wound and a 4+ ward save. The more aggressive halberd equipped loadout sacrifices some defence in favour of a better melee profile and the ability to ‘charge through’ enemy units and inflict splash mortal damage, re-rolling charge rolls whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’. The Rune Axe equipped loadout have a better 3+ save and provide a 5+ ward save to nearby non-Gholem units whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’. They are still quite capable at dealing damage with 3 attacks each and the ability to dish out some mortal damage too.

Gholems of Gazul and Valaya are a pair of hammer and anvil units respectively. The Gazul variety are great for knocking chunks out of a tough enemy unit with a decent melee profile and the ability to both reduce ward and regular armour saves of their target. The Gholems of Valaya don’t hit quite so hard but have some great utility, distributing ‘grudge marks’ to all visible units upon their demise and potentially inflicting ‘Strike-last’ on a unit they charged.

Gotrek Gurnisson is a pure damage machine albeit limited somewhat by his 4″ Move characteristic. With 8 attacks base (increasing to 10 when fighting Heros or Monsters) with 2’s across the board for everything except damage which sits at 3! He should take down anything he throw him against, although I suspect a canny opponent should be able to exploit is poor movement. He has a 5+ save and a 3+ ward save and an ability which gives him a chance at avoiding being removed from play the first time he is destroyed.

It’s worth pointing out at this point that a number of Fyreslayer profiles have been removed from the book and will be made Legends in a year’s time. If your units are listed below then they are still part of the army, but if they are not then Games Workshop have created a Battletome Suppliment over on Warhammer Community that contains all the rules for these units – this includes the invocations and the terrain piece too!

Ormyr and Ashtongue is a unique Fyreslayer Hero who serves as a bit of a force multiplier for other Magmadroths in the army, buffing their attacks. He has a fairly decent melee profile himself with 8 Damage 2 attacks between himself and his companion’s weapons. Finally he provides a measure of defence in the opponent’s Shooting Phase, reducing the range of a target enemy unit’s visibility to just 6″.

Auric Runefather can be taken on foot or mounted on a Magmadroth. The latter is powerful melee unit able to reduce an opponent’s armour save, dish out mortal damage and boost the attacks of nearby Fyreslayer units. Whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’ he is also able to boost attacks of nearby non-Fyreslayers too. The non mounted version is instead able to select a unit of Fyreslayer infantry to be a royal retinue, bestowing some additional buffs a 4+ ward save to itself (and the royal retinue whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’).

Auric Runeson can also be taken on foot or mounted on a Magmadroth. The latter has a very slightly reduced melee profile when compared to the Runefather but does have a nifty ability that allows it to pick up a nearby unit at the start of its movement and redeploy them within 6″ at the end of its movement. If it possesses any ‘grudge marks’ the selected unit is even able to use charge abilities later in the turn. Whilst on foot the Runeson provides some bonuses to charge rolls for nearby units (improved further whilst in possession of a ‘grudge mark’) whilst also providing the same ‘fight with multiple units’ ability as the the Thyrnn.

Auric Runesmiter also comes on foot or mounted on a Magmadroth, both versions having Priest (1). His Magmadroth shares the same profile as the Runeson’s, including the ability to dish out mortal damage should you roll any 1s for your armour saves. The mounted version has a great ability called “Runic Empowerement” that can be used to grant a +1 to wound bonus to a nearby Fyreslayer unit (or non-Fyreslayer unit if the Runesmiter has a ‘grudge mark’). Whilst on foot the Runesmiter loses most of their melee capabilities but can be used to buff the movement of a nearby Fyreslayer unit.

The Auric Flamekeeper is a great force multiplier. Each Hero Phase you can attempt to activate the Masterflame Rune. You roll 2D6, subtracting 2 from the result whilst in possession of any ‘grudge marks’. If you roll equal to or under the number of friendly units that have been destroyed during the battle you get to apply one of a number of effects to a nearby friendly unit. This could be a 5+ ward save, the ability to re-roll charges or even increasing the damage of their melee weapons.

The Grimhold Exile is like a mini version of Gotrek, sacrificing Gotrek’s defensive capabilities for a raft of movement enhancing abilities. The Grimhold Exile can, once per game, redeploy along a table edge in addition to being able to move D6″ in the opponent’s Movement Phase provided he is in possession of a ‘grudge mark’. When he does get into combat he has the ‘Strike-first’ ability and very decent melee profile.

Vulkyn Flameseekers are a nice ‘anti-monster’ unit, inflicting a number of debuff on opposing companions and monsters, reducing their attacks and preventing the use of Rampage abilities.

Auric Hearthguard are a nice little ranged unit that inflicts a -1 to Hit penalty on a target unit should they inflict any damage upon it with their Magmapike ranged weapon.

Hearthguard Beserkers are a relatively mobile melee unit, able to move D6″ in the opponent’s movement phase if they are in possession of any ‘grudge marks’. They have a decent melee profile and can gain a 5+ ward save whilst within range of a Fyreslayer Hero.

Spearhead

There are two Spearhead forces in the Khazalite Holds Battletome. Drakkblud’s Clanguard utilises the contents of the Army Set whereas the Magmic Fyrd is your Fyreslayer themed option which includes an Auric Runefather on Magmadroth, an Auric Runesmiter, a unit of Vulkyn Flameseekers and a unit of Auric Hearthguard. There are nice painting guides for both forces includes too!

Path to Glory

As expected we get a cool set of Path to Glory rules allowing you to create your own character with an interesting mix of origins, flaws and other upgrades to further customise your creation. I quite like the idea of creating a Kromdron Priest for example.

There are two paths also included which provide upgrades for your Heroes and units respectively.

Armies and Regiments of Renown

There are three Armies of Renown and two Regiments of Renown described in the new Battletome.

“Valankrom’s War Throng” is your Kromdron, that is non-Fyreslayer, themed force. This army introduces a “wrongdoer” mechanic which works alongside the ‘grudge mark’ mechanic – High Kyng Valankrom, which must be included in the army, can designate enemy units as “wrongdoers” which then allows other units to benefit from the effects of ‘grudge-marks’ whilst in combat with them. The “Venerated Sentinels” Battle Trait gives Gholems and the High Kyng himself a 5+ ward save whilst they are within range of one another which is a nice boost as well.

“Fyrd of Fyrepeak” is the Grimmdron, that is Fyreslayer, themed force. Their Battle Traits work in a similar way to the Ancestral Vows described earlier, although here they are called Ur-gold Runes and each provide some once per battle effects ranging from inflicting severe to Hit penalties on enemy shooting attacks to re-rolling run and charge rolls for the turn.

Finally “Throngankor Alliance” is ‘super-Dwarf’ army combining Kromdron, Grimmdron and Kharadron units into once force. The key mechanic of the army is the “Stone and Sky” Battle Trait. When a unit of non-Hero Khazalite Holds and Kharadron Infantry are within range of one another they each gain the “Stone and Sky” keyword. Other units can a number of bonuses whilst in range or in combat alongside these “Stone and Sky” units, including improved control scores and critical effects. Another nice benefit of this army is that the slow Khazalite units are able to benefit from the transporting capabilities of the Kharadron Skyvessels.

“Fjori’s Vengeance” and “Thengin’s Grudgesettlers” are the two Regiments of Renown. The former includes a Grimhold Exile, an Auric Flamekeeper and a unit of 5 Hearthguard Berserkers with both the Flamekeeper and Hearthguard able to redeploy alongside the Grimhold Exile when it uses its “Wrathful Wanderer” ability. This regiment can be taken in all Order factions.

“Thengin’s Grudgesettlers” consists of a Runewright, a unit of 10 Clanshields, a unit of 10 Clangunners with Throndok Rifles and an Oathkeeper Cannon. The Runewright gets access to the “Rune of Stoicism” spell which grants a 6+ ward save to all units in this regiment. Again this regiment can be included in any Order faction army.

Summary

It’s fantastic to see the long neglected ‘Dispossessed’ Duardin finally get some attention and the new range of kits are a great re-imaging of the classic Dwarf aesthetic fit for the Age of Sigmar setting.

The Khazalite Holds Battletome itself has a great set of thematic units and rules and I keep spotting more and more synergies and strategies each time I flick through its pages.

I would imagine that some Fyreslayer purists out there will be a bit disappointed to see their army trimmed and folded into the wider Khazalite Holds faction but I think the Battletome does a good job of keeping their identity and playstyle in tact and it is certainly very viable to build a pure Fyreslayer force should you wish. In fact I would love to see Games Workshop go one step further and introduce some additional named Fyreslayer heroes, the Magmaqueen for example, to help solidify their presence in the faction further.

The Khazalite Holds Army Set is available for pre-order now and is released on Saturday October 31st.

Games Workshop provided Sprues and Brews with a free copy for review purposes.