Today is the day many of you will be first able to tear off the cellophane and delve into those rich royal blue treasure chests – it’s release day for Warhammer: The Old World.*
Soon the World of Legend will once again ring out with the rumble of hooves, the clamour of khopesh on shield, and the sultry melodies of skeletons playing the horn. But we’re not stopping at just two factions – there are nine in total receiving a mixture of new, remastered, and classic miniatures, and they’re all getting a lot.
It’s the Orc and Goblin Tribes who are fastest on the trigger, and we can now reveal every single character, troop, monster, and war machine to enter the range.** Buckle up!
Battalion Box
The Orc and Goblin Tribes are launching with a massive battalion box alongside an Arcane Journal. The former contains 73 plastic miniatures – two Orc Boar Chariots, 31 Orc Boyz (including a champion, a musician, and a standard bearer), and 40 Goblins with command upgrades of their own.
Each of these classic kits has options aplenty – there are lots of different heads and shield patterns, while the Orcs can have hand weapons or spears to go with their shields, and the Goblins can be armed with shortbows or spears and shields.
It’s important to note that the Orc and Goblin Tribes Battalion just contains miniatures. There are no rulebooks, dice, reference sheets, or other accessories found in the previous boxes. You’ll find the roster for your budding Waaagh! in the Ravening Hordes book.
The Arcane Journal expands on that army list with plenty of lore, maps, and iconography, as well as two new special characters, two Armies of Infamy – the Nomadic Waaagh! and the Troll Horde – and a green fistful of extra rules to use in your armies, including magic items, spells, and units like the Troll Hag.
On top of that, there will be a deck of cards and dice for budding Warbosses, available while stocks last.
New Miniatures
There are two fabulous new models for the Orc and Goblin Tribes: a fearsome Black Orc Warboss brandishing a great weapon, and the deeply weird Orc Shaman Ogdruz Swampdigga – a new named character found in the Arcane Journal. Both are cast in Forge World resin.
Returning Plastics
There are plenty of returning plastic kits from the most recent era of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. These are all exactly as you remember them, but in the main, they’ll be sold in larger numbers per box than they were before.
These are the Orc Bosses, the Orc Boyz Mob, the Orc Boyz and Arrer Boyz Mob, the Orc Boar Boyz Mob, the Orc Boar Chariots, and the Black Orc Boyz Mob – plus the Goblin Mob, Night Goblin Mob, and Goblin Wolf Rider Mob, who are coming a little later.
Returning Resin
Several kits are returning in Forge World resin – these Orc and Goblin Command Sets will also be joined by the Troll Hag and Bonegrinder Giant.
Certain other miniatures have been remastered and are changing medium from metal to Forge World resin – the Orc Warboss on Wyvern and the Orc and Goblin Giant.
Returning Metals
A real green tide is returning in metal, however. The Goblin Shamans, Bosses, Nasty Skulkers, and the Rock Lobber above will be joined by the following other miniature packs:
Goblin Bosses
Goblin Wolf Rider Bosses
Goblin Bolt Throwa
Goblin Doom Diver Catapult
Goblin Wolf Chariot
Orc Shaman
Orc Shamans
Orc Big ‘Uns
Orc Big ‘Uns Command
Snotling Swarms
Snotling Pump Wagon
Common Trolls
Classic Ogres
Made to Order
On top of all that, there’ll be a hand-curated selection of Made to Order Orcs and Trolls for the true connoisseurs, including none other than the fabled Marauder Giant – who, like all the others in this tranche, is returning in metal.
Alongside him, there’s the Orc Shaman on War Wyvern from 1993, two sets of classic Stone Trolls, the classic River Trolls, and the Black Orc Big Boss with Axe and Shield.
“It's been a real treat coming up with the MtO plan for Warhammer: The Old World,” explains Design Lead Rob. “We’ve been poring over old catalogues, digging out product codes, and poking around dusty old rooms finding master castings, greens, and suchlike that have been long buried.
“Many of these products had been archived in a manner that suited products that would never resurface on our webstore again. Metal products are absolutely something that we still make, but they are limited in number compared to the early 2000s – when many of these Old World kits were new.
“The mould room guys have been absolutely incredible. All of these kits needed brand-new moulds made by a small team, all of them are artisans of their craft. It's only through Kino's passion for the craft that so many of these miniatures have been able to resurface; many of them were considered damaged beyond repair, but working closely over several months, we managed to bring these products back to market. It's a real honour to do that!”
It’s enough to start a proper Waaagh! and have those puny tin-can ‘oomies and fancy skellies quaking in their boots. We’ll have more information on when this emerald avalanche hits pre-order in the future.
* And if you haven’t yet been lucky enough to get hold of the launch boxes for the Kingdom of Bretonnia or the Tomb Kings of Khemri, worry not – more stock is on the way.
** It’s not all arriving in a single wave, however!