TOW THE OLD WORLD - Poll: Will TOW be a faithful successor to WFB 8th edition?

One of the lads on EEFL has already uploaded full scans of all the army lists, and I've been having fun learning the rules and analysing the tactical capabilities of my favourite armies.

Beastmen in particular look FUN now.

 

I still can't believe that an army like Beastmen are a focused faction while the Skaven aren't.

 

Apparently it's rumored that there's an upcoming Skaven centered AOS expansion, which is part of the reason why.

 

Well, we Beasts are endemic to The Old World, where the Rat-Spawn hide in their tunnels below ground... we're always watching from the treeline, even if you can't see us .

In any case, my rat-boys won't be stopped that easily, of all the factions they're one of the most capable of surpassing challenges (even if it means some others take the blame for things going wrong in the process). In this case it means the Council of Thirteen have commissioned a Horned Rat-approved Arcane Journal supplement to accompany the PDF when it arrives, because where the Council is concerned, GW is an inferior authority in all things rat and any disputes of 'unofficiality' will be settled by crossing some Clan Eshin paws with Warp Tokens

Allegedly AoS 4th Edition is going to feature Skaven as the boxed game faction fighting Sigmarines, and if it's true it'll be good to see their model range refreshed. Of course, the argument of them trying to keep the ranges for AoS and TOW separate is dispelled by WoC and Beastmen being supported in both games, but it might mean the older Skaven models may be saved for TOW along the line, or they supply both round and square bases with the new ones and release a Skaven Arcane Journal as a sneaky ratty surprise.

Besides, just because they've said at this point that the non-focus factions aren't getting support beyond PDFs, doesn't mean there's no chance of them U-turning on this, particularly if TOW sells well and lots of people play it - more factions in the game means more models selling, more people buying and more money coming in. I mean they once said they'd never bring Squats back, and that's now been blown out of the water with the Votann. Not to mention that the TOW Facebook page once responded that though they have no plans for the non-focus factions for the time being, the possibility of them returning was not fully ruled out.

 

If GW had half a brain, that would be more reason to include Skaven in TOW. Same models for "twice" the market/audience.

Anything is possible, but I still wouldn't bank on it. They could make a u-turn and include them down the road or they might axe them from the game entirely. There is always a chance, but I don't like those betting odds. And even they did return later on, how much time are we talking about? 5 years? 10 years? More?

At this point, I'm choosing to take them at their word.

 

My salt train doesn't allow me to dream for Tilea just yet. If this game is successful then I will have a kernel of hope. That's at least a year and a half away to know. On a positive note they seem to have increased point cost for units, this is the first time I've seen a great eagle at base cost over 50pts. I really hope this encourages less spam and less hordes as that was part of what I hated in 8th. I really want to sit down with the Wood Elf book and the rules to try and figure out if a Sethayla style list would work. Yes you have to bring one unit of Glade Guard but otherwise it looks like my old list could work. Alter Lord would have to change but that's not an issue, maybe the Shadowdancer could fill that role. I haven't had time to see the changes for my beloved Tomb Kings although I will say if I ever buy that dragon I will convert it to be a full crocodile, dragons are not TK fluffy!

 

I honestly find it weirdest that Vampire Counts are not a main faction. They are literally inside the Empire, where the whole Old World revolves around. Totally would have expected the Tomb Kings to get the short end of the stick on that one, but no, they are in, VC are out.

 

It's a headscratcher!

Maybe @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl has acquired a leadership position at GW headquarters.

 

Gods, I wish!

Though if I had, I wouldn't have denied the non-focus factions support beyond their PDF lists, I would have either included them in the mainstream or, at the very worst, kept them as PDF lists to start with while the Big 9 are being balanced, but openly state that they will gradually make their return as the storyline of the game continues, with the PDF lists just being 'get you by' affairs until then.

As much as I dislike the Vampire Counts and can't understand their popularity, I would never sink to the level of limiting the options for those who do like them to use them in the way that GW appear to be doing. That's the whole reason why I'm preparing to work on Arcane Journals to supplement the PDF lists when they come out. I just don't like to see certain audiences excluded or disadvantaged in favour of others, regardless of which factions they play and my feelings towards those factions.

 

Does that include Dogs of War?

 

Certainly I will work on a supplement for them, though instead of as a full army in their own right I'd be inclined to feature them as a collection of units that can be taken as part of any mainstream faction's 25% Mercenaries allowance. It's a new army selection rule in TOW that currently isn't seeing any use, and DOW units would fit that role perfectly.

 

Well depending on when TOW is taking place most wouldn't have been created yet. Asarnil would be around and would be fun to play.

 

Maybe that is the future intent of the TOW design group. Add old DoW units and maybe even new Kislevite units as mercenaries at a later point. If the initial release does well.

 

The index for Lizzies is out!

First impressions. Skink skirmishers got STRONGER, skirmishier formation is now fully free and javelin skirmishers are 5 pts per model now and retain all rules, skirmishers, quick to fire basically, march and shoot, poison, so strong.

1 unit of Saurus warriors is now compulsory, idk if that matters, is probably not great.

Salamanders nerfed pretty hard, no more artillery dice added to your breath weapon, you just put the teardrop on your base. No march and shoot makes that rough.

Scarvets and cowboy builds are gone, the combos are just not there.

Slann are outside TG units now but they still get look out sir? Weird and probably worse. Channeling combo also gone but that is to be expected.

Scaly skin is just the same as heavy armor now, only really matters for characters, it is very hard to get to the 2+ for them now which also kills cowboy combos, which is probably for the best.

Most disciplines are still there and very similar to 8th.

Carno looks good with them being a flat upgrade on an oldblood! No more killing the rider! All our monsters looking strong, with even the Troglodon becoming a full lvl 1 caster now which is very cool!

All cold ones look insanely bad with stupidity stopping charges now and no extra d6 because of cold blood on the test.

Looks very faithful to 8th for me, excited to try this out. Skinks let's go! Will be hosting a tournament in my local area which will allow indexes (I'll play my Lizzies thank you very much), think this looks cool!

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/01/22/old-world-almanack-download-the-legacy-pdfs-here/

 

Poison cloud lives! It lives bwahahahhaha! Sucks about the cowboy, I had two of those bad boys and loved them.

 

I'm not convinced of that with Ld 5 and no cold-blooded on rally tests. I'm afraid my skink cloud with flee right off the table from a few strategic flee reactions.

 

Is not an index, it is the full treatment we will ever* get!

 

Just read the Skaven one...no Warlord on warlitter or bone breaker rat ogre. Disappointing but expected as they don't have models. I'll still use mine as its a great conversion.