Old World 1.5
Complete Breakdown
Games Workshop has released around 20 pages of “errata” in PDF form—according to them.
According to me, they’ve released a disguised new edition. So I’m going to lay out all the changes in the game, and you can draw your own conclusions. Basically, it’s not that the meta changes—the whole game changes (in what I think is a very good direction). However, I do think the format is a mess, since the PDF constantly refers to the rulebook with instructions like “replace this phrase with that one,” which makes it really clunky to understand and learn. So I’ve made it easier for you.
Let’s get to it!
New Magic – Warhammer: The Old World 1.5
- A wizard can only attempt to cast the same spell once per turn (no more double Fireballs from the lore and the ring).
- To cast or dispel spells, the wizard no longer adds their wizard level directly. Now, they add half their wizard level rounded up (Wizards of level 1 and 2 add +1, while level 3 and 4 add +2).
- Wizards engaged in combat can now attempt to dispel as long as the spell targets them or their unit.
- Many spells have had their casting value reduced by 1, taking into account that spellcasting is now generally harder.
- To dispel an enemy vortex, your wizard must now be within range of the vortex itself, not the caster.
- Vortices that end their movement on top of a unit no longer continue in the same direction. They now move in the shortest direction needed to be off all miniatures.
- All standard lore vortices have changed from “move” to “scatter.” That means if you roll a HIT! on the die, they don’t move that turn.
- Flaming Pillar now moves in a random direction, not one you choose.
- Spirit Vortex: Any unit within 8″ of one or more of these suffers a single -1 Leadership penalty and cannot use Inspiring Presence.
- Mystical Pathway: The unit must now be teleported entirely within 12″ of its starting point, and it cannot end up within 6″ of an enemy.
- The Ruby Ring of Ruin now costs 35 points and is cast with power Level 1, not 2.
Charges and Combat in TOW 1.5
- To get the +1 Combat Resolution for Close Order, the unit must also have Unit Strength 10.
- You cannot fly while pursuing or following up, but you can during other movement phases.
- The “combat rank” no longer all strikes. Only the models in base contact with enemies, plus those in the rank who are within their movement range of an enemy model, may attack.
In this example: light green models strike because they are base-to-base; dark green strike because they are within 8″ (their Move); grey models don’t strike because they’re out of range.
(Behold my incredible MS Paint skills.)
- Supporting attacks follow the same rule: they must be behind a model in the combat rank and the enemy must be within the attacker’s movement range.
- After a combat ends, skirmisher models must space themselves out as little as possible.
- For a skirmishing unit to charge, more than 50% of its models must have line of sight to the target.
- If some skirmishers can’t form up during a charge, they are treated as having lost coherence.
- If a character kills another in a challenge, any remaining attacks made in initiative order don’t happen and don’t count toward Overkill (so if your Elf Lord kills my champion, the Dragon doesn’t attack, nor does it stomp).
Infantry – Old World 1.5
Normal and heavy infantry (not monstrous) now include the following rules:
- In any turn where they haven’t charged and are not in marching columns, the models behind the combat rank also count as part of it and may strike.
- When both sides have this rule, the side with more total Unit Strength from such units gains a +1 Combat Resolution bonus, in addition to other modifiers.
- Parry: If fighting with hand weapon and shield, you gain +1 to armor saves, up to a maximum of 3+.
Weapons and Armor – Old World 1.5
- Only infantry and cavalry may have 2+ armor saves. Other troop types are capped at 3+, and any bonuses beyond that are ignored.
- You can now choose your weapon each round—you’re no longer locked into the one you chose during the first round.
- The Ogre Blade now costs a whopping 75 points.
- Flails only get +2 Strength and Armor Bane (1) on the charge.
- Halberds always have Armor Penetration 1, increasing to 2 when charging.
- Morning Star gives +1 Strength and Armor Bane (1), but only when charging.
Special Rules
- Frenzy only gives its extra attack in the turn you charge or after a follow-up.
- Impact Hits target the enemy unit, not individual models, and happen before any challenges begin.
- Impetuous: no more rolling 4+. Now it’s a Leadership check.
- Large Targets: Still ignore cover, but now only one extra rank can shoot at them—not all ranks.
- Poisoned Attacks: 6s to hit no longer wound automatically—they now grant +2 to wound instead.
- Stomps happen at the very end, even after Initiative 1 attacks.
- Stupidity: If you fail the test, you cannot move, shoot, cast, or dispel. You may only hold as a charge reaction.
- Vanguard: If you perform a vanguard move, you cannot charge in Turn 1, even if you go second.
- Warband: Leadership bonus cannot be used for Impetuous or Restrain Pursuit tests.
- Quick Turn: Units in Open Order may only pivot 90° on their center if they are not marching, and only in the Remaining Moves phase—not the Shooting phase or Reserve Moves.
- Look Out, Sir!: To use this, the unit must have 5+ models of the same troop type as the character.
That’s all the changes, but…
How Do the 1.5.1 FAQs Affect the Old World Meta?
First off: we’re going to see fewer dragons. Keep in mind GW recommends a 500-point limit on any one character or unit, the Ogre Blade is more expensive, armor caps are lower (for, say, a High Elf general), and dragons no longer score.
Before, the dragon could beat almost any infantry unit by charging straight into their front (except one combo the Dwarfs had). Now it’s the opposite—infantry wins through combat bonuses, only losing their champion. One failed Leadership test and boom—you lose the dragon.
This brings us to infantry units (not skirmishers). They’re now much stronger, and basic infantry will be central to scoring secondary objectives (missions) like I mentioned in the post below.
Units with light or heavy armor and a shield benefit from that armor bonus—something that really makes a difference in this edition.
This also synergizes with the need for high model counts to score. We won’t risk keeping units at just 10 Strength—any small casualty could make them unable to score.
Skirmishers will probably be reduced. Large skirmishing units block line of sight, and lose models easily due to coherency issues.
On the other hand, magic is much less reliable. We’ll likely see it less often. Also, going from an odd to even wizard level still costs 30 points, and all it gets you is one extra spell. So we’ll probably just see Level 1 and Level 3 wizards, with Level 4s only used for combos—maybe with Lore Familiar to hand-pick spells.
Overall, the game is shifting to a block-based system. And honestly, that’s what 90% of us wanted. Less of a bloodbath. High-damage units will still appear, but they’re usually not Core and now have to share list space with less aggressive but scoring units.
All in all, these changes—along with the mission and scenario updates—have essentially given us a brand-new game.
By the way, here are the related posts so you can check out the other updates:
If you think there’s an error in the post, feel free to reach out at theoldwarrior@theoldwarrior.com, and I’ll review it. Hope you enjoy ToW!