Ambushers in The Old World

Ambushers lets you choose not to deploy a unit during army deployment and, from round 2 onward, roll 1D6 at the start of your turn: on 1–3 it’s delayed, on 4+ it arrives as Reinforcements during Compulsory Moves, coming in from any board edge more than 8″ away from the enemy. If it’s still in reserve at the start of round 5, it arrives automatically.

That’s the summary. Now for the breakdown.

How Ambushers works, step by step

1) During deployment

Instead of deploying the unit, you decide not to deploy it and you simply deploy the rest of your army as if that unit didn’t exist. You don’t have to declare before deployment that you’re not going to deploy it normally. You just place units one by one, alternating with your opponent, and if you want, you don’t place this one.

If you decide to do that, you tell them that unit is being left in ambush and that’s it.

2) From round 2: arrival roll (at the start of your turn)

From the start of round 2, for each Ambushers unit in reserve, you roll 1D6 at the start of your turn. 1–3: the unit is delayed. 4+: the unit arrives.

You can’t choose not to roll (you can’t “hold the unit back on purpose” for a turn).

It’s always on a 4+—the odds don’t improve as the battle goes on (there are army abilities like Beastmen or High Elves woodsmen that let you add or subtract 1 to your roll or re-roll it, but those are specific rules you normally have to pay for).

If it hasn’t come in on turn 4, it comes in automatically on turn 5.

3) How it enters when it arrives (edge and distance)

It arrives as Reinforcements during Compulsory Moves.

You can choose any board edge.

When you place it, it must be more than 8″ away from any enemy unit (Chaos Warriors have, since the December 2025 update, the option to buy a trait so you can’t come in closer than 12″ to their unit, but it’s not currently used in the meta).

The unit has to enter with its rear edge touching the table edge, and it can’t end more than double its Movement characteristic away from that edge (so a unit that moves 5 can’t end more than 10″ from the edge in any case when it enters).

It can’t march, and of course it can’t charge when it comes on.

Wayland. Check this price.

What ambusher units are good for

Punishing artillery and support

It only gives gunlines one turn to shoot once your ambushers arrive, and it also shapes their deployment.

Psychological pressure

Even if it doesn’t arrive early, you force your opponent to cover board edges and open gaps in their line.

Scoring

In both the quadrants mission and the objectives mission, they let you score very well while avoiding enemy aggression.

Making room to deploy

There are some scenarios where your deployment zone becomes very small, especially if you have a lot of troops. In particular, the scenario where you deploy in quadrants. Don’t know what I’m talking about?

Right here.

Saving you from losing a unit

There’s another scenario where, during deployment, if one of the players rolls a 1, both of you end up unable to deploy a unit, and it will come in later. If you have an ambusher unit and this happens, declare that this is the unit staying in reserve and deploy the rest normally—while your opponent loses an important piece.

Don’t know what I’m talking about again?

Right here.

Common mistakes (a section that builds authority)

“I can choose not to roll until it suits me.”
No—by default you start rolling from round 2 (unless a special rule changes it).

“It can come in wherever, right next to the enemy.”
No: when you place it, it must be more than 8″ away from any enemy.