A Proper Brick for the Empire: Our Latest Old World Infantry Idea
Army-building chatter that got us excited
Sometimes a list idea grabs us immediately, and this was one of those moments. In the middle of chatting about hobby plans, Michał dropped a unit profile that made us all stop for a second.
Before that, there was also a very relatable hobby confession: the Castellan is apparently going back to the painting desk, because the face got completely mangled the day before. We have all been there. One bad session, one ambitious detail too far, and suddenly a character model needs “just a small correction” that turns into a full rescue operation.
The hardest foot troops in the collection
What really got our attention was the description of what Michał called the strongest foot troops he has in his Empire force.
On paper, they already sound nasty:
- WS 5
- S 5
- T 4
- A 2
- Ld 9
That is a very serious infantry statline for Warhammer: The Old World. The kind of unit that does not just stand there and absorb a charge, but can actually push back and make the opponent think twice.
But the really fun part starts with the special rules layered on top.
Why this unit sounds so stubbornly annoying
The package of rules is honestly brutal in the best possible way:
- Stubborn – on the first Break test in combat, they can turn it into an automatic Give Ground
- Veteran – reroll every Leadership test except Break tests
- Shieldwall – once per combat, they can automatically Give Ground instead of Fall Back in Good Order
- Resolute – -1 to flee rolls
- Quell Panic – friendly units within 6” reroll failed Panic tests
The interaction that stood out immediately was Stubborn + Shieldwall. As Michał pointed out, when they lose their first Combat Resolution, they effectively just Give Ground. That makes them feel like exactly the kind of unit you want anchoring a battle line: hard to shift, reliable under pressure, and very annoying for anyone trying to break through cleanly.
This is the sort of rules combo that makes us smile during list-building. Not because it is flashy, but because it feels dependable. It creates a unit that can hold the center, support nearby troops, and keep the whole formation from collapsing when things start going wrong.
And then there is the Castellan
As if the unit itself was not enough, the attached Castellan sounds like an absolute beast too:
- WS 6
- S 5
- T 5
- W 3
- A 4
- Ld 10
- Full plate armour
- Shield
- Pistol
On top of sharing that generally stubborn, disciplined vibe, he also brings Rallying Cry, which lets him force a fleeing unit within command range to attempt to rally immediately.
That is the kind of character rule we really like in army-building discussions. It is not just about making one unit stronger. It adds control to the army around him. A character like this does not only make his own block tougher; he helps stabilize the wider line and gives the army a bit more forgiveness when the dice start doing dice things.
Why we like this kind of build
What makes this idea cool is that it feels very grounded in how we like to build armies for The Old World. Not every strong unit needs to be some wild hammer piece or a glass cannon with perfect support. Sometimes a list just wants a proper brick: elite infantry with enough punch to matter, enough resilience to stick around, and enough leadership tricks to support the rest of the force.
And honestly, Ender summed it up perfectly in the chat: “mocne kozaki”. Hard to argue with that.
Now we are curious how this unit performs on the table once the Castellan’s face survives its repair job.
Final thoughts
This was one of those short conversations that immediately sparked bigger army-building thoughts for us. A tough infantry core, a durable leader, and a stack of rules that all point in the same direction: hold the line, stay in the fight, and make the opponent work for every inch.
That is exactly the kind of design we love talking about.