First games of The Old World, and suddenly… 500 points, Chaos, Cathay, and maybe Mordheim
We had one of those very familiar hobby conversations recently: first a few words about having already played some Warhammer: The Old World, and five minutes later we were already planning intros, 500-point lists, future armies, and somehow also trying to drag everyone into Mordheim. Pretty standard around here.
First things first: let’s get more games in
After getting some games of The Old World in, Michał immediately went into recruitment mode and started encouraging us to give Mordheim a go as well. Which, honestly, sounds exactly like the kind of escalation we enjoy most — one system is barely warm on the table, and we’re already eyeing the next one.
At the same time, there was also a very practical plan on the table: give Pegie a proper introduction to The Old World, ideally at 500 points and in a more educational, learn-the-rules kind of game. We really like that format for onboarding. It’s small enough to not be overwhelming, but still big enough to feel like an actual army and not just a random pile of models.
Pegie was very flexible about timing too — preferably after 17:00, and if something during work hours comes up, it would just need a day-before confirmation depending on workload. In other words: the most adult version of “yes, let’s play toy soldiers.”
Step one: build a list from what’s already on hand
Before any teaching game happens, the obvious first move is to build a list from the models already available. And here the discussion got fun very quickly.
Michał suggested that Pegie could probably go in one of two directions:
- Chaos Daemons, if leaning more into Bloodletters and that sort of vibe,
- or a more classic Warriors of Chaos style force, especially if the idea is to use things like Bloodreavers and similar models.
That second option landed well, because Pegie said that “normal Chaos” sounded good. There was also a completely different possibility on the table: using Cathay instead. At this stage the priority wasn’t a specific faction preference so much as simply learning the game.
And honestly, that’s a very healthy place to start. When you’re getting into a system, the best army is often just the one that gets you playing quickly.
Cathay as the tutorial army? Also yes
Once Cathay entered the conversation, Michał pointed out that it could absolutely work for the intro game — especially because, as he put it, Cathay is still very strong right now, even after nerfs.
So right now the educational 500-pointer could go a few different ways:
- Warriors of Chaos,
- Cathay,
- or potentially something else built from what’s already available and easiest to put on the table.
We like this kind of approach a lot. Start small, start practical, and don’t overcomplicate the first game. Learn movement, learn the flow of combat, learn what matters in a list — then expand.
The best hobby moment of the day
One part of the conversation that really stuck with us had nothing to do with list math at all.
Michał shared that probably the nicest moment of the day was when someone came up and said that his bull model was incredibly eye-catching because of the paintjob, and asked if they could take a photo because they liked it that much. Then, later on, the opponent from round two said the whole army looked really cohesive and that it was obvious a lot of work had gone into it — and also took some photos.
The best bit was the reveal afterward: when Michał said that it was basically slapchop, and that the bull itself had been painted in one evening, the other player thought he was joking. Only after taking a closer look did he admit that yes, you could see the Contrast approach up close — but from table distance, he never would have guessed.
And really, whether part of that was tournament politeness or not, those moments matter. We all know how much motivation a comment like that can give you. Sometimes one sincere reaction to a painted army is enough to refill the hobby battery for weeks.
The dangerous sentence: “by June I’ll have…”
Then came the part that every hobbyist knows is both exciting and slightly terrifying.
Michał casually mentioned that by June he expects to have 500-point forces ready for:
- Chaos Dwarfs
- Cathay
- Skaven
- Chaos Warriors
- Vampire Counts
- Renegade Crowns
- Chaos Daemons
And after that day’s games, he was already thinking about adding:
- Bretonnia, in some less obvious paint scheme,
- and maybe Beastmen too.
Which is exactly the sort of sentence that sounds completely reasonable in the moment and then becomes a full hobby roadmap before anyone notices.
Where this leaves us
So at the moment the plan looks something like this:
- get Pegie a 500-point intro game for Warhammer: The Old World,
- build the list from what’s already available,
- probably start with either Chaos or Cathay,
- and, because apparently we can never focus on just one thing, keep Mordheim lurking in the background as the next temptation.
Honestly, we love this phase of the hobby. Small lists, early ideas, faction debates, and that wonderful moment where an army starts as “just something to learn with” and suddenly turns into a proper project.
If all goes well, there’s a good chance this 500-point “educational” game will be the start of several more armies hitting the table.
And if Mordheim sneaks in somewhere along the way… well, nobody here is going to complain.