Legacy Armies
Each Legacy Faction has two Legacy Armies, with a handful of exceptions:
- Mercenaries has 6 Armies, covering the wide variety of Mk1-3 Mercenary and Minion models
- Convergence of Cyriss, Grymkin, Crucible Guard, and Infernals are “Limited Factions” which were designed to be more self-contained than earlier Factions and had significantly fewer total models. Nearly the entire range of models in each of these Factions are contained within a single Mk4 Army rather than being split between two Prime Armies and a selection of Unlimited models
Note that none of these Armies necessarily represent the current state of the Iron Kingdoms setting. Some have been disbanded or absorbed into other forces, others have been radically altered in the decade since the Claiming. The lore blurbs for each represent them around 612 AR, immediately before or during The Claiming, and may have been superseded by newer narrative developments.
Update June 22, 2023: As of June 16, 2023 all Legacy models are now out of print at Privateer Press. Some stock remains on the Privateer Press store, but there will be no further printings of any Legacy models. These Armies will remain in Prime and continue to receive balance updates, but models for them would need to be purchased from third-party retailers or on the second-hand market.
Circle Orboros
Devourer’s Host
Lore
To sow terror and reap death, blackclads who embrace the primal aspects of Orboros turn to the Tharn. With murderous howls, Tharn warriors charge from the darkest forests to strike feat into their enemies’ hearts before ripping them out and devouring them whole. These gruesome, gore-streaked combatants run side by side with all manner of easts, intent on slaking their thirst on the blood of the Circle’s foes. Theirs is a history of violence, and their motivations for war do not stray beyond devotion to the Devourer Wurm and an attunement with the basest of instincts.
Playstyle
Devourer’s Host combines Circle’s hard-hitting Tharn infantry with a stable of flexible living warbeasts. Multi-wound Tharn units give them some staying power, and though their ARM values aren’t particularly high for multi-wound infantry they partially make up for it with a number of ways to heal and a high offensive output. Fast warbeasts and infantry emphasize getting the first hit in to cripple the enemy before they can retaliate.
Secret Dominion
Lore
Since the order’s inception, the blackclads of the Circle Orboros have passed down the secrets of shaping and animating wood and stone to do their bidding as wolds. The product of ancient rites and blood sacrifices, these massive stone constructs patrol the old places of the world and ensure the sacred sites of the order remain untouched by outsiders, falling upon intruders without hesitation to crush them under fist and foot. When the need is dire, many villages of Wolf Sworn are drawn together in great hunting parties. Such a force draws upon its warriors’ hunting skills and their knowledge of the land to launch lethal ambushes against enemy columns marching through the wilderness.
Playstyle
Secret Dominion makes heavy use of Wolds; heavily-armored construct warbeasts that are able to take a punch better than anything else in Circle Orboros. The light Wolfsworn infantry complement this, providing fast baseline infantry to support the heavy-hitting Wolds and magic-wielding Druids.
Convergence of Cyriss
Lore
The worshipers of teh clockwork goddess have conceived of the most technologically advanced machines in existence. Armed with impressive firepower and fueled by energy sources well beyond the understanding of even the greatest minds in the Iron Kingdoms, the vectors of the Convergence of Cyris turn hard targets into shrapnel and smash through infantry formations with whirring blades and spiked fists. There are few things more disconcerting than facing a legion of Convergence soldiers who have achieved transcendence - metal-bodied warriors who go to battle in silence and act in unison with mathematical perfection.
Playstyle
Convergence plays like a single clockwork machine come to life. Order of activations is key to their playstyle as focus is passed between warjacks and support solos set up buffs and debuffs in precise order. A player who learns to harness this synergistic planning will be rewarded with powerful damage output in melee and at medium ranges. The faction is on the slower side overall (save for a handleful of outliers) but makes up for it with strong warjacks and a number of ways to return troops to play.
Crucible Guard
Lore
The Crucible Guard has unleashed its standing army in a show of force that unveils its impressive military innovations and tactical flexibility. Its highly trained and specialized soldiers fight in concert with skilled combat alchemists and support units to push up the field in a haze of alchemical smoke, backed up by the might of the Golden Crucible’s advanced war machines.
Playstyle
Crucible Guard is a ranged debuff faction that exists somewhere in the space between Cygnar and Cryx in terms of playstyle. They have access to a large amount of firepower and ranged debuffs, preferring to use warjacks and artillery loaded with alchemical shells to weaken their opponents before shredding them with gunfire or closing to melee with their heavy infantry.
Cryx
Blackfleet
Lore
Borne on a black tide to bring death and suffering to the mainland, the pirates of Cryx instill terror in the hearts of those who live on the Broken Coast. Comprised of swift Satyxis, merciless Black Ogrun, roaring hordes of blighted trollkin, and crews of Scharde sailors, raiding parties join Cryx’s warcasters and their battlegroups in executing their bloody assaults.
Playstyle
The Black Fleet is an infantry army that uses speed and magic to ensure a devastating first strike against opposing armies. The Satyxis infantry act as a core of fast but fragile infantry backed up by a variety of tougher Orgun and Trollkin infantry. They excel at shredding other infantry armies that are unprepared for their speed and high DEF.
Dark Host
Lore
Torn from the horrors of the void and given new forms in the bodies of the dead, banes are dark and sinister warriors in the service of Cryx. Far from mindless, they possess a military cunning mixed with an utter malevolence to life. Supported by potent necromancers, armies of banes beset the enemy like a tide of darkness and death.
Playstyle
Dark Host is an infantry army that focuses on debuffing the enemy and swarming them with undead minions. The three Bane infantry units make up the bulk of the force while the warcasters and solos provide a myriad of ways to cripple their enemies and return their own undead troops to the battlefield, forcing their opponent to fight a war of attrition against a seemingly-endless horde of the undead.
Cygnar
First Army
Lore
Trenchers are men and women of unparalleled grit found at the forefront of nearly every Cygnaran engagement. First on the field and last to leave, it is the trenchers’ duty to form the vanguard of Cygnar’s military might and seize the battlefield against all opposition.
Playstyle
The First Army is a ranged-focused army. They boast a wide variety of ranged attacks in the form of rifles, miniguns, and light cannon carried primarily from Tough single-wound infantry.
Storm Knights
Lore
Cygnar’s Storm Division was an autonomous military force that delivers the flash of lightning and the roll of thunder to the battlefields of Immoren. The division represented the latest in voltaic weaponry and hardware produced by the Cygnaran Armory before the Claiming. The technologies and tactics developed for the division would eventually be used to found the Storm Legion in the years after The Claiming.
Playstyle
Precursors to the modern Storm Legion, the Storm Knights have access to many similar techniques to their Mk4 descendants. Strong melee troops make up the core of the force backed up by advanced warjacks like the Stormclad. While they do have access to a number of lighting-based ranged weapons, these are generally of middling RNG and suffer against armies with lots of Resistance: Electricity. Both the Storm Blade and Storm Lance units do come with Dual Attack and Pistol however, allowing them to make full use of their ranged attacks while locked in melee combat.
Grymkin, the Wicked Harvest
Lore
The grymkin are not an organized military force. They do not come to battle in regimented formations; indeed, they attack with scarcely any perceivable order at all. When a mass of motley grymkin lumber to war in the service of their masters, they advance as a haphazard but terrifying horde. Descending upon a vice-ridden population, they indulge in their unique appetites as they demand their due of wicked humanity.
Playstyle
Grymkin are a melee-focused army with a penchant for punishment. Unlike every other Army in the game their warlocks lack a Feat. Instead they gain access to several unique Command Cards that can be played when their opponent triggers certain effects such as killing a Grymkin model with a ranged attack or casting a spell in the Grymkin warlock’s control range. The rest of the army is relatively slow and has few ranged weapons, preferring to spend the early game collecting corpses to fuel a devastating counter attack.
Infernals
Lore
As an ancient pact reaches its moment of reckoning, horrifying forces from beyond comprehension descend upon the world to collect. With traitorous mortals as their momentary tools, Infernal Masters bring their nightmares to battle for every soul they believe is their due. Though few would have suspected the terrible legacy that would follow that pact, many will pay for it as the Infernals move among them.
Khador
Armored Korps
Lore
With a hiss of steam and the tread of iron, the heavily armored infantry of Khador march to war with heavy warjacks at their side. Though Khador lacks the light warjacks of other nations, they make up for it with a dedicated corps of soldiers who go to war in steam-powered armor. Few opponents possess the weaponry able to chew through so thick a wall of armor, allowing the Man-O-War to crush enemy emplacements.
Playstyle
If you want heavy infantry you’ve come to the right place. Armored Korps is an Army made up entirely of slow, tough infantry clad in massive steam armor. The warcasters all provide a number of powerful buffs to the infantry, supported by hybrid support/combat models like the Kovnik and Kommandant Arconovich. What the army lacks in speed it makes up for in high ARM and HP values that make them difficult to move once they take a position.
Fifth Division
Lore
The ranks of the Winter Guard were the patriotic backbone of the Khadoran Army for years before the Claiming. Hardened by a rigorous training regimen and driven by their love for the Motherland, these soldiers march against the enemies of the Empire. Many of their tactics would eventually be adapted into the modern Winter Korp in the decade after the Claiming.
Playstyle
As the precursors to the modern Winter Korp the Fifth Division has several playstyle similarities but also some key differences. While the core of the Army is, like Winter Korp, cheap ranged infantry, where it differs most is in the available supporting models that accompany them. This is particularly evident in the Army’s warjack support: not one, but two character journeyman warcasters mean that the Fifth Division is capable of packing an absurd amount of focus generation into a list, providing their infantry with a supporting core of heavy warjacks fully fueled and ready to inflict pain with artillery and melee alike.
Legion of Everblight
Dragon’s Host
Lore
When the blighted ogrun tribes go to war, they do so with the blessings of Everblight by their side. Fighting with little regard for personal safety, howling warbands descend upon their foes, crazed by the prospect of spilling blood for their war chiefs and their korune, Thagrosh. Even mortal wounds suffered in battle do not deter them. Instead, such injuries goad them to drive even deeper into the enemy’s heart to shed even more blood before they expire.
Playstyle
Dragon’s Host is the heavy infantry Army of the Legion. Blighted Ogrun units and Chosen cavalry make up the core of the Army’s infantry, supported by Command Attachments, solos, and lighter infantry. Alternatively the Army is capable of building a strong warbeast-focused list by taking advantage of their character lesser warlock and powerful cohort-focused warlocks like Absylonia 2.
Ravens of War
Lore
Reshaped by the dragon’s power, the blighted Nyss serve as formidable fighters within Everblight’s legion. Utterly devoted to the dragon, whole shards sometimes join battle together to enact their master’s will. Such highly skilled and self-sufficient forces strike fast and hard with a combination of blade, claw, and bow. Supported by agile dragonspawn and powerful nephilim, these Nyss shards can strike anywhere the dragon directs them, moving unnoticed through enemy territory to secure objectives while outmaneuvering larger armies.
Playstyle
Ravens of War is an army built for speed. Light infantry and flying warbeasts constitute the majority of the Army’s models. They excel at powerful alpha strikes using both ranged attacks and high SPD melee models, but lack the staying power of tougher Armies as even their heavy warbeasts are on the lower end of the scale with regards to ARM.
Mercenaries
Blindwater Congregation
Lore
The gatormen of Blindwater Lake are the core of a vast reptilian cult dedicated to its self-made deity, Bloody Barnabas. Once their leader, this ancient warrior and mystic elevated himself to godhood on a tide of bloodshed. As the pragmatic bokur Calaban guides the congregation from the shadows, gatermen from across the region assemble alongside the bog trogs and other swamp creatures subjugated into fighting alongside them in Barnabas’ name.
Dark Operations
Lore
The inscrutable cephalyx tirelessly perform diabolical experiments on their captives deep below the earth. Masters of powerful psychic energies and advanced surgery, these alien beings shape both the minds and bodies of lesser creatures to create heavily modified laborers and warrior slaves to suit the sinister agenda of their vast underground hives.
Rhul Guard
Lore
Fighting in the wars of the Iron Kingdoms has allowed the mercenaries of Rhul to stay apprised of the ongoing struggles abroad. These sell-swords fatten the coffers of mercenary clans and receive valuable combat experience against a variety of opponents. Numerous such clans offer the might of Rhulic 'jacks and veteran warriors to those who can afford their asking price. Together, they crush enemy armies to dust beneath the tread of their machine and an unceasing rain of hammer blows.
Soldiers of Fortune
Lore
If war is good for business, then business has been very good to the Steelhead mercenary company. Already one of the largest groups of sell-swords in western Immoren before the fall of Llael, subsequent years of warfare have seen them reach peak profitability. Steelheads can be found in nearly every major engagement from Skirov to Imer, bringing victory - or anonymous defeat- at reasonable prices. The company’s regular presence on the battlefield often sees them work alongside many notable freelancers and experts. The old adage holds true: “Either as allies or enemies, the steelheads are gonna cost you.”
Talion Charter
Lore
The Talion Charter originally set out the terms and conditions for those serving on teh Talion, a ship crewed largely by men and women brought together by mutiny and who turned to piracy for survival. It has been expanded to serve as a rallying point for a motley assortment of powerful and well-armed pirates and privateers. These include several notable warcasters-for-hire such as Phinneus Shae, the Talion’s captain; Captain Bartolo “Broadsides Bart” Montador of the Calamitas; and the Thamarite sorceress Fiona the Black. The sell-swords of the Talion Charter have proven they can stand on equal footing with any mercenary company in western Immoren and offer their services at quite reasonable rates, both on land and at sea.
Thornfall Alliance
Lore
Once, the farrow tribes of Immoren were scattered, but a summit of gathered chiefs sealed an alliance in blood oaths at an old battleground called Thornfall. The foremost of those gathered, the ambitious warlord Lord Carver, cowed the rest into submitting to his violent visions of conquest. Where Lord Carver travels, lesser farrow chieftains are intimidated into obedience, and other great farrow warlords have taken up his banner. Backed by the mad genius of the human Dr. Arkadius and his surgically enhanced warbeasts, the Thornfall Alliance is poised to strike feat into the hearts of the civilized kingdoms.
Dark Operations
Protectorate of Menoth
Final Interdiction
Lore
The ruling priesthood and scrutators of the Protectorate of Menoth have no more loyal and steadfast protectors and warriors than the Exemplars. Large interdictions of the theocracy’s formidable heavy infantry and cavalry knights are often assembled to serve the Great Crusade, sent against the unbelievers to prove the futility of standing against blessed steel wielded with conviction. Such an interdiction never wavers in fulfilling its orders, as obedience to the clergy is their unbreakable creed. The great machines marching with them are similarly implacable, empowered by blessings both inscribed on their hulls and filling the air as choir voices rise to drown out the lamentations of heretics crushed underfoot.
Playstyle
This is Weapon Masters: The Faction. Almost all Exemplar infantry units have Weapon Master on their melee attacks. Cinerators and Bastions make for a defensive wall while Exemplars and Errants have various effects that make them a devastating strike force. Their warjacks are lackluster, but become fairly good when buffed by the Choir of Menoth. That’s okay - warjacks here are often relegated to a second-line role while the infantry lead the show. The downside - fairly weak at range and can be slow to get into combat. But if you have Kreoss leading, his feat can lead to an entire enemy army being wiped out, if you pick your timing. Cyrenia looks less powerful in comparison, and she is, but she can overcome some of the army’s weaknesses and move them up the field faster. In addition to Weapon Master, Exemplars have a lot of Dispel effects, set things on fire, and sometimes have vengeance effects.
Temple Guardians
Lore
The soldiers of the Flameguard Temple once found their purpose in defending the sacred sites of the Protectorate, but the turmoil of the years before the Claiming has seen these former guardians forged into one of the most formidable fighting forces of the nation.
Playstyle
Temple Flameguard is a fairly straightforward Army that can run either a mass of cheap-but-effective infantry or a large battlegroup of warjacks supported by some of the best warjack support models in the game. The Choir of Menoth is key to leveraging the Flameguard’s stable of warjacks by providing a selection of buffs to protect warjacks on the approach before buffing their damage output for offensive turns.
Retribution of Scyrah
Legions of Dawn
Lore
The proud Dawnguard soldiers of House Nyarr represent one of the greatest assets in the Retribution of Scyrah’s arsenal. Bearing the most advanced weapons of their Great Military House, they are implacable warriors devoted to House Nyarr and through it the Retribution’s cause. The Nyss are a scattered people, driven from their homelands by the followers of the dragon Everblight. Many refugees made their way to Ios and have joined in the defense of their god Nyssor.
Playstyle
Legions of Dawn is an infantry-focused Army with an emphasis on armored single-wound infantry. Both the Dawnguard Sentinels and Ryssovass Defenders pack solid defensive statlines and high melee damage output, with the Dawnguard Invictors and Nyss Hunters acting as flexible ranged units that are also decent fighters in melee. The Dawnguard Destors, Destor Thane, and Skeryth Issyan are heavily-armored cavalry models, which allows the Army to field a lot of fast, tough models with a good spread of ranged and melee attacks.
Retribution warjacks tend towards the idea of “jack of all trades”. Every heavy warjack boasts a ranged attack and two melee attacks, making them capable of contributing to the fight all game but driving their point costs higher than comparable heavies from other Armies. All of their jacks have the Power Field special rule, which allows them to spend Focus to reduce incoming damage just like a warcaster.
Shadows of the Retribution
Lore
The Retribution of Scyrah is most adept at striking from the shadows. Its mage hunters traditionally undertake clandestine missions executed by solo operatives and small teams of elite and dedicated warriors. On rare occasions, however, a show of force is required, and to that end the Retribution assembles stealthy armies comprised of seasoned mage hunters and powerful myrmidons.
Playstyle
Shadows is a fragile Army focused primarily on fast, lightly-armored infantry. The Army is made up of two broad model types: Mage Hunters and House Ellowuyr. The Mage Hunters are stealthy commandos, undeterred by both terrain and magical defenses, while House Ellowuyr are expert sword masters that excel at closing with the enemy and laying waste with their blades. The Army can build for a warjack focus too, however, thanks to a journeyman warcaster and cheap Empower solos. As with Legions of Dawn these warjacks tend to be more expensive than their counterparts in other Armies but make up for it with a number of special weapon effects and rules.
In-depth guides
Skorne
Army of the Western Reaches
Lore
Conflict is to be savored, for battle is the only true chance to prove one’s devotion to the hoksune code. Though the martial orders of Cataphracts and Praetorians disagree on which best exemplifies the martial code of the skorne, they equally embrace the opportunity to demonstrate their adherence to it. Acting on the orders of their tyrants, these disciplined warriors grab the enemy army by its throat and do not relent until the foe is vanquished or they have been claimed by the Void.
Exalted
Lore
As silent as the death that will never embrace them, the exalted ancestors of the skorne strike fear into the enemies of the empire. Guided not by a Tyrant’s whims but instead by their own unknowable understanding, the exalted go to war accompanied by ranks of their immortal companions.
Trollbloods
Storm of the North
Lore
For generations, the Northkin have stood as disparate clans, fighting one another as often as they battled the many rivals who surround them. For the first time in centuries, however, these hardy northern folk now fight for a common purpose. Resilient warriors wage war alongside the legendary warbeasts of the trollkin, while powerful warlocks wield arcane might to enhance the battle prowess of their warbands. All opposition is crushed beneath the Northkin onslaught or is frozen and shattered by the power of winter itself.
United Kriels
Lore
The Trollkin of the United Kriels will stop at nothing to protect their new home. In order to defend against any who would seek to drive them out, militias of resolute trollkin take up arms as companies of warriors. These companies mix traditional martial practices of the trollkin with modern firepower and the might of trolls to crush any opposition.
