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WARHAMMERWARBANDSGuidelines for Playing Small-Scale Games of Warhammer, Revised for Seventh Edition, September 2006Written by Eric Sarlin, Layout by John Shaffer, Based on an Idea by Jeremy VetockSince their first publication in White Dwarf296-298 in 2004, the guidelines for playingWarhammer Warbands have become popularin clubs, home games, GW Hobby Centers,independent retailers, and elsewhere. Sincethat time, the members of the U.S. WhiteDwarf staff have played a lot of games ofWarbands, and we have also received a slewof feedback from gamers all over the world.Armed with a wealth of information and newideas as well as the new rules for WarhammerSeventh Edition, we felt that a revision to theWarbands guidelines was warranted. Whilethese Warbands guidelines are not officialrules, this document presents the definitive,streamlined Warhammer Warbands SeventhEdition guidelines in a single download forgamers everywhere to enjoy. Waaagh!WHAT ARE WARBANDS?Warbands are simply scaled-downWarhammer armies. In essence, Warbands are1the same as standard, tournament-sizedarmies but are simply in a growing stage. Forour purposes, the term Warband describes aWarhammer force in the range of 100 to 500points. Warbands are not quite large enoughto be called armies but are big enough forunit-level gaming (as opposed to gaming onthe individual-warrior level, as is the casewith games like Warhammer: Skirmish orMordheim). Players can imagine theirWarbands as patrols, reinforcements, specialcontingents sent off to accomplish specifictasks (e.g., raids, sabotage, assassinations), orsimply a small force in the growing stages.When you think about the characteristics ofthe different armies of the Warhammer world,it’s easy to imagine stories for the varioustypes of Warbands: an aspiring Orc Boss andhis small mob of recruits, a young High Elfnoble out to prove himself with a band ofloyal volunteers, or a Captain leading a patrolthrough the wilds of the Empire.WARBANDS RULESThe rules for doing battle with Warbandsare exactly the same as those for playingstandard games of Warhammer. Units fightin formation; ranks, standards, flanks, andso on count toward combat resolution; andonly units with the Skirmish rule may adopta skirmish formation.The only differences, beyond specificscenario rules, are in the minimum sizes foreach unit and the selection of your troopsand characters. Once Warbands have beenassembled per the Warband compositionrules, play progresses exactly as it does in astandard game of Warhammer. Thefollowing lists explain how to createWarhammer Warbands at the 1- to 199point level and the 200- to 500-point levelin conjunction with the standardWarhammer Army books.

FOR SMALL WARBANDGAMES (1-199 PTS)FOR LARGE WARBANDGAMES (200-500 PTS) Warbands must include at least two Core Units Warbands must include at least two Core units. Warbands may not include more than eight units Warbands may not include more than 10 units. Warbands at this scale may NOT include Warbands may include up to one Special and up to one Rarechoice. However, if the controlling player does not select a Rarechoice, he may select an additional Special choice instead. Special or Rare Units Lord-Level Characters War Machines Chariots Flyers Magic Items of any kind Warbands may include 0-2 Hero-level characters, though theircombined points cost (including all equipment, upgrades,abilities, and the like) may not exceed 150 points. Warbands maynever include Lord-level characters. Warbands must include one Commander model, which isnominated by the controlling player. This model can be either aHero-level character worth no more than 75 points (including allequipment, upgrades, abilities, and the like) or a UnitChampion. If a Unit Champion is selected as the Commander,he must remain with his unit at all times. The Commanderfunctions as the Warband’s General in all respects. (VampireCounts and Tomb Kings armies, which normally require aspellcaster of some sort to animate the Undead, need not includesuch a model in a Warband. Assume that the Undead have beenanimated by some spellcaster near the battlefield. See ArmySpecific Rules for more details.) Warbands must obey the army list restrictions placed on themaximum number of certain unit types (e.g., Vampire CountsWarbands may include 0-1 Bat Swarm, and Empire Warbandsmay include 0-1 unit of Huntsmen). Warbands must include one Commander model (see the rulesand restrictions listed in For Small Warband Games). If a Herolevel character is chosen as the Commander, his point cost countsagainst the 150-point maximum described above. Warbands may include 0-1 war machine or Chariot. (Note thatthis rule applies even when the Army book allows more than onesuch item per selection. For instance, 1-2 Goblin WolfChariots normally count as only 1 Special Unit choice.However, an Orc & Goblin Warband could include only oneGoblin Wolf Chariot.) Warbands may include one flying unit or creature. Warbands must obey the army list restrictions placed on themaximum number of certain unit types as described in For SmallWarband Games.FOR SMALL AND LARGE WARBAND GAMESWHAT COUNTS AS A CORE SELECTION FOR WARBANDS? All Warbands must include a minimum of two Coreselections. Core units that do not count toward the minimum number of Core units in the regular army list (e.g., Warhounds in a Chaos army orHuntsmen in an Empire army) do not count toward the minimum two Core selections for a Warband. Of course, these units can still beincluded in a Warband; they simply don’t count toward the minimum Core units required.WHAT COUNTS AS A MAGIC ITEM?Per the basic Warbands rules, Warbands of 199 points or less cannot take magic items. Exceptions to this rule are magic items that areavailable to regular troops (i.e., not exclusive to character models) and that are not listed in the magic item list of the Army book (e.g., Wightblades, Chaos armor, tomb blades, and Skaven warp weapons). It is permissible to take models with these items in small Warbands, and theitems count as magical per the normal Warhammer rules.UNIT SIZES AND OPTIONSThe minimum unit sizes in a Warband are smaller than those in a standard Warhammerarmy to reflect both the small size of the force and the Warband’s tactical flexibility. See theWarband Unit Size Table.However, no Warband regiment may take any unit options, other than weapon and armorupgrades, unless the regiment meets its normal unit minimum listed in the Army book.Thus, only when the unit meets its regular unit minimum listed in the Army book can ittake normally available options such as: Command models Magic standards (only available to units in Warbands of 200 points)WARBAND UNIT SIZE TABLEBase Size ofModels in UnitMinimum Unit Size(Not Unit Strength)20 x 20 mm25 x 25 mm3 models25 x 50 mm2 models40 x 40 mmor larger1 model Upgrades in status such as those that promote Empire Knights to Knights of theInner Circle, Orcs to Big’Uns, Chaos Warriors/Knights to Chosen, Chaos units to a Mark of Chaos other than Undivided, SaurusWarriors or Skink Cohorts to a Sacred Spawning, Grave Guard to Drakenhof Guard, and the like.Exceptions to these restrictions can be found in Army-Specific Rules.Note also that some units have a maximum unit size. Of course, these unit maximums apply to Warbands just as they do to regularWarhammer armies.2

ARMY-SPECIFIC RULESBRETONNIANSBretonnian Knightly units may take thefree upgrade to champion (i.e., Cavalier,Gallant, or Paragon) only if the unitmeets its regular unit minimum listed inthe Army book.Bretonnian Warbands need not includetwo characters, one of whom is theBattle Standard Bearer. BretonnianWarbands can include 0-2 Hero-levelcharacters like normal Warbands if thecontrolling player wishes; however,points limitations will prevent one ofthese Heroes from carrying a BattleStandard. Bretonnian Warbands areNOT allowed one more character thanmost other Warbands, as are regular,full-sized Bretonnian armies. Thus, theonly way to include an Army StandardBearer in a Bretonnian Warband is tohave a Unit Champion act as theWarband commander and to include aPaladin as the Battle Standard Bearer.Bretonnian warbands are devastating on the charge.HORDES OF CHAOSAND BEASTS OF CHAOSChaos Warbands, like Chaos armies,must be Beast, Mortal, or DaemonWarbands. Each type of Chaos Warbandmay include troops from the other types(e.g., a Chaos Mortals Warband caninclude Beasts of Chaos) per thenormal rules.One Spawn of Chaos counts as a singleRare choice. Two Spawn can never beincluded in a Warband.Hordes of Chaos Daemon Warbands arepossible. However, as there are noDaemon characters in the Hordes ofChaos Army book under 150 points,Hordes of Chaos Daemon Warbandsmust be led by a Bloodhowler or, if theWarband totals 200 points, a MortalHero equipped with the Chalice of Chaos.As such, Daemon players may find itmore practical to use the DaemonicLegions list from the Storm of Chaoscampaign sourcebook to createDaemon Warbands.A Hordes of Chaos warband has many elite and deadly warriors.Units of Horrors less than 5 strong cannotinclude Flamers; units 5-9 strong caninclude up to 2 Flamers; units 10 orstronger can include up to 4 Flamers.Chaos Warbands, except those led by aDaemonic Commander, can include aDragon Ogre Shaggoth, which will use upboth the Special choice and the Rarechoice. The Shaggoth cannot be promotedto a Shaggoth Champion.A Beasts of Chaos warband uses cunning tactics and great mobility to emerge victorious.3

DARK ELVESUse the updated rules for Dark Elvespublished in WD286 (also available atus.games-workshop.com/warbands/darkelves/). Otherwise, there are noarmy-specific rules that apply to DarkElf Warbands.HIGH ELVESThe Intrigue at Court rule works a bitdifferently for High Elf Warbands. If theWarband includes two Heroes, dice off asnormal to determine the Commander of theWarband. If the Warband includes a singleHero, he is the Commander. If the Warbandincludes no Heroes, the controlling playermay nominate a Unit Champion to be theCommander, and no Intrigue at Court rollis made.This Druchii warband takes great advantage of Elven speed.Pure of Heart is not a mandatory Honorfor High Elf Warbands but may beselected for a character at the controllingplayer’s discretion.DOGS OF WARDogs of War Warbands need not includea Paymaster.Dogs of War Warbands may include asingle Regiment of Renown, whichcounts as a Core, Special, or Rarechoice per the normal rules for thatRegiment. However, the normal unitminimums and maximums for unit sizefor Regiments of Renown are neveradjusted by the Warbands rules. Thus,for instance, you must take a minimumunit size of 10 for a unit of Ricco’sRepublican Guard, whereas a normalunit of Pikemen in a Dogs of WarWarband has a minimum unit size of 3.Dogs of War Warbands that include aRegiment of Renown that comes with acharacter or characters may include noother characters in the Warband, and thecharacter who leads the Regiment ofRenown will act as the Commander ofthe Warband.High Elven warbands are highly skilled and have good Leadership.No other types of Warbands may includeDogs of War units or Regiments ofRenown (except where they arementioned specifically in the armylist, such as Long Drong’s SlayerPirates in the Slayer Army of KarakKadrin or Ruglud’s Armored Orcs inGrimgor’s ’Ardboyz).Dogs of War warbands have a large variety of units at their disposal.4