Warhammer: The Old World keeps picking up steam, and Chaos players are eating well.
Grand Cathay has just arrived on the shores of the Old World, yet the spotlight has instantly swung back to their enemies. The Warriors of Chaos are getting two fresh kits for the iconic Chaos Marauders and Marauder Horsemen. These are not just small tweaks, since the designers have gone back to the roots of the Marauder Tribes and rebuilt them for the modern game. Consequently, the article walks through how the new look ties into the lore, the Shadowlands, and where these brutes sit alongside classic Chaos Warriors.
Why Update Marauders Now?
The team kicks off by framing everything around Frydaal the Chainmaker’s invasion of northern Westerland. His armies are mostly made up of Marauders, so it felt like the perfect moment to refresh those kits. Rob explains that Marauders have been a Chaos staple since the eighties, starting as Chaos Thugs and evolving into full Marauder Tribes in Realm of Chaos. Back then you had bare armed metal models in furs and chainmail, swinging two handed axes and flails. Later, the first plastic Chaos Marauders and Marauder Horsemen arrived and basically defined the look many of us grew up with.
However, this new project was not about simple nostalgia. Instead, the designers went back to the origins of the Marauder Tribes both in the lore and in model history. The Shadowlands, where these tribes live, sit north of civilisation under a permanent pall of Chaos. The land is frozen, the skies are dark, and survival is ugly. Therefore, the team decided the new Marauders should look like people who actually live in that environment, rather than eternally shirtless gym guys posing in the snow.
Barbarians of the Shadowlands
JTY explains that these tribes hail from the frozen north and prize strength and martial prowess above everything. Many, especially those from Norsca, are seasoned sailors who raid the coasts of the Old World in their wolfships. Moreover, only a few are fully devoted to any one Ruinous Power, yet the gods are woven into their daily lives. You see that in their banners and icons and in the warrior cults that spread Chaos influence through the tribes. When a champion like the Chainmaker rises, the slide into deeper corruption accelerates fast.
To capture this in plastic, the Marauders are dressed in coarse furs and thick cloth rather than bare chests and leather belts. Heavy pelts hang over their shoulders, cut from the huge beasts they hunt in the Shadowlands. Forged plate like you see on Chaos Warriors is rare this far north. However, chainmail, battered iron helmets, and reinforced leather armour are still widespread. Consequently, the models feel like a halfway step between wild tribesmen and full on Chaos plate, which suits their place in the Chaos food chain.
Helmets, Furs, And That Classic Chaos Silhouette
The kits are also built to give you plenty of hobby flexibility. Both the foot Marauders and the Marauder Horsemen include enough heads to make every model either helmeted or bare headed. The unhelmeted options have a wide spread of barbaric hairstyles, from wild manes to rough braids. Meanwhile, the helmets themselves are strapped, spiked, and decorated with horns or tusks from monstrous beasts. Additionally, the combination of tall helms and bulky furs gives them a silhouette that is surprisingly close to a classic Chaos Warrior. The article even hints that this is foreshadowing what awaits the most brutal of them once the gods truly take notice.
Rob clearly loves the weapon options too. The foot Marauders can now be built with hand weapon and shield, with flails, or with brutal great axes. The Marauder Horsemen can ride out with spears and shields or with flails, depending on whether you want them more skirmishy or more punchy. Moreover, these loadouts make it easier to represent different cults or tribes within a single army, just by mixing weapon sets and heads. For long time Chaos fans, it feels like the old metal and early plastic spirit has been carried forward, rather than thrown away.
Summary
In short, this article is a love letter to Chaos Marauders that also drags them firmly into the modern Old World range. The team honours their history, from Chaos Thugs to Realm of Chaos, while leaning harder into the Shadowlands as a real, deadly place. Moreover, the new kits push a more grounded barbarian aesthetic, where furs, pelts, and rough armour replace endless bare torsos, and weapon and head options let you really personalise your tribes. The silhouette nods to Chaos Warriors, the banners scream Ruinous devotion, and the weapon sprues look like pure hobby candy. So if you have ever dreamed of leading a tide of raiders south under a champion like Frydaal, these new Marauders look ready to fill out your ranks and raid the Old World in style.
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