If you are already eyeing up the new Chaos Marauders kits for The Old World, Arcane Journal: The Razing of Westerland is basically their lore and rules booster pack.
This book zooms in on the brutal war along the Empire’s northern shores, where Frydaal the Chainmaker is carving out her own Chaos-soaked fiefdom. At the same time, Grand Cathay’s Storm Dragon has turned up with a serious army, which has only attracted more aspiring champions of Chaos looking to prove themselves. The result is a setting that feels like a grinding, multi-year meat grinder, not just a one off pitched battle. Consequently, the rules inside are built around long form campaigns, growing forces, and very characterful Marauder upgrades.
Campaigning Through the Ashes of Westerland
The Journal anchors everything in the ongoing war for Westerland. Frydaal’s raiders are pushing in from the north, the Storm Dragon’s Cathayan host is pushing back, and the table becomes the battleground for that long running clash. To reflect that, the book introduces a full Path to Glory style campaign structure that uses Battle March sized forces as a starting point. Players begin with small armies as laid out in Arcane Journal: The War of Settra’s Fury, then slowly upgrade and expand them over several campaign phases until they are throwing down with forces of 2,000 points or more.
Because units and characters can earn veteran status as they survive games, your collection does not just grow in size, it grows in personality. That battered Marauder unit that somehow survives every combat will genuinely feel like a bunch of hardened raiders rather than just another block on the roster. The Journal includes three linked scenarios based on battles in Westerland, two tailored to those smaller Battle March games, so you can start small and escalate the narrative as your armies swell. As a result, this is a really good entry point for newer players and also a neat excuse for veterans to start a fresh Chaos or Empire themed force.
Marauder Tribes, Chaotic Cults, And Shadowland Corruptions
The headline mechanical change is how Chaos Marauders and Marauder Horsemen are handled. Their statlines and basic options will feel familiar to most Old World veterans, so there is no wild reinvention there. However, their relationship to the Chaos Gods has been reshaped. All Marauder units now have the Mark of Chaos Undivided as standard, which lets them be joined by characters with any Mark of Chaos. Instead of taking individual god Marks themselves, these human followers lean into something more primitive and frenzied.
That is where the four Chaotic Cults come in: the Bloodied Hound, the Carrion Crow, the Slithering Serpent, and the Fell Raptor. Each Marauder unit can be aligned to one of these cults, gaining a powerful, thematic bonus that applies for a single round of the battle. In game terms, it represents that moment when the tribe howls to their patron and briefly gets noticed. Champions, Knights, and Warriors of Chaos still carry full divine favour through their usual Marks, but the Marauders are more like desperate petitioners trying to earn that status. It is a nice bit of flavour that ties into the narrative of tribes living under the oppressive sky of the Shadowlands.
Beyond that, the Journal layers on Chaotic Traits as purchasable upgrades for units and characters. These cover all sorts of warped enhancements, from increased Toughness to boosted charge ranges or extra Magic Resistance. Effectively, they let you dial in how mutated or favoured a particular warband feels without rewriting the core Warscrolls. It is very easy to imagine a Frydaal themed force dripping with these upgrades, each warband showing different physical or mental corruptions from life under the Ruinous Powers.
Magic of the Shadowlands And Cursed Relics of the North
To match the corrupted setting, there is a completely new Lore of Magic: the Lore of the Shadowlands. Any Sorcerer of Chaos can tap into it, and the spells echo the oppressive, twilight soaked region the Marauders inhabit. Chains of Darkness can drag down enemy units by cutting their Movement and Leadership, making them easier to bog down or break. Crawling Mists can gift friendly units the Reserve Move special rule, which is perfect for repositioning key elements late in a turn and setting up charges or objective grabs. As you might expect, it feels less like flashy elemental magic and more like the creeping curse of the north seeping across the table.
The magic item section goes in a similar direction but with a neat twist. Instead of unique one off hero trinkets, these are presented as common magic items, much like those in the main rulebook, only themed around tainted artefacts from the Shadowlands. The Cackling Blade promises a flurry of extra attacks, offering D6 more swings at the cost of the weapon sometimes turning on its owner. The Levitating Shield hovers unbidden between its bearer and the foe, providing protection while still allowing the model to swing a two handed weapon. Together, these items feel like the sort of cursed loot wandering warbands might dig up in frost blasted ruins, not carefully forged relics of a noble Chapter or Dwarf hold.
Closing Thoughts – A Chaos Toolbox For Narrative And Crunch
Arcane Journal: The Razing of Westerland is clearly pitched at players who want both crunchy tools and a strong narrative spine. You get a slow grow campaign system that dovetails nicely with the new Marauder kits, a fresh way to express tribal allegiance through the four Cults, and a host of Chaotic Traits to really customise your forces. On top of that, you gain a nasty new Lore of Magic and a stack of cursed but tempting common magic items. Both Chaos warlords and stalwart defenders of the Empire have reasons to care, since the scenarios and campaign framework work for both sides of the conflict.
If you are leaning into the new Chaos Marauders Army Reinforcement Set, this Journal feels almost mandatory, since it gives those models proper context and character. Even better, the updated Marauder profiles will be rolled into a future FAQ for everyone, and Games Workshop have flagged that more balance and feedback driven tweaks are coming regularly. So if you plan to raid Westerland, or stand against Frydaal’s hordes, this book is your invitation to turn that story into a full campaign on the tabletop.
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