Remember when Grand Cathay were going to be one of the iconic releases for Warhammer: The Old World? Well, Games Workshop have made good on all of those old teasers and previews with a big reveal of what's coming for this new army looking to bring Chaos to its knees in a far flung corner of The World That Was.

Gate Masters Of The Celestial Cities // Warhammer: The Old World

Grand Cathay sits to the East of The Old World, and they have been ruled for an age by the mighty Celestial Dragon Emperor Xen Yang. Over five thousand years, he has guided Grand Cathay and with the emerging threat of Chaos once more spreading across The Old World, he has roused his armies to march out beyond their walls to send those foul beasts back into the abyss!

This is a completely new army for Warhammer: The Old World that we've never seen on this scale before and will feature a whole host of brand new plastic kits. Infact, everything that you see here in this preview is plastic, from the grand new characters to the excellent new troops.

Kicking things off for Grand Cathay are the contents of the new Battalion box features core troops like the Jade Warriors below.

Jade Warriors // Warhammer: The Old World

Jade Warriors can be armed with hand weapons and shields or halberds, depending on your preference. Either way, they're going to be a bulwark against the enemy cutting down anyone that comes within reach.

If the Jade Warriors are the anvil, the Jade Lancers are the hammer. These elite warriors pulled from different cities crash into their enemies with lances at the ready, able to send even the most resolute defenders fleeing in terror.

Jade Lancers // Warhammer: The Old World

The designs that we're seeing so far for the basic troops are pretty glorious I have to say. I think the design is great and draws on Historical Chinese armour designs but also mixes in plenty of Fantasy flair for good measure. The Jade Warriors set also comes with enough head options for you to give each soldier a male or female head, so you can go to town on customisation.

Backing up the troops of Grand Cathay are their fearsome warmachines in the form of the Cathayan Grand Cannon and Fire Rain Rocket Battery.

Cathayan Grand Cannon // Warhammer: The Old World

They are used to sow chaos and destruction amongst the ranks of the enemy from afar and you can even hire yourself an Ogre to help load the massive guns. It's good to see that the Ogres get work experience in the East as well as the West of The Old World.

The miniatures above come together as part of the Empire Of Grand Cathay Battalion, which gives you a plethora of infantry and cavalry alongside enough to build a pair of artillery pieces.

Empire Of Grand Cathay Battalion // Warhammer: The Old World

Once you then pick up the Gate Masters Of The Celestial Cities that we showed off at the start of this article, you could have a solid base to build from when it comes to a new Warhammer: The Old World army.

Centrepiece Miniatures

That's not all, though, as Games Workshop showed off some impressive centrepiece miniatures that you'll know of if you played the Total War: Warhammer games. Perhaps you'd like to crush your enemies underfoot with the Cathayan Sentinel?

Cathayan Sentinel // Warhammer: The Old World

These towering constructs are the guardians of the cities of Grand Cathay, and in ages past, an entire army of them served the Dragon Emperor in his last fight against the forces of Chaos. They are crafted of terracotta, jade and even warpstone which makes them potent killing machines and towering ones at that.

Taking to the skies, you could call on the ranged options available to you with a Sky Lantern.

Sky Lantern // Warhammer: The Old World

These fairly massive dirigibles give you a good view of the battlefield and can be used to guide artillery and warn of enemy counterattacks. You might also use them as a good firing platform from which to take potshots at the enemy. I could see a few of these floating above the battlefield, giving Grand Cathay a particularly impressive board presence when it's all built and ready to go.

More Characters!

As if that wasn't enough, we also got a look at a couple more character miniatures for you to throw into your collection. The Shugengan Lord On Great Spirit Longma is a masterful tactician who combine martial prowess with a mastery of magic.

Shugengan Lord On Great Spirit Longma // Warhammer: The Old World

It also helps that they are on the back of deadly steeds that will gore and claw at your enemies whilst getting you where you need to be on the massive battlefields of The Old World.

Last but not least, we have the character entrusted with the newest campaign against Chaos. Miao Ying, the Storm Dragon is ready to lead the forces of the Dragon Emperor out into the world!

Miao Ying, The Storm Dragon // Warhammer: The Old World

A stunning pair of miniatures showcasing Miao Ying in her human form summoning the Winds Of Magic to do her bidding and then her dragon form which is ready to smash through enemy ranks with ease. A spectacular final addition to your army of Grand Cathay, should you end up collecting everything else, I would imagine!

The rules for all of this will come in the new Arcane Journal which will detail the rules for the various heroes, troops, monsters and more that Grand Cathay has at its disposal plus special rules for using them on the tabletop.

Arcane Journal: Armies Of Grand Cathay // Warhammer: The Old World

This means that the book is a bit thicker than other Arcane Journals as it contains all of the new rules for a full army rather than just bonus material for existing ones. With so much to sink your teeth into when it comes to Grand Cathay, has this blown you away?

Drop your thoughts below...