Privateer Press have recently announced Warmachine MKIV. This is the newest edition for both of the studio's tabletop miniatures games, Warmachine and Hordes, since 2016. In addition, this is after long stretches of no new products or support for these games. To answer fans' burning questions, Privateer Press' announcement also included extensive explanations about the game's future, as well as a content roadmap.
What Is Coming For Warmachine MKIV?
In the Warmachine MKIV announcement post, Privateer Press' Matt Wilson goes into detail about what players can expect. First, Warmachine MKIV won't completely phase out all existing models and units. This new edition will introduce two new arenas of play. First is Unlimited, which will allow all units in the game, legacy models and the new MKIV models to be used. The second arena is Prime, which will allow limited access to legacy models and encompass all of the new MKIV releases going forward. These different arenas of play are meant to address Warmachine's vast back catalog of units while not completely alienating new players being introduced to the game. Not to mention it will prevent buyer's remorse for those that invested in the Start Collecting sets.
However, there is a catch. While Unlimited will be the "anything goes" mode of play, new Warmachine MKIV units will have unique mechanics that will not be backwards compatible with legacy units. These include warjack customization as well as the introduction of Command Cards, powerful one-time use abilities you get while recruiting an army. This doesn't mean you will have to completely abandon all of your older units since Privateer Press did confirm that conversion rules for all legacy armies will be rolling out over the next few years.
The post goes into further detail about the changes that will be coming to Warmachine MKIV. Those changes include the following:
- Hordes will now be integrated into Warmachine. This means that certain armies will be lead by warlocks and others will be lead by warcasters.
- A New Hierarchy Faction System: Whenever you recruit units, you no longer recruit from an Army but a Faction within that Army. This also means that you cannot recruit units from other Factions, even if they are a part of the same Army. The only exception to this new rule are Cadres, which are specialist units that can be recruited by any Faction.
- A Brand New War Room App: This app will include all game rules and model rules for Warmachine MKIV for free; no "card deck" purchases necessary. It will also provide localizations in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Furthermore, a premium subscription service will be included if you wish to save certain army builds as well as receive monthly premium content
- New Model And Miniature Production: All future units for Warmachine will be 3D printed going forward in order to mitigate rising costs of both metal and overseas plastic product. All warjack units will also customizable head and weapon parts, complete with cavities and magnets, for ease of use during a match.
- Smaller SKUs and Starter Sets: To reduce shelf space and not confuse customers, each Army will receive six distinct SKUs with smaller numbers of units. The Starter Sets will be sold at an MSRP of $199 containing enough models for a 50 point army, Army Expansions will be sold at an MSRP of $175 containing enough models for a 75 point army, as well as single unit warjacks that will be sold for $35-$45 and 80mm solo packs that will be sold at $55-$65.
When Will Warmachine MKIV's New Products Be Available?
At the end of the announcement post, Privateer Press included a content roadmap for Warmachine MKIV. This includes when the new rulebooks and SKUs would be available for sale, the launch of the new mobile app, content updates and Legacy unit conversion rules, as well as organized play events. The first of the new armies are expected to ship this Fall.
