Review: World Eaters Khorne Berzerkers, Jakhals, and Lord Invocatus / Lord on Juggernaut

Check out our super brutal review of the new wave of World Eaters models, including the new Khorne Berzerkers, Jakhals, and Lord Invocatus / World Eater Lord on Juggernaut. We take a look at all the assembly options and bitz, and also share our thoughts about Angron and the Exalted Eightbound.

The new World Eaters models, along with the new codex, will be available for preorder starting Saturday, February 4, 2023, and go on sale one week after.

Khorne Berzerkers review

After decades of waiting, the Khorne Berzerkers finally get a brand new kit. The design is very much in line with the look of the new Chaos Space Marines, but there are also typical World Eaters design elements, such as the characteristic helmets, bare arms, and now also shoulder pads in the Cataphractii Terminator style. And of course chainaxes. Lots and lots of chainaxes.

This kit comes with three medium size sprues, 10 32mm bases, a brand-new transfer sheets with lots of infantry- and tank-sized icons and nice metallic print, and an assembly guide. 

Like with the current Chaos Space Marine Legionary models, upper and lower bodies are fused in a locked pose. Each pair of arms has been designed with a specific body in mind, but most arm contact areas are flat and can be interchanged. There are also 15 bare heads, 10 helmeted heads (plus a helmet for the Champion), 10 backpacks (one of which can be assembled with a Khorne icon), 15 domed shoulder pads, and 5 Cataphractii-style round shoulder pads, which are all interchangeable. Awesome!

There are enough arms to arm every model with a either a chainaxe or chainsword and bolt pistol (6 axes and 5 chainswords are included). Alternatively, one model can get a two-handed chainaxe eviscerator, one model a two-handed chainsword eviscerator. There are three extra arms with plasma pistols, but no powerfists unfortunately, which have also been removed as an option from the datasheet.

All in all a fantastic kit well worth the wait.

Jakhals review

The new World Eaters Jakhals represent the mortal followers of the World Eaters Legion. These stimm-filled cultists emulate their idols in terms of brutality and violence, but are mere disposable assets for their masters.

The Jakhals come on two medium-sized sprues, there are 9 28mm bases and 1 40mm base, an assembly guide, and they have the new decals as well.

The kit builds one Dishonoured model (the large guy), which has a choice of two left and two right arms, and four different heads. Next you build a group of five models. The bodies are monopose, but the five heads are interchangeable. The arms are cut at the wrist, and there are five left hands and five right hands that are interchangeable between this group of models. One model can also be upgraded to a Jakhal Leader. The leader can have an optional back banner, a choice of two heads and loincloths, and a unique left arm with a chainfist. Then you build the final four models, which have four interchangeable heads as well, and three interchangeable right and four interchangeable left hands (one model has a specific right arm).

The design of the models is a matter of taste. For me, they are a bit too cluttered and the weapons look oversized. However, I was positively surprised by the variety in this kit. After the latest Chaos Cultist models which were completely monopose models with no options (check out my review here), I didn’t expect so much interchangeability.

Lord Invocatus / World Eaters Lord on Juggernaut review

The World Eaters also receive a brand-new character model in the form of Juggernaut riding Lord Invocatus, a front-line leader who commands thunderous assaults of Bloodcrushers and Berzerkers. The model can also be assembled as a generic Juggernaut riding World Eaters Lord. The kit has two medium-sized sprues, a 90mm oval base, and an assembly guide. A transfer sheet is sadly missing. 

Now this kit is weird. You can either build Lord Invocatus or a generic Chaos Lord on Juggernaut, but the parts that both models share make only the torso of the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut’s legs and heads, the riders – all completely different. So in the end, about half of the parts will be leftover. Since the poses of both models are so different, and the rider’s legs interlock with the mount, there is also no easy way to make the riders interchangeable.

Lord Invocatus has no build or posing options and looks exactly as on the box. With the generic World Eater Lord you can choose between two heads for the Juggernaut (so with Lord Invocatus’ mount the kit has three Juggernaut heads), as well as between a bare head and helmeted head. The right arm can either get a plasma pistol or hold one of the mount’s rings, and for the left arm you can choose between a large chainaxe and a two-handed chainsword. As I mentioned, the limbs of the Juggernaut and the rider are completely different from the Lord Invocatus build.

Angron & Exalted Eightbound quick review

Games Workshop also kindly provided us with a copy of the new Angron model, a truely spectacular masterpiece sculpted by Darran Latham. Because of his hunched pose, Angron is the smallest model of all the daemon Primarchs so far. There are two head options, one with an open and one with a closed mouth, and you can choose to keep his chest and shoulders bare. Otherwise, the model has no other posing options.

The Exalted Eightbound on the other hand don’t gel with me. I find the transitions between muscle mass, armour and chaos mutated flesh is not quite as organic as on the new (Greater) Possessed and Obliterators. I also find some of the facial expressions too comical. They come on 40mm bases and are not as tall as expected, only a mm or two taller than the new Possessed models. There are quite a few assembly options and optional bitz, including the choice to keep their chests bare.

Value

The prices for the new World Eaters are a real head-turner. At 50 €, the Khorne Berserkers cost the same as the current Chaos Space Marines box, while the Jakhals are 5 € more expensive than the new Chaos Cultists (but have twice as many sprues and more variability). Lord Invocatus and the World Eaters Lord on Juggernaut take the cake, as they are really expensive at 50 € for a single, not exactly enormous model. Here you look enviously at the Mighty Skullcrushers from Age of Sigmar, where you can get five mounted Juggernauts for £65… the Exalted Eightbound are also damn expensive, you only get three models not much bigger than the new Chaos Possessed.

As always, you can support us by buying these new models by shopping at our partner shops Wayland Games, Element Games, Firestorm Games, and Taschengelddieb using our links, which offer Warhammer models with a discount of up to 20% over RRP.