The Warhammer world is an intrinsically magical place. In battle, magic is a force as real and potent as a sword blade, its use limited only by the imagination and skill of the Wizard that wields it. Magic can be a subtle force, infusing allies with strength and valour, or enemies with frailty and dread. More commonly, however, Wizards unshackle the raw power that lies at the heart of magic's chaotic nature, summoning hungry firestorms or devastating bolts of eldritch power.

It is therefore only right that magic should form a core part of the game of Warhammer: the Old World as well. Wizards are able to cast spells of different types throughout the turn, and players must protect them accordingly, ensuring they are able to cast the right spell at the right moment, or to thwart the casting attempts of their rivals.

That being the case, explaining how magic works early on is important and the following sections do just that. New players can skip over this section for now if they wish, focusing instead on the more mundane rules and returning to this section once a few games have been played.