Iron Sultanate Rules Update
by Brook Close
Rejoice, for the grace of the Sultan has been felt by Those Who Believe.
The changes for the Iron Sultanate were almost entirely received with a great amount of joy, and so many of the proposals we put forward will be making it into the beta rules. Thank you to all who shared your excitement and praise.
However, there were a couple of suggestions that were received slightly less positively (though, notably, nothing received less than 69.9% of your endorsement!). Despite receiving approval rates that would make any game designer blush, we wanted to address those three points of contention.
Alaybozan
The lowest score on the survey was the humble Alaybozan. We originally wished to honour the history of these weapons as the precursors to the modern shotgun with the addition of the SHOTGUN Keyword, but the increase of 6 ducats was simply too much. In response, we have brought the ducat cost down to 10, so that the Alaybozan can function as a less accurate but more ruinous alternative to the shotgun.
Alchemical Fire
On the other end of the spectrum, you told us that Alchemical Fire was an interesting concept but could potentially be a little scary. To provide a gentle cap to the top end of the kit, we have decided to introduce the ‘ELITE only’ and ‘Limit: 3’ stipulations. Some noted a general air of caution around the idea of ‘NEGATE NEGATE’ tech, but we would like to assure folks that we will keep an eye on this if it’s unfun for other players, or if it starts to feel like an evolving arms race. The idea of unquenchable fire wrought from alchemical processes is just so House of Wisdom that we couldn’t resist, and over 75% of respondents agreed, so that’s something!
M.U.R.A.D. Bombard
Finally, the last change is for something that wasn’t included in the survey at all but came from your many comments: the monstrous M.U.R.A.D. Bombard. Whilst the Bombard is designed to be a crowd control piece rather than an outright killing machine (one plate of the Sultan’s finest baklava to any who can guess the reason why), the updates to the Flame Cannon seemed to leave it behind. In response, we’ve given the M.U.R.A.D. an additional +1 DICE, to better help the Bull wielding it direct its destabilising payload to the perfect place.
Looking ahead
Some of you eagle-eyed readers have noticed that these updates seem to ignore one of the variants for the Iron Sultanate: the Fida’i of Alamut. Rest assured, the Fida’i will be receiving an exceptionally cool amount of content in the future, as they will be receiving the same upgrade from Variant to Faction that the Procession of the Sacred Affliction and Heretic Naval Raiders have in the Carcass Front. In fact, they will be getting not one but two new unit types, a whole swathe of new art and lore, and even more cool stuff besides.
To give us your thoughts and feedback, use the Contact form on the Trench Crusade website and select the header ‘Rules Feedback’.
Iron Sultanate Rules Update (Public Beta)
Brook Close
Brook is a full time game designer at Factory Fortress and a lifelong wargamer. After years of freelancing in the gaming world, Brook joined the company in late 2025, and he has been Extremely Normal about the idea of working with the industry legends who shaped his childhood. When he’s not doing abominable things to miniatures, he spends probably a bit too much time reading books on esoterica. He is, however, very happy that he can now say “it’s for work” and it be the truth. Art by Moritz Kreb.