Old World Movement Trays & Rebasing Guide

Warhammer: The Old World is a rank-and-file game: units stand in square formations and move as one block, which is why it wants square and rectangular bases. The good news for returning players — you usually don’t have to rebase. A movement tray carries a whole ranked unit in one move, and LITKO’s base-adapter trays hold your existing 20mm or 25mm square bases without recutting a single model. This guide covers which tray fits which formation, how to skip the rebase, and the square bases (and custom sizes) for the times you do.

(LITKO movement trays and bases are unofficial accessories compatible with Warhammer: The Old World.)

Do You Need to Rebase for The Old World?

Games Workshop relaunched Warhammer: The Old World in January 2024 as the rank-and-file successor to the classic square-based Warhammer Fantasy game (its 8th edition ended in 2015). It is a different game from the round-based Age of Sigmar: units rank up into blocks, and the rules expect models on square or rectangular bases.

So do you have to strip and rebase your army? It depends how you play:

• Casual games can usually go ahead on whatever bases you own — it’s a gentleman’s agreement between you and your opponent, and a few units (such as Night Goblin Fanatics) even use round bases by design.
• Matched play and tournaments ask for correctly based models — but what they actually police is the unit’s footprint. Many events let you keep legacy or round bases as long as your movement tray gives the correct footprint and no size advantage (always check the event pack); rebasing to square or rectangular at the current sizes is the clean, universally-accepted route.

When The Old World launched, a couple of sizes changed from the old Warhammer Fantasy days: the 20mm infantry base is gone — the minimum is now 25mm square, and heavy and knight cavalry moved up to 30x60mm (lighter, faster mounts like warhounds and wolf riders still use 25x50mm). That mismatch is exactly why so many players ask about rebasing. Models bought new for The Old World already come on the correct square bases, so a brand-new army usually just needs movement trays, not new bases. And before you reach for the clippers on an older army, a movement tray often solves it — you can keep your square-based models on their current bases and let the tray do the ranking. For the full per-unit base-size chart, see our Warhammer base sizes guide; Games Workshop also publishes an official base-size reference that’s the last word for tournaments.

Movement Trays for The Old World

A movement tray is a flat tray that holds a whole ranked unit so you slide the regiment as one piece instead of nudging twenty models a row at a time. The rules don’t strictly require one, but moving a block of rank-and-file infantry without a tray is impractical — in practice they’re near-essential for The Old World. LITKO laser-cuts them to the game’s formation footprints:

• Formation movement tray kits — the Formation Movement Tray Kits build ranked blocks for 30mm-square infantry and 30x60mm cavalry (the current heavy-infantry and cavalry footprints), in 5-wide formations from 5 up to 20 models, plus 10-wide options.
• Lance formation trays — lance trays for 30x60mm bases rank up knights and cavalry in the staggered lance formation, in 3-, 6-, 10- and 15-model sizes (there’s a 25x50mm version for older cavalry, too).

Here’s how the common Old World formations map to a LITKO tray:

Tray Sizes & Unit Footprints

A movement tray matches the unit’s footprint: frontage (models wide × base width) by depth (ranks × base depth). The Old World rule is “at least as wide as it is deep,” so widths vary — here are the common blocks and the tray size each needs:

Lance trays are the staggered wedge’s bounding box — the front rank is a single model.

Keep Your Old Bases: Adapter & Magnetic Trays

If your army is already painted and based, the cheapest way into The Old World isn’t rebasing — it’s a tray built for the bases you already own. LITKO’s base-adapter trays hold the legacy footprints in a tidy ranked grid:

• 20mm square bases — rank up a classic Warhammer Fantasy infantry block as-is.
• 25mm square bases — the current rank-and-file infantry footprint.
• 25x50mm rectangular bases — light cavalry, and older cavalry not yet moved up to 30x60mm.

On round bases? Age of Sigmar and 40K models don’t need rebasing for casual play either — LITKO’s Formation Rank Trays for circle bases rank them in a block, from 20mm to 50mm round (for example 25mm and 32mm). They pack the round bases as tightly as the geometry allows — ideal for casual play. For tournaments it comes down to footprint: a 25mm round fits a 25mm square footprint, so a correct-footprint round tray can pass where the event allows it, but a 32mm round won’t fit a 30mm square and runs oversized, so that one needs square bases.

To stop models sliding when you pick the tray up, add a magnet or steel insert with the opposite material under your models — always magnet-to-steel, never magnet-to-magnet, so they lock down instead of fighting each other. The formation trays (30mm & 30x60mm) and the lance trays (30x60mm & 25x50mm) each take a matching drop-in magnet or flexible-steel insert: a magnet insert pairs with steel base bottoms, a steel insert with magnet bottoms. The base-adapter trays don’t take an insert — for those, magnetize the models and slide them on a steel-lined surface. Our magnets for miniatures guide covers which base bottom to use.

Buying Square & Rectangular Bases for Rebasing

When you do rebase — a fresh army, a tournament list, or models that came on round bases — you need the square and rectangular sizes The Old World uses. LITKO laser-cuts each one, in acrylic or plywood:

• 25mm square and 30mm square — rank-and-file and heavy infantry.
• 30x60mm rectangular — heavy cavalry and knights — and 25x50mm rectangular for light and fast cavalry (warhounds, wolf riders).
• 40mm square and 50mm square — monstrous infantry, monstrous cavalry and large characters.
• 50x100mm rectangular — chariots and light war machines.
• 20mm square — the older Warhammer Fantasy infantry size, still stocked.

Rebasing a whole army at once? The Ready-Base Kit for The Old World bundles the common sizes on one page, up to the 100x150mm behemoth footprint. Big single models — monsters, behemoths and chariots — ride on a base rather than a movement tray, so size the base to the model (a stock size above, or a custom cut). For the full breakdown of which unit uses which base, see the Old World section of our Warhammer base sizes guide.

Custom Sizes with BaseMaker

Some units don’t fit a stock size — an odd monster, a converted chariot, a unit filler, or a tray footprint nobody stocks. LITKO BaseMaker cuts square, rectangular and custom bases to your exact dimensions in acrylic, plywood or magnetic steel, so you can match a formation precisely instead of compromising. New to ordering custom? Our how to get custom bases walkthrough covers sizes, shapes and materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to rebase my army for Warhammer: The Old World?

Not always. Matched play and tournaments ask for correctly based models on square or rectangular bases, but casual games can usually be played on whatever bases you own. A movement tray lets you field a ranked unit on its current bases, so many players bridge the gap with base-adapter trays instead of rebasing.

Can I use my round-based 40K or Age of Sigmar models in The Old World?

You don’t have to rebase for casual play. LITKO makes Formation Rank Trays for round bases — 20mm through 50mm — that rank your existing round-based models into a tidy block, about as tight as round bases physically allow. For tournaments it comes down to footprint, not base shape: many events let you keep legacy bases if your movement tray gives the correct footprint and no size advantage, so check the event pack. A 25mm round fits a 25mm square footprint and can pass; a 32mm round can’t fit a 30mm square, so it runs oversized and you’ll want square bases. A few units, such as Night Goblin Fanatics, use round bases by design.

What are formation and lance movement trays?

A formation movement tray holds a block of ranked infantry so the whole unit moves as one piece. A lance formation tray ranks up cavalry and knights in the staggered lance formation, sized for 30x60mm cavalry bases. Both keep a unit in coherent ranks without moving models one at a time.

Can I convert a 20mm Warhammer Fantasy army to The Old World without rebasing?

Often yes. LITKO makes base-adapter trays sized for 20mm square bases, so a classic Warhammer Fantasy infantry block can rank up as-is. You only need to rebase to 25mm if your games require the current matched-play base sizes.

Are LITKO movement trays magnetic?

The formation trays and lance trays take a drop-in magnet or steel insert; you put the opposite material under your models, so it’s always magnet-to-steel, never magnet-to-magnet, and the regiment locks to the tray for transport. The base-adapter trays don’t take an insert, so for those you magnetize the models and carry them on a steel-lined surface. Magnets aren’t required to use any tray.

Are LITKO movement trays official Games Workshop products?

No. They are unofficial accessories designed to be compatible with Warhammer: The Old World. Warhammer and The Old World are trademarks of Games Workshop.

Where to Go Next

• Old World Upgrades — trays, inserts and bases for The Old World in one place
• Formation Movement Tray Kits — the rank-and-file tray most armies start with
• Warhammer Base Sizes Guide — the full Old World base-size chart
• BaseMaker — custom bases and tray footprints, cut to spec

LITKO Game Accessories is an independent manufacturer of gaming bases and accessories. LITKO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Games Workshop. Warhammer, Warhammer: The Old World, and all associated names and imagery are trademarks or registered trademarks of Games Workshop Ltd., used here for compatibility identification only. No challenge to their status is intended.