Warlord’s email about Epic Battles: Zulu landed this morning, and my first thought was that Rorke’s Drift is a funny choice for a game called Epic Battles. It was a small, close fight around a mission station. Once I opened the full preorder range, the idea made more sense.
Rorke’s Drift is only one half of the launch. The other big box covers Isandlwana, which is much closer to the massed battle most of us picture when Warlord uses the Epic name. There are also three brigade boxes, casualty markers, shield decals and two bundles priced at about $750.
Preorders opened July 24, and Warlord lists the range for release in October 2026. The prices below are from Warlord’s US store on announcement day. Retail prices and shipping will vary.
What Warlord announced
| Set | US price | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Rorke’s Drift | $352 | Rules, mat, British defenders, Zulu regiments, 13 exclusive character models and the mission-station terrain |
| Isandlwana | $400 | Rules, mat, 160 Zulu bases, British and allied troops, artillery and camp terrain |
| Zulu War Mega Bundle | $752 | Both battle sets, British and Zulu casualty markers, and Zulu shield decals |
| “Thousands of ’em” Bundle | $750 | Rorke’s Drift plus 50 extra Zulu frames, for 3,900 warriors in total |
| British Army Brigade | $49.50 | Two large British infantry regiments and two large Natal Native Contingent regiments |
| British Cavalry Brigade | $49.50 | Mounted and dismounted Natal cavalry, police and carbineers |
| Zulu Impi Brigade | $49.50 | Three married and three unmarried large Zulu regiments |
Warlord says this is the first wave, so the range should extend beyond these two battles.
A little context before the plastic
Both battles took place during the British invasion of the independent Zulu Kingdom in 1879. British High Commissioner Sir Bartle Frere had delivered an ultimatum designed to be unacceptable, then British forces invaded when it expired. South African History Online has a good overview of how the war began.
On January 22, a Zulu army defeated the exposed British camp at Isandlwana. Later that day and into the next morning, a Zulu reserve force attacked the mission station and supply depot at Rorke’s Drift. The much smaller British garrison held the improvised perimeter.
The two battles were remembered very differently in Britain. Isandlwana was a major and embarrassing defeat. Rorke’s Drift became the better-known story, helped much later by the 1964 film *Zulu*. The National Army Museum has a concise account of the battles and the rest of the campaign.
That background explains why these boxes do not feel much alike.
Rorke’s Drift
Rorke’s Drift costs $352. It will probably be the more familiar set, particularly for anyone whose interest in the period started with the film.
Most of the character of this box comes from the terrain. It includes the hospital and storehouse in MDF, resin barricades and defensive pieces, punchboard kraal walls, a double-sided A0 paper mat, dice and damage markers. Warlord also includes narrow MDF bases so the British infantry can stand in a single line along the barricades instead of using the deeper formations seen in other Epic Battles games.
The box contains:
- 32 bases of British infantry, organized as eight regiments
- 16 bases of Natal Native Contingent infantry, organized as four regiments
- 40 bases of married Zulu warriors
- 40 bases of unmarried Zulu warriors
- 13 Warlord Resin character models that are exclusive to this set
- The A5 Anglo-Zulu War rulebook and a separate how-to-play booklet
Those exclusive characters cover several of the best-known people from the battle, with some of the poses clearly influenced by *Zulu*. The Natal Native Contingent had left the station before the historical attack, but Warlord includes them so players can try a version in which they stayed.
This looks like the better display project of the two. The buildings and barricades give it a clear finish line, and the completed table should be immediately recognizable. My question is how much replay value the scenario has once the historical defense has been played a few times. That will depend on the scenarios and on how much freedom the rules give both sides.
Isandlwana
Isandlwana costs $400 and looks more like a traditional Epic Battles set. It has 80 bases of married Zulus and 80 bases of unmarried Zulus, for 40 large regiments in total.
The British side includes regular infantry, Natal Native Contingent infantry, mounted and dismounted troops, two 7-pounder guns and a Hales rocket launcher. The box also has British tents, wagons, Zulu huts and an A0 double-sided paper mat.
Of the two, this is the set I would choose to see what the new range can do. Isandlwana gives both armies room to move, and it should be easier to adapt the collection to other battles as Warlord adds more releases.
It is also a serious painting project. There are 160 Zulu bases before touching the British side. The repeated strips and shield patterns should respond well to batch painting, but there is no getting around the amount of work in the box.
What is exclusive in the Mega Bundle?
The Zulu War Mega Bundle is $752, which is exactly the price of Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana added together.
Warlord adds the $32 British casualty-marker set, the $32 Zulu casualty-marker set and a Zulu shield decal sheet without increasing that combined price. The product description calls the decals exclusive. Warlord also lists a limited-edition Zulu Impi decal sheet separately for $8, so I would not assume the Mega Bundle is the only way to buy Zulu shield decals. The wording may refer to the particular sheet or to its place in the launch offer.
What is clear is that buying those same listed items separately would total $824. If the casualty markers and decals were already on the shopping list, the bundle saves $72.
The Rorke’s Drift box inside the bundle still includes its 13 exclusive character models. Those figures are exclusive to that battle set, not to the Mega Bundle itself.
For a club, a family project or two players who already know they want both battles, the Mega Bundle is straightforward. For one person trying the period for the first time, I would still pick one of the two main boxes.
The 3,900-warrior bundle
The other $750 option is the “Thousands of ’em” Bundle. It starts with the Rorke’s Drift set, which already has ten Zulu frames and 650 warriors. Warlord then adds another 50 frames and enough bases to bring the total to 3,900 Zulu miniatures.
The point is to let someone stage Rorke’s Drift with one model for roughly every historical Zulu attacker. That could make an exceptional club or convention game. It also means assembling, painting and basing nearly four thousand figures for one scenario.
Most players interested in Rorke’s Drift will have plenty to work with in the regular box. The larger bundle is for the person who already has a table, a painting plan and several helpers in mind.
The brigade boxes
The three $49.50 brigade boxes are important because they let players build beyond the two boxed battles.
- The British Army Brigade adds two large British regular regiments and two large Natal Native Contingent regiments.
- The British Cavalry Brigade adds mounted and dismounted Natal Native Contingent cavalry, Natal Mounted Police and Carbineers.
- The Zulu Impi Brigade adds three large married regiments and three large unmarried regiments.
Separate casualty-marker packs cost $32 for each side. The limited-edition Zulu shield decal sheet is $8 and covers eight regimental shield designs. At this scale, the decal sheet may be one of the most useful products in the range.
Warlord’s KHULA Education partnership
Every product page in the range mentions Warlord’s partnership with KHULA Education. The organization works with schools, educators, children and young people in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Warlord provides a link for direct donations. The announcement does not say that a fixed amount or percentage from each sale will be donated, so I would describe this as a partnership and fundraising link rather than a per-box charitable contribution.
Which set looks better?
Rorke’s Drift has the stronger terrain and will probably make the more recognizable finished table. It also includes the exclusive character figures, which will matter to people who want to build the battle around the personalities associated with it.
Isandlwana makes the better case for using Epic scale. It has the movement, formations and numbers that the system is built to show. If I were buying one set, that is where I would start.
Before ordering either one, I want to know more about the rules for the Zulu army. The range will be much more interesting if speed, command and formation give the Zulu player meaningful choices. If the army simply runs forward while the British player rolls rifle fire, the impressive model count will wear thin quickly.
The Mega Bundle makes sense if both projects are already appealing. The 3,900-warrior bundle is aimed at a much smaller group of people, and they probably knew they wanted it before reaching the bottom of the product description.
Sources and preorder links
- Warlord Games: complete Epic Battles: Zulu preorder range
- Warlord Community: official launch article
- National Army Museum: overview of the Zulu War
- South African History Online: Anglo-Zulu War background
All product details and prices were checked against Warlord Games’ US store on July 24, 2026. Product photography is used for news and commentary and remains the property of Warlord Games.
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