New Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC Lords of the End Times brings four more faces to one of the most sprawling and ambitious strategy games on PC. Set to release in just under a month, it’s time to take a closer look at exactly what we can expect from the four Legendary Lords making their debut in TWW3. We’ve got Nagash leading the new Undead Legions into battle, Nurgle-worshipping trio the Glottkin Brothers, Grand Duke Boris Todbringer of the Empire, and notorious Skaven Grey Seer Thanquol, so let’s see how they play.
Developer Creative Assembly kicks things off with the Supreme Lord of Undeath, Nagash. He’s a “magical powerhouse wrapped in heavy armor and with decent melee stats,” and his arrival is accompanied by that of the Undead Legion. On his side you’ll find Spirit Hosts, swarms of souls without physical form who are great at “harassing units who lack the means to slay them.” For something more corporeal, the Morghast Harbingers are flying heavy infantry with dual cleavers, and the Morghast Archai are similar, but use halberds.
To support your undead legions, you’ll want some Tomb Heralds, who can boost resistances and leadership buffs, while still holding their own. Nagash has also invoked vampires in the form of Liche High Priests, who can call upon light, death, undeath and Nehekhara to curse their foes – and even appear in mounted form. For a more generalist cavalry option, you’ve got the Drakenhof Templars, who can outmatch all but the Blood Knights in that role.
Ride into battle in style with The Coven Throne, a bone construct carried into battle by spirits that reveals enemies and drains their will to fight, or demolish and disorient your foes with the Khemric Titan’s suite of sandstorms and scarabs. Among the Legendary Heroes we find Walach Harkon, “quite possibly the strongest fighter within the vampires,” and elite master necromancer Dieter Helsnicht, who will prove devastating if you can keep his fragile frame out of trouble.
Our next Legendary Lord is the Glottkin: the trio of Otto, Ethrac, and Ghurek Glott, known collectively as the Befouled Brothers of Nurgle. CA describes them as “a jack of all trades, master of being gross,” and they’re represented in TWW3 as “an all-purpose, costly spellcaster with an incredible constitution.” They can counter just about any infantry you care to think of, and are joined by a whole collection of freakish followers, such as the Flayerkin, marauders who replaced their arms with swords.
The Giant Spined Chaos Beast is a terror-inducing, armor-piercing monstrosity that reflects damage back on attackers and ensures any routing opponents don’t get the chance to fight another day. Bulky and with unsettling holes in their stomachs, the Putrid Blightkings are slow, tanky fighters who can fight with axe and shield, dual axes, or great weapons. Basilisks poison the ground just by walking on it, debuffing enemies and instigating terror.
Need something even bigger? Enter the Chaos Siege Giant, a “titanic living weapon” clad in plate armor with twin blades on each arms, allowing them to break down walls and carve through armies. Then we’ve got the Legendary Heroes: brawler Gutrot Spume, Orghotts Daemonspew on his maggot-like Chaos Beast, Nurgling-empowering Morbidex Twiceborn, and the insect-filled spellcaster Bloab Rotspawned. Lovely stuff.
Let’s clean our acts up a bit, and who better to do so than the Empire’s Elector Count of Middenland, Boris Todbringer? Whether he strides in on foot or mounts up on a war horse, pegasus, or griffin, he’ll be right there at the heart of the fray. By his side are the Warriors of Ulric, cheap frontline forces who leap on any advantage, and the spear-wielding Knights Panther, armored cavalry designed to counteract large units. Supporting them are Priests of Ulric who, not to be outdone, also get right into the thick of things with two-handed axes.
The dedicated Wolfkin troops are so inspired that they’ll shrug off any psychological tricks with their furious frenzy, while the high-speed Hunting Hounds are perfect to catch unsuspecting troops left out in the open. Then you’ve got Legendary Hero Ar-Ulric Emil Valgeir, High Priest and Keeper of the Sacred Fire. He might be there to deliver some uplifting battle prayers for his allies, but, much like his fellow holy men, he’s more than ready to get right into the mix, brandishing his mighty Hammer-Axe of Skoll.
Helping to hold the Empire’s line is the Seneschal of the White Wolf, a lord who can use his Commanding Presence to become immune to psychology and buff leadership and defense. Pair him up with the hammer-wielding cavalry of the Knights of the White Wolf, or the elite infantry of the Teutogen Guard, then complement all that melee might with some spellcasting from the Celestial Hurricanium.
Last but not least on our list of Legendary Lords is Skaven Grey Seer Thanquol, a spellcaster who rides into battle on four-armed rat-ogre Boneripper, bringing ruin and plague to his foes. Joining him are the Pusbags, which CA calls “the most expendable unit that was ever expended.” They’re plentiful in number and riddled with disease that makes them extremely prone to dying – but that’s the idea, as doing so causes them to explode in a contaminating mess of… well, best not to think about it.
How about Legendary Hero Skreech Verminking? This Exalted Daemon of the Great Horned Rat is fast and deadly, combining his doom glaive with spells to strike fear into his victims’ hearts. The Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes provides support through auras boosting damage, defense, and leadership. Need a siege engine? Enter the Warp-Doom Magma Cannon, a welcome reminder that few things bring me such joy on a Friday afternoon as shouting Warhammer unit names out loud.
Thanquol’s Clan Scruten offers six, yes six, different variants of Stormfiends. On the melee side there’s Shock Gauntlets (good against heavy armor), Grinderfists (great at breaking walls and immobilizing foes), and Doom-Flayers (who love to smash through infantry). On the ranged side there’s Windlaunchers (for general long-range), Warpfire (for tightly packed infantry), and Rattling Cannons (for armored units at a distance).
Rounding out the newcomers are the Verminlords, who are similarly varied with four possible options at your disposal. Corruptors are armor-piercing anti-infantry, specializing in plagues and pestilence. Warpseers tackle large opponents with warp-powered spellcasting. Warbringers give a melee anti-large option capable of serious carnage. Finally, the Deceivers are special ranged weapon units who can teleport and snare their targets. Say goodbye to any remaining hopes of outrunning the Skaven when they arrive.
Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC Lords of the End Times releases on Thursday September 24. You can buy each of its four Legendary Lords separately for $8.99 / £7.49 apiece, or get them all in a bundle at a 15% discount, paying $30.56 / £25.48. Find it right here.
All four of the new additions come with their own unique campaign mechanics, and purchasing any one of them will grant you access to their Immortal Empires campaign. As Creative Assembly prepares to expand its Total War offering to the Warhammer 40k realm, this is another great reminder that TWW3 isn’t ready to take a back seat yet.