Warhammer 3 is a pretty complicated game that got even more complicated with the release of Immortal Empires. Being able to choose from dozens of different factions from across the entire trilogy is a dream come true if you’ve been playing the series for years. But if you haven’t, it’s more than a bit intimidating.
To help you get started on the right foot, we’ve put together a handy list of the 10 best factions you should consider playing if you’re new to Total War: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires. We’re mostly focusing on factions that are strong in the early game, have relatively simple mechanics, and have easy starting positions. Keep in mind that this list covers the most beginner-friendly factions, not races. That’s a topic for another time.
10 Slaughterhorn Tribe
The Slaughterhorn Tribe is a Beastmen faction led by Taurox the Brass Bull. Pound for pound, Taurox is one of the strongest melee Legendary Lords in the game. His ideal army is composed mainly of Minotaurs and other monstrous units, meaning you won’t have to do a lot of micromanaging on the battlefield.
The Slaughterhorn Tribe have an easy starting position and very straightforward gameplay revolving around fighting and razing, with very little empire-building or diplomacy to worry about. Taurox’s starting army isn’t the best, but it’s good enough to get you past the first couple of fights. Besides, once Taurox gains a few levels he’ll become a one-bull-army anyway.
*The Slaughterhorn Tribe is unlocked via The Silence and the Fury DLC from Total War: Warhammer 2.
9 Eataine
Eataine is a High Elves faction led by Tyrion. The High Elves, in general, are a pretty easy faction to play as but Eataine is arguably the most beginner-friendly of the bunch. You start off with one of the richest settlements on Ulthuan surrounded mostly by allies that you can gradually confederate throughout the game until the entire island is under your control.
Tyrion himself is a powerful lord that can go toe-to-toe with pretty much anyone once he gets his quest items. His campaign effects are fantastic in the early game as they allow you to quickly field a large army without having to worry too much about upkeep. You will have a lot of enemies while playing as Eataine, but you will also have a lot of allies, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble uniting and defending Ulthuan if you play your cards right.
8 Legion Of The Gorequeen
The Legion of the Gorequeen is a Warriors of Chaos faction led by Valkia the Bloody. All Warriors of Chaos factions are pretty strong right now but the Legion of the Gorequeen is a bit better than most for beginners. The faction is aligned with Khorne and her armies consist mostly of hard-hitting infantry units and monsters. Armies like this are easy to control on the battlefield, as is Valkia herself since she doesn’t use magic.
The Legion of the Gorequeen has a pretty easy starting position up in the northern Chaos Wastes, with no major factions that can challenge your expansion in the early game. Both Valkia and her faction have passive effects that give you extra campaign movement range, allowing you to cover more ground in one turn than most other Legendary Lords. To top it all off, Valkia also starts off with a reasonably strong army that can make short work of any early game opposition.
*The Legion of the Gorequeen is unlocked via the Champions of Chaos DLC from Total War: Warhammer 3.
7 Itza
Itza is a Lizardmen faction led by Gor-Rok. The Lizardmen are another beginner-friendly race both on and off the battlefield. At least for the most part. A couple of their Legendary Lords focus on units that can be difficult to control, but that’s not the case with Itza. This faction gets some very nice defensive bonuses for Saurus units, which are already pretty tanky to begin with. In addition, you gain even more bonuses while defending settlements.
Like most factions on this list, Itza has a very comfortable starting position in Immortal Empires. Gor-Rok starts in Lustria surrounded mostly by other Lizardmen factions and gains access right off the bat to a solid base of operations in the titular city of Itza. Even more importantly, the faction also starts with the powerful Legendary Slann hero Lord Kroak. Lord Kroak comes equipped with a full set of unique items and can learn a wide variety of useful spells.
*Itza is unlocked via the Gor-Rok free DLC from Total War: Warhammer 2.
6 The Dreadfleet
The Dreadfleet is a Vampire Coast faction led by Count Noctilus. With this faction, you gain access right out the gate to one of the easiest-to-defend settlements in Immortal Empires, Galleon’s Graveyard. In the early game, you can essentially leave Galleon’s Graveyard undefended since anyone crazy enough to attack it will take heavy attrition damage. However, you will want to build some defense and park a lord there eventually.
Like all Vampire Coast factions, The Dreadfleet gains access to shipbuilding and focuses on conquering and raiding coastal settlements. You’ll spend a good chunk of your time at sea, which makes you untouchable to a lot of other factions. Plus, you can instantly raise dead troops to bolster your forces, and you start off with a Necrofex Colossus, an extremely powerful artillery unit. A lot of your passive abilities revolve around boosting this type of unit.
*The Dreadfleet is unlocked via the Curse of the Vampire Coast DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2.
5 Followers Of Nagash
The Followers Of Nagash are a Tomb Kings faction led by Arkhan the Black. This faction was notoriously difficult to play in Warhammer 2, but that’s no longer the case in Immortal Empires after Creative Assembly changed its starting position and made a few other changes. Now the Followers of Nagash have fewer (and weaker) enemies to worry about in the early game.
The Followers of Nagash are pretty unique thanks to their ability to recruit certain Vampire Counts units in addition to the regular Tomb Kings ones. Unlike most other factions, The Followers of Nagash start with two settlements and have the opportunity to secure an entire province on turn one. This allows you to have a very comfortable early game where you can focus on your economy and start expanding at your own pace.
*The Followers of Nagash is unlocked via the Rise of the Tomb Kings DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2.
4 The Blessed Dread
The Blessed Dread is a Dark Elves faction led by Lokhir Fellheart. The faction starts off in a pretty remote location on the far east side of the map. There are no factions nearby that can stop you from expanding in the early game, but you will run into some pretty strong opposition the more you expand westward. Alternatively, you can use the nearby Sea Lane to travel to the other side of the world whenever you need a change of scenery.
Similar to Vampire Coast factions, The Blessed Dread has access to shipbuilding and starts with a Black Ark in addition to Lokhir’s army. In other words, you start with two armies and can potentially expand twice as fast as other factions. Lokhir and his faction get a number of unique bonuses for Black Ark Corsairs. These are very strong early game units that can easily hold their own well into the midgame under Lokhir’s leadership.
*The Blessed Dread is unlocked via the Lokhir Fellheart free DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2.
3 Caravan Of The Blue Rose
The Caravan of the Blue Rose is a Vampire Counts faction led by Helman Ghorst. This is another one of those factions that used to be very weak until it received a number of buffs and changes in Immortal Empires. These days, the faction is not just strong, it’s arguably broken. You start off with a one-settlement province, which is always nice to have, and can conquer an additional province in just a few turns with very little opposition from your neighboring Skaven.
Furthermore, Ghorst can almost put together an entire army on turn one. Typically, this would be a weak army since it’s mostly composed of Zombies and other low-tier units. But, as it happens, these are exactly the type of units that get boosted by the Legendary Lord and his faction. You can get away with using cheap and disposable armies like that for most of the game while freeing up plenty of valuable income in the process.
*The Caravan of the Blue Rose is unlocked via The Grim and the Grave DLC for the original Total War: Warhammer.
2 Shadow Legion
The Shadow Legion is a Warriors of Chaos faction led by Be’lakor. Be’lakor may have started out weak when Warhammer 3 first came out, but he eventually ended up being one of the best Legendary Lords in Immortal Empires. That alone is reason enough to play the Shadow Legion if you’re new to the game since a strong Legendary Lord has a huge impact on the rate at which you win battles. But, of course, that’s not the only reason.
The Shadow Legion has a great starting position on the small island of Albion. You’re close enough to the mainland to where you can start expanding in almost any direction you want, yet still isolated enough to be safe from any potential invaders in the early game. Other important benefits include the fact that you start with all Chaos God Gift slots, pay 25% less upkeep for Daemon units, and can create rifts that allow your armies to teleport almost anywhere on the map at will.
1 Heralds of Ariel
The Heralds of Ariel is a Wood Elves faction led by the Sisters of Twilight. Wood Elves armies can be a bit tricky for beginners since they tend to incorporate some micro-intensive units. However, with the Heralds of Ariel you can focus almost entirely on missile units to destroy your enemies before they even reach your troops. Especially since the factions you’ll encounter in the early game don’t have any units that can outrange yours.
Outside of combat, the Heralds of Ariel is about as easy to play as other Wood Elves factions. Empire building isn’t a major concern since, for the most part, you have to focus on just two settlements early on, both of which are easily defendable. As the Heralds of Ariel, you can unlock a number of powerful buffs and items that will make the early game even easier.