Most infantry units in Total War: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires are rank-and-file foot soldiers tasked with slowing the advance of the enemy while your back lines do most of the work. However, not every infantry unit in the game is designed to act as a tar pit. Immortal Empires does feature a number of very powerful infantry units that provide excellent value on the battlefield.

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In the interest of keeping things fair, this list won’t include any Regiments of Renown, monstrous infantry, unique infantry units that are only available to certain Legendary Lords, or supped-up variants of regular infantry units. In other words, only standard infantry units have been considered. These will be ranked primarily based on their stats and abilities, but the cost of recruitment will also be taken into consideration to some extent.

10 Depth Guard

Unit of Depth Guard in Warhammer 3

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

7200

90

60

36

50

36

64

30

60

1100

Vampire Coast factions tend to rely primarily on ranged units and artillery, and yet, they also happen to have a very good (and reasonably cheap) infantry unit in the form of Depth Guard. Depth Guard have less health than most other Tier 3 infantry in Immortal Empires, but they have the highest melee attack stat and the third-best weapon strength stat. In other words, this is a glass cannon unit.

Depth Guard aren’t great at holding the front line against monsters and cavalry but they excel at flanking and taking out other infantry units. They deal even more damage than their stats might suggest thanks to Frenzy while The Hunger allows them to regenerate health as long as they’re in combat. Moreover, Depth Guard are Undead so they’re immune to psychology and never rout, but they will start crumbling once leadership is broken.

9 Ironbreakers

Unit of Ironbreakers in Warhammer 3

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

9600

125

85

26

34

66

32

8

100

1250

The Dawi aren’t doing particularly well in Immortal Empires at the moment, but they can still hold their own against stronger factions thanks to units like the Ironbreakers. These units are almost the complete opposite of Depth Guard in that they have terrible offensive stats but excellent defensive ones. Ironbreakers are the best infantry unit in Immortal Empires when it comes to melee defense and the third best in terms of armor.

Like all Dwarves, Ironbreakers benefit from 35% spell resistance and have incredibly high leadership. They’re also Armored and Shielded and have Charge Defense Against All. Ironbreakers don’t have a lot of fancy passive abilities like other units on this list, but they do come equipped with a ranged weapon that does a good amount of damage, albeit it can only be fired twice.

8 Chosen of Tzeentch

Chosen of Tzeentch Immortal Empires

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

10480

120

85

28

46

60

48

26

80

1400

The Champions of Chaos DLC introduced a plethora of powerful units to Total War: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires, including ‘Marked’ Chosen units for each of the four Chaos Gods. The Chosen of Tzeentch unit is similar to the other Chosen variants in terms of stats, but it does have two unique advantages: Barrier and Magical Attacks, which allow it to inflict a small portion of armor-piercing damage with every hit.

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If you include the extra hitpoints added by Barrier, the Chosen of Tzeentch becomes the infantry unit with the second-largest health pool in the game. It’s also worth noting that Chosen of Tzeentch are Armored and Shielded, so you can rely on them to do a good job holding the front line. Chosen of Tzeentch with Halbderds are stronger in certain situations, but the standard version of the unit is more cost-effective and has overall better stats.

7 Chosen of Nurgle

Chosen of Nurgle Immortal Empires

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

11440

120

85

23

41

65

48

26

80

1400

Chosen of Nurgle are pretty similar to Chosen of Tzeentch. They have a ton of health and the second-highest melee defense stat of any infantry in Immortal Empires, but their melee attack and speed stats are lower compared to other ‘Marked’ Chosen units. Like all Nurgle units, these Chosen have Poison Attacks that reduce their target’s speed and damage.

Nurgle armies are all about bogging down and weakening the enemy while trying to win through sheer attrition. The Chosen of Nurgle might not be the best infantry unit in Immortal Empires in 1v1 fights, but they are remarkably good during large-scale engagements. If you’re looking for a more offensive option, the Chosen of Nurgle with Great Weapons are a pretty good pick if you can afford them.

6 Black Orcs

Unit of Black Orcs in Warhammer 3

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

10800

110

72

29

36

31

50

29

80

1150

Black Orcs are easily one of the most cost-effective Tier 3 infantry units in Immortal Empires. Their stats aren’t the best, but they’re certainly more than respectable considering the low recruitment cost. Black Orcs have the highest amount of hitpoints of any non-Nurgle infantry unit and are Immune to Psychology.

Much like Ironbreakers and other units first introduced in the original Total War: Warhammer, Black Orcs don’t have particularly interesting abilities. They’re Armored and Armor-Piercing, but that’s about it. However, sometimes that’s all you need. This is one of those situations where the stats alone don’t paint the full picture, but Black Orcs have proven themselves time and time again to be a very capable unit and easily one of the best in the Greenskins roster.

5 Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh

Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh Immortal Empires

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

770015

15

70

54

48

44

50

35

100

1250

Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh are another glass cannon infantry unit that should ideally be used for flanking instead of holding the front line since they don’t have a lot of hitpoints to work with. They also have next to no armor, though they do get a flat 20% physical resistance bonus. But what they lack in defense, the Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh more than make up for in offense. This is by far the fastest infantry unit in the game, with some of the highest melee attack and charge stats to boot.

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The Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh have a pretty unique ability known as Enthralling Attacks, which reduces the target’s melee attack stat by quite a bit. In addition, the Daemonettes have Armor-Piercing and Magical Attacks along with some pretty neat passives like Devastating Flanker and Soulscent. Despite being more than a bit squishy, Exalted Daemonettes of Slaanesh can wreak absolute havoc on the battlefield if used properly.

4 Swordmasters of Hoeth

Swordmasters of Hoeth in Warhammer 3

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

8400

90

80

33

46

36

36

20

100

1300

Swordmasters of Hoeth were always very good infantry units, but they somehow managed to get even better in Warhammer 3. Looking at their stats sheet, they don’t seem to excel in any particular area besides melee attack and leadership. However, the Swordmasters of Hoeth have a few secret weapons, the most important of which is Martial Mastery. This passive grants them a substantial bonus to melee attack and melee defense as long as their hit points are greater than 25%.

As long as Martial Mastery is active, the Swordmasters of Hoeth have the highest melee attack stat of any infantry unit in Immortal Empires. In addition, their also Armored, Armor-Piercing, Anti-Infantry, and can Deflect Shots from ranged weapons just like units with shields. Unless you’re pitting them against large units, the Swordmasters of Hoeth can handle pretty much everything you throw at them.

3 Aspiring Champions

Unit of Aspiring Champions Immortal Empires

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

9856

120

80

32

40

45

96

26

16

1100

Aspiring Champions are a bit of a wild card since they require a lot of buffs during the campaign in order to reach their full potential. But even when looking at them in a vacuum, Aspiring Champions are still an amazing unit, especially for their cost. They have by far the highest weapon strength of any infantry unit on this list, but also the lowest model count. The low model count makes them difficult to target by ranged units, however, it also makes them easy to surround. Lots of pros and cons with this one.

Aspiring Champions work more like monstrous infantry than regular infantry and they have an appropriately high unit mass of 600. By comparison, Chosen units only have a unit mass of 160. Thanks to the high unit mass, Aspiring Champions aren’t as vulnerable to cavalry charges as other infantry units. Aspiring Champions are Armored and Shielded, have Magical Attacks, and can Encourage nearly allies just like Legendary Lords. The best part is that Aspiring Champions are dirt cheap compared to other Tier 3 infantry units and they can often be recruited in the early game during campaigns.

2 Chosen of Khorne (Dual Weapons)

Chosen of Khorne with Dual Weapons in Warhammer 3

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

10480

130

85

28

46

49

69

38

80

1500

If you want to play around with some of the best melee-focused armies in Immortal Empires you’ll want to look at what Khorne has to offer. Chosen of Khorne with Dual Weapons have tons of hitpoints, even more armor than other Chosen units, great leadership, and the second-highest weapon strength stat after Aspiring Champions. Like any unit with the Mark of Khorne, they benefit from Frenzy and 15% spell resistance. In addition, they also have Flaming Attacks.

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Chosen of Khorne (Dual Weapons) are labeled as Damage Dealers, but they’re not glass cannons like most units that bear this tag. Quite the opposite. Standard Chosen of Khorne are better at holding the line but the Dual Weapons variant can also do a pretty good job at it while also inflicting a lot more damage thanks to their superior weapon strength.

1 Exalted Bloodletters of Khorne

Exalted Bloodletters of Khorne Immortal Empires

Hitpoints

Armor

Leadership

Speed

Melee Attack

Melee Defense

Weapon Strength

Charge Bonus

Number of Models

Cost

9200

40

70

38

42

34

44

36

100

1200

And last but not least we have the best infantry unit in Immortal Empires, the Exalted Bloodletters of Khorne. At first glance, their stats aren’t particularly impressive, at least when compared to some of the other units on this list. However, they get a ton of offensive bonuses from abilities and passives that turn them into lean, mean, killing machines on the battlefield. They may seem a bit squishy, but they’re actually quite resilient against most types of damage since they benefit from 20% physical resistance and 25% spell resistance.

When it comes to dealing damage, Exalted Blodletters of Khorne get Flaming Attacks, Magical Attacks, Armor-Piercing, and Anti-Infantry. In addition, Exalted Bloodletters of Khorne also have a passive ability known as Hellblade, which increases both their base weapon damage and armor-piercing weapon damage by 20% once they get more than 20 kills during a single battle. When you take all those effects into account, as well as many others than can be unlocked throughout the campaign, it’s easy to see why the Exalted Bloodletters of Khorne are such a fantastic infantry unit; and quite cheap, too, all things considered.

Next: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires: Best Starting Positions