With countless playable lords, the Immortal Empires map for Total War: Warhammer 3 delivers a level of choice never before seen in a fantasy strategy game. Naturally, not all of these factions are going to be equal, and some have benefited from targeted buffs or starting location alterations. A few old favorites have retained their strength, while powerful newcomers have arrived to claim the throne.

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This guide will provide an overview of the best factions in Immortal Empires in terms of faction strength, starting position, and army options. This is by no means definitive, and while some strong factions have not been included, these are some of the best campaign experiences currently available.

Updated on April 25, 2023, by Branden Lizardi: With the release of the Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC for Total War: Warhammer 3, we've been giving the Immortal Empires campaign some additional thought. While the newly added Chaos Dwarf faction won't be added to this list (mostly due to their complicated economic style and the difficult early-game unit options), we've still found some changes and improvements that could be made. We've updated this guide accordingly.

Karl Franz

The poster boy of Total War: Warhammer, Karl Franz retains his spot as one of the premier factions in Immortal Empires. The Reikland faction keeps its starting position, a comfy home of Altdorf right in the heart of the Empire. Surrounded by mainly human enemies, Karl can pretty reliably build a strong foundation before having multiple choices of where to branch out.

All the new factions and starting positions only provide positives for Karl. The departure of Mannfred von Carstein from Sylvania only weakens the province, and you will only have to deal with Vlad and Isabella to eradicate the Undead Corruption from the Empire.

Festus the Leechlord is vaguely close to your start, but he will usually become bogged down fighting Middenheim and give you time to sufficiently power up.

The Empire remains a strong, well-rounded faction, able to field all kinds of units to suit the situation. A slight infantry weakness can lead to a few endgame issues. Still, with the proper army compositions, strong cavalries, such as Demigryph Knights, and an excellent artillery can comfortably carry the day.

A wide selection of Wizards gives you a strong magic playstyle, and your economy, while not spectacular, is sufficiently healthy.

Your specialty remains a strong confederation game. Karl can effectively assimilate most of the Empire on purely passive terms, leaving him free to expand its borders against the factions of evil. Bretonnia is still a staunch ally, and a quick assault against Heinrich Kemmler can effectively secure your Western front for a long time.

Victory Objectives

Grimgor Ironhide

The terror of Total War: Warhammer 2's A.I, many factions have fallen to Grimgor Ironhide's Waaagh! His new Immortal Empires start gives him even more room to expand, as you only have Kholek Suneater to contend with in the early game. After beating the mighty dragon ogre, you have a comfy amount of time before encountering another major faction, and you can build up your empire largely uncontested.

Grimgor has received many buffs during his lifetime and has become a formidable melee fighter. Able to smash through low-tier units and duel enemy lords with equal efficiency, Grimgor is ably supported by a strong and diverse roster.

A lack of good ranged options can be offset by powerful Black Orc infantry and fast skirmishing cavalry. You will also have access to some nasty magic users who can utilize the Lore of the Big and Little Waaagh! to great effect.

Defeating the Big Boss of a Greenskin tribe will allow you to confederate them. Traveling South to fulfill your Long Campaign victory objectives, Grimgor can begin to rack up some significant territory.

You will encounter your age-old enemy in the Dwarf factions, but they have always been a good matchup for Greenskins due to their slow movement and reliance on high armor. Black Orcs can tear through a Dwarf frontline, and they do not possess anything that can catch your mounted units.

Victory Objectives

Tyrion

A classically powerful faction, Tyrion of Eataine enters Immortal Empires with some hefty alterations. A powerful new enemy in N'kari makes the unification of Ulthaun a much greater challenge. The changes to the High Elf economy prevent the astronomical income potential seen in Mortal Empires.

Ridding Ulthaun of the Slaaneshi Demon will vary in difficulty, depending on how much ground N'kari can cover. Still, it is a beautifully appropriate lore position, as N'kari was known to attack Ulthaun multiple times in the past.

Despite a slightly more difficult start, Tyrion is still well positioned on the map, having a safe and bountiful territory to conquer before deciding where to sail.

A deadly melee warrior, Tyrion still ranks as one of the best duelists in the game, and with relatively easy access to the Sword of Khaine, he can truly become a one-man army. Regular Tyrion will still be able to cut down most opponents, and his army roster has always been top-tier.

Powerful infantry, ranged, magic, and monsters come at hefty gold prices, but late-game High Elf armies are among the strongest the game has to offer. Sisters of Avelorn remain among the best archer units around, and elite supporting units can make end-game battles trivial.

You have a somewhat difficult Long Campaign, as you will need to destroy both Malekith and Morathi, but this has generally always been the High Elves' go-to playstyle. Conquering their Druchii cousins is never easy, as they can also field some formidable armies, but Tyrion still has a strong foundation from which to launch his assault.

Victory Objectives

Ikit Claw

A traditional Skaven powerhouse, Ikit Claw's campaigns have consistently ranked among the best even since his inclusion in Total War: Warhammer 2. His Immortal Empires start remains relatively unchanged, except for the addition of the Beastman lord, Morghur The Shadowgave, to Estalia.

His presence complicates things only slightly, as his herdstone structure will prevent the colonization of ruins within the region. However, Ikit is more than content to hang out in a tiered-up Skavenblight, creating a nigh unstoppable force before venturing into the world. Early acquisition of Food through constantly sacking Tobaro will still allow you to quickly recolonize Skavenblight at level four. It will give Ikit access to some of his most powerful creations.

The Skaven were the premier faction in TWW2, retaining much of that strength coming into Immortal Empires. Excellent ranged, monsters, and artillery are the core of their power, alongside an albeit nerfed version of the Ambush stance.

They can use the Underway to teleport over harsh terrain, and the weak nations surrounding Clan Skryre allow for easy expansion. Mounting Ikit upon a Doomwheel or Doomwheel enables him to control the battlefield, raining death all around with extremely low cooldown Warp Lightnings.

Even with all the new shiny factions entering the map, there is still no greater enjoyment than dropping a nuke onto your enemies, and Ikit possesses the most potent weapons. His Forbidden Workshop allows the strengthening of certain units and will lead you down a dark path in your endless search for Warp Fuel.

Unless something drastic happens in the surrounding area, Ikit Claw will remain one of the best campaign experiences for newer and experienced players.

Victory Objectives

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Nakai The Wanderer

While the factions explored above were all powerful in the previous iteration of Immortal Empires, Nakai the Wanderer has perhaps received some of the largest changes to his campaign. Formerly based on Albion, Nakai would struggle to conquer the island before drifting around with no real sense of direction, all while his vassal would drag him into endless wars.

Now, Nakai has been shifted to the Southern section of Grand Cathay. The Spirit of the Jungle now has plenty of room to operate, with only minor Cathayan factions and Lokhir Fellheart to deal with. He finally has the space to build up a decent empire, and while his campaign can start fairly slowly, once you get the ball rolling, he becomes nigh unstoppable.

Thanks to his scaling from the Temples of the Old Ones mechanic, Nakai will be showered in high amounts of Kroxigor buffs, casualty replenishment rate, and campaign movement range. This means he can travel quickly without stopping to heal his army every few battles. The global recruitment time reduction for his hordes is quite frankly ridiculous, as you can build a full-strength late-game doomstack in only two to three turns.

Playing him slowly in the early game is required, as you will need to stop and heal.

But once you unlock enough favors from the Gods and begin to keep your buffs constantly rolling out, Nakai becomes truly terrifying.

He is a strong, durable melee fighter who can easily tank high damage. His Lizardmen roster can effectively support him through some of the strongest magic and monsters in the game. Unlocking Lord Kroak gives him the best caster hero around, and Nakai can make a very effective Kroxigor doomstack, thanks to his buffs.

His campaign has gone from one of the worst to one of the best, providing a unique gameplay style with little regard for protecting your territories.

Victory Objectives

Greasus Goldtooth

The first entry introduced in Warhammer 3, Greasus Goldtooth excels in multiple ways upon entering Immortal Empires. He has powerful faction effects through increased trade tariffs and can make high amounts of money from raiding and sacking.

His start position is excellent, as you are surrounded by other Ogres, who can be more easily confederated thanks to your faction effect. Helman Ghorst is a weak A.I. opponent, and you can swiftly claim a large territory in the Mountains of Mourne.

Your Southern flank can be secured by defeating Ku'Gath Plaguefather, and it is very doable to influence Cathay into becoming peaceful towards you.

Greasus can thank the strong core army roster of the Ogre Kingdoms for his military success, as he is not the mightiest lord on the battlefield. Excellent units such as Stonehorns and Gorgers make the Ogres very powerful and able to deal with multiple types of enemies.

Their Ogre Camps can allow them to stay on the move and recruit additional units extremely quickly, so you can keep up a good momentum once you have secured your starting province. As long as your armies are kept supplied with enough Meat, they will be able to rampage through the mountains, allowing you to complete your Short Campaign quickly.

Your other option for the Ogre Kingdoms on Immortal Empires launch is Skrag the Slaughterer, but he begins in a much more difficult location. While he is arguably better on the battlefield, Greasus's faction effects are so powerful that he takes the spot as the strongest Ogre. A thematic yet forgiving campaign easily propels Greasus to be one of the best factions.

Victory Objectives

Archaon The Everchosen

With the Warriors of Chaos rework, this is our final case of a faction becoming one of the best races after being one of the worst. A number of critical issues have been fixed, and they now play extremely well, with lots of room for customization. Archaon The Everchosen is the de facto leader of the race and is one of the most significant lore characters in the game.

He is also one of the most powerful, an expert melee combatant and magic user, and his campaign is streamlined to allow him to gain some ground before taking on the larger factions.

Archaon's first challenge is to destroy Boris Ursus, the now-rescued leader of Kislev. Fortunately, Boris is quite isolated, and with the help of your new subjugated Norscan allies, you should be able to deal with him fairly quickly. Upon doing so, you will find yourself with long stretches of territory under the control of Norsca or fellow Warriors of Chaos.

Natural allies and subordinates, Archaon can cleave his way to either the East or West in search of new territory.

The new Warriors of Chaos army roster boasts some very impressive additions. The Warband feature allows you to upgrade your lesser troops into higher-tier ones once they have gained enough experience. Dedicating units to a particular Chaos God will further empower them, and a roster containing Chaos Knights, Bloodthirsters, and Chosen of Nurgle is a terrifying proposition for any faction.

The new horde mechanic allows you to stay on the move without focusing too much on settlement building, but it also allows the capturing of Chaos Altars and a sense of permanence that was missing from their old campaign. Archaon has one of the kindest start positions alongside Kholek Suneater, but his all-around abilities help to make him the best Warriors of Chaos campaign in Immortal Empires.

Victory Objectives

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