Are you looking for the best and most cost-effective units for your Total War Warhammer 3 Grand Cathay campaign? Then look no further than this list! After thoroughly analyzing all 18 Grand Cathay units in both campaign and custom battles, and on various difficulties, they were compiled into this tier list.
From the S-Tier (superb) to the C-Tier (not recommended), you can use this as a guide when building the perfect army to defend the Great Bastion against the forces of Chaos. Or to conquer other lands, if you so desire.
S-Tier
Terracotta Sentinel: Grand Cathay's unit roster is a bit weaker than the other factions and depends heavily on the Yin-Yang battle harmony to function, which means staying in formation. As a result, not many units from Cathay deserve to be classified as S-Tier. The only exception, but barely, is the Terracotta Sentinel. This stone giant is unbreakable, has magical attacks, high armor-piercing, and is still reasonably priced. So, it is worth having one (or 19?) of these in your army.
A-Tier
Peasant Long Spearmen: The (long) yari ashigaru from Shogun 2: Total War makes a return! This unit is cheap and surprisingly sturdy. It even has expert charge defense and charge reflection, which is rare for such a cheap unit. While you will want to eventually replace this unit with Jade Warriors, you might want to keep one or two on hand to defend your flanks.
Jade Warriors (Sword & Shield): Jade Warriors are your bread and butter frontline unit. They work best when standing still in formation, while your missile and artillery units do most of the killing. Jade Warriors have a Yang battle harmony, so they work best when there are Yin units behind or above them.
Jade Warrior Crossbowmen: These crossbowmen are a solid missile unit and somewhat comparable to the Dwarven quarrelers. They have a Ying battle harmony, so if you put them behind your frontline, you can trigger various passive bonuses.
Iron Hail Gunners: These are female warriors carrying shotguns, that are devastating at a short range and deal high armor-piercing damage. Iron Hail Gunners cannot get enough shots off to prevent an enemy from reaching them, so they are best used either in the back, to shoot at large entities, or as a flanking force.
Crane Gunners: For everyone who loved the Warplock Jezzails from Total War: Warhammer 2, you will want these Crane Gunners in your army. While Crane Gunners are less mobile and more fragile, they deal more damage, so they are useful for sniping enemy lords and monsters.
Grand Cannon: The Grand Cannon may sound more impressive than Kislev's Little Grom, but it is a lot weaker. Nonetheless, it is a good artillery weapon, which you will need for siege battles. The Grand Cannon is also pretty good at damaging enemy cavalry and monsters.
Fire Rain Rocket: Balthasar Gelt would be proud of this unit, as it is comparable to the Helstorm Rocket Battery from Warhammer 2. The Fire Rain Rocket has a lower range and less ammunition, but deals more damage, especially against infantry. This is a strong complement to your army. Just make sure to keep an eye on it and protect it, as it is very squishy.
Wu-Xing War Compass: The War Compass is an odd one in Cathay's roster. You should use it as a support unit. It has a Yang battle harmony while the Grand Cannon and Fire Rain Rocket have a Ying battle harmony. This means that if you park your War Compass next to your artillery, they get some good passive buffs. The War Compass also improves the power of your elemental spells.
B-Tier
Peasant Archers: Peasant Archers are cheap missile fodder. Most factions have one such unit. Unfortunately, the Peasant Archers are a bit weaker than their counterparts. For example, the Kossars from Kislev cost the same but are better in almost every aspect. It is mainly the low armor-piercing damage that makes the Peasant Archers quite a disappointing unit, despite its low price.
Jade Warriors (Halberds): Compared to the Jade Warriors with swords and shields, the Jade Warriors (Halberds) have lower survivability. They have a niche role to play, mainly on the flanks and in dealing with monsters, ogres, or cavalry. But even for that role, they are soon replaced by the Celestial Dragon Guard.
Jade Warrior Crossbowmen (Shields): This unit is comparable to the Jade Warrior Crossbowmen, but thanks to their shields, they can trade fire better with enemy missile units. While they are certainly not bad, in terms of cost-effectiveness, it is still preferable to just use Jade Warrior Crossbowmen instead, who already have high armor so are not in much need of a shield.
Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen: If you have more money than you know what to do with, it might be worth upgrading your Jade Warrior Crossbowmen to Celestial Dragons. The extra armor-piercing damage is certainly a boon. The other benefits increased melee stats, and survivability, are not that useful though. Especially since these units are typically placed behind the frontline.
Jade Lancers: Jade Lancers are shock cavalry that will be helpful in your early campaign, but they are a bit underwhelming. Their speed is quite low, especially compared to the Kislev cavalry. Jade Lancers also certainly do not match up to Winged Lancers. They can be used for hammer and anvil tactics, just do not expect too much from them.
Great Longma Riders: This flying cavalry unit appears to be a slightly worse version of Royal Pegasus Knights, from Warhammer 2. The Longma Riders have more armor and a higher charge bonus but lack the perfect vigor, magical damage, and high physical resistance of the Royal Pegasus Knight. Nonetheless, since mobility is one of the main downsides of the Cathay roster, it can be useful to have one or two of these flying units in your army.
Celestial Dragon Guard: The Celestial Dragon Guard is the strongest infantry unit of Cathay, and it helps that they have shields. Certainly, by the end game, you will most likely feature a front line of these units, although you could also opt for an extra army of Jade Warriors instead. The Dragon Guard is placed at B-Tier because, in terms of cost-effectiveness, they are not a significant upgrade over Jade Warriors.
Sky-Junk: The Sky-Junk is a highly situational unit. It will be exceptional when you are fighting an army without any flying units, or when you have the unit scale set to 'low'. However, when you are facing an army with strong flying units, your Sky-Junk will be very vulnerable and needs to be protected. Plus, on a high or ultra unit scale, you are better off using the Fire Rain Rocket.
C-Tier
Peasant Horsemen: The Peasant Horsemen are slightly worse than the Kossovite Dervishes of Kislev, despite costing almost the same. This light cavalry unit is only useful for chasing off routing enemies and harassing missile units, although they will likely lose if they end up in a protracted melee. You should replace this unit with Jade Lancers as soon as you can.
Sky Lantern: The Sky Lantern is a weaker version of the Sky-Junk. It has a 360-degree firing arc and decent range. It is not a bad unit but very expensive for what it accomplishes. For example, compared to the Brimstone Gyrocopter from Warhammer 2, it has lower damage-per-second, only consists of one unit model, and it is more expensive. You should thus avoid this unit unless you are afraid of getting ambushed in forest maps, then this could be a B-Tier unit.