Total War: Warhammer 2 – Rise of the Tomb Kings – Doot Doot
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Creative Assembly
Published by SEGA
Available on PC through Steam
Rated T for Teen
For those of you not so inundated in the Total War: Warhammer fanbase, Tomb Kings have been kind of a joke for a while now. With every new hint, teaser, and announcement of upcoming DLC, scores of fans would flock to the forums with the cry of, “Tomb Kings confirmed.” It’s as nerdy an inside joke as inside jokes can get, as the Tomb Kings have long been the neglected stepchild of the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Lucky for fans, Creative Assembly have breathed plenty of new life into the world of Warhammer, even going so far as resurrecting the Norsca team in last year’s Total War: Warhammer. So that which is not dead can eternal lie, and with strange DLCs even spooky scary skeletons may rise.
Though unfathomably excited, I wasn’t really surprised by the Tomb Kings’ release. The Total War: Warhammer 2 map had a big ol’ section of Nehekhara, complete with Black Pyramid of Nagash, populated by placeholder undead vampires. It didn’t take genius to figure out what they planned to put there.
Right off the bat, Creatives Assembly has changed their approach to releasing new teams. Previously, teams would release as either stand alone factions for $8-$10, or bundled with a new mini-campaign for $19. These mini-campaigns were usually a fun introduction to the new team, but had very little appeal past the first playthrough. This is killer for a franchise that’s all about infinite replayability. What’s more, new teams didn’t come with the Regiments of Renown that were being introduced in smaller $8 DLC packs.
So Creative Assembly listened to the fans and refocused their attention for the Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC teams. Still releasing at the hefty price of $19, Rise of the Tomb Kings does not come bundled with a separate mini-campaign. Instead, the Tomb Kings have released with 4 different Legendary Lords (each with their own special sub-faction and starting location), a new unique Eye of the Vortex win condition, and their own slew of Regiments of Renown. Funny enough, that’s more Legendary Lords than any of the four base teams, who also don’t have Regiments of Renown yet.
And they’re just so excited about it
Now you can go ahead and debate whether Creative Assembly’s DLC policy is greedy and unfair, but there’s really no debating the amount of value you are getting with the Tomb Kings. The reason this review is coming out a bit late is because I wanted to beat the campaign once with each of the four lords. I was kind of expecting all of the lords to start out around Nehekhara, but that isn’t the case at all. Only Setra and Arkhan start off in the blasted deserts of their dead kingdom, and are at permanent war with one another. Khalida starts off in the jungle over by where Teclis used to spawn, while Khatep starts in the mountains that serve as the border between the Dark Elves and Lizard men. Interestingly, Khalida and Khatep both have unique habitable climates exclusive to them. Also a series first, Arkhan has the ability to recruit units from another team, with a special building allowing him to recruit certain Vampire Count units.
What this all means is that more than any other time in the series, it really does feel like the four different lords are each their own team. Typically a Warhammer 2 game will play out much the same each time: Skaven fight the Lizardmen, Dark Elves fight the High Elves, and depending on where you start some other skirmishes with lesser factions may ensue. The diversity of starting positions means that who you play as will entirely change the enemies you’ll be facing. Stating as Setra/Arkhan will immediately put you at odds with other Tomb Kings and Wood Elves, while starting as Khalida will put the Lizardmen in your sights. It gives you a chance to really try out a variety of combat tactics, seeing which ones will be most effective against the myriad of Total War: Warhammer 2 teams.
The new Asylum film, Lizard Man v Skeleton Riding Giant Mechanical Scorpion
There are now 14 playable Total War: Warhammer 2 factions, and it’s pretty amazing that Creative Assembly still manages to put out teams that are creative, unique, and loyal to the source material. The Tomb Kings are far more than just, “Undead: Spooky Scary Skeletons Edition.” Lore wise, the Tomb Kings vary greatly from their Vampire Count undead counterparts. Whereas the Vampire Counts utilize the bodies of dead creatures to create a horde of mindless thralls, the Tomb Kings are anything but mindless. From great lord to simple skeleton, the reanimated corpses maintain their free will and conscious thought. They serve their masters out of an undying loyalty, not dark magic. I mean sure, they are still fearless undead hordes that wish to establish an empire of ash and bone, but it’s because they’re just really into that.
So rather than just walk into the nearest village, slaughter all the peasants, and raise a horde of zombies, the Tomb Kings must slowly awaken their empire from the souls of their dormant loyal subjects. As such, the number of units you can field is capped by how many of that specific military building you have. Build a skeleton house, and you can get 4 Skeleton Archers. You’ll have to build another one if you want to get 8. This is applied to their entire empire. Build one Warsphinx building, and you’ll be able to get a single Warsphinx across all of your forces.
This goes for lords and heroes as well. You can up your army capacity by researching new dynasties, which branch off into researching new techs and unlocking new heroes/lords. Some of these research options cost money, some the special resource Canopic Jars, and some just good ol’ fashioned turns. It altogether gives you the feeling of a slowly awakening great and menacing empire.
But when that empire awakens…
Now if this all sounds very cumbersome, it is. It’s all in service to balance the Tomb King’s major advantage. As they require not gold to pay their troops nor dark magic to sustain them, Tomb King units don’t cost any money. Lords, heroes, Hierotitans, none of them have any recruitment cost or upkeep. It’s incredibly powerful, and makes the Tomb Kings an unrelenting force whose only real enemy is time. It also makes them a bitch and a half to eliminate, as even the most crushing defeat just sends them back to their base to rebuild.
With no units to upkeep, Tomb Kings have basically no economy buildings. You get some gold from your settlements, a single +150 gold economy building, and that’s it. If you want to be a successful Tomb King, you’re going to have to trade. Which is nice, because Tomb Kings don’t have negative diplomatic relations with any of the teams. In fact, they only have a cultural aversion to other Tomb Kings, and cannot confederate. It’s hard to make friends in general in Total War: Warhammer, but I was consistently able to make vast trade empires on each of my playthroughs.
And if they don’t wana trade…
Okay, I’ve rambled enough about the boring empire building. How’s the combat? Overall, their roster is pretty balanced with a few standout units. The skeletons are all kind of boring. You’ve got some filler spear/sword skeletons, the more advanced damage skeletons, skeleton archers, skeleton cavalry, skeleton cavalry archers, and the elite Tomb Guard that work as a more robust frontline. The most interesting skeleton would have to be the Skeleton Chariot, which has the honor of being the first tier 1 chariot in Total War: Warhammer. The skeletons are well rounded, but kind of boring.
Where the Tomb Kings really get interesting is in their monstrous constructs. Massive Hierotitans, unstoppable Sphynxes, spooky Tomb Scorpions, there are a number of massive warmachines that the Tomb Kings can field. The smallest of these are the Ushabti, living statues the size of Trolls and about four times as deadly. These come in regular and greatbow variety, and I defy you to find something better at killing gigantic units outside of a Luminarch. Seriously, a greatbow Ushabti can take down dragons and mammoths before they have time to squash a single skeleton. They deal absurd armor piercing damage at a range twice that of other archers. It’s fucking metal.
There’s a balancing act you have to play with Tomb King armies, as their unique battle mechanic only affects their skeletal units. Once you reach a certain amount of casualties, you trigger a team wide healing/resurrection buff. This happens three times, after which you can summon a squad of Ushabti anywhere on the map. So for every single construct you field, you weaken this effect by not only removing large amounts of bodies to feed to the soul pile, but putting out a unit that is unaffected by these revival waves. It’s up to you if you want to try to exploit this powerful effect, or have more murder Sphinxes and giant statues that shoot lasers out of their eyes.
You are literally rats to me.
It’s been all praise so far, but overall I’m not as stoked on the Tomb Kings as I might seem. As a DLC pack and signs of things to come, Rise of the Tomb Kings is fantastic. I want new teams to come out fully stocked and with diverse Legendary Lords. As a team, I find Tomb Kings to be a bit too cumbersome. Their starting roster is very weak, and it’s impossible to build your empire if you don’t expand. You can’t just sit back and amass enough Greatswords and Handgunners until you’re ready to overpower a greater foe. It makes playing the diplomacy game very tough. When you have enough buildings to support your massive armies, they are simply unstoppable.
Despite my personal niggles, it’s as I said earlier in the review. Fourteen teams in, and Creative Assembly still finds ways to make new teams feel totally unique. The Tomb King’s strengths are equally matched by their shortcomings. Their mechanics reflect the tabletop’s canon while still fitting the Total War feel. I fully support the direction they are heading with this DLC, even if the team itself isn’t my favorite. Then again my favorite team is the Beastmen, so maybe I’m just a big dumb idiot.
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DLC
Summary
Fourteen teams in, and Creative Assembly still finds ways to make new teams feel totally unique. The Tomb King’s strengths are equally matched by their shortcomings. Their mechanics reflect the tabletop’s canon while still fitting the Total War feel. I fully support the direction they are heading with this DLC, even if the team itself isn’t my favorite.
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