Grand Cathay Roster Guide
Friendship ended with the classic dwarf box.
Now, the Grand Cathay artillery box is my best friend.
Read on for more details.
Lord Magistrate
Cathays support lord still has some impressive utility.
Focus on his missile buffs for massive boosts to reload skill and accuracy.
Alchemist/Astromancer
Cathays spellcaster heroes.
The Alchemist has access to the Lore of Metal; the Astromancer, Lore of Heavens.
Still, consider bringing the Astromancer along for their unique Wu Xing War Compass mount.
Peasant Spearman
Peasant spearmen are your low-tier line holders.
Replace them as soon as possible.
The standard variant has a bronze shield, meaning theyll block around a third of incoming small arms fire.
Celestial Dragon Guard
Cathays elite infantry choice.
Not amazing damage dealers, but excellent at holding the line.
Pop them in a choke point during a siege, and watch them repel waves of enemy charges.
Remember to keep them in place for a few seconds when expecting a charge.
This will brace the unit, allowing them to get their maximum deflection bonuses.
Peasant Archers
Cathays basic missile unit.
Keep those harmony bonuses going, and focus fire two or three units on key targets.
Theyll still be more effective moved around the flanks, however.
Leaving them in your frontline is a surefire way to get them focus-fired down or charged.
Best left behind your lines, ideally on some raised ground.
Theyll still need to find better positions once a melee starts, though.
Theyre also the rare armored missile unit, meaning they can adequately defend themselves from fliers and the like.
Crane Gunners
Actual goshdarn sniper rifles, like Skaven have.
Great for sniping characters and large single entities.
Celestial Dragon Crossbowmen
More elite Jade Warrior Crossbowmen.
Peasant Horseman
Peasant Horsemen are useful for chasing routing units or disrupting low-tier enemy archers.
Useless at everything else.
Vanguard deployment means you might be able to trigger an ambush.
Otherwise, replace them as soon as possible.
Great Longma Riders
Grand Cathays elite cavalry choice.
Luckily, their wings mean youll be able to set up those rear charges with ease.
They might be useful situationally, but honestly they’re not worth the roster slot in their current state.
They’re slow-moving, but able to reposition to minimize friendly fire once battle lines are established.
Their weakness is a low ammo count and reduced utility late in a fight.
Fire Rain Rocket
An anti-infantry powerhouse, able to decimate tightly packed troops.
Markedly less effective at low ranks, but become exceptionally powerful with some decent accuracy bonus.
Harmony amplifiers or the Lord Magistrates support buffs will help a great deal.
Grand Cathay Magic Spells List
Below, well look at Cathays two unique lores of magic.
Thats the Lore of Yin, and the Lore of Yang.
So, how do you combine it all to make them a formidable force on the battlefield?
Here are some general tips to get the most out of Cathay.
Harmonise, harmonise, harmonise!
Much of Cathays strength relies on harmonizing Yin and Yang units together for combat buffs, so plan ahead.
In Warhammer II, the dwarven defensive formation was a real headache.
Its only real weakness was a lack of magic.
Cathay are dwarves with magic.
Try Castle Drakenhof early for a sword that grants the wielder regen.
The Wu Xing Compass
Not much depth here.
Worth checking every now and then to compliment your current plan, but otherwise no real trick to it.
Tech, buildings, lords, heroes: all contribute to your overall balance.
Plan ahead and explore the tech tree as thoroughly.
As you expand, youll naturally fall out of balance.
Dont worry too much.
That covers it for getting the most out of Grand Cathay!
Looking for more tips?
Check out ourTotal War: Warhammer 3 beginners guideto kickstart your campaign.
Or, If you want to know more about the game, heres ourTotal War: Warhammer 3 review.
