Which factions can you dominate the battlefield with?

In the world of Total War: Warhammer II, set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy, you may notice some factions outshine others in their styles of war. The Norsca are brutal savages hailing from the North, bounding across frozen tundra to show their enemies the smiles of their axes, bearing their elongated canines with a wet leopard growl. The Golden Order are a subfaction of the Empire based in Solland, at the southern tip of the Empire, who excel in metal magic and command mighty artillery, seeking to impose order among chaos. These are just two examples of how different the playstyles of factions are. There are many races, and many lords, to choose from each with their own strengths!

The Golden Order (Best for dispatching enemies with artillery before they reach you)

Balthasar Gelt leads a charge against the undead, brandishing his metal lore magics.

The Golden Order is led by a gold-masked wizard, renowned in the lore of metal, righteous in his cause,and sometimes pompous, Balthasar Gelt. The Order is a subfaction of the Empire that commands the southern tip of the Empire, seeking to expand their influence northward, while vanquishing those who oppose them to the South, East and West, leveraging control of metal lore and the artillery might of the Empire.

Faction Strengths:

• Mastery over Lore of Metal: (Hero capacity +2 for battle wizards, upkeep -50% for battle wizard heroes, Winds of Magic Cost -20% for Lore of Metal, hero recruit rank +2 for battle wizards)
• Artillery Strength (Missile Strength +10% for artillery units (Lord's Army) )
• Ability to confederate other lands in the Empire and receive those faction's bonuses, one of which is Wissenland, offering a further 10% bonus to artillery missile strength. Are you seeing a trend?
• Strong opener (Starts with a settlement called Fort Sol and can take Steingart to secure a province on turn one.
• Sturdy infantry to keep the enemies at bay while artillery bombards them from a safe distance (Armor +10 for all units)
• Hilariously pompous voice acting for Mr. Gelt

Faction Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable to any units that can disrupt artillery
• Fast moving, melee focused armies
• Armies with many fliers such as the Vampiric factions
• Armies with the terror effect

You should pick this faction if:

• You enjoy destroying enemies with a firestorm of explosive ordinance from a distance
• You like playing as a sassy wizard that rains molten gold down on his enemies' heads
• You enjoy a well rounded army with a righteous cause and the artillery and magical might to back it up
• You enjoy killing Greenskins.

Golden Order details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/The_Golden_Order

World Walkers (Best for quickly closing the gap and dominating melee combat)

Wulfrik the Wanderer leads his chaos beasts across the frozen tundra to conquer distant lands.

Wulfrik the Wanderer the Norscan Marauder-Lord leads the World Walkers. He is a commander of unbreakable men and a brother to wolves, empowered by his worship of the ruinous powers of chaos. Hailing from Icedrake Fjord, he and his marauders aim to quickly expand Northward, Eastward and Westward, dispatching enemy warlords and confederating their men to his cause, while raising settlements in the name of the ruinous powers, his dark gods.

Factions Strengths:

• Siege Attacker Attribute: you are able to besiege settlements without building any siege equipment first
• Allegiance to the Gods: By razing settlements in the name of the ruinous powers, you can pledge your allegiance to them and gain their blessing as well as access to specialty units such as Azrik the Maze Keeper, Lord of Change.
• Monster Hunts: Norscan Lords can track down, battle and acquire the services of fearsome monsters of the Old World.
• Aggressive infantry heavy roster with a variety of options for strong monstrous and cavalry units
• Attribute: Causes Fear (Lord's army): Wulfrik's army gain this attribute, making them potent close combat fighters, able to break enemy enemy ranks and reap carnage among the chaos.
• Tribal Confederation: When you defeats another Norscan leader in battle you may confederate their tribe. If done correctly, you can control the entire Northlands in just a few turns.
• Seafang: Wulfrik can conjure a spectral boat that plows through his enemies, causing massive magical damage in a forward moving area of effect.

Factions Weaknesses:

• Unfavorable terrain: If your marauders have to make it over a hill to close on their targets they are going to lose a lot of men because units move slowly uphill.
• Armies with Anti-Large units because monstrous units are an important part of the your roster
• AOE (area of effect) magic focused armies: because of the Norscan's tendency to rush their enemies and engage in melee, infantry will often be grouped up tight and become efficient kills for wizards and artillery.
• You should pick this faction if:
• You like to play as a Norse-inspired faction with awesome accents
• You prefer a fast and aggressive playstyle and securing an early victory
• You are a worshipper of the ruinous powers
• You like killing those dreary Empire Bureacrats

World Walkers details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/World_Walkers

The Bloody Handz (Best for winning quickly with aggressive infantry and powerful Orc magic)

Wurrzag leads his savage Orcs across a grassy field to WAAAGH!

The Bloody Handz are led by Da Great Green Prophet Wurrzag. He is a devout worshipper of Mork and Gork, the orcish gods of brutal cunning and cunning brutality respectively- this can be confusing for the orcs, but their course of action tends to remain the same.. WAAAGH! Wurrzag believes Grimgor Ironhide, the Warboss of Grimgor's 'Ardboyz, to be chosen by Mork and Gork and seeks to make WAAAGH alongside him. Hailing from Ekrund in the Western Badlands, Wurrzag aims to rejoin with Grimgor after subjugating the lesser greenskins surrounding his territory.

Factions Strengths:

• Strong opener; able to wrestle control of the Western Badlands from lesser orcs and gain its province bonus during the first few turns
• You get access to savage orc bonuses for Wurrzag’s army (Wurrzag can recruit savage orcs anywhere, charge bonus +25, upkeep -50%, recruitment cost -50%, and physical resistance +15%)
• WAAAGH!: an orc specific ability that provides huge combat bonuses during a battle
• Wurrzag has access to a spell called Foot of Gork: apowerful AOE spell with a huge explosion area during which the spectral green foot of Gork manifests and flattens any units unfortunate enough to be under it.
• Scrap upgrades allow you to upgrade your units with strong bonuses, like armor piercing for goblin archers.
• You have access to Rogue Idols, a behemoth made of stones held together by the power of Mork and Gork, capable of shrugging off all but the deadliest of attacks while knocking swatches of enemy infantry into the air with mighty sweeps of its limbs.

Factions Weaknesses:

• An aggressive playstyle and rapid expansion make it hard to defend all of your territories early on in the game.
• Savage Orcs start with zero armor and are vulnerable during that time to being picked off.
• Savage Orc ranged units are inaccurate.

You should pick this faction if:

• You like playing as a dancing voodoo Orc and commanding an army of green boyz in loinclothes
• You enjoy an aggressive playstyle with some Orcish magic thrown in
• You have a special place in your heart for the hilarious voice acting for orc units
• You like Squigs

Bloody Handz details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/The_Bloody_Handz

The Knights of Caledor (Best for burning and smashing your enemies with powerful dragons)

Imrik leads a host of Elves and Dragons to war.

Based in the Plain of Bones, Dragon Prince Imrik leads the Knights of Caledor in search of the last mighty drakes that do not slumber. He fights to restore Caledor's position among the High Elves, but between Imrik and his far West Elven brethren sits a range of mountains home to Dwarves and Greenskins, while every border of the Plain of Bones is raided by Goblins, Skaven and Dark elves. He must overcome insurmountable odds and befriend ancient dragons to realize his desires.

Factions strengths:

• Dragon Taming: Buy powerful buffs and influence from dragons, or defeat them to bring them into your service on the battlefield.
• Invocations: Perform rites in service to the Elven gods Isha, Asuryan, Vaul and Eldrazor to gain faction-wide bonuses for a set number of turns.
• A variety of bonuses for dragon units (upkeep -25%, recruitment duration -1 turn, additional bonuses to dragon units from Invocations of Vaul and Eldrazor)
• You can use Intrigue to affect diplomacy between factions or purchase stronger lords.
• Access to elven mages and archmages of all lores
• Strong opener: you start with a sun dragon and a unit of dragon princes and can take darkhold on turn one. Darkhold has a special building called Graves of the Dragons that allows for early recruitment of Dragon Princes.

Factions weaknesses:

• You lack the income to support a significant second army early on.
• It’s hard to expand and defend your settlements early on while being harassed by Red Cloud Goblins and Clan Eshin from the east and Dark Elves from the south.
• All the races that you start near are unlikely to engage in diplomacy with you beyond the occasional peace treaty if you intimidate them.

You should pick this faction if:

• You enjoy burning and smashing enemies with dragons while skewering them with cavalry lances
• You crave a challenge with big payoff
• You like the haughty attitude of a High Elf prince

Knights of Caledor details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/Knights_of_Caledor

Clan Skryre (Best for obliterating enemies from afar with warp-fueled weapon teams)

Chief Warlock Engineer Ikit Claw prepares to use his warp magic, a furious howl on his lips.

Chief Warlock of Skryre, Ikit Claw, dwells in Skavenblight. He is in search of secrets- warp technology or anything that he can concoct into a weapon to bring apocalypse to the lands beyond Skavenblight. Armed with weapons powered by volatile green warp energy and supported by hordes of expendable Skavenslaves, Ikit Claw is a name you would be right to fear.

Faction strengths:

• You start with Skavenblight, a settlement with unique buildings like the Warpstone Telescope that can be upgraded to allow access to Warpfire Throwers, Warplock Jezzails and Ratling Guns very early in the game. Skavenblight also functions as its own province, meaning you can take a province bonus on turn one.
• Forbidden Workshop mechanic allows for many upgrades as well as building DOOM rockets which are essentially warp energy nukes.
• You start with a unit of Warplock Jezzails, Ratling Guns, Doomflayers, a Warlock Engineer hero, and a DOOM rocket.
• You get strong weapon team bonuses (recruit rank +2, upkeep -50%).
• You can build undercities with unique buildings under enemy settlements.
• You canspawn Skaven Clanrats anywhere on the map during battles in limited amounts.
• You get access to cheap, expendable units to bulk out your armies.

Faction weaknesses:

• Most Skaven infantry units are weak and have low leadership.
• Losing an undercity you've overcommitted to upgrading can be crippling.
• You are surrounded by hostile factions in the early game.
• Sieging is hard because your weapon teams have a bad angle of fire when shooting at walled settlements.

You should pick this faction if:

• You want to play as a nutty bionic-rat-tinkerer with the biggest brain
• You love Skaven voices
• You prefer to play a horde style army with some insane warp weapons thrown in

Clan Skryre details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/Clan_Skryre

Karaz-a-Karak (Best for chopping, burning, shooting and exploding your enemies from the safety of your armor)

Grombrindal prepares to engage enemy forces in the underway.

Grombrindal the White Dwarf is a legend among Dawi, rumored to appear at moments of despair and turn the tide of a battle with nothing but an axe and his mighty presence. After witnessing a band of Bloody Spearz Orcs enter a sacred Dwarven site, the Pillars of Grungni, Grombrindal has revealed himself to High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer of the Karaz-a-Karak and leads his men to retake the Pillars and settle this grudge.

Faction strengths:

• You can forge powerful magic items with the dwarf resource Oathgold
• The Great Book of Grudges: a Dwarf mechanic in which you are rewarded with both Oathgold and regular gold for attacking certain enemies.
• You are able to recruit a second mighty lord, Thorgrim Grudgebearer, after settling eight grudges
• You start with Karak-a-karak which has a gemstone mine that provides a lot of income.
• You can take the Pillars of Grungni on turn one and Mount Squighorn on turn two to quickly secure a province (and it's bonus).
• You can call upon Grimnir, Valaya, Grungni, or Grombrindal himself and receive their blessing for 25 turns, each blessing providing its own list of buffs.
• Your unit roster is made of heavily armoured units with strong leadership that have a healthy variety of short and long ranged weapons and access to deadly war machines like Organ Guns or Flame Cannons.

Faction weaknesses:

• The Great Book of Grudges: Sometimes it is hard to settle all of your Grudges when you have expanded far outwards and own a lot of settlements. There are penalties for failing to settle grudges such as: public order -3, upkeep +10% for all units.
• You are often forced to play defensively in the beginning of the game because Grimgor's 'Ardboyz and the Bloody Spearz will both likely attack you early on.

You should pick this faction if:

• You like to play a tank in RPGs
• You want to play a well rounded army with strong defense and access to tons of weapons and artillery
• You enjoy bisecting Orks with battle axes
• You're a Dawi lover

Karak-a-Karak details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/Karaz-a-Karak

Carcassone (Best for breaking enemy formations with powerful cavalry)

The Fay Enchantress leads her Grail Knights to the warfront.

Feared even by her own men, the Fay Enchantress leads the Carcassone in the name of the Lady, goddess of Bretonnia. She uses powerful magics to protect her loyal knights and sow chaos among their enemies, riding into battle on the back of Silvaron, her loyal Unicorn. The Fay Enchantresses strives to protect the Kingdom of Bretonnia from Greenskins, Beastmen and whoever else dares set foot there, bearing down on them with the thunderous beat of her knight's hooves and a spell on her lips.

Faction strengths:

• Casualty replenishment rate +15%: This is extremely useful and allows you to spend more time conquesting and less time healing in your base after battles,
• You start with Carcassonne province and can take a bonus on turn one.
• You get access to skirmish and shock cavalry units that can break up enemy formations and deal devastating charge damage.
• You can confederate other Bretonnian factions easily via the research tree.
• Chivalry: a mechanic in which you can secure powerful bonuses by committing honorable acts (or lose them by dishonorable acts). Keeping your chivalry high can grant effects such as increased leadership and recruitment rank as well as enable access to the Green Knight, a unique hero cavalry unit.
• Peasant economy: You can draft a limited number of peasants to serve in your army.

Faction weaknesses:

• There are no easy targets to fight and gain experience from in the early game besides the occasional Beastmen or Skaven incursion.
• Many bonuses from the research tree are only useful versus specific factions, so you may find your forces having trouble with any faction you did not anticipate fighting.
• Drafting too many peasants into your armies will cripple your income.

You should pick this faction if:

• You want to play as a magical floating French enchantress
• You like French accents
• You want to impose order on the Mortal Empires alongside knights of unbreakable faith in the name of the Lady

Carcassonne details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/Carcassonne

Sylvania (Best for disrupting enemy backlines with flying units and dispatching enemy lords with necromantic magic)

Mannfred von Carstein prepares to spread his dark influence abroad.

Mannfred von Carstein has risen from the dead again to reclaim his former keep, Castle Drakenhof in Eastern Sylvania. Based out of Castle Drakenhof and in command of a host of undead horrors, Mannfred aims to take Castle Templehof and the surrounding area from the Templehof vampire clan and establish an undead army with which to spread his dark influence.

Factions strengths:

• You get an increased winds of magic power reserve (+30) for Mannfred's army.
• Mannfred is a powerful spellcaster with access to a variety of deadly black magics. Combined with a 30 point bonus in winds of magic reserves, this makes him a formidable lord.
• You can raise new units from the recent dead of battles to fight in your army.
• You have access to a versatile unit roster with flying units, monsters and expendable undead.
• You start with Castle Drakenhof, which has a gold mine, and can take over both Eastern and Western Sylvania during the early turns with little opposition.
• You get bonuses for Grave Guard and Black Knight units (-15% upkeep, recruit rank +2).
• Bloodlines: a mechanic in which you can resurrect ancient vampire lords, gaining their service as well as a wide array of factionwide benefits
• Vampiric Corruption: You can spread the taint of undeath to enemy territory, causing public order losses and vampiric rebellions.

Faction weaknesses:

• You suffer attrition in any area that has no vampiric corruption, limiting your ability to conquest far from home without first corrupting an area.
• Undead units tend to be weak and expendable, requiring support from lords and monsters to succeed in the late game.
• You start off with Dwarves to the South and East and the Empire to the North and West, often requiring you to defend against the other faction when attacking one of them.

You should pick this faction if:

• You enjoy casting nearly limitless spells during battles
• You want to raise the dead to do your bidding and terrorize mortal men
• You like the taste of blood

Sylvania details: https://totalwarwarhammer.gamepedia.com/Sylvania

Although the factions I've covered stand out among their peers, there are other factions each with unique strengths and weaknesses that I encourage you to try and decide for yourself who are the best of the best!

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