Kostaltyn

This article contains spoilers! You have been warned.

So badass his mace is a burning church.

"Ko-Ko Kostaltyn
Doesn't like the Kislev queen
There was a cat that really was gone
Ko-Ko Kostaltyn
Kislev's greatest love machine
It was a shame how he carried on."

– Kislevite song

The Supreme Patriarch of The Great Orthodoxy, Kostaltyn is an original Legendary Lord for Kislev in Total War: Warhammer 3. Being the child between Creative Assembly and Andy Hall. He pretty obviously looks like Rasputin. Amusingly enough, despite being made to ressemble the real slavic "K(C)onstantyn" name, Kostaltyn's name is a strange mess unlikely to be used or pronounced by any actual Russian due to the "l"'s weird position.

The Great Orthodoxy itself was created by Tzar Boris Bohka, who wanted to codify and centralize the religion of his country ala Henry the 8th. Unlike dear old Henry, however, Boris had a very good reason to do this as many cults usually worshipped in the woods through strange rituals that he was scared would turn them to Chaos. As such, he created The Great Orthodoxy to govern the worship of Kislivite religion and see to strict oversight.

This presumably moderate system meant to help a secular nation got a whole lot more radical after Boris disappeared and Kostaltyn took over. Many worshippers of Kislev's religions are split between holding on to their old ways and sticking to this new structured format, obviously Kostaltyn supports the latter. Part of his resentment of Katarin is he views her as a supporter of the old ways of worship, and her being a mage doesn't help (even though Ice Magic doesn't actually connect to the warp in anyway, but I doubt he would know or care to learn that.)

If his intro cutscene in Total War: Warhammer 3 is any indication, he seems to be a bit more level headed than given credit for. Yes, he's a religious fanatic who seeks the Tzarina's throne, but he also does deeply care for Kislev and Ursun, and seems to view Boris Ursus as a close friend. His frustration with Katarin seems to revolve around the fact that she spends more time politicking than defending her people. It's clear he would give anything to protect Kislev, and he and Katarin would probably be tight if it wasn't for his blind faith and prejudice.

Similar to the other Total Warhammer OC, Cylostra Direfin, the reception of this man was... mixed. Some say that he is an excellent addition to help flesh out the rather small collection of named characters Kislev has and has an awesome design. Other say that he was completely unnecessary and that he stole Tzar Boris's spot as the second Kislev Legendary Lord…which became null and voided when Boris was also revealed to be playable at launch. Will this stop any future disagreements about Kostaltyn’s validity? Unlikely.

Rediscovering the Red Tzar

While it isn't exclusive to Kostaltyn's campaign, once the player has unlocked the requirements (holding all 3 major cities of Kislev for 10 straight turns), a cutscene plays where the patriarch rediscovers Boris magically frozen in ice. The latter soon frees himself, at which Boris becomes playable for the campaign.

Hilariously, despite being implicit in freeing Boris and being the head honcho of the Orthodoxy, he does not get any bonuses to Diplomacy with Boris' subfaction. Similarly Boris has no bonuses to Kostaltyn’s group, despite having bonus diplomacy with his daughter Katarin.

In-Game Abilities

Kostaltyn is a melee-focused lord whose faction effects increase the melee attack of Kossars, Kossavite Dervishes, and horse archer units, and gives other Patriarchs an increased ward save. He has access to Battle Prayers as well.

His unique trait is Supreme Patriarch, which gives him quicker personal Wound recovery, and Frenzy to his entire army.

Gameplay

Out of all non-Chaotic legendary lords, Kostaltyn is quite easily the worst one, especially in the main campaign. Unlike Russian Elsa to the south, you start right at the doorstep of Troll Country and Norsca, which means that you'll have to fight dem vikings. A lot. God-Slayer, Ku'Gath and Skarbrand are also pretty close. Another problem is that Kostaltyn's campaign revolves around weaker units that can't survive Realms of Chaos, thus making soul-claiming stuff incredibly hard. Combining this with a lack of unigue units and/or buffs to make your army even stronger means that no one really wants to play as Kostaltyn, preferring Katarin or Boris. A shame.

Gallery

• 

  Oh no, he's hot!