Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Grand Cathay

This is the general tactics page on how to play Cathay in Total War: WARHAMMER. As the game isn't out yet and we know very little about how the faction will work, this page won't be filled out for a long time. However, we can make some early guesses based on the table top and the trailer.

Why Play Cathay

• Because Total War: Three Kingdoms didn't go hard enough into fantasy for you.
• These guys are finally being fleshed out (with the full blessings of our evil British overlords nonetheless) after years and you want to see what they come up with.
• You're into oriental history and mythology.

Pros

• Designed for Total War: One thing we can say as an advantage for Cathay is unlike the other factions they will be designed from the ground up to be in a Total War game rather then trying to transition from a table top game into total war. This gives them the potential to be one of the best designed races and balanced since they're not trying to fit a square Warhamemer peg into a round Total War hole.
• Monsters: So far your big eye candy is the Terracotta Sentinel, and you also have a good amount of flying cav to play around with. Seems like you will be the msot monster focused of the human factions.
• Numbers: In lore, Cathay has the largest population of all the human nations, so they will likely have bodies to spare. Don't expect Skaven numbers, but you'll likely have large armies compared to other good guy races.
• Range: As the oldest Human nation to have gotten gunpowder, it makes sense it plays a big role in your army. You have access to a ton of gunpowder units and artillery to blast the enemy apart. You also got some elite crossbow to play around with.
• Harmony: Cathay has a solid combination of units which work together well in concert.

Cons

• Slow: From what is known and has been shown, Cathay won't be winning many foot races compared to other factions. Though seemingly not as plodding as the dwarfs or lizardmen, your hot air balloons will be pretty susceptible to air cav and missile fire.
• AoE Susceptible: A core mechanic of Cathay units is that they gain bonuses when in close proximity with each other. While this can be great for holding the line, it also makes your forces more vulnerable to vortex or wind spells. You'll have to keep an eye out for enemy wizards.
• DLC: There are three guarantees in life. Death, Taxes, and Core Races getting units withheld for DLC. There is already a notable lack of monkey in the Cathay roster. Sorry Cathay, don't expect to be different. (Though in this case I guess it's less "units being held back" and more "CA and GW making up more shit later.")

Lords

We finally got the names of the two legendary lords, and they turn out to be new characters. The children of the Dragon Emperor and the Moon Empress, they rule in his stead over the various provinces of Cathay.

Legendary Lords

• Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, ruler of the Western Provinces and Lord of Shang-Yang: Son of the Dragon Emperor, all we know about him so far is he is in the west and can breathe fire and doesn't get along with his sister.

• Miao Ying, the Storm Dragon, ruler of the Northern Provinces and Commander of the Great Bastion.: Daughter of the Dragon Emperor, all we know about her is that she is in the north, has a lightning aesthetic, and doesn't get along with her brother.

Generic Heroes

• Alchemist: More than likely the masked women from the trailer, who fights with vials and magic that looks like Chinese calligraphy. Will probably be a wizard with one of the new Cathay lores of magic. Wouldn't be surprised if she had Lore of Metal too.

• Astronomer:

Units

Infantry

• Peasant Infantry: Looks like some kind of peasant unit with the round hat and low armor. Likely to be your early chaff infantry.

• Jade Warriors: Seem to be your mid tier infantry in green

• Celestial Guard: Appear to be your elite infantry, mainly wielding halberd and shields. The concept art also shows swords and crossbows in their weapon set up, so may also have anti infantry and a ranged variant.

Missiles

• Grenade Launcher Ladies: Ladies with some sort of hand cannon that fires explosive bombs.

• Shielded Musketeer Ladies: Ladies with some form of big ass musket working with another with a shield. Probably similar to Skaven Jezzails.

Cavalry

• Longma Riders: Looks to be soldiers fighting some kind of horse dragon thing. Likely to function like Bretonnia's Pegasus Knights.

Chariots

• Wu-Xing War Compass: It's the big green thing pulled by horses in one of the screenshots. What does it do? The hell if I know! Probably either some kind of support unit.

Monsters

• Terracotta Sentinel: Take the standard Terracotta soldier from China, make it really big and teach it kung fu and you have this thing. Unknown what it's stats will be, but it looks impressive.

Artillery & Air Units

• Firework Cannons: Appear to be drawn by bronze bull golems and fire barrages of rockets, probably similar to Helstorm Rocket Batteries.

• Hot Air Balloons: Two versions have been spotted, a smaller unit with just handgunner ladies, and a heavier one with some form of rocket launcher or cannon.

Multiplayer Strategies

• Beastmen:

• Bretonnia:

• Warriors of Chaos:

• Dark Elves:

• Dwarfs:

• Empire:

• Grand Cathay:

• Greenskins:

• High Elves:

• Khorne:

• Kislev:

• Lizardmen:

• Norsca:

• Nurgle:

• Skaven:

• Slaanesh:

• Tomb Kings:

• Tzeentch:

• Vampire Coast:

• Vampire Counts:

• Wood Elves:

Total War: Warhammer Tactics Articles
General Tactics	Tactics Magic Banner Immortal Empires
Total War: Warhammer	The Empire Dwarfs Greenskins Vampire Counts Bretonnia Warriors of Chaos Beastmen Wood Elves Norsca
Total War: Warhammer 2	High Elves Dark Elves Lizardmen Skaven Tomb Kings Vampire Coast
Total War: Warhammer 3	Kislev Khorne Tzeentch Nurgle Slaanesh Grand Cathay Ogre Kingdoms Daemons of Chaos Chaos Dwarfs