The World Ends Four Ways as Nagash, Thanquol, Boris and the Glottkin Invade Total War: WARHAMMER III

The apocalypse is no longer something waiting at the end of an Immortal Empires campaign. Lords of the End Times is out now for Total War: WARHAMMER III, unleashing Nagash, Grey Seer Thanquol, Boris Todbringer and the Glottkin alongside the enormous free Update 9.0 and a fundamental reworking of how the game handles its late campaign.

Released on September 24, Creative Assembly describes it as the largest DLC produced across the trilogy’s ten-year history. The complete package contains four Legendary Lords, eight Legendary Heroes, five additional Lord and Hero types, 23 battle units and 12 Regiments of Renown, but raw numbers only explain part of its scale. Each campaign has been constructed around a very different interpretation of the End Times: Nagash wants to convert the world into a kingdom of undeath, Thanquol weaponizes increasingly unreliable Masterplans, the Glottkin spread Nurgle’s corruption south toward the Empire, and Boris Todbringer attempts to make Middenland the wall that stops everything collapsing.

The launch is accompanied by Neferata as a free Legendary Lord, a substantial Vampire Counts rework, major improvements for Archaon and three completely new End Game scenarios capable of transforming Immortal Empires into a genuine apocalypse. Creative Assembly has also changed how the expansion can be purchased: each Lord remains available separately, but buying any Lords of the End Times character now grants access to Immortal Empires without requiring ownership of a previous Total War: WARHAMMER game.

Nagash Is Less a Legendary Lord Than an Undead Super-Faction

Years of requests have finally produced the character arguably best suited to an End Times expansion. Nagash, Supreme Lord of Undeath, does not simply enter the game as another Vampire Counts-style necromancer. His campaign has been designed around the idea that the creator of necromancy should eventually command almost everything death has produced.

Captured settlements can become specialized recruitment centers drawing from the Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings and Vampire Coast rosters. Coastal territory can become Pirate Coves, while inland settlements support Burial Chambers and Mausoleums. Major settlements can instead become Necropolises, gathering Necromantic Energy from surrounding regions and using it to expand recruitment capacity, construct specialized infrastructure and instantly raise units through Gravecall.

The Black Pyramid functions as the central engine of Nagash’s long-term progression. Empowered Sigils generated through expansion and Necropolis development unlock a huge network of upgrades, tying territorial conquest directly into his ascent. Creative Assembly has gone as far as describing Nagash as containing more content than any other individual character released during the trilogy, and his access to multiple undead rosters makes that claim easy to understand.

The Mortarchs Turn Conquest Into Collection

Nagash’s campaign is also about rebuilding his inner circle. He can subjugate nine Mortarchs, with Legendary Lords including Arkhan the Black, Neferata, Luthor Harkon, Vlad von Carstein and Mannfred von Carstein. Bringing one of those rulers under his control immediately transfers their empire and forces into Nagash’s growing dominion.

Dieter Helsnicht, Walach Harkon and Krell appear as Legendary Heroes, while the supernatural follower known as The Nameless can grant a Lord the ability to possess an enemy unit before battle. Nagash is also hunting the scattered Books of Nagash, which expand his already extreme magical repertoire with spells drawn from the Lores of Light, Vampires, Death and Nehekhara.

The result is intentionally excessive. Nagash can raise troops during battle through Gravecall abilities, fight as an extremely powerful melee character and operate as what Creative Assembly calls probably the strongest individual spellcaster in the game. His new units include Morghast Archai, Morghast Harbingers, Spirit Hosts, Coven Thrones and the enormous Khemric Titan, turning his armies into combinations that no existing undead faction could previously field.

Thanquol Finally Gets a Campaign as Unreliable as Thanquol

If Nagash represents overwhelming power, Thanquol is built around elaborate plans that would work perfectly if reality would stop interfering.

The Grey Seer leads Clan Scruten and conducts Masterplans through specialized underlings rather than handling every detail himself. Military plans secretly assemble armies before launching surprise assaults, economic schemes steal money, food and Warpstone, while magical plans can produce results as extreme as summoning Verminlords or calling down meteors on entire provinces.

The system becomes increasingly unstable the longer a Masterplan develops. Each turn can add useful Schemes, but it can also generate Complications capable of weakening or completely ruining the operation. Thanquol can purchase additional tricks from other Skaven clans, spending Warpstone to counter emerging problems and manipulate the plan toward success.

It is one of the more thematically precise campaign systems Creative Assembly has built. Thanquol is famous throughout Warhammer for treating catastrophic failure as evidence of his own brilliance, and his campaign makes the player repeatedly decide whether a half-finished scheme is good enough to execute or whether one more turn of preparation is worth risking another complication.

Boneripper and the Verminlords Give Skaven Another Power Spike

On the battlefield, Thanquol mixes the Lores of Plague and Ruin and can eventually unlock the Dreaded Thirteenth, summoning Stormvermin directly into battle. Warpstone Tokens temporarily enhance his spellcasting, while Boneripper transforms him from an unusually vulnerable Grey Seer into a far more durable melee threat.

The roster is equally important. Thanquol gains Skreech Verminking as a Legendary Hero and can field multiple variants of Verminlord, alongside Stormfiends equipped for either melee or ranged warfare. Pusbags, the Warp-Doom Magma Cannon and Cauldron of a Thousand Poxes broaden an already extraordinarily varied Skaven arsenal.

It makes his campaign feel appropriately dangerous on two levels. Strategically, the player destabilizes enemies through plots and hidden forces; tactically, those schemes are backed by some of the most destructive monsters and weapons Skavendom can produce.

The Glottkin Turn the Warriors of Chaos Into a Nurgle Hybrid Horde

Three brothers occupy one Legendary Lord slot in the Glottkin. Otto and Ethrac ride atop the monstrous Ghurk, combining heavy melee damage with Nurgle spellcasting and exceptional durability. Their campaign begins in Norsca, where the immediate objective is to subjugate local tribes before gathering enough momentum to push south toward Altdorf.

Their faction, the Host of the Triplets, uses souls gathered through battle to purchase Gifts of Nurgle. These include Rituals of Decay, Grandfather’s Blessings and the ability to establish Gardens of Corruption. As Nurgle corruption spreads, progressively stronger rituals and blessings become available.

Captured settlements can become either traditional Dark Fortresses or Gardens of Corruption, and those Gardens dramatically expand recruitment. A force that begins with Warriors of Chaos units can gradually integrate Nurglings, Plaguebearers, Soul Grinders and eventually the wider Nurgle Daemon roster. Warband Upgrades remain part of the equation as well, allowing mortal troops and Daemons to evolve into stronger forms over the campaign.

Four Legendary Champions Make the Glottkin Even Harder to Kill

The Glottkin are joined by a particularly generous collection of Nurgle characters. Gutrot Spume and the three Maggoth Lords—Orghotts Daemonspew, Morbidex Twiceborn and Bloab Rotspawned—can all become available as Legendary Heroes after meeting campaign conditions.

Their battlefield roles cover several needs. Spume specializes in hunting large targets, Orghotts carves through infantry while regenerating through Daemonic Acid Ichor, Morbidex combines anti-infantry power with summonable Nurglings, and Bloab adds magical support and anti-large capability. New Putrid Blightking variants and monsters further reinforce the faction’s ability to grind enemies down through durability, regeneration, poison and sustained pressure.

The campaign therefore sits somewhere between Warriors of Chaos conquest and Nurgle ecological corruption. The Glottkin do not merely burn civilization down; they replace it with something considerably more disgusting.

Boris Todbringer Finally Stops Being the Character Everyone Could See but Not Properly Play

At the opposite end of the expansion stands Boris Todbringer, Elector Count of Middenland and one of the longest-running requests in Total War: WARHAMMER. Boris has appeared in the series for years, but Lords of the End Times finally turns him into a fully developed playable Legendary Lord with his own campaign mechanics, roster and objectives.

His progression revolves around Fervour, primarily earned by defeating Middenland’s enemies. Fervour is invested into six Sanctuaries within the Great Temple of Ulric, with each Sanctuary developing through four stages. Improvements can strengthen the economy, diplomacy and military while also enhancing Ulrican units and gradually intensifying the Sacred Flame of Ulric.

That gives Boris a defensive campaign with a strong thematic center. Middenland is surrounded by potential threats from Skaven, Greenskins, Warriors of Chaos and Beastmen, while special reports warn about emerging Brayherd activity. Inevitably, that brings Boris back toward his oldest enemy: Khazrak One-Eye.

Middenland Finally Gets Its Own Proper Army Identity

Boris still has broad access to the Empire roster, but his new forces are considerably more aggressive than the gunline-heavy combinations traditionally associated with the faction. Teutogen Guard provide the armored core, Wolf Kin and Warriors of Ulric reinforce the infantry assault, Knights of the White Wolf deliver mobile melee pressure and Hunting Hounds create fast harassment options.

Ar-Ulric Emil Vargeir joins as Boris’ Legendary Hero, combining melee power with buffs for Cult of Ulric forces. Boris himself is a heavily armored frontline commander using the Middenland Runefang Legbiter, while the Talisman of Ulric provides regeneration when he needs to disengage temporarily.

That produces perhaps the most conventional military fantasy among the four campaigns, but also one that fills a major gap. Middenland now feels like its own interpretation of the Empire rather than Reikland with a different starting position.

Neferata Is the Fifth Legendary Lord—and She Is Free

The paid expansion only tells part of the September 24 story. Neferata, the first Vampire, arrives alongside Update 9.0 as a free Legendary Lord tied to the wider Vampire Counts overhaul.

Her campaign revolves around a Web of Power. Heroes establish Vampire Covens within foreign settlements, generating Manipulation while maintaining Concealment. Neferata can then use those networks to steal, assassinate, disrupt and manipulate other factions, turning diplomacy and espionage into a more active strategic layer.

The Vampire Counts themselves now recruit Vampire Lords through Vampire Lairs scattered around the world. Players can awaken a Lord quickly or invest additional time into developing a more powerful character with customized traits and bonuses. Bloodlines can also be empowered repeatedly instead of ending after three upgrades, while a new confederation structure provides routes toward gathering the Vampire Counts Legendary Lords under one faction.

It is substantial enough that even players ignoring the new paid characters receive a very different undead campaign.

Immortal Empires Finally Gets Proper End Times

Perhaps the most consequential free addition is the replacement of the old late-game philosophy.

Creative Assembly now distinguishes existing events such as A Grudge Too Far and The Wild Hunt as Crisis Scenarios, essentially disruptive mid-game threats. Three new End Game Scenarios sit above them: Chaos Invasion, Vermintide and Nagash Rises.

These are intended to become campaign-defining events with narrative buildup, unique mechanics, cinematics and world-state changes. As Devastation spreads, campaign lighting, terrain and music can change, visually reflecting that civilization is actually losing the war.

During Chaos Invasion, Archaon unites Chaos-aligned factions and begins nearly invulnerable. Players must destroy five key fortresses and defeat his invasion forces before he can realistically be challenged in a final confrontation. Vermintide removes the Skaven’s need for secrecy, revealing settlements and unleashing enormous waves of ratmen while players gather intelligence needed to stop the Great Ascendancy. Nagash Rises has the Supreme Lord of Undeath unite his Mortarchs, move the Black Pyramid toward Nagashizzar and force the player to fight through the undead before a final showdown.

All three can be disabled or customized for players who prefer Immortal Empires as an uninterrupted sandbox.

Archaon Can Now Actually Become the Lord of the End Times

Update 9.0 also gives Archaon a much more appropriate late campaign.

Defeating Chaos Legendary Lords can now allow him to subjugate and directly recruit them, covering Warriors of Chaos as well as characters aligned with Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch. That list includes figures such as Skarbrand, Ku’gath, N’Kari, Kairos and even the Glottkin.

Once Archaon achieves his Short Victory, he can choose to formally become the Lord of the End Times. Doing so fundamentally changes his objectives: Archaon and his vassals can no longer capture territory. The campaign becomes entirely focused on razing settlements and spreading Devastation, with escalating bonuses based on how much of the world has been destroyed.

The choice is irreversible, which is exactly how an apocalypse should probably work.

The DLC Also Changes Who Can Play Immortal Empires

Creative Assembly has made another unusual decision with Lords of the End Times: purchasing any one of its four Legendary Lord packs grants access to Immortal Empires, even if the player does not own Total War: WARHAMMER III or either previous game.

The purchased Lord includes their new faction content, a core roster from the associated race, relevant free content for that race, the Immortal Empires campaign and even WARHAMMER III’s Prologue. Previously owned games and DLC continue to unlock their corresponding factions inside Immortal Empires.

The four Lords can be purchased separately, while the full bundle contains everything with a 15% bundle discount. That makes Lords of the End Times simultaneously the trilogy’s largest expansion and an attempt to simplify entry into what has become an enormous and potentially intimidating ten-year content library.

This Is an End Times Expansion, Not the End of Total War: WARHAMMER

The title inevitably raised one question when Nagash was first revealed: is this Creative Assembly’s finale for Total War: WARHAMMER?

The answer remains no.

Both Creative Assembly and Games Workshop have repeatedly stated that Lords of the End Times is not the final Total War: WARHAMMER release. The expansion deliberately embraces Warhammer Fantasy’s apocalypse because it creates new campaign possibilities, not because development of the trilogy is ending on September 24.

That distinction matters when looking at the update’s structure. Rather than simply recreating the canonical End Times and forcing every campaign toward one historical outcome, Creative Assembly has converted the material into sandbox systems. Boris can defend a world that originally fell. Nagash can become its ruler. Archaon can destroy everything himself. Thanquol can probably explain why any result was his plan all along.

The player still decides who wins.

Ten Years of Total War: WARHAMMER Have Been Building Toward Something Like This

There are smaller DLCs and cleaner entry points into the trilogy, but few releases could better demonstrate how far Total War: WARHAMMER has expanded since 2016.

One campaign now lets a single faction combine three undead civilizations.

Another converts Skaven incompetence into a strategic minigame.

A Nurgle army can gradually mutate from mortal Chaos warbands into a hybrid host of Daemons.

Middenland finally has the Ulric-focused campaign players have requested for years.

Neferata arrives without an additional purchase, the Vampire Counts receive another major redesign and Immortal Empires can now end with something that actually resembles the destruction of the world.

Lords of the End Times is available now, with Nagash, Thanquol, Boris Todbringer and the Glottkin available separately or together. Update 9.0 and its free content have launched alongside them.

The World-that-Was now has several different ways to end.

The only remaining question is whether you intend to save it—or be the reason there is nothing left.