Malus Darkblade Start Position Revealed for Total War: Warhammer 2
On the 12th of December, Creative Assembly will be releasing The Shadow and The Blade, the next Lord Pack DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2. This DLC will be adding a new Legendary Lord and new content for both the Skaven and Dark Elves, and now, Creative Assembly has revealed both the traits and start positions of the two new lords. On the side of the Dark Elves, Malus Darkblade will be leading the faction of Hag Graef, and he has a very unusual start position…
Malus Darkblade – Total War: Warhammer 2 Faction and Lord Effects
Malus Darkblade is the new Legendary Lord coming to the Dark Elves in The Shadow and The Blade. While his Vortex campaign will include the standard Dark Elf campaign mechanics, Malus also has his own supplementary mechanics, representing his possession by the Daemon Tz’arkan. This factor is represented in his Faction Effects by “Tz’arkan’s Whispers”. This effect means that Malus will get special missions from Tz’arkan which offer powerful items and followers as rewards.
In addition, Hag Graef benefits from +30% income from Iron Mines, Gold Mines, and Marble Quarries in all their regions. Plus, the faction starts already in a Military Alliance with Naggarond, Malekith’s faction. As for Malus’ personal Lord Effects, the tyrant has major benefits for the Dark Elves’ Cold One cavalry units, allowing him to assemble a powerful, cavalry-themed army. Malus’ army benefits from a -20% recruitment cost reduction and a -50% upkeep cost reduction for the following units; Cold One Knights, Cold One Dread Knights, and Cold One Chariots. Finally, Malus has access to his personal Cold One mount, Spite, as well as a single unique item; The Warpsword of Khaine.
Malus Darkblade – Total War: Warhammer 2 Start Position
When it comes to Malus’ start positions, there are two separate and interesting aspects. First of all is the fact that, in both the Vortex and Mortal Empires campaigns, Malus starts with a split start position. His faction starts with control of the city of Hag Graef in Naggaroth. However, it also starts with a Black Ark and an expeditionary force on the far side of the map. Early in the campaign, Malus will have the option to relinquish control of Hag Graef in return for a huge sum of money.
The second interesting aspect is that Creative Assembly have actually expanded the Mortal Empires map in The Shadow and The Blade. East of the Badlands, the map now extends out along the southern coast of the Darklands. This adds several new regions to the game, including Gnoblar Country and The Wolf Lands. In the Vortex campaign, Malus’ Black Ark starts in the Sea of Dread, below the Southlands. However, in Mortal Empires, it starts in the Dragon Isles, just off the coast of the new map area. (And close to Deathmaster Snikch’s own start position.)