The next upcoming Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC was recently announced, after months of teasing by Creative Assembly. The expansion will be a new Lord pack called The Prophet and The Warlock; bringing two new Legendary Lords and a host of new units for the Lizardmen and Skaven factions. While the Lizardmen are getting new beasts like the fearsome Salamanders, Ikit Claw and Clan Skryre have devised new maniacal war machines for the Skaven; the Doom-Flayers!
Doom-Flayers in The Prophet and The Warlock Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC
“The Doom-Flayer is a motorised iron sphere of whirling blades,” says the narrator of the new unit spotlight trailer; “pieced together from scraps and powered by a Warpstone core. The Warlock-Engineers of Clan Skryre forge these war machines to generate maximum carnage.”
Doom-Flayers, in many ways, are similar to a miniaturised version of the existing Skaven Doomwheel. Deployed in units of three rather than as a single construct, the Doom-Flayers are fast, manoeuvrable, and devastating on the charge. As the spotlight trailer shows, they also provide a new mount option for Skaven characters. Ikit Claw himself can be seen riding one into battle, and they will no doubt be available to the new Warlock Master as well.
“As they tear their way across the blood-soaked battlefield,” continues the trailer; “no limbs are safe. The Doom-Flayer will shred through enemies, leaving nothing but entrails and devastation in its wake”. Of course, there is also a Regiment of Renown variant of the standard Doom-Flayers. The Dwarf-Thing Menace is a variant Doom-Flayer unit which boasts Armour-Sundering and boosted stats. Both units also have The Best Defence ability, which gives them a +24 armour buff while they are in melee.
Doom-Flayers are just one of the new Skaven units coming in The Prophet and The Warlock, however. The DLC is due to release on the 17th of April, coinciding with the launch of a new Free-LC. Creative Assembly is planning an all-day live-stream on launch day to show off the new content. For more information on the upcoming DLC, check out our exclusive interviews with Creative Assembly, both about the design of the expansion, and the art and animation that went into it.