A not-so-subtle tease suggests Games Workshop is finally bringing Total War: Warhammer 3’s Grand Cathay army to the tabletop wargame

One of the interesting quirks of 2022’s Total War: Warhammer 3 is that it featured two major armies that never actually existed in the tabletop game Warhammer Fantasy. Both Kislev (angry, ice-themed Russia) and Grand Cathay (mystical ancient China) had long featured in the lore, but outside of a handful of models and a pamphlet of rules briefly available for Kislev, neither had a real presence on the wargaming battlefield.

It was a departure for the series, which to that point had been almost obsessively faithful about drawing its units and heroes from real miniatures and army lists of the past. But that doesn’t mean developer Creative Assembly simply went rogue. The two factions were created in collaboration with Games Workshop—so much so that GW went on to announce that Grand Cathay and Kislev would be factions in The Old World, its then still in-development revival of Warhammer Fantasy. Posts such as this one even revealed that full rules for the two had already been written, to help guide the videogame’s implementation, and the implication was that new miniature ranges were on the way.

Then, in 2024, The Old World launched. A full list of supported factions for the game was revealed, and neither faction was anywhere to be seen. The game instead launched with Bretonnia and Tomb Kings at the forefront, and the majority of its range has simply been re-releases and remasters of old kits and sculpts—no wholly new armies to be found.

But it looks like everything is finally about to come full circle. During its preview show at the Las Vegas Open tournament, GW showed off a roadmap of upcoming releases for The Old World, rounding out all the currently announced playable factions—but with one conspicuous blank space for something new.

Reddit detectives quickly worked out that the vague shape in this blank spot is in fact a Cathayan mountain range from a specific piece of Total War: Warhammer 3 art. Though at first it seems tenuous, the likeness is indeed spot-on, suggesting this is a cheeky reveal from GW that Grand Cathay is back on the menu.

Based on the faction’s roster in Total War: Warhammer 3, that means we can potentially expect miniatures of dragons, flying cavalry, terracotta warriors, jade lions, and more. And if Grand Cathay is returning, the chances seem good for Kislev eventually too. Fans of giant polar bears, stay tuned.

To be clear, none of this is officially confirmed yet—we only have the tease to go on. But I think there’s enough evidence here for Total War: Warhammer 3 fans to get excited. If it is true, it’ll be a big new step for The Old World, representing a much larger investment than re-releasing old sculpts alongside a handful of new ones. That’s good news for anyone who still pines for the glory days of Warhammer Fantasy—or got into the setting via the videogames, only to be very confused to find the tabletop version was already dead before they could get into it.

What GW did officially show off at LVO included new skeletons and vampires for Age of Sigmar, upcoming High Elf releases for The Old World, and the long-awaited return of the depraved Emperor’s Children to Warhammer 40,000, among other reveals. If you’re a fan of the settings it’s worth having a browse even if you don’t play the wargames—there are some really amazing miniatures to ogle at there.