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To counter Tomb Kings in Total War: WARHAMMER III, identify the threats in the opposing army and assign your counters to those threats—not to the faction name. Use braced spears to discourage chariots, anti-large tools against monsters and cavalry, and available armour-piercing damage against constructs. Keep fast units ready to exploit openings against artillery or missile troops, and protect your own vulnerable backline as the Realm of Souls advances toward its Ushabti summon. There is no universal counter army: the right response depends on the enemy roster, your faction, the campaign stage, and the battle.
Read the Tomb Kings army before choosing targets
Tomb Kings armies can combine infantry, chariots, ranged troops, artillery, cavalry, monsters, and constructs. The same battle plan will not answer every combination. A line of skeletons may be holding your attention while a construct attacks elsewhere; chariots may be searching for a gap; or the most urgent danger may be artillery firing from behind the line. Start by locating the units that can do the most damage to your army, then decide which of your units can contain or remove each one.
The Total War Academy’s battle guidance describes Tomb Kings infantry as comparatively less armoured and often outclassed in a straight fight, but also explains that infantry can shield armoured constructs from armour-piercing attacks. That distinction matters: a unit can be relatively weak on its own and still be doing a valuable job for the army. If your best damage dealers spend the battle fighting disposable infantry while constructs or artillery remain free to work, the enemy’s screen has done its job.
Make a quick threat list
- Chariots: Look for a way to deny repeated charges. Braced spear infantry is the explicit caution in the Academy’s guidance.
- Large monsters or cavalry: Keep anti-large units and focused damage available, and avoid committing unsupported cavalry into a defensive threat.
- Constructs: Identify what is screening them and direct armour-piercing pressure toward the construct when you can reach it.
- Artillery and missile troops: Look for an opening for fast pressure, but do not expose your own ranged units to the Realm of Souls summon.
- Infantry: Hold or contain it efficiently rather than assuming it is the army’s most important target.
This list is a way to set priorities, not a fixed target order. If a unit is already threatening a valuable part of your formation, respond to that immediate danger before pursuing a theoretical high-value target elsewhere.
Match your response to the threat
| Enemy threat | What to prioritize | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Chariots | Braced spears or another reliable way to deny repeated charges | The Academy warns that Tomb Kings chariots should avoid braced spear infantry; their weight and numbers let them punch through infantry when they find the right engagement. |
| Infantry line | Contain it while directing damage toward higher-value threats; use anti-infantry options that fit your faction | Tomb Kings infantry is comparatively less armoured, but it can screen constructs and occupy units that would be more useful elsewhere. |
| Monsters or cavalry | Anti-large units and focused damage; avoid unsupported cavalry charges into Sepulchral Stalkers | The Academy identifies the Necrosphinx with fighting monsters or cavalry and notes that Sepulchral Stalkers have charge defence versus large. |
| Constructs | Use available armour-piercing pressure and avoid wasting it into disposable screens | The Academy says Tomb Kings infantry can shield armoured constructs from armour-piercing attacks. |
| Artillery or missile backline | Apply fast pressure when the enemy formation leaves an opening; protect your own exposed ranged units | Tomb Kings have ranged and artillery capability, and the Realm of Souls can unlock a summon that threatens an exposed unit. |
The table describes priorities, not guaranteed outcomes or exact unit matchups. Your faction may have different tools for the same job. Use the principle—deny charges, contain screens, pressure the actual threat—rather than assuming every faction needs the same named unit.
Keep infantry from shielding the real target
Skeleton Warriors and Spearmen can absorb missile fire and occupy the front of the fight. If a construct is behind them, shooting into the screen may be less useful than repositioning, using a different angle, or sending another unit to engage the construct. The important question is not simply whether your damage dealer can hurt the infantry; it is whether that exchange helps you deal with the threat that makes the opposing army dangerous.
Use the screen without getting stuck in it
Assign units that can hold the infantry line while your higher-impact units remain free to work. The holding unit need not win quickly; it needs to prevent the infantry from moving freely or pinning a more valuable unit. Meanwhile, look for a way to threaten the screened construct or force the enemy to reposition. If your armour-piercing unit is attacking the screen, consider whether it can reach a better target without abandoning a more urgent duty.
Do not treat all Tomb Kings infantry as irrelevant. The Academy notes that Tomb King infantry can fight harder near its Tomb King because of the passive “My Will be Done” ability. A nearby lord can therefore make an infantry engagement less straightforward than a quick glance at the unit type suggests. The useful response is to assess the actual fight and avoid assuming that every skeleton unit will collapse immediately.
Choose whether to hold, bypass, or focus
- Hold: Tie up infantry when moving past it would expose your formation or leave a key unit unprotected.
- Bypass: If the formation leaves a safe route, use mobile units to pressure a more consequential target rather than feeding damage into the screen.
- Focus: Concentrate suitable damage on a construct when you have a clear opportunity, rather than spreading attacks across several targets without finishing any of them.
These are situational choices, not a prescribed sequence. A bypass that works against one formation may expose a fast unit to missiles or leave your own line vulnerable in another. Reassess when the opponent moves or reveals another threat.
Deny chariots the charge they want
Tomb Kings chariots can use their weight and numbers to break through infantry, but the Academy specifically cautions them to avoid braced spear infantry. Use that warning to shape your formation: keep spear units in a position to meet a charge, and do not let vulnerable infantry become isolated where chariots can repeatedly traverse it.
Keep anti-large units braced and supported
A counter only helps if it is ready when the charge arrives. Avoid sending the unit meant to deter chariots off on a separate pursuit while the rest of your line becomes an easy target. Supporting the spear unit also helps prevent it from being overwhelmed by other threats while it holds its role. If the chariots do not take the bait, keep your formation useful rather than chasing them into a poor position.
Do not give chariots a clean route through the line
Pay attention to gaps and isolated units. A formation that leaves vulnerable infantry exposed can let chariots charge through, withdraw, and return to the same target. Keep units close enough to support each other, and respond when a chariot unit moves to exploit an opening. Braced spears are a specific warning in the official guidance, not a guarantee that every spear unit wins regardless of position or support.
Handle constructs by their role, not by their size
“Construct” is not a single battlefield job. The Academy’s examples distinguish between units intended to fight infantry and those suited to large targets. A Warsphinx is described as a choice against infantry, while a Necrosphinx is described for fighting monsters or cavalry. Sepulchral Stalkers have charge defence versus large and can disrupt cavalry with short-range missiles. Those differences are a reminder to identify what a construct threatens before deciding how to answer it.
When the threat is a Warsphinx
Because the Academy associates the Warsphinx with fighting infantry, avoid leaving dense infantry formations to absorb its pressure without support. Use suitable damage and keep an eye on the units that are likely to be caught in its engagement. The cited guidance does not provide precise statistics or a universal unit-by-unit counter for every faction, so treat this as a role-based warning rather than a promise that a particular response will always win.
When the threat is a Necrosphinx
The Academy points to the Necrosphinx against monsters or cavalry. Keep your own large or mounted threats from engaging it unsupported, and prepare anti-large tools or concentrated damage when it approaches. If it is screened by infantry, solve the access problem as well as the damage problem: attacking the nearest unit may leave the actual threat untouched.
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When Sepulchral Stalkers are present
Do not assume cavalry can charge through them safely. Their charge defence versus large and short-range missiles give them ways to disrupt cavalry. Look for a safer engagement, use other pressure to create an opening, or keep cavalry available for a target that is less prepared to meet it.
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The Academy also advises keeping a Necrotect near construct units: “this will increase their combat stats and give you the ability to heal them.” In practice, the presence of a supporting hero is another reason not to judge a construct solely by its appearance or by the damage it has already taken. For a countering player, it can make sustained pressure more important than a brief, unfocused attack.
Plan for the Realm of Souls and its Ushabti summon
The Realm of Souls can alter the battle as Tomb Kings take losses. According to the Total War Academy, its stages provide map-wide healing effects, and the third stage unlocks a powerful Ushabti summon. The summon can be placed to threaten a weak flank or an exposed backline unit. That means the visible deployment is not the whole threat picture: keep track of the progression and account for a possible new unit appearing where your formation is vulnerable.
Before the summon is available
Protect fragile ranged units and avoid allowing losses to accumulate without considering what may follow. This does not mean refusing every engagement; it means keeping your formation and backline from becoming an easy target if the summon arrives. If you have left a weak flank or an isolated artillery or missile unit, be ready to respond rather than assuming the battle will remain confined to the units you saw at the start.
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React to where they are summoned. If they arrive beside a vulnerable backline or on a weak flank, redirect nearby units and prevent them from reaching exposed targets unchecked. Do not pull the entire line apart to chase them if doing so opens another immediate threat. The decision is about containing the new danger while preserving enough formation to handle the rest of the army.
The Realm of Souls is also a reason not to evaluate a fight only by the damage you have dealt so far. The Academy describes healing effects at its stages as well as the later summon. A slow exchange may therefore change the battlefield in ways that are not captured by a simple count of units currently engaged.
Exploit artillery and ranged openings carefully
Tomb Kings can bring ranged troops and artillery, so a strong front-line response alone may not solve the battle. Fast units can pressure exposed backline troops when the opposing formation leaves a route. The key is to use that speed when it creates a real opportunity, not to launch a mobile unit into an engagement where it is isolated or immediately countered.
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Before sending a fast unit around the line, consider what will happen to the front you leave behind and whether the route is actually open. An enemy screen may be deliberately occupying your attention; meanwhile, the Realm of Souls summon may threaten your own exposed ranged units. Assign some protection to your vulnerable backline and choose a moment when the enemy formation cannot easily close the gap or turn to meet the pressure.
- Look for a gap or exposed target before committing mobile pressure.
- Keep your valuable ranged units from being left alone as the battle develops.
- Do not let an attempt to reach artillery distract you from a chariot charge or large threat already endangering your line.
- If the opening disappears, preserve the fast unit for another opportunity instead of forcing a bad engagement.
Adjust for campaign battles and changing army compositions
Campaign advice needs a qualification that does not apply in the same way to a fixed opponent: the AI army you encounter can vary. Creative Assembly’s Patch 5.2 notes discuss AI building priorities and increased priority for high-tier constructs, including late-game recruitment of tier 4+ units. They do not promise an exact army composition. A campaign opponent may therefore require a different response from one battle to the next, and a late-game force may present more construct threats than an earlier one.
Campaign systems have also changed in ways that can affect faction development and the availability of units or effects. Creative Assembly’s Patch 6.3 blog documents Tomb Kings changes involving confederation options, canopic jar uses, technology, unit capacities, and Books of Nagash. It says each book improves Dune Restoration, which can restore fallen construct units after battle. These are campaign-level considerations, not a guarantee that a particular army will field a particular unit during a specific battle.
Use the battle roster as your evidence
At the start of each encounter, inspect the force you actually face. If it is chariot-heavy, make charge denial a priority. If large constructs or cavalry dominate, reserve suitable anti-large answers. If artillery or missiles are the main danger, look for a safe way to pressure their position while protecting your own ranged units. If constructs are protected by infantry, plan how to get damage onto the valuable target without allowing the screen to waste your best tools.
Do not assume campaign stage alone tells you what is coming. Patch notes describe systems and AI priorities; they do not establish a single composition that every campaign army will use. Treat the roster and battlefield position as the basis for your immediate plan, then adapt as units reveal their roles.
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A practical battle sequence
- Inspect the opposing army. Identify chariots, large units, constructs, missile troops, and artillery. Decide which threat can most quickly endanger your valuable units.
- Assign jobs before contact. Keep braced spears positioned to deter chariots, assign a line to contain infantry, and reserve anti-large or armour-piercing damage for the targets that need it.
- Check the screen. If infantry is protecting a construct, avoid spending all of your best damage into the screen by default. Look for an angle, a suitable engagement, or a way to hold the infantry while another unit reaches the construct.
- Keep the formation supported. Do not leave vulnerable infantry isolated for chariots or send your only counter away from the threat it is meant to contain.
- Watch the Realm of Souls. Account for its healing stages and the possibility of the third-stage Ushabti summon. Keep exposed backline units from becoming an easy target.
- Exploit openings, then reassess. Use fast units against exposed artillery or missile troops when the formation permits it. Re-evaluate when a summon appears, a construct changes target, or the enemy commits its chariots.
What a counter plan cannot guarantee
No single composition is established as a universal answer to Tomb Kings. The sources provide tactical roles and warnings, not a complete matchup chart, unit statistics, or tested build order for every playable faction. A good plan therefore starts from the enemy’s actual roster and your faction’s available tools. It should also distinguish between a battle against a player-built army and a campaign encounter shaped by AI recruitment and campaign progression.
The reliable principles are specific: deny chariot charges with braced spear infantry where practical, avoid unsupported cavalry into tools such as Sepulchral Stalkers, use appropriate anti-large pressure against large threats, and do not let disposable infantry screens soak damage meant for valuable constructs. Protect the backline as the Realm of Souls approaches its summon, and adapt when the opponent’s formation changes.
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