Total War: Warhammer II – Prince Imrik’s campaign basics
Vortex campaign victory conditions
- Complete all Vortex rituals.
- Win the final battle.
Imrik is the descendant of Caledor Dragontamer, a powerful High Elven mage who, along with the Phoenix King Aenarion, stopped a massive Chaos incursion in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world. By using the Winds of Magic, Caledor was able to create the Great Vortex at the very center of Ulthuan. The Vortex sapped the strength of the Chaos forces, though, unfortunately, it also trapped Caledor within. Perhaps Imrik can finally rescue his ancestor from this grim fate.
Campaign start locations
Prince Imrik leads the Knights of Caledor faction and his Total War: Warhammer II Vortex campaign finds his forces smack dab in the deserts of the Southlands. You control Ka-Sabar in the Shifting Sands province while at war with the Dune Kingdoms (Tomb King minors).
To the east, you’ll find Karak Zorn (Dwarfs), the Last Defenders (Lizardmen led by Kroq-Gar), and the Arachnos (Greenskins). To the south, you’ll see the Leaf-Cutterz Tribe (more Greenskins) and the Bowmen of Orion (Wood Elves who will prove to be valuable allies). Further north are the various undead factions (Khemri, Rakaph Dynasty, Strygos Empire) and Clan Eshin.
If you thought Prince Imrik’s Vortex campaign start in Total War: Warhammer II‘s a bit of a doozy, then be prepared for his Mortal Empires campaign. His faction controls The Fortress of Vorag in the Plain of Bones province, surrounded by Dwarf enemies from Clan Helhein.
To the south, you’ve got Malus Darkblade and Hag Graef as well as Skaven vermin. Further afield, you’ll likely end up facing off against Grimgor or other Greenskin Waaaghs!
Prince Imrik’s unique abilities
Even if his Total War: Warhammer II campaign start positions pose a challenge, Imrik is bolstered by several unique abilities seen below:
The Star Lance weapon/ability gives Imrik a 29-second boost to armor-piercing damage, charge speed, charge bonus while making his attacks generate fire damage. His Dragonkin trait, meanwhile, increases his campaign movement range, lowers Dragon and Dragon Princes unit upkeep, all while making his army immune to mountain and desert attrition. Deserts and mountains are also part of his preferred settlement climates.
As for his skills, Dragonhorn increases melee damage and can cause fear, and it has a map-wide effect for all friendly units. His Caledor Incumbent unique yellow line of perks becomes available at level 12. It has awesome buffs like Dragonheart (boosted fire resistance for all units, leadership, and melee attack) and others that increase the capabilities of cavalry units like Dragon Princes.
Likewise, you can get Ashen Fields (increased weapon strength and 20% weakness to fire damage for all units in local enemy armies). This is bolstered by Blazing Lance (also obtained at level 12) which increases your charge bonus and allows attacks to cause the flammable effect (additional weakness to fire). By level 14, he’ll get his unique dragon mount Minaithnir which, according to Total War Reddit user UlrikHD, will turn him into the highest DPS legendary lord in the game — having a free Star Dragon that can breathe celestial flames definitely helps. Sufficed to say, Imrik may be under the blazing hot Nehekharan sun, but he’s going to make his opponents experience a living hell.
Early-game units
If those weren’t enough, then you’ll be glad to know that Prince Imrik’s Total War: Warhammer II starting units include: 1x White Lions of Chrace, 1x Spearmen, 2x Archers, 1x Dragon Princes, and 1x Sun Dragon.
As your Spearmen hold the line, your Dragon Princes should be cycle-charged to rout and break as many enemies with impunity. And, yes, there’s that damned Sun Dragon is there to demolish everything in your path. Additionally, Imrik has a High Elf Fire Mage named Mikaela, and you can quickly level her up to obtain Kindleflame (enemy weakness vs. fire), The Burning Head, Piercing Bolts of Burning, and Flame Storm.
Once you have at least a couple of dragons (or one dragon and Imrik astride Minaithnir), you can steamroll through most armies. Unlike other Total War: Warhammer II factions, you won’t be in a hurry to upgrade to higher-tier units since the awesome ones you obtain early on would carry the day.
Dragon Taming and Dragon Encounters
Before we forget, let’s talk about Dragon Taming, Prince Imrik’s unique mechanic in Total War: Warhammer II. There are five unique dragons to tame, and you can field all of them in custom or multiplayer battles as long as you’ve selected the Knights of Caledor faction:
As for how it works during the campaign, after 10 turns you’re told that a great dragon has appeared. Move to the marked location and a dilemma will present you with four choices:
- Consult the Dragon – Gain that dragon’s unique buff for 10 turns; costs 2,000 gold. You’ll encounter the dragon again later in your campaign.
- Bargain with the Dragon – +70 influence; costs 2,000 gold. You’ll encounter the dragon again later in your campaign.
- Challenge the Dragon – Battle the dragon. Winning the battle lets you obtain the above rewards as well as the dragon’s service as a unit, which means you won’t encounter it later in your campaign.
- Leave it be – Do nothing. You’ll encounter the dragon again later in your campaign.
The dragon battles are quite brutal, especially if you’re unprepared in the early-game, so you could just pick the buffs for now. The next dragon will show up after 15 turns, and you should be ready to take it out by then.
The best parts about taming them are that these unique dragons are fully leveled-up and free to recruit. Additionally, they can be disbanded and then recruited again (even by another army) without waiting for several turns. This allows you to deploy them in various parts of the map whenever you need the extra (scaly-winged) muscle.
Note: For more information about Dragon Encounters, head over to our Dragon Taming guide.
Now that we’ve discussed Prince Imrik’s mechanics, let’s talk about his Total War: Warhammer II Vortex campaign progression.
