At a glance
- Type
- Legendary Lord
- Battlefield role
- Melee leader and religious battlefield support
- Content pack
- Total War: Warhammer III (base game)
- Race
- Kislev
- Faction
- The Great Orthodoxy
Availability
Content pack: Total War: Warhammer III (base game). Immortal Empires ownership
- Included with Total War: Warhammer III. Select The Great Orthodoxy in Immortal Empires; Shadows of Change is a separate purchase.
The Great Orthodoxy in Immortal Empires
Kostaltyn leads The Great Orthodoxy, the religious counterpart to Katarin's Ice Court. His campaign uses Kislev's hybrid infantry, gunmen and bear cavalry, with Patriarchs reflecting his faith on the battlefield.
The Court & Orthodoxy system introduced in patch 6.1 replaced the old contest to outpace Katarin. Support now develops the institutions and earns Boons. Consider which upgrades serve your armies while watching the political imbalance; hostility toward the Ice Court in the background is not an instruction to neglect its campaign tools.
SEGA’s ownership guide, updated 18 June 2026, places Kostaltyn in that same base-game Kislev row. The Orthodoxy is not a later character pack. Shadows of Change is the separate route to Mother Ostankya, and to the Golden Knight once her mission chain is finished.
Keep his support with the fighting line
Use Kostaltyn alongside troops contesting a useful part of the battlefield. His religious support belongs near the soldiers who need it, with Kossars or Streltsi positioned to keep shooting while the enemy is occupied.
Moving him deep into an enemy formation can separate him from that job. Let the supporting infantry establish contact, then choose a melee he can influence without abandoning the rest of the army. War Bear Riders can answer a threat on the flank while the centre holds.
Priests, spellcasters and a bodyguard
A Patriarch adds another source of religious support, while a Frost Maiden supplies Ice or Tempest magic. Kostaltyn's religious abilities give a supporting caster a different job from his own: coordinate spells with the engagements your line is already fighting.
The Golden Knight is another option when her Shadows of Change content is owned and her mission chain is completed. She protects important characters and supports nearby troops. Compare that bodyguard role with a caster or an additional Patriarch before assigning an army slot.
Unlock and campaigns
Kostaltyn is included with Total War: Warhammer III. Choose Kislev, then The Great Orthodoxy, in Immortal Empires; he is also one of the two Kislev leaders in The Realm of Chaos, alongside Katarin.
His faction runs on the shared Kislev systems: Court & Orthodoxy, provincial Devotion and invocations. The Orthodoxy side of that balance is his.
First turns and early plan
Expand north against Norsca and Chaos rather than south into the Empire, and treat the other Kislev factions as confederation partners where you can. Kossars and Armoured Kossars hold the early line, and a Patriarch adds the religious support his faction is built around.
Build Orthodoxy support for its Boons, but keep an eye on the Ice Court side of the balance. Kostaltyn's Short Victory reward, Orthodoxy Support, also cuts construction cost and time for every building across the faction after Patch 9.0.5.
Questions
Is Kostaltyn free?
Yes. Kostaltyn is included with Total War: Warhammer III and leads The Great Orthodoxy in Immortal Empires and The Realm of Chaos.
What is the difference between Kostaltyn and Katarin?
Kostaltyn is the Supreme Patriarch and his faction leans on the Orthodoxy; Katarin is an Ice spellcaster leading the Ice Court. Both share Kislev's Court & Orthodoxy politics.
Sources
- Patch 9.0.5 notes — store.steampowered.com
- Immortal Empires DLC Ownership Guide — SEGA Support — support.sega.com
- Patch Notes 6.1 — Creative Assembly — community.creative-assembly.com