At a glance
- Type
- Legendary Lord
- Battlefield role
- Transforming dragon lord and spellcaster
- Content pack
- Total War: Warhammer III (base game)
- Race
- Grand Cathay
- Faction
- The Northern Provinces
Availability
Content pack: Total War: Warhammer III (base game). Immortal Empires ownership
- Included with Total War: Warhammer III. Select this Legendary Lord in Immortal Empires or The Realm of Chaos when starting a new campaign.
The Northern Provinces
Choose Grand Cathay and The Northern Provinces to begin Miao Ying's campaign. Her identity is tied to the northern border and the Great Bastion, while the same lord also appears in The Realm of Chaos story campaign.
Prepare the army and the frontier together. A strong field force still needs settlements that can support recruitment and routes that let it respond to danger. Caravans and the Wu Xing Compass are part of Cathay's campaign toolkit alongside that defence.
Warhammer Community’s June 2025 history of Grand Cathay names Miao Ying the Storm Dragon, one of the Dragon Emperor’s children still active in the setting, and the ruler associated with the northern frontier. Evan Dicken’s Blood of the Bastion is an Old World novel set on that frontier.
Human and dragon forms
Miao Ying can transform between a human spellcaster and a dragon. Treat the transformation as a change in battlefield job. A dragon can bring physical pressure to a threatened part of the line, but a large target also attracts missile fire and anti-large troops.
Keep the army's own damage working while she fights. Jade Warriors can hold a centre, ranged units need protection and Fire Rain Rocket Batteries need time to fire. Sending the lord far ahead can leave those troops to face the enemy without her help.
Magic and army support
Cathay's Alchemists use Metal magic and Astromancers use Heavens. Choose a hero for the spell role your force needs, then keep enough room in the formation for that hero to move safely.
Zhao Ming is Miao Ying's brother and the other Cathayan dragon lord in this selection. His western realm and association with alchemy give him a different identity within the same army tradition.
Zhao Ming governs the west, Yuan Bo leads The Jade Court, and Bhashiva commands the Claws of the White Tiger. Their campaign systems give Cathay several ways to develop beyond Miao Ying's northern frontier.
Planning a northern campaign
In Immortal Empires, keep the Great Bastion and your interior approaches in the same plan. Advancing a field army away from the frontier creates a second demand on the troops left behind. Decide which force will answer a breach before committing to a distant war.
Cathay's technology tree has separate Military and Provinces branches following Update 8.0. Match research to the immediate problem: developing settlements and sustaining an expedition call for different choices from improving the units already fighting.
Unlock, campaigns and start position
Miao Ying is included with Total War: Warhammer III and leads The Northern Provinces in Immortal Empires and The Realm of Chaos. In Immortal Empires she starts at Nan-Gau, behind the Great Bastion.
Patch 8.1 strengthened her starting army to smooth the early campaign. She can switch between a human spellcaster and the Storm Dragon in battle.
First turns and early plan
Take the settlements around Nan-Gau first, then keep the Great Bastion in every plan: an army sent south or west leaves the gates to the troops you left behind. Decide early which force answers a Chaos assault on the wall.
Keep Harmony balanced by mixing Yin and Yang units, start the Ivory Road caravans once the home provinces are safe, and use the Wu Xing Compass to back whatever the current campaign needs.
Questions
Where does Miao Ying start in Immortal Empires?
At Nan-Gau in The Northern Provinces, behind the Great Bastion.
Can Miao Ying turn into a dragon?
Yes. She switches between a human spellcaster and the Storm Dragon during battle.
Sources
- Immortal Empires DLC Ownership Guide — support.sega.com
- Update 8.0 Patch Notes — community.creative-assembly.com
- Grand Cathay comes to life in Total War: Warhammer III — warhammer-community.com
- Patch 8.1 notes — store.steampowered.com