Cult of Sotek

:Cult of Sotek requires The Prophet and the Warlock paid DLC to play.
Cult of Sotek is a playable Lizardmen faction introduced in Total War: Warhammer II as part of The Prophet and the Warlock DLC. It is led by Tehenhauin. 
==How they play==
A summary of Lizardmen (specifically Cult of Sotek) gameplay:
* Units: In battle, Lizardmen have strong melee units, powerful magic users, and many monsters. However, their ranged units are just average.
* Blessed Spawnings: These are elite Lizardmen units in limited supply, similar to Regiments of Renown. 
* Rampage: Overall, Lizardmen have good leadership. However, many of their units can potentially rampage and go out of control in battle.
* Rites: Lizardmen can perform several rites in campaign to bolster themselves or recruit Slann Mage-Priests.
* Astromancy Stance: A unique army stance which increases map vision and ambush defense chance.
* Geomantic Web: Lizardmen settlements are linked by the magical Geomantic Web which makes their commandments more powerful.
* Prophecy of Sotek: Use Sacrificial Offerings to fulfil the Prophecy and gain bonuses. Extra upkeep for Saurus units until stage 2.
* Lord Kroak: Lizardmen factions can embark on a quest to recruit the unique hero Lord Kroak.
==In battle==
Cult of Sotek play similarly to other Lizardmen factions.
==In the campaign==
===Prophecy of Sotek===
Tehenhauin believes that with sufficient sacrifices, the serpent-god may yet return, bringing salvation to the Lizardmen and the extermination of the Skaven. Tehenhauin will be issued with a series of unique missions, the completion of which grants access to new forms of sacrifice. When performed, these reward with unique banners, followers, powerful temporary effects, Regiments of Renown and more.
As Tehenhauin and his forces win battles against non-Lizardmen armies, they may choose to mark any post-battle captives as Sacrificial Offerings. As the offerings build, they may be spent on performing the sacrifices accessed by the Prophecy of Sotek missions.
The highest level of sacrifice grants Tehenhauin the ability to evoke Sotek himself, manifesting an aspect of the serpent-god in battle to deal devastating damage to his foes.
In Immortal Empires, The cult of Sotek’s start position and Tehenhauin’s army has given a great degree of momentum compared to the earlier campaigns.The improvements of the sacrifices as well as the Chameleon Stalkers being available from level 2 settlements has also strengthened him a great deal from his origins of running a grueling and thankless campaign.
The temporary Saurus upkeep increase can hardly be considered a comsiderable downside anymore, as the new skink armies are strong enough on their own. The debuff is barely noticeable and even when it’s gone, you can still carry a skink army into late game. With the additional buffs from Tehenhauin’s passives and the sacrificial pyramid, The Cult of Sotek is capable of fielding an exceptionally deadly and quick moving force.
Luckily the new campaign for Tehenhauin place him in a highly privileged position, being close with and having open diplomacy lines to Gor-rok, Oxyotl and the Southern Sentinels, thus can quickly work on confederation options. To the south are High Elves who will never bother you, to your north are a minor Tomb Kings faction that will most likely not act aggressively, as well as dwarves in the mountains, who will also keep to themselves. Clan Pestilence is sharing the mainland with Itza and it is wise to take him out early. Gor-Rok will with all likelihood be very aggressive towards him as well as the Southern Sentinels, if they are not wiped out. So take advantage of this envelopment and swoop in to assist them. It’s a good way of containing them and giving Itza the chance to become your eastern bulwark against the vampire and Wulfhart. But for another reason as well; Tehenhauin hate skaven. So much so, the second pyramid sacrificestep automaticaly causes a war between all skaven and lizardmen. And you don’t want to accidentally trigger it when you make sacrifices from another war and then have Skrolk with a massive empire in your backyard. Nor do you want to abstain from sacrificing cause you are worried over that. Make the most out of your associates and try to build strong relationships for future confederations.
Shortly thereafter you’ll have to deal with Rakarth, who can pose a serious threat to you early campaign. Who most likely will either have conquered the tomb kings or have them on their last leg. Dark Elves have longer range than your skirmisher heavy army and Rakarth can field large numbers of monsters in early game as well as many fast warhound like units. This spells doom for a skink reliant army with limited monsters. If your army is weaker, make sure to avoid direct confrontations with him at most times, ambushes and siege battles will play to your strength greatly. Move fast once he has been incapacitated and take out his settlements. 
After Rakarth is done with, asses the threat situation. More than likely Wulfhart will have become the biggest potential obstacle . But if all has gone right, Itza will probably hold the line for you and spare you a long conflict. In which case you want to mop up the remaining Skaven of Clan Spittel and Luthor Harkon. If the vampire coast is expanding and becoming a problem, you want to take them out as quickly as possible. Giving Itza the breathing space. All in all, Tehenhauin’s campaign nowadays has a very nice flow to it. There is some yank with going over the mountains back and forth. But more than likely you will be able to consolidate power quickly and build a strong army with a skink base.
===Sacrificial Offerings===
Sacrificial Offerings are a resource unique to Cult of Sotek, similar to slaves.
===Starting territory===
;Eye of the Vortex
* Culchan Plains (one settlement)
;Mortal Empires
* Northern Great Jungle (one settlement)
;Immortal Empires
* Xlanzec, The Night Forest Road
===Legendary Lord Choices===
* Tehenhauin
===Faction effects===
* Cost -75% for the Rite of Sotek
* Upkeep +200% for Saurus infantry units and Temple Guard, until reaching stage 2 of the Prophecy of Sotek.
** Saurus Old-Blood
** Saurus Warriors
** Saurus Warriors (Shields)
** Saurus Spears
** Saurus Spears (Shields)
** Temple Guards
** Blessed Saurus Warriors (Shields)
** Blessed Saurus Spears (Shields)
** Blessed Temple Guards
===Tehenhauin's lord effects===
* Physical resistance +10% for Skinks units (Lord's army)
* Leadership +10 when fighting against Skaven (Lord's army)
* Untainted +3 (local province)
===Post-battle options===
Cult of Sotek's post-battle options are the same as regular Lizardmen factions, except that Kill and Eat is replaced by Mark For Sacrifice which increases Sacrificial Offerings.
== Victory Objectives ==
=== Mortal Empires ===
=== Immortal Empires ===
==== Short Campaign Victory ====
* Occupy, loot, raze or sack 30 different settlements
* Destroy the following factions: Clan Pestilens, Clan Spittel, Clan Skrat
==== Long Campaign Victory ====
* Occupy, loot, raze or sack 70 different settlements
* Control all provinces of Lustria either by direct ownership or through vassals and military alliances: Culchan Plains, Headhunter's Jungle, Spine of Sotek, The Lost Valley, River Qurveza, Mosquito Swamps, The Gwange Valley, The Turle Isles, Piranha Swamps, The Creeping Jungle, Jungles of Green Mist, Aymara Swamps, Jungles of Pahaulaxa, The Isthmus Coast, Isthmus of Lustria, Copper Desert, The Night Forest Road, The Capes, Volcanic Islands
==Diplomacy==
=== Starting agreements ===
Starts at war with Citadel of Dusk and Clan Fester
=== Diplomatic traits ===
*Compliant - Only through Saurian unity can the Great Plan be enacted.
*Cold-Blooded Logic - The immutable, alien logic of the Lizardmen means they will only consider strong, emotive states when engaging in diplomacy.
==== Immortal Empires ====
* Cold-Blooded Logic - The immutable, alien logic of the Lizardmen means they will only consider strong, emotive states when engaging in diplomacy.
* Protective
==Strategy==
This campaign is one of the harder ones, as you start in the middle of Lustria surrounded by enemies. Saurus units cost triple to recruit and maintain until the first stage of the prophecy has been completed. This means you must rely on Skinks more so than any other Lizardmen campaign. To augment them, they are given +10% Physical resistance, which can go a surprisingly long way to making them more durable. There are also skills that make them stronger. For most of the early game and into the mid game it is better to rely on Skinks than pay out the cash for Saurus. The Rite of Sotek is also 75% cheaper which means you can ambush enemies easier and enemies in your territory will suffer attrition. Use this to your advantage as you will likely be beset on multiple fronts and a little attrition or the tactical advantage of an ambush can change the fortunes of battle.
Diplomatically, it is best to secure allies when you can, for example fighting the Dwarfs is not advised. Fighting other Lizardmen is not advised unless you have to. With the addition of Gor-Rok and Nakai, you have slightly more options for allies, however they also can limit your expansion by taking settlements you want. The Court of Lybaras and Order of Loremasters can also be friends or foes depending on how you want to approach it. Your enemies will primarily be the Skaven, followed up by the Dark Elves and Vampire Coast.
==Trivia==
As of the Potion of Speed update, the Sacrificial Offerings gained from Mark for Sacrifice is no longer set at a constant 50. It now scales with the battle size. This provides an immense boost to the Cult of Sotek campaign, as many of their sacrifices were limited by how many battles had to be fought in order to gain enough slaves.
Category:Total War: Warhammer II Lizardmen factions
Category:Immortal Empires factions