Although recently delayed, The Creative Assembly’s much-anticipated adaptation of Games Workshop’s warworld is fast approaching its May 24 release. When it arrives, we’ll finally have the chance to march The Empire, The Dwarfs, The Greenskins, or The Vampire Counts onto its bloodstained battlegrounds, as we take advantage of the features, quirks and idiosyncrasies each outlandish contingent has to offer. Unlike previous Total War games, Total War: Warhammer is rooted in fantasy - a fact directly reflected in its combat, skills trees and its races.

After going hands-on at a press preview in London last month, the following is an overview of the four playable races, and their respective units, that will be available to players at launch. My time with the game was mostly spent at the helm of the Vampire Counts yet, while they’re undoubtedly the most radical departure from Total War as we’ve come to know it, the other races offer some pretty formidable opposition.

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The Factions

The Greenskins

No Warhammer game would be complete without the inclusion of Orcs and Goblins, thus it’s probably of little surprise both species populate the ranks of the Greenskin fleet. Race-wise, the Greenskins break the rules because they’re in fact comprised of a smattering of sub-races - mostly Savage Orcs hailing from the Badlands plains, and Night Goblins who inhabit the Underway tunnels, however Giants and Trolls are also known to go side-by-side with this green and gruesome force. While far from the most intelligent or diplomatic of races, the Greenskins have a resolute thirst for war - so much so that if left unsatisfied they will turn on themselves - and will seek conflict at every turn.

The formidable Grimgor Ironhide is the Greenskin poster orc, however sorcery and dark magic expert Azhag the Slaughterer stands as his right-hand manbeast. Azhag’s astute understanding of the arcane arts means he’s more capable of championing relations with the undead - which helps temper the Greenskin kill-all rhetoric - and is often seen touring the battlefield on his unique and aptly named wyvern Skullmuncha. Other available mounts include Giant Wolves, Giant Spiders, Warboars, Warboar Chariots, standard Wyverns, and Wolf Chariots; whereas Goblin Wolf Chariots and Orc Boar Chariots mark the Greenskins’ vehicle ensemble.

The Greenskins are also pretty handy in the cavalry front, boasting everything from Forest Goblin Spider Riders, Goblin Wolf Riders, and Orc Boar Boyz; to Savage Orc Boar Boyz, Orc Boar Boy Big’Uns, and Savage Orc Boar Boy Big’Uns. Add those to the missile types - Forest Goblin Spider Riders and Goblin Wolf Riders - and it becomes obvious that fighting the orcs up close or at range is no easy feat. And that’s without mentioning the foot soldier infantry that packs the frontlines: the Goblins, the Night Goblins, the Orc Boyz, Savage Orcs, Orc Big’Uns, Savage Orc Big’Uns, Black Orcs, Goblin Archers, Night Goblin Archers, Orc Arrer Boyz, Savage Orc Arrer Boyz, Trolls, Arachnarok Spider, AND Giants.

Phew, deep breath.

Each faction in Total War: Warhammer boasts unique tech trees and building browsers and the Greenskins’ mirror their hyper-offensive playstyle. Most of this pertains to bolstering weaponry or tacking things onto other things to make them more powerful, however one unlockable high-tier unit worth mentioning, which I was only ever on the receiving end of, sadly, is the orcs’ Doom Diver. It’s a catapult, basically, that sends volunteer Goblins with makeshift wooden wings strapped to their backs soaring into battle, before crashing into hordes of enemy combatants. In-flight, the player can choose to view the Goblin’s ascent, and inevitable descent, over-the-shoulder of the airborne fodder if they so choose which looks like tremendous fun.

As mentioned above, Greenskins need to fight - a fact reflected in their “Fightiness” meter. Should you neglect to get an orc unit’s hands dirty, their Fightiness level will drop which, after reaching certain thresholds, will stir animosity among them. In the absence of external armies to lock horns with, they’ll begin fighting among themselves which in turn leaves your squads vulnerable to self-sabotage. Conversely, if you keep Fightiness at high levels, your unit will eventually initiate “Waaagh!” Status, which will cause another war boss to join that unit’s cause, bringing with it an army to help out. These squads will be AI controlled and will shadow your own guys in both attack and defence.

The Dwarfs

Small in physical appearance alone, the Dwarf race are as proud and stubborn as they are vengeful and unassailable. An ancient creed, they’ve donned the beard and braided hair combo long before any modern day hipster, and house a relentless passion for axes and hammers. In the absence of cavalry, Dwarfs are forced to take their time on the battlefield, however their expertise in tunneling and mining means they can temporarily move their formations underground in order to reappear elsewhere - ideal for escaping compromising situations or for staging their own unexpected attacks.

High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer and Slayer King Ungrim Ironfist lead the pint-sized army as Legendary Lords, with the former often sat atop the squad’s only mount, the Throne of Power. Gyrocopters are its only other vehicle and a combination of melee and missile infantry makes up the rest. Dwarf Warriors with and without Great Weapons, Hammerers, Ironbreakers, Longbeards with and without Great Weapons, Miners with and without Blasting Charges, and Slayers form the former; whereas Quarrellers with and without Great Axes, Thunderers and Irondrakes with and without Trollhammer Torpedos make up the latter. Artillery-wise, the dwarves rely on Cannons, Flame Cannons, Grudge Thrower and Organ Guns.

Cross this race at your peril, as each slight enacted upon the Dwarfs is entered into the Book of Grudges - an ancient tome used to settle scores. It’s bad form in Dwarven culture to have too many simultaneous beefs, you see, thus the Dwarfs use the Dammaz Kron, as the book is otherwise known, as a checklist for war. The Dwarf tech tree is different to those of other races in that it follows two core disciplines: The Way of the Guilds, which addresses civic matters, such as income, growth and diplomacy, among other things; and The Way of Clans, which deals with improving battle units. Balancing both is essential - especially as wars rage on into multiple turns.

Fail to do so and you’ll undoubtedly rack up a grudge or two, all of which gets recorded in the Dammaz Kron. Letting grudges linger too long forces negative consequences on your troops, such as decreased confidence in your leadership, whereas settling them not only nets you cash prizes but also helps improve diplomatic relations with other races and helps maintain public order.

The Empire

Total War: Warhammer is Total War like no other, galvanised by the fact that there’s only one human race in the game: the Empire. Although undoubtedly strong and capable on the battlefield, it’d be easy to write off these mere mortals at first glance, given the others’ reliance on magic and otherworldly horrors. That said, the Empire packs a few surprises themselves as beyond the humdrum halberdiers, shields and greatswords are things like the Luminark of Hysh - a contraption manned by two Empire soldiers that houses a bound spell capable of generating Solheim’s Bolt, that can take out Giants in one fell swoop.

Aboard his formidable gryphon Deathclaw, the esteemed emperor Karl Franz leads the flexible Empire onslaught - one proficient in both defence and attack - and is flanked by sorcerer Balthasar Gelt. Warhorses, Barded Warhorses, Imperial Pegasuses, and Imperial Griffons mark the other available mounts, while the Reiksguard stand as this army’s lone melee cavalry. Demigryph Knights and Demigryph Knights with halberds are the Empire’s monstrous cavalry, whereas Pistoliers, Outriders, and Outriders with grenade launchers make up its missile cavalry.

The aforementioned Luminark of Hysh is one of two Empire battle vehicles, with Steam Tanks as the other, and artillery and mortar offense - such as Great Cannons, Helblaster Volley Guns, and Helstorm Rocket Batteries - round off this race’s most powerful means of attack. The frontlines house the most steadfast of journeymen, however, with Halberdiers, Spearmen with and without shields, Swordsmen, Greatswords, Crossbowmen, and Hand Gunners.

Unique to the Empire’s campaign mechanics are Offices. Lords and Legendary Lords are the only character types who can be allocated the roles within which include: Emperor, Reiksmarshal, Supreme Patriarch, Spymaster, Treasurer, Area Lector and Castellan-Engineer. Karl Franz is obviously the only Empirian able to assume the role of Emperor, however other Lords can be assigned the other slots once they’ve reached the desired requirements. Assigning a Lord to the position of Treasurer, for example, will boost faction-wide trading and also infrastructure income in any friendly region that particular Lord inhabits.

Techs on the Empire’s tech tree are unlockable by building specific structures - such as Barracks, Menageries, Blacksmiths and Rally Fields - all of which offer specific buffs to weapons, units, infantry and so on. Research and experimentation is key to capturing the entirety of Reikland and beyond.

The Vampire Counts

Led by the ghastly Mannfred Von Carstein, and his equally horrifying subordinate Heinrich Kemmler, the Vampire Counts are a force to be reckoned with. Specialising in the dark arts and an unwavering ability to strike terror into the hearts of their foes, this race is essentially a complete inversion of the playable troops mentioned above in that, for example, instead of recruiting new mercenaries-for-hire from the barracks, Von Carstein prefers to raise fallen soldiers of war to do his bidding. Likewise, Von Carstein’s camp swaps out the more recognisable farm mechanics of other setups for, gasp, mass graves.

Terrorgheists, Vargheists and Fell Bats circle the skies above the mounts and cavalry that gather below. Black Knights and Hexwraits make up the latter; whereas Barded Nightmares, Hellsteeds, Skeletal Steeds and Zombie Dragons - Von Carstein’s own transport of choice - comprise the former. One of the best features the undead units boast is their power to cause fear - a trait which lowers opposition morale - something both Direwolves and Varghulfs are especially good at. The Vampire Counts’ ground-based melee assault comes in the form of Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Spearman, Zombies, Grave Guards, Cairn Wraiths, Crypt Ghouls, and Crypt Horrors - the latter of which is of the monstrous variety.

Perhaps the Vampire Counts’ most ingenious trick - and definitely one of the game’s most interesting features - is Von Carstein’s ability to Raise the Dead. Only usable twice in any given fight, Von Carstein can raise fallen soldiers, transformed into hordes of zombie or skeleton infantry, to assist him in battle. In strategy terms, this quirk is appealing for two main reasons: firstly, it can simply bolster an attack or help replenish expired comrades; and secondly, if Von Carstein unexpectedly finds himself flanked by an intervening enemy unit, he can quickly raise a squadron of minions to create a buffer between he and his foes to prevent being outnumbered.

Seeing such awful aberrations take to the field in Total War: Warhammer is a sight to behold in and of itself, however Von Carstein’s magical powers are the most endearing/god-awful thing about the Vampire Counts. Split into two spellbooks, named the Lore of Death and the Lore of Vampires, his repertoire includes spells such as: the Curse of Years, a hex which causes enemies to age rapidly; the Gale of Nagash, bolts of magic shot from the caster’s eyes that rain missiles down upon invaders; Invocation of Neher, an augment which heals nearby teammates; and of course the aforementioned Raise the Dead, among many others. Von Carstein’s Winds of Magic pool limits magic regen to one magic per five seconds, meaning it takes just over two minutes to reaccumulate full magic power. In turn, this means that, although very powerful, magic is never allowed to commandeer battles.

The Chaos Warriors

The first expansion to be made available for Total War: Warhammer at launch - which is also a pre-order DLC that’s ruffled some fans’ feathers - will include the Chaos Warriors. The Creative Assembly have been pretty tight-lipped up to this point with regards to this race, however you’ll be first to know more as and when we do.

Total War: Warhammer is due for release on May 24, 2016.