Alternative Playstyle: Hexoatl

A guide for playing Hexoatl in Mortal Empires in an alternative way that favors a more lore-conscious approach with homebrew victory conditions and house-rules for the player supported by a list of suggested (but not required) modifications.

Foreword

Before we get into it, let's make a few things clear:

• I am not a self-acclaimed lore expert on Lizardmen and/or Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
  
• This alternative playstyle is not concerned with utilizing "git gud" strategies, exploits, and "game-y" tactics regardless of their effectiveness or - at times - necessity against the AI.
  
• In some areas I have left things non-specific to allow for the player's own preference in regards to army composition, diplomacy, research progression, and settlement management.
  
• While the Hexoatl faction is used, the playstyle in this guide could be used by all Lizardmen factions to an extent though may need tweaking.

Campaign Objectives

As Mazdamundi is the oldest and most powerful of the Slann, and Hexoatl the most strong of the Temple-Cities it only makes sense that their objectives be grand and globe-spanning. If you intend to see these objectives achieved, be prepared for a very long campaign that could take you upwards of 200 turns.

For thematic purposes I have divided the objectives into "acts" to simulate realistic progression.

ACT ONE: LUSTRIA UNITED

• All provinces in Lustria must be directly under Hexoatl's control or under the rule of Lizardmen factions whom Hexoatl is allied with: Isthmus of Lustria, Northern Jungles of Pahualaxa, Southern Jungles of Parhualaxa, Jungles of Green Mist, The Creeping Jungle, Northern Great Jungle, Vampire Coast, Spine of Sotek, Southern Great Jungle, Huahuan Desert, Headhunter's Jungle, Volcanic Islands, and The Sacred Pools.
  
  
• The lost/ruined Temple-Cities of Pahuax, Spektazuma, The Awakening, and Hualotal must be rebuilt.

ACT TWO: RECLAIMING LOST LANDS

• The following provinces outside of Lustria must be under the direct control of Hexoatl or another Lizardmen faction whom Hexoatl is allied with: The Southern Desert of Araby, Southlands Jungle, Kingdom of Beasts, Albion, and Deadwood.
  
  
• The following province capitals must be turned into Temple-Cities: Konquata and Teotiqua

ACT THREE: EXTERMINATION FOR THE GREAT PLAN

• If not already done so, the following cultures and their respective factions must be eliminated from the game: Norsca, Dark Elves, Skaven, Vampire Counts, Vampire Coast, Orcs, Tomb Kings, Chaos, and Beastmen.

House Rules

For those unfamiliar with the concept, "house rules" are limitations, outright restrictions, and/or requirements that the player puts upon themselves during play. It is up to the player to hold to these rules and it's up to their discretion for how much they want to bend, break, or pick-and-choose them.

Any/all rules that require explanation/justification have been given it.



I. Lustria is for Lustrians! Any/all territories in Lustria must be held by Lizardmen factions.

• If the player does not want to take hostile action against cultures "approved" by the Great Plan (i.e. Humans, High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dwarves) they may use the Region Trading - Unrestricted modification to buy Lustrian territory out from under them, and if you feel like being generous you may then gift that faction non-Lustrian territory. Buying their territory will not negatively affect your diplomatic standing with them; however, gifting them territory will increase it.

II. There will be no non-aggression, trading, defensive alliance, or military alliance agreements with factions of the Dark Elf, Norscan, Orc, Skaven, Chaos, Beastmen, Vampire Count, Tomb King, or Vampire Coast cultures.

• The Great Plan dictates that these races/cultures were not intended to exist or they threaten the success of the Great Plan and they should be considered an affront to the Old Ones.

III. Temple-Cities will be built according to the layout explained below.

IV. When a Temple-City completes construction of a Star Chamber a Slann Mage-Priest will be recruited and assigned to that city.

V. A Slann Mage-Priest, whether actively campaigning or garrisoned at their Temple-City, will always be attended by no less than four (4) units of Temple Guard.

• The Temple Guard's exclusive purpose is to protect the Slann Mage-Priest they are assigned to regardless of whether or not their charge is at war.

VI. A Skink Patrol (see below) should be levied for every two provinces in the player's possession and either manually patrol the provinces or be garrisoned in a settlement or fortification that is as equidistant to all settlements in those provinces as possible.

• Skink Patrol forces were utilized by Hexoatl to act as domestic defense forces - engaging would-be invaders and either destroying them outright or weakening and distracting them until an army arrived to finish them off.

VII. For every two units of Skinks, one Kroxigor unit is allowed to be fielded. Additionally, Kroxigor units may only be featured in armies that have Skinks.

• Kroxigors are a rare spawning and their numbers are substantially smaller than Skinks or Saurus. When not being used for manual labor, Kroxigors are found on the battlefield fighting alongside Skinks whom the Kroxigors take a special liking to.

VIII. Lizardmen armies used for offensive campaigns should feature either a Slann Mage-Priest or Saurus Old Blood leader supported by a Skink Priest (or Skink Oracle for a Slann leader) and a Saurus Scarred Veteran.


IX. Skink Patrols should be led by a Red Crested Skink Chief and supported by a Skink Priest.

X. Blessed Spawning variants should be given to armies led by lords in the following preferential order: Slann Mage-Priests, Saurus Old Bloods, Red Crested Skink Chiefs.

Temple City Layout

The Temple-Cities of the Lizardmen are the cultural, scientific, military, and religious hubs of their civilization and where most of the race's inhabitants live. Each Temple-City has a layout that appears to be uniform across all such cities in Lustria and abroad.



The following building chains should be constructed to their maximum in all Temple-Cities living and rebuilt:

• Underground Spawning Pools
  
• Cult of Sotek
  
• Reverence to the Old Ones
  
• Slann
  
• Geomantic Web

You will usually find yourself with additional slots and those slots should be filled with any/all landmark and resource chains first and foremost before then being used by any other building chains such as Aeries, Industry, Smiths, etc.

Building chains focused on economy, growth, Skink and Cold One recruitment, scrying, and defense should be the focus of minor settlements in your provinces.

Take note that this means many of your settlements will not be able to feature garrison/defense building chains, thus the need for Skink Patrols is a necessity.

Eligible Temple-Cities in Warhammer 2 are the following provincial capitals:

• Hexoatl (Living)
  
• Pahuax (Ruined)
  
• Spektazuma (Ruined)
  
• Tlaxtlan (Living)
  
• Xlanhuapec (Living)
  
• The Awakening (Ruined)
  
• Oyxl (Living)
  
• Itza (Living)
  
• Hualotal (Ruined)
  
• Teotiqua (Ruined)
  
• Konquata (New)

What does Living, Ruined, and New mean?
In the lore, living Temple-Cities are those cities currently inhabited by the Lizardmen, ruined ones are either literally in ruins and have not been restored yet or are currently under the control of non-Lizardmen, and new applies only to Konquata as it was an entirely new Temple-City founded by Mazdamundi and Nakai the Wanderer after travelling to Albion.

What about X building chain you haven't accounted for?
As you may have noticed, this Temple-City layout does not feature the building chain responsible for recruiting the various beast units of the Lizardmen roster, nor does this suggested building scheme favor growth and economic chains. Compensating for this can be done utilizing the provinces of Lustria which do not feature Temple-Cities as provincial capitals:

• Northern Jungles of Pahualaxa
  
• Huahuan Desert
  
• Volcanic Islands

Additionally, the provinces of Southern Desert of Araby, Kingdom of Beasts, and Deadwood outside of Lustria.



Renaming the Cities of the Lizardmen

For added lore-flavor you may choose to edit the names of certain cities (both major and minor settlements). This can be done by selecting the settlement and clicking the small "edit" icon in the building panel in the top left. The number of characters you can use is limited but most should fit.

• Hexotal, City of the Sun
  
• Itza, First City
  
• Tlaxtlan, City of the Moon
  
• Xlanhuapec, City of Mists
  
• Axlotl, Star City
  
• Oyxl, Eternal City
  
• Pahuax, City of Ash
  
• Tlanxla, City of Heaven
  
• Xahutec, City of Echoes
  
• Chaqua, City of Gold
  
• Chupayotl, Sunken City
  
• Spektazuma, City of Lenses
  
• Hualotal, City of Mask
  
• Subatuun, City Below
  
• Huatl, City of Reawakening (change the Vampire Coast name of the province capital The Awakening)

Skink Patrols

As mentioned above, the Temple-City of Hexoatl utilizes sizeable forces of Skinks to patrol their territories and act as both scouts and a frontline defense force if an enemy should invade.

If the invading force is small or doesn't feature high tier units and/or high level lords and heroes, a Skink Patrol should be able to either severely deplete or outright destroy an enemy army rampaging through your lands.

My suggestion for a possible Skink Patrol composition is as follows:

• Red-Created Skink Chief
  
• Skink Priest (Heavens)
  
• Six Units of Skink Cohorts
  
• Four Units of Skink Skirmishers
  
• Three Units of Kroxigors
  
• Three Units of Stegadons
  
• Two Units of Terradon Riders

This composition is intended to act as a balance between longterm viability as a force throughout the game and financial investment.

Advancing the Red-Crested Skink Chief's red and blue line skills should help make the force both more effective in combat and less costly as the game progresses as well.

The player is free to utilize other Skink and beast units and variants as they please, but remember: Skink Patrols are first responder defense forces kept in home territories to head off unexpected invasions and rebel incursions as well as bolster settlement garrisons. They should be strong enough to defeat smaller armies and/or armies composed of tier 1 or 2 units, but they should not be expected to defeat a force such as Malekith at the head of an army of Blackguard and Executioners, for example.

Composing a Lizardmen Army

Warhammer lore tells us a number of things about the military aspect of the Lizardmen, but does not go into extreme detail concerning how an average army would be composed. We can; however, boil it down to a handful of loreful notes to use as direction:

• Saurus are the exclusively warrior caste of Lizardmen society and their associated units (all Saurus Warrior and Cold One Rider variants) should form the core of your offensive armies.
  
• The Temple Guard are elite units of veteran Saurus given one task: to protect their assigned Slann Mage-Priest at all costs. Thus, they should not be featured in any army not led by a Slann Mage-Priest to reflect their purpose, and they should not number more than four units in an army to account for their rarity.
  
• Kroxigor are a rare spawning of Lizardmen dominantly used for manual labor, but can be found on the battlefield fighting in concert with and seemingly only alongside Skinks whom they have a unique affinity for. Thus, Kroxigor should only be featured in armies with Skink units present, should be deployed and engage the enemy with Skinks, and there should be no less than a 2:1 ratio of Skinks to Kroxigor in an army.
  
• Beasts, the larger single entity reptiles, are utilized by the Skinks and thus should not be featured in an army that does not also contain Skinks.
  
• Skinks form the vanguard of any given Lizardmen army and are used to engage and harass the enemy line before the slower Saurus join the battle. Thus, offensive armies should contain both a Saurus core and a Skink vanguard/screening force.
  
• The Lizardmen, especially the Slann Mage-Priests, are said to be some of the most powerful users of the winds of magic. To account for this, all armies should feature at least one magic-wielding lord/hero.

Using these parameters, you should be able to compose a Lizardmen army that is both effective and lore-conscious.

How do I use my Lizardmen army in the field?

Lizardmen have hard-hitting and tough units that can not only dish out a lot of damage but take it in close combat. Additionally, with the exception of Skinks, Lizardmen very rarely rout and even when they do they rebound quickly.

The biggest two weaknesses the Lizardmen have are their speed (besides Skinks) and lack of ranged units.

That being said, a Lizardmen army should not waste any time on the battlefield waiting to engage the enemy. It doesn't matter if you are the attacker or the defender in the scenario, your army should advance on the enemy as soon as possible.

Skinks, being faster, should be ahead of your main Saurus core and act as both a screen to soak up enemy ranged fire and to harass their line with blowdarts and javelins. Skink Skirmishers can be used to draw enemy units away from the main force, and Kroxigor can deliver a nice heavy punch to any overzealous enemy unit that attempts to charge your Skinks.

If your enemy has brought artillery pieces to the battlefield, Terradon/Ripperdactyl units can be used to quickly eliminate or at least disrupt the threat.

By the time your Skinks have had their fill or have begun to break and fall back, your main Saurus line should be there and ready to begin the real reptilian bloodbath, and any Skink and Kroxigor units still viable for combat can then be used to flank and envelope the enemy line.

Using Legendary Lords

As you unite Lustria under your banner through confederation you will no doubt begin to take on legendary lords of other Lizardmen factions, and if using the Recruit Defeated Lords mod you'll even have a chance to pick up ones whom either met their fate at the hands of others or your own.

While it's certainly up to the player if these lords will be used, I believe it only makes sense to do so if for no other reason than to fit the theme created by the victory conditions listed above.

When using these lords, the rules can and should be bent a bit to create armies for them that feel unique and special for these legendary characters. Below is a list of each legendary lord you may find at your disposal and my suggestions for making their force feel distinct.

• Lord Mazdamundi - As the oldest, most powerful, and most proactive Slann Mage-Priest, Mazdamundi's force should be able to field a larger contingent of Temple Guard to signify his vast importance and highest of status among the Lizardmen. If using Mixu's Legendary Lords mod he will also begin with and should retain the legendary Temple Guard hero Chakax. If the legendary hero Lord Kroak is unlocked, he too should be present in Lord Mazdamundi's army.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Gor-Rok and Kroq-Gar - Both are incredibly powerful and skilled Saurus warriors who've seen countless battles and have slain many foes. Both should be leaders of armies with strong Saurus cores and in battle should be on the frontline in the thickest of melees.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tehenhauin - The first and greatest Prophet of Sotek, Tehenhauin should be at the head of an army dominated by Skinks. Units of Red-Crested Skinks and Arks of Sotek should be featured in his army.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Oxyotl - A highly skilled Chameleon Skink, Oxyotl should lead a force of Chameleon Skinks that either act exclusively as ambushers or shadow another army and join forces with said army in battle to harass the enemy from the vanguard or flank it and cause havoc from the sides or behind.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tetto'eko - An ancient Skink Priest whose incredible gift of prophecy has earned him a place of reverence amongst the Lizardmen - so much so that the Slann Mage-Priests imparted on him his own floating palanquin and Temple Guard serve him. As such, Tetto'eko may be considered the same as a Slann Mage-Priest when composing an army. Only available using Mixu's Legendary Lords 2.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tiktaq'to - A famed Skink Terradon Rider who holds the position of Master of Skies for Hexoatl, TikTaq'to should lead a force composed of Terradon and Ripperdactyl Riders and shadow Lord Mazdamundi's army to join him in battle as a kind of Lizardmen airforce.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Nakai - An ancient Kroxigor who seems to materialize out of the jungle just in time to help the Lizardmen during high-stakes battles, Nakai should lead a force composed of Skinks, Kroxigor, and Feral beasts. Nakai's special mechanics that allow him to act as a horde and give settlements to the Defenders of the Great Plan minor faction are not functional when the player does not begin a campaign as him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Lord Huinitenuchli - Like Lord Mazdamundi, Huinitenuchli is a Slann of the Second Spawning and is incredibly powerful. Originally based out of the Temple-City of Pahuax, he is known for defeating a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince during the Great Catastrophe and dealing with the first Elven explorers of Lustria. He eventually resettled in the living Temple-City of Xlanhuapec - teaching the Slann there how to make and maintain the mists that envelope the region. Lord Huinitenuchli can be used as Xlanhuapec's assigned Slann Mage-Priest. Only available using Mixu's Legendary Lords 2.

Suggested & Optional Mods

While you could certainly attempt this style of playing Hexoatl with a purely vanilla copy of Total War: Warhammer 2, I've found that not only does the game and the Lizardmen faction feel more interesting with modifications, but they also allow the player to explore different avenues with which to achieve victory in the early, mid, and late game.

Below you will find two lists of modifications, one that affects the game as a whole while the other affects the Lizardmen factions exclusively or otherwise. All of these modifications are optional and do not need to be used all together. Ones which I feel are MUST HAVE are in bold.

Suggested Game-Changing Modifications:

• One Button Respec - Allows you to refund all already-allocated skill points of lords and heroes.
  
  
• Recruit Defeated Legendary Lords - When an LL's faction is wiped out by you or the AI you are given a prompt to recruit all their LLs and immortal lords and heroes. Only applies to factions of your same culture.
  
  
• No Great Power Penalty - Removes the diplomatic penalty all factions have towards you after reaching a certain territorial size.
  
  
• OVN Lost Factions - Adds a handful of new, lore-friendly, minor factions to the campaign increasing world variety.
  
  
• AI Difficulty Campaign Rebalancer - Lessens but does not entirely remove most hidden bonuses the AI gets on the campaign map. Does not affect battle AI/bonuses.
  
  
• No Extra Upkeep From Difficulty - More or less entirely removes the extra upkeep the player suffers each time they recruit a new lord.
  
  
• Nitz' Max Level 60 - Allows lords and heroes to earn up to 60 skill points. Does not change the amount of skill points gained or the rate of XP gained.
  
  
• Bring the Boys Home - Inspires the AI to be more willing to offer or accept peace deals when either you have delivered a devastating blow to their military or the two of you have not fought one another for a period of time.
  
  
• Region Trading: Unrestricted - Allows the player to purchase or gift any/all regions with any/all factions regardless of diplomatic standing.
  
  
• Upgrade Units - Allows you to upgrade a number of units to their variant forms (example: Saurus Warriors to Saurus Warriors w/Shields) when a certain veterancy is gained.
  
  
• AI Recruitment and Army Compositions - Seeks to motivate the AI to recruit more balanced armies that feature appropriate levels of core, ranged, elite, and artillery. Helps cut down on "doomstacking".

Suggested Lizardmen Modifications:

• Mixu's Legendary Lords 2 - Adds Tetto'eko and Lord Huinitenuchli as Legendary Lords leading their own factions and Chakax as a Legendary Hero for Mazdamundi or Huinitenuchli.
  
  
• Lizardmen HD - Gives all Lizardmen units, lords, and heroes an HD upgrade to their vanilla skins.
  
  
• Expanded Roster: Amazons - Not only allows you to play as the Amazons of Lustria using OVN but also makes their units recruitable by Lizardmen factions. A submod named Amazons for Amazons can be used to remove the Lizardmen's ability to use them.
  
  
• Varied Monsters Compilation - Adds color variety to the various beast units in the game including the Lizardmen's roster of reptiles.
  
  
• GLF Unit Expanion - Adds MANY new units across all factions but specifically for the Lizardmen it adds Red-Crested Skinks on Cold Ones, an Ancient Salamander ROR, Temple Guard w/Clubs, and Kroxigor Laborers (weaker, but cheaper variant for Kroxigors).
  
  
• Red Host of Tehenhauin (Units Only) - Adds a number of Red-Crested Skink units.
  
  
• Kroxigor Units - Adds Ancient and Feral variants for Kroxigors.
  
  
• R97R's Cult of Sotek Unit Expansion - Adds an elite Prophet's Guard for Tehenhauin, a double-sized Skink Cohort (Skink Regiment), and an Albino Carnosaur.
  
  
• True Invocation of Sotek - Adds a landmark to the Fuming Serpent that allows you to recruit a massive snake unit that acts as a manifestation of Sotek.
  
  
• Saurus Halberds - Adds halberd-wielding Saurus units in both an un-shielded and shielded version.
  
  
• Flamboyant's Lost Temple-Cities - Gives faction-wide buffs when you own specific Lizardmen cities.
  
  
• Lthelis Lizardmen Crafting + Unit Upgrades - Gives the Lizardmen a crafting system using a new secondary currency called Purified Gold that can then be used to create gear, Blessed Spawnings (Saurus Warriors w/Shields, Temple Guard, Stegadon, Chameleon Skinks, and Kroxigor only), and upgrade most units with buffing Talismans. Also adds a new trading resource called Obsinite.
  
  
• Blessings of the Old Ones (Lizardmen Unit Upgrades) - An alternative to the above, only adds a currency resource called Sacred Energy that allows you to upgrade/buff units. Can be used WITH Lthelis' mod but the UI does not display BOTH Purified Gold and Sacred Energy.
  
  
• No Lizardmen Aversion - Removes the default "aversion" diplomacy penalty between Lizardmen factions.
  
  
• Kroxigors in Skinks Units - Adds two new units: Skink Cohort (Kroxigors) and Skink Cohort (w/Javelins and Kroxigors). These units reflect the Kroxigors and Skinks fighting together as one.

[BEEN]

Nice to see Lizardmen love thanks

[Fear2288]

Appreciate it, Pirate RPP

[Pirate RPP]

This is very well done. Good work