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Tomb Kings armies are governed by three linked systems rather than normal faction economics: faction-wide unit capacity from buildings and technologies, dynasty research that adds army slots, and Canopic Jars spent through the Mortuary Cult. Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Spearmen can be recruited without a capacity limit, while stronger units need the right buildings and available capacity. Researching one of the six major Nehekharan dynasties gives another army slot, and Canopic Jars fund permanent upgrades, magical equipment and several campaign-speed options.
The important distinction is that capacity belongs to your faction, not to an individual army. A lost settlement can reduce your available cap without deleting units already in the field. Likewise, dynasties are primarily a research-and-army-slot system, while Jars are a flexible currency whose best use changes with your immediate bottleneck.
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How Tomb Kings unit caps and free recruitment work
Tomb Kings do not use the ordinary monetary upkeep model for recruitment. The Total War Academy campaign guide describes recruitment as free, but free recruitment does not mean unlimited access to every unit. Higher-level units are restricted by capacity, and that capacity is supplied by specific military buildings and, later, by technologies.
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Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Spearmen are the two starting limitless units. They provide the basic bodies for Tomb Kings armies and can be recruited without consuming a unit-capacity point. Every stronger battlefield role—elite infantry, monsters, constructs, cavalry or other advanced choices—uses the capacity associated with its unit and supporting infrastructure.
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Capacity is a faction-wide pool
A capacity building contributes to a pool shared by the entire faction. It is not a quota assigned separately to each lord. Constructing the relevant military building grants an initial amount of capacity for the units it supports; additional copies increase that capacity. Technologies and dynasty effects can increase the pool as well.
| What you do | What changes | What does not change |
|---|---|---|
| Construct the military building tied to an advanced unit | You unlock the unit and receive its initial capacity | The capacity is available to the faction, not just the settlement where the building stands |
| Build more copies of that capacity structure | The corresponding unit cap rises | Recruitment remains free; the restriction is availability, not a unit price |
| Research a technology or dynasty effect that grants capacity | The relevant faction-wide pool increases | Existing armies are not automatically rearranged |
| Lose a settlement containing a capacity building | Your current cap falls | Units already recruited remain in their armies |
What happens when you lose a capacity building?
If an enemy captures a settlement that supplied capacity, the cap drops immediately with the building. Units already fielded are not removed, however. Your faction can therefore sit temporarily above its current cap. That over-cap state is useful after a defeat or surprise conquest, but it is not a permanent replacement for rebuilding the infrastructure. If you disband an over-cap unit, you may not be able to recruit it again until the cap is restored.
A practical way to manage the cap
- Decide which advanced units your next army actually needs before spending growth and construction time.
- Build and protect the military structures that provide those units’ capacity. A province with several capacity buildings is strategically valuable even when its income is modest.
- Check the faction-wide unit-capacity panel before recruiting. An army may have room for another unit while the faction does not.
- After losing a settlement, review every army. Keep useful over-cap units while you rebuild, but avoid disbanding irreplaceable units until you know the replacement capacity is available.
- Include dynasty and technology bonuses when planning a long-term roster; they can make a previously tight cap sufficient without adding another building.
How dynasty research unlocks more Tomb Kings armies
Tomb Kings can field only a limited number of armies at once. The principal way to increase that limit is to research one of the six major Nehekharan dynasties. Completing a dynasty research line awards a new army slot, so dynasty research is the core answer to “How do I unlock another Tomb Kings army?”
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What each dynasty provides
Every major dynasty has a top technology that can unlock a more powerful lord associated with that dynasty. Standard Tomb King lords remain available, so choosing a dynasty does not replace the normal lord pool. The dynasty also contributes a small unit-capacity increase under Patch 6.3: typically +2 for non-large units and +1 for the relevant large unit.
Those bonuses apply to roster planning, not to a particular lord. If your campaign depends on constructs or another large-unit category, the dynasty whose bonus matches that category can be more valuable than one whose bonus affects units you rarely recruit.
Why the next dynasty takes longer
Each dynasty research increases the time needed for the next one. The resulting slowdown is cumulative: rushing several army slots early can delay technologies that improve economy, construction or military performance. Capturing settlements improves research speed, and major settlements are especially helpful, so territorial expansion can offset part of the increasing research time.
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Patch 6.3 reduced the research penalties attached to the six “Wisdom of the … Dynasty” technologies and added effects to them. Older guides that present dynasty research as a much harsher delay, or omit the capacity bonus entirely, describe an earlier ruleset.
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There is no officially designated best order. Compare each choice against four campaign-specific questions:
| Decision factor | Question to ask | When it matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Army-slot timing | How urgently do you need another general to defend a border, occupy a second front or start a new invasion? | Early campaigns with several exposed settlements or a valuable opportunity for expansion |
| Capacity bonus | Does the dynasty’s typical +2 non-large or +1 relevant-large bonus support the roster you are building? | Construct-heavy or elite-unit armies that are constrained by a specific cap |
| Dynasty lord trait | Will the associated lord’s trait improve the role you need—front-line fighting, campaign movement, spellcasting or another specialization? | When a new lord will immediately lead an army rather than sit in reserve |
| Research slowdown | Can your current territory and research rate absorb a longer route to the next technology? | When you are already behind on infrastructure, military upgrades or diplomatic objectives |
A decision process that works in most campaigns
- Identify the immediate problem: an undefended region, a missing army slot, a hard unit-capacity limit or a research bottleneck.
- Check which dynasty lord and capacity effect address that problem rather than choosing by name or lore alone.
- Estimate whether capturing a nearby settlement—especially a major settlement—will improve research speed enough to justify delaying the dynasty.
- Research the dynasty when the extra army or roster capacity will be used promptly. If the slot would sit idle, a different technology may produce more value first.
What Canopic Jars do and how you earn them
Canopic Jars are a separate resource used through the Mortuary Cult. They are not the same as gold, trade resources or dynasty research. The Academy guide lists winning battles, capturing settlements and resolving dilemmas as Jar sources. Patch 6.3 adds post-battle kills as another source, making aggressive battles more rewarding even when the settlement itself is not captured.
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Mortuary Cult uses
The Mortuary Cult combines Canopic Jars with gold and trade resources to create permanent or semi-permanent advantages. Its options include magical items, Legions of Legend, and choices that create or expand dynasty and hero capacity. Patch 6.3 also adds Nehekharan Decrees and new banners.
| Use | What it provides | How to evaluate it |
|---|---|---|
| Magical items | Equipment for characters and armies | Strong when a critical lord or hero lacks a needed combat or campaign effect |
| Legions of Legend | Powerful special units | Best when the unit fills an immediate battlefield gap and you can support its capacity |
| Dynasty capacity options | More room for dynasty-related choices and army development | Prioritize when another army slot or dynasty progression is the campaign constraint |
| Hero capacity options | More room to recruit the relevant heroes | Useful when scouting, magic, replenishment or army support is limited by hero count |
| Nehekharan Decrees | A quick cash injection, a research-rate benefit or a garrison sally option | Choose the effect that solves the current turn’s economic, research or defensive emergency |
| New banners | Additional army customization choices | Worth considering after essential capacity and campaign-tempo needs are covered |
Patch 6.3 release notes also state that Canopic Jar payments for dynasty technologies were corrected in the final release. If an older guide shows a different cost or claims that a payment is missing, use the in-game value from your current version instead.
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A safe Jar-spending order
- Reserve enough Jars for the next army-slot or capacity breakpoint you have deliberately planned.
- Check whether gold or a trade resource, rather than Jars, is the actual limiting ingredient for the purchase.
- Compare an immediate Nehekharan Decree with a permanent item, banner, Legion of Legend or capacity option.
- Spend on a temporary decree when it prevents a serious loss—such as an unaffordable emergency turn, a delayed critical technology or a siege that needs a garrison sally.
- Prefer permanent value when your treasury and research are stable and no army is waiting on a specific capacity threshold.
There is no universally optimal Jar sequence. A faction defending several settlements may value a garrison sally; a faction racing toward a dynasty slot may value research rate; and a mature faction with secure income may gain more from an item, banner or Legion of Legend.
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Starting a second army
Research the chosen dynasty to obtain the army slot, then make sure the faction can supply the units you want that army to use. The slot alone does not create elite-unit capacity. If your buildings support only basic troops, the new army can still be formed, but its advanced roster will be restricted until the relevant structures or technology bonuses are available.
Recovering after a settlement loss
When a capacity settlement falls, retain valuable over-cap units if the army can survive. Rebuild the lost military structure or replace it elsewhere before disbanding anything. At the same time, decide whether the next dynasty research should continue: losing the settlement may reduce your research speed, making the army slot arrive later than expected.
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Choosing between expansion and Mortuary Cult spending
Capturing a settlement can provide Jars and improve research speed, but spending Jars on a decree may solve an immediate treasury or garrison problem. Treat the decision as a bottleneck test: use the resource that removes the problem stopping your next decisive action, while preserving enough Jars for a planned capacity or dynasty breakpoint.
Patch 6.3 changes and version cautions
Patch 6.3 materially changed the Tomb Kings economy of progression. It reduced the research penalties on the six Wisdom of the Dynasty technologies, added dynasty unit-capacity effects, added post-battle kills as a Jar source, introduced Nehekharan Decrees and new Mortuary Cult banners, and corrected Jar payments connected to dynasty technologies. Guides written before that patch may therefore give obsolete advice about Jar income, research delays or the value of dynasty research.
Check the technology, Mortuary Cult and faction panels in your installed version before committing a large resource reserve. If a later update changes costs, sources or capacity values, the current in-game tooltips and patch notes take priority over older strategy explanations.
Do you need the Tomb Kings campaign pack?
In Immortal Empires, SEGA’s ownership information lists Rise of the Tomb Kings as the campaign pack that unlocks Settra, High Queen Khalida, Grand Hierophant Khatep and Arkhan the Black; the pack also includes the Bone Giant unit. Immortal Empires released on August 23, 2022. Owning the pack determines access to the Tomb Kings faction and its legendary lords; it does not change the basic distinction between faction-wide unit caps, dynasty army slots and Mortuary Cult spending.
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