Total War: Warhammer III recently announced its latest DLC, Shadows of Change, and many new things await the players within Patch 4.0. One is Mother Ostankya, Kislev’s own Bogeyman with unique gameplay mechanisms to help you punish those who dare to trespass on her territories. Today, we will discuss the Mother Ostankya Faction’s strengths and weaknesses in this guide. Let’s begin.
Total War: Warhammer III is available on Steam for $54.99, while the Shadows of Change DLC is available on Steam for $19.99.
Want to read more Total War: Warhammer III content? You can find them here at KeenGamer through the links below:
- Total War: Warhammer III – Shadows of Change | Yuan Bo Faction Guide
- Total War: Warhammer III | Shadows of Change DLC Overview
Mother Ostankya Faction Lore Overview
Let’s start with Mother Ostankya’s lore and how she controls her Daughters of the Forest. The Kislevite children are haunted by storied whispers of Mother Ostankya, a tale used to frighten them into obedience with a single, chilling phrase.
Tales of monsters and bogeymen have haunted many lands for centuries, but the tale hanging above the Kislevite children, a reminder of the consequences of displaying disobedience, was not just a tale. Mother Ostankya is real. A guardian, faithful to the land, holding anyone who seeks to harm it accountable, she draws her power from the very woods, fens, and oblasts that she protects. When war comes knocking, she’ll be on the front lines, protecting the warriors of Kislev, and inflicting her terror upon any who oppose them.
Since she’s a powerful sorceress and is capable of melee combat, her faction mechanics revolve around Mother Ostankya’s traits. Moreover, Mother Ostankya has two new abilities that set her apart from other Kislev Lords: Hexes and The Witch’s Hut, which we will discuss down the line.
Mother Ostankya.
Mother Ostankya’s New Gameplay Mechanics
As stated before, Mother Ostankya arrives in Total War: Warhammer III by bringing two unique systems that will support her faction: Hexes and The Witch’s Hut.
Hexes
Let’s begin with Hexes first. To purge the world of corruption, Mother Ostankya and her Hags must first cast five forbidden Hexes, with each requiring the consumption of Spirit Essence. This new resource can be obtained by, among other things, ridding regions of corruption, safeguarding and holding locations with magic forests, and winning battles.
Each Hex has its own set of benefits for Mother Ostankya’s empire, letting her teleport armies between magical forests, cleanse corruption from a region, or bewitch enemy settlements. Each Hex is available through winning battles. Once you gather all five Hexes, you can summon the final Hex so terrible that it can cripple down an entire race in a single blow.
In short, Hexes are powerful tools at your disposal when you’re playing as Mother Ostankya, though gaining Spirit Essence will be quite hard as you must try and win as many battles as possible while protecting your realms.
Hexes.
The Witch’s Hut
For the next part of this Mother Ostankya Faction guide, we will discuss her The Witch’s Hut mechanic. Daughters of the Forest gain access to this eerie mechanic where Mother Ostankya can conjure up blessings or curses.
Both forms of incantations are crafted by collecting trinkets found throughout the world to then combine in the Witch’s Hut. Depending on the items at her disposal, multiple blessings or curses can be conjured at once for use when the time is right.
With Blessings, they can grant many positive benefits for your units before a battle, such as additional base weapon damage or armor-piercing weapon damage. Meanwhile, Curses will target your enemies by giving them unwelcome debuffs and impairs on the battlefield. You can assign both of these incantations in the pre-battle screen, giving you more options to gain advantages while inflicting disadvantages on your enemies in every battle.
The Witch’s Hut.
New Units
Apart from Hexes and The Witch’s Hut, Mother Ostankya also introduced many new units that will bolster both her faction and other Kislev factions. They are Akshina Ambushers, Incarnate Elemental of Beasts, and The Things in the Woods.
Let’s start with the Akshina Ambushers. Akshina Ambushers are agents of loyalty who are very capable in woodland combat. They are often responsible for unexplained deaths, as they stealthily hide in wait for their targets and strike with deadly accuracy. They are also effective on the battlefield, using their stealth and range to surprise and overwhelm their enemies. With Stalk and Vanguard attributes at their disposal, these units can be your main Missile Infantry when you’re playing as Mother Ostankya.
Moving on, we have Incarnate Elemental of Beasts, absolute units that can tear down many enemies all at once. Moreover, this unbreakable single unit boasts a unique, bound variant of a known Kislevite ability. With the Incarnate Flock of Doom, the Beast passively emits a damaging AoE that follows the creature wherever it goes.
Lastly, we have Things in the Woods, monsters with unknown origins that boast incredible strength. Things in the Woods can rip through your enemies’ frontlines whole if left unchecked, overwhelming and routing them quickly. They do, however, have a clear weakness, as they are very susceptible to arrows and gunfire, so you should exercise caution when you’re battling against factions that have strong Missile Infantry, such as Grand Cathay or The Empire.
Akshina Ambushers.
Strengths and Weaknesses
After assessing Mother Ostankya’s new gameplay mechanics and units, it’s time to take a look at the Daughters of the Forest’s strengths and weaknesses. We have curated them in the table below:
| Mother Ostankya’s Daughters of the Forest Overview | |
|---|---|
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Hexes are important tools to gain campaign victory, with incredible benefits for your faction | Although strong, Hexes require you to gather tons of Spirit Essence and arduous battles before you can enjoy its benefits |
| Mother Ostankya’s starting position is relatively secure | Being far away from other Kislev factions may weaken your diplomatic status with them |
| The new units are useful in battles, especially the Akshina Ambushers and Incarnate Elemental of Beasts | Mother Ostankya’s new units have apparent weaknesses that you should keep in mind before fielding them in your armies |
| The Witch’s Hut allows you to wield different curses and blessings before each battle, giving you advantages against your enemies | The Witch’s Hut may never provide your desirable curses or blessings since it’s randomized each time |
Final Verdict
As one of the three brand-new Total War: Warhammer III factions, Mother Ostankya certainly manages to introduce several new mechanisms alongside top army units. Both Hexes and The Witch’s Hut are incredible and feel fresh, making Mother Ostankya very distinct when compared with other Kislevite factions.
And so, to close this Mother Ostankya Faction Guide, we will hand out a verdict about her faction. In short, Mother Ostankya is a fine addition to the game, since her faction’s aesthetics and focus are super recognizable and unique. However, she does falter a bit since her starting position is very far from other Kislevite factions, practically isolating her from potential allies. However, despite several shortcomings, her unique mechanics, Hexes and The Witch’s Hut, are enough to warrant multiple playthroughs thanks to their endless potential.
Therefore, to conclude this guide, we rate Mother Ostankya with a score of 8.8 out of 10.
The Hag Witches That Follows Mother Ostankya.
