GW revealed Cathay Tiger Warriors for Total War III. Here’s why that concept art feels like a tabletop preview and how to get them for the game now.
Games Workshop and Creative Assembly have been doing this little two-step for a while now. A new unit shows up in Total War: Warhammer III, it comes with glossy concept art and a fresh 3D model, and suddenly every hobbyist with a paint rack starts squinting at the screen like it is a leaked sprue pic.
This time, the spotlight is on the Tiger Warriors of Grand Cathay, and if you’ve been paying attention to how Cathay has been rolling out across game and tabletop, this looks a lot like a preview of what could be coming next for Cathay miniatures.
Let’s talk about what we actually know, what it probably means for Warhammer: The Old World, and who the Tiger Warriors are.
What GW Actually Revealed About the Tiger Warriors
The Tiger Warriors are settlers in Western Cathay with their own traditions, military structures, and loyalty hierarchy. They serve Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, but remain loyal to their chieftain, Bhashiva, and their god, Kamau. The lore even throws in the “created by the Old Ones” angle, which is basically Warhammer’s way of saying “this faction has ancient weirdness baked in, and we are not done expanding it.”
GW also confirmed the key modern breadcrumb: they are coming to Total War: Warhammer III in a Character Pack, complete with Warhammer Studio concept art and a game-ready 3D model.
If that sounds like a digital-only side quest, it could be. But if you have watched the last couple of years of Cathay development, it reads more like a familiar pipeline.
Here’s the pattern hobby folks keep clocking:
- Warhammer Studio designs a unit (with a lot in the initial reveal).
- Total War: Warhammer III gets the splashy reveal first.
- The tabletop side keeps expanding until the range starts looking suspiciously “complete.”
With almost every other Cathay unit represented in the game, a bunch of those ideas have a habit of finding their way toward the tabletop ecosystem, especially now that The Old World is a living, supported game with room to grow.
Nothing here is technically confirmed for minis. Still, the “Warhammer Studio concept art + fully realized 3D model” combo is not nothing. That is real design investment, and GW rarely does that kind of work purely as a one-off novelty when there is a bigger range expansion opportunity sitting right there.
The Old World Factor: Why This Matters More Now Than It Would Have Before
A few years ago, “cool Total War unit” could have stayed a screen-only flex. Now, Warhammer: The Old World changes the math.
Cathay is one of those settings where the appetite is obvious. People want a full fantasy Cathay range that feels distinct, not just “Empire but east.” The Tiger Warriors do exactly that. They are culturally separate, tied to a specific province, and loaded with faction flavor that screams “new unit entry” rather than “tiny lore footnote.”
If GW is building Cathay in layers, and the game is showcasing those layers early, Tiger Warriors showing up like this starts feeling less like random DLC and more like a preview reel.
Why This Feels Like a Cathay Old World Preview, Not Just a Video Game Update
Cathay is still in that sweet spot where every new unit concept feels like a brick in a bigger wall. Tiger Warriors are not just another sword unit. They are a cultural and regional expansion point, tied to a major dragon, with enough lore hooks to justify future rules, characters, and subthemes.
If you’re waiting for the next “oh wow” moment for Grand Cathay models, keep Tiger Warriors on your radar. Even if the tabletop version is not immediate, this is exactly how GW seeds what is up next: show the design, let the community latch onto it, and then let time do its thing.
And in Warhammer time, “only a matter of time” is basically a release strategy.
See All the Newest Cathay Minis For Old World
