Which Human Nation Is The Most Powerful in the Warhammer World? | Warhammer Fantasy 

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"Three things that make the Empire great! Faith, Steel and Gunpowder!" - Magnus the Pious

It’s hard to find Warhammer Fantasy lore videos because 40K is all that turns up when you search for stuff. I’m enjoying this series of videos.

I would like to Suggest a Fifth Option. The Empire of "Man" where "Man" is defined as 3 Skaven in a Trenchcoat.

The Empire is most notable for being the only genuinely forward-looking human nation. Everybody else is some flavor of conservative, but the Empire is all about trying out new stuff. Sure, some of the new stuff they try out goes horribly wrong, but they never let that slow them down. It's hands-down the most _dynamic_ society on the planet.

Something I think needs to be considered with Bretonnia is that there's very strong cultural cohesion within its lands because of the worship of the Lady and reverence for the Grail Knights and Grail Damsels who serve her. It's actually part of the reason feudalism has lasted as long as it has in Bretonnia, because every king is a Grail Knight chosen from among the number of Grail Knights who are currently alive. That means they're divinely chosen and have to fulfill a number of trials to exemplify the virtues Bretonnia holds dear. This has been both part of Bretonnia's strength and also a weakness. Yes, local lords can still be petty and corrupt and this causes problems. There's a reason why the Herrimaults exist doing the whole Robin Hood thing. But pretty much every Bretonnian king and many of the dukes are genuinely good people. The conflict in Bretonnia comes from the fact that despite being good rulers they can't be everywhere to deal with issues that arise. But this is where the Grail Knights often come in, because it's not unheard of for one to kick the door in when a local lord is abusing power. This helps a lot with social cohesion because all those fairy tales about a hero riding up to help happen with more frequency within Bretonnia. As well, Grail Knights are powerhouses on the battlefield. When they group up they're quite possibly the best cavalry in the world and can have an outsized influence on a battle because they can punch way above their weight class thanks to the blessings they've earned through their trials. Individual Grail Knights have gone toe to toe with greater daemons before and come out on top, which says a lot for their potency. Grail Damsels are powerful sorceresses who can keep an army alive. They're easily as effective as Imperial mages, often even more so, though they're rarer than Grail Knights. Their presence can help rally an army on the verge of routing and supply the support needed to turn defeat into victory. Bretonnia's navy is also top notch, because though they don't have much in the way of artillery when armies clash because of a distaste for gunpowder that's not really an issue on water. Ocean warfare is considered a different game culturally speaking, something less important for honorable knights to concern themselves with. As a consequence it's a place where peasants can have a great deal of upward social mobility and gunpowder weapons are used in considerable numbers, allowing for Bretonnia to have a powerful presence on the Sea of Chaos and the Great Ocean. This isn't to say I believe their government is better than the Empire's, or that they have as much soft power, but I think they're a bit closer to Cathay and Kislev in that they have a powerful patron helping to guide them who supplies a philosophy that really helps keep their people aligned with their societal values. This makes Bretonnia a remarkably strong and stable nation, one every power in the Old World considers courting and fears angering needlessly.

The thing about the Empire is that it's wildly inconsistent: its military can be nearly the best in the world, or it can be easily brushed aside by goblins. It's culture and politics can be positive, like under Karl Franz, or negative, like when a Witch Hunter tries to burn down a forest full of Wood Elves to stop the demon trees. Its geography also has its own problems, prone as it is to being filled with Beastmen in the forests and Orks in the mountains. At its best, fighting against the Empire is an absolute nightmare: Ogres, Dwarves, Mages, Cannons, Knights, State Troops, and mercenaries from every corner of the planet, all commanded by experienced leaders on griffons. At it's worst, well...see how the Skaven Wars started. Brettonia, Cathay, and Kislev all suffer similar problems, to an extent, but they have much more stable leadership in general, because it's much harder for people who are blatantly corrupt to rise to something more than the leader of a county.

I’d disagree with how powerful the Tsar or Tsarina of Kislev is. While in theory they have absolute power over all in Kislev. In practice many within the kingdom, such as those who live on the open steppe or in troll country quite rarely have anything to do with the central government in the city of Kislev. Not to mention the rise of a rival faction in the great Orthodoxy.

The Empire of Man: determined to industrialize before Archeon shows up.

I'd say that Estalia could punch far above its weight since its location seems far safer in this setting and great for trade, it even has colonies. And its the capital of the Myrmidian religion which is extremely tactics focused. Only issue is that its not unified.

If games taught me anything, any faction that features a skull over their units normally means they’re the strongest.. So clearly the Empire of Man is superior.. >;)

I’d say it can change between the Empire and Cathay on any given day. Both are super reliant on the capabilities of its leaders and their strength fluctuates greatly. What I’m curious about is how they’re gonna address the Empire getting outclassed by Kislev and Cathay in game 3.

The ultimate question; Faith, Steel, and Gunpowder? Or Faith, Steel, and Horses? Or Bears, Ice, Steel, and Gunpowder? Or Dragons, Steel, and Gunpowder?

I think it would have been better to call the last category influence as opposed to culture.

The main problem that the Empire has is that by electing a new emperor they face the problem that the new emperor might focus on his own province problems. Four parts of the empire are gone. Soland and Drakwald got destroyed. Silvania is a rouge state run by vampires. And Marianburg bought its independence.

I’d personally go with the Empire of Man but Brettonia is a favorite of mine and Kislev and Cathay are also really cool.

Bit of a strange take that Cathay gets bumped down in it's military ranking because it built the most massive fortification in history.

A country calling itself 'empire of man' with nobody being able to complain is quite the indicator I'd say

I have to disagree with the idea that Cathay is middling in economy there are documented accounts of trade caravans being massively successful to the point that even the High elves regularly send trading fleets to Cathay and middle men like Gressus Gold-tooth get shockingly rich simply by taxing traders going overland to get to Cathay and back. They aren’t as economically advanced as the empire but they are easily more prosperous.

The Military portion seems to ignore that Kislev usually "wins" by surviving because the Empire and Bretonnia beat the Chaos incursion after Kislev has been long overrun and its population surviving by being so spread out and thus getting rid of them to any significant degree is near impossible. This fact over everything else makes Kislev so hard to defeat, not that its Army is undefeatable on the Battlefield. still Middling/High though. Further the Empire itself is also bordering Chaos directly , just not on a land-route, the Barbarians are just a Sea apart and very well known for their skill at sailing and shipbuilding. These "Vikings" strike South almost constantly and in large quantities, several invasion forces were even launched over the Sea of Claws directly. But of course Kislev got the worse position still.

I think Bretonnia deserves a 'Middling' in politics. Yes it's an antiquated system as base but one with very clear advantages over our real-world counterparts. The requirement of 'Grail knighthood' for kings ensures a degree of competency other feudal systems could not guarantee and the Fay Enchantress being able to override the kings (or dukes) orders and command the grailknights (as have happened historically) adds another safeguard against bad leadership and internal strife. It's certainly still possible but it's a lot better than real-life feudal socities.

Keep in mind that unlike Kislev, Cathay has never been truly defeated even the monkey king affair was more of a humiliation then the Great War against chaos. Also while this applies to all the faction to an extent it does depend on the province central Cathay is the most peaceful place in the Warhammer world while northern Cathay is basically Cadia.

You guys kind of left out an important category (or two if you take account corruptibility or chaos) namely magic, which all of them employ. Hard part might have been that empire doesn't employ it as openly or as apparently widely as the other three but it has probably most developed and varied understanding of magic. (Based on number of schools they can employ and the fact they learned it from High Elves.)

I think the Empire should be dominant in economics, and cathay on high. Mass produced crossbows and complicated skyjunks are good signs of a industrial capacity. In real-life China, for example, standardized production techniques have been around for nigh millenia, and I suspect the same is true of cathay.

Another very good video. I agree with most of the points that have been cited, except for one, the "low" in Politics for Bretonnians. Everything said in the video is true. They are feudal who, compared to others, have a rather archaic political system. But there is one point that changes the game. In the kingdom of Bretonnia, the highest positions (all dukes, the king and others) are held by grail knights. This is a position which cannot be inherited and which must be earned in the eyes of the Lady. Thus, there is a certain assurance that only capable men who have proven themselves by their bravery and their ability to lead men will attain the highest responsibilities. The religious dimension of the Grail Knights also ensures that there is a certain unity between Church and State within the Bretonnian territory since the rulers have been blessed by the main goddess of the country to fulfill their function. Where dissention may arise in nations like the Empire between the cult of Ulric, that of Sigmar, and between these cults and the Electors Counts.

Any answer besides the Empire has been forsaken by Sigmar

Cathay has a disadvantage in culture though, cause of missing lore. We know it trades with high elves, it can have trading ties in Lustria and we don’t know anything about it’s relationship with Ind, Nippon and other nations in that region. With time I think Cathay will rise in the culture category

One thing I think deserves mention about Bretonnia in the political category is that the Royarch of the nation is always a Grail knight. A divinely chosen, incorruptible and morally good warrior king with an extended lifespan. They are also an absolute monarch like Kislev's Tzar or Cathay's Dragon Emperor. Now whether or not one of the blessings of the Lady to the Royarch is also an innate skill at statecraft is up for debate, but I think if Kislev can be afforded a higher rank due the apparent influence of the land then I think Bretonnia should get the same treatment.

WF setting basically depends on land productivity, where innovation is limited (As you said the Empire is the only faction that may be on the verge of experiencing industrialization). If Cathay has been able to support the largest amount of population it then implies it is due to the fact that it has the best geographical endowments too.

Everyone laughs at the empire until the elector counts start working together. Then they start back peddling REAL HARD.

Bretonnia definitely has farrrr more people then Kislev. Bretonnia is *far* larger and all of it is very fertile.

I do wonder how much modernization is plausible for Cathay and Kislev, and how soon. That would make for a strong shift in the balance of power. Though it is possible that the Empire might in turn learn from their advancements, with the nations driving each other to develop further.

That's a complicated question. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. The Empire has large territory, large population, nagic, and is undergoing an industrial revolution, on top of their ancestral Alliance with the Dwarfs. The provinces are also divided between political and religious differences to the point that Karl Franz' biggest achievement is that he can get the Electors to cooperate most of the time. While not as large as the Empire, Bretonnia is more unified, due to a combination of the supremacy of the Lady's Cult, and the cultural domination of knighthood and chivalry. On average, I'd say your average Bretonnian knight is the better warrior than his peers from the other nations. Their magic is limited to Damsels however, and their infantry is limited to poor peasant levies. On top of that they reject modern advances in weapons technology. Kislev is probably the most battle hardened of the Old World nations, due to the constant Chaos attacks, and it takes a strong people to overcome all the setbacks they've faced. However, it's because of those same Chaos attacks that Kislev is rather stuck in a rut, and has only recently been restored to pre-Great War against Chaos levels because of Boris' efforts. Then there's the long-running divide between the Gospodors and Ungols. Additionally, while every nation hs their internal issues, the brewing conflict between the Ice Court and the Great Orthodoxy threatens to destabilize the entire country. At first glance, Cathay appears to be the strongest nation, and for good reason. They've got dragon rulers, powerful magic, the most territory and highest population, as well as advanced war machines. Look past that though, and it's incredibly fragile. When the Emperor and Empress disappeared for a few centuries, he dragon siblings who govern the nation went to war with one another, and the Monkey King took over for a time. With all that in mind, I'd end them like thus: 1) Cathay 2) The Empire 3) Bretonnia 4) Kislev

Man I wish GW would’ve expanded more on Araby and Nippon. Oh well at least they gave us a more fleshed out Kislev and Cathay

One massively overlooked aspect is the fact that the Empire is basically its own worst enemy. Vulnerable to cults, petty civil wars and just straight-up bureaucratic incompetence, it barely has a hold within its own cities (lol Skaven). Getting a united Empire is a big IF at best. Cathay can summon the full force of its military at the drop of a hat.

In terms of sheer economic, social, and military might Id definitely have to say Grand Cathay although it being a "human" empire might be in question considering all its rulers are Dragons.

Something you missed with the Empire. The Drakenwald. It is a significant portion of the Empire, but has VERY few people within it.

Wouldn't Under Geography, also include how defensive the Area of their nations are? Considering the bitter Cold and rocky outcrop of Kislev the only way you will able to invade said nation would be that you born there or a sacrifice of Armies worth of lives. Hence why Cathay had to build a Wall/Bastion because they couldn't hold the Chaos armies back because it's far more easier for the Chaos to besige them

8:55 This was the snagging nail I was waiting since I've read the video title; yes, Kislev's army is the best, but it's also occupied. It's an army that can't be brought to bear in a hypothetical inter-human conflict -- if they do, they'll immediately get rekt by the usual enemies that they already have.

I love the way you are so in tune with the worldbuilding and its details. I admire you for that.

Very interesting video. Would like to see this on the rest of the races.

Meanwhile Estalia cries in the corner after discovering that it would be the jewel of the world should be unified just like its real life counterpart.

"karl franz seems capable, but theres no guarantee his replacement will be any good" his replacement: literally Sigmar, greatest of mortals, ascended to godhood

Magic should have been a category too. I think a comparison between their magical disciplines would have been cool

Another cultural area where the Empire outshine the others is technology and science. While Cathay does have alchemists and whatnot, their knowledge is mostly concentrated in the hands of restricted groups, and the strong "immobilism" promoted by the Dragon Emperor strongly favors stability over growth. Meanwhile the Empire has a VERY fluid and advancing culture.

The Empire of Man is my favorite, but for the new lore I said Catai.

I loved this! It's great to understand the differences between each of the human nations, especially in light of new lore being created just for them! One of the problems I considered when they announced Grand Cathay and how it would function in the lore, was how it would measure up to the Empire and the other human nations. I'm pleased to say that you broke it down rather well! One thing I will note though, is that the Grail Knights of Brettonia are rather crazy in terms of individual power thanks to The Blessing of The Lady. True, that doesn't measure much when compared to a Cathayan Dragon or even a Hellblaster Volleygun, but they're pretty elite!

Great video! I love the points you made and you did a good job to cover your tracks with fair reason. Even things it seems you’re on the side of still have critiques brought to life

I understand why you didn't include the other human nations, but I still curious on how they would rank. Personally, I think Araby would be probably the 5th strongest human nation. I could see them being one of the dominate trade/economic powers of the world, plus they must have a great military to be able to hold their own against vampire pirates and the undying legions of Nehekhara warriors. They most likely have competent leadership and efficient government institutions, as well. Also, I hope that Araby, Nippon and Ind get added. Please oh please, CA.

Cathay to me seems to be a nation under huge economic strain. It has a large economy, but almost all of it goes to feeding the machine of constant warfare. It's people likely lead quite harsh lives with little resources left for themselves, despite Cathay's overall prosperity. To say nothing of the toll of not just warfare but accidents as it's mines and foundries struggle to produce ever more. This leads to strife and, at times, open rebellion in Cathay which we see in the game.

The Empire for it's technological and military diversity, that and their diplomatic ties. Brettonia for their honour, unparalleled knights and desire to be better. Kislev for their strength and environmental harmony. Cathay for their numbers, trade and military cohesion. Untimely the answer has to go the Empire. Not just because the Empire is more well known. Honestly I think Grand Cathay is second, Kislev 3rd. They have the technology of Grand Cathay. They have the adaptation of Kislev. They have the military might of Brettonia, but better. They have the diplomatic ties and respect of the "Order-tide". They have the magic lores that are only beat by the High Elves and Slaan. They have resistance and resilience of Dwarfs (how many Chaos, Orc and Skaven armies have they beat when even at civil war?). They're the fastest growing faction (baring Skaven). Yeah the other human factions might beat them in certain areas (Kislev for hardiness, Cathay for firepower and Brettonnia in the air and cav) but the Empire brings enough to the field to counter EVERYTHING. Which is why they weren't OP in 8th edition TT, which is why the weren't UP in TT 8th edition. They had their strengths and weaknesses in every match-up. I played High Elves (they'll always be my first and true love) but the Empire were FUN. They were the ultimate balanced faction (ironically High Elves seem to have this distinction as per TWW2). Back to lore - they functioned in the same way. They had Faith. They had Steel. They had Gunpowder. That's what made the Empire great!

I was just thinking about this topic and here you guys went ahead and made it.

This was great, and I agree with the choices. Hope the Institue is able to compare the other factions that are alike.

The greatest human nation of all time in Warhammer fantasy was Nehekhara, which at it's height dominated the eastern Old World and even raided the High Elves.

I'd like to think that if humanity in real life faced an array of inhuman, inscrutable threats like Chaos, Orks, Dark Elves, etc, that whatever comparatively trivial conflicts we have will take a backseat.

9:30 I feel as though it's important to also realize that Kislev's inhospitable terrain also helps

Interesting video, subscribed for more content like this, surprisingly have not seen this kind of content on RU-vid or anywhere 💪💪💪

Disagree with a lot of it tbh, for instance you can't talk about how better Kislev is because they don't need a wall to fight chaos, and ignore that Cathay has to deal with way more threats by themselves. Cathay can easily be argued to be the highest in almost all these categories.

Good points all, however I think you are underestimating the power Cathay in some very particular ways. For one in politics you only looked at the macro level, governance of the entire nation. However I think in terms of this Cathay far outstrips the other nations of men and really any other faction in Warhammer. For one they do not use a system of hereditary fuedal landed nobles. Instead they use a commandery system which instead of relies on those being appointed showing merit and skill regardless of their social standing. The obvious question to follow this is who defines merit and we know that at the highest levels to be the Dragons who have themselves proved competent and effective at ruling at least when the Dragon Emperor is overseeing them and they have a lot of prestige to their name. Zhao Ming has massively advanced magic and science within the Kingdom as well as gaining Greasus and the Ogre Kingdoms as effective military auxiliaries for Cathay's armies. Miao Ying as effectively defended the Great Bastion so well that even the Everchosen have not been able to defeat her and even enter Grand Cathay. These are the people appointing mortals to positions within the Empire and they desire and know how to spot talent. In this Cathay is dominant. Finally Cathay's military while lacking the experience of Kislev does have an ability the other powers do not, to excert itself Globally. Cathay has under the direction of the Dragon Yin Yin, invaded the Southlands and Lustria with vast armies that although were defeated needed considerable might from local powers to deal with, particularly the Arabians and Lizardmen. This speaks volumes of the strength of Cathay's armies and fleets and their ability to project power. Finally Cathay's size argues potentially that it's diplomatic ability is lesser because there are not as many human tribes and factions to treat with and those that are around them we do not know Cathay's status with. Ind, Nippon, Kuresh there are hints that Cathay exerts control on tribes and people's of these region with the Monkey men and Onyx Crowmen being effectively vassal states and people's of Cathay. However it is just not known and that means Cathay's true strength has not yet been revealed. Overall a good video and brought up a lot of interesting and good arguments.

Love all the Warhammer Fantasy content being released lately.

I'd say Cathay is the strongest human nation. Why? Aside from the Dragons, here are the reasons: First, they're the first human nation to use magic (maybe together with Kislev). Imperial Colleges are still young. It was Karl Franz's predecessor, Magnus the Pious who instated the mages. Previously, the Empire was very, very distrust with magic. Bretonnia is limited only because they only allow females amongst the mages. They had centuries to master magic to the point that humans can wield their own version of dark and high magic: yin and yang. Second, their philosophy: harmony. Each men and women of Cathayan knows their role in society. They bring harmony to their home, family, environment, society, and most especially, in war. Cathayan army emphasize on discipline, combined arms, magic, anything that they can throw against their enemies Sure, any other human nations can do the same but none can do as much grace and harmonious as the Cathayans. Third, is their economy. I mean, there's a reason why the Old World wants to explore Cathay. They have 'exotic' resources for them to purchase and use. If Ogres weren't in the way, it would have been easier for them to exchange. Last but not the least: they can prove that they can stand on their own. The Humans of the Old World have each other. If Chaos invades Kislev, Empire and Bretonnia can back them up. Cathay? Nope! They are on their own. To the west of them are hungry ogres who occasionally ally with but then, Ogres would raid them. Don't forget that the Chaos Dwarfs are near to them as well! To the south is Ind and Khuresh, both nations battering at Southern Cathay for centuries. To the east are Nippon and Dark Elves. Although it is unknown with Nippon's relation with Cathay, the Dark Elves clearly pose a naval threat. And to the north is obviously Chaos. Cathay is smart for building the Great Bastion on their borders lest they fall. Cathay has no friendly neighbors yet here they stand! Cathay eternal!

It's nice to see lore of fantasy world. Usually when you search warhammer lore, 40K usually comes up. Keep up the good work. 👍

I think that Cathay is the strongest. Not only is it's technology unique ,with living terracotta warriors, balloons that give them command over the sky, and rockets alongside other means of firepower. It is also lead by a family of dragons that regard godly beings like Ursun and Khaine as equals. Although I do like the Empire and Kislev, I think that they would be able to defeat the others should they come to war. It would be like if the Empire was led by Sigmar, Morr, Ulrich and other old ones.

I think it's a bit foolish to downplay just how overwhelming grail knights actually are for Brettonia militarily. They're capable of destroying a greenskin invasion with just 12 knights hopped up on Lady of the lake bathwater.

Love Warhammer Content, especially comparison videos!

They all have pros and cons: Empire - Most technologically advanced, excellent relatiotions with Dwarfs, Elves, and human nations in general. / disjointed, and ever-bickering Cathay - Dragons, good gunpowder and magic infused warriors, construct. / too big to fully mobilize and under constant chaos attacks. isolated from human allies. Bretonnia - Super human knights. Super wealthy lands / majority of the population is opressed and basically useless in a war. Kislev - Hardened by millenia of struggle to survive and war. Small area makes it easy to rally to a flag. Most united of the 4 nations (which is ironic considering the scenario in WH III ) / CHAOS

I'd say the forests in the Empire are more of a con than a pro, because of the Beastmen. Rooting them out of the vast woods would take extreme measures and leave the Empire severely diminished. Other than that a terrific weighing of each kingdom's strengths and weaknesses.

Would love to see an updated or part 2 evaluation of these 4 nations with all of the new lore/info updates.

I think the fact that imperial merchants are willing to try to walk to Cathay despite 1/10 will return, and less will return with goods. Suggests that while Cathay may need more people per ton of processed goods, they seem to ether have goods the western county's can't make or the craftsmanship is just that good. Personally I doubt the latter as Cathay is clearly based on china in the real world. Anyway my point is people will cross continents with a 90% mortality rate and of the survivors only a fraction will make any money, and Cathay doesn't seem to see the same kind of profit in trading with the other human countries. I understand that the Empire probably has higher production capacity per person. However, Cathay is the only country in hammer that is safe to travel in. This means 100% of shipped goods get to their destination. as a result I really think Cathay is the dominant force economically. However the Empire is just stronger overall by virtue of its friends.

I hate to be "that guy" but I have to point out something that was stated that is factually incorrect. You made a statement during the political part on Cathay that they were no better than the Empire at avoiding civil war. This is, according to current canon anyway, incorrect as there is only 1 instance of Civil war in Cathay since its founding. The only civil war in Cathay's history was the era of disharmony when the Emperor and Empress disappeared and the Monkey King sized the throne. To only have 1 major, canon, civil war in thousands of years of history is very impressive and speaks to the stability of Cathay with the Dragons leading them. That said, I loved this video as it gave a very good perspective on the various nations of the Warhammer world that isn't often considered. I also love, LOVE, the new game! I was up waaaaaay to late playing last night. Ok rant over thank you lol

Some parts of this deserve to be reconsidered, especially as they relate to economy and politics. Somebody else already outlined that Grail Knights are probably the most OP humans around, including undead ones, as long as they dont have plot armor, and that therfore there is always a badass in charge, with the explicit support of the highest religious authority, the goddess herself and all dukes of the Kingdom. Unlike the Empire which suffers civil war much more often and also unlike its real world inspiration has a tendency to elect an Emperor with only half the electorate voting for him (somehow). Bretonnia isn't also any more or less feudal than a land of undying dragons with petty disputes between each other from what we know. Given that history isn't a simple progression or collection of arithmatics in the real world, let alone in a fantasy version of it, calling Feudalism anachronistic is a bold choice. Given that Kislev, Cathay, the High Elves, Dark Elves, Araby, Sylvania, the Tomb Kings and to a large extent the Empire work in a feudal system, Bretonnia in this regard is very much "chronistic". Placing Bretonnia as low is very much unfair, and the Empire is high is difficult to justify. Now economy. Having 8 remaining steam tanks with nobody knowing how they actually work after their inventor died is a far cry from being on the verge of industrial revolution. Having guns and cannons does not mean you are industrialising. Real humans had various types of guns before the spinning jenny was invented. The only thing the most industrous city of the Empire really produces is guns and big guns, neither of which require factories. They probably have something like craft production of the 1500s, given what we saw. So saying that they are close to dominant his too speculative. Even if they were an industrialised place, so what? Kislev can't afford your wares, Bretonnia thinks they are unchivalrous and will reject them and Cathay is too far away for it to be worth the trip to sell them there, so whatever economic power the Empire could get at a strech in the hopes and dreams of its fans, it has no way to actually leverage them in this world.

Loving all the Warhammer content recently

Oooh more Warhammer Fantasy stuff!

"Kislev is the most powerful military because they do the same as Cathay with less men and no Great Bastion!" 10 seconds later: "Kislev also enjoys having allies in the Empire, Dwarfs..." There you have your answer as to how Kislev has survived with less men and no Bastion: ALLIES, the fucking EMPIRE and the DWARFS, while Cathay is largely on their own.

I think it was once said in one of the very old codex's made for 2nd or 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy that if the Empire could truly unite under a single leader, not just in name but in spirit and governance then it would be strong enough to conquer the entire world

Brettonia has the best cheese and wine, and therefore is the obvious answer

This one was fairly obvious that it would be Empire and Cathay fighting it out for first and Kislev and Brettonia fighting it out for last. Personally I'd put Cathay and the Empire at tied, also you missed that they can call on Ogre mercenaries more readily than most powers in the allies and that people want their trade goods in cultural influence. Let alone the very fact they live so close to the Northern Wastes and yet their society isn't completely militarized pretty much shows how successful they've been, militarily.

Truly, the god emperor Sigmar is pleased. Anyhow, I enjoyed this video. I hope you'll do similar comparison videos for other franchises, like Gundam.

I would contest that Cathay only has a middling economy. One of the most referenced bits of lore related to Cathay is the Silk Road, a mercantile route that tenuously connects it to the other nations of men in the world. The value that can be generated from such trade is massive, indicating a level of economic power that Cathay distantly wields. It is also much safer than the Empire, which is inundated with Greenskins, Beastmen and cults aplenty. It's government is much better organized, and it doesn't suffer from messy transfers of power like the Empire does. That's the benefit of being governed by an ancient god-dragon, though I could imagine some downsides to that as well.

This was awesome! Do more

Although we can not deny that Bretonnia is a back water, since it's literally written to be one I must state a few things in it's defense, although we can not deny that Bretonnia is very feudalistic the King shares a few elements of meritocracy, at least to my knowledge, the King is chosen among grail knights and through acts of vitures keeps the dukedoms united. Further more Bretonnia is famed to have some of the greatest black smiths with a few even able to rival the elves.

I think one of the big issues with ranking the human nations is the way Warhammer is written. The old word has been far more developed so the eastern nations aren't super well written since a lot of them didn't have armies.

Great video! I dream of the day you guys covering the supreme commander factions. In particular the Aeon Illuminate.

The art work in this video was excellent 👏 ... where did you source all this ? 🤔

I'd love to see a ranking between orcs beastmen Skaven and lizardmen

Does it matter as long as humanity survives?

I would love to see a follow-up to this based on the races made by the old ones: Dwarf realms Lizardmen Elves (be they high elves, wood elves or dark elves) Ogres

I would add a diplomacy category specifically. How capable are they at drawing others into a fight on their side.

I would disagree with you on Kislev's army being "the best" in the world. I would certainly count them as "the toughest" or "most tenacious" but the best? Hardly. Kislev is one step away from a regional backwater, its people barely above a more primitive level of fighting due to the harsh and rugged nature of the land. They may be used to fighting demons but their supplier of arms and ammunition is the Empire. The two of them go to war, they lose their supply. Then all of a sudden you see them being shredded by ranks of volley fire and massed artillery barrages. Think the opening of Gladiator but with more guns and cannons instead of bows and scorpions (Roman anti-personnel ballistae for those who don't know by name)

I think the sector that effects the result strongest is the Economic power

I love how Bretonia should have been better, but it's crippled by its own failings, while Kislev should have been lowered, but manages to place third due to its resilience in the face of unfair odds.

You forgot the all important "rides bears" category. SHIELD OF HUMANITY!

I realy enjoyed this comparison. At first i thought cathay would be an easy first, but yea its obvious that an abundance of alies in combination with industrialisation would put the empire first.

Bretonnia's economy and govermnet are antiquated, I'll give you that, but it's military is far more powerfull. While the average footman is not very strong, the fact that it's cavalry consists of living saints with blessed weapons increases it's efectivness tenfold. Also, while they do not use guns, archers and trebuchets are effective. To add to this, I believe Bretonnia has the most effective navy out of the 3.

This is actually very simple, Kislev and Bretonnia are very explicitly weaker than the Empire in the lore, mostly due to their smaller populations and lack of technology. Kislev has some guns yes, but simply not on the scale that the Empire does. Cathey is more of an open question, I could see it being interpreted as stronger than the Empire however they do not have the close relationship with the Dwarves that the Empire has which served to boost their tech development significantly. The Empire also has the strongest magical institutions of any Human Nation due to Teclis establishing the Imperial collages of magic based off High Elf knowedge rather than the Empire advancing its own theory of magic. In short the Empire is clearly the strongest human nation because they are the only one that has absorbed as much knowedge from both the Elder races. While other human factions have better wizards than the Empire does none produces medium quality magic users with the same consistency or in the same numbers that the Empire does.

I used to have a map of the Warhammer world. Got it in the 90’s in a White Dwarf magazine.

Most of the Old World (The Empire, Bretonnia, Kislev, Tilea, Estalia) does have common religion. Kislev deviates from this the most - they have a number of gods worshipped almost exclusively in their own lands - but while Sigmar is only worshipped in The Empire, and The Lady of the Lake is primarily worshipped by Bretonnian nobility... there's a whole pantheon of gods worshipped across those lands: Taal and Rhya, Shallya, Mórr, Verena, Myrmidia, and Ulric. Myrmidia holds a place similar to Sigmar in Tilea and Estalia, but is worshipped as a more civilised patron of warfare in the southern Empire (compared to the ferocious Ulric in the north, similar to the Kislevite Ursun). Shallya is venerated by the poor and desperate across the Old World, and Mórr's funerary cult ministers to all. Their individual popularity will vary across individual regions-Ulric is strongest in Middenheim without a doubt, even exceeding Sigmar's influence-but the common faith of the Old World is classical/transactional polytheism with numerous regional gods alongside more international ones, rather than separate monotheistic nations as they're often misinterpreted.

Grand Cathay borders the Chaos Wastes. How are you not ranking their military right next to Kislev's if you reason that Kislev's armies are experienced because they border the chaos areas and face chaos invasions?

You forgot to mention that Cathay owns a major airlines that serves most of South-East Asia.

Amazing video! Can you do a video on "which faction in the New world is the strongest" and "Which daemon is the strongest" and perhaps to top it all off; "Which faction is the strongest"