Total War Warhammer 3 is finally giving its most underloved Chaos God the attention it deserves, and I can't wait

I'm quietly hopeful for Total War Warhammer 3 Tides of Torment. It's been a tough year for developer Creative Assembly as it struggles to keep one of the best Warhammer games on the tracks. However, similar problems with the Shadows of Change expansion two years ago led to one of the best TWW3 DLC launches in a long while with Thrones of Decay. In a new video, the studio walks us through one of my most-anticipated additions in some time that's coming to Tides of Torment: new Slaanesh legendary lord Dechala, the Denied One.

Total War Warhammer 3 players have long been crying out to give any love to Slaanesh, who's long been stuck with just a single legendary lord while the other Chaos Gods stack up their respective rosters in the strategy game. Tides of Torment finally delivers, bringing not one, but two additions for the Prince of Pleasure's peons to enjoy. The Masque of Slaanesh will arrive as the expansion's "FreeLC," while Dechala joins Norsca's Sayl and the Aislinn of the High Elves on the paid side of things.

"Dechala's shedding her past for a go at daemonhood," project lead designer Vasil Nikolov says. "Their only goal is exploiting everything and everyone in their path." With her six signature swords and the ability to bind defeated foes to her will as thralls, Dechala is a highly mobile presence on the map that is always "searching for new places to exploit and torment." These thralls are measured as your primary resource, and can be funneled into boosting her economy and potency.

If you need more thralls, you can simply transform a captured settlement into a Thrall Camp. This is a great resource, but it'll eventually begin to drain dry, which naturally comes with a significant drop in its productivity. Hopefully, by then, you'll have moved onto the next set of victims. Alternatively, you can turn a town into a Tormentors' Hold; a military hub that's dedicated to recruitment, defense, and the spread of corruption.

Dechala's armies are powered by Decadence, a resource primarily generated through Pleasure Palaces. These must be constructed on province capitals, and are built and upgraded exclusively using thralls. "The Pleasure Palaces are the ultimate expression of Dechala's opulence," Nikolov explains. Decadence can be spent on three-battle buffs called Masks of Vindictiveness, or on more potent and permanent boons through Opulent Gifts and Exquisite Spoils.

Dechala herself is a fast-moving unit able to go on the offensive at a pace most other legendary lords can't match. You're almost immediately able to negate any movement penalties that might be caused by terrain or combat. From there, you can choose whether you want to upgrade her into a deadly hit-and-run threat, or a defensive powerhouse. She also steals 15% of any experience her other lords would gain, meaning she scales up at a tremendous rate once you start expanding your conquests.

By her side is legendary hero Styrkaar of the Stortsvinaer, who buffs units around him while acting as a dominant force in his own right. Battle team lead Milcho Vasilev adds that Dechala's forces are bolstered by the Druchii, dark elves that have devoted themselves to the Pleasure God, and the mighty winged beast known as the Pretyon. Casting a similarly imposing figure are the Champions of Slaanesh, monstrous infantry that essentially act as slightly lesser versions of Dechala herself. "They can really cut through swarms of enemies if needed," Vasilev says.

"Our main motivation behind the unique campaign management style of Dechala was to best represent the vicious nature of the Tormentors," Nikolov remarks. "The way that they neglect those that they capture leads to the exploitation and decay of these settlements, and for that reason she needs to strive forwards to capture ever-further and ever-more."

Dechala arrives with the launch of Total War Warhammer 3 Tides of Torment on Thursday December 4. She'll be available as a standalone purchase. If you're eager to submit your foes to the ultimate denial in service of your own pleasure, head here to add it to your Steam wishlist.