The opening gets concrete relief
Creative Assembly released patch 9.0.3 on October 9, 2026. Early Black Pyramid nodes add 40% lower upkeep for Nagash and 10% reductions for Tomb Kings, Vampire Coast and Vampire Counts units led by a matching lord type or Nagash.
Post-battle income rises by 5% on Hard, 10% on Normal and 20% on Easy; Legendary and Very Hard are unchanged. Legendary Lord subjugation now gives 10 Sigils instead of five, while Heroes and Nameless characters remain at five.
The two fresh-start qualifications
The Necromancy Panel’s Sigil-unlock requirement drops from 200 to 100 Necromantic Energy for new campaigns. Revised Mortarch objectives also require a new campaign: Nagash must hold more than three times the Mortarch’s region count, replacing the maximum-five-regions condition.
Most location-specific goals become thematic objectives available anywhere. The developer preserves existing campaign progress. Recruitment-building benefits tied to devastated provinces and stronger Necropolis garrisons also feature in the notes.
Our analysis: cheaper armies are not the whole change
The upkeep reductions address the cost of maintaining an army; faster Sigil generation addresses the pace of unlocking power. The objectives affect where expansion makes sense. Those are three different pressures, so a campaign can feel different without every individual battle becoming easier.
The regional comparison also makes the target’s growth relevant. Taking more territory yourself and facing a Mortarch who has expanded are not equivalent situations. “More than three times” is a strict condition, not “three times or more.”
For an older save, distinguish the general fixes from the two explicit fresh-start provisions. Backing up a campaign before testing an update preserves a comparison point. We have not played through the revised progression; the official notes, updated October 13, also list broader battle balance and crash fixes.
The sources, on the record.
Sources checked Oct 15, 2026. Reporting and analysis are labelled separately. Our editorial standards.