Songs of Conquest – Yulan expands Lavapotion’s turn-based strategy world with a new faction DLC focused on a land of mysticism, political rivalry, and ancient threats. Yulan is presented as a place of breathtaking beauty—lush forests, enchanted waters, and forgotten ruins—where magical beasts roam and scholars known as Seekers probe the nature of Essence itself. But beneath the elegance sits a rising conflict: the longstanding tension between the houses of Li, Sheng, and Xuan is about to be overshadowed by something older and far more dangerous.
What you get in the Yulan DLC
- A new Tale told across three connected maps, charting how Yulan returns to contact with the wider world of Aerbor.
- Five new Conquest maps designed to spotlight the Yulan faction and biome (one large, two medium, two small).
- Eight new troops featuring new traits and abilities, with several offering multiple upgrade choices.
- New towns and settlements with fresh buildings and faction flavor.
- Access to Essence options: Order, Arcana, and Creation, chosen via building upgrades.
- A new Yulan biome packed with unique landmarks, exploration hooks, and visual identity.
Multiplayer note: owning the DLC doesn’t wall off online play. You can still play against others even if they don’t own Yulan (and vice versa), keeping matchmaking and friend games far simpler.
The Tale of Yulan: three linked maps, one escalating crisis
The headliner for campaign-minded players is The Tale of Yulan, a narrative mini-campaign that unfolds across three interconnected maps. The story centers on House Sheng and their Wielders as they navigate the consequences of forces they did not fully understand—an arc that frames Yulan as both culturally distinct and deeply relevant to the broader conflicts of Aerbor.
If you enjoy Songs of Conquest for its map-to-map momentum—where decisions and army composition feel like they’re building toward something—this format is designed to deliver that “one more turn” escalation with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
New Conquest maps built to showcase Yulan
Beyond the Tale, Yulan includes five Conquest maps sized for different session lengths and play styles. The set is explicitly shaped around learning and leveraging the faction’s strengths: expect scenarios that emphasize Yulan’s home territory, the internal house conflict, and outward-facing clashes such as invasions toward Arleon or defenses of Yulan’s homeland.
For Mac players who primarily live in skirmish-style play, this is the practical value: more curated battlegrounds where the faction’s mechanics and unit roster make immediate sense.
The “Three Houses” system: upgrades that actually change your army
The defining mechanical hook of Yulan is its internal identity split across three great houses:
- Li – the House of Order
- Sheng – the House of Creation
- Xuan – the House of Arcana
This isn’t just lore. When upgrading certain dwellings, you’ll often choose which house that troop belongs to. That decision impacts:
- Which Essence you gain access to as your town develops
- How the unit performs via changed abilities and stats
- Your overall strategic posture (e.g., leaning into steadier control vs. magical volatility vs. creative power spikes)
In other words, Yulan’s “tech tree” asks you to commit—then rewards you with a more distinct army identity rather than a simple numbers upgrade.
New troops: house-aligned soldiers, mythic creatures, and dangerous scholarship
Yulan arrives with eight new troops, and many are tightly intertwined with the house system. Five of them are described as house troops, meaning their upgraded forms and battlefield roles shift based on your chosen allegiance.
- Conscript – humble spear infantry that takes on the colors (and the intent) of its house as it moves from peasant levies to committed front line.
- Grenadier – clay bombs bring explosive threat, while the unit’s drum-driven presence supports the army’s morale.
- Tian – dragon-like beings whose loyalty follows the direction of their human masters, allowing your house choice to shape a mythic unit’s impact.
- Yi – master archers who channel their house’s Essence into distinct expressions of ranged power.
- Seekers – scholars of Essence who push too far. A few become potent Wielders; many become transcendents, twisted by what they uncover.
- Riders – mercenary forces available when the houses need extra muscle, often accompanied by fox-like Hu.
- Feng – fabled allies that can appear to deliver fire and devastation when the stakes demand it.
Even on paper, this is a roster that wants to create stories: disciplined house soldiers beside strange beasts and cautionary arcane transformations. The result should feel less like “another set of units” and more like a faction with its own internal logic.
The Yulan biome: beauty, mystery, and new places to fight over
Yulan’s biome is positioned as a major part of the DLC’s appeal: majestic trees, enchanted springs, elegant flora, and old ruins that underline the land’s age. For exploration-heavy players, a new biome is more than visuals—it’s a new rhythm of discovery, a fresh catalog of points of interest, and (often) different tactical spaces to navigate.
The promise here is clear: Yulan is ancient, gorgeous, and dangerous, with mysteries that don’t stay buried.
Mac notes (requirements)
Mac system requirements were not provided in the supplied information. If you’re planning a purchase specifically for macOS, check the game’s store page for the latest compatibility details and any Apple Silicon or OS version notes.
Who is Yulan for?
- Campaign players who want a focused narrative arc with three linked maps.
- Conquest/skirmish players looking for new maps that showcase a fresh faction.
- Strategy tinkerers who enjoy meaningful upgrade forks and faction identity built into town development.
- Multiplayer regulars who appreciate that DLC ownership doesn’t isolate matchmaking.
Songs of Conquest – Yulan reads like a DLC designed around decisions that matter: house allegiance shaping troop growth, Essence access influencing your mid-to-late game, and a new biome that gives exploration and conquest a distinct atmosphere. If you want your next faction to feel different not only in theme but in how it asks you to plan, Yulan looks ready to deliver.
