Songs of Conquest Yulan DLC Review — A Faction That Redefines the Game

One Month In: Is the Yulan DLC Songs of Conquest’s Best Yet?

When Lavapotion launched Songs of Conquest in Early Access back in 2022, the Swedish developer promised a faithful HoMM-like that would grow with its community. Four years on, the June 4, 2026 release of the Yulan DLC marks the game’s most ambitious expansion yet — and the community has noticed. With over 97% positive Steam reviews, Yulan is exactly what the genre needed.

We covered the basics in our Yulan faction preview ahead of launch. This is our full verdict after spending weeks with the new content.

Table of Contents

• The Three Houses System
• Eight Units, Three Evolutions Each
• The Yulan Campaign
• Conquest Maps and the Yulan Biome
• Final Verdict

The Three Houses System

Yulan’s core mechanic revolves around three rival houses, each connected to a different Essence type:

• House Li (Order) — disciplined troops, solid defense, stable economy
• House Sheng (Creation) — transformative magic, adaptable units, evolving economy
• House Xuan (Arcana) — powerful spells, mystical units, high-risk high-reward gameplay

What sets this system apart from anything else in Songs of Conquest is the freedom to pledge allegiance to more than one house. Rather than locking you into a single identity from turn one, Yulan rewards thoughtful hybrid compositions. An army built around Li/Sheng allegiance plays completely differently from a pure Xuan force — and both are viable.

The choice of house determines which buildings you can construct, which units you can recruit, and critically, how those units evolve. This layered decision-making adds strategic depth that stacks well on top of the existing Essence system and makes Yulan the most replayable faction in the game.

Eight Units, Three Evolutions Each

The DLC adds eight new units, with five of them capable of branching into three different house forms:

• Conscript — basic infantry with divergent evolutions across all three houses
• Grenadier — ranged unit with explosive house-dependent upgrades
• Yi — agile fighter whose three evolved forms offer radically different combat roles
• Tian — a slow colossus under Li, a mysterious mystic under Xuan
• Seeker — high-mobility scout ideal for territory control
• Riders — mercenary cavalry recruitable regardless of house loyalty
• Hu — fox-like spirit companions that ride with the Riders
• Feng — legendary entity summonable only under specific Essence conditions

The unit design philosophy is sharp: each piece has a clear role, and the three-way evolution tree for the main units is visually legible within the UI. Veterans of the base game will appreciate how each unit forces a genuine decision rather than an obvious upgrade path.

The learning curve is steeper than previous DLCs like Barya or Rana — and that’s intentional. Yulan rewards mastery, and the payoff when hybrid compositions click into place is genuinely satisfying.

The Yulan Campaign

Yulan’s three narrative campaign maps follow House Sheng as its homeland faces an existential threat. The storytelling is more layered than in the base game campaigns — characters have distinct motivations, and the scenario design teaches the house system organically.

Each map introduces a new layer of the allegiance mechanics, making the campaign an ideal entry point for players new to Yulan rather than jumping straight into Conquest. The difficulty scales well: demanding enough for experienced players on higher settings, manageable for those exploring the faction for the first time.

Conquest Maps and the Yulan Biome

Beyond the campaign, Yulan adds five new Conquest maps built around the new Yulan biome — a visually distinctive environment featuring bamboo forests, pagoda-integrated defensive terrain, and mist zones that obscure visibility.

The new maps work equally well for solo play against the AI and for multiplayer. Two of the 1v1 configurations have already found a place in the community’s ranked rotation, which speaks to their balance quality.

The biome itself is one of Yulan’s strongest contributions: it brings a genuine aesthetic contrast to the existing Arleon and Barya environments and gives exploration in new Conquest maps a distinct atmosphere.

Final Verdict

Songs of Conquest’s Yulan DLC is the clearest sign yet that Lavapotion has settled into a confident creative stride. The three-house system doesn’t just add a fourth faction — it reframes how you think about army composition in Songs of Conquest.

Strengths: Deeply replayable house × unit design, narrative campaign with real teeth, visually distinctive biome.

One caveat: The steeper learning curve compared to previous DLCs means new players should spend time with the base factions first.

Our verdict: Essential for Songs of Conquest fans, and one of the most impressive strategy DLCs released in 2026. If you’re a fan of the HoMM formula and haven’t tried the game yet, Yulan is as good an entry point as any.