Kings of War/Tactics/Ratkin

Why Play Ratkin

You like horde armies? Well that's good, that's real good. Ratkin are the horde army of Kings of War, much like their cousins in that other game. Likewise if you have a pile of Skaven models, what else are you going to do with them?

Army Special Rules

• Pack Mentality: Unless otherwise specified, all infantry regiments have Rallying (1) and all infantry hordes have Rallying (2).

• Rallying (n): Friendly non-allied units within 6" gain +n to their waver and rout values for nerve tests. This is not cumulative, so you only take the highest applicable value.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Army Standard Bearer:

• Assassin:

• Blight Lord:

• Demonspawn:

• War Chief:

• Warlock:

• Warlock with Death Engine:

Infantry

• Blight Impalers: Your own sneaky gits. They have Ensnare and Stealthy and don't have a first nerve rating, so they can't be wavered. They're similar to the Blight, but hit a little more often at the cost of Crushing Strength (1). They're slightly better then the Blight, but are still fairly expensive for what you're aiming for with them. If you field them, use them to harass enemy flanks early game.

• Claw Shots: Long-barreled rifle teams. They can only be taken at troop strength, but they offer 5 Piercing (2) shots and, oddly enough, have the Big Shield special rule, making them surprisingly defensible. Very nice ranged unit on the cheap and well worth taking.

• Giant Rats with Handlers: Kind of a strange unit. You get Nimble and Vicious on a small stat line with a low nerve value. It is a source of cheap unit harassment, but they're not spectacular by any means. They are cheap, however, much cheaper then Blight Impalers, so they're not a bad investment for a source of unit aggravation for the enemy.

• Scurriers: Mobile ranged units. They have throwing weapons, which can be upgraded to crossbows, as well and both Nimble and Vicious. They don't have Piercing (2) like Claw Shots, but at the same time they don't have to stay stationary to fire. They're the same point cost as Claw Shots, so your question comes down to how important mobility is to you. This will vary by mission, but in general you're probably better served by Claw Shots.

• Shock Troops: Heavy infantry. They come stock with Crushing Strength (1), but this can be upgraded a point in exchange for a point of defence. They can be take in a horde, if you're fiddling around with trying to run this list as a more elite army, but in general you're still probably better served taking Tunnel Slaves in this slot.

• Spear Warriors: For an increase of 20 to 30 points, depending on the unit size, you get the stat line of a Warrior, but the unit gains Phalanx. Better than Warriors for it, but still a bit spendy for a tar pit unit. If you get the enemy in the front they will perform better then Tunnel Slaves, but for the cost you could just buy two units of Tunnel Slaves and still have points left over to spend.

• The Blight: Plague bearer type rats. These guys come with Crushing Strength (1), Ensnare, and Stealthy. You can also have them exchange two-handed weapons for throwing weapons, which is nice. They're very similar to Blight Impalers, but aren't quite as good for the same cost as you lose both a point to hit in melee and several points of attack for that Crushing Strength, which you probably won't be using anyway because you're going to switch out those two-handed weapons for slings. Stick with Blight Impalers for melee and Claw Shots for ranged.

• Tunnel Slaves: Your cheap slave unit. These guys will take wounds in droves, but you can buy a legion of them for less then some army's troop strength units. They have no special rules beyond the army special rule and hit on a 6+, so don't expect them to perform very well. Take them in a giant legion or horde and lock some things down while your opponent tries to make you fail your nerve tests.

• Warriors: A little bit better then slaves, but they don't get weapons teams like their GW cousins do. Instead they hit on a 5+ and have twice the defence value. Marginal upgrade at almost twice the points, you're better served sticking with Tunnel Slaves.

Large Infantry

• Brutes:

• Brute Boomers:

• Vermintide:

Cavalry

• Mounted Warriors:

Large Cavalry

None.

Monsters

• Mutant Rat Fiend:

• Rattlewagon:

War Engines

• Artillery:

• Shredder:

• Weapon Team:

Tactics

Tactica here.