Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Skaven

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Why Play Skaven

The Skaven army is for people who like randomness, silliness and fantastic models, but don't think that liking those things should preclude you from winning. The current rules set favors large blocks of infantry, which the Skaven have in spades (to the point where they've been called overpowered in the current rules). They also have a selection of silly rules (one of which makes all warpstone attacks count as magic, great for trolling all-ethereal bastards), random abilities and powerful shooting. Plus, you can shoot at enemies in combat against your Slaves units. Also, DOOMWHEELS!!!!

Unit Analysis

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

Note: Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

• Lord Skrolk: The reason you like Lord Skrolk is because he makes Plague Monks troops. Seriously, that's the ONLY thing that justifies his inhumanly high entry cost (230 points more than a Vanilla Grey Seer, or 30 more than a Grey Seer on Screaming Bell). He comes with some fun abilities and magic items, but even they can probably be outdone for less cost (Liber Bubonicus would be more fun if it weren't for the current rules on Bound Spells and it's 1 in 6 chance of going dud when cast). Ultimately he's too pricey. If you're planning on taking a lot of Plague Monks, he can justify his points, but otherwise? Skip him.

• Thanquol and Boneripper: Do you want your army led by a drugged up failure with his mechanical bodyguard? Okay, so that's kinda mean, but he's not bad. He comes with some amusing special rules (his Ward Save deflecting onto a nearby model is funny, as is his kinda ganky wound regeneration) and Boneripper can be nasty but like Skrolk, he costs way too much to be properly competitive (210 points more than a Vanilla Grey Seer). So he's non-competitive, but if you wanna take him for fluff reasons, he's an amusing addition. Keep him out of Tournament lists.

• Ikit Claw: Like Skrolk and Thanquol, Ikit is too expensive. Unlike them, I can say without reservation that you're not getting anywhere near enough for his cost. He seems like an odd attempt to combine a caster and a combat lord and even more than other armies, that's a job you want to split. He also costs nearly 400 points, and he doesn't do anything casting that a Grey Seer couldn't do, nor anything in combat a tricked out Warlord couldn't do. Don't bother.

• Throt the Unclean: Throt could be useful if you're planning on massing Rat Ogres and Giant Rats, in which case his LD ability can work. But, he's expensive (225 points) and while he can be nasty in close combat, especially against big things, but he's more than a little likely to eat an entire model from your own unit (which means he could end up chowing down an entire fucking Rat Ogre) and he's not powerful or durable enough to make up for that. He can make up his points, if you slap him in a unit of Giant Rats, but at that point you're just wasting him in a unit that's liable to get run over due to combat res. Not worth it.

• Queek Headtaker: Okay so he, like the others, runs a little too far on the expensive side, but he's a reliable combat character, and unlike a lot of Skaven heroes/lords, he can actually punch out other lords in a Challenge. He can be truly brutal against high armor save guys, which is always nice. If you're tailoring a list to take on Dwarves, definitely give this guy a look, as he'll do an average of 4-5 kills per round against them. Still a little too pricy, but a solid all around choice. Also the EMPRAH in disguise.

• Deathmaster Snikch: At first Deathmaster Snikch looks like a perfect Assassin, until you read his, you guessed it, points cost. 150 points more than a basic Assassin, and all you're getting for that is some Weeping Blades (30 points), a Tail Weapon and a Cloak that doesn't do jack if he's in combat (where you want him) or with a unit (where you want him). Aside from that, he has higher WS, BS, I, A and LD, but not enough to make up for the the over 250 points required to take him. He will almost never see enough action to justify that cost. Don't bother.

• Tretch Craventail: Tretch is, put simply, hilarious. He has the exact same stats as a Chieftain, for 100 points more, but he has some amusing abilities. He's got a 4+ ward (nothing to sneer at), a total of 5 attacks, a single reroll per game (do not forget it) and most amusingly, the ability to bamf out of a unit in combat and into another Clanrat/Slaves unit within 3D6. He also grants rerolls to hit to his unit of Clanrats or Stormvermin if they're attacking on the flank or rear, but in practice that's not as useful as you might think. Obviously, he's best in tightly packed battle lines, as if he fails to reach a viable unit with his leaving combat ability, he auto-dies. He can be fun to help countercharge (draw a unit in, leave combat, charge that unit on the flank next round) but that's not as reliable as you might think. Ultimately, he's a fun but non-competitive character. He can be funny in a casual game, but don't take him in a tournament.

Generic Characters

Note: While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

• Vermin Lord: The Great Horned Rat looked at the Greater Daemons and thought 'Why should Chaos have all the fun?' At first blush, this guy is horrifying. M8, WS8, I10, 5 attacks, 5 wounds, S6, T5, 5+ ward, Level 4 Wizard with access to both Skaven Lores (and he's one of only two models to get access to the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell). Everything is slinky, right? Well then the issues set in. He can't join units, he's got no extra protection from shooting, he's not Unbreakable or even Stubborn, at T5 he's vulnerable to high volume S4 and above attacks, oh and did we mention that he costs 500 FUCKING POINTS! Don't get us wrong, he's a beast if you get him into combat and he can be a nasty caster under a lot of circumstances (he can even, in theory, drop a Bloodthirster, though don't count on that). But his price of entry is inhumanly high and he's a really big and obvious target (a solid Ogre Kingdoms or Dwarf list will have his ass dropped on turn 1), he's weak against getting tar pitted and he has a troubling lack of Always Strikes First. You can safely leave him out of a tournament list, but he'll make a big splash in casual games.

• Warlord: Point for point, a Warlord is one of the most effective heroes in the Skaven book. He drops in at 90 points for a solid statline, along with the precious LD7 that lets all units with 3 ranks in his General LD Bubble hit LD10. He can have some solid magic equipment (discussed later) and can actually be an unusually effective combat lord (don't expect him to go 10 rounds with most other Lords though). He's a good choice. He can also take mounts (below) which are generally not the best choice, but can be fun and if you expect him to do some frontline fighting and want him to cause casualties there are worse ways to up his kill count.

• • Mounts:

• • Rat Ogre Bonebreaker: If you're up for modeling it, and you need a mount, this is the one you want. It's got a good statline, lets him push up rank bonuses in whatever unit he joins, runs fairly cheap at 65 points. If it had an armor save, it'd be perfect. As is, it's a fun choice if you're in the mood and easily the best mount option. Just remember, he can't join infantry units outside Clanrats and Stormvermin (what a sacrifice).

• • War-Litter: Not as good as the Bonebreaker but..yeah, it's not terrible. It's a cheap way of dropping a bunch of attacks on him, and pushing up his armor save. If you really can't spare the 30 extra points for a Bonebreaker and you want a mount, you could go for this one. There are worse choices liiiiiike...

• • Great Pox Rat: This. You're paying 30 points for 1 armor save and 2 S4 poisoned attacks. Woo fucking hoo. It doesn't even come with extra movement, and you can't use the Swiftstride ability for cavalry when he's in a unit (and trying to make him run touchdowns on his own is a surefire way to get him killed). Yes, we know this one has a fucking amazing Forgeworld model, it's still not worth it. If you're committed to him having a mount, drop a Clanrat and give him a War-Litter. Can also be taken as a mount for a Plague Priest, but it's not a good choice for him either.

• Grey Seer: Your general Lord Level Wizard, with a crap statline and a 240 points pricetag. Like the Vermin Lord, he can mix spells freely and get access to the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell, but don't count on him casting that too much (you need to roll approximately 7-8 dice to have a relatively sure chance of casting it). He's a good caster for his points and you'll probably get a lot of mileage out of him, so if you have the points free, he's a good investment. Note that he too has LD7, meaning that he can end up being general by default, which you probably want to avoid, as your enemy is already going to be gunning for him, don't hand them more points for killing him.

• • The Screaming Bell: The Screaming Bell is for players who love randomness and who are playing in a non-competitive environment. The Bell doesn't come into it's own until well above the usual tournament level (recommended size is 3000 points or so). The major reason is the huge pricetag, attached to an already pricey model (a Bell mounted Seer will clock in at 440 points without any equipment). But, if you can fit it in your army, it makes a great center piece. It can cause a lot of damage with a little luck and if there are buildings on the board, it can make everything really hilarious really quickly. Be aware, everyone will be gunning for it. Also, under the current rules, it might be worth it to make a Bell mounted Seer the General, as his LD range will be 18 inches as opposed to the usual 12.

• Assassin: An Assassin is an incredibly expensive way of killing enemy Heroes and Wizards and maybe War Machines or small shooting units. That's about it. Unlike his Dark Elf counterpart (the comparison is inevitable, sorry), his mediocre stats (except for Initiative) means he can't be trusted to kill anything above a hero and he digs into Hero points. He's highly non-competitive, and there will be games where you take him and he gets killed without accomplishing a thing. But hey, you played Skaven cuz you liked the randomness, and given to a unit of Scouting Gutter Runners, they'll excel at War Machine, and the like, removal. So while you should avoid him in tournament lists, he could be fun in casual games.

• Warlock Engineer: Don't you sit there expecting to get a hero for 15 points, if you're going to take a stripped Warlock, you might as well replace him with 4 extra Clanrats, it's a better use of the points. No, if you want to get use out of a Warlock Engineer, you're gonna wanna update him to level 2, give him a Warpmusket, maybe some Clan Skyre goodies and then you're in the hole for 150 points. But don't despair, he's a fantastic investment. Stick him in with a unit of Jezzails and have them blast things to pieces.

Core Units

• Clanrats: Your basic infantry. Very cheap so you can put them in HUGE units. They will die by the truckload, but you should have so many that even if they get blasted by a cannon, there will still be a good number left. Have them in units of thirty, forty, even fifty. They also have a host of neat special rules that your opponent won't be expecting. Highly recommended. Give them weapon teams for added lulz. It's funny when a ratling gun shoots up the enemy, but funnier when it shoots your own guys and then explodes. You'll have so many clanrats it's not as though your suffering a real loss here.

• Skaven Slaves: See clanrats, but no weapons teams. These fuckers are twice as cheap as clanrats, meaning you'll have a lot of them. They have a leadership score similar to a Frenchman, so keep your general nearby to fix that. Make sure they don't get flanked and they're not going anywhere. Keep a warpfire thrower close and have it set the unit held by the slaves on fire, since Skaven are bastards and are allowed to shoot at units tied down with Slaves. Watch as your opponent quits in a huff. Laugh. Also never horde them up; make as many ranks as your wish so they can hold units in place for your ogres or plauge monks to flank charge them. Slaves aren't ment to cause damage; they take it; cause they are whipped.

• Stormvermin: Slightly more elite infantry. Still nice and cheap so huge units are not out of the question. Units of forty or fifty are not unreasonable. Can also take a weapon team.

• Giant Rats: Make a very nice tarpit but Slaves are cheaper and do it better.

• Rat Swarms: It's a Swarm, usual rules apply.

Special Units

• Plague Monks: Your actual elite infantry. 3 attacks (1 base, +1 for two hand weapons, +1 for frenzy). They have frenzy and hatred which can work against them. Again, take in huge numbers.

• Posion Wind Globadiers: Anyone they hit takes a wound on a 4+ with no saves. You want these. They also have a special rule that allows unengaged models to lob globes into the same combat the engaged models are fighting which can be funny as hell.

• Warplock Jezzails: Kind of a preference unit. Some people swear by them cause thier S6 -4armor shots can make mincemeat of annoying heavy infantry. on the other side they are expensive to field in any high numbers to effectivly shoot down a squad of 5 chaos knights and BS 3 with a 36 inch range means needing 5s and up for anything down range. Not a bad unit but you really need to consider what role they will perform. As mentioned earlier Pairing them up with a warlock engineer will help them get off the extra hits needed to bring down small calvary units. Also These guys are easy to convert with some skaven shields and greenstuff. The GW models are nice but they are over $100 for 6.

• Gutter Runners: A decent choice for war machine hunting as they can come from the back of the board. Slings and poisoned weapons are decent investments but you might want to skip on the champion to avoid challenges. If your worried about them not showing up you can run with 2 squads of 6 or 7 but they can get expensive in the special slot that can get loaded up with points quickly

• Rat Ogres: If hulk had a rodent counterpart: Seriously though In a unit of 6 with thier masters they will rampage through anything they flank attack BUT they can be easily baited due to thier high movement. Generally a good investment particularly if they have slaves or clanrats holding a unit in place for them.

• Plague Censor Bearers At first glance; expenive for what they are but thier plauge censor special rule makes them usefull for severly shrinking hordes down to size and whats better is that they can be fielded in small groups as speed bumps or charge deterers. A lot more useful with a plauge furnace around so they become stubborn and therefore get more use from thier censors.

Rare Units

• DOOMWHEEL Few things will scare a unit of heavy calvary or heavy infantry just by being in the general vicinity of the Doomwheel. As such, enemy war machines will want to shoot at it but being the clever rat that you are you know you have scarier rare choices liiiiike....

• Hell Pit Abomination The Hell Pit Abomination is a really really good distraction carnifex. Mainly because its Adorable. So much so that no opponent can bear look at it without clawing thier eyes out. Its like baby kittens in shoes and jaunty hats only this kitten has a lot more heads to Awwww... at. The war machines will shoot at it and you will laugh cause aside from a lucky cannon shot or two (or six if your facing dwarfs) they will probably survive long enough to RIP AND TEAR at at least one unit to shreds before he goes down. But thats the best part. The Abomination knows how cute it is and has the potential to bring itself back to life to spread its adorable brand of love to those that put it down. On a side note it can be on the expensive side and the Warp Lightning Cannon is generally a better use of points but its role as a fire magnent is unparalled.

• Warp Lightning CannonLow risk, low price, high reward, and safe choice for rares. Its a cannon with a blast template at the end of it. The variable strength of the shot is chosen by the misfire dice which is FUN* Very reliable warmachine in an army who enjoys blowing themselves up.

• Plagueclaw Catapult Decent but generally outshined by the Warp Lightning Cannon. S2 hits with no armor saves allowed is a decent pie plate to throw onto a large horde of (insert tarpit here) Take if you want a clan pestilens themed army otherwise not a must have.

Building Your Army

Buying Your Army

Protip: if you are ok with modeling, do it. You'll save a lot of bucks, because you can do almost everything with Clanrats, Stormvermins, and Rat Ogres boxes, some scraps, and green stuff.

Island of Blood is also a great way to start up your SKaven clan mainly because if your interested in skaven you also probably have an ultrasmurf fanboy (or eldar nut) that wants to try out Fantasy battles but wants an army to auto-win with. Seriously though you get a good start on the multitude of clanrats/slaves and some pretty awesome looking weapon teams and heroes. Battalion is a decent buy but only get if your planning on running with plauge monks other wise its cheaper to buy Island of blood for what your getting.

Also; don't debate about it just buy the Doomwheel. NO I DON'T CARE IF YOU WONT USE IT!! You'll want it! Its allure is to strong. Fantastic model too so just give in to the great horned rat and get one...it will please him.

===Army Composition=== Even you haven't gathered; Skaven are a horde army so Your going to need some big blocks of clanrats and slaves to absorb enemy hordes and elite units so that your ogres,doom wheels, plauge monks, and adorable abominations can come in on the flanks to RIP AND TEAR! The nice thing with skaven is that even the worst units in the codex could have a use in almost any army. If you want to theme around clan Pestilence go for it! Clan Skyre? Get them DOOMWHEELS rollin! Clan Moulder? Rat Ogres applenty and Get those adorable Abominations out there to spread the love! You can even Go Clan Eshin and use loads of night and gutter runners.

       Are all the options competitive? Probably not. But Unlike most other armies themes; you'll have fun playing them and they are just the right amount of random for any idea you concieve to win on occasion.