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Imperial Japanese Equipment

2023-02-09T15:05:04Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Battleships */

The Empire of Japan: the first East Asian country to successfully industrialize in the late 19th century and from the 1930s to 45 the scourge of the Pacific. While better off than [[Fascist Italian Equipment|Italy]], Japan still lagged behind in a lot of fields and had major raw materials and fuel shortages.

Generally speaking Imperial Japanese gear generally falls into four categories...
*Solid by Great War and Inter-War standards but out of date for WWII.
*Good, if made with some weird logic or specific bit of Min-Maxing in mind.
*Unusable/near unusable garbage due to cost cutting and bizarre moon logic.
*Really rough and dirty stuff cludged together as Japan got a major beat down.

== Small Arms ==
Japan's small arms were generally less advanced than that of other countries at the time; while most countries still relied on bolt-action rifles as their service weapon, many countries still produced decent quantities of SMGs as well as self-loading rifles in more limited numbers. Japan however focused primarily on bolt-action rifles, with fewer automatic weapons to back them up. Weapon quality also suffered later in the war as well.
=== Rifles and SMGs ===
[[Image:Arisaka.jpg|300px|thumb|Left|The Arisaka rifle, not to be confused with rifles made by [[Cyberpunk 2020|Arasaka]] ]]
* '''Type 30 Arisaka''': Japan's old rifle, designed by Arisaka Nariakira and put into service in 1899, it saw use in the Russo-Japanese War and the Great War. Fired a 6.5x50mm bullet. Generally a solid five-shot bolt action for it's day, if a bit underpowered.
**As a side note, the 6.5x50mm Arisaka bullet was better suited for a man-portable automatic weapon than the typical over-charged full rifle rounds of the late 19th/early 20th century, which were made with accuracy and stopping power in mind. The Russian Fedorov Avtomat used them.
* '''Type 38 Arisaka''': Update on the Type-30. Used primarily in WWI, and partially replaced by the Type 99 in WWII. Had utterly shit sights and a weird safety.
* '''Type 99 Arisaka''': Built to replace the Type 30 and Type 38 by firing a 7.7x58mm cartridge. Improvements to the sights also made it the preferred rifle for snipers. That said, the Japanese still had a lot of Type 38s and 6.5x50mm, so it never fully replaced the Type 38. The sniper variant of the Type 99 was one of the more sensible snipers of the war, as the scope was mounted offset so that strip mags could still be inserted, resulting in a faster overall rate of fire. Also had a terrible trigger and the same shit sights from the Type 38.
* '''Type 100 Nambu''': The only production SMG made by the Japanese, and made in more limited numbers compared to other militaries. The Nambu SMG fired the same 8x22mm cartridge as the standard Nambu pistol. It had sideloading magazine much like the earlier MP18 and contemporary Sten; while side-loading magazines had fallen out of favor by this time due to the unbalanced weight, it was a hell of lot better than the other experimental Nambu SMGs that had been made at the time.
* '''Murata Rifle''': The OG of Japanese military rifles, first put into production back in 1880 and used during the Russo-Japanese war. Originally single shot, latter got a tube-mag upgrade. Only used on the home islands for the civilian reservists.
* '''Last Ditch Guns''': In the late war, Japanese manufacturing had been effectively crippled and resources were in short supply, so these so-called "Last Ditch Rifles" were made to arm what military forces remained, as well as civilians for the upcoming invasion of the Japanese home islands. These ranged from simplified versions of the Type 99 to very crude single-shot musket-things to give to civvies.

=== Pistols ===
* '''Type 26 Revolver''': A simple break-action hammerless revolver, chambered in 9mm Japanese revolver. Was invented back in 1893 but was still used in WWII to supplement weapon stockpiles.
* '''Nambu Type 14''': The standard sidearm of the IJA following WWI, replacing the Type 26. Chambered in 8x22mm, it wasn't as strong as contemporary pistols, but was solidly built, and later became the inspiration for the Ruger .22 pistol. General IJA policy at the time was that officers were allowed to buy sidearms with their own money. A common misconception is that the Type 14 was dangerous to shoot, which is only half true. It won't explode, but it will sometimes go off when clearing a jam(more on that below). Another is that the Nambu was a cheaper knockoff of the Luger, which is untrue. The Type 14 is a series of improvements of an earlier weapon commonly called "Grandpa Nambu", a firearm which appeared in production at roughly a similar time to the Luger. While not objectively terrible, it was nothing compared to the Italian Berreta or Browning's 1911. It frequently jammed as well due to the springs not being able to keep up with the bolt, and was compounded by the bullets being angled up. The magazine release is also difficult to clear without adjusting your grip. However to the weapon's credit it had a very light trigger pull and had a trigger guard designed to allow troops wearing gloves to use them without removing said gloves.
* '''Nambu Type 94''': A smaller, lighter-weight pistol compared to the Type 14. It was called the "Surrender Pistol" because it had an exposed sear, meaning that pressing down on the sear could fire the gun without pulling the trigger, so supposedly a Japanese soldier could fake surrendering so that they could shoot their captors up close. While this may have happened on occasion, stories of surrendering troops regularly firing using the sear are probably unsubstantiated, as it takes a considerable amount of force to squeeze the sear hard enough to fire the pistol. The Type 94 was used primarily by officers, army airmen, tankers, and paratroopers due to the lighter weight. Largely it was an army weapon, though there are reports of the Type 94 being used by Navy officers who purchased them with their own money. Even so, it was still a piece of shit. If the safety was not on, the exposed seer could lead to accidental discharge if it was bashed into something and occasionally they blew up in people's hands when fired.

=== Machine Guns ===
[[Image:Japanese Type 11 LMG.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The lengths some people will go for cross-compatibility]]
* '''Type 11 Light Machine gun''': Put into service in 1922, this gun is ''weird''. Basic idea, make a machine gun that could use the 5 round stripper clips used by Arisaka Rifles. That means you don't have to make special magazines for it or ship them to the front, while regular infantry dudes can supply it with bullets in a pinch. So it has this weird hopper magazine that takes up to 6 clips. This also meant putting the stock off to the side. While it worked, it was heavy, awkward and not terribly reliable. The Soviets captured a few and actually made a few prototypes with a copied mechanism before realizing that it was more hassle than it was worth.
* '''Type 96 Light Machinegun''': to address the problems with the Type 11, the Japanese replaced it with a different model that used a top-loading magazine, based on the Czech ZB VZ 26 (which also inspired the Bren Gun).
* '''Type 99 Light Machine Gun''': Visually similar to the Type 96 but chambered in the same 7.7x58mm ammo as the Type 99 Arisaka. Other than that, it and the Type 96 [[Imperial Guard|were one of the few LMGs with a bayonet mount.]]

=== Anti-Tank Infantry Weapons ===
* '''Type 4 70 mm AT rocket launcher''': Introduced in 1944 as an answer to the American Bazooka. Fairly basic but still a reusable item, a rocket was slotted into the front and set up by a simple percussion lock. A few thousand of these were made before the war ended and they saw only limited use. Never the less the PLA copied them for their first generation of RPGs.
* '''Lunge Mine''': Somehow the Japanese figured out a way to banzai charge tanks of all things. Little more than a shape charge attached to a pole, the idea was that a soldier would wait in ambush for an enemy tank to get close enough; the attacker would then charge at the tank’s side armor and strike it with the lunge mine to set it off; of course, at that range the explosion would more than likely kill or maim the user, if they weren’t already killed from trying to charge a friggin tank.
* '''Type 97 Automatic Cannon''': The Japanese version of the AT-rifle concept. Hilarious because they considered it a cannon and less of an AT-Rifle. [[Awesome|Shot 20mm ammo]]. So did the Finnish AT-rifles, but it is more hilarious because Japan also built Yamato(more on that below). What was unique is that they ended up getting used on some Japanese aircraft as a form of cannon. Overall not a terrible weapon, but quickly became outdated and was abandoned after 1200 total units due to the sheer complexity, but it certainly puts a massive dent in the "Japan just built shitty stuff" myth.

=== Misc ===
* '''Type 89 and Type 10 Grenade dischargers, aka "Knee Mortars"''': A nifty little Japanese design, these are basically miniature man-portable mortars. Lightweight (around 5 kg) and nominally requiring only a single soldier to use , they were capable of chucking a hand grenade up to 200 meters away, which came in pretty handy in the often close and cramped firefights in the jungle. As an amusing sidenote, the name 'Knee Mortar' comes from a mistranslation of a Japanese manual on how to use the thing: American soldiers first believed they were supposed to be braced against one's leg due to the curved butt-plate (which in reality is to make it easier to rest against tree roots or rough ground). While the error was quickly discovered (it was obvious from the recoil that bracing it on your leg would break your femur at best), the name stuck.
* '''Guntō''': Bargain Basement knock-off katanas. It was a regulation that all IJA officers were required to carry a sword and to that end a large number of these swords were made. Since Japan was raising a fuck-huge army under the militarists, they dispensed with the old arts of Sword Production and instead produced lots of blades quickly with modern milling/grinding/quenching techniques. For this reason, such 'modern' blades aren't considered traditional swords in Japan and they can be confiscated by the government for recycling. Real traditional katanas were a very rare sight on the battlefields of WWII, for even those officers that came from an old samurai family and possessed a genuine one often left the priceless family heirloom at home and carried a fancied-up Guntō (that would do the job in a pinch anyway) in battle. A lot of the surviving ones today are trophies collected by US Army soldiers and Marines ([[lulz|and often misidentified for genuine katanas by the uninformed]]).
* '''Bayonets''': The IJA stuck bayonets on ''everything''. Not just rifles, but also their LMGs and SMGs. Bayonet charge had fallen out of favor with everyone else, and bayonets were only a last ditch weapon for everyone else, but bayonet fighting was still a mainstay of the IJA and had some success on the Chinese front. Against the Americans, however, who possessed significantly more automatic weapons and Garands, it had been rendered a useless tactic. They did gain some amount of utility when used in conjunction with night attacks, but as the war went on the number of seasoned troops who could pull this off had been drowned, killed in dumbass final charges to redeem their honor, or killed in any other ways the Pacific and Asia had to offer, including but not limited to Malaria, Malnutrition, Naval bombardment, Aerial Bombardment, Flamethrowers, Flamethrowers in Tanks, Indian Crocodiles, Angry Gurkhas and even Angrier Aussies.

== Artillery and AT guns ==

== Vehicles ==

=== Tanks ===
The Tank Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Army was not that great. See, our dear friends had experimented with the tank concept pretty early on, in fact they were the first nation to make a tank with a diesel engine but much like the rest of the world took the wrong lessons from Spain. They also failed to integrate the weapons into divisions properly. The skirmishes with the Soviet Union and visits to Germany in the late 30s pretty much proved that the concept worked different than they thought, and they tried to catch up. However, tanks take a lot of money, labour and equipment to produce and a lot of fuel to operate, and the thing you need to know about the Empire of Japan is that above all else: the army and the navy literally, without question hated each other. So every time the Army want to start a production of tanks they had to compete for steel, man power, a labour and everything else. Given that in China, 1930s era tanks were still quite effective and if war happened with the United States the fleet and air force obvious took priority, the navy generally won these fights. So most of the "good" tanks ended up in the homeland because of the logistics strain, and the far cheaper Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo were far more common by virtue of being lighter and thus less of a bother to send to shitty undeveloped island #273.

Imperial Japanese Tanks were given a designation based on the Imperial Japanese Calendar, which starts counting at 660 BCE.

*'''Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo''': Named Ha-go after the manufacturer but called the Kyugo by troops, either name is correct, but Ha-go is more familiar to western audiences. Since Japan like most powers considered the idea of the Infantry and Cruiser tank concepts, the 95 was considered as an alternative to the land battleship concept. The 95 could keep up speed and were vastly faster, making them better than contemporary infantry tanks. They ever were cheaper to make, and were cushioned against heat and bumps...[[Grimdark|by asbestos.]] In Burma, one was captured and is still at Bovington, and a contemporary report indicated that there were design elements that were quite good, especially the bogie wheel suspension. However, the 37mm cannon became rapidly outdated, and the machine guns were only ok, being fed by hoppers and not belts, and the commander was cramped and somewhat overwhelmed. Perhaps worst of all was that crews were strongly frowned upon for adding on armor or boxes for ammo, though logs to allow troops to sit on the back were considered acceptable. The turret could also could be [[FAIL|jammed with a knife]], and there are allegations that American .30-06 ammo was able to penetrate the side armor, though these reports are not fully substantiated.
* '''Type 97 Chi-Ha''': The main medium tank of the IJA during WWII. It weighed 14.3 tonnes, a 127kW engine, armor 8-26mm thick and was armed with a 57 mm main gun and a couple of machine guns. When it was introduced in 1936 the Chi-Ha was pretty good and it was often effective in china. When the US came around, not so much.
** '''Type 97 ShinHōtō Chi-Ha''': A Chi-Ha with more armor and a higher velocity 47mm gun better for anti-tank work introduced in 1942.
* '''Type 1 Chi-He''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha with some more armor and a better engine. About 170 were made and they stayed on the Home Islands.
* '''Type 3 Chi-Nu''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha, with up to 50mm of armor and a 75mm anti-tank gun. It was designed to take out Shermans in 1943 and put into production in 1944 when Japan was getting a serious ass whoopin by US Bombers. The most advance Japanese Tank to see even limited mass production. Stayed in the Home Islands.
* '''Type 4 Chi-To''': Not an update on the Chi-Ha, but an entirely new vehicle from the ground up. A couple of Prototype vehicles which were broadly speaking in the T-34/Sherman's ballpark. The Cheeto's legacy is mostly preserved by World of Tanks and Alternate History nerds.
* '''Type 5 Chi-Ri''': A single prototype that, had it been completed would have been more heavily armored than a Sherman with a new powerful 75mm gun, plus a 37mm secondary cannon. If the [[M6 Heavy Tank|M6's]] trials are any indication the 37mm would've been superfluous, though it isn't like Japan had access to Aberdeen proving grounds or anything so how would they have known?

=== Halftracks and armored cars ===

== Ships ==
Of all the Axis powers, the Empire of Japan had the strongest navy. Germany had to rebuild its fleet effectively from scratch and Italy... [[Fascist Italian Equipment|was Italy]]. Japan, on the other hand, was THE major ally of Great Britain in East Asia after World War 1 and was "permitted" to expand its fleet up to two-thirds the tonnage of Great Britain and the United States through the 1920s and '30s. As might be expected, the Japanese resented the tonnage restrictions and basically tried to circumvent or design their way around them until they eventually repudiated the naval treaties entirely. What they never really understood was that the naval treaties tied one hand behind the backs of their naval rivals, as both Great Britain and obviously the United States were able to outproduce Japan's shipbuilding industry pretty handily in World War II. The Japanese Navy was extremely effective through 1943, and it was really only after devastating losses at the Battle of Midway, where 2/3rds of their primary carrier fleet were sunk (which they didn't tell the army about for a while), that they began their decline. <s>[[Weeaboo|Good luck trying to look up a Japanese ship name without being bombarded by pictures of anime girls though.]]</s>

=== Aircraft Carriers ===
Japan entered World War II with the most experienced sea aviation force in the world, with a total of 8 carriers constructed before 1940. They soon learned the lessons America and Britain eventually did, that larger carriers are better and that superimposed decks (multiple flight decks stacked like cake tiers) are a bad idea. However, they failed to anticipate the scale of their losses and were unable to complete replacement carrier construction for much of the war. One achievement that highlights this failure was the construction of the carrier ''Shinano,'' a converted ''Yamato''-class battleship and thus the largest aircraft carrier built during the war. Because she was a conversion of a half-finished battleship hull that had been hastily chosen after the disaster of Midway, the IJN couldn't actually convert her to a full fleet carrier and settled for making one of their most expensive assets (in terms of time, money, and resources invested) into a support carrier that would focus on repairing and resupplying the air arms of full fleet carriers that, by the time she was launched in 1944, had all been annihilated. She was sunk less than two months after being launched by an American submarine, and had only ever carried 50 '''Ohka''' flying bombs.

* '''''Akagi''''': An ''Amagi''-class battlecruiser hull converted to an aircraft carrier after Japan entered into the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Akagi was completed with '''three''' flight decks, from which planes could theoretically be launched simultaneously. In practice, the bottom and top decks worked well while the middle flight deck was less than 1/10th the length of the top flight deck and was flanked by two twin 8" gun turrets that prevented the deck's use in battle. The lowest flight deck was also small, being only 1/3rd the length of the uppermost flight deck; both the middle and lower decks, as a result, could only be used for small, light, and increasingly obsolete aircraft. The remaining armament consisted of six casemate 8" guns, as well as six 4.7" guns for anti-ship and anti-aircraft duty. Much like the USS ''Langley'', this early and pioneering design lacked an island for command and control arrangements. Eventually the ship was completely refit to the iconic aircraft carrier design recognized today: all major gun turrets were removed, the top flight deck was extended, and the lower decks were eliminated in favor of increased hanger space for more aircraft. An island bridge allowed for better aircraft coordination and fire control, especially for the new 25mm autocannons that were fitted to the ship. These improvements did have a negative effect on her speed, though she could now theoretically launch 80 aircraft, most of which would be A6M Zeroes.
**''Akagi'' carried a weakness common to most early aircraft carriers: Usually made from converted warships built for entirely different purposes, they possessed the armor specifications of a battleship against direct and indirect gunfire, but none against air attack. Their decks were especially vulnerable to enemy aerial attacks, with the American ''Lexington''-class carriers also sharing this characteristic. ''Akagi'' was sunk by aerial divebombs during the Battle of Midway in 1942, partly because tired ordnance crews left explosives strewn throughout the open hangar and most of her planes were being pumped full of aviation fuel in preparation for a strike against the American carriers.
* '''Sōryū'''

=== Battleships ===
* '''Yamato class''': The single largest series of battleships ever built at 263 meters, and the wet dream of any naval enthusiast, weeaboo, and big gun fan everywhere. But before we get excited, we need to make it clear that no, the Yamato was objectively the wrong ship in the wrong war. The age of the battleship, with rare exception for shore bombardment, was pretty much over. Worse of all Japan was somewhat aware of this, with foremost officers like Yamamoto outright saying Naval airpower is the future, and was proven largely correct as the only engagement Yamato or Musashi(Shinano was another ship of the line that was converted partway through construction) ever participated in where they actually got to fire their weapons at anyone turned out to be Leyte gulf in 1944, and both were sunk by angry American dive and torpedo bombers by 1945.
** With that boring disclaimer out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes. The thing had nine 480mm cannons and was housed in a turret that [[Awesome|weighed as much as a small destroyer.]] On top of that, each turret could fire AA shells that would explode after a time fuse delay, and the few test photographs we have show they were a sight to behold, though US pilots reported not being too afraid of them, and they tended to damage the barrels. The class had an incredible number of medium and light weapons that could be brought to bear against lighter targets and fighters as well, with as many as 100 of these lighter weapons, though the 25mm autocannons were reportedly some of the worst in the war. There were some additional 13mm machine guns thrown on the bridge for good measure, but this was more like a desperate afterthought than a concerted effort to add additional AA protection. Still, a Yamato could still cause a small Titan or knight to sweat a little, because those main armaments are utterly insane.
** Yamato had absolutely insane 410-650mm armor in some places, making her an armored behemoth. However, it is important to remember that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|Japanese steel historically sucks.]] The torpedo defense system was hoped to protect the ships, but was often troublesome and thus never really as effective as hoped. A prime example of this is when an American submarine hit Yamato and forced her to return to port for repairs, and the outright sinking of the Shinano by the USS Archerfish, a Yamato modified to be a "carrier support vessel". And let us remember that us Torpedoes in ww2 were '''''shit'''''. Its more a surprising when the mark 48 did explode then when it failed.
** However all this really doesn't matter, because the Americans threw out the Iowa-class in 1943 and they were objectively the best battleships ever built. While the guns were smaller and far less armored, they were faster, technologically more advanced with radar systems to help gun tracking and targeting, and built with far better quality steel and AA guns. While one ''could'' be autistic and debate the dozens of variables about which one would cause the other to succeed, the reality is you can't just compare the two in a vacuum in a ship on ship engagement. But given that the Iowas tended to have better speed and range, at a strategic level you could argue that the Iowas win purely on those factors because oceans tend to be big so range is kinda important. There's also the fact that there were twice as many Iowas as there were Yamatos, so [[M4 Sherman|any comparison should be taking this into account]]. But also all that is meaningless: WW2 proved without a shadow of the a doubt the age of the Capital ship was over. The Battle of Leyte was the last time in history where battle ships fired upon each other, the Yamatos were sunk by the same weapon that made the Iowas just as obsolete and out of date as they were: air craft.

* '''Nagato class''': The Nagatos were two dreadnought class vessels that served as the heaviest warships in the IJN until the arrival of the Yamatos. They came as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, and were part of a massive armament effort in light of the development of the HMS Dreadnought. The class was armed with four twin 16" turrets and twenty casemate 5" cannons for dealing with lighter vessels and four 3" guns. They copied American belt armor designs that allowed for additional speed that made them fast for the time. Modernization added new mgs and 25mm cannons, as well as bulges for anti-torpedo duties and equipment replacement. However the class saw relatively little service throughout the war.
** Nagato's sister ship Mutsu saw little service and coincidentally blew up and sank in harbor. The Government covered up the details so little is known to this day, but the best guess we have is that a fire got out of control and the ammo rolled a one on it's existence save. As a side-note, Mutsu was slated to be scrapped per the Washington Treaty, but internal political considerations (made a show of it being partially funded by schoolchildren' donations) made that unacceptable for Japan, so they conceded for US and UK to get extra battleships of their own to keep the ratio on.
** Nagato herself saw very little service as well, despite being the flagship of the Pearl Harbor attacks. She fought the Americans in a few battles, but was bombed and forced to return to Japan. She then stayed in harbor as a AA gun as there wasn't enough material to get her into fighting condition again. After the war the Americans captured her and tested nukes on her, before ultimately letting her capsize. If nothing else, Nagato gets credit where it is due: The thing lasted longer than the Yamato and actually survived to be captured by the Americans, rather than being sunk by a squijillion [[Angry Marines|angry pilots]] still pissed off about the boats that they blew up. . .And American then promptly blew it up, twice: with Atomic Bombs in the operation Crossroad Tests. Amusingly it's radiation has faded enough to seemingly being a popular diving site.

* '''Kongo class''': The Kongo class is well known among naval combat nerds for being the ones that actually showed up and did the fighting, unlike the Yamatos. Construction of the IJN Kongo took place in Britain, but the remainder of these ships were built in Japan. Initially the primary armament was was eight 14" guns mounted in twin turrets, sixteen casemate 6" guns, as well as a token armament of four 3" guns. In addition the ship had eight torpedo tubes (four per side). The side armor was comparatively thin to the bridge, which had a whopping 355mm of armor compared to the rest of the ship having 203mm maximum belt armor. The Kongo class served quietly in WWI and were forced into training roles to conform with the Washington Naval treaty. A series of innovations during the interwar period included aircraft launchers, additional armor, a new propulsion system, and improvements and upgrades to the main and secondary armaments. This also included the installation of modern hardware like radio systems, searchlights, and fire control systems.
** The Kongos served well and escorted convoys and aircraft carriers during the early conflict. A recurring problem for the class was once an enemy got close, all that armor didn't seem to do any good when the Americans started firing point blank into them. Half the class was sunk in engagements with other enemy ships at Guadalcanal, performing well during combat. Kongo would survive Leyte gulf until being unceremoniously demolished by American submarine USS Sealion. The last vessel of the class to fall, the Shinano, was sunk in 1945 by carrier aircraft while in harbor in Kure. Ironic that holdovers from WWI served with more distinction and service than the supposed mightiest battleships ever built.
** There is some debate as to if the Kongos were "fast battleships" or "battlecruisers". While there is evidence to suggest the latter, they were classified as such in the IJN so that is why they are here. But for all intents and purposes they were closer to battlecruisers than true battleships.

=== Cruisers ===
The cruisers of the IJN were heavily influenced by the Battle of Port Arthur, with a preference for torpedo armed cruisers. Even within the IJN this policy was not without its detractors due to the risks of torpedo tactics. In practice, these torpedoes rarely contributed and were a frequent liability, with several cruisers being taken out of action due to their torpedoes being hit. Otherwise, Japan's cruiser force was generally well built but lacked modern fire control.

*'''Amagi Class''': A battlecruiser class designed to capitalize on the new naval wartime technologies that emerged with the introduction of Dreadnought class warships and other post-WWI innovations. The intended armament was to be 5 twin 400mm cannons as the primary armaments, 16 5.5" casemate cannons, six 4.6" flak cannons, and 8 24" torpedo tubes. The armor was reduced to increase speed, and the overall purpose was to use them as cost effective battleships in support of [[Stellaris|Destroyer swarms]]. We will never really know how they performed, though two of the class were slated to be converted into Aircraft carriers, though only one would ever be completed as an aircraft carrier, the above mentioned Akagi.

=== Destroyers ===

Japanese destroyer construction after the Washington Naval Treaty emphasized fleet destroyers as a way to bulk out their navy while appearing to conform to the treaty. A series of classes were developed in the 20's and 30's but all were produced in small batches of no more than a couple dozen each. The IJN never settled on a common design for mass production like the USN did with the Fletcher. Throughout the 30's they had the A design, which was for general fleet support, the B design which was for carrier escort and AA, and the C class which would support battlefleets with torpedoes and cannons.

* '''Fubuki''': A class of Destroyers were developed as a direct response to the Washington Naval treaty. They earned the Fubuki nickname long after they had been built. In short, they were designed to bring heavy dakka to the furthest possible distance as quickly as possible, with the heaviest armor they could get away with. They carried a whopping nine 24" torpedoes as well as some 5" cannons and some mgs, with the 5" cannons acting as AA guns as well as anti-ship weapons. 24 were built throughout the class, with only two surviving the war.
** The Type II subclass were generally considered decent for their armament, but the Type III subclass had better power efficiency. The first ten ships were the Type I class and were particularly bad, though later ships improved on these flaws. Overall the Type III was preferred and many of the improvements found on them were given to the Type II class of ships.
** The Fubukis suffered from being too light in weight and AA armament: the entire class had to have rebuilds to make them better at sea performance, and later in the war those lack of AA weapons bit them in the ass hard: it became so desperate that the rear primary turret was replaced with 25mm aa guns. However, they still served well in spite of these flaws, and was the class of ship responsible for stranding JFK at sea.
* '''Shimakaze''': A planned class of destroyers that roughly fills the "C-class" of destroyers starting and ending with the namesake Shimakaze. The Shimakaze needed to be as fast as greased lightning and were armed with three 5" dual purpose cannons and three quintuple torpedo launchers using the infamous Type 93 long range torpedoes. Anti-aircraft guns...well, they were there, just not in quantity. The class was considered too expensive for general production, and Shimakaze herself saw very limited service in the war until being sunk while escorting some troop transports.

== Airplanes ==
Contrary to American propaganda, poorly made history documentaries, or just outright misunderstanding Japanese air doctrine, Japanese aviation was pretty much some of the finest on earth at the time. See, when your empire is built upon island chains, naval and air supremacy kinda become very important. As a result Japanese aircraft, while very poorly armoured (especially by American standards) and not quite as heavily armed compared to the allies, were nevertheless actually very well built, just in a very different way. In gamer's terms (since we are on /tg/), the Japanese airplanes were heavily [[min-max]]xed for their intended role, relying on superior training and coordination between different types to get maximal efficiency out of the whole lot. This went swimmingly for them early in the war... but ended up in catastrophe after both attrition and lack of resources took their toll on both the quality of aircrew and machines alike.

Another quirk of Japanese military aviation had to do with internal bickering between the Navy and Army. In short, there was no Imperial Japanese Air Force, both the Navy and the Army kept their own air-wings and mostly they each had their own models of planes.

Also quick note about the "Kamikaze" or 'special attack force' strikes. The reason those strikes were even considered is that by the time, 1944. . . [[Grim and dark|attacking a US naval task by air was already suicide.]] The sheer amount of Dakka that a US task group could out put over a thousand pounds of bullets into the air, per minute, ontop of the introduction of proximate fuzes making attacking anyway, well as said already suicide. So many as well go for a one way trip as it slightly increases your odds of something getting through.
===Fighters===
* '''Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"''': The less iconic, but still just as important naval aviation fighter designed by the same man who would develop the Zero: Jiro Horikoshi. Claudes were exclusively Navy aircraft that far excelled navy expectations, and helped end biplanes in IJN aviation service on Aircraft carriers. Early armament was two humble mgs, but variants after the A5M1a incorporated two 20mm Oerlikon cannons. Claudes were largely replaced by the Zero by the time the war broke out, but some were used in Kamikaze attacks in the latter part of the war. The design was so good that the IJA took a break from the dick slapping contest they had with the Navy to consider it, though they felt the maneuverability was lacking. Japanese aviators disliked closed cockpit designs on the A5M because they hindered visibility, so for the most part the aircraft were open topped, with all the positives and negatives that implied.
* '''Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"''': The Zero was the iconic aircraft of the war for Japan and served in every theatre, though it was first and foremost a Navy Fighter. It was designed so that a well trained pilot could fully utilize the aircraft and outmatch most anything in the world at the time. It was even good enough that the basic airframe (made from high-end alumuminum alloys and with revolutionary structures such as smoothed rivets) could be recycled for carrier use with minor modifications. This did have the downside of sometimes removing radios for increased range or due to them just not working, and by late war America and Britain started topping them with better armored and easier to fly designs. However, bear in mind that the Zero could achieve ranges of 1,870 km and was still able to accept upgrades until the end of the war, a feat not shared by every fighter.
* '''Nakajima Ki-84 "Frank"''': An Army Fighter put into service in 1944 and competitive with any other piston plane of the late war. A good design which suffered as Japanese Industry was hit hard by bombing and increasingly tight materials shortages.
* '''Kyushu J7W Shinden''': A high speed (750kph) short range prototype interceptor made in the last days of the war. Notably it had a pusher prop in the back and four 30mm cannons in the nose. Designed for the express purpose of ruining the day of those pesky American B-29's bombing the everloving shit out of Japan, but never saw more than a couple of test flights.
* '''Nakajima Kikka''': A prototype Jet Fighter built by the IJN, similar in general shape to the ME 262 (albeit slimmer and lankier) with ten of them being built. It first flew on August 7th 1945, eight days before Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Here more as credit to Japanese Engineers than anything.

===Bombers===
*'''Nakajima B5N "Kate"''': A torpedo and tactical bomber used by the navy and army starting in 1937. The B5N was one of the more advanced designs in the world at the time and was responsible for the sinking of Lexington and Hornet, and contributed to the sinking of the Yorktown. Possessing an impressive range of 1992 kilometers, a decent top speed of over 300kph and carrying an advanced long range torpedo they were able to launch from a further distance than equivalent weapons from other nations (or alternatively three 250kg bombs); they were a force to be reckoned with early into the war. But by 1943 fighter superiority was being steadily eroded from Japan, so the lack of defensive armament and armor started to bite the Japanese hard in the butt and even an improved version called the B6N "Jill" made to keep the design relevant couldn't invert the tendency.
*'''Mitsubishi G4M "Betty"''': A Bomber commissioned by the navy that could launch torpedoes as well, filling a similar role to the American B-25. Absolutely absurd, these vehicles had 3700km range at the expense of armament, bomb bay doors, and self-sealing fuel tanks in order to maximize range. The theory was that the Zeros would cover them so that being shot down wouldn't be a problem, but the harsh reality is that if anything with more than four light mgs (or anything heavier like Ma Deuces or 20mm cannons) shot at it, they tended to explode into flame, much earning them the nickname "the Honorable One-Shot Lighter" among allied pilots. Later variants added improved protection and armament at the expense of range, something Japan was not worried about in the latter part of the war. There was even a limited production run that was used to ferry Ohka flying bombs to launch positions, but these sucked ass. Yamamoto infamously was shot down in one of these by USAAF [[P38 Lightning|P-38 fighters]], and you can still visit the wreckage in the jungle to this very day.

== Wunderwaffen ==
Much like the Germans, the Japanese were trying to get their own nuclear weapons program going, though they didn’t make very much progress with it. In fact, when the Americans dropped their own atom bombs, the Japanese initially refused to believe they were real due to the sheer amount of resources needed to refine Uranium. The Japanese also had domestic copies of the Me-163 and Me-262 fighters as well, but lacked the means to put them into production to be able to affect the outcome of the war.

All that said, they also had some unique domestic programs:

* '''MXY-7 Ohka''': the infamous kamikaze airplane, as in being purposely built for the task. An Okha was basically an anti-ship missile... [[Grot Bommer|except is was piloted by a live human being instead of automated systems]]. A wooden airframe encompassing a rocket engine, a basic cockpit an a 1.200kg bomb, it could (and did) ruin the day of any ship it hit. It was mostly used during the battle for Okinawa (with some success), but they were extremely short-ranged (37km) and had to be dropped by Betty bombers... who were more often than not intercepted before they could launch the suicide plane. In typical Japanese [[irony]], 'Ohka' means 'cherry blossom petal', petal that can only fall down once it becomes separated from its tree... Yeah... Pretty poetic, if you can somehow accept the fact [[grimdark|''' there's a goddamn human being committing suicide to crash a 1.200kg bomb on target.''']]
* '''I-400 series''': a series of submarines that were designed as goddamn aircraft carriers. Each one could only carry about three floatplanes. Were deployed on missions but never actually got any use. Were captured and tested on by the US post war. Sunk in Nuke experiments in the 50s and 60s.
* '''Fu-Go Balloon Bombs''': Very basic in concept, these were weather balloons carrying shrapnel and firebombs that would be released after a fixed period by a very rudimentary timer. Launched in Japan, they’d travel the jet stream to America and hopefully cause enough damage and mayhem to disrupt American offensive operations in the Pacific. Completely incapable of any targeting, a few civilians were killed and American authorities clamped down on reports to prevent panic amongst the populace. Ultimately, these were the first truly intercontinental weapons ever made, but with only 300 of 9,000 total balloons being confirmed to have survived the flight to the USA they were a total waste of limited time and resources, even considering how dirt-cheap and simple to produce they were. The balloon bombs did succeed in forcing the Americans to divert a tiny amount of effort to trying to track them and combat potential forest fires.
* '''Atomic Bomb Projects''': There were several projects for uranium enrichment. The Japanese had some good nuclear scientists, but ultimately the familiar limitations of limited industry and resources kept them from success. The Nagasaki group dropped a letter from Luis Alvarez to Ryokichi Sagane in the hope he could explain to the government what they were now facing, although the army didn't give it to him until after the war had ended.

* '''O-I Super Heavy Tank''': Much like its ally,Nazi Germany, The Imperial Japanese Army did have plans and may have made a prototype for a Super Heavy Tank, the concept of which came to light after the defeat of the IJA at Khalkhin Gol, it was commissioned by Hideo Iwakuro and development was started by the Army Engineering Division and later resumed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was to be multi-turret design like those experimented with in the inter-war years. The main armament was to be a type 92 105mm gun, with a type 1 47mm and three 7.7mm type 97 machineguns serving as a secondary in at least four other turrets. Armor was to be up to 200mm and was to be powered by the same engines used in the Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank. The reason this is considered a wunderwaffen is due to the rather lack of a complete history and outlandishness of the design. Documentation does exists of how it was to be designed. A tank track is on display at the JGSDF fiji school. A prototype was rumored to be made but like with some treasure trains of nazi germany or the original amber room it may have been lost and scrapped to history. In the end it remains an obscure tank whos documentation and history was lost in the post-war.

== Other ==

[[Category:History]]

Imperial Japanese Equipment

2023-02-09T14:57:54Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Battleships */

The Empire of Japan: the first East Asian country to successfully industrialize in the late 19th century and from the 1930s to 45 the scourge of the Pacific. While better off than [[Fascist Italian Equipment|Italy]], Japan still lagged behind in a lot of fields and had major raw materials and fuel shortages.

Generally speaking Imperial Japanese gear generally falls into four categories...
*Solid by Great War and Inter-War standards but out of date for WWII.
*Good, if made with some weird logic or specific bit of Min-Maxing in mind.
*Unusable/near unusable garbage due to cost cutting and bizarre moon logic.
*Really rough and dirty stuff cludged together as Japan got a major beat down.

== Small Arms ==
Japan's small arms were generally less advanced than that of other countries at the time; while most countries still relied on bolt-action rifles as their service weapon, many countries still produced decent quantities of SMGs as well as self-loading rifles in more limited numbers. Japan however focused primarily on bolt-action rifles, with fewer automatic weapons to back them up. Weapon quality also suffered later in the war as well.
=== Rifles and SMGs ===
[[Image:Arisaka.jpg|300px|thumb|Left|The Arisaka rifle, not to be confused with rifles made by [[Cyberpunk 2020|Arasaka]] ]]
* '''Type 30 Arisaka''': Japan's old rifle, designed by Arisaka Nariakira and put into service in 1899, it saw use in the Russo-Japanese War and the Great War. Fired a 6.5x50mm bullet. Generally a solid five-shot bolt action for it's day, if a bit underpowered.
**As a side note, the 6.5x50mm Arisaka bullet was better suited for a man-portable automatic weapon than the typical over-charged full rifle rounds of the late 19th/early 20th century, which were made with accuracy and stopping power in mind. The Russian Fedorov Avtomat used them.
* '''Type 38 Arisaka''': Update on the Type-30. Used primarily in WWI, and partially replaced by the Type 99 in WWII. Had utterly shit sights and a weird safety.
* '''Type 99 Arisaka''': Built to replace the Type 30 and Type 38 by firing a 7.7x58mm cartridge. Improvements to the sights also made it the preferred rifle for snipers. That said, the Japanese still had a lot of Type 38s and 6.5x50mm, so it never fully replaced the Type 38. The sniper variant of the Type 99 was one of the more sensible snipers of the war, as the scope was mounted offset so that strip mags could still be inserted, resulting in a faster overall rate of fire. Also had a terrible trigger and the same shit sights from the Type 38.
* '''Type 100 Nambu''': The only production SMG made by the Japanese, and made in more limited numbers compared to other militaries. The Nambu SMG fired the same 8x22mm cartridge as the standard Nambu pistol. It had sideloading magazine much like the earlier MP18 and contemporary Sten; while side-loading magazines had fallen out of favor by this time due to the unbalanced weight, it was a hell of lot better than the other experimental Nambu SMGs that had been made at the time.
* '''Murata Rifle''': The OG of Japanese military rifles, first put into production back in 1880 and used during the Russo-Japanese war. Originally single shot, latter got a tube-mag upgrade. Only used on the home islands for the civilian reservists.
* '''Last Ditch Guns''': In the late war, Japanese manufacturing had been effectively crippled and resources were in short supply, so these so-called "Last Ditch Rifles" were made to arm what military forces remained, as well as civilians for the upcoming invasion of the Japanese home islands. These ranged from simplified versions of the Type 99 to very crude single-shot musket-things to give to civvies.

=== Pistols ===
* '''Type 26 Revolver''': A simple break-action hammerless revolver, chambered in 9mm Japanese revolver. Was invented back in 1893 but was still used in WWII to supplement weapon stockpiles.
* '''Nambu Type 14''': The standard sidearm of the IJA following WWI, replacing the Type 26. Chambered in 8x22mm, it wasn't as strong as contemporary pistols, but was solidly built, and later became the inspiration for the Ruger .22 pistol. General IJA policy at the time was that officers were allowed to buy sidearms with their own money. A common misconception is that the Type 14 was dangerous to shoot, which is only half true. It won't explode, but it will sometimes go off when clearing a jam(more on that below). Another is that the Nambu was a cheaper knockoff of the Luger, which is untrue. The Type 14 is a series of improvements of an earlier weapon commonly called "Grandpa Nambu", a firearm which appeared in production at roughly a similar time to the Luger. While not objectively terrible, it was nothing compared to the Italian Berreta or Browning's 1911. It frequently jammed as well due to the springs not being able to keep up with the bolt, and was compounded by the bullets being angled up. The magazine release is also difficult to clear without adjusting your grip. However to the weapon's credit it had a very light trigger pull and had a trigger guard designed to allow troops wearing gloves to use them without removing said gloves.
* '''Nambu Type 94''': A smaller, lighter-weight pistol compared to the Type 14. It was called the "Surrender Pistol" because it had an exposed sear, meaning that pressing down on the sear could fire the gun without pulling the trigger, so supposedly a Japanese soldier could fake surrendering so that they could shoot their captors up close. While this may have happened on occasion, stories of surrendering troops regularly firing using the sear are probably unsubstantiated, as it takes a considerable amount of force to squeeze the sear hard enough to fire the pistol. The Type 94 was used primarily by officers, army airmen, tankers, and paratroopers due to the lighter weight. Largely it was an army weapon, though there are reports of the Type 94 being used by Navy officers who purchased them with their own money. Even so, it was still a piece of shit. If the safety was not on, the exposed seer could lead to accidental discharge if it was bashed into something and occasionally they blew up in people's hands when fired.

=== Machine Guns ===
[[Image:Japanese Type 11 LMG.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The lengths some people will go for cross-compatibility]]
* '''Type 11 Light Machine gun''': Put into service in 1922, this gun is ''weird''. Basic idea, make a machine gun that could use the 5 round stripper clips used by Arisaka Rifles. That means you don't have to make special magazines for it or ship them to the front, while regular infantry dudes can supply it with bullets in a pinch. So it has this weird hopper magazine that takes up to 6 clips. This also meant putting the stock off to the side. While it worked, it was heavy, awkward and not terribly reliable. The Soviets captured a few and actually made a few prototypes with a copied mechanism before realizing that it was more hassle than it was worth.
* '''Type 96 Light Machinegun''': to address the problems with the Type 11, the Japanese replaced it with a different model that used a top-loading magazine, based on the Czech ZB VZ 26 (which also inspired the Bren Gun).
* '''Type 99 Light Machine Gun''': Visually similar to the Type 96 but chambered in the same 7.7x58mm ammo as the Type 99 Arisaka. Other than that, it and the Type 96 [[Imperial Guard|were one of the few LMGs with a bayonet mount.]]

=== Anti-Tank Infantry Weapons ===
* '''Type 4 70 mm AT rocket launcher''': Introduced in 1944 as an answer to the American Bazooka. Fairly basic but still a reusable item, a rocket was slotted into the front and set up by a simple percussion lock. A few thousand of these were made before the war ended and they saw only limited use. Never the less the PLA copied them for their first generation of RPGs.
* '''Lunge Mine''': Somehow the Japanese figured out a way to banzai charge tanks of all things. Little more than a shape charge attached to a pole, the idea was that a soldier would wait in ambush for an enemy tank to get close enough; the attacker would then charge at the tank’s side armor and strike it with the lunge mine to set it off; of course, at that range the explosion would more than likely kill or maim the user, if they weren’t already killed from trying to charge a friggin tank.
* '''Type 97 Automatic Cannon''': The Japanese version of the AT-rifle concept. Hilarious because they considered it a cannon and less of an AT-Rifle. [[Awesome|Shot 20mm ammo]]. So did the Finnish AT-rifles, but it is more hilarious because Japan also built Yamato(more on that below). What was unique is that they ended up getting used on some Japanese aircraft as a form of cannon. Overall not a terrible weapon, but quickly became outdated and was abandoned after 1200 total units due to the sheer complexity, but it certainly puts a massive dent in the "Japan just built shitty stuff" myth.

=== Misc ===
* '''Type 89 and Type 10 Grenade dischargers, aka "Knee Mortars"''': A nifty little Japanese design, these are basically miniature man-portable mortars. Lightweight (around 5 kg) and nominally requiring only a single soldier to use , they were capable of chucking a hand grenade up to 200 meters away, which came in pretty handy in the often close and cramped firefights in the jungle. As an amusing sidenote, the name 'Knee Mortar' comes from a mistranslation of a Japanese manual on how to use the thing: American soldiers first believed they were supposed to be braced against one's leg due to the curved butt-plate (which in reality is to make it easier to rest against tree roots or rough ground). While the error was quickly discovered (it was obvious from the recoil that bracing it on your leg would break your femur at best), the name stuck.
* '''Guntō''': Bargain Basement knock-off katanas. It was a regulation that all IJA officers were required to carry a sword and to that end a large number of these swords were made. Since Japan was raising a fuck-huge army under the militarists, they dispensed with the old arts of Sword Production and instead produced lots of blades quickly with modern milling/grinding/quenching techniques. For this reason, such 'modern' blades aren't considered traditional swords in Japan and they can be confiscated by the government for recycling. Real traditional katanas were a very rare sight on the battlefields of WWII, for even those officers that came from an old samurai family and possessed a genuine one often left the priceless family heirloom at home and carried a fancied-up Guntō (that would do the job in a pinch anyway) in battle. A lot of the surviving ones today are trophies collected by US Army soldiers and Marines ([[lulz|and often misidentified for genuine katanas by the uninformed]]).
* '''Bayonets''': The IJA stuck bayonets on ''everything''. Not just rifles, but also their LMGs and SMGs. Bayonet charge had fallen out of favor with everyone else, and bayonets were only a last ditch weapon for everyone else, but bayonet fighting was still a mainstay of the IJA and had some success on the Chinese front. Against the Americans, however, who possessed significantly more automatic weapons and Garands, it had been rendered a useless tactic. They did gain some amount of utility when used in conjunction with night attacks, but as the war went on the number of seasoned troops who could pull this off had been drowned, killed in dumbass final charges to redeem their honor, or killed in any other ways the Pacific and Asia had to offer, including but not limited to Malaria, Malnutrition, Naval bombardment, Aerial Bombardment, Flamethrowers, Flamethrowers in Tanks, Indian Crocodiles, Angry Gurkhas and even Angrier Aussies.

== Artillery and AT guns ==

== Vehicles ==

=== Tanks ===
The Tank Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Army was not that great. See, our dear friends had experimented with the tank concept pretty early on, in fact they were the first nation to make a tank with a diesel engine but much like the rest of the world took the wrong lessons from Spain. They also failed to integrate the weapons into divisions properly. The skirmishes with the Soviet Union and visits to Germany in the late 30s pretty much proved that the concept worked different than they thought, and they tried to catch up. However, tanks take a lot of money, labour and equipment to produce and a lot of fuel to operate, and the thing you need to know about the Empire of Japan is that above all else: the army and the navy literally, without question hated each other. So every time the Army want to start a production of tanks they had to compete for steel, man power, a labour and everything else. Given that in China, 1930s era tanks were still quite effective and if war happened with the United States the fleet and air force obvious took priority, the navy generally won these fights. So most of the "good" tanks ended up in the homeland because of the logistics strain, and the far cheaper Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo were far more common by virtue of being lighter and thus less of a bother to send to shitty undeveloped island #273.

Imperial Japanese Tanks were given a designation based on the Imperial Japanese Calendar, which starts counting at 660 BCE.

*'''Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo''': Named Ha-go after the manufacturer but called the Kyugo by troops, either name is correct, but Ha-go is more familiar to western audiences. Since Japan like most powers considered the idea of the Infantry and Cruiser tank concepts, the 95 was considered as an alternative to the land battleship concept. The 95 could keep up speed and were vastly faster, making them better than contemporary infantry tanks. They ever were cheaper to make, and were cushioned against heat and bumps...[[Grimdark|by asbestos.]] In Burma, one was captured and is still at Bovington, and a contemporary report indicated that there were design elements that were quite good, especially the bogie wheel suspension. However, the 37mm cannon became rapidly outdated, and the machine guns were only ok, being fed by hoppers and not belts, and the commander was cramped and somewhat overwhelmed. Perhaps worst of all was that crews were strongly frowned upon for adding on armor or boxes for ammo, though logs to allow troops to sit on the back were considered acceptable. The turret could also could be [[FAIL|jammed with a knife]], and there are allegations that American .30-06 ammo was able to penetrate the side armor, though these reports are not fully substantiated.
* '''Type 97 Chi-Ha''': The main medium tank of the IJA during WWII. It weighed 14.3 tonnes, a 127kW engine, armor 8-26mm thick and was armed with a 57 mm main gun and a couple of machine guns. When it was introduced in 1936 the Chi-Ha was pretty good and it was often effective in china. When the US came around, not so much.
** '''Type 97 ShinHōtō Chi-Ha''': A Chi-Ha with more armor and a higher velocity 47mm gun better for anti-tank work introduced in 1942.
* '''Type 1 Chi-He''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha with some more armor and a better engine. About 170 were made and they stayed on the Home Islands.
* '''Type 3 Chi-Nu''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha, with up to 50mm of armor and a 75mm anti-tank gun. It was designed to take out Shermans in 1943 and put into production in 1944 when Japan was getting a serious ass whoopin by US Bombers. The most advance Japanese Tank to see even limited mass production. Stayed in the Home Islands.
* '''Type 4 Chi-To''': Not an update on the Chi-Ha, but an entirely new vehicle from the ground up. A couple of Prototype vehicles which were broadly speaking in the T-34/Sherman's ballpark. The Cheeto's legacy is mostly preserved by World of Tanks and Alternate History nerds.
* '''Type 5 Chi-Ri''': A single prototype that, had it been completed would have been more heavily armored than a Sherman with a new powerful 75mm gun, plus a 37mm secondary cannon. If the [[M6 Heavy Tank|M6's]] trials are any indication the 37mm would've been superfluous, though it isn't like Japan had access to Aberdeen proving grounds or anything so how would they have known?

=== Halftracks and armored cars ===

== Ships ==
Of all the Axis powers, the Empire of Japan had the strongest navy. Germany had to rebuild its fleet effectively from scratch and Italy... [[Fascist Italian Equipment|was Italy]]. Japan, on the other hand, was THE major ally of Great Britain in East Asia after World War 1 and was "permitted" to expand its fleet up to two-thirds the tonnage of Great Britain and the United States through the 1920s and '30s. As might be expected, the Japanese resented the tonnage restrictions and basically tried to circumvent or design their way around them until they eventually repudiated the naval treaties entirely. What they never really understood was that the naval treaties tied one hand behind the backs of their naval rivals, as both Great Britain and obviously the United States were able to outproduce Japan's shipbuilding industry pretty handily in World War II. The Japanese Navy was extremely effective through 1943, and it was really only after devastating losses at the Battle of Midway, where 2/3rds of their primary carrier fleet were sunk (which they didn't tell the army about for a while), that they began their decline. <s>[[Weeaboo|Good luck trying to look up a Japanese ship name without being bombarded by pictures of anime girls though.]]</s>

=== Aircraft Carriers ===
Japan entered World War II with the most experienced sea aviation force in the world, with a total of 8 carriers constructed before 1940. They soon learned the lessons America and Britain eventually did, that larger carriers are better and that superimposed decks (multiple flight decks stacked like cake tiers) are a bad idea. However, they failed to anticipate the scale of their losses and were unable to complete replacement carrier construction for much of the war. One achievement that highlights this failure was the construction of the carrier ''Shinano,'' a converted ''Yamato''-class battleship and thus the largest aircraft carrier built during the war. Because she was a conversion of a half-finished battleship hull that had been hastily chosen after the disaster of Midway, the IJN couldn't actually convert her to a full fleet carrier and settled for making one of their most expensive assets (in terms of time, money, and resources invested) into a support carrier that would focus on repairing and resupplying the air arms of full fleet carriers that, by the time she was launched in 1944, had all been annihilated. She was sunk less than two months after being launched by an American submarine, and had only ever carried 50 '''Ohka''' flying bombs.

* '''''Akagi''''': An ''Amagi''-class battlecruiser hull converted to an aircraft carrier after Japan entered into the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Akagi was completed with '''three''' flight decks, from which planes could theoretically be launched simultaneously. In practice, the bottom and top decks worked well while the middle flight deck was less than 1/10th the length of the top flight deck and was flanked by two twin 8" gun turrets that prevented the deck's use in battle. The lowest flight deck was also small, being only 1/3rd the length of the uppermost flight deck; both the middle and lower decks, as a result, could only be used for small, light, and increasingly obsolete aircraft. The remaining armament consisted of six casemate 8" guns, as well as six 4.7" guns for anti-ship and anti-aircraft duty. Much like the USS ''Langley'', this early and pioneering design lacked an island for command and control arrangements. Eventually the ship was completely refit to the iconic aircraft carrier design recognized today: all major gun turrets were removed, the top flight deck was extended, and the lower decks were eliminated in favor of increased hanger space for more aircraft. An island bridge allowed for better aircraft coordination and fire control, especially for the new 25mm autocannons that were fitted to the ship. These improvements did have a negative effect on her speed, though she could now theoretically launch 80 aircraft, most of which would be A6M Zeroes.
**''Akagi'' carried a weakness common to most early aircraft carriers: Usually made from converted warships built for entirely different purposes, they possessed the armor specifications of a battleship against direct and indirect gunfire, but none against air attack. Their decks were especially vulnerable to enemy aerial attacks, with the American ''Lexington''-class carriers also sharing this characteristic. ''Akagi'' was sunk by aerial divebombs during the Battle of Midway in 1942, partly because tired ordnance crews left explosives strewn throughout the open hangar and most of her planes were being pumped full of aviation fuel in preparation for a strike against the American carriers.
* '''Sōryū'''

=== Battleships ===
* '''Yamato class''': The single largest series of battleships ever built at 263 meters, and the wet dream of any naval enthusiast, weeaboo, and big gun fan everywhere. But before we get excited, we need to make it clear that no, the Yamato was objectively the wrong ship in the wrong war. The age of the battleship, with rare exception for shore bombardment, was pretty much over. Worse of all Japan was somewhat aware of this, with foremost officers like Yamamoto outright saying Naval airpower is the future, and was proven largely correct as the only engagement Yamato or Musashi(Shinano was another ship of the line that was converted partway through construction) ever participated in where they actually got to fire their weapons at anyone turned out to be Leyte gulf in 1944, and both were sunk by angry American dive and torpedo bombers by 1945.
** With that boring disclaimer out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes. The thing had nine 480mm cannons and was housed in a turret that [[Awesome|weighed as much as a small destroyer.]] On top of that, each turret could fire AA shells that would explode after a time fuse delay, and the few test photographs we have show they were a sight to behold, though US pilots reported not being too afraid of them, and they tended to damage the barrels. The class had an incredible number of medium and light weapons that could be brought to bear against lighter targets and fighters as well, with as many as 100 of these lighter weapons, though the 25mm autocannons were reportedly some of the worst in the war. There were some additional 13mm machine guns thrown on the bridge for good measure, but this was more like a desperate afterthought than a concerted effort to add additional AA protection. Still, a Yamato could still cause a small Titan or knight to sweat a little, because those main armaments are utterly insane.
** Yamato had absolutely insane 410-650mm armor in some places, making her an armored behemoth. However, it is important to remember that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|Japanese steel historically sucks.]] The torpedo defense system was hoped to protect the ships, but was often troublesome and thus never really as effective as hoped. A prime example of this is when an American submarine hit Yamato and forced her to return to port for repairs, and the outright sinking of the Shinano by the USS Archerfish, a Yamato modified to be a "carrier support vessel". And let us remember that us Torpedoes in ww2 were '''''shit'''''. Its more a surprising when the mark 48 did explode then when it failed.
** However all this really doesn't matter, because the Americans threw out the Iowa-class in 1943 and they were objectively the best battleships ever built. While the guns were smaller and far less armored, they were faster, technologically more advanced with radar systems to help gun tracking and targeting, and built with far better quality steel and AA guns. While one ''could'' be autistic and debate the dozens of variables about which one would cause the other to succeed, the reality is you can't just compare the two in a vacuum in a ship on ship engagement. But given that the Iowas tended to have better speed and range, at a strategic level you could argue that the Iowas win purely on those factors because oceans tend to be big so range is kinda important. There's also the fact that there were twice as many Iowas as there were Yamatos, so [[M4 Sherman|any comparison should be taking this into account]].

* '''Nagato class''': The Nagatos were two dreadnought class vessels that served as the heaviest warships in the IJN until the arrival of the Yamatos. They came as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, and were part of a massive armament effort in light of the development of the HMS Dreadnought. The class was armed with four twin 16" turrets and twenty casemate 5" cannons for dealing with lighter vessels and four 3" guns. They copied American belt armor designs that allowed for additional speed that made them fast for the time. Modernization added new mgs and 25mm cannons, as well as bulges for anti-torpedo duties and equipment replacement. However the class saw relatively little service throughout the war.
** Nagato's sister ship Mutsu saw little service and coincidentally blew up and sank in harbor. The Government covered up the details so little is known to this day, but the best guess we have is that a fire got out of control and the ammo rolled a one on it's existence save. As a side-note, Mutsu was slated to be scrapped per the Washington Treaty, but internal political considerations (made a show of it being partially funded by schoolchildren' donations) made that unacceptable for Japan, so they conceded for US and UK to get extra battleships of their own to keep the ratio on.
** Nagato herself saw very little service as well, despite being the flagship of the Pearl Harbor attacks. She fought the Americans in a few battles, but was bombed and forced to return to Japan. She then stayed in harbor as a AA gun as there wasn't enough material to get her into fighting condition again. After the war the Americans captured her and tested nukes on her, before ultimately letting her capsize. If nothing else, Nagato gets credit where it is due: The thing lasted longer than the Yamato and actually survived to be captured by the Americans, rather than being sunk by a squijillion [[Angry Marines|angry pilots]] still pissed off about the boats that they blew up. . .And American then promptly blew it up, twice: with Atomic Bombs in the operation Crossroad Tests. Amusingly it's radiation has faded enough to seemingly being a popular diving site.

* '''Kongo class''': The Kongo class is well known among naval combat nerds for being the ones that actually showed up and did the fighting, unlike the Yamatos. Construction of the IJN Kongo took place in Britain, but the remainder of these ships were built in Japan. Initially the primary armament was was eight 14" guns mounted in twin turrets, sixteen casemate 6" guns, as well as a token armament of four 3" guns. In addition the ship had eight torpedo tubes (four per side). The side armor was comparatively thin to the bridge, which had a whopping 355mm of armor compared to the rest of the ship having 203mm maximum belt armor. The Kongo class served quietly in WWI and were forced into training roles to conform with the Washington Naval treaty. A series of innovations during the interwar period included aircraft launchers, additional armor, a new propulsion system, and improvements and upgrades to the main and secondary armaments. This also included the installation of modern hardware like radio systems, searchlights, and fire control systems.
** The Kongos served well and escorted convoys and aircraft carriers during the early conflict. A recurring problem for the class was once an enemy got close, all that armor didn't seem to do any good when the Americans started firing point blank into them. Half the class was sunk in engagements with other enemy ships at Guadalcanal, performing well during combat. Kongo would survive Leyte gulf until being unceremoniously demolished by American submarine USS Sealion. The last vessel of the class to fall, the Shinano, was sunk in 1945 by carrier aircraft while in harbor in Kure. Ironic that holdovers from WWI served with more distinction and service than the supposed mightiest battleships ever built.
** There is some debate as to if the Kongos were "fast battleships" or "battlecruisers". While there is evidence to suggest the latter, they were classified as such in the IJN so that is why they are here. But for all intents and purposes they were closer to battlecruisers than true battleships.

=== Cruisers ===
The cruisers of the IJN were heavily influenced by the Battle of Port Arthur, with a preference for torpedo armed cruisers. Even within the IJN this policy was not without its detractors due to the risks of torpedo tactics. In practice, these torpedoes rarely contributed and were a frequent liability, with several cruisers being taken out of action due to their torpedoes being hit. Otherwise, Japan's cruiser force was generally well built but lacked modern fire control.

*'''Amagi Class''': A battlecruiser class designed to capitalize on the new naval wartime technologies that emerged with the introduction of Dreadnought class warships and other post-WWI innovations. The intended armament was to be 5 twin 400mm cannons as the primary armaments, 16 5.5" casemate cannons, six 4.6" flak cannons, and 8 24" torpedo tubes. The armor was reduced to increase speed, and the overall purpose was to use them as cost effective battleships in support of [[Stellaris|Destroyer swarms]]. We will never really know how they performed, though two of the class were slated to be converted into Aircraft carriers, though only one would ever be completed as an aircraft carrier, the above mentioned Akagi.

=== Destroyers ===

Japanese destroyer construction after the Washington Naval Treaty emphasized fleet destroyers as a way to bulk out their navy while appearing to conform to the treaty. A series of classes were developed in the 20's and 30's but all were produced in small batches of no more than a couple dozen each. The IJN never settled on a common design for mass production like the USN did with the Fletcher. Throughout the 30's they had the A design, which was for general fleet support, the B design which was for carrier escort and AA, and the C class which would support battlefleets with torpedoes and cannons.

* '''Fubuki''': A class of Destroyers were developed as a direct response to the Washington Naval treaty. They earned the Fubuki nickname long after they had been built. In short, they were designed to bring heavy dakka to the furthest possible distance as quickly as possible, with the heaviest armor they could get away with. They carried a whopping nine 24" torpedoes as well as some 5" cannons and some mgs, with the 5" cannons acting as AA guns as well as anti-ship weapons. 24 were built throughout the class, with only two surviving the war.
** The Type II subclass were generally considered decent for their armament, but the Type III subclass had better power efficiency. The first ten ships were the Type I class and were particularly bad, though later ships improved on these flaws. Overall the Type III was preferred and many of the improvements found on them were given to the Type II class of ships.
** The Fubukis suffered from being too light in weight and AA armament: the entire class had to have rebuilds to make them better at sea performance, and later in the war those lack of AA weapons bit them in the ass hard: it became so desperate that the rear primary turret was replaced with 25mm aa guns. However, they still served well in spite of these flaws, and was the class of ship responsible for stranding JFK at sea.
* '''Shimakaze''': A planned class of destroyers that roughly fills the "C-class" of destroyers starting and ending with the namesake Shimakaze. The Shimakaze needed to be as fast as greased lightning and were armed with three 5" dual purpose cannons and three quintuple torpedo launchers using the infamous Type 93 long range torpedoes. Anti-aircraft guns...well, they were there, just not in quantity. The class was considered too expensive for general production, and Shimakaze herself saw very limited service in the war until being sunk while escorting some troop transports.

== Airplanes ==
Contrary to American propaganda, poorly made history documentaries, or just outright misunderstanding Japanese air doctrine, Japanese aviation was pretty much some of the finest on earth at the time. See, when your empire is built upon island chains, naval and air supremacy kinda become very important. As a result Japanese aircraft, while very poorly armoured (especially by American standards) and not quite as heavily armed compared to the allies, were nevertheless actually very well built, just in a very different way. In gamer's terms (since we are on /tg/), the Japanese airplanes were heavily [[min-max]]xed for their intended role, relying on superior training and coordination between different types to get maximal efficiency out of the whole lot. This went swimmingly for them early in the war... but ended up in catastrophe after both attrition and lack of resources took their toll on both the quality of aircrew and machines alike.

Another quirk of Japanese military aviation had to do with internal bickering between the Navy and Army. In short, there was no Imperial Japanese Air Force, both the Navy and the Army kept their own air-wings and mostly they each had their own models of planes.

Also quick note about the "Kamikaze" or 'special attack force' strikes. The reason those strikes were even considered is that by the time, 1944. . . [[Grim and dark|attacking a US naval task by air was already suicide.]] The sheer amount of Dakka that a US task group could out put over a thousand pounds of bullets into the air, per minute, ontop of the introduction of proximate fuzes making attacking anyway, well as said already suicide. So many as well go for a one way trip as it slightly increases your odds of something getting through.
===Fighters===
* '''Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"''': The less iconic, but still just as important naval aviation fighter designed by the same man who would develop the Zero: Jiro Horikoshi. Claudes were exclusively Navy aircraft that far excelled navy expectations, and helped end biplanes in IJN aviation service on Aircraft carriers. Early armament was two humble mgs, but variants after the A5M1a incorporated two 20mm Oerlikon cannons. Claudes were largely replaced by the Zero by the time the war broke out, but some were used in Kamikaze attacks in the latter part of the war. The design was so good that the IJA took a break from the dick slapping contest they had with the Navy to consider it, though they felt the maneuverability was lacking. Japanese aviators disliked closed cockpit designs on the A5M because they hindered visibility, so for the most part the aircraft were open topped, with all the positives and negatives that implied.
* '''Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"''': The Zero was the iconic aircraft of the war for Japan and served in every theatre, though it was first and foremost a Navy Fighter. It was designed so that a well trained pilot could fully utilize the aircraft and outmatch most anything in the world at the time. It was even good enough that the basic airframe (made from high-end alumuminum alloys and with revolutionary structures such as smoothed rivets) could be recycled for carrier use with minor modifications. This did have the downside of sometimes removing radios for increased range or due to them just not working, and by late war America and Britain started topping them with better armored and easier to fly designs. However, bear in mind that the Zero could achieve ranges of 1,870 km and was still able to accept upgrades until the end of the war, a feat not shared by every fighter.
* '''Nakajima Ki-84 "Frank"''': An Army Fighter put into service in 1944 and competitive with any other piston plane of the late war. A good design which suffered as Japanese Industry was hit hard by bombing and increasingly tight materials shortages.
* '''Kyushu J7W Shinden''': A high speed (750kph) short range prototype interceptor made in the last days of the war. Notably it had a pusher prop in the back and four 30mm cannons in the nose. Designed for the express purpose of ruining the day of those pesky American B-29's bombing the everloving shit out of Japan, but never saw more than a couple of test flights.
* '''Nakajima Kikka''': A prototype Jet Fighter built by the IJN, similar in general shape to the ME 262 (albeit slimmer and lankier) with ten of them being built. It first flew on August 7th 1945, eight days before Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Here more as credit to Japanese Engineers than anything.

===Bombers===
*'''Nakajima B5N "Kate"''': A torpedo and tactical bomber used by the navy and army starting in 1937. The B5N was one of the more advanced designs in the world at the time and was responsible for the sinking of Lexington and Hornet, and contributed to the sinking of the Yorktown. Possessing an impressive range of 1992 kilometers, a decent top speed of over 300kph and carrying an advanced long range torpedo they were able to launch from a further distance than equivalent weapons from other nations (or alternatively three 250kg bombs); they were a force to be reckoned with early into the war. But by 1943 fighter superiority was being steadily eroded from Japan, so the lack of defensive armament and armor started to bite the Japanese hard in the butt and even an improved version called the B6N "Jill" made to keep the design relevant couldn't invert the tendency.
*'''Mitsubishi G4M "Betty"''': A Bomber commissioned by the navy that could launch torpedoes as well, filling a similar role to the American B-25. Absolutely absurd, these vehicles had 3700km range at the expense of armament, bomb bay doors, and self-sealing fuel tanks in order to maximize range. The theory was that the Zeros would cover them so that being shot down wouldn't be a problem, but the harsh reality is that if anything with more than four light mgs (or anything heavier like Ma Deuces or 20mm cannons) shot at it, they tended to explode into flame, much earning them the nickname "the Honorable One-Shot Lighter" among allied pilots. Later variants added improved protection and armament at the expense of range, something Japan was not worried about in the latter part of the war. There was even a limited production run that was used to ferry Ohka flying bombs to launch positions, but these sucked ass. Yamamoto infamously was shot down in one of these by USAAF [[P38 Lightning|P-38 fighters]], and you can still visit the wreckage in the jungle to this very day.

== Wunderwaffen ==
Much like the Germans, the Japanese were trying to get their own nuclear weapons program going, though they didn’t make very much progress with it. In fact, when the Americans dropped their own atom bombs, the Japanese initially refused to believe they were real due to the sheer amount of resources needed to refine Uranium. The Japanese also had domestic copies of the Me-163 and Me-262 fighters as well, but lacked the means to put them into production to be able to affect the outcome of the war.

All that said, they also had some unique domestic programs:

* '''MXY-7 Ohka''': the infamous kamikaze airplane, as in being purposely built for the task. An Okha was basically an anti-ship missile... [[Grot Bommer|except is was piloted by a live human being instead of automated systems]]. A wooden airframe encompassing a rocket engine, a basic cockpit an a 1.200kg bomb, it could (and did) ruin the day of any ship it hit. It was mostly used during the battle for Okinawa (with some success), but they were extremely short-ranged (37km) and had to be dropped by Betty bombers... who were more often than not intercepted before they could launch the suicide plane. In typical Japanese [[irony]], 'Ohka' means 'cherry blossom petal', petal that can only fall down once it becomes separated from its tree... Yeah... Pretty poetic, if you can somehow accept the fact [[grimdark|''' there's a goddamn human being committing suicide to crash a 1.200kg bomb on target.''']]
* '''I-400 series''': a series of submarines that were designed as goddamn aircraft carriers. Each one could only carry about three floatplanes. Were deployed on missions but never actually got any use. Were captured and tested on by the US post war. Sunk in Nuke experiments in the 50s and 60s.
* '''Fu-Go Balloon Bombs''': Very basic in concept, these were weather balloons carrying shrapnel and firebombs that would be released after a fixed period by a very rudimentary timer. Launched in Japan, they’d travel the jet stream to America and hopefully cause enough damage and mayhem to disrupt American offensive operations in the Pacific. Completely incapable of any targeting, a few civilians were killed and American authorities clamped down on reports to prevent panic amongst the populace. Ultimately, these were the first truly intercontinental weapons ever made, but with only 300 of 9,000 total balloons being confirmed to have survived the flight to the USA they were a total waste of limited time and resources, even considering how dirt-cheap and simple to produce they were. The balloon bombs did succeed in forcing the Americans to divert a tiny amount of effort to trying to track them and combat potential forest fires.
* '''Atomic Bomb Projects''': There were several projects for uranium enrichment. The Japanese had some good nuclear scientists, but ultimately the familiar limitations of limited industry and resources kept them from success. The Nagasaki group dropped a letter from Luis Alvarez to Ryokichi Sagane in the hope he could explain to the government what they were now facing, although the army didn't give it to him until after the war had ended.

* '''O-I Super Heavy Tank''': Much like its ally,Nazi Germany, The Imperial Japanese Army did have plans and may have made a prototype for a Super Heavy Tank, the concept of which came to light after the defeat of the IJA at Khalkhin Gol, it was commissioned by Hideo Iwakuro and development was started by the Army Engineering Division and later resumed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was to be multi-turret design like those experimented with in the inter-war years. The main armament was to be a type 92 105mm gun, with a type 1 47mm and three 7.7mm type 97 machineguns serving as a secondary in at least four other turrets. Armor was to be up to 200mm and was to be powered by the same engines used in the Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank. The reason this is considered a wunderwaffen is due to the rather lack of a complete history and outlandishness of the design. Documentation does exists of how it was to be designed. A tank track is on display at the JGSDF fiji school. A prototype was rumored to be made but like with some treasure trains of nazi germany or the original amber room it may have been lost and scrapped to history. In the end it remains an obscure tank whos documentation and history was lost in the post-war.

== Other ==

[[Category:History]]

Imperial Japanese Equipment

2023-02-09T14:48:51Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Battleships */

The Empire of Japan: the first East Asian country to successfully industrialize in the late 19th century and from the 1930s to 45 the scourge of the Pacific. While better off than [[Fascist Italian Equipment|Italy]], Japan still lagged behind in a lot of fields and had major raw materials and fuel shortages.

Generally speaking Imperial Japanese gear generally falls into four categories...
*Solid by Great War and Inter-War standards but out of date for WWII.
*Good, if made with some weird logic or specific bit of Min-Maxing in mind.
*Unusable/near unusable garbage due to cost cutting and bizarre moon logic.
*Really rough and dirty stuff cludged together as Japan got a major beat down.

== Small Arms ==
Japan's small arms were generally less advanced than that of other countries at the time; while most countries still relied on bolt-action rifles as their service weapon, many countries still produced decent quantities of SMGs as well as self-loading rifles in more limited numbers. Japan however focused primarily on bolt-action rifles, with fewer automatic weapons to back them up. Weapon quality also suffered later in the war as well.
=== Rifles and SMGs ===
[[Image:Arisaka.jpg|300px|thumb|Left|The Arisaka rifle, not to be confused with rifles made by [[Cyberpunk 2020|Arasaka]] ]]
* '''Type 30 Arisaka''': Japan's old rifle, designed by Arisaka Nariakira and put into service in 1899, it saw use in the Russo-Japanese War and the Great War. Fired a 6.5x50mm bullet. Generally a solid five-shot bolt action for it's day, if a bit underpowered.
**As a side note, the 6.5x50mm Arisaka bullet was better suited for a man-portable automatic weapon than the typical over-charged full rifle rounds of the late 19th/early 20th century, which were made with accuracy and stopping power in mind. The Russian Fedorov Avtomat used them.
* '''Type 38 Arisaka''': Update on the Type-30. Used primarily in WWI, and partially replaced by the Type 99 in WWII. Had utterly shit sights and a weird safety.
* '''Type 99 Arisaka''': Built to replace the Type 30 and Type 38 by firing a 7.7x58mm cartridge. Improvements to the sights also made it the preferred rifle for snipers. That said, the Japanese still had a lot of Type 38s and 6.5x50mm, so it never fully replaced the Type 38. The sniper variant of the Type 99 was one of the more sensible snipers of the war, as the scope was mounted offset so that strip mags could still be inserted, resulting in a faster overall rate of fire. Also had a terrible trigger and the same shit sights from the Type 38.
* '''Type 100 Nambu''': The only production SMG made by the Japanese, and made in more limited numbers compared to other militaries. The Nambu SMG fired the same 8x22mm cartridge as the standard Nambu pistol. It had sideloading magazine much like the earlier MP18 and contemporary Sten; while side-loading magazines had fallen out of favor by this time due to the unbalanced weight, it was a hell of lot better than the other experimental Nambu SMGs that had been made at the time.
* '''Murata Rifle''': The OG of Japanese military rifles, first put into production back in 1880 and used during the Russo-Japanese war. Originally single shot, latter got a tube-mag upgrade. Only used on the home islands for the civilian reservists.
* '''Last Ditch Guns''': In the late war, Japanese manufacturing had been effectively crippled and resources were in short supply, so these so-called "Last Ditch Rifles" were made to arm what military forces remained, as well as civilians for the upcoming invasion of the Japanese home islands. These ranged from simplified versions of the Type 99 to very crude single-shot musket-things to give to civvies.

=== Pistols ===
* '''Type 26 Revolver''': A simple break-action hammerless revolver, chambered in 9mm Japanese revolver. Was invented back in 1893 but was still used in WWII to supplement weapon stockpiles.
* '''Nambu Type 14''': The standard sidearm of the IJA following WWI, replacing the Type 26. Chambered in 8x22mm, it wasn't as strong as contemporary pistols, but was solidly built, and later became the inspiration for the Ruger .22 pistol. General IJA policy at the time was that officers were allowed to buy sidearms with their own money. A common misconception is that the Type 14 was dangerous to shoot, which is only half true. It won't explode, but it will sometimes go off when clearing a jam(more on that below). Another is that the Nambu was a cheaper knockoff of the Luger, which is untrue. The Type 14 is a series of improvements of an earlier weapon commonly called "Grandpa Nambu", a firearm which appeared in production at roughly a similar time to the Luger. While not objectively terrible, it was nothing compared to the Italian Berreta or Browning's 1911. It frequently jammed as well due to the springs not being able to keep up with the bolt, and was compounded by the bullets being angled up. The magazine release is also difficult to clear without adjusting your grip. However to the weapon's credit it had a very light trigger pull and had a trigger guard designed to allow troops wearing gloves to use them without removing said gloves.
* '''Nambu Type 94''': A smaller, lighter-weight pistol compared to the Type 14. It was called the "Surrender Pistol" because it had an exposed sear, meaning that pressing down on the sear could fire the gun without pulling the trigger, so supposedly a Japanese soldier could fake surrendering so that they could shoot their captors up close. While this may have happened on occasion, stories of surrendering troops regularly firing using the sear are probably unsubstantiated, as it takes a considerable amount of force to squeeze the sear hard enough to fire the pistol. The Type 94 was used primarily by officers, army airmen, tankers, and paratroopers due to the lighter weight. Largely it was an army weapon, though there are reports of the Type 94 being used by Navy officers who purchased them with their own money. Even so, it was still a piece of shit. If the safety was not on, the exposed seer could lead to accidental discharge if it was bashed into something and occasionally they blew up in people's hands when fired.

=== Machine Guns ===
[[Image:Japanese Type 11 LMG.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The lengths some people will go for cross-compatibility]]
* '''Type 11 Light Machine gun''': Put into service in 1922, this gun is ''weird''. Basic idea, make a machine gun that could use the 5 round stripper clips used by Arisaka Rifles. That means you don't have to make special magazines for it or ship them to the front, while regular infantry dudes can supply it with bullets in a pinch. So it has this weird hopper magazine that takes up to 6 clips. This also meant putting the stock off to the side. While it worked, it was heavy, awkward and not terribly reliable. The Soviets captured a few and actually made a few prototypes with a copied mechanism before realizing that it was more hassle than it was worth.
* '''Type 96 Light Machinegun''': to address the problems with the Type 11, the Japanese replaced it with a different model that used a top-loading magazine, based on the Czech ZB VZ 26 (which also inspired the Bren Gun).
* '''Type 99 Light Machine Gun''': Visually similar to the Type 96 but chambered in the same 7.7x58mm ammo as the Type 99 Arisaka. Other than that, it and the Type 96 [[Imperial Guard|were one of the few LMGs with a bayonet mount.]]

=== Anti-Tank Infantry Weapons ===
* '''Type 4 70 mm AT rocket launcher''': Introduced in 1944 as an answer to the American Bazooka. Fairly basic but still a reusable item, a rocket was slotted into the front and set up by a simple percussion lock. A few thousand of these were made before the war ended and they saw only limited use. Never the less the PLA copied them for their first generation of RPGs.
* '''Lunge Mine''': Somehow the Japanese figured out a way to banzai charge tanks of all things. Little more than a shape charge attached to a pole, the idea was that a soldier would wait in ambush for an enemy tank to get close enough; the attacker would then charge at the tank’s side armor and strike it with the lunge mine to set it off; of course, at that range the explosion would more than likely kill or maim the user, if they weren’t already killed from trying to charge a friggin tank.
* '''Type 97 Automatic Cannon''': The Japanese version of the AT-rifle concept. Hilarious because they considered it a cannon and less of an AT-Rifle. [[Awesome|Shot 20mm ammo]]. So did the Finnish AT-rifles, but it is more hilarious because Japan also built Yamato(more on that below). What was unique is that they ended up getting used on some Japanese aircraft as a form of cannon. Overall not a terrible weapon, but quickly became outdated and was abandoned after 1200 total units due to the sheer complexity, but it certainly puts a massive dent in the "Japan just built shitty stuff" myth.

=== Misc ===
* '''Type 89 and Type 10 Grenade dischargers, aka "Knee Mortars"''': A nifty little Japanese design, these are basically miniature man-portable mortars. Lightweight (around 5 kg) and nominally requiring only a single soldier to use , they were capable of chucking a hand grenade up to 200 meters away, which came in pretty handy in the often close and cramped firefights in the jungle. As an amusing sidenote, the name 'Knee Mortar' comes from a mistranslation of a Japanese manual on how to use the thing: American soldiers first believed they were supposed to be braced against one's leg due to the curved butt-plate (which in reality is to make it easier to rest against tree roots or rough ground). While the error was quickly discovered (it was obvious from the recoil that bracing it on your leg would break your femur at best), the name stuck.
* '''Guntō''': Bargain Basement knock-off katanas. It was a regulation that all IJA officers were required to carry a sword and to that end a large number of these swords were made. Since Japan was raising a fuck-huge army under the militarists, they dispensed with the old arts of Sword Production and instead produced lots of blades quickly with modern milling/grinding/quenching techniques. For this reason, such 'modern' blades aren't considered traditional swords in Japan and they can be confiscated by the government for recycling. Real traditional katanas were a very rare sight on the battlefields of WWII, for even those officers that came from an old samurai family and possessed a genuine one often left the priceless family heirloom at home and carried a fancied-up Guntō (that would do the job in a pinch anyway) in battle. A lot of the surviving ones today are trophies collected by US Army soldiers and Marines ([[lulz|and often misidentified for genuine katanas by the uninformed]]).
* '''Bayonets''': The IJA stuck bayonets on ''everything''. Not just rifles, but also their LMGs and SMGs. Bayonet charge had fallen out of favor with everyone else, and bayonets were only a last ditch weapon for everyone else, but bayonet fighting was still a mainstay of the IJA and had some success on the Chinese front. Against the Americans, however, who possessed significantly more automatic weapons and Garands, it had been rendered a useless tactic. They did gain some amount of utility when used in conjunction with night attacks, but as the war went on the number of seasoned troops who could pull this off had been drowned, killed in dumbass final charges to redeem their honor, or killed in any other ways the Pacific and Asia had to offer, including but not limited to Malaria, Malnutrition, Naval bombardment, Aerial Bombardment, Flamethrowers, Flamethrowers in Tanks, Indian Crocodiles, Angry Gurkhas and even Angrier Aussies.

== Artillery and AT guns ==

== Vehicles ==

=== Tanks ===
The Tank Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Army was not that great. See, our dear friends had experimented with the tank concept pretty early on, in fact they were the first nation to make a tank with a diesel engine but much like the rest of the world took the wrong lessons from Spain. They also failed to integrate the weapons into divisions properly. The skirmishes with the Soviet Union and visits to Germany in the late 30s pretty much proved that the concept worked different than they thought, and they tried to catch up. However, tanks take a lot of money, labour and equipment to produce and a lot of fuel to operate, and the thing you need to know about the Empire of Japan is that above all else: the army and the navy literally, without question hated each other. So every time the Army want to start a production of tanks they had to compete for steel, man power, a labour and everything else. Given that in China, 1930s era tanks were still quite effective and if war happened with the United States the fleet and air force obvious took priority, the navy generally won these fights. So most of the "good" tanks ended up in the homeland because of the logistics strain, and the far cheaper Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo were far more common by virtue of being lighter and thus less of a bother to send to shitty undeveloped island #273.

Imperial Japanese Tanks were given a designation based on the Imperial Japanese Calendar, which starts counting at 660 BCE.

*'''Type 95 Ha-go/Kyugo''': Named Ha-go after the manufacturer but called the Kyugo by troops, either name is correct, but Ha-go is more familiar to western audiences. Since Japan like most powers considered the idea of the Infantry and Cruiser tank concepts, the 95 was considered as an alternative to the land battleship concept. The 95 could keep up speed and were vastly faster, making them better than contemporary infantry tanks. They ever were cheaper to make, and were cushioned against heat and bumps...[[Grimdark|by asbestos.]] In Burma, one was captured and is still at Bovington, and a contemporary report indicated that there were design elements that were quite good, especially the bogie wheel suspension. However, the 37mm cannon became rapidly outdated, and the machine guns were only ok, being fed by hoppers and not belts, and the commander was cramped and somewhat overwhelmed. Perhaps worst of all was that crews were strongly frowned upon for adding on armor or boxes for ammo, though logs to allow troops to sit on the back were considered acceptable. The turret could also could be [[FAIL|jammed with a knife]], and there are allegations that American .30-06 ammo was able to penetrate the side armor, though these reports are not fully substantiated.
* '''Type 97 Chi-Ha''': The main medium tank of the IJA during WWII. It weighed 14.3 tonnes, a 127kW engine, armor 8-26mm thick and was armed with a 57 mm main gun and a couple of machine guns. When it was introduced in 1936 the Chi-Ha was pretty good and it was often effective in china. When the US came around, not so much.
** '''Type 97 ShinHōtō Chi-Ha''': A Chi-Ha with more armor and a higher velocity 47mm gun better for anti-tank work introduced in 1942.
* '''Type 1 Chi-He''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha with some more armor and a better engine. About 170 were made and they stayed on the Home Islands.
* '''Type 3 Chi-Nu''': Another upgrade on the Chi-Ha, with up to 50mm of armor and a 75mm anti-tank gun. It was designed to take out Shermans in 1943 and put into production in 1944 when Japan was getting a serious ass whoopin by US Bombers. The most advance Japanese Tank to see even limited mass production. Stayed in the Home Islands.
* '''Type 4 Chi-To''': Not an update on the Chi-Ha, but an entirely new vehicle from the ground up. A couple of Prototype vehicles which were broadly speaking in the T-34/Sherman's ballpark. The Cheeto's legacy is mostly preserved by World of Tanks and Alternate History nerds.
* '''Type 5 Chi-Ri''': A single prototype that, had it been completed would have been more heavily armored than a Sherman with a new powerful 75mm gun, plus a 37mm secondary cannon. If the [[M6 Heavy Tank|M6's]] trials are any indication the 37mm would've been superfluous, though it isn't like Japan had access to Aberdeen proving grounds or anything so how would they have known?

=== Halftracks and armored cars ===

== Ships ==
Of all the Axis powers, the Empire of Japan had the strongest navy. Germany had to rebuild its fleet effectively from scratch and Italy... [[Fascist Italian Equipment|was Italy]]. Japan, on the other hand, was THE major ally of Great Britain in East Asia after World War 1 and was "permitted" to expand its fleet up to two-thirds the tonnage of Great Britain and the United States through the 1920s and '30s. As might be expected, the Japanese resented the tonnage restrictions and basically tried to circumvent or design their way around them until they eventually repudiated the naval treaties entirely. What they never really understood was that the naval treaties tied one hand behind the backs of their naval rivals, as both Great Britain and obviously the United States were able to outproduce Japan's shipbuilding industry pretty handily in World War II. The Japanese Navy was extremely effective through 1943, and it was really only after devastating losses at the Battle of Midway, where 2/3rds of their primary carrier fleet were sunk (which they didn't tell the army about for a while), that they began their decline. <s>[[Weeaboo|Good luck trying to look up a Japanese ship name without being bombarded by pictures of anime girls though.]]</s>

=== Aircraft Carriers ===
Japan entered World War II with the most experienced sea aviation force in the world, with a total of 8 carriers constructed before 1940. They soon learned the lessons America and Britain eventually did, that larger carriers are better and that superimposed decks (multiple flight decks stacked like cake tiers) are a bad idea. However, they failed to anticipate the scale of their losses and were unable to complete replacement carrier construction for much of the war. One achievement that highlights this failure was the construction of the carrier ''Shinano,'' a converted ''Yamato''-class battleship and thus the largest aircraft carrier built during the war. Because she was a conversion of a half-finished battleship hull that had been hastily chosen after the disaster of Midway, the IJN couldn't actually convert her to a full fleet carrier and settled for making one of their most expensive assets (in terms of time, money, and resources invested) into a support carrier that would focus on repairing and resupplying the air arms of full fleet carriers that, by the time she was launched in 1944, had all been annihilated. She was sunk less than two months after being launched by an American submarine, and had only ever carried 50 '''Ohka''' flying bombs.

* '''''Akagi''''': An ''Amagi''-class battlecruiser hull converted to an aircraft carrier after Japan entered into the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Akagi was completed with '''three''' flight decks, from which planes could theoretically be launched simultaneously. In practice, the bottom and top decks worked well while the middle flight deck was less than 1/10th the length of the top flight deck and was flanked by two twin 8" gun turrets that prevented the deck's use in battle. The lowest flight deck was also small, being only 1/3rd the length of the uppermost flight deck; both the middle and lower decks, as a result, could only be used for small, light, and increasingly obsolete aircraft. The remaining armament consisted of six casemate 8" guns, as well as six 4.7" guns for anti-ship and anti-aircraft duty. Much like the USS ''Langley'', this early and pioneering design lacked an island for command and control arrangements. Eventually the ship was completely refit to the iconic aircraft carrier design recognized today: all major gun turrets were removed, the top flight deck was extended, and the lower decks were eliminated in favor of increased hanger space for more aircraft. An island bridge allowed for better aircraft coordination and fire control, especially for the new 25mm autocannons that were fitted to the ship. These improvements did have a negative effect on her speed, though she could now theoretically launch 80 aircraft, most of which would be A6M Zeroes.
**''Akagi'' carried a weakness common to most early aircraft carriers: Usually made from converted warships built for entirely different purposes, they possessed the armor specifications of a battleship against direct and indirect gunfire, but none against air attack. Their decks were especially vulnerable to enemy aerial attacks, with the American ''Lexington''-class carriers also sharing this characteristic. ''Akagi'' was sunk by aerial divebombs during the Battle of Midway in 1942, partly because tired ordnance crews left explosives strewn throughout the open hangar and most of her planes were being pumped full of aviation fuel in preparation for a strike against the American carriers.
* '''Sōryū'''

=== Battleships ===
* '''Yamato class''': The single largest series of battleships ever built at 263 meters, and the wet dream of any naval enthusiast, weeaboo, and big gun fan everywhere. But before we get excited, we need to make it clear that no, the Yamato was objectively the wrong ship in the wrong war. The age of the battleship, with rare exception for shore bombardment, was pretty much over. Worse of all Japan was somewhat aware of this, with foremost officers like Yamamoto outright saying Naval airpower is the future, and was proven largely correct as the only engagement Yamato or Musashi(Shinano was another ship of the line that was converted partway through construction) ever participated in where they actually got to fire their weapons at anyone turned out to be Leyte gulf in 1944, and both were sunk by angry American dive and torpedo bombers by 1945.
** With that boring disclaimer out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes. The thing had nine 480mm cannons and was housed in a turret that [[Awesome|weighed as much as a small destroyer.]] On top of that, each turret could fire AA shells that would explode after a time fuse delay, and the few test photographs we have show they were a sight to behold, though US pilots reported not being too afraid of them, and they tended to damage the barrels. The class had an incredible number of medium and light weapons that could be brought to bear against lighter targets and fighters as well, with as many as 100 of these lighter weapons, though the 25mm autocannons were reportedly some of the worst in the war. There were some additional 13mm machine guns thrown on the bridge for good measure, but this was more like a desperate afterthought than a concerted effort to add additional AA protection. Still, a Yamato could still cause a small Titan or knight to sweat a little, because those main armaments are utterly insane.
** Yamato had absolutely insane 410-650mm armor in some places, making her an armored behemoth. However, it is important to remember that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|Japanese steel historically sucks.]] The torpedo defense system was hoped to protect the ships, but was often troublesome and thus never really as effective as hoped. A prime example of this is when an American submarine hit Yamato and forced her to return to port for repairs, and the outright sinking of the Shinano by the USS Archerfish, a Yamato modified to be a "carrier support vessel".
** However all this really doesn't matter, because the Americans threw out the Iowa-class in 1943 and they were objectively the best battleships ever built. While the guns were smaller and far less armored, they were faster, technologically more advanced with radar systems to help gun tracking and targeting, and built with far better quality steel and AA guns. While one ''could'' be autistic and debate the dozens of variables about which one would cause the other to succeed, the reality is you can't just compare the two in a vacuum in a ship on ship engagement. But given that the Iowas tended to have better speed and range, at a strategic level you could argue that the Iowas win purely on those factors because oceans tend to be big so range is kinda important. There's also the fact that there were twice as many Iowas as there were Yamatos, so [[M4 Sherman|any comparison should be taking this into account]].

* '''Nagato class''': The Nagatos were two dreadnought class vessels that served as the heaviest warships in the IJN until the arrival of the Yamatos. They came as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, and were part of a massive armament effort in light of the development of the HMS Dreadnought. The class was armed with four twin 16" turrets and twenty casemate 5" cannons for dealing with lighter vessels and four 3" guns. They copied American belt armor designs that allowed for additional speed that made them fast for the time. Modernization added new mgs and 25mm cannons, as well as bulges for anti-torpedo duties and equipment replacement. However the class saw relatively little service throughout the war.
** Nagato's sister ship Mutsu saw little service and coincidentally blew up and sank in harbor. The Government covered up the details so little is known to this day, but the best guess we have is that a fire got out of control and the ammo rolled a one on it's existence save. As a side-note, Mutsu was slated to be scrapped per the Washington Treaty, but internal political considerations (made a show of it being partially funded by schoolchildren' donations) made that unacceptable for Japan, so they conceded for US and UK to get extra battleships of their own to keep the ratio on.
** Nagato herself saw very little service as well, despite being the flagship of the Pearl Harbor attacks. She fought the Americans in a few battles, but was bombed and forced to return to Japan. She then stayed in harbor as a AA gun as there wasn't enough material to get her into fighting condition again. After the war the Americans captured her and tested nukes on her, before ultimately letting her capsize. If nothing else, Nagato gets credit where it is due: The thing lasted longer than the Yamato and actually survived to be captured by the Americans, rather than being sunk by a squijillion [[Angry Marines|angry pilots]] still pissed off about the boats that they blew up. . .And American's then promptly blew it up, twice: with Atomic Bombs in the operation Crossroad Tests. (it survived the first one). Amusingly it's radiation has faded enough to seemingly being a popular diving site.

* '''Kongo class''': The Kongo class is well known among naval combat nerds for being the ones that actually showed up and did the fighting, unlike the Yamatos. Construction of the IJN Kongo took place in Britain, but the remainder of these ships were built in Japan. Initially the primary armament was was eight 14" guns mounted in twin turrets, sixteen casemate 6" guns, as well as a token armament of four 3" guns. In addition the ship had eight torpedo tubes (four per side). The side armor was comparatively thin to the bridge, which had a whopping 355mm of armor compared to the rest of the ship having 203mm maximum belt armor. The Kongo class served quietly in WWI and were forced into training roles to conform with the Washington Naval treaty. A series of innovations during the interwar period included aircraft launchers, additional armor, a new propulsion system, and improvements and upgrades to the main and secondary armaments. This also included the installation of modern hardware like radio systems, searchlights, and fire control systems.
** The Kongos served well and escorted convoys and aircraft carriers during the early conflict. A recurring problem for the class was once an enemy got close, all that armor didn't seem to do any good when the Americans started firing point blank into them. Half the class was sunk in engagements with other enemy ships at Guadalcanal, performing well during combat. Kongo would survive Leyte gulf until being unceremoniously demolished by American submarine USS Sealion. The last vessel of the class to fall, the Shinano, was sunk in 1945 by carrier aircraft while in harbor in Kure. Ironic that holdovers from WWI served with more distinction and service than the supposed mightiest battleships ever built.
** There is some debate as to if the Kongos were "fast battleships" or "battlecruisers". While there is evidence to suggest the latter, they were classified as such in the IJN so that is why they are here. But for all intents and purposes they were closer to battlecruisers than true battleships.

=== Cruisers ===
The cruisers of the IJN were heavily influenced by the Battle of Port Arthur, with a preference for torpedo armed cruisers. Even within the IJN this policy was not without its detractors due to the risks of torpedo tactics. In practice, these torpedoes rarely contributed and were a frequent liability, with several cruisers being taken out of action due to their torpedoes being hit. Otherwise, Japan's cruiser force was generally well built but lacked modern fire control.

*'''Amagi Class''': A battlecruiser class designed to capitalize on the new naval wartime technologies that emerged with the introduction of Dreadnought class warships and other post-WWI innovations. The intended armament was to be 5 twin 400mm cannons as the primary armaments, 16 5.5" casemate cannons, six 4.6" flak cannons, and 8 24" torpedo tubes. The armor was reduced to increase speed, and the overall purpose was to use them as cost effective battleships in support of [[Stellaris|Destroyer swarms]]. We will never really know how they performed, though two of the class were slated to be converted into Aircraft carriers, though only one would ever be completed as an aircraft carrier, the above mentioned Akagi.

=== Destroyers ===

Japanese destroyer construction after the Washington Naval Treaty emphasized fleet destroyers as a way to bulk out their navy while appearing to conform to the treaty. A series of classes were developed in the 20's and 30's but all were produced in small batches of no more than a couple dozen each. The IJN never settled on a common design for mass production like the USN did with the Fletcher. Throughout the 30's they had the A design, which was for general fleet support, the B design which was for carrier escort and AA, and the C class which would support battlefleets with torpedoes and cannons.

* '''Fubuki''': A class of Destroyers were developed as a direct response to the Washington Naval treaty. They earned the Fubuki nickname long after they had been built. In short, they were designed to bring heavy dakka to the furthest possible distance as quickly as possible, with the heaviest armor they could get away with. They carried a whopping nine 24" torpedoes as well as some 5" cannons and some mgs, with the 5" cannons acting as AA guns as well as anti-ship weapons. 24 were built throughout the class, with only two surviving the war.
** The Type II subclass were generally considered decent for their armament, but the Type III subclass had better power efficiency. The first ten ships were the Type I class and were particularly bad, though later ships improved on these flaws. Overall the Type III was preferred and many of the improvements found on them were given to the Type II class of ships.
** The Fubukis suffered from being too light in weight and AA armament: the entire class had to have rebuilds to make them better at sea performance, and later in the war those lack of AA weapons bit them in the ass hard: it became so desperate that the rear primary turret was replaced with 25mm aa guns. However, they still served well in spite of these flaws, and was the class of ship responsible for stranding JFK at sea.
* '''Shimakaze''': A planned class of destroyers that roughly fills the "C-class" of destroyers starting and ending with the namesake Shimakaze. The Shimakaze needed to be as fast as greased lightning and were armed with three 5" dual purpose cannons and three quintuple torpedo launchers using the infamous Type 93 long range torpedoes. Anti-aircraft guns...well, they were there, just not in quantity. The class was considered too expensive for general production, and Shimakaze herself saw very limited service in the war until being sunk while escorting some troop transports.

== Airplanes ==
Contrary to American propaganda, poorly made history documentaries, or just outright misunderstanding Japanese air doctrine, Japanese aviation was pretty much some of the finest on earth at the time. See, when your empire is built upon island chains, naval and air supremacy kinda become very important. As a result Japanese aircraft, while very poorly armoured (especially by American standards) and not quite as heavily armed compared to the allies, were nevertheless actually very well built, just in a very different way. In gamer's terms (since we are on /tg/), the Japanese airplanes were heavily [[min-max]]xed for their intended role, relying on superior training and coordination between different types to get maximal efficiency out of the whole lot. This went swimmingly for them early in the war... but ended up in catastrophe after both attrition and lack of resources took their toll on both the quality of aircrew and machines alike.

Another quirk of Japanese military aviation had to do with internal bickering between the Navy and Army. In short, there was no Imperial Japanese Air Force, both the Navy and the Army kept their own air-wings and mostly they each had their own models of planes.

Also quick note about the "Kamikaze" or 'special attack force' strikes. The reason those strikes were even considered is that by the time, 1944. . . [[Grim and dark|attacking a US naval task by air was already suicide.]] The sheer amount of Dakka that a US task group could out put over a thousand pounds of bullets into the air, per minute, ontop of the introduction of proximate fuzes making attacking anyway, well as said already suicide. So many as well go for a one way trip as it slightly increases your odds of something getting through.
===Fighters===
* '''Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"''': The less iconic, but still just as important naval aviation fighter designed by the same man who would develop the Zero: Jiro Horikoshi. Claudes were exclusively Navy aircraft that far excelled navy expectations, and helped end biplanes in IJN aviation service on Aircraft carriers. Early armament was two humble mgs, but variants after the A5M1a incorporated two 20mm Oerlikon cannons. Claudes were largely replaced by the Zero by the time the war broke out, but some were used in Kamikaze attacks in the latter part of the war. The design was so good that the IJA took a break from the dick slapping contest they had with the Navy to consider it, though they felt the maneuverability was lacking. Japanese aviators disliked closed cockpit designs on the A5M because they hindered visibility, so for the most part the aircraft were open topped, with all the positives and negatives that implied.
* '''Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"''': The Zero was the iconic aircraft of the war for Japan and served in every theatre, though it was first and foremost a Navy Fighter. It was designed so that a well trained pilot could fully utilize the aircraft and outmatch most anything in the world at the time. It was even good enough that the basic airframe (made from high-end alumuminum alloys and with revolutionary structures such as smoothed rivets) could be recycled for carrier use with minor modifications. This did have the downside of sometimes removing radios for increased range or due to them just not working, and by late war America and Britain started topping them with better armored and easier to fly designs. However, bear in mind that the Zero could achieve ranges of 1,870 km and was still able to accept upgrades until the end of the war, a feat not shared by every fighter.
* '''Nakajima Ki-84 "Frank"''': An Army Fighter put into service in 1944 and competitive with any other piston plane of the late war. A good design which suffered as Japanese Industry was hit hard by bombing and increasingly tight materials shortages.
* '''Kyushu J7W Shinden''': A high speed (750kph) short range prototype interceptor made in the last days of the war. Notably it had a pusher prop in the back and four 30mm cannons in the nose. Designed for the express purpose of ruining the day of those pesky American B-29's bombing the everloving shit out of Japan, but never saw more than a couple of test flights.
* '''Nakajima Kikka''': A prototype Jet Fighter built by the IJN, similar in general shape to the ME 262 (albeit slimmer and lankier) with ten of them being built. It first flew on August 7th 1945, eight days before Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Here more as credit to Japanese Engineers than anything.

===Bombers===
*'''Nakajima B5N "Kate"''': A torpedo and tactical bomber used by the navy and army starting in 1937. The B5N was one of the more advanced designs in the world at the time and was responsible for the sinking of Lexington and Hornet, and contributed to the sinking of the Yorktown. Possessing an impressive range of 1992 kilometers, a decent top speed of over 300kph and carrying an advanced long range torpedo they were able to launch from a further distance than equivalent weapons from other nations (or alternatively three 250kg bombs); they were a force to be reckoned with early into the war. But by 1943 fighter superiority was being steadily eroded from Japan, so the lack of defensive armament and armor started to bite the Japanese hard in the butt and even an improved version called the B6N "Jill" made to keep the design relevant couldn't invert the tendency.
*'''Mitsubishi G4M "Betty"''': A Bomber commissioned by the navy that could launch torpedoes as well, filling a similar role to the American B-25. Absolutely absurd, these vehicles had 3700km range at the expense of armament, bomb bay doors, and self-sealing fuel tanks in order to maximize range. The theory was that the Zeros would cover them so that being shot down wouldn't be a problem, but the harsh reality is that if anything with more than four light mgs (or anything heavier like Ma Deuces or 20mm cannons) shot at it, they tended to explode into flame, much earning them the nickname "the Honorable One-Shot Lighter" among allied pilots. Later variants added improved protection and armament at the expense of range, something Japan was not worried about in the latter part of the war. There was even a limited production run that was used to ferry Ohka flying bombs to launch positions, but these sucked ass. Yamamoto infamously was shot down in one of these by USAAF [[P38 Lightning|P-38 fighters]], and you can still visit the wreckage in the jungle to this very day.

== Wunderwaffen ==
Much like the Germans, the Japanese were trying to get their own nuclear weapons program going, though they didn’t make very much progress with it. In fact, when the Americans dropped their own atom bombs, the Japanese initially refused to believe they were real due to the sheer amount of resources needed to refine Uranium. The Japanese also had domestic copies of the Me-163 and Me-262 fighters as well, but lacked the means to put them into production to be able to affect the outcome of the war.

All that said, they also had some unique domestic programs:

* '''MXY-7 Ohka''': the infamous kamikaze airplane, as in being purposely built for the task. An Okha was basically an anti-ship missile... [[Grot Bommer|except is was piloted by a live human being instead of automated systems]]. A wooden airframe encompassing a rocket engine, a basic cockpit an a 1.200kg bomb, it could (and did) ruin the day of any ship it hit. It was mostly used during the battle for Okinawa (with some success), but they were extremely short-ranged (37km) and had to be dropped by Betty bombers... who were more often than not intercepted before they could launch the suicide plane. In typical Japanese [[irony]], 'Ohka' means 'cherry blossom petal', petal that can only fall down once it becomes separated from its tree... Yeah... Pretty poetic, if you can somehow accept the fact [[grimdark|''' there's a goddamn human being committing suicide to crash a 1.200kg bomb on target.''']]
* '''I-400 series''': a series of submarines that were designed as goddamn aircraft carriers. Each one could only carry about three floatplanes. Were deployed on missions but never actually got any use. Were captured and tested on by the US post war. Sunk in Nuke experiments in the 50s and 60s.
* '''Fu-Go Balloon Bombs''': Very basic in concept, these were weather balloons carrying shrapnel and firebombs that would be released after a fixed period by a very rudimentary timer. Launched in Japan, they’d travel the jet stream to America and hopefully cause enough damage and mayhem to disrupt American offensive operations in the Pacific. Completely incapable of any targeting, a few civilians were killed and American authorities clamped down on reports to prevent panic amongst the populace. Ultimately, these were the first truly intercontinental weapons ever made, but with only 300 of 9,000 total balloons being confirmed to have survived the flight to the USA they were a total waste of limited time and resources, even considering how dirt-cheap and simple to produce they were. The balloon bombs did succeed in forcing the Americans to divert a tiny amount of effort to trying to track them and combat potential forest fires.
* '''Atomic Bomb Projects''': There were several projects for uranium enrichment. The Japanese had some good nuclear scientists, but ultimately the familiar limitations of limited industry and resources kept them from success. The Nagasaki group dropped a letter from Luis Alvarez to Ryokichi Sagane in the hope he could explain to the government what they were now facing, although the army didn't give it to him until after the war had ended.

* '''O-I Super Heavy Tank''': Much like its ally,Nazi Germany, The Imperial Japanese Army did have plans and may have made a prototype for a Super Heavy Tank, the concept of which came to light after the defeat of the IJA at Khalkhin Gol, it was commissioned by Hideo Iwakuro and development was started by the Army Engineering Division and later resumed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was to be multi-turret design like those experimented with in the inter-war years. The main armament was to be a type 92 105mm gun, with a type 1 47mm and three 7.7mm type 97 machineguns serving as a secondary in at least four other turrets. Armor was to be up to 200mm and was to be powered by the same engines used in the Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank. The reason this is considered a wunderwaffen is due to the rather lack of a complete history and outlandishness of the design. Documentation does exists of how it was to be designed. A tank track is on display at the JGSDF fiji school. A prototype was rumored to be made but like with some treasure trains of nazi germany or the original amber room it may have been lost and scrapped to history. In the end it remains an obscure tank whos documentation and history was lost in the post-war.

== Other ==

[[Category:History]]

Dinosaur

2023-02-09T14:41:47Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Gallery */

{{awesome}}
[[Image:Tyrannosaurus.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A ''Tyrannosaurus rex''! (Now inaccurate, the real thing was scaly in light of new research.)]]
{{Topquote| Birds aren't descended from dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. Which means that the fastest animal alive today is a small carnivorous dinosaur, Falco peregrinus. It preys mainly on other dinosaurs, which it strikes and kills in midair with its claws. This is a good world.|XKCD 1211}}
{{Topquote| Holy fucking shit, it's a dinosaur! Jesus Christ! What the fuck!? Oh my fucking god, fucking dinosaurs, holy shit. What the fuuuuuuck!?|Anthem of the fucking dinosaurs.}}
'''Dinosaurs''' are a category of creatures of the clade Dinosauria, which first emerged around 250 million years ago, in the Triassic period. Assuming some matters regarding carbon dating working on them, some biological material found, and bones that aren’t fossilized doesn’t make you afraid to go into the woods. Generally these creatures have been classified as reptiles, with their name itself meaning "terrible" (deino) "lizard" (sauros), since their discovery and cataloging by modern science.
However due to recent discoveries, [[Skub|it created a large divide in the Paleontology community on whether they should still be classified as inherently reptile or something completely new.]]

Dinosaurs came to be the dominant form of large, scaly (or feathery), land dwelling life forms across all of earth's major continents through the Jurassic and Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs were, and are, the biggest animals ever to live on the planet, [[Skub|however, what counts as THE biggest is often up in debate by the scientific community,]] as this [[RAGE|usually this ends in flamewars between Sauropod-Fanboys and Cetacean-Fanboys]] (yes, they do exist, kind of like the relationship between [[Star Wars]] fanboys and [[Star Trek]] fanboys), but the more neutral agreement is Sauropods=Land and Whales=Ocean.

They are regarded as [[Fist of the North Star|awesome]] for several reasons....
*They appeal to the sensational because they're "monsters", but unlike most, they actually DID exist.
*It's also been postulated that dinosaurs were the inspiration for [[Dragon|dragons]] with people discovering dinosaur bones and making up stories about them, though that is debatable.
*Quite a few of the more massive dinosaurs were larger (as in '''much''' larger) then the biggest living land mammal, the African Elephant. In fact, the ''Paraceratherium orgosensis'' (a relative to the direct ancestor to the modern Rhinoceros) which was the largest land mammal to have ever existed, would be classified as "small-sized" by sauropod standards.
*The largest sauropods are so colossal that they could be classified as [[CoDzilla|"Kaiju-Size"]] and could furthermore cause mini-earthquakes and create sonic booms with their tails.
*A posited idea is that if the asteroid did not hit Earth, then it would be the [[Lizardmen|''Troodontidae'']] (a family of intelligent non-avian dinosaur, which resembled ''Velociraptor'') that would be building civilizations and spaceships rather than humans.
*Not even the [[Angry Marines]] will '''DARE''' fuck with these things. They [[rage]] all the time, but they're not ''that'' stubbornly, angrily boneheaded.
*[[Miniatures]] are easily and cheaply obtained. This is why they got into D&D in the first place (see down).

[[Tl;dr|Tl;dr,]] Dinosaurs are '''NOT''' to be fucked with.
[[Image:Dinosaur.jpg|thumb|right|A modern day dinosaur of the theropod lineage]]
Most lines of dinosaur were extinguished during the Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction Event some 66 million years ago because of [[Rocks fall, everyone dies|some random space rock]] that came in out of nowhere. Most scientists actually do consider birds the only surviving branch of dinosaurs (that's right, its fair to say that '''all birds everywhere are living dinosaurs'''). The other close surviving relatives of dinosaurs are the crocodiles, a different branch of the archosaur family that carries on its traditions of eating whatever they want and [[Lizardfolk|giving no fucks about mammals]]. Contrary to popular belief, the Komodo dragon, a species of monitor lizard, wasn't descended from dinosaurs. It is, however, somewhat closely related to creatures commonly mistaken for dinosaurs - Mosasaurs.

==Why Dinosaurs are Relevant to /tg/==
* They're completely [[awesome]].
* They've existed as monsters to slay since the early days of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The [[Eberron]] setting has them as animal companions for [[Halflings]].
* Dinosaurs are not uncommon in the kind of pulp fantasy Gygax was inspired by, often surviving into the modern day in a "Lost World".
* Cavalry mounts for [[Exodite]] [[Eldar]] in Warhammer 40k.
* Cavalry mounts, battling rams, tanks, lawnmower for [[Lizardmen]] in WHFB. Also the primary native wildlife of Lustria.
** Cavalry mounts for [[Dark Elves|edgy and dark pointy ear fellows]] in WHFB.
* They are literary dragon without wings and the ability to spew flame.
** Ok, some of them can fly, but that's even more awesome.
*[[Tarrasque]]
* In [[Magic: The Gathering]], dinos were originally in the game, but were then retroactively treated as either lizards or beasts depending on the printing until [[Ixalan]] came along and gave us legitimate dinosaurs. Since then, all cards that depict dinosaurs have been errataed to have the Dinosaur creature type.

== Things people think are dinosaurs, but are not: ==
Some people think of dinosaur as any large extinct prehistoric reptile and tend to lump a bunch of non dinosaurs into the dinosaur category. These include...

*Pterosaurs: These flying archosaurs had among their ranks the largest flying creatures that ever lived and were the closest clade to dinosaurs, both of which being descended from the Archosaurs, but they are not actually dinosaurs themselves. And anyone who says different needs to be introduced to the K-T asteroid there and then.
**On a similar note crocodiles are also not dinosaurs despite also being descended from the Archosaurs, in fact Crocodilias form the entire second branch of the Archosaur tree and thus they are the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs, including the birds of all things.
*Marine Reptiles: During the Mesozoic era there were a variety of large marine reptiles, including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, Pliosaurs, Mosasaurs and various other sea beasties. As these creatures are big, reptillian, and look like dinosaurs, the general public often lumps them in as dinosaurs. In truth these are a number of separate families that took to the sea.
*Synapsids: Before the dinosaurs really took off as the dominant form of life during the late Triassic period, the Synapsids, sometimes known as "mammal-like reptiles" were king. One member of this clade is ''Dimetrodon'' or "that fin-back lizard thing' in the Land Before Time and those sets of dinosaur toys your mom bought you when you were a kid". You can tell they're not dinosaurs (and this is a very loose definition) thanks to an extra opening in the skull behind the eye where jaw muscles attached and later became the Sphenoid bone which sits behind the eyes, specialized teeth including canine teeth, among many other distinguishing traits. As the name suggests these guys became the early mammals which turned into us, in fact put a finger behind your eye and one behind your check bone. If you Squeeze that ridge of bone you feel is your own Sphenoid. It's unknown at what point they began to give birth to live young and lactate, although since fur was an extremely late adaptation its generally thought there was a point where something that looked like a dinosaur had lizard <strike>tits</strike> teats.
*Not Quite Dinosaurs: A bit more obscure, but worth a mention. When dinosaurs showed up on the scene in the Triassic Period, they were not alone. A wide variety of large reptiles emerged and evolved alongside them. Among these were other Archosaurs, which included several close relatives to dinosaurs and creatures more closely related to modern crocodiles such as Postosuchus which had some very dinosaurian features. The Triassic Period ended with an extinction event which did in most of these lineages, leaving the Dinosaurs, Crocodilians and Pterosaurs the last of these big reptiles standing.

<center><gallery>
Image:Hatzi.jpg|Hatzegopteryx, the largest living thing that could ever fly.
Image:Mosasaur.jpg|Mosasaur, a giant predatory monitor lizard from the time when sea monsters were real.
image:Gorgonopsid.jpg|Gorgonopsid, closer to you than a dinosaur but not a relative you'd invite over for tea.
</gallery></center>

==Major groups of dinosaurs==
Prepare for '''SCIENCE.''' The major two types of dinosaur are divided according to the shape of their hip bone.

===Saurischia===
The "lizard-hipped" dinosaurs. Ironically, birds are part of Saurischia.

====Theropoda====
*Easy name: Meat-eaters
*Well known members: ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Gallimimus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Deinocheirus'', ''Yi'', ''Gypaetus'', ''Majungasaurus''

You know them well. The hunters of the prehistoric world. Theropods were likely the first group of dinosaurs to arise, and diversified quite a lot. Also the only group to survive the asteroid impact (and subsequent climate change). The loss of these awe- inspiring hunters was one of the only things to make [[Khorne]] sad. '''EVER'''. Then he [[RAGE]]D because there were no [[Psykers]] around at the time, so he couldn't have sent his [[Daemon]]s to capture the Theropod dinosaurs and make them his servants.

=====Therizinosauria=====
*Easy name: The Weird Ones
*Well known members: ''Therizinosaurus'',
*Awesome obscure members: They're all obscure

Therizinosaurus are to theropods what pandas are to normal bears. They used to be carnivores, now they eat plants, which gives them a weird mish-mash of features. While part of the Theropod clade they are too weird not to be worth a mention all on their own. They are most well known for having massive claws, in fact ''Therizinosaurus'' means ''scythe lizard''. While they could be used to manipulate plants they could also have used for defense, and again they are massive.

=====Avialae=====
*Easy name: Birds/Proto-birds
*Well known members: ''Archaeopteryx'',''Microraptor'', ''Birds''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Rahonavis'',''Scansoriopterygidae'', ''The Terror birds''

At this point it's been basically confirmed that birds=dinosaurs and Avialae are the group that not only became birds, it also includes them. While many of the species that actually lived in the age of dinosaurs were nothing impressive, most being smallish and likely being insectivore, birds never 'forgot' how to be dinosaurs and for a long time large flightless birds were the dominate land predator of South America. These species are known informally as "The Terror Birds".

====Sauropoda====
*Easy name: Long-necks
*Well known members: ''Apatosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Diplodocus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Amargasaurus'', ''Shunosaurus'', ''Dreadnoughtus''

The other most well-known group. Titans with nothing on their minds other than eating. Notable for having the largest animals in the history of the planet (longer than whales, but not nearly as heavy). Could, though, rear up on their hind legs (if those legs were the longer of the two pairs), and come down HARD to crush the LIVING FUCK out of ANYTHING, '''ANYTHING''' underneath. In theory anyway they could just end up shattering there legs into a thousand pieces, there's a good reason why Elephants can't jump after all. What is not in doubt is that being hit by one of there tails would be like being bitch slapped by Khorne him self, herbivore or not, even a T-Rex feel that in the morning. In fact we have a Allosaurus fossil with a broken jaw that could have come from such an impact, we don't (nor can we ever) know for sure but not impossible.

===Ornithischia===
The "bird-hipped" dinosaurs. Might be weird that birds aren't in this group, but the terms were coined in the 1800s, so what can ya do.

====Thyreophora====
*Easy name: Armored Dudes
*Well known members: ''Stegosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus'', ''Euoplocephalus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Polacanthus'', ''Sauropelta'', ''Dacentrurus''

Armor, man. These guys were walking tanks with rows of bony armor, or spikes or plates, with many species having weaponized tails which (among the Stegosauridae family) are known informally as Thagomizers after a Gary Larson Far Side Cartoon. Yes really. There is much skub about whether their armored plates were for defense or thermoregulation (ie, heat sinks). Also notable because some scientists believe that they had [http://i.imgur.com/4KsLhRI.jpg| colossal, sideways dongs.] Seriously, how the hell else could they bone? Can't do normal fucking with those spikes in the way...

====Ornithopoda====
*Easy name: Duck Bills
*Well known members: ''Iguanodon'', ''Parasaurolophus'', ''Edmontosaurus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Kulindadromeus'', ''Shangtungosaurus'', ''Tsintaosaurus''

Your standard "dino plant-eaters", though some theorize they could have actually been quite aggressive, which considering how many people are killed by plant eating hippos and elephants is quite probable.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBU6zfI1b0U| We also actually know what one type sounded like!]

====Marginocephalia====
*Easy name: Horned Faces
*Well known members: ''Triceratops'', ''Protoceratops'', ''Pachycephalosaurus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Diabloceratops'', ''Einosaurus'', ''Nasutoceratops''

Probably the last major group to arise. All originally bipedal, but some grew too massive for that. Also had a weird convergent evolution with birds, they had straight-up beaks. Also made fuck-awesome battering rams or goring beasts in battle. Like, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY OR I WILL CRUSH YOU UNDER 9 TONS OF MOVING MUSCLE AND SPEAR YOU LIKE A FISH fuck-awesome.

==/tg/ Dinosaur Trivia==
* [[Gary Gygax]] used a set of cheap "Prehistoric Animals" toys that could commonly be found in supermarkets in the 1970's as monsters during the creation of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The [[Owlbear]], [[Rust Monster]], and [[Bulette]] are all based off cheaply made Hong Kong plastic versions of dinosaurs.
* Some dinosaurs had feathers. The only ones who didn't were the oldest, such as Plateosaurus, and as a result didn't survive to see poofy dinos. Whether this is adorably awesome or ruins your childhood is subjective. [https://twitter.com/WobblyWorks/status/1621585656182104066 (but really it's awesome)]
* The famous ''Velociraptor'' was the size of a turkey, and likely hunted similarly to wolves. Although some would put anything that looks similar under the name "Velociraptor", the actual family is called Dromaeosauridae, or simply Raptors, of which Velociraptor is only one member (other genera include ''Pyroraptor'', ''Microraptor'', and ''Utahraptor'').
* Some scientists believe that a relative of the ''Velociraptor'' called the ''Troodon'' may have used tools (not too surprising, some animals use tools today; tools as in "some birds, bugs and mammals use sticks and rocks to help them crack open or dig out their food"), and possibly had the intelligence of modern crows (for reference the American Crow is believed to be one somewhere in the top five most intelligent animals on Earth) and as we know: birds are dinosaurs. A small handful of scientists believe that had it not gone extinct likely due to lack of food, it could have evolved to become a [[Lizardmen|human-like species.]]
* As described above, scientists consider birds to be dinosaurs. As a result their Clade, ''Avialae'', are the dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene Mass Extinction Event. Its a subgroup of Theropods, meaning those tiny bastards that wake you up at 6:00 am and the one who died to become your lunch sandwich are all cousins to the T-REX.
**As an aside this also means that scientists agree on two things regarding the Chicxulub Impact, the asteroid that struck the earth 65 Million years, first that it was the most dangerous extraterrestrial impact in earth's history since life began, and two that this event hold the record for the most amount of birds killed with a single stone.
* Jurassic Park style resurrection (discover intact dinosaur DNA, inject into frogs, create hermaphrodite dinosaurs) may not be possible due to actual surviving DNA not being likely to still exist. Unlike mammoths and early humans who died in frozen temperatures and were naturally preserved like a big freezer and not long ago comparatively, dinosaurs went extinct in a hot climate with 66 million years to decay. Technically we don't find dinosaur bones, we find minerals which took the place of bones, remember that DM's if you ever find a necromancer in a natural history museum! However, scientists at Ivy League schools such as Yale and Harvard as well as research funded by the Chinese government have been progressing towards discovering existing ancient DNA in living birds then combining genes to create something that resembles a dinosaur (the process is similar to the creation of Glofish, created by using SCIENCE to hybridize jellyfish and Zebra Fish into an abomination that will probably destroy humanity).
*Dinosaurs lived on this planet for 177 million (1.7*10^8) years. 40k takes place in the 41st millennium. Even in the far, far future humanity has only existed for only about 2.25% as long as the dinosaurs had.
*Despite being real creatures that once existed there is substantial room for '[[Your Dudes]]' when you imagine dinosaurs. You want to imagine Velociraptors building mating structures like bowerbirds? Go for it! Triceratops forming herds like buffalo to fend of T-Rex horns out? Not impossible! Protoceratops in trees? Anatomy suggest otherwise but hay, goats do it, So ya! Dinosaurs using tools? Hell some scientist things that New Caledonian crows, (an actual dinosuar!) may qualify for being in the stone age! We are currently living in the most exciting time for paleontology, as all kinds of old assumptions are being questioned and thrown out. We are a far cry away from the days of the slow lumbering, stupid crystal palace dinosaurs, and Dinosaurs are not just more interesting, they are weirder than they have ever been before.
*A lot of the skills used in the modeling and painting aspects of the wargaming hobby are the same skills used in preparing fossils. These include filling gaps with putty (used to fill gaps/cracks in bone), cleaning mold lines or filing down other unwanted plastic/resin (similar to removing matrix from a bone), and painting (painting casts of bones). If you REALLY love dinosaurs, hone your hobbying skills and volunteer at a museum. /a vertebrate paleontologist

==Gallery==
As a quick note: while the following gallery is of D&D monster images it still can give you a sort of snapshot of our evolving view of dinosaurs. Take for example the last four images of more modern path finder images as compared to the rest of the tail dragging doofious who look like they came straight out of the crystal Palace.
<gallery>
tyranosaurus monster card.jpg|Tyrannosaur. 1e,
triceratops monster card.jpg|Triceratops. 1e
allosaurus MC3.jpg|Allosaur. 2e
anklyosaurus MC3.jpg
brontosaurus MC3.jpg
camptosaurus MC3.jpg
ceratosaurus MC3.jpg
compsognathus MC3.jpg
deinonychus MC3.jpg
dimetrodon MC3.jpg|day 45: they still do not realize I am not a dinosaur.
euparkeria MC3.jpg
gorgosaurus MC3.jpg
iguanodon MC3.jpg
lambeosaurus MC3.jpg
megalosaurus MC3.jpg
monoclonius MC3.jpg
nothosaurus MC3.jpg
pleisiosaurus MC3.jpg
pteranodon MC3.jpg
stegosaurus MC3.jpg
styracosaurus MC3.jpg
tanystropheus MC3.jpg
tennodontosaurus MC3.jpg
trachodon MC3.jpg
triceratops MC3.jpg
tyrannosaurus MC3.jpg
brontosaurus MCAV2.jpg
ceratosaurus MCAV2.jpg
compsognathus MCAV2.jpg
dimetrodon MCAV2.jpg
euparkeria MCAV2.jpg
gorgosaurus MCAV2.jpg
iguanodon MCAV2.jpg
monoclonius MCAV2.jpg
mosasaurus MCAV2.jpg
nothosaurus MCAV2.jpg
plateosaurus MCAV2.jpg
plesiosaurus MCAV2.jpg
struthiomimus MCAV2.jpg
tanystropheus MCAV2.jpg
temnodontosaurus MCAV2.jpg
teratosaurus MCAV2.jpg
trachodon MCAV2.jpg
dinosaur MM 2e.png|Tyrannosaur and Triceratops. 2e
utahraptor Dungeon 54.jpg|Utahraptor. [[Dungeon Magazine]] #54
Dinosaur MCAV2.jpg|Tyrannosaur. 2e
anklyosaurus B1.png|Anklyosaur PF
deinonychus B1.png|Deinonychus PF
stegosaurus B1.png|Stegosaur PF
tyrannosaurus B1.png|Tyrannosaur PF
</gallery>

== See Also ==
*[[Great Knarloc]] - basically [[Kroot]] Dinosaurs.
*[[Squiggoth]] - [[Fungus|fungal]] Dinosaurs bred by [[Feral Orks]].
*[[Lizardmen]]
*[[Cold One]]s Dinosaurs that Dark Elves ride.

[[Category: Monsters]]

[[Category: History]]

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Skaven

2023-02-09T14:07:39Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Pros */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Skaven|Logo=Capture131114532.png|Alliance=Chaos|Motto=DIE DIE SOLDIER MANTHINGS DIE!!!!}}

The vermin horde is back with a bang! And a confusing battleline selection system!

==Why Play Skaven==

===Pros===
* Hordes of vicious rats and rat monsters too.
* All the Skaven clans reunited under one faction.
* Gnawholes
* Basically it's own mini Grand-Alliance with 40+ Warscrolls to choose from.
* Your access to the various clans give you extreme versatility. Need highly mobile infantry to harass the backline or nab objectives? Eshin. Want monsters or inexpensive monstrous infantry? Moulder. Do you need hordes and hordes of chaff? Verminus. Maybe you want to claim ranged superiority at all costs. In that case, better grab some Skryre. Are you looking to play a highly offensive army that can dish out tons of mortal wounds? Pestilens are your guys. And if you ever need any magic, Masterclan are always there to help you out.
* Most units are viable in casual games
* [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure SKAVEN SCIENCE IS THE BEST-BEST OF THE MORTAL REALMS!!!]
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse. As a blessing it means the sculpts on your basic troops (Clan rats, Plague Monks and Night Runners) are old, but cheap.At 42 dollar's per 20 bodies you have one of the better dollar per model count ratios of the GW hoard armies, Imperial guard for example have to pay 60$ for 10, albiet with newer sculpts. Which is good since it's tottally in the realm of reason to bring 100 clan rats and still have over a thousand and a half points for other more killy toys.
* Do you want unrestricted industrial total war with absolutely no redeeming qualities capable to put to shame even the other Chaos aligned forces? Then look no further! Thematically speaking the Skaven use every single piece of grotesque nastiness developed by a WW<strike>1</strike>2 tech level society including radioactive, chemical and biological warfare, flamethrowers, snipers, gatling guns, human, eh, I mean (slave)rat-wave tactics as well as mechanized cavalry, all further powered by scifi-level technological stuff like tesla weaponry, dimensional portals and genetically engineered and cybernetically enhaced monstrosities as well as daemon-powered black magic and honest-to-Great-Horned-Rat ninjas! You can enjoy playing the villain seeing all the inferior silly fantasy/renaissance tech level "things" with their swords and bows die against the [[nazi| superior master race]] while you twirl your evil whiskers, yes-yes!

===Cons===
* Infantry as durable as wet paper.
* Nothing with better than a 4+ save (besides the Arch-Warlock) and good luck getting those 30 stormvermin in cover.
* Characters are key to most Skaven armies and will need constant protection - They die, the army crumbles.
* Most Skaven units rely on other units for something, making the contesting of multiple objectives difficult.
* Spell lores are exclusive to Grey Seers or Clan Skryre; other mages limited to general and personal spells. (Which is okay since the Grey Seer spell lore is terrible outside of Death Frenzy)
* Skyre Overcharges have become more dangerous with a Higher chance of Death.
* In terms of allies, you only have one, Nurgle.
* Your life will revolve around battleshock with no units save Verminlords going above Bravery 6.
* This also means that any army who can debuff your bravery (like undeath in general) will probably be your worst enemies.
* If you play Eshin, Pestilens or Verminus as core army's units, accept an endless move phase and the hate of your adversary. (That's what movement trays are for)
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse.As a curse A huge chunk of the more elite part's of the army such as Warplocks or weapon teams are stuck with 20+ year old sculpts that are either [[Finecast| failcast]] or metal. Both aren't readily available so you'll have to order directly off the GW store or get used to having to convert the simplistic scuplts of your ancient, but cheap,troop models.

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Skaven|points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/b52ed84a.pdf Skaven Errata]|FW=1}}

'''Additional:''' Broken Realms: Kragnos
==Allegiance Abilities==

===Allegiance Traits===
*'''Lead From the Back''': Enemies take -1 to hit non-monster Skaven Heroes when they're within 3" of any units with 3+ models. After all, those hordes of clanrats are made to die in place of your clawlord.
*'''Scurry Away''': During combat phase, an unmounted hero may always retreat instead of fighting. Again, your hero is more valuable than your hordes.

*'''Strength in Numbers''': For every ten models in a Skaven unit, you improve the range of their melee weapons by 1". This can be quite vicious on larger blobs of Plague Monks and Stormvermin. Or ocassionally on Clanrats if buffed.

===Battle Traits===
*'''''Masterclan'''''
**'''Skilled Manipulators''': Whenever a non-monster Masterclan hero takes a wound or rolls a Ward save, roll a d6 for one Skaven unit of 3+ models within 3". On a 3+, you instead allocate that wound to the nearby unit, preserving your Grey Seer's life at the expense of the rats he commands. Everything becomes a Grey Seer's bodyguard now.
**'''Always Three Clawsteps Ahead''': Only usable if you field 3+ Masterclan heroes. After you have one unit charge/run on that turn, you can use that same roll for the run/charge actions of other units in that phase while letting one unit pile in during the fight phase lets other units within 3" of their enemies pile in as well.
***<strike>''NOTE: This works extremely well with Clan Moulder's "Crack The Whip" ability which adds 3" to a Pack unit's charge roll - Which you can in turn apply to all your other units. Can make for some really aggressive moves.</strike> No longer works as per the latest FAQ.

*'''''Clan Moulder'''''
**'''Prized Creations''': At the start of the game, you can assign a Hellpit Abomination (or several if you field 3+ Master Moulders) with a special mutation, barring any duplicates. Note, that you don't need a Master Moulder for the first buff.
***''Toughened Sinews'': The Abomination now gets 16 wounds and a 4+ save, buffering their peak effectiveness a little. Probably the best all-comers pick.
***''Lumbering Behemoth'': The Abomination gets a 7" movement and all run rolls are automatically 7.
***''Quivering Bulk'': +1 to rolls for Avalanche of Flesh
***''Accelerated Regeneration'': The Abomination's regeneration rolls are now activated on any hero phase, including your enemy's. What a way to piss off any limited-use kamikazes.
***''Best-Best Warpstone Spikes'': Re-roll when using the Warpstone Spikes ability.
***''Backup Organs'': The Abomination has so many redundant organs that you can re-roll for the Too Horrible to Die ability.

*'''''Clan Eshin'''''
**'''Masters of Murder''': Pick an enemy hero, all Eshin units can add 1 to hit and to wound rolls against them. If you pick up 3+ Eshin heroes, this benefit extends to anyone attacking any heroes, not just the designated target, but only for melee attacks.

*'''''Clan Verminus'''''
**'''Mighty Warlords''': A new Heroic Action that lets a Clawlord pick out a second faction Command Trait to use on top of their existing one until the end of the turn, providing momentary perks for key situations. If you pick up 3+ Clawlords then you can use this action on all Clawlords, letting each one pick up a unique Command Trait.

*'''''Clans Skryre'''''
**'''Warpstone Sparks''': At the start of the game, you gain 3+d3 Warpstone Sparks so long as you take a Skyre hero (upped to d6+3 if you take 3+ Skyre heroes). A Spark can be spent once per phase on your '''Skryre''' units to:
**#Reroll a wizards' casting, dispelling and unbinding rolls for that phase.
**#Reroll a Hero's to Hit rolls for that phase.
**#Pick a hero and choose up to 3 '''SKRYRE''' units wholly within 13" of them. Add +1 to the Damage characteristic of missile weapons used by these units for that shooting phase.
***Along with the theme of instability, at the end of the appropriate phase, roll a die, on a 1 the wizard or hero chosen suffers D3 Mortal Wounds. Magical Uranium, everyone!

*'''''Clan Pestilens'''''
**'''Echoes of the Great Plagues''': Pestilens priests add +1 to their prayer rolls for each fellow Pestilens priest wholly within 13". Once per turn, when a Pestilens Priest makes a successful prayer roll of a 6+, you can manifest one of six Great plagues, each of which can only be used once per battle. 4/5 of the plague's effects the nearest eligible unit so have placement in mind and bring a lot of Priests to more reliably get a six once per turn.
**#'''Bubonic Blightplague:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 2d6 mortal wounds. If the unit is then destroyed, pick another enemy unit 6" of the last model removed and inflict D6 mortal wounds. If this too destroys an enemy unit, pick another enemy unit within 6" of the last model removed and deal d3 mortal wounds. Repeat this process until no unit gets wiped out or there are no other units in range.
**#'''Crimsonweal Curse:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound, and it and other enemy units within 1" of that infected unit suffer a 1 mortal wound during your future hero phases. Forever.
**#'''Redmaw Plague:''' The nearest enemy Hero within 13" becomes infected. If within 3" of friends but no enemies at the start of the combat phase, gain ownership of that hero for the rest of the phase.
**#'''The Neverplague:''' Pestilens Priests may reroll prayer rolls for the rest of battle. Should always be the first you set off unless something horrible went wrong.
**#'''Undulant Scourge:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" rolls 1D6 for each member of the unit; the unit takes a mortal wound for every 4+ rolled.

===Command Traits===
Your General, depending on its type, gets to choose one trait from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Shared">
*'''Devious Adversary:''' if your general fights in melee against a unit that hasn't fought yet add 2 to the attacks characteristic of each of their weapons.
</tab>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''Supreme Manipulator:''' When you take a heroic action you can Re-roll the heroic leadership roll
*'''Master of Magic:''' Re-roll all casting, dispelling, and unbinding. Insane pickup for ensuring you get to cast key Endless spells and ''especially'' for shutting down key enemy spells.
*'''Diabolical Schemer:''' Roll a D6 each time your opponent issues a Command within 13" on a 5 the command isn't recieved, they lose that command point and you receive it instead. This can be nerve-wracking for armies that rely on key command abilities for buffs/bravery mitigation. You're likely to steal a CP each game, which, depending on when it happens, can really throw a wrench in certain game plans. Probably not worth it over the trait above though.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''Masterful Scavenger:''' Receive 2 extra warpstone sparks. Not the best trait, but still generally preferable to the shared ones if you're taking a large Skryre army.
*'''Deranged Inventor:''' 1 friendly Skryre unit wholly within 13" can add 1 to hit rolls for missile attacks this phase. Take along a Bombardier with this, pop some warp-crack, and watch those Jezzails start pulling off 360 no-scopes with the precision of a mountain-dew infused CoD enthusiast. 2+ to hit against protected characters is nothing scoff at. It seems this is specifically aimed towards buffing Stormfiends and Acolytes.
*'''Overseer of Destuction:''' If a unit within 13" is hiding a weapon team and they're destroyed, you can save the weapon team and set it back up wholly within 3" of your general and 3" away from enemies.
**Might be useful but at initial glance seems like a trait only useful for when you make a mistake.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Master of Rot and Ruin:''' +1 to chanting rolls for this general. Prayers being re-rollable is pretty solid and will help you get those Great Plagues faster than ever. Kind of redundant with The Neverplague, but also makes it to where you don't ''need'' to activate it immediately and can chuck some mortal wounds at a nearby enemy instead.
*'''Architect of Death:''' +1 to plagueclaw missile attacks damage characteristic wholly within 18”. Only affects Plagueclaws. If you're spamming catapults, may as well throw this in. Not that you should spam catapults though.
*'''Ridden with Poxes:''' At end of combat phase, roll a dice if within 3” of an enemy, on a 4+ inflict D3 mortal wounds on one of those units. Meh.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Verminous Valour:''' The Masterclan Skilled Manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Skaven unit regardless of size.
*'''Savage overlord:''' If a Skaven unit within 3" fails Battleshock you can make them take d3 mortals instead. One of the 4 Battleshock prevention methods at our disposal.
*'''Powerful Alpha:''' First 2 wounds, regular or mortal, EACH PHASE are negated.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Cunning Mutator:''' the Masterclan skilled manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Moulder unit regardless of size.
*'''Hordemaster:''' Once per battle when a pack unit is destroyed you roll a die and on a 3+ an identical unit replaces it and it's set up wholly withing 13" of the general and 9" away from enemies. Only once, you can't replace a unit you already replaced, but you CAN roll to replace a unit twice. Roll using the Master Moulder first and if that doesn't work, roll again with Hordemaster.
*'''Moulder Supreme:''' +1 to hit and wound rolls for friendly fighting beasts wholly within 13". Essential if you're running a bunch of Moulder. Can be replaced with the Rabid Crown and Crack the Whip to give +1/+1 when not going full monstrosity.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Unrivalled Killer:''' Counts as 2 eshin heroes for Eshin battle traits.
*'''Incredible Agillity:''' Can fly and can finest hour twice instead of once. Lets you charge over units and reach key targets after you set up your Deathmaster.
*'''Shadowmaster:''' Whilst within 1” of terrain unit is invisible and can't be shot with missile weapons. Great way to keep your Deceiver from being sniped early in the game.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Artefacts Of Power===

One Hero (plus an additional hero for each battalion), gets to choose an artefact from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''The Gnawshard:''' Pick a melee weapon, if this weapon inflicts a wound it continues to inflict 1 mortal wound at the end of each battle round. (What's that sticking out of your neck?)
*'''Skavenbrew:''' A favorite returning from WHFB. Once per <strike>battle</strike> turn, in your hero phase, 1 friendly unit within 3" suffers D3 mortal wounds but adds 1 to its attacks characteristic until your next hero phase.
*'''Staff of Rightful Supremacy:''' -1 from enemy wizards casting rolls within 13". Once per battle it can automatically dispel an endless spell. With all the other good artifacts around, this is a skip.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''The Brass Orb:''' Once per battle, at the start of your hero phase, the pick an enemy unit within 6" and roll a die on a 3+ they get teleported away. Remove them from the battlefield, then at the end of the turn they have to be set up wholly within their territory more than 9" away from enemies. Kinda neat if you're rocking a full-on ranged army. Really clunky though, as it is during ''your'' hero phase and has a range of 8.
*'''Esoteric Warp Resonator:''' At the start of each battle round, gain a Warpstone Spark if the bearer is on the battlefield, only to be used for the bearer and only for this battle round. Neat for larger Skryre armies.
*'''Vial of the Fulminator:''' At the start of the Movement phase, a Skryre Warmachine within 3" can move twice as fast. At the end of the phase, roll a dice, on a 1 the unit takes D3 mortal wounds. Literally +3" movement to specifically a Warp-lightning Cannon. And it takes damage. Hard Pass flesh-thing.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Blade of Corruption:''' Pick a melee weapon. If it's unmodified wound roll is 6 it's rend is -3 and its damage is a flat 6. Only useful on a Verminlord Corruptor, but in that case can be thought of as +0.83 damage to its Plaguereapers in addition to a rend-buff for that damage. Which is overall quite solid.
*'''The Fumigatous:''' Start of each combat phase, pick 1 enemy unit within 3”, roll a D6, on a 1-2 nothing happens, on a 3-4 that unit suffers d3 mortal wounds, on a 5+ it suffers D6 mortal wounds. Looks unimpressive on paper, but we're talking a lot of mortal wounds over time. Also notably at the start of the combat phase as opposed to the end.
*'''Blistrevous the Living Cyst:''' Strikes first if the bearer charged. Starting at the second battle round you must transfer to another '''Pestilens''' hero each of your hero phases. You want this on a Corruptor and Plague Furnace. If you have 2+ of either of them, this is a solid option - especially when combined with the Blade of Corruption for a really disgusting Corruptor.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Shield of Distraction:''' Can't be fought by more than 1 unit per phase. Funky item on a Warbringer. Looks mighty silly when it charges an enemy army alone. Even sillier when it starts tearing said army apart.
*'''Rustcursed Armour:''' +1 to saves. At start of combat, pick an enemy hero with an artefact of power within 3" and roll 2D6. if it's higher than their bravery destroy the artefact (a 9.72% chance each turn(EDIT: Where does this number come from??? Depends on the enemy bravery)).
*'''Warpstone Charm:''' -1 to enemy saves within 3" At the beginning of your hero phase roll a dice. On a 1 take d3 mortal wound. Personally, I'd skip this one.
**''Alternate Take:'' Take on a Clawlord with Verminous Valor in conjunction with a Bell w/ Skavenbrew and a big unit of Clanrats. When the Clanrats don't need the extra attack, pop the brew on the Clawlord who can then redirect those mortal wounds right back to the bell - bringing you ever closer to that sweet sweet Verminlord. Same thing if you roll a 1 on the charm. Any mortal wounds not redirected only serves to power up the Clawlord himself through "Cornered Fury". The Charm comes in handy in this comp since none of the involved units have good Rend values - but very respectable damage outputs.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Lash of Fangs:''' Pick 1 melee weapon, if unmodified hit roll is a 6 inflict d3 mortal wounds in addition to normal damage. Hard skip.
*'''Foulhide:''' Heal up to 1 wound each of your hero phases, and sets their base wounds characteristic to 10. This one's probably tied with the Crown for the best of the lot, as keeping your Master Moulder alive is top priority if Moulder units make up an important chunk of your army. Can be replaced with Cunning Mutator if you want the Rabid Crown. '''NOTE:''' Having a base wounds characteristic of 10 disallows the use of the "Look Out, Sir" rule, meaning you'll be much better protected against melee units, but pretty much the same against ranged.
*'''Rabid Crown:''' +1 to hit for '''Fighting Beast''' & '''Pack''' units within 13”. This is very VERY useful for turning Giant Rats into piranhas on legs. If running more fighting beasts, consider the Foulhide combined with Moulder Supreme.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Shadow Magnet Trinket:''' Once per battle the bearer can fight first in combat phase. When deep striking your Deathmasters, they should never need to fight first since they should be getting hit that turn. And after that it'll probably situational. Skip.
*'''Farskitter Cloak''': Once per battle remove the bearer and set them up anywhere on the battlefield more than 9” from the enemy. It takes a relic for Eshin to deep strike decently. And that ability sure isn't worth an artifact slot.
*'''Gnawbomb:''' Once per battle 1 terrain feature within 6” becomes a Gnawhole until your next hero phase. Maybe useful? If you're mad enough to take it with a plan, let the rest of us rat-friends know how it goes.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Spell Lore===

<strike>Any</strike> Some Wizard Heroes, depending on their type, get to choose one spell from the appropriate list. Clans Pestilens Priests get one Noxious Prayer. Note, that the Verminlord Warpseer and Lord Skreech Verminking are Masterclan Wizards but not Grey Seers. Hence they do not gain a spell from the Lore of Ruin.

<tabs>
<tab name="Lore of Ruin">
''Grey Seers Only''
#'''Scorch''': casting 5, roll number of dice equal to casting roll, for each 6 an enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. If you're a big boy on a Bell or your name is Thanquol this on average deals a glorious 1.5/2 mortal wounds. Insert Owen Wilson Wauw.
#'''Skitterleap''': casting 6, 1 friendly hero with wounds characteristic of 13 or less (i.e. any hero except the bell, the furnace, and Thanquol) can be placed anywhere on the battlefield more than 9" from enemy units. Teleporting: no longer for the Deceivers alone. Use this to nab objectives, send a Warbringer to crush the enemy backline, or even as a panic button to get your Warpseer/Seer out of whatever bullshit you've gotten them into. Combos well with the gnawholes allowing you to skitterleap a Verminlord/Seer next to a Gnawhole deep in enemy territory, let off a couple of spells and then jump back in your movement phase.
**''Alternate Take:'' Most targets can't reliably charge the turn they leap and can't take the incoming charge when they fuck up their own. Also, remember how Skaven units rely on each other? Your rats will be very sad when you send your Bravery 10 bubble into the enemy backline.
#'''Death Frenzy''': casting 7, pick 1 Skaventide unit that is not a hero and wholly within 13", any model slain until the next hero phase can pile-in and attack.
#*It's worth noting that this applies to death from any source, so if your models are in combat then you may use this in reaction to shooting, spell damage, etc.
#* Anyone know if this pairs well with the Various suicide juices that skaven get (Skavenbrew, Vigourdust Injector, etc.)? Yes, rules state "When slain" with no indication on which source slayed the model. So, models slain from your Verminous Valor warlord trait will "death frenzy". It won't work with the Vigourdust Injector though, since those MWs are taken at the beginning of your NEXT Hero Phase in the window between the spell ending and being able to cast it again.
</tab>
<tab name="Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism">
''Clan Skryre Only''
#'''More-more-more Warp Power!''': casting 7, 1 SKRYRE unit within 13" +1 to hit and wound rolls until next hero phase. Then suffers D3 mortal wounds. Good with Stormfiends and Ratling Guns who (on average) can take the hit and survive.
#'''Chain Warp Lightning''': casting 7, each <strike>enemy</strike> unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. Yes, it affects your own units and is therefore absolutely not worth it.
#'''Warp Lightning Shield''': casting 6, first 3 wounds allocated to the caster are negated (in each phase!). On a 4th wound the caster suffers 3 mortal wounds and the spell is unbound. Brilliant. Chow down on those Sparks without fear!
</tab>
<tab name="Noxious Prayers">
''Clans Pestilens Priests only''
#'''Disease-Disease!''': answer on 3, 13" range. 5+ deal MW for every model in enemy unit. No effect on Nurgle.
#'''Filth-filth''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 toWound to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
#'''Rabid-rabid''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 to melee attack to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
</tab>
<tab name="Endless Spells">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Vermintide.pdf Vermintide]:''' (60pts) useful as a Predatory damage dealer, when a unit is ends a move near it, roll 13 dice and they take mortal wounds for each 6. Can also do this to one nearby unit when it moves, chosen by the moving player. In the latest FAQ this now also affects any Skaven units.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Warp_Lightning_Vortex.pdf Warp Lightning Vortex]:''' (90pts) An Area Denial Spell, that creates a 7" equilateral Triangle( hard to set up on uneven Terrain) with any unit that is within 6" of it takes D3 mortal wounds on 4+ (D6 on an unmodified 6) with bonuses to the roll based on how many of the pylons they are in range of. If they happen to start their turn within 6" of it they can't run or fly. Combo with shackles and the warp gale spell from the grey seer. If all that gets cast the effect is brutal.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Bell_of_Doom.pdf Bell of Doom]:''' (85pts) Its a flying screaming bell! It has a janky "auto dispel itself and do damage" effect when moved with a low probability of happening. Otherwise it is a 13" no battleshock bubble which also reduces enemy bravery by 1. However, it must roll 3d6 whenever it finishes a move, and on a 13 it explodes and does d3 mortal wounds to everything (this includes your poor rats) within 13". Decent, but likely to be outshone by the vortex due to its risk factor and the ready availability of other, less temporary (and volatile) methods of negating battleshock.
</tab>
</tabs>

==Warscrolls==
*The following True Skaven, Verminlord Daemons, and Moulder pack animals and Fighting beasts are all united by the '''Skaventide''' Keyword.
===Named Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Lord_Skreech_Verminking.pdf Lord Skreech Verminking]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 400pts) combining weapons from several of the vermin lord options and the same 5+ ward versus all damage, the king of the rats also brings a "choose each turn" multi-option buff that has six different effects. He can choose from +1 to spell casting, d3 wounds self-heal, exploding sixes mortal wounds off his plague reaper, - 1 to be hit by enemies or increased rend of the glaive from -1 to -3. In addition, he has the warpseer two spell cast and a really good spell that rolls 13d6 and does mortal wounds on a 4+ per dice. It then summons a unit of clan rats equal to wounds caused, making it go from good to amazing due to the potential swing on an objective being 14 on average (seven mortal wounds, seven new rats). He rounds off with a command ability that's a bubble of reroll 1s to hit within 13". A great character, although possibly outshone by the next guy...

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Thanquol.pdf Thanquol on Boneripper]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 415pts) oh lordy it's 415 points but you get a lot of bang for your buck here! The great grey seer and his custom ride are better than ever, combining solid spell casting and impressive ranged and melee damage with good resilience and a strong command ability in an all-round excellent package. Firstly, he's a 14 wound slab of health with the same 5+ ward after save on top of a 4+ normal save. This is supported by a d3 self heal every turn. The behemoth drop off isn't too bad either and bone ripper will be useful as long as it is alive. The good stuff is with Thanquol and his magic, boasting Arkhan the Black levels of casting buff, double cast and dispel, and a fantastic spell which forces enemy heroes to fight either their allies or even themselves. Hit the five times waagh buffed Warboss with this and he will literally beat himself to death! Thanquol also access the excellent lore of ruin as a grey seer. Bone ripper is no slouch either and can be equipped with any combination of up to four weapons chosen from warpfire projectors or braziers. The damage output can get crazy high and he has clubbing blows to back up whichever option suits you best. Four warpfire throwers are possibly one of the most rage-inducing answers to horde lists ever created...(Actually, that seems like huge overkill, two will on average hit every model in the unit that is in range for a mortal wound). Finally, Thanquol has a command ability which, whilst situational, will be amazing when needed. He spends one cp and grants, three other heroes, the ability to use the rules book standard command abilities for no cost. Combine this with the masterclan CP regain and you could harvest 3cp back for spending one...can anyone else say "faq"?

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skritch_Spiteclaw.pdf Skritch Spiteclaw]:''' (Verminus, 165pts) Quite similar to the Clawlord, with a few key differences. He returns models to his Swarm. But, he lacks the +1 attack per suffered wound ability of the standard Clawlord. Else, the stats are all the same. Overall, a pretty good pick, take alongside his Swarm for obvious reasons.
**''Alternate Take:'' A Clawlord ticks in at 110pts. Swarm's 55 points. If you're gonna take a swarm with your Clawlord, take a Rat Swarm and keep Cornered Fury.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Slynk Skittershank]:''' (Eshin, 225pts) A Deathmaster who, instead of hiding in units, hides in terrain with his mandatory goons. When he strikes while within 3" of 'em he strikes first and can retreat afterwards. Not too impressive over a standard Deathmaster but his goons are cheap and nothing to scoff at. Also one of the few units that can Alpha strike since he comes in within 6".

===Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warbringer.pdf Verminlord Warbringer]:''' (Verminus, Behemoth, 395pts) Clan Verminus wizard daemon. like all Verminlords, he has 13 wounds, two spells per turn, degrading stats, a 5+ ward against wounds and mortal wound. Warbringers also re-roll wounds when near friendly swarms, and their punch-knife can deal extra damage. His best stuff is his command ability that lets Verminus to add 1 to hit and wound and a buffed Death Frenzy spell that affects D3 Skaventide units instead of the 1 (models get to attack as they are slain, but before you remove them) which can stack with death frenzy.
**Warbringer (and other Verminlords) one-up on Skreech is their access to command traits and artifacts. Which command trait you take will hugely impact your Warbringer's playstyle. Devious Adversary doubles the number of attacks with your Spike Fist and increases the chances that you will pick up that all-important 6 to wound. For a more defensive Warbringer, nab Verminous Valor and keep him close to units of Clanrats for what is essentially a 3+ Ward. If not running Valor, grab a unit of Stormvermin as stand-ins to give him a 2+ Ward in a pinch.
**The Warbringer is unfortunately ''not'' a Clawlord and can therefore not gain additional Warlord traits. So if you're running him with Clanrats or Stormvermin make sure you have something to help mitigate battleshock.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Deceiver.pdf Verminlord Deceiver]:''' (Eshin, Behemoth, 405pts) Clan Eshin wizard daemon. A sneaker Verminlord, with an anti-horde shuriken, an increased ability to dodge missiles, and the ability to teleport almost any distant '''Skaven hero''' to anywhere on the board more than 6" from an enemy. Teleport your Arch-Warlock smack in the middle of your opponent's forces, add a little bath-salts, and watch as your tesla bomb deals an absurd number of mortal wounds to everything around it (or explode in a blaze of drug-laced glory). A lot of dice need to be rolled for this to work out, but hey, why not?
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Corruptor.pdf Verminlord Corruptor]:''' (Nurgle Pestilens, Behemoth, 350pts) a Daemon of Clan Pestilens. Cast two spells and abilities to deal mortal wounds. His COMMAND ABILITY gives a Pestilens unit within range add 1 to hit and wound. Can hit hard in the first battle but brackets hard from 2d6 attacks to d3.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warpseer.pdf Verminlord Warpseer]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 360pts) More Wizard of the Greater daemons and has an orb that gives a +1 to saves until you feel like chucking it a hero for D6 mortal wounds at 13". Gives friendly skaven wholly within 13" 10 bravery. Also counts as 2 Masterclans heroes for always three clawsteps ahead. Its spell can also cancel a units flying and halve run and charge rolls. Weirdly, due to the keyword restriction on spell lore, it can chuck out two spells per turn but can't know any of the lore spells. Good for the endless spells I guess?
*{{anchor|FWWarpgnaw}}'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ZSGu5E0qVvhlmEuC.pdf Warpgnaw Verminlord] (Forgeworld):''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 275pts) '''Note: This model is now in the Monstrous Arcanum which is still legal for matched play.'''The former Exalted Verminlord. He's generally inferior to the GW ones with only a glaive that's not as good as a doomglaive but has consistent damage (though it is subject to damage). He lacks a Command Ability, his only ability is being able to make a sudden arrival through a vanguard Gnawhole. It also can cast two spells, with a unique spell that can kill a single model if you roll a d6 and roll higher than its wounds, making it only useful on foot heroes and really weak things otherwise. The Warpgnaw Verminlord no longer brings a unit with him. Instead only the Verminlord deepstrikes in next to a Gnawhole (although this doesn't stop another unit from appearing at the same Gnawhole at the same time due to the wording of this ability). It has gained 2 wounds and Terrifying.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clawlord.pdf Clawlord]:''' (Verminus, 105pts)Your standard hero with 5 wounds, a 4+ save. he has 3 3+/3+/-1/d3 attacks and gains +1 attack for each missing wound he has. Not that you actually want this guy in close combat as his true worth is his command ability which lets you pick a VERMINUS unit wholly within 13" and give it an extra attack with each of its melee weapons. This is an amazing command ability for your rat horde as it gives your clanrats 100% increased damage output and your Stormvermin 50% increased damage output. It should be noted that Clawlords can pick up the same command traits as other non-Clawlord generals. This can be particularly useful with Verminous Valor as it essentially doubles his durability at the cost of a few Clanrats. He can also pick up an Arcane Tome for counter-spelling, casting Flaming Weapon, and completing Prized Sorcery.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warlock_Engineer.pdf Warlock Engineer]:''' (Skryre, 105pts) your Mad Science wizards. armed with a Wizard staff and Pistol. The staff can be overcharged for more damage. The only spells Warlocks know are Warp Lightning and one from the Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism. Warp Lightning is a 13" upgraded Arcane Bolt that has no limit to the number of times it can be cast and can be overcharged following the usual method. Now 10 points more expensive than before, meaning he's less of a no brainer choice.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Bombardier.pdf Warlock Bombardier]:''' (Skryre, 115pts) A Warlock with a Bazooka, which can overcharge its single shot's damage from d6 to 2d6. Otherwise, all the same stuff and engineer can do. Considering how little you'd want an engineer in combat, the ranged weapon on the bombardier seems like a straight upgrade over the melee variant.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Arch_Warlock.pdf Arch-Warlock]:''' (Skryre, 155pts) A Wizard in Power Armor. Has a Warlock staff, Powerclaw and can cast two spells. His Unique spell is a Warp Lightning that effects d3 units instead of one, but on a bad overcharge, you can kiss his furry arse goodbye. Probably not worth it for 40 points over a Bombardier, but hey if you need more magics, this is your guy.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Deathmaster.pdf Deathmaster]:''' (Eshin, 145pts) The Skaven Ninja, able to hide in every skaven unit at once like Schrodinger's Fanatic. They throw a bunch of stars then charge in with either a dagger with rend and d3 damage or claws with 7 attacks. Always best to give this guy artifacts that improve his hero killing powers. He’s also got a nice new model courtesy of the Echoes of Doom boxset.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Master_Moulder.pdf Master Moulder]:''' (Moulder, 90pts) A heroic Packmaster with two very respectable weapon options. It can Heal a Pack model d3 wounds and also gives Pack units +1 to wond in melee. A steal for 90 points if you plan on making Moulder a pillar in your army. His Command ability can replace a destroyed Moulder Pack unit on a roll of 3+, within 12" of him. This might not sound like much initially, but it has a global range (so even if the unit dies on the other end of the table, you can attempt to bring it back). This allows Moulder units to fearlessly accept charges before respawning and counter-charging. Moulder units are priced around this guy though, with neither Giant Rats or Rat Ogres being point-efficient, so if this dude dies before them you'll be very sorry.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Priest.pdf Plague Priest]:''' (Pestilens, 100pts) Your standard Pestilens hero. Surprisingly killy since he gets an extra attack for each weapon on the charge. Fairly inexpensive for the damage they can do and an easy way to get extra chances at a GREAT PLAGUE.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Priest_Plague_Furnace.pdf Plague Priest on Plague Furnace]:''' (Pestilens, Behemoth 335pts) It's 3 Plague Monks with a Plague Priest on a huge censer-thing. It can't move its 6" unless within 6" of 10 or more friendly Skaventide models and it makes 6 attacks with Rusty Wheels and Spikes. At full health, the Great Plague Censer now does an impressive 1d3+4 mortal wounds on a 2+. On top of this, it stops battleshock for Skaventide. You probably want 2 to make sure one or both of these buffs goes off on your Plague Monks. It's clearly a centerpiece. It will pack a punch thanks to the Censer, but it needs Plague Monks to push it around and <s>pushing stuff around and not charging is something Plague Monks with their awful survivability really don't like to do.</s> with blocks of 40 monks you'll usually be able to chain 10 of them back to push the furnace. Or just charge with the furnace first and have your monks charge up along side it. With look out sir in melee, 5+ fnp and the big death ball the furnace is right at home charging into combat with it's pushing crew of 40 monks.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Grey_Seer.pdf Grey Seer]:''' (Grey Seer, 125pts) A generic spellcaster, but to be honest he's quite good at that. Can now cast and unbind 2 spells and has a unique spell, Wither, which can cause D3 damage to most units and hero's alike, and it also debuffs them for the next combat round. However, his best ability is probably the Warpstone Token; when you cast a spell you can use a token ( you have infinite, by the way ) and if you do so you roll 3D6, if the result is 13 then the spell is cast and cannot be unbound... BUT your Grey Seer is slain after the effects of the spell. On anything other than a 13 you can remove one dice and use the remaining result as your casting. Pretty good, but has a 10% chance of killing him. For what it costs the Grey Seer is pretty good, and it's not a bad idea to use him in almost every Skaven list.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Grey_Seer_Screaming_Bell.pdf Grey Seer on Screaming Bell]:''' (Grey Seer, War Machine 325pts) Take a Grey Seer and put him on a GIANT BELL OF DOOM and you have the Screaming Bell, a war machine that can alternate between Priest and Wizard depending on your whims and gets hefty buffs to both. The first thing to know about the Bell is that it can't move on its own and needs to be pushed by a pack of friendly Skaven within 6". This movement reduces as the bell takes damage, which feels like a bit of a dick-kick since it makes your towing squad more vulnerable to any bombardment. This obviously means that it should stay close to the Skaven Infantry (which is where it should be in the first place). The most important ability of the Bell, however, is, of course, the bell! It peals in your Hero Phase, and to do so you have to roll 1d6 and see what effect the peal has. You only hurt yourself on a roll of 1, and that's D3 mortal wounds. The other effects are mixed, you can buff your army, damage the opponent's army. Oh, and did I mention that even if your bell takes damage the effect of the peals doesn't change? Yeah. The only thing that decreases is the boosts given to your casting and preaching, which is a bigger issue than any melee penalties. The Seer on top of the Bell knows a different spell from the dismounted one, this time it damages units with low Move. Unfortunately, the Seer loses the Warpstone Tokens. The Bell also has a 5+ ward save and has a pretty good ability that negates battleshock tests within 13". It costs 125 points more than a vanilla Seer, but I'm sure it will repay its price.
**Echoes of Doom has changed the Verminlord summoning to its own action. If the bell takes 7+ wounds, you can roll a d6 - it simply blows up on a 1 but on any other roll, it can summon that Verminlord if the total of wounds+roll amounts to a 13+.
**'''Alternate Take:''' The bell is the weirdest Skaven unit '''''by far'''''. It is RIDICULOUSLY tanky with 15 wound 4+/5+ and can allocate wounds naturally to nearby units on a 3+ should it so desire. This means you can regulate how much damage it takes in order to set yourself up for summoning that sweet sweet Verminlord. Should you manage to summon it, it is practically game over. Summon Skreech Verminking and you will have gained ~425 points of value. Not only that, but your newly summoned Verminlord, while needing to be more than 9" from enemies, is free to move and guaranteed charge in the following phases. There are some caveats however:
***The bell is anything but cost-effective in itself. Compared to a Verminlord it isn't killy enough in combat, it requires nearby rats and it's slow as balls. Also, Crack's Call is extremely limited in its application, dealing a measly 2 mortal wounds to slow infantry. The pushing crew will probably be clanrats who can bodyguard, which are, similarly to the bell, not damage dealers. The peals of doom aren't impressive either, with occasionally impactful results.
***With the bell being such a slow piece of shit, ridiculously tanky and non-threatening like a puppy, enemies are bound to do the one thing they should be doing: Ignore the damn thing. Don't be suprised if it by turn 3 is stranded in the middle of the table and proceeds to do nothing for the last 2 turns.
***Your counter to this counter is to give your puppy claws. Enter Endless Spells and Master of Magic. With +2 and re-roll of casting rolls, you are almost guaranteed to get them off and wreak some Havoc Physics Engine. In addition, with Master of Magic, the Grey Seer will be much more likely to unbind enemy spells, making your big bell much more of a nuisance.
***Did I mention that most Endless spells don't distinguish between friendly and enemy units? That's right, if you want something damaged right, the best way is to damage it yourself. Should your bell takes a solid portion of wounds, you can metaphorically push it over the edge through endless spells. Use that sweet +2 to casting rolls and watch as your Gnashrak's Ravenous Jaw takes your bell from a measly 6 damage to 11 to threaten the dreaded Verminlord summoning. Since the summoning happens at the beginning of your hero phase it's best to damage your bell when you're not in danger of being double-turned as you don't want your bell getting crumpled at the critical moment.

===Battleline===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skaventide}}</span>'''

''If you run a mixed SKAVENTIDE army these are your minimum required battlelines''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clanrats.pdf Clanrats]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:20 100pts) The bread and butter of many Skaven armies. They are cheap fodder and can take a huge amount of punishment so long as their battleshock is taken care of. They can dish out some damage too with Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! But nothing which should be relied on with 4+/4+/-0.

Clanrats main functions are to take charges, push the furnace or bell and freight weapon teams closer to their intended targets. For Masterclan and Verminus heroes they are also the preferred choice for bodyguards since they’re only half the price of a Stormvermin.
**Always grab the sword. With the Strength in Numbers rule you'll usually have a reach of at least 2". Usually 3" with a blob of 40, making the spear redundant. The sword also scales better with buffs like Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on Their Bones.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Stormvermin.pdf Stormvermin]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:10 135pts) Your in-a-pinch bodyguards. Currently priced as if no better options are available (which they usually are). They have a decent damage output and can be targeted by Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! Which increases said damage output by 50%. They’re Skryre and Eshin heroes only opportunity for bosyguard and can help guard verminlords when necessary. Probably still not worth it compared to Clanrats as bodyguards nor Plague Censer Bearers as damage dealers.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Eshin}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Eshin general and all other non-Allies units are Eshin''
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*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Night_Runners.pdf Night Runners]:''' (Min:10 90pts) the mass vanguard slingers of Skaven. They can move 2d6” after setup and run and shoot. They have better aim than Grot Shootas and generate a mortal wound on a natural 6. Generally outclassed by the significantly cheaper clan rat, or the excessively killier plague censer bearer in mixed lists.
**On a turn they get to shoot and charge, 20 Night Runners will do almost twice the damage an equivalent number of Clan Rats would do, but for only <strike>33%</strike> '''90%''' more points. This makes them <strike>ideal</strike> terrible <strike>for taking down other lightly armored targets</strike> '''everything''' as long as you can get the jump on them.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Gutter_Runners.pdf Gutter Runners]:''' (Min:5 105pts) Elite version of Night Runners. Suffer the same fate as Night Runners too. Deep Striking just isn‘t that good, especially when it HAS to happen during your first turn and conditionally within 6” of a terrain feature. These boys are about 50% better offensively, but have half the wounds of Night Runners. Skip them unless you have a very character heavy meta.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Moulder}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Moulder general and all other non-Allies units are Moulder ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Giant_Rats.pdf Giant Rats]:''' (PACK, Min:6 60pts) The sharpest teeth on the wettest of noodle bodies. They get 2 attacks per for 10 points a pop with a movement of 8 and -2 rend. They can also be revived by the master moulder to suicide, die and then take revenge. They do not come with any saves however and have a bravery of 3, making them evaporate the second someone breathes on them. This squishiness makes them terrible at anything but one-sided engagements and makes sending them to the flanks through Gnawholes a risky endeavor indeed. They combo well with a plague furnace which can negate their morale problem. A unit of Giant rats are also an acceptable charge buffer with less durability than rat swarms but a higher damage output - useful for when they are replaced through a master moulder and themselves get to charge.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Ogors.pdf Rat Ogors]:''' ( FIGHTING BEAST, PACK, Min:2 140pts) Rat ogres are a below average unit, made viable through supporting units. Unsurprisingly, when you can get a second chance 66% of the time you need to be quite inefficient to be fair. Take a unit of 4, crack the whip, all-out attack and watch them do mediocre damage twice. Really solid for charging through Gnawholes since their bravery of 5 is okay when your unit only consists of 4 models, removing the need for Inspiring Presence.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Pestilens}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Pestilens general and all other non-Allies units are Pestilens ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Monks.pdf Plague Monks]:''' (Min:10 90pts) ** Supposed to be the pestilent front-line unit. Instead it is a weird support caster unit with a solid combat statline. They have abysmal saves and bravery and their bringer of the word deals approximately 1 mortal wound each shooting phase. Oh and they have a bunch of attacks on the charge with no rend. If you are running a crap-ton of censer bearers, consider picking up 10 of these to buff them with +1 to wound. Otherwise, hard skip. Notably synergizes with the Curse prayer. Still a hard skip though.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Censer_Bearers.pdf Plague Censer Bearers]:''' (Min:5 90pts) Yeeeeehaw! The best infantry on the roster and maybe the best infantry point for point in the entire game. Now with 2 wounds a piece, a -1 to wound defensive ability and '''4''' attacks on the charge with 3+/3+/-1/D2. That's 20 attacks on the charge. As opposed to last edition these boys are the new core for Pestilens as it's more cost-effective to take more of these bad-boys than the buff-giving Plague Monks.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skryre}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Skryre general and all other non-Allies units are Skryre ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Stormfiends.pdf Stormfiends]:''' (Clan Moulder, Clan Skryre, Min:3 320pts) The Unholy Collaboration Between Skryre and Moulder. Has Taken-taken a similar nerf Grundstok Thunderers suffers, the weapons are divided up between a Trio. the anti-infantry Rat can take either Warpthrowers or mortars, another can take Gatling guns or the ability for the unit to deep strike, and finally, another can take a pair of reliable or random fists. Skaven players who used them pre battletome will lament the loss of the triple warpfire projector unit. In their current incarnation, this may be the least attractive ranged choice. The projectors do not benefit from the engineer buffs available to the unit, nor can the be used after using gnawholes or grinder fists. The other weapon options do due to their longer range and standard hit mechanics.
**they are also are part Moulder, lending their array of Weaponry to but they lack the Keywords to properly interact with them.
***This also means that they can be included in pure Moulder armies, and are those armies' only dedicated range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skryre_Acolytes.pdf Skryre Acolytes]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:5 75pts) Mass bomb-throwers, able to run and throw their globes with -2 rend and d3 damage. They look pretty bad on paper, but if you add in the buffs available to Skryre and you don't mind taking damage (hey its skaven) then this missile attack can become pretty impressive, with hit bonus and hit and wound rerolls and a damage buff all available.
**A large unit is still quite cheap and makes a good hiding place for warpfire throwers too. Shame that you have to build them, one model, at a time for $15 USD per model. Better get ready to do some conversion (the now-defunct poison wind mortars make decent acolytes).
***A quicker out of the box method for Acolytes would be the Skaven Bloodbowl team. Their Warpstone Footballs can be “passed off” as cluster mines that serve the same purpose as the poisoned wind globes.
****Even better, plague monks with Arkanaut Company packs.****
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===Other Units===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Ratling_Gun.pdf Ratling Gun]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Weapon teams are always a cheap way to increase your damage output, though lacks protection against retaliation. With 2d6 attacks with a 12" range and a 25% chance to hit, it does shockingly low damage, even when overcharged, and is liable to get shot off the board before getting into range. However, 3 of them buffed up with a skryre spark and overseer of destruction do massive amounts of damage, assuming you can get them into position.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warpfire_Thrower.pdf Warpfire Thrower]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 70pts). Close range anti-blobs that rolls for each model and deals mortal wounds on a 4+. When you overcharge, you roll 2 dice for each model but the Thrower dies on a roll of 1 or 2 made after dealing damage. Statistically, when used against single-wound infantry this will kill every model in the unit.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Grinder.pdf Warp-Grinder]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Allow you to deepstrike them and another unit. Similar to the Stormfiend Warp Grinder. Don't expect anything of it in combat, it's basically a points tax to get a more reliable deep strike for stormfiends.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Doom_Flayer.pdf Doom-Flayer]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). A melee sports unit. Really not worth it, they have 3 wounds, a 5+ save, and d6 attacks, so they will do no damage in melee, and then immediately die. They can boost their attacks from a d6 to 2d6s but will die after attacking on a roll of doubles or a 7.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Swarms.pdf Rat Swarms]:''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:2 55pts). A unit which many will overlook. They are pathetic in all aspects. 5 attacks on 5+/5+ won’t hurt a fly. They’re squishy, with no saves and 8 wounds for 55 points but it’s all good because they’re Pack units. Stick 2 of them in front of your blobs to absorb charges. Put them on side-objectives. Heck, send them in for fun and res them because you can. Compared to the chaff of other armies, Skaven are blessed with these little critters. Also the best unit to take wounds as bodyguard.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Packmasters.pdf Packmasters]:''' (Clan Moulder Min:3 65pts). No longer heroes. 1 in 3 may take a Things-Catcher. +1 to Melee Hit Rolls and double Bravery of friendly Clans Moulder Pack units wholly within 12". At 60 points, they should be considered. Just remember their buffs don't stack with each other, or a Master Moulder. Can't buff Stormfiends any more.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NLAF5xUbMH8gumFD.pdf#page=18 Skaven Wolf Rats] (Forgeworld):''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:5 100pts).'''Note: This model has been removed from the Forgeworld site and is now in the Legends: Monstrous Arcanum which is no longer legal for matched play.''' Giant Rats on steroids. With a Save to boot. Gets +1 to wounds the turn the charge. When normally hitting on 3s and wounding on 3s, have them charge, and keep them all in range of a pack of Packmasters or a Master Moulder, they're hitting and wounding on 2s. Overall, a very solid and relatively cheap cavalry option that'll rip into any soft target you launch them at.
**The cheapest way to convert them (and still look good) is Chaos Warhounds with Stormvermin heads (add gasmasks and beads and you also have 10 Skryre Acolytes)

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Spiteclaws_Swarm.pdf Spiteclaw's Swarm]:''' These guys can be nasty little buggers. 4 models, each with a different weapon. All are hitting on 4's, wounding on 4's, most with 2 attacks, one with 1, most with 1" range, one with 2", a 6+ save, they're a mixed bunch. Ideally, you're keeping these guys within 13" of Skritch, so he can give them back D3 models per turn. Just don't let Krrk die, he can't come back. If Skritch kicks it, Krrk gets 2 extra attacks. Should the unit take a Wound, or a Mortal Wound, on all successive Wounds and Mortal Wounds in that turn roll a dice, on a 5+ you ignore it. Sit these guys in cover, cast Mystic Shield, they've got a 5+ save, re-rolling 1s, ignoring all past the first Wound on a 5+, D3 coming back in your Hero Phase. All in all, they're alright. Can be a nuisance.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Skittershank's Clawpack]:''' Tougher than gutter runners and with the ability to deploy within 6" of an enemy unit in the first movement phase. Like Skittershank they dish out mortals on a natural 6. With Skittershank and his clawpack shooting and melee phases, that's 23 chanches of rolling a 6! That's 6-8 mortal wounds right there. Pick your enemy's general for the Masters of Murder battle trait and you've got a half decent chance of taking down some medium sized heroes turn 1 (assuming they left you space to get within 6")

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Hell_Pit_Abomination.pdf Hell Pit Abomination]:''' (Clan Moulder 245pts). With a 2d6 move, it can keep pace with a Doomwheel, or lag behind your entire army. Has a melee weapon that deals mortal wounds for every 2+ (degrading) rolled (one dice per model from target unit that is within 3"). Heals d3 wounds in the Hero Phase, all enemies in 3" subtract 1 from their Bravery, it can flat out ignore spells that target it on a 4+, and it has a 1/3 chance to heal d6 wounds the first time it's killed. It won't be dying quickly based on this. But with a 5+ save, and 12 wounds, it could just as easily die with good enough rend and some poor dice rolls.
**If you want something that looks less like a centipede, the Beastman Ghorgon offers a good base for a Ratzilla.
***Assuming you took a Master Moulder, this is where you'll be using Prized Creation since it is a Fighting Beast (albeit not a Pack model) and is the best place to add d3 wounds - or even d6 if you take the Moulder Supreme wralord trait and gamble. Even starting with 13-15 wounds puts its durability a lot better than the warscroll by itself would indicate, which is something of a Skaven theme all around. Just remember that the damage chart is based on wounds taken, not wounds remaining, so you'll get to stay alive longer on your last bracket, not your first. Good thing you regen d3 a round.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Doomwheel.pdf Doomwheel]:''' (Clan Skryre 165pts). A Chariot with an overchargeable Gun and can run over and Mortal wound almost everything that was near it during the movement phase. You can also reroll its 4d6 move but any rolls of a 1 the second time, your opponent can run over your lines if you roll a 1 on a dice. It has a gnarly gun (1d6/3+/3+/-1/d3) that can potentially evaporate anything with decent rolls. Like most of the Skryre things, it can overcharge its Warp Bolts, but on a double, you take 2d6 mortal wounds. This is definitely a go big or go home type of unit and you'll be overcharging it every chance you get. Its speed will ensure you get in range of key targets (elite infantry/behemoths/heroes) and even with lower-end rolls (4-6 shots), you'll be doing a decent amount of damage. All in all, this is somewhat random and a little risky. It can win you the game or lose it for you. Fun times all around though.

===Artillery===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Jezzails.pdf Warplock Jezzails]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:3 120pts). your Rat Snipers. Park on the backfield and pick off the support units. They get +1 to hit and +1 to save against misile attacks if they don't move and every hit roll that ends on 6 is automatic 2 mortal wounds. Slap on mystic Shield, and it's a potent 3+ save right there. Another unit that gets a little crazy good with the skryre buffs in for small-low price of the engineer, that provides the buffs, to drop dead at the end of the shooting phase. As the game has very few long-range attacks, jezzails will mess with your opponent as they are a great medium wound hero killer.
** Without any buffs, one unit of 3 is causing an average of 1.5 saves at -2 and 2 damage. A reliable way to deal 2-4 damage at a long-range, but not all that impressive given their point cost. Like most skaven, they really start to shine when you take them in large quantities and stack a couple of buffs. Take 2-3 units with an accompanying skryre hero to increase their missile damage. Keep them stationary, apply warpstone spark buff, and now you have a 30" volley that averages around 3.5 saves at -2 and 3 damage. That's 9 damage against anything with a 4+ save (not even accounting for the potential mortal wounds on 6s). Even with Look Out Sir! taken into consideration, you're averaging 7 damage, which is enough to take out a large number of heroes in the game.
**If you want a little extra, you can cast "More-more-more warp power" on them too, resulting in their missile attack only requiring +2 to hit and wound. By far, the most unnecessary buff, given that they get +1 to hit if they didn't move in previous phase and the d3 mortal wounds that they'll have to suffer next hero phase.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Lightning_Cannon.pdf Warp Lightning Cannon]:''' (Clan Skryre 150pts). Skryre's most potentially deadly artillery, both to the enemy and itself. To fire, roll a dice and then roll 6 more against the first one. Any dice that are equal or higher than the first roll result in a mortal wound, meaning that if you rolled 1 on the first dice you deal 6 mortal wounds automatically. Can be overcharged but requires a Warlock Engineer within 3" of the model. When overcharged, you roll 12 dice instead of 6, but for every roll of 1 results it takes D3 mortal wounds after it's done shooting.

===Scenery===
*'''[https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AoSSkavenEndlessSpells-Feb7-GnawholeWarscroll5wjc.jpg Gnawholes]:''' They might not seem like much, but the Skaventide terrain piece has a couple of nifty abilities that most Skaventide lists should try and take advantage of. Their only downside is that you are limited to 3 and they all have to be setup along the board edges more than 18" away from each other and more than 3" from objectives and scenery.
**As long as there is a Skaventide Hero within 6" of a gnawhole, you can transport any Skaventide unit that finished a move within 6" of that gnawhole to another gnawhole (wholly within 6" but 9" from enemies). This can let you play whack-a-mole(rat?) with weapons teams or artillery pieces that might have become compromised. Or you can set one up in your opponents backfield and force them to baby sit it or risk an unpleasant surprise later in the game. It's a welcome mobility option and something to consider when scheming you army lists.
**In addition, Skaventide Wizards and Priests get +1 to Casting, Unbinding, and Prayer rolls when within 1" of a gnawhole. Great for making sure you get that Warpgale or Warplightning Storm off, or getting that yummy prayer buff on your flanking Plague Monks. The +1 to unbinding is a juicy cherry on top. Synergizes well with your wizards' various drug addictions, giving Skaven a strong presence in the hero phase that many factions can't compete with.
**Lastly, each gnawhole inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 6+ for any enemy that ends a move/charge within (a rather pitiful) 1".
**A fun trick with gnawholes is to set them one or two of them up in your opponent's back line. This forces them to waste units on babysitting them so you can't teleport behind them, which in turn means two units that could otherwise be fighting you are instead sitting around doing fuck all.

==Battalions==
''No longer valid in Matched Play games''. Now battalions are universal. Please refer to the Age of Sigmar Tactics page (when it finally gets updated).
===Virulent Procession===
''One Verminlord Corruptor, 2+ Congregations of Filth, 0-1 Foulrain Congregation, 0-1 Plaguesmog Congregation''

At the start of your hero phase pick 1 terrain feature within 13" of the Verminlord Corruptor. Roll a D6 for each enemy unit within 3" of that terrain feature. On a 4+ they suffer D3 mortal wounds. Not a bad super battalion in a Pestilens list since you're likely running all these units anyways. 420 points for 3 CP, 3 Artefacts and some okay buffs - it's gonna depend on how much you value the CP/artefacts.

====Congregation of Filth====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Monks''

Roll a dice each time you allocate wounds to the Plague Monks whilst within 18" of the battalion's Plague Furnace. On a 6 that wound is negated.
*Under "ideal" circumstances, this probably saves 5 out of 30 monks that would have been killed before you fight back. Maybe it happens twice in a match, but that's still only worth 80 points and super situational. You are usually better off with more monks. Taking this is contingent on how much you value CP/Artefact/First Turn.

====Foulrain Congregation====
''One Plague Priest, 3 Plagueclaws''

Add 1 to wound rolls for missile attacks whilst within 13" of the battalion's Plague Priest. Bumps each Plagueclaws success rate from 55% to 69% (when targeting units of 10 or more). You may as well go all in and give the Plague Priest Architect of Death to bump it up to a respectable 80%.

====Plaguesmog Congregation====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Censer Bearers''

Re-roll the dice that determines if any enemy units suffer mortal wounds when using the Poisonous Fumes ability.

===Warpcog Convocation===
''One Arch-Warlock, 2-5 Enginecovens chosen from the list below''

Weird sort of miniature Super Battalion which consists of an Arch-Warlock and some smaller Battalions that can only ever be included via this battalion. All of them convey buffs to certain units, so long as they're within 13" of either the Warlock you took with the coven, or the Arch-Warlock leading the whole Convocation.

If you're taking this, you'll want to lean into the buffs you get and take large amounts of the units that benefit from them. This would probably make for a fun 1-drop army that has a lot of pretty efficient ranged weapons.

====Arkhspark Voltik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 Warp Lightning Cannon''

In your shooting phase, pick one of the included Warp Lightning Cannons and lower the result of dice roll to determine that cannon's power by 1.
*You can apply the buff to one Warp Lightning Cannon per phase, even if you take more than one with the coven.
*The only Enginecoven that doesn't have a Stormfiend tax. This makes it the cheapest of all the Enginecovens.

====Gautfyre Skorch====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-4 units of Stormfiends, 1-5 units of Warp-Grinders, 1-5 Warpfire Throwers''

2 units can travel with the coven's Warp-Grinders instead of 1, as long as they're all part of the same enginecoven. Now that the FAQ made it actually cheaper than just buying a second Warp-Grinder, this is a solid enginecoven to take if you were already planning on using them. You don't get the extra body to warp-shank people with, but it helps fill out your Warp Convocation and get those battalion benefits.

====Gascloud Chokelung====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 2-5 units of Skryre Acolytes''

Reroll hit rolls of 1 with missile attacks from the coven's Acolytes or Stormfiend's Wind Launchers.

====Rattlegauge Warplock====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 units of Warplock Jezzails, 1-5 Ratling Guns''

Reroll 1s for missile attacks from the coven's Jezzails and Ratling Guns. This sounds like a promising enginecoven at first, but unfortunately it doesn't affect the Stormfiends' Ratling Cannons and the Jezzails are already usually getting rerolls to hit.

====Whyrlblade Threshik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 Doomwheels, 1-5 Doom-Flayers''

Add 3" to moves for any units from the coven as long as they started in range of the buff.

===Skratchnik's Warpcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier, 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Doomwheels, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

The exclusive battalion comes with the Carrion Empire box, separate from the stock Warpcovens. In the first battle round, roll a dice each time a wound or mortal wound is allocated to a model from this battalion. On a 5+ that wound or mortal wound is negated.

===Rattachak's Doomcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier(Rattachak), 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

Re-roll hits and +1 damage for Rattachak's doom rocket and +1 damage to the Stormfiends Shock Gauntlets

===Claw-Horde===
''One Clawlord, 1-3 units of Stormvermin and 2-9 units of Clanrats''

When the Clawlord uses their Gnash-gnaw ability, instead of picking 1 unit within 13", pick all battalion units within 13". Conveniently contains 3 battleline units. The buff itself is pretty situational since it can be tricky/clunky trying to keep two or more units wholly within range.

===Fleshmeld Menagerie===
''One Master Moulder, 0-3 Hell Pit Abominations, 1-3 units of Packmasters, 1-4 units of Rat Swarms or Giant Rats and 1-4 units of Rat Ogres''

When the Master Moulder uses Unleash More-More Beasts ability, a new unit is added on a 4+ instead of a 5+.

===Slinktalon===
''One Deathmaster, 1-4 units of Gutter Runners and 2-8 units of Night Runners''

During the combat phase in which the Deathmaster is deployed, re-roll all hit rolls for units in the battalion. Arguably a must have for any Eshin-heavy lists. The main reason to take this battalion is for that extra relic to make your Deathmaster more killy.

==Allied Armies==

If you devote yourself to a particular clan it's been FAQ'ed that you can’t take another skaventide clan as allies. FAQ explicitly states that models with the SKAVEN keyword (which is pretty much everything Skaven) cannot be taken as allies in a Skaventide army.

*'''One-Eyed Grunnok''': A Warstomper Mega-Gargant available to all Chaos factions. Recruit a your own monstrous centerpiece at the cost of your entire allied points allowance. He’s a best used right in the heat of combat where he can throw enemies at each other and disrupt enemy formations. Re-rolls jump attacks of 1, plus enemies get -1 to hits on previous jump attacks of 6.

===Nurgle===

Our one and only ally option. Only permitted if you take a Pestilens Warlord. There are a lot of options here (over 30 leaders!) so it's recommended you look through the [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Age_of_Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Maggotkin_of_Nurgle#Named_Characters Maggotkin of Nurgle Tactics] page if you're considering them as an ally.

*Horticulous Slimux can spawn a single Feculent Gnarlmaw that allows your Nurgle units to advance and charge when near it. This can make spacing your forces a lot easier and help ensure you get to initiate fights on your terms.

A quick note here - you, unfortunately, can't use any of the Nurgle spells like Blades of Putrefaction when allying with Nurgle, since you will only get access to these spells if your army is NURGLE allegiance (as "the Lores of Nurgle" is an Allegiance Ability).

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Skaven

2023-02-09T14:05:08Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Cons */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Skaven|Logo=Capture131114532.png|Alliance=Chaos|Motto=DIE DIE SOLDIER MANTHINGS DIE!!!!}}

The vermin horde is back with a bang! And a confusing battleline selection system!

==Why Play Skaven==

===Pros===
* Hordes of vicious rats and rat monsters too.
* All the Skaven clans reunited under one faction.
* Gnawholes
* Basically it's own mini Grand-Alliance with 40+ Warscrolls to choose from.
* Your access to the various clans give you extreme versatility. Need highly mobile infantry to harass the backline or nab objectives? Eshin. Want monsters or inexpensive monstrous infantry? Moulder. Do you need hordes and hordes of chaff? Verminus. Maybe you want to claim ranged superiority at all costs. In that case, better grab some Skryre. Are you looking to play a highly offensive army that can dish out tons of mortal wounds? Pestilens are your guys. And if you ever need any magic, Masterclan are always there to help you out.
* Most units are viable in casual games
* [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure SKAVEN SCIENCE IS THE BEST-BEST OF THE MORTAL REALMS!!!]
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse. As a blessing it means the sculpts on your basic troops (Clan rats, Plague Monks and Night Runners) are old, but cheap. 42 dollar's per 20 bodies you have one of the better dollar per model count ratios of the GW hoard armies, Imperial guard for example have to pay 60$ for 10, albiet with newer sculpts.
* Do you want unrestricted industrial total war with absolutely no redeeming qualities capable to put to shame even the other Chaos aligned forces? Then look no further! Thematically speaking the Skaven use every single piece of grotesque nastiness developed by a WW<strike>1</strike>2 tech level society including radioactive, chemical and biological warfare, flamethrowers, snipers, gatling guns, human, eh, I mean (slave)rat-wave tactics as well as mechanized cavalry, all further powered by scifi-level technological stuff like tesla weaponry, dimensional portals and genetically engineered and cybernetically enhaced monstrosities as well as daemon-powered black magic and honest-to-Great-Horned-Rat ninjas! You can enjoy playing the villain seeing all the inferior silly fantasy/renaissance tech level "things" with their swords and bows die against the [[nazi| superior master race]] while you twirl your evil whiskers, yes-yes!

===Cons===
* Infantry as durable as wet paper.
* Nothing with better than a 4+ save (besides the Arch-Warlock) and good luck getting those 30 stormvermin in cover.
* Characters are key to most Skaven armies and will need constant protection - They die, the army crumbles.
* Most Skaven units rely on other units for something, making the contesting of multiple objectives difficult.
* Spell lores are exclusive to Grey Seers or Clan Skryre; other mages limited to general and personal spells. (Which is okay since the Grey Seer spell lore is terrible outside of Death Frenzy)
* Skyre Overcharges have become more dangerous with a Higher chance of Death.
* In terms of allies, you only have one, Nurgle.
* Your life will revolve around battleshock with no units save Verminlords going above Bravery 6.
* This also means that any army who can debuff your bravery (like undeath in general) will probably be your worst enemies.
* If you play Eshin, Pestilens or Verminus as core army's units, accept an endless move phase and the hate of your adversary. (That's what movement trays are for)
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse.As a curse A huge chunk of the more elite part's of the army such as Warplocks or weapon teams are stuck with 20+ year old sculpts that are either [[Finecast| failcast]] or metal. Both aren't readily available so you'll have to order directly off the GW store or get used to having to convert the simplistic scuplts of your ancient, but cheap,troop models.

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Skaven|points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/b52ed84a.pdf Skaven Errata]|FW=1}}

'''Additional:''' Broken Realms: Kragnos
==Allegiance Abilities==

===Allegiance Traits===
*'''Lead From the Back''': Enemies take -1 to hit non-monster Skaven Heroes when they're within 3" of any units with 3+ models. After all, those hordes of clanrats are made to die in place of your clawlord.
*'''Scurry Away''': During combat phase, an unmounted hero may always retreat instead of fighting. Again, your hero is more valuable than your hordes.

*'''Strength in Numbers''': For every ten models in a Skaven unit, you improve the range of their melee weapons by 1". This can be quite vicious on larger blobs of Plague Monks and Stormvermin. Or ocassionally on Clanrats if buffed.

===Battle Traits===
*'''''Masterclan'''''
**'''Skilled Manipulators''': Whenever a non-monster Masterclan hero takes a wound or rolls a Ward save, roll a d6 for one Skaven unit of 3+ models within 3". On a 3+, you instead allocate that wound to the nearby unit, preserving your Grey Seer's life at the expense of the rats he commands. Everything becomes a Grey Seer's bodyguard now.
**'''Always Three Clawsteps Ahead''': Only usable if you field 3+ Masterclan heroes. After you have one unit charge/run on that turn, you can use that same roll for the run/charge actions of other units in that phase while letting one unit pile in during the fight phase lets other units within 3" of their enemies pile in as well.
***<strike>''NOTE: This works extremely well with Clan Moulder's "Crack The Whip" ability which adds 3" to a Pack unit's charge roll - Which you can in turn apply to all your other units. Can make for some really aggressive moves.</strike> No longer works as per the latest FAQ.

*'''''Clan Moulder'''''
**'''Prized Creations''': At the start of the game, you can assign a Hellpit Abomination (or several if you field 3+ Master Moulders) with a special mutation, barring any duplicates. Note, that you don't need a Master Moulder for the first buff.
***''Toughened Sinews'': The Abomination now gets 16 wounds and a 4+ save, buffering their peak effectiveness a little. Probably the best all-comers pick.
***''Lumbering Behemoth'': The Abomination gets a 7" movement and all run rolls are automatically 7.
***''Quivering Bulk'': +1 to rolls for Avalanche of Flesh
***''Accelerated Regeneration'': The Abomination's regeneration rolls are now activated on any hero phase, including your enemy's. What a way to piss off any limited-use kamikazes.
***''Best-Best Warpstone Spikes'': Re-roll when using the Warpstone Spikes ability.
***''Backup Organs'': The Abomination has so many redundant organs that you can re-roll for the Too Horrible to Die ability.

*'''''Clan Eshin'''''
**'''Masters of Murder''': Pick an enemy hero, all Eshin units can add 1 to hit and to wound rolls against them. If you pick up 3+ Eshin heroes, this benefit extends to anyone attacking any heroes, not just the designated target, but only for melee attacks.

*'''''Clan Verminus'''''
**'''Mighty Warlords''': A new Heroic Action that lets a Clawlord pick out a second faction Command Trait to use on top of their existing one until the end of the turn, providing momentary perks for key situations. If you pick up 3+ Clawlords then you can use this action on all Clawlords, letting each one pick up a unique Command Trait.

*'''''Clans Skryre'''''
**'''Warpstone Sparks''': At the start of the game, you gain 3+d3 Warpstone Sparks so long as you take a Skyre hero (upped to d6+3 if you take 3+ Skyre heroes). A Spark can be spent once per phase on your '''Skryre''' units to:
**#Reroll a wizards' casting, dispelling and unbinding rolls for that phase.
**#Reroll a Hero's to Hit rolls for that phase.
**#Pick a hero and choose up to 3 '''SKRYRE''' units wholly within 13" of them. Add +1 to the Damage characteristic of missile weapons used by these units for that shooting phase.
***Along with the theme of instability, at the end of the appropriate phase, roll a die, on a 1 the wizard or hero chosen suffers D3 Mortal Wounds. Magical Uranium, everyone!

*'''''Clan Pestilens'''''
**'''Echoes of the Great Plagues''': Pestilens priests add +1 to their prayer rolls for each fellow Pestilens priest wholly within 13". Once per turn, when a Pestilens Priest makes a successful prayer roll of a 6+, you can manifest one of six Great plagues, each of which can only be used once per battle. 4/5 of the plague's effects the nearest eligible unit so have placement in mind and bring a lot of Priests to more reliably get a six once per turn.
**#'''Bubonic Blightplague:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 2d6 mortal wounds. If the unit is then destroyed, pick another enemy unit 6" of the last model removed and inflict D6 mortal wounds. If this too destroys an enemy unit, pick another enemy unit within 6" of the last model removed and deal d3 mortal wounds. Repeat this process until no unit gets wiped out or there are no other units in range.
**#'''Crimsonweal Curse:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound, and it and other enemy units within 1" of that infected unit suffer a 1 mortal wound during your future hero phases. Forever.
**#'''Redmaw Plague:''' The nearest enemy Hero within 13" becomes infected. If within 3" of friends but no enemies at the start of the combat phase, gain ownership of that hero for the rest of the phase.
**#'''The Neverplague:''' Pestilens Priests may reroll prayer rolls for the rest of battle. Should always be the first you set off unless something horrible went wrong.
**#'''Undulant Scourge:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" rolls 1D6 for each member of the unit; the unit takes a mortal wound for every 4+ rolled.

===Command Traits===
Your General, depending on its type, gets to choose one trait from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Shared">
*'''Devious Adversary:''' if your general fights in melee against a unit that hasn't fought yet add 2 to the attacks characteristic of each of their weapons.
</tab>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''Supreme Manipulator:''' When you take a heroic action you can Re-roll the heroic leadership roll
*'''Master of Magic:''' Re-roll all casting, dispelling, and unbinding. Insane pickup for ensuring you get to cast key Endless spells and ''especially'' for shutting down key enemy spells.
*'''Diabolical Schemer:''' Roll a D6 each time your opponent issues a Command within 13" on a 5 the command isn't recieved, they lose that command point and you receive it instead. This can be nerve-wracking for armies that rely on key command abilities for buffs/bravery mitigation. You're likely to steal a CP each game, which, depending on when it happens, can really throw a wrench in certain game plans. Probably not worth it over the trait above though.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''Masterful Scavenger:''' Receive 2 extra warpstone sparks. Not the best trait, but still generally preferable to the shared ones if you're taking a large Skryre army.
*'''Deranged Inventor:''' 1 friendly Skryre unit wholly within 13" can add 1 to hit rolls for missile attacks this phase. Take along a Bombardier with this, pop some warp-crack, and watch those Jezzails start pulling off 360 no-scopes with the precision of a mountain-dew infused CoD enthusiast. 2+ to hit against protected characters is nothing scoff at. It seems this is specifically aimed towards buffing Stormfiends and Acolytes.
*'''Overseer of Destuction:''' If a unit within 13" is hiding a weapon team and they're destroyed, you can save the weapon team and set it back up wholly within 3" of your general and 3" away from enemies.
**Might be useful but at initial glance seems like a trait only useful for when you make a mistake.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Master of Rot and Ruin:''' +1 to chanting rolls for this general. Prayers being re-rollable is pretty solid and will help you get those Great Plagues faster than ever. Kind of redundant with The Neverplague, but also makes it to where you don't ''need'' to activate it immediately and can chuck some mortal wounds at a nearby enemy instead.
*'''Architect of Death:''' +1 to plagueclaw missile attacks damage characteristic wholly within 18”. Only affects Plagueclaws. If you're spamming catapults, may as well throw this in. Not that you should spam catapults though.
*'''Ridden with Poxes:''' At end of combat phase, roll a dice if within 3” of an enemy, on a 4+ inflict D3 mortal wounds on one of those units. Meh.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Verminous Valour:''' The Masterclan Skilled Manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Skaven unit regardless of size.
*'''Savage overlord:''' If a Skaven unit within 3" fails Battleshock you can make them take d3 mortals instead. One of the 4 Battleshock prevention methods at our disposal.
*'''Powerful Alpha:''' First 2 wounds, regular or mortal, EACH PHASE are negated.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Cunning Mutator:''' the Masterclan skilled manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Moulder unit regardless of size.
*'''Hordemaster:''' Once per battle when a pack unit is destroyed you roll a die and on a 3+ an identical unit replaces it and it's set up wholly withing 13" of the general and 9" away from enemies. Only once, you can't replace a unit you already replaced, but you CAN roll to replace a unit twice. Roll using the Master Moulder first and if that doesn't work, roll again with Hordemaster.
*'''Moulder Supreme:''' +1 to hit and wound rolls for friendly fighting beasts wholly within 13". Essential if you're running a bunch of Moulder. Can be replaced with the Rabid Crown and Crack the Whip to give +1/+1 when not going full monstrosity.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Unrivalled Killer:''' Counts as 2 eshin heroes for Eshin battle traits.
*'''Incredible Agillity:''' Can fly and can finest hour twice instead of once. Lets you charge over units and reach key targets after you set up your Deathmaster.
*'''Shadowmaster:''' Whilst within 1” of terrain unit is invisible and can't be shot with missile weapons. Great way to keep your Deceiver from being sniped early in the game.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Artefacts Of Power===

One Hero (plus an additional hero for each battalion), gets to choose an artefact from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''The Gnawshard:''' Pick a melee weapon, if this weapon inflicts a wound it continues to inflict 1 mortal wound at the end of each battle round. (What's that sticking out of your neck?)
*'''Skavenbrew:''' A favorite returning from WHFB. Once per <strike>battle</strike> turn, in your hero phase, 1 friendly unit within 3" suffers D3 mortal wounds but adds 1 to its attacks characteristic until your next hero phase.
*'''Staff of Rightful Supremacy:''' -1 from enemy wizards casting rolls within 13". Once per battle it can automatically dispel an endless spell. With all the other good artifacts around, this is a skip.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''The Brass Orb:''' Once per battle, at the start of your hero phase, the pick an enemy unit within 6" and roll a die on a 3+ they get teleported away. Remove them from the battlefield, then at the end of the turn they have to be set up wholly within their territory more than 9" away from enemies. Kinda neat if you're rocking a full-on ranged army. Really clunky though, as it is during ''your'' hero phase and has a range of 8.
*'''Esoteric Warp Resonator:''' At the start of each battle round, gain a Warpstone Spark if the bearer is on the battlefield, only to be used for the bearer and only for this battle round. Neat for larger Skryre armies.
*'''Vial of the Fulminator:''' At the start of the Movement phase, a Skryre Warmachine within 3" can move twice as fast. At the end of the phase, roll a dice, on a 1 the unit takes D3 mortal wounds. Literally +3" movement to specifically a Warp-lightning Cannon. And it takes damage. Hard Pass flesh-thing.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Blade of Corruption:''' Pick a melee weapon. If it's unmodified wound roll is 6 it's rend is -3 and its damage is a flat 6. Only useful on a Verminlord Corruptor, but in that case can be thought of as +0.83 damage to its Plaguereapers in addition to a rend-buff for that damage. Which is overall quite solid.
*'''The Fumigatous:''' Start of each combat phase, pick 1 enemy unit within 3”, roll a D6, on a 1-2 nothing happens, on a 3-4 that unit suffers d3 mortal wounds, on a 5+ it suffers D6 mortal wounds. Looks unimpressive on paper, but we're talking a lot of mortal wounds over time. Also notably at the start of the combat phase as opposed to the end.
*'''Blistrevous the Living Cyst:''' Strikes first if the bearer charged. Starting at the second battle round you must transfer to another '''Pestilens''' hero each of your hero phases. You want this on a Corruptor and Plague Furnace. If you have 2+ of either of them, this is a solid option - especially when combined with the Blade of Corruption for a really disgusting Corruptor.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Shield of Distraction:''' Can't be fought by more than 1 unit per phase. Funky item on a Warbringer. Looks mighty silly when it charges an enemy army alone. Even sillier when it starts tearing said army apart.
*'''Rustcursed Armour:''' +1 to saves. At start of combat, pick an enemy hero with an artefact of power within 3" and roll 2D6. if it's higher than their bravery destroy the artefact (a 9.72% chance each turn(EDIT: Where does this number come from??? Depends on the enemy bravery)).
*'''Warpstone Charm:''' -1 to enemy saves within 3" At the beginning of your hero phase roll a dice. On a 1 take d3 mortal wound. Personally, I'd skip this one.
**''Alternate Take:'' Take on a Clawlord with Verminous Valor in conjunction with a Bell w/ Skavenbrew and a big unit of Clanrats. When the Clanrats don't need the extra attack, pop the brew on the Clawlord who can then redirect those mortal wounds right back to the bell - bringing you ever closer to that sweet sweet Verminlord. Same thing if you roll a 1 on the charm. Any mortal wounds not redirected only serves to power up the Clawlord himself through "Cornered Fury". The Charm comes in handy in this comp since none of the involved units have good Rend values - but very respectable damage outputs.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Lash of Fangs:''' Pick 1 melee weapon, if unmodified hit roll is a 6 inflict d3 mortal wounds in addition to normal damage. Hard skip.
*'''Foulhide:''' Heal up to 1 wound each of your hero phases, and sets their base wounds characteristic to 10. This one's probably tied with the Crown for the best of the lot, as keeping your Master Moulder alive is top priority if Moulder units make up an important chunk of your army. Can be replaced with Cunning Mutator if you want the Rabid Crown. '''NOTE:''' Having a base wounds characteristic of 10 disallows the use of the "Look Out, Sir" rule, meaning you'll be much better protected against melee units, but pretty much the same against ranged.
*'''Rabid Crown:''' +1 to hit for '''Fighting Beast''' & '''Pack''' units within 13”. This is very VERY useful for turning Giant Rats into piranhas on legs. If running more fighting beasts, consider the Foulhide combined with Moulder Supreme.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Shadow Magnet Trinket:''' Once per battle the bearer can fight first in combat phase. When deep striking your Deathmasters, they should never need to fight first since they should be getting hit that turn. And after that it'll probably situational. Skip.
*'''Farskitter Cloak''': Once per battle remove the bearer and set them up anywhere on the battlefield more than 9” from the enemy. It takes a relic for Eshin to deep strike decently. And that ability sure isn't worth an artifact slot.
*'''Gnawbomb:''' Once per battle 1 terrain feature within 6” becomes a Gnawhole until your next hero phase. Maybe useful? If you're mad enough to take it with a plan, let the rest of us rat-friends know how it goes.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Spell Lore===

<strike>Any</strike> Some Wizard Heroes, depending on their type, get to choose one spell from the appropriate list. Clans Pestilens Priests get one Noxious Prayer. Note, that the Verminlord Warpseer and Lord Skreech Verminking are Masterclan Wizards but not Grey Seers. Hence they do not gain a spell from the Lore of Ruin.

<tabs>
<tab name="Lore of Ruin">
''Grey Seers Only''
#'''Scorch''': casting 5, roll number of dice equal to casting roll, for each 6 an enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. If you're a big boy on a Bell or your name is Thanquol this on average deals a glorious 1.5/2 mortal wounds. Insert Owen Wilson Wauw.
#'''Skitterleap''': casting 6, 1 friendly hero with wounds characteristic of 13 or less (i.e. any hero except the bell, the furnace, and Thanquol) can be placed anywhere on the battlefield more than 9" from enemy units. Teleporting: no longer for the Deceivers alone. Use this to nab objectives, send a Warbringer to crush the enemy backline, or even as a panic button to get your Warpseer/Seer out of whatever bullshit you've gotten them into. Combos well with the gnawholes allowing you to skitterleap a Verminlord/Seer next to a Gnawhole deep in enemy territory, let off a couple of spells and then jump back in your movement phase.
**''Alternate Take:'' Most targets can't reliably charge the turn they leap and can't take the incoming charge when they fuck up their own. Also, remember how Skaven units rely on each other? Your rats will be very sad when you send your Bravery 10 bubble into the enemy backline.
#'''Death Frenzy''': casting 7, pick 1 Skaventide unit that is not a hero and wholly within 13", any model slain until the next hero phase can pile-in and attack.
#*It's worth noting that this applies to death from any source, so if your models are in combat then you may use this in reaction to shooting, spell damage, etc.
#* Anyone know if this pairs well with the Various suicide juices that skaven get (Skavenbrew, Vigourdust Injector, etc.)? Yes, rules state "When slain" with no indication on which source slayed the model. So, models slain from your Verminous Valor warlord trait will "death frenzy". It won't work with the Vigourdust Injector though, since those MWs are taken at the beginning of your NEXT Hero Phase in the window between the spell ending and being able to cast it again.
</tab>
<tab name="Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism">
''Clan Skryre Only''
#'''More-more-more Warp Power!''': casting 7, 1 SKRYRE unit within 13" +1 to hit and wound rolls until next hero phase. Then suffers D3 mortal wounds. Good with Stormfiends and Ratling Guns who (on average) can take the hit and survive.
#'''Chain Warp Lightning''': casting 7, each <strike>enemy</strike> unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. Yes, it affects your own units and is therefore absolutely not worth it.
#'''Warp Lightning Shield''': casting 6, first 3 wounds allocated to the caster are negated (in each phase!). On a 4th wound the caster suffers 3 mortal wounds and the spell is unbound. Brilliant. Chow down on those Sparks without fear!
</tab>
<tab name="Noxious Prayers">
''Clans Pestilens Priests only''
#'''Disease-Disease!''': answer on 3, 13" range. 5+ deal MW for every model in enemy unit. No effect on Nurgle.
#'''Filth-filth''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 toWound to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
#'''Rabid-rabid''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 to melee attack to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
</tab>
<tab name="Endless Spells">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Vermintide.pdf Vermintide]:''' (60pts) useful as a Predatory damage dealer, when a unit is ends a move near it, roll 13 dice and they take mortal wounds for each 6. Can also do this to one nearby unit when it moves, chosen by the moving player. In the latest FAQ this now also affects any Skaven units.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Warp_Lightning_Vortex.pdf Warp Lightning Vortex]:''' (90pts) An Area Denial Spell, that creates a 7" equilateral Triangle( hard to set up on uneven Terrain) with any unit that is within 6" of it takes D3 mortal wounds on 4+ (D6 on an unmodified 6) with bonuses to the roll based on how many of the pylons they are in range of. If they happen to start their turn within 6" of it they can't run or fly. Combo with shackles and the warp gale spell from the grey seer. If all that gets cast the effect is brutal.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Bell_of_Doom.pdf Bell of Doom]:''' (85pts) Its a flying screaming bell! It has a janky "auto dispel itself and do damage" effect when moved with a low probability of happening. Otherwise it is a 13" no battleshock bubble which also reduces enemy bravery by 1. However, it must roll 3d6 whenever it finishes a move, and on a 13 it explodes and does d3 mortal wounds to everything (this includes your poor rats) within 13". Decent, but likely to be outshone by the vortex due to its risk factor and the ready availability of other, less temporary (and volatile) methods of negating battleshock.
</tab>
</tabs>

==Warscrolls==
*The following True Skaven, Verminlord Daemons, and Moulder pack animals and Fighting beasts are all united by the '''Skaventide''' Keyword.
===Named Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Lord_Skreech_Verminking.pdf Lord Skreech Verminking]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 400pts) combining weapons from several of the vermin lord options and the same 5+ ward versus all damage, the king of the rats also brings a "choose each turn" multi-option buff that has six different effects. He can choose from +1 to spell casting, d3 wounds self-heal, exploding sixes mortal wounds off his plague reaper, - 1 to be hit by enemies or increased rend of the glaive from -1 to -3. In addition, he has the warpseer two spell cast and a really good spell that rolls 13d6 and does mortal wounds on a 4+ per dice. It then summons a unit of clan rats equal to wounds caused, making it go from good to amazing due to the potential swing on an objective being 14 on average (seven mortal wounds, seven new rats). He rounds off with a command ability that's a bubble of reroll 1s to hit within 13". A great character, although possibly outshone by the next guy...

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Thanquol.pdf Thanquol on Boneripper]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 415pts) oh lordy it's 415 points but you get a lot of bang for your buck here! The great grey seer and his custom ride are better than ever, combining solid spell casting and impressive ranged and melee damage with good resilience and a strong command ability in an all-round excellent package. Firstly, he's a 14 wound slab of health with the same 5+ ward after save on top of a 4+ normal save. This is supported by a d3 self heal every turn. The behemoth drop off isn't too bad either and bone ripper will be useful as long as it is alive. The good stuff is with Thanquol and his magic, boasting Arkhan the Black levels of casting buff, double cast and dispel, and a fantastic spell which forces enemy heroes to fight either their allies or even themselves. Hit the five times waagh buffed Warboss with this and he will literally beat himself to death! Thanquol also access the excellent lore of ruin as a grey seer. Bone ripper is no slouch either and can be equipped with any combination of up to four weapons chosen from warpfire projectors or braziers. The damage output can get crazy high and he has clubbing blows to back up whichever option suits you best. Four warpfire throwers are possibly one of the most rage-inducing answers to horde lists ever created...(Actually, that seems like huge overkill, two will on average hit every model in the unit that is in range for a mortal wound). Finally, Thanquol has a command ability which, whilst situational, will be amazing when needed. He spends one cp and grants, three other heroes, the ability to use the rules book standard command abilities for no cost. Combine this with the masterclan CP regain and you could harvest 3cp back for spending one...can anyone else say "faq"?

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skritch_Spiteclaw.pdf Skritch Spiteclaw]:''' (Verminus, 165pts) Quite similar to the Clawlord, with a few key differences. He returns models to his Swarm. But, he lacks the +1 attack per suffered wound ability of the standard Clawlord. Else, the stats are all the same. Overall, a pretty good pick, take alongside his Swarm for obvious reasons.
**''Alternate Take:'' A Clawlord ticks in at 110pts. Swarm's 55 points. If you're gonna take a swarm with your Clawlord, take a Rat Swarm and keep Cornered Fury.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Slynk Skittershank]:''' (Eshin, 225pts) A Deathmaster who, instead of hiding in units, hides in terrain with his mandatory goons. When he strikes while within 3" of 'em he strikes first and can retreat afterwards. Not too impressive over a standard Deathmaster but his goons are cheap and nothing to scoff at. Also one of the few units that can Alpha strike since he comes in within 6".

===Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warbringer.pdf Verminlord Warbringer]:''' (Verminus, Behemoth, 395pts) Clan Verminus wizard daemon. like all Verminlords, he has 13 wounds, two spells per turn, degrading stats, a 5+ ward against wounds and mortal wound. Warbringers also re-roll wounds when near friendly swarms, and their punch-knife can deal extra damage. His best stuff is his command ability that lets Verminus to add 1 to hit and wound and a buffed Death Frenzy spell that affects D3 Skaventide units instead of the 1 (models get to attack as they are slain, but before you remove them) which can stack with death frenzy.
**Warbringer (and other Verminlords) one-up on Skreech is their access to command traits and artifacts. Which command trait you take will hugely impact your Warbringer's playstyle. Devious Adversary doubles the number of attacks with your Spike Fist and increases the chances that you will pick up that all-important 6 to wound. For a more defensive Warbringer, nab Verminous Valor and keep him close to units of Clanrats for what is essentially a 3+ Ward. If not running Valor, grab a unit of Stormvermin as stand-ins to give him a 2+ Ward in a pinch.
**The Warbringer is unfortunately ''not'' a Clawlord and can therefore not gain additional Warlord traits. So if you're running him with Clanrats or Stormvermin make sure you have something to help mitigate battleshock.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Deceiver.pdf Verminlord Deceiver]:''' (Eshin, Behemoth, 405pts) Clan Eshin wizard daemon. A sneaker Verminlord, with an anti-horde shuriken, an increased ability to dodge missiles, and the ability to teleport almost any distant '''Skaven hero''' to anywhere on the board more than 6" from an enemy. Teleport your Arch-Warlock smack in the middle of your opponent's forces, add a little bath-salts, and watch as your tesla bomb deals an absurd number of mortal wounds to everything around it (or explode in a blaze of drug-laced glory). A lot of dice need to be rolled for this to work out, but hey, why not?
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Corruptor.pdf Verminlord Corruptor]:''' (Nurgle Pestilens, Behemoth, 350pts) a Daemon of Clan Pestilens. Cast two spells and abilities to deal mortal wounds. His COMMAND ABILITY gives a Pestilens unit within range add 1 to hit and wound. Can hit hard in the first battle but brackets hard from 2d6 attacks to d3.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warpseer.pdf Verminlord Warpseer]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 360pts) More Wizard of the Greater daemons and has an orb that gives a +1 to saves until you feel like chucking it a hero for D6 mortal wounds at 13". Gives friendly skaven wholly within 13" 10 bravery. Also counts as 2 Masterclans heroes for always three clawsteps ahead. Its spell can also cancel a units flying and halve run and charge rolls. Weirdly, due to the keyword restriction on spell lore, it can chuck out two spells per turn but can't know any of the lore spells. Good for the endless spells I guess?
*{{anchor|FWWarpgnaw}}'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ZSGu5E0qVvhlmEuC.pdf Warpgnaw Verminlord] (Forgeworld):''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 275pts) '''Note: This model is now in the Monstrous Arcanum which is still legal for matched play.'''The former Exalted Verminlord. He's generally inferior to the GW ones with only a glaive that's not as good as a doomglaive but has consistent damage (though it is subject to damage). He lacks a Command Ability, his only ability is being able to make a sudden arrival through a vanguard Gnawhole. It also can cast two spells, with a unique spell that can kill a single model if you roll a d6 and roll higher than its wounds, making it only useful on foot heroes and really weak things otherwise. The Warpgnaw Verminlord no longer brings a unit with him. Instead only the Verminlord deepstrikes in next to a Gnawhole (although this doesn't stop another unit from appearing at the same Gnawhole at the same time due to the wording of this ability). It has gained 2 wounds and Terrifying.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clawlord.pdf Clawlord]:''' (Verminus, 105pts)Your standard hero with 5 wounds, a 4+ save. he has 3 3+/3+/-1/d3 attacks and gains +1 attack for each missing wound he has. Not that you actually want this guy in close combat as his true worth is his command ability which lets you pick a VERMINUS unit wholly within 13" and give it an extra attack with each of its melee weapons. This is an amazing command ability for your rat horde as it gives your clanrats 100% increased damage output and your Stormvermin 50% increased damage output. It should be noted that Clawlords can pick up the same command traits as other non-Clawlord generals. This can be particularly useful with Verminous Valor as it essentially doubles his durability at the cost of a few Clanrats. He can also pick up an Arcane Tome for counter-spelling, casting Flaming Weapon, and completing Prized Sorcery.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warlock_Engineer.pdf Warlock Engineer]:''' (Skryre, 105pts) your Mad Science wizards. armed with a Wizard staff and Pistol. The staff can be overcharged for more damage. The only spells Warlocks know are Warp Lightning and one from the Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism. Warp Lightning is a 13" upgraded Arcane Bolt that has no limit to the number of times it can be cast and can be overcharged following the usual method. Now 10 points more expensive than before, meaning he's less of a no brainer choice.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Bombardier.pdf Warlock Bombardier]:''' (Skryre, 115pts) A Warlock with a Bazooka, which can overcharge its single shot's damage from d6 to 2d6. Otherwise, all the same stuff and engineer can do. Considering how little you'd want an engineer in combat, the ranged weapon on the bombardier seems like a straight upgrade over the melee variant.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Arch_Warlock.pdf Arch-Warlock]:''' (Skryre, 155pts) A Wizard in Power Armor. Has a Warlock staff, Powerclaw and can cast two spells. His Unique spell is a Warp Lightning that effects d3 units instead of one, but on a bad overcharge, you can kiss his furry arse goodbye. Probably not worth it for 40 points over a Bombardier, but hey if you need more magics, this is your guy.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Deathmaster.pdf Deathmaster]:''' (Eshin, 145pts) The Skaven Ninja, able to hide in every skaven unit at once like Schrodinger's Fanatic. They throw a bunch of stars then charge in with either a dagger with rend and d3 damage or claws with 7 attacks. Always best to give this guy artifacts that improve his hero killing powers. He’s also got a nice new model courtesy of the Echoes of Doom boxset.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Master_Moulder.pdf Master Moulder]:''' (Moulder, 90pts) A heroic Packmaster with two very respectable weapon options. It can Heal a Pack model d3 wounds and also gives Pack units +1 to wond in melee. A steal for 90 points if you plan on making Moulder a pillar in your army. His Command ability can replace a destroyed Moulder Pack unit on a roll of 3+, within 12" of him. This might not sound like much initially, but it has a global range (so even if the unit dies on the other end of the table, you can attempt to bring it back). This allows Moulder units to fearlessly accept charges before respawning and counter-charging. Moulder units are priced around this guy though, with neither Giant Rats or Rat Ogres being point-efficient, so if this dude dies before them you'll be very sorry.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Priest.pdf Plague Priest]:''' (Pestilens, 100pts) Your standard Pestilens hero. Surprisingly killy since he gets an extra attack for each weapon on the charge. Fairly inexpensive for the damage they can do and an easy way to get extra chances at a GREAT PLAGUE.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Priest_Plague_Furnace.pdf Plague Priest on Plague Furnace]:''' (Pestilens, Behemoth 335pts) It's 3 Plague Monks with a Plague Priest on a huge censer-thing. It can't move its 6" unless within 6" of 10 or more friendly Skaventide models and it makes 6 attacks with Rusty Wheels and Spikes. At full health, the Great Plague Censer now does an impressive 1d3+4 mortal wounds on a 2+. On top of this, it stops battleshock for Skaventide. You probably want 2 to make sure one or both of these buffs goes off on your Plague Monks. It's clearly a centerpiece. It will pack a punch thanks to the Censer, but it needs Plague Monks to push it around and <s>pushing stuff around and not charging is something Plague Monks with their awful survivability really don't like to do.</s> with blocks of 40 monks you'll usually be able to chain 10 of them back to push the furnace. Or just charge with the furnace first and have your monks charge up along side it. With look out sir in melee, 5+ fnp and the big death ball the furnace is right at home charging into combat with it's pushing crew of 40 monks.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Grey_Seer.pdf Grey Seer]:''' (Grey Seer, 125pts) A generic spellcaster, but to be honest he's quite good at that. Can now cast and unbind 2 spells and has a unique spell, Wither, which can cause D3 damage to most units and hero's alike, and it also debuffs them for the next combat round. However, his best ability is probably the Warpstone Token; when you cast a spell you can use a token ( you have infinite, by the way ) and if you do so you roll 3D6, if the result is 13 then the spell is cast and cannot be unbound... BUT your Grey Seer is slain after the effects of the spell. On anything other than a 13 you can remove one dice and use the remaining result as your casting. Pretty good, but has a 10% chance of killing him. For what it costs the Grey Seer is pretty good, and it's not a bad idea to use him in almost every Skaven list.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Grey_Seer_Screaming_Bell.pdf Grey Seer on Screaming Bell]:''' (Grey Seer, War Machine 325pts) Take a Grey Seer and put him on a GIANT BELL OF DOOM and you have the Screaming Bell, a war machine that can alternate between Priest and Wizard depending on your whims and gets hefty buffs to both. The first thing to know about the Bell is that it can't move on its own and needs to be pushed by a pack of friendly Skaven within 6". This movement reduces as the bell takes damage, which feels like a bit of a dick-kick since it makes your towing squad more vulnerable to any bombardment. This obviously means that it should stay close to the Skaven Infantry (which is where it should be in the first place). The most important ability of the Bell, however, is, of course, the bell! It peals in your Hero Phase, and to do so you have to roll 1d6 and see what effect the peal has. You only hurt yourself on a roll of 1, and that's D3 mortal wounds. The other effects are mixed, you can buff your army, damage the opponent's army. Oh, and did I mention that even if your bell takes damage the effect of the peals doesn't change? Yeah. The only thing that decreases is the boosts given to your casting and preaching, which is a bigger issue than any melee penalties. The Seer on top of the Bell knows a different spell from the dismounted one, this time it damages units with low Move. Unfortunately, the Seer loses the Warpstone Tokens. The Bell also has a 5+ ward save and has a pretty good ability that negates battleshock tests within 13". It costs 125 points more than a vanilla Seer, but I'm sure it will repay its price.
**Echoes of Doom has changed the Verminlord summoning to its own action. If the bell takes 7+ wounds, you can roll a d6 - it simply blows up on a 1 but on any other roll, it can summon that Verminlord if the total of wounds+roll amounts to a 13+.
**'''Alternate Take:''' The bell is the weirdest Skaven unit '''''by far'''''. It is RIDICULOUSLY tanky with 15 wound 4+/5+ and can allocate wounds naturally to nearby units on a 3+ should it so desire. This means you can regulate how much damage it takes in order to set yourself up for summoning that sweet sweet Verminlord. Should you manage to summon it, it is practically game over. Summon Skreech Verminking and you will have gained ~425 points of value. Not only that, but your newly summoned Verminlord, while needing to be more than 9" from enemies, is free to move and guaranteed charge in the following phases. There are some caveats however:
***The bell is anything but cost-effective in itself. Compared to a Verminlord it isn't killy enough in combat, it requires nearby rats and it's slow as balls. Also, Crack's Call is extremely limited in its application, dealing a measly 2 mortal wounds to slow infantry. The pushing crew will probably be clanrats who can bodyguard, which are, similarly to the bell, not damage dealers. The peals of doom aren't impressive either, with occasionally impactful results.
***With the bell being such a slow piece of shit, ridiculously tanky and non-threatening like a puppy, enemies are bound to do the one thing they should be doing: Ignore the damn thing. Don't be suprised if it by turn 3 is stranded in the middle of the table and proceeds to do nothing for the last 2 turns.
***Your counter to this counter is to give your puppy claws. Enter Endless Spells and Master of Magic. With +2 and re-roll of casting rolls, you are almost guaranteed to get them off and wreak some Havoc Physics Engine. In addition, with Master of Magic, the Grey Seer will be much more likely to unbind enemy spells, making your big bell much more of a nuisance.
***Did I mention that most Endless spells don't distinguish between friendly and enemy units? That's right, if you want something damaged right, the best way is to damage it yourself. Should your bell takes a solid portion of wounds, you can metaphorically push it over the edge through endless spells. Use that sweet +2 to casting rolls and watch as your Gnashrak's Ravenous Jaw takes your bell from a measly 6 damage to 11 to threaten the dreaded Verminlord summoning. Since the summoning happens at the beginning of your hero phase it's best to damage your bell when you're not in danger of being double-turned as you don't want your bell getting crumpled at the critical moment.

===Battleline===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skaventide}}</span>'''

''If you run a mixed SKAVENTIDE army these are your minimum required battlelines''
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*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clanrats.pdf Clanrats]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:20 100pts) The bread and butter of many Skaven armies. They are cheap fodder and can take a huge amount of punishment so long as their battleshock is taken care of. They can dish out some damage too with Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! But nothing which should be relied on with 4+/4+/-0.

Clanrats main functions are to take charges, push the furnace or bell and freight weapon teams closer to their intended targets. For Masterclan and Verminus heroes they are also the preferred choice for bodyguards since they’re only half the price of a Stormvermin.
**Always grab the sword. With the Strength in Numbers rule you'll usually have a reach of at least 2". Usually 3" with a blob of 40, making the spear redundant. The sword also scales better with buffs like Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on Their Bones.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Stormvermin.pdf Stormvermin]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:10 135pts) Your in-a-pinch bodyguards. Currently priced as if no better options are available (which they usually are). They have a decent damage output and can be targeted by Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! Which increases said damage output by 50%. They’re Skryre and Eshin heroes only opportunity for bosyguard and can help guard verminlords when necessary. Probably still not worth it compared to Clanrats as bodyguards nor Plague Censer Bearers as damage dealers.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Eshin}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Eshin general and all other non-Allies units are Eshin''
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*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Night_Runners.pdf Night Runners]:''' (Min:10 90pts) the mass vanguard slingers of Skaven. They can move 2d6” after setup and run and shoot. They have better aim than Grot Shootas and generate a mortal wound on a natural 6. Generally outclassed by the significantly cheaper clan rat, or the excessively killier plague censer bearer in mixed lists.
**On a turn they get to shoot and charge, 20 Night Runners will do almost twice the damage an equivalent number of Clan Rats would do, but for only <strike>33%</strike> '''90%''' more points. This makes them <strike>ideal</strike> terrible <strike>for taking down other lightly armored targets</strike> '''everything''' as long as you can get the jump on them.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Gutter_Runners.pdf Gutter Runners]:''' (Min:5 105pts) Elite version of Night Runners. Suffer the same fate as Night Runners too. Deep Striking just isn‘t that good, especially when it HAS to happen during your first turn and conditionally within 6” of a terrain feature. These boys are about 50% better offensively, but have half the wounds of Night Runners. Skip them unless you have a very character heavy meta.
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'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Moulder}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Moulder general and all other non-Allies units are Moulder ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Giant_Rats.pdf Giant Rats]:''' (PACK, Min:6 60pts) The sharpest teeth on the wettest of noodle bodies. They get 2 attacks per for 10 points a pop with a movement of 8 and -2 rend. They can also be revived by the master moulder to suicide, die and then take revenge. They do not come with any saves however and have a bravery of 3, making them evaporate the second someone breathes on them. This squishiness makes them terrible at anything but one-sided engagements and makes sending them to the flanks through Gnawholes a risky endeavor indeed. They combo well with a plague furnace which can negate their morale problem. A unit of Giant rats are also an acceptable charge buffer with less durability than rat swarms but a higher damage output - useful for when they are replaced through a master moulder and themselves get to charge.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Ogors.pdf Rat Ogors]:''' ( FIGHTING BEAST, PACK, Min:2 140pts) Rat ogres are a below average unit, made viable through supporting units. Unsurprisingly, when you can get a second chance 66% of the time you need to be quite inefficient to be fair. Take a unit of 4, crack the whip, all-out attack and watch them do mediocre damage twice. Really solid for charging through Gnawholes since their bravery of 5 is okay when your unit only consists of 4 models, removing the need for Inspiring Presence.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Pestilens}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Pestilens general and all other non-Allies units are Pestilens ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Monks.pdf Plague Monks]:''' (Min:10 90pts) ** Supposed to be the pestilent front-line unit. Instead it is a weird support caster unit with a solid combat statline. They have abysmal saves and bravery and their bringer of the word deals approximately 1 mortal wound each shooting phase. Oh and they have a bunch of attacks on the charge with no rend. If you are running a crap-ton of censer bearers, consider picking up 10 of these to buff them with +1 to wound. Otherwise, hard skip. Notably synergizes with the Curse prayer. Still a hard skip though.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Censer_Bearers.pdf Plague Censer Bearers]:''' (Min:5 90pts) Yeeeeehaw! The best infantry on the roster and maybe the best infantry point for point in the entire game. Now with 2 wounds a piece, a -1 to wound defensive ability and '''4''' attacks on the charge with 3+/3+/-1/D2. That's 20 attacks on the charge. As opposed to last edition these boys are the new core for Pestilens as it's more cost-effective to take more of these bad-boys than the buff-giving Plague Monks.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skryre}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Skryre general and all other non-Allies units are Skryre ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Stormfiends.pdf Stormfiends]:''' (Clan Moulder, Clan Skryre, Min:3 320pts) The Unholy Collaboration Between Skryre and Moulder. Has Taken-taken a similar nerf Grundstok Thunderers suffers, the weapons are divided up between a Trio. the anti-infantry Rat can take either Warpthrowers or mortars, another can take Gatling guns or the ability for the unit to deep strike, and finally, another can take a pair of reliable or random fists. Skaven players who used them pre battletome will lament the loss of the triple warpfire projector unit. In their current incarnation, this may be the least attractive ranged choice. The projectors do not benefit from the engineer buffs available to the unit, nor can the be used after using gnawholes or grinder fists. The other weapon options do due to their longer range and standard hit mechanics.
**they are also are part Moulder, lending their array of Weaponry to but they lack the Keywords to properly interact with them.
***This also means that they can be included in pure Moulder armies, and are those armies' only dedicated range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skryre_Acolytes.pdf Skryre Acolytes]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:5 75pts) Mass bomb-throwers, able to run and throw their globes with -2 rend and d3 damage. They look pretty bad on paper, but if you add in the buffs available to Skryre and you don't mind taking damage (hey its skaven) then this missile attack can become pretty impressive, with hit bonus and hit and wound rerolls and a damage buff all available.
**A large unit is still quite cheap and makes a good hiding place for warpfire throwers too. Shame that you have to build them, one model, at a time for $15 USD per model. Better get ready to do some conversion (the now-defunct poison wind mortars make decent acolytes).
***A quicker out of the box method for Acolytes would be the Skaven Bloodbowl team. Their Warpstone Footballs can be “passed off” as cluster mines that serve the same purpose as the poisoned wind globes.
****Even better, plague monks with Arkanaut Company packs.****
</div>
</div>

===Other Units===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Ratling_Gun.pdf Ratling Gun]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Weapon teams are always a cheap way to increase your damage output, though lacks protection against retaliation. With 2d6 attacks with a 12" range and a 25% chance to hit, it does shockingly low damage, even when overcharged, and is liable to get shot off the board before getting into range. However, 3 of them buffed up with a skryre spark and overseer of destruction do massive amounts of damage, assuming you can get them into position.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warpfire_Thrower.pdf Warpfire Thrower]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 70pts). Close range anti-blobs that rolls for each model and deals mortal wounds on a 4+. When you overcharge, you roll 2 dice for each model but the Thrower dies on a roll of 1 or 2 made after dealing damage. Statistically, when used against single-wound infantry this will kill every model in the unit.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Grinder.pdf Warp-Grinder]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Allow you to deepstrike them and another unit. Similar to the Stormfiend Warp Grinder. Don't expect anything of it in combat, it's basically a points tax to get a more reliable deep strike for stormfiends.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Doom_Flayer.pdf Doom-Flayer]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). A melee sports unit. Really not worth it, they have 3 wounds, a 5+ save, and d6 attacks, so they will do no damage in melee, and then immediately die. They can boost their attacks from a d6 to 2d6s but will die after attacking on a roll of doubles or a 7.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Swarms.pdf Rat Swarms]:''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:2 55pts). A unit which many will overlook. They are pathetic in all aspects. 5 attacks on 5+/5+ won’t hurt a fly. They’re squishy, with no saves and 8 wounds for 55 points but it’s all good because they’re Pack units. Stick 2 of them in front of your blobs to absorb charges. Put them on side-objectives. Heck, send them in for fun and res them because you can. Compared to the chaff of other armies, Skaven are blessed with these little critters. Also the best unit to take wounds as bodyguard.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Packmasters.pdf Packmasters]:''' (Clan Moulder Min:3 65pts). No longer heroes. 1 in 3 may take a Things-Catcher. +1 to Melee Hit Rolls and double Bravery of friendly Clans Moulder Pack units wholly within 12". At 60 points, they should be considered. Just remember their buffs don't stack with each other, or a Master Moulder. Can't buff Stormfiends any more.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NLAF5xUbMH8gumFD.pdf#page=18 Skaven Wolf Rats] (Forgeworld):''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:5 100pts).'''Note: This model has been removed from the Forgeworld site and is now in the Legends: Monstrous Arcanum which is no longer legal for matched play.''' Giant Rats on steroids. With a Save to boot. Gets +1 to wounds the turn the charge. When normally hitting on 3s and wounding on 3s, have them charge, and keep them all in range of a pack of Packmasters or a Master Moulder, they're hitting and wounding on 2s. Overall, a very solid and relatively cheap cavalry option that'll rip into any soft target you launch them at.
**The cheapest way to convert them (and still look good) is Chaos Warhounds with Stormvermin heads (add gasmasks and beads and you also have 10 Skryre Acolytes)

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Spiteclaws_Swarm.pdf Spiteclaw's Swarm]:''' These guys can be nasty little buggers. 4 models, each with a different weapon. All are hitting on 4's, wounding on 4's, most with 2 attacks, one with 1, most with 1" range, one with 2", a 6+ save, they're a mixed bunch. Ideally, you're keeping these guys within 13" of Skritch, so he can give them back D3 models per turn. Just don't let Krrk die, he can't come back. If Skritch kicks it, Krrk gets 2 extra attacks. Should the unit take a Wound, or a Mortal Wound, on all successive Wounds and Mortal Wounds in that turn roll a dice, on a 5+ you ignore it. Sit these guys in cover, cast Mystic Shield, they've got a 5+ save, re-rolling 1s, ignoring all past the first Wound on a 5+, D3 coming back in your Hero Phase. All in all, they're alright. Can be a nuisance.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Skittershank's Clawpack]:''' Tougher than gutter runners and with the ability to deploy within 6" of an enemy unit in the first movement phase. Like Skittershank they dish out mortals on a natural 6. With Skittershank and his clawpack shooting and melee phases, that's 23 chanches of rolling a 6! That's 6-8 mortal wounds right there. Pick your enemy's general for the Masters of Murder battle trait and you've got a half decent chance of taking down some medium sized heroes turn 1 (assuming they left you space to get within 6")

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Hell_Pit_Abomination.pdf Hell Pit Abomination]:''' (Clan Moulder 245pts). With a 2d6 move, it can keep pace with a Doomwheel, or lag behind your entire army. Has a melee weapon that deals mortal wounds for every 2+ (degrading) rolled (one dice per model from target unit that is within 3"). Heals d3 wounds in the Hero Phase, all enemies in 3" subtract 1 from their Bravery, it can flat out ignore spells that target it on a 4+, and it has a 1/3 chance to heal d6 wounds the first time it's killed. It won't be dying quickly based on this. But with a 5+ save, and 12 wounds, it could just as easily die with good enough rend and some poor dice rolls.
**If you want something that looks less like a centipede, the Beastman Ghorgon offers a good base for a Ratzilla.
***Assuming you took a Master Moulder, this is where you'll be using Prized Creation since it is a Fighting Beast (albeit not a Pack model) and is the best place to add d3 wounds - or even d6 if you take the Moulder Supreme wralord trait and gamble. Even starting with 13-15 wounds puts its durability a lot better than the warscroll by itself would indicate, which is something of a Skaven theme all around. Just remember that the damage chart is based on wounds taken, not wounds remaining, so you'll get to stay alive longer on your last bracket, not your first. Good thing you regen d3 a round.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Doomwheel.pdf Doomwheel]:''' (Clan Skryre 165pts). A Chariot with an overchargeable Gun and can run over and Mortal wound almost everything that was near it during the movement phase. You can also reroll its 4d6 move but any rolls of a 1 the second time, your opponent can run over your lines if you roll a 1 on a dice. It has a gnarly gun (1d6/3+/3+/-1/d3) that can potentially evaporate anything with decent rolls. Like most of the Skryre things, it can overcharge its Warp Bolts, but on a double, you take 2d6 mortal wounds. This is definitely a go big or go home type of unit and you'll be overcharging it every chance you get. Its speed will ensure you get in range of key targets (elite infantry/behemoths/heroes) and even with lower-end rolls (4-6 shots), you'll be doing a decent amount of damage. All in all, this is somewhat random and a little risky. It can win you the game or lose it for you. Fun times all around though.

===Artillery===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Jezzails.pdf Warplock Jezzails]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:3 120pts). your Rat Snipers. Park on the backfield and pick off the support units. They get +1 to hit and +1 to save against misile attacks if they don't move and every hit roll that ends on 6 is automatic 2 mortal wounds. Slap on mystic Shield, and it's a potent 3+ save right there. Another unit that gets a little crazy good with the skryre buffs in for small-low price of the engineer, that provides the buffs, to drop dead at the end of the shooting phase. As the game has very few long-range attacks, jezzails will mess with your opponent as they are a great medium wound hero killer.
** Without any buffs, one unit of 3 is causing an average of 1.5 saves at -2 and 2 damage. A reliable way to deal 2-4 damage at a long-range, but not all that impressive given their point cost. Like most skaven, they really start to shine when you take them in large quantities and stack a couple of buffs. Take 2-3 units with an accompanying skryre hero to increase their missile damage. Keep them stationary, apply warpstone spark buff, and now you have a 30" volley that averages around 3.5 saves at -2 and 3 damage. That's 9 damage against anything with a 4+ save (not even accounting for the potential mortal wounds on 6s). Even with Look Out Sir! taken into consideration, you're averaging 7 damage, which is enough to take out a large number of heroes in the game.
**If you want a little extra, you can cast "More-more-more warp power" on them too, resulting in their missile attack only requiring +2 to hit and wound. By far, the most unnecessary buff, given that they get +1 to hit if they didn't move in previous phase and the d3 mortal wounds that they'll have to suffer next hero phase.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Lightning_Cannon.pdf Warp Lightning Cannon]:''' (Clan Skryre 150pts). Skryre's most potentially deadly artillery, both to the enemy and itself. To fire, roll a dice and then roll 6 more against the first one. Any dice that are equal or higher than the first roll result in a mortal wound, meaning that if you rolled 1 on the first dice you deal 6 mortal wounds automatically. Can be overcharged but requires a Warlock Engineer within 3" of the model. When overcharged, you roll 12 dice instead of 6, but for every roll of 1 results it takes D3 mortal wounds after it's done shooting.

===Scenery===
*'''[https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AoSSkavenEndlessSpells-Feb7-GnawholeWarscroll5wjc.jpg Gnawholes]:''' They might not seem like much, but the Skaventide terrain piece has a couple of nifty abilities that most Skaventide lists should try and take advantage of. Their only downside is that you are limited to 3 and they all have to be setup along the board edges more than 18" away from each other and more than 3" from objectives and scenery.
**As long as there is a Skaventide Hero within 6" of a gnawhole, you can transport any Skaventide unit that finished a move within 6" of that gnawhole to another gnawhole (wholly within 6" but 9" from enemies). This can let you play whack-a-mole(rat?) with weapons teams or artillery pieces that might have become compromised. Or you can set one up in your opponents backfield and force them to baby sit it or risk an unpleasant surprise later in the game. It's a welcome mobility option and something to consider when scheming you army lists.
**In addition, Skaventide Wizards and Priests get +1 to Casting, Unbinding, and Prayer rolls when within 1" of a gnawhole. Great for making sure you get that Warpgale or Warplightning Storm off, or getting that yummy prayer buff on your flanking Plague Monks. The +1 to unbinding is a juicy cherry on top. Synergizes well with your wizards' various drug addictions, giving Skaven a strong presence in the hero phase that many factions can't compete with.
**Lastly, each gnawhole inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 6+ for any enemy that ends a move/charge within (a rather pitiful) 1".
**A fun trick with gnawholes is to set them one or two of them up in your opponent's back line. This forces them to waste units on babysitting them so you can't teleport behind them, which in turn means two units that could otherwise be fighting you are instead sitting around doing fuck all.

==Battalions==
''No longer valid in Matched Play games''. Now battalions are universal. Please refer to the Age of Sigmar Tactics page (when it finally gets updated).
===Virulent Procession===
''One Verminlord Corruptor, 2+ Congregations of Filth, 0-1 Foulrain Congregation, 0-1 Plaguesmog Congregation''

At the start of your hero phase pick 1 terrain feature within 13" of the Verminlord Corruptor. Roll a D6 for each enemy unit within 3" of that terrain feature. On a 4+ they suffer D3 mortal wounds. Not a bad super battalion in a Pestilens list since you're likely running all these units anyways. 420 points for 3 CP, 3 Artefacts and some okay buffs - it's gonna depend on how much you value the CP/artefacts.

====Congregation of Filth====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Monks''

Roll a dice each time you allocate wounds to the Plague Monks whilst within 18" of the battalion's Plague Furnace. On a 6 that wound is negated.
*Under "ideal" circumstances, this probably saves 5 out of 30 monks that would have been killed before you fight back. Maybe it happens twice in a match, but that's still only worth 80 points and super situational. You are usually better off with more monks. Taking this is contingent on how much you value CP/Artefact/First Turn.

====Foulrain Congregation====
''One Plague Priest, 3 Plagueclaws''

Add 1 to wound rolls for missile attacks whilst within 13" of the battalion's Plague Priest. Bumps each Plagueclaws success rate from 55% to 69% (when targeting units of 10 or more). You may as well go all in and give the Plague Priest Architect of Death to bump it up to a respectable 80%.

====Plaguesmog Congregation====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Censer Bearers''

Re-roll the dice that determines if any enemy units suffer mortal wounds when using the Poisonous Fumes ability.

===Warpcog Convocation===
''One Arch-Warlock, 2-5 Enginecovens chosen from the list below''

Weird sort of miniature Super Battalion which consists of an Arch-Warlock and some smaller Battalions that can only ever be included via this battalion. All of them convey buffs to certain units, so long as they're within 13" of either the Warlock you took with the coven, or the Arch-Warlock leading the whole Convocation.

If you're taking this, you'll want to lean into the buffs you get and take large amounts of the units that benefit from them. This would probably make for a fun 1-drop army that has a lot of pretty efficient ranged weapons.

====Arkhspark Voltik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 Warp Lightning Cannon''

In your shooting phase, pick one of the included Warp Lightning Cannons and lower the result of dice roll to determine that cannon's power by 1.
*You can apply the buff to one Warp Lightning Cannon per phase, even if you take more than one with the coven.
*The only Enginecoven that doesn't have a Stormfiend tax. This makes it the cheapest of all the Enginecovens.

====Gautfyre Skorch====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-4 units of Stormfiends, 1-5 units of Warp-Grinders, 1-5 Warpfire Throwers''

2 units can travel with the coven's Warp-Grinders instead of 1, as long as they're all part of the same enginecoven. Now that the FAQ made it actually cheaper than just buying a second Warp-Grinder, this is a solid enginecoven to take if you were already planning on using them. You don't get the extra body to warp-shank people with, but it helps fill out your Warp Convocation and get those battalion benefits.

====Gascloud Chokelung====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 2-5 units of Skryre Acolytes''

Reroll hit rolls of 1 with missile attacks from the coven's Acolytes or Stormfiend's Wind Launchers.

====Rattlegauge Warplock====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 units of Warplock Jezzails, 1-5 Ratling Guns''

Reroll 1s for missile attacks from the coven's Jezzails and Ratling Guns. This sounds like a promising enginecoven at first, but unfortunately it doesn't affect the Stormfiends' Ratling Cannons and the Jezzails are already usually getting rerolls to hit.

====Whyrlblade Threshik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 Doomwheels, 1-5 Doom-Flayers''

Add 3" to moves for any units from the coven as long as they started in range of the buff.

===Skratchnik's Warpcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier, 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Doomwheels, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

The exclusive battalion comes with the Carrion Empire box, separate from the stock Warpcovens. In the first battle round, roll a dice each time a wound or mortal wound is allocated to a model from this battalion. On a 5+ that wound or mortal wound is negated.

===Rattachak's Doomcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier(Rattachak), 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

Re-roll hits and +1 damage for Rattachak's doom rocket and +1 damage to the Stormfiends Shock Gauntlets

===Claw-Horde===
''One Clawlord, 1-3 units of Stormvermin and 2-9 units of Clanrats''

When the Clawlord uses their Gnash-gnaw ability, instead of picking 1 unit within 13", pick all battalion units within 13". Conveniently contains 3 battleline units. The buff itself is pretty situational since it can be tricky/clunky trying to keep two or more units wholly within range.

===Fleshmeld Menagerie===
''One Master Moulder, 0-3 Hell Pit Abominations, 1-3 units of Packmasters, 1-4 units of Rat Swarms or Giant Rats and 1-4 units of Rat Ogres''

When the Master Moulder uses Unleash More-More Beasts ability, a new unit is added on a 4+ instead of a 5+.

===Slinktalon===
''One Deathmaster, 1-4 units of Gutter Runners and 2-8 units of Night Runners''

During the combat phase in which the Deathmaster is deployed, re-roll all hit rolls for units in the battalion. Arguably a must have for any Eshin-heavy lists. The main reason to take this battalion is for that extra relic to make your Deathmaster more killy.

==Allied Armies==

If you devote yourself to a particular clan it's been FAQ'ed that you can’t take another skaventide clan as allies. FAQ explicitly states that models with the SKAVEN keyword (which is pretty much everything Skaven) cannot be taken as allies in a Skaventide army.

*'''One-Eyed Grunnok''': A Warstomper Mega-Gargant available to all Chaos factions. Recruit a your own monstrous centerpiece at the cost of your entire allied points allowance. He’s a best used right in the heat of combat where he can throw enemies at each other and disrupt enemy formations. Re-rolls jump attacks of 1, plus enemies get -1 to hits on previous jump attacks of 6.

===Nurgle===

Our one and only ally option. Only permitted if you take a Pestilens Warlord. There are a lot of options here (over 30 leaders!) so it's recommended you look through the [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Age_of_Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Maggotkin_of_Nurgle#Named_Characters Maggotkin of Nurgle Tactics] page if you're considering them as an ally.

*Horticulous Slimux can spawn a single Feculent Gnarlmaw that allows your Nurgle units to advance and charge when near it. This can make spacing your forces a lot easier and help ensure you get to initiate fights on your terms.

A quick note here - you, unfortunately, can't use any of the Nurgle spells like Blades of Putrefaction when allying with Nurgle, since you will only get access to these spells if your army is NURGLE allegiance (as "the Lores of Nurgle" is an Allegiance Ability).

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Skaven

2023-02-09T14:04:33Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Why Play Skaven */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Skaven|Logo=Capture131114532.png|Alliance=Chaos|Motto=DIE DIE SOLDIER MANTHINGS DIE!!!!}}

The vermin horde is back with a bang! And a confusing battleline selection system!

==Why Play Skaven==

===Pros===
* Hordes of vicious rats and rat monsters too.
* All the Skaven clans reunited under one faction.
* Gnawholes
* Basically it's own mini Grand-Alliance with 40+ Warscrolls to choose from.
* Your access to the various clans give you extreme versatility. Need highly mobile infantry to harass the backline or nab objectives? Eshin. Want monsters or inexpensive monstrous infantry? Moulder. Do you need hordes and hordes of chaff? Verminus. Maybe you want to claim ranged superiority at all costs. In that case, better grab some Skryre. Are you looking to play a highly offensive army that can dish out tons of mortal wounds? Pestilens are your guys. And if you ever need any magic, Masterclan are always there to help you out.
* Most units are viable in casual games
* [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure SKAVEN SCIENCE IS THE BEST-BEST OF THE MORTAL REALMS!!!]
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse. As a blessing it means the sculpts on your basic troops (Clan rats, Plague Monks and Night Runners) are old, but cheap. 42 dollar's per 20 bodies you have one of the better dollar per model count ratios of the GW hoard armies, Imperial guard for example have to pay 60$ for 10, albiet with newer sculpts.
* Do you want unrestricted industrial total war with absolutely no redeeming qualities capable to put to shame even the other Chaos aligned forces? Then look no further! Thematically speaking the Skaven use every single piece of grotesque nastiness developed by a WW<strike>1</strike>2 tech level society including radioactive, chemical and biological warfare, flamethrowers, snipers, gatling guns, human, eh, I mean (slave)rat-wave tactics as well as mechanized cavalry, all further powered by scifi-level technological stuff like tesla weaponry, dimensional portals and genetically engineered and cybernetically enhaced monstrosities as well as daemon-powered black magic and honest-to-Great-Horned-Rat ninjas! You can enjoy playing the villain seeing all the inferior silly fantasy/renaissance tech level "things" with their swords and bows die against the [[nazi| superior master race]] while you twirl your evil whiskers, yes-yes!

===Cons===
* Infantry as durable as wet paper.
* Nothing with better than a 4+ save (besides the Arch-Warlock) and good luck getting those 30 stormvermin in cover.
* Characters are key to most Skaven armies and will need constant protection - They die, the army crumbles.
* Most Skaven units rely on other units for something, making the contesting of multiple objectives difficult.
* Spell lores are exclusive to Grey Seers or Clan Skryre; other mages limited to general and personal spells. (Which is okay since the Grey Seer spell lore is terrible outside of Death Frenzy)
* Skyre Overcharges have become more dangerous with a Higher chance of Death.
* In terms of allies, you only have one, Nurgle.
* Your life will revolve around battleshock with no units save Verminlords going above Bravery 6.
* This also means that any army who can debuff your bravery (like undeath in general) will probably be your worst enemies.
* If you play Eshin, Pestilens or Verminus as core army's units, accept an endless move phase and the hate of your adversary. (That's what movement trays are for)
* Your models are ancient and that is both a blessing and curse.As a curse most of your 'elite' troops like A huge chunk of the army such as Warplocks or weapon teams are stuck with 20+ year old sculpts that are either [[Finecast| failcast]] or metal. Both aren't readily available so you'll have to order directly off the GW store or get used to having to convert the simplistic scuplts of your ancient, but cheap,troop models.

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Skaven|points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/b52ed84a.pdf Skaven Errata]|FW=1}}

'''Additional:''' Broken Realms: Kragnos
==Allegiance Abilities==

===Allegiance Traits===
*'''Lead From the Back''': Enemies take -1 to hit non-monster Skaven Heroes when they're within 3" of any units with 3+ models. After all, those hordes of clanrats are made to die in place of your clawlord.
*'''Scurry Away''': During combat phase, an unmounted hero may always retreat instead of fighting. Again, your hero is more valuable than your hordes.

*'''Strength in Numbers''': For every ten models in a Skaven unit, you improve the range of their melee weapons by 1". This can be quite vicious on larger blobs of Plague Monks and Stormvermin. Or ocassionally on Clanrats if buffed.

===Battle Traits===
*'''''Masterclan'''''
**'''Skilled Manipulators''': Whenever a non-monster Masterclan hero takes a wound or rolls a Ward save, roll a d6 for one Skaven unit of 3+ models within 3". On a 3+, you instead allocate that wound to the nearby unit, preserving your Grey Seer's life at the expense of the rats he commands. Everything becomes a Grey Seer's bodyguard now.
**'''Always Three Clawsteps Ahead''': Only usable if you field 3+ Masterclan heroes. After you have one unit charge/run on that turn, you can use that same roll for the run/charge actions of other units in that phase while letting one unit pile in during the fight phase lets other units within 3" of their enemies pile in as well.
***<strike>''NOTE: This works extremely well with Clan Moulder's "Crack The Whip" ability which adds 3" to a Pack unit's charge roll - Which you can in turn apply to all your other units. Can make for some really aggressive moves.</strike> No longer works as per the latest FAQ.

*'''''Clan Moulder'''''
**'''Prized Creations''': At the start of the game, you can assign a Hellpit Abomination (or several if you field 3+ Master Moulders) with a special mutation, barring any duplicates. Note, that you don't need a Master Moulder for the first buff.
***''Toughened Sinews'': The Abomination now gets 16 wounds and a 4+ save, buffering their peak effectiveness a little. Probably the best all-comers pick.
***''Lumbering Behemoth'': The Abomination gets a 7" movement and all run rolls are automatically 7.
***''Quivering Bulk'': +1 to rolls for Avalanche of Flesh
***''Accelerated Regeneration'': The Abomination's regeneration rolls are now activated on any hero phase, including your enemy's. What a way to piss off any limited-use kamikazes.
***''Best-Best Warpstone Spikes'': Re-roll when using the Warpstone Spikes ability.
***''Backup Organs'': The Abomination has so many redundant organs that you can re-roll for the Too Horrible to Die ability.

*'''''Clan Eshin'''''
**'''Masters of Murder''': Pick an enemy hero, all Eshin units can add 1 to hit and to wound rolls against them. If you pick up 3+ Eshin heroes, this benefit extends to anyone attacking any heroes, not just the designated target, but only for melee attacks.

*'''''Clan Verminus'''''
**'''Mighty Warlords''': A new Heroic Action that lets a Clawlord pick out a second faction Command Trait to use on top of their existing one until the end of the turn, providing momentary perks for key situations. If you pick up 3+ Clawlords then you can use this action on all Clawlords, letting each one pick up a unique Command Trait.

*'''''Clans Skryre'''''
**'''Warpstone Sparks''': At the start of the game, you gain 3+d3 Warpstone Sparks so long as you take a Skyre hero (upped to d6+3 if you take 3+ Skyre heroes). A Spark can be spent once per phase on your '''Skryre''' units to:
**#Reroll a wizards' casting, dispelling and unbinding rolls for that phase.
**#Reroll a Hero's to Hit rolls for that phase.
**#Pick a hero and choose up to 3 '''SKRYRE''' units wholly within 13" of them. Add +1 to the Damage characteristic of missile weapons used by these units for that shooting phase.
***Along with the theme of instability, at the end of the appropriate phase, roll a die, on a 1 the wizard or hero chosen suffers D3 Mortal Wounds. Magical Uranium, everyone!

*'''''Clan Pestilens'''''
**'''Echoes of the Great Plagues''': Pestilens priests add +1 to their prayer rolls for each fellow Pestilens priest wholly within 13". Once per turn, when a Pestilens Priest makes a successful prayer roll of a 6+, you can manifest one of six Great plagues, each of which can only be used once per battle. 4/5 of the plague's effects the nearest eligible unit so have placement in mind and bring a lot of Priests to more reliably get a six once per turn.
**#'''Bubonic Blightplague:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 2d6 mortal wounds. If the unit is then destroyed, pick another enemy unit 6" of the last model removed and inflict D6 mortal wounds. If this too destroys an enemy unit, pick another enemy unit within 6" of the last model removed and deal d3 mortal wounds. Repeat this process until no unit gets wiped out or there are no other units in range.
**#'''Crimsonweal Curse:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound, and it and other enemy units within 1" of that infected unit suffer a 1 mortal wound during your future hero phases. Forever.
**#'''Redmaw Plague:''' The nearest enemy Hero within 13" becomes infected. If within 3" of friends but no enemies at the start of the combat phase, gain ownership of that hero for the rest of the phase.
**#'''The Neverplague:''' Pestilens Priests may reroll prayer rolls for the rest of battle. Should always be the first you set off unless something horrible went wrong.
**#'''Undulant Scourge:''' The nearest enemy unit within 13" rolls 1D6 for each member of the unit; the unit takes a mortal wound for every 4+ rolled.

===Command Traits===
Your General, depending on its type, gets to choose one trait from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Shared">
*'''Devious Adversary:''' if your general fights in melee against a unit that hasn't fought yet add 2 to the attacks characteristic of each of their weapons.
</tab>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''Supreme Manipulator:''' When you take a heroic action you can Re-roll the heroic leadership roll
*'''Master of Magic:''' Re-roll all casting, dispelling, and unbinding. Insane pickup for ensuring you get to cast key Endless spells and ''especially'' for shutting down key enemy spells.
*'''Diabolical Schemer:''' Roll a D6 each time your opponent issues a Command within 13" on a 5 the command isn't recieved, they lose that command point and you receive it instead. This can be nerve-wracking for armies that rely on key command abilities for buffs/bravery mitigation. You're likely to steal a CP each game, which, depending on when it happens, can really throw a wrench in certain game plans. Probably not worth it over the trait above though.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''Masterful Scavenger:''' Receive 2 extra warpstone sparks. Not the best trait, but still generally preferable to the shared ones if you're taking a large Skryre army.
*'''Deranged Inventor:''' 1 friendly Skryre unit wholly within 13" can add 1 to hit rolls for missile attacks this phase. Take along a Bombardier with this, pop some warp-crack, and watch those Jezzails start pulling off 360 no-scopes with the precision of a mountain-dew infused CoD enthusiast. 2+ to hit against protected characters is nothing scoff at. It seems this is specifically aimed towards buffing Stormfiends and Acolytes.
*'''Overseer of Destuction:''' If a unit within 13" is hiding a weapon team and they're destroyed, you can save the weapon team and set it back up wholly within 3" of your general and 3" away from enemies.
**Might be useful but at initial glance seems like a trait only useful for when you make a mistake.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Master of Rot and Ruin:''' +1 to chanting rolls for this general. Prayers being re-rollable is pretty solid and will help you get those Great Plagues faster than ever. Kind of redundant with The Neverplague, but also makes it to where you don't ''need'' to activate it immediately and can chuck some mortal wounds at a nearby enemy instead.
*'''Architect of Death:''' +1 to plagueclaw missile attacks damage characteristic wholly within 18”. Only affects Plagueclaws. If you're spamming catapults, may as well throw this in. Not that you should spam catapults though.
*'''Ridden with Poxes:''' At end of combat phase, roll a dice if within 3” of an enemy, on a 4+ inflict D3 mortal wounds on one of those units. Meh.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Verminous Valour:''' The Masterclan Skilled Manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Skaven unit regardless of size.
*'''Savage overlord:''' If a Skaven unit within 3" fails Battleshock you can make them take d3 mortals instead. One of the 4 Battleshock prevention methods at our disposal.
*'''Powerful Alpha:''' First 2 wounds, regular or mortal, EACH PHASE are negated.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Cunning Mutator:''' the Masterclan skilled manipulators ability, but it gets passed to any Moulder unit regardless of size.
*'''Hordemaster:''' Once per battle when a pack unit is destroyed you roll a die and on a 3+ an identical unit replaces it and it's set up wholly withing 13" of the general and 9" away from enemies. Only once, you can't replace a unit you already replaced, but you CAN roll to replace a unit twice. Roll using the Master Moulder first and if that doesn't work, roll again with Hordemaster.
*'''Moulder Supreme:''' +1 to hit and wound rolls for friendly fighting beasts wholly within 13". Essential if you're running a bunch of Moulder. Can be replaced with the Rabid Crown and Crack the Whip to give +1/+1 when not going full monstrosity.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Unrivalled Killer:''' Counts as 2 eshin heroes for Eshin battle traits.
*'''Incredible Agillity:''' Can fly and can finest hour twice instead of once. Lets you charge over units and reach key targets after you set up your Deathmaster.
*'''Shadowmaster:''' Whilst within 1” of terrain unit is invisible and can't be shot with missile weapons. Great way to keep your Deceiver from being sniped early in the game.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Artefacts Of Power===

One Hero (plus an additional hero for each battalion), gets to choose an artefact from the appropriate list.

<tabs>
<tab name="Masterclan">
*'''The Gnawshard:''' Pick a melee weapon, if this weapon inflicts a wound it continues to inflict 1 mortal wound at the end of each battle round. (What's that sticking out of your neck?)
*'''Skavenbrew:''' A favorite returning from WHFB. Once per <strike>battle</strike> turn, in your hero phase, 1 friendly unit within 3" suffers D3 mortal wounds but adds 1 to its attacks characteristic until your next hero phase.
*'''Staff of Rightful Supremacy:''' -1 from enemy wizards casting rolls within 13". Once per battle it can automatically dispel an endless spell. With all the other good artifacts around, this is a skip.
</tab>
<tab name="Skryre">
*'''The Brass Orb:''' Once per battle, at the start of your hero phase, the pick an enemy unit within 6" and roll a die on a 3+ they get teleported away. Remove them from the battlefield, then at the end of the turn they have to be set up wholly within their territory more than 9" away from enemies. Kinda neat if you're rocking a full-on ranged army. Really clunky though, as it is during ''your'' hero phase and has a range of 8.
*'''Esoteric Warp Resonator:''' At the start of each battle round, gain a Warpstone Spark if the bearer is on the battlefield, only to be used for the bearer and only for this battle round. Neat for larger Skryre armies.
*'''Vial of the Fulminator:''' At the start of the Movement phase, a Skryre Warmachine within 3" can move twice as fast. At the end of the phase, roll a dice, on a 1 the unit takes D3 mortal wounds. Literally +3" movement to specifically a Warp-lightning Cannon. And it takes damage. Hard Pass flesh-thing.
</tab>
<tab name="Pestilens">
*'''Blade of Corruption:''' Pick a melee weapon. If it's unmodified wound roll is 6 it's rend is -3 and its damage is a flat 6. Only useful on a Verminlord Corruptor, but in that case can be thought of as +0.83 damage to its Plaguereapers in addition to a rend-buff for that damage. Which is overall quite solid.
*'''The Fumigatous:''' Start of each combat phase, pick 1 enemy unit within 3”, roll a D6, on a 1-2 nothing happens, on a 3-4 that unit suffers d3 mortal wounds, on a 5+ it suffers D6 mortal wounds. Looks unimpressive on paper, but we're talking a lot of mortal wounds over time. Also notably at the start of the combat phase as opposed to the end.
*'''Blistrevous the Living Cyst:''' Strikes first if the bearer charged. Starting at the second battle round you must transfer to another '''Pestilens''' hero each of your hero phases. You want this on a Corruptor and Plague Furnace. If you have 2+ of either of them, this is a solid option - especially when combined with the Blade of Corruption for a really disgusting Corruptor.
</tab>
<tab name="Verminus">
*'''Shield of Distraction:''' Can't be fought by more than 1 unit per phase. Funky item on a Warbringer. Looks mighty silly when it charges an enemy army alone. Even sillier when it starts tearing said army apart.
*'''Rustcursed Armour:''' +1 to saves. At start of combat, pick an enemy hero with an artefact of power within 3" and roll 2D6. if it's higher than their bravery destroy the artefact (a 9.72% chance each turn(EDIT: Where does this number come from??? Depends on the enemy bravery)).
*'''Warpstone Charm:''' -1 to enemy saves within 3" At the beginning of your hero phase roll a dice. On a 1 take d3 mortal wound. Personally, I'd skip this one.
**''Alternate Take:'' Take on a Clawlord with Verminous Valor in conjunction with a Bell w/ Skavenbrew and a big unit of Clanrats. When the Clanrats don't need the extra attack, pop the brew on the Clawlord who can then redirect those mortal wounds right back to the bell - bringing you ever closer to that sweet sweet Verminlord. Same thing if you roll a 1 on the charm. Any mortal wounds not redirected only serves to power up the Clawlord himself through "Cornered Fury". The Charm comes in handy in this comp since none of the involved units have good Rend values - but very respectable damage outputs.
</tab>
<tab name="Moulder">
*'''Lash of Fangs:''' Pick 1 melee weapon, if unmodified hit roll is a 6 inflict d3 mortal wounds in addition to normal damage. Hard skip.
*'''Foulhide:''' Heal up to 1 wound each of your hero phases, and sets their base wounds characteristic to 10. This one's probably tied with the Crown for the best of the lot, as keeping your Master Moulder alive is top priority if Moulder units make up an important chunk of your army. Can be replaced with Cunning Mutator if you want the Rabid Crown. '''NOTE:''' Having a base wounds characteristic of 10 disallows the use of the "Look Out, Sir" rule, meaning you'll be much better protected against melee units, but pretty much the same against ranged.
*'''Rabid Crown:''' +1 to hit for '''Fighting Beast''' & '''Pack''' units within 13”. This is very VERY useful for turning Giant Rats into piranhas on legs. If running more fighting beasts, consider the Foulhide combined with Moulder Supreme.
</tab>
<tab name="Eshin">
*'''Shadow Magnet Trinket:''' Once per battle the bearer can fight first in combat phase. When deep striking your Deathmasters, they should never need to fight first since they should be getting hit that turn. And after that it'll probably situational. Skip.
*'''Farskitter Cloak''': Once per battle remove the bearer and set them up anywhere on the battlefield more than 9” from the enemy. It takes a relic for Eshin to deep strike decently. And that ability sure isn't worth an artifact slot.
*'''Gnawbomb:''' Once per battle 1 terrain feature within 6” becomes a Gnawhole until your next hero phase. Maybe useful? If you're mad enough to take it with a plan, let the rest of us rat-friends know how it goes.
</tab>
</tabs>

===Spell Lore===

<strike>Any</strike> Some Wizard Heroes, depending on their type, get to choose one spell from the appropriate list. Clans Pestilens Priests get one Noxious Prayer. Note, that the Verminlord Warpseer and Lord Skreech Verminking are Masterclan Wizards but not Grey Seers. Hence they do not gain a spell from the Lore of Ruin.

<tabs>
<tab name="Lore of Ruin">
''Grey Seers Only''
#'''Scorch''': casting 5, roll number of dice equal to casting roll, for each 6 an enemy unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. If you're a big boy on a Bell or your name is Thanquol this on average deals a glorious 1.5/2 mortal wounds. Insert Owen Wilson Wauw.
#'''Skitterleap''': casting 6, 1 friendly hero with wounds characteristic of 13 or less (i.e. any hero except the bell, the furnace, and Thanquol) can be placed anywhere on the battlefield more than 9" from enemy units. Teleporting: no longer for the Deceivers alone. Use this to nab objectives, send a Warbringer to crush the enemy backline, or even as a panic button to get your Warpseer/Seer out of whatever bullshit you've gotten them into. Combos well with the gnawholes allowing you to skitterleap a Verminlord/Seer next to a Gnawhole deep in enemy territory, let off a couple of spells and then jump back in your movement phase.
**''Alternate Take:'' Most targets can't reliably charge the turn they leap and can't take the incoming charge when they fuck up their own. Also, remember how Skaven units rely on each other? Your rats will be very sad when you send your Bravery 10 bubble into the enemy backline.
#'''Death Frenzy''': casting 7, pick 1 Skaventide unit that is not a hero and wholly within 13", any model slain until the next hero phase can pile-in and attack.
#*It's worth noting that this applies to death from any source, so if your models are in combat then you may use this in reaction to shooting, spell damage, etc.
#* Anyone know if this pairs well with the Various suicide juices that skaven get (Skavenbrew, Vigourdust Injector, etc.)? Yes, rules state "When slain" with no indication on which source slayed the model. So, models slain from your Verminous Valor warlord trait will "death frenzy". It won't work with the Vigourdust Injector though, since those MWs are taken at the beginning of your NEXT Hero Phase in the window between the spell ending and being able to cast it again.
</tab>
<tab name="Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism">
''Clan Skryre Only''
#'''More-more-more Warp Power!''': casting 7, 1 SKRYRE unit within 13" +1 to hit and wound rolls until next hero phase. Then suffers D3 mortal wounds. Good with Stormfiends and Ratling Guns who (on average) can take the hit and survive.
#'''Chain Warp Lightning''': casting 7, each <strike>enemy</strike> unit within 13" suffers 1 mortal wound. Yes, it affects your own units and is therefore absolutely not worth it.
#'''Warp Lightning Shield''': casting 6, first 3 wounds allocated to the caster are negated (in each phase!). On a 4th wound the caster suffers 3 mortal wounds and the spell is unbound. Brilliant. Chow down on those Sparks without fear!
</tab>
<tab name="Noxious Prayers">
''Clans Pestilens Priests only''
#'''Disease-Disease!''': answer on 3, 13" range. 5+ deal MW for every model in enemy unit. No effect on Nurgle.
#'''Filth-filth''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 toWound to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
#'''Rabid-rabid''': answer on 3, 13" range. +1 to melee attack to one friendly Clans Pestilens unit until your hero phase.
</tab>
<tab name="Endless Spells">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Vermintide.pdf Vermintide]:''' (60pts) useful as a Predatory damage dealer, when a unit is ends a move near it, roll 13 dice and they take mortal wounds for each 6. Can also do this to one nearby unit when it moves, chosen by the moving player. In the latest FAQ this now also affects any Skaven units.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Warp_Lightning_Vortex.pdf Warp Lightning Vortex]:''' (90pts) An Area Denial Spell, that creates a 7" equilateral Triangle( hard to set up on uneven Terrain) with any unit that is within 6" of it takes D3 mortal wounds on 4+ (D6 on an unmodified 6) with bonuses to the roll based on how many of the pylons they are in range of. If they happen to start their turn within 6" of it they can't run or fly. Combo with shackles and the warp gale spell from the grey seer. If all that gets cast the effect is brutal.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Endless_Spell_Bell_of_Doom.pdf Bell of Doom]:''' (85pts) Its a flying screaming bell! It has a janky "auto dispel itself and do damage" effect when moved with a low probability of happening. Otherwise it is a 13" no battleshock bubble which also reduces enemy bravery by 1. However, it must roll 3d6 whenever it finishes a move, and on a 13 it explodes and does d3 mortal wounds to everything (this includes your poor rats) within 13". Decent, but likely to be outshone by the vortex due to its risk factor and the ready availability of other, less temporary (and volatile) methods of negating battleshock.
</tab>
</tabs>

==Warscrolls==
*The following True Skaven, Verminlord Daemons, and Moulder pack animals and Fighting beasts are all united by the '''Skaventide''' Keyword.
===Named Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Lord_Skreech_Verminking.pdf Lord Skreech Verminking]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 400pts) combining weapons from several of the vermin lord options and the same 5+ ward versus all damage, the king of the rats also brings a "choose each turn" multi-option buff that has six different effects. He can choose from +1 to spell casting, d3 wounds self-heal, exploding sixes mortal wounds off his plague reaper, - 1 to be hit by enemies or increased rend of the glaive from -1 to -3. In addition, he has the warpseer two spell cast and a really good spell that rolls 13d6 and does mortal wounds on a 4+ per dice. It then summons a unit of clan rats equal to wounds caused, making it go from good to amazing due to the potential swing on an objective being 14 on average (seven mortal wounds, seven new rats). He rounds off with a command ability that's a bubble of reroll 1s to hit within 13". A great character, although possibly outshone by the next guy...

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Thanquol.pdf Thanquol on Boneripper]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 415pts) oh lordy it's 415 points but you get a lot of bang for your buck here! The great grey seer and his custom ride are better than ever, combining solid spell casting and impressive ranged and melee damage with good resilience and a strong command ability in an all-round excellent package. Firstly, he's a 14 wound slab of health with the same 5+ ward after save on top of a 4+ normal save. This is supported by a d3 self heal every turn. The behemoth drop off isn't too bad either and bone ripper will be useful as long as it is alive. The good stuff is with Thanquol and his magic, boasting Arkhan the Black levels of casting buff, double cast and dispel, and a fantastic spell which forces enemy heroes to fight either their allies or even themselves. Hit the five times waagh buffed Warboss with this and he will literally beat himself to death! Thanquol also access the excellent lore of ruin as a grey seer. Bone ripper is no slouch either and can be equipped with any combination of up to four weapons chosen from warpfire projectors or braziers. The damage output can get crazy high and he has clubbing blows to back up whichever option suits you best. Four warpfire throwers are possibly one of the most rage-inducing answers to horde lists ever created...(Actually, that seems like huge overkill, two will on average hit every model in the unit that is in range for a mortal wound). Finally, Thanquol has a command ability which, whilst situational, will be amazing when needed. He spends one cp and grants, three other heroes, the ability to use the rules book standard command abilities for no cost. Combine this with the masterclan CP regain and you could harvest 3cp back for spending one...can anyone else say "faq"?

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skritch_Spiteclaw.pdf Skritch Spiteclaw]:''' (Verminus, 165pts) Quite similar to the Clawlord, with a few key differences. He returns models to his Swarm. But, he lacks the +1 attack per suffered wound ability of the standard Clawlord. Else, the stats are all the same. Overall, a pretty good pick, take alongside his Swarm for obvious reasons.
**''Alternate Take:'' A Clawlord ticks in at 110pts. Swarm's 55 points. If you're gonna take a swarm with your Clawlord, take a Rat Swarm and keep Cornered Fury.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Slynk Skittershank]:''' (Eshin, 225pts) A Deathmaster who, instead of hiding in units, hides in terrain with his mandatory goons. When he strikes while within 3" of 'em he strikes first and can retreat afterwards. Not too impressive over a standard Deathmaster but his goons are cheap and nothing to scoff at. Also one of the few units that can Alpha strike since he comes in within 6".

===Leaders===

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warbringer.pdf Verminlord Warbringer]:''' (Verminus, Behemoth, 395pts) Clan Verminus wizard daemon. like all Verminlords, he has 13 wounds, two spells per turn, degrading stats, a 5+ ward against wounds and mortal wound. Warbringers also re-roll wounds when near friendly swarms, and their punch-knife can deal extra damage. His best stuff is his command ability that lets Verminus to add 1 to hit and wound and a buffed Death Frenzy spell that affects D3 Skaventide units instead of the 1 (models get to attack as they are slain, but before you remove them) which can stack with death frenzy.
**Warbringer (and other Verminlords) one-up on Skreech is their access to command traits and artifacts. Which command trait you take will hugely impact your Warbringer's playstyle. Devious Adversary doubles the number of attacks with your Spike Fist and increases the chances that you will pick up that all-important 6 to wound. For a more defensive Warbringer, nab Verminous Valor and keep him close to units of Clanrats for what is essentially a 3+ Ward. If not running Valor, grab a unit of Stormvermin as stand-ins to give him a 2+ Ward in a pinch.
**The Warbringer is unfortunately ''not'' a Clawlord and can therefore not gain additional Warlord traits. So if you're running him with Clanrats or Stormvermin make sure you have something to help mitigate battleshock.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Deceiver.pdf Verminlord Deceiver]:''' (Eshin, Behemoth, 405pts) Clan Eshin wizard daemon. A sneaker Verminlord, with an anti-horde shuriken, an increased ability to dodge missiles, and the ability to teleport almost any distant '''Skaven hero''' to anywhere on the board more than 6" from an enemy. Teleport your Arch-Warlock smack in the middle of your opponent's forces, add a little bath-salts, and watch as your tesla bomb deals an absurd number of mortal wounds to everything around it (or explode in a blaze of drug-laced glory). A lot of dice need to be rolled for this to work out, but hey, why not?
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Corruptor.pdf Verminlord Corruptor]:''' (Nurgle Pestilens, Behemoth, 350pts) a Daemon of Clan Pestilens. Cast two spells and abilities to deal mortal wounds. His COMMAND ABILITY gives a Pestilens unit within range add 1 to hit and wound. Can hit hard in the first battle but brackets hard from 2d6 attacks to d3.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Verminlord_Warpseer.pdf Verminlord Warpseer]:''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 360pts) More Wizard of the Greater daemons and has an orb that gives a +1 to saves until you feel like chucking it a hero for D6 mortal wounds at 13". Gives friendly skaven wholly within 13" 10 bravery. Also counts as 2 Masterclans heroes for always three clawsteps ahead. Its spell can also cancel a units flying and halve run and charge rolls. Weirdly, due to the keyword restriction on spell lore, it can chuck out two spells per turn but can't know any of the lore spells. Good for the endless spells I guess?
*{{anchor|FWWarpgnaw}}'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ZSGu5E0qVvhlmEuC.pdf Warpgnaw Verminlord] (Forgeworld):''' (Masterclan, Behemoth, 275pts) '''Note: This model is now in the Monstrous Arcanum which is still legal for matched play.'''The former Exalted Verminlord. He's generally inferior to the GW ones with only a glaive that's not as good as a doomglaive but has consistent damage (though it is subject to damage). He lacks a Command Ability, his only ability is being able to make a sudden arrival through a vanguard Gnawhole. It also can cast two spells, with a unique spell that can kill a single model if you roll a d6 and roll higher than its wounds, making it only useful on foot heroes and really weak things otherwise. The Warpgnaw Verminlord no longer brings a unit with him. Instead only the Verminlord deepstrikes in next to a Gnawhole (although this doesn't stop another unit from appearing at the same Gnawhole at the same time due to the wording of this ability). It has gained 2 wounds and Terrifying.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clawlord.pdf Clawlord]:''' (Verminus, 105pts)Your standard hero with 5 wounds, a 4+ save. he has 3 3+/3+/-1/d3 attacks and gains +1 attack for each missing wound he has. Not that you actually want this guy in close combat as his true worth is his command ability which lets you pick a VERMINUS unit wholly within 13" and give it an extra attack with each of its melee weapons. This is an amazing command ability for your rat horde as it gives your clanrats 100% increased damage output and your Stormvermin 50% increased damage output. It should be noted that Clawlords can pick up the same command traits as other non-Clawlord generals. This can be particularly useful with Verminous Valor as it essentially doubles his durability at the cost of a few Clanrats. He can also pick up an Arcane Tome for counter-spelling, casting Flaming Weapon, and completing Prized Sorcery.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warlock_Engineer.pdf Warlock Engineer]:''' (Skryre, 105pts) your Mad Science wizards. armed with a Wizard staff and Pistol. The staff can be overcharged for more damage. The only spells Warlocks know are Warp Lightning and one from the Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism. Warp Lightning is a 13" upgraded Arcane Bolt that has no limit to the number of times it can be cast and can be overcharged following the usual method. Now 10 points more expensive than before, meaning he's less of a no brainer choice.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Bombardier.pdf Warlock Bombardier]:''' (Skryre, 115pts) A Warlock with a Bazooka, which can overcharge its single shot's damage from d6 to 2d6. Otherwise, all the same stuff and engineer can do. Considering how little you'd want an engineer in combat, the ranged weapon on the bombardier seems like a straight upgrade over the melee variant.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Arch_Warlock.pdf Arch-Warlock]:''' (Skryre, 155pts) A Wizard in Power Armor. Has a Warlock staff, Powerclaw and can cast two spells. His Unique spell is a Warp Lightning that effects d3 units instead of one, but on a bad overcharge, you can kiss his furry arse goodbye. Probably not worth it for 40 points over a Bombardier, but hey if you need more magics, this is your guy.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Deathmaster.pdf Deathmaster]:''' (Eshin, 145pts) The Skaven Ninja, able to hide in every skaven unit at once like Schrodinger's Fanatic. They throw a bunch of stars then charge in with either a dagger with rend and d3 damage or claws with 7 attacks. Always best to give this guy artifacts that improve his hero killing powers. He’s also got a nice new model courtesy of the Echoes of Doom boxset.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Master_Moulder.pdf Master Moulder]:''' (Moulder, 90pts) A heroic Packmaster with two very respectable weapon options. It can Heal a Pack model d3 wounds and also gives Pack units +1 to wond in melee. A steal for 90 points if you plan on making Moulder a pillar in your army. His Command ability can replace a destroyed Moulder Pack unit on a roll of 3+, within 12" of him. This might not sound like much initially, but it has a global range (so even if the unit dies on the other end of the table, you can attempt to bring it back). This allows Moulder units to fearlessly accept charges before respawning and counter-charging. Moulder units are priced around this guy though, with neither Giant Rats or Rat Ogres being point-efficient, so if this dude dies before them you'll be very sorry.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Priest.pdf Plague Priest]:''' (Pestilens, 100pts) Your standard Pestilens hero. Surprisingly killy since he gets an extra attack for each weapon on the charge. Fairly inexpensive for the damage they can do and an easy way to get extra chances at a GREAT PLAGUE.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Priest_Plague_Furnace.pdf Plague Priest on Plague Furnace]:''' (Pestilens, Behemoth 335pts) It's 3 Plague Monks with a Plague Priest on a huge censer-thing. It can't move its 6" unless within 6" of 10 or more friendly Skaventide models and it makes 6 attacks with Rusty Wheels and Spikes. At full health, the Great Plague Censer now does an impressive 1d3+4 mortal wounds on a 2+. On top of this, it stops battleshock for Skaventide. You probably want 2 to make sure one or both of these buffs goes off on your Plague Monks. It's clearly a centerpiece. It will pack a punch thanks to the Censer, but it needs Plague Monks to push it around and <s>pushing stuff around and not charging is something Plague Monks with their awful survivability really don't like to do.</s> with blocks of 40 monks you'll usually be able to chain 10 of them back to push the furnace. Or just charge with the furnace first and have your monks charge up along side it. With look out sir in melee, 5+ fnp and the big death ball the furnace is right at home charging into combat with it's pushing crew of 40 monks.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Grey_Seer.pdf Grey Seer]:''' (Grey Seer, 125pts) A generic spellcaster, but to be honest he's quite good at that. Can now cast and unbind 2 spells and has a unique spell, Wither, which can cause D3 damage to most units and hero's alike, and it also debuffs them for the next combat round. However, his best ability is probably the Warpstone Token; when you cast a spell you can use a token ( you have infinite, by the way ) and if you do so you roll 3D6, if the result is 13 then the spell is cast and cannot be unbound... BUT your Grey Seer is slain after the effects of the spell. On anything other than a 13 you can remove one dice and use the remaining result as your casting. Pretty good, but has a 10% chance of killing him. For what it costs the Grey Seer is pretty good, and it's not a bad idea to use him in almost every Skaven list.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Grey_Seer_Screaming_Bell.pdf Grey Seer on Screaming Bell]:''' (Grey Seer, War Machine 325pts) Take a Grey Seer and put him on a GIANT BELL OF DOOM and you have the Screaming Bell, a war machine that can alternate between Priest and Wizard depending on your whims and gets hefty buffs to both. The first thing to know about the Bell is that it can't move on its own and needs to be pushed by a pack of friendly Skaven within 6". This movement reduces as the bell takes damage, which feels like a bit of a dick-kick since it makes your towing squad more vulnerable to any bombardment. This obviously means that it should stay close to the Skaven Infantry (which is where it should be in the first place). The most important ability of the Bell, however, is, of course, the bell! It peals in your Hero Phase, and to do so you have to roll 1d6 and see what effect the peal has. You only hurt yourself on a roll of 1, and that's D3 mortal wounds. The other effects are mixed, you can buff your army, damage the opponent's army. Oh, and did I mention that even if your bell takes damage the effect of the peals doesn't change? Yeah. The only thing that decreases is the boosts given to your casting and preaching, which is a bigger issue than any melee penalties. The Seer on top of the Bell knows a different spell from the dismounted one, this time it damages units with low Move. Unfortunately, the Seer loses the Warpstone Tokens. The Bell also has a 5+ ward save and has a pretty good ability that negates battleshock tests within 13". It costs 125 points more than a vanilla Seer, but I'm sure it will repay its price.
**Echoes of Doom has changed the Verminlord summoning to its own action. If the bell takes 7+ wounds, you can roll a d6 - it simply blows up on a 1 but on any other roll, it can summon that Verminlord if the total of wounds+roll amounts to a 13+.
**'''Alternate Take:''' The bell is the weirdest Skaven unit '''''by far'''''. It is RIDICULOUSLY tanky with 15 wound 4+/5+ and can allocate wounds naturally to nearby units on a 3+ should it so desire. This means you can regulate how much damage it takes in order to set yourself up for summoning that sweet sweet Verminlord. Should you manage to summon it, it is practically game over. Summon Skreech Verminking and you will have gained ~425 points of value. Not only that, but your newly summoned Verminlord, while needing to be more than 9" from enemies, is free to move and guaranteed charge in the following phases. There are some caveats however:
***The bell is anything but cost-effective in itself. Compared to a Verminlord it isn't killy enough in combat, it requires nearby rats and it's slow as balls. Also, Crack's Call is extremely limited in its application, dealing a measly 2 mortal wounds to slow infantry. The pushing crew will probably be clanrats who can bodyguard, which are, similarly to the bell, not damage dealers. The peals of doom aren't impressive either, with occasionally impactful results.
***With the bell being such a slow piece of shit, ridiculously tanky and non-threatening like a puppy, enemies are bound to do the one thing they should be doing: Ignore the damn thing. Don't be suprised if it by turn 3 is stranded in the middle of the table and proceeds to do nothing for the last 2 turns.
***Your counter to this counter is to give your puppy claws. Enter Endless Spells and Master of Magic. With +2 and re-roll of casting rolls, you are almost guaranteed to get them off and wreak some Havoc Physics Engine. In addition, with Master of Magic, the Grey Seer will be much more likely to unbind enemy spells, making your big bell much more of a nuisance.
***Did I mention that most Endless spells don't distinguish between friendly and enemy units? That's right, if you want something damaged right, the best way is to damage it yourself. Should your bell takes a solid portion of wounds, you can metaphorically push it over the edge through endless spells. Use that sweet +2 to casting rolls and watch as your Gnashrak's Ravenous Jaw takes your bell from a measly 6 damage to 11 to threaten the dreaded Verminlord summoning. Since the summoning happens at the beginning of your hero phase it's best to damage your bell when you're not in danger of being double-turned as you don't want your bell getting crumpled at the critical moment.

===Battleline===
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skaventide}}</span>'''

''If you run a mixed SKAVENTIDE army these are your minimum required battlelines''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Clanrats.pdf Clanrats]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:20 100pts) The bread and butter of many Skaven armies. They are cheap fodder and can take a huge amount of punishment so long as their battleshock is taken care of. They can dish out some damage too with Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! But nothing which should be relied on with 4+/4+/-0.

Clanrats main functions are to take charges, push the furnace or bell and freight weapon teams closer to their intended targets. For Masterclan and Verminus heroes they are also the preferred choice for bodyguards since they’re only half the price of a Stormvermin.
**Always grab the sword. With the Strength in Numbers rule you'll usually have a reach of at least 2". Usually 3" with a blob of 40, making the spear redundant. The sword also scales better with buffs like Skavenbrew and Gnaw-Gnaw on Their Bones.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Stormvermin.pdf Stormvermin]:''' (Clan Verminus Min:10 135pts) Your in-a-pinch bodyguards. Currently priced as if no better options are available (which they usually are). They have a decent damage output and can be targeted by Gnaw-Gnaw on their bones! Which increases said damage output by 50%. They’re Skryre and Eshin heroes only opportunity for bosyguard and can help guard verminlords when necessary. Probably still not worth it compared to Clanrats as bodyguards nor Plague Censer Bearers as damage dealers.
</div>
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Eshin}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Eshin general and all other non-Allies units are Eshin''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Night_Runners.pdf Night Runners]:''' (Min:10 90pts) the mass vanguard slingers of Skaven. They can move 2d6” after setup and run and shoot. They have better aim than Grot Shootas and generate a mortal wound on a natural 6. Generally outclassed by the significantly cheaper clan rat, or the excessively killier plague censer bearer in mixed lists.
**On a turn they get to shoot and charge, 20 Night Runners will do almost twice the damage an equivalent number of Clan Rats would do, but for only <strike>33%</strike> '''90%''' more points. This makes them <strike>ideal</strike> terrible <strike>for taking down other lightly armored targets</strike> '''everything''' as long as you can get the jump on them.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Gutter_Runners.pdf Gutter Runners]:''' (Min:5 105pts) Elite version of Night Runners. Suffer the same fate as Night Runners too. Deep Striking just isn‘t that good, especially when it HAS to happen during your first turn and conditionally within 6” of a terrain feature. These boys are about 50% better offensively, but have half the wounds of Night Runners. Skip them unless you have a very character heavy meta.
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</div>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Moulder}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Moulder general and all other non-Allies units are Moulder ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Giant_Rats.pdf Giant Rats]:''' (PACK, Min:6 60pts) The sharpest teeth on the wettest of noodle bodies. They get 2 attacks per for 10 points a pop with a movement of 8 and -2 rend. They can also be revived by the master moulder to suicide, die and then take revenge. They do not come with any saves however and have a bravery of 3, making them evaporate the second someone breathes on them. This squishiness makes them terrible at anything but one-sided engagements and makes sending them to the flanks through Gnawholes a risky endeavor indeed. They combo well with a plague furnace which can negate their morale problem. A unit of Giant rats are also an acceptable charge buffer with less durability than rat swarms but a higher damage output - useful for when they are replaced through a master moulder and themselves get to charge.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Ogors.pdf Rat Ogors]:''' ( FIGHTING BEAST, PACK, Min:2 140pts) Rat ogres are a below average unit, made viable through supporting units. Unsurprisingly, when you can get a second chance 66% of the time you need to be quite inefficient to be fair. Take a unit of 4, crack the whip, all-out attack and watch them do mediocre damage twice. Really solid for charging through Gnawholes since their bravery of 5 is okay when your unit only consists of 4 models, removing the need for Inspiring Presence.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Pestilens}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Pestilens general and all other non-Allies units are Pestilens ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Plague_Monks.pdf Plague Monks]:''' (Min:10 90pts) ** Supposed to be the pestilent front-line unit. Instead it is a weird support caster unit with a solid combat statline. They have abysmal saves and bravery and their bringer of the word deals approximately 1 mortal wound each shooting phase. Oh and they have a bunch of attacks on the charge with no rend. If you are running a crap-ton of censer bearers, consider picking up 10 of these to buff them with +1 to wound. Otherwise, hard skip. Notably synergizes with the Curse prayer. Still a hard skip though.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Plague_Censer_Bearers.pdf Plague Censer Bearers]:''' (Min:5 90pts) Yeeeeehaw! The best infantry on the roster and maybe the best infantry point for point in the entire game. Now with 2 wounds a piece, a -1 to wound defensive ability and '''4''' attacks on the charge with 3+/3+/-1/D2. That's 20 attacks on the charge. As opposed to last edition these boys are the new core for Pestilens as it's more cost-effective to take more of these bad-boys than the buff-giving Plague Monks.
</div>
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

'''<span style="font-size:150%">{{color|Black|Skryre}}</span>'''

''Battleline if the army has Skaventide Allegiance and a Masterclan or Skryre general and all other non-Allies units are Skryre ''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Stormfiends.pdf Stormfiends]:''' (Clan Moulder, Clan Skryre, Min:3 320pts) The Unholy Collaboration Between Skryre and Moulder. Has Taken-taken a similar nerf Grundstok Thunderers suffers, the weapons are divided up between a Trio. the anti-infantry Rat can take either Warpthrowers or mortars, another can take Gatling guns or the ability for the unit to deep strike, and finally, another can take a pair of reliable or random fists. Skaven players who used them pre battletome will lament the loss of the triple warpfire projector unit. In their current incarnation, this may be the least attractive ranged choice. The projectors do not benefit from the engineer buffs available to the unit, nor can the be used after using gnawholes or grinder fists. The other weapon options do due to their longer range and standard hit mechanics.
**they are also are part Moulder, lending their array of Weaponry to but they lack the Keywords to properly interact with them.
***This also means that they can be included in pure Moulder armies, and are those armies' only dedicated range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Skryre_Acolytes.pdf Skryre Acolytes]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:5 75pts) Mass bomb-throwers, able to run and throw their globes with -2 rend and d3 damage. They look pretty bad on paper, but if you add in the buffs available to Skryre and you don't mind taking damage (hey its skaven) then this missile attack can become pretty impressive, with hit bonus and hit and wound rerolls and a damage buff all available.
**A large unit is still quite cheap and makes a good hiding place for warpfire throwers too. Shame that you have to build them, one model, at a time for $15 USD per model. Better get ready to do some conversion (the now-defunct poison wind mortars make decent acolytes).
***A quicker out of the box method for Acolytes would be the Skaven Bloodbowl team. Their Warpstone Footballs can be “passed off” as cluster mines that serve the same purpose as the poisoned wind globes.
****Even better, plague monks with Arkanaut Company packs.****
</div>
</div>

===Other Units===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Ratling_Gun.pdf Ratling Gun]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Weapon teams are always a cheap way to increase your damage output, though lacks protection against retaliation. With 2d6 attacks with a 12" range and a 25% chance to hit, it does shockingly low damage, even when overcharged, and is liable to get shot off the board before getting into range. However, 3 of them buffed up with a skryre spark and overseer of destruction do massive amounts of damage, assuming you can get them into position.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warpfire_Thrower.pdf Warpfire Thrower]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 70pts). Close range anti-blobs that rolls for each model and deals mortal wounds on a 4+. When you overcharge, you roll 2 dice for each model but the Thrower dies on a roll of 1 or 2 made after dealing damage. Statistically, when used against single-wound infantry this will kill every model in the unit.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Grinder.pdf Warp-Grinder]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). Allow you to deepstrike them and another unit. Similar to the Stormfiend Warp Grinder. Don't expect anything of it in combat, it's basically a points tax to get a more reliable deep strike for stormfiends.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Doom_Flayer.pdf Doom-Flayer]:''' (Clan Skryre weapons team 65pts). A melee sports unit. Really not worth it, they have 3 wounds, a 5+ save, and d6 attacks, so they will do no damage in melee, and then immediately die. They can boost their attacks from a d6 to 2d6s but will die after attacking on a roll of doubles or a 7.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Rat_Swarms.pdf Rat Swarms]:''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:2 55pts). A unit which many will overlook. They are pathetic in all aspects. 5 attacks on 5+/5+ won’t hurt a fly. They’re squishy, with no saves and 8 wounds for 55 points but it’s all good because they’re Pack units. Stick 2 of them in front of your blobs to absorb charges. Put them on side-objectives. Heck, send them in for fun and res them because you can. Compared to the chaff of other armies, Skaven are blessed with these little critters. Also the best unit to take wounds as bodyguard.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Packmasters.pdf Packmasters]:''' (Clan Moulder Min:3 65pts). No longer heroes. 1 in 3 may take a Things-Catcher. +1 to Melee Hit Rolls and double Bravery of friendly Clans Moulder Pack units wholly within 12". At 60 points, they should be considered. Just remember their buffs don't stack with each other, or a Master Moulder. Can't buff Stormfiends any more.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NLAF5xUbMH8gumFD.pdf#page=18 Skaven Wolf Rats] (Forgeworld):''' (Clan Moulder, PACK, Min:5 100pts).'''Note: This model has been removed from the Forgeworld site and is now in the Legends: Monstrous Arcanum which is no longer legal for matched play.''' Giant Rats on steroids. With a Save to boot. Gets +1 to wounds the turn the charge. When normally hitting on 3s and wounding on 3s, have them charge, and keep them all in range of a pack of Packmasters or a Master Moulder, they're hitting and wounding on 2s. Overall, a very solid and relatively cheap cavalry option that'll rip into any soft target you launch them at.
**The cheapest way to convert them (and still look good) is Chaos Warhounds with Stormvermin heads (add gasmasks and beads and you also have 10 Skryre Acolytes)

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Spiteclaws_Swarm.pdf Spiteclaw's Swarm]:''' These guys can be nasty little buggers. 4 models, each with a different weapon. All are hitting on 4's, wounding on 4's, most with 2 attacks, one with 1, most with 1" range, one with 2", a 6+ save, they're a mixed bunch. Ideally, you're keeping these guys within 13" of Skritch, so he can give them back D3 models per turn. Just don't let Krrk die, he can't come back. If Skritch kicks it, Krrk gets 2 extra attacks. Should the unit take a Wound, or a Mortal Wound, on all successive Wounds and Mortal Wounds in that turn roll a dice, on a 5+ you ignore it. Sit these guys in cover, cast Mystic Shield, they've got a 5+ save, re-rolling 1s, ignoring all past the first Wound on a 5+, D3 coming back in your Hero Phase. All in all, they're alright. Can be a nuisance.

*'''[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GnvshilvPiKWvp7A.pdf Skittershank's Clawpack]:''' Tougher than gutter runners and with the ability to deploy within 6" of an enemy unit in the first movement phase. Like Skittershank they dish out mortals on a natural 6. With Skittershank and his clawpack shooting and melee phases, that's 23 chanches of rolling a 6! That's 6-8 mortal wounds right there. Pick your enemy's general for the Masters of Murder battle trait and you've got a half decent chance of taking down some medium sized heroes turn 1 (assuming they left you space to get within 6")

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Hell_Pit_Abomination.pdf Hell Pit Abomination]:''' (Clan Moulder 245pts). With a 2d6 move, it can keep pace with a Doomwheel, or lag behind your entire army. Has a melee weapon that deals mortal wounds for every 2+ (degrading) rolled (one dice per model from target unit that is within 3"). Heals d3 wounds in the Hero Phase, all enemies in 3" subtract 1 from their Bravery, it can flat out ignore spells that target it on a 4+, and it has a 1/3 chance to heal d6 wounds the first time it's killed. It won't be dying quickly based on this. But with a 5+ save, and 12 wounds, it could just as easily die with good enough rend and some poor dice rolls.
**If you want something that looks less like a centipede, the Beastman Ghorgon offers a good base for a Ratzilla.
***Assuming you took a Master Moulder, this is where you'll be using Prized Creation since it is a Fighting Beast (albeit not a Pack model) and is the best place to add d3 wounds - or even d6 if you take the Moulder Supreme wralord trait and gamble. Even starting with 13-15 wounds puts its durability a lot better than the warscroll by itself would indicate, which is something of a Skaven theme all around. Just remember that the damage chart is based on wounds taken, not wounds remaining, so you'll get to stay alive longer on your last bracket, not your first. Good thing you regen d3 a round.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscroll_card_Doomwheel.pdf Doomwheel]:''' (Clan Skryre 165pts). A Chariot with an overchargeable Gun and can run over and Mortal wound almost everything that was near it during the movement phase. You can also reroll its 4d6 move but any rolls of a 1 the second time, your opponent can run over your lines if you roll a 1 on a dice. It has a gnarly gun (1d6/3+/3+/-1/d3) that can potentially evaporate anything with decent rolls. Like most of the Skryre things, it can overcharge its Warp Bolts, but on a double, you take 2d6 mortal wounds. This is definitely a go big or go home type of unit and you'll be overcharging it every chance you get. Its speed will ensure you get in range of key targets (elite infantry/behemoths/heroes) and even with lower-end rolls (4-6 shots), you'll be doing a decent amount of damage. All in all, this is somewhat random and a little risky. It can win you the game or lose it for you. Fun times all around though.

===Artillery===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warplock_Jezzails.pdf Warplock Jezzails]:''' (Clan Skryre, Min:3 120pts). your Rat Snipers. Park on the backfield and pick off the support units. They get +1 to hit and +1 to save against misile attacks if they don't move and every hit roll that ends on 6 is automatic 2 mortal wounds. Slap on mystic Shield, and it's a potent 3+ save right there. Another unit that gets a little crazy good with the skryre buffs in for small-low price of the engineer, that provides the buffs, to drop dead at the end of the shooting phase. As the game has very few long-range attacks, jezzails will mess with your opponent as they are a great medium wound hero killer.
** Without any buffs, one unit of 3 is causing an average of 1.5 saves at -2 and 2 damage. A reliable way to deal 2-4 damage at a long-range, but not all that impressive given their point cost. Like most skaven, they really start to shine when you take them in large quantities and stack a couple of buffs. Take 2-3 units with an accompanying skryre hero to increase their missile damage. Keep them stationary, apply warpstone spark buff, and now you have a 30" volley that averages around 3.5 saves at -2 and 3 damage. That's 9 damage against anything with a 4+ save (not even accounting for the potential mortal wounds on 6s). Even with Look Out Sir! taken into consideration, you're averaging 7 damage, which is enough to take out a large number of heroes in the game.
**If you want a little extra, you can cast "More-more-more warp power" on them too, resulting in their missile attack only requiring +2 to hit and wound. By far, the most unnecessary buff, given that they get +1 to hit if they didn't move in previous phase and the d3 mortal wounds that they'll have to suffer next hero phase.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/AoS_Skaven_Warscrolls_Warp_Lightning_Cannon.pdf Warp Lightning Cannon]:''' (Clan Skryre 150pts). Skryre's most potentially deadly artillery, both to the enemy and itself. To fire, roll a dice and then roll 6 more against the first one. Any dice that are equal or higher than the first roll result in a mortal wound, meaning that if you rolled 1 on the first dice you deal 6 mortal wounds automatically. Can be overcharged but requires a Warlock Engineer within 3" of the model. When overcharged, you roll 12 dice instead of 6, but for every roll of 1 results it takes D3 mortal wounds after it's done shooting.

===Scenery===
*'''[https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AoSSkavenEndlessSpells-Feb7-GnawholeWarscroll5wjc.jpg Gnawholes]:''' They might not seem like much, but the Skaventide terrain piece has a couple of nifty abilities that most Skaventide lists should try and take advantage of. Their only downside is that you are limited to 3 and they all have to be setup along the board edges more than 18" away from each other and more than 3" from objectives and scenery.
**As long as there is a Skaventide Hero within 6" of a gnawhole, you can transport any Skaventide unit that finished a move within 6" of that gnawhole to another gnawhole (wholly within 6" but 9" from enemies). This can let you play whack-a-mole(rat?) with weapons teams or artillery pieces that might have become compromised. Or you can set one up in your opponents backfield and force them to baby sit it or risk an unpleasant surprise later in the game. It's a welcome mobility option and something to consider when scheming you army lists.
**In addition, Skaventide Wizards and Priests get +1 to Casting, Unbinding, and Prayer rolls when within 1" of a gnawhole. Great for making sure you get that Warpgale or Warplightning Storm off, or getting that yummy prayer buff on your flanking Plague Monks. The +1 to unbinding is a juicy cherry on top. Synergizes well with your wizards' various drug addictions, giving Skaven a strong presence in the hero phase that many factions can't compete with.
**Lastly, each gnawhole inflicts D3 mortal wounds on a 6+ for any enemy that ends a move/charge within (a rather pitiful) 1".
**A fun trick with gnawholes is to set them one or two of them up in your opponent's back line. This forces them to waste units on babysitting them so you can't teleport behind them, which in turn means two units that could otherwise be fighting you are instead sitting around doing fuck all.

==Battalions==
''No longer valid in Matched Play games''. Now battalions are universal. Please refer to the Age of Sigmar Tactics page (when it finally gets updated).
===Virulent Procession===
''One Verminlord Corruptor, 2+ Congregations of Filth, 0-1 Foulrain Congregation, 0-1 Plaguesmog Congregation''

At the start of your hero phase pick 1 terrain feature within 13" of the Verminlord Corruptor. Roll a D6 for each enemy unit within 3" of that terrain feature. On a 4+ they suffer D3 mortal wounds. Not a bad super battalion in a Pestilens list since you're likely running all these units anyways. 420 points for 3 CP, 3 Artefacts and some okay buffs - it's gonna depend on how much you value the CP/artefacts.

====Congregation of Filth====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Monks''

Roll a dice each time you allocate wounds to the Plague Monks whilst within 18" of the battalion's Plague Furnace. On a 6 that wound is negated.
*Under "ideal" circumstances, this probably saves 5 out of 30 monks that would have been killed before you fight back. Maybe it happens twice in a match, but that's still only worth 80 points and super situational. You are usually better off with more monks. Taking this is contingent on how much you value CP/Artefact/First Turn.

====Foulrain Congregation====
''One Plague Priest, 3 Plagueclaws''

Add 1 to wound rolls for missile attacks whilst within 13" of the battalion's Plague Priest. Bumps each Plagueclaws success rate from 55% to 69% (when targeting units of 10 or more). You may as well go all in and give the Plague Priest Architect of Death to bump it up to a respectable 80%.

====Plaguesmog Congregation====
''One Plague Priest on Plague Furnace, 2+ units of Plague Censer Bearers''

Re-roll the dice that determines if any enemy units suffer mortal wounds when using the Poisonous Fumes ability.

===Warpcog Convocation===
''One Arch-Warlock, 2-5 Enginecovens chosen from the list below''

Weird sort of miniature Super Battalion which consists of an Arch-Warlock and some smaller Battalions that can only ever be included via this battalion. All of them convey buffs to certain units, so long as they're within 13" of either the Warlock you took with the coven, or the Arch-Warlock leading the whole Convocation.

If you're taking this, you'll want to lean into the buffs you get and take large amounts of the units that benefit from them. This would probably make for a fun 1-drop army that has a lot of pretty efficient ranged weapons.

====Arkhspark Voltik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 Warp Lightning Cannon''

In your shooting phase, pick one of the included Warp Lightning Cannons and lower the result of dice roll to determine that cannon's power by 1.
*You can apply the buff to one Warp Lightning Cannon per phase, even if you take more than one with the coven.
*The only Enginecoven that doesn't have a Stormfiend tax. This makes it the cheapest of all the Enginecovens.

====Gautfyre Skorch====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-4 units of Stormfiends, 1-5 units of Warp-Grinders, 1-5 Warpfire Throwers''

2 units can travel with the coven's Warp-Grinders instead of 1, as long as they're all part of the same enginecoven. Now that the FAQ made it actually cheaper than just buying a second Warp-Grinder, this is a solid enginecoven to take if you were already planning on using them. You don't get the extra body to warp-shank people with, but it helps fill out your Warp Convocation and get those battalion benefits.

====Gascloud Chokelung====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 2-5 units of Skryre Acolytes''

Reroll hit rolls of 1 with missile attacks from the coven's Acolytes or Stormfiend's Wind Launchers.

====Rattlegauge Warplock====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 units of Warplock Jezzails, 1-5 Ratling Guns''

Reroll 1s for missile attacks from the coven's Jezzails and Ratling Guns. This sounds like a promising enginecoven at first, but unfortunately it doesn't affect the Stormfiends' Ratling Cannons and the Jezzails are already usually getting rerolls to hit.

====Whyrlblade Threshik====
''One Warlock Engineer or Warlock Bombardier, 1-3 units of Stormfiends, 1-3 Doomwheels, 1-5 Doom-Flayers''

Add 3" to moves for any units from the coven as long as they started in range of the buff.

===Skratchnik's Warpcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier, 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Doomwheels, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

The exclusive battalion comes with the Carrion Empire box, separate from the stock Warpcovens. In the first battle round, roll a dice each time a wound or mortal wound is allocated to a model from this battalion. On a 5+ that wound or mortal wound is negated.

===Rattachak's Doomcoven===
''One Warlock Bombardier(Rattachak), 1 units of Stormfiends, 1 Warp Lighting Cannon''

Re-roll hits and +1 damage for Rattachak's doom rocket and +1 damage to the Stormfiends Shock Gauntlets

===Claw-Horde===
''One Clawlord, 1-3 units of Stormvermin and 2-9 units of Clanrats''

When the Clawlord uses their Gnash-gnaw ability, instead of picking 1 unit within 13", pick all battalion units within 13". Conveniently contains 3 battleline units. The buff itself is pretty situational since it can be tricky/clunky trying to keep two or more units wholly within range.

===Fleshmeld Menagerie===
''One Master Moulder, 0-3 Hell Pit Abominations, 1-3 units of Packmasters, 1-4 units of Rat Swarms or Giant Rats and 1-4 units of Rat Ogres''

When the Master Moulder uses Unleash More-More Beasts ability, a new unit is added on a 4+ instead of a 5+.

===Slinktalon===
''One Deathmaster, 1-4 units of Gutter Runners and 2-8 units of Night Runners''

During the combat phase in which the Deathmaster is deployed, re-roll all hit rolls for units in the battalion. Arguably a must have for any Eshin-heavy lists. The main reason to take this battalion is for that extra relic to make your Deathmaster more killy.

==Allied Armies==

If you devote yourself to a particular clan it's been FAQ'ed that you can’t take another skaventide clan as allies. FAQ explicitly states that models with the SKAVEN keyword (which is pretty much everything Skaven) cannot be taken as allies in a Skaventide army.

*'''One-Eyed Grunnok''': A Warstomper Mega-Gargant available to all Chaos factions. Recruit a your own monstrous centerpiece at the cost of your entire allied points allowance. He’s a best used right in the heat of combat where he can throw enemies at each other and disrupt enemy formations. Re-rolls jump attacks of 1, plus enemies get -1 to hits on previous jump attacks of 6.

===Nurgle===

Our one and only ally option. Only permitted if you take a Pestilens Warlord. There are a lot of options here (over 30 leaders!) so it's recommended you look through the [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Age_of_Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Maggotkin_of_Nurgle#Named_Characters Maggotkin of Nurgle Tactics] page if you're considering them as an ally.

*Horticulous Slimux can spawn a single Feculent Gnarlmaw that allows your Nurgle units to advance and charge when near it. This can make spacing your forces a lot easier and help ensure you get to initiate fights on your terms.

A quick note here - you, unfortunately, can't use any of the Nurgle spells like Blades of Putrefaction when allying with Nurgle, since you will only get access to these spells if your army is NURGLE allegiance (as "the Lores of Nurgle" is an Allegiance Ability).

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Dinosaur

2023-02-09T11:25:23Z

2601:1C0:4500:A540:9B1:C19B:95FC:FFEB: /* Gallery */

{{awesome}}
[[Image:Tyrannosaurus.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A ''Tyrannosaurus rex''! (Now inaccurate, the real thing was scaly in light of new research.)]]
{{Topquote| Birds aren't descended from dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. Which means that the fastest animal alive today is a small carnivorous dinosaur, Falco peregrinus. It preys mainly on other dinosaurs, which it strikes and kills in midair with its claws. This is a good world.|XKCD 1211}}
{{Topquote| Holy fucking shit, it's a dinosaur! Jesus Christ! What the fuck!? Oh my fucking god, fucking dinosaurs, holy shit. What the fuuuuuuck!?|Anthem of the fucking dinosaurs.}}
'''Dinosaurs''' are a category of creatures of the clade Dinosauria, which first emerged around 250 million years ago, in the Triassic period. Assuming some matters regarding carbon dating working on them, some biological material found, and bones that aren’t fossilized doesn’t make you afraid to go into the woods. Generally these creatures have been classified as reptiles, with their name itself meaning "terrible" (deino) "lizard" (sauros), since their discovery and cataloging by modern science.
However due to recent discoveries, [[Skub|it created a large divide in the Paleontology community on whether they should still be classified as inherently reptile or something completely new.]]

Dinosaurs came to be the dominant form of large, scaly (or feathery), land dwelling life forms across all of earth's major continents through the Jurassic and Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs were, and are, the biggest animals ever to live on the planet, [[Skub|however, what counts as THE biggest is often up in debate by the scientific community,]] as this [[RAGE|usually this ends in flamewars between Sauropod-Fanboys and Cetacean-Fanboys]] (yes, they do exist, kind of like the relationship between [[Star Wars]] fanboys and [[Star Trek]] fanboys), but the more neutral agreement is Sauropods=Land and Whales=Ocean.

They are regarded as [[Fist of the North Star|awesome]] for several reasons....
*They appeal to the sensational because they're "monsters", but unlike most, they actually DID exist.
*It's also been postulated that dinosaurs were the inspiration for [[Dragon|dragons]] with people discovering dinosaur bones and making up stories about them, though that is debatable.
*Quite a few of the more massive dinosaurs were larger (as in '''much''' larger) then the biggest living land mammal, the African Elephant. In fact, the ''Paraceratherium orgosensis'' (a relative to the direct ancestor to the modern Rhinoceros) which was the largest land mammal to have ever existed, would be classified as "small-sized" by sauropod standards.
*The largest sauropods are so colossal that they could be classified as [[CoDzilla|"Kaiju-Size"]] and could furthermore cause mini-earthquakes and create sonic booms with their tails.
*A posited idea is that if the asteroid did not hit Earth, then it would be the [[Lizardmen|''Troodontidae'']] (a family of intelligent non-avian dinosaur, which resembled ''Velociraptor'') that would be building civilizations and spaceships rather than humans.
*Not even the [[Angry Marines]] will '''DARE''' fuck with these things. They [[rage]] all the time, but they're not ''that'' stubbornly, angrily boneheaded.
*[[Miniatures]] are easily and cheaply obtained. This is why they got into D&D in the first place (see down).

[[Tl;dr|Tl;dr,]] Dinosaurs are '''NOT''' to be fucked with.
[[Image:Dinosaur.jpg|thumb|right|A modern day dinosaur of the theropod lineage]]
Most lines of dinosaur were extinguished during the Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction Event some 66 million years ago because of [[Rocks fall, everyone dies|some random space rock]] that came in out of nowhere. Most scientists actually do consider birds the only surviving branch of dinosaurs (that's right, its fair to say that '''all birds everywhere are living dinosaurs'''). The other close surviving relatives of dinosaurs are the crocodiles, a different branch of the archosaur family that carries on its traditions of eating whatever they want and [[Lizardfolk|giving no fucks about mammals]]. Contrary to popular belief, the Komodo dragon, a species of monitor lizard, wasn't descended from dinosaurs. It is, however, somewhat closely related to creatures commonly mistaken for dinosaurs - Mosasaurs.

==Why Dinosaurs are Relevant to /tg/==
* They're completely [[awesome]].
* They've existed as monsters to slay since the early days of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The [[Eberron]] setting has them as animal companions for [[Halflings]].
* Dinosaurs are not uncommon in the kind of pulp fantasy Gygax was inspired by, often surviving into the modern day in a "Lost World".
* Cavalry mounts for [[Exodite]] [[Eldar]] in Warhammer 40k.
* Cavalry mounts, battling rams, tanks, lawnmower for [[Lizardmen]] in WHFB. Also the primary native wildlife of Lustria.
** Cavalry mounts for [[Dark Elves|edgy and dark pointy ear fellows]] in WHFB.
* They are literary dragon without wings and the ability to spew flame.
** Ok, some of them can fly, but that's even more awesome.
*[[Tarrasque]]
* In [[Magic: The Gathering]], dinos were originally in the game, but were then retroactively treated as either lizards or beasts depending on the printing until [[Ixalan]] came along and gave us legitimate dinosaurs. Since then, all cards that depict dinosaurs have been errataed to have the Dinosaur creature type.

== Things people think are dinosaurs, but are not: ==
Some people think of dinosaur as any large extinct prehistoric reptile and tend to lump a bunch of non dinosaurs into the dinosaur category. These include...

*Pterosaurs: These flying archosaurs had among their ranks the largest flying creatures that ever lived and were the closest clade to dinosaurs, both of which being descended from the Archosaurs, but they are not actually dinosaurs themselves. And anyone who says different needs to be introduced to the K-T asteroid there and then.
**On a similar note crocodiles are also not dinosaurs despite also being descended from the Archosaurs, in fact Crocodilias form the entire second branch of the Archosaur tree and thus they are the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs, including the birds of all things.
*Marine Reptiles: During the Mesozoic era there were a variety of large marine reptiles, including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, Pliosaurs, Mosasaurs and various other sea beasties. As these creatures are big, reptillian, and look like dinosaurs, the general public often lumps them in as dinosaurs. In truth these are a number of separate families that took to the sea.
*Synapsids: Before the dinosaurs really took off as the dominant form of life during the late Triassic period, the Synapsids, sometimes known as "mammal-like reptiles" were king. One member of this clade is ''Dimetrodon'' or "that fin-back lizard thing' in the Land Before Time and those sets of dinosaur toys your mom bought you when you were a kid". You can tell they're not dinosaurs (and this is a very loose definition) thanks to an extra opening in the skull behind the eye where jaw muscles attached and later became the Sphenoid bone which sits behind the eyes, specialized teeth including canine teeth, among many other distinguishing traits. As the name suggests these guys became the early mammals which turned into us, in fact put a finger behind your eye and one behind your check bone. If you Squeeze that ridge of bone you feel is your own Sphenoid. It's unknown at what point they began to give birth to live young and lactate, although since fur was an extremely late adaptation its generally thought there was a point where something that looked like a dinosaur had lizard <strike>tits</strike> teats.
*Not Quite Dinosaurs: A bit more obscure, but worth a mention. When dinosaurs showed up on the scene in the Triassic Period, they were not alone. A wide variety of large reptiles emerged and evolved alongside them. Among these were other Archosaurs, which included several close relatives to dinosaurs and creatures more closely related to modern crocodiles such as Postosuchus which had some very dinosaurian features. The Triassic Period ended with an extinction event which did in most of these lineages, leaving the Dinosaurs, Crocodilians and Pterosaurs the last of these big reptiles standing.

<center><gallery>
Image:Hatzi.jpg|Hatzegopteryx, the largest living thing that could ever fly.
Image:Mosasaur.jpg|Mosasaur, a giant predatory monitor lizard from the time when sea monsters were real.
image:Gorgonopsid.jpg|Gorgonopsid, closer to you than a dinosaur but not a relative you'd invite over for tea.
</gallery></center>

==Major groups of dinosaurs==
Prepare for '''SCIENCE.''' The major two types of dinosaur are divided according to the shape of their hip bone.

===Saurischia===
The "lizard-hipped" dinosaurs. Ironically, birds are part of Saurischia.

====Theropoda====
*Easy name: Meat-eaters
*Well known members: ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Gallimimus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Deinocheirus'', ''Yi'', ''Gypaetus'', ''Majungasaurus''

You know them well. The hunters of the prehistoric world. Theropods were likely the first group of dinosaurs to arise, and diversified quite a lot. Also the only group to survive the asteroid impact (and subsequent climate change). The loss of these awe- inspiring hunters was one of the only things to make [[Khorne]] sad. '''EVER'''. Then he [[RAGE]]D because there were no [[Psykers]] around at the time, so he couldn't have sent his [[Daemon]]s to capture the Theropod dinosaurs and make them his servants.

=====Therizinosauria=====
*Easy name: The Weird Ones
*Well known members: ''Therizinosaurus'',
*Awesome obscure members: They're all obscure

Therizinosaurus are to theropods what pandas are to normal bears. They used to be carnivores, now they eat plants, which gives them a weird mish-mash of features. While part of the Theropod clade they are too weird not to be worth a mention all on their own. They are most well known for having massive claws, in fact ''Therizinosaurus'' means ''scythe lizard''. While they could be used to manipulate plants they could also have used for defense, and again they are massive.

=====Avialae=====
*Easy name: Birds/Proto-birds
*Well known members: ''Archaeopteryx'',''Microraptor'', ''Birds''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Rahonavis'',''Scansoriopterygidae'', ''The Terror birds''

At this point it's been basically confirmed that birds=dinosaurs and Avialae are the group that not only became birds, it also includes them. While many of the species that actually lived in the age of dinosaurs were nothing impressive, most being smallish and likely being insectivore, birds never 'forgot' how to be dinosaurs and for a long time large flightless birds were the dominate land predator of South America. These species are known informally as "The Terror Birds".

====Sauropoda====
*Easy name: Long-necks
*Well known members: ''Apatosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Diplodocus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Amargasaurus'', ''Shunosaurus'', ''Dreadnoughtus''

The other most well-known group. Titans with nothing on their minds other than eating. Notable for having the largest animals in the history of the planet (longer than whales, but not nearly as heavy). Could, though, rear up on their hind legs (if those legs were the longer of the two pairs), and come down HARD to crush the LIVING FUCK out of ANYTHING, '''ANYTHING''' underneath. In theory anyway they could just end up shattering there legs into a thousand pieces, there's a good reason why Elephants can't jump after all. What is not in doubt is that being hit by one of there tails would be like being bitch slapped by Khorne him self, herbivore or not, even a T-Rex feel that in the morning. In fact we have a Allosaurus fossil with a broken jaw that could have come from such an impact, we don't (nor can we ever) know for sure but not impossible.

===Ornithischia===
The "bird-hipped" dinosaurs. Might be weird that birds aren't in this group, but the terms were coined in the 1800s, so what can ya do.

====Thyreophora====
*Easy name: Armored Dudes
*Well known members: ''Stegosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus'', ''Euoplocephalus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Polacanthus'', ''Sauropelta'', ''Dacentrurus''

Armor, man. These guys were walking tanks with rows of bony armor, or spikes or plates, with many species having weaponized tails which (among the Stegosauridae family) are known informally as Thagomizers after a Gary Larson Far Side Cartoon. Yes really. There is much skub about whether their armored plates were for defense or thermoregulation (ie, heat sinks). Also notable because some scientists believe that they had [http://i.imgur.com/4KsLhRI.jpg| colossal, sideways dongs.] Seriously, how the hell else could they bone? Can't do normal fucking with those spikes in the way...

====Ornithopoda====
*Easy name: Duck Bills
*Well known members: ''Iguanodon'', ''Parasaurolophus'', ''Edmontosaurus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Kulindadromeus'', ''Shangtungosaurus'', ''Tsintaosaurus''

Your standard "dino plant-eaters", though some theorize they could have actually been quite aggressive, which considering how many people are killed by plant eating hippos and elephants is quite probable.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBU6zfI1b0U| We also actually know what one type sounded like!]

====Marginocephalia====
*Easy name: Horned Faces
*Well known members: ''Triceratops'', ''Protoceratops'', ''Pachycephalosaurus''
*Awesome obscure members: ''Diabloceratops'', ''Einosaurus'', ''Nasutoceratops''

Probably the last major group to arise. All originally bipedal, but some grew too massive for that. Also had a weird convergent evolution with birds, they had straight-up beaks. Also made fuck-awesome battering rams or goring beasts in battle. Like, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY OR I WILL CRUSH YOU UNDER 9 TONS OF MOVING MUSCLE AND SPEAR YOU LIKE A FISH fuck-awesome.

==/tg/ Dinosaur Trivia==
* [[Gary Gygax]] used a set of cheap "Prehistoric Animals" toys that could commonly be found in supermarkets in the 1970's as monsters during the creation of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The [[Owlbear]], [[Rust Monster]], and [[Bulette]] are all based off cheaply made Hong Kong plastic versions of dinosaurs.
* Some dinosaurs had feathers. The only ones who didn't were the oldest, such as Plateosaurus, and as a result didn't survive to see poofy dinos. Whether this is adorably awesome or ruins your childhood is subjective. [https://twitter.com/WobblyWorks/status/1621585656182104066 (but really it's awesome)]
* The famous ''Velociraptor'' was the size of a turkey, and likely hunted similarly to wolves. Although some would put anything that looks similar under the name "Velociraptor", the actual family is called Dromaeosauridae, or simply Raptors, of which Velociraptor is only one member (other genera include ''Pyroraptor'', ''Microraptor'', and ''Utahraptor'').
* Some scientists believe that a relative of the ''Velociraptor'' called the ''Troodon'' may have used tools (not too surprising, some animals use tools today; tools as in "some birds, bugs and mammals use sticks and rocks to help them crack open or dig out their food"), and possibly had the intelligence of modern crows (for reference the American Crow is believed to be one somewhere in the top five most intelligent animals on Earth) and as we know: birds are dinosaurs. A small handful of scientists believe that had it not gone extinct likely due to lack of food, it could have evolved to become a [[Lizardmen|human-like species.]]
* As described above, scientists consider birds to be dinosaurs. As a result their Clade, ''Avialae'', are the dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene Mass Extinction Event. Its a subgroup of Theropods, meaning those tiny bastards that wake you up at 6:00 am and the one who died to become your lunch sandwich are all cousins to the T-REX.
**As an aside this also means that scientists agree on two things regarding the Chicxulub Impact, the asteroid that struck the earth 65 Million years, first that it was the most dangerous extraterrestrial impact in earth's history since life began, and two that this event hold the record for the most amount of birds killed with a single stone.
* Jurassic Park style resurrection (discover intact dinosaur DNA, inject into frogs, create hermaphrodite dinosaurs) may not be possible due to actual surviving DNA not being likely to still exist. Unlike mammoths and early humans who died in frozen temperatures and were naturally preserved like a big freezer and not long ago comparatively, dinosaurs went extinct in a hot climate with 66 million years to decay. Technically we don't find dinosaur bones, we find minerals which took the place of bones, remember that DM's if you ever find a necromancer in a natural history museum! However, scientists at Ivy League schools such as Yale and Harvard as well as research funded by the Chinese government have been progressing towards discovering existing ancient DNA in living birds then combining genes to create something that resembles a dinosaur (the process is similar to the creation of Glofish, created by using SCIENCE to hybridize jellyfish and Zebra Fish into an abomination that will probably destroy humanity).
*Dinosaurs lived on this planet for 177 million (1.7*10^8) years. 40k takes place in the 41st millennium. Even in the far, far future humanity has only existed for only about 2.25% as long as the dinosaurs had.
*Despite being real creatures that once existed there is substantial room for '[[Your Dudes]]' when you imagine dinosaurs. You want to imagine Velociraptors building mating structures like bowerbirds? Go for it! Triceratops forming herds like buffalo to fend of T-Rex horns out? Not impossible! Protoceratops in trees? Anatomy suggest otherwise but hay, goats do it, So ya! Dinosaurs using tools? Hell some scientist things that New Caledonian crows, (an actual dinosuar!) may qualify for being in the stone age! We are currently living in the most exciting time for paleontology, as all kinds of old assumptions are being questioned and thrown out. We are a far cry away from the days of the slow lumbering, stupid crystal palace dinosaurs, and Dinosaurs are not just more interesting, they are weirder than they have ever been before.
*A lot of the skills used in the modeling and painting aspects of the wargaming hobby are the same skills used in preparing fossils. These include filling gaps with putty (used to fill gaps/cracks in bone), cleaning mold lines or filing down other unwanted plastic/resin (similar to removing matrix from a bone), and painting (painting casts of bones). If you REALLY love dinosaurs, hone your hobbying skills and volunteer at a museum. /a vertebrate paleontologist

==Gallery==
As a quick note: while the following gallery is of D&D monster images it still can give you a sort of snapshot of our evolving view of dinosaurs. The last four images of more modern path finder images compared to the rest compared to the trail dragging doofious who look like they came straight out of the crystal Palace.
<gallery>
tyranosaurus monster card.jpg|Tyrannosaur. 1e,
triceratops monster card.jpg|Triceratops. 1e
allosaurus MC3.jpg|Allosaur. 2e
anklyosaurus MC3.jpg
brontosaurus MC3.jpg
camptosaurus MC3.jpg
ceratosaurus MC3.jpg
compsognathus MC3.jpg
deinonychus MC3.jpg
dimetrodon MC3.jpg|day 45: they still do not realize I am not a dinosaur.
euparkeria MC3.jpg
gorgosaurus MC3.jpg
iguanodon MC3.jpg
lambeosaurus MC3.jpg
megalosaurus MC3.jpg
monoclonius MC3.jpg
nothosaurus MC3.jpg
pleisiosaurus MC3.jpg
pteranodon MC3.jpg
stegosaurus MC3.jpg
styracosaurus MC3.jpg
tanystropheus MC3.jpg
tennodontosaurus MC3.jpg
trachodon MC3.jpg
triceratops MC3.jpg
tyrannosaurus MC3.jpg
brontosaurus MCAV2.jpg
ceratosaurus MCAV2.jpg
compsognathus MCAV2.jpg
dimetrodon MCAV2.jpg
euparkeria MCAV2.jpg
gorgosaurus MCAV2.jpg
iguanodon MCAV2.jpg
monoclonius MCAV2.jpg
mosasaurus MCAV2.jpg
nothosaurus MCAV2.jpg
plateosaurus MCAV2.jpg
plesiosaurus MCAV2.jpg
struthiomimus MCAV2.jpg
tanystropheus MCAV2.jpg
temnodontosaurus MCAV2.jpg
teratosaurus MCAV2.jpg
trachodon MCAV2.jpg
dinosaur MM 2e.png|Tyrannosaur and Triceratops. 2e
utahraptor Dungeon 54.jpg|Utahraptor. [[Dungeon Magazine]] #54
Dinosaur MCAV2.jpg|Tyrannosaur. 2e
anklyosaurus B1.png|Anklyosaur PF
deinonychus B1.png|Deinonychus PF
stegosaurus B1.png|Stegosaur PF
tyrannosaurus B1.png|Tyrannosaur PF
</gallery>

== See Also ==
*[[Great Knarloc]] - basically [[Kroot]] Dinosaurs.
*[[Squiggoth]] - [[Fungus|fungal]] Dinosaurs bred by [[Feral Orks]].
*[[Lizardmen]]
*[[Cold One]]s Dinosaurs that Dark Elves ride.

[[Category: Monsters]]

[[Category: History]]