Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Skaven

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Why play Skaven?

Skaven

Army Special Rules

Lead from the back, life is cheap, he who runs away lives to fight another day.

Units Analysis

Named Characters

• Deathmaster Snickh:
• Lord Skrolk:
• Grey Seer Thanquol:
• Throt The Unclean:
• Ghoritch:
• Ikit Claw:
• Morbus Sanguis:
• Klawmunkast:
• Queek Head-Taker:

Lords & Heroes

• Warlord:
• Grey Seer:
• Vermin Lord:
• Chieftain:
• Warlock Engineer: Unlike in later editions, where they are a fully functional Hero-tier wizard with their own unique lore, in this iteration, Warlock Engineers are Level 1 wizards who can't cast spells by default. Instead, you need to spend +15 points to give them Warp Blades, which allow them to cast the spell Warp-Lightning in the usual manner - oh, and the blades also boost your Engineer's Strength by +1, from 3 to 4. A further +10 points for an Upgraded Warp-Energy Condensor, which lets them cast Warp-Lightning with 2 Power Dice instead of 1, is also practically mandatory, meaning that this 45 point unit basically has an actual cost of 70 points. You can also spend +10 points on a Warplock Pistol and +15 points on a Supercharged Warp-Power Accumultor, which gives your army +1 Power Dice during the Magic phase. They do come with a free Warpstone Token, though.

Thank you St Alessio. Did you know that 95 points gets you a pistol toting warp lightning spewing machine. Spend another 25pts to add a Storm Daemon on one, Now you can double your warp lightning. Seriously, this guy went onto write Kings of War and is considered one of the better game designers yet they let him get away with this shit, probably because he played skaven and 'volunteered' to write the book.

• Master Moulder:
• Assassin:
• Plague Priest: For 70 points, you get a Chieftain with -1 BS and -1 Initiative but +1 Toughness and Frenzy. Starts with a hand weapon, and can take either a 2nd hand weapon for +4 points, a flail for +4 points, or a Plague Censer for +16 points.

Core Units

• Clanrats: In this edition, these guys have a special rule called "Mainstay Unit", which basically means your other units (Core, Special and Rare) may only be equal to or less than the number of Clanrat units you have. You can't have 3 Clanrats and 6 Stormvermin, but you could have 6 Clanrats and 3 Stormvermin, basically.
• Stormvermin:
• Clanrat Slaves: Cannon fodder.
• Giant Rats:
• Night Runners:
• Poisoned Wind Globadiers:
• Rat Swarm:

Special Units

• Gutter Runners:
• Plague Monks:
• Rat Ogres:
• Warplock Jezzails:

Rare Units

• Doomwheel:
• Warp-Lightning Cannon:
• Plague Censer Bearers: These guys tweak the Mainstay Units rule in that they are capped by the number of Plague Monk units you have.

Alternative Army Lists

Because 6th edition was the height of when Games Workshop was actually a pretty cool bunch, the Skaven armybook of this iteration includes 4 variant army lists to represent the rmies of the Great Clans. Each of these lists shuffles around the unit roster, adds a new Wizard Hero (except for Clan Skryre) and a new Lord, and also reworks which unit is your Mainstay Unit for the army - just to make that clearer, Clanrats lose the "Mainstay Units" special rule in these variant 6e Skaven armies! ...Except for in Clan Skryre, that is!

Clan Eshin

Glass Cannon time. You don't got the numbers compared to a typical skaven force, and your mainstay unit are skirmishers, so you want to outflank and hit-and-run as much as possible. Give your Gutter Runners Poisoned Attacks, because you need every advantage you can eke out with this bunch.

=Clan X Lords

• Grey Seer:
• Master Assassin: Though he costs 215 points base, this guy's a fucking mincing machine by skaven standards! 4 Attacks at Initiative 10 (no, that's not a misprint!) with Weapon Skill 8, and the Poisoned Attacks special rule on top? This guy will make enemy characters dead really quickly. He comes with Two Hand Weapons and Throwing Stars by default, can take Smoke Bombs for +20 points and up to 100 points of magical gear, and he has the special rules Poisoned Attacks, Scout, Hidden, and Hidden Leadership, which means he gives his Leadership 8 to all Night Runners and Gutter Runners within 12" even when Hidden.

Clan X Heroes

• Chieftain:
• Assassin:
• Eshin Sorcerer: This guy's basically a 75 point Level 1 Wizard who only knows Skitterleap. He does have WS 4, BS 4, and I5, but he only gets 1 Attack. Can take Smoke Bombs for +20 points and 50 points of magical items. He has the Poisoned Attacks and Scout special rules, and is armed with 2 Hand Weapons and Throwing Stars.

Clan Eshin Core

• Night Runners: These are your Mainstay Unit.
• Clanrats:
• Clanrat Slaves:
• Stormvermin: These are a 0-1 unit in this army, meaning you can only have 1 unit of them, max.
• Rat Swarms: These are a 0-1 unit, and they count as a Special Choice if they're promoted to Plague Rats.

Clan Eshin Special

• Gutter Runners:
• Giant Rats:

Clan Eshin Rare

• Plague Monks:
• Plague Censer Bearers:
• Rat Ogres:
• Poisoned Wind Globadiers:
• Warp-Lightning Cannons:
• Warplock Jezzails:
• Dogs of War:

Clan Skryre

This is a Shooting Army. Your need for Clanrats as a Mainstay Unit gives you a solid melee block a the center of your army, but their job is to hold the enemy in place so your jezzails, globadiers and warp-lightning cannons can blow them away with one of the biggest barrages of firepower in 6e this side of a Dwarf army. Remember that, as a Skaven player, you have the unique ability to shoot into units that are engaged in melee combat, and take advantage!

=Clan Skryre Lords

• Grey Seer:
• Warlock Master: For 180 points, this Lord equivalent to the Warlock Engineer comes with all the Warlock Engineer's magitek upgrades by default, including that Warplock Pistol, and can take 100 points of magical items on top of that. He counts as a Level 3 Wizard and has the unique ability to cast Warp-Lightning on an 11+, making it do 3d6 Strength 5 hits if you pull it off.

Clan X Heroes

• Chieftain:
• Warlock Engineer:

Clan Skryre Core

• Clanrats: This is the only variant army to keep Clanrats as a Mainstay Unit
• Clanrat Slaves:
• Poisoned Wind Globadiers: You can take two units of Globadiers per unit of Clanrats in the army.
• Warplock Jezzails:
• Stormvermin: These are a 0-1 unit in this army, meaning you can only have 1 unit of them, max.
• Rat Swarms: These are a 0-1 unit, and they count as a Special Choice if they're promoted to Plague Rats.

Clan Skryre Special

• Night Runners:
• Giant Rats:
• Warp-Lightning Cannons:

Clan Skryre Rare

• Plague Monks:
• Plague Censer Bearers:
• Gutter Runners:
• Rat Ogres:
• Dogs of War:

Clan Pestilens

The big thing to take into account here is that the bulk of your units are Frenzied.

=Clan Pestilens Lords

• Grey Seer:
• Plague Lord: BAsically a Warlord that trades -1 BS and -1 Initiative for +1 Toughness and +1 Attack. Costs 130 points and is armed with a Hand Weapon; can take a 2nd Hand Weapon for +6 points, taek a Flail for +6 points, or take a Plague Censer for +24 points. Is Frenzied and can take 100 points of magical gear.

Clan Pestilens Heroes

• Chieftain:
• Plague Priest:
• Festering Chantor: A Frenzied Level 1 Wizard who only knows the Pestilent Breath spell. Is armed with a single hand weapon; can take a 2nd hand weapon for +4 points or a Plague Censer for +16 points, as well as 50 points of magic.

Clan Pestilens Core

• Clanrats:
• Clanrat Slaves:
• Stormvermin: These are a 0-1 unit in this army, meaning you can only have 1 unit of them, max.
• Rat Swarms: These are a 0-1 unit, and they must be promoted to Plague Rats.
• Plague Monks: These are your Mainstay Unit.

Clan Pestilens Special

• Plague Censer Bearers:
• Night Runners:
• Giant Rats:

Clan Pestilens Rare

• Warplock Jezzails:
• Poisoned Wind Globadiers:
• Warp Lightning Cannons:
• Gutter Runners:
• Dogs of War:

Clan Moulder

You're going to rely really heavily on tying up enemies with expendable Giant Rat packs and then hammering them with packs of Rat Ogres.

=Clan Moulder Lords

• Grey Seer:
• Master Mutator: Lord level Master Moulder equivalent. Costs 130 points, has the Beastmaster special rule.

Clan Moulder Heroes

• Chieftain:
• Master Moulder:
• Harbinger of Mutation:

Clan Moulder Core

• Clanrats:
• Clanrat Slaves:
• Stormvermin: These are a 0-1 unit in this army, meaning you can only have 1 unit of them, max.
• Rat Swarms: These are a 0-2 unit, and they count as a Special Choice if they're promoted to Plague Rats.
• Giant Rats: These are your Mainstay Unit.

Clan Moulder Special

• Night Runners:
• Rat Ogres:

Clan Moulder Rare

• Gutter Runners:
• Warplock Jezzails:
• Plague Monks:
• Plague Censer Bearers:
• Poisoned Wind Globadiers:
• Warp-Lightning Cannons:
• Dogs of War:

Clan Eshin (Storm of Chaos list)

Hilarious, but don't try it unless you really, really like ninjas. Basically the back of the book variant list with some shuffles and the new Eshin Triad, a useless unit if I ever saw one.