Skaven are structured a little differently to the other AoS3 books released so far, the tome eschews traditional subfactions and instead gives you access to all the rules of all the Great Clans simultaneously. Every warscroll in the book is keyworded to one of the clans, so the extra battle traits for the Great Clans are gated behind having keyworded models of some type. Each of these battle traits also offers extra bonuses for having more heroes of the appropriate type. Out of all the armies within the known world, no army could match the impeccable numbers of the Skaven race. When the Skaven abandon their secretive ways and emerge from their subterranean lairs, they do so for only one reason; to unleash vicious, inhuman and lightning fast warfare. It is a nightmarish scene, a ravenous horde, a chaotic and rolling tide of verminous ratmen. An individual Skaven warrior is of little match against any of the other races on a one on one fight. Without allies to aid him, a Skaven's cowardice would naturally make him flee from direct combat, only fighting if there is no other alternative except death. As such, to each and every Skaven, there is only one racial strength, and that strength is numbers. [3] They’re OK, but get overlooked by the sheer weight of the Skaven catalogue (and those awful minis don’t help either). You’re getting half as many per unit as Clanrats but for 10 points less. They’re a bit faster, a bit squishier and might do a smattering of mortal wounds. Really you’re taking these for two reasons: you’re pure Eshin and need something to hide a Deathmaster in, or you’re specifically buying their pre-game move. Pre-game moves are absolutely fantastic, but this is a 2d6” move so far less reliable than other armies can achieve out of the same mechanic. Gutter Runners Food is a unique resource for the Skaven in campaign that they must manage, alongside money. Food is consumed by each army and settlement and produced each turn faction-wide. Low levels cause major problems, while high levels provide significant bonuses. Food can be spent on increasing the limit for the Menace Below, or it can be spent to Colonize new settlements at a higher level than usual. Minor and major settlements can be colonized up to maximum, if food allows.

Stances: Stalking replaces default stance and gives a chance to ambush while moving. Skaven also have access to the Underway, like Dwarfs and Greenskins. The Grey Seer on Screaming Bell is less brilliant. Once the centrepiece of the Skaven battleline, the bell now struggles to justify its inflated points cost. You get a two-spell caster and a lot of rules, but none of it quite adds up to a coherent unit. Finally the Deceiver’s warscroll spell is a turbocharged version of skitterleap from the main lore. With a CV6 (and 18” range if you wanted to use it on something else) and the same target requirements as regular skitterleap, this version instead lets you set up more than 6” from any enemy models, making those teleport charges far more likely to connect with your target. DeathmasterYou can also ring the bell in your hero phase and get a random effect on a d6 roll. This ranges from hurting itself, debuffing enemies and hurting enemies. These are all OK effects though you will miss the old bell’s result of +1 to cast for friendly units in an aura. The other problem here is the old bell was a 2d6 roll, making those extreme results of hurting yourself much less likely. Now on a single d6, every outcome is as likely as the other as it’s just unreliable.

The Menace Below is an important army ability available to Skaven armies in battles during the campaign. It summons a free unit of degrading Clanrats into the battle, but has a cooldown timer. It has a maximum number of times it can be used per battle – this limit can be increased by spending food before the battle or having more Skaven Corruption in the province.Skaven factions also have access to the Underway, a mechanic they share with Dwarfs and Greenskins. There are two core sets of models that any prospective Skaven army collector should look at purchasing, and purchasing in numbers. These are Clanrats and Stormvermin. Clanrats are your grunt, your generic trooper. They’re there to act in three ways: as a meat shield for your more valuable units and heroes, to deny areas of the board to your opponent, and to deal damage if enough of them survive to reach the enemy. Edition: Warrior Clan Slingers: Hand Weapon, Sling. May have Breastplate. May have Musician, Standard Bearer. [6a] Lurkers - An especially ferocious and bold unit of Clanrats that pledged their services to Clan Mordkin.

Scurry Away – Instead of fighting, any of your heroes can choose to retreat, just in case they get caught alone and want to skedaddle. The poor Doomwheel doesn’t quite get there. A little too fragile, too random, too pricey and occupying a behemoth slot really pushes it out of contention. This is a shame as it’s so close to being useful, with a good pokey gun and the rolling doom rule letting it move over units with a wounds characteristic of 3 or less and doing mortal wounds when it does so. They’re a lot of fun if you do take them, though it would be nice to see a re-write on more-more speed as the punishment for rolling a double 1 (your opponent getting to move the model) is far too big currently.

Kurnoth Hunters with Bows

Kavzar was a rare thing in the world of Warhammer: it was a near-utopia. Man and dwarf lived in harmony for many years until they decided to raise a colossal temple of thanks to their gods. Unfortunately, their ambition outstripped their abilities, leaving the structure’s giant spire unfinished. One day, a stranger appeared and promised to finish the temple in a single night – with one condition: that he be allowed to hang a horned bell from the top. The citizens of Kavzar agreed and went to sleep for the night. The next day, to their amazement, the temple was complete. The stranger, however, was nowhere to be seen. Edition: Clanrat: Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Shield, may have Double Handed Weapon, Spear. May have Musician, Standard Bearer. [5a] Are the war machines and monstrous units just for hit-and-run disruption, or am I using these wrong?

This is one of the most iconic Skaven pieces, and for good reason. The Warp Lightning Cannon is one of the most powerful Warmachines available to the Skaven, and can devastate even the most heavily armored units. It spews out Mortal Wounds, but has a high chance of damaging itself for its most potent shots. 6. Deathmaster

Building an Age of Sigmar Skaven Army

You don’t see this massively often but it does perform a useful function, especially now that the Screaming Bell isn’t providing the same benefit. Most players will choose offensive endless spells but if Nighthaunt remains a meta terror and the rules that deny inspiring presence continue to increase then this is a tool in the toolbox, and cheap. Vermintide Plague Priests - The rank of a Plague Priest is the highest obtainable rank within the clan, the ones higher then them are the Plague Lords, the most senior of the Plague Priest. A Plague Priest is a Skaven who has a deep understanding of the foul magic their clan has harnessed over the ages, and as such, are capable magicians who can vomit geyers of lethal substances, or curse their foes from afar making them erupt in putrid boils. There’s a case to be made for a unit of 3 of these as a troubleshooter in an army going in another direction for pure damage, and in that case the warpfire thrower probably wins out over the windlauncher, but this is unusual. Clans Pestilens Plague Monks The following minor Skaven factions are found in campaign mode. Not all minor factions are found in all campaigns. Master of Rot and Ruin – A nice and simple +1 to chanting rolls. This directly competes with the High Priest generic command trait, and which you choose will depend on the specifics of the rest of your list. If you’re looking to trigger great plagues then the +1 is slightly better at that than the reroll with no other effects in play. If you have another source of +1 then the reroll becomes slightly better. Work out your total number of +1s and then bust open a dice probability calculator.