1. Overview

Atchman’s Potent Skaven army!

Skaven are considered one of the toughest armies in WFB, and for good reason. A potent mix of numbers, magic, shooting and mobility make them a tough foe to face. The Skaven list can be fielded effectively in several different ways. The Skaven are close to the Orcs and Goblins list as far as flexibility goes, lacking only mounted units. Add to the mix a highly random factor, and the rats are a fun army to play. They can over-powering one minute, fleeing for the board edge the next, and are always capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

2. Strengths

Ranks and Lead from the Back

Skaven gain courage from raw numbers, which is reflected in their units adding their Rank Bonus to their Leadership. This makes a full-ranked unit of Skaven Ld 8, and up to Ld 10 if near the Warlord.

Lead from the Back

Skaven characters can be fielded in the back of their units. BSBs are the primary beneficiary of this rule, although sometimes a combat character will be leading from the rear to avoid chargers.

Life Is Cheap

Skaven are the only army allowed to deliberately shoot into close combat, with casualties randomized between units. The typical tactic is to tie up a unit with cheap slaves, then fire into the combat. Losing a few 2 pt skavenslaves is a small price to pay to drop a 20-some point knight.

3. Weaknesses

Losing Ranks and Leadership

The Skaven are dependent on their rank bonus for their leadership. Anything that negates rank bonus will reduce their leadership down to 7 at BEST, and usually 5. Flank charges will almost guarantee a Panic, and detachment counter-charges are devastating. This also means that any Skaven unit without ranks will have a fairly low Leadership, especially the Jezzails, or any Skaven unit that is fleeing.

No Fast Movers

The Skaven are M5 (with some units at M6), but they have no mounted units, and no units that can pursue 3d6 inches. Skaven have problems with highly mobile units.

Low Strength Attacks

Skaven are S3 across the board, and have only one unit that can carry halberds. Rat Ogres are S5, but are the weakest unit in the list. The Skaven troopers have real troubles against heavily armored and high Toughness units. Jezzails are a notable exception, and several support units have no armor save weapons as well, but the mainline troops depend on numbers to win the day.

Unreliable Weapons

The Skaven definition of “reliable” is a weapon that only kills its user on TWO “ones” in a row, instead of just on the first one. Seriously. The Skaven arsenal is full of weapons and spells that can come back to harm the user. Warp Lightning may be a S5 magic missile, but a roll of a “1″ on the number of hits means a hit on the caster instead. Roll snake-eyes on the number of hits, and the caster is likely backfired into a pile of ash. When the Skaven work, they work well. When they don’t work, its painful for the rats.

4. Troops

Core Troops

Clanrats

Clanrats are the backbone of the Skaven army, and are the limiting factor on taking other units. The mainstay rule prohibits having more of any other unit than there are units of clanrats. You will see at least two, and usually more, units of clanrats in every Skaven army. Most of the time, they will be 20-30 models per unit, occasionally with spears. A min-maxed Skaven force will use 20-21 models in a four-wide formation, a more typical formation is 25 fielded 4-wide or occasionally 30 models in 5×6 formation, often with spears at this size. Clanrats are a match for most Empire infantry, with similar stats, a better save, and a higher I. The clanrat units can also have Weapon Teams, the Warpfire Thrower or the Ratling Gun.

Ratling Gun.

One of the units that set off the Skaven-haters the most. The Ratling Gun is a rat-portable machine gun, inspired by the Repeater Handgun, and “improved” by Skaven technology. The Ratling Gun is a short-ranged mini-Helblaster, and is highly effective at clearing away skirmishers, fast cavalry, and other small units. When used in multiples, it can chew up large units of infantry, and even weaken knight units. The weapon is 15″ move or fire, so it has to move forward somewhat to get within range. Weapon Teams benefit from targeting restrictions as if they were lone characters.

Warpfire Thrower.

This is a rat-portable flamethrower, launching the flame template an artillery die forward. The big danger with the Warpfire Thrower is that any unit that takes a casualty must take a Panic check. Getting one of these in a position to shoot down the enemy line can cause multiple units to Panic, and cause untold amounts of havoc. Also, the Warpfire thrower is LoS only, and does d3 wounds, so it can be highly effective at turning wandering mages into piles of smoldering ashes. An under-utilized, and under-rated weapon. It also has one of the most comical (and lethal) misfire charts in the game.

Stormvermin

The best troops in the list, but very expensive for what they do. If they don’t use their halberds, they have a 3+ AS and the combat stat-line of a High Elf. Stormvermin will win a prolonged fight against any Empire infantry except Greatswords. They are allowed a magic standard, one of the few units in the Skaven list allowed to do so. They also can have Weapon Teams. The Umbranner (4+ Ward vs shooting of up to S5) is a very common banner on Stormvermin.

Rat Swarms

Five wounds per stand of Unbreakable, M6 skirmishers that don’t block line of sight. They have the option of upgrading to Poisoned attacks. Two or three stands is a fixture in most Skaven armies. Rat Swarms are a very useful unit, and will be used to bottle up knights and hold them down for several turns. They won’t kill knights, but will bog them down for several combat rounds. They also can be used to go after war-machines and loose characters in a pinch. The Swarms are expendable, and do not cause Panic in other Skaven units.

Giant Rats

One of my favorite units, they work as unarmored clanrats with M6, and extra attacks from the Packmasters in the rear. They are most commonly used in a flanking role, and their full rank bonus and outnumbering make them a difficult unit for most flanking units to deal with. Especially sneaky Skaven players will take several individual Packs, and send them out to divert or crash flanks. 6 rats and a Packmaster, fielded two-wide as a “rat-dagger” can be an effective, if somewhat risky, tactic.

Night Runners

Light skirmishers, may have a variety of weapons. Night Runners can be used as missile troops when armed with slings, but are more often skirmish screens and war-machine hunters. When fielded with extra hand weapons, they can be effective mage hunters in a pinch.

Skavenslaves

Forty points for 20 models in a full rank bonus unit! Skavenslaves are one of the best units in the Skaven arsenal, ignore them at your peril. A horde skaven list will have as many slave units as clanrats (often 5 or 6 of each!) These guys are utterly disposable, and will be used to get in the way, divert units, flee from charges to set up flank charges, and generally be a complete pain. A smart skaven Warlord will use slave units to go after detachments, preventing the counter charges. They also are fully capable of breaking missile units on numbers and ranks.

Globadiers

Light skirmishing missile troops, with a devastating thrown weapon. The Poison Wind Globe is a gas grenade, and does a no-AS hit on a 4+. These guys can make knights turn to mush in short order. They have only Ld 5, so they are easy to Panic.

Special

Gutter Runners

Skaven special forces! Gutter Runners can Scout, but are usually fielded as Tunnelers against armies with war machines. These guys will be popping up in the enemy deployment zone and going after war-machines, and are the best mage-hunters that the Skaven have. Poisoned extra hand weapons are the usual kit, with the possibility of throwing stars as well.

Jezzails

Knight-killers of the first order. 36″ range, S6 AP. They skirmish, and have a 4+ AS vs shooting, so they aren’t the easiest thing to shoot down. The jezzails aren’t especially accurate (BS3) but can hurt anything. Protecting them from magic is a priority, at least for the first turn or two. Left unmolested, they can devastate heavy knight units. Jezzails can stand and shoot as a charge response, which makes them hard to attack.

Plague Monks

Skaven Plague Monks and Censer Bearers

Frenzied Skaven, T4 and lower I. One of the better combat units in the list, especially when lead by a Plague Priest. The Banner of Burning Hatred is a common magic standard for them, allowing re-rolls for the 3 attacks per model. As with any frenzied unit, they can be diverted and mislead, but they will tear through most any Empire infantry if they make it to the lines at full strength. Getting counter-charged isn’t as bad, as the Plague Monks can inflict enough wounds on Free Company to counter-act the CR penalties, or take the detachment below US 5.

Rat Ogres

Every list has to have a useless unit, and here is the Skaven version. They can’t have a rank bonus, and can’t do enough damage to counter-act ranks and numbers. No armor, no weapon options, no standard, and no hope. One tactic is a large unit lead by a Master Moulder with Skavenbrew, which has a chance to make the unit Hate, Frenzy, or even both. Even with the Packmasters, this is the weakest of all of the Ogre-class units.

Rare

Censer Bearers

Skirmishing, flail-wielding, frenzied monks who hate everyone. These guys rock. They are a very expensive skirmish screen, but their close combat ability more than makes up for it. Their censers force models in contact to take a T test or take a no-AS wound, and this happens before combat. A set of unlucky rolls, and enemy models are dead before they can attack, and then the flails come in on the survivors. A unit that is hit by both the Plague Monks and the supporting Censer Bearers is in deep trouble.

Warp Lightning Cannon

Another of the units that cause Skaven haters to froth at the mouth. The WLC is a chariot that carries a very big, and very random, lightning projector. Think of it as a cannonball with a very long bounce, and a random strength. It ignores terrain, and burns through any and all units along its path. When it works, it can topple castles. When it doesn’t, it provides a mild sunburn. This is a great weapon (when it works) against STanks and Griffon Riders. Important note: the WLC MUST flee if charged. Screening with Rat Swarms is a common tactic to ward off marauding light cavalry or fliers.

DoW

Skaven are flexible enough that DoW units are rarely needed. Occasionally, a Skaven army will use suitably converted models as DOW Light Horse, such as Giant Rat riders or rat-taur conversions.

5. Characters

General

Warlord

Cheap Leadership, reasonable fighting ability. Often, Warlords will be fielded with minimal equipment, leading from the back to provide leadership. They can be tooled up as well, given reasonable protection and several decent weapon options. The Fellblade is perhaps the most potent magic weapon in the game, and can turn a STank into scrap in a single combat phase. Weeping Blades are potent in a challenge, where the multiple wounds can boost overkill results.

Grey Seer

One of the better spell casters in the game. The Skaven lore is all about death and destruction, both to the Skaven and the enemy. Seers have access to Warp Lightning, as well as other devastating spells. Plague is well-known for damage potential, and a Vermintide down the battle line will cause a massive amount of havoc. Grey Seers are no longer combat effective like they were in previous editions. In larger games, they might be riding the Screaming Bell, another highly random piece of kit. Many of the Bell results are very harmful to cavalry units, war machines and the like. The Bell has a Ward save, but makes for a tempting target.

Heroes

Warlock Engineers

Techno-mages with one highly effective spell, a 2d6 S5 magic missiles, for about the same price as an Empire mage. Three of these guys (with a Seer or without) can kick out some pain. If there are two (or more) of them, one will be carrying Stormdaemon, a bound spell item that throws the 1d6 version of Warp Lightning. The real trick for the Skaven is keeping them out of combat, and how. Outside of units, they have terrible Ld, inside units they get targeted for charges. They are also occasionally given Death Globes and fielded in a unit of Poison Wind Globadiers.

Chieftain
Generic fighting hero. Most commonly used as a BSB, and against Empire, the Storm Banner will be a common occurrence. This inflicts a -2 penalty to all BS shooting, and war-machines need a 4+ to shoot. It also stops flying. The Storm Banner has a random chance to stop, burning out on a 1-2 at the start of each players turn, and it does affect the Skaven weaponry as well.

Plague Priest

A frenzied T5 Plague Monk hero. These guys are tough, even without armor options, and can dish out some punishment. Often fielded with flails, or a censer, and frequently carry an item that makes them a level 1 mage with the Pestilent Breath spell.

Assassin

A rarely seen character choice, usually because everyone is taking Warlocks. The Assassin can be hidden in a unit, and can be a real character killer with the right items, especially the no-AS Gouger or the Weeping Blade. They also can be fielded as a Scout, and used as a mage and war machine hunter. In larger games, the Assassin can be fitted with one of several potent thrown weapon magic item options, and Skitterleaped into advantageous positions. The Brass Orb is a high-risk way to inflict damage on a STank., and Warpstone Stars are character killers of the first order.

Master Moulder

Another fluffy, yet rarely seen character choice. They are occasionally fielded leading Giant Rat packs, with either a great weapon or ThingsKiller, a magic weapon that provides Killing Blow. They also can be used to carry Skavenbrew in a unit of Rat Ogres, as noted previously.

6. Army types

Clan Scryre shooty/magic Army of DOOM(tm)

The common “power”version of the Skaven army, and the one that
attracts the most attention. The skaven can max out their magic and shooting into a horrifyingly effective gun line army. This will usually feature minimum sized clanrat units with Ratling Guns, lots of jezzails, a Grey Seer as a General and three Warlocks. Anything advancing into this storm of fire is up for some serious damage, especially if the Skaven target the faster units first.

Horde

The less common Skaven power-list. This features 300+ models, in a checkerboard swarm of cheap clanrat and skavenslave units. This style of army depends on ranks and flanks to do its damage. Fleeing as a charge reaction in order to set up flank charges is a common tactic. Versions of this list have won two Grand Tournaments this year, so it’s power is self-evident. However, it is a chore to assemble and paint so many models, and it takes some real skill to play. Outflanking an army that covers the entire board is difficult, to say the least.

Balanced

Unless you happen to play in the land of the power gamers, most of the Skaven lists will be somewhere between the extremes. There will be a fair number of clanrat units, probably a pair of warlocks and some jezzails, two or three Ratling Guns, and a slave unit or two. The advantage of these lists is that the Skaven player has the numbers to move forward, and still have some magic and shooting to handle the tough stuff. My typical tactic is to move forward with the clanrats and slaves, using RatSwarms to hold up any knights and send RatPacks in a pincer move against the flanks. A Tunnel Team or two to keep the artillery from doing too much damage, and some magic to reduce the shooting. Toss in a few jezzails to knock over the occasional knight, and I’m in good shape against most armies. If I’m facing a heavy shooting army, the Storm Banner is a must. Nerfing even one round of artillery and missile fire is well worth the investment. If I think that I’m facing a knight heavy army, then a few more jezzails are the order of the day. Infantry heavy armies are good targets for massed slaves and clanrats, with Ratling guns to knock a rank off the dangerous units, and to remove detachments.

7. Summary (by Atchman)

An Empire Army is overwhelmed by the Skaven!

First of all thanks to “Queek” for taking time to write a very nice overview of the Skaven Army List. As you can see by the article the Skaven are one of the best armies in Warhammer. It is very important as Empire players, to know the strengths and weaknesses of our opposition. This will let us design balanced army lists that have a chance against all comers. To play a balanced Empire army against a balanced Skaven army is a true chess match. Both armies have heavy hitters, the Empire more combat oriented with its Knights and detachments, and the Skaven more magical and mechanical with their Warp Lightning spells and their Ratling Guns, Warpfire Throwers, and Warp Lightning Cannon. It is important to read this article and try and learn and plan before placing your first unit on the table.