The Skaven | Warpstone | Skaven Special Rules
Characters | Regiments | War Machines | Monsters | Special Characters | Tactics
"Skaven society is a tyranny moderated by assassination."
-Bagrian, Master of La Maisontaal
The above gives you the character of Skaven society in a nutshell. Skaven society is dominated by a structure of clans, with the Warlord clans making up the bulk of the population.
Clan Moulder are powerful Beastmasters, using Warpstone to mutate foul breeds of fighting beasts.
Clan Eshin are feared as Assassins and stealthy murderers.
Clan Skryre are known as the Warlock Engineers, masters of an insane blend of magic and science.
Clan Pestilens, the Plague Monks; they are disciples of disease, and dedicate themselves to spreading pestilence and plague.
Ultimately, all Skaven clans are ruled over by the thirteen Lords of Decay.
Warpstone is the physical manifestation of raw magic. When pure Chaos is sucked into the Old World through the Chaos Gates, most of it is divided into the eight colours of magic. However, some elements of Chaos are too powerful to be split by reality, and these coalesce into a solid form known as Warpstone.
Warpstone is vitally important to the Skaven, and they hunt for it remorselessly. Warpstone can be refined to make it more stable and safer to use. This is a process that can only be performed by the most powerful of Wizards. However, Grey Seers have a natural ability to transmute Warpstone to increase their magic power. This is their blessing from the Horned Rat. Refined Warpstone can be consumed by Grey Seers and Warlocks to gain more power for their spells. No sane creature would eat Warpstone, and even the Skaven only do so in desperate circumstance.
Warpfire Throwers are devices which project a flaming corrosive mixture that is made by using Warpstone in conjunction with chemicals and magic. It is a much feared weapon, and deadly to both its foes and crew. The Warpfire Thrower has a crew of two Skaven.
Plague Censers, these are special incense burners carried by the Plague Monks of Clan Pestilens. They consist of a hollow spiked ball attached to a long chain, and are filled with a specially prepared Warpstone which burns emitting a foul bubonic vapour as it is swung. Only the most dedicated and insane members of Clan Pestilens wield Plague Censers, and despite their resistance to disease even they fall victim to the hideous plague in the end.
Warpstone Charms can be ensorcerelled to store a spell or to have some baneful effect on the foe.
Warp Scrolls are powerful magic items inscribed upon the hide of living creatures.
Poison Wind, one of Clan Skryre's most infamous weapons, the Poison Wind is a poisonous gas created from Warpstone. It is normally sealed in a glass or crystal sphere that can be thrown and shattered, releasing its noxious cloud of yellowish-green vapour.
Weeping Blades are used by the infamous Clan Eshin. A Weeping Blade constantly sweats a deadly corrosive venom, so that any wound, no matter how superficial, will always prove fatal.
Skavenbrew is a concoction of Warpstone dust, marsh herbs, and mutant fungi used to improve the fighting abilities of slaves and Clanrat Warriors.
Leadership: Skaven are dependent on large numbers for their courage, so they add their close combat rank bonus to their Leadership for all tests, as long as they are in good order. If they are fleeing or skirmishing, they do not get the rank bonus, and remember, the maximum Ld score is 10. Example: A Skaven regiment of 16 Skaven, 4 files or 4 ranks, would get a +3 to its Ld.
Skaven Assassins
The black-clad Assassins of Clan Eshin are rightly feared by those who know them.
Disguise: You can conceal Clan Eshin Assassins in Skaven regiments disguised as ordinary Warriors. You can conceal up to two Assassins in a regiment. The Assassin models are not placed on the table with the rest of the troops, but are assumed to move along with the unit until revealed.
Attack: The Assassins are revealed once their regiment is fighting in hand to hand combat. The player declares that his regiment conceals Assassins and places the models in a rank where they can fight. Because they attack by surprise, on the first round of combat the Assassins fight before any other models, regardless of Initiative or who charged. The Assassins can fight any model their base is touching.
Weeping Blade: The venom of the Weeping Blade burns through armour and hits from an Assassin have an extra -1 savings throw modifier. The venom causes not 1, but d3 wounds.
After the Assassins attack, they can be attacked by enemy models in the normal way. Once an Assassin has been revealed, it remains with the regiment and will continue to move with them and fight as described. In any round of combat, an Assassin can always choose where to fight within the regiment, and can be repositioned to take on enemy characters if the player wishes.
Leadership: Assassins are not leaders, so their Ld value is never used by the regiment they are with. If the regiment is broken, forced to flee, or subject to some other psychology or Ld based test which it fails, the Assassin can either remain with the regiment and suffer the consequences, or pass a separate Ld test and transfer to another regiment within 6".
Clan Eshin Gutter Runners
Special Deployment: Gutter Runners are set up after the enemy has placed all its units on the table. Gutter Runners can be positioned anywhere on the table which is outside the enemy's deployment zone. and which places them out of sight of the enemy models at the start of the game.
Skirmish: Gutter Runners can skirmish if you wish.
Clan Skryre Poison Wind Globadiers
Poison Wind Globes: Poison Wind Globes have a range of 6" and use a 1" radius area effect template. Place the template anywhere within range, and roll the scatter dice to see whether the globe is on target. If a Hit is rolled, the globe is on target. If an arrow is shown, the template is moved d3" in the direction indicated by the arrow. Any model that is more than half under the template is hit on a 4, 5, or 6. Globadiers are only affected on a roll of 6. Hits automatically cause one wound, with no armour save possible. Unlike most missile weapons, Poison Wind Globes can be hurled into the rear ranks of an enemy regiment which is fighting in hand to hand combat with no risk to the Skaven unit they are fighting, unless the globes miss and scatter onto the Skaven, of course.
Globadiers: When Globadiers operate as individuals, they must stick with a particular Skaven regiment thoughout the battle. A maximum of two Globadiers can be attached to a regiment, and they must remain within 6" of the regiment at all times. The Globadiers count as part of the regiment for all intent and purposes, and do not test separately for psychology, Panic, etc. If the regiment flees, then the Globadiers flee also. If the regiment rallies, the Globadiers rally. The only exception to this rule is that if Globadiers are charged, they must evade. A skirmishing unit of Globadiers forms a completely separate regiment that follows all the normal rules for skirmishers.
Shooting: Globadiers may only be targeted individually when they are within 5" of their parent unit if they are the nearest target. The normal -1 modifier for firing at a single character does apply.
Plague Monks
Plague Monks are affected by the rules for Frenzy. This means they will always charge enemy within reach. When they are frenzied, the Monks double their number of Attacks, so each Monk will have two instead of one attack.
Giant Rats
Pursuit: Giant Rats are extremely viscious and always pursue a broken enemy, regardless of the Skaven player's wishes.
Overwhelm Enemy: Giant Rats fight in a huge and unstoppable mass. It is impossible for enemies fighting Giant Rats to lap around them. Conversely, Giant Rats can always lap around their enemy, even if the Giant Rats are beaten in hand to hand combat.
Panic: The sight of Giant Rats scampering off the battlefield will not affect Skaven at all. It just proves to them they are superior to their primitive forebearers. Therefore, only Giant Rat packs have to take Panic tests when another Giant Rat pack breaks or flees past them.
Plague Censer Bearers
Shooting: The clouds of vapour surrounding Censer Bearers make them difficult targets to shoot at. Therefore, the normal -1 to hit modifier for shooting at skirmishers is doubled to -2 when shooting at Plague Censer Bearers.
Formation: Plague Censer Bearers always fight in skirmish formation.
Frenzy: Censer Bearers are affected by the rules for frenzy.
Hatred: Censer Bearers are affected by the rules for hatred, meaning they take ALL Break tests as if they had a Ld of 10, and they can reroll any misses on the first round of combat, and must always pursue.
Combat: In close combat, the Plague Censer is wielded like a flail. In addition, the swinging Censer creates a 1" radius Fog of Death around the Bearer. Roll a d6 for any model within this area at the start of the close combat phase. If the d6 roll is higher than the model's Toughness, the model will take 1 wound. A roll of 6 always causes a wound, regardless of Toughness. No armour savings throw is possible. The Censer Bearer must take this test himself, but they are only affected on a 6. Astute players will realise that it is a very good plan to keep all your Censer Bearers at least 1" apart and away from other Skaven.
Plague Monks: Plague Censer Bearers always fight alongside a unit of Plague Monks. Censer Bearers must remain within 6" of the Plague Monks unit until they charge into combat. If the Plague Monk unit flees or is affected by psychology, the Censer Bearers are also affected. If the Censer Bearers are called upon to take a Ld test they may use the Ld value of the Plague Monk unit as long as it is still within 6".
Skaven Packmasters
Movement: A pack of creatures moves at the speed of its slowest member, normally the Packmaster. When a pack charges or pursues, it will move at full speed. If the enemy is more than 10" away the Packmasters will not be able to fight on the first turn. Place them at the rear of the pack.
Combat: In combat, each Packmaster and all the creatures in the pack fight using their own WS, Strength, etc. Enemy models may choose to fight any Packmaster or creature their base is touching.
Leadership: Packs of creatures always use the Ld characteristic of their Packmaster, providing there is at least one Packmaster alive in the unit.
Missile Casualties: When an enemy shoots at a pack of creatures, randomise the casualties inflicted between the creatures and the Packmasters.
Skaven Slaves
Panic: Skaven Slaves aren't expected to fight well. They are expected to die. Therefore, only other Skaven Slave regiments have to take a Panic test when a Skaven Slave regiment breaks in combat or flees past them.
Vermin Lord, Daemon of the Horned Rat
Greater Daemon: All the special rules for Daemons apply, as described in the Warhammer rulebook. The Vermin Lord has a savings throw of 4+ due to its Daemonic Aura.
Terror: The Vermin Lord causes terror. Remember, monsters that cause terror automatically cause fear.
Doom Glaive: The hit from a Doom Glaive inflicts not 1, but d3 wounds.
Spells: Vermin Lords have a magic level of 4. Vermin Lords may draw their spell cards from the Skaven deck, including the Grey Seer spells, or the Dark Magic spell deck.
Rat Ogres
Fear: Rat Ogres cause fear in other creatures.
Stupidity: Rat Ogres are affected by the rules for Stupidity.
Rat Swarms
Combat: A swarm moves and fights as a large monster, with 5 Wounds and 5 Attacks. If a Skaven army includes more than 1 Rat Swarm, all the Rat Swarms must congregate into a single unit.
Leadership: Rat Swarms are immune to psychological effects and never take Break tests.
Base: Rat Swarms are represented by a number of models mounted on a single 40mm x 40mm base (usually five Rat models should suffice on a base).
Skaven Warlord General
The army must include a General to lead it. The General is very important to the Skaven army and should be placed so that the most possible units will get the benefit of his Ld characteristic. The General's Ld is only 7, but a unit testing on it will get the benefit of their rank bonuses, which, if you have formed them four ranks deep, will give them an effective Ld of 10.
Battle Standard Bearer
The Battle Standard Bearer is another character that is very important to the army. When you combine the Battle Standard's ability to give rerolls to all units within 12" with the General's Ld ability, you can see the importance of the Battle Standard to the army. Give the Army Standard Bearer a magic standard that will aid Ld.
Chieftans
Chieftans are very important to give your units a character that has some bite in hand to hand, and his Ld 6 combined with rank bonuses will give the unit he is with a Ld 9. I would assign my Chieftans to units for this purpose, rather than using them as individuals.
Clan Pestilens Plague Priests
Plague Priests are the only characters you should use to lead your Plague Monks. They are subject to the same frenzy rules as the Plague Monks. Plague Priests also make excellent individual characters, and at 73 points they are a good deal.
Vermin Lords
This is one of the more useful Greater Daemons. He has good stats, and his cost is much lower than other Greater Daemons, but he is still very expensive at 600 points. I would use this guy against most Chaos armies. The only drawback is the only unit that he can be placed with that can protect him from artillery / missile fire are Rat Ogres, and they are very exspensive (too exspensive for this purpose).
Skaven Warlocks and Grey Seers
Skaven Warlocks and Grey Seers have a good range of spells that are offensive in origin. The most powerful of spells are reserved to the Grey Seers, but do not neglect your lower level Warlocks. There are some very good spells available to them, and their points cost is much lower. A Skaven Grey Seer riding on a Screaming Bell makes an awesome combination, but a very expensive one, and usually the points can be better used for troops.
Champions
I always include Champions in my units in order to get their extra fighting ability, but they are useless for Ld purposes. To increase your Ld you will need a Chieftan.
Stormvermin
You may have one regiment of Stormvermin. I usually equip Stormvermin with a shield and halberd, never with a double-handed weapon, as this takes away the advantage of their speed and Initiative. You may include up to two Poison Wind Globadiers and one Warpfire Thrower team with the Stormvermin. This is something that I always do, to give them that extra bit of destructive ability, and I usually give the Stormvermin the War Banner or the Banner of Might to aid them in their hand to hand combat abilities. This should be a large regiment of 20+ Stormvermin.
Clanrat Warriors
These should be in very large units, and I like to arm them with a spear and give them detachments of Globadiers and a Warpfire Thrower. These are your basic troops for filling out the line.
Clan Eshin Gutter Runners
You can only have one unit of these, and their main use is in disrupting your enemy's line and slowing his advance. They can also be used to delay your enemy's powerful troops. I usually give them an additional hand weapon and either throwing stars or slings. Remember, these are your scouts, they get to deploy after your opponent has anywhere on the table outside of your opponent's deployment zone as long as they are hidden from his army's view.
Clan Eshin Assassins
I usually deploy these in my Stormvermin, my Gutter Runners, and in some of my Clanrat regiments. Try to move them around from regiment to regiment between one battle and the next so that your opponent will never know where to expect them to show up.
Skaven Slaves
Use large blocks of these lightly armed as basically expendable hordes. Use them to attack and delay your opponent's best units until your better units can attack and decimate others of his units. Just remember, these are your expendables. Keep them cheap.
Plague Censer Bearers
These can be devastating troops when used properly. Keep them within 6" of your Plague Monks until they charge into hand to hand combat. Once they have charged, they are subject to the Hatred rules which will overcome their low morale. They are also subject to the rules for Frenzy, and their weapon can fell even the best armoured of troops. Just remember, these troops can also be very dangerous to your own troops. The detachment of Plague Censer Bearers can be no larger than half the size of the Plague Monk regiment.
Clan Pestilens Plague Monks
I always arm these guys with an extra hand weapon to take advantage of their Frenzy (1 x 2 +1 = 3 attacks). I like to give my Plague Monks a magic standard to aid them either in their combat score or their combat result. Always use them in large regiments of four ranks or more. The detachment of Plague Censer Bearers can be no larger than half the size of the Plague Monk regiment.
Clan Moulder Packmasters
My favourite combination is a regiment made up of groups consisting of Packmasters and Giant Rats. Giant rats, to me, are more effective, even with their low WS, than are Rat Ogres, but the trick to this is to build truly large regiments of Packmasters and Giant Rats. They will not work well as small regiments. Rat Ogres can be effective, but the unit in my opinion is too exspensive when using Rat Ogres, except when fighting Chaos.
Poison Wind Globadiers
Poison Wind Globadiers, in my opinion, are best used as detachments for other units. Their low morale makes them very vulnerable when used as a skirmishing regiment.
Clan Skryre Warpfire Thrower Teams
The only way I use these is attached to other regiments of Stormvermin and Clanrats. They make very good, if dangerous, firepower for the regiments they are attached to, but their low morale makes them too vulnerable to use any other way.
Doomwheel
This can be a very deadly, if somewhat erratic, weapon, and is a fairly good deal at its points cost. the only problem is that it can be as dangerous to the Skaven army as it is to the enemy if anything goes wrong.
Jezzail Teams
I like to use units of Jezzail teams to give me some firepower, but you must take into account their low morale when you deploy them. Jezzails can be a very risky unit to take due to their low morale.
Screaming Bell
This is a mount for the Grey Seers. It can be a truly devastating combination, but the combination of Grey Seer and Screaming Bell is very exspensive, but the effects of the Screaming Bell can be the winning edge that your Skaven army needs.
The only one of the monsters available to the Skaven that needs to be mentioned here are the Rat Swarms. At 50 points per base instead of the normal 100 points they are one very good deal. You can buy one swarm for every unit of Skaven in your army, including Slaves, but excluding Giant Rats, Rat Ogres, Plague Censer Bearers, and Poison Wind Globadiers. You can buy more Rat Swarms than this if you like, but it will be at the normal 100 points each. I like to have a unit made up of 3-5 Rat Swarms in my army. They are very good for stopping and/or breaking the advance of strong enemy units, as they are totally immune to all psychology and break tests.
Grey Seer Thanquol
Of the special characters, Thanquol is one of my favourites. He has the ability to retake Warp tests; he has his special save against wounds (one way to take advantage of this is to place a cheap Slave pool close by to put his wounds on); he has his Rat Ogre body guard to also help him fight, and Boneripper causes fear, as do all Rat Ogres, his only drawback is that he still suffers stupidity if he is alone for any reason. All in all, for the points, this makes a good package, and makes Thanquol well worth using as a special character.
Lord Skrolk
Skrolk is a good killing machine. He has 8 Attacks due to frenzy, he causes terror, he has the Aura of Pestilence which causes a -1 to WS and BS of his opponents, he has the Liber Bubonicus which allows him to use Nurgle spells with a magic level of 2, he has the Rod of Corruption which is a very potent hand to hand weapon, and he has a Plague Censer. All in all, a very potent character.
Ikit Claw
Ikit Claw has very good leadership (Ld 9), he has the ability to take his spells from any one deck (except Waagh! magic), he makes a good army leader (which he has to be), he can toss Poison Wind Globes which is a bonus, he is immune to psychology, he can fire a small warpfire projector with his claw using the Stream of Corruption template, and in hand to hand the claw gives him +1 S for a S5 (which is included in his stats). The Storm-daemon is a good weapon, but many times I would rather give my Warlocks magic scrolls than weapons. The main drawback that Ikit has is that you must spend 25% of your points on War Machines.
Throt the Unclean
Throt is a good, cheap special character to use as a fighter. His Man-catcher can be very dangerous to creatures with a Toughness less than 6, those with T6 or better cannot be harmed by it. His Warpstone Charm can save him by allowing him to reroll one single dice throw during the game and modify it by +1 or -1. He is one of my favourite characters to use.
Deathmaster Snikch
You have somebody you want dead, just call on the Chief Assassin of Clan Eshin. Very high WS; super Initiative 10; he has 3 Weeping Blades; he also carries poisoned throwing stars, and he has an Attacks characteristic of 5. His Cloak of Shadows makes him very difficult to see, the attacking model or unit must roll a 6 on a d6 to shoot at or charge him, and spells can only be cast at him on a 5 or 6 on a d6, his prescence does not stop opponents charging or shooting at units he is with, the Deathmaster will just duck out of the way, the Cloak will not protect him after he is in hand to hand combat, but it will start to work again as soon as he is out of hand to hand, this means if he flees for any reason pursuers will only catch him if they roll a 6 on a d6. The Bands of Power allow him to double his Strength three times during a battle. He has a special Dodge saving roll, and he may infiltrate. He may only lead units of Gutter Runners, or act as an independent model. He is the perfect character for taking out your opponent's special characters, general, and/or magic users. He can even take on monsters, if need be.
Warlord Queek Headtaker
This is the character to take if you're fighting Dwarfs. He wears Warpstone armour; he is subject to hatred; he has high stats; and he carries the weapon Dwarf-Gouger which will always wound a Dwarf on a 2+. The only thing problematic is that he will always issue a challenge.
These are the tactics that I have found most successful when using a Skaven army.
First, I find that very exspensive characters and magic items are not a good choice with the Skaven, except in very large games.
Second, the basis of your Skaven army should be large units of Clanrats supported by the more specialised units. Do not try to build an army using only the specialised units, as you will not be successful.
To design an army, first take a Warlord, and equip him to survive. His Ld is more important than his fighting ability. The same goes for your Battle Standard Bearer, equip him to survive, his standard is very, very important to the army. If at all possible, make the army standard one of the magic standards that will aid the army's survival. I always use a Grey Seer in any battle of more than 1500 points. In battles of 1500 points or less, I often take Warlocks instead. But I have found that in most tournament battles the Grey Seer is worth taking.
Your first couple of regiments should be Clanrats of 30-40 deployed in 6 or 7 ranks. You need the extra ranks to make sure that you have four ranks plus when you enter hand to hand combat. With one of these units, I would place the army commander, the army Battle Standard Bearer, a Chieftan or two in one of these units, and make sure that the unit's standard is also a magic standard. Also, I like to arm these with spears. Give each unit detachments of Poison Wind Globadiers and a Warpfire Thrower team.
After these first two units, my next choice would be a unit of Plague Monks. I would also deploy this as a unit of 30+ in 5-6 ranks. Have this unit led by a Plague Priest, and also give it a Champion. Make sure that you buy a standard bearer for this unit, and give it a magic standard that will add to its combat result. Give it a detachment of Plague Censer Bearers. Equip the unit with extra hand weapons and light armour.
The next unit of choice would be Stormvermin. I always equip these guys with halberds and shields, and I always make sure they have a standard bearer, and if possible a magic standard. Due to their cost, the units will tend to be smaller, but I would still try to have at least 20-24 of these guys in 5 or 6 ranks, and give them a character to lead them, and if possible add in a couple of other characters, including a champion.
The next choice, which may surprise many, are Skaven Slaves. Take Skaven Slaves, put them in very large units, 40 or more 8 ranks deep, have them led by a champion or Chieftan with the Crown of Command, then charge your enemy's most dangerous unit with them. They probably won't do much damage to the enemy unit, but then they can tie it down for the whole battle. It's a good idea to put a second character with this unit in case the first character is killed.
Buy Assassins for as many units as you can.
After the above units, you can think about Gutter Runners. Gutter Runners will either be very successful or a total failure. I usually use units of between 10 and 12 of these. I give them light armour, an additional hand weapon, and sometimes a sling or throwing stars. I only give the sling or throwing stars when I am fighting armies that have low Toughness and have quick moving troops that I want to ambush.
When fighting Chaos or Dwarfs, I feel the risk of using Plague Censer Bearers as an independent unit is outweighed by their ability against these heavily armoured troops. They can also be useful against Knights, but remember, they have low morale. It is always a risky proposition to take these troops.
I like to use Packmasters in my army with Giant Rats. I form this unit from 6-8 Packmasters and 30 or so Giant Rats. Deploy them in deep units so that you will have plenty of rats to envelop your enemy.
Again, with the Poison Wind Globadiers, I prefer to use these only as detachments.
In general, I believe the Horns army formation / tactic is the best for use with Skaven. Use your overwhelming numbers to envelop your enemy and close in on him from all sides. Use very large formations to overcome your lack of morale, and to make sure that you have the needed four ranks when you close to hand to hand combat. Use your speed to get into hand to hand quickly, to overcome your lack of missile troops. You can use Jezzails to target heavily armoured foes, but do not rely on these. Against enemies that will have very small numbers, and heavy armour, use the Doomwheel and the Screaming Bell. But against armies like Orcs & Goblins, those two items would be a waste of points, because you need your numerous troops, as they will have large numbers of troops. The Orcs & Goblins, and Lizardmen are probably the most dangerous armies to fight with Skaven, as they nullify your normal advantage of numbers. When fighting using special characters, choose the special characters that will aid you the most against the opponent you are fighting. Myself, I use very few special characters, as I think with the Skaven the points are best used to increase the size of my units and the number of units I have. Remember, speed is your best friend with Skaven. Close quickly and choose your targets. Use Slaves and other cheap troops to disrupt your enemy's advance. One good tactic for doing this is to attack your opponent's best troops with Rat Swarms in multiple ranks, this can totally destroy your opponent's plan. The Rat Swarms are immune to psychology and Break tests, so he will have to destroy every single base of Rats, and each base has 5 Wounds. Yes, they're easy to inflict individual wounds on due to their low Toughness, but when you have Swarms 2 wide and 3 deep, it will take him the whole game to get rid of them. Even three Swarms set up in three ranks will make problems for your opponent.
Compiled and inscribed by the Old Sage from extensive talks with Warlord Skrikit.
1) WFT have the worst misfire chart in the game, of any race. There is simply no good result. If they misfire, the team will be combat ineffective for the rest of the game.
2) If your WFT can fire twice or more, not explode and kill at least 70 points of troops, it's paid for itself. Sometimes it's hard to do this in a four turn game.
3) Beware of attaching WFT to units affected by Skavenbrew. There are potential rules complications, and if the WFT is affected, and forced to charge, it can explode from excess movement.
4) WFT march 8" max, and thus can slow down the parent regiment on long maneuvers. In a four turn game, it almost never matters.
5) Doomwheels are suicidal against any army with significant missile firepower (more than 15 shots per turn), because the Warlock Engineer dies very easily. That tends to limit their use to fighting the Undead and Chaos.
6) Jezzails are the only "war machines" which can stand and fire at chargers.
7) Jezzails are much better shooting at large targets.
8) The Screaming Bell is interesting, but not for every army, and not for low point games. It will slow down the unit it's in (no march moves) and thus is better deployed in a slave unit alongside the main block (assuming the main block has the general and retinue in it). The D6 impact hits look inviting, but pale in relation to the magical benefits. Keep it rolling towards the enemy, and get into charge range on turn four, if possible.
9) The Deathmaster can throw a throwing star at S8, with the bands of power. Very nasty for a thrown weapon, and useful for picking at lone characters you can't charge just yet.
10) Slaves don't always run around in 40+ units. They make excellent screens as well. If you use them this way, make sure they don't have a standard (they will run at some point) and build a unit of 16. With 16, they can still rank up into a 4x4 block (against armies with no missiles to screen against) and against others, they can run in 2x8, and screen the main block. Obviously, this 48 point unit (if you give them spears) is much better under the tournament based VP 100 system. For 48 points, you get 16 wounds, vs. five for a rat swarm.
11) Only other slave units care (can panic) if slaves break or run for any reason)
12) Include a champion and a Plague Priest in your units of Plague Monks in order to keep one of them alive in charge situations.
--Tim Ray
US Warhammer Champion (Skaven)
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