Characters
Grey Seer
Strengths: Grey Seers have a number of advantages over other Skaven casters. First and foremost they are capable of mixing spell lores. They can choose to take any combination of Ruin and Plague spells (as long as they take no more than 4 spells). This makes Grey Seers extremely diverse. Opponents never know what spells a Grey Seer may roll and some combinations of Plague and Ruin spells are absolutely murderous. Additionally, Grey Seers, with their warp-addled brains, also start with d3 warpstone tokens that are useful for casting that additional spell when the opponent thinks you are nearly out of power dice. Finally, they are one of only two models that possess a base leadership of 7. So with a Grey Seer in charge units within his inspiring presence bubble can have a leadership of 10 with full rank bonuses.
Weakensses: The largest drawback for Grey Seers is a common pitfall for casters in general, combat. While a Grey Seer possesses a good Toughness stat, decent Initiative, and the standard 3 wounds for lord-level characters, they will positively die against even mediocre combat units/characters. They have no armor, must purchase a ward save, a mediocre Weapon Skill of 3, and only a single Attack. Lastly, Grey Seers are horribly expensive for a Skaven army. For the price of this one model Skaven generals could buy 3-4 decent sized slave units.
Uses: Grey Seers are best used in reserve, or bunker, units. Ideally these units should set up behind the rest of the Skaven lines and with a decent view of the enemy. The Grey Seer should be kept safe at all costs, especially if he is the general. The leadership 7 bubble is just as important as the spells the Grey Seer knows. Speaking of spells, I usually recommend either a combination of 2 Ruin & 2 Plague or 3 Plague and 1 Ruin. Seriously consider dropping a spell for the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell as its sheer existence on the battlefield may cause an opponent to make mistakes. If the Grey Seer finds himself in combat, pray your opponent is inexperienced enough to issue a challenge and then promptly hide in the back.
Verminlord
Strengths: The Verminlord falls has all the killiness of a monster and even better stats to boot. He offers up a good WS, along with S, T, I, W and even a daemonic ward save. Additionally the Doom Glaive makes him superb at hunting monsters or other characters since he will cause Multiple Wounds (D3). Finally, he also acts as a level 4 caster and can take spells from Ruin and Plague.
Weaknesses: Unfortunately this model is expensive in both points and money terms. Also, since he rests on a large base and counts as a monster, he can't benefit from many of the character rules such as "Look Out Sir!". With only a 5+ Ward Save protecting him he is very susceptible to war machine fire, Given his base move is only 6" he will have to run, solo, across the field of battle and this opens him up to a lot of prime shots from cannons and their ilk. Finally, he takes up point allocations from the Lords section and this creates other problems. One such problem is that despite his extremely expensive point cost, he can't be the general of the army and thus Skaven players are forced to spend even more points on a model to perform the duties of a general. Let's be honest here, if a player spends the points to play with a Vermindlord, a large enough game is being played to warrant a leadership 7 inspiring presence bubble that can only be found in the other Lord slots.
Uses: Unless playing in an absolutely obscenely high point game, I really don't recommend using a Vermindlord. That being said, if a player decides they absolutely must, then use Vermindlords to hunt monsters, solo characters, scouting units, skirmishers, and other weak armies. Under no circumstances should a Verminlord be charging head first across the table straight into an enemies main battle line and/or war machines. Also, if playing a Storm of Magic game, Vermindlords are almost intractable once placed on a fulcrum and is a fantastic way of removing wizards from said fulcrums as well.
Warlord
Strengths: Warlords are extremely versatile as they have a decent statline that allows them a great amount of flexibility on the tabletop. They are fantastically cheap and thus make great generals since they also have a Ld of 7.
Weaknesses: While Warlords prove very flexible they certainly are not masters of anything. Shooty characters will shoot better, Close-Combat characters will fight better, support characters will offer better support.
Uses: To some extent the weaknesses of a Warlord can be offset by magical equipment. Decide early on when planning an army what type of Warlord is necessary. Offensive Warlords should be able to either deal with characters in challenges or deal a large number of wounds to an enemy unit. Defensive Warlords concentrate on simply surviving, usually to throw around their impressive leadership stat, or perhaps for other nefarious purposes such as terror, leadership bombs, etc. So pick a role for the Warlord, equipment him to succeed, and then stick to that role.
Assassin
Strengths: Good attacks stats for a hero, including a fantastic Initiative stat. Always Strikes First with their high Initiative will guarantee several hits due to rerolls. Assassins have access to some unique wargear that allows them to fulfill their function either at a distance or assist their parent unit. Finally, they can hide to protect themselves and pop out when the opponent least expects them to.
Weaknesses: Assassins are expensive characters for Skaven. They also are terribly squishy with only a 4+ Ward to protect them from danger. Hiding can prove problematic if the unit is placed improperly or the opponent senses your tricks and avoids the unit entirely and moreover the assassin can only hide in specific units.
Uses: I know this is hard to believe, but I actually wouldn't use assassins to try and assassinate most characters. They do a good job of handling lone characters (wizards especially), Warmachines, the occasional monster, and adding attacks to otherwise lackluster infantry.
Chieftain
Strengths: Chietains are simply Hero versions of Warlords with the added bonus of being able to be the army Battle Standard Bearer. They are still flexible, still offer a leadership boost, and are still dirt cheap comparatively.
Weaknesses: Again, Chieftains fall into a jack-of-all-trades yet master of none area and because they are heroes and, sometimes, battle standard bearers, the ability to equip them to fulfill certain roles can be limited.
Uses: The primary use of Chieftains is to create a Battle Standard Bearer. This is almost a necessity for a Skaven army. Battle Standard Bearers should be kept central to the army, possibly in a reserve unit, and if no special banner is required than the Skaven player should deck him out in defensive gear to make sure his reroll bubble stays on the table as long as possible.
Plague Priest
Strengths: Plague Priests are the Hero level wizards who have access to the Lore of Plague, a fantastic Lore for Skaven. They have a high toughness that helps mitigate damage and decent overall combat stats for a caster.
Weaknesses: Plague Priests are pricey by Hero standards, even for wizard standards. While they have a high toughness, they lack any sort of armor or ward save.
Uses: The best use of a Plague Priest is bolstering a unit of Plague Monks or riding a Plague Furnace. Either way, he should be seen as an offensive character, but one that should avoid challenges and direct combat with enemy characters.
Warlock Engineer
Strengths: Warlock engineers have a variety of options and are incredibly cheap. They can be cheap throw away characters or more expensive wizards and they have access to some of the best magical items in the game!
Weaknesses: Warlock Engineers have terrible statistics. What you get for the price is essentially a clanrats with options.
Uses: Warlock Engineers can be used in three primary ways, suicide units, offensive spellcasters, and defensive characters. As suicide units, purchase some of the Scyre equipment and send them flying across the board with skitterleap and let loose the bombs. When finished with their devious schemes, use them to march block, misdirect, or block movement. Just don't make them too pricey. Next, the offensive spellcasters, purchase the level 1 or 2 upgrade and always default one of them to Warp Lightning. Additionally, multiple level 1 Warlocks can be taken to make their own "unit" of level 1 lightning throwers. Lastly, as defensive units, which operate much like suicide units but without the bag of tricks up front. Take naked warlocks and use them as misdirect units, march blockers, or to block wheeling/turning units.
Special Characters
Deathmaster Snikch
Abilities: Snikch is a master assassin and his statline reflects as much. He has a high Weapon Skill, Initiative, and Attacks characteristics and decent enough strength. He comes with a 4+ ward save built in and can hide in units just like a normal assassin. All of his attacks benefit from the rules for weeping blades (armor piercing and multiple wounds (d3)). His Cloak of Shadows benefits him when he is deployed on his own as it allows him to sneak around undetected unless the opponent rolls a 4+ before attempting a charge.
Uses: Snikch is an extremely expensive hero level character (for Skaven) whose primary use is to go after characters. With a few exceptions he does a fantastic job going after all characters due to his high number of attacks and the multiple wounds from the weeping blades. He tends to work best against low armor models however. When considering Snikch, think about whether two assassins could fulfill his role because he will cost as much as both.
Ikit Klaw
Abilities: Ikit Klaw is a Warlock Engineer on steroids. He coutns as a level 3 wizard who has a 3+/5++ saves due to his mechanical body. He possesses a one-shot warpfire cannon that receives a free reroll on the artillery dice. Lastly, he has a magic weapon, the Storm Daemon, that ignores armor and can shoot an artillery dice worth of lightning bolts as a bound spell. The weapon comes into play more than one would think given that Ikit Klaw has the statline to perform moderately well in combat, with only a lackluster initiative score. All of this will cost a Skaven player dearly though as Ikit counts as a Warlock Engineer and thus has no access to The Dreaded Thirteenth, and he costs almost as much as two Grey Seers.
Uses: Ikit can throw down some mean damage. Move him forward with a unit of Stormvermin or Clanrats and let loose. Potentially he could fire his warpfire thrower, warp lightning, storm daemon lightning, and potentially scorch and/or Crack's Call in a single turn. Unlike other casters, specifically other Engineers, Ikit can be used offensively without much worry. Just keep him away from the real hardcore combat character (Chaos Lords) and big monsters (HPA, Hydra)
Lord Skrolk
Abilities: A level 3 wizard with the usual Plague Priest rules plus terror. He also makes it harder for models to hit him or the unit he is within close combat, although this works against skaven as well if they are not Clan Pestilens. He also allows Plague Monks to be taken as Core choices. For items he has a rod that ignores all saves and can cause instant death if it works. He also possesses the ability to roll each magic phase for a blessing from the Great Horned Rat which acts like a bound spell that harms opposing units with low strength hits that do not allow armor saves.
Uses: As the most expensive special character in the book, Lord Skrolk doesn't see much action. He does allow for Clan Pestilens themed lists though, otherwise I fear he wouldn't see any use at all. Skrolk's stats are good he is pretty killable given his lord status and point cost and while he certainly is a force on the battlefield his items rarely have the impact one desires. Stick him in a unit of Plague Monks to help their survivability and to offer up a few magical gimmicks. Avoid unless the army really needs to have Plague Monks as a Core choice.
Queek Headtaker
Abilities: Queek is essentially a beefed out combat Warlord. He is the only way for a Skaven army to get a natural leadership of 8. He has great combat statistics with high Weapon Skill, Initiative, and Attacks characteristics. He gains a bonus to hit and wound in challenges making him very effective in those situations provided he goes first. He can lead a unit of beefed up Stormvermin as well, although I do want to point out that those will run almost as much as Chaos Warriors but nowhere near as effective. Queek also has magic armor with a respectable 3+ save (no ward save though), and a magic weapon that ignores armor. As a very situational item Queek hates greenskins and dwarves and his weapon will always wound dwarves on a 2+. Lastly, he really can't be used in conjunction with a Grey Seer as he can't be put in the same unit and his unit can't push a Screaming Bell either.
Uses: Queek is best used as an army general to provide an absurdly reliable leadership 8 + for his inspiring presence. He can easily defend himself given his combat stats and abilities, but do be careful of high strength characters and monsters who will essentially ignore his armor. Again, I caution against using the beefed up stormvermin since you will be getting Chaos Warriors with fewer attacks and far worse armor for almost the same cost. Given his relatively low point cost though, he is a great purchase for close combat oriented armies that rely less on magic and tricks and more on solid blocks of infantry.
Thanquol & Boneripper
Abilities: Thanquol is a pretty standard Grey Seer as far as base stats. He is addicted to Warpstone and thus starts with more warpstone tokens as well as rerolling warpstone token dice if they come up as 1's. He also comes with a built in 4+ ward save but if he makes a save a model within 6" takes the wound instead. Thanquol can also heal himself at the beginning of each turn and gains an additional spell. Boneripper on the other hand is a Rat Ogre with higher toughness. Otherwise the only thing special about Boneripper is his built-in Warpfire Thrower that he can use once per game.
Uses: Thanquol and Boneripper can either be used in a unit or on their own. Definitely deploy them together as Boneripper will shut down if not within 12" of Thanquol. Otherwise the two of them can move forward and proceed to bombard the enemy with spells. Make liberal use of Thanquols Warp Tokens since he starts with so many as otherwise the game may be over and at that point they are simply a waste. This duo can be a little tricky to get the most out of in 8th edition and due to their cost should probably be avoided unless playing large games.
Throt the Unclean
Abilities: Throt is a master packmaster and has slightly weaker than average stats for a Warlord. When he is in the army two units of Rat Ogres can count as Core and Giant Rats count towards the minimum troop points. These units are again bolstered by Throt as, even if he is not the army general they can use his leadership if they are within 12" of him. On the down-side he can potentially eat a model in his unit so be wary of deploying him in units of Rat Ogres. For equipment he boasts killing blow, causes Multiple Wounds D3 against Monsters, Monstrous Infantry, and Monstrous Cavalry, etc. Lastly, he can attack with a whip that gives a penalty to leadership for a unit.
Uses: Throt is best used in armies where the Skaven player really wants to take a lot of Rat Ogres and Giant Rats. While on the cheap side for Skaven special characters he is too expensive to put in most lists that only casually use these units. When he is taken though, he should be used in units of Giant Rats or Clanrats. Used in conjunction with a large ranked unit and a supporting unit of Rat Ogres, Throt will almost guarantee that if the opposing unit loses combat they will run. So overall a great, if not required, choice for a themed Clan Moulder list, but mediocre outside that niche role.
Tretch Craventail
Abilities: Tretch has standard stats for a chieftain. His rules and magic equipment are largely geared towards survival and as he can escape combat by fleeing to another unit of clanrats or stormvermin, receives a 4+ ward save, and can reroll any one dice roll during the game. Additionally he boosts the unit he is with by letting them reroll To Hit rolls when the unit charges into a flank or rear of an opposing unit.
Uses: If Skaven players are looking for a defensive chieftain who will offer a bit of a leaderhsip boost, is hard to kill, and will add a couple of extra attack dice, Tretch is actually a great deal. While he won't add much in the combat realm he will boost leadership for the unit and is notoriously hard to kill for a 2 wound character. He is a severely under looked character that can add a decent boost at any point level.
Common Equipment Loadouts
Standard Grey Seer
Standard Equipment: Talisman of Preservation, Earthing Rod
Breakdown: This is probably the most common equipment seen on a Grey Seer. This loadout really works well to offset some of the obvious weaknesses and drawbacks of the Grey Seer while still remaining affordable in terms of points spent. First the Talisman of Preservation gives the Grey Seer a much needed way to avoid wounds from a variety of sources. The item is a bit pricey, but then one needs to protect the Grey Seer since he is extremely pricey and, often times, the Skaven general. The Earthing Rod seems almost like GW intended for Skaven to utilize this item. Given that Skaven possess the Dreaded Thirteenth spell that almost guarantees a miscast when seriously attempted, this item lets Skaven generals breathe a little easier when the first miscast roll comes up as a dimensional cascade.
Foot Plague Priest
Standard Equipment: Flail, Portents of Verminous Doom, Foul Pendant
Breakdown: The Foul Pendant adds a nice ward save, respectable given the T5 the Plague Priest already possesses. The flail adds to the hitting power of the priest himself. To understand why the Plague Priest receives the Portents of Verminous Doom, I must explain that, more often than not, I place my Plague Priest with Plague Monks. Plague Monks are fantastic in combat but can lose steam in later rounds if they draw or lose combat and thus, lose frenzy. Portents of Verminous Doom makes your opponents that much easier to break in the first round of combat.
Defensive Chieftain
Standard Equipment: Heavy Armor, Shield, Dragonhelm, Rival Hide Talisman, Hand Weapon
Breakdown: A defensive chieftain can either be a set-up as a BSB or as a character to provide a slight leadership boost. The idea behind this character is to keep him cheap, but survivable. To this end, he concentrates purely on defense. The dragonhelm bumps the armor save by 1 while still allowing the chieftain to retain a parry save from the hand weapon + shield while the rival hide talisman will add a bit of survivability when either down to the last wound or facing an opponent who is canny enough to not challenge you and just allocate strikes with their beefy hero. A 3+ armor save, 6+ parry save, with one-shot ability to force opponents to reroll saves works out pretty well.
Defensive Warlord
Standard Equipment: Fencer's Blades, Rival Hide Talisman, Armor of Destiny
Breakdown: This may, at first, not seem quite as defensive as just taking a 2+ armor save and a 4+ ward save (doable). However, look a little deeper and you'll notice something brilliant. The Fencer's Blades boost the WS of the Warlord to a very respectable level and ensure that, short of combat monster characters like Chaos Champions and the their ilk, most models will hit the warlord on a 5+. If the enemy manages a lucky round where he hits the warlord an absurd amount of times, the rival hide talisman can be used to negate the luck. Then anything that gets through has to deal with a 5+ armor and a 4+ Ward from the Armor of Destiny. But, if you want to be boring and go 2+/4++ that is definitely viable as well.
Offensive Warlord
Standard Equipment: Bonebreaker, Armor of Fortune, Warlock Augmented Weapon
Breakdown: This model, which can be run either in a pack of Rat Ogres or by himself, can be extremely effective with this build. Between the Bonebreaker and the Warlord this single model dishes out 10 S5 attacks (5 at WS6/I7 & 5 at WS4/I3) plus a stomp! The armor grants him a respectable armor save as well as a fair ward save. For those looking to run him alone, consider paying the points to upgrade up to the Armor of Destiny. A quick note though, due to the Warlord and mount being monstrous cavalry, enemies can pick him out of the unit for shooting purposes.
Standard Assassin
Standard Equipment: Weeping Blade, Potion of Strength
Breakdown: So how do we mitigate the skaven assassin's lackluster strength and attacks stat? Easy, give him a weapon that either increases his attacks or causes multiple wounds, and then give him a way of increasing his strength. The turn a skaven assassin pops the strength potion he should be able to kill almost any character barring ward save rolls. If nothing else, he should be able to severely wound the model so the assassin can finish him off in the next turn.
Warp Lightning Warlock
Standard Equipment: Warp Energy Condenser, Level 1 Upgrade,
Breakdown: This equipment selection writes itself. Take the level 1 upgrade for the Warlock Engineer and roll whatever. Drop the spell in favor of Warp Lightning, cast and watch the enemy try and soak up 1d6+2 S5 lightning bolts. Oh, did I mention that he also gets an additional chance to channel a power/dispel die? Upgrade to level 2 if that extra spell might help or take a dispel scroll if you need a scroll caddy.
Suicide Engineer
Standard Equipment: Doomrocket/Brass Orb/Death Orb, Warplock Pistol
Breakdown: Again, another simple loadout. take the Doomrocket, Brass Orb, or Death Orb as the first item. If a Grey Seer or 2nd Warlock Engineer is present then cast Skitterleap on the suicide 'Lock. Jump him over to the enemies lines and let go with the wargear
So that is part IV and it was a doozy. Come back next time for Part V where I will go over the various ranked infantry units, their strengths, weaknesses, and uses on the tabletop. Also, come back later this week for my very first blog contest!