Skaven... trying to get them done.

Well, last Thursday I had the 'snip'. Yup, thought I'd just share that. And since then I've been mainly protecting myself from bumps and knocks to the ol' crown jewels... and have had time to ponder how my Skaven will 'look' in 8th ed.

I've read, like many, the various tacticas, lists on Warseer etc, and had a few games against Steve, Darryl and Mick. And keep coming back to the following for my standard 2000 to 2500 list ( Oh, I have not figured the Plague Furnace or Screaming Bell into my decision making as I don't own the furnace, and have the OLD Bell, which at the moment may get converted to a Plague Claw catapult ) -

1. Lots of core with ranks. The Anvil
2. Abomination. The Hammer
3. Warp Lightning Cannon(s). The softener
4. Grey Seer Magic. The Leveller.

I know it's all been said elsewhere, but here's my condensed thoughts.

There are a LOT of troop options in the Skaven book, and many, many gadgets and trinkets. The list varieties are potentially huge. BUT to successfully use the Skaven without going too 'fluffy' the above four, in my mind, are key to the foundation of a competitive force.

1. Lots of core with ranks. The Anvil

The main focus of Warhammer 8th is Infantry, steadfast, Ranks! And Skaven do this easily. And the way to this is Slaves and Clanrats. Points-wise a steal, especially slaves, but with the Strength in Numbers, and BSB 12" radius they are all going nowhere fast. Yup, they cant fight for toffee but will hold things up for a while.
So far, so good.

2. Abomination - The Hammer

I know there are a few contenders here. The Doomwheel being my close second choice. The Abomination is just more survivable, and can potentially dish out SOOOO much damage it's untrue. Rat Ogres are also an option but seem expensive compared to the A-Bomb survivability, and Plague Censer Bearers are just a shadow of their former self.

The Clanrats / Slaves will win nothing without the support of at least two of these options. My current thinking is 1 A-bomb, 1 Doomwheel. 2 A-bombs is probably OTT... just have to see what my fellow players dish-out over the next few months.

3. Warp Lightning Cannon - The Softener.

Like any good army, you could do with reducing the main enemy threats and putting pressure on from turn one. The Warp Lightning Cannon fits the bill from the start. Yup unreliable ( I know this all too well ), but the potential for damage from the opening turn is immense. Take 2, and the opponent could easily become manageable by the time they meet my battle line.

4. Grey Seer Magic - The Leveller.

As someone who up till 8th Ed shunned magic in favour of Troops and Shooting, I have bowed down to the fact that 8th Edition magic can be a game-turner more than ever before. I have been on the end of a Purple Sun and it was nasty. Both Steve and Mick field Slann with lore of life and all the trinkets that go with him... again, you just can't ignore it.

The Skaven magic list is, in my eyes, very good. The Spells range from the useful skitterleap to the deadly Dreaded 13th spell. And everything in-between has it's uses. One small portion of my tactics for my basic army will be Skitterleap. Dropping a cheapo engineer with the Brass Orb or Doomrocket into enemy territory will make the opponent baulk at the best of times. And yes, he may get wise to this fast and ensure this doesn't happen, but then I have drawn out dispel dice / scrolls to let rip with nastier spells like scorch.

Getting any of the spells off in the game can, like with the Warp Lightning Cannon, help level the playing field prior to combat being met.


So, ramblings of an old gamer. And no doubt many gamers more seasoned than I, and a few uppity gamer-geeks will be thinking 'what a load of bollocks'. But hey, it's how I see it.

Must mention also the potential number 5 on the list - Gutter runners! Scouts, March and Shoot 2x , Poisoned attacks. Against war machines and elite few-in-number troops they must surely be gold! I have put together ( using night runner plastics ) 3 teams of 7. They will be in the starting line-up for sure.

Will be posting some pics soon, under the title " Painting... cant be arsed! " or something like that.