Skaven in 8th Ed.

[lovedinplaster]

Skaven is an odd army indeed. It can play every roll except a cavalry army. The best part...Is.. In one turn skaven can completely decide the battle.. Whether its annihilating the opponent or completely blowing up your side of the table. Skaven can dish out the pain.

[Cragum]

Is it truly evil to throw a A-bomb in a 1k list?

[Rudra34]

Is it truly evil to throw a A-bomb in a 1k list?

Very much so. Aboms don't break the game, but in a low-point fight where the enemy doesn't have tools to deal with one it is completely brutal. I play skaven and it pisses me off when I see people play them in such a low point game.

[Metacarpi]

Is it truly evil to throw a A-bomb in a 1k list?

Kinda, but if you regularly play 1k games, it can't hurt to use it now and again just to see the results! Every time might be a bit annoying to face though.

Toss up between including A-Bomb and a Grey Seer!

[Cragum]

Very much so. Aboms don't break the game, but in a low-point fight where the enemy doesn't have tools to deal with one it is completely brutal. I play skaven and it pisses me off when I see people play them in such a low point game.

See this is the thing. I made a 1k list and someone was telling me it was a smart idea to throw one in because I didnt have any heavy hitting units. but the thing is I did have over 100 models in my army with two level 1's and a warlord on a bonebreaker.

Cheers for response's though. It was less me trying to get one in my army but more just to make sure I wasnt seeing a massive hole in my 1k list. They are truly evil units and true they arent game changers in big games but they do a good job of trying and I think in 1k that thing could destroy most units with no problem.

Would you say then it would be harsh to throw in a Grey Seer at 1k then?

This one is more me as I kinda like the idea of having one, but thats primarily because I just made a new one from kitbashing and I am in love with it and want to use it as much as possible!

[Rudra34]

A grey seer at 1k can go either way. If you want to do it without feeling like a cheese ball, then follow these guidelines:

-Take Ruin - People loath Skaven magic in general, but if you choose to take the lore that doesn't have wither and plague in it, then people will assume you took him more for strategic purposes and leadership than as WAAC option.
-Avoid the 13th - Same reasons as above. You don't need the 13th to be successful at any points value, and any time you opt not to take it people will respect that.
-He is a HUGE investment at 1k - Sure you get +4 cast/dispel and most likely magical dominance, but you are also sacrificing 1/4 of your total points for a wizard who has no points for defense and will die if you look at him hard enough. You reap the benefits, but you also take a BIG risk.


Back to the abom issue, I'm glad you see where I am coming from. I feel that, provided you aren't playing an all-chariot TK list, a doomwheel is a fair and solid option at 1k. You don't threaten to beat-stick the enemy with one monster, but you still have an awesome support unit which can fry elites and keep the enemy busy while you worry about more important things.

[skabradisdead]

Anyone recommend an effective assassin load out?

[warplock]

Anyone recommend an effective assassin load out?

Weeping Blade and Potion of Strength, every time. 3 WS6 I8 S7 ASF attacks that do D3 wounds each? Goodbye, dragon.

[m1acca1551]

What are peoples thoughts on rat ogres? Are they worth taking or do people simply choose the abom as the heavy hitter??

[warplock]

What are peoples thoughts on rat ogres? Are they worth taking or do people simply choose the abom as the heavy hitter??

I think Rat Ogres are OK, I sometimes used them in big games, I think of them more like an extra choice to throw in for some variety rather than something I'd want to use regularly. Their 4 S5 attacks + S5 stomp makes them pretty brutal in combat, but their complete lack of armour hurts them, especially against Elves or anything else with I higher than 4. They're probably costed about right, I think, maybe a few points too expensive considering Vargheists are basically the same but can fly and are undead, and cost 6 points more. My favourite use for them is in a large unit with Skweel Gnawtooth. I rolled regen for them once, that unit was unstoppable.
On the whole I'd probably leave them out of most lists though as the HPA and Plague Monks can do a better job of being downright unfair in combat.

[Tarian]

Weeping Blade and Potion of Strength, every time. 3 WS6 I8 S7 ASF attacks that do D3 wounds each? Goodbye, dragon.

Hrm... I'm getting an average of 3 wounds against a Dragon with the Assassin. 3 Attacks with rerolls to hit against a WS6 or 7 Dragon = 2.25 hits, wound on 3s, so 1.5 wounds, Average on d3 is 2, so 3 wounds on average the turn you use the Potion of Strength.

And the other target, i.e. Lord on Top, will usually have heavy armor/ward saves.

In otherwords, I don't think that the Assassin is a particularly good model to hunt dragons or combat lords, as they're pretty expensive, relatively frail, and don't really hit that hard.

But if you really wanted an assassin, the Weeping Blade/Potion one is not horrible, though I prefer keeping my Assassin as a bodyguard for my Grey Seer.

[warplock]

I forgot that dragons often have high WS. Still it's not unreasonable to do five wounds with bit of luck, although it's less on average. Most other monsters have less than WS6 and are going to feel some pain. I wouldn't really take an assassin most of the time, as the points can be far better spend elsewhere, but when I do I really like the Weeping Blade + PoS combo. You only need one wound to slip through on a character and they could be toast.

[m1acca1551]

If there rocking a dragon that is ws 7 so star dragon i'd be throwing slaves and abom plus the kitchen sink instead of an assasin. Assasins are great as body guards.

[m1acca1551]

Ok... so im planning a themed skaven army based around large amount of Stormvermin (cant remember the clan who specialises in them atm), what i want to know are they a good choice as a horde unit or multiple units of 30? now i know i an take queek for the bonus stats, however we dont always play SC. I will be throwing in rat orges, slaves and equipment from skyre such as warpfire teams, wlc etc and plague monks . Im not keen on a-boms as i find them kind of op.

Im not looking for a uber comp army but something that can hold it's own, any advice on how you would field stormvermin if you were to take them would be much appreciated.

[Cragum]

Im never too sure about stormvermin. For the amount of points you pay compared to a clan rat they are good but I only ever think you need one unit of stormvermin in an army. Big enough they do the correct amount of damage without needing extra units. Slaves and clanrats are there for taking the flak while you get that chunky unit in the right place for the killing blow.


Right a quick question.

Would it be wrong to to throw a warp lightening cannon and a plague claw catapult in a 1k army?

[russellmoo]

@Cragum= it depends on what the rest of your list looks like

I agree that multiple units of stormvermin seem to be less good/useful than one big unit-

However, I could see running something like- 1 unit of 40+ stormvermin plus a character with skavenbrew, 2 units of 30 with weapon teams, 2 units of 50-60 slaves. Then take the usual grey seer general, with an assassin bodyguard and bsb (all go in the large stormvermin unit) then add in some re-directors and whatever rares you like- this would be a fluffier army but still playable-

[Cragum]

Well at the moment its standing on the basis of.

Warlord on a bonebreaker mount

2 engineers both level 1s just to give me some light magic

40 clanrats
25 slaves
45 giant rats with 5 packmasters, 1 being skweel

1 warp lightning
1 plagueclaw

So i think to say I dont have many elite troops its not too bad to have the two artillery.


on a side note. I want to ask peoples opinions on plague monks. Are they worth fielding without the plague furnace and would it be better with a different troop with them having no armour it can be nasty with shoot armies or magic armies. Its just I have 40 but i still dont feel the furnace is worth its points in battle.

[Tarian]

Plague monks are very good, especially if they have the Plague Banner on them. T4 helps to alleviate some of the damage, especially from light shooting, and typically Skaven can overload the viable targets, so they might not even get shot at.

[Rudra34]

Plague monks are great if you don't throw them at high-armor targets. With the plague banner going, they will chew through a lot of units in just one round of combat. My current record is 28 dead marauders. Their horde with great weapons is a lot less intimidating when 3/4 of them are dead before striking.

[Biff Gunhed]

With the changes to Unstable, I'm now quite keen to try out some Rat Swarms.