Editing Warhammer Army Project/Skaven (section)

==Unit Analysis==
===Lords & Heroes===
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth. Among Skaven, this is doubly true, since one of the main advantages of Skaven characters is how cheap they are.

* '''[[Thanquol|Thanquol and Boneripper]]:''' 320/480pts. Do you want your army led by a drugged up failure with his mechanical bodyguard? Okay, so that's kinda mean, but he's not bad. He comes with some amusing special rules (his Ward Save deflecting onto a nearby model is funny, as is his kinda janky wound regeneration) and Boneripper can be nasty but like Skrolk, he costs way too much to be properly competitive (60 more than a vanilla Seer on a Bell when you take Boneripper classic). So he's non-competitive, but if you wanna take him for fluff reasons, he's an amusing addition. Keep him out of Tournament lists.
**'''Boneripper Mark II:''' If you spend 105 more points, you can upgrade your Boneripper into his End Times iteration, complete with Thanquol riding on top. This adds +1 to S, W, and A and also turns that one Warpfire Thrower into FOUR (Okay, it's really two with re-rolls to wound). These can also be replaced with Warpfire Braziers, huge fists that act like plague censers. While this makes Thanquol much more of a threat, he becomes an equally bigger target as Boneripper is now a Monster and still suffers from 1 Initiative.

* '''[[Skreech Verminking|Lord Skreech Verminking]]:''' 470pts. The greatest Vermin Lord and the avatar of the Horned Rat. Quite powerful in combat, being able to switch between ASF dagger and Multiple Wounds Doomglaive every turn, but that's not why you take this beauty. Being the biggest dick in a race of dicks, Skreech can take from the Lore of Ruin, Plague, and Stealth and always knows Curse of the Horned Rat (aka the Diet Dreaded Thirteenth) and CAN. REROLL. DICE. WHEN. CASTING. IT.  That said he has his downsides, it's very hard to cast and you're running the risk of cascading your 470 point monster in regular magic.  Like every other vermin lord, he is expensive, has no armour and only a 5+ ward, slow(8") with no flying, and unable to skitter leap himself. Still, he can be incredibly fun (and frustrating - for enemies) in casual games, and face it, you didn't pick up Skaven for boring reliability.

* '''[[Queek Head-Taker]]:''' 225pts. He's a reliable combat character, and unlike many Skaven heroes/lords, he can punch out other lords in a Challenge. He can be truly brutal against high armour save guys, which is always nice. If you're tailoring a list to take on Dwarves, definitely give this guy a look. Compared to 7th/8th he lost an attack & a point in armour for a 5+ ward and the ability to play nicely with Grey Seers & screaming bells. Fortunately, his Red Guard is only 2pts extra a model and just has +1S. 

*'''[[Spinetail]], Warlord of [[Clan Klaw]]:''' 160pts. comes out of [[Island of Blood]]. Fare Cheaper than Queek, Spinetail is a melee lord Practically Duelweading two Blade of Corruptions. He will roll off against an enemy character to see if they get strangled by his tail, and most importantly, rerolls wound roll of 1 for his unit. He can easily fit in small games and makes any Stormvermin or Clanrats with spears he leads dangerous.

*'''[[Nurglitch]]:''' 425pts. The true lord of Clan Pestilens rides atop a rat with a censer-flailing caddy. He's also a serious benefit for a Pestilens army since he not only renders his unit immune to Skaven and Nurgle spells but also renders them immune to their own plague censers. His unit also becomes permanently frenzied and gains hatred, while he himself grants an aura of -1 WS to non-Pestilens units and an immediate armor-negating S4 hit to anyone in b2b, which is separate from his staff's bound spell that can instantly wound someone on a 6, making it epic on mobs. 

* '''[[Lord Skrolk]]:''' Sadly no longer makes Plague Monks core. Seriously, that's the ONLY thing that justifies his inhumanly high entry cost of 385pts (165 points more than a Vanilla Grey Seer). He comes with some fun abilities and magic items, but even they can probably be outdone for less cost (Liber Bubonicus would be more fun if it weren't for the current rules on Bound Spells and it's 1 in 6 chance of going dud when cast). Ultimately he's too pricey. If you're planning on taking a lot of Plague Monks, he can justify his points, but otherwise? Skip him.

*'''[[Morbus Sanguis]]:''' 230pts. Creator of the Yellow Death. He is not well-liked by his unit as his fear and -1 to hit penalties also affect his own unit, and he has a great weapon version of a Plague Censer. His more useful trick is upgrading a Plague Rats unit to Ws4 and S2. Now those swarms hit most units on 4s and wound Common T3 on +3s. Now getting fairly dangerous.

* '''[[Throt the Unclean]]:''' 175pts. Throt could be useful if you're planning on massing Rat Ogres and Giant Rats, in which case he acts as a general even when he isn't. But he's expensive (185 points), and while he can be nasty in close combat, especially against big things, but he's more than a little likely to eat an entire model from your own unit (including killing that Rat Ogre you really wanted to make one last round of attacks before going down). 

* '''[[Ikit Claw]]:''' 310pts. [[Warhammer 40,000|Wore power armor]] before it was [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|cool]] . Like Skrolk and Thanquol, Ikit is too expensive. Unlike them, I can say without reservation that you're not getting anywhere near enough for his cost. He seems like an odd attempt to combine a caster and a combat lord, and even more than other armies, that's a job you want to split. He also costs about as much as a fully upgraded Storm Daemon, and he doesn't do anything magic-wise that a Grey Seer couldn't do, nor anything in combat a tricked-out Warlord couldn't do (outside potentially dishing an absurd amount of S5 hits and having a Strength of 8 despite being an Lv 4 wizard). As far as melee goes, no, he won't go 10 rounds with Archaon, but he wasn't meant to. His combat aspects just mean that, unlike virtually every other wizard in the game, he won't get his ass kicked the moment some skirmishers pop out of nowhere. Still very expensive.
** '''Alternate Opinion:''' Uh, yes, he will get his ass kicked by Skirmishers. He's got high Strength but only 2 Attacks at Initiative 3, so unless you're up against REALLY weak Skirmishers/Fast Cavalries like Ungor Raiders or Mounted Yeomen, he's probably fucked (never mind if he winds up against good close combat Skirmishers: Try him against Great Weapon armed Shades, lemme know how that works). Statistically, he's only going to get 1 wound in per round so he can't fight off attackers very efficiently. He's so expensive (again: <s>395</s> now 310 points so still evaluating) that he makes a 'No duh' target, so every skirmisher and their <s>dog</s> Sabertusk is gonna be gunning for him. This means you have to keep him in a unit to keep him alive, but then the unit is a no-duh target because it's probably gonna cost upwards of 500 points, and he can't join a unit that can reliably fight off Mournfangs and the like and...are you starting to see the problem? Yeah, don't take Ikit.

*'''[[Klawmunkast]], Warlock Master:''' 260pts. A more supportive role for a named Master Warlock than the melee-oriented Ikit Claw. Let you reroll on the misfire table for Clan Skryre units, Turn Skavenslaves into Warpstone Mutants to be a cheap hoard of 2 S4 attacks (becomes S5 if considering giving them Polearms a total of 5ppm), has an Eye that shots a bound Warp Lighting which is extra easy to cast being a PL4 and holding Warp-Blades. His percentage in a Skryre will least make all your crazy killing machines less prone to go up in a warpstone cloud. 

* '''[[Deathmaster Snikch]]:''' 280pts. At first Deathmaster Snikch looks like a perfect Assassin until you read him, you guessed it, points cost. 150 points more than a basic Assassin, and all you're getting for that is some Weeping Blades (30 points), a Tail Weapon, and a Cloak that doesn't do jack if he's in combat (where you want him) or with a unit (where you want him). Aside from that, he has higher WS, BS, I, A, and LD, but not enough to make up for the over 250 points required to take him. He will almost never see enough action to justify that cost. Don't bother.

* '''[[Veskit]], High Executioner of Clan Eshin:''' 165pts. Cyborg Rat Ninja that stalks the ruins of [[Mordheim]]. He is a sniper that Comes with a pair of Warplock Pistols. 

* '''[[Tretch Craventail]]:''' 110pts. Tretch is, put simply, hilarious. He has the exact same stats as a Chieftain, for 100 points more, but he has some amusing abilities. He's got a 4+ ward (nothing to sneer at), a total of 5 attacks, a single reroll per game (do not forget it), and most amusingly, the ability to bamf out of a unit in combat and into another Clanrat/Slaves unit within 3D6. He also grants ambushers and rerolls to hit to his unit of Clanrats or Stormvermin if they're attacking on the flank or rear, but in practice, that's not as useful as you might think. Obviously, he's best in tightly packed battle lines, as if he fails to reach a viable unit with his leaving combat ability, he auto-dies. He can be fun to help countercharge (draw a unit in, leave combat, charge that unit on the flank next round) but that's not as reliable as you might think. Ultimately, he's a fun but non-competitive character. He can be funny in a casual game, but don't take him in a tournament.

* '''[[Skweel Gnawtooth]]:''' 85pts. Everyone's favorite Clan Moulder monster-wrangler, mostly because he's the closest thing any of the named Skaven come to being actually cost-effective (100 points, more affordable than some generic heroes.) Skweel is an apex support-unit, and you'll never be remiss with adding his special ability (whether that be natural Poison, an extra Attack, or even Regeneration) to an attached pack of Giant Rats. This is an unfortunate nerf when compared to before, as this limits the viability of all his abilities, and he's now counting as a Mixed Unit rather than an ordinary Character. Simply put, he needs that pack to live in order to be useful. That said, he can usually be counted on to do enough damage to justify his initial extra down payment and is surprisingly capable when it comes to self-defense, especially since he has that massive mob attached to him.

* '''[[Ghoritch|Ghoritch, Castellan of Hell Pit]]:''' 180pts. Khorn Marauder turned into the world's smartest Rat Ogre. A hulking and Frenzied Cyborg Beastmaster that will shred any physical armour.

====Generic Characters====
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

* '''[[Verminlord]]:''' 450pts. The Great [[Horned Rat]] looked at the Greater [[Daemons]] and thought 'Why should [[Chaos]] have all the fun?' At first blush, this guy is horrifying. M8, WS8, I10, 5 attacks, 6 wounds, S6, T6, 5+ ward, Level 4 Wizard with access to both Lore of Ruin and Plague like Grayseers in default form. Everything is slinky, right? Well, that's when the issues set in. He can't join units, he's got no extra protection from shooting, but at T6 he's resistant to high volume shoots but still at risk against consitrated warmachines fire despite the ward. oh and did we mention that he costs 450 FUCKING POINTS? Don't get us wrong, he's a beast if you get him into combat and he can be a nasty caster under a lot of circumstances (he can even, in theory, drop a Bloodthirster, though don't count on that). But his price of entry is inhumanly high and he's a really big and obvious target (a solid [[Ogre Kingdoms]] or [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarf]] list will have his ass dropped on turn 1), he's weak against getting tar pitted and he has a troubling lack of Always Strikes First. You can safely leave him out of a tournament list, but he'll make a big splash in casual games.
** '''Verminlord Deceiver:''' Clan Eshin themed Verminlord, not too strong in duels due to lack of Doomglaive with Multiple Wounds, but has a nasty ranged attack (number of shots is equal to number of models in target unit's front rank), is -1 to hit when shot at and can Skitterleap around, and so is a perfect Verminlord for Warmachine hunting, chaff killing and general dickery thanks to owning all the Stealth Lore. Although those roles can be performed better for 475 points. Fun tactic: skitterleap behind that huge horde of goblins, outside of their range and charge them next turn. If your terror doesn't make them flee, just skitterleap back again before combat, and try again next turn.
** '''Verminlord Warbringer:''' Has Doomglaive and a paired weapon with Killing Blow, and as such is the best duelist from all the Verminlords. Adept at casting Death Frenzy so he is perfect for leading a charge, slaughtering enemy characters in duels and buffing your hordes, so they slaughter rank and file. Maybe the best combat Verminlord.
** '''Verminlord Warpseer:''' Always knows Warp Lightning and cast re-roll the dice when casting it, and always scoring max hits makes it a powerful blaster, although a few Warlock Engineers can do the same thing for much, much cheaper (this beauty costs 500 points). Has a Doomglaive and 4++ Ward save (as opposed to regular 5++ of other Verminlords) which you want to bring into melee, although at the same time you want to keep back and shoot lightnings at your foes... Just take Warbringer and a few Warlock Engineers. You can also sacrifice your boosted Ward save, dropping down to just 5++, for a once-off small round template attack that kills anything that fails Initiative tests. But it's hardly worth it unless you're looking at high-value low Initiative foes, like the [[Glottkin]].
** '''Verminlord Corruptor:''' The cheapest of the ET Verminlords, only being 5 points over the base. Always knows Plague and can reroll dice when casting it. Not too brilliant in combat (trading Doomglaive for an additional attack and ASF), although that ASF may prove handy in challenges. Reliable Plague is more interesting, being a hilarious spell, allowing you to fuck up whole games with bouncing Plague every bloody turn. 
*** '''Note:''' Again remember, these guys will be shot to smithereens by a solid gun-line, making them very uncompetitive.

* '''Warlord:''' Point for point, a Warlord is one of the most effective heroes in the Skaven book. He drops in at 85 points for a solid statline, along with the precious LD7 that lets all units with 3 ranks in his General LD Bubble hit LD10. He can have some solid magic equipment and can actually be an unusually effective combat lord (don't expect him to go 10 rounds with most other Lords though). He's a good choice. He can also take mounts (below) which are generally not the best choice but can be fun and if you expect him to do some frontline fighting and want him to cause casualties there are worse ways to up his kill count. Also, one of the few Lords who can be taken in 500pts games and be effective in them with almost no magic items.
** '''Note:''' Although kitting out a Warlord for close combat is right and proper, don't try to make him a challenge Lord. There's a reason Skaven can run from Challenges without losing LD bonuses, and that's because a Skaven in a Challenge is a Skaven who's a corpse. Even Empire, Bretonnian and Wood Elf Lords will stand a good chance of stomping him, and if you're up against a real challenge monster (Ogres, VC, WoC, DE) you might as well remove him. No, kit your Warlord out to kill basic dudes to up your combat res, it's better for him. 
*** '''Counternote:''' If kitted out properly, a Warlord can easily reach a 2+ armor save. Stuck with an Amulet of Endurance and you could have a pretty damn tanky warlord, but...consider how many clanrats you could have bought for that protection.

* '''Chieftain:''' Your basic Hero choice, and a bloody good one at that. With a relatively good statline (as Skaven go, don't expect him to beat anything better than a Chaos Warrior unit champion. Hell, my Marauder Champion even bested one in a challenge) and access to some nifty magic items can turn him into a cheap wizard hunter in a unit of Night Runners. However, you really need him as your BSB. If you play Skaven, you MUST HAVE A BSB OR YOU DIE HORRIBLY. Srsly, if one of your Clanrat units is shot up a bit by war machines or spells, running away CANNOT BE AFFORDED. Not to worry, because they are easily cheap enough to take 2.

* '''Grey Seer:''' Your general Lord Level Wizard, with a crap statline (though he has T4, which is kinda awesome for a wizard - especially if you gonna make him a general) and a 220 points pricetag. Like the Vermin Lord, he can mix Ruin and Plague spells freely, though if you want skitterleap, grab an Eshin sorcerer. He's a good caster for his points and you'll probably get a lot of mileage out of him, so if you have the points free, he's a good investment. Note that he too has LD6, a bastion of Skaven bravery, but a bad Idea as General as your enemy is already going to be gunning for him, don't hand them more points for killing him.

*'''Master Mutator/Master Moulder:''' The Moulder Leaders for 80/30 points. Able to join Giant Rats or Rat Ogres as another handler or get up in front (to use that non-reach magic weapon), they also let all Moulder units within 12"/6" roll 3D6 (minus the highest die) on all Leadership checks. If you're fielding a bunch of unattended beasts, he could be useful if you're confident in your rolling. They are also ok fighters with S&T4 and armed with a Greatweapon, KB Things-Catcher, or the armor-ignoring Beast-Prods (still need to enchant their light armour).  

*'''Warlock Master/Warlock Engineer:''' Cheaper Lore of ruin casters with light armour at 160/65pts respectively. The Master caps off at Lvl3 but going past that is not what you want. they can also have other uses as they drew gear from magic and Skryer items: they can do shooting with  Warlock Optics and a pistol or Warpmusket, + a maybe a Doomrocket; They magic spam with Warp-Blades, Upgraded Warp-Energy Condenser, and Supercharged Warp-Power Accumulator; or go close range with a unit of Clanrats or Stormvermin armed with an Enchanted armour, a Warp-Blades, Warpforged Blade, a Brass or Death Orb for all that Armour negation and -1Ld Lore Attribute goodness.

* '''Master Assassin/Assassin:''' An Assassin is an expensive way of killing enemy Heroes, Wizards, and maybe War Machines or small shooting units. That's about it. With changes to the power of characters, his stats are good, but characters can't be trusted to kill anything above a character, and they dig into Hero points. There will be games where you take him, and he gets killed without accomplishing a thing. But hey, you played Skaven cuz you liked the randomness, and given to a unit of Scouting Gutter Runners, they'll excel at War Machine and the like, removal. They can still support other Eshin units like extra DPS, let them discage with Smoke Bombs, and area denial with an Infernal Bomb. The Master Assassin can also be a General, with the highest Skaven Ld of 8 (must not be hidden for others to use it)

*'''Eshin Sorcerer Lord/Eshin Sorcerer:''' Your source of Stealth magic. Only go up to Lvl3; only Verminlords can get max. They do a lot of stealthy things like teleporting characters, running fast and climbing over everything, arrow protection, and damage. They also do little melee with poison attacks, and attribute softens enemy armour for Eshin daggers.

* '''PlagueLord/Plague Priest:''' The Lord version can only get to wizard level 2, but can equip a Plague Censer and uses spells of plague. (go figure) Essentially mandatory for any Clan Pestilens themed armies due to how much they increase plague monks' effectiveness in battle. Other than that, their only use is to take Plague Furnace. If you just want plague magic, grab a Grey Seer.

====Mounts====
* '''Rat Ogre Bonebreaker:''' only Warlord, Master Mutator or Master Moulder. If you're up for modeling it, and you need a mount, this is the one you want. It's got a good statline, lets him push up rank bonuses in whatever unit he joins, runs fairly cheap at 75 points. If it had an armor save, it'd be perfect (but since it is a mount, you actually get it.). As is, it's a fun choice if you're in the mood and easily the best mount option. Just remember, he can't join infantry units outside Clanrats and Stormvermin (what a sacrifice). The warlord riding it also gains get +1 W (and an additional point of T). However, unless he rolls with Rat Ogres (which is sub-optimal due to frenzy) he has no LookOut, Sir!, making him a free kill for bearded buggers.

* '''War-Litter:''' Not as good as the Bonebreaker but...yeah, still good. It's a cheap way of dropping a bunch of attacks on him and pushing up his armor save. If you really can't spare the extra points for a Bonebreaker and you want a mount, you could go for this one. (alternate take: kit out 3 warlords with this, a ward save, and throw them in a unit with 6-wide ranks and possibly your BSB. Laugh as your opponent is forced to divide its attacks on very defensive lords, and loses to combat res.) It also counts as infantry, so he gets a Look Out, Sir! in a unit of Stormvermin. It also can look badass. Anyway, there are worse choices liiiiiike...

* '''Great Pox Rat:''' This. You're paying 30 points for +1 armor save and 2 S4 poisoned attacks. Woo fucking hoo. It doesn't even come with extra movement, and you can't use the Swiftstride ability for cavalry when he's in a unit (and trying to make him run touchdowns on his own is a surefire way to get him killed). If you're committed to him having a mount, drop a Clanrat and give him a War-Litter. It can also be taken as a mount for a Plague Priest or Master Moulder, but it's not a good choice for them either.

* '''Brood Horror:''' Once in a blue moon the Forge World production team stops designing new overpriced shit for 40K, and instead designs overpriced shit for Fantasy, finally delivering one of the most hideously overpriced things in the game.  For 75 points more than the Rat Ogre Bonebreaker, you get an Extra 2 Wound, stomps, an option to buy an armour save, an option to buy an extra attack to make its attacks on par with the Rat Ogre, an option to make it Armour Piercing+Magical, and an option for a breath weapon that ignores armour.  If this seems fine, then remember, it's a monster, it can't fly, it's toughness 5, so it can't avoid getting killed the second your opponent sees it and points their archers/guns/cannons its way and you watch it dissolve into nothing on turn 1.  Even against armies with terrible archers, it'll end up crushed against their monsters who are almost always going to be stronger and sometimes cheaper too.  Not to mention all of these points could be spent on far more useful slaves or just regular Clan Rats, not on a Lord character in a Horde army.

* '''The Screaming Bell:''' Gray Seers only. The Screaming Bell is for players who love randomness and who are playing in a non-competitive environment. The Bell doesn't come into it's own until well above the usual tournament level (recommended size is 3000 points or so). The major reason is the huge price tag, attached to an already pricey model (a Bell mounted Seer will clock in at 440 points without any equipment). But, if you can fit it in your army, it makes a great centerpiece. It can cause a lot of damage with a little luck and if there are buildings on the board, it can make everything really hilarious really quickly. Be aware, everyone will be gunning for it. Also, under the current rules, it might be worth it to make a Bell mounted Seer the General, as his LD range will be 18 inches as opposed to the usual 12.

*'''Plague Furnace:''' Plaguelord and Plague Priest only. This monstrous contraption is an attrition monster. It kills everything around itself - including your Plague Monks... only Plague Monks die from accidents. can Shoots a Breathweapon every turn and makes stomp attacks equal to an Artillery dice roll. Don't forget to cackle maniacally as a small part of your Plague Monks choke around it along with the majority of enemy's deathstar unit.

===Core Units===
* '''Clanrats:''' Your basic infantry with shields. Very cheap so you can put them in HUGE units, and you'll be needing them because you need a pack of these boys for a unit of any core units (Unless you have a general of a different clan). They will die by the truckload, but you should have so many that even if they get blasted by a cannon, there will still be a good number left. Have them in units of thirty, forty, or even fifty. They also have a host of neat special rules that your opponent won't be expecting. Highly recommended. Give them weapon teams for the added lulz. It's funny when a ratling gun shoots up the enemy, but funnier when it shoots your own guys and then explodes. You'll have so many clanrats it's not as though you're suffering a real loss here. 

* '''Skaven Slaves:''' See clanrats, but no weapons teams. Now a mixed unit with a mandatory slave driver holds the unit together. These fuckers are twice as cheap as clanrats, meaning you'll have a lot of them. They have leadership is equal to their average dinner (i.e., fucking nothing), so keep your general nearby to 'fix' that. Make sure they don't get flanked, and they're not going anywhere. Keep a warpfire thrower close and have it set the unit held by the slaves on fire since Skaven are bastards and are allowed to shoot at units tied down with Slaves. Watch as your opponent quits in a huff. Laugh. Take it like a scrawny bitch when he beats your ass in a neckbeard rage for trying to [[rules lawyer]] even more (obviously unintended) cheese. Also, never horde them up; make as many ranks as your wish so they can hold units in place for your ogres or plague monks to flank charge them. Slaves aren't meant to cause damage; they take it; cause they are whipped. Note that Slaves have the option to take slings. Generally won't do much, but it can be a nasty surprise for your opponent if he's not expecting it (though nightrunners/gutter runners with slings are a much more efficient investment). Don't bother with spears; Slaves are there to take damage, not dish it out. Shields allow them to last somewhat longer, with an effective 6+/6++ in melee.
** A thing to beware of is that they now have a new rule as of 1.5: Cornered Rats. This makes a breaking unit into a kamikaze, as they deal d6 S3 wounds per each rank of 5+ models to any units they flee through before vanishing. This can be useful to make a suicidal throw against a more threatening unit that's not quite within the range of a better unit, but it can just as easily be turned against you.

* '''Stormvermin:''' Slightly more elite infantry. Still nice and cheap, so huge units are not out of the question. Units of forty or fifty are not unreasonable. Shields are a preferred choice, depending on how much fire you expect them to absorb.  Stick a warlock with Skavenbrew in them for berserk armor-covered, halberd-swinging rats of doom. Or take Queek Headtaker and upgrade your Stormvermin to a REAL elite unit.

* '''Plague Monks: (Clan Pestilens)'''  Your actual elite infantry. 3 attacks (1 base, +1 for two hand weapons, +1 for frenzy). They have frenzy, which can work against them. Again, take in huge numbers. Make sure to deploy them in a way where they won't stray too far, so they get the flank charge. T4 but they have no armor and are only I3 which means they will attack at the same time as the more well-armored I3 cores out there.  Put them with a Plague Furnace, and shit will go down (in a positive way).

* '''Night Runners: (Clan Eshin)'''  Decent skirmishing infantry/harassers. Their vanguard move allows you to set them up as charge blockers but other than that; expect them to die rather quickly. As far choosing them above slave or clanrats is up to you. They can also choose a Warp-Grinder, so you could go to Warmachine hunting/ rear-charging with these guys. Shame their models look like deranged chimps. However, if you want a shooting unit, Gutter Runners are notably better.

* '''Giant Rats: (Clan Moulder)''' Make a very nice tarpit, but Slaves are cheaper and do it better. They are an inch faster with swiftstride and skaven Ld of 5 + Strength in Numbers. They are the faster Chaff that will tie down things on their terms and could overwhelm basic infantry, while Slaves are more bodies.

* '''Rat Swarms:''' It's a Swarm, usual rules apply. Don't discount the swarm; even groups of three or four are useful in tying down a unit long enough to get those valuable flank charges. Less experienced players are even likely to flee instead of allowing a rat swarm ties them down in combat! Str 1 is far from great, but they aren't there to kill stuff; they're there to distract and detract with its 8W. Skavenslaves are arguably more efficient, though.

===Weapon Teams (Clan Skryre)===
Must be bought as a tagalong for your clanrats, Stormvermin, and other units.
They must be deployed 3" of the unit before acting independently. They also pass any ranged hits on a 4+ to a properly sized unit within 3" as a character.

*'''Poisoned Wind Mortar:''' Lobbing big glass Globes of poisoned gas has never been so much fun. Ignores armour saves and wound on a failed toughness test.  Keep it behind its accompanying unit for extra protection and to use its line of sight. A slight downside is a small template, which can make hitting MSU armies in smaller games a pain. Best used on low T and high armor save units like human knights

* '''Ratling Gun:''' Can you say tons of shots? This thing rolls for its shots then roll for more shot, but if you roll doubles, however, it misfires. Don't take this unless you're in a casual game. The Cheapest weapon team, but you pay for it with a higher chance to blow up. Although if you roll two dice per turn, you average to 7 shots per turn, with just 1/6th chance to blow up - same as PWM. Take this against smaller elite units (like elves). Ratling guns are also better against Monstrous Infantry since a template will have a harder covering more models (and the PWM doesn't kill, it wounds).

* '''Doom-Flayer:''' This bad boys armour save will protect it long enough to get it in to close combat... The one wound that the team has will probably result in it being killed in the first round unless you manage to decimate them in the first round. Not the greatest team out of the four but has potential against smaller foes. Not to mention if it misfires in close combat there is a chance it can blow up and take some enemies out with it. Glass is half full kinda guys.

* '''Warpfire Thrower:''' This is a good choice, but there are better, (see the Poisoned Wind Mortar) It has more of a chance to kill you, explode, and blow up on you than whatever you're hitting with the Mortars. It's essentially a small blast vs. a movable Flame Template. Standard rules for flaming attacks using the template applies. Best used on low LD units as this weapon is great for causing panic checks.

*'''Warp-grinder:''' only on Night and Gutter Runners. In addition to a big battering ram, it lets your ninjas Ambush out of the ground. Still, it can inconvenience/kill the unit on bad misfire or scatter but can flank enemies in a surprising way after turn 1.

===Special Units===
* '''Gutter Runners: (Clan Eshin)''' A decent choice for Warmachine hunting as they are placed anywhere on the board with Scout, Ambushers, or a Warp-Grinder. Slings, poisoned weapons, Night goblin nets that lower enemy attacks are decent investments but you might want to skip on the champion to save points if you only plan shooting. If your worried about them not showing up you can run with 2 squads of 6 or 7 but they can get expensive in the special slot that can get loaded up with points quickly.
** '''Alternate Suggestion:''' Flanking squads of 10 units with poison and slings can melt any light-armored army. 20 shots per unit will shred most things. They're lethal against DoC, other Skaven, all flavors of Elves, you name it.

* '''Plague Censer Bearers: (Clan Pestilens)''' At first glance, expensive for what they are, but their plague censor special rule makes them useful for severely shrinking hordes down to size, and what's better is that they can be fielded in small groups as speed bumps or charge deterrents.

*'''Plague Rats: (Clan Pestilens)''' A slightly more expensive swarm of rats with poison, making them more dangerous when tarpiting lightly armour foe, especially monsters, guaranteed to wound on a 5+.

* '''Wolf Rats: (Clan Moulder)''' They're 6 points apiece for a War Beast that moves 8 inches and have Frenzy and Vanguard. Three upgrades are available, ranging from Poisoned Attacks to Armour Piercing and Magical Attacks to +1 Toughness (bringing them up to T4) at a cost of -1 Initiative (they are Initiative 4 base). Whether these guys are worth it or not depends on what slot they occupy; at Special has some good choices but they aren't a bad choice for their speed.

* '''Rat Ogres: (Clan Moulder)''' If hulk had a rodent counterpart: Seriously though In a unit of 6 with their masters they will rampage through anything they flank attack BUT they can be easily baited due to their fast movement of 6", Frenzy and Stupidity. Generally, a good investment particularly if they have slaves or clanrats holding a unit in place for them. They also can be upgraded further with improvement to control, attack, or durability.

* '''Poison Wind Globadiers: (Clan Skryre)''' Anyone they hit takes a wound on a 4+ with no saves. You want these. They also have a special rule that allows unengaged models to lob globes into the same combat the engaged models are fighting which can be funny as hell. Keep in mind that against elves and other T3s you will be wounding on 4+ with most of your units anyway, and PWG's range is disgusting. Night/Gutter runners with slings are more effective (and cheaper) against T3 unless the enemy is really armored.

* '''Warplock Jezzails: (Clan Skryre)''' Kind of a preference unit. Some people swear by them because their S6 -4 armor shots can make mincemeat of annoying heavy infantry. On the other side, they are expensive to field in any high number. To effectively shoot down a squad of 5 Chaos Knights with BS 3 and a 36-inch range means needing 5s and up for anything downrange. Not a bad unit but you really need to consider what role they will perform. These guys are easy to convert with some skaven shields and green stuff. The GW models are outdated and way too overpriced. You can make your own way cheaper and make them look way better.

===Rare Units===
*'''Eshin Triad: (Clan Eshin)''' 3 lesser Eshin assassins as their own unit for the price of a hero assassin. Scouting, they can reach soft targets and kill them with their hero like stats. They are very situational as most of your problems could be solved with numbers or Skryer weapons, and they are not that durable. 

*'''Brood Horror: (Clan Moulder)''' This is an obese motherfucker, being a smaller monster more reliable than the Abomination. its something you would send against full plate warriors. also grab upgrades for this role like armour, Magical Ap, and a Breath weapon that ignores armour.

* '''Hell Pit Abomination: (Clan Moulder)''' 225pts. The Hell Pit Abomination is a really, really good [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]]. Mainly because its Adorable. So much so that no opponent can bear to look at it without clawing their eyes out. It's like baby kittens in shoes and jaunty hats only this kitten has a lot more heads to Awwww... at. The war machines will shoot at it and you will laugh as it shrugs off a lucky cannon shot or two (or six if you're facing dwarfs) they will probably survive long enough to [[RIP AND TEAR]] at least one unit to shreds before he goes down. But that's the best part. The Abomination knows how cute it is and has the potential to bring itself back to life to spread its adorable brand of love to those that put it down. On a side note, it can be on the expensive side and the Warp Lightning Cannon is generally a better use of points but its role as a fire magnet is unparalleled.
** '''Note:''' Be CAREFUL with it. If any of the wounds it takes at any point in the game are flaming, it cannot stand back up again. Given how common flaming attacks are these days, you need to be careful to make sure that doesn't happen. Keep it away from Firebellies, Sisters of Avelorn, any unit with the Banner of Eternal Flame, etc. Just be aware of what you're facing and what to keep it away from. Also if you end up against a Beardy player with flaming cannonballs...well that's about it for your Abomination, but you knew that.

* '''Stormfiends: (Clan Moulder)''' A new unit introduced in the End Times, Stormfiends are to Rat Ogres what Ikit Claw is to a Skavenslave. They're Monstrous Infantry, they cost 65+ minimum points each, and you need at least three of them to make a unit. For that, you get an M6 WS4 BS3 S5 T4 W4 I5 A4 LD7 flock of killers. Each model is armed separately with one of six weapon choices, which has certain effects on their rules depending on what you choose. You don't have to kit out each model in the unit with the same gear as his buddies, so long as you can remember what each model is actually carrying and are okay with the potential hassle of mixed armor saves in a single unit. They wear Medium Armor and they cause Fear. They also have the unique special rule Double The Death, which means they re-roll all failed To Wound rolls with their weapons. 
** Doom-flayer Gauntlets: +2D3 Attacks and has the Impact Hits (D3) special rule.
** Windlaunchers: Lets your Stormfiend fire as per a single stone thrower with a range of 6-24" and the special rules Plague Wind (Wounds on a rerolled Toughness test, ignores armor), and Wild Misfire.
** Grinderfists: This Stormfiend's unit has the Tunneller rule (Ambushers where they dig out of a hole a la the [[Trygon]]), and this Stormfiend inflicts 2D3 impact hits each round of Close Combat.
** Shock Gauntlets: +1 Strength, Impact Hits (D3), ignores armor.
** Ratling Cannons:  Range 18", S4, Armor Piercing(1), Multiple Shots (3D6), Hot Warplead (no penalty for Multiple Shots, each To Hit roll of 1 inflicts one hit on the closest friendly target in range).
** Warpfire Projectors: Fires as a single fire thrower, S5, Flaming Attacks, Multiple Wounds (D3), Move or Fire, Quick to Fire, Warpstone Weapon, Wildly Off-target (inflicts D6 hits on the closest friendly unit within 12" if misfires).

* '''Plagueclaw Catapult: (Clan Pestilens)''' Decent but generally outshined by the Warp Lightning Cannon. S2 hits with no armor save allowed is a decent pie plate to throw onto a large horde of (insert tarpit here). It also causes a panic test on unsaved wounds. Take if you want a clan pestilens-themed army; otherwise not a must-have.

* '''Warp Lightning Cannon: (Clan Skryre)''' Low risk (in the skaven sense of the word), low price, high reward, and safe choice for rares. It's a cannon with a blast template at the end of it. The variable strength of the shot is chosen by the misfire dice, which is [[Dwarf Fortress|FUN*]].. Very reliable Warmachine in an army who enjoys blowing themselves up.

* '''[[DOOMWHEELS|DOOMWHEEL]]: (Clan Skryre)''' 175 pts. A bit of a fun and random unit ( moves 3d6, fires off 3 lightning bolts per turn at the nearest unit, friendly or enemy, hits like a ton of bricks, has a weird and fun little misfire chart, as well as the chance to go spinning out of control if it takes a wound). It will struggle against extremely high-volume S5 and S6 attacks, but low-number, heavily armored units are pretty much fucked if it charges them. Even gained +1 to its Grinding attacks. As such, enemy war machines will want to shoot at it. The price went up by 25 points.