Kings of War/Tactics/Ratkin

Why Play Ratkin

You like horde armies? Well that's good, that's real good. Ratkin are the horde army of Kings of War, much like their cousins in that other game. Likewise if you have a pile of Skaven models, what else are you going to do with them?

Army Special Rules

• Pack Mentality: Unless otherwise specified, all infantry regiments have Rallying (1) and all infantry hordes have Rallying (2).

• Rallying (n): Friendly non-allied units within 6" gain +n to their waver and rout values for nerve tests. This is not cumulative, so you only take the highest applicable value.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Army Standard Bearer:

• Assassin:

• Blight Lord:

• Demonspawn:

• War Chief:

• Warlock:

• Warlock with Death Engine:

Infantry

• Blight Impalers: Your own sneaky gits. They have Ensnare and Stealthy and don't have a first nerve rating, so they can't be wavered. They're similar to the Blight, but hit a little more often at the cost of Crushing Strength (1). They're slightly better then the Blight, but are still fairly expensive for what you're aiming for with them. If you field them, use them to harass enemy flanks early game.

• Claw Shots: Long-barreled rifle teams. They can only be taken at troop strength, but they offer 5 Piercing (2) shots and, oddly enough, have the Big Shield special rule, making them surprisingly defensible. Very nice ranged unit on the cheap and well worth taking.

• Giant Rats with Handlers: Kind of a strange unit. You get Nimble and Vicious on a small stat line with a low nerve value. It is a source of cheap unit harassment, but they're not spectacular by any means. They are cheap, however, much cheaper then Blight Impalers, so they're not a bad investment for a source of unit aggravation for the enemy.

• Scurriers: Mobile ranged units. They have throwing weapons, which can be upgraded to crossbows, as well and both Nimble and Vicious. They don't have Piercing (2) like Claw Shots, but at the same time they don't have to stay stationary to fire. They're the same point cost as Claw Shots, so your question comes down to how important mobility is to you. This will vary by mission, but in general you're probably better served by Claw Shots.

• Shock Troops: Heavy infantry. They come stock with Crushing Strength (1), but this can be upgraded a point in exchange for a point of defence. They can be take in a horde, if you're fiddling around with trying to run this list as a more elite army, but in general you're still probably better served taking Tunnel Slaves in this slot.

• Spear Warriors: For an increase of 20 to 30 points, depending on the unit size, you get the stat line of a Warrior, but the unit gains Phalanx. Better than Warriors for it, but still a bit spendy for a tar pit unit. If you get the enemy in the front they will perform better then Tunnel Slaves, but for the cost you could just buy two units of Tunnel Slaves and still have points left over to spend.

• The Blight: Plague bearer type rats. These guys come with Crushing Strength (1), Ensnare, and Stealthy. You can also have them exchange two-handed weapons for throwing weapons, which is nice. They're very similar to Blight Impalers, but aren't quite as good for the same cost as you lose both a point to hit in melee and several points of attack for that Crushing Strength, which you probably won't be using anyway because you're going to switch out those two-handed weapons for slings. Stick with Blight Impalers for melee and Claw Shots for ranged.

• Tunnel Slaves: Your cheap slave unit. These guys will take wounds in droves, but you can buy a legion of them for less then some army's troop strength units. They have no special rules beyond the army special rule and hit on a 6+, so don't expect them to perform very well. Take them in a giant legion or horde and lock some things down while your opponent tries to make you fail your nerve tests.

• Warriors: A little bit better then slaves, but they don't get weapons teams like their GW cousins do. Instead they hit on a 5+ and have twice the defence value. Marginal upgrade at almost twice the points, you're better served sticking with Tunnel Slaves.

Large Infantry

• Brutes: Hard-hitting giant rats. Spendy, but they come with Brutal, Crushing Strength (2), Fury, and Regeneration (5+). They will devour most anything they charge, so use them to crush elite units. Their Regeneration and slightly better than normal nerve will keep them alive longer, but expect your opponent to target these units if you don't get them where they need to be quickly.

• Vermintide: Rats swarms and giant rats put together on a larger base. They fill a similar role to Hackpaws, oddly enough, just lacking Thunderous Charge (1) and 3 speed at a substantial point discount. That being said, Hackpaws are better at early game harassment and should probably be used over a Vermintide.

Cavalry

• Hackpaws: Rats riding on rats? Sure. Nimble, Thunderous Charge (1), and Vicious at a cheap price, although they have very low nerve and won't last very long at all. They are your quickest unit and should be used to harass enemy flanks early game, just know that they won't be around come late game.

Large Cavalry

None.

Monsters

• Death Engine: A Plague Furnace or Screaming Bell for your enjoyment. Comes standard with Crushing Strength (1), Rallying (1), and Thunderous Charge (1), it can then take one of two additional upgrades. For melee combat, it can gain an additional point of Crushing Strength and Vicious. Alternatively it can gain a ranged attack of 18" with Piercing (2) that hits on a 4+. Either option is decent, you just obviously need to utilize your Death Engine differently depending on how you kit it. For ranged, hold back with your allies to give them the Rallying benefit and take pop shots. For melee, charge in with your infantry for the Rallying bubble and grind away at the front lines.

• Mutant Rat Fiend: Your Brood Horror or Hell Pit Abomination for a new game. This thing costs an arm and a leg, which it then uses to beat anything it touches to death. Decent nerve and can't be wavered, this beast has Strider and Regeneration (5+) in addition to wounding almost anything on a 2+ with a reroll on 1s for good measure. Good for tearing anything to pieces, but again it is pretty expensive.

War Engines

• Artillery: A two shot ranged war engine. Blast (D3+1) is complimented with Indirect Fire, Piercing (1), and Vicious. It does suffer from the unreliability of most war engines, somewhat made up for with an extra shot. At the same points you can get a Shredder which has 3 shots and an additional point of Piercing at the cost of Indirect Fire and a reduction to Blast (D3). Usually not as useful as a Shredder unless you're expecting to need to utilize Indirect Fire.

• Shredder: A three shot war engine. This one has Blast (D3) and Piercing (2), making it harder hitting in most cases then Artillery, although not always as damaging if you roll a 1 or 2 for your Blast. Probably the best of the three war engines, the Shredder does still suffer from the general unreliability of war engines in general.

• Weapon Team: Seems to be the catch all for Skaven weapons teams. They have abysmal nerve and only shoot 12" with a Breath Attack. They do get 10 shots, which can be given Piercing (1) for 20 more points, but sadly they're just not terribly effective at surviving long enough to hurt enemy units in any substantial way.

Tactics

Tactica here.