I´ve fought LM´s skaven twice - once winning with my high elves and once losing with green skins. Battle report of the first engagement is here. With elves I think I fared pretty well as elven morale held at the crusial points of that battle. My O&Gs on the other hand got soundly thrashed.
But let´s hear it from LM himself. Clan Vashkish.
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My skaven army started in 1991-2 as a handful of models to be used with Advanced HeroQuest and it was inspired by Andy Chambers’ legendary article in White Dwarf #137. I didn’t have enough models for a full army back then (I mainly played Orcs & Goblins), but later on I bought models from friends who’d quit the hobby and finally bulked up the units during the early days of eBay starting around 2005.
The majority of models were painted in 2015, but there are a lot of paint jobs dating back to the early 90s. I’d still like to add some more clanrats with double handed weapons and have contemplated adding a unit of skavenslaves with slings from the 1993 skaven range.
Since I finished the army, I’ve played maybe 20 games with it, mostly at 3000 points. We usually play using the deployment rules given in the Warhammer 3rd Edition Rulebook and keep playing until one of the armies has lost 50% of their forces (characters and full units dead/routing).
CLAN VASHKISH
My warlord clan is called Clan Vashkish. Its field army is led by Sewertyrant Kargshak (level 20 hero, Hellhoned Blade, Spellshield), but the real brains behind the operation is Warpsquealer Ungoltwitch the Mad (level 15 wizard). They’ve shown up in every game I’ve played so far.
Ungoltwitch’s superior, White Skaven Sorcerer Thrikch the Twisted (level 20 wizard) makes an occasional appearance, but he usually prefers the delights of Skavenblight to camp life. Garroters Haskquol and Karkquol (both level 15 assassins) from Clan Eshin are such masters of concealment that they’ve rarely been seen on the battlefield.
Clanrats
This is my main clanrat unit. It follows the template given by Andy Chambers in White Dwarf #137 and does most of the heavy lifting. It is led by Kargshak and also includes Slagskitter (level 5 hero) who carries the battle standard with Relic Banner and Dread Banner enchantments. My most common enemy is a Dwarf army and the Dread Banner almost guarantees that I’ll be able to break at least one of the opposing units. With the characters included the unit is 36-strong and deploys in a 6x6 formation.
My second unit of clanrats is only 25-strong and is used in a more defensive role. It is spear-armed and usually includes Ungoltwitch the Mad. Without a magic banner the unit is very susceptible to panic although with Ungoltwitch in the lead their coolness rises to a dizzying 7.
Clanrat Stormvermin and Black Skaven Clanrats
The biggest advantage of using elites in a skaven army is the fact that they can take a Relic Banner. On the other hand they are hindered by their maximum unit size of 20 and being lightly armoured
they can easily lose their maximum rank bonus due to archery. I usually take Verminlord champions (level 15 heroes) for both units. With these leaders and the magic banners they are some of the rare units in the army that can operate semi-independently. I usually deploy my elites on the flanks.
Skavenslaves
My main skavenslave unit is 49-strong and has no upgrades or a champion. If I manage to roll Cause Frenzy for one my wizards (I always pick it on doubles), I cast it on this unit pre-game and watch them go. Otherwise they stay back and try to look menacing.
The small unit of skavenslaves has 36 slaves with spears and shields. These upgrades are pretty worthless, but make them look more like real soldiers and might fool somebody. If I take any plague censer bearers, they often go into this unit.
The biggest selling point for skavenslaves is their price. For a grand total of 254½ points I have 85 models that the enemy can’t completely ignore. And you never know, you might get lucky with chaotic attributes!
CLAN ESHIN
Night Runners
Night Runners I’ve rarely used. Their maximum number of 10 really hampers their use as a line unit, but they can’t skirmish either. Two (poisoned) hand weapons are neat though and the minis are among the best in the range. I’ve tried using them with a strong hero (level 15 assassin) and sent them on a flank march. The results have been mixed, but they did once manage to take out a Dwarven artillery park.
Gutter Runners
I always take 10 Gutter Runners with slings. They usually try to hold congested terrain or sneak up a flank. They will rout easily and often cause disappointment, but every once in a while they manage to get in close and pepper somebody with 20 poisoned sling shots. I have contemplated taking a second unit of Gutter Runners, but since slings are limited to a single unit, the others stay largely unplayed.
CLAN PESTILENS
Plague Censer Bearers
I rarely take more than 1-2 of these. Any more than that and they would cost the same as a new unit. I often put these in a skavenslave unit to inflict at least some damage to the opponent before the slaves are slaughtered.
Plague Monks
Plague Monks suffer from being limited to a maximum of 20 models, but they can take a Relic Banner if Panic is proving to be a problem. Warp Scrolls are fun, but they are also very pricy and you have to be sure the target unit does not have any magical defense (I usually probe the target first with a Fireball or something similar).
CLAN MOULDER
Rat Ogres
I almost always take a largish (8-12) unit of Rat Ogres. This is more due to stubbornness than their combat effectiveness. They cost a lot and the handlers tend to get killed by arrows before the unit makes it into a melee. However, I like the minis and they tend to draw a lot of attention from enemy units so I’ll keep on fielding them.
Giant Rats
Small units of giant rats are very cheap and work nicely as distraction on a flank. However, they have to be over 12” from your other troops or their eventual rout might (will) cause panic. On a 8 x 4’ board this is doable, but I wouldn’t try using them in this role on a 6 x 4’. I haven’t tried using large units of Giant Rats.
CLAN SKRYRE
Poisoned Wind Globardiers
Poisoned Wind Globardiers are cheap, but I haven’t been able to use them to any great success. They follow the rules for grenades so AFAIK they can’t move and throw and only have a range of 6”. I have sometimes put them in buildings to lob globes out of windows, but then the enemy just avoids the buildings…
Warpfire-Throwers
Warpfire-Thrower teams I have had mixed success with. Their slowness and inability to move and fire makes them better on the defense, but my tactic is to advance and thus they often fail to get any good lines of fire. Against an aggressive opponent such as Chaos they might fare better.
Jezzaillachis
I almost always bring 2 teams of Jezzaillachis in a 3000 point game. We have toned them down with house rules, but they are still excellent. They penetrate ranks like cannons, but don’t accrue heat points and can hide in units. What’s not to like?
ALLIES
Skaven can get three types of allies: Chaos Allies, Orcs and Goblins and Dark Elves.
I once employed the help of Pharinyen Aleurden, a Dark Elf Commander leading a unit of 19 crossbow-armed Dark Elf Warriors. On the second turn of the game they took four casualties from Dwarven crossbow fire and promptly rolled boxcars for the rout test. Never again will we accept help from the sneaky elves!
A far more reliable ally has been the Chaos Dwarf Makru and his 19 Chaos Dwarf Warriors. They bring along a mortar team and provide some sorely needed stability in the lines.
I have never taken any Orc and Goblin allies as we have enough cheap bodies to field on our own…
CHAOTIC ATTRIBUTES
I love chaotic attributes and always roll them up prior to a battle. And skaven get a lot of them: D6-3 per unit and D6-4 per character. To retain my sanity, I assume that champions share the dominant attributes of their unit and only roll personal attributes for independent characters (i.e. level 20 or level 25 heroes and all wizards and assassins).
There are a couple of crippling results, but on the whole the vast majority of chaotic attributes are good and they can benefit the skaven immensely.
I would advise ignoring von Kortez’s previous suggestions of using some sort of GM fiat or common sense when rolling the attributes. That is not the way Chaos works! I’ve had the main clanrat unit become subject to stupidity or enormously fat (half move), but then I’ve also gotten stormvermin with both +1 strength and +1 toughness.
GENERAL THOUGHTS AND TACTICS
In the beginning the abysmally low leadership and coolness caused me a lot of trouble and a single lost combat would make the whole army run away in panic. You can get decent leadership scores using heroes, but unless you use high level wizards as unit leaders, coolness (and thus panic tests) will be tough to manage. Fortunately careful positioning and some key upgrades (Relic Banners,
Battle Standard) can mitigate the problem. Even so, it is an army that has be used very aggressively before the low morale catches up with you.
When using the deployment rules in the rulebook you’re almost guaranteed to win the Scouting Turn against foot armies. Enemy cavalry will still cause you trouble though. I’ve often had to deploy first when facing a Dwarf army employing allied Border Horse. You can counter this by taking Chaos Centaurs from the Chaos Allies list and use them for scouting.
A 3rd edition skaven army is a lot of fun! It has a wide variety of cool units and a nice range of minis. It also offers an interesting tactical challenge and once mastered can be very powerful.
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A BIG Thank You to LM! Hoping to get another for him as he has a beautiful Bretonnian army too with giant snail monstrous host and all.
Awesome army and collection of models. Very well painted 😄 Bravo 😄
VastaaPoistaI agree. Hoping to see more of LM´s armies here one day...
Poista