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Hey everyone,
Been playing Skaven for a while now and have amassed a fairly large force (at least for me anyways) and was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on what models to buy next?

I currently have these models:
Lords/Heros
- Grey Seer on foot
- 3x warlord/chieftain (various conversions)
- 3x Engineers
- Plague Priest
- Plague Furnace

Core
- 140 Clanrats/slaves
- 50 giant rats
- 3-4 pack masters
- 40 Stormvermin
- 3 Warpfire Throwers
- 3 Poisoned Wind mortars

Special
- 60 Plague Monks
- 6 Rat Ogres
- 9 Gutter Runners

Rares
- 2 Warp Lightning Cannons
- Doomwheel
- Hellpit Abomination

Now I feel like I am missing some stuff but that is what I think I have.

I was thinking of getting another 40 clanrats (I need them for sure) a box of night runners to convert to more gutter runners and possibly convert some into jezzails (depending how many kroot guns I have)
Was thinking another box of stormvermin because I really like the models but they aren't the best. Another hellpit abomination would also be good.


Anyways what would you suggest I buy? Thanks!

Ooooooh, some Clanrats and a hell pit sound good.

assassins! because assassins are cool.

As for most competitive choice you've got a solid skaven force. I'd say more clanrats so you can turn them into slaves.

Some people hate jezzails but I've had good luck using them amd since you don't have them yet it gives you more carried choices. As far as a second HPA watch your rare%. You won't fit a doomwheel, 2 HPAs and 2 WLCs into a single list in most games.

Well I figure if I get a Hellpit, Night runner (convert them into 6 jezzails and some gutter runners) and 40 more clanrats/slaves that will let me play a 4500 point list.

I agree with the assasin it just sucks that they are direct only. I will probably just convert my own since its easier.

I have never actually used the screaming bell because I just don't see how good it is maybe I should also pick one of those up because that is a pretty obvious thing I am missing from my list

I would go with clanrats and gutter runners.

Just picked up 40 more clan rats.
Will definatly get another HPA and 20 Night runners sometime soon.

I still have to paint alot of my army....It's so many `sigh`

Gonna possibly go with censer bearers. They're not great but if you hold the up a combat with stormvermin or another decent rank and file they can really help you win the combat while the rank and file negates ranks. Make sure they hit in the flank because since most enemies are more powerful you only want to face maybe 2, 3 or 4 of them at any one time.

I find rat ogres to not really be so good in some cases if only because they're expensive, frenzied and no packmasters equals stupidity tests (packmasters die off way too easily against some armies considering the randomization). They can be ok but they definitely need to be close to the general.

Some more gutter runners could be good.

People may hate them but i swear by some rat swarms. They don't win any fights they're in but they're excellent at re-directing the enemy, they're fast and easy to maneuver being skirmishers, they can take an absurd amount of shots without breaking, they have high leadership for march block issues, unbreakable and unstable (the first being great at times with the 2nd not being good) and other such stuff. Keep in mind swarms are also small so you can put some right in front of an enemy and shoot or magic right into the same enemy without penalty. Honestly i think they're much better than people give them credit for but you should probably mix them in with giant rats. They are expensive for a swarm unit that does what they do though.

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The funny and scary thing is most of your army numbers are identical to mine with the exception of censer bearers and some useless doom flayers, a ratling gun, the number of plague monks and rat swarms. I have like 15 gutter runners though.

Jezzails. Max out your special allowance on them.


Wait. Forgot about censer bearers. Those are essential to any list.

I'm going to recommend a couple of Warlord options.

1) Warlitter warlord. Being infantry he can bunker in a unit for full LOS, but still bring something extra to the fight. It's a pretty simple conversion using the new stormvermin.

2) Bonebreaker warlord with Fellblade. The extra wound keeps him going just a bit longer, and 4 S10 d3 wound attacks are not to be sneered at. Worth it's weight in gold against Ogres... IF he doesn't get shot out on the way to the fight. The conversion is more complex, but doable.

 Vulcan wrote:
I'm going to recommend a couple of Warlord options.

1) Warlitter warlord. Being infantry he can bunker in a unit for full LOS, but still bring something extra to the fight. It's a pretty simple conversion using the new stormvermin.

2) Bonebreaker warlord with Fellblade. The extra wound keeps him going just a bit longer, and 4 S10 d3 wound attacks are not to be sneered at. Worth it's weight in gold against Ogres... IF he doesn't get shot out on the way to the fight. The conversion is more complex, but doable.

It's actually d6 wounds so it's even better and successful ward saves made against it have to be re-rolled. It's a potent weapon indeed. Each successful hit is slightly better than a magical cannonball hitting somebody. Too bad it doesn't do much against something with ASF or higher initiative.

2 units of 10 gutter runners.

TCWarRoom wrote:
2 units of 10 gutter runners.

3 units of 9 is the best way to go. Each scores 3 poisoned wounds on average. One dead war machine per unit.

They cost points... and how many war machines you fighting? I usually build an all comers list.

Honestly this might sound weird but amass lots of slaves and maybe even give them slings and then throw a bunch of level 1 warlocks with warp lightning in each. I'm doing this and not taking a seer and it's actually handling ok. I also do double doomwheel and 2 units of 6 models for each censer bearer unit.

Normally the best way to fight so many slaves is just straight up magic and combat and since being so fast is part of the elf play-style it forces them to come at you at which point you can hold them and flank them with censers or something.

 flamingkillamajig wrote:
Honestly this might sound weird but amass lots of slaves and maybe even give them slings and then throw a bunch of level 1 warlocks with warp lightning in each. I'm doing this and not taking a seer and it's actually handling ok. I also do double doomwheel and 2 units of 6 models for each censer bearer unit.

Normally the best way to fight so many slaves is just straight up magic and combat and since being so fast is part of the elf play-style it forces them to come at you at which point you can hold them and flank them with censers or something.

Interesting idea. I have 180 slaves/clanrats now and don't want more tho to many things to paint haha

Would be interesting to try that but I don't know how much more effective it would be compared to just using 2-3 bus units of 40-50 slaves then flank with stormvermin or something?

Its fun using different tactics tho and that's why I want some jezzails and censor bearers (might just use the plague monks I put flails on as censor bearers)
I plan on ordering a box of clanrats just for conversion purposes and make 6 jezzails and an assassin or 2 then maybe globadiers if I can figure out a way to greenstuff them to look good haha

You might as well get some more slaves and clanrats. You can never have enough slaves. Buy the models you think look the best just to have them, also buy a queek the headtaker if you like those Stormvermin he is a good choice. More gutter runners would be nice, and another hellpit just to have another. If you would prefer not to paint so much get some rat swarms to hold enemy units down. I also really like Stormvermin and find myself not taking them as much as I want.

Personally i dunno about all that. I think it matters what everybody at your local game stores are playing. Lately everybody is into elves of all flavors and lizardmen. My new list wish works alright seems to handle them. The point of the list is all the shooting of skaven is in the slave units which are cheap and have a lot of bodies, doomwheels (which are fairly tough and have armor in case the enemy got through via poisoned attacks) and warlocks which you stick in the slave buses. Even if you should kill half of the slaves they still can all shoot everything. It's a list that you probably shouldn't take with storm banner though as all that shooting would be wasted. It's not great shooting but it definitely scares some chaff away.

I mean if somebody has trueflight arrows it doesn't matter as you have so many bodies all those extra points are wasted. You killed 50 points in slaves. Good job but i don't care. 5 gutter runners are still 5 toughness 3 dudes at a much more expensive cost. They do more but against trueflight arrows they're about the same as 5 slave wounds. Your best choice against all these ridiculous elves are doomwheels which are tough, armored and still shoot (while wood elves have puny poisoned, armor penetrating hits and trueflight arrows all of which are str 3 and don't do much to tough and armored targets), slaves with slings (they can't kill everything fast enough except with magic) and the warlock mass that shoot d6 strength 5 magic missiles in those large slave units that won't die.

The warlocks (about 4 of them) do the heavy lifting by using warp lightning on everything and killing them.

The doomwheels also shoot on the move killing monsters and anything else that is normally harder to kill.

I also take censer bearers in case the enemy has any armor left.

Normally it does pretty well against elves but i'm rather unsure how it'd handle the annoying BotWD with high elves. I guess it'll just be about wearing the enemy down at that point.

Hopefully you are not shooting into your slave units with an engineer in them because that is not allowed.
@chiefbigredman-with what you have you can make a strong list. Censer bearers are good but ratogres can do similar and move faster. So you don't neccesarily have to buy anything.
Gutter runners can be useful but a skitterleaped warplightning warlock can be used just as well against war machines.
At the point of what you have it would just be adding to try different tactics with.
Which I think is always fun.
Get Skrolk and more plague monks and plague censers, several plague catapults...and run a plague list. I'm actually hoping when they get their new book they will get poxrat cavalry unit.

 Throt wrote:
Hopefully you are not shooting into your slave units with an engineer in them because that is not allowed.
@chiefbigredman-with what you have you can make a strong list. Censer bearers are good but ratogres can do similar and move faster. So you don't neccesarily have to buy anything.
Gutter runners can be useful but a skitterleaped warplightning warlock can be used just as well against war machines.
At the point of what you have it would just be adding to try different tactics with.
Which I think is always fun.
Get Skrolk and more plague monks and plague censers, several plague catapults...and run a plague list. I'm actually hoping when they get their new book they will get poxrat cavalry unit.

I'm not so don't worry.

For your BotWD problem just shove a tarpit in the face of the unit and when you are ready just shove the abomination without spikes, a doomwheel, rat ogres or censer bearers into the flank.