Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

What's the best size for a unit of clanrats?

Is it worth forming them into a horde?

I guess plenty of ranks is key, to keep reasonable Ld, but just not sure how many is "right"

I can't think of a lot of reasons to run them as a horde unless they're pushing a screaming bell. Deep is good.

And sometimes the best size might be fairly small- if you're just buying them to get a weapons team...

I suppose "right" is going to hinge on what you need them for.

30. Buys you enough to keep Ranks(for both LD and Steadfast) for awhile, but isn't so large as to be unwieldy.

Depends on their use. For a unit I intend to throw into my enemy's lines, I tend to run 40 rat units 5 wide by 8 deep. Shields are a must.

For a unit on "Guard the WLC" duty, a unit of 20-25 will do, as most things coming at you will be solo monsters (e.g., Giant Eagles) or Skirmishers (e.g., Ambushing units) which you will almost always out rank anyway.

As to a Horde, I'd agree with Red_Zeke on this one. With Clan Rats not being one of your more "killy" units, a horde is generally not worthwhile. Pushing a Screaming Bell is somewhat of an exception, as the Bell already counts as 3 models across anyway.

Platuan4th wrote:30. Buys you enough to keep Ranks(for both LD and Steadfast) for awhile, but isn't so large as to be unwieldy.

About what I was thinking - 6 ranks of 5, or 5 ranks or 6?

Slinky wrote:

Platuan4th wrote:30. Buys you enough to keep Ranks(for both LD and Steadfast) for awhile, but isn't so large as to be unwieldy.

About what I was thinking - 6 ranks of 5, or 5 ranks or 6?

Depends on what you're facing and the situation, to be honest. That one's purely a personal judgment call, imo.

And one you can change quickly on the fly with swift reforms!

If you have to pick something to make the movement tray, I'd start with 5 wide, though.

I think I better come up with a horde argument here, a) because I run a horde and b) to keep this balanced.

Clanrats aren't really 'horde material', and personally I prefer 50 slaves w/ spears. However, having said that a clanrat horde can be a good tarpit with enough of them, but they are much better run as suggested earlier with roughly 30 of them 5x6.

Size is entirely based on the norm in your area. You need to have steadfast, so you want enough to have more ranks for a round or two.

If you run 30 man blocks and face 20 man blocks, you should be good. But once you start seeing bigger units, you're going to need to go bigger; (or just stay small for more weapon teams).

I went from 25, to 30, to 35. This was in response to facing larger enemy units, and horde formations which were putting out enough damage to blow through clan rats in a single turn.

If I ever do skaven again, I'd go with 50 0r 20. Why? Because I can be movement tray lazy. I have the option to flip the tray sideways (mid-game) and suddenly I'm in horde formation. The 20 strong units will just give me a few extra weapon teams.

-Matt