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Hey dakka. Mild spoilers for some minor sections of the Skaven Battletome ahead.

In reading through the timeline section of the tome, I noticed some fluff about units we have yet to see models for.

Apparently an Arch-Warlock was inspired by destroyed Kharadron ships and created Skaven flying ships. It seems they're even named: "dozens of armoured dirigibles, lighting-ships, warpfire barges and klawbombers take to the skies. Over the months that follow, the skaven sky-pirates of Steelklaw's Much-great Sky-kill Air Armada raid..." and it goes on to say that they destroy orks and another rival clan.

It seems to me that this is possibly a hint. So far there hasn't been a single unit name that I've read that isn't an actual model, as far as I can recall, at least other than the next possible hint which also is named. Usualy the machine or unit will have some vague description with no name.

There are also mentions of Skaven kidnapping Isharann from an Idoneth conclave in one section of the timeline to extract the secrets of their soul thieving magic, and then in another section the Skaven use something called "voltovore engines" to extract Stormcast souls once they're defeated. The first prototype didn't work but apparently they're refining the tech.

It seems these could be hints at the future of Clan Skryre technology. It's interesting that they're named. I will note a small detail that every instance of a model that exists in real life, like a Doomwheel or Screaming Bell or Lightning Cannon, is capitalised. The names I mentioned above all are lower case. A small detail but maybe there's a precedent in the past involving models in the fluff that come into being.

I find it curious. What do you guys think?

Hmmm, I haven't read the stories in the Tome yet, but I could forsee a sub-tome in the future for Skryre. They really have the best variety of units and rules.

I'm trying to figure out if I wanna try to go all Eshin (and the 1 Masterclan hero I can fit in an Eshin army, to avoid having to get 60 clanrats or 30 stormvermin for battleline). Deathrunners aren't even in the new book, not that they were all that good but darn it, cool models deserve cool rules and rules upkeep!

There are mentions of other units scattered throughout; Warlock-Fumigators and Warlock-Shatterclaws are mentioned by name even.

I did notice to my dismay that the Deathrunner and Poisoned Wind Mortar are both gone.

I don't have the book yet but FEC have a suspicious reference in the art on the back of the warscrolls, a huge corpse cart pulled by a nasty looking ox. It's not like GW to have specific stuff like that in the art just randomly.

There's a Fumigatorus Engine Coven, or something like that, but it uses Windlauncher guys and/or Acolyte Smoke bomb guys IIRC.

I'm really tempted to get into Skryre. So many interesting devices!

That's very interesting about the Fumigators and Shatterclaws. It seems to me that if we are getting more Skaven in the future, it's going to be a Skryre expansion. That makes sense, as most of the current Skryre range is in resin and metal, and they may want to expand the range to fit the creative heights of the current Sigmar range. But I suppose we will have to wait and see. Apparently Goblins are mentioned to also have flying ships in their tome which makes me wonder...

And yes I was disappointed by the Deathrunners not being included too! I suppose it isn't as bad as the recent removal of Greenskinz. It seems GW want to tighten up the range.

You know, with the fair amount of different air ships mentioned in the lore, I wounder if they are trying lay down the ground work for some kind of Dreadfleet/Battlefleet Gothic style spin off game.

 Venerable Ironclad wrote:
You know, with the fair amount of different air ships mentioned in the lore, I wounder if they are trying lay down the ground work for some kind of Dreadfleet/Battlefleet Gothic style spin off game.

Now there's an interesting idea. I could see that happening.

AoS has sort of tried to become Steam Punk in some ways. Certainly in one of the side stories there's steam powered four legged carriages moving around in one of the freeguild cities as normal. I think its something they've sort of hinted at but not fully committed themselves to.


As for hints in the book I think its important to remember that Skaven are one of those factions which will always have a lot of creative concepts that appear in lore and books that never make it to the table. Their continual creative and random invention side makes them ideal for making one-off wonders and machines within the lore that never make it tableside unless someone converts.

Eg in one of the more recent short stories in Gods and Mortals the "Bear" of Stormcats squares off against a huge rat ogre construct that has a little rat inside it controlling it and viewing out rather like one might pilot a tank. It's no stormfiend (they have a little, if very exposed, cage on the back with a brainrat not a normal skaven). The Rat ogre sounds almost akin to an ork dreadnought from 40K.


I think things like an oversized warp lighting cannon; a gattling warp lightning cannon and a fleet of airships are things that GW puts in just as ideas. Perhaps sometimes to spark the inventive mind of converters. GW doesn't need to make an airfleet of stolen KO airships; players can buy them and then stick bells and the like on them and use them as converted war engines. It's likely the angle they are going for rather than giving skaven an entire new air-based clan.



Heck there's one Skaven clan shown to have chronomatic weapons. I think the best leader in the book for "the future" is the clan that burrowed a gnawhole and vanished within it to unknown places. That one has potential for expanding the story. There's also Thanquol and what he's up too in the Realms as it seems that he's time-jumped a big period of time and appeared quite active and ready - the claw paw of the Horned One? Or perhaps some powerful but secret Verminlord that has yet to appear upon the Shadow Council.


That said GW could be bringing back Man O War. Certainly they could throw airships and seaships into that mix and have an epic time on the high seas of the realms with seamonsters and the like.




Also lets not forget one of the short stories that came out has sea serpents and sea-nymphs coming to the aid of the Slyvanath. A story, a hint of the future, or perhaps just a writers idea on paper that made it into print that might one day spark the imagination of one of the sculptors.

The Freeguild and Ironweld Arsenal have cog forts. I wonder if it's their way to eventually add something like Imperial Knights, or if it's a tongue in cheek way to see that "oh yeah, there are imperial knights in our settings... but they are.. uh... cog forts! yeah!"

Cog forts are more like something that would BE the table rather than on it. They have entire army's worth of Freeguild garrisoned inside them.

Overread I did notice the clan that disappeared and wondered if they would come back. Perhaps they may use Realmstone that the book mentions multiple times as a potentially more potent force than Warpstone.

While you're likely right about most of this stuff being fluff and stuff to spark the development team, if Skryre were to get new units it might be with Realmstone too, which would justify new machinery being more powerful and grandiose than the current range.

If not, I wonder what theme a new clan could be focused around. It's not like Skaven aren't diverse as is.

Right now Skaven have a lot of legacy models so there's ample room just to update their range with a big release of new plastics.

A single weaponteam sprue with all 4 weapon options
New Ogres, Packmasters and giant rats
Assassin in plastic
Doomflayer in plastic
Rat Swarm in plastic (they could put this in a box with the ogres and the like)
Skyre Acolytes in plastic
Gutter Runners and Night Runners in Plastic (easy duel box there)
Warplock Jezzails in plastic
Plague Censer Bearers in plastic
Plague Priest (technically there's one in the Plague furnace) in plastic
Warplock Engineers

That's a big release in itself just to kick the race off some very old plastics and metals and into the modern age. I'd wager if Skaven got anything new in a big release it should be one or two things only; with the rest being just updating that huge backlog to modern materials and standards. Some could be done in duel kits and combined kits to save on mould costs.


As for a new clan that's hard as skaven do a lot already. Eshin could be bulked out with a few new options; but then again "assassin" forces are nearly always best as complimentary to existing armies rather than as whole armies themselves. Even in the lore they tend to operate far more in the shadows - more likely to backstab a Clan Leader rival instead of going to all out war.

Pleeeeeeeease plastic globadiers!!