# A Dummies Guide to Using (And Fighting) Skaven



## Stephen_Newman

Skaven Tactics

Presented by Stephen_Newman​
Hi there!

Recently Jez has posted a thread asking players to submit articles on various subjects. I saw the opportunity for a Skaven Tactica article but being me I want to really do a thorough look at the army and everything in it. Today I will start by having a look at the Skaven in general as an army as well as looking at the general army special rules.

Firstly I will make it clear that reading these articles is not going to make you a world class Skaven player. I instead wish this to merely instruct new players or those looking for new ideas to find them as well as giving people who might face the army on a regular basis an idea of what everything is and what it can do. I myself play a full Clan Pestilens army (Lots of Plague Monks for those unfamiliar) and hopefully as my signature may point out I hope I am not doing that bad a job with them. Anyways enough rambling and let’s look at Skaven in general!

Basics About the Army

The very first thing you HAVE to know about Skaven is that numbers are a huge requirement to making any sort of army. Most Skaven players will claim you need at least model for every 10 points spent on the army. I think this is a little extreme but I will suggest that a Skaven army should have at least 100 models in a 2000 point army or you will struggle against most opponents as you may miss on common Skaven advantages.

Next is that Skaven are one of the best armies in the Fantasy setting that is equipped to set up hoards. Hoards, as a lot of players will say, are potentially a game winning unit since when tooled right they can withstand many casualties whilst still meeting out the punishment required to unnerve enemy units. Skaven find this an easy task because our basic troops are dirt cheap. A hoard of 30 Skavenslaves will cost all of a magical 60 points. Even the same size of Clanrats with shields will cost all of 135 points. You get the picture. Skaven also benefit from hoards because of the Strength in Numbers special rule but more about this later.

A common tactic that a lot of players will use against Skaven players is to take advantage of the natural low LD values of Skaven units. Also be aware that when Skaven units break (it will happen at some point) that the chance of a Skaven unit EVER rallying is slim. You have been warned. As I will discuss later this can be mitigated in a number of ways but it does lead me onto one final point about Skaven basics. As one might imagine in an army of cheap troops you can guarantee that in every fight that you play as a Skaven player that droves of your minions will get butchered every turn. FACT. What this means as a Skaven player you need to be less concerned about how your troops will fare. Whilst this seems bad I am not suggesting to throw all tactics out the window and charge headfirst it does mean you can be more careless and even happily sacrifice units so that the offending unit can be pummelled in return.

Skaven Special Rules

Next port of call for me is to discuss the Skaven special rules and say what each one means and how it might affect you.

Scurry Away!-Units with this rule (Nearly everything in the army) get a bonus of +1 when they make fleeing rolls. This does not sound like such a big deal and its primarily there for fluff rather than as a rule to help/hinder the army. However it is useful to know that there is always a chance that your precious units are more likely to escape the enemy when they break which is useful and I suppose a fleeing unit that may rally is better than a unit that is dead.

Strength in Numbers-Ah. A rule that every Skaven general will look to keep for as long as possible. Why? Because this rule is great and breaks the Skaven reputation of running away at the first loud bang. As a rule it allows Skaven units to add +1 to their LD value for every full rank they have to any LD based check, up to a maximum of +3. This means whereas before your cowardly Skaven were struck with a terrible LD 5 when they had to take such tests they now, with a couple dozen buddies, now have a much more impressive LD 8 for most units and LD 10 for most generals. However as with ranks these bonuses are negated when the unit loses its ranks such as to a flank charge from a sizable unit. Therefore as a Skaven player your top priority is to keep your rank bonuses and avoid being flanked. As well as shove lots of models in large units to keep the bonus going as long as possible. 

Verminous Valour-This rule affects most characters in the army (except Pestilens characters). This rule not only allows a Skaven character that is challenged to refuse and not only sit safely at the back of the unit but still allows the unit to use the characters LD ability or special rule such as a BSB’s reroll failed LD ability. Again mostly fluffy as a rule but damn useful. Skaven characters are not hard hitting killing machines. Instead I prefer to use them to provide support for the army, mostly in the form of LD bonuses or magical support and so it means my characters can survive being kicked around by hard enemies in situations I consider it would be better to survive.

Warpstone Weapon-Not really much but worth mentioning since a fair few units have this rule. This means that weapons with this rule are considered magical. Quite useful in certain situations but does not really make much difference in most scenarios. Again useful for heavy ethereal armies for armies built up right.

Next post I make will be about the Lord choices for a Skaven army. Including relevant Special Characters.


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## Djinn24

Guessing you missed the part where he asked that they be titled exactly as they where in the thread and stuff?


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