Hey all, Skaven are coming (yes-yes!) with an all new Battletome, updated for AoS 2.0, Endless Spells, Terrain and the Carrion Empire set. Its great to see this staple of the Warhammer universe being compiled into one book. I expect to see a lot of them on the table-tops at Adepticon!
Here I’ll be doing my usual thing and compiling all the information about the new release as and when the information drops. Just what you need to know, without click-bait, obnoxious ads or pop-ups.
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Skaven Battletome
The Skaven have a brand new battletome coming. The key points so far are:
- all the Clans are in the book – Clans Skryre, Pestilens, Moulder, Verminus, Eshin and the Masterclan
- Each of the Clans has its own allegiance abilities, but you can also combine them as one army.
- It looks like there will be lots of “Battleline if” choices so that you can build clan and specialist themed armies.
Skaven Allegiance Abilities
So its been confirmed that the Skaven allegiance abilities will work like the Beasts of Chaos book. The abilities will operate in parallel and add flavour to the force. There are four general allegiance abilities and six specific to the clans (Skryre, Pestilens, Verminus, Moulder, Eshin, Masterclan).
Skaven Spell Lores
There are two Skaven spell lores:
- The Lore of Ruin – for Grey Seers (mainly hexes)
- The Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism – for Clan Skryre (a support lore)
Skaven Endless Spells
It wouldn’t be a Skaven battletome without access to some kick-ass crazy Endless Spells. They all look suitably Skaven – bell, rats and warp-sparks.
Skaven Terrain – Gnawholes
Now, these Gnawholes exite me! They have the prospect of adding additional movement to the Skaven army, reserve deployment, summoning of more rats, or an entirely new mechanic we haven’t seen yet.
Skaven Accessories
The Skaven also have warscroll cards coming and some (legible) dice. Hurrah!
The Carrion Empire Set
The Carrion Empire set is a dual-box set allowing you to get started with some great Skryre shenanigans.
Warlock Bombardier
The new Carrion Empire set comes with an exclusive hero model for Skaven – the Warlock Bombardier! First revealed at the New Years Open Day, all we know is that he is a “demolitions expert armed with the Doomrocket – a weapon so powerful and dangerous it makes the Doomwheel look sensible.”
Warlock Bombardiers are described as “masters of ranged warfare”, providing magical and missile back-up for Clan Skryre. The key rules previews so far are:
Note the changes to the Warp Lightning spell – range dropped from 18″ to 12″ and now if it overcharged it does D6 mortal wounds instead of D3. For a spell casting on a 5 this is a really rare thing – only Stormcast can automatically do D3 mortal wounds, and most factions have spells that require high casting to get that many mortal wounds out. However, there is the risk if it fails or unbound then you suffer D6 damage.
Now in true Skaven fashion, the Warlock can also do either great damage to himself or the enemy with his Doomrocket. I suspect this weapon will always be fired at full strength for that 5/6 chance of doing 2D6 damage (unless the Warlock is the only hero holding a crucial objective).
Check back for more updates and coverage as we know more.