Skaven 2022 Battletome Review - Warhammer Weekly 06292022 

Thanks for having me on guys, apologies for leaving early. I foolishly thought ≈4 hours would be sufficient 😂

It's so nice when the guests have decent audio. So, so nice.

As someone who used to own about 300 metal Skaven back in the WHFB days, I think Skaven should ignore the reinforcement restrictions as they are the ultimate horde army.

This episode I discovered that if I combine severe jet-lag and Warhammer Wednesday, I can vividly dream that Vince personally helps me pick out my Skaven army - even if I keep asking him to find me some Gloomspite. 😂

Hmm, what if a skaven line glow-up is coming with the release of the Old World? It would pretty much all come together

So to add some tinfoil to the hat the last part of the skaven lore section before the clans states that every bell in blight city has tolled 13 times and lightning has split the sky of the city. The thirteenth tower is glowing and a roar is coming from a crack behind its throne (the throne for the GHR). A crack that grows wider accompanied by the distant sound of scrabbling claws growing louder by the moment... Also in the chamon map, there are 3 major skaven incursions surround a major stormcast city (vindicarum) and have barak nar threatened too. Also there's several mentions of dawnbringer crusades finding vast swathes of nothingness where the skaven have stripped an area bare of all resources and life. Can we talk for a moment about how amazing the Lore writers are for Skaven? In the lore section, the skaven have 1) A WLC so massive that it kills 100's of slaves every time it fires, 2) a gun that taps into the skaven afterlife to shoot ghostly skaven at an enemy, 3) doomwheels with flamethrowsers, 4) something called a "reality imploder" and 5) a legion of enslaved giant wurms. (not mentioning things we already knew about like the skaven skypirates) Like where's this in the model range! I think we should lock the skaven lore writers and all the AoS sculptors in a room for a week with adequate food and water and see what comes out a la skreetch verminking lol. Given all of this, I think we're the 4.0 baddy like kragnos is the 3.0 baddy. If I were getting really crazy I'd say that the next starter set (since dominion didn't do great) should be DBC vs entirely new skaven line.

100% with Vince on being an adult (40 years old) and jumping on rocks

You have been having amazing guests on your show Vince, like every single one just knocking it out of the park. As much as I love listening to you, please keep the great guests coming!

Just got into skaven and love this video. Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed run through, super interesting army!

Thanks for the usual insightful and fun video. Love seeing the passion for the lil rat lads!

Skaven player since 1991 \m/ thanks for the vid and insight🐭

Great show as always! I'll never understand why a faction that has hordes and hordes of rats always there behind the scenes doesn't have a summoning mechanic as an allegiance ability.

I am happy to see that Warhammer's iconic rat people got a good battletome. Though I agree that it feels a bit all over the place: Some really cool and clever changes, but then some warscrolls that feel odd and outdated. Almost as if they flat out forgot to update a couple things. For Plague Censer Bearers, I had the idea of using Plague Monks with the staffs, then attach the chain-flail parts of the Hearthguard Berzerker flamestrike poleaxes at the top of the staffs. If you cut off the little dwarven runes and paint the flames like poison fumes, it would look rather fitting imo. (And would be cheap, if you know someone who has a bunch of those chain-flails lying around.) Maybe it is just that half the miniature line is hopelessly outdated, but this army feels brimming with conversion potential.

I think I will like using Skaven with this book, but if I did not already own a huge collection of Skaven models, the FACT that this book was obviously phoned in, if I was a new player I would not start a Skaven army based on this book. Completely agree with Vince 100% on the epic failure of no method to manipulate reinforcement points. Really not buying into the various "it was delayed apologies". While I have models in abundance, if I was a new player, I would really wonder about support for the army based on how old many of the sculpts are. There are a lot of things I like about the book, but to me it definitely is "lackluster".

Does anyone think that they saw what the longstrikes did and decided they didn’t want more units like that and that’s why the jezzails can’t be reinforced?

I have been writing unit tests all day (for a service I didn't write) I don't think I'd have made it through with out this show to keep me company. Thanks guys appreciate it.

Please can we have a video where you guys through the rumour engines that have now been released and review what you said at the time. I'd love to see how wild your guesses are and also how many times Tom/Tyler get it right.

Loved the episode, you guys help put multiple perspectives on the battletome, it really opens up your list building options. Quick question, as I understand, the eshin battle trait doesn't require a hero for the first tier. It only requires 3 heroes in the second tier, right? Same as the Moulder battle trait. Some of this battle traits specify that they need a hero or a model for the first tier, and 3 for the second. But Moulder and Eshin are not specified. Am I wrong here? Also, I think Eshin battle traits stack with each other, right? You get the first tier and the second tier. Same as masterclan I think.

I'm back on the Hopeium that one of the new Chaos books next year will be Skaven MKII. My faith in the great horned rat is strong!

Like👍🏻 for jumping up on rocks

The wording for 'at the double' was changed in AOS3, but a lot of people still quote the AOS2 rules when the roll was changed to a '6', but it doesn't work like that anymore. The rule is simply add 6" to your move. So any bonuses e.g. add 3 to your roll just doesn't work with 'at the double'

In preparation of buying the Skaven book, I kitbashed a warpfire thrower and a warpgrinder using mostly stormfiend bits and plague furnace bits lol the results weren't bad tho

I'm with you Vince! new models and new book in like 6 months maybe as much as a year - along with fully realized Eshin and Moulder clans, with Moulder given the ability to "make" monsters from other critters (Master Moulder can have any mount within a certain range size, maybe with some extra doodads we can fit onto the mount to make it look more Mouldery). New Monsters in general, "Brood" mare, and other various actual decent monsters. Upsized Storm Vermin/Fiends like Thanquols mount, only as infantry .... (Hey we can dream riight??) Also, I will def take 3 HPA if I can lmao

I find myself always feeling the need to go for reinforced stormfiends to make including an engineer for MMMWP and the sparks more worthwhile. Do you reckon they'll perform decent enough as range-threat as just one unit of 3 ?

IMO Skaven will be the poster boy bad guys of AoS 4 as it rolls back around to Chaos as a threat. That’s when we’ll see a big range refresh, tho I could see small updates between now and then. Maybe a Moulder refresh to fit in with the Beast theme. A new kit with a Master Moulder, giant rats, and rat Ogors seems like a slam dunk.

Amazing video! I’ve watched it at least ten times so far as I bravely/foolishly picked Skaven as my first army. A question about something Sam said about the Eshin units fighting first, isn’t it only Slynk himself that has strike-first? I can’t see anything that says his Clawpack also has strike first. Or was he just talking about in your own combat phase? Could you clarify please?

Everyone is getting the eshin battle trait wrong, It does not state "in stead of, or, only" This means you get Shooting bonus on one for taking 1 hero and you get melee bonus on all others for taking 3 Read clan verminous one and then read the eshin one. They would make the distinction like the former

Hey Vince, i’ve been planning the rat ogre bomb for this week and just realized I don’t think you can do it with the warp grinder. When the units come in from reserve from the warp grinder it’s at the end of the movement face. The pack master chooses what unit gets the +3 run/charge at the beginning of the movement phase. I’ve been looking for ways around it but don’t think there is one

Totally agree with everyone's take on Screaming Bell. I've been playing Skaven for about a year now - Finally, 3 weeks ago, my Screaming Bell summoned a Vermin Lord and it was such an exciting moment in the game. That Vermin Lord put the team on its back, the rats got the win and my opponent had fun too. We were cracking up. Played a game last week and couldn't even get my opponent to engage with it, took 0 damage in 5 rounds 🤣

Skaven should be allowed to rally while in combat once per turn

is there anyway, i can download the skaven list

I don't think Vince has opened with that much energy before

I just wanna say that people should really be using Shock Tarts as Warpstone tokens. It just makes the most sense.

Great video as always. Is Warpgnaw (the forgeworld verminlord) still playable? I got a perfect cast cheap :)

Thanks Vince. Outta curiosity, what 3rd party proxies for night/gutter runners did you decide to go with? I'm having a surprisingly difficult time finding actually cool/good rat ninjas...

WIll watch later, wanted to drop my thoughts on Curseling during coffee break. I think mini if fine, it's adequate... Buuuut: I miss his brother whispering to him and I would like him to be bulkier. If I ever want to run him (not that I have Tzeentch army, only Kairos), I'd look for proper 3D mini that has those things.

So you think this book was prepared long time ago? It's because first, they thought that Skaven would be in the 3.0 Dominion Box against Stormcast!

Why doesn't the bell move by magic? Because anyone with the power to make it move with magic has the power to make clanrats push it instead. I agree that it sucks from a gameplay perspective

Hey quick question: with Slynk and his pack, they mention on the war scroll that if* he is with his pack he and the pack can pop from terrain... does that mean he DOESNT have to be linked to them and can just be a solo Deathmaster? 🤔 not ideal, I understand, but still a question...

Gotta get island of blood models for the good Warplock engineer, rat ogor, and warpfire sculpts!

I'd love for Vince to do a slapchop video, that or a spicy take on Marco Frisoni Grisaille technique (same thing as slapchop, but slightly more effort)

Where does it state that the first Eshin bonus gets replaced when you have 3 or more Eshin heroes? By the current wording that bonus should stay.

I picked up Skaven when I started AoS in early 2.0, and assumed I would love the randomness. Instead it just always made me mad. I may be too spike for random everything. Shame, since everything here looks super fun.

Tldr on this book. My friends skryre list has only dropped 3 games in 3 events. Under the new book he has 150 extra points to spend and more teleporting. Rats together strong!

Vince from what I can tell you can't cast purple sun after you have lauchon'ed because it's at the end of the phase, am I missing something?

Love the show. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed the black coach and now Alarielle are no longer available. Weird this happened so soon after the battletomes releases.

I am just only getting into AoS 3.0 and restarting my abandoned skaven collection.. Is it worth it getting into the special veterans and bounty hunters nonsense if I am only going to play with equally inexperienced buddies, or can we skip it?

4th time referring to this video, Vince. As always, much appreciated.

Aren’t Censer Bearers now on a 32mm base? (same as Acolytes)

the bob loblaw gnaw bomb. you sir are a mouthful.

Any discord/what'sapp to skaven group arround? Interested in more lists

Hoping this phoned in book is not an indicator of how much care they will have put into the Tzeentch book about to be released.

What's up Tom!! How's the Deepkin doing my friend

I wish we have new weapon platform for skaven

Man y’all saying shadow magnet trinket is meh aged like milk😂😂 Thing is like the most taken skaven artifact now next to warpstone charm

Rock jumper crew checking in.

Came here to see your thoughts on the screaming bell and it is as bad as I thought it would be. And no battle shock immunity while the stupid furnace does? Terrible and yeah it is THE Skaven model. Lame

Keep hope alive!

No terrifying on Verminlords anymore. From re-checking on the app anyways.

no chance this book was for 3.0 originally

Who doesn’t like standing on some rocks!?

Ral Partha burn. Scathing.

today I learnt I'm younger than plague priest

Johnny? Jawny? Jawninesh? Jonniesh?

DoK not a Horde army.... *Laughs in Draichi Ganeth*

ogor shoggoth hand the skin painting looks lizzardy

This is what I don't get about people saying tome GSs and BTs are too easy. You say: skaven have super easy tome GSs, throw them in the sun. Then immediately after that you say: here's a generic GS that is so easy I've gotten it every time I've played this army... obviously the tome GSs being easy isn't a problem then

Chain Warp Lightning - another wizard casts Lauchon, bombardier or engineer gets zipped right in front of enemy army. Every single unit takes poke damage, forcing at least half a dozen battleshock rolls. Not great against everyone, but not useless

I love skaven, but I hate the older models, compared to the few new ones look hideous

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It really did feel like kind of a lazy book. Definitely nowhere near as creative as the only other 3.0 Battletome I own, Maggotkin.

“Humanized in their femininity” 🤣

Playing against Skaven is the (reoccurring) most unfun experience I’ve ever had in Age of Sigmar. The mortal wounds- that don’t even need a hit roll- are out of control, ruining the whole game experience and turning it into a one sided mess. Imo most units are undercosted for the (MW) damage potential they have. I personally will refuse to ever play again against this army. 4 games vs the new skaven were 4 games too much. I am not saying Skaven are too strong, however playing against them will ruin your game, since you know: losing 1/3 of your army per turn by a gazillion mortal wounds that have no reason to even be on most warscroll is super interactive and fun. It’s ridiculous to a point that you could Gatekeep new players from the game playing vs this army. Example: Why does the Hell Pit Abomination deal Mortal Wounds (basically auto killing every unit it tokio drifts into)? It’s smaller than most big Dragons and giants that can’t do that - it’s just another example of how to not write a warscroll. - Karazai and Krondys would like to have a word. (By Skaven standards these two dragons would cost 325 points each, just compare the stats to the Hell Pit Abomination) Examples of the last hames: One Warplightning cannon avaraged to 8 MWs per turn, suffering 2 in return. The Hellpit averaged 16 mortal wounds. My opponent rolled well, that’s no excuse though that my games are ruined if he rolls slightly above average. It’s the worst. Such Situations should not even be possible from the get go. No units should even remotely have access to this abundance of Mortal wounds.