Age of Sigmar VERSUS: Skaven War Machines Edition
The new Carrion Empire box included a Warp Lightning Cannon sprue, but also all of the pieces to construct a Plagueclaw instead. Here are my thoughts on each of those kits, and how they can best be used in games with your Skaven Clans.
Like several other GW armies, the Skaven army has a few boxes that can be constructed as multiple kits. Let’s dig into one of Carrion Empire’s offerings:
Warp Lightning Cannon
This is my favorite of the two kits as an avid Skryre fan, and the new rules for it in the latest Battletome really make it shine. Every time you choose to fire the cannon, you roll a D6 to determine the “power” of the shot. Contrary to the way that’s worded, you’re aiming for the lowest roll possible for this one. After determining power, roll 6 more D6, and for each die that matches or exceeds the result of the power roll, the target suffers one mortal wound. If that isn’t enough power for you, keep a Warlock nearby and use the More-more Warp Lightning! ability. This will overcharge your cannon and allow you to roll 12 dice to fire the cannon rather than 6, but after firing each roll of 1 deals d3 mortal wounds to the cannon, regardless of the initial power roll. This can still be devastating if the power roll is low enough, but as with all Skaven science is a double-edged sword.
For even more punch, take an Arkhspark Voltik Enginecoven or two, which will allow you to subtract 1 from the power roll of one of your cannons when you fire. This can almost guarantee more than half of your dice will cause mortal wounds, and can really make the overcharge ability worthwhile.
Plagueclaw
This machine got a bit of a face lift for the new book, and it only got nastier. It still has the old minimum range of 6”, max of 31”, and it can still shoot at units it can’t see. However, it is no longer prevented from charging (though why you would charge with a war machine is beyond me) but also lost its +1 to save for staying still. It still hits and wounds on a 3+, with a rend of -2 and D6 damage, increasing to 2D6 if the target has 10 or more models. But the Plague priests must have brewed something really foul in their vats because Nurgle is no longer immune to the ick this thing throws. That’s saying something when you can make even the servants of the Plaguefather sick. In addition, the machine now subtracts 1 from the Bravery characteristic of anything it targets. Not hits, not wounds, TARGETS. Need a low Bravery unit scrubbed from the table? Point a couple of these at it, knock off a few models, and let the additional -1 Bravery finish the job.
For even more filth-ridden fun, take these as part of a Foulrain Congregation and which your opponent weep as your ick chuckers wound on a 2+. This gets even better if you also manage to get the Battalion’s Plague Priest to make a successful Disease-Disease prayer and knock even more models out of your unfortunate target.
Which of these war machines do you prefer? What other multi-build kits would you like to hear tactics for? Let us know in the comments below!
