Age of Sigmar: Rats in the Cupboard – Upgraded Skaven
The new battlebox gives us some upgraded warscrolls, but we’ll have to wait to see how much of an upgrade it actually is.
The time of chittering is upon us! With the new Echoes of Doom battlebox officially up for preorder, the Sylvaneth and Skaven are getting a massive haul of reinforcements. While the Sylvaneth are the clear winners of the value lottery, the Skaven are getting some updates to their older scrolls. Skaven have had a bit of a difficult time with 3.0 hamstringing hordes, so the upgrades are welcome. However, without seeing the battletome, what looks excellent in the box might end up being a nerf in the end. We’ve already seen the Deathmaster’s deadly new rules, so here’s a look at the other models looking to make some firewood.
Grey Seer on Screaming Bell
The massive centerpiece of the Skaven army, the Grey Seer on Screaming Bell has been a staple in many a Skaven list over the years. Its ability to provide a much-needed Battleshock Immunity bubble has been the lynchpin in several verminous strategies. Unfortunately, the new warscroll is one of the most disappointing in the box.
While it gained the ability to summon a Verminlord more efficiently the more damage it takes and swap into a Priest in your hero phase, it lost the Battleshock Immunity and several of its more potent bell abilities. Even the Wizard itself is weaker, only able to cast a single spell a turn, which feels like a poor trade for four extra wounds. It’s sad because this model is incredible, but with the massive hits to its abilities, I doubt it will see the tabletop without a huge battletome boost.
Stormvermin
On the other side of the warpstone coin, the Stormvermin came out swinging. While their point cost has jumped 25 points, they are well worth it. They no longer need numbers to increase their profile, offensively or defensively. What’s more, they can now take a wound for a nearby hero (or more likely, a nearby hero can pull them in the way). They can still retreat and charge, allowing them to yo-yo into juicy targets, so they’re a great delivery unit for the new Deathmaster.
Clanrats
At last, the unending swarm the Skaven always should have been! While the Clanrats didn’t see many offensive upgrades, their Clanshields no longer care about their numbers. What’s more, at the end of the battleshock phase, you get to return d3 models to the unit. Combined with Rally that could keep the unit fighting for an unexpectedly long time, perhaps long enough to line up shots or bring your deadlier sweepers forward. Their lower Bravery does mean you’ll likely lose a lot to battleshock, but when they march in blocks of up to 60, that might not matter much.
What do you hope to see in the new battletome?
