Let's Chat: Verminus

[Mayple]

Figured it was about time to throw up a topic on everybody's favourite horde, Verminus. 

For the moment, the purpose is to brainstorm how to make them work without their own battletome/allegiance. It is a difficult challenge, but one I'm sure any skaven player worth their (black) grain should consider accomplishable. We are, after all, playing a race that is superior to all others in every way. Losing any battle with them is really just a case of loaded dice, bribed officials, and other dirty underhanded tricks employed by the opponent*, and never a case of faulty tactics, poor lists, or unlucky rolls. 

(*Skaven players would never stoop so low )

 

To get the ball rolling, here's my general analysis of Verminus:

- Great map/objective control. Through the combination of great mobility, and retreat/charge maneuverability, Verminus units stands as some of the best map controllers in the game. Constant repositioning and reinforcing will make it very difficult for most opponents to control the flow of the game. This leads to a differential in objective points that ultimately gives the Verminus player the upper hand.

- Tanky. While weak individually, clanrats and stormvermin makes up for their individual squishy nature by showing up in blobs. 40 wounds is a hard thing to plow through, and there's more where that came from. Through a combination of correct use of inspiring presence, picking the right battles, retreating out of losing ones (into winning ones), and such, an opponent should find the task of exterminating your vermin a tedious one.

- Weak removal. If something beats a Verminus unit to an objective, they'll have a hard time removing it. Allies are vital in fixing this problem.

- Great versus single wound elites. Ever wanted to weaken an opponent's elite unit bit by bit, until it is essentially useless? Throw clanrats at it! While they kill a ton of rats, you bring down a few in return, which over time leads to an advantage for you as their high-treat unit eventually wins the fight, but at the cost of half of their much more important soldiers. Assuming you strike first, of course.

(Verminus tip of the day: never take a fight you can't win, or don't plan to lose)

There's probably more pro/cons to list, but I'll leave that for future input.

 

Some basic cheese synergies:

- ARCHAON (Requires converting Archaon into a Skaven, and replacing all of his mount's heads with rat heads. You must refer to him as 'Ratchaon') - Archaon, two-three warlords, a grey seer and whatever else you fancy. Fill the battlelines with (at least) 3x40 clanrats, and march the buff train forward and make mincemeat of anything that thinks these clanrats didn't chug their daily dose of warp-steroids. @Nico had an effective use of this with old Archaon, and some older skaven warlords (tretch, I believe) - might not be as competitive as then, but should still see good results (and be a joy to play)

 

- COMMISAR RAT -

A grey seer general, and as many clanrats as you can carry. Do include additional heroes/behemoths for certain objectives, but the core here is VERMINTIDE. You will lose hundreds of rats throughout the game, but you will also avoid a LOT of bravery casualties. A few supplementary Skryre weapon teams enable removal strategies.

 

- TOUGH-TANKY STORMVERMIN -

Take Thanquol as your general, and bring at least one unit of 40 stormvermin. Use Thanquol's command ability, and mystic shield, to ensure those rats are the toughest rats this side of Skavenblight. Use clanrats like you'd use Skavenslaves, and supplement with weapon teams. Bonus points for bringing a warbringer. Thanquol will learn his spell, and you can sacrifice rats even more readily.

 

- SURPRISE WARLORD -

A simple one. Bring Skreech Verminking, blast a unit you want pulped with his spell, place a Warlord on brood horror or Warbringer in base contact, and crush them in close combat (assuming you killed even a single model) - good for when you need to get something strong behind their lines. Requires summoning points. 

 

Important note: when talking Verminus, we're obviously not going to go -pure- Verminus, due to lack of allegiance and such. Thus, the purpose of this thread is to explore things that have Verminus as a core. Verminus with sprinkled allies, as opposed to allies with sprinkled clanrats

[Ferrus65]

Great topic, Mayple, I will follow it with great attention.. even because I have on the painting table 120 clan rats, and 40 stormvermins! ??

[Kugane]

Since Verminus cannot win through natural means, perhaps they'll hire some ninjas

 

"Eshin's Hired Blades" Battalion - 50 Points

1-3 Skaven Assassin(s)

0-3 Gutter Runner Unit(s)

0-3 Night Runner Unit(s)

For the right price, we stab-kill :

Models in this  Battalion can move and charge during the movement phase of the turn they were set up on the field. Models of this battalion gain the "VERMINUS" keyword.

Assassination Contract:

At the start of the first battle round, pick an enemy HERO as the target of models of this battalion. You can re-roll all failed hit rolls for any model in this battalion when attacking the marked target. Until the Marked Hero is slain, models of this Battalion do not take battleshock tests.

 

Shadow Tactics (additional Battalion effects similar to Skryre engine covens):

Smokebombs - 50 Points: At the end of your turn, even if models of this battalion are in combat, you can roll a dice. On a 2+ all models of this battalion vanish off the battlefield and can be re-deployed next turn.

Poisoned Blades - 50 Points: All wound rolls of 5+ instantly cause a mortal wound instead of regular damage.

Hidden In Plain Sight - 100 points: After killing an enemy model, instead of removing the target, a Skaven Assassin can transform itself with Warp Magic to resemble the visage of its victim. Remove the Skaven Assassin off the table and use the slain model as it's "costume". Enemy units cannot attack a Skaven Assassin when it is transformed. The costume is removed and the Skaven Assassin re-appears when it charges, attacks or shoots at an enemy unit. While hidden, this Skaven Assassin acts as a spy and saboteur: Once per turn modify a single enemy dice roll of a unit with 9".

 

[Kugane]

I think the above rules allow for some flexibility and create some pressure while the main VERMINUS core makes their way across the battlefield. Infiltration tactics have always been the back-bone of any army in history, so why not let these cunning rats play their role too?

[Kugane]

Now for the main Verminus weakness: their bravery is horrible and a Warlord on Broodhorror isn't enough to keep them together.

I would suggest an allegiance ability along the lines of

Only the strongest will survive.

Skaven take pride in their resilience in combat. Instead of mourning their fallen comrades they feel invigorated with pride of being the strongest, fastest and fittest Verminus Skaven to have ever lived. For every 10 slain models in a unit, each remaining model gains 2 Bravery, stacking up to 4 extra Bravery.

[Mayple]

Good suggestions Kugane I agree that bravery is one of our main weaknesses, and therefore one of the things we need to consider how to mitigate in any battle. 

The purpose of this thread, at least as intended, is to see what we can make use of in an effective manner despite our lack of allegiance abilities/command traits (and unfortunate loss of the clawpack) - I think there are a few under-the-radar combinations that would be pretty strong if applied. A few which I presented above

Eshin (particularly gutter runners) are a notable ally, as you noted.

[Ferrus65]

Talking about allies, I was considering a couple of plagueclaw, a grey seer (general with chaos alliance), an arch warlock.. What weapon team would you suggest? 

[Nikobot]

The ole Verminus is a tough gig on its own these days and sadly lost that flavour we loved.

@Mayple I like some of the ideas you have, some pretty cool suggestions that are worth a try.

I think Commisar Rat is something I'd definitely give a go, maybe something like below :
Grey Seer General - crown of command
Warbringer
1-2 unit of SV damage dealers
Weapons teams focus fire squad
Lots of clanrats.. maybe 4-5 units of 40 and maybe a few smaller 20 blocks for chaff

Utilise Inspiring Presence every phase (hopefully 2x) and hopefully get the objectives first and hope they can't remove us!

 

[Kugane]

1 hour ago, Nikobot said:

The ole Verminus is a tough gig on its own these days and sadly lost that flavour we loved.

@Mayple I like some of the ideas you have, some pretty cool suggestions that are worth a try.

I think Commisar Rat is something I'd definitely give a go, maybe something like below :
Grey Seer General - crown of command
Warbringer
1-2 unit of SV damage dealers
Weapons teams focus fire squad
Lots of clanrats.. maybe 4-5 units of 40 and maybe a few smaller 20 blocks for chaff

Utilise Inspiring Presence every phase (hopefully 2x) and hopefully get the objectives first and hope they can't remove us!

 

I been going over things for Skaven, I actually think if we gotten Skreet's Verminhorde or the Ripsnik's Raiders back, it would solve quite a few issues already for Skaven. Maybe we should just start a petition to ask Games Workshop to give us our clawpacks/battalions back. I think it would be a big step in the right direction for Verminus.

[Kirjava13]

Why did they take them away in the first place, especially as they replaced them with the collective integrity of the Skaven race (ie nothing)?

Also to those of you suggesting multiple packs of 40 Clanrats- please get help, because after only painting 20 I already feel like I need to see a shrink.

[demonlizardfromouterspace]

Hi there manlings!

I really hope, we get a new Skaven Battletome this year. The absence of Clan Verminus (as well as Clan Eshin) in the GHB2017 is a good indicator

What we need (for Clan Verminus) is/are:

• new Heroes on foot: Maybe a standard bearer and a Verminus version of sorcerer, at least one more hero.
• Some mid-size units: e.g. Skaven riding wolf-rats (dual kit, with option for variant)
• another infantery unit (dual kit)

May the Horned Rat be with us

S

[Epicmay]

30 minutes ago, S__ said:

Hi there manlings!

I really hope, we get a new Skaven Battletome this year. The absence of Clan Verminus (as well as Clan Eshin) in the GHB2017 is a good indicator

What we need (for Clan Verminus) is/are:

• new Heroes on foot: Maybe a standard bearer and a Verminus version of sorcerer, at least one more hero.
• Some mid-size units: e.g. Skaven riding wolf-rats (dual kit, with option for variant)
• another infantery unit (dual kit)

May the Horned Rat be with us

S

I think you're right about their lack in the ghb2017 being a good indicator of how soon their battletome will be published, but anyways, i actually had a few good games with ghb2016 simply because of crown of command and lord of war not being relying on a dice roll, 40 stormvermin with both insipring presence and +1 attack, boy, that hurts a lot..

For new allegiance abilities they'd need, surely the same "strenght in numbers" clans Skryre have, so for each 10 models the unit would get +2 bravery, bringing 30 clanrats to 10 bravery!

And then, i'd love to see some of the old fantasy "horde" mechanics coming back, like if you have a full force of 40 clanrats/stormvermin their weapon range would be increased by 1" and stuff like that.

[Nikobot]

This thread is more about the trying to work with the state of play that we have rather than the old rules or the future hopes

Lots of good points though, and Verminus definitely need changes to become viable and interesting again

If i was to put down a quick wish list it would really depend on where they go with the battletome, do they adopt a more integrated approach like Legions of Nagash, or are they going to give the Clans individuality and have something of their own battletome each... well, or something just not as integrated as Nagashs...

- Skavenslaves comeback, where have you been hiding !
- Super elite Deathvermin from the fluff, possibly 2 wounds
- Warlord on palanquin / bonebreaker
- Verminus command traits / Allegiance abilities / Magic Items
- 4-5 generic heroes
- 3-4 unique heroes
- Dedicated Battle standard with artefact upgrades
- 4-5 battalions
- Formations/special rules for the integration of weapons teams and other mercenary add-ons like some people have touched on, possibly a special Allies rule to demonstrate the more integrated nature of Skaven
- Lots of synergy!

I think that would be great for a standalone battletome... But i'm not sure if they would be seen as important enough to warrant it ?

[Epicmay]

Well right now i'm afraid they're not that important, and i think they're going to bundle up all the skaven clans, leaving skryre and pestilens alone.

This wsy it would be possible to build a core of verminus, with speed and hero hunting granted by Eshin, and monsters by Moulder.

As to what's possible to build right now, i'd look at stormvermin, just stormvermin, lots of them, as they're currently one of the best (imho) infantry out there as per quality/price ; clearly backed up by warlords and grey seers

[Kugane]

6 hours ago, Kirjava13 said:

Why did they take them away in the first place, especially as they replaced them with the collective integrity of the Skaven race (ie nothing)?

Also to those of you suggesting multiple packs of 40 Clanrats- please get help, because after only painting 20 I already feel like I need to see a shrink.

I painted 80 clan rats and 30 stormvermin to take my army to the next level. Then GHB2017 hit.

I now have a technique to paint more clanrats super fast which consists mostly of drybrushing. Takes about 1 minute per miniature. 5 if you also want to apply some washes. 10 if you want to do some detailing work. Regardless, I think the models are just so dull to paint, because they are all different, so you don't really get faster at it either.

Now my skaven see no use at all, since they are practically unplayable. Whenever I play a block of 40 skaven, my opponents shoot it a bit and they all start running in battleshock.

If I bring a grey seer they shoot my greyseer and then my clanrats, and again, off they go lol.

[Kugane]

2 hours ago, Epicmay said:

Well right now i'm afraid they're not that important, and i think they're going to bundle up all the skaven clans, leaving skryre and pestilens alone.

This wsy it would be possible to build a core of verminus, with speed and hero hunting granted by Eshin, and monsters by Moulder.

As to what's possible to build right now, i'd look at stormvermin, just stormvermin, lots of them, as they're currently one of the best (imho) infantry out there as per quality/price ; clearly backed up by warlords and grey seers

I actually think if Verminus, Eshin and Moulder blended together, allowing Gutter Runners, Night runners, Clanrats, and such all to be part of the same allegiance and battleline, it would allow for some really cool lists, considering we could take skryre stuff as allies for 400 points.

[Epicmay]

1 hour ago, Kugane said:

I actually think if Verminus, Eshin and Moulder blended together, allowing Gutter Runners, Night runners, Clanrats, and such all to be part of the same allegiance and battleline, it would allow for some really cool lists, considering we could take skryre stuff as allies for 400 points.

Yeah it's what i was thinking, it might be possible since they developed pestilence and skryre as big "stand alone" clans, but left of all the others less developed, and i forgot to mention Masterclan!

Anyways yes rats are going to be shot down a lot, unless you take something to act as a shield, either fleshy or steely, or maybe just visually more dangerous than the rats themselves.

One useful thing is to get like a Doomwheel (absolutely not a great model ruleswise), which will look more like a threat, and buff it up with a mystic shield, so that it lasts long enough to get your rats in melee. 

[Kugane]

1 hour ago, Epicmay said:

Yeah it's what i was thinking, it might be possible since they developed pestilence and skryre as big "stand alone" clans, but left of all the others less developed, and i forgot to mention Masterclan!

Anyways yes rats are going to be shot down a lot, unless you take something to act as a shield, either fleshy or steely, or maybe just visually more dangerous than the rats themselves.

One useful thing is to get like a Doomwheel (absolutely not a great model ruleswise), which will look more like a threat, and buff it up with a mystic shield, so that it lasts long enough to get your rats in melee. 

I guess masterclan should be a universal clan that can tag into any skaven army though, be it Skryre or Verminus XD.

[Num]

Hello fellow ratmen

I've been reading this forum for a while as a guest but your post definitely made me want to sign up and join the fun Casual verminus player here too.

To support my verminus I added:

- 1 plague monk (+1 to wounding a target unit)

- 1 chaos sorcerer lord as ally: the re-rolls 1s hits, wounds saves are welcome due to the tons of dice we roll... It adds some survivability too with its ability and spell.

 

I've been struggling very much against ranged armies. How are you dealing with them? It has got a bit better now that I added a warp lightning cannon but it is still not ideal...

 

For the bravery, I've been swapping my warlord for a grey seer since the disappearing of the clawpack, but I'd like to include my warlord back as a general. What do you think about the idea of running stormvermins in smaller blobs? The 40 blobs works with a grey seer, but without I fear they'll be crushed by battleahock or will need heavy babysitting. As they get their bonus when they outnumber their target and not based on their unit size, I've thought of running them in 10 or 20 models units to limit battle shock damage.

 

At the moment, I have a core list of 1420pts that I'd like to expand to 2000:

Heroes:

- Skaven Warlord (général - Great Destroyer) / Warpforged blade & Shield / 100pts

- Arch Warlock (crown of conquest) / 140pts

- Chaos Sorcerer Lord / 160pts

- Plague Priest with Plague Censer / 80pts

Units:

- 40x Clanrats (Spears&Shields) / 200pts

- 40x Clanrats (Spears&Shields) / 200pts

- 20x Clanrats (Swords&Shields) / 120pts

- 20x Stormvermin (Hallberds&Shields) / 280pts

- 10x Stormvermin (Hallberds&Shields) / 140pts

 

Note that 20 stormvermins buffed by warlord, sorcerer lord and plague priest deal 60 attacks at 3+/2+/-1/1 re-roll hits and wounds of 1... Insane

 

May I ask for some advice on how to render this core more effective at 2000? I think I need mobility and shooting. I've thought of:

- 2nd Plague Priest + Warp Lightning Cannon + 3 Jezzails + 3 Poisoned Wind Mortar
- Warp Grinder (on the 20 stormvermins) + Stormfiends (which weapons?) + Warp Lightning Cannon
- 2nd Plague Priest + Double cannon + Warp Grinder + 2 Poisoned Wind

 

As for the battletome debate, please consider that in two weeks time we are going to have a new 80 points verminus unit coming from shadespire I've read that they will be highly mobile and may have the ability to summon new rats. It may be cool to have such mobility and summoning. I'm looking forward to reading their warscroll!

And in some recent Black Library books, verminus were the main enemies of the heroes with new characters such as Warpfang and its elite "deathvermins" bodyguards. Let's hope they someday appear as playable characters

 

Cheers

[Epicmay]

Warpfangs' deathvermin, i had completely forgot about those, and boy i hope those guys come back in the next eight lamentations books!

Anyways, i'd suggest the one list with stormfiends, they can deal some serious amount of damage if you choose carefully the weaponry, in your list i'd see fit a warpflame projector, a shock gauntlet and a doomflayer gauntlet, probably

[Mayple]

8 hours ago, Kugane said:

I painted 80 clan rats and 30 stormvermin to take my army to the next level. Then GHB2017 hit.

I now have a technique to paint more clanrats super fast which consists mostly of drybrushing. Takes about 1 minute per miniature. 5 if you also want to apply some washes. 10 if you want to do some detailing work. Regardless, I think the models are just so dull to paint, because they are all different, so you don't really get faster at it either.

Now my skaven see no use at all, since they are practically unplayable. Whenever I play a block of 40 skaven, my opponents shoot it a bit and they all start running in battleshock.

If I bring a grey seer they shoot my greyseer and then my clanrats, and again, off they go lol.

What is your technique?

[Mayple]

5 hours ago, Num said:

Hello fellow ratmen

I've been reading this forum for a while as a guest but your post definitely made me want to sign up and join the fun Casual verminus player here too.

To support my verminus I added:

- 1 plague monk (+1 to wounding a target unit)

- 1 chaos sorcerer lord as ally: the re-rolls 1s hits, wounds saves are welcome due to the tons of dice we roll... It adds some survivability too with its ability and spell.

 

I've been struggling very much against ranged armies. How are you dealing with them? It has got a bit better now that I added a warp lightning cannon but it is still not ideal...

 

For the bravery, I've been swapping my warlord for a grey seer since the disappearing of the clawpack, but I'd like to include my warlord back as a general. What do you think about the idea of running stormvermins in smaller blobs? The 40 blobs works with a grey seer, but without I fear they'll be crushed by battleahock or will need heavy babysitting. As they get their bonus when they outnumber their target and not based on their unit size, I've thought of running them in 10 or 20 models units to limit battle shock damage.

 

At the moment, I have a core list of 1420pts that I'd like to expand to 2000:

Heroes:

- Skaven Warlord (général - Great Destroyer) / Warpforged blade & Shield / 100pts

- Arch Warlock (crown of conquest) / 140pts

- Chaos Sorcerer Lord / 160pts

- Plague Priest with Plague Censer / 80pts

Units:

- 40x Clanrats (Spears&Shields) / 200pts

- 40x Clanrats (Spears&Shields) / 200pts

- 20x Clanrats (Swords&Shields) / 120pts

- 20x Stormvermin (Hallberds&Shields) / 280pts

- 10x Stormvermin (Hallberds&Shields) / 140pts

 

Note that 20 stormvermins buffed by warlord, sorcerer lord and plague priest deal 60 attacks at 3+/2+/-1/1 re-roll hits and wounds of 1... Insane

 

May I ask for some advice on how to render this core more effective at 2000? I think I need mobility and shooting. I've thought of:

- 2nd Plague Priest + Warp Lightning Cannon + 3 Jezzails + 3 Poisoned Wind Mortar
- Warp Grinder (on the 20 stormvermins) + Stormfiends (which weapons?) + Warp Lightning Cannon
- 2nd Plague Priest + Double cannon + Warp Grinder + 2 Poisoned Wind

 

As for the battletome debate, please consider that in two weeks time we are going to have a new 80 points verminus unit coming from shadespire I've read that they will be highly mobile and may have the ability to summon new rats. It may be cool to have such mobility and summoning. I'm looking forward to reading their warscroll!

And in some recent Black Library books, verminus were the main enemies of the heroes with new characters such as Warpfang and its elite "deathvermins" bodyguards. Let's hope they someday appear as playable characters

 

Cheers

Great suggestion on the chaos sorcerer! That one essentially gives us a single-target slightly better version of the Warbringer's command ability, which is neat. A simple Skaven conversion, and you've got something that fits thematically as well  Skaven sorcerers are sorcerers of chaos, after all.

I have extensive experience with running Stormvermin in units of 10, and I think you're pretty spot on with your current approach to it. They tend to be highly effective fighting just behind an expendable line of Clanrats (particularly when you remove casualties from the clanrats in such a way that you get to pile -all- your stormvermin into range in response) - other than that I used to hold them in reserve until something ran past my front lines, or tried to flank, and sent them in as a cleanup crew. When utilizing them, it is extra important to note that you want to hit your opponent with them first, not second. If your stormvermin are getting charged, you've done something wrong (That's what clanrats are for) - I really like your buff approach with them. I think that can be extremely effective. If you can work a Warbringer in there as well (not as a general) for his spell, you might actually manage to turn them into terrifying combat monsters. The 20 size is ideal to minimize their perceived threat, but if you think you can get away with it, 40 of them with your buffs would get a lot of work done. Heck, throw Thanquol in there, and they'll even be able to take a beating if you want to go that way

As for your question, I personally suggest the plague priest + double cannon + 2 poisoned wind approach. If only to give you the opportunity to present a serious mortal wounds threat to anything with a high enough save to normally ignore the threat of running headfirst into your army. The plague priest with plague censer seems to be the ideal priest to take, as his plague tome would greatly benefit your damage output. 

Really looking forward to getting the Shadespire Skaven. I'm super hyped about whatever flavour they're gonna give them  

[Num]

3 hours ago, Mayple said:

Great suggestion on the chaos sorcerer! That one essentially gives us a single-target slightly better version of the Warbringer's command ability, which is neat. A simple Skaven conversion, and you've got something that fits thematically as well  Skaven sorcerers are sorcerers of chaos, after all.

Yes I did a simple conversion on mine by gluing a Horned Rat skull (from banners bits) on its face as a mask to make it look like a fervent follower of the all mighty

 

I also did a bigger conversion to create a Chaos Sorcerer Lord mounted on a steed (allowed by the warscroll for free) out of skaven bits and an empire general. Saddly, my local shop in France is reluctant to  conversions so I shelved it.

[Kugane]

8 hours ago, Mayple said:

What is your technique?

It all narrows down to how quick of a result you want and the colour scheme. The easiest scheme by FAR is:

1. prime black

2. Overbrush the entire mini with dryad bark (leaving some black shadows) XL basecoat brush

3. Dry brush the top 2/3rd of the mini with a lighter brown, I usually use gorthok brown again XL basecoat

4 drybrush weapons and visible armour with a very dry leadbelcher drybrush, so you dont stain any unwanted brown areas (I use small or medium size)

5. Take a red colour for the cloth bits, dry brush with either mephiston or khorne red on the cloth. The browns of dryad bark and gorthok leave a nice layered effect (small or medium size)

6. I take ushabti bone or another off-white colour and the largest drybrush I have. Personally I like a soft drybrush, so i tend to just use the XL Basecoat brush. I make sure my brush is extremely dry, really EXTREMELY dry, and I start to drybrush the top 1/3rd of the mini with the ushabti, and some raised areas. It leaves a nice natural highlight.

 

Optional steps, or if you are satisfied with the result as a tabletop standard, skip to step 7:

6.1 What I tend to do next is, I keep glazing the previously bone colour highlighted areas to make the colours pop. Red areas a bit with either khorne red or mephiston red dilluted with A LOT of lahmian medium. I give all fur areas a wash with Aggrax earthshade.

6.2 Next I take ratskin flesh to pick out the tails, feet, hands and snoot. Put some reikland's fleshshade on the ratskin body parts and,bloodletter instead of fleshshade for the tail.  Then I either  highlight or drybrush the areas with cadian fleshtone, using the natural "highlighted" areas of the fleshshade as a map.

Skaven with warpstone bits:

6.3 Glaze area with caliban green, then drybrush with warpstone green, then drybrush with moot green, wash with coelhia fleshshade.

 

7. Two black dots for the eyes, and done. Optional steps take about 6 to 8 minutes per miniature if you do the assembly-line treatment.

 

The good thing about doing overbrushing/drybrushing is that no detail goes lost, when combined with a bit of detailing and some washes here and there you dull out any possible brush strokes and you end up with a very dark steam-punky looking skaven. Here's one of the end results (sorry for the small pictures, I'll get higher resolution sometime soon):

 

 

For black cloth like the picture above I do all steps above, except of using red for the cloth I will glaze areas with incubi darkness twice or so, then after the drybrush with ushabti I do 1 or 2 washes of aggrax earthshade, to give it a slightly darker blue/black cloth look. Similar to what I did for a miniature's armour that I am working on right now (this one I did the normal way though, no overbrushing and such):

 

 

[Kirjava13]

I don't suppose there's any chance of you making tutorial videos any time soon...?