Model Warning for all Skaven! Going out of production now!

[Overread]

I've updated the first post - please all be aware Skaven models are right now going out of production! The Skaven Warlord in Metal is now out of production on the UK GW Website. 

 

Warp Grinder and Ikit Claw are also listed "out of stock" (though only on their product page the main store page hasn't updated) as is the resin Warlord. The metal two might be recast again for antoher batch or might update to out of production - unknown. 

I'll try and remember to keep an eye on things and update as and when things go out of sale. 

[michu]

Could that mean that Carrion Empire is close to the release?

[Kirjava13]

Gosh, this is all very exciting.

[Overread]

Just now, michu said:

Could that mean that Carrion Empire is close to the release?

It's really impossible to say. It might mean its close or it could be months off still. GW might well not re-invest if model stocks run down and moulds are already broken/worn. 

[herohammer]

I don't know if people really want to invest in models going out of production unless they want them from a collectors standpoint. I don't think skaven are going to be getting any new models soon so everything going OOP is probably going to be squatted, at least in the short term.

[Overread]

1 hour ago, herohammer said:

I don't know if people really want to invest in models going out of production unless they want them from a collectors standpoint. I don't think skaven are going to be getting any new models soon so everything going OOP is probably going to be squatted, at least in the short term.

Aye but sometimes people do like a sculpt just for what it looks like; and many old GW models can still work in modern armies. You might use one as a leader in a group of warriors or the like. Or it can sit proud on the shelf. 

So as this is the last chance to get many of these models direct from GW without having to strip paint; worry about missing parts; pay over the top prices and the like its good to warn others that they are likely to run out of stock at a point in the very near future. 

[bushman101]

6 hours ago, herohammer said:

I don't know if people really want to invest in models going out of production unless they want them from a collectors standpoint. I don't think skaven are going to be getting any new models soon so everything going OOP is probably going to be squatted, at least in the short term.

worse comes to worse, they become a solo/hero or get added to the Clan Rats brigade

[Skreech Verminking]

3 hours ago, bushman101 said:

worse comes to worse, they become a solo/hero or get added to the Clan Rats brigade

Clanrats Brigade?

now you really are peaking my interest.

[bushman101]

16 hours ago, Skreech Verminking said:

Clanrats Brigade?

now you really are peaking my interest.

heh. just a generic term for the massive heap of ClanRats every Skaven player has

[Kyriakin]

And so it begins.

Following the (sort of) demise of TK, Clan Pestilens were always the army I eyed up, as I was always fascinated by the Black Death and plagues in general. However, I didn't know if they would stay separate, be folded into generic Skaven or - as seems to be the case with recent releases - get folded in with Skaven while retaining their unique visual/gameplay theme.

I went BCR in the end - mostly because I had discovered a cool way to make ice bases - but will be watching the Pestilens situation very closely.

[Barbossal]

28 minutes ago, Kyriakin said:

And so it begins.

Following the (sort of) demise of TK, Clan Pestilens were always the army I eyed up, as I was always fascinated by the Black Death and plagues in general. However, I didn't know if they would stay separate, be folded into generic Skaven or - as seems to be the case with recent releases - get folded in with Skaven while retaining their unique visual/gameplay theme.

I went BCR in the end - mostly because I had discovered a cool way to make ice bases - but will be watching the Pestilens situation very closely.

That brings up an interesting note too - I was somewhat surprised we never saw any synergies with the Maggotkin of Nurgle come through for Pestilens! It would have been really fun had they been rolled up into that tome already.

[Ashendant]

Ugh it's always a bit annoying when these happen. I've to make sure I have all the good shop images of miniatures saved in the Lexicanum before they disappear. I think I already have all of them, but I always have to double check to be sure.

Skaven is going to be annoying since they are one of the largest chaos armies.

[Skreech Verminking]

1 hour ago, Ashendant said:

 

Skaven is going to be annoying since they are one of the largest chaos armies.

Hopfully they’ll be annoying to the player who fights against them. 

Afterall isn’t that the whole aspect of the skaven?

ps:although I’m hoping they won’t be too much of a nuisance (like tzeentch ones was)  for the foe/friend-thing who we’ll be  playing against.

[Overread]

Part of me sort of wonders if they'll drop the Pestilens and Nurgle casual association and shift them away from that or if they'll reinforce it or even start to ally other clans to other Chaos gods. Although I hope they don't do the latter, it would dilute the Skaven as their own thing and reduce power of the Great Horned One. 

If anything I'd hope they'd drop the Nurgle keyword aspect - though that might be a risky thing now being as pestilens has been out for a while and it could mess up some players - then again it would just give them excuses to build both a pestilens and nurgle army. 

[bushman101]

if I have to guess, all Skaven will be 'generic', and clans will exist as Warscoll Battalions

[Malios]

The recent battletomes have done a good job balancing multiple smaller factions under a combined banner. Ithink Skaven will achieve the same.

Whats even better is if they roll Pestilens in with the Skaven tome, thats two extra pages in the general's handbook available for a different faction.

[Nikobot]

2 hours ago, bushman101 said:

if I have to guess, all Skaven will be 'generic', and clans will exist as Warscoll Battalions

Extremely doubtful in my mind. That would be a massive regression of the potential for future expansion. The splitting of armies into smaller factions is to create building blocks for new development, and even though it could have been done in a way that made it easier in the interim to field a decent army, it will work out later on. 

Can't see why they would do this to skaven when it wasn't done for Beasts of chaos or legions of nagash or gloomspite.

My guess is they will follow legions of nagash and come up with some interesting new way to package up the skaven clans

Though i prefer a more specialized approach like gloomspite gitz, where they take a few clans, focus on those, and expand a whole new tasty model range.

[Overread]

Thing is some clans like Eshin are basically the assassins wing of the army; they are not designed to be fully functional armies in their own right but additions to others. Having them in one book means that your Moulder and Skyre and Pestilens can be fully run "pure" but can also bring in important things like assassins and clan rats. If anything Skaven in the lore have been doing this multi-clan approach in their armies since the very early days of their faction. It's getting right back to their roots to be able to easily take multi-rat factions wasn't a ratman. 

[Nikobot]

14 minutes ago, Overread said:

If anything Skaven in the lore have been doing this multi-clan approach in their armies since the very early days of their faction.

So did chaos warriors, daemons of chaos, high elves, dark elves, dwarves etc

Its a brave new world where change from WHFB days is deliberate and intentional. It's not an accident. 

In saying that, there likely will be something to make them work together (or most of them), but a way to develop parts independently im guessing will also be part of that. 

[Overread]

Aye I fully expect to see a Battletome where you can take pure pestilens or skyre or take a mix. Plus I'd wager armies like eshin might not be solo viable just because there's so little to them but would instead be ideal compliments to nearly any other skaven force. 

[Skreech Verminking]

27 minutes ago, Nikobot said:

So did chaos warriors, daemons of chaos, high elves, dark elves, dwarves etc

Its a brave new world where change from WHFB days is deliberate and intentional. It's not an accident. 

In saying that, there likely will be something to make them work together (or most of them), but a way to develop parts independently im guessing will also be part of that. 

I don’t know if the clans will only be represented in warscrolls battailon.

true there probably will be some available for maybe only a certain build, but I’m mostly guessing that the clans keyword(for example verminus) will stay.

I’m also guessing that we’ll be seeing a few allegiance ability, which work on the different clans individually (similar to Boc or Gloomspite Gitz) and a special ability that will work on all skaven units  (strength in number (I’m guessing)).

[Nikobot]

This is where legions of nagash smells good. 

They retain the clean keywords but maybe the main allegiances group some or all of the clans

Children of the horned rat - all skaven combined allegiance

Knives and Shadows of the Horned Rat - Eshin/verminus blend focused on infiltration and combat 

Abominations and Madness of the horned rat - Skryre and moulder blend where the mutants of moulder get the skryre touch and march alongside the mad tech of skryre. We already see rat ogres with skryre tech

And then the factions large enough (cough have decent models cough) get the pure allegiances as well

Clans Skryre

Clans Pestilens 

Clans Verminus

[Skreech Verminking]

1 hour ago, Nikobot said:

And then the factions large enough (cough have decent models cough) 

 

 

 

Well we definitely have the model count to make a great combined armie.

although more than halve of it is made out of metal or finecast and some of the plastic models look terrible.

so refreshing a few to many of these units seem not be be such a bad idea.

and from what i heard it could be possible. We might see some rearranged plastic weapon teams and other stuff.

(although it’s just what I found while dragging my nose through the internet. And we all know that, this rumors can be true and in the same time not.)

[Overread]

UK update - several of the metal models are back in stock now - Warlord remains out of production (as listed on the first post). So it seems for now several sculpts have had a renewed wave of castings by GW. 

[Overread]

Just musing on thoughts here but I was going through the warscrolls and such and wondered "if GW were to take things away from Skaven what would be "safe/nice" to lose."

 

I landed on a few thoughts:

1) Skaven Slaves. First up they don't have a model and even in the past many just used clanrats for them (because the actual model was, if I recall right, metal and was woefully unaffordable in the numbers one needed). Whilst they've got a place in the old lore and likely the new lore too; they are just too weak and too many to make viable unless GW brings out a fantastic new kit for them. Plus they were basically just clan-rats but "worse".

 

2) Weapon teams - grinder, thrower etc... I could see these being lost if just because Stormfiends kind of replace them with most of the weapon types. If they were shifted into being able to operate on their own as well as in a supporting role (eg the stormfiend with grinder at present can only tunnel for its unit; but it could end up like the weapon team version). I would consider this a bit of a shame as I visually do like the weapon teams and they could be done in a neat single kit with multiple weapon choices and fit their own niche. 

3) Rat Swarms - others have guessed that GW might remove these as a model but replace them with an Endless Spell of some variation. I can see that happening and it wouldn't be a bad idea as a swarm unit is often something that can be hard to encourage sales of unless it comes either in a very good boxed set or comes as an addition on many other kits (much like how Tyranids have Rippers hiding in corners on a few sprues).