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AIdenNicol444

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Blog Entries posted by AIdenNicol444

  1. AIdenNicol444
    Hey there fellow Acolytes, figured I might as well do some posts relating to the rules spoilers we will be getting leading up to the battletome. To preface this, it's important to acknowledge all rules we are shown are in a vacuum, we have no idea what other changes may be coming that supplement or affect these rules. But that being said, let's dive straight into it. 

    Kicking off strong. Now "Overwhelming Mass" is exactly the sort of thing I expected with a new Skaven book, it both rewards and strongly pushes taking large unit sizes, which often with Pestilens I wasn't wont to do due to it potentially setting up a bad battleshock. THAT BEING SAID, I think it is extremely, EXTREMELY unlikely the Plague Monk warscroll hasn't had more than a few changed to accommodate this rule.
    "Strength in Numbers" is also here making a return. I've sung this one's praises in previous blog posts before, it's neat it's clean and it does exactly what you need it to do. Glad you're still here with us buddy.

    Well well well. "Lead From the Back" is one hell of a rule. Sylvaneth Superstar Lee who I play regularly has started making a habit of shooting his allied Deepkin eels across the table at me and assassinating Priests / heavily damaging Furnaces, and this will provide some insurance against that. It also helps to negate the drawback of the Priests needing to be right in the thick of it with their 13" range prayers.
    "Scurry Away" is neat as hell. If the enemy doesn't activate into it in time, the Plague Priests and Plague Furnaces can just LEAVE the combat instead of fighting. If the Verminlords get this I'll be shocked, but if they do I'll be a very happy man.

    This one is a spell for Grey Seers specifically, but it's not far fetched to imagine we will be making a greater use of those under the new ruleset. "Splinter" is funny as hell, you can either use it to casually remove that Daemon Icon Bearer and prevent them from cheesing their way through the battleshock phase, or you can shoot for the moon and try get that cheeky 3+ and knock off a Blood Knight. It's neat and has decent enough utility.
    On top of all this there were a few little hints scattered throughout the article. "Pestilens players will find their allegiance abilities familiar" implies the return of Echoes of the Great Plagues, but given they gave us 4 other allegiance rules I wouldn't be surprised for it to be a little diminished. The confirmation that every clan has Command Traits and Artefacts means there's a good chance our existing ones have been reworked somewhat to accommodate the new rules. 
    I imagine we'll have a few days of Flesh Eater Courts spoilers (boo, hiss, who cares) interspersed between glorious Skaven rule releases, so i'll check back in a few days when we have more info. As always, leave your thoughts below.
  2. AIdenNicol444
    Didn't expect to be back so soon, but GW is throwing spoilers at us hard and fast and you know i'll be there to catch them. Today's article centred on Skaventide Endless Spells, as well as the Gnawhole terrain feature. As always, I preface this saying we don't have the full picture, any of my predictions could be wrong here based entirely on what we get caster wise and what's big in your local meta. We also don't know the point costs of these (Gnawhole is terrain and therefore free) so that can be a factor. Lets get stuck in with Vermintide.

    More than just a fantastic video game series, "Vermintide" makes a triumphant return to form from it's glory days in Fantasy Battle and Total War Warhammer, and it's somewhat less glorious days as the Grey Seer unique spell. This thing got an upgrade to say the least, it's a predatory endless spell that can't harm it's own army or even body-block them. The thing is on an enormous base too, so everything about this thing screams choke point blocker. Also it will squeeze out maybe 3 or so mortal wounds on anything that dares to bump and grind against it, nice.

    At first this was my least favorite, due to it's high casting roll and pseudo Geminids-but-not-as-good deployment. Then after seeing the casting buffs we will have access to in addition to the ones we already have, I changed my mind. The damage on this thing isn't it's draw, though it definitely has potential. The real devil is in the details however. Notice how this doesn't actually fly. Now notice it strips the ability to fly off enemy units. But Aiden, Pestilent Lord of all that Rots, how could that be a good thing when it's immobile? THIS THING IS SOULSNARE SHACKLES BUT IT CAN STOP FLYING MODELS. Cya Bloodthirster. Stop right there Ironclad. Morathi? I hardly knew ye (she will probably just unbind it but still). Worth it.

    Oh hey you. Now a good parent doesn't play favorites, but I never claimed to be the best. This thing, this prodigal son, this apple of the eye of Skreech Verminking himself. It's crown of conquest at 13 inch range and it flies around the table and ONLY BENEFITS US. Oh but the enemy can take it and move it you say. Well yes they can, but good luck getting it away from everything in our army when it doesn't specify wholly within. Not much more to say, love it.

    Tunnel Through Reality is fine. It's more going to be useful for moving heroes than units due to the wholly within caveat but that's fine, it does what it needs to do. Aura of the Horned Rat however is quite toasty, free arcane terrain is amazing in an army that (historically) has few actual buffs to cast. It will pair well with Grey Seers and their ability to reroll failed casts to say the least. Also while Deadly isn't the slaughterhouse it used to be, it will be worth keeping note of as a fun extra way of chipping out extra damage.
    See you all in the next episode, it will probably be next week knowing GW. Then again we also have LVO reveals in less than 24 hours, not that I think anything is coming that will affect us too much. As always, let me know your thoughts and let's get a discussion going.
  3. AIdenNicol444
    Won't lie to you fellow ratkin I actually forgot that the warscrolls get revealed a week before the book itself due to how the retail website works so waking up here in NZ to all these changes was like Christmas. But the kind of Christmas where you're not sure if the gifts are cool or terrible. Without further ado, let us get stuck into the warscrolls and talk about what’s different, what’s better, and what’s worse. As ever, we still don’t have points so a lot of this is potentially subjective.


     
    Verminlord Corruptor

    ·        Unique Spell changed so that it does more damage, but no longer spreads.
    ·        Plaguereapers don’t reroll all their hits anymore but inflict mortal wounds on unmodified 6s to hit.
    ·        Plaguemaster now does AoE mortals around the Verminlord rather than tick off creatures that have already been hurt by it.
    ·        Received a 5+ ward save.
    ·        Received a passive bravery debuff to nearby enemies.
    ·        Command ability now grants rerolls rather than additional attacks.
    Big Cheese himself came out looking pretty good. Can’t help but feel that Plaguereaper change will have an FAQ saying he can’t take the Sword of Judgement on top of that ability so goodbye to that. His prior weaknesses (no rend, terrible survivability) have been fixed, and his strengths (two casts, high attack volume) made it through unscathed. Good changes, though I will miss his old unique spell even if it wasn’t exactly good.


     
    Plague Furnace

    ·        Altar of the Horned Rat now just makes anything wholly within 13 inches ignore Battleshock.
    ·        The wrecking ball does far more damage but is a single target instead of AoE now.
    ·        The Plague Monk crew actually have attacks now.
    ·        It has the same ward save as the Verminlord Corruptor.
    ·        It has keywords that prevent it from receiving Look Out Sir now.
    Good lord GW the Plague Furnace didn’t actually need to be stronger. Yeah it can’t benefit from look out sir anymore, but they give it mini Crown of Conquest and a ward save? Like what? This thing only got better. Thank the Horned Rat I have 4.


     
    Plague Priest (Both Variants)

    ·        Tumbled into one warscroll.
    ·        Gained the attack profiles of both original priests.
    ·        The Plague Tome once per game activation is gone.
    ·        Pestilent Prayers are all reworked (addressed at the bottom of the post)
    This was always going to happen. Plague Tome + Wither was one of the strongest combos in the Chaos grand alliance, and people were starting to wake up to it. A shame that they had to change him, but it makes sense why they did. A small price to pay for the rest of the changes, as Iskandar Khayon said in Black Legion, a sacrifice is only a sacrifice if it diminishes the giver.


     
    Plague Monks

    ·        All once per game effects removed from command options.
    ·        Improved Rend on 6s and rats doing damage when they die left untouched.
    ·        Banner now causes 6s to wound to do double damage.
    ·        Doom Gong now boosts running and charge rolls.
    ·        Rerolls for two swords is still here, as is +1 attack for charging.
    The meat and bones of the army. This one was always going to get changed due to it being a troop unit with more rules than Kairos Fateweaver. But the changes are for the good… or so it seems. All the changes are really strong and benefit the unit. HOWEVER the warscroll specifies 1 in 20 for it’s command options, which likely means the minimum unit size has been upped to 20. Squashes a few of my tactics and will mean some changes. I will however roll with these changes and no doubt actually be better off with them (ideally).


     
    Plague Censer Bearers

    ·        Aura of damage effect is slightly better.
    ·        They receive bonuses for being near monks at a slightly larger range now.
    I expected nothing and wasn’t disappointed. I was terrified these guys would be the recipient of random buffing that meant I would need to convert another 20 ****** Stormvermin into these, thanks for actually having my back there GW.


     
    Plagueclaw Catapult

    ·        Receives artillery bonuses if there is 10 or more models in the unit, instead of more than 10.
    ·        Does a bravery debuff to victims.
    I was afraid this thing would get worse not because I use it (I have 3 fully panted to a high standard and they sit in a drawer somewhere) but because I’ve already ragged on it so hard, I wasn’t sure how I would somehow step that up. Pleased to say… that won’t be necessary. It’s slightly better.


     
    Changes to Pestilent Prayers and Noxious Prayers

    The original prayers on the warscrolls of the Plague Priest and Plague Furnace are now gone. They’ve been replaced with new effects that are fundamentally different with bizarre names.

    Disease-Disease! (Formerly Wither): So instead of making it easier to wound the victim ala Wither, this is ow the Gaunt Summoner unique spell on a 6. Boo hiss.

    Pestilence-Pestilence! (Formerly Plague Breath): It’s the same as before but the bubble is 3” not 2”. It also doesn’t affect Pestilens units, rather than Nurgle units. Neat.

    Filth-Filth (Formerly Bless with Filth): Thank Christ it’s still the same. No changes here, and what a boon that is.

    Rabid-Rabid! (Formerly Rabid Fever): Add 1 to the attacks of something nearby. So this is where they shoved the Verminlord command ability. I’ll forever miss the old one of this, my monks fighting after death is a MASSIVE part of my army’s reputation in NZ due to me taking 2 Furnaces and making sure it was always active. Pouring one out for you my lad.


     
    The Battalions

    Well, the book isn’t out yet so we can’t really say. I can however say that I know all the Pestilens battalions made it through in some form or another, so all I need to see now is what they actually do. Worry not, I will make another one of these posts as leaks emerge.


     
    Well, a lot to take in. Most of it really good news too. Let me know your thoughts and let’s talk pestilence in the Mortal Realms.

  4. AIdenNicol444
    The North Island Convention, or NICon, was held this year in Napier, New Zealand. For many players NICon was the last tournament they would play in using the General's Handbook 2017 edition, and with the tournament organizer looking for a good narrative theme with unconventional battleplans most players took lists very different to what they would normally run. The battleplans were constructed by using the Open War cards Games Workshop produced earlier in the year, and they made for some very interesting matches with armies usually not favorable in the matchup prevailing over their opponents.
    Results
    1st Place - Fraser, Maggotkin of Nurgle 2nd Place - Matt B, Legion of Blood 3rd Place - Jesse, Clan Skryre Best Painted - Matt W, Destruction Grand Alliance Most Kill Points - Matt B, Legion of Blood Best Sportsmanship - Lee, Sylvaneth Fraser came out ahead with his Maggotkin of Nurgle list, winning 5 out of 5 games. Matt came in close behind with his extremely elite death army (only 19 models) after killing almost every enemy army he faced completely, and Jesse following up in third with Clan Skryre and the iconic Gautfyre Skorch list. Best Painted was won by Matt W, recieving every single available vote except his own, a class act. Lee topped the Sportsmanship votes, while still managing to finish in the top half of the field defying the best sports pattern.
    The tournament was considered an overwhelming success for the community, particularly because while it was situated in Napier (3 hours drive from the capital city) and not a single Age of Sigmar player was based there, we still had a solid field with everyone that could making the trip. Everyone put in and got a place to say in nearby Havelock North so we had the whole field of players drinking till around 2am on the Saturday night of the weekend which made for an awesome tournament. The majrity of the players who competed in this event will be attending the Call to Arms tournament in the first weekend of August so it will be interesting to see how things go and where everyone finishes up.
    Full Tournament Results
    1st - Fraser, Maggotkin of Nurgle 2nd - Matt B, Legion of Blood 3rd - Jesse, Clan Skryre 4th - Lee, Sylvaneth 5th - Aiden, Clan Pestilens 6th - Shaun T - Khorne 7th - Brendan, Sylvaneth 8th - Cameron, Seraphon 9th - Shaun B, Stormcast Eternals 10th - Nick, Ironjawz 11th - Matt W, Destruction Grand Alliance 12th - Seth, Destruction Grand Alliance  
     
    Aiden - Clan Pestilens.pdf
    Brendan - Sylvaneth.pdf
    Cameron - Seraphon.pdf
    Fraser - Nurgle.pdf
    Jesse - Clan Skryre.pdf
    Lee - Sylvaneth.pdf
    Shaun T - Khorne.pdf
    Shaun B - Stormcast Eternals.pdf
    Matt W - Destruction.pdf
    Nick - Ironjawz.pdf
    Seth - Destruction.pdf
    Matt B - Legion of Blood.pdf
  5. AIdenNicol444
    Notorious Hammer
     
     
     
    Just got home from the Notorious Hammer event in Johnsonville, Wellington and I’m here to let everyone know how it went. The tournament went overall exceptionally well, big props to Shaun from Notorious AOS (https://notoriousaos.podbean.com/) for T.O’ing the event and running a tight ship. Once again, the New Zealand Warhammer scene is better for your efforts. Everyone had a great time and there was a great field present for 2 days of great games.
     
     

     
    Game 1: Shaun T – Daughters of Khaine
    Scenario: Focal Points
    Outcome: Major Defeat 720 Kill Points
    Wow. Set up my army with a Clanrat screen 40 long and 4 lines deep to brunt the massive Witch Aelf assault and Shaun just wasn’t having it. Smoothly punching through my lines and delivering a powerful follow up punch making use of the army’s ability to pile in effectively, and supporting his front line with the Cauldron of Blood and Morathi herself, Shaun schooled me hard on playing an all melee army. This tips the balance towards Shaun in our ongoing tug of war for supremacy, and I’ll absolutely be gunning for him next tournament.
     
     

    Game 2: Shaun B – Stormcast Eternals
    Scenario: Better Part of Valor
    Outcome: Major Victory 2000 Kill Points
    Shaun (Big Shaun for Notorious listeners) opened with the same strategy he used to wipe the floor with me at Call to Arms 2 months ago. Deploying his Sequitors and Evocators along the line ready to charge in after absolutely smacking the hell out of me with an Everblaze Comet, Shaun lined my head up on the block from the start of the game. Unfortunately, his comet failed to cast and his alpha-strike play was unable to clear me off the objectives due to burning a command point to pass battleshock (cheers battalion people said not to take). This prevent Shaun burning my objectives on turn 1, and I retaliated with a lethal counter-surge with Plague Monks that saw Shaun pushed backward and eventually cleared away.
     
     

    Game 3: Regan – Stormcast Eternals
    Scenario: Shifting Objectives
    Outcome: Major Victory 2000 Kill Points
    The Realmscape rules here saw units unable to fly banned from run moves, forcing myself and Regan to aggressively footslog towards the objectives shooting each other nasty glares. Regan arrived first, scoring an early lead and building a wall out of Anvils of the Heldenhammer, but my counter-offensive benefitted from some choice dice rolls and superior mobility with the Clanrats retreating and charging around their slower, more powerful opponents. With the points under lock, I turned my focus to exterminating the lethal Anvils before they could use their formidable command ability in conjunction with their Evocators to send me packing.
     
     

    Game 4: Cameron – Seraphon
    Scenario: Starstrike
    Outcome: Major Victory 2000 Kill Points
    Cameron and his 3 Engines of the Gods opened the game by summoning 60 Skinks to the table to shore up his middle position while I spread my army out without committing to any one side. This proved to be a wise move, with the centre and enemy objectives being in the left board side and my own on the far right (appropriate). My Clanrats on the right retreated immediately to secure the home point while the rest of my army slammed into his endless ranks of Skinks and set about punching through them. With a gap formed, the Verminlord darted through and artfully brought the Astrolith Bearer and an Engine to the ground, while blocking the summoning range of the other engines and the Slann. With all objectives tightly in my grip and staring down the barrel of a slow and steady death at the hands of pestilence, my opponent conceded to save time.
     
     

    Game 5: Lee – Sylvaneth
    Scenario: Total Conquest
    Outcome: Major Defeat 1450 Kill Points
    Match of the century at the top table, with the winner set to win the whole tournament, nothing about this match was carefree. Me and Lee are actually neighbours and play each other more regularly than any other opponents, so this was set to be a great game. Lee artfully matched my playstyle of massive aggression followed by retreats and more aggression with his defensive, never committing to any one area till late-game style. The points were neck to neck with the leader changing each battle round, each of us making counter-moves we’ve practised against one another a dozen times to throw the other back and upset their plans. Highlights were Lee committing allied Idoneth eels on a suicide mission to kill a lone Plague Priest who was actually a core component of my left flank strategy (Lee never throws units away, so he knew he could set this up without me expecting it) and the would-be assassination of the outlaw Verminlord Corruptor by the Treelord Ancient into that scene from Avengers where Captain America tears a log in half. Lee won with a clever last-minute commitment to my crippled left flank and took the game, a well-earned victory.
     
     
    Final Placings
     
    1st Place: Lee W – Sylvaneth
    2nd Place: Shaun T – Daughters of Khaine
    3rd Place: Matt B – Legion of Blood
    Best Sports – Regan
    Best Painted – Sloane D
     
     
    Everyone had a great time and there were no dramas or last-minute point corrections. I ended up 4th, almost clinching the title of first Pestilens player in the world to podium at a registered event, and learned a lot on how to improve my play. Looking forward to the next events of the year, and to the upcoming Notorious AOS GT coming next year. If it’s as good as this event, it’ll be one I can’t afford to miss.
  6. AIdenNicol444
    Hey guys, Aiden here again after my long hiatus learning how Microsoft Excel works and when it is or is not appropriate to assault office workers with a list write-up. Next weekend myself and the majority of Wellington’s die hard AOS scene will be competing in Notorious Hammer, a tournament set up by the members of the widely popular Notorious AOS Podcast (https://notoriousaos.podbean.com/). It’s also one of the last tournaments of the year that offer points contributing towards the 2018 National Rankings, which in turn decide who gets invited to the Masters Tournament in December. And let’s just say this Plague Priest right here needs a good result if he wants to be slinging filth with the big boys in a few months.

    After having poor results with the Mixed Chaos Skaven list I threw together for Call to Arms, I’ve decided to stick with what I already know and am confident with in my standard Clan Pestilens list. It’ll also be the first tournament in a while where I won’t spend the week beforehand aggressively painting Clanrats, so win-win.

    With the lists out for the tournament it also gives me a chance to compare and contrast what I’ve put forward and see which of my list building tactics paid off and where I should have spent more focus. There are a grand total of 7 Stormcast armies, which I’m sure (Evocators) isn’t related to the release (Evocators) of some crazy new undercosted (Evocators) unit that is absolutely broken and unfair (EVOCATORRRRS). On top of that there’s a good friend of mine and his iconic 4 Zombie Dragon list and an absolute Mad-lad running a magic themed Bonesplitterz army. Also a boatload of Ironjawz players and a solitary Skaven player besides myself running the Skryre Clan, which is a shame because he seemed nice.

    But with the exposition complete, here’s a peek at what I’ll be running.

    Allegiance: Pestilens
    Mortal Realm: Ulgu

    Leaders
    Verminlord Corruptor (220)
    - General
    - Trait: Master of Rot and Ruin
    - Artefact: Sword of Judgement
    Plague Furnace (180)
    - Artefact: Liber Bubonicus
    Plague Priest with Plague Censer (80)
    Plague Priest with Plague Censer (80)
    Plague Priest with Plague Censer (80)

    Battleline
    5 x Plague Censer Bearers (60)
    5 x Plague Censer Bearers (60)
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    40 x Clanrats (200)
    - Rusty Spear
    40 x Clanrats (200)
    - Rusty Spear

    Battalions
    Plaguesmog Congregation (140)

    Endless Spells
    Chronomantic Cogs (60)

    Total: 1990 / 2000
    Extra Command Points: 1
    Allies: 0 / 400
    Wounds: 219




    With the Stormcast Meta in full swing, I no longer need to run minimum sized Plague Monk units to dodge getting immolated by the lethal spell of a roaming Gaunt Summoner. Great Plague spam is once again the name of my game, because Wither is potentially my favourite ability in the whole game I’ve made sure every single character in my army can use it, and with a grand total of 6 prayers per turn it’s incredibly likely I’ll be getting the Neverplague on turn 1.

    As the Clanrats don’t benefit from the Strength in Numbers buff they’ll either be forming a highly disposable screen against Ironjawz and Sacrosanct or sitting behind the army holding objectives and refusing to leave them while the Plague Monks do all the actual work.

    Sword of Judgement Corruptor can more or less do whatever he wants. If the enemy knows anything about what he does to any hero or behemoth he encounters they’ll build a wall smack between him and their Lord Arcanum / Alarielle / Glottkin to prevent him from running in and basically tearing it in half. Those that don’t know what he does will lose said characters by the end of turn 2 after they try to “smash the rat” with their big guy.

    The Plague Priests and the Furnace will roll around slapping anything within eyeshot of a Plague Monk to make sure they rip and tear them to pieces. When this isn’t the case, the enemy is going to have a LOT of Pestilential Breath raining down on their clustered units as they try to form a shield wall against the swarm.

    The Censer Bearers will shunt the Furnace up, the battalion providing their survivability against shooting, so they can advance in the centre. The Furnace can more or less serve as the ideal hammer and threat magnet while shooting Rabid Fever and Wither down on the soon-to-be victims of the monks accompanying it.

    Here’s hoping all goes according to plan and I can secure myself an invite to the Masters Tournament, or I won’t be able to do another write-up.
  7. AIdenNicol444
    Event Preparation: ChariCon Upper Hutt
    First event with "New Skaven"
     
    This coming weekend the Wellington Region in New Zealand (The Capital Region, the Best Region, the Once-and-Future Region) is playing host to a new style of event called ChariCon. The astute among you will notice this word is a mash-up of the words "Charity" and "Convention", which believe it or not is no mere coincidence. 100% of the proceeds and revenue generated by registrations and various charity raffles and the like over the weekend will go towards Cancer research, and the tournament doesn't count towards the National Rankings so a huge portion of new players are coming along to get their feet wet and the established players are treating it as an excuse to run fun, non-optimized lists and have a good time just socializing. What better opportunity to take my new army for a spin in a tournament style event without causing my ranking to suffer when I inevitably crash and burn?
    The list I'm taking is largely things that I already have painted, given my work and home lives have been extremely hectic the last few weeks I didn't want to gamble on having painting time. I got my Gnawholes purchased and I have will need all of the roughly 12 minutes spare time I get each week to get them at least drybrushed. With the next few events being only 1250pts till Notorious Grand Tournament in May my stock of 100 Plague Monks painted to a high standard will get me through painting rubrics, but I'm working on the remaining 60 for the big event. I padded the numbers in the list with some Plague Censer Bearers, which aren't exactly top tier but I converted my own out of Stormvermin and so help me I will run them at least once this year. Without further ado, I present the list:
    Allegiance: Pestilens
    Mortal Realm: Ulgu

    Leaders
    Plague Furnace (180)
    - General
    - Trait: Master of Rot and Ruin 
    - Artefact: Liber Bubonicus 
    Plague Priest (80)
    - Artefact: The Foul Pendant
    Plague Priest (80)

    Battleline
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    5 x Plague Censer Bearers (60)
    5 x Plague Censer Bearers (60)

    Battalions
    Congregation of Filth (160)

    Total: 1250 / 1250
    Extra Command Points: 1
    Allies: 0 / 200
    Wounds: 122
     
    Before anyone asks, no Warscroll Builder hasn't been updated with the Skaven stuff yet I just tweaked it in a word document, I imagine it could be a while before it's updated. 
    To start, one can clearly see the absence of the Verminlord Corruptor. I opted to take the Plague Furnace kitted out with both the Artefact and Command Trait that boost it's prayer effectiveness, in the hopes of getting an early Neverplague. The issue with taking the Corruptor is a small scale game is you need to give him a lot just to make him capable of praying, while the Plague Furnace benefits much more from it at this game size. The two priests on foot are there for two reasons; Hero models for Three Places of Power, and absolutely abusing the prayer mechanic (as always). I've given one The Foul Pendant to deal with non-optimized casting given the event is running Realmsphere rules and each army with a wizard will have access to an extra spell.
    Three units of 30 Plague Monks are just plain here to party and not go anywhere thanks to Altar of the Horned Rat + Plague Altar making sure they don't take casualties from Battleshock and have a bit more durability. Given they aren't units of 40 I had to select command options rather than just taking them all like the good old days, and opted for Banner of Contagion (6's to wound inflict 2 damage instead of 1) and Bale-Chimes (6's to hit are resolved at -1 rend). I opted not to take the Doom Gongs (+1 to Run and Charge) as i'll need to spend my excess Command Points on SOMETHING, or the Icon of Pestilence (roll a dice when a model is slain in combat, on a 6 the cause takes 1 mortal wound) as I plan to hit first and inflict massive casualties, rather than putting efficiency into being on the back foot.
    The Plague Censer Bearers are here, good for them. They'll either get set up in bubbles around the Plague Priests to keep them alive or used to push the Plague Furnace around. Perhaps used as a wall or some other suicidal task befitting a unit of their... pedigree.
    Congregation of Filth remains the mainstay Clan Pestilens battalion, even without providing re-rolls to charge. The 6+ ward save (a save that works against both unsaved wounds AND mortal wounds) is neat and it's wholly within 18" requirement is nothing to worry about. This combined with the fact Plague monks now have a 6+ armor save makes them doubly durable against no-rend attacks. I may be taking a risk taking it at 1250pts given it's 160pts not being spent on more bodies, but risk is the only way to test results.
     
    The plan with the army is relatively straightforward. Surround the Plague Furnace with two flanks of Plague Monks heavily buffed up and charging forward forcing the enemy's attention, while the rest of the army pushes up the other part of the board and forces them to split their forces. The Plague Priests will get stuck in on the front lines using Lead from the Back to remain healthy despite being in the thick of it, and the Furnace will (ideally) hang close enough to it's units of Monks that it doesn't awkwardly come to a halt.
    Looking forward to really stress-testing the list and having a great weekend rolling dice and pushing toy soldiers around for charity, see all of my NZ peeps there. 
  9. AIdenNicol444
    decided to touch up my rats after a year of neglect. The rat on the left is from when I had a spurt of inspiration months ago, and the other one is from when I first started playing. These lads are in need of a little tender loving care to get them up to the standard the New Zealand scene often displays.

  11. AIdenNicol444
    Skaven Elites

    Premier Troops of the Skaven Clans


     

     
    Across the 5 Great Clans of the Skaven, there are a variety of powerful and varied units that when combined allow a Skaven army to manage itself against various threats. Among these units, each clan has an “elite unit”, a costly and specialized warscroll that best represents the strength of the clan they hail from.


     
    Stormvermin

    Specialization: Damage Focused Support Infantry


     
    Starting with the most recognizable, Stormvermin are the clenched fist of the Verminus Clans, forming the centre of their sizable infantry force. They come with a respectable attack profile that features both rend and decent range, and their 5+ save that grows stronger against attacks that are only 1 damage.


     
    Pros

    ·        A powerful attack profile that heavily rewards being buffed by command abilities like Gnash Gnaw Their Bones and Tyrants of Battle.

    ·        2 Inch range allows large clusters of Stormvermin to all fight or even fight over the top of lines of Clanrats.

    ·        Their ability to retreat and still charge, as well as the +2 to run and retreat rolls make them insanely manoeuvrable for elite horde infantry.

    ·        Murderous Ferocity gives them a bonus if they outnumber their victim, which they almost always do.


     
    Cons

    ·        140pts for 10 rats is a very hefty price tag. They receive a discount for a full-size regiment but that weighs in at 500pts.

    ·        Other elite infantry will smash them aside with their poor save and single wound each if they don’t fight them first.

    ·        No protection from being shot at and no resistance to battleshock built in.


     

     
    Plague Censer Bearers

    Specialization: Objective Holding and Harassment


     
    The glass cannon version of Stormvermin, they pack the same attack profile but also receive bonus attacks for charging and rerolls for being near Plague Monks. Their presence is deadly, radiating mortal wounds on nearby opponents.


     
    Pros

    ·        2 Inch range weapons on a 32mm base unit makes for a very large footprint capable of tying up multiple units.

    ·        One of the few sources Clan Pestilens has of guaranteed, unconditional rend.

    ·        Can be taken in a Plaguesmog Congregation, further boosting their damage output with their radiant damage and giving them a protection against being shot at.

    ·        60pts for 5 is a very affordable cost, especially for their purpose as harassers and objective holders.


     
    Cons

    ·        No armor save means any successful attack against them, no matter how lowly, will kill them.

    ·        No mobility steroids means a very slow, expensive unit.

    ·        Must be selected first in combat or they won’t likely fight at all.


     

     
    Stormfiends

    Specialization: Wound Output and Game Closing


     
    The big baddies of the Skaven roster. People who know nothing about the Clans know what Stormfiends are and what they do. The centrepiece of many comp lists, nothing about this unit is subtle. They’re big, they’re nasty and they put out one hell of a beating.


     
    Pros

    ·        The most powerful weaponry in all the Skaven Clans. Warpfire Throwers that fountain mortal wounds on the enemy, Ratling Guns that mow down infantry and a range of brutal and horrific melee weapons are just mere options for the Stormfiends.

    ·        Massive durability, packing both a 4+ save and 6 wounds as well as decent bravery.

    ·        Synergy with Clan Moulder Packmasters to further enhance their damage capabilities.


     
    Cons

    ·        290pts for 3. Maximum firepower isn’t cheap, and every loss will be severely felt.

    ·        Large unit footprint but slow moving, it is easy for the enemy to tie these up with cheap chaff.

    ·        Poor choice for allying from other clans due to their prohibitive cost and lack of utility. This is a luxury unit, not a support one.


     

     
    Gutter Runners

    Specialization: Flanking and Harassment


     
    Ninja rats that emerge from the board edge and drown the enemy in a storm of throwing stars and poisoned knives. Mobility, speed, shooting and utility are just the order of business for the lethal foot soldiers of Clan Eshin.


     
    Pros

    ·        Emerging from any board edge on turn 1 is massive for an army that has no flying or high movement units.

    ·        A powerful combat profile that benefits well from being allied into other armies, synergizing well with Pestilens to-wound buffs and Verminus command abilities.

    ·        Running and shooting makes them a very fast and mobile harassment unit.

    ·        60ps for 5 is very cheap. 200pts for 20 is even better.


     
    Cons

    ·        Not the most survivable, the armor save won’t save them from much and low bravery means large unit sizes are easily punished.

    ·        Requires buff assistance from units like Plague Priests or Skaven Warlords to be effective.

    ·        Little to no synergy with their own heroes, Skaven Assassins don’t help them, and they will often be out of range of the Verminlord Deciever’s command ability.


     

     
    Rat Ogors

    Specialization: Line Breakers


     
    The hulking masterworks of Clan Moulder throw themselves savagely at the enemy, using their superior durability and destructive strength to bat aside enemy chaff. Synergizing strongly with both their own clan and others, Rat Ogors are a force to be feared.


     
    Pros

    ·        Benefitting from Packmasters, Plague Priests, Skaven Warlords and more, their basic stats are a solid foundation to buff and build on.

    ·        Under the effects of buffs, their ability to gain bonus attacks will see them laying the pain.

    ·        Chaff will have trouble chipping them down due to multiple wounds, and won’t stand up to their 2 damage attacks.


     
    Cons

    ·        Too expensive and bought in lots of 2. Not good enough to warrant allying.

    ·        Awful bravery means if a Packmaster isn’t near, one casualty will see them buckle.

    ·        Shooting attack looks good on paper but will rarely come into play.


     
  12. AIdenNicol444
    Welcome to Age of Sigmar second edition people. Lets kick off the first blog post for this edition with how mixed skaven measures up thanks to the chages to Grand Alliance: Chaos rules.
    Allegiance Ability
    The GA: Chaos allegiance ability is nothing too overpowered, par the course for the Grand Alliances. "Unbridled Malice" is a slight rework of the old ability they had, in this edition you roll a dice for a unit when you select it to fight in the combat phase if that unit is within 12 inches of your general or 3 inches of a hero, and on the roll of a 6 they add one to all their hit rolls. I like this one (on the event anyone remembers to actually roll for it) because Skaven field a lot of heroes and a lot of units that really benefit from +1 to hit like Clanrats, Plague Monks and Gutter Runners, and I'll be adding this to my reminder sheet.
    Command Traits
    Dark Avenger - This grants +1 to hit against order units for the general. Not great really. Spiteful Duelist - Reroll one wound roll per combat for the general. Somehow worse than the above. Cunning Deciever - Roll a dice at the start of your turn, with a 5+ netting you a free command point. This is pretty cool to be honest, great for a pasive long range force like a heavy Skryre or a Moulder force that needs all the command points it can get. Lord of War - Pick a unit within 3 inches and roll a dice, on a 4+ it gets +1 to hit. Definitely neat, this one will usually not ever be a waste especially considering Unbridled Malice as a rule. Terrifying Pressence - Enemies within 3 inches of the general suffer -1 to bravery. Not awful, definitely not better than Lord of War or Cunning Deciever. Malicious Conqueror - Add 1 to all Unbridled Malice rolls made within 12 inches of the general. I like this one, and in my army that runs a heavy amount of minimum size Plague Monk units i'll be taking this every time. Artifacts
    I literally have no interest in covering 5 out of the 6 artifacts in this list because they're absolutely worthless. However one of them is a classic from the last two editions of the GHB, and it got one HELL of a remake.
    The Crown of Conquest - Friendly CHAOS units within 6 inches of the bearer don't need to test for battleshock. I'm sorry, what? How on earth did this get past the design team? Did they think the new coherence rule somehow would make this not completely broken? I'm switching from Pestilens Allegiance for this. That's how big a deal this is. This takes Strength in Numbers and kicks it out the door. This thing on a Plaguesmog Congregation Plague Furnace pushed by clanrats for the Look Out Sir rule? Totally broken. This is now a 12 wound model with -2 to hit it providing a 6 inch bubble of NO BATTLESHOCK. This is stupid. I basically wrote this entire blog post to cover this ridiculous artifact.  
  13. AIdenNicol444
    Here's the 2018 Matchups list as i see it, I'll be updating as the year unfolds.
     
    Idoneth Deepkin - Neutral
    Look man I dunno. This army is just weird. We wreck their infantry with sickening ease but the eels are annoying. Their magic is good and the Ishraan Rites are pretty non interactive. The big turtle thing goes down like a sack of cheap seafood but they never take it so it's irrelevant. Stay away from the shipwrecks, kill the support heroes. And on the High Tide they'll wreck us so retreat away or prepare for it with buffs like Rabid Fever.
    Daughters of Khaine - Neutral
    You know that image of the two spidermen pointing at each other? This is gonna feel a lot like that. A prayer based army that uses cheap, low survivability infantry taken in large numbers with hero support to charge across the table and try and sweep the opponent away while being supported by close range war machines, low reliability shooting and a single large hero character who forms the lynchpin of the force. Was I describing us or them? Doesn't matter. Target blobs of infantry with Plagueclaws and dump the Plague Spell on them. Form a line of Plague Monks to catch the Witch Aelves and buff em up with Rabid Fever and Bless with Filth.
    Maggotkin of Nurgle - Major Advantage to Clan Pestilens
    LOL this one almost feels unfair. Half of their spells and AOE damage effects can't even affect you due to Pestilens also having the NURGLE keyword. Their vulnerability is massive amounts of attacks to combat their saves, and that's our whole thing. These two things are enough to tilt the balance towards us, but there is one last itsy bitsy detail. That buff wheel they get to work through each turn? All nurgle units. Not THEIR nurgle units. ALL nurgle units. Laugh at them and drink their tears.
    Blades of Khorne - Minor Advantage to Blades of Khorne
    A combat based army, and a good one. Ordinarily Pestilens will blenderize anything that fancies itself a combat favoring army but these guys are a little different. They have a massive range of options, we have 6 models all up. The build paths open to them let them be MORE than a combat army, something Pestilens can't actually do. Essentially it boils down to who hits who first. This is one the few matchups were Plagueclaws are actually good due to the favoribility of Bloodletter Bombs and Bloodreaver Hordes. Overall you want to be the one who gets the first charge off and make sure your units have the Furnace prayer that lets them fight one dead, you'll need it.
    Disciples of Tzeentch - Major Advantage to Disciples of Tzeentch
    Lol don't even get me started, the weakness of Clan Pestilens is no ability to deal with long range and movement shenanigans. Run up, charge to get closer to objectives and pray you can last longer than they can throw spells. Skyfires are the devil, Horrors are just annoying and the Gaunt Summoner will quite literally light you on fire and roast marshmellows on the corpse. The best strategy when facing Tzeentch with Pestilens is to either avoid it or whine about balance in chat groups. Take an Arch Warlock with a Balewind and try play them at their own game, but ultimately this one is a little skewed.
    Sylvaneth - Minor Advantage to Clan Pestilens
    This one used to feel on par with Disciples of Tzeentch until playing them a bit more, and of course the meta no longer favoring Kurnoth with bows. The trick is to take the field before they take the field, by any means necessary. Run in the first movement phase, charge anything within reach if you went second, do anything you can to get in their face. They put wildwoods in front of you? ****** em, run straight through it. Charge through it ideally. If you think the Dangerous Terrain effect is something to be afraid of, you are a coward or too considerate of your rat's lives, and neither of these traits are found in good Pestilens players. Get on top of 2 or so objectives and refuse to leave like a disenfranchised family member on Christmas, and god willing victory shall be yours. In a perfect world they'll run lots of Revenants over dryads and you drown them in dice, asking your opponent with a smug smile if he'd like to use Martial Memories to reroll one of the failed 30 saves.
    Kharadron Overlords - Neutral
    This is a weird one. Kharadron Overlords are dwarves, but only in the sense that they're short. They aren't slow, they aren't sturdy and their beards are a solid source of iron intake. Kharadron are like life, they come at you hard and fast. This is sometimes a good thing, sometimes terrible. So basically, what it comes down to is if the Overlord player invested in weight of shots (good for you) or they invested in high damage weapons like Drill Cannons (You're screwed). With weight of shots they can't actually kill enough rats for it to matter before they're on the recieving end of a plague monk charge, and oddly despite those boats being in the sky we can still smack them back down. Surround the boat and they can't deploy it's contents, which is even better. However with the Drill Cannons and so on we lose our Plague Furnaces on turn 2, Corruptor turn 3, and the game shortly after. Their weakness is the terrible range of pretty much all shooting that isn;t on a Thunderer or Ironclad, ours is they actually have guns. Play the objectives and bait them into range.
    Flesh Eater Courts - Major Advantage to Clan Pestilens
    This one is fun. They have no shooting, and they want to be in close combat. Naysayers would say "but Aiden, they can bring back their troops and we can't!". To that i say, ever seen Ghouls put out 40 wounds + several mortal wounds before saves are made? Probably not. Yeah Ghouls can regnerate lost troops, but only when a nearby Courtier does it for them. A wee, little Courtier with a weak save and fewer wounds. Slash him down to size with prayer spam. Flesh Eater Courts are an infantry spam buff army, just like Clan Pestilens, we just happen to be WAY better at it than they are. Butcher what they throw at you and take the field, if their characters get wise deal with them by throwing a Plague Furnace their way.
    Ironjaws - Minor Advantage to Clan Pestilens
    Ironjaws are a semi-elite army that don't put out massive damage but make up for it by being relatively tricky to kill. This is the matchup where discretion is the better part of valor for Pestilens. Try and go around them to get to objectives, don't hesitate to retreat if it means snaking behind them to get where you need to go. Multiwound infantry means no half measures, if you engage them engage them with all possible force and sweep them aside. Time spent fighting them is time wasted and that's what they want. Use prayers to make sure your monks can easily wound and trigger dice roll of 6 or more effects, don't waste time trying to d3 mortal wounds them to death it takes way too long.
    Bonesplitterz - Major Advantage to Bonesplitterz
    Interestingly this is an easy game really if they don't take Kunnun Rukk. Jokes on you however, they pretty much always do. Theyre surprisinly resilient and tying them up in combat doesn't stop them shooting you. And dear god will they shoot you, again and again and again. It's like facing the easier to batch paint version of Free Peoples. Try and kill the leaders to stop the batallions workind and take a Plaguesmog with Vexlers Shroud on the Furnace so it's -2 to hit. Thats basically all the counterplay there is here.
    Stormcast Eternals - Minor Advantage to Pestilens
    The boys in gold, a very diverse force with a lot of options. If we assess Stormcast at their base weaknesses, which is having to deal with weight of numbers and mortal wounds, we have a clear and easy advantage. If they play Vanguard and keep running away and shooting us it's a bit harder. If they play Aetherstrike it's an uphill footslog through the shittiest parts of Chernobyl. Play the game to the objectives, take the table to prevent Borne by the Storm and Lightning Chariot and do your best to retain your high numbers.
    Fireslayers - Major Advantage to Fireslayers
    If they're smart and take a bucketload of Vulkites you'll drown in them. If you can get around that or maybe pepper them with Plagueclaws it will be ok and you'll pull an objective victory. Magmadroths are terrible, 20 plague monks will wipe one out easily. They can't get their axes into range (unless under runic effect) without coming into charge range so bear that in mind. They're hard to shift, and they'll outlast you ten times out of ten. Avoid getting bogged down and charge the less defensive stuff like Auric Bezerkers and Hearthguard, and for the love of god stay away from the Grimrath Bezerker.
    Seraphon - Minor Advantage to Seraphon
    Our mortal foes, the artist formerly known as Lizardmen. Their strengths are defense against rend, their weakness is mortal wounds, so you might think, where is their advantage. Lords of Space and TIme. They can retreat across the table without it even being a retreat, dump a line of Saurus Guard in our way, and abuse long range magic which we can;t really unbind, as well as unbinding any few attempts we make at casting. Also the Verminlord is a Chaos Daemon which they specifically do well against.
     
    Comment what more you'd like to see, fellow Pestilens player.
  14. AIdenNicol444
    Gidday Skaven enthusiasts, I'm headed to a tournament in two weeks time and submitted my list last night, and I'd like to write a little about what has changed in AoS2 and how it affects our ist building.
    What's Changed for the Better?
    Realm Artefacts: These have been a total game changer, over 50 artifacts drawn from multiple realms to enhance lists or build lists around. Standouts for other factions like Lens of Refraction and Aetherial Amulet have already begun to change the game. For Pestilens, the Ulgu artefacts have given us an incredible boost. Sword of Judgement, Doppleganger's Cloak and Betrayer's Crown give us access to options we previously never had. Points Changes: Plague Furnace and Plagueclaw Catapult got needed reductions while the rest of our already very affordable and well costed units remained unchanged, no complaints there. Endless Spells: Finally the fact the Verminlord Corruptor can cast twice has relevance. Also makes allying an Arch Warlock even more of a god tier selection. Chronomantic Cogs and Aethervoid Pendulum do things for our army we couldn't previously do, unlocking new ways of playing the game. Turn One charges and long range threats were never something Pestilens could do, but now it's an option. Look out Sir!: With Plague Priests now able to tuck themselves in for -1 to being hit and Plague Furnaces recieving the same benefit due to lacking the MONSTER keyword, the only hero in our list vulnerable to shooting is the Verminlord Corruptor. What's Changed for the Worst?
    Endless Spells: OMG Take your stupid Purple Sun of whatever the hell and leave me alone. Gemenids are a massive pain in the censer and an Aethervoid Pendulum sweeping through the Plague Furnace and both monk units pusing it will give you type 2 Redmaw Plague. Magic Meta: Wizards, wizards as far as the eye can see. Every army that can take some will take several to make sure they have unbinding potential and the ability to get their endless spells on the table. With only the Verminlord Corruptor casting, he's going to get ganged up on. Endless Spells: oh cool man you put down a Prismatic Pallisade in front of the objective, guess I'll just fly over it OH WAIT List Building in AoS2
    So for a start we need to ally a wizard, and take some endless spells. That's just the game right now. Yeah it'll change eventually and we'll be in some new and bizarre meta (fingers crossed for all Maggotkin meta personally, give me your wheel you loser) but until then we need to adapt to survive. Arch Warlock, Warlock Engineers, Screaming Bell and the Masterclan selection are great picks for the ally section and Thanquol has gotten a reduction to fir into 2k ally slots. Pick one or two that you like and suit your play style and put them in. The best endless spells for our army are of course the ChronoCogs, Aethervoid Pendulum and Pallisade. Mobility, long range threats and area deniability are important and these spells cover our backsides with them.
    End Product
    So below is my list for the Call to Arms tournament in Wellington New Zealand. This is expected to be the biggest tournament in the country for the year and will have a massive range of armies on display. I'd ask for feedback, but list submissions are final so it's too late to save me. Here she is.
    Allegiance: Pestilens
    Mortal Realm: Ulgu

    Leaders
    Verminlord Corruptor (220)
    - General
    - Trait: Master of Rot and Ruin
    - Artefact: Sword of Judgement
    Plague Furnace (180)
    - Artefact: Liber Bubonicus
    Plague Priest with Plague Censer (80)
    Plague Priest with Plague Censer (80)
    Lord Skreech Verminkin (300) - Allies

    Battleline
    10 x Plague Censer Bearers (120)
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    30 x Plague Monks (210)
    - Foetid Blades
    10 x Plague Monks (70)
    - Foetid Blades
    10 x Plague Monks (70)
    - Foetid Blades
    10 x Plague Monks (70)
    - Foetid Blades

    War Machines
    Plagueclaw (160)

    Battalions
    Congregation of Filth (170)

    Endless Spells
    Chronomantic Cogs (60)

    Total: 2000 / 2000
    Extra Command Points: 1
    Allies: 300 / 400
    Wounds: 152
    So my plan basically is the same as always. Spam prayers with Priests who are safer than they once were, advance up quickly and sweep away priority targets with the monks. The catapult can force battleshock tests on hordes and the cogs can have lethal spellcaster Skreech Verminking being doubly survivable in the centre of the table, wiping away units and replacing them with Clanrats. The Plague Furnace fulfills its purpose as a buff engine while the Corruptor annhilates literally any hero without a mortal wound save (come get some Alarielle).
    There will be a follow up to this after the tournament so we can review what went well and where to improve. Let me know your thoughts below.
  15. AIdenNicol444
    When I first started playing tournaments I would usually finish on a comfortable 4 or 5 Major Defeats. This was happening to me because I wasn't just a new player, I was a bad player. Losing doesn't make you bad, but losing consistently and not taking steps to improve does. My first step to improving was to read my warscrolls. Not just read, but really dig in and memorize them (Clan Pestilens has about 6 warscrolls, so no excuse not to really). From there I constructed a small phase by phase flow chart to remind me of all the small rules that I would sometimes forget that culd have shifted the balance of a game, and as soon as i made this chart i went from an average of 1 Major Victory to 3 Major Victories almost overnight. This can be applied to any army, but I've posted below the flowchart I was following for the NZ Masters tournament last year (Adapted for AoS2) where until Round 4, i was one of the favorites to win the event (Fate is fickle, ****** you Tzeentch).
     
    Pestilens Turn Progression
     
    Hero Phase
     
    ·        Choose whether to spend command abilities (not advised in the first battle round, save them for turn 2 charges).
    ·        Use all prayers of all priests (If first battle round things won’t be in range of Pestilent Breath, however you can still do it targeting nowhere to potentially get The Neverplgaue great plague).
    ·        Cast spells with the Verminlord Corruptor.
    ·        Choose whether or not to use one-use only effects in the Plague Monk and Plague Priest warscrolls, ideally the Plague Monk tome that deals mortal wounds or the enemy debuffs from the scroll.
    ·        Check if any enemies are within range of proximity-based damage (Plague Furnace, Plague Censer Bearers).
    Movement
     
    ·        Plagueclaw Catapults can move without a penalty to its shooting.
    ·        Move Plague Monks and Censer Bearers forward, however if they cannot possibly make a successful charge stay out of enemy charge range or bubblewrap with Plague Monks that have the Rabid Fever prayer active.
    Shooting
     
    ·        Prioritise infantry blocks with good saves as the Plagueclaw target, or soften up targets about to be charged by your Plague Monks.
    ·        Verminlord has a shooting attack, it isn’t awful against low save units.
    Charge/Combat
     
    ·        Command points can be spent to reroll failed charges, so roll charges before spending the points.
    ·        Charge in groups of 2 or 3 units, avoid sending you entire army in in a single phase.
    Battleshock
     
    ·        Remember that Pestilens allegiance gives you 2 bravery for every 10 monks in a unit, not 1.
    ·        If you wish to use Inspiring Presence it has to be done before any battleshock rolls are made.
     
    If you play Pestilens, I recommend taking this and adapting it to the list you run. If you don't play Pestilens (Normies leave reeee) I recommend constructing one for your own army regardless of how good a player you are. It only takes one lapse of memory to lose a game.
     
  16. AIdenNicol444
    In this blog entry I'd like to explain the best options we have for ally choices when running the Clan Pestilens alleigance. As a Skaven army, we can ally with all the other Skaven factions (Clans Verminus, Eshin, Skryre, Moulder and the Masterclan) as well as Nurgle Daemons. Obviously covering every single model we can ally in is a bit fruitless, so I'll just be talking the best options for matched play.
    Clanrats (Clan Verminus)
    Oh Clanrats, don't you ever go changing on me. These guys really just pull their weight in any list they're in. 200pts for 40 bodies with a buffable armor save. Sit these blokes on an objective, screen your army with them, or just run them forward and let the plague monks flank and smack the enemy from the side. Clanrats retreat and charge, and add 2 to their run and charge rules, making them shockingly mobile for getting in the way of the enemy. I will never not recommend these, and every pestilens player should have at least 40 painted and ready to go.
    Arch Warlock (Clan Skryre)
    140pts for a caster that knows 2 spells, I still feel a little dirty taking this guy because surely his costing is a typo. Factor in his unique spell is 3 Arcane Bolts to fire at your leisue, and you've got a sneaky, durable and brutal hero skulking around the back line obliterating any enemy that dares to come at you and forcing battleshock tests on 3-4 enemy infantry blocks every damn turn.
    Screaming Bell (The Masterclan)
    The bell tolls for FREE SUMMONING. I mean sure, it's on the roll of a 12, but imagine spending 200pts on a versatile mobile buff/debuff/damage output machine and accidentally summoning the Lord Skreech Verminking 100% free of charge and him dropping the Thirteenth Dreaded Spell on some poor unsuspecting elite infantry block. But I digress, even without the free Verminlord gimmick this is the bell for you, random damage output, a unique spell that puts stormcast in the oven and sets it to fanbake, and a command ability that can pretty much always be at least slightly useful.
    Lord Skreech Verminking (The Masterclan)
    Getting your ass royally beat? Reach for the king. Verminking does everything you'd expect from the lord of all Verminlords, he'll duel any character in the game and shred them (if he fights first, but that's just the Verminlord deal), he'll move across the board with incredible speed to lock down objectives, he'll heal himself if he has to and if anyone even DARES to come at him without a reliable dispell, the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell will blast a hole in anything it hits and then replace the casualties with FREE clanrats.  His command ability will always be useful in any skaven army (Skaven units reroll wound rolls when near Verminking) so that's nice.
    Gutter Runners (Clan Eshin)
    These guys weigh in at 60 for 5, or 200 for 20. Cheeky backfield bombers that pop in from a board edge in your movement phase and get to run and shot where necessary. Essentially what Gutter Runners are is the only reliable backfield mobility skaven has, given everything else has a dice roll or too many conditions. They're a niche, meta dependent pick but having a full strength unit of 20 in your list is basically never a waste. They're average when they're not needed, and amazing when they are.
    Verminlord Warpseer (The Masterclan)
    This lad wouldn't have made the list during General's Handbook 2017, but free summonig made his command ability at least not pointless, and being the Verminlord dedicated to being a wizard he's going to come in handy during the hype phase of Endless Spells. Also, watching his unique spell burn holes in the unique named characters that can fly (Pro Tip, all of them except ours) is always satisfying. He can rip through infantry with his Warp-Glaive, and he's surprisingly survivable getting to reroll all his failed save. A niche pick, but not a bad one.
    Warpgrinder Weapon Team (Clan Skryre)
    Fresh off the assembly line with a points drop for Generals Hanbook 2018, this beast can put 40 plague monks directly behind the enemy and essentially force the opponent to adjust their plans or get rammed by 240 points of absolutely balanced, totally fair and family friendly foetid blades. Which for reference will wind up being around 120 attacks.
    And lucky last...
    THANQUOL AND THE BONERIPPER
    You read that right, Mr Chosen of the Horned Rat himself just got yet another point reduction, 400pts for the greatest and most clever seer to ever live and his walking, chittering battering ram. Thanquol is an absolute unit, he does everything and he does it well. His unique spell is Arcane Bolt at greater range (before it got gimped), he heals himself every turn with no condition, he knows the spells of every skaven wizard near him (oh hey Arch Warlock) and casts those spells better, because he has the warpstone token rule the Grey Seer model has but with absolutely no negative consequences should it fail. His command ability is the AOS equivilent of an invulnerable save on any unit of skaven that gets better if there's more than 13 models in the unit, absolutely insane. And all these benefits are just the bloke on the top, lets talk about the four armed gentleman down bottom. Boneripper is one HELL of a beatstick, he comes with two weapon loadouts, one is a melee attack that outshines any weapon in the entire Skaven line. The other option is a ranged attack that does 2D6 mortal wounds to anything within 8inches. No aiming, no hit rolls, no mercy. Whichever you choose, he has a second melee attack that's respectable as hell. These two will consume your entire ally choice points at 2k, but ****** he will do work.
  17. AIdenNicol444
    Something a little different this time, we're reaching out of the pestilent pond and talking about the model that literally made me want to play Skaven as an army (Pre AOS even), the dreaded lord of all Verminlords, Skreech the Verminking.
    Royal Introductions
    Skreech is the skaven named character that does a little bit of everything. He has a solid combat profile, he has a toolkit of abilities that let him recieve a small buff of yur choice each turn based on each skaven clan that switches up his utlity, and he's a spellcaster packing the infamous Dreaded Thirteenth Spell. He has a command ability that will be at least slightly useful no matter what type of skaven force you take and he's exceptionally reasonably costed at only 300pts.
    Boons of the Rat-King
    The reason to take Skreech in the old edition was his surprising kill capabilities in close combat and his unleashing the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell to chunck a unit for between 5 and 10 wounds on average. In this edition, said sell now summons free clanrats because I don't know, it wasn't strong enough before or something silly. He also went down in cost and contributes as a spellcaster to deal with the new Endless Spells. He no longer has to be the general to use his command ability, a relief considering he can't take a command trait or artifacts.
    Drawbacks of Monarchy
    I mean, Skreech's only reaal weaknesses are the same as all the other Verminlords. He only has 12 wounds and a 4+ save, which honestly isn't even awful. He can't take traits or artifacts being a named character, but given his comman ability isn't tethered to being the general that doesn't come into play.
    Beseeching the Lord
    Taking Skreech is a no brainer if you've made the call to not use Thanquol and Boneripper (don't use both, it's cool but its 700pts). The real dream however is not taking Skreech, taking a Screaming Bell and summoning him for free, then instantly using the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell to kill a bunch of enemy troops and throw down a line of Clanrats in front of Skreech to cover him from a charge. Mixed Skaven can awlays find a home for the Lord Skreech, do so often and without hesitation.
     
  18. AIdenNicol444
    Most armies have their dedicated elite infantry, and from the Freeguild Greatswords to the Kharadron Grundstock Thunderers they bear an infamous reputation on the battlefield.  Each of the Skaven Clans have their own as well, and those fielded by the Clans Pestilens are known as Plague Censer Bearers.
    Swinging High
    The standout strengths of the Censer Bearers are evident. Unlike Plague Monks their weapon range is 2 inches, meaning they can actually swing over the top of themselves when taken in large groups. Their base rend on their weapons is -1, above the Plague Monks who need wound rolls of 6 to compete with that. Topping this off, in the hero phase each unit near them has a chance to take a mortal wound on the side.  They also reroll all failed hits and battleshock outcomes as long as they hang close to a unit of Plague Monks, which in any smart list they'll have at least 2 or 3 units nearby.
    Falling Short
    No save, and unlike Plague Monks, no way of acquiring one. Furthermore, they're 60pts for 5 models, and that's 60pts that can be erased by merely average shooting. This is an elite unit that cannot withstand ANY level of pressure, so they need a stack of buffs to hit their full potential.
    Plaguelord's Verdict
    With the Verminlord Corruptor's command ability, the Plague Furnace's Rabid Fever and Bless with Filth, and maybe an enemy debuffed with Wither for good measure, these guys will literally EAT anything they go up against. A unit of 10 swinging for 40 attacks rerolling all of it's failed hit and wound rolls is going to blitz ANYTHING short of a 2+ save rerolling fails. Taken in the Plaguesmog Congregation they will be -1 to hit with shooting and putting out far more proximity mortal wounds in the hero phase. However without these buffs, they'll get swatted turn 1 or 2 and you'll lose your high cost point sink. Take them in a group of 10 and a group of 5 as part of a Plaguesmog for the extra artifact and command point or don't take them at all.
  19. AIdenNicol444
    Skaven armies are famous for two things; the collosal numbers they slap on the table and the ramshackle war machines they drag behind them. The Plagueclaw is one such machine. You may be more familiar with this weapon of war from seeing it shoehorned into a Maggotkin list, or spamming them to win Mortal Empires in Total War Warhammer (I have no regrets, Mazdamundi had it coming). It isn't often fielded in any chaos list not of Pestilens or Nurgle, a distinction that seperates it from the Warp Lightning Cannon and Stormfiends.
    Shooting for the Moon
    This catapult outranges 90% of the units in Age of Sigmar, and doesn't even need to see those units to hit them. Furthermore, as appropriate for something that lore-wise just carpet bombs the enemy with sludge, it gets significant benefits for targeting units that have more than 10 models (Not 10 or more, MORE than 10). It's rend is -2, shockingly brutal for a ranged weapon, which compensates for not recieving the anti-horde bonus if targeting elite units with good armor saves like Stormcast Paladin units or Kurnoth Hunters.
    Landing in the Dumps
    Thank god this thing got a point reduction going into AOS2, or I wouldn't even be bothering to write this in the first place. Despite the above benefits, the thing just cost far too much to have more than 1 of as a token threat to hordes during AOS1. 160pts is much more bearable for it's often unreliable nature, and while it's unreliabilty can be directly combatted with the Foulrain Procession batallion, it's also a 700pt sink that will prevent you fielding a decently sized force, something critical to victory with Clan Pestilens.
    Plaguelord's Verdict
    I personally plan to be upping my catapult count to 2 heading into AOS2, the point reduction was nice and makes it easier to justify this unit as a support choice.
  20. AIdenNicol444
    Striding above the lesser rats as they charge screaming into battle is a monster the skaven fear more than any other. Verminlords are the truest incarnation of the Horned Rat, be they ascended champions rewarded for excellence, shards of the Horned Rat given form and function, or the hideous Lord Skreech Verminking, an abomination formed from the essence of the entire original Council of Thirteen. These entities lead the skaven, from the front and from the shadows, and of their number none are fouler than the Verminlord Corruptor.
    A Nurgle Daemon Unlike Any Other 
    The Verminlord Corruptor is the centrepiece model of a Clan Pestilens army. As the only unit in the book with a command ability, if they're in the list they'll be the general. Before Pestilens recoeved alleigance abilities this guy didn't see much use, he was an awkward out of place model that simply cost too much. Now, with a point reduction and command traits and artifacts that bring him into line with the rest of the army this chittering monstrosity makes for a formidable leader indeed.
    Disease Strides the Battlefield
    The Corruptor is best played thematically. He stalks behind a line of plague monks, casting his command ability on them while casting mystic shield to preserve nearby Plague Furnaces and unleashes his unique Plague spell on anything close, or anything close to his nearby expendable and targetable swarm. He only fights in close combat when victory is assured, and given his game changing command ability is willing to expend every last rat to preserve his own well-being. Equipped with the Blistervious, the Living Cyst and bearing the Master of Rot and Ruin trait this potent support general will stay alive on the back field, casting prayers and spells to support his minions and dealing with any enterprising assassins foolish enough to come close.
    Points to Remember
    12 wounds and a 4+ save is not that durable. If the Corruptor tries to trade blows with anything bigger than a support hero, he will lose. The idea of this mighty creature cutting down hated Allariele the Everqueen is pleasant, until her beetle takes him out in literally one round of combat.
    Prayers used by a Corruptor who has Master of Rot and Ruin or the Liber Bubonicus cannot trigger Great Plagues. Can't fathom why, but rules as written he doesn't. Don't try it. We might be scum skaven players, but we aren't cheats.
    His unique spell can be chained through your own troops to reach the enemy. Not always smart, but always funny when it goes off and causes the enemy even more casualties.
    Parting Shots (With a Prehensile Tail)
    I've begun the hard task of repainting my corruptor, shown here in his original, if somewhat rough glory, and halfway through his new paint job with lovely crystalline horns.


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