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Warhammer Total War 2: Skaven Reveal and Gameplay

4 Minute Read
Aug 21 2017
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The Skaven have burst forth onto the fields of Total War Warhammer 2, check out their trailer and a ton of gameplay today!

Burrowing up from the Underhive, full of green stuff, black stuff, weird pinkish red stuff, and a whole bunch of other stuff you definitely don’t want to get anywhere near you–the Skaven have arrived in Total War Warhammer 2. Why they don’t say Warhammer Total War, or the even better Total Warhammer 2, I’ll never know. If you say ‘oh but that’s how they’re branding the franchise now,’ sure I guess, but if your marketing department is keeping you from making a pun/portmanteau like that, you need to fire them and get some people who understand that puns are the highest form of art. Especially when talking about Skaven. It’s the only rat-tional conclusion you can come to.

The Skaven are out in full force, led by Queek Headtaker and Lord Skrollk, this faction of disease-ridden vermin should prove to be a threat to whatever army they come up against. They will launch a campaign of ratribution against the surface world, striking at the mystical vortex that looms ominously over the landscape.

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You can see the Skaven in action below. We’ve included two different versions, so you can decide if you prefer your gameplay footage with or without developer commentary. Either way, it looks like the Skaven will be a force to be reckoned with. So when you’re ready to raturn to the jungles of Lustria, or the shores of Ulthuan, Total War: Warhammer 2 will take you back to that world.

Here’s the Dev Commentary:

And here’s the unadulterated gameplay, with sweet voiceover work:

And then for an extra special bonus, you can find the entire army roster lurking about in the depths.

But also right here.

QUEEK HEADTAKER

Warlord Queek Headtaker, is the legendary, and much-feared, Great Warlord of Clan Mors and the personal right-claw of Warlord Gnawdwell, the one and true Grand Ruler of Clan Mors. Queek has been groomed by Gnawdwell from the moment of his birth to be the ultimate warrior, provided with the best armour and weapons, protecting him from the other Lords of Decay, and also staging assassination attempts to keep him on his toes. Queek is an uncommonly bloodthirsty and egotistical warrior whose need to conquer even the most impossible challenges has since earned him an infamy amongst the annals of Skaven history as the legendary Headtaker, the Dwarf-Smiter, the greatest Warlord to have ever graced the tunnels of Skavendom.

Queek’s temper is infamous amongst both his enemy and allies, having fought, defeated and survived almost every challenge that was thrown against him. Upon his trophy rack consists of the heads of all those that have challenged Queek in the past, such as the head of King Krug Ironhand of Karak Drazh, Warlord Ikit Scratch of Fester Spike, Warlord Sleek Sharpwit of Clan Mors and the hand of Baron Albrecht Kraus of Averland amongst other noteworthy challengers.

LORD SKROLK

Lord Skrolk, is one of the most legendary disciples of decay within Clan Pestilen and one of the 9 legendary Plaguelords. That Lord Skrolk walks the world is an affront to nature and a sign of the power of the Great Horned Rat. Plants wither and die where Skrolk treads and the very air seems to congeal and darken, as if stained by his baleful presence. Skrolk is ancient, having existed many spans of even the most long-lived of his foul kind. Rather than weakening with age, Lord Skrolk is possessed with a diabolic vitality that belies the years and the heaped diseases he carries.

Indeed Skrolk is bent and gnarled by the weight of countless corruptions. The flesh that is not hidden by his tattered shroud is leathery and covered in a layer of dripping buboes. Even worse, the mysterious hunching growths promise something still more virulent. Each new pox only toughens the aged Plague Monk, who himself has become a disease that walks. Lord Skrolk is one of the Plaguelords, the rulers of Clan Pestilens under the direct command of Arch-Plaguelord Nurglitch, he-who-is-tenth on the Council.

ROSTER

Melee Legendary Lord Queek Headtaker
Mounts: None
Caster Legendary Lord Lord Skrolk
Uses Lore of Plague Mounts: None
Caster Lord Grey Seer
Uses Lores of either Plague or Ruin Mounts: Foot, Screaming Bell
Melee Lord Warlord
Mounts: Foot, Bonebreaker
Melee Hero Assassin
Mounts: None
Melee Hero Warlock Engineer
Mounts: None
Caster Hero Plague Priest
Uses Lore of Plague Mounts: Foot, Plague Furnace
Melee Infantry Skavenslaves
Melee Infantry Skavenslave Spears
Missile Infantry Skavenslave Slingers
Melee Infantry Clanrats
Melee Infantry Clanrats (Shields) 
Melee Infantry Clanrat Spears
Melee Infantry Clanrats Spears (Shields)
Melee Infantry Stormvermin (Halberds)
Melee Infantry Stormvermin (Sword & Shields)
Melee Infantry Plague Monks
Melee Infantry Plague Monk Censer Bearers
Missile Infantry Night Runners
Missile Infantry Night Runners (Slings)
Missile Infantry Gutter Runners
Missile Infantry Gutter Runners (Poison) 
Missile Infantry Gutter Runner Slingers
Missile Infantry Gutter Runner Slingers (Poison) 
Melee Infantry Death Runners 
Weapons Team Warpfire Thrower
Missile Infantry Poison Wind Globadiers 
Missile Infantry Death Globe Bombardiers
Melee Monstrous Infantry Rat Ogres
Artillery Plagueclaw Catapult
Artillery Warp Lightning Cannon
Vehicle Doomwheel
Melee Monster Hell Pit Abomination

The trick to beating Skaven though–just have a sinking ship on your battlefield. They’ll run away. That’s just instinct.

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Author: J.R. Zambrano
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