Age of Sigmar: You Dirty Rat! – A Look at Skabbik’s Plaguepack
You have to admit, a good way to keep people away from your stuff is to make it stink. Let’s talk Skaven.
The Not Warhammer 40,000 Preview went live this weekend, and it showed off a lot of fun stuff coming for the future. We saw the gorgeous model leading the Dawnbringer Crusades, a Knightly Bannerman, and tons more exciting previews. As a long-time fan of Skaven, I was excited to see their upcoming Underworlds Warband, Skabbik’s Plaguepack. While Clan Pestilens isn’t usually my cup of tea, the way these guys work is pretty cool. Wyrdhollow better stock up on some antibiotics before these guys show their snouts.
Awesome Models
As with all the Underworlds minis, this warband is highly detailed, and these rats are amazing. You can see the disease almost leaking off each model, and the toxic fumes coming off their weapons are dynamic and deadly. I’m especially fond of the little rat familiar, who looks like he’s up to something with that chunk of warpstone. Skabbik is clearly bringing his best warriors to Wyrdhollow.
Powerful Warriors
Skabbik and his warriors aren’t the strongest in the Realms, but they don’t need to be. Skaven don’t really value the lives of their companions, and Pestilens care even less. They load their religious zealots up with the nastiest poisons and toxins they can before sending them screaming into battle. Skabbik himself has a reach weapon dripping with poison, giving it the Grievous ability, and a good thing too. With only one defense die, this old priest isn’t the fastest of warriors. Thankfully, his unholy pathogens (or maybe his unholy stench) staggers every enemy next to him, letting him strike the final blow or retreat to safety.
Gnarly Ability
Skabbik and his warriors aren’t the strongest fighters, so how are they winning in Wyrdhollow. Why, in the most Pestilens way possible: making it uninhabitable for everyone else. The Plaguepack can infect one of the territories on the map, making it Corrupted. While we aren’t sure what more that will do just yet, the Skaven warriors inspire whenever two or more territories become Corrupted. Since Corruption is easy to achieve, the Plaguepack will be inspired quickly. However, they’ll need to be careful to maintain their position, lest the vile surface-things rob them of their holy diseases.
What’s Next?
We don’t have a ton of information on the Plaguepack just yet, but they’re already shaping up to be a deadly addition to Wyrdhollow. They might not be as straightforward as some of the other Underworlds Warbands, but savvy players will be able to manipulate the Corrupted mechanic to get the most out of the rats. When the going gets tough, the Skaven cheat, so if you want this army, prepare to exploit every angle to get the edge on your opponent. Make them sick, then strike when the blessed contagion has rendered them weak and helpless.
Will you be picking up this warband?
