AoS: Chittering Champions – Best Units From The Five Skaven Factions
Chaos is in ascendance, but we can’t forget the OG Underground gang, Skaven, and the newest Chaos God, the Horned Rat.
Welcome in, Generals of the Realms! We’re back again with another Grand Alliance battle royale. When last I reviewed the Chaos factions, I left out a key player: the fifth Chaos God. Thanks to the efforts of his verminous valets, the Horned Rat ascended to full Chaos God, and now the Skaven are reaping the benefits! The Realms have felt the fangs of the five Skaven factions and their Masterclan leaders, and the results have been devastating. But which rats stand above the swarm?
Verminus: Clawlord on Gnawbeast
The newest clan to join the council, Verminus is all about raw rodent powah! Clanrats, Stormvermin, and the mighty Clawlords scurry across the battlefield with crude weapons to bury the enemy in a wave of fangs. Leading from the back of a hideously mutated monstrosity is the Clawlord on Gnawbeast. These deadly warriors are the perfect leader for your army, so long as you aren’t too devoted to survivability.
The mounted Clawlord is a formidable leader, combining the speed of the Gnawbeast with the deadly precision of the Clawlord’s Warp-forged Blade. Like most Skaven, he isn’t the most durable model in the world. However, on the charge, he’s a monster, so just make sure you yo-yo him in and out. He who runs away lives to fight another day.
Skryre: Warp Lightning Cannon
Skryre has come up with a lot of insane contraptions over the years. From Rat Ogors with Lawn Mower hands to a literal Hamster Wheel of Death, the mad science rats have pulled out all the stops. However, sometimes you just can’t beat the original. Easily the best thing in Skryre’s arsenal is the Warp Lightning Cannon.
The Warp Lightning Cannon has always been an incredible War Machine. In the days of Fantasy, it was a juiced-up Great Cannon, but these days it’s just a Mortal Wound farm. Best of all, a nearby Warlock can charge it up even more, though you risk blowing it up. But then again…that’s the Skaven way.
Moulder: Hell Pit Abomination
From engineering to biology, we move over to the mad lads of Hell Pit, Clan Moulder. These flesh crafters have created a host of unholy monstrosities, including the brand-new Brood Terror. However, I must give the gold medal to an OG monster, the Hell Pit Abomination (mostly because I remember when you had to make a custom one).
This model is admittedly hilarious, but powerful nonetheless. If nothing else, it’s a huge model that’s sure to draw fire away from your teeming hordes of soldiers. Once it does hit combat, it will make short work of whatever it collides with. The battle doesn’t even end when it dies because it might just…get back up.
Pestilens and Eshin
Pestilens used to be THE clan in Age of Sigmar, so much so that they had their own battletome. However, these days they don’t have anywhere close to the punch of their brethren. Several of their kits are old enough to drink, and a few are almost old enough to run for Congress. Still, the Plague Furnace is a worthwhile investment, able to buff your pestilent prayers to deadly heights.
For the ninja rats, there really isn’t much to rate. You have: the Assassin, the slightly weaker assassins, and the even weaker assassins. Frankly, I’m saddened by how uninteresting the rules are for such an incredible clan. However, the Assassin is nothing to shake a stick at, and it can still do a tremendous amount of damage in the right circumstance.
Did your favorite unit make the cut?
