Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Who Are the Skaven?

The Skaven are rat people who can eat through the fabric of reality in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

By Christian Hoffer

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar is set to bring the Skaven, a race of innovative but evil rat creatures, back into the spotlight this summer. Later this summer, Games Workshop will release a new edition of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, its fantasy-themed miniatures game. The new edition will come with an entirely retooled ruleset with multiple ways to play, including a new Spearhead mode, which uses pre-built army lists and simplified unit rules to keep gameplay under an hour. As a new edition is the perfect way to get started with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, we've decided to take a look at some of the major factions of the game. We've covered the Stormcast Eternals, who serve as one of the heroic factions in the game. Now it's time to look at the Skaven, who are set to leave a mark on the Mortal Realms with the new edition.

Who are the Skaven?

The Skaven are creatures of Chaos and followers of The Great Horned Rat, a new addition to the pantheon of Chaos Gods that appear in both Warhammer 40K and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. After the destruction of the World-That-Was (the setting of the original Warhammer Fantasy game), The Great Horned Rat ascended to join the other four Chaos Gods as a major deity. While the other Chaos Gods are empowered by the primal emotions of mortals, The Great Horned Rat is powered by the Skaven and it is thus the Skaven's goal to conquer and destroy the Mortal Realms to allow their deity to become the ultimate force in reality. 

Like actual rats, Skaven are quick to multiply and are unusually industrious and clever. Many Skaven are expert engineers and alchemists and have concocted countless plagues and devastating firearms to use against their foes. 

Since the beginning of the Mortal Realms, the Skaven have made their home in Blight City, a sub-realm that exists outside of one of the eight main realms of existence. However, at the start of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar – Fourth Edition, the Skaven have literally gnawed through the fabrics of reality, causing Blight City to burst into existence in multiple realms at once, most notably the Realm of Fire, Aqshy. The Vermindoom has literally re-shaped reality, bringing pestilence and ruin to multiple Realms at once. 

Why Play as the Skaven?

The Skaven are a featured faction in this edition of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar and are getting a line-wide refresh, with many classic units getting an update in the new Starter Set. In general, the Skaven are experts at moving around the battlefield quickly, utilizing Gnawholes (holes in reality) to quickly move between locations and having an ability that allows them to retreat without suffering wounds. They also have a bit of a risk/reward strategy to them, with several previewed units having abilities that apply extra damage or effects but at the risk of damaging themselves in the process.

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The Skaven are also something of a flood-type army, as their Clanrat units consist of huge number of units and Skaven Armies can continuously redeploy units (albeit with less figures) through the Gnawholes for a relatively low cost. These Gnawholes also serve as potent obstacles for opponents, as they have the potential to deal damage to nearby enemy units, although they can be removed from the field of play due to new terrain rules. 

If you lean towards chaos and don't mind pulling your miniatures off the board as your rats get mowed down (knowing of course that you can bring them back soon), the Skaven might be the army for you. 

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