Having a go at Warhammer Fantasy...

I've been threatening to do a Fantasy army for a while. I keep buying stuff I like the look of and then never actually getting around to doing an actual army.

The release of the 'Island of Blood' box set has revitalised my interest by it's inclusion of some very nice Rat Ogre models and some cool looking Weapon teams.

So I bought one and traded the High Elves for the Skaven,

Then my daughter managed to win a Skaven Battalion in a prize draw at my FLGS which she kindly 'traded' to me in exchange for a Barbie Mermaid...

So added to the pile of misc. stuff that I bought (or had bought for me) that looked cool and combined with the stuff I've newly acquired I have quite a haul of Skaven but no real idea about what makes a good army.

So I've decided to learn by playing rather than spend months gathering completely conflicting advice from the internet and then still ending up learning by playing...

Of course even if I was going for a purely competitive build some kind of underlying theme is still nice to have.

Four things inspired me from the Skaven book,

1) Clan Pestilens.

2) The stories about the wars against the goblins.

3) Rat Ogres

4) Weapon Teams.

So I'm going to do a 'Plague' themed army with Night goblins as Skavenslaves and also include the other units I thought were cool.

As Clan Pestilens has several Warlord clans that are 'allied' to it it's not unreasonable for me to use Clanrats and Skavenslaves in the army as long as I paint them appropriately diseased looking.

Also, for obvious reasons the whole Skaven concept screams 'horde' so I want big blocks if it's at all practical.

The following is what I've come up with but I'm sure it'll change as I actually learn how to play more effectively.

2500 Pts - Skaven Roster - Clan Pestilens

Plague Priest (2#, 254 pts)

1 Plague Priest @ 254 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Flail; Frenzy)

1 Plague Furnace (Frenzy; Large Target; Magic Resistance (2))

Plague Monks (40#, 305 pts)

39 Plague Monks @ 305 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack; Frenzy)

1 Bringer-of-the-Word (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack; Frenzy)

Plague Priest (2#, 254 pts)

1 Plague Priest @ 254 pts (Hand Weapon; Flail; Frenzy)

1 Plague Furnace (Frenzy; Large Target; Magic Resistance (2))

Plague Monks (40#, 305 pts)

39 Plague Monks @ 305 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack; Frenzy)

1 Bringer-of-the-Word (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack; Frenzy)

Rat Ogres (8#, 256 pts)

6 Rat Ogres @ 256 pts (Causes Fear; Frenzy)

2 Packmaster (Hand Weapon; Whip; Light Armour)

Rat Ogres (8#, 256 pts)

6 Rat Ogres @ 256 pts (Causes Fear; Frenzy)

2 Packmaster (Hand Weapon; Whip; Light Armour)

Clanrats (22#, 160 pts)

20 Clanrats @ 160 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)

2 Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team (Warpfire Thrower; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour)

Clanrats (22#, 160 pts)

20 Clanrats @ 160 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)

2 Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team (Warpfire Thrower; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour)

Clanrats (22#, 155 pts)

20 Clanrats @ 155 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)

2 Poisoned Wind Mortar Weapon Team (Poisoned Wind Mortar; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour)

Clanrats (22#, 155 pts)

20 Clanrats @ 155 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)

2 Poisoned Wind Mortar Weapon Team (Poisoned Wind Mortar; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour)

Clanrat Slaves (40#, 80 pts)

40 Skavenslaves @ 80 pts (Hand Weapon)

Clanrat Slaves (40#, 80 pts)

40 Skavenslaves @ 80 pts (Hand Weapon)

Total Roster Cost: 2420

This leaves me 80 points for any Magic Items or Banners I feel are necessary (which may or may not be enough depending on who I ask).

Thoughts, comments and advice are even more welcome than usual as I've really got no idea what I'm doing when it comes to Warhammer Fantasy ;-)