It's all Splinter's fault...

Hrm, two blogs in about as many days. Weird...

Anyway, I'm writing this because my befuddled mind has clamped its clammy tentacles around a new "faiblesse": Skaven in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Yup, the rat men.

I have diligently played the poncy pointy-eared pussies (High Elves) for nearly ten years now. The High Elves are arrogant, but they are also reliable, sensible, dependable and a lot of other words that end in -ible. Why on Earth would I suddenly have a change of heart and warm to the scruffy, egocentric, undiscipled and down-right EVIL rat-men of the Old World?



It could be in part that their saney steampunk inventions appeal to some part of me or maybe I'm just tired of playing an army that runs like clock-work if you know how to use it, but if you don't you get a pounding? Honestly, the Skaven probably work in the same way, but at least I can have a laugh whilst I lose the battle. Read the Warp-lightning Cannon's Misfire table if you don't believe me.
Or maybe it is all Splinter's fault. Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That or the fact that the Skaven's hell-bent will for world domination, constantly foiled by either egoism, cowardice or failing warpstone-gizmos (most likely a combo of all three) reminds me in some parodic, roundabout zaney way of the Nazis. Don't ask me why. They just do.

And it is about time I played the bad guys.
Also, I'm sick of elitist armies. That's why I won't do a Chaos Khorne army. An army even more compact than the High Elves? With NO magic? Thanks but no thanks, despite being dead-hard in close combat. Add to the fact that Chaos has sod-all on the missile front. Gah! I'm also heartedly sick of cavalry!

So it is the Skaven then, for me. The utter opposite of High Elves. Oh, and their easier to paint! I just need a drybrush or two to be able to paint vast amount of Skaven. Even dipping will be seen as slow!

Crazy as I am (I lost my common sense many years ago. I think it is the plastic glue that caused it.) I don't want to do a Warlord's Clan army. 2000 pts of Skaven is a freakish lot of rats! Unless you do a... erm... elitist Greater Clan army.

There are four Greater Clans: Pestilens, Skryre, Eshin and Moulder.
- I've never liked Pestilens. Can have something to do with the intimate connection they after all have with Nurgle. I've never liked Nurgle (apart from the new Forge World Great Unclean One, which rocks!). Maybe it's me elven heritage shining through.
- Moulder is also kinda cool. But the Rat Ogres... mmm, I dunno. I don't want an army made up of mostly dumb animals. I want Rats with humanlike intelligence. If I wanted an army of dumb animals I'd go for Orcs and Goblins.
- Skryre, then? Now we're talking! The Masters behind the zaney warpstone-gizmos. Gotta love them! Jezzails, Warpfire throwers and the Warp-lightning cannon! And Warlock Engineers! Hrm...
- Eshin, with their assassins. Tunneling rats. Oh, they have a real army list in Storm of Chaos! Nice as nice, is-is! Master Assasins? I'm listening! And you still can field vast amount of cheap Skaven Slaves? Mmmmm... throwing stars...

No contest: Eshin it is! If nothing else because Ninja Rats rock! And with their dark colour scheme, they're even easier to paint! Onwards, my chittering horde. Time to conquer Man-world, yes-yes!

--Tallyho!