| Skaven Army Box | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 6th March 2012 - 08:08 PM (1,240 Views) | |
| Stickman | 6th March 2012 - 08:08 PM Post #1 |
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I recently found a Skaven Army Box that my LGS had left over from the holiday season. I quickly picked it up without thinking and have found myself the new owner of what can only be considered a small entry and start into building an army. After reading the forums for the past few days and taking notes on all the varying opinions of how to best serve the great horned one. I am still left with some questions on how best to possibly use this box of rats. Should I pair it up with the skaven side of the Island of Blood box set or focus on individual units? Should I even look at the possibility of a battalion box? Is it a bad idea as a new general to Warhammer Fantasy to field the Bell over the Furnace. I know that Mathusala0 posted a great read that I am still thinking on and within it states that "castle" lists are for more experienced players. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section but I thought the overall generalness of the questions that this was the best place to post. |
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| snowblizz | 7th March 2012 - 01:57 PM Post #2 |
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Ph.D.
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I did the same actually. And I also had the IoB stuff lying around from before. I then found a good deal on a second hand Skaven army so most of my problems of what to make were more or less solved by me making the armybox into whatever I didn't get any other way. Points against IoB, You get stuff that are not equipped "optimally". And most of the models are "clearly" Clanrats, not slaves. Also Ratgores aren't that good. Pros include cheap price mostly and you get the Plaguewindmortar and some other handy models. I'm making a BSB out of the IoB lord. Battalion has a similar problem in that you get more Ratogres that aren't very good. It does work fairly well with the armybox since you get more Clanrats/Slaves which you'll probably want and can boost the Plaguemonks into a decent 40 rat unit. Now it makes sense to "Furnace it up". I find the armybox was rather "elite" heavy, Stormvermin, Plaguemonks so you'll need numbers to bulk up. The battalion kinda does that, and you get stuff you probably want to pair with the armybox. After that I'd consider the Doomwheel and HPA as the "hammers" (yeah it's all stolen from Math's thread, I found it to be sound logic). |
| Snowblizz' Sneaky Skaven armyblog | |
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| Mathusala0 | 31st March 2012 - 03:45 AM Post #3 |
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The Evil Underlord
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to be fair, they are easy to field, hard to master.
lol, appreciated the compliment. |
![]() The Glossary of Common Underempire Lingo The Skaven Guide to competitive list building (8th Edition) The Skaven Castle Formation | |
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| Grey Guru | 27th April 2012 - 11:09 PM Post #4 |
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Clanrat
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Hi, thought I would continue on this thread instead of starting a new.. I just picked up one of the last copies of the army box (Brigade) at my local GW store I've got the IoB set from before too, so first of all, I'm just gonna make a 40-model slave/shield, and a 40-model CR spear+shield (for screaming bell later).. But when it comes down to Screaming Bell vs. Plague Furnace, I'm not entirely sure.. On first thought I wanted to go with Furnace, as I plan on getting a battalion pretty soon anyway.. It's much cheaper to field, and can fit in 1500-point games, compared to Bell, who needs 2000 points... But then I took a closer look at the models, and it seems you can build a bell + plague priest on foot, while it's impossible to build a furnace + grey seer on foot Has anyone tried to convert the models, placing the Plague Priest atop the wrecker for instance, and using a grey seer on foot? Do you have any thoughts? |
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| scratchydoom | 28th April 2012 - 12:02 AM Post #5 |
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Seer
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The grey seer can easily be placed on foot, often swinging off something or jumping, mine is climbing over a rock and i switched out his left arm for a bell that you get in IoB clanrat box sets. Go on ebay and source the skaven island of blood clanrats... super cheap and good. If you dont want to use shields, and get stuck with IoB spear rats, you can buy 40 handweapons of ebay for less than $10 australian dollars. You can easily use IoB rats for slaves, just paint them a little different perhaps filthier? darker colours? Regarding the furnace and screaming bell, there is a article on how to make it work as both, if your not up to the conversion, just build which ever one you think is cooler they are both great in game play.heres a pick of a grey seer on foot http://s6.zetaboards.com/The_UnderEmpire/topic/8812465/1/ Edited by scratchydoom, 28th April 2012 - 12:05 AM.
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Scratch the enganuative My Army Diary Painting List Magnetising Miniatures | |
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| Grey Guru | 28th April 2012 - 10:27 AM Post #6 |
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Clanrat
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Thanks! That Grey Seer looked great! I'm gonna think it over some more before I decide though... The Bell is a bit more fluffy than the Furnace imo... But regarding IoB, I've already made 20 slaves with shields (Not much choice here), and 20 clanrats with spear+shield. I'm just contemplating making my Brigade Rats a bit different.. But then the IoB set was useless after all, hmmm... What's the usual equipment for Bell Clanrats? Does people use the unit mainly to soak up shooting, or do they actually try to make it into a decent infantry block? As 40 CR can make you a 10/11 wide, 5 deep Horde, I thought you could make some use out of the spears, getting 4 ranks of attacks, and maybe even win a combat or two?... But then the Bell is unbreakable anyway, so perhaps I'm better off with CR with spears only, or naked? Or maybe the CC Ward save is more effective than the extra rank of fighting? with slaves that is probably right, but in clanrat hordes my gut says spears is more effective, though more expensive... My current plan is still: - 40 slaves, HW + shield (To get a large enough unit to get some use out of the IoB slaves) - 40 clanrats, spear + shield (To make up the Screaming Bell unit, to maybe win a couple of fights) Btw, I'm not gonna use all the IoB for slaves or clanrats, I've sorted them by armour, and the models are pretty consistent, and even more so when painted, that's important to me. I'm gonna look this up in the archives, but if anyone has opinions, be nice-nice and share them please
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| Skrits | 28th April 2012 - 11:05 AM Post #7 |
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Conversioneer Extrordinaire
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There are ways to have both... http://www.ar-tat.org/warhammerstuff/the_blog/magnetised_screaming_bell_-.html Also if you ever plan to do tournaments its a good idea to make up your units 50% spears and 50% handweapons seeing as the rules are you need to have at least 50% of the units with the correct weapons. I have about 250 IoB clanrats and divided them in 100 Clanrats 150 Slaves doing the armoured unarmoured thing (painting some armour as leather when needed) and that combined with a different paintjob and some chains to the slaves (jewelry chains) will make the difference between them quite huge |
![]() Skrits's Conversion-Heavy Legion of Rats - Finished Clan Mordkin - Current project and 2nd Skaven army Skrits's Daemonic Legions - In progress on and off Magic Cards for: Skaven Screaming Bell, Missfires, Plague and Ruin Schools | |
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| tezzmaniak | 28th April 2012 - 03:14 PM Post #8 |
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THE Abomination
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I started my army with 1 army box, 1 battalion box and 1 box of nightrunners. This makes a good start. 40 slaves music 40 slaves music 40 StormVermin 40 Monks 1 WLC 1 Plague Funish 1 GS on foot 3* 6 Gutterrunners (from the Nightrunners box) 2 rat darts And convert some Engineers from the rest. A good start and a year worth of painting :-) Edited by tezzmaniak, 28th April 2012 - 03:15 PM.
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Diary: Vampire Hunters Bloodbowl : My bloodbowl team Achivements: Vampire Hunters Achivements P.R.S. complete = 51 2012 golden rat entry= HERE "Some factual information for you. Have you any idea how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you?" "How much?" said Arthur. "None at all," said Mr. Prosser. 9th Creator of the UnderEmpire Achievements ![]() | |
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| Nurglitch IX | 28th April 2012 - 03:26 PM Post #9 |
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Avatar by count zero
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The rules say "A majority" which most people are going to take to mean 51% or more, though some tourney organizers may use 65% as a definition (both are technically correct) . This applies to Shields too. Personally I run a unit of 40 slaves with about 18 spears and 16 shields, but nobody has both a shield and spear. |
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-img-http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/underempire/PRS%20Banners/2hfhshwet.jpg[/img] This Space for Rent | |
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| Grey Guru | 28th April 2012 - 11:40 PM Post #10 |
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Clanrat
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Plague Furnace it will be. My friends don't have 2000 points armies anyway, I'll expect to play 500-1500 points for a while... I'll try my hand out at converting the Grey Seer though, will need some thinking to get the right base As for painting, yes it gonna take a LONG time to finish this project, used all evening just assembling the WLC
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| morgrendel | 1st May 2012 - 06:34 PM Post #11 |
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Clanrat
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If I may offer another suggestion regarding IOB Rats. You can divide them by shield shape, round vs triangle. Also, don't be afraid to cut on them. I've cut off the shields and arms with little work. |
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| Grey Guru | 1st May 2012 - 09:37 PM Post #12 |
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Clanrat
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I've not looked into the shields, but I divided them easily enough in armored/unarmored rats.. But as for cutting, that's interesting indeed.. It looks like the shield is sculpted on the arm quite thoroughly, like you would have to do a lot of detailed sculpting to make it look like a rat arm again. But is it really possible without spoiling the model? I'm actually thinking about getting another IoB pack, as my brother probably would find some use out of a few more Swordmasters/Lothern Seaguard/Reavers, and I could do with some more weapon teams and cheap rats. Iĉm thinking about getting some units for testing before expanding and streamlining (This is a long-time process anyway):
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| Stickman | 4th May 2012 - 08:21 PM Post #13 |
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Thanks for the bump and ideas for how to adapt the Army Box to a force there are a lot of good ideas. I have decided to actually play with the furnace instead of the Bell as I am starting out with a lower point force to play with friends just getting into Warhammer Fantasy and so they will have lower point armies to start. |
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