The Horned Rat lives! Skaven have had little involvement in theWarhammernarrative since theOld Worldexploded andAge of Sigmarwas forced into existence. However, a recent CG trailer unveiled at Adepticon shows that they have a big part to play in the future of the game.
The trailer is suitably epic, showing the deceit of Sigmar and finally giving the Stormcast Eternals, presumably the other half of the Age of Sigmar 4th Edition starter box, an edge. The mighty warriors are losing their humanity and blaming Sigmar. Is revolution on the cards?
But the most exciting part of the trailer was the ratmen. I’m a big fan of Skaven, as you can probably tell from myUshoran conversion(WIP), and there’s so much potential within the numerous clans. The Skaven in the trailer weren’t visibly aligned to a particular clan, but they certainly weren’t the assassins of Eshin or plagued clergyrats of Pestilens.
The trailer focused on plenty of weaponry, from the Jezzail snipers, to the runaway cannon, to the hulking Rat Ogre. This leads me to think the story will follow Clan Skryre, and that these units will be getting fresh new models in the big box to accompany the new edition. Rat Ogres are in need of a refresh, new Jezzails are a shoe-in, and the Ratling Cannon is well overdue a new model. I don’t know the Stormcast range well enough to make the same claims, but I’m assuming the big dude on dragon and winged attackers will feature in the box.
The ratling weapon in the trailer looks as big as the Warp Lightning Cannon, so I wonder if we’ll get a dual-kit? Starter sets are usually push-fit, so I doubt that’s the case, but it’d be a welcome change.
However, one brief snippet suggests that Clan Moulder may be involved. I think the shot you see below could be a Rat Rider, revamping an incredibly old Skaven model for the modern era. Historically, these were deployed by Throt the Unclean, a three-armed scientist who took Skaven mutations further than any other. If I put my tinfoil hat on, this reveal could even suggest his return, due to the fact that he aligned himself with Archaon in the Storm of Chaos alternate timeline. Why does that matter? You shall see.
While the trailer was great and has got me excited about Age of Sigmar for the first time in a long while, theaccompanying Warhammer Community articlesheds even more light on what the Skaven are up to.
While skulking in the shadows for three editions, the Skaven have been planning the Vermindoom. Seemingly some kind of rataclysmic event a lá Ragnarok, blasting great holes in reality from which they can swarm forth and claim the mortal realms as their own. Think Vermintide, but bigger.
Arguably more important, though, is that the Great Horned Rat has ascended to a fully fledged member of the Chaos Pantheon, the fifth Chaos God. Aided by Archaon – there’s that Throt link – this ascension means that the Age of Skaven is well and truly here.
The Warhammer Community article also gives some general information on the fourth edition rules. There’s no real mechanics discussed, but it looks like we’re in for a full revamp of the system, including an element of “reactivity in your opponent’s turn”, which piques my interest.
From a personal perspective, my homebrew Skaven clan of Horned Rat devotees led by Not-Ushoran the Greater Daemon of the Horned Rat fits perfectly into this new Skaven lore. It almost fits too perfectly, like someone atGames Workshopread my article and decided to canonise it… just saying. I’m excited to add a bunch of new units to my hyper-religious sect of ratty cultists, and Age of Sigmar 4th Edition can’t come soon enough. And the Stormcast will be there too, I guess.
