We have another potential new player to the league for 2014. Judging by his excitement and his brother’s prowess on the pitch, he could be in the running for rookie of the year.

He is very interested in the Skaven team. Skaven are like a Porche. They are fast as hell, but can get you in trouble just as fast. So in this section, I am listing Skaven-specific resources in a format very similar to the way we do it in “Top-5 Races for Beginners”. While I don’t list Skaven in that section, they are an amazing team to start with as well.

S. Skaven - One of the fastest teams on the pitch, the Skaven can light up the scoreboard (capable Thrower and AG4 Gutter Runners) and deliver a punch (Blitzers with mutations on Doubles and a Rat Ogre). To pay for all that speed, you will burn through line rats pretty quick as they have AV 7 and no starting skills. If you can minimize the damage you take from an opponent, then you can use these tools for chalk some wins up on your opponents.

When playing against Skaven, many coaches just accept that they will not be able to stop them from scoring. Their Gutter Runners are AG4 and Move 9. With access up to 4 of these little suckers, they are like herding cats (or rats in this case). Surrounding these players, you have a thrower that combines good movement with starting Sure Hands and Pass. You back him up with two Blitzers that can add claw to their hits on doubles. The Cherry on top is the Rat Ogre, one of the best big fellas in the game, whose Prehensile Tail creates problems for teams trying to dodge out of his way. The main drawback for the team is the low AV on most of the pieces and the rate at which your AV7 unskilled line rats will be missing games, piling up injuries, or outright killed. Besides player attrition, a new coach should try to make sure that the Gutter Runners don’t hog all the touchdowns. While they will be the easiest players to score with, putting too much experience on these Gutter Runners without spreading the love around will give the Gutter Runners less-developed support pieces protecting them. This will lead to a dead rat pretty quickly. This fast fury needs to be controlled, and if a coach can make sure to minimize the hits against him, then new or experienced coaches alike will enjoy the rats for a successful season.

To learn move about Orcs:
a. Read the FUMBBL Skaven Team Roster, Strategy, and Skill Choice articles
b. Read Shooting the Gap on Plasmoid’s Playbook Website
c. Download and listen to the FREE Podcast - Three Die Block - Skaven 1.0
d. Download and listen to the FREE Podcast - Three Die Block - Skaven 2.0
e. Download and listen to the FREE Podcast - OrcaCola Podcast - RATS Skaven
f. Check out Impact! Miniatures' Ratmen Team
g. Check out the Gazpez Arts Mice Team
h. Check out the Neomics Miniatures Rat Team
I. Check out the Green Dog Miniatures Ratmen Team
j. Check out the Black Scorpion Miniatures Vermin Team
k. Check out the custom Rat fields from FF-Fields and from Sanabeso