Skaven Clan Eshin

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The **Skaven Clan Eshin** is one of the many Great Clans which has a member upon the council of thirteen.

## Description

The Skaven of Clan Eshin are accomplished masters of stealth and murder. Long ago they learned the art of assassination in distant lands. Now they are among the most feared of the Great Clans of the Under-Empire. These silent killers serve as the eyes and ears of Skavendom, infiltrating the realms of other races and spying upon them from the shadows. Striking from ambush, utterly without mercy and honour, endowed with a ferocious speed and viciousness far in excess of any human, the Skaven are hideous foes. The chance to increase their own prestige inside the clan makes the warbands infesting Mordheim even more ruthless – and dangerous.

## Gameplay

Effective use of a Skaven warband requires good use of tactics and an understanding of Skaven strengths and weaknesses. Skaven are generally fast and agile, making them one of the better factions for navigating the ruins of Mordheim, but they are also cowardly and physically weak. Skaven units will almost never fare well in one-on-one combat, even at high levels, and so it is vital for a Skaven player to keep their warriors together and gang up on enemies. Effective use of ambushes can give Skaven warriors the advantage they need, and where possible a Skaven player should always pick off isolated foes before engaging the bulk of the enemy warband.

Warpguards are the only ratmen available to the warband that can wear heavy armor. This makes them top picks in going toe-to-toe with the enemy. They are also unaffected by wyrdstone corruption, making them prime wyrdstone collectors. Their weapon skill is above average, allowing a parry tank build, but they also possess high agility, allowing him to dodge attacks. A warpguard's strength and toughness is outmatched by few in Clan Eshin, but is hampered by his low ballistic skill and intelligence.

Verminkin are the basic clanrat of Clan Eshin. Physically inferior to the Warpguards, Verminkin are not to be used as main combatants, but instead as skirmishers, waiting to jump into battle. Their martial stats are average, but outmatch the Warpguards in terms of ballistic skill, making a ranged build viable as well. They develop a rage when they touch wyrdstone, making them deal more melee damage, and dodge easier.

Night Runners are confusing at first. They start with fighting claws, but possess superior ballistic skill, so a ranged build is the most effective. A night runner is the most agile and alert rat in the warband, being able to dodge just about anything and act quickly. His passive skill rewards jumping with extra movement range, allowing him to get into position quicker. His strength and toughness is low, so he won't fare well in a fight without help. His leadership and intelligence scores are also low, as they are new initiates into Clan Eshin.

The Black Skaven is the melee hero in the warband. Few ratmen rival his strength stat, and he can still dodge most attaks. Most notably, he has high weapon skill, so he is unlikely to miss his target. His passive skill helps him deal more damage to armored opponents. His leadership is above average, which makes sense: they were raised in brutal environments. What weighs down a black skaven is his low intelligence and ballistic skill, as well as having average toughness and alertness.

Eshin Sorcerers are the spellcaster heroes available to the clan. His passive skill rewards collecting wyrdstone with dealing extra spell damage, but this is rarely used, as he only has one damaging spell in his arsenal. Most of his spells are focused on buffing his teammates and debuffing the enemy. His active skill nullifies the effects of mental conditions. Sorcerers possess surprisingly high leadership, and superhuman intelligence and alertness. And in the typical skaven fashion, he can dodge easily. He also has a high ballistic skill matching that of the Night Runner. A Sorcerer does not fare well in combat, especially alone.

The Rat Ogre is the impressive warrior available to Clan Eshin warbands. He has exceptional physical and martial stats, and his alertness is high also. While he doesn't move as fast as the normal ratman, he can keep up with most enemies, and imposes fear on them. A Rat Ogre's major shortcoming is having stupidity, where if he fails an intelligence test, he skips his turn. This can be mitigated with the Eshin Sorcer's active skill, and the mark of Lucidity. His dependency on teammates and enchantments is why some players refuse to field a Rat Ogre in the first place. His low intelligence doesn't help his case either, possessing the lowest intelligence out of all impressives. When a Rat Ogre remembers what he is supposed to be doing, he is a formidable foe.

Assassin Adepts form the cores of Clan Eshin warbands. In typical skaven fashion, they are highly agile and alert. His weapon skill is also high, so melee is the more viable route for an Assassin. His passive skill makes successfully dodging and parrying his attacks harder. His leadership and intelligence are above average, at least for a ratman. However, like most of his kind, his strength and toughness are low, meaning they don't fare well in one-on-one combat. To keep the Assassin alive, have him jump into a fight.

## Media

* Assassin Adept
* Black Skaven
* Eshin Sorcerer
* Night Runner
* Rat Ogre
* Verminkin
* Warp Guard