The New Skaven Pour Forth For Warhammer End Times!
January 2, 2015 by brennon
Games Workshop have pushed out their first Warhammer End Times releases of 2015 and it's focused in on the deadly daemons of the Skaven, the Verminlords! They are also joined by a unique named character, Skreech Verminking!
First up we have Skreech himself who is also part of the variations you can build when you buy the Verminlord kit from Games Workshop. He counts as one of the five models you can make even if listed separately on the webstore.
"The mightiest of all the Verminlords, Skreech Verminking is a legend amongst the Skaven. Possessing phenomenal magical ability, allied with the best traits of the Skaven clans, he is the master of ruin reaping death wherever he walks."
It will be interesting to see where this fellow stacks up against the other big characters of The End Times like Nagash and Glottkin but knowing Games Workshop he has plenty of awesome secrets in that shattered skull of his.
The other combinations allow you to build (in order above) a Warpseer, Warbringer, Deceiver and Corruptor each with their own weapon choices and head designs. With the amount of options in this kit it's going to be interesting to see what avid hobbyists do with the spares. I could see a fair few very cool Rat Ogres looking pretty monstrous!
According to rumours there is ONE more book in the End Times saga after this Skaven one which should also see the return of perhaps the best Thanquol miniature we've ever seen. I hope that means we get Boneripper too! Some of the whisperings we've heard point to the final book seeing more murder and mayhem than ever before.
Where does The Old World go from here?
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From all new Vermin Lord options only Deceiver does not have too many horns.
I need that in my life
now that the models are more viewable, those look like crap imo …
Agreed. Is he standing on his own weapon in some of those poses? Or is he stepping over it? Even run-of-the-mill rats are brighter than that. The first few versions have a sort of Beauty and the Beast Ice Capades quality to them.
Might be the angle of the photo, but the other option is the clumsiest foot-on-rock I’ve ever seen. And if he’s a giant rat, what is up with his feet? Looks like he has a u-joint for an ankle, with a couple of claws sticking out of the bottom.
Summary: Top half is a success… as a beastman god or something. The bottom half looks like it was outsourced to a daycare. And the price… lol.
None of the poses look good, each looks awkward.
Im buying one of these! I cant wait!
I still like these minis, weird feet and all.
We’re gonna need a few more cannons…
> from the past
I’m not sure why GW are going for “dynamic silliness” over good old fashion freedom of choice… It’s a PLASTIC model ffs, why aren’t they using the medium to allow us freedom of movement! It’s something GW were quite fond of, once upon a time. Then again I’ve seen a lot of people here praise just as stupid posing from non-GW models, so maybe they’re just giving you want they want eh?
Great pic and a better figure… nostalgia aside.
yup .. they could have used the old model as a base and just improved upon it imo
Makes me think the Beastmen need this more so than the Skaven.
Deceiver – is the best of the bunch.
The rest well “Go, Go, Power Rangers”
If I were in the market for a giant, horned rat monster thing, then the Forge World one is cheaper and ten times better IMHO.
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer/Skaven/SKAVEN-EXALTED-VERMIN-LORD.html
agreed, that is a creature that brings terror without causing its victims to hear japaneese anime tracks ringing in their ears while getting chopped up. Id put some cooler horns on him, but overall thats a good (and without a doubt better) Vermin lord.
Awesome. Wished I played Skaven…….might just start…..;)
I got the email from GW that had a close up of the war version. The pain job is utter crap. Not impressed by any of the minis.
Is it just me, or is there a theme to all these new minis? A helix of rope / tail / cloth / fire and a character barely touching the ground. It doesn’t really suit the Skaven.
I was looking forward to the Skaven releases but this is plain silly…and not in a good Warhammer way. Technically it is a great sculpt but the finished product (IMO) is overdone and barely fits the Skaven conception – much better as a Chaos figure. However I am certain ages 8-12 years will love it!
Skaven was my fest army and still one of my loves…. I was thinking of recollection them since Isold off my army back in 99… that said I was excited about a new vermin lird…. but this isn’t doing it for me…. the horns are huge and it’s all thin and whippy…. i don’t know what us up with GW doing these skinny minis that look fragile on huge bases…. Nagash? The first time i saw it i hated it….. but it is starting to grow on me. At 90 dollars US it seems too much for the vermin lord…. but hey the forge world one is only 75 (i think have to recheck) and is awesome….
gah! the illegitimate love child of cirque de soleil and mr tumnus!
That thing is not coming near my precious skaven horde!
Looks NOTHING like a rat. May as well chop the horns off and field it as a giant.
The foot on rock/foot on own weapon?? Is not that great.
But i love the rest. And i love that it isnt a fat rat with horns like the FW version, and that it is more deamon then rat. And for a monster of that size, i find the price ok.
This is one of those miniatures that seems absolutely, beautifully sculpted. The amount of detail on it is outstanding. But, like a few of the other big monster releases, the concept seems somewhat confused and overblown – one of the most difficult things in any field of art is knowing when to stop, and once something has been completed. This looks like it was done, but then in effect murdered by committee – ‘add some more horns’ ‘add some more tails’ ‘add some spikes to the tails’, until we are left with something OTT.
It’s an impressive bit of sculpting, but I think again it might be a case that less could have been more. For all it’s extra bits and bobbins flying everywhere, and being stepped on, this doesn’t come close to the visual impact that Mierce are managing with some of their range.
Wow I do not know what all the fuss is about.
If you remember that Skaven are influenced by Japanese and ancient Chinese culture then the posing and look of the Verminlord starts to make sense. The theme of dynamism is prevalent in art depicting legends and folklore from both cultures. I can envision more then a dozen modern works depicting the Monkey King (a huge mythological figure in Chinese folklore) striking the same pose as the Verminlord standing on his staff/halberd etc. The pose is not one of function, instead it is one of style that portraits a sense of agility with the ability to strike quick and hard at ones opponent. Also this model successfully reflects the styles used on many images of Japanese Oni (Demon).
Once again everyone is entitled to their own opinion, as for mine I think this is a great looking model that captures all the essence of the Skaven’s Oriental inspirations. I do feel a lot of negativity comes as a reflex as people automatically cast an analytical eye on GW, trying to pick any flaw to drive them away from the product. While its still accepted as being “cool” to like Forgeworld……..even though it is the same company. I just think we are being over harsh on what is a beautifully sculpted model. Ask yourself if GTC studios, or Corvus Belli had cast this miniature would people pick it apart so much?
Um… yes.
Glad you agrer
Of course, it would probably be the first CB model i wouldnt want. I really like the Glotkin model by GW and some of the nurgle chaos warriors but thats it for the end times. I wouldnt buy them because i dont beleive in supporting GW, but they look good nonetheless. As for the forge world Vermin lord, i think it looks better because it looks like a proper monster that didnt bother to browse for party armour and put make up on before going out.
So most of you are saying it is bad, looks awful, the pose is not good etc. Well, IMHO, as a Skaven player I am having a ratgasm everytime I see these pics. 😉 Maybe it is just because it took them 6 years to release something new?
I was just flicking through the rules in the most recent WD, and while I like all the Verminlord variants and can see effective combinations, tabletop uses and characterful lore pairings for all of them, I can see particular potential for all kinds of sneaky shenanigans with the Deceiver.
The ability to guarantee Skitterleap (a casting value 5 spell that is easy to cast and lets you place the critter anywhere on the battlefield not within 1″ of another model) with a reroll to casting rolls, and the ability to cast it on the Deceiver itself (not usually an option since Skitterleap cannot normally be cast on Monsters) makes it very easy to get it into all kinds of useful positions to get the best out of its very nasty Doomstar (wide frontage and Horde units are an obvious target, but even heavy cavalry and infantry are not going to like a potential five strength six shots) and its other three spells, which can be drawn from the Skaven spells of Ruin of Plague in any combination, are likely to include lots of damage causing spells, with the spells of plague including a couple of spells best cast away from your own units, thus synergising well with Skitterleap.
As a six wound monster, it can also disrupt units with a flank or rear charge, costing them their rank bonus. Skitterleap behind a lynchpin enemy unit at the right time, hit them with the Doomstar and magic for a turn, and then leave your opponent facing a potential rear or side charge no matter what they do, either form the Deceiver or another approaching Skaven unit.
Its armour piercing Warpstilleto gives it a -4 armour save modifier on its attacks, making it great at murdring heavily armoured, small membership units like heavy cavalry, and Skitterleap and its 8″ movement value should make chasing down such units relatively easy.
It would also be a great answer to annoying opposing artillery.
Best of all, whatever you send it off to do, it is not then committed and potentially trapped away from the real action for the rest of the battle, since it can just Skitterleap back to where you need it.
Obviously, it would be best deployed as part of a force with a heavy Clan Eshin presence, and as it happens Eshin is one of my favourite Skaven clans… 🙂