It’s been an eventful few months for Ratkin since fourth edition landed. The furry wonders have been rampaging across America, landing three of the top ten spots in the Masters, and duly attracting a bit of a nerf in the most recent Fracture update.
In the UK it’s been a very different story, with only a handful of players taking them to tournaments, and the top players from third edition yet to venture out with their rodents. The contrast is noticeable and shows there are some clear differences between the approaches UK and US players take. I’ve been experimenting with mixed arms lists, which have not landed anywhere near the same results as the horde heavy lists across the Atlantic, before pivoting to a more melee focused force for a recent event and having my best outcome to date.
A number of changes hit the vermin in Fracture:
- there was an increase on the command activation from 4 to 5 for Strider
- Plague Pots lost stealthy
- Wretches lost access to the Ratkin Commands
- a new trait was introduced to allow Wretches to still be targets for Eat the Weak and Vermintide can now be targeted as well
- finally, Vermintide in combat with a Mutant Rat Fiend get a +1 to melee.
Despite doing great things in the US I’m not entirely convinced all the nerfs they’ve received are warranted. I’m generally supportive of the change that stops Wretches accessing Plague Pots and strider, but the change to strider and the removal of stealthy seem a little harsh for the other units. Unlike the Forces of nature Ratkin don’t have particularly reliable combat units that can access strider, and whilst Shock Troop Hordes work hard, their 4+ melee can definitely be a bit hit and miss. Not to mention that if a unit is choosing to use strider, they won’t have access to Plague Pots so there is a real trade off between the two commands.
The removal of stealthy from Plague Pots feels unhelpful is a game where shooting needs to be massed volumes of shots for it to be meaningful. With Plague Pot using units having at most a defence of 4 high volumes of shooting is going to take its toll quickly. I have yet to face a gunline force, but I’d be concerned with just how much damage it could do and the impact wavered hordes could have when moving lots of infantry blocks around the table.
Despite all this Ratkin continue to be a strong army with a varied roster to pick from. For anyone playing from a purely rule of cool point of view there is plenty of flexibility in the current list to choose a more traditional infantry list or a more tech-based list, and everything in between. In the more competitive space infantry lists are doing well and I thought I’d share my top five units based on a combination of my own experiences, other people’s lists, and how I think the Fracture changes might land. So, in no particular order:
Shock Troop Hordes
With high nerve, high attacks and access to the commands these elite rats do just about everything well enough. Three hordes have been a core of US Masters lists and since adding a third to my own list I’ve seen some great results.
Wretch Hordes and Warrior Regiments
I know I said this would be a top five, but I think the changes to Wretches in Fracture create a bit of optionality here. Wretches have higher nerve, lower defence, can’t access commands and need Cryza as a warlord to unlock other units. Warriors have a lower nerve, higher defence but can access commands and unlock other units, they’re also a little cheaper. As a result, I think both make great chaff.
Brood Mother
Rats have some great warlord choices. I think the Brood Mother feels the easiest to use. As she’s not a natural fighter, I’ve found myself less likely to allow her to get involved in combat early in the game. That means the army benefits from her commands and Radiance of Life for a lot longer. Giving her Scorched Earth increases her utility, allowing her to lend a hand with her magic earlier in the game and the spell synergises particularly nicely with Plague Pots making those Shock Troop Hordes even harder to remove.
Birthing Daughter
These agents of the Brood Mothers give a +1 to command rolls. In addition to that they have inspiring, a pretty decent nerve and aren’t yielding. I’ve found these individuals to be absolute gold dust, not only for their command and support abilities, but also how important they can be in the late game shutting down enemy units whilst the Shock Troops secure objectives and prepare for final charges.
Mutant Rat Fiend
I’m absolutely loving this fella. Whilst you have to be very careful about the combats you put him into, he’s proved himself to be a real problem for so many opponents so far this year. Having Slayer 6 is a massive benefit from his previous incarnation and as one of the few melee 3+ units in the army he provides a pretty reliable damage output when supporting the less reliable Shock Troops. So far, I’ve yet to trigger the Vermintide synergy, but under the right circumstances I could see it being reasonably handy.
Well, those are my thoughts on Ratkin so far this edition. I’m currently putting the final touches to my list for Clash of Kings and hoping that the fully fleshed out list isn’t too far away on the horizon.
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