Total War: Warhammer 2 The Shadow and The Blade – All the New Skaven
Ealier today, Creative Assembly released the reveal trailer for The Shadow and The Blade DLC, a new expansion for Total War: Warhammer 2. Launching on the 12th of December, the Lord Pack DLC will add another two Legendary Lords to the game; Malus Darkblade for the Dark Elves and Deathmaster Snikch for the Skaven. The studio also revealed exactly what players can expect in terms of new units. Indeed, in addition to a new Lord and Hero themed for the stealthy Clan Eshin, the Skaven will be getting both new units and Regiments of Renown.
The Shadow and The Blade DLC: New Skaven Lords and Heroes
Of course, the biggest new addition for the Skaven roster is that of Deathmaster Snikch, the fearsome master assassin of Clan Eshin. As to be expected for an assassin, Snikch is an expert at taking down enemy characters in battle. He benefits from both Vanguard Deployment and Stalk, and among other abilities, his Weeping Blades allow him to reduce an enemy target’s armour by half. Of course, the Deathmaster is also likely to have other powerful skills on his skill tree which have yet to be revealed.
While his exact lord and faction traits are currently unknown, his new campaign mechanics are. Clan Eshin will gain special missions called Greater Clan Contracts. Completing these will grant them rewards from the other Skaven clans, including cost reductions for their associated units. Plus, Clan Eshin’s characters can also perform Shadowy Dealings, allowing them to complete actions with 100% chance of success, at the expense of the character being unavailable for several turns. The Shadowy Dealings vary in nature, but can include thievery, subterfuge, inciting local rebellions, and assassination. Plus, Snikch himself will apparently be able to; “burn down entire cities.”
Similar to how other recent Lord Pack DLCs have added new generic Lords that are similar to the accompanying Legendary Lord, The Shadow and The Blade DLC will add the Master Assassin as a new Skaven Lord choice. Similar to Snikch, the Master Assassin has Vanguard Deployment and Stalk. However, they also have Concealment Bombs which allow them to hide other friendly units, as well as a ranged attack using shuriken. Alongside the Master Assassin, the Skaven will also get the Eshin Sorcerer as a new Hero. This sneaky new Wizard has access to the Lore of Stealth, a brand-new lore of magic which; “has a focus on sneakiness and controlling the battlefield.”
The Shadow and The Blade DLC: New Skaven Units
Like the Dark Elves, the Skaven are getting three new units in The Shadow and The Blade DLC. The first of these are the Eshin Triads, a new covert infantry unit. Described by Creative Assembly as; “a versatile alternative to their Clanrat and Stormvermin brehren,” the Triads are lightly-armoured, but have both Vanguard Deployment and Stalk, allowing them to strike from unexpected directions.
The other two new Skaven units are both weapon teams; the Poisoned-Wind Mortar and Warp-Grinder Weapon Teams. The first is a new portable mortar which fires large-scale versions of the poisoned-wind globes hurled by Poisoned-Wind Globadiers. These projectiles allow the Skaven to rain down Warpstone Gas on enemy units at far greater range than ever before. Warp-Grinders, on the other hand, carry huge warpstone drills. These can be used to cause tremors, pierce heavy armour, and even bring settlement walls crashing down!
The Shadow and The Blade DLC: New Skaven Regiments of Renown
As with every Lord Pack DLC, The Shadow and The Blade is also bringing several new Regiments of Renown to the Skaven roster. While some of these are for the new DLC units, others are for pre-existing units on the roster. First up is The Avalanche Mortar, a Regiment of Renown for the new Poisoned-Wind Mortar. Described as a “Death Globe Mortar,” the Avalance Mortar seems to be similar to the existing Regiment of Renown for the Poisoned-Wind Globadiers. Like them, it fires purple projectiles instead of green. Plus, its armour-piercing shots explode in mid-air.
The next new Regiment is Ishka’s Triads, a unique variant of the new Eshin Triads. According to Creative Assembly, these elite new killers; “follow the teachings of Ishka Fastclaw, who was once the Nightlord of Clan Eshin”. Not only do Ishka’s Triads have Anti-Large, but they can actually summon a fake duplicate of themselves to trick the enemy. Presumably, this ability may be similar to that used by Alith Anar. However, it’s currently unknown exactly how it will work.
The final new Skaven Regiment of Renown isn’t for the Warp-Grinder Weapons Team. Instead, Viskrin’s Death Squad are a Death Runner Regiment of Renown. Armed with similar weeping blades to Deathmaster Snikch, the Death Squad are armour-piecing specialists with excellent speed. Certainly, they’re likely to be an excellent pick for Snikch’s army, once he reaches the level necessary to unlock them.