Clever-smart Grey Seer Skrittat has done the impossible. His verminious cunning has allowed him to come up with a brilliant plan-scheme to break into the Everspring Swathe and steal a clutch of Alarielle’s prized soulpods. In his expenses for the mission – which include a swarm of Stormvermin, Clanrats, and even an ominous Screaming Bell for him to ride – he even found a big enough cache of warpstone tokens to hire a fearsome Deathmaster.
He’ll need the help – led by the Lady of Vines, a whole harvest of newly-grown Sylvaneth are hunting for rat-flesh in Echoes of Doom, the latest Warhammer Age of Sigmar battle box, which is up for pre-order this weekend. Flee-flee, Skrittat, and pray to the Horned Rat that those weeping blades aren’t aimed at your back…*
Deathmasters are the deadliest assassins of the Clans Eshin. These furred fiends undergo rigorous training in the Eshinite temple-warrens, where they learn the tricks of the trade – how to move unseen and unheard, run up vertical walls, and all of the best places to plunge a knife into the many residents of the Mortal Realms to ensure a clean, one-cut kill.**
The Clans Eshin have used these skills to topple entire empires with a single blade – just ask Nagash! They’re the most agile of all the skaven, and masters of illusion who can seemingly melt into the darkness to evade capture. No wonder the aelven Shadeborn are fighting them in the depths of the Nethermaze – they have a brand to protect.
Refusing to get into anything close to a fair fight, Deathmasters lurk within teeming throngs of Clanrats or Stormvermin as Hidden Killers, leaping out when the foe is distracted and lashing out with a flurry of throwing stars and savage stabs.
If you choose to hide a betailed betrayer in one of your units, you’ll note down which one on a piece of paper – and keep it hush-hush until you’re ready to reveal your Deathmaster at the start of any combat phase. Then they’ll pop out of the unit, landing silently within 3", ready to stab-kill!
If the unit they’re tucked away in is destroyed, the Deathmaster must end the charade before the last poor rat is slain and leap out, hitting the deck and eating a mortal wound. But whether these ratty assassins land perfectly or catch the dirt in an ignoble faceplant, they can spring right into the fray.
For little guys, Deathmasters can pack a mighty punch against even monstrous foes with five rapid stabs from their weeping blade, targeting vulnerable areas and vital organs. They’re also vicious at range, hurling a hail of poisoned Eshin throwing stars faster than the mortal eye can see.
While a Deathmaster can fillet weaker heroes and turn chaff units into a fine paste with his raw martial arts, the secret sauce these featherweights use to topple tyrants is the alchemically-treated warpstone coating their blades – a poison so deadly that a single nick can bring convulsing death in seconds.
This corrosive toxin deals D3 mortal wounds for each unmodified hit roll of 6, shredding even the fattest wound pool – perfect for felling even a mighty Spirit of Durthu.
On top of all of that, look at his little whiskery face! If Deathmasters weren’t living nightmares, they’d almost be cute. You can get your hands on one in Echoes of Doom, which contains two units to hide him in and a bunch of Sylvaneth for the slaughter, all up for pre-order this weekend.
Battletome: Skaven is sneaking its way ever closer to release alongside Battletome: Sylvaneth, both stuffed with new battle traits, new and countless new ways to exercise your cunning as you conquer foes with martial might.
Keep your eye on the Warhammer Community site for more rules previews, and sign up for the newsletter to get that information as soon as it hits.
* The price was a steal, so someone’s making a killing.
** Some say this training involves learning how to balance on top of a tiny pole. The tail helps.