In the Skryre Skaven army the Warlocks are part engineer and part wizard.

Warlock Engineer Tactics

The Warlock Engineers have two main uses. The first is using their Warlock Pistol they can offer some covering fire as your clanrats some cover as they engage with the enemy, the other is as a wizard casting and unbinding spells. The Warlock Engineer does have a melee weapon, but he is far more useful behind the front line than he is in combat.

The Warlock Pistol is a one attack 9″ ranged weapon with the usual 3+,4+ to hit and wound (33.33% chance of wounding). So don’t depend on it wounding. However if it does wound then the -1 rend and D3 wounds will bite.

Skaven Skryre Warlock Engineer Magic

The Skaven Warlock Engineer can dispel one enemy spell if they are in range during the enemy command phase. This means that they are a useful addition to any units that are going wizard hunting.

The Skaven Warlock Engineer can cast the usual Mystic Shield and Arcane Bolt spells.  If you are new to Age of Sigma battles I highly recommend that you get use to these spells as they will pop up  very regularly.

The Warlock Engineers also has a signature spell Warp Lightning. This casts on a roll of 5+ on 2d6 and causes D3 wounds. So just like the Arcane Bolt. So why have a second spell?  The first reason is that in games using the rule of one (found in the Generals Handbook) it means that you can fire off two Arcane Bolt like spells if you have 2+ wizards in your army.  The second reason is that the Warp Lighting spell can be powered up by the Engineers Warp-power Accumulator! This causes the Warp Lightning spell to cause D6 mortal wounds instead of D3. Be careful though! If you use the Warp-power Accumulator and fail to get the spell off (eg.  roll 4 or less) then it will back fire can cause 1 mortal wound to your Engineer!

So how can you increase the probability of getting spells off?  One way way is to seek out Arcane scenery. If you are within 3″ of a piece of Arcane scenery then you get +1 to you spell cast roll. This means that you only have to roll 4+ to get the Warp Lightning spell of (11 in 12 chance of success). Another option is to take a Chaos Familiar. These add 1 to casting rolls for Chaos Wizards near by. Skaven Warlock Engineers are Chaos Wizards, so this would work. Note that taking one would make your army a Chaos Grand Alliance army and not a pure Skaven one. This in turn may affect some of the special rules available.

Where can I get Warlock Engineers?

The usual way to get Warplock Engineers is to go to the Games Workshop site. Also there is a Warlock Engineer in the ‘Spire of Dawn’ box set that is a splash re-release of the ‘Island of Blood’ 8th edition of Warhammer Fantasy models with Age of Sigmar rules (minus the rulers and dice!)

• Also buy: Chaos Skaven Warlock Engineers from Games Workshop
• Also buy: Discount Spire of Dawn box set from Element Games When they are in stock!

Chaos Skaven Skryre Arch-Warlock Tactics

If you want to scale up your Skaven Warlock Engineer then you get the Arch-Warlock Engineer. These grey bearded Skaven are the masters of their art.

There are differences between Skaven Warlocks and Arch-Warlocks, the main one is that the Arch-Warlocks only have a one shot ranged weapon but better melee weapons. This means that you will need to ballance the Arch-Warlock’s ranged magic with his combat skills and how valuable he is to your army. 

The best way to balance the Arch-Warlock’s skills is to set him up with a heavy hitting bodyguard (Stormfeinds or Stormvermin), and may be your general, and then pick your fights carefully. 

Skaven Arch-Warlock Strength and Weapons 

As mentioned above the Arch-Warlock has a single shot weapon and two melee weapons. 

The ranged weapon is a Warpfire Gauntlett. With a range of 8″ you will need to be in charge range for it to work. However it automatically hits and does D3 mortal wounds. This is a great way to peal off a few wound from a hero or monster just before getting into combat with them. 

The Arch-Warlock’s melee weapons have quite a bite. The Piston Claw has the usual 33% chance of wounding and with a – 2 rend, a strong chance of causing its 3 damage. So one in 3 melee rounds he will be doing quite a lot of damage,  if he lives long enough! 

The Stormcage Halberd is a 2″ weapon with 2 attacks each with a better 44.44% chance of wounding. This works out at a 88% chance (most of the time) of landing a wound. Add with a -1 rend, and causing D3 damage and your Arch-Warlock is not to be sniffed at!