Skaven Spells of Plague


 * Were you looking for the breath attack on the Zombie Dragon? Please see Pestilential Breath.


 * Looking for the plague gameplay mechanic? See plague.

 is a lore of magic introduced in Total War: Warhammer II. It is unique to the Skaven.

Plague Rash
As the high magic is channelled into the caster, it's protective energies form a dome around them.

The Passive of the Lore, active mapwide on casting another spell.


 * Type: Augment (should probably be listed as a Hex)
 * Target: Affects enemies in range
 * Duration: Constant (while casting)
 * Range: Map-wide
 * Plague Rash (10 seconds): -12% speed

Bless with Filth
A foul mist wraps around the weapons of an allied pack, their weapons dripping with noxious filth.


 * Type: Augment (Area) instantly affects targets in area
 * Cost: 5 Winds of Magic
 * Cooldown: 29 Seconds
 * Duration: 22 Seconds
 * Target: Self, ground, ally, 200m
 * Effect Range: 40m
 * Imbues Poison! attacks
 * Overcast for 8 Winds
 * Duration: 44 Seconds

Pestilent Breath
The Skaven utters a vile phrase and belches forth an impossibly vile cloud.


 * Type: Breath
 * Cost: 8 Winds of magic
 * Cooldown: 32 Seconds
 * Duration: 8 Seconds
 * Target: Ground, enemy 100m
 * Causes moderate magical damage
 * Can disrupt unit formation
 * Expanding, tear shaped attack
 * Strong vs. multiple units
 * Weak against armour
 * Overcast for 11 Winds
 * Added Poison! Contact Effect

Vermintide
Behold the Vermintide, the wizard calls and the rats will answer!


 * Type: Augment, summon
 * Cost: 7 Winds of Magic
 * Cooldown: 41 Seconds
 * Target: Ground, 60m
 * Summons a unit of Clanrats
 * Good at defending spellcaster
 * Summoned units degrade over time

Wither
Chanting passages from the Liber Bubonicus, the wizard casts a hex of wasting and corrosion.


 * Type: Hex (Area) Only acts on targets when in area
 * Cost: 10 Winds of Magic
 * Cooldown: 37 Seconds
 * Duration: 50 Seconds
 * Target: Ground, enemy, 200m
 * Effect Range: 40m
 * -30 Armour
 * Overcast for 16 Winds
 * -60 Armour

Plague
The caster unleashes a vile disease that scours the battlefield in search of victims to infect and instantly petrify


 * Type: Vortex
 * Cost: 11 Winds of Magic
 * Cooldown: 50 Seconds
 * Duration: 20 Seconds
 * Target: Ground, 150m
 * Causes major magical damage
 * Large, expanding, area of effect
 * Good against armour
 * Strong vs. multiple units
 * Weak vs. a single combatant
 * Overcast for 16 Winds
 * Increased armour-piercing damage

Pestilent Birth
Like a pregnant boil bursting forth, the ground opens and pus-covered Plague Monks emerge to do battle at the verminous summoner's bidding.


 * Type: Augment, summon
 * Cost: 14 Winds of Magic
 * Cooldown: 48 Seconds
 * Target: Ground 60m
 * Summons a unit of Plague Monks
 * Good at flanking enemies
 * Summoned units degrade over time

Units
Units which can use spells from this lore:


 * Skaven
 * Lord Skrolk
 * Grey Seer (Plague) (one spell will be replaced by The Dreaded Thirteenth Spell)
 * Plague Priest

Items
Items with bound spells from this lore:


 * None

Strategy
Skaven spells of plague fit specifically into the skaven playstyle of swarming the enemy and demoralizing them.

The lore passive, does the reverse of the Lore of Shadows by reducing enemy speed. Skaven don't have many fast moving units and their infantry is naturally faster than most others, so this can help catching enemies or preventing yourself from being outmaneuvered. Also useful if you're expecting heavy cavalry presence, or armies like the Beastmen with naturally fast units, can be a nice addition.

Bless with Filth is a buff spell that grants an area of units poison attacks. Great to use with skavenslaves to allow them to debuff the enemy, greatly increasing their utility. Especially with the high model count numbers the Skaven possess, a very solid cheap spell.

Pestilent Breath is a fairly standard breath spell, useful for damaging blobs and disruption. Since Plague is a far superior damage spell, however, you usually benefit saving your winds for that instead.

Vermintide is an incredible spell that can single-handedly carry battles, and entire campaigns if desired. Comparable to Raise Dead, but Skavenslaves/Clanrats are far faster than zombies. Incredible useful for flanking, tarpitting units, harassing and disrupting backrow units, and not too expensive either. A must-take from this lore.

Wither is a reasonable debuff spell, useful for neutering elite units if you're scared of your own elites getting stomped. If you opted to bring Stormvermin, this introduces one of few opportunities for Skaven to win the infantry battle.

Plague is an expanding burst spell that does a very respectable amount of damage. You're likely to hit your own units with it due to its size, but as Skaven, that's more than acceptable. One of the best blob killers in the game.

Pestilent birth is similar to Vermintide, but summons plague monks instead. This is a costly summon, but plague monks are solid fighters that can put up much more of a fight than Skavenslaves can. Can be devastating on a flank, not advisable to use these as a tarpit for elite units, as their damage potential gets wasted in that predicament, and their staying power isn't exceptional.