Clanrats (Shields)

Clanrats (Shields) is a Skaven melee infantry unit in Total War: Warhammer II. The cornerstone of the Skaven military, less numerous but better trained than the slave class.

Description
The bulk of most Skaven armies are formed of Clanrats - a vast and verminous horde of ratmen that make up the warrior class. These Skaven belong to any one of thousands of clans scattered throughout the underground burrows, strongholds, and bursting cavern-cities that make up the Under-Empire. Of all the teeming masses, only the worker dregs, the shiftless Skavenslaves, are more numerous than the Clanrats. When a Warlord gathers his might for war, the Clanrats are front and centre, occupying a key place in the battleline. They form into great blocks to overwhelm a foe with their weight of numbers and the fury of their attack. If the Warlord can afford the price and is in reasonable standing with Clan Skryre, then a Weapon Team might accompany the regiment. These arcane devices of destruction are viewed suspiciously by the Clanrats, who frequently suffer due to their all-too frequent technical failures.

Strategy
While simple arithmetic might suggest that Clanrats (shields) are a poor value compared to the much cheaper skaven slaves, this neglects to account for the fact that armies can only have 20 units and in campaigns each extra army raises the upkeep of all units via the supply-line mechanic. In absolute terms they are a credible melee unit which will last longer and deal more damage than a unit of slaves and their base cost and upkeep is not that high compared to other races. They are still meat shields though, though slightly tougher ones.