Clanrat Spears (Shields)

Clanrat Spears (Shields) is a Skaven melee infantry unit in Total War: Warhammer II. Although fury and numbers count for much in a fight, a good shield cannot be overstated.

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
These humble Clanrats are better fighters than Skavenslaves and come equipped with light armor, spears and shields so they are a little more resilient. Like their even cheaper predecessors, their purpose in battle is to die in droves while holding the line so that other, more expensive units can bombard or flank the enemy. Unlike Skavenslaves, they actually have a chance of inflicting a few casualties while doing so. Although they can stop cavalry charges and other linebreaker units like monsters, do not expect them to take down such foes on their own. They might have a bonus vs large creatures, but they still suffer from their skittish and cowardly Skaven nature, leaving them with low leadership and a tendency to run when things get dire.