“ | A spear may mean they fight a little longer or better, but it only delays their inevitable demise. | „ |
Skavenslave Spears are a Skaven melee infantry unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer II.
Recruitment[ | ]
- Unlocked with: Nest, Skavenblight (Nest), Hell Pit (Nest), Occupied Karaz-a-Karak (Nest) or Occupied Karak Eight Peaks (Nest)
Summon[ | ]
Description[ | ]
The Under-Empire is run by slave labour. Skavenslaves perform all menial tasks, including mining, tunnelling, and food production. In lean times, they themselves become the food. The majority of slaves are Skaven born into bondage, the lowest class of a hierarchical society. Their ranks swell as rival clans are captured during internecine wars. At times even non-Skaven become slaves, although few other races last long under the whips of the ratmen overseers. In warfare Skavenslaves are used en masse to absorb missile fire and to overwhelm the foe with numbers. A common Warlord tactic is to whip Skavenslaves to the fore of an assault. Many are butchered, but the loss is acceptable if the slaves bear the brunt of incoming or tire the foe for the next attack wave. The best Skavenslaves will even pull down and tear to pieces a few of the adversaries, although this is considered a bonus.
Attributes[ | ]
- ▲ Anti-Large: Anti-Large: Anti-large units have an advantage against targets that are at least as large as a horse. This advantage can be a damage bonus against large targets or an attack that focuses on a very small area. However, some units are simply better against large targets because their attacks are slow and easy to dodge by skilled melee combatants.
- ▲ Expendable: This unit is comparably cheap to recruit, maintain and replenish.
- ▲ Meat Shield: While unimpressive at causing damage, this unit is useful as a 'meat shield', absorbing damage that would otherwise hurt a more useful or precious target.
- ▼ Poor Leadership: This unit suffers from poor leadership and will easily rout. Keep its flanks secure and your Lord or other encouraging units nearby.
Strategy[ | ]
Theoretically better than regular slaves due to their higher melee defense potentially helping them last longer. Their lower melee attack doesn't matter much as slaves generally won't be able to get many kills anyway. They do have a small anti-large bonus that could result in them killing light cavalry that foolishly get stuck in a huge mass of them. They have no charge defense though and large units with a decent charge will run them over just like melee infantry.