Comeback for fan-favorite Skaven army teased in Warhammer Age of Sigmar

If a new teaser is anything to go by, it looks like the Skaven ratmen are coming back to Warhammer Age of Sigmar in a big way... soon. Plus, the plot thickens with more reveals that suggest a new edition of the game may be imminent. 

Over the weekend, Warhammer Community posted a trailer simply called 'Sigmar Lied.' Featuring a Sigmarite city in the grips of a night-time storm, it's punctuated by lightning. Green lightning. (Fans of the Skaven will immediately know what that means.) However, this is all set-dressing. The interesting bit lies in the background audio. Alongside tolling bells, you can hear rats chittering if you listen closely. We'll apparently find out more at AdeptiCon this March 20.

So, to break all that down: rat noises are obviously self-explanatory. But bells? Well, bells are a common motif for the Skaven as a whole. Namely, their Screaming Bell war machine is a particularly iconic unit for the faction. Next, eerie green lightning is a calling card for their madcap inventions. This ties into the resource they're closely associated with and always on the hunt for - Warpstone. This green, crystalline substance usually falls to earth in meteor form, and corrupts the landscape with Chaos. Actually, this is what created the Skaven in the first place way back when.

In other words? It feels like the groundwork is being laid for the Skaven's return. They haven't had a significant presence in Age of Sigmar for a while, and the likes of their army/Vanguard box is out of stock on the official Warhammer store. Plus, we're supposed to be getting a new edition of the game in the first half of 2024 and rumors have been flying for a while that Skaven will be included in its starter sets (just take a look at this Reddit thread for an example). 

It's not an open-and-shut case by any means, but it tracks with previous patterns. Warhammer 40K 10th Edition was revealed in March last year via a similar teaser ahead of a full trailer, and to me, 'Sigmar Lied' looks like the beginning of a larger video too. For example, it cuts off in a really weird place - with lightning hitting the ground, which is normally how the Stormcast Eternals, arguably the game's mascots, arrive. If I had to guess, we'll see suitably heroic Stormcast warping in before the camera pans round to show us hordes of Skaven advancing from the shadows. Cue a cool fight-scene to get us in the mood for this tabletop showdown, complete with the new units we can expect to play in the first box set.

Speaking of box sets, more Spearhead army kits have just been announced. I'm convinced Combat Patrol is coming to Age of Sigmar thanks to this new Warhammer set anyway, so the addition of a couple more (Cities of Sigmar and the Flesh-eater Courts) only makes me more confident we're getting a smaller, more concise game mode soon. As I've said in the past, there's literally no reason for these Spearhead army boxes to exist otherwise - you're not getting enough points to play in a standard game, and surely this just muddies the water considering we already have the Vanguard 'army in a box' range? 

So, the final question: why has 'Sigmar Lied,' and what about? I initially thought it may be about how the Skaven threat was under control, and fans on Reddit have a similar idea. For instance, CoyoteRed5 writes that "[Stormcast stronghold and celestial realm] Ayzr is not safe. We know that the original purpose of the Order of Azyr was to purge any potential Chaos taint from those who fled to the safety of Azyrheim when Chaos won... Sigmar reasoned that the only way to ensure he could return in force was to root out any Chaos influence. The people more or less accepted the purges as the cost for the safety they lived in. Sigmar unfortunately knew the truth. That Chaos is not so easily shut out." Chills.

Do you think this heralds the return of the Skaven?

For recommendations of what to play while you wait, head over to our guides on the best board games, the best tabletop RPGs, or the best card games.