What's the Horned Rat strategy?

Thanks!

CEnzo.

Use high cost Chaos cards to dominate countries with Skaven tokens in order to gain DACS to get the upgrades Clan Rats or The Under Empire. Then set your sights on being able to move figures to overtake 1st or 2nd place when a regions is about to be ruined. The key is in your plentiful cultist, but Khorne will track you. Play in the boarder countries in order to make moves to the center ones. Your second upgrade choice depends on the feel of the group: Rat Ogers if people are killing your figures or The Council of Thirteen if your chaos card spots are being eaten up. Always try to gain/maintain superior figure advantage.

Thanks.

CEnzo.

I don't get it... Honestly!

In my group, the Horned Rat has never even been close to winning so far (with both, Morrslieb and basic card sets).

Is there something I'm missing? Maybe it's bad luck, but I almost never have the high cost cards in the first two rounds... Any suggestions what would be best then? Especially if the Skaven token are in the popolous region, where Khorne is normally hunting Nurgle (and then also Skaven...)?

The high-cost cards just allow domination in the border regions without figures needing to be present and so a dial advancement without the "weakness" of killable figures.

If you are not drawing high-cost cards, then I would still stick to the lower (1 or 2) regions at the sides of the board. Try to drop those clan rats as often as possible and then when you have more figures than any other player drop the Chaos cards that give your rats extra defense and increase the cost to summon in the area. To help with this, it might be best to take the upgrade that allows the extra card slot. Since you have more figures and they don't drop corruption, you might be able to mix it up more with Slannesh who has the least figures AND if a crown is present you'll get more VP per domination.

Once you have a little beadhead set up, drop Warpstone in there to save up major points for big pushes.

I've won before with Skaven. The key is to lump up on one region and go for ruination. Combine this with the upgrade that allows some of your guys to move with ruination and you can begin to chain ruin turn after turn. Of course my Khorne opponent was not sitting on me with more than one bloodletter, so I would only lose one or 2 figs a round at most.

Since the vast majority of Skaven cards are only useful in regions you dominate or are currently located, they mostly suck. If an opponent is wise to this, he will fill one of your slots with one of his cards and limit your options.

All in all, Skaven are difficult to play, but it is possible to win. My biggest gripe is that you are essentially a one trick pony, there is really only one way to win and that's with VPs. A dial victory is nearly impossible with competent opponents.