Jezzails - From Hero to Zero!

Yesterday I received a question from Dan Ilot in Australia’s ACT who asked me for my thoughts on Jezzails. Dan noted that I used the Warplightning Cannon and was trying weapons teams but that I never mentioned Jezzails in my list.

Prior to the release of the new Skaven book I always used to include 1-2 units of five Jezzails in my army. Once the new book came out they went back on the shelf. Why? They lost their 360 degree arc of fire which for a unit that has “Move or Fire” was absolutely critical. The limited arc they now have means that the inbuilt protection they had against fast moving units has gone. In effect, they have a massive blind spot. Flyers and very fast units move done the flanks and take them out without potentially ever getting a shot against them from the Jezzails (depending on S&S distance).



The warmachines and the weapons teams teams (albeit with a shorter range) don’t have this limitation as they can pivot in shooting phase.

Against this, for cheaper than the same price as a team of 5 Jezzails you can take a team of 5 Gutter Runners with Poisoned Slings who do a similar job to the old Jezzail team, better.

There is one situation where you can maximize your Jezzails. Take a Lord choice, normally a Warlord, and buy the Folding Fortress. You then have the ability to put this in your deployment zone preferably on the baseline. If it has sufficient floors (2+) then you can put your Jezzails in and have 360 degree arc, shoot every turn and 36” range. By having your Warlord and BSB nearby you can bolster their morale if they have to take a Leadership test. Lots of points but also a lot of fun…..think of it as the Skavenblight Sniper School.

Hope that helps Dan. And thanks for the question.

More than happy to answer any questions people have on the Skaven and will always give you my opinion on all things wargaming. Any queries send them through to Fieldsofblood@paradise.net.nz