This installment of the Product Review series will take a pretty thorough look at Spiteclaw’s Swarm, a Standard five-fighter Strike warband that has seen a dramatic reversal of fortunes after the February 2026 rules update. They now can play Strike quite well (which was not true before) but they also have substantial ability to excel at Take and Hold and Flex gameplans as well and really can do a lot in any approach to the game.

One of the original Shadespire warbands form 2017, they have a long and storied tradition from first edition, but their online-only free digital rules release in Embergard left a whole lot to be desired. Then came the rules update that gave them some surprising potency, especially when connected to the right decks. Now, they’re among the strongest in the game, capable of playing multiple playstyles, and landing in tournament podiums with consistency in the past year.

This warband has several traits that make them stand out from the crowd and let you approach the game differently than others. Once of the defining characteristics of this warband is that all of their fighters have move 5, which can be game-changing. Another is that you have the capacity to raise fighters in unique places that other raise warbands don’t have access to. They also have a unique trait of having a ‘backup leader’ – of your leader goes down, you have a second in command who gains the title and can still benefit from cards that care about it. Finally, they incentivize a different approach to deckbuilding than other warbands. Who are they, and how do you make best use of their schemes? Let’s burrow into Spiteclaw’s Swarm and find out.

Trigger Warning, I wrote way too much here and use the phrase Out of My Way Fool Things way too often. Hope you’re interested in reading encyclopedias. I don’t even play this warband that much! Why did I do this!?

Underworlds Underground has a full lore episode on Skaven, including a discussion of Spiteclaw’s Swarm which you can listen to here.

If you would like to see other products that have been reviewed on Spent Glory, click here to jump to the list

Click here to see a Master List of all warbands in the game

Spiteclaw’s Swarm: The Lore

Skritch Spiteclaw is the greatest, yes-yes. A clawlord or adjacent-ranked member of the Skaven Clan Verminus, he leads a veritable swarm of clanrat and skavenslave level minions with the help of his second in command Krrk, who he almost trusts. Surprisingly loyal for a Skaven, Krrk has talent at both prodding rates big and small alike to action, while also protecting his boss. The rest of the miniatures are a nod to other skaven clans but do not represent individual fighters the way most other warbands do and are instead faceless fighters who are three of the numberless hordes that follow Skritch around, and just so happen to be the few who were brave enough or unlucky enough to find themselves in the thick of the action in this particular game. Should one die, you can always raise another, but they aren’t reanimated like many raise death warbands might; instead, a new rat simply comes out of a hole somewhere at Skritch or Krrk’s goading.

If you’re interested to learn more about Skritch and his majestic genius, you can always read The Gnawblade, a short story in the Direchasm Anthology.

Spiteclaw’s Swarm: The Warscroll

Inspire

This one is really interesting for a number of reasons – firstly it is largely within the Swarm player’s control, as you play a ‘pick’ ploy on the fighter you want inspired and you get to inspire them. Secondly, you approach deckbuilding in a different way when using this warband! A card that picks a friendly fighter has much higher value, so you might find yourself passing over some ploys that you’d normally take if they don’t say ‘pick’, and you’ll probably include a few you don’t normally take because they contain the magic word. I think that’s great. Anything to spice up deckbuilding is a plus.

Play a ploy in the power step before your action to get a better attack profile before your charge. Play a ploy on a fighter in a risky position after your activation to improve their defense. Tons of opportunity if you draw the right card, and lots of skill expression available. Even better, if your opponent happens to ‘pick’ one of your fighters with one of their ploys, you inspire. The rule doesn’t specify whose ploy it is! Think carefully when playing ploys against Spiteclaw’s Swarm.

Swarm

Swarm is a core ability used by your leader (whichever one that is… more on that later). For the cost of a whole action, you can raise one of your three minions in any empty starting hex – that’s either side of the board! They get a rise token but come back at a full 3 health which is pretty fancy. They will be uninspired and would need to be picked by a ploy again to inspire, but beggars can’t be choosers.

This ability lets you set up for positional scoring, keep fighters on the board, gain access to far-flung tokens, regain the united status when playing Deadly Synergy, and even set up flanking or surrounding (which this warband quite likes). The fact it requires an activation and a surviving leader limits it somewhat, but this is always something both players will need to be thinking about. Occasionally a timely raise in the third or fourth activation of a round can score you a bunch of cards or brick your opponent’s hand.

Scheming Pack

This ability was among those updated in the February 2026 rules change, and it’s juicy. Now, your two Schemers (the non-minions Skritch and Krrk) get flat grievous in melee when their target is flanked or surrounded. Seeing as they both have 2 damage available from the rip, you have more ready access to 3 damage early and that’s the way you win this game in the Strike play line. If you’re choosing to tango in combat with these rats, make sure you get flanking from positioning, cards like Hidden Aid, or just take Deadly Synergy and flank away. The ability specifies the enemy being flanked or surrounded, NOT that they need to be adjacent to a friendly fighter, so it’s quite good. They saw a big damage increase with this change and your two schemers can do some pretty competent damage output now. This ability also applies to upgrade weapons so long as they’re melee, so you can use it many ways.

Untimely Promotion

Once Skritch dies, your leader isn’t dead. Krrk now leads! He can raise for you using Swarm, and if you have a card that says ‘your leader does something’, Krrk can score it for you. This is yet another way Spiteclaw’s Swarm changes the way deckbuilding works – normally I tell people to shy away from leader-centric cards, but here you get a second bite at the apple. Specific objectives that want a friendly leader to do something, be somewhere, etc are more doable. Upgrades and Ploys that specify your leader have more utility. Now you can feel even better about packing Commanding Stride! You’ll have more chances to use it, and you’ll inspire the leader in question to boot.

That does go both ways though. Your opponent gets a second shot at scoring things like Hemmed In, Usurper, or Strike the Head since you have more leaders.

Skitter

This one can be a little tough to set up, but in the hands of a big brain player (you’re using skaven, you gotta think good-smart, right?) it can be tremendously useful. This ability is a warscroll sidestep which is always good, and while it comes with conditions, the timing window is crazy.

You have a friendly fighter that you’ve picked to use a core ability. If they’re adjacent to a friendly fighter when you pick them, you can push them one hex if you play this once-per-game effect. THEN, after you push them, you do the action you chose. This means you can pick, push, then go on guard on a token. Pick, push, then charge 1 hex further than they expected. Pick, push, then attack from standing in a new spot, sport of like a 1-hex charge that doesn’t make you get a charge token/a ‘charge’ you can do even with a move token. Pick, push, and then move for a +1 movement and get basically anywhere on the board. Choose a leader to raise a minion, and then push them to safety or onto a token.

You need to start the action step adjacent to a friendly fighter, so it’s not like it will always work. But when it works, boy howdy.

Justified Paranoia

Similar to our last once-per-game entry, Justified Paranoia requires you pick a fighter to activate who is adjacent to a friend when chosen. Then, they get a guard token. Then, they do the action. It’s less useful from the aggro viewpoint because if the action you chose was a charge, they’ll immediately lose that guard token. However, it’s awesome in most other scenarios. With this, you get a move and guard superaction to claim a token and keep it. You get to use Swarm and raise a minion while also protecting your leader. You can attack from standing and then go on guard as well.

So long as you being the action adjacent to a friend, you get a guard token for your troubles. That can go a long way to keeping your dodge friends safe, or be a real pain to shift from a position to score flex and hold cards.

I can also see a rules-lawyer angle on the charge action that might let you keep the guard token, and I haven’t seen an FaQ on it. Core Rules state you pick a fighter. Then you remove their guard tokens if any. Then you begin the charge. I can see somebody arguing “when I picked them they didn’t have any guard tokens” so there were none to remove, and then they got one after that point. If that’s true, even more powerful. I haven’t played it that way personally.

‘Out of my way, fool-things!’

Finally, we get to the cream of the crop. This one was also update in the February rules change, and it’s amazing. Once per game, if your power step, choose a friendly fighter adjacent to any other fighter (friend or foe) and switch their places – exactly like the ploy Confusion. That’s one of the best cards in the game, if you hadn’t heard. Now you have it on your warscroll.

This ability is phenomenal, especially for Take and Hold or Flex. Put your enemy into a place they don’t want to be. Put yourself somewhere you want to be. Steal a token from right out under their nose. Swap two of your fighters to allow for a surprise attack or get somebody out of danger and make them hit a chump instead. You score Hold cards with ease, and have a free, guaranteed path to forcing Strip the Realm. Heck, you can even scoot them within one of an edge hex and score Pinned!

Did you know you can use Swarm in the action step and drop a minion adjacent to an enemy, then in the following power step use this to steal that spot and dump them where you just appeared from? Now you do. NOWHERE IS SAFE

The one, single, tiny drawback is that this is not a ploy and therefore does not inspire your fighter(s) even though they are picked. I ain’t crying though. This ability is a panacea for Holders and Delvers worldwide. It can also force some flanking for unlocking Grievous through Scheming Pack if you’re into that sort of devious killing. I sure am!

Spiteclaw’s Swarm: Fighter Cards

Skritch Spiteclaw

Your leader. At least until Krrk’s ascendancy, anyway. This guy is the Greatest and has been since Shadespire. the stat block is fantastic for a 2 bounty fighter – starts on 2 dodge, with 4 health, MOVE 5, and a reasonably accurate set of attacks for 2 damage at range 1 and 1 damage at range 2. But don’t forget, you get grievous if the target is flanked now! Who doesn’t want a fighter with 2 hammers flanked for 3 damage?

When he inspires, his accuracy goes above the breakpoint from decent to very good at 3 hammers. You’re going to hit most of what you point your stick at, and if they’re flanked you definitely will. And then you’ll hit them for 3 damage, or 2 at range 2.

He truly is the greatest, yes-yes.

Krrk The Almost-Trusted

A similar but lesser copy of Skritch, Krrk has the same attack profiles and similar stat block, but sadly has only 3 health instead of 4 and only 1 shield that inspires to 2 dodge instead of getting two dice right away. If Skritch goes down early, he becomes leader and can raise for you as discussed previously, but he’s a softer target and most enemies will gun for him first. That just leaves more opportunity for Spiteclaw to carve them up.

Krrk also benefits from the flanking = grievous rule, so you actually have two fighters who can access 3 damage. That’s saucy. His accuracy is pretty dang good too.

Lurking Skaven

It’s all minions from here on out. This one has two dodge to start, and so is a great choice to put up in front and take hits early, or be the guy who gets the guard token. His attack profile is horrid. Once inspired though, he gets reasonably accurate and actually gains a ranged attack option (a throwing star, real ninja-like). Make sure you have flanks if you want to use him for hitting stuff – I prefer him as a token thief.

Hungering Skaven

Minion #2 is the Hungering Skaven. This guy was kickass in first edition but has taken a big step down here – despite that he’s all right. He’s your most accurate minion uninspired with 2 hammers, gaining brutal when inspired which is rarely going to help but it’s something. His 1 shield defense isn’t marvelous but can be ok. I usually don’t bother to inspire this guy unless he somehow is the clear best choice for a ploy.

Festering Skaven

Minion #3 has the undignified distinction of being only 1 dodge to start, so he can die quite quickly. Good thing he has 3 health! Yet again a terrible attack profile that actually becomes passable when inspired at 3 swords and crit grievous. More importantly he gets to 2 dodge and retains his move 5, so he can run around and stay alive. Whether you’re playing Strike or Hold/Flex/Delve, this is the minion you’re inspiring first.

Potential Pairings

Blazing Assault is always good for Strike people and even Flexy friends, but especially nice considering it has some good ‘pick’ ploys, lets you push multiple ways to set up flanking, and contains the upgrade Hidden Aid. Drop that on a schemer and get grievous for days, then use Great Strength and Twist the Knife on the minions instead. Suddenly you threaten 2-3 damage every activation.

Emberstone Sentinels is a real option for them since it lets you double up on Confusion – the ploy version of which can potentially inspire two of your fighters at once if you want to waste it that way. Supremacy is a little harder to do considering your raised fighters will have a bounty of zero, but the rest of the package is pretty dang good and you’re more than fast enough to get to any token you want.

Pillage and Plunder is likewise good for them – you get to tokens and you take those tokens. You don’t even care if delving them staggers you to death, since you can raise again and keep delving. The Confusion the warscroll gives you in Out of My Way, Fool Things lets you get on tokens even more reliably and makes Strip the Realm very hard to stop.

Countdown to Cataclysm has a weapon that makes a minion good, pushes that let you flank. Hold and Aggro cards that let you augment what you’re up to. An upgrade that makes Skritch potentially 4 dodge. It’s a great deck. They like it as much as anyone.

Wrack and Ruin is a fun one because their positional tools on the warscroll can let you do some silly things, it helps augment their lower damage and can make some things very frustrating and confusion for your opponent. Oh yeah, and it has Confusion so you can double down yet again. Careful not to tie your brain in knots though!

I wouldn’t start here unless you’re the crazy type, but I have discussed before how Raging Slayers is a Leader-Centric deck. Guess who gets two leaders? Some cards that are out of reach for many warbands become more accessible here, though you’re still probably hamstringing yourself competitively. It’s all worth it for that sweet, sweet crit grievous on the Inspired Festering Skaven… right?

Hunting Grounds is a reasonable choice for them, in part for that second leader letting you score a 2 glory end phase easier. You also will more reliably flank if you’re staying crowded at home, the deck has good upgrades for the minions to attack with as well. Best thing is you can pull a fast one on them and Out of My Way Fool Thing somebody into/near and edge hex and score Pinned much easier than most warbands.

Deadly Synergy is a premiere choice for Spiteclaw’s Swarm. It’s a good deck for almost everyone out there, especially Standard Strike warbands with dodges and swords like this one. The best part about it though is that you get the flank your enemies almost at will, which means Skritch and Krrk are getting grievous as an afterthought. Slay with impunity, and the move 5, push, guard, confusion, and raise anywhere on the board means there’s little hiding. Bonus points if you use Out of My Way Fool Things to score Closed Down.

Nexus of Power has major weakness for most warbands that try to play it: the enemy will just stand on a token you need, delve it to cover, and turn off 3/4 of your scoring opportunities. Spiteclaw’s swarm has the mobility to get anywhere and be covetous, but most importantly Out of My Way Fool Things lets you Confusion your way onto that token and flip it back. You can push onto a token with the warscroll. You can guard onto a token with the warscroll. You, astoundingly, have a reasonable expectation you can get covetous and maybe even stay that way even in situations where everybody dogpiles that center token. And then, in that scrum, your Schemers are getting flanking and grievous maybe even going to 3 hammers 3 damage at range 2. DELICIOUS. When I played DS/NP Spiteclaw, my opponent quit in round 2 since he had no chance to catch up.

Note that Nexus is hard to use and honestly not that good in my opinion (I know many people disagree with me). In my experience, a knowledgeable and skilled player can shut you down with impunity and you’re far too reliant on things all going right and all in a row and all in the right order if they know what they’re doing. Spiteclaw makes it something you might be able to win with even if your opponent is savvy enough to understand the counterplay, and doesn’t even require you to play “Hold 2 and Hide in the Back” like I did with Myari.

In Practice

Data from the Nemesis Statistics Project shows this warband wins 53.5% of the time across the whole edition through 170 games if you exclude legacy content. That’s good, and nearing the ‘too good’ range of >55%. However, after their warscroll update in the most recent meta, That has skyrocketed to 63.6% over 55 games! Only Elathain does better these days.

DS/PP has a psycho win rate of 70.6% in the current meta, and ES/PP is barely behind at a 66.7%.

Please submit your own games data to the Stats Project! The form is simple and takes a minute or less.

Our recent look at the ITC results from the past year had Spiteclaw’s Swarm in the S-Tier, and depending on which analysis you use they’re either in second or third place in the entire field of warbands in the game. What that means is Skritch and the gang are rocking up to tournaments with regularity, hitting the podium with a high frequency, and can win in the largest and most competitive national and international environments in the game right now. They’re good, REAL good after their warscroll update.

I personally have played this warband 4 times with a 100% win rate, averaging +7.25 glory. Yowza. Those were with BA/PP, BA/DS, ES/PP, and DS/NP. When playing against Spiteclaw, I’m 4-4 and have lost painfully a few times to HG/DS despite it being a funky pairing.

Recent tournaments have tended to see Spiteclaw doing best with Emberstone Sentinels and Pillage and Plunder. The warscroll coming with Confusion baked in lets you score as many hold cards as you like, and force Strip the Realm more reliably. Stefan Vargas won the 2026 Maastricht side event with this ES/PP deck and was undefeated in the process. Sebastian L took 9th at the Copenhagen Clash in 2026 using this ES/PP build. It’s come in first in multiple other events that I don’t have deck lists for, but surely they’re similar to this.

Staggerers cooked up an incredibly interesting ‘Pacifist Skaven’ deck that focuses on winning while making zero attack actions or charges. Notably Michael was pulling this off prior to the improved warscroll that game him a free Confusion, so it’s likely even better now. Read the quite thorough deck guide here.

Michael also did quite well at the 2025 Copenhagen Clash with this Pillage Cataclysm deck, and while that combo is strong for almost anybody, it can be extra nasty with this warband.

At the original Embergard World Championships in 2024, Pawel M took this ES/PP deck and was very competitive despite this being the original, much worse warscroll for Spiteclaw. If you want to watch him play it live, here’s the stream from round 1 against Diego’s pre-nerf Dromm and pre-nerf/no-FaR Reckless Fury and still somehow holding his own – he even won the first game!?!. Please forgive the audio problems! We were still figuring out the microphones.

This Pillage/Wrack deck landed in 9th place at the WTC 2026 which is remarkably high considering the event had 70 players. Nice work from Denmark’s Frederik H!

My buddy Rex slaps me all the time with a Deadly Synergy/Hunting Grounds build that’s very frustrating to play against and augments the flanking = grievous for the two schemers quite effectively. I don’t have his deck list but this is a close enough start.

Wrap

All right, all right, I will stop now, more than four thousand words later. You probably got the message; this warband has Confusion on the warscroll. That means it’s good. The rest of it is pretty good too though! I really appreciate a few things about this warband and I bet you will too:

• Pick Ploy and Leader-Card incentives to build your deck differently than usual, spicing up the otherwise same-y approach to nemesis decks we see in many otrher scenarios for many other warbands.
• Out of My Way Fool Things!
• A warscroll that rewards careful fighter placement and thoughtful positional play
• Out of My Way Fool Things!
• The ability to succeed with several different gameplans and nearly every deck in the game is a good choice for them, and even the ‘bad’ ones have some play in most cases.
• Out of My Way Fool Things!
• It’s fun to see a raise warband that doesn’t lean too hard into the gimmick, but also has a story-related reason for fighters coming back that isn’t undead resurrection but rather just another rat crawling out of a hole

Whether you’re a Fool-Thing or you’re getting them out of your way, I hope you have fun spending glory and chasing rats all over the Spitewood!