Thoughts On - Skaven End Times

So all this talk on Warhammer's End Times and Skaven has got me thinking, what do I expect will happen with the Skaven during these events?

First off, I feel that any event involving them will most likely take place in Lustria. The whole Skaven vs Lizardmen theme has been a constant and with the forces of Tzeentch heading in that direction, it makes the most sense to place an End Times book there. I am unsure if they will take the whole 'Members of Clan Pestilense switching to Nurgle' thing anywhere, but if they did it would be a unique situation. What rules an scenarios is also unknown, though I wouldn't be surprised if a few from the Lustria book were recycled here.

Miniature wise, rumour is strong that a new Verminlord and Grey Seer Thanquol & Boneripper models will be released. Again, rumours, but it seems right to release this. Would also make sense if the rumoured Thanquol is in fact riding Boneripper as it would simplify their rules a little. No word on the Skaven Black Ark, which to me is a bit of a surprise as I felt they were leading up to it's return. Given it's the End Times, bringing it back should defiantly be a must.

Finally, character deaths. As it stands, I've been told that Grey Seer Lord Kritislik is dead (killed by the Great Horned Rat apparently) and that many expect Grey Seer Thanquol to take over. I doubt that Thanquol will be killed in the End Times, though I expect one of Clan Moulders named characters to die (possibly due to the Chaos invasion up north) as do I expect someone high up in Clan Pestilense to go as well (The Arch Plauge Lord Nurglitch or Lord Skrolk). I doubt Snikch or Headtaker would be killed off, but I feel that Craventail's luck will run out. As for Ikit Claw, I personally don't care if they kill him off or not, but only if there is a suitable rule replacement in the next army book, like those of the Warlock Master in the last edition of the book (4th edition I think).

As such, by the next army book release, I expect some alteration of a few units, a few new characters (though I would love to see them bring back something like Veskit from Mordheim just for the shear awesomeness of it) and another re-altering of the army rules. I expect fluff wise, we might be at risk of another civil war (given the last two were created by Clan Pestilense, I wouldn't be surprise to see them planning another power take over). Again, these are just my thoughts on it based on what's happened to other races in the End Times thus far.