Skaven · battle formation

Warpcog Convocation: the Clan Skryre gunline formation (AoS 4th Ed)

Overcharge your warpstone war-machines for extra rend and wounds - and accept the odd misfire into your own ranks.

Age of Sigmar 4th editionRules checked July 13, 2026

SprueSentry strategy commentary for Age of Sigmar 4th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly — always confirm against the current official rules and your latest dataslate before a game.

Warpcog Convocation is the Clan Skryre battle formation in the 4th-edition (2024) Skaven battletome, built around ranged warpstone tech. It embodies the army's risk-reward identity: a per-turn dice roll can supercharge your shooting or occasionally chip damage onto your own units. Exact effects and dice results change with the current battletome and Battlescrolls, so verify before you rely on specifics.

What the formation does

Once per turn it lets you pick a small number of friendly Skryre units and roll for each. Good results add rend and/or wound bonuses to their shooting; a bad result inflicts a little damage on your own unit. It turns already-dangerous warpstone weaponry up to eleven, at the cost of occasional self-harm. Treat the summary of dice outcomes here as indicative - confirm the exact table in the current battletome.

Who it suits

Players who like a shooting-and-magic 'gunline' with big, spiky damage output, and who are comfortable with variance. If you enjoy deleting key enemy units at range and don't mind the occasional self-inflicted wound, this is your formation.

Key units

Warplock Jezzails - long-range snipers for picking off characters and elites.
Warpfire Throwers and warp-cannon-type artillery - high-damage Skryre war-machines that benefit most from the buffs.
Warlock Engineer - the supporting Skryre hero to lead and enhance the machines.
Grey Seer - pairs magic with the gunline for a shooting-plus-spells removal package.
Clanrats - cheap screens to keep enemies off your fragile war-machines.

When to pick it

Take it when your collection and list are built around Skryre shooting rather than melee clans. It rewards a firebase playstyle: screen your machines, focus fire priority targets, and accept the risk tax. If your list is mostly infantry or monsters, a different clan formation will serve you better.

Common questions

Does Warpcog Convocation really damage my own units?

It can - the risk-reward roll includes results that chip damage onto the buffed unit on a bad roll. That's the trade-off for the extra rend and wounds. Plan for the occasional misfire and don't stake a whole game on one fragile machine. Check the current battletome for the exact dice outcomes.

Is it only for shooting units?

It's designed around Clan Skryre and their ranged warpstone weaponry, so it shines with Jezzails, Warpfire Throwers and cannons. A melee-focused Skaven army gets far less from it and should look at Claw-horde, Fleshmeld Menagerie or Virulent Procession instead.

Rules sources

Written by SprueSentry with SprueSentry editorial (hand-authored, research-grounded), grounded in the cited sources — original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.