Border Princes 2026: Zikkit Zap-Zap Storms the Temple of the Old Ones
From a chronicler’s duty — even if more than two weeks have already passed — we absolutely had to write up the second clash of the Border Princes 2026 campaign. This time it was the assault on the Lizardmen Temple of the Old Ones, led by Zikkit Zap-Zap and his wonderfully unreliable Kill-Kills.
This was one of those games that felt very Warhammer: The Old World. Exploding weapons, panicked rats, poisonous gas, a river getting in everyone’s way, and a final result that somehow still made perfect sense.
The armies
Zikkit’s Kill-kills — 748 pts
- Zikkit Zap-Zap, Warlock Engineer, Hand weapon, Warplock musket, Level 2 Wizard, General, Lore Familiar, Warpstone Armour, Battle Magic — 149
- 20 Clanrats, Light armour, Shield, Clawleader, Standard bearer with Grand Banner of Superiority, Weapon Team with Doom-flayer — 207
- 30 Giant Rats, with Packmaster and Master Moulder — 115
- 20 Clanrats, Light armour, Shield, Clawleader, Standard bearer, Weapon Team with Ratling Gun — 177
- 10 Poisoned Wind Globadiers — 100
Defenders of the Temple — 749 pts
- Saurus Oldblood, Halberd, Light armour, General, Cold One, Horned One — 174
- Skink Priest, Level 1 Wizard, Battle Magic — 60
- 12 Saurus Warriors, spears, shields, Shieldwall, Drilled, champion, standard — 192
- 17 Skink Cohorts with javelins, shields, light armour, 2 Kroxigor, champion, standard — 193
- 2 Salamander Pack — 130
Turn one: the Skaven establish the mood immediately
Right from the first turn, the Skaven reminded everyone what it means to be Skaven — and just how destructive Warp-powered technology can be, especially to its own side.
The Ratling Gun exploded on its very first attempt to shoot, taking two Clanrats with it. A perfect opening scene, honestly.
Meanwhile, the Giant Rats sprinted over the bridge, trying to get into the Saurus, while both Clanrat blocks struggled through the rushing river in an attempt to work the flanks. Zikkit hurled a Fireball, and the Skink Priest miscast while trying to dispel it — but somehow escaped unharmed.
From the western side, the 10 Poisoned Wind Globadiers also advanced, preparing to do what Skaven do best: solve tactical problems with toxic nonsense.
The Saurus hit back
In the next turn, the Saurus charged into the Giant Rats and absolutely smashed them, wiping out roughly half the unit in the first brutal impact.
We may have lost the video evidence, but thankfully the preserved “recording” of the Saurus battle plan survived:
On the eastern side, the Skink Cohort with its two Kroxigors crashed into a Clanrat block and sent it fleeing — straight through the river, which definitely did not improve the rats’ chances of regrouping.
Doom-flayer to the rescue
At the same time, the charging Doom-flayer joined the melee around the Giant Rats, and in the following fighting the Skaven managed to grind the Saurus into dust.
That was one of the key turning points in the game. What had looked like a solid Lizardmen punch suddenly turned into a very Skaven counterattack: messy, violent, and somehow effective.
The river, the pursuit, and the monsoon
Then things got even more chaotic.
The Lizardmen boss — or, more precisely, the lizard on a dinosaur — unexpectedly veered toward the Globadiers, who were still wrestling with the river current.
Elsewhere, the Skinks turned the fleeing Clanrats into a proper rat stew.
A moment later, the Skink Shaman successfully summoned a monsoon, because apparently the battlefield wasn’t inconvenient enough already.
Poisoned Wind decides the game
And then came the moment that really sealed the battle.
The Poisoned Wind Globadiers unleashed their gas, and from that toxic barrage both Salamanders and the Lizardmen general went down.
That swing was enormous. Losing the Salamanders hurt, but losing the general on top of that was the kind of blow that’s very hard to recover from in a small game.
In the final struggles around the Giant Rats, the battered remnants of the Skinks and Kroxigors managed to drive the rats off, though they took losses from poison gas themselves. Clanrats rushing in from the other bank simply couldn’t reach the lizard-things in time to finish the job.
Final score
After five rounds, the battle ended with a clear Skaven victory:
- Lizardmen: 316 pts
- Skaven: 668 pts
And because this was a campaign game, the result mattered beyond just bragging rights: after taking the temple, the Skaven discovered the Gold of the Old Ones and added 3 supply points to their treasury.
A few more scenes from the assault
For completeness — and because this battle really deserves it — here’s one more shot from the attack on the Temple of the Old Ones:
What a gloriously eventful game. Exploding rat weapons, magical mishaps, river-crossing disasters, a Doom-flayer blender moment, and poison gas deciding the fate of the temple — this one had everything we want from a campaign battle report.
In short: what an exciting duel.