Hey Reader!
So in preparation for actually telling you about this post, I think I need to make five caveats first (which, coincidentally, will also introduce the post, so it's not so bad, but five caveats at the start of a post is a new one even for me). But before we launch into that, we're looking at the best archers in the game today!
So first, I have to call this post "Centaur Edition" because it's almost certainly going to cause some disagreement among the rest of the team here, so I decided to put my name in the title to make it easier to do replies from my colleagues who are not going to like some of my criteria or decisions in what follows, :P
Second caveat: since I'm not breaking this down between evil and good, this is going to combine models from both, so expect to see more Forces of Good models in this ranking as they are generally better at shooting. That's not because I like Forces of Good more, that's just because Forces of Evil has more monsters and war beasts, so Forces of Good tends to be better at shooting to counter those.
Third caveat: I'm only looking at warrior models for this comparison, mostly because we already reviewed the heroes in a previous podcast (which is admittedly old, as it was pre-Mablung/Anborn among other archers), but also because some of the special rules/Might point discrepancies make them hard to compare to each other, so I figured warrior profiles were closer in value and form to each other. This also means that since every ranged siege weapon has a hero attached to it, I have not included siege weapons in this ranking.
Fourth caveat: in my opinion there's a difference between an archer and a skirmisher, so you will see no evaluation of throwing weapons in this ranking. I'm also defining an "archer" as someone who shoots at least 18" with their shot, so I'll consider 12" shots and shorter as part of the skirmisher ranking. So if you're looking for goblin prowlers in this ranking, that's why they aren't on here, :P
And final caveat: I'm using a criteria for this comparison that will guide my thinking on them. I'm ranking the archers on three categories: damage potential (which weighs the Shoot Value and Strength of the archer's weapon to determine how likely they are to damage a target, which I suspect a lot of people look at when weighing the effectiveness of an archer), resilience (not weighted as highly, but an archer who dies quickly won't contribute as much as one who can survive incursions against hostile strikes/fire), and utility (which is defined here as, "filling the roles that archers are typically used to fill based on the scenario," including holding objectives, "board control" by encouraging enemies to avoid moving through specific parts of the board, pinch hitting in melee combat as needed whether by spear supporting or being thrown into the enemy en masse to overwhelm them, etc.). So if you disagree with the criteria, naturally that will skew the way you read the results.
One place where this may come up, for example, is that I have not considered cost in this analysis, so for people looking for, say, Moria Goblins, Ruffians, Orc Trackers, or any number of other low-cost models in this list, first off I agree that quantity has a quality all its own (I run Shire, for those who are newer to the blog, and they didn't make the cut), but we have not used that as a criteria for this ranking. So just because an army fields archers that are not among the best in the game does not mean that their archery is poor: it means that they are (hopefully) getting good value out of lower quality archers to meet their needs.
But that doesn't entitle poor quality archers to a place on this list. So there. So with no further ado, let's hit the list!
#10: Moria Goblins from the Assault on Lothlorien Legendary Legion
See, I included some goblins for you! These guys place low on the list because they are still 5+ Shoot with S2 shortbows, but if that's the case - literally the worst starting statline for an archer in the game - why did they make the list? Their guaranteed +1 to wound against most models makes them effectively S4, which is excellent damage potential for archery.
The issue of course is that they are hitting on 5s and 6s, so while other models may wound less often, they also hit far more often, and that means their ceiling for damage is better than these guys. But they still make the list thanks to this nifty special rule, even ahead of models with a 4+ Shoot Value with S2 bows (like Warriors of Rohan, Warriors of Minas Tirith, Khandish Warriors of various kinds, Corsairs, and Easterlings).
#9: Rohan Outriders / Forces of Good Rangers
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| Two of the oldest models I own |
Rohan Outriders are great: D4 is respectable for an archer, as is their 3+ Shoot Value with a 24" range. The fact that Rohan Outriders can be mounted on horses means that they can quickly and effectively redeploy if needed, and they can borrow a Stand Fast regardless of range, which makes them great for camping on objectives.
The issue with these guys, though, is that they are only F3 with S3, so if they get caught they will likely be removed in short order by almost anyone that charges them, so holding objectives is not easy for them. And since they only have a S2 bow, dealing wounds is actually quite hard for these guys: you wound about half as much as a S4 bow, and in general less often than a S3 bow, and that puts them down here.
Similarly, Rangers of Arnor / Rangers of Gondor / Blackroot Vale Archers / Dwarf Rangers with Dwarf Longbows may not have the same special rules as the Rohan Outrider, but they all start at F4, the humans can spear support the front rank to help while providing close fire support, and the dwarf rangers come with other special rules to help them fill the typical archer roles that you need in an army, all of which I felt was worthy of placing at the same level, so I'm grouping these guys together as they are too close to call.
#8: Watchers of Karna with Bows
These guys are basically Rohan Outriders with a few exceptions: you get access to poison which helps your damage potential, you start at F4 to help you maintain an objective, you get Resistant to Magic to keep you from being moved off of an objective, and you can be put them in a howdah to provide excellent supporting fire if I'm not mistaken (not to mention you're immune to taking Courage Tests for break checks, if I recall correctly, so you'll stick around longer).
Not a bad model, but the S2 starting point with rerolling 1s to wound is not a reliable way of dealing damage compared to some of the others on this list. You will roll 1s, but the fact that a lot of models in the range are wounded on 6s makes the reroll unlikely to work, which is why they finished 8th on our list. But as far as Forces of Evil archers go, these guys are among the best you get.
#7: Uruk-Hai Scouts with Uruk-Hai Bows / Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf Bows
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| I should finalize my dwarf painting scheme... |
These guys may only have a 4+ Shoot and an 18" range, but the presence of a S3 hit coupled with good melee prowess - and in the case of the dwarves, high Defense at D6 - these guys are arguably better at dealing ranged damage consistently than those that came before them while still fulfilling the full range of things archers are expected to perform for you.
And considering that the scouts have Woodland Creature and can get 8" move if you have Mauhur (and sometimes you'll get that bonus for free if you field a legendary legion), their ability to fill the utility role only gets better based on your list building choices.
Not much to say here: decent chance to hit with decent damage is excellent.
#6: Ents with Throwing Stones
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I don't like the standard ent sculpt, so here's
"Vivaldi's Four Seasons," WIP |
So ents have an 18" range - which is my cutoff for range for this ranking - and they do a S10 hit, which is a really good chance to wound generally in this game, but it's worlds beyond most archery in this game, and stronger even than most siege weapons.
And with a 4+ Shoot, that's actually not a bad chance to hit as well. So while you cannot field these guys en masse at anything less than 2000 pts, as far as archer cover and fire suppression go, these models are great!
Tack onto this that the presence of an ent will often redirect the flow of models toward another place, and they do firing lanes and board control very well. Plus they are very rarely going to flee an objective, and driving one off of an objective is very hard to do, so they are great at the utility category all around.
#5: Warriors of Dale with Esgaroth Bows / Citadel Guards with Longbows / Unarmored Elven Archers
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| Don't care what they say: I like Citadel Guard |
Warriors of Dale and unarmored elven archers (Wood Elf Warriors and Mirkwood Rangers) get the S3 at 24" with a 3+ Shoot that a lot of factions prize, which is excellent. What places them behind the next few entries is that you are only D3-4 and F4-5 with S3, so if you are charged you are more resilient and effective than most of the previous profiles, but not as good as the next few.
And while Citadel Guard may only have a 4+ hit, they make up for this with the ability to be mounted with the Bodyguard special rule, making them great objective holders, so long as your army leader is resilient or not near the fighting, which is basically every high-tier Minas Tirith hero. And with the ability to quickly redeploy to a new firing position, Citadel Guard are a great fire support option.
#4: Uruk-Hai Crossbowmen / Iron Hills Crossbowmen / Corsair Arbalesters
All crossbows in the game sport S4 at 24" with a 4+ Shoot, which is phenomenal damage potential. And with the presence of F4 and S3-4 if someone closes, moving them off of an objective is not easy either. Tack onto this that they are all D5-6 at least some of the time (the arbalesters are less resilient when engaged in melee, but sport the D6 at range which is nice), it makes them quite resilient.
Mirkwood Rangers make up for this a bit with the Knife Fighters special rule, but ask anyone who has played them and they'll tell you that when wounds are being rolled it's a bad day for them (as most models in the game wound them on 4s).
The only drawback (and what places them behind the next one on our list) is that they cannot move and shoot on the same turn. This reduces their utility slightly, and that slight edge cost them the third place spot.
#3: Beornings with Greatbows
To start off, it bears repeating that this is not a good bow, it's a greatbow! XD (also dang, two jokes in one line - I'm really on a roll today)
Okay, seriously though: these guys are S4 at 24" with a 4+ Shoot just like the crossbows before them, but in addition you can move up to 3" first before firing. That's a hair better than a crossbow, even before looking at the chasse that carries it.
Admittedly, they have lower defense than crossbows in general, but that actually matters less than it seems because of the rest of the profile. While you're only D4 instead of D5-6, your resilience is actually better in some respects because you have 2 Wounds instead of 1, and since you're F5 S4, if someone charges you they are not likely to move you off of the objective without serious commitment.
Add onto this that they have a good Courage value and come in an army list with plenty of distractions to avoid people shooting at them, and you have a good baseline for everything you want a ranged attacker to do. All around, a fantastic archer.
#2: Armored Elven Archers
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| Still finalizing the painting scheme |
In a move that surprises basically no one, armored elven archers from any number of elven factions are high on this list. With S3 at 24" with a 3+ Shoot, they deal good damage at range to their foes. And with F5 D5 to back that up, they are very effective at holding ground and keeping it for you.
The fact that you can hold objectives reliably on C5 and can win ties against most people who charge you is only an added benefit on top of their already excellent shooting prowess. Add onto this that you can also redeploy through woodland terrain quickly and easily is just further gravy on top.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, elves feature high on this list, but it begs the question: who comes in higher than these guys?
#1: Mounted Armored Elven Archers
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| One of Tiberius's Galadhrim Knights |
Elves on horses! Take everything we said about armored elven archers and increase their speed by a lot, give them a shield to bring them up to D6 thanks to Expert Rider, and they're still the F5 S3 resilient guys we like except that they can preempt potential charges with a countercharge at long range.
And the Rivendell and Lorien varieties both offer something unique from an archer perspective. The Rivendell Knight is more of a softening tool, taking some shots at range but really excels at charging home with their lances and high Fight Value. The Galadhrim Knight, on the other hand, takes advantage of Fleetfoot with an insane amount of movement, making them excellent skirmish cavalry that, if pressed, can resort to melee with a good level of competence (basically better Rohan Royal Guards with no throwing spears). If you're looking for tactics on how to use them, as well as an apologetic for the models, check out Tiberius's post here.
If you're looking for archers - admittedly the most expensive archers in the game, sans Khandish charioteers if I'm remembering correctly - these are the best there is.
Conclusion
Now someone's going to say, "Blah blah, Khandish chariots," or "Blah blah, Haradrim with poison," and I hear you - a lot of those guys came in around 11-13 on the list. The issue with all of those is that the 4+ Shoot is a bad starting place, and since Khandish models in particular are incentivized to move, it will often drop to a 5+ Shoot, which is not a good starting point for S2 archery. To be honest, I felt stretched at times to include S2 archery at all, as there was so much S3 archery that I found the only way to even work them into the equation was to group a lot of models, and I felt bad about that (but if I hadn't, it would have literally only been the top five spots split up, which is boring).
So I'm sorry to Khand and Umbar in general, but that's how the cookie crumbles. In an Evil Only ranking I think they are close to the middle of the pack, but in an all warriors ranking I think they fall behind. Get a 3+ Shoot if you want to make the list.
Watching the stars,
Centaur
"We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
