Top 10 Best Skirmishers in the Game - Centaur Edition

Hey Reader!

So in preparation for telling you about this post, I think I need to make five caveats first like I did in our last post on archers. But before we launch into that, we're looking at the best skirmishers in the game today!

So first, I have to call this post "Centaur Edition" because if I thought the archers post was going to have detractors, boy howdy is this one going to have detractors (especially since someone's favorite camels and another person's woodland hoodlums didn't make the list, :P ).

Second caveat: since I'm combining evil and good in this list, like the last one, expect to see more Forces of Good models in this ranking as they are generally better at shooting, but also because Forces of Evil just in general doesn't have a lot of throwing weapons. Sure, Goblin Prowlers and Umbar are a thing, but beyond that it's pretty sparse. Less than half of the evil factions have throwing weapons (and four of those that do only have the Warg Rider profile), whereas over half of all Forces of Good factions have access to at least one warrior profile with them, and that's even before factoring in the more favorable alliance matrix that Forces of Good enjoys that allows for easy access to throwing daggers and throwing spears.

Third caveat: I'm only looking at warrior models for this comparison, mostly because we already reviewed the heroes in a previous podcast (and if you're wondering, I think the best skirmisher hero bar none in the game is Elfhelm, Balrog's whip included), 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.

Fourth caveat: as we mentioned before there's a difference between an archer and a skirmisher, so this is a look at skirmishers: people who can move their full distance and shoot in the same turn. So you will see no evaluation of bows or crossbows in this ranking, and as much as I love them, I'm not reviewing throwing stones either.

So sorry hobbit rock lobbers: I love you all to bits, but I won't be ranking you. Pour some entdraught out for the best boys getting shafted in both the archer and skirmisher posts by Centaur.

On the same subject, while you can technically move the Catapult Troll for Azog's Legion its full move and still fire its shot, I'm not counting it for this ranking, as 1) it's never used in a "skirmisher role" as far as I've seen, 2) it does not say "throwing weapon" (even though the rock is clearly thrown, and the goblins on top can also lob rocks at people), and 3) because it's a siege engine, and I'm reserving the right to do a "Top 10 Siege Weapons" post in the future. But if I did count it, there's a good chance that it would make the ranking, because warg riders are in the running, and that means a massive troll that can auto-kill a model and is nigh impossible to drive off an objective should make the list.

And final caveat (I promise!): I'm using a criteria for this comparison that will guide my thinking, very similar to what we used for archers. I'm ranking the skirmishers on three categories: damage potential (which weighs the Shoot Value (with its modifier) and Strength of the skirmisher'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 a skirmisher), resilience (not weighted as highly, but a skirmisher who dies quickly won't contribute as much as one who can survive incursions against hostile strikes/return fire), and utility (which is defined here as, "filling the roles that skirmishers typically fill based on the scenario," including some consideration of holding objectives (this is more commonly done by archers, but skirmishers also fill this role nicely especially when aggressively taking an objective as opposed to camping on one early in the game), "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., the latter of which also heavily considers the unmodified Shoot Value, as you won't suffer the penalty for moving and shooting when charging an enemy. So if you disagree with the criteria, naturally that will skew the way you read the results.

So with no further ado, let's get to the list! But before we do, WARNING: If you have arachnophobia, there is a spider entry in the #4 slot, so just be careful (spoiler, I know, I'm sorry, but had to post the warning).

#10: Moria Goblin Prowlers from the Assault on Lothlorien Legendary Legion

Picture courtesy of
GamesWorkshop   

Goblin prowlers are one of those rare ranged goblin profiles, but fantastically dangerous in their own right. With a low Shoot Value they won't place high on this list, but their damage output is quite good, and since they have the Backstabbers special rule if they close to melee and overwhelm a flank they are very dangerous. Tack on a two-handed weapon and you can even get an additional +1 to wound (if you're willing to take the penalty to duel).

And the Assault on Lothlorien legendary legion adds to this by giving them a +1 to wound against non-Cave Dweller models with their throwing daggers on top of this, which is fantastic. This is also the only throwing weapon model I know of that can get +1 to wound, so it hurts me a little to put it this far down the list, but it's true: when it comes to skirmishing they are good enough to make the list, but not good enough to climb very high. Their low Defense, short range (including movement to get into position), and low Fight Value make them ineffective at doing the full range of things that we are looking for from skirmishers.

Great models, you should definitely field them, but they take the #10 spot on this list. I think it's also telling that the Assault on Lothlorien Legendary Legion was able to take two pretty poor profiles when it comes to shooting and skirmishing and make them top ten material. So good job, legion.

#9: Warriors of Rohan with Throwing Spears

Done several conversions of these guys,
but need to do a few more

This is another F3 skirmisher, but what gives the Warrior of Rohan an edge over the prowler is the two-fold advantage of range and resilience. Not only are they Defense 5 with shields (which is an important number when trying to avoid S2 archery, and useful against S4 infantry up close), but they also have an 8" range with their throwing spears, allowing them to reach out and strike a target with 6" or less movement without being charged the following turn.

And this is critical to skirmishers: can you whittle away an enemy without risking being engaged at an inopportune moment? Good skirmishers are able to navigate engagements with the enemy to their advantage, and the Warrior of Rohan does this better than any goblin.

The issue that they have, which is what lands them here at #9, is the combination of only being Defense 5 (so susceptible to S3 archery, opposing throwing weapons, and most melee attacks) and only being F3, meaning that a lot of mid-range and elite troops will roll over them if they don't shield/fall back, so their effectiveness as skirmishers really does assume a lot of room to move, success with S3 throwing spears on a 4+ or 5+ to hit, and winning fights in melee once they close. And there are others that do this better.

#8: Corsairs of Umbar with Throwing Daggers

Photo courtesy of
GamesWorkshop

See, I don't hate the Forces of Evil, I promise! Corsairs are fantastic skirmishers, coming with throwing daggers standard issue, and if you keep their army bonus you get Backstabbers, which is fantastic on skirmishers who want to be around the flank of an enemy formation. And while they may not have much in the way of defense, they're actually not that bad, and the fact that they effectively get the throwing daggers for free isn't too shabby either.

The issues, of course, that place them this low are quite numerous: not a great Shoot Value at 4+, low Defense (much like what we saw with Rohan), and due to the army composition, they stand a good chance of doing the work of both line infantry and skirmishers in your force, as you don't have a lot of other options to rely on. Tack onto this limited protection from archery (beyond standing behind arbalesters, which is admittedly not horrible when equipped with a spear), limited effectiveness in melee, and low Courage, means that they can flee off of objectives if the tide turns south, making it harder for them to do the full range of things we are looking for in a skirmisher.

All told, a good skirmisher, one of the best in the game, but not the best.

#7: Warg Riders with Throwing Spears

Photo courtesy of
GamesWorkshop

So some might wonder, "Why are these guys so high - they start with a 5+ Shoot?" And that's true, and what holds them back from the top spots. But when compared to those below them on this ranking, they are definitely better skirmishers. With an 8" throwing spear and 10" movement, they have excellent control over when they engage the enemy, and in truth the difference between a 5+ and a 6+ to hit is really not that much. Add onto this that you basically evade the benefits of Blinding Light as long as you stay mobile, and their placement here is defensible.

But he's also a good melee combatant: with S4 and the ability to gain a charge bonus against infantry, when it comes to closing to melee this guy is way better than those who have gone before him. F3 is not great (which is what holds him back from getting higher on this ranking), but it's serviceable: against a lot of armies it will do the job on the flanks.

But of course it's not the best skirmisher: the 2pts you pay for throwing spears will not pay off that much, and if you lose 2-3 of these guys without killing anyone you're down a lot of points. So it's a good skirmisher, but it's a gambit, and that will keep it out of the top five.

#6: Cave Trolls with Troll Chains

You can never have too many
of these guys!

Coming out of NOWHERE we have a GREAT skirmisher that will DO WORK for you: cave trolls once again have a 5+ hit, but 1) with a S4 throwing weapon this is one of the strongest throwing weapons in the game, and 2) with 3 Wounds at D6 it's more likely to get a chance to use its throwing weapon than anyone else on this list as it can take multiple wounds, often on 6s. And since you want these guys charging into people, the chance to 1) lash with the chain, with a decent chance to remove a warrior target, and then 2) massive melee firepower, this is a GREAT skirmisher.

Now of course all of this comes at a premium: a 5+ Shoot means that you'll only hit on 1 of every 3 charges, and then you will probably wound on a 5+ or worse most of the time, so you're not actually going to kill much without above-average luck. He also costs 85 points this way, so he's by far the most expensive guy on this list (and the archer list, if you wanted to include them). Tack onto this that he is also typically employed in a line infantry role, there's a good number of turns where he will be tagged (Terror included) without getting a chance to skirmish. So in good faith I didn't want to put him in the top five, but boy howdy I love these guys.

Take four of them if you want to skirmish with them, :)

#5: Iron Guard / Grimhammers

I know people like Khazads more, but
I really like Iron Guard

Unsurprisingly dwarves appear on this list! Both Iron Guard and Grimhammers offer a 4+ Shoot with a S3 throwing axe, which doesn't sound great on paper for a skirmisher, but it's surprisingly dangerous on dwarves. First off, S3 is good damage: all of us are familiar with that rolling difficulty as it's the standard melee Strength value, which means you're effectively reaching out 6" away and doing your melee damage without a fear of taking wounds in return. Which, for a 5" move model with limited access to ranged weapons (and in the case of Army of Thror no other access to ranged weapons), this is very useful.

But the place where dwarves shine, and this is what makes them so high on this list, is that you get this throwing weapon on a durable model with Fight 4. With excellent melee prowess (2 Attacks with good Strength on the Iron Guard!) backed up by excellent Defense (D6+ on both of them!), these guys will clear objectives, roll flanks, or even stand as the center of your battle line if you need them to. Sure, they're more expensive than warrior options, but unlike most of the models on this list they make for good standing troops at all times, not just in a pinch. So when we talk about versatile skirmishers, it's fitting that the dwarves should have their day in the sun.

#4: Mirkwood Spider

Photo courtesy of
GamesWorkshop

So I checked it, and lo and behold: spider webs are throwing weapons. So that means they make the cut, and boy howdy this is a good skirmisher. The ability to paralyze a target is incredibly powerful, even if the Shoot Value is pretty poor (which, to be fair, between so many eyes trying to line up depth perception and shooting from your rear end, it's actually not a bad Shoot Value, all things considered). Since paralysis is hard to shake off and allows for auto-wins in melee duels, being able to hand this out with a decent range without having to spend a resource to do it makes for a powerful skirmisher.

I also wanted to rank these guys high because there are very few throwing weapons in this game that have control/support aspects (no nets or bolas yet, which makes sense as I don't think Tolkien mentions those anywhere), and that is a very useful tool in this game. Sure, these spiders are an expensive model to field, but in an army with 8pt fell wargs? The cost is not an issue.

We're not ranking based on cost, but even if we were, they'd do pretty well.

#3: Noldorin Exiles (and generally Wood Elf Warriors) with Throwing Daggers

I only own two wood elves, but intend to
change that in the next year or two

Wood elves combine the traits that every skirmisher likes: a 3+ Shoot, a S3 throwing weapon, and a high Fight Value for winning fights if people charge you. They don't get everything (low Defense, 6" Move), but with Woodland Creature you mitigate some of those drawbacks.

The Noldorin Exile takes this to the next level, as you pay +1pt to make these wood elves 8" Move instead of 6", which is HUGE for skirmishers. It means that you can stay at an effective distance away from enemies if you wish, catch enemy skirmishers/archers more easily, and have an effective 14" threat range, which is fantastic.

But not fantastic enough to take the top slot.

#2: Riders of Rohan with Throwing Spears

Rohan was my first army, so I need
to update the paint job

Remember how with the warg riders we said that a 10" Move and punching power up close covers the problem of a 5+ Shoot Value? Now bump up the Shoot Value to a 4+, add Expert Rider to keep yourself from hitting the dirt when unhorsed, and add the utility of not needing to dismount to pick up a small item, and you've got the Rider of Rohan.

Like the warg rider you still have that sweet sweet 18" threat range (10" Move + 8" Range), but you get this with a 4+ Shoot (5+ if you move, so you're twice as likely to hit as a warg rider) and you get a secret weapon that the warg rider doesn't have: a 24" bow standard as part of your base cost. While I'm not weighing that for skirmishers, it should be noted that with an actual effective (S2) threat range of 29" (5" Move + 24" Range), escaping this harassing cavalry is hard to do, and it's far more effective than a warg rider (who can purchase an orc bow for extra points, but that's only a 23" threat range, and with a worse shoot value at that).

In addition, they are pretty defensible: at D5 the Rider of Rohan is middle-top for Defense on this list, and the ability to keep the shield for shielding if dismounted is a useful feature should they find themselves in melee. Add onto this becoming F4 on the charge when near Theoden and S4 on the charge in melee if you trigger your army/legion special rule (unless you're Theodred's Guard, in which case you don't get the rule), and you've got a good harassing unit that can also dish out substantial damage in close combat.

And still this is not the best skirmisher...

#1: Rohan Royal Guard with Throwing Spears

"DEATH!!!"

Probably surprising no one, the top skirmisher in the game (in my humble but honestly kinda biased opinion) is the Rohan Royal Guard: one of the first models I ever owned. This guy has it all, even if he's not the top in every category: a good Shoot Value (at 4+) with a long range (8" throwing spear) on a horse (for 10" Move) with Expert Rider (to keep him mounted and allow him to pick up light objects) with F4 (F5 if charging near Theoden) and S4 on the charge (assuming you keep your army bonus), all on a D6 chassis (making it hard for missile fire and typical melee attacks to kill him).

And this doesn't even consider that the has Bodyguard for charging terror models, holding objectives, keeping your attacks going on the flanks if your force breaks, or the fact that in some legions it gains the ability to spear support with its throwing spears. This is a highly versatile model that can fill all manner of roles for you, and one of those roles it is stellar at: the role of skirmish cavalry that can close to kill, and it even performs admirably compared to the others on this list when fielded on foot. That's telling: it has everything you want in a skirmisher and more.

It even performs well in the role of shock cavalry, but more on that in a future ranking post. So if it performs well in other categories, it's not surprising that it performs well here.

Conclusion

So that's the top ten! Did a warrior profile that you love not make the list? Did I rank goblin prowlers too low? Are you tired of seeing the Assault on Lothlorien legion at the bottom of all of these lists? Let me know in the comments below!

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"Lie back on the floor," said Firenze in a calm voice, "and observe the heavens.  Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix