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Grand Cathay · 138 points · Support, flank and pursuit cavalry
Are Jade Lancers good?
Jade Lancers are not good as a frontal hammer, but I think they are useful support cavalry. They won only 8 of 40 frontal charges in my tests.
Quick answer: it depends what you point Jade Lancers at
- Role
- Support, flank and pursuit cavalry
- Good against
- Jade Warriors on the charge (3/10): their best result
- Struggles against
- Jade Warriors on the charge (3/10), Ironbreakers on the charge (0/10), Clanrats on the charge (2/10), Rat Ogres on the charge (3/10), charging Knights of the Realm (2/20), charging Gors (2/10)
- Record
- 8/40 charging · 4/30 receiving
Their job is flanks, pursuit and support. I would not use them as the main hammer in a frontal fight.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 70 complete combats with Jade Lancers, each fought through break tests and pursuit to the end: 40 with them charging and 30 with the enemy charging. These were the results.
These Jade Lancers numbers are not the whole story, because my dice roll on an empty table without terrain, spells, characters or a real player on the other side. One lucky break test can move a result by a whole fight, so the Jade Lancers’ result against charging Gors (2/10) could easily have come out one either way. Read the Jade Lancers results as a guide to roles and matchups rather than a forecast.
How do Jade Lancers do on the charge?
Jade Lancers charging. Fights won. n = 10 fights per opponent
| Opponent | Pts | Won |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Jade Warriors | 138 | 3/10 |
| 8 Ironbreakers | 141 | 0/10 |
| 20 Clanrats | 137 | 2/10 |
| 3 Rat Ogres + Master Moulder | 150 | 3/10 |
How do Jade Lancers do when the enemy charges?
Jade Lancers receiving. Fights won. n = 20 and 10 fights
| Charging enemy | Pts | Won |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Knights of the Realm | 141 | 2/20 |
| 17 Gors | 136 | 2/10 |
What I think Jade Lancers are good at
- My repeated frontal tests were weak: Ironbreakers, Clanrats, Rat Ogres and enemy heavy cavalry all exposed their low raw damage.
- Counter Charge and Cathayan Cataphracts are still useful, but they do not turn the unit into Chaos Knights.
- I would use them for flank charges, pursuit, hunting lighter units, supporting an existing combat and making the most of Swiftstride.
Watch out
Treat them as mobile battlefield utility rather than a unit that wins the main combat by itself.
Combinations that worked for me
I paired Jade Lancers with other units in these combinations, which I explain on my Battle March units page:
- Jade Lancers on flanks, not fronts
Other Battle March units I tested
- Khorne Chaos Warriors with great weapons137 pts · Armour and monster breaker
- Khorne Chaos Warriors with additional hand weapons130 pts · Attack-volume infantry
- Khorne Chaos Knights with lances142 pts · Elite shock cavalry
- Huscarls with flails120 pts · Cheap shock hammer
- Berserkers with flails137 pts · All-round melee infantry
- Bloodied Hound Marauders with great weapons143 pts · Ranked block with sustained S5
- Bloodied Hound Marauders with flails137 pts · Charge-dependent ranked infantry
- Rat Ogres with a Master Moulder150 pts · Monstrous hammer
- Plague Monks153 pts · Attritional attack-volume block
- Giant Rats and handlers115 pts · Screen, bait and redirector
- Clanrats with spears and shields137 pts · Tarpit and ranked anvil
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Jade Lancers for flank charges, pursuit and support, and not for a frontal hammer, to get the most out of them on the battlefield.
FAQs
What are Jade Lancers best against?
Jade Warriors: the Jade Lancers won 3 of 10 charges into them in my tests. The worst charging matchup for the Jade Lancers was Ironbreakers, at 0 of 10.
Are Jade Lancers better on the charge or receiving one?
Charging. The Jade Lancers won 20% of their charges in my tests, against 13% of fights when the enemy charged them.