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Orc & Goblin Tribes · 140 points
Are Orc archers good?
Orc archers are an average shooting unit that comes with a lot of bodies. My 28 Orc Boyz with warbows finished 14th of 29 at short range and did their best work into unarmoured Dregs.
Quick answer: it depends what you point Orc archers at
- Role
- Big, cheap block of bows
- Good against
- Knights of the Realm (1.7, 8th): best ranking
- Struggles against
- Ironbreakers (0.5, 18th), Empire State Troops (3.1, 17th)
- Range
- Loses some damage at range (64% kept)
Big, cheap block of bows is the job Orc archers did best in my testing, and it is the yardstick I would judge them by, rather than their 14th-of-29 overall average.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 120 volleys with Orc archers: ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at both long and short range. Those main volleys were part of the 4,080 I ran across 29 shooting units, and these were the Orc archers results.
No simulation is perfect, and my Orc archers results are no exception: the dice fall on open ground, with no magic, no extra characters and no opponent making decisions. The nearest unit to Orc archers at short range was High Elf Shadow Warriors, 0.2 wounds away; with ten volleys per result, gaps that small can come down to the dice. I use them to decide the job for Orc archers, not to predict a single game.
My verdict
In my opinion the bows are a useful extra on a unit you would take for its size anyway. They did 4.9 wounds into Dregs at short range but only 0.5 into Ironbreakers, and the Goblin archers outshot them at both ranges for the same points.
Best and worst targets for Orc archers
Orc archers by target. Ranks out of 29. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Target | Long | Rank | Short | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knights of the Realm | 1.4 | 11th | 1.7 | 8th |
| Ironbreakers | 0.3 | 23rd | 0.5 | 18th |
| Empire State Troops | 1.6 | 21st | 3.1 | 17th |
| Skaven Dregs | 4.1 | 5th | 4.9 | 9th |
| Rat Ogres | 1.5 | 16th | 2.5 | 12th |
| Skirmishing Empire Archers | 1.4 | 23rd | 3.3 | 11th |
Range and armour
At long range Orc archers kept 64% of their short-range damage. Their best long-range target was Skaven Dregs (4.1).
Against my two heavily armoured targets, Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Orc archers averaged 1.1 wounds at short range. That puts them 14th of 29 for cracking armour.
Rules that shaped these numbers
- I fielded 28 Orc Boyz with free warbows in two ranks of 14, so the second rank fired with Volley Fire.
How I set up the test
I fielded 28 Orc Boyz with free warbows (140 points) in two ranks of 14, with the second rank using Volley Fire over the front rank. My method page has the full setup.
How do they compare?
Other Orc & Goblin Tribes shooters
- Goblin Wolf Riders140 pts · 1.7 avg short, 1.2 avg long
- Goblin archers140 pts · 2.9 avg short, 2.1 avg long
Similar overall damage
- High Elf Shadow WarriorsHigh Elf Realms · 2.5 avg short
- Cathay Crane GunnersGrand Cathay · 2.9 avg short
- Wolves of the Sea BerserkersWarriors of Chaos · 2.5 avg short
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Orc archers for thinning Dregs and other light infantry at short range, and not for Ironbreakers or long-range support, to get the most out of them on the battlefield.
FAQs
What are Orc archers best at shooting?
Skaven Dregs: Orc archers did 4.9 wounds per short-range volley against them in my tests. Their lowest number was against Ironbreakers, at 0.5.
Are Orc archers better at long or short range?
Short range. Orc archers kept 64% of their short-range damage at long range, 22nd of 29 for holding up at range. Orc archers averaged 1.7 wounds at long range against 2.7 at short range.
Are Orc archers good against armour?
Against Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Orc archers averaged 1.1 wounds per short-range volley, 14th of the 29 units I tested.