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Wood Elf Realms · 144 points
Are Wood Elf Glade Guard good?
Wood Elf Glade Guard are better than their stationary numbers suggest. They finished 18th of 29 standing still, but they were the best of the 18 units I tested after moving into cover.
Quick answer: it depends what you point Wood Elf Glade Guard at
- Role
- Mobile archers that shoot from cover
- Good against
- Skirmishing Empire Archers (3.4, 9th): best ranking
- Struggles against
- Knights of the Realm (1.1, 19th), Ironbreakers (0.7, 15th), Empire State Troops (2.7, 22nd), Skaven Dregs (3.8, 17th), Rat Ogres (2.1, 17th)
- Range
- Holds up at long range (91% kept)
Mobile archers that shoot from cover is the job Wood Elf Glade Guard did best in my testing, and it is the yardstick I would judge them by, rather than their 18th-of-29 overall average.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 120 volleys with Wood Elf Glade Guard: ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at both long and short range. I then fired 1,800 more Wood Elf Glade Guard volleys at fixed distances, after moving and into cover. Those main volleys were part of the 4,080 I ran across 29 shooting units, and these were the Wood Elf Glade Guard results.
Treat my Wood Elf Glade Guard results as evidence rather than gospel: I strip out terrain, magic, characters and an opponent’s choices so the unit’s own performance shows through. With ten volleys per result, Wood Elf Glade Guard (2.3) and Cathay Sky Lantern (2.2) finished level at short range, so I would not read anything into their order. I use them to decide the job for Wood Elf Glade Guard, not to predict a single game.
My verdict
In my opinion Glade Guard are the clearest case of the stationary table missing the point. If your army wants to move and shoot from cover, I would pick them over a gunline unit.
Best and worst targets for Wood Elf Glade Guard
Wood Elf Glade Guard by target. Ranks out of 29. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Target | Long | Rank | Short | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knights of the Realm | 1.5 | 9th | 1.1 | 19th |
| Ironbreakers | 0.4 | 19th | 0.7 | 15th |
| Empire State Troops | 2.4 | 11th | 2.7 | 22nd |
| Skaven Dregs | 3.6 | 10th | 3.8 | 17th |
| Rat Ogres | 1.8 | 10th | 2.1 | 17th |
| Skirmishing Empire Archers | 2.9 | 4th | 3.4 | 9th |
Range and armour
At long range Wood Elf Glade Guard kept 91% of their short-range damage, one of the flattest range profiles I tested. Their best long-range target was Skaven Dregs (3.6).
Against my two heavily armoured targets, Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 0.9 wounds at short range. That puts them 19th of 29 for cracking armour.
Wood Elf Glade Guard after moving and in cover
My main table is a clean volley in the open, so I also fired Wood Elf Glade Guard at fixed distances, after moving and at targets in partial cover. At 22 inches after moving into partial cover, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 1.80 wounds across the six targets, 1st of the 18 units I tested this way. Standing still in the open at 10 inches, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 2.40 (11th of 18).
Wood Elf Glade Guard: mean wounds across all six targets. Still or moved, open ground or partial cover. n = 60 volleys per cell
| Distance | Still, open | Moved, open | Still, cover | Moved, cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 inches | 2.40 (11th) | 2.02 (4th) | 2.25 (4th) | 2.30 (1st) |
| 22 inches | 1.67 (8th) | 1.63 (2nd) | 1.48 (4th) | 1.80 (1st) |
Ranks in brackets compare Wood Elf Glade Guard with the other 17 units in the fixed-distance test.
Wood Elf Glade Guard after moving into partial cover, by distance. n = 60 volleys per cell
| 6in | 10in | 16in | 22in | 28in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.92 | 2.30 | 1.53 | 1.80 | 1.97 |
Wood Elf Glade Guard into State Troops only, including full cover. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Distance | Still, open | Moved, partial cover | Moved, full cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 inches | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 22 inches | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
How I set up the test
12 models could shoot in every matchup. My method page has the full setup.
How do they compare?
Other Wood Elf Realms shooters
- Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts140 pts · 2.1 avg short, 1.4 avg long
- Wood Elf Waywatchers144 pts · 2.4 avg short, 1.9 avg long
Similar overall damage
- Cathay Sky LanternGrand Cathay · 2.2 avg short
- Wolves of the Sea BerserkersWarriors of Chaos · 2.5 avg short
- High Elf Shadow WarriorsHigh Elf Realms · 2.5 avg short
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Wood Elf Glade Guard for moving and shooting from cover, and not for standing still against armour, to get the most out of them on the battlefield.
FAQs
What are Wood Elf Glade Guard best at shooting?
Skaven Dregs: Wood Elf Glade Guard did 3.8 wounds per short-range volley against them in my tests. Their lowest number was against Ironbreakers, at 0.7.
Are Wood Elf Glade Guard better at long or short range?
Short range. Wood Elf Glade Guard kept 91% of their short-range damage at long range, 4th of 29 for holding up at range. Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 2.1 wounds at long range against 2.3 at short range.
Are Wood Elf Glade Guard good against armour?
Against Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 0.9 wounds per short-range volley, 19th of the 29 units I tested.