Disclosure: This post is reader-powered and contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Wood Elf Realms · 144 points
Are Wood Elf Waywatchers good?
Wood Elf Waywatchers are specialists rather than an all-round shooting unit, and my open-ground test shows it. They finished 17th of 29 at short range, though they held up well at long range, keeping 79% of their damage.
Quick answer: it depends what you point Wood Elf Waywatchers at
- Role
- Long-range harassment that ignores cover
- Good against
- Ironbreakers (1.2, 7th): best ranking
- Struggles against
- Knights of the Realm (1.0, 22nd), Skaven Dregs (3.4, 18th), Skirmishing Empire Archers (2.3, 22nd)
- Range
- Loses some damage at range (79% kept)
Long-range harassment that ignores cover is the job Wood Elf Waywatchers did best in my testing, and it is the yardstick I would judge them by, rather than their 17th-of-29 overall average.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 240 volleys with Wood Elf Waywatchers: ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at both long and short range, standing still and again after moving. Those main volleys were part of the 4,080 I ran across 29 shooting units, and these were the Wood Elf Waywatchers results.
These Wood Elf Waywatchers 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. With ten volleys per result, Wood Elf Waywatchers (2.4) and Wolves of the Sea Berserkers (2.5) finished level at short range, so I would not read anything into their order. I use them to decide the job for Wood Elf Waywatchers, not to predict a single game.
My verdict
I think this test undersells Waywatchers, because Ignores Cover does nothing on open ground. Their Arcane Bodkins still did not crack Ironbreakers (1.2 wounds at either range), so I would not buy them as an armour answer.
Best and worst targets for Wood Elf Waywatchers
Wood Elf Waywatchers by target. Ranks out of 29. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Target | Long | Rank | Short | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knights of the Realm | 1.9 | 4th | 1.0 | 22nd |
| Ironbreakers | 1.2 | 6th | 1.2 | 7th |
| Empire State Troops | 2.8 | 6th | 3.8 | 9th |
| Skaven Dregs | 2.1 | 24th | 3.4 | 18th |
| Rat Ogres | 1.6 | 15th | 2.8 | 10th |
| Skirmishing Empire Archers | 1.8 | 14th | 2.3 | 22nd |
Range and armour
At long range Wood Elf Waywatchers kept 79% of their short-range damage. Their best long-range target was Empire State Troops (2.8).
Against my two heavily armoured targets, Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Waywatchers averaged 1.1 wounds at short range. That puts them 14th of 29 for cracking armour.
Rules that shaped these numbers
- Arcane Bodkins give AP−2, and Asrai longbows add Armour Bane (1).
- Waywatchers ignore cover, but my test had none, so that advantage does not show in these numbers.
Do Wood Elf Waywatchers lose damage after moving?
I fired the same Wood Elf Waywatchers volleys again after a legal move to the same firing position. Standing still, Wood Elf Waywatchers averaged 2.4 wounds at short range; after moving, 1.9. At long range the figures were 1.9 standing still and 1.3 after moving.
Wood Elf Waywatchers, standing still vs after moving. Mean wounds per volley. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Target | Short, still | Short, moved | Long, still | Long, moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knights of the Realm | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Ironbreakers | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Empire State Troops | 3.8 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 |
| Skaven Dregs | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
| Rat Ogres | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 |
| Skirmishing Empire Archers | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
How I set up the test
I fielded 8 Waywatchers with Arcane Bodkins (144 points), and all 8 models could shoot in every matchup. My method page has the full setup.
How do they compare?
Other Wood Elf Realms shooters
- Wood Elf Glade Guard144 pts · 2.3 avg short, 2.1 avg long
- Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts140 pts · 2.1 avg short, 1.4 avg long
Similar overall damage
- Wolves of the Sea BerserkersWarriors of Chaos · 2.5 avg short
- High Elf Shadow WarriorsHigh Elf Realms · 2.5 avg short
- Cathay Sky LanternGrand Cathay · 2.2 avg short
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Wood Elf Waywatchers for long-range pressure on medium infantry, especially targets hiding in cover, and not for cracking heavy armour such as Ironbreakers, to get the most out of them on the battlefield.
FAQs
What are Wood Elf Waywatchers best at shooting?
Empire State Troops: Wood Elf Waywatchers did 3.8 wounds per short-range volley against them in my tests. Their lowest number was against Knights of the Realm, at 1.0.
Are Wood Elf Waywatchers better at long or short range?
Short range. Wood Elf Waywatchers kept 79% of their short-range damage at long range, 6th of 29 for holding up at range. Wood Elf Waywatchers averaged 1.9 wounds at long range against 2.4 at short range.
Are Wood Elf Waywatchers good against armour?
Against Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Waywatchers averaged 1.1 wounds per short-range volley, 14th of the 29 units I tested.