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Wolves of the Sea · Fast cavalry · 12 builds
Are Marauder Horsemen good?
Marauder Horsemen are not good in a fair frontal fight, and my simulations make that very clear. Their value lies in movement: screening, flanking, redirecting and hunting the things other units cannot reach.
Quick answer: it depends what you ask Marauder Horsemen to do
- Frontal fights
- Poor: no build won more than 7% on average against Jade Warriors, Ironbreakers, Clanrats and Gors
- Best build
- Unnatural Fortitude, with cavalry spears or flails
- Surprise matchup
- Charging Knights of the Realm: up to 51% in a dedicated pass
- Best use
- Screening, baiting, flanking, redirecting and war machine hunting
Marauder Horsemen are a movement unit, so I judge them on where they can get to rather than on what they win head-on.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 432,000 simulated combats with Marauder Horsemen in the main pass: 12 builds against six opponents, charging and receiving, 3,000 times each. I ran four builds again against fully modelled Rat Ogres and Knights, at 5,000 combats per matchup. These were the results.
My Horsemen fights were straight frontal duels, which is the one thing fast cavalry should never volunteer for. Flank charges, march blocking and war machine hunting never came up in the test, so these numbers show what to avoid rather than what the unit is worth.
Marauder Horsemen against all six opponents
Marauder Horsemen builds against all six opponents, including the fully modelled Rat Ogres and Knights. n = 3,000–5,000 combats per matchup ±2 points
| Build | Charging | Receiving | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 17.0% | 12.1% | 14.5% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 19.3% | 5.5% | 12.4% |
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield | 12.2% | 6.7% | 9.4% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield | 15.2% | 3.0% | 9.1% |
Every Horsemen build against four hard infantry matchups
This table focuses on four hard infantry matchups, which is exactly the fight fast cavalry should avoid, so the numbers look grim. It covers every cult I tested, which makes it the best way to compare blessings.
Every Marauder Horsemen build against Jade Warriors, Ironbreakers, Clanrats and Gors. n = 3,000 combats per matchup ±2 points
| Build | Charging | Receiving | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 4.2% | 8.1% | 6.1% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Slithering Serpent | 2.2% | 5.2% | 3.7% |
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield | 1.8% | 4.8% | 3.3% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Carrion Crow | 2.4% | 4.2% | 3.3% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 4.6% | 1.6% | 3.1% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Bloodied Hound | 2.0% | 4.1% | 3.0% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Fell Raptor | 2.0% | 4.0% | 3.0% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield | 3.3% | 1.2% | 2.2% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Carrion Crow | 2.9% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Slithering Serpent | 2.4% | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Bloodied Hound | 2.6% | 0.9% | 1.7% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Fell Raptor | 2.4% | 0.9% | 1.6% |
Every Horsemen build against every opponent
Win rate when the Horsemen charge, by opponent. n = 3,000–5,000 combats per cell ±2 points
| Build | Jade Warriors | Ironbreakers | Clanrats | Gors | Rat Ogres | Knights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 0.7% | 1.6% | 9.9% | 4.5% | 35.6% | 49.5% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Slithering Serpent | 0.3% | 1.0% | 5.2% | 2.1% | – | – |
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield | 0.3% | 0.7% | 4.8% | 1.2% | 26.4% | 39.6% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Carrion Crow | 0.3% | 0.9% | 5.8% | 2.4% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 1.9% | 2.8% | 10.2% | 3.4% | 46.6% | 50.9% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Bloodied Hound | 0.5% | 1.2% | 4.2% | 2.1% | – | – |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Fell Raptor | 0.3% | 0.6% | 5.4% | 1.8% | – | – |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield | 0.9% | 1.6% | 9.6% | 1.0% | 38.6% | 39.4% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Carrion Crow | 1.2% | 1.7% | 7.2% | 1.7% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Slithering Serpent | 1.7% | 2.0% | 4.6% | 1.1% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Bloodied Hound | 2.3% | 2.3% | 4.6% | 1.2% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Fell Raptor | 1.0% | 1.9% | 5.5% | 1.0% | – | – |
Win rate when the opponent charges, by opponent. n = 3,000–5,000 combats per cell ±2 points
| Build | Jade Warriors | Ironbreakers | Clanrats | Gors | Rat Ogres | Knights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 1.8% | 1.2% | 21.6% | 7.7% | 17.0% | 23.1% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Slithering Serpent | 1.2% | 1.1% | 14.4% | 4.0% | – | – |
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield | 1.1% | 0.6% | 14.7% | 2.9% | 9.2% | 11.5% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Carrion Crow | 0.7% | 0.5% | 12.2% | 3.3% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 0.2% | 0.4% | 3.6% | 2.1% | 10.8% | 15.9% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Bloodied Hound | 1.1% | 0.7% | 11.0% | 3.4% | – | – |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Fell Raptor | 0.9% | 0.1% | 12.3% | 2.5% | – | – |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield | 0.0% | 0.2% | 3.7% | 0.7% | 5.8% | 7.4% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Carrion Crow | 0.3% | 0.4% | 3.1% | 1.1% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Slithering Serpent | 0.3% | 0.3% | 2.8% | 1.3% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Bloodied Hound | 0.2% | 0.2% | 2.3% | 0.8% | – | – |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Fell Raptor | 0.3% | 0.2% | 2.3% | 0.7% | – | – |
Against fully modelled Rat Ogres and Knights
Marauder Horsemen against fully modelled Rat Ogres and Knights of the Realm. n = 5,000 combats per matchup ±1 point
| Build | Charging Rat Ogres | Rat Ogres charge | Charging Knights | Knights charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield | 26.4% | 9.2% | 39.6% | 11.5% |
| 10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spear and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 35.6% | 17.0% | 49.5% | 23.1% |
| 9 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield | 38.6% | 5.8% | 39.4% | 7.4% |
| 8 Marauder Horsemen, flail and shield, Unnatural Fortitude | 46.6% | 10.8% | 50.9% | 15.9% |
Charging Knights of the Realm was their best fight: eight Horsemen with flails, shields and Unnatural Fortitude won 50.9% of those charges. When anything charged them, they collapsed.
10 Marauder Horsemen, cavalry spears and shields, every matchup. n = 3,000–5,000 combats per row ±2 points
| Opponent | Who charged | Won | Wounds dealt, round 1 | Wounds taken, round 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jade Warriors (hand weapon and shield) | Marauders | 0.3% | 1.10 | 1.84 |
| 8 Ironbreakers | Marauders | 0.7% | 0.81 | 3.04 |
| 20 Clanrats (spear and shield) | Marauders | 4.8% | 3.07 | 2.64 |
| 17 Gors (additional hand weapons) | Marauders | 1.2% | 2.37 | 4.45 |
| 3 Rat Ogres + Master Moulder | Marauders | 26.4% | 1.75 | 2.99 |
| 5 Knights of the Realm | Marauders | 39.6% | 1.18 | 1.44 |
| 15 Jade Warriors (hand weapon and shield) | Opponent | 1.1% | 1.27 | 1.00 |
| 8 Ironbreakers | Opponent | 0.6% | 0.52 | 1.84 |
| 20 Clanrats (spear and shield) | Opponent | 14.7% | 3.06 | 0.99 |
| 17 Gors (additional hand weapons) | Opponent | 2.9% | 2.08 | 3.37 |
| 3 Rat Ogres + Master Moulder | Opponent | 9.2% | 1.26 | 4.33 |
| 5 Knights of the Realm | Opponent | 11.5% | 0.88 | 3.36 |
How I would use Marauder Horsemen
- screening your infantry blocks
- baiting Frenzied or Impetuous enemies into bad charges
- flanking a combat that is already under way
- redirecting enemy chargers
- threatening war machines and hunting light units
- using movement and board position rather than grinding
For the foot Marauders, see my best Chaos Marauder build results.
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use Marauder Horsemen to screen, bait, redirect and hunt war machines and light units. I would not use them in fair frontal fights against ranked infantry or heavy combat units.
FAQs
Are Marauder Horsemen good in combat?
Not head-on. Against four hard infantry units, Jade Warriors, Ironbreakers, Clanrats and Gors, the best build averaged about 6% in my simulations. Charging Knights of the Realm went much better, at up to 51%.
What is the best Marauder Horsemen build?
Unnatural Fortitude did best with both cavalry spears and flails, and it was the only blessing that clearly helped them.