Skeleton archers

[Smokeyprogg]

So I'm just asking a quick question since I'm building a deathrattle based death army and have tons of tk skeleton archers from old battalions and they're now grouped with deathrattle so I was wondering if a big block of them is worth it at expense of some regular skeleton warriors or 3 decent sized battleline skeleton blocks instead. Anyone got any first hand experience of the difference? 

[Squirrelmaster]

I've been running a unit of 20 for a while now — they're kinda mediocre, but not too bad, and it's nice to have some shooting. They need Righteous Smiting and My Will Be Done (and/or Settra) to really work, though.

It depends a bit on what else you want to run.

[Solaris]

Settra doesn't work, his buff is only active in the combat phase.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Alternatively a Wight King can give them +1 Attack, so they put out three shots each if they're 20+ strong. It's a whole lot of really mediocre dakka.

[Squirrelmaster]

@Solaris true, my mistake.

@CoffeeGrunt Yeah, but +1 attack doesn't combine as effectively with Righteous Smiting.

[Sception]

As mentioned, they're pretty mediocre.  As archers go, they're very weak.  At the same time, some ranged firepower, even if it's a little light on the 'power' part, can still be a useful tool to keep around, letting you threaten to pick the last couple wounds off already injured heroes, cause a couple wounds to hoardy units to knock off unit strength bonuses before combat is joined (as a deathrattle-leaning death player, you should appreciate the dramatic threat level difference between, say, a 30 model skeleton unit and a 27 model skeleton unit), etc.

So yeah, in larger games a block of 20 to 30 skeleton archers can be worth bringing, but if you find yourself points strapped they're usually the first thing to go.

Can be fun summoned, though.  In games of 2k points or more, I like to run Arkhan, and leave 240 points open for summoning, which I usually use to drop a pair of morghasts, or 6 spirit hosts, or 40 zombies (in a couple separate castings), depending on what a given game calls for, and on rare occassion what the given game has called for has instead been 20 skeleton archers, appearing out of nowhere and getting buffed by my WKwBA general to make 60 unexpected attacks.  Sure, only about 10 wounds actually land, before saving throws, but that's enough to drop some 5 wound buff heroes who had foolishly believed they were safe.

 

In general, though, I think Screaming Skull catapults are better uses of the points, even after the upcoming points hike - able to supply the same sort of chip damage while also imposing a useful bravery debuff.  Unless you're doing a themed Khalida list, which changes the numbers up a bit.  Archers are much better with +1 to hit and the ability to fill battleline requirements.

[Squirrelmaster]

To give some stats, 20 archers in a single round of shooting will inflict (on average):

No buffs: 6.83 wounds
Wight King only: 10.25 wounds
Tomb King only: 10.17 wounds
Smiting only: 7.78 wounds
Smiting + WK: 11.67 wounds
Smiting + TK: 13.47 wounds

That's before saves of course.

[Squirrelmaster]

Also, +1 to run moves is handy, since they can run-and-shoot. Coupled with a 20" range, they've got pretty good striking distance for archers.

They're also harder to shut down than many missile units — although they become massively less effective when reduced below 20 models, they have an undead banner to bring them back up, so taking a wound or two off won't do much.

But, yeah, still mediocre.

[Solaris]

I've had some success with a 30-man units of Archers backed up by a TK, LP and Necrotect. They really do get some insane reach then. However, it's a lot of eggs put into one basket.

[bonzai]

I have seen them do work, and they can be an asset for a pure Deathrattle army. They are good for wearing down units that are being tarpitted by your  skeletons. As mentioned above, they have decent range as well, so can snipe support characters that are in the front lines.

I think a single squad of 30 is the way to go. Enough to give you a buffer over the 20 model threshold, and with your banner it should keep them there.