Undead ranged units

Hello
New guy to the forum here with just a few thoughts really, these are ideas that have probably been considered by other people especially fellow undead players, nobody seems to use skeleton archers in their lists so what if they could be upgraded to rifle units? or maybe given the steady hand ability or something to make them a bit more appealling, how about ghoul crossbow units? Maybe they’re bad ideas?

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Pretty much all generic (i.e. non special / elite) ranged units are pretty lackluster this edition. Can use them as ranged chaff I guess. They are dirt cheap after all. :wink:

However I don’t think the solution is to give all those “bottom of the barrel” ranged units steady aim and better weapons … what’s the point of the more elite units then?

And there are some 5+ ranged steady aim units in this edition already … but those cost way more than Skeleton Archers. And somehow I doubt making Skeleton Archers more expensive and more “elite” is a solution that makes any sense.

/shrugs. Just my ramblings on the topic.

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I like them. They are ranged chaff. Put a bit of ranged thread on some areas, and move them onto objectives.
Balefire catapults are good though.

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Yeah i didn’t think this through, it was just a morning thought that popped into my head, sorry about that everyone. I still think skeleton riflemen would be a good unit though.

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No need to apologize. They aren’t good units and raise eyebrows. If I’d play on tournement level, I’ll probably wouldn’t take them

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EoD have skeleton crossbowmen.

You don’t see them particularly much - partly as there aren’t a huge range of models, but the lack of a horde option also impacts.

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It’s a british trait we apologise for everything, we love being sorry, you could step on a brits foot and they would apologise to you.

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Yeah i collect a bit of EoD along with my undead, the deadeyes interest me i’ve been looking around for models to use as these myself but the ones i’ve seen are too expensive, if the undead faction had their own version of deadeyes that would be something good and i might get them so i could use them in both armies.

I’m german and value grumpy honesty, laughing about everyone except myself and a good, hard try on world domination.

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Add to that the fact that they are bloody useless, like all other reload/pot shot missiles. Regular missiles aren’t that usefull to begin with, add Reload/pot shot to the mix and the unit becomes even less useful.

@the OP, the difference between a regular skeleton troop and an archer troop is 20 points. If I had 20 points to spare, I can usually find an artifact that is more use to me than 8 attacks @5+ to hit and no piercing.

If the difference would be, say, 10 points, I could maybe find a use for them. @ 5 points they would be too good, so there’s a thin line to walk here.

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Surge on shooting units is great (comparatively) - as you can move them prior to shooting.

They are better than stuff like KoM crossbowmen, which suck massively!!

On a sheer uniqueness level, Skeleton Riflemen would be neat to see. You just don’t often see skeletons with guns, you know?

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Yeah i’m thinking enslaved guardian archers being surged then shooting could be quite lethal.

I know right, they might end up not being a good unit but they would be fun to see.

I’ll take a moment here for a quick thank you to all of you for your opinions and info, i’ll try not to be annoying on this forum but until i find players in my area you guys are gonna have to be the only victims for any dumb questions or half-baked ideas i have.

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Oh no, talking about Kings of War, on the Kings of War forum? Such horror! :stuck_out_tongue:

I always consider mages the ranged part of my Undead, just for the flavour of it.

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Yeah the faction is packed with tasty spell casters, the only thing that bugs me a little is none have access to the fireball spell on their lists, so the only way to get it is buying the diadem artifact, but it’s not a big issue they’re still spoilt for choice with magic options.

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Fireball sucks anyway, Lightning Bolt is way better. Drain Life is also better.

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I don’t know about that wouldn’t say it sucks, lightning bolt has longer range and piercing so it’s got better chance to damage i suppose which is great and i agree it would be a better choice, but fireball tends to have more attack dice and i feel it would be better against units with really low defence like +2 so having no piercing on the rolls doesn’t matter, the only problem it seems is the range of the spell and getting too close to the enemy to use it.

Edit: you’re right it does suck i was just reminded fireball is affected by the stealthy rule.

One issue, and it is imo bl**dy stupid, is that fireball is effected by Stealthy, where lightning bolt isn’t!

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