Help needed to get the best out of my glade guard

[Frostmourne]

For these guys should i leave them on a hill asuming i get one or should i move up tp my opponent to get my strength 4 at half range rule

[Hyarion]

It depends on the terrain set up and the composition of your army and how your opponent moves his units.

[Naggie]

I use two units of 10 in my army. One unit with a standard and one with a musician. The unit with a musician will be 10 wide and move closer to the enemy in hopes of getting into short range quickly. If charged by too mch at once, they'll flee and rally with the musician.

The other unit stands on a hill (if I got one) and fires in two ranks. If enemy flyers or fast cav comes near I'll stand & shoot, have +1 CR for ranks, +1 for banner, and +1 for higher ground. Those four things should make the enemy think before charging.

~ Nag

[Tethlis]

The army you fight will make a huge difference as well. When fighting Lizardmen, it's often useful to keep your Glade Guard back to help protect your flanks against skinks. Against Dwarves, it's useful to advance since Dwarves are slow and can't really threaten your Glade Guard when you get in short range. I typically prioritize what I want my Glade Guard to do when I deploy them. If I'm fighting Brettonians, I'm going to use my Glade Guard as a screen to direct charges. If I fighting Beastmen, I'll focus fire with my Glade Guard to force panic tests. Glade Guard are very flexible, so there's no reason to simply commit to a single strategy for them.

[Kulgan]

As for deployment I think Glade Guard are fairly easy. In a common 2000 match I usually deploy one unit 1/4th away from one side and the second unit 1/4th away from the other side so you have two units of 10 Glade Guard in the center of each half ( left half and right half ) of the field.

This usually allows optimal arrow deliverance AND most important it's two units you can deploy without having to worry wether they will be positioned good. The winning of a game of Warhammer starts in your deployment phase. This forces your opponents to deploy their key unit first, whereafter you can respond by placing your key units ( Wild riders, treeman.. etc )

[Hyarion]

As for deployment I think Glade Guard are fairly easy. In a common 2000 match I usually deploy one unit 1/4th away from one side and the second unit 1/4th away from the other side so you have two units of 10 Glade Guard in the center of each half ( left half and right half ) of the field.

This usually allows optimal arrow deliverance AND most important it's two units you can deploy without having to worry wether they will be positioned good. The winning of a game of Warhammer starts in your deployment phase. This forces your opponents to deploy their key unit first, whereafter you can respond by placing your key units ( Wild riders, treeman.. etc )

Getting a good spread can be important, but it's more important to make sure that they will be able to be effective for 6 rounds of shooting. Sometimes this means that both GG squads (if you have 2) go on the same side of the board on two different hills. Sometimes the terrain forms lanes which you can use to your advantage.

I find a lot of people underestimate Glade Guard particularly when the other option is a squad of Wardancers supported by Dryads or Wild Riders, meaning that the opponent will voluntarily stay under your shooting to avoid our killier units. Quite frankly that suits me fine, since it gives more time to draw a trap around them and kill my opponent through combo charges.

[popisdead]

Have you played many games with them? I most often place my two units of 10 in the centre and give them the best firing lane. Even when I do 3 units I try to have a straight line.

Then depending on how fast he opponent moves I move forward and then back. Vs say O&G I will as I need to really get stuff panicking fast. Vs Skaven or Ogres they move that much faster so I need to make sure I don't get caught moving forward.

[Naggie]

Firing lanes and such stuff depends too much on terrain IMO. If the terrain is placed so that the enemy must come through one or two bottle necks, I try to have archers aiming that way while not being the first target there. Once the enemy comes, I'll shoot once and then charge with Dryads, Wild Riders, Wardancers and other stuff.

~ Nag

[nagualhost]

7th ed rules say no terrain in 12" radius from center of board, so terrain shouldn't matter if your group follows those rules.

firing lanes are great. I have been fielding 3 units of ten in the middle of the board slightly to the left or right depending on terrain. if my opponent is fast, OK or Lizardmen more often than not, I deploy one inch behind the line to steal an extra round of shooting, sixty shots plus HoDA can be pretty nasty but its best if you consentrate on the right targets.

If I get charged I flee, ld 8 will rally well enough, and my wardancers, dryads or treekin will get the flank - boyakasha!

[unicorn]

Can I ask - why should I take 10GG for 120pts instead of 5GR for 120pts?
I know I am missing something, but:
GR are better in fight (no rank bonuses, but they are faster, have horses + spear), and with shooting they don't have GG longbow, but can move much better while still shooting (18" instead of 5")?
I'm new in WE, so sorry if this sounds stupid

[Hyarion]

GG vs GR
10 Arrows/turn -- 5 Arrows/turn
Ability to have a rank bonus -- Fast Cav doesn't have ranks
S4 at short range -- limited to S3
M5 -- Fast Cav with an 18" move

Generally GG will be able to contest/claim the back table quarters (assuming they survive) without too much effort, whereas Glade Riders tend to spend a lot more time doing things like setting up crossfires, charging Warmachines, flanking weak units, baiting, etc and may not always be able to make it back to your table edge.

Glade Riders should always be taken with a Musician whenever possible since they'll be baiting enemy units a lot so it's more appropriate to list their cost at 129pts vs 120pts.

These are just the first 6 reasons I could think of, hopefully they help.

[Noxmenno]

Can I ask - why should I take 10GG for 120pts instead of 5GR for 120pts?
I know I am missing something, but:
GR are better in fight (no rank bonuses, but they are faster, have horses + spear), and with shooting they don't have GG longbow, but can move much better while still shooting (18" instead of 5")?

Yes, glade riders are better in close combat, but only marginally. I use glade riders to hunt war machine crews, mages and weakened enemy light units. Also, their ability to negate rank bonuses by charging into enemy flanks usually causes my opponents some worries. However, do not overestimate their combat abilities. They're still puny elves with toughness 3 and practically no armour. Against most units they won't hit hard enough to seriously affect enemy return attacks, but they can perform very well when charging the flank of a unit of goblins or skaven.

Both archers and glade riders help securing what I think is the most vital part of the game: the movement phase. If you can move your units where you want them to move you can set up favourable charges on enemy units and win the game. Units that have the largest impact on the movement phase usually are fast moving units like cavalry and flying stuff, or highly manoeuvrable units like skirmishers. These tend to be small and lightly armoured, which make them perfect targets for your archers. So by taking out fast moving enemy stuff your archers help you control the movement phase.

Yes, glade riders can shoot too, but let's compare their fire power to that of archers when firing against a typical target. Let's assume you're shooting against a unit of fast cavalry with toughness 3 and a 5+ armour save.
On average 5 glade riders will hit 10/3, wound 5/3 and after taking armour saves they'll cause 10/9 wounds.
On long range 10 archers will hit 5 times, wound 5/2 and thus cause 5/3 unsaved wounds. That's 1.5 times better than the glade riders, perhaps even the difference between the enemy fast cavalry being forced to take a panic test or not. When you get your archers into short range the difference becomes even greater:
On average 10 archers will then hit 20/3, wound 40/9 and cause 100/27 wounds, which is more than 3 times as much as the 5 glade riders at short range. A serious difference in fire power!

Ofcourse, the archers won't be able to run behind an enemy unit and shoot down a mage or threaten a flank charge. You should decide yourself how many units of archers and riders you need. I use two units of archers and only one unit of glade riders because I already have three units of wild riders in my army to threaten flank charges.

I hope this helped a bit. Good luck.

[Naggie]

Both archers and glade riders help securing what I think is the most vital part of the game: the movement phase. If you can move your units where you want them to move you can set up favourable charges on enemy units and win the game. Units that have the largest impact on the movement phase usually are fast moving units like cavalry and flying stuff, or highly manoeuvrable units like skirmishers.

Don't forget that directing the enemy's movement is also very important. Positioning archers so that they cover an area and give a threat zone for the enemy. He will be relcutant to enter that zone, and as such you have directed his movement and he is playing on your turf. That is something Glade Riders cannot do. They lack the firepower to be a threat, and they lack the wounds to sustain any casualties.

~ Nag

[Thornspear]

In terms of combat, you will be surprised what a ranked up unit of GG can do. Sure they are not going to go on a rampage, but they cna be useful for a flank charge, where their numbers can tip a tight combat. This charge can be just as effective as 5 GR. Again, this depends on the opponents...

Also, their S 4 at Short range means a lot vs incoming chargers, especially if GG are already on a hill.

[Falconrider]

GG and GR only comparasion is that they are the same price and that they both have longbows. In all other aspects they fullfil completely different roles.