Hit Wound Save

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 Glade Guard good?

Wood Elf Glade Guard are better than their stationary numbers suggest. They finished 12th of 18 standing still, but they were the best of the three units I tested after moving into cover.

By DaveUpdated 2026-09-242026 Rules & ErrataHow I test

Quick answer: it depends what you point Wood Elf Glade Guard at

Role
Mobile archers that shoot from cover
Good against
Skirmishing Empire Archers (3.4, 5th)
Struggles against
Knights of the Realm (1.1, 13th), Empire State Troops (2.7, 15th)
Range
Holds up at long range (91% kept)

Mobile archers that shoot from cover is the job Wood Elf Glade Guard did best in my testing, and it is the yardstick I would judge them by, rather than their 12th-of-18 overall average.

How many simulations I ran

I ran 120 volleys with Wood Elf Glade Guard: ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at both long and short range. Those volleys were part of the 2,160 I ran across 18 shooting units, and these were the Wood Elf Glade Guard results.

Treat my Wood Elf Glade Guard results as evidence rather than gospel: I strip out terrain, magic, characters and an opponent’s choices so the unit’s own performance shows through. With ten volleys per result, Wood Elf Glade Guard (2.3) and Cathay Sky Lantern (2.2) finished level at short range, so I would not read anything into their order. I use them to decide the job for Wood Elf Glade Guard, not to predict a single game.

2.3Avg wounds, short range (12th of 18)
2.1Avg wounds, long range (7th of 18)
91%Of short-range damage kept at long range
1.6Short-range wounds per 100 points

My verdict

In my opinion Glade Guard are the clearest case of the stationary table missing the point. If your army wants to move and shoot from cover, I would pick them over a gunline unit.

Best and worst targets for Wood Elf Glade Guard

Wood Elf Glade Guard: mean wounds per volley by target, long and short range 0 2 4 6 8 Knights Knights, long range: 1.5 wounds 1.5 Knights, short range: 1.1 wounds 1.1 Ironbreakers Ironbreakers, long range: 0.4 wounds 0.4 Ironbreakers, short range: 0.7 wounds 0.7 State Troops State Troops, long range: 2.4 wounds 2.4 State Troops, short range: 2.7 wounds 2.7 Dregs Dregs, long range: 3.6 wounds 3.6 Dregs, short range: 3.8 wounds 3.8 Rat Ogres Rat Ogres, long range: 1.8 wounds 1.8 Rat Ogres, short range: 2.1 wounds 2.1 Skirmish Archers Skirmish Archers, long range: 2.9 wounds 2.9 Skirmish Archers, short range: 3.4 wounds 3.4
Mean effective wounds per volley. Axis shared across targets.

Wood Elf Glade Guard by target. Ranks out of 18. n = 10 volleys per cell

TargetLongRankShortRank
Knights of the Realm 1.5 8th 1.1 13th
Ironbreakers 0.4 12th 0.7 12th
Empire State Troops 2.4 7th 2.7 15th
Skaven Dregs 3.6 5th 3.8 12th
Rat Ogres 1.8 8th 2.1 12th
Skirmishing Empire Archers 2.9 2nd 3.4 5th

Range and armour

At long range Wood Elf Glade Guard kept 91% of their short-range damage, one of the flattest range profiles I tested. Their best long-range target was Skaven Dregs (3.6).

Against my two heavily armoured targets, Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 0.9 wounds at short range. That puts them 13th of 18 for cracking armour.

After moving, and in cover

At 22 inches after moving into partial cover, Glade Guard averaged 1.80 wounds across the six targets, the best of the three units I tested that way. Standing still at 10 inches in the open, they averaged 2.40.

I ran this Wood Elf Glade Guard test separately, at fixed distances, so compare it with the other moving units rather than the main table.

How I set up the test

12 models could shoot in every matchup. My method page has the full setup.

How do they compare?

Other Wood Elf Realms shooters

Similar overall damage

Compare all 18 shooting units

My conclusion

Based on these results, I would use Wood Elf Glade Guard for moving and shooting from cover, and not for standing still against armour, to get the most out of them on the battlefield.

FAQs

What are Wood Elf Glade Guard best at shooting?

Skaven Dregs: Wood Elf Glade Guard did 3.8 wounds per short-range volley against them in my tests. Their lowest number was against Ironbreakers, at 0.7.

Are Wood Elf Glade Guard better at long or short range?

Short range. Wood Elf Glade Guard kept 91% of their short-range damage at long range, 2nd of 18 for holding up at range. They averaged 2.1 wounds at long range against 2.3 at short range.

Are Wood Elf Glade Guard good against armour?

Against Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Wood Elf Glade Guard averaged 0.9 wounds per short-range volley, 13th of the 18 units I tested.