| “ | The bond between the Elves and the Hawks is unbreakable. | „ |
Hawk Riders are a 
Wood Elves missile cavalry unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer with Realm of The Wood Elves.
Recruitment[ | ]
Unlocked with: Warhawk Crags, Sacred Grounds of Anath Raema or Peaks of Parravon
Description[ | ]
Many large birds of prey live in Athel Loren, especially where it covers the foothills, ravines and crags of the Grey Mountains. These hawks and shrikes grow to far grander proportions than similar species found elsewhere in the world, though why this should be remains a mystery. A fledging hawk raised by an Elf develops a powerful bond with its master, and will even bear him into battle. As time passes, rider and hawk become almost one creature, existing for the call of the Hunt and the thrill of the chase alone. These Warhawk Riders scout their territory for invaders, and are skillful enough to guide their steeds down through the trees to strike at intruders. Those who ride Warhawks display phenomenal agility and balance, able to launch volleys of arrows while their mounts flit and dart through the forest at speed. In this way, an intruder who strays into the Pine Crags and other mountainous realms faces not only the fury of the hawks, but also that of the Elves - as several Dwarf expeditions have found to their cost.
Attributes[ | ]
- Flying Missile Cavalry
- ▲ Armour-Piercing Melee: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
- ▲ Very Fast: This unit can run circles around most other units, taunting and harrassing the enemy or evading its missile fire.
Strategy[ | ]
Neglecting their Sisters of Twilight ability to delete units, Hawk Riders are a cheap light flying unit that doesn't do a ton of ranged damage but can rear charge vulnerable units to good effect. Their melee damage is AP, but their MD is too low to stay in melee for too long. Its best to harass with ranged fire until an opportunity develops, charge, and then retreat before the target or other enemy units can respond. Don't hold out for a rout, you can continue to harass and then charge again later. Meanwhile the enemy will be struggling to deal with your ground units while keeping an eye on the Hawk Riders.
The Sisters of Twilight gift them the Arrow of Kurnous ability, pushing them from a decent, adaptable harasser to a potential doomstack. With enough of them you can instantly get rid of all but the most missile resistant of enemy lords before they even get to do anything.
Trivia[ | ]
As of The Twisted and Twilight Update, Hawk Riders can fire whilst moving, allowing them to better perform hit and run tactics.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
