Deck Gunners

Deck Gunners is a Vampire Coast missile infantry unit in Total War: Warhammer II. Zombie pirate crews love dragging a big gun into a fight, no matter how unwieldy it might be!

Description
Clunky, cumbersome, and with bone-shattering recoil, it takes the heftiest of crewmen to operate the mounted swivel guns commonly seen mounted on the decks of warships and pirate ships of the world’s seas. In the field, they are seldom used by the armies of the living, since very few mortals possess the strength and bravery required to carry and use a firearm which for all its destructive advantages, is prone to explosive failure due to imperfect castings or poorly mixed black powder. For the zombies of the Undead pirate hordes, however, the prerequisites of bodily strength and bravery are no hindrance, since the reanimated possess supernatural motor functions and mindlessly carry out the will of their masters. So it is not uncommon to see Deck Gunners of zombie pirate crews haul their massive volley guns into a land confrontation in two-zombie teams, frenziedly firing directly into crowds of ill-fated victims.

Strategy
Shieldbreaker (effect) on missile attacks.

Deck Gunners do excellent AP missile damage, but distinguish themselves from Handgunners more by their much greater range. This is crucial when fighting enemies like the High Elves who have many units that significantly out-range Handgunners and can shoot them pieces before they can return fire. Their biggest vulnerabilities are their low hp, minimal armour, and small weapons team sized number of models. They will get wiped out very quickly if not carefully protected and are a high priority target due to their damage output. In contrast while Handgunners are hardly the toughest unit, their high model count makes them much more resilient.