Marauder Hunters (Javelins)

"The harshest of wildernesses creates the most brutal of hunters."


 * —The Marauder Hunters of the North.[1]
 * Marauder Hunters (Javelins) are a Norscan missile unit.

Description
The ruthless martial societies of the northern tribes see many men cast out into the wastes due to some transgression or another against their clan. An unforgiving way of life means that it is often impossible for these men to re-assimilate themselves into the warrior hierarchy. The few exiles that avoid death out in the freezing tundra often come together to form bloodthirsty bands of wild hunters, etching out a brutal existence that makes them even more hardened, callous, and adept as warriors – Marauders with the skill of ambush hunters. Attaining such skills is a way back into the battle ranks: when larger forces of tribesmen come together, the Marauder Hunters’ terrifyingly efficient ambushes frequently mark the beginning of their raids.

Attributes
↑ Anti-Large: Anti-large units have an advantage against targets that are at least as large as a horse. This advantage can be a damage bonus against large targets or an attack that focuses on a very small area. However, some units are simply better against large targets because their attacks are slow and easy to dodge by skilled melee combatants.

↑ Decent Melee Combatant: Despite being primarily a missile unit or spellcaster, this unit can also hold its own ground when fighting in melee.

Strategy
Compared to normal Marauder Hunters, the javelins lose armor piercing but gain a bit of range, ammo, and anti-large. Given the targets you will usually be using these missile units for, the Javelin version is generally the better bet. The range boost may just mean one or two more volleys, but that can mean a lot of damage over the course of a a battle. In addition, the anti-large bonus makes up for the lack of armor piercing on large armored targets. Meaning that against those targets they are at least equally as effective in terms of damage, but also gain the range to throw more volleys. Where they lose effectiveness is against armored infantry, but Norsca has monsters and heavy hitting infantry that is better suited to deal with those threats. Anti-large missile units are valuable to the Norscan roster, for these reasons it is generally best to go for the Javelin units for your missiles.