Hawk Riders

Hawk Riders are a Wood Elves flying missile cavalry unit. The bond between the Elves and the Hawks is unbreakable.

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 skilful 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.

Strategy
Neglecting their Sister's 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 struggling to deal with your ground units while keeping an eye on the Hawk Riders.

Trivia
As of The Twisted and Twilight Update, Hawk Riders can fire whilst moving, allowing them to better perform hit and run tactics.