Even the Harazan Skirmishers of Al-Kalim and the Sagittarii of Lorimor cannot match the skill of the Deepwood Archers. No other race can spend the time the Latari Elves dedicate to honing their craft, making these warriors the undisputed masters of bow. The careful study of the Deepwood Greatbow is more than just a discipline: it is a way of life. Once committed to the Path of the Arrow, these archers train until their bow is an extension of their hand and their arrow is an extension of their eye. Centuries may seem to pass as swiftly as the seasons, but the Latari archers feel that no amount of time will be enough to completely master their craft.

The Latari Elves arrive as a third faction to your games of Runewars Miniatures Game in the Latari Elves Army Expansion! With a unique hero—Aliana of Summersong—and three distinct units, this expansion is the perfect starting point for building an army of Elves, in combination with the Runewars Miniatures Game Core Set or the Runewars Miniatures Game Essentials Pack.

Today, we’ll take the time to preview one of the key units in the Latari Elves army—the Deepwood Archers!

A Rain of Arrows

Within the Latari Elves Army Expansion, you’ll find four trays of Deepwood Archers, and though you can create units with up to six trays, four trays of Deepwood Archers for thirty points is a perfect way to add some more ranged attacks to your army.

As a ranged unit, your Deepwood Archers will be at their best when they’re staying back from enemy forces, raining deadly arrows down from afar without getting drawn into the punishing gridlock of melee combat. Fortunately, the Deepwood Archers’ command tool gives them options that will allow them to stay away from your opponent’s units and maneuver to take the perfect shot.

Deepwood Archers feature two different march actions, either of which can be modified with a turn or a reform action, helping you move your unit quickly into range to take your first shots. Then, once the battle begins to unfold, you may use your green actions to shift your position, moving sideways and backwards to gain the perfect shot and avoid enemy combatants.

You can also double-down on the mobility of your Deepwood Archers with their surge ability. During a ranged attack, you can spend two surges to perform a speed-1 shift after this attack, maintaining your distance while making your attacks. By choosing the surge modifier on your command tool, you can add a surge to every attack, making it much more likely that you’ll get the surges you need to retreat from advancing warriors. Combine that with Precise 1, which grants additional rerolls to make sure your attacks hit home, and you’ll soon find that the Deepwood Archers are among the most dangerous and mobile skirmishers in the game.

Upgrade Your Archers

Several of the upgrade cards within the Latari Elves Army Expansion are perfect for keeping your Deepwood Archers on the move. The Wind Rune lets you use your special action modifier to perform a shift with a speed equal to the number of natural runes on the battlefield. You may even use this after an attack to retreat from an enemy unit that’s coming too close for comfort.

Alternatively, you may bring the power of the Aymhelin itself to aid your archers by embedding a Support Aymhelin Scion in the back rank of your unit. With the Aymhelin Scion as part of your unit, you can perform yet another shift action at the end of your activation, provided you’re close enough to overgrown terrain. Overgrown terrain is a new mechanic introduced in the Latari Elves Army Expansion, and although it has no benefits inherently, cards like the Support Aymhelin Scion give you powerful benefits for staying close to the densest parts of the forest.

Ghosts in the Trees

The Latari are marching to war on the fields of Terrinoth—and as their Leonx Riders race across the battle and mighty Aymhelin Scions tear enemies limb-from-limb, the Deepwood Archers shade the entire battle with endless volleys of perfectly fired arrows.