Ulthuan

Hey, I was wondering what some good formation for archers are in 8th edition. I was thinking 6 wide 3 deep maybe? Cause I dont see the point of having 20 archers 10 wide 2 deep since we have martial prowess, right? (I am new to warhammer fantasy)

Making use of martial prowess and 3 ranks is a good idea but it really depends on your list, how big the units are and what you want them to do. It's tough to say in isolation what is the best size and formation of unit X to include as there are so many other factors that go into this.

I like multiple units of 15 in 5x3. They are big enough that chaff can't engage them (especially with MP), but small enough that they aren't much of a loss if a combat unit destroys them. Also, they have just enough firepower to make a difference with some targets, so I can split fire (with multiple units) and have each unit's shooting count, or focus fire on something that needs everything. It's a small, manageable unit size that can fit just about anywhere.

That's not to say that larger units aren't useful, but I wouldn't go smaller. 10 elf units don't have the punch to hurt anything, can't take a hit from so much as skirmishers, and can't capitalize on MP without losing ranks. I'd say 15+, but maybe 18 or 21 to capitalize on attacks (6x3 or 7x3). But as has been stated, it matters greatly what the army composition is, and what the purpose of the archers is.

John Rainbow got it right...
most of the time is X wide and 3 ranks at most but it really depends on the situation what army you versus.

I always use the in a 5*3 formation with a musician. As others have said the unit is small enough to fit in, large enough scare away skirmishers/chaff and decent at taking out minor annoyances you prefer not to use your boltthrowers on. I usually use a level 4 high mage with the book and lore of shadows and have a backup level 2 mage with lore of metal and I feel that these lores complements them very well. In the same army I have a large unit of spearmen, so the lores become even more important regarding my units actual performance.

krysith has a pretty good article in the tactics index about archer horde. I've been running my archers as 10x3 and it's great. I love how it plays since I'm pretty aggressive with my playstyle, especially since I love shadow magic. I have seen too many surprised faces when you run into an archer horde just to be messed up by mindrazored ASF str 8 elves. Best turn arounds ever. =)

In my end times game I'm going to try 2 blocks of 40 to take advantage of our amazing new Loremaster. With the right buffs/debuffs they should be able to steamroll most anything in melee (and from range).

Nicene wrote:In my end times game I'm going to try 2 blocks of 40

I dont see how a block of 40 works really. After 3 ranks you lose shots 14, 14, 12? No sense in paying for archers that can't even shoot. Even if you want to use them as a combat block you really are working against maximum efficiency. If your going to pay for S3 shots you better be able to take them. I dont think anything wider than 10 models is very maneuverable. Given that constraint the largest archer unit one can recommend is 30 models.

I tend to go 21 (7x3) or 18 (6x3) No lost shots, very maneuverable and a significant enough unit that I dont have to worry about magic missiles, chaff or fast cav picking them up. While it may be exciting to contemplate making a mainline unit out of them with buffs they still are T3 no save models and I'm not entirely sure investing the resources into making them viable in combat is worth the resources when we have units that perform that function exceedingly well for a marginally higher cost.

Nicene wrote:In my end times game I'm going to try 2 blocks of 40 to take advantage of our amazing new Loremaster. With the right buffs/debuffs they should be able to steamroll most anything in melee (and from range).

I agree with hewhorocks. A unit of 21 arranged 7x3 will still steamroll whatever it faces with mindrazor. 40 is both less efficient, less maneuverable and unnecessary.

I take 20+character (mage/loremaster/alith anar/reaver bow commander) most of the time, for a handy 7x3. No wasted shots and good combat potential. The character can also go to the side for optimal protection against 5 wide enemy units.

I've been using the 6x3 formation. I use two of them in tandom and putting out 36 shots actually does some damage to a lot of stuff. Particularly if they are boosted with high magic.
I was actually surprised at their effectiveness.