Arquero Blackwood

Blackwood Archers are incredibly weak individually, with the lowest hit points of any unit in the game (besides certain cheat units) and a weak pierce attack, but they make up for this with numbers and relatively cheap cost. Their fast attack speed can make up for their low damage, especially against units with high pierce armor that might otherwise negate another archer's damage (such as Huskarls). Like with Karambit Warriors, it is not advised to trickle them into a fight, as they can be easily picked off in small numbers - mass their numbers first before sending them into battle. They are very good against Pikemen and Halberdiers thanks to their bonus damage, and their reasonably good movement speed lets them kite slower infantry, but they are easily slaughtered by Elite Skirmishers and Genitours. Against other archers, they generally do well via numerical superiority, the likelihood that the enemy archers will overkill them and waste shots, and due to the Tupi being partially refunded for units they lose in combat. Against Rattan Archers, War Wagons, and Elephant Archers, however, they are very ineffective. They will lose against heavy cavalry due to their low hit points and weak damage, and even when micromanaged, they do not do well against Knights. Even Light Cavalry will be reasonably cost-effective against them. They are also terrible against anything that can deal splash damage to them, especially ranged siege weapons like Mangonels and Scorpions. The Elite upgrade for the Blackwood Archer is valuable when training large numbers, as it adds 5 hit points and slightly increases their accuracy, as well as decreasing their training time by 4 seconds, making them even easier to mass. Against certain enemies, the extra hit points may not make a difference (such as against Mangonels or Onagers), but against others it can let the Blackwood Archers survive an extra hit, such as against an Elite Huskarl, which can kill an un-upgraded Blackwood Archer in one hit, but requires two hits for an Elite Blackwood Archer. The Curare technology makes the Blackwood Archer much deadlier against units with high pierce armor, as the poison damage ignores armor and can stack if applied by multiple archers. Even some of the strongest units with high pierce armor (like Paladins, Rattan Archers, Huskarls, Ghulams, and Tiger Cavalry) take higher damage from Blackwood Archers with Curare than from other archer units, thereby allowing them to better hold their own against their traditional counters. However, it can also lead to overkill if a target is already doomed, or may not work fast enough against some opponents. The poison also does not affect siege weapons, ships, or buildings. Having a Saracen teammate can make Blackwood Archers surprisingly deadly against buildings, as each archer will deal bonus damage to structures. With their high numbers and fast Rate of Fire, they can capitalize on this bonus to tear down weaker buildings. They should still avoid defensive structures such as Castles and Keeps, though.