Iron Hail Gunners

are a missile infantry unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer III.
==Recruitment==
* Unlocked with: Nan-Gau Forge
==Description==
The Iron Hail Gun is a heavy blunderbuss with a large bore for close in work. Though short ranged, it is ideally suited to defence, either in the close confines of a city or from the battlements of the Great Bastion. Cathayan commanders often deploy their Iron Hail Gunners on the flanks of their formations where they can discourage even heavily-armoured horsemen, the concentrated shot from their Iron Hail Guns able to punch through shields and plate at close range.
==Attributes==
* Close-Quarters Missile Infantry
==Strategy==
Iron Hail Gunners are the shotgun infantry for Grand Cathay (compare to Zombie Pirate Gunnery Mob (Hand Cannons)), and thus have the same rules for line of sight and obstruction for firing as other gunpowder units. Available from the first building of Cathay's gunpowder chain, Iron Hails suffer from very short range compared to most of their gunpowder compatriots such as Handgunners or Streltsi. As a result, they are usually not worth long-term investment over Crane Gunners, which have far superior damage and range and are easily accessible after upgrading to the next building tier. Peasant Archers or either Jade Warrior Crossbowmen variant can bridge the gap in the meantime. 
Nevertheless, if picked up, Iron Hail Gunners have certain advantages. Their cost per unit is almost half that of one of Crane Gunners, their close-range burst power is tremendous, and they represent Cathay's easiest way to get access to Armor-Piercing damage early on, which can be critical against certain enemy factions such as the Chaos Dwarfs. Iron Hails are thus excellent at shredding slow heavy infantry, especially if placed in the back ranks of a checkerboard formation or atop a wall or other fortification. They can also be used cost-effectively against large monsters and armored single entities -- woe to the Lord who makes the mistake of charging into a formation backed by Iron Hails. Use them with caution, and they can yield high returns to any Cathayan army.
==Gallery==