Amethyst Ironsides

are an Amethyst missile infantry unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer III with Thrones of Decay.
== Recruitment ==
* Unlocked by purchasing them in the Amethyst Armoury and recruiting them with the Amethyst Recruitment panel
== Description ==
The troops and War Machines subject to Elspeth’s dark touch are feared as dangerous enigmas even amongst other Imperial regiments, using the forbidden energies of Shyish to bring macabre ends to the Empire’s enemies.
One of the most lauded institutions in Nuln is the Imperial Gunnery School, a College of Engineers rivalled in the Empire only by that of Altdorf and operators of the largest cannon-foundries anywhere west of the World's Edge Mountains, save for the Dwarfs’. Apprentices and military men from across the Empire and beyond are drawn to study at the Gunnery School, many of whom make their way into its ‘Iron Companies’, that operate as its armed wing. Most numerous among these are the Ironsides, regiments of handgunners consisting of apprentices and retainers who are fitted out in a panoply of black-iron plate armour, reflecting the wealth and status of their patrons.
== Attributes ==
== Unit Abilities ==
=== Passive Abilities ===
* Blackpowder Discipline
== Strategy ==
Amethyst Ironsides begin as a minor upgrade to Nuln Ironsides, sporting 30 more armor (90 base), 5 more leadership (70 base), 6 more melee defense (32 base), and Magical Attacks. With the same base DPS, HP, and model count, their only immediate, consistent offensive boost over their Nuln counterpart is through Blackpowder Discipline, which can make it difficult to justify their increased upkeep of 70 gold above their Nuln counterpart in the early game. Their starting armor and MD is enough to allow them to be resistant to flying chaff, light cavalry, and some warbeasts, holding notably better then other ranged units until better troops come to their aid. Still, they won't hold against proper low-tier melee or shock cavalry, as such requiring proper placement and protection from other units.
Eventually, they become incredibly dangerous ranged units with a strong army support ability and very resistant to damage. Regular tech progressions lead them to have 45% Missile Resistance, effectively cutting counter-fire damage in half, which with their armor makes them very strong in ranged exchanges, if not allowing them to altogether ignore lower tier enemy archers to focus on more important units. At max rank with tech and skills, their armor becomes 120 and their MD 46, making them highly resistant to flying chaff and light cav, and even proper lower tier cavalry will struggle to take them out without AP damage after their charge bonus is gone. 
Their most dangerous features are found in the Tier 3 and 4 Amethyst Armory upgrades, respectively. Debilitating Shots enables Soulblight (bound spell) attacks for the unit, and like poison, only 1 projectile needs to hit for the effect to take place. This makes them exceptional in suppressing the damage of dangerous units if they aren't able to take them out on the approach. Iron Resolve prevents any individual model from dying until the total unit HP is below 50%. This makes them exceptionally resistant to damage reduction from model loss, and ensure that with support against melee enemies, they'll continue to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.
Category:Amethyst units
Category:Thrones of Decay units