Woad Raider

"Celtic unique unit created in Castle Age. Exceptionally quick infantry unit." The Woad Raider, and its upgrade the Elite Woad Raider, is the unique unit of the Celts civilization in Age of Empires II. The fastest non-hero infantry available in the game, the Celtic Woad Raider is an excellent rushing unit and is superior to most ordinary infantry, making it effective against Archers and infantry alike, but they are weak to cavalry. Woad Raiders have an attack bonus versus buildings, and are created quickly. Their damage bonus against buildings, combined with their stellar mobility means they can devastate enemy buildings quickly. An Elite Woad Raider with all blacksmith upgrades has 17 attack, 3 armor, and 5 pierce armor.

Tactics
The Woad Raider is the fastest non-hero infantry unit in the entire game, roughly about the same speed as a Scout Cavalry. Because of this they are very effective as a raiding and scout unit. Due to their high attack they can hold their own against most non-unique infantry units and can decimate most archers, though they pale in comparison to cavalry and stronger variants of infantry. They are also effective against siege weapons and are useful for destroying meddling Trebuchets. Woad Raiders are the go-to-guys if an enemy has a Wonder. They're fast and can bolt across the map to get to the Wonder and then use their attack bonus versus buildings to take the Wonder down with ease.

History
''Woad is a plant found in the British Isles from which a blue pigment can be extracted. Celtic warriors painted themselves with this pigment prior to battle to look more fearsome and unnerve their enemies. Celtic warriors had been raiding more developed areas of Britain and Europe since ancient times. The Scots, for example, were originally Irish raiders who took lands from the Picts in north Britain that became Scotland. When the English sought to conquer the Celts inhabiting Ireland, Wales, and Scotland during the Middle Ages, the Celts were at a great disadvantage against the English mounted knights. The Celts often turned to guerrilla tactics, raiding English settlements and withdrawing before English armies arrived. Raiders painted with woad devastated the borderlands. A renowned woad raider was William Wallace of Scotland who rampaged through Northern England for a decade.''

Statistics
Upgrades: Forging, Iron Casting, Blast Furnace, Scale Mail Armor, Chain Mail Armor, Plate Mail Armor, Tracking, Squires, Conscription, Faith, Heresy, Herbal Medicine

Weaknesses: Skirmisher, Elite Skirmisher, Huskarl