Petard
The Petard is a one-population demolition unit introduced in The WarChiefs. It carries an explosive charge for close-range siege against walls and buildings; it is not a frontline fighter.
Recorded values
- Available
- Fortress Age · Artillery Foundry (Europeans and Federal Americans)
- Training
- 40 sec · 1 population · 15 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 225 hit points · 20% hand resistance · 4.0 speed · 15 line of sight
- Siege attack
- 1,600 base damage · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 6 base damage · attack interval 1.5
Role & counters
A Petard must reach its target and detonates its charge there, dealing heavy siege damage at the cost of the unit. Its ordinary hand attack is negligible, and it has no way to detonate against enemy troops. Its availability depends on civilization, campaign, Home City cards and version.
When to field it
Send Petards with a distraction or after defensive fire has been drawn away, and choose a high-value structure that justifies the one-way attack. Keep them away from enemy units before they reach the target.
Role and standard statistics
The Petard is a Fortress Age infantry Siege unit introduced in The WarChiefs. European and Federal American civilizations train it at the Artillery Foundry; several Asian civilizations gain access through Consulate allies, and some revolution or scenario rules provide other routes. Its standard Definitive Edition profile costs 50 Food and 100 Wood, takes 40 seconds to train, uses one population, has 225 hit points and 20% hand resistance, and moves at speed 4.0 with 15 line of sight. It awards 15 XP when trained and 15 when killed. The version before update 13.27885 had 40% hand resistance, so older survival comparisons need a patch date.
Siege attack and sacrifice
A Petard carries a close-range siege attack with 1,600 damage and a three-second rate of fire. It detonates against a building and is destroyed in the attack, making it a one-use breaching unit rather than a conventional frontline fighter. The high building damage can remove a wall section, defensive structure or key production building quickly, but the Petard must reach the target before it can explode. Its six-point hand attack at a 1.5-second rate is weak for ordinary combat. Keep it away from enemy cavalry, artillery and ranged units until the attack is ready, and use other troops to clear the route. Do not send it against a healthy army expecting it to function like a melee infantry unit.
Target choice and timing
A Petard is most valuable when one building blocks an attack or when a short opening lets the army disable a critical structure. Walls and isolated buildings are natural targets because their destruction creates access for the rest of the force. Before committing, compare its cost and 40-second training time with the expected value of the target. If the opponent is guarding the building, distract the army or draw defenders away before moving the Petard in. Multiple Petards can overwhelm a structure, but they consume resources and population and are vulnerable while crossing the map. Their slow, close-range approach rewards scouting and timing more than a frontal charge.
Age scaling and upgrades
Petards automatically gain strength with age. On reaching the Industrial Age, their hit points and damage increase by 25%; in the Imperial Age, hit points increase by a further 50%. The listed fully aged profile therefore has substantially more durability, but these improvements do not remove the unit’s self-sacrificing attack or its dependence on getting close. A Missionary’s Unction aura and available upgrades can increase the attack further; with all listed bonuses, a regular Petard can deal 2,560 damage to buildings in one explosion, with 394 hit points and nine hand attack damage. Those are fully upgraded conditions, not the baseline statistics. Plan the attack around the upgrades actually active in the match.
Civilization access and Home City Cards
The Chinese can ship a Wokou Junk carrying ten Petards through Recruit Wokou +10 Petards. British Allies can supply five Petards to Chinese and Indian armies, while Portuguese Allies can deliver a Caravel carrying three Petards for Indians and Japanese. Germans can ship four stronger Nitroglycerin Petards through Demolition Squad; these have 750 hit points, 40% hand resistance and a 4,500-damage siege attack. The Dutch and Maltese can use a six-Petard shipment, and other cards grant Petards through specific revolutions or states. Because access is card-dependent, check the deck and the exact alliance before planning a timing attack around this unit.
Special variants and revolutions
The Nitroglycerin Petard, called Nitro Petard before Definitive Edition, is a German shipment unit with exceptional siege damage and enough durability to destroy many buildings in one hit. The Stealth Petard is a separate counterpart with Stealth mode, 225 hit points, 20% hand resistance and 2,000 siege damage. The Mexican Maya revolution can ship four of them through Poot’s Plan. Several European civilizations can gain six Stealth Petards after revolting to the United States through Bushnell’s Continental Sappers; American Patriotism makes that shipment arrive faster when sent first. Mexico’s Central America route can use ordinary Petards in the Commerce Age through Santamaria’s Fire, though the variant has reduced hit points and damage under the listed update. These options should not be confused with the standard Fortress Age unit.
Counterplay and protection
Petards are strong against buildings and weak against units, especially Cavalry and Artillery. Detect them before they reach the wall or Town Center: scouts, defensive buildings and mobile units can intercept the slow approach. If you are using Petards, screen them with infantry or Cavalry and approach from terrain that limits incoming fire. Defensive structures are not merely targets; their range and supporting army can destroy a Petard before it detonates. The best use is a planned strike on an exposed structure, followed by an immediate advance through the opening, not a long attempt to fight under the enemy base.
Use the explosion to open a route
The Petard’s attack changes the map only after it reaches a building. Put the rest of the army in position before the detonation so the breach immediately creates an advantage: infantry can enter through a destroyed wall, or siege units can focus the exposed production line. If the target is a Town Center, the defender may simply garrison Villagers and hold position while the Petard approaches, so consider attacking an Outpost or wall that enables a broader push. Because each attack consumes the unit, a missed approach loses the full investment. Protect the Petard until the final move, then commit it once the target and follow-up are ready.
Protect the route
Because it is slow and fragile compared with the army protecting it, a Petard should travel behind the screen until the final approach. Clear enemy scouts and ranged defenders first, then move the Petard into contact only when the building is within reach.
A one-use siege unit
The Petard is a Fortress Age siege Infantry unit whose defining attack destroys the unit as it deals heavy damage to a building. It costs 50 Food and 100 Wood, takes 40 seconds to train, uses one population and has 225 hit points with 20% hand resistance. Europeans and Federal Americans train it at an Artillery Foundry; other eligible civilizations obtain it through their own faction-specific access, including shipments or special production. Its Siege attack lists 1,600 damage, so even one Petard can threaten a valuable structure if it reaches the target. Because the attack consumes the unit, the resource cost should be weighed against the building’s strategic importance and the defenses around it. Petards are a breach tool for a timed push, not a unit to add casually to an army composition.
Getting it to the target
Petards are slow and vulnerable while approaching a defended base. Use the main army to draw fire, remove nearby defenders or force the opponent to move away from the intended structure; then send the Petard in when the route is open. A wall, Outpost or production building may be a better first target than a heavily defended Town Center if breaking that position creates a follow-up route. Do not send several Petards into an area attack or a screened entrance without first clearing the approach. Their low population cost does not make the loss free: Food and Wood, training time and a unit slot are all committed. The correct use is usually to convert a temporary opening into permanent structural damage while the opponent is busy responding to the rest of the army.