Wood Elf Army Review and Tactica

Excellent stuff! Thanks for having a go at this one, Wood Elves are not an army I've played and it's far more fitting that someone who does know them well, like your good self, takes on the mantle of writing a review of their list.

Your first post is solid - I particularly like the 'Why play *army*' addition, I might just borrow that idea for my Beastman and Dwarf tacticas.

KevinC if you could pin this tactica as you have the others, that'd be fab.

Post 2 - Army List Organisation and Characters



Army List Organisation


Characters:

0-1 Glade Lord or Spellweaver per 1000pts.

0-1 Treeman Ancient per 1000pts.

Any number of Glade Captains, Spellsingers, Shadowdancers, Waystalkers or Branchwraiths.


Core:

1+ Unit of Glade Guard

Any number of units of Eternal Guard, Dryads or Glade Riders

0-1 unit of Deepwood Scouts per 1000pts


Special:

Any number of Deepwood Scouts, Wildwood Rangers, Wardancers, Sisters of the Thorn, Wild Riders and Warhawk Riders.

‘0-2 units of Tree Kin per 1000pts


Rare:

Treemen

0-1 units of Waywatchers per Waystalker.

0-3 Great Eagles per 1000pts


Allies:

Any WE army of infamy

Empire of Man (Uneasy)

Kingdom of Bretonnia 

High Elf Realms




Characters


Glade Lord – 135pts – Asrai Longbow, Light armour

Arrow of Kurnos, Evasive, Fire & Flee, Ignores cover, Move through cover, Rallying Cry, Strike First

Mounts: Elven Steed, Great Stag, Warhawk, Great Eagle, Forest Dragon

The generic combat lord. His stats have remained the same, with the exception of his initiative that dropped to 6. That should make little difference though as he gains the ‘Strike First ability, giving him initiative 10, so very little should be attacking him first. He is one of only two sources of LD10 in your army and so for that reason is worth considering. However the man reason is that he is the only character that can take a dragon for a mount (see Post 3 for a breakdown on that).

He can take a variety of weapons, any of the magic arrows, the standard 100pts of magic items and 50pts of spites.

Our lord does come with Rallying Cry (the High or Dark elf lords don’t). It is about the only thing we can do in the command sub-phase. It gives him the ability to try and rally a fleeing unit within 10” (effectively an additional out of phase rally attempt for a nearby unit).

He has access to the Arrow of Kurnos rule. This has changed a little in TOW, so to recap it. Once deployed but before the first turn roll-off, if your opponents general is within 36” of a model with this rule, they may fire the Arrow of Kurnos. The opponent’s general immediately suffers automatic S3 hit with no armour or regen saves permitted. However if you fire the arrow, your opponent gains +1 to the first turn roll.

It was a fun and fluffy rule before that rarely did anything (we all have fond memories of the one time it did, in my case taking a wound off Dr Blaxill’s Bret lord). In this edition I can’t see why you would ever use it in a competitive environment, as you want the first turn in order to whittle down your foes with sheets of arrows, not give the opponent an advantage to that first turn roll so they can close the gap more quickly with your squishy troops!

I suspect that in most cases you will only ever see one (or two) of the Glade Lords when they are mounted on a dragon (though a Great Stag or an eagle/warhawk are not out of the question, especially if further down the line, TO’s start to introduce ‘comp for dragon riders).



Glade Captain – 70pts – Asrai Longbow, Light armour

Arrow of Kurnos, Evasive, Fire & Flee, Ignores cover, Move through cover, Rallying Cry, Strike First

Mounts: Elven Steed, Great Stag, Warhawk, Great Eagle

(BSB Upgrade +25pts)

Like the Glade lord, the stats on the Captain are unchanged bar the lowing of initiative and again, he gains strike first too. He access to everything the lord has but with a reduced magic allowance of 50pts and no dragon mount.

As was ever the case with the Hero, he will primarily be fielded as a BSB but unlike almost every previous edition, you are unlikely to see him fielded with the Hail of Doom Arrow (HODA). I’ll touch on that in Post 8, suffice to say, this actually opens him up to be used as much more of a combat force multiplier. Not that he couldn’t be before but he often wasn’t utilised as such. There is a strong case for mounting him on a Great Stag in this role.

The other big change with BSB’s in general, is that you can take the magic standard on top of their normal magic item allowance. This is a change that I fully indorse (and didn’t pick up on initially). I’ll shortly be trying out the Banner of the Wildwood on a Great Stag for Terror inducing goodness, though 40pts is a fair chunk of change for this so if short of points, it could be one of the first things dropped.

He also comes with the Rallying Cry ability but his range is reduced to 9”.

It’s also worth saying that he is worth considering as a cheap general. With the mages dropping to LD 8 in this edition, he is your only access to LD9 in the army.



Spellweaver – 155pts – Level 3 (+30pts for level 4)

Spellsinger – 80pts – Level 1 (+30pts for level 2)

Elven Reflexes, Lore of Athel Loren, Magical Attacks, Move through cover.

Mounts: Elven Steed, Great Stag, Warhawk, Great Eagle, Unicorn

Lore access: Battle Magic, Elementalism, High Magic, Illusion

I’ve grouped these two mages together, as their options are effectively the same. There are the normal stat differences between a lord and hero (a drop in attacks and wounds) and the difference in magic point allowance (100pts vs 50pts) but apart from that, they have the same upgrade options and lore access etc.

The Spellweaver lost both a point of initiative (following the trend in TOW) and crucially a point of leadership in this edition. This drops the LD to 8, the same as the bulk of your rank and file, thus cementing the place of a Wood elf noble or Treeman Ancient to be the better choice, to be your general. Another change that I think was for the best, as previously you hardly saw the lord and the captain was normally only fielded as a BSB.

Their lore access has dropped from the dizzying heights of 8th edition and only now having High magic and not Dark magic, makes me convinced some of the 8th lore will be retconned, both around the Ariel/Morathi story and perhaps even a slant back to Wood Elves being more good guy’ than ‘grey’. I’m not disappointed by that but equally if they’d retained it, it wouldn’t have mattered either. From a purely gameplay point of view, it’s a shame they don’t have more lore access but it is what it is.

In terms of the lores, they have some good ones and they’ll be covered in Post 9.

Post 1 covers the Lore of Athel Loren.

They have the option to take Talismanic Tattoos for 15pts. Although this is in line with the item that gives a 5+ ward for 30pts, it seems pricey for such a low chance at a save and I’d likely pass. It’s worth noting that you get this on top of your magic allowance, so doesn’t detract from that.

They both can take up to 50pts of forest spites.

The mages also get innate magical attacks. Sure they aren’t exactly combat power houses but once in a while this might be useful.

So far, in all the games I’ve played and watched, level 4’s seem to still be as important, if not more so, than they were in previous editions. For Wood Elves, mages were always an important part of our lists, to provide the magic support (both in game and in lore) and that trend will continue in this edition. The only time they will be missing is if you try out duel dragon lists (fully viable!).

With the demise of the scroll caddy and the disadvantage of trying to cast and more so dispel with a level 1 & 2 (both due to range and the roll to achieve either), I’m currently struggling to see a regular place for the Spellsinger in our lists. If you did take duel dragons, then having a level 2 with the oaken staff, to try and shore up your lines, perhaps isn’t a bad idea. Any highly mobile mage with magic missiles, skirting round the each of the battlefield, outside of dispel range, also has some merit. The low level mages could also boost their ability to cast with items such as the Wand of Wych Elm of a power scroll.

The mount options are discussed in detail in Post 3 but to summarise. If you aren’t taking a mage on foot, then the Warhawk or Unicorn will likely be your go to options.



Shadowdancer – 85pts

Evasive, Furious charge, Immune to Psychology, Loner, Move Through Cover, Strike First, Talismanic Tattoos, Troubadour of Loec.

The Shadowdancer was a fun option in 8th and was mainly used to bolster the combat prowess of melee units (Eternal Guard/Dryads etc) and was never seen with the rest of the wardancers! In this edition they have addressed this by only allowing her to join units with the Loner rule (in our army – Wardancers). She has been further limited so she only gets the Dances of Loec if she is within a unit of Wardancers. They have rewarded you for fielding her in the related unit rather than as a solo character.

That aside, she is still the cavalcade of death she previously was with a mighty WS 8, base initiative 7 and 3 attacks (4 on the charge). I think she is even better in this edition with the advent of: Strikes first (initiative 10) and the ability to upgrade her for free with one of two weapons.

The Tricksters blades give extra attacks D3. This is the more lacklustre choice, as if fielding her with a unit of wardancers, they will already provide the volume of attacks.

The Spear of Loec gives S+1 (pushing her to S5), AP -1 as well as Killing Blow and Armour Bane (2). This is by far the better choice. Not only does it significantly boost her melee prowess, the higher strength attacks helps offset the weakness of the wardancers (high volume, low str attacks).

The dances (which I’ll cover here and under the wardancer entry), also further improve her output.

There are 4 dances, 2 offensive and 2 defensive and the biggest change is that you can now use the same dance every turn should you want to. For the purposes of talking about the Shadowdancer, I’ve assumed you’ve taken the spear (as why would you not you crazy loon, put the swords down!)

Offensive

Whirling Death – until the end of this combat phase the AP of the unit’s weapons is improved by 2.

A fantastic dance for the unit, as it actively patches one of their biggest weaknesses (getting through armour) and makes it also improves the Shadowdancer’s attacks, making her AP -3 (possibly 5 if armour bane kicks in and you haven’t caused a killing blow on the target).

Storm of Blades - until the end of this combat phase, this unit gains extra attacks (+1). This just further ups the unit’s multitude of attacks, allowing them to rinse through rank and file. It also gives an additional chance to roll killing blow. Another very useful dance.

Defensive

The Shadow Coils - until the end of this combat phase this unit has a 4+ ward save.

Woven Mist – Any enemy model that directs its attacks at the unit during this combat phase suffers a -1 to hit.

Rather than comment individually about the last two dances, I’ll group them together. Because they only apply to your combat round, they are of limited use. With the number of attacks you should be kicking out, combined with strikes first, you should be expecting the unit to eviscerate most fighting ranks and thus negate the need to use a defensive dance. In the rare situations where somehow you have found yourself fighting say a horde with spears and facing say 20 odd attacks (before you have whittled them down some) or perhaps chariots or Monstrous Creatures/Monsters, then it’s worth considering. Which is better will depend on the foe and their WS. If low WS (or you haven’t cast glittering robe) then the -1 is likely better, otherwise the ward is likely of more use.

The shadowdancer can take 50pts of both magic items and Forest Spites. It’s unlikely you’ll take a magic weapon as the spear is too good. The Obsidian Lodestone (or 2) is not a bad option, as magic missiles are the bane of skirmish units.

You have the ability to make her a level 1 mage for 35pts but she is limited to either Battle Magic or Illusion (from a fluff perspective that feels spot on). Whether this is a good option remains to be seen. You will often be in the thick of the fighting with her and likely within range of your opponent’s level 4, so will be at a severe disadvantage in casting.

However, if you do go down this route, the obvious spells to go for are the combat orientated ones, Hammerhand from battle magic or Spectral Doppleganger from Illusions (using a Lore Familiar to get it). The first is a very viable option as it’s cheap to cast but to get the latter, you have to pump in more points, for a spell that is a much higher cast value and if you do manage to reach the cast value, you will still have to hope it isn’t dispelled.
The illusion signature, Glittering Robe, is also a strong contender for the Shadowdancer and her unit, giving -1 to hits made against them. Combined with the skirmish rule, it will make them -2 to hit for shooting (-3 at long range) and will stop the unit being whittled down while moving up. In early turns, this could make the difference of them making it to combat and you’ll also have a good chance of being out of dispel range when casting it. In combat, this spell can stack with one of the dances to make them -2 to hit in combat. At that point, most opponents would need a 6 to hit the unit.

If you are bringing a decent sized unit of wardancers (7 or more), then she should be a strong consideration to add to them. Suffice to say that I’m currently a big fan and she is in all my lists at present. Does she always make her points back, no but that doesn’t stop me from bringing her.



Waystalker – 85pts –Asrai Longbow

Elven Reflexes, Evasive, Feigned Flight, Fire & Flee, Hawk eyed archer, Ignores Cover, Move through cover, Scout.

Hawk eyed archer – A model with this rule can target any enemy character it can draw a line of sight to, regardless of the normal rules for targeting lone characters. In addition it can target a specific model within a unit such as a champion or a character.

On the surface, this rule is very similar to the old sniper rule, which was great, but this has one major caveat to it. The models you target in a unit still get a 2+ ‘look out sir’ save (as confirmed in the recent 1.1 errata). This makes targeting models in a unit almost pointless. Where the rule comes into its own, is when targeting models (normally wizards) that are just outside of a unit but within 3” and whom normally won’t be targetable by other means. They are now a prime target for your Waystalker and with the rerolling S4 shot you have a fair chance of wounding them, especially if you combine the shot with one of the enchanted arrows.

The obvious choice would be the Swiftshiver shaft as the waystalker has a high enough BS to absorb any negative modifiers to hit and it doubles the chance to cause a wound.

There is still some debate on whether taking the Bow of Loren would then give you 3 shots in this instance (2 shots from the Swiftshiver arrow and 1 additional shot for the 2nd attack on the Waystalkers profile). This is because of the wording on the weapon saying it gives a number of shots equal to the attack characteristics of the model using it, rather than it gives multiple shot (x). I write this not to be gamey but to flag the reason for the debate. Because of the wording of the latest errata (below) I think it actually would be 3 shots but until GW clarified it, I likely wouldn’t take the Bow of Loren.

When firing an Enchanted Arrow it is assumed the model is firing only once, as is the norm. Therefore, one of the shots fired from the Bow of Loren can be made using an Enchanted Arrow, the other shots are resolved using ordinary (i.e., not Enchanted) arrows.

In fairness, it would likely be a fairly moot point anyway, as any opponent worth his salt would see your waystalker and just move their lone character to the other side of a unit, thus blocking your ability to even target them!
Probably the best outcome of this rule would be to target the character and make an opponent move the mage/character into the nearby unit (at least temporarily), which would at least remove their 360 degree arc of sight and then if possible you would charge the unit to prevent the mage from casting (I’m assuming that your target would normally be a mage)! Overall, this is a rule that likely has more bark than bite…

It’s also worth noting that the latest Forces of Order Errata (1.0) confirms that the Hawk Eyed archer rule only works with an Asrai bow (so no sniping Ruby Rings!).

Ok so if his main rule is a bit gimmicky and situational what else does he bring? Well for a start, if you want Waywatchers, you have to bring him to unlock them.

He has all the fire and flee/auto rally goodness you would expect from a wood elf (though no quick shot) and those skills match those of his signature unit, so you can embed him without fear of losing any abilities.

He can take 50 pts each of magic items or forest spites. With both him and Waywatchers already ignoring cover, he could take the cheap 10pt Resplendence of Luminescents, in order to also give them magical attacks. This effectively gives the unit half the Moonfire and Trueflight arrow effects and also allows them to take an enchanted arrow to add to that. I can't think why I wouldn't take this if taking him (well I can as the downside is, if he were in a unit, he wouldn’t be able to target a separate target to the unit so the question would be would you actually put him in the unit). I would have considered the Muster of Malevolents for an additional D3, S2, Armour Bane (1) hits when he shoots, but it costs 40pts! I just can’t see it’s worth it at that price. Instead, if I wanted to take his full 50pts of items and, i'd consider taking a couple of Lodestones. For the same price at the Muster of Malevolents, you give him (and his unit) magic res (2). Only really worth it of course if you embed him in the unit, something I’m becoming less inclined to do. More and more, when I take him, I run him solo with the ruby ring.

He is also the one character I might consider taking the magical Asrai bow, Asyendi’s Bane, on. For 10pts you get magical attacks and quick shot. This would only be if I were to run him solo as if I ran him in a unit, I would take the Resplendence of Luminescents so all the unit got magical attacks. The negative of the bow, only applies IF you choose to use the reroll so you don’t need to use it and could use his inbuilt reroll ability instead.

He has the option to ambush for 10pts and can take an additional hand weapon and light armour (which allows him to take magic armour).

With a BS of 7, he can re-roll any failed hits and the re-roll will always hit on a 5+ as the re-roll ignores any modifiers.

He feels somewhat similar to 8th. More of a psychological threat that may occasionally do something. That in itself is sometimes worth the cost (and the GW model is, like most of the wood elf range, gorgeous). The other way of looking at him is an 85pt tax to unlock Waywatchers. Whether that is worth it, may depend on how much you want to take them. I'm still not convinced that the way to run him is to go full hog and run 2+ and put the fear of god into lone enemy mages. If only Hawkeye ignored the lookout sir!



Treeman Ancient – 265pts – Level 2 Mage. (+30pts – level 3, +60pts – level 4), Oaken Fists, Strangleroots and Arboreal Armour (counts as full plate), Behemoth.

Close Order, Flammable, Immune to Psychology, Large Target, Lore of Athel Loren, Magical attacks, Move through cover, Regeneration (5+), Stomp attacks (D3), Stubborn, Terror, Timmm-berrrr, Tree Spirit, Tree Whack

Magic access: Battle Magic, Elementalism

May take 100pts of Forest Spites

Strangleroots

12” range, S5, AP -1, Multiple Shot (D6+1) shooting attack.

Oaken Fists

Combat – S5, AP -2

The Ancient was often maligned in 8th and perhaps a bit unfairly. Stat wise, he hasn’t changed a great deal between editions bar gaining both a point of WS and BS (putting both to 5). This makes his attacks (combat and shooting) hit more consistently and he also no longer has to pay for the strangleroot shooting attack. On the points front, he has also dropped from 290 to 265, a nice reduction.

He is a level 2 mage who can upgrade to be a level 3 or 4 at the standard TOW cost of +30pts per level. He also has a greater range of lores in this edition, able to take, Battle Magic, Elementalism (and swop signature spells for Athel Loren). Both are great lores for our army but I would likely favour Battle Magic

He is the second way to get LD10 in the army and crucially, all units can benefit from his LD bubble, both Elven and Tree Spirit (unlike the Elf lord who only buffs Elven units), so from that point of view, it could be argued that he is the best option for your general (or at least could be considered as a viable alternative).

He is exceptionally hard to shift with T6, a 4+ armour and 5+ Regen that can further be boosted with ward saves from the 2 magic lores.

Although he only has 3 attacks, they are all at S5 with AP -2, and his additional D3 stomps also hit at AP -2. Having Terror also means that he may not find himself in combat if the opposing unit has to flee! He does keep the Treewack ability (see Post 1) of earlier editions and with only 3 attacks base, I would consider always swopping one out to use this if facing anyone with initiative 3 or below.

If he is in combat by himself, he might struggle to win it but with stubborn, his high defence and LD, he is unlikely to run either, making him quite a good tarpit. If he is supporting another unit in combat then if they win, his Terror will give the enemy a -1 to their LD too.

The major downside of the Ancient is he doesn’t get access to magic items so has limited utility in that regard. He does get a boosted 100pt Spite allowance. Looking at the options, many confer abilities he already has or are restricted and he can’t access them. As such, the maximum value of Spites he can take that do anything for him, is only 90pts. I would also likely keep them fairly minimal and only take something like Lamentation of Despairs or possibly a Befuddlement of Mischiefs on him (for the -1 LD on fear/panic/terror and -1 to WS and I respectively). Further reducing the LD of an opponent gives a greater chance of them fleeing. Reducing the WS gives you a better chance of hitting more opponents whilst a reduction in initiative gives you a greater chance of hitting with Tree Wack. An annoyance of Netlings is the cheapest option (-1 to hit in a challenge) but it’s likely that would be on a main combat character.

As an added benefit he doesn’t come out of the same restrictions as taking an Elf Lord level character. With some of the tournaments using the 1999+1 point restrictions, it means you don’t have to sacrifice taking a level 4 to fit in your Dragon Rider. You still have the option of both.

To touch on the strangleroots shooting attack. His increased BS of 5 means he’ll normally be hitting on 4+ (due to long range and multiple attacks) and because he is a large target, he also has the ability to shoot over impeding units (though this is limited with the short range of the attack). With it being S5 and AP -1, it isn't a bad shooting attack.

As a Behemoth, he does get a free 90 degree pivot if he hasn’t marched, charged or fled. It likely won’t come up often but worth keeping in mind.

His final ability (Timmm-berrrr) is taken straight out of the giant’s playbook and is one you hope he never has to use (though I like for the comedy thematic nature of it and it’s this type of interaction that I hope Warhammer never loses. When the model is reduced to 0 wounds, you roll off with the opponent and the winner chooses one of the Treemans arcs for it to fall into. Any unit in that arc and in base contact suffers D6 S5 wounds at AP -1.

Overall, the Ancient has greatly improved in this edition and is definitely worth looking at, especially if you are thinking of fielding both Elf and Trees in your army.



Branchwraith – 80pts – level 1 Mage (+30pts – level 2), Sapwood Flesh (counts as light armour)

Fear, Flammable, Immune to Psychology, Lore of Athel Loren, Magical attacks, Move through cover, Regeneration (6+), Tree Spirit

May take 50pts of Forest Spites, an additional hand weapon or a Great Weapon.

Magic access: Battle Magic, Elementalism, Illusion

The Branchwraith is a decent combat hero with the standout stats of WS and I of 6. She has dropped an attack from 3 to 2 but you can purchase an additional hand weapon to bump that back up. You also now have the option to buy her a great weapon so really boost her hitting power but at that point she’ll only have 2 attacks and it wastes her really good initiative.

In this edition she also gains the ability to upgrade to a level 2 mage and like the Treeman Ancient, she has gained access to additional lores of magic, in her case: Battle Magic, Elementalism, Illusion and Athel Loren. A big jump up over her 8th options, however, like the Ancient she cannot take magic items, only spites, so this limits the usefulness of some of the lores and being a level 2, her ability to cast them

I do feel that they missed a trick with not making her LD9, as that would really have given her a place and helped to boost Dryads.

Overall she is my least favourite of the Characters and I struggle to see her taking a place in any competitive list.

Post 4 – Core

Note that all units in this section have a unit size of 5+ models.



Glade Guard – 11pts – 25*25mm base, Asrai Longbow – Regular Infantry

Elven Reflexes, Move through cover and Open Order.

This unit is the only 1+ in the list, so you have to take at least one unit of them. With a minimum unit size of 5, a bare bones selection comes in at 55pts which is hardly a tax. The downside is, if you wanted to run a full tree spirit army, this restricts you from doing so (unless the arcane journal changes that in the future, or you are playing a friendly game and have agreed with your opponent, to just ignore this for the sake of narrative).

That said, the humble wood elf archer is an iconic unit and has been the mainstay of the army since its inception, so to not have a unit of them would feel odd, so I whole heartedly approve of this restriction!

So since you have to take them, what are they like and what options do they have?

They have the base move 5 of elves, so are fairly swift. They have both a WS and BS of 4. The WS is not bad for if they do get in a fight and combines well with the base I4 (I5 with Elven reflexes) so they stand a chance of striking at the same time as lower initiative opponents (skeletons/dwarves etc) even when charged. But considering they are equipped with the Asrai bow, the key stat for them is BS4. This allows them to hit with bow shots at a base of 3+ or 4+ at long range.

As with all the Elf units they get +1I in the first round of combat from Elven Reflexes. They also get Move through Cover, which, as covered in Post 1, is an excellent rule.

You can give them full command, with each command option costing 6pts each.

The champion can take 25pts worth of magic items.

0-1 unit per 1,000pts can upgrade to take: Fire & Flee rule for 1pts per model, have Vanguard for 1pt per model, purchase a magic standard up to 50pts.

I’ll start with a quick comment on the 0-1 upgrades. Because of the way it is worded. It is a single unit per 1,000pts that can be upgraded to have 1 or more of the upgrades (Fire & flee/vanguard/magic standard). You can’t choose to give one unit vanguard and another a magic standard.

In terms of the upgrades, Vanguard would give the unit a 5” move. The only times I can see that this might be useful was if you bungled your deployment and needed to the unit slightly (in other words, practice deployment and save your points) or if your opponent set up outside of your 32” range and you wanted to ensure you could shoot at him. In practical terms I can’t see you ever taking this.

Fire & Flee is a useful ability. It allows you to flee after a stand and shoot charge reaction. This could be the difference between an opponent making a charge or not. Just bear in mind you will need to rally after doing so. If only there was a commend option that assisted in this… If you had a small unit and some points left over, I would probably take this, else it would likely be one of those things you buy and then drop if you needed some additional points.

It’s nice to have the option to take a magic standard but there aren’t many that are really worthwhile on the unit. The one that springs to mind is the 15pt banner of midsummer’s eve (or 21pts if you factor in the cost of the standard bearer). This is the cheapest banner available and gives them the Ignores Cover rule. As with most banners, the more models in the unit you have, the more return you get from the banner. Normally you’ll likely field a unit around 5-8 strong so the banners become of debatable worth. If you do go crazy and field a much larger unit in several ranks, then more expensive banners, such as the Razor Standard, could be more viable.

For the command options, I would likely never take a champion (at least not in a small unit – possibly if fielding a large one, to tie up any mounted character that might charge it), only take a musician if I took ‘Fire & Flee’ (to help rally them afterwards) and a standard bearer if I wanted a magic standard (or if playing a scenario where a standard helped you to win it).

As with all of our archers, they have access to the magic arrows at either 1pt or 2pts per model, depending on the arrow chosen. Of these, hagbane and arcane bodkins remain arguably the best option. I go backwards and forward on which I take but often the choice comes down to taking the option that complements what I’ve taken on other units. Recently I’ve been taking two units of 7-8 Glade Guard as a fairly static fire base and taking hagbane on one unit and bodkins on the other. Is taking more than a minimum unit the most optimal use, probably not but call me a traditionalist, I like taking lots of archers and they have generally done pretty well in my games. As a bonus they are also one of the few fairly static targets in the army and it gives something for an opponent to be drawn towards whilst the rest of your army skirts around their units, isolating and picking them off. They often know it’s not worth their while but they still can’t resist getting to grips with something that isn’t running circles around them.



Deepwood Scouts (0-1 per 1,000pts) – 13pts – 25*25mm base, Asrai Longbow – Regular Infantry

Elven Reflexes, Evasive, Move through Cover, Fire & Flee, Scouts, Skirmishers.

Deepwood Scouts are in essence the same as Glade Guard with identical stats but costing 2pts more per model. So what rules do you get for this increase in cost and how does that impact how you use them?

For a start, you retain Elven Reflexes and Move through Cover. You can also still buy full command for the unit for 6pts each. You do lose the ability to buy them vanguard or a magic standard. Instead you get 4 additional special rules baked into the additional 2pt cost:

Fire & Flee: The charge reaction that allows you to flee D6” after standing and shooting. Considering that you pay 1pt per model to get this upgrade on Glade Guard, the remaining 3 additional rules you effectively get for the other 1pt, which is a bargain and why these are such good value over Glade Guard.

Evasive: Once per turn, when shot at, the unit can FBIGO (flee D6”). This can potentially take them out of range of the shooters. Another really useful ability for the unit. It is due to this rule and Fire & Flee that I would strongly consider a musician for the unit as then they will test to rally on a 9 rather than their base LD of 8.

Skirmishers: Gives them a 360 degree arc of sight and -1 to anyone shooting at them. It helps up their surviveability whilst allowing them to target anything within 32”.

Scouts: Allows you to deploy them after most of your opponents units and gives you the option of placing them outside of your deployment zone into an advantageous position. It’s such a useful rule and combines so nicely with Skirmishers.

They can take magic arrows, with the standard choice normally being hagbane to allow warmachine hunting, though arcane bodkins are useful too. I don’t see trueflight being as useful on this unit, as although quickshot could come in handy, you would hope that with careful placement and their mobility, you could generally avoid being charged.

I can’t stress how good this unit is. It plays to the strength of the army and crucially helps to fill the core tax. I would be surprised if most competitive lists are not taking the maximum number of units of these (0-1 per 1k) to help fill the core allowance (the exception might be if they maxed out on the next unit).



Glade Riders – 18pts – 30*60mm – Cavalry Spears, Asrai Longbows – Light Cavalry

Elven Reflexes, Fast Cavalry, Fire & Flee, Open Order, Skirmishers, Swiftstride

You can upgrade to full command for 6+ per option. I wouldn’t tend to bother with a standard unless you wanted to upgrade to a magic standard or you were playing a scenario which required a standard in a unit to ‘score’ or avoid the army breaking. Likewise I wouldn’t take a champion unless I either wanted to utilise the 25pt magic item allowance they gave or if I was using the unit as a character bunker (for say my level 4) and wanted to have insurance in case a challenge was issued. The Musician would normally be an auto-include due to the inbuilt fire & flee special rule, to give them +1LD when rallying the unit after this and due to the +1 LD bonus when testing to march within 8” of an enemy unit (though if you take Drilled, they automatically pass any test to march).

0-1 unit per 1,000pts may: have the Ambushers special rule (for 2pts per model), have the Drilled special rule (for 2pts per model), have the Reserve Move special rule (for 1pt per model), Purchase a Magic Standard worth up to 50pts. Note that, as with the Glade Guard, due to the wording one unit per 1k may have one or more of these as an upgrade. It isn’t that you could take 2 units in 1,000pts and 1 unit has one upgrade and another unit has one of the other upgrades.

Ambushers allows the unit to be held in reserve and from turn 2 onwards, on a 4+ they can enter the battle. With wood elf lists often consisting of very few initial drops (due to Scouts), this further gives you an option for not having to deploy another unit at the start but I inherently dislike that the unit might not turn up for most of the game. One improvement over the last edition is at least they will automatically turn up on turn 5 if they had not done so in the previous 3 turns of rolling!

Drilled can be very useful, as if you started them in open order it would allow you to deploy the unit in a marching column to give them a whopping 27” move. Combined with the WE vanguard banner (for an additional 9” move at the start of game), this could effectively get them well behind your opponents line on turn 1 to cause all kinds of mischief! Once behind their lines, you can then use the drilled rule to change them into a skirmish formation to give them the movement flexibility, though note that skirmish doesn’t give them a -1 to hit from shooting (this only applies to models with a unit strength of 1 – pg 185 of the rulebook).

Reserve Move is something I would definitely consider taking, especially on a larger unit. The ability to make a standard 9” move, shoot at a target and then immediately move 9” again, to then ‘tactically withdraw’ (unkind people might use the term running away) is just such a strong ability in an army that tends to want to run around and shoot things whilst avoiding combat.

Although in most of this entry I’ve talked about their ability to avoid combat, having cavalry spears and a 360 degree line of sight (when skirmishing), does mean you have the option of charging and with WS4, S4 and AP -1 and when they do so they should be able to take out warmachines, other chaff and support crucial combats when needed. They are still just a squishy as your regular bowmen, so pick your fights with care! On a side note, cavalry spears do also give the fight in extra ranks rule on a turn when they haven’t charged (a change from 8th edition when this only applied to infantry)

Last but not least, they have the ability to take magic arrows at the standard 1 or 2pts dependant on which you take. As ever, I would likely take my favoured Hagbane Tips, mainly to maximise the damage from the more limited number of shots, though this is one unit where I feel there is an argument for taking Trueflight arrows, especially considering they ignore the move and shoot penalties.

As you can probably tell, I’m a big fan of this unit. It epitomises the hit and run ethos of the army, though if playing friendly games, I would likely put a self-imposed limit on the number I would take, else it could be a very frustrating and not fun game for your opponent.



Eternal Guard – 13pts – 25*25mm – Asrai Spears, Light Armour – Regular Infantry

Close Order, Elven Reflexes, Martial Prowess, Move Through Cover, Stubborn.

Martial Prowess – a unit with this special rule can make supporting attacks to its flank or rear, as well as to its front

Asrai Spear

Combat – S – as user, AP -1, Fight in extra ranks.

The spear is not a bad weapon. You can’t use it to make a supporting attack on a turn you charge but it combines well with the Martial Prowess ability to allow you to make supporting attacks to the flank and rear. Unlike the thrusting spears of most other infantry, this one also gives you -1 AP which goes some way to offset the S3 of the user. In additional, like other spears it also gives you +1 initiative if you are charged in the front arc. Combined with the Elven Reflexes, this gives the unit a respectable I6 in the first round of combat, making it very likely that they are striking at the same time as most attackers and even before some of them.

In terms of stats, they have the normal elf ones with two increased stats. LD9 and WS5. The LD is the stand out one. In an edition where leadership has generally dropped, this means they are nearly as good as in previous editions and have less chance of failing those all-important tests. WS5 confirms their elite elf status and ensures they will be hitting most rank and file on a 3+ though with only S3, they will again struggle to wound them and unlike prior editions there is no easy to access magical buff to improve their strength!

The unit may upgrade to take shields for 1pt per model and this is very much worth doing as although a 5+ save isn’t great, it’s better than a 6+!

They are one of our few close order units, so benefit from having an additional +1 to combat res. Together with martial prowess, it means they are one of the few units in the army that it is worth fielding with a number of ranks to maximise the static combat res.

0-1 unit per 1,000pts may: have the Drilled special rule (+1pt per model) and/or have the Veteran special rule (+1pt per model). Note that, as with the Glade Guard, due to the wording one unit per 1k may have one or both of these as an upgrade. It isn’t that you could take 2 units in 1,000pts and 1 unit has one upgrade and the other unit has the other upgrade. The reality is that most players are probably not going to take more than one unit per 1k anyway, so it’s unlikely to make a difference.

With a base LD of 9, Veteran will give them a significant chance of never failing a leadership test so is definitely a consideration. It could be argued that they potentially don’t need to upgrade because of their naturally high LD but if you are pumping the points into a reasonably sized melee unit, the last thing you want them to do is be failing a terror/panic test and fleeing!

Drilled is also a useful skill to have on this unit. It turns them from what looks like a static anvil unit into one that can go in a marching column and then move 15” across the board and reform at the end to go back into a fighting formation.

You can take the standard full command for 5pts per upgrade and this is one unit where I might take all 3. If you take drilled, the Musician is probably not worth it (but for 5pts you may as well, just in case a combat is tied). The standard is there to boost the static combat res and because it also gives you access to a 50pt magic standard. The obvious ones are the War Banner or Banner of the Eternal Queen to further boost the static combat. The champion is purely to prevent any combat character (and mount) chewing through your unit and he can take up to 50pts of magic items (though I wouldn’t bother).

So on paper, the unit does look like it should be used as an anvil but that said, the unit still only has T3 and a 5+ save so is only a tad bit tougher than a wet paper towel. This is slightly offset by having stubborn so at least they will only fall back in good order (FBIGO) the first time they inevitably lose combat. Given that you can reform after FBIGO, this at least should allow you to set up for a flank or rear charge from a nearby supporting unit.

Eternal Guard do come out of the core requirement but Treekin are arguably a much better anvil and so it is hard to argue for them to be taken over Treekin, especially in a more competitive list when you are almost certainly going to be taking other core options instead of these.



Dryads – 13pts – 30*30mm – Light Armour – Regular Infantry

Fear, Flammable, Immune to Psychology, Magical Attacks, Move Through Cover, Open Order, Skirmishers, Stubborn, Tree Spirit, Regeneration (6+)

The Dryad’s stats remain largely unchanged from 8th edition, with the standouts being WS4, T4 and A2. Like everything, the initiative dropped but I4 matches the elves and in fact you can basically think of them as tougher and fightier elves.

They did lose their 6+ ward save but it has been replaced with a 6+ regeneration. This is worse, as with flammable, the regen can be neutered by anything with flaming attacks. Still their save is only a 6+/6+ and it is unlikely to make a lot of difference anyway (unless your dice are rolling hot!) and flaming attacks are not nearly as prevalent in this edition so you will likely still get the regen in most instances.

Immune to psychology remains and ensures they won’t fail any fear/terror/panic tests which is great, especially if you are using them in small units. The downside (as ever) is that they cannot flee as a charge reaction. They also cause fear and have magical attacks. The first only comes into effect if the Dryads have a greater unit strength than their opponent. The latter is great for countering things like Daemons of Chaos to negate their ward save and for taking out anything ethereal.

Treespirit just means they can only benefit from using the LD of a character that also has the Treespirit rule. In effect, this means the Treeman Ancient (with his LD of 10) as the Branchwaith only has an LD8 (the same as the Dryads – which feels like a missed opportunity).

The unit can still take a single upgrade, to give it a champion for 5pts. It's probably worth it for the extra attack, if you have some points left over. The champion can also take 25pts of Forest Spites (though probably not worth it as there aren’t any that really benefit the unit for 25pts or under. You’ve also probably noticed by now that I’m generally not a fan of upgrading champions).

Probably the biggest change to the dryads is a reversion to 6th edition in giving them back skirmish as a rule. This was definitely a massive gripe from many players when the 8th book was released (though they never had it in 4/5th ed either). Skirmish is definitely the way to run this unit. Having the 360 degree movement and a minus 1 to hit from missile weapons, both opens up the options for the unit and helps with their defense. Combined with the immune to psyc, it makes them a great chaff option for the army (if a little slow). It could be argued that Great Eagle is still the premier choice but these guys come from core and with a minimum unit size of only 5+ they only come in 5 points more than the eagle.

In many respects I’m actually preferring them to the eagle as I’ve found them more versatile in that role as with Stubborn more wounds and a higher LD, they are less likely to die or flee after one round of combat (just FBIGO) and they can also reform in that circumstance to not only angle the next round of combat, but to also change from skirmish to Open Order (to give a small bit of additional combat res). I also tend to field them in slightly larger units (7-10) as at that size, they are more of a threat against other chaff, and with their toughness preventing them from losing models, it can actually make their fear actually come into play.

Overall I’m liking Dryads in this edition. Are they a must take? No, but skirmish gives them the tool they need to make them a viable option.

Post 6 - Rare


Treemen – 215pts - Oaken Fists, Strangleroots and Arboreal Armour (counts as full plate), Behemoth.

Armour Bane (1), Close Order, Flammable, Immune to Psychology, Large Target, Magical attacks, Move through cover, Regeneration (5+), Stomp attacks (D3), Stubborn, Terror, Timmm-berrrr, Tree Spirit, Tree Whack

May take 50pts of Forest Spites


Strangleroots

12” range, S5, AP -1, Multiple Shot (D6+1) shooting attack.


Oaken Fists

Combat – S5, AP -2


It’s difficult to look at the Treeman without comparing him to the Ancient. They not only share a kit but also many of the same stats with Movement 5, Str 5, Toughness 6 and Initiative 2. Most of the special rules are the same, though it drops the ability to cast spells and instead gains Armour Bane (1). This is the first clue that the Treeman is there to perform a different role. He gets a boosted 5 attacks (all at -2 AP, which can combine with the armour bane) and, for a monster, an outstanding WS 6. Combine that with the D3 stomps, that also get -2 AP due to the Behmoth rule and the +1 combat res from his close order and he is confirmed as a combat beast rather than the support piece of the Ancient!

The magical attacks are situational, only coming into their own vs warp spawned or ethereal but are nice to have inbuilt. Terror is always useful both to force tests on any units you charge and due to the -1LD it causes when foes take their break tests.

He is also no slouch in defence and although he does lose both a wound and point of LD (to 5 and 9 respectively), which are both still very good, he shares the same Stubborn, 4+ armour and 5+ regen with the Ancient. In fairness he needs the defensive stats, as with his low initiative he could be striking last and so will need to weather any attacks against him.

He retains immune to psychology so ignores fear, terror and panic tests but can never flee as a reaction.

He can take 50pts of spites though I’m not sure I would normally do so as he really useful ones would likely already be taken on other models.

He also dropped to BS 4 so his strangleroots are likely to hit on a 5+ (due to modifiers for long range and multishot) but as you want him in combat, it’s not as big of a deal.

His other rules are no different to the Ancient (Timmm-berrrr etc.) so I won’t rehash them here.

Overall he is a solid choice. You won’t always take him as he may not fit in with your preferred style of play but he is both tough and has decent melee threat, something that is lacking in most of our army.



Waywatchers (0-1 per Waystalker) – 16pts – Hand Weapon, Asrai Longbow

Elven Reflexes, Evasive, Feigned Flight, Fire & Flee, Ignores Cover, Move through cover, Scouts, Skirmishers.


Waywatchers have so far gotten a bit of a bum rap in this edition, which is a shame as they are such an iconic unit introduced back during 4th edition (and still some of my favourite models and lore). In fairness, it’s not Waywatchers themselves, it’s because you have to take the Waystalker to even unlock them. As such you have to look at them in conjunction to see if they are worth the points. I covered how I’d see the Waystalker being used under his entry and how he can be used to complement the unit, so here I will just look at the waywatchers.

The obvious comparison to make with this unit is vs the Deepwood Scouts, as with Waywatchers effectively losing any of their unique rules from previous editions (no armour/multishot from 8th, Killing Blow at short range from 6th, or traps from 4th), they just have the same access to magic arrows as the rest of the army.

Both units are made up of naked S3, T3, skirmishing elf archers. So for +3 points a model what do you get over the scouts? Well let’s list it out and then unpick it. Ballistic Skill 5, Initiative 5, Feigned Flight and Ignores Cover. 4 additional items for just 3 points, sounds pretty good so far.

The boosted BS5 is tasty, it means that they hit on a 2+ before any modifiers. It combines well with ignores cover to help ensure that they are far more likely to hit their target. Speaking of Ignores Cover, this is half the ability of the Trueflight arrows, which makes them almost pointless in this unit (those arrows also give quick shot which admittedly is also very good).

The initiative 5 is nice but you realistically almost never want them in combat and with Skirmish you should normally be able to avoid unwanted combats, so it will be of limited worth.

Feigned Flight is excellent on this unit. With only LD8 and no access to a musician (for +1 to rally tests), the ability to automatically rally after you choose to fire & flee cannot be understated, and you want to be firing and fleeing to both make the most of their shooting and to avoid unfavourable combats. This further comes into its own as scouting units will often be out of range of your general and the Waystalker is also only LD 8 so won’t be able to boost the unit on this front.


They do have three other options, each costing 1pts per model.

Ambushers: With Scout already baked into the unit and the randomness of this rule, I’m not convinced of its worth. You really want your archers on the board from turn 1 to inflict the most amount of damage you can from the get go. If you could swop scouts for ambushers for no cost or got this for free or if you could guarantee them coming on from turn 2 with this, then it might be a strong consideration, as you could really put them in a nasty position for your opponent but as you can’t, I wouldn’t take it.

Vanguard: With a vanguard only being the movement value (5) rather than a fixed 12” (as in 8th) and with the FAQ confirming that you can’t scout and then vanguard, I cannot see any real use for this.

Veteran: The ability to re-roll any leadership tests is very useful for a unit that has fairly average LD and will often be out on its own. This is the one upgrade I would give some serious consideration to.

I’ve already said I’m unlikely to take trueflight on this unit so what arrows would I consider? In the waystalker section I said I’d consider taking the spites that give him and the unit magical attacks, so again this is half of the moonfire arrow ability. As such, that also removes them from consideration (and they are the most niche use of our arrows too). This leaves Swiftshiver, Hagbane and Arcane Bodkins.

Swiftshiver seems ideal as the increased BS offsets the multishot negative, allowing you to hit on 4+ at long range, though this drops to 5+ if you also moved (which you likely will), so only hitting 1/3 of the time is far less appealing. The additional shots are good for wiping out chaff but I’d rather use my ‘must take’ glade guard for such duties (though not necessarily with swiftshiver).

Hagbane are one of my perennial favourites. These were taken as standard on all my scout units back in 8th and after a few games changing it up, I’m again leaning towards them being equipped with them again. Scouts are cheaper and more disposable than waywatchers, so will have the task of wounding either harder to get to items (warmachines behind enemy lines) or to damage big gribblies. Although waywatchers can ignore cover, especially when shooting at warmachines, that might often be behind enemy lines or entrenched, you are basically just fishing for 6’s to hit, so the increased BS and ignores cover rule, often won’t come into play.

As such I’ve really been leaning into Arcane Bodkins when fielding the waystalkers. The increased BS and armour penetration helps when targeting the different types of cavalry or heavy infantry.


So far so good. They have a lot to recommend them, so what are the drawbacks. The first is cost. With arrows they are 18pts per model (19 with veteran). If you are taking a reasonable unit of 9 or 10 that is between 162pts and 190pts (why 9? – because if you add in the waystalker, it makes a nice even 10 in the unit and also satisfies any OCD I might or might not have…). That isn’t too expensive, as a unit of 10 Scouts with magic arrows (including a musician) is 156pts. Where the cost dramatically increases is when you consider the compulsory cost of the Waystalker, This will add an additional 85pts minimum (91 if you take the better arrows). If you like the potential psychological threat of the Waystalker and were thinking of taking him in your list anyway, then this unit is very much worth taking.

The other big consideration is the slot. Waywatchers come from your rare whereas Scouts are in the Core/Special section, meaning Scouts help fill the core ‘tax’ whereas Waywatchers won’t and may potentially impede taking multiple Treemen and Eagles. It’s for this reason that if taking waywatchers, you probably need to think about their role and what they can bring/do that other units in the army cannot.



Great Eagles (0-3 per 1,000pts) – 60pts - 50*50 base - Monstrous creature - Wicked claws, Serrated Maw.

Close order, Fear, Fly (10), Stomp attacks (1), Swiftstride.


Wicked claws - give its melee attacks AP -2


Serrated Maw – One of its melee attacks must be made using this. Has Armour bane (2) and Multiple wounds (2).


Stat wise the Great Eagle is unchanged except it gained +1 attack up to 3 in total (effectively the serrated maw) and dropped 2 points of leadership to LD6.

With the leadership drop, you now have to be wary. It is far more susceptible to terror, especially if used outside of the General’s bubble.

Those attacks aren’t going to change the game but combined with the stomp and its WS5 and S4, can mean that it could help turn the tide of a combat, especially if it hits the flank, so it does mean you have some options on how to use it. With the Fly (10), it does give you another option to get behind and attack warmachines and have a fair chance of removing them or at least grinding them down.

Despite the potential combat threat, the eagle always was and will continue to be our primary chaff model. It has lost a bit of maneuverability as, like most single models, it cannot pivot at will during its movement, however with lumbering, it can do a free 90 degree pivot at the end of its move (providing it didn’t march, charge or flee). Close Order ensures that if something charges it, the charging unit will align to the Eagle, thus you can dictate the overrun angle.

The other prevalent use for the eagle was to prevent your Wild Riders charging something you didn’t want them to, by parking the bird in front of them. Wild Riders must declare a charge if they are within range of an opponent due to the Frenzy rule. Parking the Eagle in front of them prevents you having to take this test, so it is still a valid tactic but something to be aware of is this, the 1.1 FAQ states that:

Q: Does a unit that has to declare a charge due to being Frenzied or Impetuous have to do so if a friendly unit of Skirmishers lies between it and a potential charge target, obstructing its movement?
A: If there is a chance of the Skirmishers moving so that they are no longer an obstruction (if they declare a charge, for example), yes. Otherwise, no.

Although it talks about Skirmishers, you can substitute them with any unit blocking the Wild Riders. If you choose not to declare a charge, because the Eagle is in front of them, you will not be able to move your eagle that turn (because if you did, then you should have declared a charge with the Wild Riders).

Anyway, the Eagle is great. You should normally have 1 or better yet 2, in your lists.

Post 8

Post 10

cheers buddy, the next section is almost done. Just the glade riders to go but I’ll admit to not having much experience with them in tow (as yet - I have 15 or so on the painting table!).