Wood Elves - How to win Blood and Glory

Hey guys

So blood and glory is always a tough mission for us to win with, why? We dont use banners very often as they tend not to have much benefit in our army lists...this is a problem of course. To win blood and glory you need to employ a Less is More mind set.

Noble
Waywatcher Kindred
Hunters Talon
Pagent of Shrikes

This chap get 2 sniper shots a turn, 1 of which is killing blow. Aim for their banners, kill them. Aim for their general/BSB if you need to with a killing blow and by turn 3, you should have breached their breaking point and BAM you win. This noble + your army to get other banners along the way is almost a sure fire way of getting a victory, or at least making it easier to get one. He is even useful in regular games as taking down a BSB, General or Standard Bearer could mean the difference between a unit running and a unit holding and crushing your next turn. Also perfect for taking out armour-less wizards (of which there are many!)

I use this guy in just about every list and he always performs well, i advise you guys at least consider taking him as well!

EDIT: On further reading of the rules, you cannot kill a standard bearer in this way which is a shame. Regardless this build is still very handy when it comes to sniping key characters such as wizards, generals and BSB's.

- Azeebo

Wood Elf Tactics - Glade Guard

Wood Elf Tactics - Branchwraith

Wood Elf Tactics - Spellsinger

Wood Elf Tactics - Treeman Ancients

Hey guys

More wood elf tactics! This time we are looking at the Treeman Ancient!!

Wood Elf Tactics - Highborns

Hey guys

Some wood elf tactics in video form. Enjoy!

Battle Report - Goblins Vs High Elves

Hey guys

So before this video I have begun to expand into Night Goblins, this is a fun battle using all the night goblins i own, was a tonne of fun for both parties. Hope you enjoy!

Update: Im back and ready for some action

Hey guys

Sorry for the lack of content recently but i have been busy at work and my computer has been playing up. After a quick memory wipe everything is all fine and dandy and its back to work!

Today i am heading to my local GW and plan on having a few games of varying sizes specifically with my Wood Elves since people on my youtube account have requested some more coverage. In response, thats what i am doing and of course to go one step further i have even entered a doubles tournement with my wood elves to give you some competitive gaming with the wood elves to see how i fare, how the army holds up and hopefully get you to learn from my mistakes...which will be many :p

My beastmen are not on hold, they are still working as a side project

Guides, they have had a bit of a hold back however no longer. Wood Elf and Beastmen guides will be posted likely in video and written format with more indepth views in the written section.

Wander and Ponders whilst not very popular are very fun to make and i may be continuing this series, you will have to wait and see!

Thats it for now guys, i have to run to get to my bus on time!

- Azeebo

Battle Report: Beastmen Vs Beastmen Vs Skaven 1000 Points

Hey guys
Me, Connor and James have a large 3-way watchtower game...and damn is it fun. Again, loads of crazy things going on!

Battle Report: Wood Elves Vs Beastmen 1000 Points

Hey guys
A quick battle against James (who i keep calling Connor for whatever reason XD) with my wood elves. Its a pretty epic game loads of crazy things going on!

Great Bray Shamans - The Perfect Killer

Hey guys Azeebo here,

So i ranted a bit about my super killy magic death machine of a wizard in my Great Bray-Shaman review, and would like to go into more detail about WHY i personally think he is so good.

So, first off what is the build?
Great Bray- Shaman
Level 3-4 (BEASTS)
Many Limbed Fiend
Brass Cleaver
Jagged Dagger
Uncanny Senses
5++ Ward Save from BRB

It is a simple but effective lord choice you can dumb down for smaller games and remains effective even when reduced. The idea is you want your shaman to play the role of Combat Lord and Support Caster, and it works very well in both regards. You get your wizard + unit into combat and using Savage Beast of Horros you get 9 attacks at strength 7-9 depending on banners and spells cast prior, You will likely pass you primal fury giving you rerolls to hit and 2+ to wound landing you roughly 7 power dice for your next turn. HOWEVER, if you are still in combat through their turn you will generate ANOTHER 7 power dice giving you 14 ADDITIONAL power dice you can choose to 'cash in' at any point in your magic phase, and it can be in any magic phase! With this many BONUS dice you have 100% free reign over the magic phase as it is impossible for your opponent to stop the sheer madness that will ensue. There are down sides, he can be killed in combat and if you are not in combat you obviously dont feel the full benefit. 

Overall, i love this character and he will forever be my Shaman of choice from now on! 

- Azeebo

Battle Report: Beastmen Vs Skaven 1000 points

Hey guys this is a battle report between me and my friend Connor. We are playing a 1000 point game Beastmen Vs Skaven...its pretty damn epic...i bet you cant guess the insane list he took!

- Azeebo

Beastmen Army Book Review Part 3 Great Bray-Shamans

Hey guys! This is the third part of my Beastmen Army Book Review, we take a look at Great Bray-Shamans and how i personally love to field them!

Beastmen Army Book Review Part 2 Doom Bulls

Hey guys azeebo here, and here is Part 2 of my Beastmen Army Book Review, and as the title suggests we are taking a goo 'ol look at the Doom Bull!

- Azeebo

Beastmen Army Book Review Part 1 Beast Lords

My THIRD attempt to post this video...hope you enjoy this Beatmen Review, today we are looking at the Beast Lord!

Azeebo

More technical issues!

Hey guys

Just to let you know i have been experiencing MORE technical issues with the creation of my videos and its starting to get tedious. Will try and sort it out ASAP and get some more content added.

- azeebo

What Azeebo is planning: THE GREAT UPDATE

Hey guys!

I quick video with all the things i have planned for the coming weeks! ENJOY!

New intro!

Hey guys

So i have been messing around today and have made a quick intro for each of my videos. I am not updating older videos to include it but all my new videos from now on will feature it! Hope you like it ^_^

- Azeebo

Beastmen Vlog remastering in process

Hey guys

I am not happy with the quality of my beastmen vlog series (army book review), i am going to start again and go into more detail and improve lighting and quality overall.

Hope you enjoy when it gets done!

- Azeebo

Battle Report: Beastmen Vs High Elves 1000 Points

Hey guys
This is a small 1000 point battle between me (Beastmen) and Amy (High Elves)...it gets REALLY tense! Hope you enjoy it
Leave a comment!


- Azeebo

Wandering and Pondering - Episode 3

Hey guys

Here is episode 3 of my wander and ponder series! This time i ramble a bit with Amy!

Wandering and Pondering - Episode 2

Hey guys

Here is the 2nd episode of my Wander and Ponder Series. This time i talk about myself and give you an update on how my beastmen are progressing.

Leave a comment!

- Azeebo

Vlog 3 - Beastmen Army Book Review Part 2

Hey guys

Here is another part of my beastman army book review, this time it covers Special Choices and Rare Choices.

Enjoy the ramble and leave some comments ^_^

- Azeebo

Vlog 2 - Beastmen Army Book Review Part 1

Hey guys

Enjoy my 1st part of many of the Beastman Army Book review!

Leave comments below

- Azeebo

Wandering and Pondering - Episode 1

Hey guys

This is my first wander and ponder. Yes, it is short but this sort of thing requires people to leave comments asking me to talk about various topics (any topic) The more comments i get them more Wandering and Pondering episode will be made!

Leave comments, have a good one

- Azeebo

Vlog

Hey guys

So this is the first in my Vlog series for beastmen. Its basically a run through of what i have bought, review of the sprues and completed models etc.

Leave comments for improvements!

Battle Report: Beastmen Vs Beastmen 1000 Points

Hey Guys, Azeebo here

This is my first ever battle report so i hope it is of good enough quality. Please leave comments on improvements etc.

Video taken on my Flip Ultra 3 HD camera.

Wanderers Glade - Beastmen are coming

Hey guys, Azeebo here

As you all know i dedicated this blog to the Wood Elves. All that has changed. The Wood Elves arch nemesis the Beastmen are joining us in our blog based shenanigans. Expect videos, tactics, battle reports and all that good stuff based around both wood elves and beastmen. It should be a right ol' laugh.

Keep a look out!

Storm of Magic Global Campaign: 1000 Point List

Hey guys, so my local club is taking part in the Global Campaign that starts this Saturday for the new Storm of Magic expansion. A few things to note, last Saturday there was a series of introductory games to learn the new rules and due to the overwhelming victories by the players who follow the Lore of Life our team gets an additional +2 to cast lore of life spells since we are Ascended. This should change from week to week. It should only be 1000 point games to maximize the number of games however i suspect larger games later in an escalation sort of setup.  Without further ado, here is my list:

Lords


Spellweaver
Level 4 Wizard
Lore of Life

Heroes


Spellsinger
Level 2 Wizard

Core


10 Glade Guard

10 Glade Guard

10 Glade Guard

10 Dryads

10 Dryads

Bound Monsters and Magic


Chimera 
Iron Hard Skin
Fiend Tail
Rending Fangs


This list comes pretty standard overall. Plenty of archers, plenty of Dryads and 2 wizards to maximize my chances of getting Magical Dominance as well as giving me some extra channeling, a chance of getting the better lore of Athel Loren Spells etc etc. My Bound Monster is the Chimera, not only is a fantastic model to build, paint and look at it is pretty darn good in game. Whilst i would have liked to have the S4 Breathe Weapon, points restrictions limit it unfortunately. Luckily however he comes in with 6 S6 Attacks + an additional D3 S6 Tail Attacks which get +1 to hit on the rear and +1 S6 Chomp Attacks with armour piercing and if i am hitting a large target i get +1 to hit. Finally he gets his Thunder Stomp Attacks giving him a grand total of 17 attacks maximum. Add to this Terror, 4+ Scaly Skin and fly and you have quite the beast. His only downside is his low Ld and his Initiative of 2...hopefully he will be able to get those hits in before biting the dust!

Battle Report: Wood Elves + Bretonia Vs Skaven 3000 Points

Hey guys Azeebo here, my last post turned out to be useless since we decided not to play storm of magic due to lack of complete confidence in the rules and decided to rope in 2 smaller armies (more skaven and a bretonia player) to boost it to a 3000 point game. Please bear in mind the 2 additional players are new to fantasy so their lists are not exactly ideal nor are they particularly skilled. It was a blast either way! Enjoy.

Army Lists (i do not know my opponents/allies exact lists):


Wood Elves


Lords


Spellweaver (Beasts)

Spellweaver (Life)

Heroes


Branchwraith
Cluster of Raidiants

Noble
Rageths Wildfire Blades
Helm of the Hunt
Potion of Strength
Light Armour

Core

3x10 Glade Guard

2x10 Dryads

Special 


6 Treekin

Rare


Treeman

6 Waywatchers

Bretonia


Heroes


Paladin
Pegasus

Core


15 Knights
Full Command

15 Knights

Full Command

16 Archers

Full Command

Stakes

Flaming Arrows

20 Men At Arms

Full Command

Special

4 Pegasus Knights

Skaven


Lords


Warlord

Greyseer


Heroes


Warlock Engineer

Warlock Engineer

Warlock Engineer

Core


60 Clan Rats
Full Command
Warpfire Thrower

60 Slaves

20 Storm Vermin
Halberds
Shields
Full Command
Storm Banner
Rattling Gun

Rare


Hell Pit Abomination

Special

Doom Wheel

Warp Lightning Cannon

Skaven

Heroes

Warlock Engineer

Core

20 Clan Rats

6 Giant Rats

Special Pack Master

Special

Night Runners

Deployment


Just a standard last man standing sort of affair this game. This is how we deployed:

As you can see I deployed my Glade Guard on the left flank, hoping to take advantage of the rather weak opposition and flank around mid to late game to aid the right flanks efforts. My Treekin and a unit of Dryads take up the center field hopefully getting some good damage in once the battle kicks off. My Lifeweaver is hanging around in the center of my main attack force to grant buffs and get some good Dwellers off if i get the chance. Finally my last dryads and treeman take up the right flank to take on the HPA and hopefully the big unit of clan rats. My waywatchers deployed to hopefully snipe his grey seer with a killing blow and my Noble is hanging around ready to slaughter the HPA...hopefully.

My ally set up his units basically to full in the gaps.His Pegasus Knights and Paladin prepare to engage the cannon as soon as possible whilst his Men At Arms move up to try and block any potenital flank danger for my guard and center line. His archers deploy to far back unfortunately and his knights take up position between my weaver and dryads to take on the big blocks.

The Skaven have a unit of Night Runners in front of the building flanked by a Doom Wheel (scary stuff) and some Clan Rats with a few giant rats to spruce things up a bit. The huge alter on the hill (it was massive...and looked great) held the Warp Lightning Cannon, Jezzails, the Grey Seer AND warlock engineer...certainly a commanding position...and hard to crack thanks to the abundance of rats near it. The main bulk of slaves, clan rats, storm vermin and HPA occupy the right flank...clearly this is where the action will be taking place!

Turn One


Wood Elves + Brets

We went first and of course the Brets decided to say a prayer whilst the valiant wood elves moved to engage the foes. My Noble, beaming with confidence charged his Hell Pit Abomination and with his mighty fiery attacks he slaughtered his foe before the beast could strike back and overran past the clan rats for protection. My way watchers moved into position and fired at the grey seer BUT he uses his storm banner and knocks my aim off and i fail to inflict any damage. My glade guard move up and fire at the Doom Wheel, but again with the -2 modifier from the banner I only inflict 1 wound. My center line moves through the trees unhindered whilst my Treeman tries to hide from the cannon and prepare a flank attack later in the game and my dryads prepare to go the opposite direction. Magic failed overall with my S10 Amber Spear failing to cast. I did however manage to pull off throne of vines and regeneration on my lifeweaver.

Skaven

A pretty uneventful turn. His army moves up to engage however he makes a critical error when moving his clan rats and rotates them to face my Noble. Clearly he over estimates the power of the noble without his potion. Magic failed across the board thanks to some poor rolling on his behalf and great rolls on my own. Shooting hurt a bit. 2 Waywatchers got zapped by lightning from the doom wheel but luckily the cannon missed the Knights by 1"! Things are looking up for us as we have lost nothing important and our armies are ready to move.

Turn Two


Wood Elves + Brets

As you can see by the hectic picture, things are looking bad for the skaven.The 2 units of knights crash into the massive unit of slaves whilst his Pegasus knights hit the small clan rat unit. His storm vermin get locked with my dryads and his huge unit of Clan Rats realize their dilemma being threatened on the flanks and rear by a noble, dryads and treeman...not looking good. Magic was a success for me powering through all my spells launching a amber spear at the doom wheel doing 2 wounds and casting Flesh to Stone on the Dryads in with the vermin but most importantly i cast dwellers below on the warp lightning cannon and destroy it. Shooting knocked off another 2 wounds from the doom wheel and my Treemans Strangle root took out 7 clan rats however my way watchers once again failed to kill the grey seer.. Combat was a success all around with the small unit of clan rats breaking and fleeing from the Pegasus knights and the slaves breaking and crushing the slaves with ease. The dryads, despite a Toughness of 8 fail most of their attacks, fail all of their saves (losing about 4) and fleeing from the storm vermin. The vermin reform to prepare a flank charge next turn.

Skaven

After the punishment the skaven took they counter with just as much ferocity. The storm vermin flank charge the knights and destroy them to the man with insane rolls, they proceed to reform and face the last unit of knights. The Night Runners charge the glade guard who stand and shoot killing 3 and manage to kill 5 in close combat. Despite this they lose 8 of their own and flee but manage to escape. The Doom Wheel shunted forward after a poor roll and the giant rats prepare to take a charge from the pegasus. Magic is once again stopped however some way watchers get sniped by the jezzails. 

Turn Three

Wood Elves + Brets

Our armies recover from the beating we took last turn for a final push at their heart. The treeman, Dryads and Noble charge the clan rats whilst the knight hit the storm vermin head on. Finally the pegasus knights charge the giant rats. My beast mage threw the Amber Spear at the Grey Seer almost killing him as the way watchers plant the final arrow in his verminous skull. My 2man unit of glade guard rally and fired at the remaining night runners slaying them before my final 2 units take down the Jezzails and the Doom Wheel. Combat was a massacre on all fronts with the giant rats being destroyed outright, the storm vermin fleeing and being caught and the clan rats getting so badly beaten in combat by the combined might of the forest and noble they break (the warlord died) and was cut down mid flight. 

VICTORY WOOD ELVES + BRETONIA

Conclusion

A fantastic game. It was a really fun game with jokes and hilarious comments throughout. It looked like their turn 2 comeback might have come to something but unfortunately the sharp lanced knights and keen eyed elves proved to much for the verminous hordes. Hopefully next week will be a Storm of Magic game...or 3..or more. They will likely be 1k-2k however larger games may occur if we get a good following. Look out for more!

Thanks for reading, leave comments and feedback as always.

- Azeebo

Storm of Magic Battle Report Prep: Wood Elves Vs Skaven 2000 points

Hey guys, Azeebo here. Today i am going back to my local club and having a 2000 point battle against a doubles tournament list. We are using the new storm of magic rules and as a result here is my list:

Lords

Spell Weaver
Level 4

Highborn
Light Armour
Rageths Wildfire Blade
Helm of the Hunt
Potion of Strength
Stone of Rebirth
Elynets Broach

Core

10 Dryads

10 Dryads

10 Glade Guard

10 Glade Guard

10 Glade Guard

Special 

6 Treekin

Rare

Treeman

6 Waywatchers

Storm of Magic:
Forest Dragon


Be on the look out for the battle report later today.

My view on COMMENTS

Hey guys Azeebo here. Thought i would share my views on leaving comments. Simply put: DO IT! If you want to comment on anything whether it be praise or criticism leave a comment, we will have a friendly debate and see what happens. Discussion is great! But, if you felt like you wanted something specific covered for YOU leave a comment, i will check it and will very likely post something to help you out.

Example: Amy leaves a comment requesting starter tips for wood elves and you wanted to know where to start. I would literally make a post like 'Amy - How to get started with Wood Elves '.

So, leave comments and lets get things rolling!

Storm Of Magic: First Impressions

Hey guys, Azeebo here. As of posting this I do not own a copy of the storm of magic and my comprehension of the rules are not perfect however i have played 2 games of storm of magic and would like to report my findings.

Apocalypse 
Many people have adopted the idea that the Storm of Magic expansion is Apocalypse for Fantasy. I for one disagree. The Storm of Magic is indeed a tool in which to bring fantasy to a larger scale however it is also very usable on a small scale. A 1000 point game using the storm of magic rule set is both exciting and fresh and most of all balanced. Unlike in its 40k 'equivilent' the special units you take are based upon the points level you are playing. You get an addition 25% in points to spend on Storm of Magic items and Bound Monsters to bolster your forces. This means at the lower end of the points spectrum you will be limited to units that are balanced with the armies that can be fielded and at larger point levels you can bring in the heavy hitting beasts that the book is chock full of.

Magic
Magic is of course the focus of the new rules, however it is not overpowered and does not replace the need for solid tactics and armies. Cataclysmic Spells are extremely powerful, but their casting is both limited and risky. You can only access these mighty spells if you are mounted upon an arcane fulcrum, furthermore you need multiple fulcrums to access the mightiest of spells as they are split into 3 level of magical domination. The fewer the fulcrums the fewer the spells. But of course, having the ability to cast the level 2-3 spells brings extreme risk as many require 25-35 to cast...this means 99% of the time you will miscast when trying to cast them and the miscast table in the storm of magic is not kind...it will either make you useless or kill you outright. Casting these spells requires timing and preparation, casting to early and you leave yourself open for a magical counter attack which you have no defense against since you wizard just blew up. But cataclysmic spells are not all that have been given to our wizards. We can access Cantrips. Cantrips are for the most part weak spells but extremely useful. You can teleport between fulcrums, summon entire units from nothing, engage in wizard duels and Unbind you enemies Bound Monsters and Units.

Bound
As mentioned in part 1, you get 25% extra points to spend of various things. Bound Monsters are one of the more fun aspects of this. Whether you decide to have a flanking force of Dragon Ogres or an Araknaroc Spider as your wizards pets you can really change up your army at any points level to cover your weaknesses or bring something you would not normally include in your army (bearing in mind it is essentially FREE). You could be packing a Treeman Ancient and a Level 4 Spell Weaver in smaller games if you so wish...bearing in mind your opponent can do the same thing! Bound Monsters are a fun element to the rules, and because of the % limitations it is actually a very balanced system.

Overall
Storm of Magic is great. It adds new flavor to the already great 8th edition rules, it is fun and most importantly BALANCED. Nothing is outrageously overpowered and everything has clearly been thought out. I could very easily see this rule set being used competitively...and i hope it does. Im not saying every game should be SoM but it is a fantastic way to mix things up a bit and have a load of fun without feeling cheated!

Leave comments on what you think

1000 Point Sethayla Themed List

Hey guys, 


So i thought i would post something NEW today, i have been focusing a lot on tactics and thought i would go against the norm and post something WILD and out there...a type of army very few people because...well...its hard...very hard...possibly the hardest competitive theme to play with...but its fun...oh so fun because its just horrendously fast. Lets have a look see at my Sethayla list:


Heroes

Noble
Light Armour
Shield
Spear
Hail of Doom Arrow
Helm of the HuntGreat Eagle
My general...and only character. At first having NO wizard might seem a bit of a disadvantage...and i agree but focusing on THIS character is actually a hidden strength for the style. He comes in with S5 T4 Armour 4+ and 4 attacks, his mount comes in with 2 S4 attacks and a Stomp attack. This makes him tough (for a wood elf) and very damaging...specifically in the case of Wizards. Get this guy into Base to Base contact with a wizard and watch him destroy them instantly. If he dies...its a shame but you have just taken out a powerful weapon against this type of list. And of course if he lives he lives to cause more havoc as he is a pretty good combat character. Optionally he can be used as a support charger etc. His HoDA also gives him some good ranged potential on turn1.

Core
10 Glade Guard
Hate to say it but this is a unit filler and distraction. My biggest unit and simply their to draw attention and do light ranged damage...and that's it


5 Glade Riders
Musician



5 Glade Riders
Musician
My glade riders are key to the list. They have an insane movement keeping them from getting caught up in any combat i want to avoid and they have no move and shoot penalty. Basically these are going to run circles around my enemy pelting them with arrows and possibly getting in some rear and flank charges (double teaming...or triple teaming with other fast units) 


Special


4 Warhawk Riders


4 Warhawk Riders
I love these guys. They are dangerously fast, very hard hitting and can hit and run. Whats not to like? Run circles around your foe, pelt with arrows get a flank charge and unleash a bucket load of S4 attacks...and remember from flanks and rears your foe gets not supporting attacks...then hit and run out of combat to charge again later. Again teaming up with other units will help greatly. These are also perfect for killing warmachines and hunting wizards...love them


Rare


Great Eagle


Great Eagle
More fast moving death. Again wizard hunters, unit support, harassment and warmachine hunters. simple as that.


The idea of the army is to avoid combat unless i WANT to be in combat. The speed will let me do this easily. My speed also lets me redeploy constantly. I could focus all my attention on one flank and as they move to counter me i swing around to the opposite flank and harass that flank basically, running around them preventing them from doing harm and with all my anti wizard based units my lack of wizard will not be to much of a problem.


The list is not without flaws and weaknesses but its fun and at 1000 points is surprisingly deadly on the battlefield. 

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 8 - Wardancers

Hey guys and welcome to part 8 of my Wood Elf Unit Tactics. Today we are taking a closer look at Wardancers, the first of our full time special choices.

Wardancers are the super fast ninja assassins of the wood elves. Every member of the troupe is capable of killing even the mightiest general in a single blow as well as cut down hordes of enemies with ease. Wardancers combine sold rules with a great statline to produce a kick ass unit (the models are not bad either!)

Strengths and Weaknesses
The base statline of a wardancer is good, but it actually worse than a dryads in nearly every regard and 6 points more expensive to boot. Luckily, they have some special rules that bring them up to scratch. They wield Wardancer Weapons which grants +1 attack as well as +1 strength when charging. This gives them a hefty 2 attacks at strength 4 WS6 I6. The real meat comes from the Shadow Dances. Wardancers can pick between 4 dances and they either let you land Killing Blows, have an additional +1 attack, have a 4++ ward save or Always Strike First with a -1 attack modifier in place. Despite their lack of armour they pack a 6++ ward save naturally and have a magic resistance of 1 so against magic they have a nice 5++ ward save and being skirmishers means hitting them with ranged weaponry is more difficult. Finally being immune to psychology means even fear and terror causing units wont hinder your slaughter.

The downsides however are that they are pricey and very fragile. Yes a 6++ ward save is handy but its not going to save you reliably and having no armour and only being Toughness 3 you are going to fall to supporting attacks REALLY fast. The dance that grants always strikes first is a complete waste since you get less attacks and your high initiative should be hitting first or at least at the same time as most other units in the game. And unfortunately only being S4 some of the time really hinders their attack power in prolonged combats...oh and they suffer from Skirmishers which means they cant break your opponents ranks...fantastic.

Tactics
The idea is to use them in 1 of 2 ways. You either want to have them as a supporting unit where you get flank charges in whilst your anvil holds up a unit (Ancients for example). And in most cases you want to be using the +1 attack dance giving you a hefty 3 S4 attacks each letting you pile on the hurt against weaker foes and since you are on the flank you shouldn't take to much damage from counter attacks. The other use is assassination. You want to find and challenge powerful or vulnerable characters and take them out with a few well placed Killing Blow strikes. Unit size is important when running Wardancers, they cant have more than 15 and to be honest you never want that many anyway. 8 is the magic number as any more and you are just wasting attacks. 8 wardancers doesn't set you back to much in terms of points either letting you focus on other portions of your army.

Magic
As with most wood elf units Hidden Path is a life saver  as these really lack any sort of protection. Becoming immune to most ranged weapons is just to good to pass up. The Lore of Life is simply overkill and not needed since you shouldnt require the defensive bonuses...and certainly not as much as other units in your army. The Lore of Beasts is perfect however as Wyssans Wildform really gives them a combat boost and is reccomended when charging...heck its recommended every combat phase.

Command 
I would possibly being a Champion along as it gives you and extra attack in combat however he certainly is not a must have upgrade, and musicians are simply not worth their points in such a unit. Heroes and Lords can have a great effect on combat however. A Noble can simply pack Blades of Loec and Wardancer Kindred and become a handy tool in your unit giving you an addition 4-5 S4-5 attacks that get rerolls to hit and to wound. If you want a particularly beefy character take a Highborn with Blades of Loec, Helm of the Hunt and Stone of Rebirth and Wardancer Kindred. This guy has a 2++ ward save when reduced to 1 wound and gets 6-7 attacks with rerolls. Remember that Blades of Loec can be used in conjunction with Shadow Dances which makes this character particularly deadly against characters as 6 killing blow attacks with rerolls could mean the death of just about any character in the game.

Overall
Wardancers are good unit. Fun to field, fun special rules and great stat lines over all. Are they worth the extra 6 points when compared to Dryads? yes and no. Dryads are more reliable however wardancers have more potential for insane damage output. Its up to you to decide which one you prefer.

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 7 - Eternal Guard

Hey guys, and welcome to my 7th part to the Wood Elf Unit Tactics series. Today we are looking at the Eternal Guard. Our second 100% melee unit...how will these guys hold up to the might of the Dryads?

Eternal Guard are odd...they have odd rules, odd weapons, odd points cost and odd Force Organisation Placement. Lets start from the top. They have a special fighting style that basically means they are using 2 weapons, a spear AND  a hand weapon and shield (minus the parry save) all at the same time. So you basically get to attack in 3-4 ranks, the front rank has 2 attacks each and everyone gets +1 to their armour save. Pretty strange if you ask me! They also benefit GREATLY from having a noble or highborn tagging along with them however they are REALLY expensive being the same cost as a dryad but statwise...and rule wise not as good. Strange indeed...

Strengths and Weaknesses
They are our first real anvil type unit (excluding the ancient) being able to take large numbers and have them in a rank and file formation. This is great since we lack anything that can do this effectively and when you are packing Ld9 and a 5+ armour save you are surprisingly good at holding units up on paper. Whats even better is if you have a noble or highborn as your entire unit becomes stubborn meaning they will be very hard to shift once they reach combat. Speaking of combat they do pretty well packing WS5 I5 and a standard unit of 30-40 will be getting 40-50 attacks in combat. And finally they are Core when a Highborn is your general (usually Special).

Unfortunately this all comes at a price. They can be taken in large numbers but cost to much to do so effectively. You get a lot of attacks but only have S3 meaning your not going to be doing a lot of damage. Your stubborn but it further increases their already heavy cost. Highborns are expensive, and in lower points games not as useful as a wizard meaning they are usually Special...and that puts them up against some really good units.

Tactics
Well, as you have guessed they are best used as an Anvil unit. They get into combat and hold a unit so your more powerful units can come in with a flank or rear charge and finish the job. Getting stuck in a 1 on 1 combat is rarely a good idea since even the most basic troops will be a match for you. A unit of Skaven Slaves for example could overwhelm you with attacks and just rip you to pieces due to your low armour. There are ways around this however such as using your eternal guard as a Character Bunker. Placing several nobles or higborns kitted out for close combat and you can really add to the punch of the unit and cause some real damage as well as retaining that all important stubborn.

Command
Always take a full command. You want the banner for the extra res and the 50 point banner (armour piercing is always a good choice), a champion for the character protection and a musician in case you do run and you want to get back into the fight! In terms of characters you have a few good options. A battle standard bearer is usually very safe in the ranks of the eternal guard and gives them a combat resolution boost as well as making your unit EVEN HARDER to break in combat. You can even kit him out for combat if you want or add a very expensive banner to increase effectiveness. To improve defense and mobility throw in a Lord with Rhymers Harp for the 5++ ward save for the unit or maybe a hero with Wraithstone to reduce the enemies leadership. Taking a character with Moonstone will also let you jump to a better vantage point if you need to. And the classic combat heroes are always welcome!

Magic
In order to survive you need some sort of magic. As with all our units Hidden Path from Athel Loren works wonders here, however beasts gives your unit some added toughness and strength and if you are character heavy a savage beast of horros can be a game changer. Life however takes the cake in this instance giving you insane toughness, regeneration, added damage and regrowth to keep your units fighting fit. The downside is you will need to focus A LOT of power into keeping your eternal guard standing.

Overall
They are OK. You need to invest heavily in terms of points to bring them effectively and then throw in expensive characters and then it just gets silly. When you consider many armies have access to horde destroying spells you have to be very careful as 1 spell could very easily wipe out your lightly armored tanks...and when you look at it for the same price you could get Glade Guard or Dryads who are both superior.

GW hammering down

Unfortunatly i will have to remove all GW related images from my blog as it is apparently a violation in their terms and conditions. This is outrageous, so expect all images from GW to be removed and in the future photographs of my own models.

Sorry for the inconvienence guys!

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 6 - Glade Riders

Hey Guys and welcome to my 6th entry to Wood Elf Unit Tactics. Today we are looking at Glade Riders which just so happen to be our cheapest Fast Cavalry unit.

Glade Riders are extremely fast and very maneuverable and are probably the most accurate firing bases in the game being able to move insanely far per turn and still fire their bows with 0 penalty to accuracy. Put it this way, you can potentially 'move' 52" on the first turn of the game and fire your 30" long bow giving you a whopping threat range of 82" on the first turn. Its not all positives however as you will soon discover.

Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of the Glade Riders comes in 3 forms: speed, maneuverability and harassment. They are fast cavalry which allows them to March and Shoot, they can move 12" before the game starts, they can reform for free and gain a nice little ability called Feigned Flight which essentially means when you flee and regroup you can move as normal...including march however you always count as moving when you come to fire your weapons. Combine these abilities with the wood elves special rules and you can flee, regroup move 18" and fire your bows with 0 penalty to hit...which is insane. Add to this the ability to ignore dangerous terrain tests when moving through forests and it seems like nothing can stop you!

Unfortunately a slight breeze can stop you as you have 0 armour, and your only defense comes from the fact you are on a horse (so a 6+ save)...and being T3 your not going to last long at all. Unfortunately your bows are horribly ineffective since they are only strength 3 (not 4 at close range like Glade Guard) meaning you are struggling to do any damage despite your mobility and accuracy. The final nail in the coffin is the price...at almost 25 points a model you are paying a load of points for very little damage out put with next to no defense...a risky move indeed.

Tactics
Despite their weaknesses and the general hate they gather from many wood elf players Glade Guard are still in fact rather useful. As mentioned above they can potentially move 52" in their first movement phase...depending on the size of the board. Lets say for arguments sake you have a 12" deployment zone. Deploy on that line, move 12" with vanguard and march 18" and bam you have just reached the other side of the board. Bearing this in mind, what tends to lurk at their board edge? Lone Wizards (occasionally) and Warmachines. That initial burst of speed makes them perfect warmachine hunters as you might well imagine. But they have other roles such as 'Bait'. You place your riders in a position where the enemy can charge you, when they attempt it you flee, escape in most cases rally (Ld9 with a musician) and them move your 18" (for example you move PAST the unit that charged you) not only have you pulled the enemy out of formation and into a possible ambush but you have also managed to slip your glade riders behind his unit making them a very real threat when combat begins as you could come in with a flank or rear charge. Finally using them as light infantry hunters. Some armies may utilize skirmishers which are often small in number and easy pickings for your riders especially in combat where you have the clear advantage. You may as well exploit it! In terms of unit size 5 is probably the safest option as it is not to expensive and you can do your general duties pretty well however if you want to risk it for a bit more of a punch then 10 (max unit cap) is not a bad idea, especially for combat support as you will have enough ranks to deny their rank bonus...providing you dont lose a single rider to magic or ranged weaponry.

Magic
A fantastic spell to make riders a bit harder to kill is Hidden Path as it makes you immune to mundane ranged weaponry however even that could be a waste as a simple magic missile could very easily wipe out an entire unit. It is probably best using your magic on other units as riders do not really benefit from it.

Command
Never take a champion and ALWAYS take a Musician as it lets you rally easier letting you Feign Flight more reliably. Standard Bearers are hit and miss. Needed for a certain mission and handy in a combat but when push comes to shove and points become tight dropping this guy is probably a good idea. Whilst not part of the command dont place your expensive heroes and lords with Glade Riders, they are far to fragile to be bodyguards for your general etc. so keep characters out of the unit!

Overall
I like them BUT they are nowhere near as 'must have' as Glade Guard or Dryads. Against some armies they can prove to be effective if used right however be constantly aware if your foe chooses to destroy them he can and will do it in a heart beat. This makes them EASY victory points for your opponent. Because of this, if you take them you have to have an objective for them per game like: Take out X number of warmachines etc. This way when they die they have done something to help your armies cause...

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 5 - Dryads and Branchwraiths

Hey guys and welcome to part 5 of my Wood Elf Tactics. Now some of you eagle eyed viewers may have noticed i missed out Branchwraiths during my run through the Lord and Hero selection...well that is because i wanted to include them with the Dryads...oh and if you hadn't guessed we are looking at Dryads...

Dryads were once considered to be one of the most over powered units in the game since they were so cheap yet so powerful...this was back when Dwarfs were considered the toughest infantry in the game...years on things have changed however Dryads are still one of the BEST core choices we have access to and considering they are so cheap they are another must have core unit for any wood elf army (unless themed of course).

Strengths and Weaknesses
When looking at a Dryad you have to think of an elf then imagine the exact opposite. Elves in our book tend to focus on ranged, lack armour, be fragile and pretty weak. This naturally means dryads are tough, strong and have a pretty damn good save to boot. Dryads go into battle with 2 S4 magical attacks each at initiative 6 meaning 9/10 times you are striking first and your striking hard. When the foe hits you back he has to punch through Toughness 4 and a 5++ ward save! Finally they cause Fear giving them some extra defense against the more wimpy units in the game.

When it comes to disadvantages Dryads have very few. They are Skirmishers meaning its harder for them to shot at which is great but it also has a negative impact on their combat ability because they cant break ranks, don't benefit from steadfast and don't have a rank bonus for combat resolution meaning they will have a hard time breaking most units since they will ALWAYS be steadfast against you in a 1 on 1 fight. Dryads are also Forest Spirits, this is a GREAT rule overall giving them loads of benefits however because of this they cant be accompanied by wizards or nobles and only Branchwraiths can reliably and safely join their ranks. They have no access to command units so if they flee they are more likely to not rally than our elf troops and they cant benefit from standard bearers. Finally their ward save does not work against magic based attacks, so whilst its great against most units they are very vulnerable to more elite units and wizards.

Tactics
Dryads can be used in a few ways, however most will agree the best way is to run them as a Hammer unit...and they are one hell of a hammer. The ideal size for Dryads in my opinion is either 8, 10 or 12. Any more and you are wasting attacks and the cost rises and maneuverability of the unit drops significantly. Bear in  mind that 8 dryads cost less than 100 points and pack 16 S4 magical attacks which can be a combat decider when you have a strong anvil up front (like a Treeman Ancient). 10 - 12 Dryads are more expensive and are just as effective as Hammer units and of course they can take more of beating, whats more they can act as mini anvils since they are tough enough to hold up weaker infantry (goblins, humans, skaven) quite well. The final tactic is to go with a full unit of 20 (max unit size). This 20 man unit should be run 10x2 and should be used as an Anvil. The REAL use however comes into play when you are playing the Watchtower mission as you have the hard hitting power of the dryad for assaulting the watchtower (bearing in mind only 20 Core troops can start in the watchtower and dryads are more than a match for most core units in the game) and if you manage to start in the tower you have a very hard to move unit able to hold up against nearly anything.

*REMEMBER: Dryads are skirmishers! They are stubborn when in woodland terrain and enemies cannot benefit from steadfast when in woodland terrain! Use this to your advantage and bait enemies into combats on your terms!*


Magic
Dryads are one of those units that go from great to amazing when given some magical attention. The lore of life is common as you can make them Toughness 6-8 but my personal favorite is to run them near a Lore of Beast weaver and simply cast Wyssans Wild Form giving them S5 T5 making them stronger and tougher letting you deal more hurt and take it back in droves. Finally if you have a Athel Loren singer with Call of the Hunt this can really boost a dryads attack power. For overkill combine Call of the Hunt and Wyssans for some real carnage!


Branchwraiths
These are our cheapest Heroes coming in at under 70 points. They have come in with 3 S4 WS6 attacks at I8 meaning she is pretty darn good for her points. She has access to 50 points worth of Spites and is the cheapest way to gain access to Cluster of Radiants (+1 dispel dice). Optionally she can be boosted to a level 1 wizard but this upgrade almost doubles her points and is not worth it AT ALL. She is an OK choice to take especially in themed lists or games at a lower points level when you cant take a Treeman Ancient but as a whole she can only really join dryads and doesn't add enough to be worth it (you could just upgrade a dryad to a Nymph/Champion to get the same results).

Overall
Branchwraiths are your cheapest way to get hold of CoR but other than that are not worth the investment. Dryads on the other hand are fantastic despite thier flaws. A few units of 8-12 and you have some very potent hammer units that can also take a beating.

As a side note, they are 3 points cheaper than Sword Masters (High Elves number 1 Special choice) and they destroy them...every time...high elves beware!

Azeebo

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 4 - Glade Guard and Scouts

Hey guys and welcome to Part 4 of my Wood Elf Unit Tactics, today we are taking a look at Glade Guard and Scouts.

I love Glade Guard both in game and in model terms. They look fantastic and when used right they can be devastating. They have a few special rules that let them hit targets from 3ft away, the most powerful long bows to name a few. You would be foolish to run an army without a solid core of Glade Guard in my opinion.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Being BS4 is the most obvious advantage they will be hitting most targets at short range on a 3+, but this by itself isn't that special compared to most other archers. What does make them superior is the ability to move and shoot without any penalty meaning you essentially have a 35" range and even at that range you are still hitting on 4+ when most armies will be hitting on 5-6+ after moving. Finally, at short range you become very deadly indeed coming in with S4 shots hitting on 3+. And all this for 1 point more than the High Elf equivalent...you cant complain with those results!

The downsides are that you have 0 armour meaning you cant take much punishment especially when you are toughness 3. This has been made even worse in 8th since magic has had a bit of a boost meaning your armour-less archers become ideal targets and there is very little you can do to combat that.

Command
When it comes to Glade Guard you want to keep them cheap since they are vulnerable and any ranged or magic attention will seriously hurt them. This means a command group is pretty pointless on the surface. Look deeper and you will see that they can be very helpful overall. Champions are pretty much useless, the extra +1 BS wont make much difference making him a waste of points. Musicians on the other hand are very good to have around. When a unit charges your glade guard fleeing is often a good tactic and the Musician will let you regroup. Finally the Standard Bearer...you dont want to be in combat so the +1 resolution is not needed however Blood and Glory (Mission) requires standards otherwise you automatically lose the game. Glade Guard are some of the only units able to take them so you might as well. Remember though, if you flee your standard bearer is killed so dont flee unless its ABSOLUTELY necessary. The other bonus is the ability to take a magic standard up to 25 points...which we will go into more detail in a moment.

Tactics
My favorite way to use Glade Guard is to take a few units (3-4) of 10 glade guard usually with musician and possibly standard bearer. You have 3-4 mobile archer units that can just wreck havoc on the enemies lines. Cheap and effective. However you can opt to turn your cheap archers into very expensive Anvils. Taking units of 40-50+ in horde formation you get about 35 shots a turn, just before the enemy charges you reform into 5x10 formation stand and shoot and lock them in combat with steadfast leaving the enemy open for flank charges. You will  want full command and probably a character with Rhymers Harp and maybe even a BSB in or nearby your unit. Its a good idea but i am not a big fan of it. My second favorite idea is to run a unit of 20 Glade Guard with the Banner of Eternal Flame probably with a hero packing the Hail of Doom Arrow. You have a rather mobile unit getting 20 flaming shots a turn making you ideal for taking down regenerating monsters, flammable targets and more importantly damaging units in buildings as you get Rerolls to wound when attacking such units. And having your noble throw out 3-18 shots with his arrow once per game also flaming you have some serious firepower. Have them supported by 2 units of 10 glade guard and your good to go. Optionally you can combine this tactic with the horde tactic mentioned earlier but that is up to you!


Scouts
So far i have only mentioned Glade Guard, however for 5 points more you can upgrade them to scouts. Scouts lose their S4 bows however become skirmishers with the Scout special rule. They can take command options as usual but cant have more than 10 elves per unit and unfortunately you can only take 1 unit of scouts per unit of glade guard.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Being Skirmishers makes you much harder to hit with ranged attacks esspecially if you keep in cover (forests for example) making you a bit more survivable, you are also much more maneuverable thanks to being able to March and Shoot giving you a total range of 40" with no penalty when moving and shooting. Finally, with the scout rule you can deploy further up the field and use them as harassers, lone character assassins and war machine hunters.

Unfortunately they are very expensive to take, their bows are only S3, they still have no armour and are just not that effective in game. They are basically a poor mans Way Watchers who are ironically over priced scouts...when it comes to our scout units unfortunately they just don't perform as well as we would like (more on Way Watchers later!).

Tactics
Lone Characters are common in fantasy whether it be a Mage trying to get into a key position, a character mounted on a flying mount or monster etc. Using your scouts you can get into a good position and use your high volume of fire to weaken or kill the target early before he causes trouble later on. War Machines are a bit issue for wood elves as we have very few reliable units able to handle them, scouts are a good way of taking them out thanks to their scout move and long ranged weaponry and maneuverability. Wizard Protection...believe it or not scouts make for good wizard body guards since they are so resilient to ranged attacks thanks to being skirmishers. A small unit of 5 can keep you wizard pretty safe throughout the game. Harassers, because they move 10" a turn and can still fire (accurately) they can run circles around larger infantry blocks and their is not much the enemy can do to stop you...using this to your advantage is key.

Overall
Glade Guard are almost a must have unit in any army (out side of a themed list) and scouts, whilst full of weaknesses can be used to achieve certain things...even if it is for a extortionate price!

Look out for more tactics!

Azeebo

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 3 - The Treeman Ancient

Hey guys and welcome to Part 3 of my Wood Elf Unit Tactics series, today we are looking at the Treeman Ancient.

How do you describe the Treeman Ancient in 1 word? Anvil. When it comes to survivability this guy everything we have access to and most other anvils in the game. As you might expect being a Treeman he is not only tough but very strong and when he comes in with 5 +D6 attacks he can take the pain and dish it in equal measure.

Spites
There are 2 things that seperate the Treeman Ancient from the regular Treeman:

1. Leadership
2. Spites

Spites are pretty average across the board (represented by the low points cost) however 2 spites really stand out and are almost must haves when taking your Ancient.

Cluster of Radiant's 

A cheap item that literally gives you +1 Dispel dice per magic phase. This is the ONLY spite that Elves cannot take so when you have the opportunity to grab it you might as well! The added magic defense is a blessing especially for the cost.

Annoyance of Netlings

Often considered the most annoying item in Fantasy is the AoN. In a challenge your foe has a 1 in 6 chance of hitting you...this + high toughness means you are not going to be killed easily in a challenge and since you hit so hard in combat most things will then die seconds later. Whats more is, people will very often accept a challenge from an Ancient simply because they dont want their unit losing 6-11 models a turn in combat, and if they decline the challenge well their character simply wont be able to harm you that  phase...its literally a win win situation. 

*Tip: Never forget your overkill bonus! Just because a champion only has 1 wound, you can get up to +6 combat res for killing him! This can win you some combats!

Anvil Tactics

I have mentioned a few times that the Ancient is a great anvil, and as you might of guessed with AoN he becomes almost unstoppable. What makes him much better than many anvils is the fact he is Ld9 with Stubborn and immune to psychology. This means your Ancient will rarely, if ever, run from a combat, he is completely immune to fear and terror and he is Toughness 6 with 6 wounds. 

Magic

Magic can help your ancient in many ways. Lore of Life for example has an attribute that heals 1 wound for ever life spell cast. Having your weaver near your ancient means without even focusing any attention on the ancient he can heal him back to full strength. Lore of Life also has a toughness increasing spell making him toughness 8-10 finally the lore of life has a dedicated healing spell that can heal your treeman from near death to unharmed in an instant. 

The Lore of Beasts has a spell that increases Toughness up to 9 and another spell that boosts his Attacks to 8 + D6 and his Strength to 9 giving him loads of stopping power and a huge bonus to his offensive capabilities. 

Even the Lore of Athel Loren can lend a hand when it comes to the Ancient. The Hidden Path in particular will make him immune to mundane shooting attacks...so the majority of ranged weaponry will simply be unable to harm him making him even hard to take down. 

Hammer/Unit Support

The Ancient is a fantastic anvil but can also be used as an effective hammer unit since he gets a lot of high strength attacks (more with magic) and he causes terror which are all good things for a hammer. His unit support of course comes from not only his attacks but from his leadership. If he is your general he comes in with an 18" radius of Ld9 which is fantastic as you might imagine. And just to top it all off he has access to 2 Treesinging spells a turn and a powerful ranged attack which is not needed but an added extra.

Downsides?

So far there have been none. But everything has them hidden somewhere and the Ancient is not exception. He is very costly coming in at 350-375 points depending on Spites. Because magic is so dominant in 8th edition he will very likely be taking a seat until larger games of 2000 points and above. And being a Forest Spirit he is susceptible to flaming attack so be warned!

What a way to end the Lords and Heroes section of my tactics, the Ancient is by far my favorite Lord choice for wood elves simply because he such a unique character on the battlefield and can very easily become your enemies worst nightmare!

Look out for Part 4 where we will be looking at the Core units of our book. Until next time!

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 2 - Spellweavers and Spellsingers

Not my model, image from:
http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/mage/latest/03093#detail/IG_322_1

Hey guys and welcome to my second entry to the Wood Elf Unit Tactics. This time we are looking at the Spellweaver and the Spellsinger.

As their name implies these are our high and low level wizards and specialize in casting magic and are not really suited to front line combat like some of our other characters. Due to the lores of magic we have available they are mainly used as unit support rather than magic damage dealers, but lets take a deeper look shall we?
*Please note that i have done 2 magic tactics in regards to our lores, please read them for a more in depth look*


Spellsinger's
Spellsinger's are our low level wizards coming in at level 1 with the option to upgrade to level 2 in addition they can only take 50 points of magic items and/or spites and can only use spells from the Lore of Athel Loren. This limits their usefulness in battle as they dont have the magical prowess to tackle most armies alone, nor do they have the defensive measures to protect you from enemy wizards. This makes them poor primary wizards but makes them great for a secondary wizard to support your higher tier wizards.

Lore of Athel Loren
This lore is often considered the biggest downfall of the Spellsinger and when compared to the other lores of magic our stronger wizards can take, its hard not to disagree. However there are a few spells that deserve special mention that are great to have in just about any army. Spellsinging is our signature spell and gives you D3+1" movement of forests and causes damage to any unit that is within a forest. A nice spell and certainly worth taking (check out my forest tactics). The Hidden Path grants immunity to mundane shooting attacks which is very effective when you want a fragile unit and/or an expensive unit to get to the enemy without being shot to pieces. Ariels Blessing grants regeneration similar to the Lore of Lifes only better as it can be cast on any unit as opposed to just the unit your caster is in. And call of hunt which increases mobility and attack potential. If you take a level 2 wizard you will nearly always want treesinging (if you plan to use forest tactics) and 1 of the mentioned spells above. This gives you some good strong magic that you can cast in conjunction with your level 4.

Items of worth
There are not many items worth taking for a Spellsinger as you dont want them to become to expensive however 1 or 2 items are certainly viable:

1. Wraitstone: An expensive item, but useful none the less. This reduces all enemy units within 6" leadership by 1. This is great for getting that extra edge in combat and making your enemy pass those break, terror, fear and panic checks.
2. Moonstone of Hidden Ways: Teleport between 2 forests once per game...great item letting you set up ambushes or escape a dire situation unharmed. 
3. Calingor's Stave: Lets you move forests further per cast which is certainly a good thing. This is one of those items that you would never put on a spellweaver but has a nice home on a low level singer.
4. The Deepwood Sphere: A nasty piece of equipment that lets you reroll the distance forests move, the damage caused by treesinging and to add insult to injury every enemy model in the same forest as the bearer suffers a S5 hit...this is just a nasty item that can really damage an unsuspecting enemy. This is my No.1 items for Spellsinger's.
5. A Lamentation of Despairs: A cheap one use only bound spell that can instantly kill an unsuspecting general, wizard etc. It isn't very reliable but cheap enough to combo with other items.

Spellweaver's

These are our powerhouse casters, and whilst not as potent as other races they do add some much needed magic to your army keeping your army fighting fit throughout the battle. Weavers come in at Level 3 and have the option to upgrade to level 4, have 100 points to spend on additional equipment and/or spites and have access to the lores of Athel Loren, Life and Beasts. In most games you should be bringing a level 4 wizard just for the anti magic defense they provide as our army is especially weak to offensive magic (magic missiles are a common bane).

Lore of Athel Loren

Perfect for a Singer...its not so good for your Weavers. The spells may be good but they don't really match up with the power of the other lores so not really suited for your already disadvantaged wizard. If you bring 2 Weavers then this lore is certainly viable but certainly not if this is your only level 4 wizard.

Lore of Life

The most common lore taken by wood elf players simply because of its awesome unit buffing properties. It lets you regenerate, increase toughness and raise the dead as well as containing one of the most feared spells in the game Dwellers...This lore is simply perfect for wood elves and is esspecially effective when used on Forest Spirits (toughness 6-8 Dryads? YES PLEASE).

Lore of Beasts

Another heavy buff lore this one is nearly all about increasing the damage potential. Whilst it contains some damage based spells its real power comes in the form of Wyssans Wildform, Pann's Impenetrable Pelt and Savage Beast of Horros. Wyssans is my favorite Signature spell in the game as it boost strength and toughness of a unit and can be stacked and spammed allowing you to make some truly devastating units in combat. Pann's is great for buffing your weak characters (aka all our characters) by making them Toughness 6. It just adds that extra bit of survivability and when added to a Treeman Ancient you have an unstoppable anvil. However Savage Beast takes the cake, +3 attacks +3 Strength and can be cast on evey character within 12". Remember those Highborns i talked about last time? This spell makes them EVEN more powerful. Some examples being the Ranged character with bow of lore + arcane bodkins. He now gets 8 shots that ignores armour, Ragfire Blades + Potion of foolhardiness would be hitting with 10 S7 attacks...heck even Treeman Ancients benefit greatly coming in with 8 S9 attacks and D6 thunderstomp attacks. Those 3 spells make this lore worth considering and depending on your army and play style this could be more beneficial than Life.

Items of Worth

A small list of worthwhile items not yet mentioned:

1. The Rhymers Harp: Grants ward saves and allows the unit to move through difficult terrain unhindered...expensive but very useful
2. Wand of the Wych Elm: Allows you to reroll all dispel attempts...anyone can see the benefits of this item
3. Talisman of Preservation: Gives the bearer a 4++ ward save making you harder to kill when those assassins come after you!
4. Divination Orb: Extra dispel dice when the enemy uses a certain number of power dice to cast a spell...cheap and effective.
5. Book of Ashur: +1 to casting and dispel attempts...its worth considering. It is rather expensive however.

Hope this helps you when you come to deciding your wizards...just remember that even though Singers are inferior to Weavers they still have a place in armies and should not be overlooked!

Wood Elf Unit Tactics Part 1 - Highborns and Nobles

Welcome to the first entry in the Wood Elves Unit Tactics. Today we will be looking at Highborn's and nobles.

A Highborn/Noble can fill many roles on the battlefield since he has a fantastic statline, some great wargear and a rock solid leadership. Whether you want a 1 hit pony Assassin, Unit Support, High Damage Dealer or Tank the Highborn/Noble will be able to fill these roles pretty well.

Assassin
Wood Elves can suffer greatly if exposed to Monsters, Wizards and Warmachines luckily for us we have some really powerful character builds that help tip the balance in our favor and put us down the road to victory. The idea behind an Assassin is to hit a key target and kill it in the first round of combat because chances are you will only get one shot and if you mess up your dead. Due to the risk involved in running such characters Highborns are rarely used, and the cheaper Nobles tend to make up the Assassin builds ranks. To succeed as an Assassin you need both hitting power and mobility. The key to mobility is to either be Altered or ride a Great Eagle, here are some ideas:

Alter Assassins
*Remember Alter Kindred gives you +1 attack, M9 and I9


Noble
Alter Kindred
Helm of the Hunt
Rageths Wildfire Blades
Potion of Strength/Potion of Foolhardiness

This guy packs a mighty punch and is one hell of a monster slayer. If you take the Potion of Strength (slightly more expensive) you are coming in with 6 S7 Flaming Attacks. This is brutal against just about anything but especially against Wizards and Monsters. Since you are negating regeneration you will really pile on the hurt when fighting things like Trolls, Hell Pits, Hydras or regenerating characters, you are also very effective at taking out Flammable units such as Tomb Kings/Princes and Treemen. If you take the Potion of Foolhardiness  you get 7 S4 Flaming Attacks however you are also immune to psychology when you charge which means the bigger monsters which would cause terror wont effect you so whilst you sacrifice raw hitting power you gain extra attacks and don't run the risk of crapping your pants when you come to charge!

Highborn

Alter Highborn

Sword of Bloodshed

Helm of the Hunt

Potion of Strength

This guy comes in with 9 Strength 7 attacks...he is devastating when he first gets into combat and should be able to take out just about any character he comes across. Not quite as effective as the ragfire combo against monsters but when it comes to slaughtering characters this guy is your man in most cases. 

Noble

Alter Kindred

Spirit Sword

This guy is VERY risky. When he works he works very well, when he doesn't...well...you really doesn't. His sword lets him instant kill just about anything in the game...however it has a chance of instantly killing you if it doesnt work right. None the less you have 4 S4 attacks and you have the potential to kill anything...

Highborn

Alter Kindred

Spirit Sword

Amber Pendant

Potion of Foolhardiness 

A much more expensive version of the noble but also a bit more powerful. Your sword obviously is the same but with a higher leadership it is going to be killing your foe more often than yourself. Your potion gives you an extra attack (so 6 over all) and your pendant makes it so all enemies in base contact strike last...very good when your trying to assassinate high elves! He is more expensive, more reliable but oddly more risky at the same time.

Eagle Assassins

* Remember that an eagle grants you +1 wound and +2 S4 attacks and a S4 Stomp attack on infantry

Eagle assassins are a little different from you alter assassins. Alters generally go after characters or monsters and take them out whilst the eagle is much more suited for tackling warmachines thanks you increased movement. 

Noble

Great Eagle

Hail of Doom Arrow

Light Armour

Shield

Spear

This is a pretty bare bones eagle assassin, and that's all your really need. Your eagle gives you some extra combat punch so buying extravagant weapons is overkill in most cases so paying for some cheap armour to give you some defense is preferable and having the HoDA you have some something to do turn one. 

As you might expect alter kindred builds work very well with eagle builds but be warned an eagle is a much more attractive target and does not have the staying power to take a cannon ball or a few arrows...be warned!

Damage Dealers

Damage dealers excel at...you guessed it...DEALING DAMAGE! Similar to the assassin, but instead of being a 1 trick pony you want him to deal consistent damage over the course of the game as opposed to insane damage then death. 

Ranged Death Dealers

These guys basically wreak havoc from a range.

Noble

Asyendi's Bane

Hail of Doom Arrow

Re-rolling his misses with standard shots his trump card is his explosive 3D6 S4 arrows he gets to unleash once per game...granted his bow doesn't work when you fire the arrows he is still doing some damage...or at least has the potential to do some damage to the lightly armored troops. 

Highborn

Alter Kindred (optional)

Bow of Loren

Arcane Bodkins

Briarsheath (if Alter)

This guy is THE bane of all things heavily armored. Packing 4-5 (depending on altered or not) armor ignoring shots a turn...he can potentially take down a unit of knights single handed which is fantastic considering we dont have much that can do that reliably. Briarsheath is only useful if you are altered because it makes it harder for enemies to shoot at you...always a positive! 

Highborn

Alter Kindred (optional)

Bow of Loren

Starfire Arrows

Briarsheath (if Alter)

This is almost identical to the build before however it serves a different purpose! Spamming panic. Whilst not as effective overall as other builds it can be very detrimental to some armies (Goblin Hordes for example) as every wound you inflict on a unit results in a PANIC CHECK!!!!  So if your foe is out of range of a BSB and/or general there is a chance he could flee the moment you set your eyes on him... isn't that just grand?

Combat Death Dealers

Kill things up close and personal...

Noble

Sword of Might

Helm of the Hunt

Potion of Foolhardiness

Light Armour

Shield

Sort of like an assassin but not quite. 5 S5 attacks on the charge gives you a nice little kick to your combat offensive. Cheap and effective at dealing damage and supporting your units in the thick of combat. Whats not to like?

Highborn

Forest Dragon

Stone of Crystal Mere

The Dawn Spear

Armour of Fortune

Shield

This guy is a bit of a beast. He has a 3+ Armour Save, 3++ ward save for him and his dragon until it is failed once, and then a 5++ ward save for himself and if he wounds a unit, everyone in the unit is at -1 to hit ANY unit for a turn. Add to this the dragons attacks, breathe weapon and thunderstomp and you have some serious damage potential. Just makes sure he is supported by something since you don't want to loose your super expensive dragon lord! (I would keep this guy until 3000 points and above).

Tank

To be honest there are not many ways of tanking (holding an enemy up) with Highborn's themselves as we only have toughness 3 and are not known for their high armour. We can however make our units into effective tanks using the Crown of Command granting stubborn to the unit he is in. You can essentially place this character into any unit and they will become very hard to shift (when mounted on a Stag in a unit of treekin for example).

Unit Support

These guys are not really meant to be dealing damage...they have other uses that are arguable more useful!

Battle Standard Bearer

This guy literally has a bubble of awesome following him around. Anyone in this 12" bubble gets rerolls to failed leadership tests which means our army is much harder to break! Whats not to like about that?!?! Having your general within the same radius makes this even better. 

Moonstone Users

Certain units benefit greatly from the Moonstone of Hidden Paths...basically it teleports a unit from 1 forest to another...this lets you lay some cunning ambushes and REALLY supports units such as Wild Riders and Wardancers. Something to think about.

Conclusion

These are just some of the ideas you can use when designing your Highborn or Noble, these may not be the best but are my personal favorites when going to battle! Just because Wizards rule the roost doesnt mean we cant use these wonderful units to great effect!

Azeebo