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

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!

Picking the Best Lore for your Army

Hey guys, Azeebo here

So Wood Elves have 3 magic lores in which to choose from which gives us less variety than other races but your choice of lore is vitally important... especially in smaller games where you can only field 1 high level wizard.

The Lore of Athel Loren
This is our default lore and is the ONLY lore level 1 and 2 wizards can take. The lore itself is not terrible however its use is a elite and situation based as the Wood Elves themselves. Here is a quick run down of the list:

1. Tree Singing (4+): This spell is our Signature Spell. It allows us to deal tremendous amounts of damage to enemy units even partially within a wood and allows us to move woodland terrain around the board. To top it all off it is very cheap to cast. 
2. Fury of the Forest(6+): A magic missile with an 18" range. It deals Strength 4 hits so is rather effective however if an enemy is in or within 6" of a forest they take Strength 5 hits instead which can deal with heavy infantry making this cheap spell a good addition overall.
3. The Hidden Path(7+): An odd spell, but useful none the less. A single unit within 18" ignores all penalties for moving through terrain (treats all terrain as open ground) and cannot be harmed AT ALL by non magical missile weapons. The uses for this spell are nearly endless, here are a few examples: A unit of Dryads marching towards an Empire gun line? Their powder based weaponry cant harm them. A Treeman in danger of being hit by a Cannon Ball (usually a death sentence)? This spell will prevent that. Beware of anything magical however (most Dwarf Cannons) as this spell will have no effect.
4. The Twilight Host(8+): Another odd spell, it grants the Fear special rule to a single unit. Fear itself is not very effective in 8th, and most things you want in combat already cause it making this part of the spell useless. The more beneficial side is that it makes Fear causing units cause Terror instead which is a bit more useful. Unfortunately it is a bit pricey in terms of power dice to cast and in 8th edition it doesn't really have much of an impact.
5. Ariel's Blessing(9+): This is a very potent spell that can add a lot of durability to a unit. A unit within 18" gains Regeneration...this is much more potent than the Lore of Life's equivalent and due to its low casting value for what it does this is a great spell to have flying around your battle line.
6. The Call of the Hunt(11+): The final spell in the Lore of Athel Loren and this odd lore ends with a bang. With an 18" range any unit targeted that is in close combat gains additional attacks. This makes units like Dryads even more effective and can really give you an edge in combat as you might well imagine. The other side of the coin is if it is cast on a unit NOT in combat that unit moves 2D6" towards the nearest visible enemy, if they make contact with an enemy it is classed as charging however the enemy can only use Hold as its reaction. Basically, this spell lets you deal a tonne of damage, move important units faster or fix a failed charge. This is a winner no matter how you look at it.

For a more in depth look at the lore check out this post:

http://wanderersglade.blogspot.com/2011/06/lore-of-athel-loren-and-its-uses.html

Overall this lore is perfect for the tactical gamer. Nothing in the lore is overly powerful but nearly every spell has a specific use to counter a weakness of our race and with a bit of mind control using the tips found in the above link, this lore becomes VERY powerful. If you want to use it without the dedication of a high level wizard Spell Singers are cheap and can pack quite the punch with this lore. 

The Lore of Life

This lore is the most popular and one of the most powerful lores in the game. Why? It makes your army extremely hard to kill. Spells that increase toughness, regenerate wounds, increase damage potential, increase magical prowess and more! This lore is just NASTY. 

Life Bloom: This is the lores special attribute. Whenever a Life spell is cast, the wizard or any model within 12" instantly heals a wound. This is HUGE for us. We can heal our Treemen and Treekin without even casting spells directly at them keeping them alive and kicking! Considering the 2 units mentioned are some of our most powerful units keeping them alive longer is a great idea.

1. Earth Blood(8+): Basically, this spell grants a weaker version of the Regeneration rule. Its not really worth the investment in power dice without Throne of Vines since its a pricey spell and doesn't really do much compared to its beefier version. It is your Signature spell however so you can always have this spell no matter what you roll when picking your spells.
2. Awakening of the Wood(6+): A spell that is very similar to Fury of the Forest. You deal D6  hits, however if the enemy is partially in a wood it instead does 2D6 hits. Not bad for its cost, but certainly a spell to drop for Earth Blood if you have the opportunity. 
3. Flesh to Stone(8+): Now we are talking. This gives a single unit an INSANE toughness boost making even the weakest of models tough and the toughest of models invincible. When boosted with throne of vines its even more potent. This spell is rightly feared by players everywhere.
4. Throne of Vines(8+): Do you like your spells to be more powerful? Do you like not exploding with a miscast? Do you enjoy watching your immortal legions destroy the enemy? THIS IS THE SPELL FOR YOU! This lore is great without it and AMAZING with it. Pray to Isha you roll this spell every game.
5. Shield of Thorns(9+): Basically this spell is a waste of potential greatness. Its not that its BAD but like Awakening of the Wood you would MUCH rather any other spell in the lore to this. It deals damage to units in base contact with the targeted unit. Not bad like i said...but not great either.
6. Regrowth(12+): The spell to get...this spell literally brings the dead back to life. Have throne of vines active and watch a entire units of dryads and glade guard return to full strength when they are nearly wiped out. A mighty spell to have at your disposal.
7. The Dwellers Below(18+): So far, the general rule of this lore is: If it doesn't make you indestructible its not worth it. This spell is the exception. Basically target a unit and there is a very high chance the majority of the unit will suddenly fall into a pit and die horribly. Whats not to like?

This lore takes the trophy, It is just so good. No spells are BAD but 2/3 of the damage based spells just dont compare to the buff spells. If you want your army to be tougher than dragons then  this is the lore for you!

The Lore of Beasts

This is an...odd lore. It doesn't really make sense to use it most of the time but if you look deeper into it you may find something you love. Life has some competition!

Wild heart: This is the lores special attribute. Erm...its crap. Well not really, its OK but compared to ANY OTHER lore attribute it just doesn't compare. You will likely forget it is there, and if you do remember it wont actually do much.

1. Wyssans Wildform(10+): Grants +1 modifiers to strength and toughness to an entire unit. A great spell and since its a signature spell you can spam it to hell and back. Watch as your dryads become tougher than Ogres, your Treekin become tougher as a dragon and Treemen become gods. Oh, and elves are given a nice boost. Cast this on a unit of eternal guard and watch the kills wrack up! Best signature spell we can take in my opinion.
2. The Flock of Doom(5+): A bunch of low strength hits...just not worth the effort.
3. Pann's Impenetrable Pelt(8+): This is more interesting than you might initially think. Grants a +3 toughness modifier to a single character or to ALL characters for its boosted version.Good stuff. This shines when cast on Nobles and Highborns who are naturally pretty fragile but whats more interesting is you can cast it on Treeman Ancients making them Toughness 9! HURRAH!
4. The Amber Spear(9+): Basically it fires a bolt from a bolt thrower out of your hand. Boosted it fires a cannon ball. Considering we lack this sort of ranged damage its a great spell to have.
5. The Curse of Anraheir(10+): A nasty hex that makes it very difficult for an enemy unit to hit opponents in any phase and makes all terrain dangerous and fatal on a 1 or a 2...ouch.
6. The Savage Beast of Horros(10+): I LOVE this spell. It is just so good for a number of reasons. It grants bonuses to attacks and strength...cool. We have a bow that gets +1 shot for every attack a character has (so 8 in this case), we have arrows that ignore armour...so now we get 8 armour ignoring shots a turn...AWESOME! Your killy close combat characters who are low on strength now have an over abundance of it and almost 2x the attacks...again...awesome! Finally it can be used on TREEMAN ANCIENTS! So you have just given a treeman 8 S9 attacks followed by D6 S9 hits. That is just BRUTAL. Oh and boosted you can cast it on all characters within a certain radius.
7. Transformation of Kadon(16+): You weak wizard transforms into a dragon. Nuff said.

A great lore overall, this is the opposite of life. If you want aggression in your armies take this lore every time. Damn those treeman ancients become insane!!! 

Hope this helps

-Azeebo

Lore of Athel Loren and its uses

Hey guys, Azeebo here

Well, everyone and their granny knows that the Lore of Athel Loren is a pretty...meh lore. It doesn't really compare to the Generic Lore's in the 8th Edition Rule Book especially when it is up against the much loved Lore of Life...however i am to change that common view and convince you that Athel Loren is a lore worth exploring in 8th.

How 8th Changed the Battlefield
8th edition brought in a HUGE emphasis on terrain and random battlefield scenarios. This benefits everyone as it lets each game be unique from the last even with  small amount of terrain but more importantly it gives us Wood Elf players a large advantage. A common terrain piece on any fantasy board is the Forest. Forests are very attractive pieces of terrain in 8th because it does not affect infantry movement but it also comes with the Mysterious Terrain rules which dynamically change your perception of the battlefield. These simple changes make 2-3+ forests per table a common place. And lets not forget as wood elves we get a free wood anyway!

Athel Loren
Our most basic spell (Casting Value 4+) is Tree Singing. This spell is extremely easy to cast and has many benefits. The most obvious benefit is of course you can move forest terrain D3+1" in any direction and you can do this as much as you like so long as you have the power dice to do it. Forests harm cavalry so you have a mobile anti cavalry shield following you in the most basic of terms...but that's not why we love this spell! That is just a coincidental benefit! The other use is the D6 S5 hits it does on units that are even partially touching a forest...and did i mention it has infinite range? So anytime, anywhere, anyone enters a forest you can hit them with a cheap D6 S5 hits repeatedly. Nasty stuff indeed. Oh did i forget to mention Tree men get this spell as an innate bound spell? and ancients get to use it twice a turn?

But that's not all! Athel Loren comes with Fury of the Forest, a spell that deals D6 S5 hits if an enemy is within 6" of a forest...powerful stuff. And just to add to the mix Tree men get Strangle Root, another Artillery Dice worth of S5 hits if enemies are within 6" of a forest. You can start to see a pattern forming here.

Making it come together
Now it may seem difficult to get this to work in tandem with other units in your army but in all honesty, it is a lot easier than you think. Lets say you had a unit of 10 Dryads in a forest. You are now stubborn and a unit of...well anything charges you. They are now inside the forest, within 6" of the forest and are about to be beat upon by dryads...never a good thing. Suddenly you 10 stubborn dryads get some magical aid and the S5 hits start to wrack up dealing insane damage to the enemy very quickly. Of course the enemy could try and dispel you but naturally you will have a Life wizard somewhere so stopping a Tree Singing spell doesn't seem so important when you could be casting something like Dwellers if they 'waste' dispel dice.

Example 2 would be moving your forest as if it were a vortex. A citadel wood is 12" by 8", that's a large area. We have 2-3 of these on a board...a very large area...our spells are more potent when within 8" of a wood so now the threat zone is 18" by 14" x 3 = 54" by 42"...that is a MASSIVE threat zone. To add to this you can move the threat zone at will with Tree Singing. Your opponent will learn not to step in or near a forest because if he does he will take damage...this is where the REAL damage happens however...

Using this 'fear' you can predict where your opponent will move his forces to avoid the forests. You can then position yourself to counter the predicted movement path...you are essentially MOVING your opponents army for him. Whats even better is, you don't even have to cast a spell for that to happen. The threat and fear of you casting those spells is enough to keep him out of the forest and away from its boundaries giving you a huge amount of leverage in such battles.

This is just one way of using 2 simple spells from Athel Loren to your advantage.

I hope this brief explanation makes sense,

Look out for more!

- Azeebo