Librarium Online Forums banner

Dori's Wood Elf Tactica

4K views 26 replies 7 participants last post by  Wolf_Pack 
#1 · (Edited)
Dori’s Wood Elf Tactica

PART I-CORE UNITS

Lets’ start this off with the uses of each unit and how it performs compared to the others of its kind.

Core

Glade Guard-Ok lets see…the average unit size is 10-12. S4 at short range will help a lot against T3 enemies and you can still move and shoot without penalty. Therefore your short Range for your Glade Guard Longbows is 20�. When deploying them, if your opponent sets up directly on the line, deploy 1� behind the line. The average man would get there in 3 turns while the average dwarf gets there in 4 turns. This is assuming there is no March blocking. When deploying 1� before your line, the opponents army will fail there charge (because they would probably assume that you deployed on the line), while you stand and shoot and therefore they will have to wait another turn to try to charge you. This protects your Glade Guard from being charged with anything less than an elf ( oh and when facing elves just deploy 2� instead of 1�).

Summary
1) Deploy 1� (or 2) behind line for an extra turn of shooting.
2) Short Range at 20� (if you move)
3) Never underestimate the power of S4 arrows…

Dryads-These guys are probably one of the best Core skirmishers in the WHFB world. With their good survivability and 2 attacks they are a foe to be reckoned with. Not to mention they Cause fear. I use these for mainly Flank Attacks, to aid my other units such as my wardancers and wild riders. Also they provide a good screen from missile fire to protect your vulnerable wardancers. All of this and its one of the cheapest models in the wood elf arsenal. Usually people won’t use big units of these unless fielding a tree spirit army. Two units of 8 have more potential and are more maneuverable than one unit of 16…although the person who took second at the German GT (I think it was) had two big units of Dryads.

Summary
1) Screen Wardancers
2) Good for flank charges
3) Awesome survivability
4) Use them in units of 8-10 instead of bigger, less maneuverable units

Glade Riders-Although these guys don’t look like much compared to Wild Riders they have their distinct advantages. First off while Wild Riders get all the bonuses they have with the loss of their bow, they also are Immune to Psychology. This means they cannot flee as a charge reaction, therefore making them unable to bait units. Also Glade Riders can pepper their enemy up with firepower while March blocking and also possibly baiting the unit and opening up their flanks. But watch out for enemy cavalry…it would not be wise to bait them for they can probably catch you and overrun you (if your that close). All Wild Riders get is more survivability and better combat skills.

Summary
1) Glade Riders are more Tactically Flexible
2) Wild Riders are meant for combat so use them for combat
3) Although 5 Glade Rider shots may not seem like anything, it can still force a panic test on the enemy

Eternal Guard- Only core if Highborn is taken. These guys are the best of the Elven Spearmen and with 2 hand weapons and spears there’s no reason they shouldn’t be. So let’s take a unit of 15 for example. Rank them up in 2 ranks, the first 8 and the second 7.
Everyone gets to attack and this totals up to be 23 attacks (without Champion). Place your Eternal Kindred noble in there and give him a Murder of Spites and that’s a potential of 32 attacks…6 of them poisoned! Give them the banner of midwinter (or whatever it is) and you’ll be able to hold any unit while massacring them yourself. They can also be used in smaller units to out maneuver the enemy.

Summary
1) These are the best spearmen in the game
2) 2 hand weapons and spears are GREAT!
3) Can be used in big units (possible to set up a stick trap) or many small units

PART II-SPECIAL UNITS

Wardancer Troupe-being tied for highest WS of any special unit this unit can really lay down some damage. With 2 attacks and +1S on the charge these guys can be quite devastating…
Dance Evaluation-
Whirling Death-Use when your playing Cavalry armies or when in combat with cavalry. Killing blow will chop through knights like butter (mmmmm…Those Chaos Knights are tasty on bread)
Storm of Blades-Use when charging and then each wardancer will have 3 attacks at WS 6 and S4…very deadly to lightly armored troops.
The Shadows Coil-Use when being charged, which shouldn’t happen very much if used correctly.
Woven Mist-I guess this can be used if being charged, but I woul still use the shadows coil if charged.

Summary
1) Use dances wisely…choose the best one for the situation
2) WS 6 is awesome
3) Always get the charge or hope for the best
4) Use in conjunction with dryads

Wild Riders- See Glade Riders for comparison

Warhawk Riders-Although people think of these as to expensive…they have many use to make up for it. First they have 2 wounds each and each of them are unit S2. They should be use for War machine hunting and mage hunting but also can be used for harassing units. Shooting them and then charging in and fleeing with the hit and run rule will really make your opponent mad…if they don’t die before all of this. They also can be used to destroy fleeing units (that were panicked by your Glade Guard or other shooting units). They can be used to help out other units by getting a rear charge.

Summary
1) They may be expensive and vulnerable but still are good if used properly
2) Destroy Fleeing units
3) War Machine Hunting, Mage Hunting
4) Good harasser

Tree Kin- the Ogre type unit of the wood elves, they are expensive but one of the toughest units of the Wood elves (except the treeman). Many people cant find any room to fit them in a 1000 points, let alone 1500 points. But they are good against cavalry and can hold their own while they wait for reinforcements. Their survivablility and attacks will ensure a good flank/rear charge.

Summary
1) Can hold about any unit in a charge
2) Very survivable
3) Can have a deadly Flank charge

Stay tuned for part III
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I don't agree with how you suggested using the dryads. How do you figure they are good at flanking? Shouldn't a ranked unit be used for flanking? Such as glade guard, treekin, wild riders or eternal guard?
 
#3 ·
Maybe Dryads don't negate rank bonuses. But they still grant +1 for flanking and hopefully +1 for outnumbering, not to forget any kills they make. And the kills can potentially remove 1 rank bonus by themselves. The advantage of Dryads above ranked units is a 360* charge.

In the meanwhile you can use that ranked unit of Glade Guard to shoot some more.


Tai'shar
 
#5 ·
6 wide would be best, you can still get them all in combat and you'll have 3 spare models.

The downside of using them as an anchor is that I believe they haven't got any armour, maybe light. Thus if they're charged by knights etc., they'll suffer alot through lack of defense. In that matter Eternal Guard are inferior to HE Spearmen: less armour and if one model dies, they lose 2 attacks instead of 1.
Using Eternal Guard as holding and pinning blocks I agree with. But then on the offense. The new WE are always used best on the offense. Though offensive with tactical judgement, not headlong and blindly offensive.


Tai'shar
 
#6 ·
their armor save is 5+ no matter what they're armed with...due to their eternal guard fighting style. If you have a ranked unit of EG then if you lose one it will be taken from the back rank therefore only taking away 1 attack because their spear staves only count as spears in the second rank.

disagree with your Eternal Guard tactics- They're much better with ranks as Dryad/Wardancer support.
well not if you use the MSU playing style(Multible Small Units)
if your doing this then you would take multiple units of 10-12 eternal guard and outmaneuver the enemy and win combat through wounds not ranks.
 
#7 ·
Dori said:
their armor save is 5+ no matter what they're armed with...due to their eternal guard fighting style. If you have a ranked unit of EG then if you lose one it will be taken from the back rank therefore only taking away 1 attack because their spear staves only count as spears in the second rank.
You remove models from the back for ease of play. For game play purposes, the kills are assumed to have come from the front. Therefore if your EG unit takes one wound, one model from the front will have died, and two attacks will have been lost. Of course, the champion and any characters may always strike back unless attacks have been directed at them.

Have you all seen the tactica up from GW? It looks good, covers a lot of the basics, and promises more tactica in Black Gobbo and WD.



 
#8 ·
ive seen the tactica by GW and i found it quite satisfying...

so they would lose 2 attacks...but wouldnt they get the 2 attacks when the other troops piled in?

i thought the model in front dies, the back ones pile in therefore making them part of the first rank. therefore when retaliating the model that piled in would count as being in the front rank and therefore count as using 2 hand weapons. I mean it would make more since for this to happen since the front rankwould be closer to the enemy to get in the extra attack when the second rank wouldn't get the extra attack because they only can use them as spears when farther away...
 
#11 ·
You made a good attempt thought dori, thanks for all of your input and time.
 
#12 ·
Dori, for the ranks, look at it this way: while the warrior in the first rank is slain, the Elf in the second rank strikes like with a spear. When inmediately steps forward, it's already the following round of combat.

It might be early, but now following tactica writers have examples. Or people can expand this tactica over time.
You've got to start somewhere. ;)

Tai'shar
 
#19 ·
Shall we start with a larger part of a tactica, the army types, units & caracters available to them?

Mixed and Balanced List
Available:
All Caracters
All Units

Army principles:
Using a very balanced army list combining speed, march blocking fire support and multiple charges, this WE list can take on any and all lists, althought may be weaker Vs certain army specific list.
The variety of unit choices makes the army versatile, but WE list tend to lack a proper magical phase, but host a healthy amount of dispelling power.

This list will maike use of the full potential the WE army can bring to the tabletop.

Elven List
Available:
Caracters
Highborn, Spell Weaver, Spell Singer, Noble
Units
Glade Guard, Glade Riders, Scouts, Eternal Guard, Warhawk Riders, Waywatchers, Wardancers, *Wild Riders

*Wild Riders are not hardcore elves but can tag along just fine.

Army Principles:
Using the general principle to the mixed list, this one need a bit more finesse and skill to play, leaving behind the dryads and treekin wich give a good punch and psychology to the game.
Still very versatile, this list will tend to rely on points denial and chirurgical precision strikes to claim victories, picking your fights becomes paramount.

Cavalry List
Available:
Caracters
Highborn, Spell Weaver, Spell Singer, Noble

Units
glade Riders, Warhawk Riders, Wild Riders, *Waywatchers

* not a cavalry unit, but will do the very important job of war machine/mage hunting, the 2 major weaknesses of this list.


Army Principles:
Speed. The whole list is based on fast cavalry units and flyers, and a single skirmish unit, this will give a deal of manouvering opportunities allowing rear/flank charges with greater ease.
Using considerable units of wild riders for the fear factor on the charge, and small units of glade riders to flank rear, a properly set up offense will autobreak even the toughest unit your opponent can bring. Again, choosing your fights will be paramount.
The limited unit choice could be a composition problem.
Suprisingly, this list is the most effective for Static CR, your cavalry will remove rank bonuses, add 1 if you have a decent size unit of Glade or Wild riders, a standard , and Numbers (cavalry counts as 2).

Forest Spirit List

Available:
Caracters
Treeman Ancient, Branchwraith, Noble, Spell Singer
Units
Dryads, Wild Riders, Treekin, Treeman

Army Principles:
Psychology. The forest spirit status is far greater than the Daemon Status (no instability!) and makes this list headstrong, allowing little space for error (since you can't choose to flee from a charge).
Use fear to your advantage. Get those sneaky units of dryads in position, then bring in a good hard hitting unit (Treekin, Treeman, Wild Riders) and give it your best shot at the autobreak, otherwise after the charge you might get stuck in a sticky mess, with close to no static CR.

SpellSinging List
Available:
Caracters
Spell Weaver, Spell Singer, Branchwraith, Noble
Units
Dryads, Glade Riders, Warhawk Riders, Waywatchers, Wardancers, Treeman

Army Priciples
The true point denial list WE can have, this list as no Static CR at all, relies on the support of small fast units to operate, mostly to cover the mages. The enemy ends up chasing shadows, as the whole list can dance around the battlefield nearly untouched.
This list also uses the full potential of the WE magical items, great arcane, Talisman and enchanted goodies are used to a deadly intent.

How is this? Feel free to tear this apart, these are my personnal views afterall.
Also, next up could be caracter kiting?
 
#20 ·
Ehe, this's going the right way. ;)

What about an aggressive army? Wardancers and Dryads. Supported by some cavalry/heavy troops/GG. Of course a Wardancer Noble.


Tai'shar
 
#21 ·
Never seen or herd of it, but I can see the concept.

Aggressive List
Available:
Caracters
Highborn, Noble, Branchwarith
Units
Dryads, Eternal Guard, Wardancers, Wild Riders, Treekin, Warhawk Riders, Treeman

Army Principles:
Mainly working up on setting choose charges and receiving charges this list will make a good use of the Eternal Guard, thier Stubborness makes them a very good charge taking unit, an leading your opponent right into them is the general consensius, then bringing unit the more Elite units for support.
This list lacks any shooting or magic, relying on brutish strength to save the Day.
 
#23 ·
Will do, I just need to had caracter builds and types.

Highborn

The WE Highborn is one most the most versatile caracters in the game, having acces to spites, magical items of all kinds and kindred, the possibilities are nearly endless, but here's a few of my personal liking.

The Hitman
Alter Kindred, Great Weapon, Bow Of Loren, Arcane Bodkins, Glamourweave

Operating long the flanks of friendly units, the hitman can dish out a good deal of damage to heavily armoured units with the Bow of Loren, and can take on skirmishing units, warmachines, and mages wiith is charge range of 18''

The Easy Rider
Wild Rider Kindred, Armour of the Fay, Spear Of Twilight, Annoyance of netlings
Great Stag or Elven Steed.

A nice hard hitting caracter with a 5+ Daemonic ward, and when your opponent uses a maigcal weapon, a 4+ ward! Great for challenges thanks to the Spear of Twilight & Annoyance of Netlings, 4 attacks on the charge and 5 afterward.

The Sneaky Git
Waywatcher kindred, Second Hand weapon, Blight of Terror, Hail of Doom Arrow/Wraith Stone

Infiltrating the enemylines, he can start the game right in the face of mages or caracters, and go for warmachines and skirmishing units, disrupting and march block with a relative ease.
Causing Terror, you can lay low untill mid game and start running around causing terror tests and disrupting furthermore your opponent's battle plans.

The Team Player
Eternal Kindred or none with Great Weapon, Rhymer's Harp, Annoyance of Netlings

This guy is a true team player, putting the safety of the unit before his, but can still make it out fine thank's to the annoyance of netlings. Great for your Eternal Guard units.

the Deadly Duo
there are 2 ways to kit this guy:

Green Dragon, Spirit Sword, Stone Of Crystal Mere
Or
Green Dragon, Great Weapon, Bow Of Loren & Arcane Bodkins, Stone Of Crystal Mere

This Guy provides you with a nasty mount with a 3+ ward save along with that 3+ Scaly Skin save a serious combat threat to any general. Either as a a mobile shooting platform (remember the dragon's breath attack right?) or a big guy hunter (the spirit sword and Ld 10, priceless).

That's it for the Highborn, I'll be back with the Spell Weaver/Singer and later the Noble/Branchwraith.

Feel free to tear these apart or add your own, these are only my personnal opinion
 
#25 ·
The WE Magic is a very limited avenue, but the Diverse casters and items can make up for the limited but specialised Lore Of Athel Loren.

Spell Weaver

The lord level mage for WE, he's got acces to a single kindred, something that bothers me a bit.

The Magical Wall
lv 4 caster, Wand Of Wych Elm, ranu's Heartstone/cluster of radiants

A great way to get shut down a magical phase, and still cast off a few spells of is own.

The Tree Shaper
Calaingor's Stave, Deepwood Sphere, Moonstone Of Hidden Ways

Multitasked, and very abusive of the treesinging, greatly useful to move around the battlefied untouched or scorch units alive with S5 hits.

Spell Singer

Generally used as a scroll cady by most WE Generals, he can be of great support to a Spell Weaver, and be supported by a branchwraith in lower point games.

Cady
2 dispell scrolls

you guess is use right?

Mini Shaper
Calaingor's Stave, Ranu's Stone/Deepwood Sphere

Same concept as the Tree Shaper, on smaller game size
 
#26 ·
Wolf_Pack said:
Will do, I just need to had caracter builds and types.

Highborn

The WE Highborn is one most the most versatile caracters in the game, having acces to spites, magical items of all kinds and kindred, the possibilities are nearly endless, but here's a few of my personal liking.

The Hitman
Alter Kindred, Great Weapon, Bow Of Loren, Arcane Bodkins, Glamourweave
I was thinkig about the Briarsheath on this fellow. And additional -2 (skrimishing, armor) to hit will leave the most proficient shooters at a 5 to hit him before any other modifiers. But I suppose that doesn't help against magic missiles like the glamor weave does.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top