My very first army ever in any GW system was Wood Elves. I never owned a ton of models because I switched over to Lizardmen after I saw that they were dinosaurs led by bloated space-toads that looked like the end boss of Mario 2. At least the Slann used to look like Wart, the new ones are pretty nice models*. Anyway, with 8th edition around the corner I'm pretty much going to start playing Fantasy again depending on what they do with the rules. I am still torn between Lizardmen and Wood Elves (though in my typical fashion I'll probably play both).
What I want to know is how are the Wood Elves doing? Are they worth getting into at this point or should I wait for an update? Also, if I do decide to start playing them what should be my first purchase (besides the book)?
*Seriously, on a side note, what was the deal with the old metal Slann model? That thing fell apart so easily. I was constantly re-gluing the chair to the bearers. And the banners would break off no matter how I stored them. Plus, he didn't even fit properly in a unit of Temple Guard. The double cavalry bases just didn't fit with the other bases. Furthermore, he looks like he has indigestion, probably because Mario was throwing vegetables at him.
My wife actually plays a small Wood Elf army against my Warriors of Chaos, Daemons of Chaos, Vampires, and Ogres and our roommates Dark Elves, Lizardmen, and High Elves. They do quite well when she plays them right (she goes through "fits" of playing, so sometimes she has to remember).
ReplyDeleteThey do suffer from the same problem as most older armies in that they're very "known" and a lot of the discovery in new combinations and styles has been done. She really enjoys playing them (and so have I when I've taken them for a spin). I really like the all-tree army. She prefers a very shooty list.
All-in-all they're still the fastest army in Fantasy with the, arguably, best shooting and a ridiculous number of skirmishers. Dryads are also an amazing Core choice. If they could rank up, Wood Elves would be, by far, the best army in Fantasy...even if their lore does kind of suck :)
I have a full wood elf army. I can say they are not as common in my playing area as me and one other have armies and run the somewhat often.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience, while everyone knows how your army plays and its Strength and weakness's I have no problem winning games most of the time. My typical list is somewhat magic intensive (I have three mages and a treemen with a bound spell).
Most of the time my losses come from a series of just terrible leadership roles (failing a stubborn leadership 9 with a re-roll) ect. ect. They can strike hard and tear into the opponent well enough. You can play the table quarter game and dance around the opponent completely without ever engaging in HTH if you like and win the game.
Recommendations would be: Glade-riders, dryads, brainch wraiths, treemen, wardancers, and a BSB. That is more or less the core of my army. I also bring warhawk riders and a level 4 mage (only defense against opposing dragons with lore of beasts). Using magic to manipulate either the only tree stand or multiple trees present is a good thing. Also the wood elf lore is not terrible, good supporting spells exists.
If you want to play wood elves stick with it and keep playing games with them. I finished 3rd in my league play against Daemons, new Chaos warriors, and many other "power" build and armies. If you play the army enough you learn how to wield it.
It should be noted, about 2 years go I went to a grand tournament with almost 200 armies present 39 where wood elves, the majority present.