Tactica - Wood Elves Core Choices

Here's my contribution to the tactica for WFB armies. Wood Elves are one of the most rewarding of Warhammer armies to play. In the hands of an inexperienced, or unlucky, general the Wood Elves will be torn apart like the leaves of Athel Loren. However, once you have learned to master the subtleties of their play-style, few other armies can match their speed, skill or accuracy. When you win, and win you will, you can convince yourself it was down to your skill.

WOOD ELVES - CORE UNITS

DRYADS - 12pts
Strengths
The dryad profile is one of the best, point for point, in the game. Above average stats across the board, combined with several special rules make dryads a very effective choice. T4 and a 5+ ward save make dryads pretty resilient to non-magical enemy attacks and the Immune to Psychology rule means that even a small unit cannot be panicked by shooting or magic. This makes dryads an excellent missile screen, ideal for protecting the more fragile Wardancers or Eternal Guard as they advance towards the enemy.

Dryads are fear causers too, which is handy against lower leadership enemy troops. There are several other WE units which cause fear or terror, so combo charges with dryads increase the odds of auto-breaking the enemy. As M5 skirmishers, dryads are extremely manoeuvrable and able to babysit your vulnerable Glade Guard with their 360 LoS. With magic attacks of their own, dryads will cause great pain to ethereal units and to other Forest Spirit units.

Weaknesses
Dryads, like most WE units, have little static combat resolution and rely on winning combat through dishing out a bucket of attacks on the enemy and combining charges with other WE units. For this reason, dryads have little chance of winning combat against decent ranked infantry, even with a flank charge. Dryads cannot break ranks on their own, so are best used in combination with Wild Riders hitting the flank of ranked units.

The Immune to Psychology rule can be a liability with dryads because it means they cannot elect to flee from enemy charges. If hit hard and first, dryads will probably lose in close combat. These days, there are plenty of enemy units who dish out magical attacks (especially DoC andVC) negating the Forest Spirit ward save.

Overall
Dryads are an excellent core choice. At 96 pts for a unit of 8, dryads are an absolute bargain and a balanced WE list really needs at least two of these as a no-brainer. Best skirmishers in the game? Maybe. Best unit size = 8-12


GLADE GUARD - 12pts
Strengths
In theory, Wood Elves are the best archers in the warhammer world. Glade Guard are certainly contenders to be the best archers in the game. With 30" range, Glade Guard longbows can only be outshot by war machines. This gives a huge advantage against handgunners, repeater crossbows and normal bows. In addition, like all Wood Elves, Glade Guard can move and shoot without penalty, making the effective range 35" without loss of accuracy. In reverse, the Glade Guard can also retreat 2.5" per turn and still shoot the enemy without penalty. As an added bonus, Glade Guard longbows are S4 at close range, making their fire a genuine threat to even heavy infantry.

Glade Guard give a psychological advantage to the Wood Elves player too. If the opposing player chooses to ignore the archers, they can pour fire into enemy units all game. If the opposing player goes for those frail looking units, he will chase a retreating line as the WE combat units position themselves for flank and even rear charges. This can lead to indecision.

Weaknesses
Glade Guard are extremely fragile. T3 with no saves of any kind is not likely to survive any kind of contact with the enemy, whether ranged or in CC. If caught by the enemy, a line of Glade Guard will simply evaporate. The upgrades to the Glade Guard are of little practical use. A standard gives free VPs to the enemy in most cases, while a unit champion is unlikely to give any significant benefit to the shooting phase. A musician is the most helpful, as your Glade Guard will probably be running close to the table edge at some point. The scout upgrade (+5 pts) also wins few fans among WE players. Scouts lose their GG longbow +1S at close range and are not as disruptive as Waywatchers. They are simply too expensive to be an effective choice.

Overall
Glade Guard are my favourite core unit choice. According to the WE fluff, Glade Guard should form the backbone of a Wood Elves army, so you shouldn't feel guilty about packing in those archers. With so many units that now are unbreakable, have ASF or are simply nails in combat, shooting from a long way away is also tactially sound these days. I rarely used more than one or two units of Glade Guard when I first started playing. Now I regularly bring four units to every game. Best unit size = 10-12.

GLADE RIDERS - 24pts
Strengths
Glade Riders are very versatile and perform several functions in the WE army. Armed with longbows, Glade Riders can contribute effectively to the shooting phase, while the Fast Cavalry rule means these shots can be placed more surgically than by Glade Guard. Glade Riders can also be used as a support combat unit, as they are one of the few WE units that can break ranks, while their spears give a welcome strength bonus on the charge. Though fragile, Glade Riders can expect to beat enemy skirmishers and missile troops in hand-to-hand combat. Most WE players use Glade Riders in a disruptive role, for march-blocking and bait-and-flee tactics. The Fast Cavalry special rule and the M9 of the elven steed makes Glade Riders especially effective in this role.

Weaknesses
Glade Riders are not quite the same as mounted Glade Guard. They do not have +1S at close range, though this is made up for, in part, by being more likely to be shooting at close range than Glade Guard. Like Glade Guard, Glade Riders are extremely fragile. Extra movement and a 6+AS help to protect them a little, as does the ability to move through woods without penalty, but a magic missile can easily destroy a unit in one turn. At 24pts per model, you cannot afford to throw these guys away without good cause. Again, only the musician upgrade is really worth the points. A standard may be considered on a Glade Rider unit as so few WE units can carry one, but you must choose your targets very carefully for CC, even attacking in the flank or rear.

Overall
I am not a huge fan of Glade Riders. I find Glade Guard a much more effective missile unit, Wild Riders a much more effective Fast Cavalry unit and Great Eagles to be better for march-blocking and baiting. Having said that, only Glade Riders can perform all of these roles, so in smaller points battles where army selection choices are more limited, they become a more viable choice. Best unit size = 5 or 6 with musician.

ETERNAL GUARD - 12pts
Strengths
Eternal Guard are, in fact, only core if the army is led by a Highborn and are special if led by any other general. Eternal Guard are unique as a Wood Elves unit that can fight in ranks (though treekin can also, in theory.) Eternal Guard bring more static combat resolution to the fight than any other WE unit, but they can also deal a large number of attacks. EG in the front rank fight as if armed with two hand weapons, while those in the second rank fight as if armed with spears. This effectively gives EG units 3 attacks per each base. AT WS5, EG can carve through lesser infantry with ease.

If the combat phase goes less well, EG can still stay in the fight. Firstly, EG have a base Ld 9, which is equal to the generals of most other armies. Secondly, if accompanied by a noble or highborn the unit gains the stubborn special rule. This applies even if the character has refused a challenge and is skulking in the back ranks. With a BSB nearby, EG become very difficult to shift indeed.

Weaknesses
Like most WE units, the EG cannot take many punches. WS5 and a 5+ AS go some way to protect the unit, but concentrated missile fire and high strength close combat attacks will quickly decimate the unit. EG are the least manoeuvrable of all WE combat units, though this is by WE standards rather than compared to other armies. The stubborn rule is nice, but there are so many enemy fear-causing units that being auto-broken is still very possible unless you opt for a very large unit. That's when you realise how expensive the EG can be. With full command and noble to lead them, 20 EG can top 400 points.

Overall
Eternal Guard give a Wood Elf player more options. A Treeman will hold the line like Eternal Guard, but is unlikely to ever win combat against massed infantry. EG can not only hold the line but cut the enemy to ribbons too. This is even more the case when considering that most EG units contain a combat oriented character too. Go for the full command upgrade. A champion can divert challenges away from your precious character, while the standard and musician provide essential extra combat resolution. I am very happy to run a unit of EG, but a WE army has to be built around these guys because they dictate your character choices and the support units too. Some players run small units of EG, but I prefer a larger block that can take some punishment as well as deal it out. Best unit size = 15-25


So that's my contribution. Stay tuned for the Wood Elves Special Units tactica.