Hey all! Just wanted to start by offering a heartfelt thanks to all who run this site; this is my first post here, but I've been reading it ever since I started playing a few years back, and it's single-handedly the best source of information on Wood Elves I've seen. So there it is; Thanks!

Now, the army; I've played Wood Elves for a little bit now, and recently returned from a local tournament, where I got trounced quite handily. I had some rough match ups, sure, but I am way to competitive to let that sorta thing slide, and as such sat down and tried to figure out where my problems were. In the end, I decided I needed a little more staying power, mobility, and, most importantly, more punch. Since I've always loved Wild Riders, and think Orion is one of our best models (possibly our VERY best) the choice seemed simple. I get ahold of Orion, get more then twice as many Wild Riders, and make a Wild Hunt! It's a bit themed, I realize, but I'm quite ok with that aspect of it. Now then, I suppose I should post the list and see what all you guys think...

575 Orion
172 Wild Rider Noble (Elven Steed, Oaken Armour)
152 Spellsinger (2x Scroll, Elven Steed)

251 8x Wild Riders (Musician, Standard - War Banner)
226 8x Wild Riders (Musician, Standard)
226 8x Wild Riders (Musician, Standard)
153 6x Glade Riders (Musician)
153 6x Glade Riders (Musician)
144 12x Dryads
96 8x Dryads

160 4x Warhawk Riders

50 Great Eagle
50 Great Eagle


Now then, strengths:
-Speed. Obviously, the greatest strength is speed. Every unit has a move of 9 or more, 'cept the 2 Dryad units who are still quite quick.
-Punch. It's about as punchy as I've seen Wood Elves go, and could only get more by adding Alters with great big sticks.
-Durability. While we're still Asrai, a standard of 5+/5+ save is about as strong as we get outside our big trees. Hopefully combined with the punch I can kill units before they swing back, and can survive a few attacks back.

Weaknesses:
-Models. I've got a small model count; I've always played model-lite, so that's not too big a deal, but this is extreme even for me
-Shooting. I've got no shooting phase to speak of; not even a HoDA. That'll probably put a smile on my enemies faces, but makes dealing with enemy fast cav a bit more of a chore; gotta rely on the Glade and Warhawk Riders for that.
-Magic. I've got no magic phase. I won't even throw he 2 dice at a treesinging for fear of a stupid miscast. That said, I don't want any more; given our weak magic phase and the fact that the local tournies have 1 pitched battle of 3 (so 2/3 of the time no free woods) and woods on the board can't be moved; kinda makes WE magic even more lack-luster then before. That said, my magic Defense is 5DD + 2 Scrolls, + a lot of magic resistant units.

So, while my reasoning seems sound to me, I'd like to hear what you guys think; i've got a small group of locals to play against (1 WoC, 1 DE, and 1 rare HE) and not much else besides the tourney, which features a much wider array of enemies. I've fought Dwarves, Brets, and Ogres at pre-lord many times, but lord level changes a lot of things. That said, any ideas there are also very welcome.


Well, that was a long winded army list start...sorry! And thanks again for your help!

Welcome to the forum!

As for your list I would change the wild riders into units of 6. That way you could get 3 units with FC and one unit that could suecide charge and kill of a mage. I'm not a fan of warhawk riders, so I would take more glade riders, maybe drop a dryad or two and get the naked wild rider unit command. Otherwise the list sounds cool and fun to play.

If you haven't checked the Meadow glade tactics you should, they are just great.

Aye, I really do go back and forth about squad sizes on them. I like 6, generally, but S&S becomes a big problem, and 8 are more likely to outnumber and fear break without needing to bring a lot of friends. Since I only own 12 of the buggers right now I won't be able to play the list (go mighty Ebay, and find me recruits!) but I'll certainly try it both ways once I get 'em



I know exactly what you mean. I bought 4 thinking they were fast, strong, and would break ranks. Then I found out that 8 S4 (with a 160mm frontage no less!) attacks is NOT strong, nor are 4 longbows, and that they don't break ranks anyway. They made for poor War Machine hunters since my enemies RBTed 'em out of the sky. So the buggers sat on a shelf for 6 months or so. Pulled 'em out again a month or so back and actually started doing well with 'em; turns out it was my fault they were sucking before and not theirs Now I try to bring 'em when I can, because they really can do some amazing things; it's like having a squad of great eagles!

Well you can always charge in with two units of wildriders to get the outnumbring bonus. IMO you will be waisting a few models that could be used better.

I hear that a lot

Certainly, I'll try with both unit setups. But I've found that Wild Riders don't always get a chance to combo-charge so well, especially with other wild riders. You end up with a massive frontage, terrain doesn't always permit it, enemy units end up in the way...all sorts of issues.

I'm somewhat concerned with the Wild Rider Noble; I've played him in the past, but haven't had a lot of luck. I used the stag before and frankly, I'm deeply displeased. Too easy to get it killed out from under you, IMO. Besides, it costs an arm and leg and takes away from your frontage significanly. With Oaken Armour he's got a 5+/5+/4+ save, which is decent, but he still doesn't have a ton of punch for his points...I'm having trouble balancing offensive power with defense; any suggestions?

You could give him HoDa. I think Elhänn has used such a setup. Padrig has used Orion, so he could give you some input on that. I think that the moonstone could work well on a wild rider hero. I've used to have it on a wild rider lord and it was great as long as there were 2 forests on the board.

Rather than looking to the Noble for punch, find it in the units. You could trade your Noble for a unit of 8 Wardancers with full command. One of our biggest strengths is in our combat skirmishers. Adding Wardancers will give you an added dimension to support your big Dryads while preserving you second unit as a sacrificial lamb or charge interceptor. Wardancers will help you deal with things like heavy cav, which your army is severely vulnerable to.

In lieu of that, you'd be better off with the Standard Alter Noble with HoDA and Helm.

Also, if you drop the sixth GR form each unit and the 4 extra Dryads from the big unit, you should have enough for a third unit of Dryads. That will help you deal with shooting since Drayds are excellent "tree"-shields.

Aye, it can work well. Only problem is that it is wasted when you *arent* playing with two forests. And that with a move of 18 they would usually do better to skip the teleporting anyway...I may have to try that out, though, if I find people more willing to play me while having multiple forests on the board

Willowdark: I've been using Wardancers for an age now; always liked the models and style. Unfortunately, they never actually do anything, and are slower then most units in my army, and costly for a T3 no armour elf...Throw on the rarity of KB coming up and I'm shocked that they see table time over Dryads. I am considering 3x units of Dryads, who are the best bolt-catchers we've got, but I really want the GR to be effective and have found that 5 are too easy to knock out of commission by causing a few wounds. I generally try to run a squad of 7 or so, but don't think I'll need so many in this list. That said, I DO like the standard alter, and may end up swapping the current hero for him; I've used him ever since I started playing Asrai, and while he doesn't always do *everything* I want, he tries his best! Would also increase my shooting (albeit only for a turn)...that may be worth swapping...and it gives me a chance to work on a new conversion (because you can never have enough characters!)

The trick with wardancers is to get the charge. You should almost always go with extra attack on first round when you have the str bounus. 7 dancers have 21 ws6 str 4 attacks, and I don't think that there is a unit in WH that can dish that many attacks for only 126p. The wardancers would compliment the dryads very well, nd personally I would take them.

Oh, they certainly dish out the attacks; I don't deny that! I pretty much always bounce between 4+ ward and +1A. Problem is they're notably less durable then the Dryads, especially at a range, and even 21 attacks is limited damage-wise. Sure, it'll mess up another elf (unless it's a high elf!) but against, say Chaos Warriors? 21 attacks, 14 hits, 7 wounds, 3.5 kills. They'll still be beating you (likely killing at least one of your guys, plus their static res) and even if you hold for that turn, it's all downhill from there. That, and their reliance on the charge is a bother, since it stops me from using 'em as aggressively as is needed to earn back points and, more importantly, cripple the enemy. Often I find my wardancers walking around the board making small "threat zones" until they are ultimately destroyed by magic ('cause lets face it, MR1 just doesn't cut it) or arrows.

I hear you Stryder,

Honestly I've been wrestling to make my dancers work for very long. I love the unit, I love the concept but fail to use them effectively Whenever I go aggressive they are usually destroyed by missile and magical fire. So they usually end up sitting in the back yard threatening any enemy units coming towards my battle line. They do get their points back usually, but I never saw them elevate to the grandeur expected by them, not when I'm playing at least...

If you want the wardnacers to survive a bit longer, all you need to do is offer up a more tempting target. I find that the wild riders in my list have been pulling damn near all of the missile fire as they can be putting the hurt in by turn 2 or turn one if you go second.

In my last 3 games, my wardancers have not engaged a unit until turn 3 or 4 at the earliest, and as they have been waiting patiently in cover they just become the decisive blow towards teh end of the game. Invaluable in an army like mine, And I think in your list they would be a low priority target.

That's sort of what surprises me about this thread. Your army is so fast and offers so many more vulnerable targets that the Wardancers seem like they'd be the best compliment.

They're not any slower than Dryads, so should be getting into combat at the same time.

Any shot fired at them is a shot not fired at you Wild Riders, who are faster and a more immediate threat.

And Wardancers make excellent reserve troops, hanging back and charging into the most critical combats, or regaining the edge when an enemy holds an initial charge from your WR and Dryads.

You have enough speed and expandability in this list that shooting and magic should be largely neutralized by turn 3. And if not, it should be because your cheap screens have soaked it up leaving your Wardancers at full strength, ready to fight.

A one on one match up between Wardancers and Chaos Warriors is not an honest reflection of what the unit can do. Run the same numbers with your Wild Rider w/ Warbanner in the flank and some Dryads to share the frontage on either the front or flank.

My perspective is a little coloured since I run mine with a Wardancer Lord w/ BoL, they just own every combat they join. But I always run a second unit and they have carried their weight in every game, so I still say it works.

Are you keeping your battle line together, or letting your units drift apart while you look around for your best targets? The best way to handle shooting is though quick, decisive action.

Well, right now I'm not doing much of anything; don't have enough cavalry! So I can't say what kinda battle-line I'll have, though I imagine it'll split up so that I can force the enemy to show flanks on units.

I suppose I could see Wardancers working well in this army; maybe I'll try pulling some things here and there to bring them in; they ARE stronger combat punch then the Dryads, so that's a plus...

Now, if only I could get ahold of those thrice cursed Wild Riders on the cheap....why can't our cav boxes cost 22 bucks like all the new ones?

Yup. I usually give my wild rider noble a HoDA. Most of the time, you don't need to march on your first turn, and I did it most of the time with the Chronicles list (only the hero was with glade riders, of course). Other thing that could work is the Dawnspear (with Ini7, your noble is attacking first most of the time, and if he inflicts a wound, he gives your unit some nice protection in combat.
Moonstone is better in wardancers, IMHO, as wild riders are fast enough to not need it.

On wardancers, I usually use 7 of them, with musician (and if points allow it, first dancer too). For less than 150 points, they can take on ranked infantry without much trouble. Sure, against heavily armoured enemies such as warriors of chaos, they'll struggle. On the other hand, they'll slaughter marauders.