I've got Wood! (elves)

[JMGraham]

Man, after knocking through my Nurgle army for the OFCC, I've got to say that I am absolutely sick of painting green. So, as a break, I thought I'd paint ... more green.

 

I've got the models to update and expand my Wood Elves, and I've got a LOT more to paint than I expected. I've got a fair bit painted from my last Wood Elf army, but the books have changed a lot. So, I've got a lot more to paint.

 

To start with, I painted up a new unit of Glade Guard, along with "musicians" for my other 2 units. I think I recreated my original paint scheme well enough, though I may need to paint one more layer of highlights to hit my original cartoon "pop". It's fun painting something clean after tons of maggots and pustules, even if it is green!

 

 

 

 

The musicians are owls. Partly I did it for variety, partly I did it because I had the bits, and partly I think it's cool to think of the forest critters aiding the Wood Elf army in war, calling out enemy positions, hooting out signals, and forming a central point rallying point. 

 

 

 

 

Painted from my previous army I have:

 

Spellweaver

BSB

2 units of Gladeguard

5 Glade Riders

3 Treekin

6 Wildriders

24 Dryads

16 Wardancers

Treeman

5 Waywatchers

 

Up on the block next are:

 

Spellsinger

2 Great Eagles

3 Warhawk Riders

18 Eternal Guard

6 Wildriders

9 Waywatchers

3 Forests (yep, I'm running an Acorn list)

 

And, If I want to do more beyond my planned 2500 point army:

3 Treekin

10 more Glade Guard

Treeman

5 Sisters of the Thorn

5 more Wildriders.

 

Whew! Lot of work cut out for me... And a lot of green...

[Romans832]

DAM son!
Love it!

[Yarbicus]

It's deja vu all over again. 

[Stoobert]

Don't you mean you've got "wood for elves"?

[JMGraham]

I certainly have wood for sheep, if you're looking to trade. :)

 

Moving this over to the Fantasy forum, as the plan is to make it more than a painting blog. I want a place to get feedback on army tactics and composition, as well.

 

The 2500 point list I’m playing around with now is:

 

Spellweaver, Level 4, Acorn of Ages

[if I take her with Heavens, the army comps at 11, if Shadow it comps at 10, and if death it comps at 9]

 

Glade Captain, BSB, Hail of Doom Arrow, Shield, Dragonhelm

 

Spellsinger, Lore of Beasts, Moonstone

 

18 Eternal Guard w/ Full Command and Banner of Discipline

[The Spellsinger goes here, to provide the +1 S/T buff from Wildform, and to teleport the unit from wood to wood. With the Acorn, being able to move across the table is huge. Since they’re stubborn Ld 10, they don’t mind so much about being away from the BSB or losing ranks in the woods, and the addition of poison and rerolling 1s to wound from Venom Thickets really bumps up their effectiveness.]

 

10 Glade Guard, Musician, Trueflight Arrows

 

10 Glade Guard, Musician, Trueflight Arrows

 

10 Glade Guard, Musician, Trueflight Arrows

 

3 Treekin

[still pretty useful, in spite of the strength decrease. Their cheaper price puts them in a different role than before, but I’m still a fan]

 

5 Wardancers, Champion

 

5 Wardancers, Champion

[Fantastic blocking/redirecting/chaff removal/assassination/utility units. I particularly like them in the woods, where stubborn almost garuntees they’ll hold. If your opponent is OK with the Conga Line, they’re even more effective}

 

3 Warhawk Riders

 

6 Wildriders, Shields, Musician

 

6 Wildriders, Shields, Musician

[Not sure if I should do standards here instead. On one hand, I’m loathe to give up the VPs, on the other hand, they usually die by shooting, not combat. These guys make the army. Incredible!]

 

Great Eagle

 

Great Eagle

 

7 Waywatchers

 

7 Waywatchers

 

 

Got a game against Sherbert’s 8-comped Empire the other day (so I took Death magic to get our comp scores as close as possible). He was running a Light Council, which was absolutely brutal – each magic phase he could choose one of my units and delete it (given my small unit sizes). Of course, this meant that I lost one unit of Wildriders the first turn, and the 2^nd shortly thereafter. Sherbert also mistakenly deployed his Light Council in a unit of archers behind his horde of halberdiers (forgetting that trueflight arrows ignore all those negative mods to hit). Only ended up killing one of his wizards, but he could have easily lost them all. Still, it was a close, hard-fought game. Wildriders obliterated his Demigriffs on the charge, and the teleporting Eternal Guard was pretty fun. The ridiculous “Arrow of Kuronous” rule is perfect for getting rid of the Charmed Shield.

 

Ended as a tie, and was a tense, hard-fought battle. Lots of fun!

 

[MexicanNinja]

Very cool.

[Peanut]

They look really good. What color did you use for the bows?

[Kremmet]

Pretty close to the WE army I was kicking around in a few practice games a bit ago.  Biggest thing I'd change is the lore on the level two.  Personally, I absolutely love Dark magic.  Almost every spell is a winner and, with Power of Darkness, you get the +1 Str of Wildform anyway plus a chance at some dice.  Granted, +T is also phenomenal and you can target more than your own unit, but spells like Word of Pain, Doombolt, and Arnzipal's strike my fancy over what beasts gets you (especially as you're so character light).

[Peanut]

I dont think you can use high or dark on hero level casters

[Kremmet]

Well that is poopy. I still like running Dark magic in WE, though, especially if you're using comp.

[nathonicus]

You could always do your next units in a mainly autumnal scheme, with only small hints of green to tie them to the rest of the army. It looks like they are mostly special/rare choices to me, so that would help them stand out as special also. (Admittedly, I don't know where they actually fall in the force org.)

[JMGraham]

Thanks, all!

 

Dark magic would be cool, I agree, but I just use the Lvl 1 Beast mage for carrying the Acorn, and handing out the +1 S & T from Wildform. That's a spell that's pretty much guaranteed to either be useful or draw out dispell dice or scrolls. I don't count on getting it off, but most of the time my opponents can afford to let me get it off.

 

You could always do your next units in a mainly autumnal scheme, with only small hints of green to tie them to the rest of the army. It looks like they are mostly special/rare choices to me, so that would help them stand out as special also. (Admittedly, I don't know where they actually fall in the force org.)

 

Nah, you know me. Stick to one extremely limited color palette and carry it through the whole army, after which time I want to kill myself if I ever have to paint that color again.

 

 

They look really good. What color did you use for the bows?

 

Over a black primer, base with Rakarth Flesh, then Bone, then white. Didn't really do any blending on that color, save to water down the highlights enough that it took a couple layers to get full coverage.

[Peanut]

So eternal guard can be worth taking? Im so wary of picking up the set due to them just being more str 3 for my army, though I think they're probably the best looking models I've ever seen.

[JMGraham]

Since mine are usually in a forest, my Eternal Guard:

 

1) Are stubborn on Ld 10 (Banner if Discipline)

2) Have poison (venom thicket placed by the Acorn) and armour piercing

3) Attack in 4 ranks (1 + Support + Spear + Wood Elves in woods)

4) Reroll 1s to wound.

5) ASF with WS 5

6) Possibility of +1 S/T from wild form

7) Can teleport away to another wood anywhere on the battlefield

 

They're still elves, so they fall down if you sneeze on them, but in the right circumstances (in a venom thicket), they're pretty rad for 13 points a model. Plus, I need to take stuff that actually fights in close combat, or my clubmates will get sick of playing me. :)

 

I love the models, too. Pretty much all my models are wearing hoods, so I used the Wildwood Ranger heads with the EG Spear and Shield. They look snazzy!

[Kremmet]

Don't forget the -1 to be shot.

You know, I loved the old EG, but the new ones are ace and I especially like the idea of them with the Ranger hoods.  Now to only find a use for those great Ranger weapons.  Maybe swaps on characters for magic weapons?

[MexicanNinja]

Won't people just ignore the unit in the woods and not let you have any of those cool benefits for your EG?

[JMGraham]

Avoiding nasty units is always a good choice. Hopefully, a good player can take advantage of that (or at least try to take advantage of it). Depending on my Acorn roll, and depending on the number of forests already on the board, I've been trying to make certain that there are forests midfield on each flank. That way, my EG can Moonstone into position to threaten the flank of the enemy as they advance to midfield. If the EG aren't dealt with the opponent has the choice of either ignoring them (and risking a nasty flank or rear charge by an ASF ranked unit), or halting their advance. Any time the enemy isn't advancing, I'm shooting and improving my positioning.

 

Alternatively, dropping a forest in an important choke point on the board, and using the EG to bolster it can be great for dictating how enemy troops can move. It's like putting up a wall to temporarily block enemy advances.

 

Finally, the EG can be used as a unit to block my other units from enemy attacks while they move into position. Kind of like a calm spot on the lee of a stone. Good for hiding a Mage bunker, moving wild riders into position, etc.

 

Basically, a unit that isn't going to break for a couple of turns, and that your opponent probably would prefer not to charge is always useful. Especially when it can teleport from wood to wood (changing direction, but not formation). Static, defensive units are awesome when they're as mobile as the EG.

 

I've always thought of the terrain as being a part of the Wood Elf army (heck, of any army, really). The Moonstone EG just takes that to the next level. It gives one forest on the board some teeth, and the ability to threaten flanks and rears.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's still half naked elves. They aren't some unstoppable powerhouse unit, just a really useful unit with some cool tricks.

[MexicanNinja]

I get what you are attempting to do with them.  In a forest they are pretty much the same as dreadspears with the addition of AP.  They die to fast and being only S3, without any buffs, they don't do a whole lot of damage.

 

Now, they way you are going to be playing them is unique and gives them a slight advantage, I'm not discrediting what they could do during a game.  It's just not something that says, "watch out" to me.

[rudra34]

You use a level 1 to carry the acorn?  Isn't it a 100 point item, or have I got the crazies again?

[JMGraham]

List is above. Level 4 carries the Acorn, Level 1 carries the Moonstone. (I can't promise you don't have the crazies, though!)

 

@Ninja - Oh, I'm less of a fan of the "uber-unit" and more of a fan of the "utility unit". I'd not call EG Dreadguard, though. Stubborn on a Ld 9 core unit is pretty sweet. EG are much better suited to be an anvil.

[rudra34]

Ah, nm.  You said acorn was on him in another post, must have just meant moonstone.   :)

[JMGraham]

Been working on some other projects, so no substantial progress made. I did, however, get my woods painted up. I made sure that one of the area terrain bases I did for my last Kickstarter came close enough to matching the footprint of the Citadel wood, specifically so I could use them for my army. 4 bases worth, with the trees removable and able to be replaced with flat inserts.

 

 

Here are some Wildriders I got modeled up. Kitbashed from Glade Riders, Dryads, and some other stuff. The bases were my first ever casting project from many, many years ago. I still have to greenstuff some vines on them, but they're getting closer.

 

 

Here's an older unit of them, from my original army.

 

 

And, to give the appearance of further progress, here are some of my old Treekin, who will also be in the army. I've been suprised at how durable and useful a 135-point 3-pack of these guys are. Nowhere near as killy as they once were, but still pretty useful. It's nice to have 9 wounds of T5 chaff.

 

[MexicanNinja]

Looks really good.  I like those woods.  I also love those wild riders1

[Peanut]

Looks so good!

[Romans832]

Jim I love your work man! Love that I'm not the only one with Dryad Wild Riders!!

Sexy paint job man