Machiara's Army Tactics
Machiara's Army Philosophies and Tactics: Wood Elves
By: Todd Thacker
Welcome to what will hopefully be a series of discourses on the
philosophy and tactics of the different Warhammer races. "Wait," I hear
you say, "this is just a redo of Longsword's Tactica." Perhaps. I'm
hoping to go beyond Longsword's work with my "Philosophy" introduction to
the tactics section that will hopefully give readers a taste of that
particular army's tactical "flavor." Of course, I am not the god of
tactics and I am sure many of you have differing opinions on what the
philosophy of a particular army should be and how to use the troops available
to that army in the most appropriate manner. I am starting with the Wood
Elves because they are my favorite army and the army I play most; hopefully I
have something worthwhile to say about how to use them. :-) Anyhow, on with
the Tactica . . .
Wood Elf Philosophy: Introduction
Perhaps the greatest asset available to the Wood Elf general is
the speed and flexibility of his army. Wood Elves are masters of
infiltration, maneuver, and fighting battles on their own terms. In
fact, if the enemy dictates the battle to the Wood Elves, the Elves will
almost certainly lose. Wood Elves have very few "hard" units that can
win a combat all by themselves and those troops who do well in combat
(Dryads, Treemen) have no rank bonus and, in the case of the Treeman, not
enough attacks. The Wood Elves must use their speed to concentrate their
forces at the decisive part of the battlefield, overwhelming outmatched
enemy units.
There is some difference of opinion among Wood Elf generals about
whether your army should be an "assault" army, prepared to defeat the
enemy in hand-to-hand combat, or an "archery" army, designed to stay away
from the enemy, avoid the enemy's most powerful units, and punish less
powerful units with a high volume of missile fire; I will therefore
address both options.
The Assault Army
There should be no debate about the following point, however: if
your units are engaged in a protracted combat, you will probably lose.
Certainly there are exceptions to this rule, but normally Wood Elf units
stuck in a protracted combat are no longer dictating the course of the
game, and will therefore be forced to fight the battle on the enemy's
terms. This is a certain path to defeat.
Wood Elf armies, therefore, must maneuver so that at least two
units hit the target enemy unit when a charge is declared. Removing the
rank bonus of large enemy formations is a combat imperative . . . if this
does not happen you will have a difficult time breaking the unit quickly
and will lose the strategic initiative.
The Strategic Initiative, or "Dictating the Battle"
A brief digression: when I speak of "strategic" matters, I am
referring to the grand sweep of the battle; when I refer to "tactical"
matters, I am speaking of actions concerning specific units on the
battlefield.
What does it mean to "dictate the battle" to an opponent with
your Wood Elf Army? It means that you select your army, deploy, and
maneuver with one thought in mind: obtaining tactical superiority,
preferably overwhelming tactical superiority, at a critical point in the
battlefield.
How is this accomplished? With the infiltration and movement
abilities of the Wood Elves, an able general should be able to prevent
march moves of key enemy units, to maneuver his designated main combat
units to advantageous positions (normally so that at least one unit can
flank or rear charge), and to eliminate or immobilize the enemy's fast
response and flank defense forces.
To accomplish this goal, the Wood Elf general must carefully
choose the units he wishes to bring to the battlefield. There are four
different categories of troops you can bring: Assault Troops, Fast
Troops, Missile Troops, and Infiltrators.
Assault Troops and How to Use Them
Assault troops consist of Chariots, heavily armored Glade
Riders, Treemen, and Dryads. Wardancers can also be placed in this
category, although they are sort of a category unto themselves (more on
this later). Since you are creating an assault army, you should take at
least two different types of assault units; one unit of these should
normally be Dryads.
Why Dryads? Some Wood Elf generals on the list have sworn off
Dryads, claiming that the tree spirits have never been effective when
used in battle. To some extent, they have a point; Dryads will probably not
be able to win a protracted combat with elite, ranked and armored enemy
cav or elite, ranked and armored enemy infantry. The 35 pt. cost of a
Dryad prohibits a Wood Elf general from fielding large units with ranks.
The Dryads' inability to take a magical standard is also a disadvantage
(if the enemy has the Banner of Defiance they will almost certainly
break), as is their inability to have a champion to keep hefty enemy
characters from wiping out the whole unit.
However, the Dryads are one of your two "stick" units (along with
Wardancers), and they hit harder than their graceful but weak combat
brethren. A "stick" unit, as I use the term, means a unit which can
"stick" an enemy unit in place by successfully receiving a charge while
you maneuver for a flank or rear charge. Here's how to do it: you
maneuver your Dryads to a position where your enemy must either charge
them or avoid them (and an enemy unit that takes the avoidance tack is
already out of the game, plus it exposes a flank to charge by your
Dryads). Your flank unit positions itself for a countercharge on your
turn. On your enemy's turn, the Dryads are charged, use willow aspect,
and probably draw or win the combat. In your turn, you flank or rear
charge with your fast unit (often Glade Riders) and use Oak or Birch
aspect with your Dryads. You eliminate the enemy rank bonus, gain the
+1/+2 bonus for the flank or rear attack, and probably deal out enough
damage to break the enemy unit. Wardancers work better in the "stick"
role when facing powerful enemy with more than one attack (Witch Elves,
Dragon Ogres, you know the type) because "Shadows Coil" guarantees a
drawn combat during the "stick" phase, instead of merely taking away an
enemy attack.
Treemen are great models, and they strike fear into the heart of
the enemy general, but at 280 points you are well advised to think about
exactly what you're expecting to get out of these wooden warriors. On
the positive side, a Treeman is impervious to Str 3 missile fire, causes
fear, and has an incredible strength and toughness (rare in any elven
army). However, your Treeman will be eaten alive by most enemy
generals. Your Treeman also suffers from an often overlooked problem . .
. he doesn't have enough attacks. Four attacks, even with a Treeman's
ridiculously high weapon skill, are not going to break a unit of any
respectable size; it is easy for your Treeman to spend the whole game
killing 2 or 3 two-and-a-half point goblin warriors a turn while your
opponent's good units proceed to engage the rest of your army. The point is:
never use your Treeman as a lone warrior. He _must_ be a part of an assault
team; preferably including a fast moving Glade Rider unit who can take
away rank bonus. Whether you use Glade Riders or not, having a support
unit available who can take away rank bonus from your Treeman's opponents
is vital if you plan to use him to maximum effectiveness in the battle.
Chariots are fast becoming my favorite Wood Elf assault unit,
with the emphasis on "fast." An 18" charge range that hits for d6+2 Str
7 hits is something _any_ enemy unit will have to respect, even heavily
armored troops that your army normally struggles to even damage. By
including a chariot you can funnel your enemy's advance away from the
machine's charge arc and force him to spend inordinate amounts of time
trying to immobilize the chariot so that he can move within charge range
of your slower and more vulnerable units. If you can charge an enemy
with the chariot in combination with a flank charge by, most likely,
Glade Riders, that enemy unit _will_ break, especially if your general is
riding in the machine. One plus to putting your general into the chariot
is that you can toss defensive items in there to protect your investment
. . . Talisman of Ravensdark for flyers, Spellshield or Banner of Arcane
Warding for magic, Armor of Protection or Black Amulet in case you're
challenged by a Vampire Lord . . . you get the picture. With a
chariot-riding general as the "hammer" of your assault force, you will
normally be able to get the charge every time, and break the enemy most
of the time. Just remember to screen it from missile fire, right? :-)
When you're equipping your chariot, always take all the extras you can
(except for barding . . . this will just slow you down and eat up points;
not worth it for the 6 save); why be miserly if you're springing for
such a powerful engine of destruction?
Fast Troops and How to Use Them
The Wood Elf general has two basic units of "fast troops":
Warhawk Riders and Glade Riders. "Fast Troops" are troops that either a)
attack enemy missile screens and flank defense forces to clear the way
for your assault team (normally Warhawks) b) attack enemy war machines
(normally Warhawks, but Glade Riders have been known to get back there as
well), or c) join an assault team as the fast-moving flanking component
(exclusively Glade Riders).
Enemy flank screens are, by definition, not their best units.
Your Warhawks, with the flying charge, weapon skill five, and spear bonus
for strength four, should be able to wipe out enemy flank screens in
short order, especially if you put a character in there for extra combat
resolution. Of course, some flank screens are more difficult to remove
than others (Empire flagellants, Dwarf Slayers) because they don't
break. These are units that you're going to have to eliminate completely
or avoid (easier in these cases because the Empire can only have one unit
of flagellants, and Dwarves are so expensive that they normally only have
one unit of Slayers). Many times your opponents will put these "elite
screens" out front of their main battle line, the better to protect their
core units. All the better for you . . . you'll roll their flanks. If
one of these units does wander out on the flanks, take heart: they don't
wear armor so concentrated missile fire should soften them up nicely.
Once your Warhawks have cleared the way for your assault team,
they can move on to enemy missile troops or war machines (sometimes your
opponent will use his war machines as his only flank screen . . . Dwarves
and Empire [again] are the normal culprits, so you can skip directly to
this part).
When using Warhawks in this role, I normally fully armor my
riders and give them a spear to clock in at a fairly hefty 38 pts. But
we're elves . . . expensive basic troops are the name of our game,
right? :-) Now you're ready to move your in your assault team.
Your Glade Riders are incredibly expensive, but incredibly useful
as flank/rear chargers. I normally give them at least a lance and light
armor, and deploy them in skirmish formation . . . this makes them less
susceptible to missile fire with a -1 to hit, 4+ armor save but still
allows them full freedom of movement because they're skirmished. Some
like to give them longbows, and if I'm feeling generous I'll do this as
well . . . but it is not totally necessary (6 pts a model is pretty
steep, and you'll top out at (ouch!) 43 pts a model). Your models will
still have the 18" march (and still march even with enemy within 8"), so
you will be able to avoid any combat you don't want to fight, except with
flyers or Steeds of Slannesh. As outlined before, your Glade Riders should
support your main assault unit by conducting a coordinated charge on your turn
or a countercharge against an enemy unit engaged against one of your "stick"
units. A brief note: if your Glade Riders are engaged in a combat they
can't handle, remember feigned flight! Often it can be the difference
between destruction and setting an enemy unit up for a murderous
countercharge.
Infiltrators and How to Use Them
As a Wood Elf general you have, without doubt, the best scouts in
the game in the form of Waywatchers. These crafty elves should -always-
be deployed in the forest to take advantage of their many special
abilities. If you have Waywatchers in a wood, they should effectively
deny access to the enemy because of your traps. If your enemy decides to
charge your Waywatchers, let them (assuming they can even see them). I
fondly remember the time a frenzied Khorne general hit the Impaler when
forced to charge the Waywatchers . . . may he rest in peace :-)). Always
flee, though . . . your Waywatchers (and Scouts) aren't up to fighting
enemy in hand-to-hand combat. For all their effectiveness, my opponents
always seem to devote a disproportionate amount of time and effort to
taking out the few of these 18 pt warriors that I field . . . All the
better for you (as an added bonus, talk up your Waywatchers before the
battle . . . you have my permission to use the Khorne Warlord story :-).
If you're lucky, your opponent will spend all sorts of missile and
magical fire trying to get rid of these guys.)
Scouts, on the other hand, should be deployed to inhibit enemy
movement. They are as expendable as elves can be (even at 16 pts) so
don't worry about losing them if they slow down key enemy units for a
turn (two would be fantastic, but is difficult to accomplish). Once I
deployed a group of Scouts behind a hill in front of the main Skaven
battleline . . . the poor rats hardly even made it over to my side of the
table before being destroyed by arrow fire and a huge flank sweep by my
assault team. The Scouts died, but they were about the only Elves who
did and they managed to stop the Skaven from advancing for two complete
turns and part of a third . . . they are certainly in the Scout Hall of
Fame back at whatever glade the Scouts receive their training. :-)
A not-so-troublesome side note is the problem of enemy scout
teams. This should not be a terrible burden because your scouts (WS 5,
BS 5) should be able to beat any other scouts in missile or hand-to-hand
combat. The only really problematic group of enemy scouts are the Dark
Elves with their repeating crossbows. You'll just have to charge them
and win hand-to-hand combat (they get to fire but they are -1 stand and
shoot -1 cover (probably) -1 skirmish -1 repeaters) so they will hit on
5s if they take one shot or 6s if they take two. So the Dark Elves will
probably kill one of your scouts. If I'm going up against enemy scouts
or going to a tourney I always take a scout champion with a cheap sword
(usually leaping copper) for these sorts of situations, so that I can
insure a victory in the h-t-h combat phase.
A brief note on unit size for infiltrators: I like units of six
because they are small enough to use effectively but large enough to
threaten a flank charge to take away rank bonus even if the enemy by some
miracle has killed one.
Archers and How to Use Them
One reason I prefer an assault army for my Wood Elves is the
inherent unpredictability of my missile troops. However, even in assault
armies I try to take at least thirty bow-wielding Elves simply because I
feel that it is in flavor for a Wood Elf army. Archers are very cheap at
11 pts (stop laughing Goblin players) and you can take a good bunch of
them for around 300 points. I personally like to field three units of
nine (with six Scouts and six Waywatchers that makes for 39 bow-armed
Elves). . . that way the enemy has to kill three archers to cause a panic
test. Also, a unit of nine is just unattractive enough to make your
enemy think twice before charging one . . . is it really worth it to put
a turn of two of the game into wiping out a 99 point unit? Unless he's
threatening you with Wolf Riders, probably not.
The key to archery is concentration of fire. Don't shoot one
unit at Unit A, one at Unit B, and one at Unit C. Shoot them all at one
unit and cause a panic test! I remember one time when I routed 10
Brettonian Knights of the Realm off the table on turn one because of
panic (hehe), even with the accursed Lady of the Lake interfering as she
normally does, the watery tart. Lesson to Brettonian players: Take
Questing Knights.
With 39 bow armed Elves (and more if there are bowmen in your
chariot or you bow-armed your Glade Riders . . . hey, wasn't this
supposed to be the -assault- section?) you should have a decent chance at
causing 25% casualties on enemy units every turn. Just choose your
targets judiciously . . . you're not going to panic that unit of 60
Skavenslaves so why even try?
Wardancers and How to Use Them
I have seen many generals on the list with units of Wardancers
10-12 strong. In my opinion, there is no reason for this. If you're
going to take 10-12 Wardancers take two units of five or six . . . they're
much more effective that way. My normal unit size for Wardancers is seven . .
. six and a champion. If there are any more you waste Wardancers who won't
be able to take part in the combat due to lack of frontage . . . 20 pts+
down the drain. I like to give the champion the potion of strength so
that my Wardancers can be the "ultimate stick unit," like so: Enemy
charges Wardancers, who use Shadow's Coil. Draw. Wardancers attack back
in my turn using Whirling Death (+1 attack) and Champion drinks PoS for 4
WS 6 Str 7 attacks. Hopefully the Wardancers win or draw this combat.
Then shadow's coil again during the enemy's turn. You've stuck them for
one-and-a-half turns! Chances are when the enemy untangles itself it
will find that it is in a _very_ unpleasant tactical situation, :-), or
at least this unit is immobilized while your assault team cleans up the
rest of his army.
The "stick" strategy is only necessary for heavily armored or
tough units. Wardancers are more than able to handle T3 lightly armored
troops by themselves (Witch Elves excepted) with minimum or no
casualties. However, their relatively slow movement prevents them from
getting out front of the assault team to clear out flank screens, etc. so
don't try to use them this way or you'll just slow yourself down.
Don't forget that your Wardancers can move at no cost through
difficult/very difficult terrain and that they can jump over intervening
units. This can surprise your opponent because they are so used to
thinking of units as "blocked" from charging if they are behind friendly
units. Most effective against enemy units on hills because you can see
them even if you're completely behind the friendly unit. I normally use
this to charge out from behind Scouts or Waywatchers into vulnerable
enemy units.
So, to sum up. Wardancers can be used as either the "stick" unit
in the assault team or to deny your "weak side" to enemy units in
conjunction with Waywatchers or Scouts. It should take the enemy almost
the whole game to engage anyone of consequence if he attacks through the
weak side, because there's no one there besides Wardancers and
Waywatchers (hehe, this is very frustrating for your opponent) and they
are very hard to engage decisively, if at all. One game I spent two
turns moving my Wardancers around so that my opponent's main block of
Clanrats couldn't march. It completely screwed up the entire Skaven
advance . . . needless to say my assault team took the army apart
piecemeal, and the only units left on the board were a band of fleeing
gutter runners. :-)
The Archery Army
From what I understand the "archery" (or "missile") army is the
most popular way to play Wood Elves. Although I tend to favor an
"assault" style army (see my previous post) I do try to vary my style so
I don't become too predictable for my regular opponents (this is, by the
way, extremely important if you are part of a gaming group, or even if
you just play a number of friends all of the time. You need to vary your
plan even if you've come up with what you feel is the "best" strategy for
your army, or your opponents will pigeonhole your playing style and
design their armies to defeat it. It is much better to keep them guessing).
The "archery" army, then, is heavily dependent upon its missile
troops (obviously) and is designed to avoid, rather than win,
hand-to-hand combats. The goal is to shoot up and panic your opponent's
light forces while forcing their "core" troops to either chase your fast
troops around fruitlessly or else put themselves hopelessly out of
position by engaging a small, sacrificial portion of your army.
Missile (including Fast Missile) Troops and How to Use Them
An "archery" army's main weapon is, of course, its missile
troops. You should field as many archers as you can get your hands on in
units of nine. Why nine? Because it takes three casualties to make a
unit of nine panic from missile fire and if you make units any bigger
they become too unwieldy, in my opinion. Don't make the mistake,
however, of taking more archers than you have deployment zone . . . you
can't count on getting a hill and you want all of your archers to be able
to fire from turn one.
You should arm your Warhawks with Longbows and use them as
extremely fast-moving harassers. Land them within 8" of as many enemy
units as you can to keep your opponent from marching (eliminating, or at
least limiting, march moves is one of the main strategic objectives of
the archery army. If the enemy can't march, it can't get across the
table to charge your archers, or anything else). Warhawks as missile
troops should have longbows and that's it. Never, ever, ever take these
troops into combat, they will die horribly. I mean it. Don't even think
about it. Ever. :-)
You should have at least one, preferably two bow-armed Glade
Rider units with the same goal. Harass, Harass, Harass. Prevent march
moves. Irritate the opponent into charging them. If your opponent turns
a unit to try and go after your Warhawks or Glade Riders, it's out of the
game (it will never get to your archers), your Riders or Warhawks have
done their job. You can proceed to ignore that unit (and get out of its
charge arc). Few opponents have the steely determination to ignore your
(very irritating) troops, but some will. So be it. Just don't let them
march.
Glade Riders are also very good at making frenzied units charge
them. By all means, if your opponents take frenzied troops make them
chase your Glade Riders around the board, away from your troops and
hopefully right into the path of their other units' advance. I see many
Orc pages on the web talking about how "'ard" their savage Orcs are.
Sure they're tough, if they ever see combat. Which they won't because
you've panicked their screening troops with missile fire and then forced
the Savage Boyz to charge your Glade Riders. :-) Anyway, more on these
types of Glade Rider tactics in the "assault troops" section.
With bow-armed Glade Riders, Warhawks and Infiltrators supporting your
archers, you should have a truly mind-boggling amount of dice rolls to make in
the missile phase. I have had 85 bowshots in a 2000pt game (45 archers, 12
scouts, 6 waywatchers, 12 bow-armed Glade Riders, 6 bow-armed Warhawks, and a
General with the Bow of Loren), when I shot the Hail of Doom arrow it was near
100. I've heard rumors of Wood Elven armies with over 100 bowshots in a 2000pt
game. All this missile fire will frighten your opponent; even big
toughness and good armor will have a tough time taking on this many
shots. You should be able to massacre one unit a turn if you concentrate
fire; at the very least you will make the unit take a panic test, at best
you will completely eliminate it (I once shot all 27 Clanrats out from
behind the Skaven army general and Battle Standard Bearer. They
panicked, of course :-)). Remember, the key is to -concentrate fire-;
don't violate this rule unless a portion of your troops lack LOS to the
target, or you have another -very- good reason (and it better be good
:-)), like it's the first turn of the game and 85 shots is too many for a
measly screening unit or you're shooting up war machine crews with your
Infiltrators.
If you get a bunch of forests, put all but one in your deployment
zone. Hide your archers in them. This protects your archers from a)
nasty flying creatures and b) chargers. Why chargers? Because if you
deploy 2" back in the wood the chargers will have 2" added to their
charge distance for difficult ground. . . they might fail their charge.
In addition, if the charging unit makes it through your hail of fire they
will probably break the unit and run off through the forest, chasing your
unfortunate archers (who will be cursing your Warhawks, Glade Riders and
Infiltrators the whole way for not doing their jobs). This is fine
because the cost of a 99 pt archer unit is well spent getting your
enemy's main combat block stuck in a forest. Let's see, two or three
turns to get across the board, one turn to charge, one turn to reform,
more than one turn to move back to where they can see anything at all
because they are prohibited from marching and are at half movement in
difficult ground (even Brettonians will only move 4") . . . this unit
will never see combat again. As I said, 99 points well spent.
Infiltrators and How to Use Them
An archery army should take one unit of Waywatchers and two or
three units of Scouts. This should give you the edge in infiltrators and
will also leave you with plenty of units to cause trouble with. As I
said in the previous section, use Waywatchers to deny access to a wood
and use your Scouts to prevent marches and just make nuisances of
themselves in general.
Other than that, look at my notes on Infiltrators in the "assault
army" section. There's not a whole lot of difference in how they're used.
Assault Troops and How to Use Them
Ahh, the delicate matter of using assault troops properly in a
missile-based army. This is the time when Treemen really come into their
own. I can hear your cries now, "What, a Treeman in an archery army?
Isn't that a little out of character when you recommended that I not even
take them in an assault army?" The difference is that Treemen, with
their "rooted to the spot" ability, are excellent unit stoppers, which
you need in an archery army, while being only so-so unit destroyers,
which you need in an assault army. Few things are better than a Treeman
for stopping that huge ranked unit of Str 3 troops that is scampering
your way. Arm your Glade Riders with lances and threaten a flank charge
to take away rank bonus. . . that'll make your opponent think twice about
where he moves his units. Another impressive attribute of Treemen is
their T7 . . . you can fire into that combat with impunity. Who cares if
you accidentally hit the Treeman? Not him; T7 ignores Str 3 hits.
Glade Riders can perform dual roles; arm them with longbows for
their missile harasser function, arm them with lances for a real flank
charge threat. I'd use them skirmished in units of six or seven . . .
give them light armor if you have the points but it's not absolutely
necessary. Remember the "feigned flight" function of Glade Riders . . .
if the enemy does charge you you can take them even farther out of
position by using this tactic.
Wardancers are great "unit stopper" troops . . . what stops units
better than "Shadows Coil?" The best place for your Wardancers is
directly behind your line of archers . . . that way they can leap over
the archers into combat with units who foolishly moved within their
charge range (remember to keep one Wardancer off to the side of the
archer unit so he can see the opposing unit). If the opposing troops
have a long charge range (Brettonians!) then just move in front of the
archer unit to receive the charge . . . try not to block too many lines
of sight when you do this.
Your Wardancer units should be small, 5-6 models . . . their job
is to stop the unit, not kill it. This will let you field more than one
unit. Two should be enough to cover 4-5 nine-elf units of archers. Make
one into a "super-stick" unit; include a champion with the Potion of
Strength (see the assault section for details) . . . include a champion
with the other one too, if you have the points . . . Heart of Woe is a
good item for him if you don't mind being accused of cheese. :-) If you
have a Glade Rider unit free, charge the stuck unit in the flank or the
rear and break it (ack, my assault tendencies are coming to the fore . .
.).
Dryads can also be excellent "unit-stoppers" if you're facing
troops with one attack, such as Fleshhounds (hehe, the stories I could
tell . . .). If you take Dryads, position them between two units of
archers and move them out to cut off the enemy's axis of advance when
they stray too close. Dryads in this function are pretty specialized,
though, and not something I'd put in an army if I didn't know the
opposing army or my opponent (e.g., in a tournament).
The much-maligned Glade Guard can actually be useful here,
although I put them in the "assault troops" category only because they
don't fit in anywhere else . . . these well-meaning spearelves aren't up
to assaulting any but the most rank of rank-and-file enemy troops. They
can, however, be useful for receiving a charge . . . give them the Banner
of Defiance and a +3 rank bonus (for a grand total of +7 combat
resolution), put your general and a champion in there with appropriate
items, break the enemy and have a lone Great Eagle wandering around
somewhere close who will finish off the fleeing fighters with his 24"
charge in your turn (evil grin). This plan is both expensive and risky
so I don't really recommend it, but when it works it is a thing of Elven
beauty (not something that my Orcish readers could appreciate, the
brutish gits ;-)) and you can taunt your opponent about how you beat him
with nothing more than archers and ranked spearelves, if you're that kind
of person (only do this to good friends or if you are big :-)).
Chariots can be very effective in an archery army, as long as
enemy missile troops are unable to fire at them. Fortunately for you the
enemy is probably sending his troops right up the center after your
archers, etc. so line of sight will be blocked unless opposing missile
troops are on a hill. Even if they are on a hill, your chariot has such
a long charge range (18") that you can afford to deploy it further back
in the deployment zone, out of range of the enemy missiles (war machines
are a different matter; but that's what your Great Eagles and archers are
for :-)). Optimum placement for a chariot is either right in the middle
of your battle line, forcing a redirection of the central blocks of enemy
troops (unless they feel they can take the d6+2 str 7 impact hits) or on
a flank, forcing enemy fast troops to think twice about hitting that side
of your battle line.
Putting it All Together
The point of an archery army is to spread the points around so
that there is nothing really "worthwhile" to charge, i.e. no "core" unit
that if broken spells the end for your battle plan (and your army). The
only units in your army that venture above 200 points should be your
Glade Riders, your Treeman, and maybe your Warhawks . . . all units that
you wouldn't mind your opponent charging anyway :-). Glade Riders are so
fast that nothing short of flying troops will be able to engage them . .
. put your general in here (if he's not in with the spearelves), give him
the Bow of Loren, and watch the enemy try to kill him.
Of course, your enemy could have a squad of flying troopers
(Harpies, Terradons, etc) or a character loaded for bear with powerful
magic items mounted on a big, nasty, flying beastie. This is a real
weakness of an archery army and one that you'll have to take steps to
neutralize . . . use the Sky Arrow of Naoler, a squadron of Great Eagles
(three should do the trick), Talisman of Ravensdark, Scarecrow Banner . .
. you know the drill. The beastie rider will almost -have- to charge
your general (he's in one of the only big-point units out there . . .
your opponent has to justify his investment), so give your general the
Talisman or the unit the Banner (or both) and watch the beastie die.
:-) Use whichever option appeals to you; just be prepared to counter fliers.
Setup, both of terrain and of units, is vitally important to an
archery army. Put your harassers out on the flanks or get them there as
soon as possible so that you're not blocking line of sight for your
archers. Line of sight is, obviously, incredibly important for an
archery army . . . you don't want a lot of terrain blocking your fire
lanes. If there is terrain, put infiltrators in or behind it to slow
enemy units and hopefully divert them into the approach (fire :-)) lanes
that are clear and open.
Characters and Magic Items
The Mage and a bit of Magic Philosophy
[that's Philosophy of Magic, not a Magical Philosophy :-)]
As you might have noticed from the advice I gave in the previous
two sections, I put a high premium on troops and don't care much for
magic. I like to take defensive mages and have my troops win the battle
for me; offensive magic rarely figures into my battle plan (if I do get a
spell off I consider it a bonus). In my opinion, magic is far too
unreliable (w/Drain Magic, Dispels, etc.) to justify the cost of a
high-level mage decked out with the requisite four powerful items,
especially for Elves. Some races are well-suited for offensive magic
phases; Wood Elves are not one of those races.
Having said that, I admit that magic can be fun (when it works)
and that it is important to take a high-level mage now and then to keep
your regular opponents guessing. Besides, many of you probably disagree
with me and think high-level Wood Elf Mages are the best thing since the
Hail of Doom Arrow. :-) So I'll discuss both the offensive and the
defensive mage.
The Defensive Mage
[That's a Mage who stops enemy spells, not one who's insecure
and takes everything the wrong way :-)]
The standard defensive mage for 2000 pt games is either a mage
champion with the Skull Staff and Rod of Power or a master mage with the
Skull Staff, Rod of Power and a Destroy Magic Scroll. Give an archer
unit the Banner of Sorcery and then lurk your mage deep inside a forest
near the archers. The forest deployment prevents the mage from being
charged (even by flyers) and, for 181 points in the case of the mage
champion, you have real good chance of shutting down your opponent's
magic phase.
Many generals refuse to go to battle without a Dispel Magic
Scroll, and would recommend taking such a scroll over the Rod of Power.
I cannot agree with them. The Rod of Power (a 25 point item!) gives you,
in all probability, an extra three power cards during your opponent's
turn that you have no chance of losing, since you only test for card loss
from the Rod at the beginning of -your- magic phase. Three extra magic
cards every turn is an incredible advantage that, when combined with the
Skull Staff, should see off most if not all of your opponent's spells.
The Dispel Magic Scroll can guarantee you one dispel when you want it,
true, but in my opinion the Rod of Power's turn after turn contribution
to your magical defense far outstrips the DMS' usefulness.
A Mage Lord is a very nice defensive mage in large point value
games because he can use High Magic, which turns all of your power cards
into dispels (a very handy ability any time). Keep in mind that this is
not cost effective unless you are playing a battle of at least 3000 pts,
probably becoming a mandatory take around 3500-4000 pts. Give him the
Skull Staff, Rod of Power, Destroy Magic Scroll, and Dispel Magic
Scroll. Trust me, if you keep the Banner of Sorcery within 12", your
opponent will be lucky to cast anything at all.
If you're playing with a defensive mage, don't give in to the
temptation to cast spells in your magic phase unless you have Total Power
or six magic cards in your hand. You should always save four magic cards
from your phase, one with your mage and three in the Rod. If you try and
cast spells, then a) they'll probably be dispelled and b) you'll get
roasted in the next magic phase because you don't have enough cards for
defense. You Have Been Warned. :-)
The Offensive Mage
[That's a mage who you use on offense, not one who's personally offensive.]
There are a hundred-and-one ways to use your mage to attack the
enemy, so feel free to be creative. In very general terms, there are two
incarnations of offensive mage: the Hand-to-Hand mage and the Mystical
Attack Mage.
A Hand-to-Hand Mage can go one of three places: on a Steed, on a
Warhawk, or on a Chariot. I personally favor the chariot since it has
extra defensive value, great range, and intimidating attack capability,
but don't let this stop you from putting her on a Steed or a Warhawk if
this fits in better with your overall plan. The key is to give your Mage
good mobility so that she can take her spells and her hand-to-hand
prowess where it can do the most good and avoid big nasty characters that
might be able to kill her.
Your Hand-to-Hand Mage should be the highest level that you can
afford, with all the combat items you can give her. A personal favorite
is the Skull Wand of Kaloth (instant death is always nice), which works
especially well on things like Trolls, but if you don't take the Wand
definitely take a fairly powerful magical weapon. You'll also need a
ward, and you might want the Cloak of Mists and Shadows (although this is
a little counterproductive if you plan on attacking in close combat) or
the (much preferred) Ring of Darkness for an extra level of protection
from non-magical weapons. Believe it or not, a Hand-to-Hand Mage Lord is
a great place for the Crown of Command . . . just don't put her in a
skirmished unit (like Warhawks) that can't use her leadership.
The focus of the Mystical Attack Mage, conversely, is to stay out
of hand-to-hand combat and inflict as much magical damage as possible on
the opposing troops. A Mage Lord is almost mandatory if you plan to use
your mage in this fashion; you want to have the best chance you can of
fighting through those dispels.
One of my favorite tactics is to put my mage on a Warhawk (or
give her the Cloak of Mists and Shadows), equip her with the Skull Staff,
the Ring of Corin plus whatever other spell-like objects I can find
(Staff of Osiris is good, although Staff of Flaming Death never expires)
and proceed to run around negating all those irritating enemy magic items
(Black Amulet, Tress of Isoulde, Carstein Ring) that you wish your
opponent hadn't brought to the table. Aside from being a great "magic
scout" (you find out what all the enemy's magic items are within 12" of
the Skull Staff), this Mage should also be able to burn through your
opponent's dispels because you have two or three "free power" castings
(Staves, Ring, plus Potion of Knowledge or Book of Secrets for a free
spell if you took it). So hopefully you'll rule the magic phase and your
mobile mage will be able to get in the best position to toast as many
enemy as possible.
Other Characters and Their Items
["Where Should I Put the Hail of Doom Arrow?" or
"Things I Didn't Mention in the Assault or Archery Sections"]
There is one item that should be in every Wood Elf Army: the
Hail of Doom Arrow. Why? This is the sole "Wood Elf Only" item in the
game, and it's a magical arrow, for the love of Isha, what could be more
in character? The second reason is because, well, it's awesome. If
you're already a Wood Elf General or you've played against Wood Elves,
you know this. If you don't, just take my word for it.
I give the Arrow to one of two elves: my Glade Rider Champion or
my Scout Champion. I favor giving it to a Glade Rider Champion because
he can ride around missile screens and punish that valuable enemy unit
that your opponent thought was safe from arrow fire (mwahaha, the fool!
:-)). The only drawback to putting it with the Glade Riders is that they
are your premier flank/rear attack unit, so you'll always want to be
moving them out of charge arcs and into position for flank charges; you
might not get a clean shot off (if only they were expert riders! <sigh
They should be for their cost).
The Scout Champion might be able to deploy in a position to hit
the enemy unit that you're targeting on turn one, but he might not. It's
also easy for your opponent to screen Scouts from the rest of his army .
. . so I normally go with the Glade Riders.
One place you never, ever want to put the Arrow is with your
Waywatchers. Why? Because Waywatchers need to deploy in the forest to
be most effective, and there's no guarantee that your opponent will be
helpful and set his target unit up near the forest. So you will be left
with two bad choices: a) deploy your Waywatchers outside the woods, or
b) shoot at some less important/vulnerable enemy unit. So if you're
deploying it with Infiltrators, deploy it with your Scouts.
On the subject of characters, I don't like to take heroes.
They're just too expensive; at 104 points, I could take two champions and
have eight points left over. I usually put a champion in with my scouts
(with a cheap magic sword to take on other infiltrators), my Glade Riders
(carries the Hail of Doom Arrow, gives them a combat boost), my
Wardancers (Potion of Strength), and my Warhawks (for the combat boost
against skirmish screens and the like).
Champions are great because a) they're cheap (in a relative
sense), b) your opponent is scared of them because they might be carrying
the Heart of Woe or the Black Gem of Gnar, and c) if your opponent does
catch your unit with a nasty character you can challenge him and not lose
your whole unit. Sure you'll break, but chances are you'll outrun the
pursuers and your unit will rally later. Some Wood Elf generals don't
like champions, which is fine. In my opinion, four champions add much
more to my combat effectiveness than two heroes, especially since I'd
feel compelled to give my heroes more expensive items to keep them from
dying.
Conclusion
Well, that brings to a close my Philosophy and Tactics: Wood
Elves. If you have any questions, problems, ideas, etc. please feel free
to e-mail me ([email protected]). Encouragement is always welcome,
of course; it's the main reason I do things like this! :-)
I hope this has been a helpful discourse for both the newbie and the
experienced Wood Elf general . . . if it hasn't, I'm sure someone will
let me know. :-) Anyhow, until next time, may your arrows fly true!
Loren Forever!
Todd M. Thacker
Lord Aewyn Machiara
"Defender of the Glades"
Wood Elf Warleader
