hi all,
I've been super busy trying to prep for an Old World tournament coming up in July, which has meant that I've not been concentrating on other projects - including the blog! You, of course would be forgiven thinking that I would be taking my rather substantial High Elf force to the tournament, seeing as it's painted and I've had a few games with it. However, I think it lacks punch and is missing some very obvious choices in the current meta - ie DRAGON!! That has now been addressed (reveal soon enough, when it gets painted). So what did I go for? one of the other WFB armies that I have partially completed prior to the destruction of the Warhammer game and the subsequent resurrection via TOW - such as Vampire Counts or Orcs & Goblins?
wwweeeeelllll....
nope. Why would I buy a few units and complete those projects when I can start from scratch, lol. Way before TOW and way, way, way before it got it's own Arcane Journal, I wanted to get me some Wood Elves. The idea of having wardancers flitting across the battlefield has been lurking in the back of my mind for some time. Woodies were my very first "army" (3x units...) back in 3rd ed and I've got such nostalgia for them and now we have a nostalgia game, it was time to rouse the Asrai.
Now, the core of this army is made up of the old battalion box (not the new one you can buy now), but the rest is made up of 3rd party prints. So i'm never gonna be playing them in a certain Nottingham based venue, but for the rest of the tourney scene, I should be good.
First up, is a unit that in the current meta are not very good. But boy do they look lush - Wind Riders! 3x archers mounted on warhawks, sadly they don't pack enough punch to make most army lists but for purely for fun and the fluff they made it onto my paint table.
Talking of lush, but rarely going to hit the tabletop is the Wildwood Rangers. These are excellent Glass Cannon monster killers, but so squishy (T3 and no armour), so too much of a gamble for a tourney where you need a balance of units that can face different kinds of armies.
Dryads however, do make it into my lists a lot of the time. Toughness 4 with 6+/6+ saves and 2x magical attacks. These guys, using up a chunk of core unit requirements, will act as my infantry brick so that my more agile glass cannon units can smash into flanks/rears.
Glade Guard, another core unit type, I have 18 and they are more likely going to be used in smaller unit sizes and used to fire poison arrows at my oppos toughest models.
The wardancers are 3d prints and are some of my most favourite minis. So much character in the sculpts and so consummately wood elf.
These are going to be used as Deep Wood Scouts, another unit of poison archers.
So this is the infantry for the army in its entirety
But wood elves are not just archers and wardancers, they're also known for their fast cavalry. So what do I have. First up the official GW Glade Rider sculpts. These speedy guys do have spears but to be honest they are much better with their poison arrow bows, hitting and running as they don't have any armour options at all.
Next we have 2x units of Sisters of the Thorn. With their javelins and built in spell option, they are again able to pack quite a ranged punch. With a 4+ ward save they're a bit more durable too.
Lastly I've got the Wild Riders. I made these up to a large unit of 10 rather than the smaller units, mostly for the combat punch, as they're designed to tear holes in the enemies battle line with frenzy, furious charge and counter charge. They are the ultimate glass cannon though, with just tattoos and a shield to stop return blows from wiping them out.
So that is the Cavalry section.
providing magic cover are my mages. Below is a 3d print and will likely be an elementalist
Trying to find a unicorn mount for my mages was nigh on impossible. Then I looked at my buddy Jay, at Agitated Kraken Miniatures who has a range of DnD minis. This one is a human, but tbh she has a lot of "elfy" type features so is very passable and I feel very comfortable on using her as such.
On the right of the below picture is a GW sculpt in the old fine cast, and was dug out of my pile of shame from almost 15 years ago (i think)
Character wise - I have these awesome dudes
This likely lass is a Shadow Dancer, bought to lead my wardancers.
This Way Stalker was a gift from CT Miniatures after a delay to my delivery (Shout out to them, as they were fabulous to deal with, from a customer service pov)
Another very old GW sculpt from back in the day, which can be used as a Glade Captain or a Way Stalker and the only metal miniature in the army!
One of my favourite minis in the whole bunch is the Lord/Captain on a giant stag. This is a wonderful sculpt and so much better than the official GW model.
However, this is my absolute favourite and what better way for your Lord to fly into the fray, than on the back of a Forest DRAGON!! yeah I finally got one!!!
So that is my newest addition to da Grotto and is over the next month or so going to go through a series of battles in one form or the other, until I can decide on the final list that i'm going to be taking with me to the tournament. Phew, you don't hear from me for a while and then boom! a massive post....
hope you enjoy
dGG
