Wood Elves Skirmish Tactics

Wood Elves

Setting:	Age of Fantasy
Games:	Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments
Species:	Elf
Version:	v2.50

Why Play Wood Elves?

The Wood Elves can be played in a variety of ways and this variety of play style can be used in two ways: either by focusing on one of these strengths or through a 'combined arms' where one side of the army enhance one side while also covering its weaknesses. Wood Elves have some of the most powerful non-artillery shooting and some decent light cavalry. Combined with the various tree-men units and some excellent Wizard options and the end result is a very flexible army. Finally, the entire army is gifted with Strider and this combine with abilities which are enhanced by being in terrain which would normally slow down other units. The end result is an extremely mobile and flexible army that can do quite a lot while having easy access to 'counter play' against whatever the enemy may bring.

Pros:

Excellent range and ways to upgrade said ranged attacks.
Powerful cavalry
Army-wide Strider.

Cons:

Can be costly in some aspects.
Non-monster units are vulnerable.
No chariots or artillery. If the hail of arrows can't take it down, you need to fight it up close.

Army Special Rules

Battle Cry: The hero and friendly units within 12" get +1 to hit rolls with either melee or shooting whilst inside terrain. While Strider makes this less of an issue than you'd think, this will make you prioritize where this unit is placed on the field.
Eagle-Eyed: This model has a hits on a 2+ when shooting. Exceptional for any unit who needs to make their mark with archery.
Malice: Enemy units get -1 to their rolls when fighting in melee with this unit. A nonstandard way to 'tank' by making the enemy less able to hit in melee.
Monster Hunter: This model gets AP(+2) when fighting units with Tough(3) or higher. A dangerous monster-killing ability that does exactly what one would expect.
Protector: The hero and friendly units within 12" get +2 to Defense rolls whilst inside terrain. An excellent way for your archers to become tanks while filling enemies with arrows.
War Dance: This unit rolls a d6 to determine what buff they get each turn they're in melee (+1 to AP or Rending).
Warning Cry: Enemies cannot Ambush within 18" of this model. An excellent way to denying enemies while you use Wild Hunt to mock them.

Wizard Spells

Spirit Vines (4+): Two enemy units within 12” get -1 to hit when they fight in melee.
Tree Stomp (4+): Enemy unit within 6” takes one AP(2) and Deadly(3) hit. Sadly, the most this will do is nail a monster or tough unit over any heroes.
Harmony (5+): Two friendly units within 6” get Flying for their next activation.
Insect Attack (5+): Two enemy units within 6” take four AP(1) hits each.
Harvest (6+): Enemy model within 12” takes three AP(4) hits. This is the one you want to drop a hero.
Regrowth (6+): Friendly unit within 12” gets Regeneration next time they're attacked.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Glade Champion: An elite hero, gifted with a 3+/4+ statline and an AP(1) Hand Weapon. This AP is carried over to their other options, but they can also opt for a Greatbow for supporting a pack of Forest Guardians and an Animal Companion to make a bubble of ambush denial. They can also pick up an additional upgrade between an Army Standard Bearer for a bit of melee edge, Spell Weaver for casting support, Glade Lord for supporting a unit hiding in cover, Forest Warden to make cover more effective, and Stalk Master to make a full unit of ambushers. However, their only mount option is the Horse, limiting what they can do.
Eternal Leader: The more affordable hero, equipped with a lot of the same options as the Glade Champion, but without AP(1) on their Hand Weapon. The option between Wizard, Battle Call or Protector makes them more affordable if you just need to apply that rule on another unit and don't want to waste the Glade Champion on it.
Treeman Elder: A hero version of the regular Treeman. Has Furious and claws, which can be replaced with a Great Weapon for more AP or a Scythe to focus on taking down heroes. However the real takeaway from its limited upgrade options is its ability to be a Wizard. As its primary purpose is to accompany and support Treemen units, this offer a more durable and more physically potent hero to assign to Treemen squads as a frontline.
Revenant Elder: A slightly more elite hero than the Treeman Elder, least of all because it can take more than just Wizard - you can also take either Wild Hunt or Protector, which means a lot to the Revenants they'll accompany. Though their claws are stuck with Rending, they can pick up either Squirm-Flies or Fury-Flies so you have an option for shooting. Spite-Wings are also available if you need something that can fly.

Infantry & Cavalry

Forest Guard: The standard Wood Elves archer is nothing to sneer at, being a 4+/5+ troop with an impressive range of 30". While vulnerable, it has access to the various 'special arrows' (giving either Ignores Cover, Rending, +1 to AP or Poison) which can greatly improve its power. While more than capable of taking on monsters, their preferred role will likely leave them targeting infantry and cavalry, softening them up before the front lines have their go.
Ranger: Elite warriors with improved stats and a Great Weapon. Lack any weapon upgrades beyond the command group but come with the Monster Hunter ability, which makes this model absolutely destructive against anything with Tough(3) or above. Given that some armies (Eternal Wardens and Ogres spring to mind) consist of almost nothing but units with Tough this can become game-changing.
Tree Revenant: 4+ quality infantry with Rending on their claws and Malice and the option for Flying if you need mobility beyond Strider. They can swap out those claws with either AP(1) Magic Claws or a Shortbow for a firing line that can also tie up enemies in melee.
Deer Sister: An unusual, javelin-based cavalry with Regeneration. While they can purchase Poison on their Hand Weapon, it's still going to lack AP on anything, making it only worthwhile on something with low defenses. You can also buy Wizard so you can provide additional casting support with speed.
Forest Rider: Nimble light cavalry with Lances for additional Impact and Scout for some early mobility. They can also work as a ranged harassers by purchasing a Longbow.
Forest Scout: Forest Guardian with Scout and Stealth. Unlike the Guardians, the bows they come with cannot take upgrades, meaning that their preferred enemies are stuck at lines of infantry.
War Dancer: Another elite unit with poor defenses and buffed with War Dance, so they can be seen like a glass cannon. They have Regeneration, which gives them an extra level of protection alongside just hiding behind cover.
Wild Watcher: Even more powerful than the Forest Scout at Quality 3+ with similar abilities. The difference is they lack the Special Arrows but instead have Eagle-Eyed for an effective 2+ quality when shooting. The price for this incredible accuracy is the fact that they lack access to any of the specialty arrow. Thankfully, they have Ambush to give them easy access to the enemy of choice before taking them down.
Deer Brother: Improved Forest Rider with 3+ quality Furious instead of Scout. This makes them singularly dedicated into becoming your charging pincushion, throwing themselves at the worst enemies you can find before they can hit someone else.
Eternal Guardians: Standard infantry with a command group and options for either a Spear or a Halberd, gifted with quality 4+ and with Strider.
Treemen: Decent quality and poor defense infantry. Lack any form of upgrades but have Furious and AP(1) attacks.
Treeman Brute: Aggressive brute with Tough(3). They are however a serious glass cannon, offsetting their Furious and AP(1) weapons for a 5+ defense. Best used to clean up the messes of other battles.
Treeman Hunter: More elite than the Treeman Brute by virtue of their 3+/4+ statline. Their main role depends on the weapon choice, with the Hunter having the choice to use either their base Great Weapon for high AP, a Scythe to take down similar enemies, or a Greatbow for long-range archery.
Giant Eagle: Flying harasser. Given that they only have Impact(3) and no AP on their attacks, they pretty much only rely on harassing enemies.
Hawk Rider: While they have a 3+ quality compared to the Giant Eagle, their Lance only provides Impact(1), which is a letdown. Fortunately, you can swap out their Lance for a Shortbow so you can make them into a flying harasser.
Revenant Bug Rider: Flying wall of cavalry thanks to having Tough(3), Malice and Regeneration. Their melee game isn't too bad with a Poison weapon and an AP(1) Magic Weapon you can replace with a Lance if you want to get more out of charging.

Wood Elves Skirmish Tactics

Contents

Why Play Wood Elves?

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry & Cavalry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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Wood Elves Skirmish Tactics

Why Play Wood Elves?

Army Special Rules

Wizard Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry & Cavalry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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