Wood Elves Tactics
| Wood Elves | ||
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| Setting: | Age of Fantasy | |
| Games: | Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments | |
| Species: | Elf | |
| Version: | v2.50 | |
Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.
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.
- Plentiful Wizards.
- Powerful 'monster' units.
- Army-wide Strider.
Cons:
- Can be costly in some aspects.
- Non-monster units are vulnerable.
- Monsters trade the range for melee prowess. Nearly every unit is a trade-off between either play styles.
- No chariots or artillery.
Army Special Rules
- Battle Cry: Any attached unit 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 its unit 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.
- Wild Hunt: Any attached unit gets Ambush.
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: A powerful (3+/3+) melee hero with Wizard(3). Her basic weapon has AP2 and Poison and she can be upgraded with a short range spear with Deadly for a ranged attack. On top of all this, she can be mounted on Giant Beetle mount which increase her melee attacks, makes her flying and give six additional wounds. Absolutely ridiculous as a unit but it come with the expected price tag.
- Eternal Leader: The baseline Wood Elves hero, with the usual suite of all basic melee weapon replacements (2x hand/halberd/great weapon/spear) as well as a Longbow which does not replace their melee weapon, allowing the Forest Prince to be as deadly in melee as it is at ranged combat. In addition to this, this hero can be upgraded with the Stalk Master ability as well as the various Special Arrows. Finally, it has a choice of mounts ranging from the basic Horse to the Stag as well as a Giant Eagle and Dragon, the latter two with Flying and giving increased wounds. The Forest Prince is a deceptively customizable Hero which can be geared in a variety of ways to accompany and enhance any number of Wood Elves squads.
- 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.
- Mounts: The Revenant Elder can grab Spite-Wings for flight or into a Dryad Horror, which turns the elder into a 2+ Defense Tough(6) monster with additional AP(2) attacks and Fear.
Infantry & Cavalry
- Treemen: Decent quality and poor defense infantry. Lack any form of upgrades but have Furious and AP(1) attacks.
- Eternal Guardians: Standard infantry with a command group and options for either Spears or Halberds, gifted with quality 4+ and with Strider.
- Tree Revenants: 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 shortbows for a firing line that can also tie up enemies in melee.
- Rangers: Elite warriors with improved stats and Great Weapons. Lack any weapon upgrades beyond the command group but come with the Monster Hunter ability, which makes this unit 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 destructive.
- Eternals: Similar to the Ranger in stats, but with Phalanx instead of Monster Hunter. One of the few units with Phalanx that has armor piercing capabilities built-in without needing a Hero or a spell to increase its value.
- War Dancers: Another elite unit with poor defenses and buffed with War Dance, so they can be seen like glass cannons. They have Regeneration, which gives them an extra level of protection alongside just hiding behind cover.
- Forest Guardians: The standard Wood Elves archer is nothing to sneer at, being Eternal Guardians 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.
- Forest Scouts: Forest Guardians 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.
- Wild Watchers: Even more powerful than the Scouts (at Quality 3+) and with similar abilities. The difference is they lack the Special Arrows but instead have Eagle-Eyed...which is basically the ability to switch between Rapid-Fire Arrows and Barbed Arrows. They replace Scouts the same way that Scouts replace Guardians with the caveat that, in some situations, Precision/Toxic/Magic Arrows may have their use.
- Light Cavalry: Live up to its name and function but, unlike the cavalry of other races it has Ambush and Strider. Can be upgraded into lance cavalry or into archer cavalry.
- Deer Sisters: An unusual, javelin-based cavalry (with a range of 12" with bonus Poison) with Regeneration. Can upgrade one model to a Wizard.
- Deer Brothers: A medium lance cavalry with Furious and Regeneration. Their quality and defense is superior to their female counterparts but they function with a different role in mind.
- Treeman Hunters and Treeman Brutes: A versatile ogre analogue with Strider. Their main role depend on the weapon choice, with the Hunters having the choice to use either ranged weapons, a Great Weapon (for the AP) or a Scythe (for the Deadly rule). The Brutes are similar but lack an upgrade and instead have claws with A3 and AP1.
- Giant Eagles: Similar to the Hawk Rider but with better stats at the cost of just about everything else, lacking built-in Impact or any ranged attacks. Can be upgraded with claws to increase AP or a Swoop attack which gives them back Impact.
- Hawk Riders: Flying cavalry, complete with the ever present Wood Elves option of having the option to upgrade by taking a Greatbow.
Monsters
- Tree Giant: An absolute monster even by Giants standards. It has 3+/2+ stat line with the army-wide Strider as well as Fear, can be upgraded with a short ranged attack and most terrifying of all can be upgraded up to Wizard(2)!
List Building & Tactics
General Advice
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Tactics
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See Also
| Wood Elves |
|---|
| Overview - Tactics - Skirmish Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Skirmish Quickplay Armies |
| Age of Fantasy tactics |
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| Beastmen - Chivalrous Kingdoms - Dark Elves - Deep-Sea Elves - Duchies of Vinci - Dwarves - Eternal Wardens Ghostly Undead - Giant Tribes - Goblins - Halflings - Havoc Dwarves - Havoc Warriors - High Elves Human Empire - Kingdom of Angels - Mummified Undead - Ogres - Orcs - Ossified Undead - Ratmen Rift Daemons - Saurians - Shadow Stalkers - Sky-City Dwarves - Vampiric Undead - Volcanic Dwarves - Wood Elves |