Army List Review

[eric the ghost]

Its a good list, I would recommend that you purchase a 'cube of darkness'. This can be really handy for throwing a spanner in the works of you enemy magic phase.... smile  

[Oryn]

So a bunch of my friends are starting small 500 point Fantasy armies, and I'm considering starting one of my own. I'm looking at playing Wood Elves with nothing but Forest Spirits. I've never played Fantasy, so I'm wondering before I start buying; is this viable?

List I'm looking at:
Heroes:
1 Branchwraith - L1 wizard

Core:
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
8 Dryads

Total: 499 points

It's not really fast, but it's alot of skirmishers, so I can try and get around to flanks, and the Branchwraith will let me shift around some forests to help provide cover, or give me a different spell if I feel like it (i.e, there's no worrying about dispel). The other big advantage is price; this is three boxes of Dryads, and a blister if I feel like buying a Branchwraith instead of just converting one of the spare Dryads I'll have. If the models themselves aren't a problem, would it be better for me to buy a spite or two instead of the wizard upgrade?

The Alternate List
Heros:
1 Branchwraith

Core:
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
8 Dryads

Special:
5 Wild Riders w/standard

Total: 501 points

I know, speed and flanking are important, and Wild Riders are Forest Spirits. But I'm hesitant to buy them when they're so expensive. Plus, the main reason why I want to play the Forest Spirits is that I like the idea of the trees coming alive and attacking. And while Wild Riders have the Forest Spirit special rule, they really aren't very tree-like.

EDIT: So apparently, L1 wizards will do exactly piss-all. So I've decided to swap those 50 points in the first list for the spites Cluster of Radiants and another 25 point spite, but I'm not sure which one. Pageant of Shikes? Annoyance of Netlings? Murder of Spites?  

[Andre_kelfar11]

I play a lot of Lizardmen 500pts skink armys and there about 2 maybe 3x the size of that list there.

From the 8years iv been playing, i personaly wouldn't field a full army of skirmishers unless they are fast and have quite a bit of power.
Dryads do have a lot of combat power but it will take them a turn or two to get
into combat and vs a foes army they will most likely have some sort of shooting.

from experiance i say take two units of Dryads and 1 or 2 if possiable units of glade guard.

most 500pts armys have 1 hero and 2 core units

but in the lizardman army its somwhat possiable (because the skinks are only 6 pts a model) :
1xcheap skink chief = 112
light amrour,shield,blow pipe
Glyph Necklace +5 ward
Blessing of Tepok +1 dispel dice ontop of the basic 2) or 15-20pts magic item or other blessing

2 small units of skinks(about 12 per unit), 72pts a unit
1xStegadon = 235 pts

total= 491pts with a little left over

this don't last long but the stegadon will definitely finish the match due to its high toughness and wounds.

+ the skinks give the other units a right run about charge in the flank then they take a full hit from the stegadon.

This would die like Wildfire vs Gladeguard because of there longbows but they would Struggle with the Stegadon.

hope this helps

biggrin  

[Oryn]

Zenos osgorma

From the 8years iv been playing, i personaly wouldn't field a full army of skirmishers unless they are fast and have quite a bit of power.
Dryads do have a lot of combat power but it will take them a turn or two to get
into combat and vs a foes army they will most likely have some sort of shooting.

Yeah, I figured as much. This is my reworked list, and the army I'm going with:

Heroes:
Spellsinger - L2 Upgrade, Glamourweave Kindred, Elven Mount, Calaingor's Stave

Core:
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
8 Dryads

Comes to 474 points, leaving me enough spare points to either slap another 25 point Magic item or Spite onto the hero, or put unit champions in two of the Dryad units.

Figure I can cram most of the Dryads into a forest with the mage, and treesurf around the battlefield on multiple one-die castings of Treesinging. If the forest is big enough, then I would be completely immune to fire until I got close and exited the forest.

Zenos osgorma

from experiance i say take two units of Dryads and 1 or 2 if possiable units of glade guard.

Well, as I mentioned, I'm trying to field all Spirits, so the Glade Guard is out.  

[Inenor]

Since no one's posted i thought i'd share my new list and get some conversation type activity started up. biggrin

i made a new list and it's improved my game by alot. And that's saying something. gonk

Saurus Oldblod:
-Light Armor
-Enchanted Sheild
-Glyph Necklace
-Sword of the hornet
-Bane Head
-Quetzl,Sotek,Itzl
-Carnosaur

Skink Cheif:
-Light Armor
-Blowpipe
-Maiming sheild
-Sword of Might
-Sotek
-Scout

Skink Skirmishers:
-Blowpipe
-3 units of 10
-2 units as scouts
-1 unit of regular

Saurus Warriors:
-Full Command
-2 units of 20
-Quetzl

Saurus Cavalry:
-1 unit of 10
-full command

Salamander:
-1 unit of 3

Stegadon:
-1 stegadon

all togeather its 2248 points  

[Epherion]

Oryn

Zenos osgorma

From the 8years iv been playing, i personaly wouldn't field a full army of skirmishers unless they are fast and have quite a bit of power.
Dryads do have a lot of combat power but it will take them a turn or two to get
into combat and vs a foes army they will most likely have some sort of shooting.

Yeah, I figured as much. This is my reworked list, and the army I'm going with:

Heroes:
Spellsinger - L2 Upgrade, Glamourweave Kindred, Elven Mount, Calaingor's Stave

Core:
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
8 Dryads

Comes to 474 points, leaving me enough spare points to either slap another 25 point Magic item or Spite onto the hero, or put unit champions in two of the Dryad units.

Figure I can cram most of the Dryads into a forest with the mage, and treesurf around the battlefield on multiple one-die castings of Treesinging. If the forest is big enough, then I would be completely immune to fire until I got close and exited the forest.

Zenos osgorma

from experiance i say take two units of Dryads and 1 or 2 if possiable units of glade guard.

Well, as I mentioned, I'm trying to field all Spirits, so the Glade Guard is out.

I know this is an old one, but still...

I'm a very regular Asrai player and I play quite a lot of games at 500pts because they don't take too long. I wouldn't personally rely on WE magic in 500pts - it plays a supporting role and unless you have lots of it you'll struggle to get your spells through. Bare minimum for WE magic IMO is 2xL2 Spellsinger plus a Treeman, and that's pretty light all things said and done. Not to mention, all-skirmisher armies aren't really viable these days outside of a Beasts army - grab yourself some Wild Riders if you want to keep to Forest Spirit units.

My 500pts WE army looks like:

Branchie - 65pts
10 GG w. Command - 144pts
8xDryads - 96pts
3x Tree Kin - 195pts

Total 500pts

This gives me not only more variety, but also the necessary materials to pull off some basic strategies. It also conveniently follows the Border Patrol selection rules.

This list has seen a lot of action recently during the WOE campaign on WH Realm, and it's generally reasonably effective. My biggest gripe is the lack of staying power exhibited by the Tree Kin, but good shooting phases from the GG can often remedy that.

Inenor

Since no one's posted i thought i'd share my new list and get some conversation type activity started up. icon_biggrin.gif

i made a new list and it's improved my game by alot. And that's saying something. icon_gonk.gif

Saurus Oldblod:
-Light Armor
-Enchanted Sheild
-Glyph Necklace
-Sword of the hornet
-Bane Head
-Quetzl,Sotek,Itzl
-Carnosaur

Skink Cheif:
-Light Armor
-Blowpipe
-Maiming sheild
-Sword of Might
-Sotek
-Scout

Skink Skirmishers:
-Blowpipe
-3 units of 10
-2 units as scouts
-1 unit of regular

Saurus Warriors:
-Full Command
-2 units of 20
-Quetzl

Saurus Cavalry:
-1 unit of 10
-full command

Salamander:
-1 unit of 3

Stegadon:
-1 stegadon

all togeather its 2248 points

My knowledge of Lizzies comes only from playing against them.

The composition of the Core section seems fine - blocks of 20 Saurus are very hard to shift, so two should be fine (I forget which one Quetzl is - I want to say +1 save? or +1 Dispel Dice? - where on earth is my book...), and the Skinks play a nice supporting role though I wouldn't expect them to do much.

10 Saurus Cavalry seems excessive - especially for the points you pay, I'd go for something like 7 or 8 and spend the leftovers elsewhere - you cannot base your battle plan on a unit like that because they're a little too awkward. Being on hte slower end of the cavalry scale, they can still be outmaneuvered or even ignored completely by a fast enemy, and a slow enemy isn't likely to care about an effectively small unit like that taken one-on-one - a slightly smaller unit would actually be more threatening if it allowed you to spend more pints elsewhere!

Salamanders are nice, tough to kill and very worrying for lighter armies e.g. Elves - keep as is.

Stegadon is pretty much a given in most Lizzie armies I guess, but they're not actually that impressive IMO...

As fro the characters, I'm used to seing more of them on the field, but that goes to player's tastes I suppose. Carnosaur is ok, monsters are a powerful tool in any army but don't get too reliant on it!

Skink chief? Any particular reason considering Skinks are just a throwaway unit in this army? I'd either spend the points elsewhere on units (you can probably get another unit of Skinks for that many points) or go for a Scar Vet to bolster one of your Warrior units.

Not a bad looking list though. Depending upon what the Spawning of Quetzl does, I might be worried about magic defence - though if it's +1 DD then it wouldn't be a problem.  

[Inenor]

the skink cheif is there to help take troops in the side, he's WS 4, S 5, 5 attacks on the charge. he hits like a weaker scar-vet. and quetzle is +1 to armor.  

[Epherion]

Inenor

the skink cheif is there to help take troops in the side, he's WS 4, S 5, 5 attacks on the charge. he hits like a weaker scar-vet. and quetzle is +1 to armor.

Skink Chiefs are still a bit of a waste in an army that is still predominantly Saurus, as your Skink units are rarely going to contribute more than the occasional march block and shooting casualty - they can't cut it in a flank or rear charge, and even with a hero in tow their contribution against most enemies will be minimal. Yes, that Chief is fairly destructive as Heroes go, but there are still better ways of spending those precious points.

Now the Spawning has been cleared up, I'd definitely say you need more dispel dice, unless your regular opponents tend to be magic light. Those Saurus aren't going to be looking too happy after a Spirit of the Forge or Wall of Fire etc. A Skink Priest with a couple of dispel scrolls instead of that Chief (find any more points you need from the Saurus Cavalry) would improve your list quite a lot in terms of balance.  

[Inenor]

this was also a list for the oasis special rules in the emperors compendium. also it got me a draw against a darkelf player. and if i replaced thecheifs blowpipe with a javelin, it would be a S 5 ranged atk. that's an 8 inch stegadon bolt from a skink that hits on 3's, though there isnt any rank penetration. stressed sweatdrop  

[Epherion]

Inenor

this was also a list for the oasis special rules in the emperors compendium. also it got me a draw against a darkelf player. and if i replaced thecheifs blowpipe with a javelin, it would be a S 5 ranged atk. that's an 8 inch stegadon bolt from a skink that hits on 3's, though there isnt any rank penetration. stressed sweatdrop

Javelins don't alter your Strength stat, and so far as I'm aware, the Sword of Might wouldn't for shooting purposes - you get the bonus when using the weapon, see pg54 of the BRB. In this case, I'd go for a blowpipe considering that the range is better and Skink Chiefs have reasonable enough BS to carry off the nasty modifiers on the weapon. Either way this is nothing like a Stegadon bolt.  

[Inenor]

hehe sweatdrop forgot magic weapon characteristics don't carry over to mundane wapons ( i wrote that at 1 in the morning). silly me. 3nodding  

[Oryn]

Epherion

I know this is an old one, but still...

I'm a very regular Asrai player and I play quite a lot of games at 500pts because they don't take too long. I wouldn't personally rely on WE magic in 500pts - it plays a supporting role and unless you have lots of it you'll struggle to get your spells through. Bare minimum for WE magic IMO is 2xL2 Spellsinger plus a Treeman, and that's pretty light all things said and done. Not to mention, all-skirmisher armies aren't really viable these days outside of a Beasts army - grab yourself some Wild Riders if you want to keep to Forest Spirit units.

My 500pts WE army looks like:

Branchie - 65pts
10 GG w. Command - 144pts
8xDryads - 96pts
3x Tree Kin - 195pts

Total 500pts

This gives me not only more variety, but also the necessary materials to pull off some basic strategies. It also conveniently follows the Border Patrol selection rules.

This list has seen a lot of action recently during the WOE campaign on WH Realm, and it's generally reasonably effective. My biggest gripe is the lack of staying power exhibited by the Tree Kin, but good shooting phases from the GG can often remedy that.

Yeah, I've given up on magic till I get to at least 1000, preferably 1500. Current list that I'm fielding is

Branchwraith - Cluster of Radiants
8 Dryads
8 Dryads
3 Treekin
Total - 477 points

Leaves me free to pick a spite for the Branchie depending on how I feel, generally either Murder of Spites or Pageant of Shrikes. If my opponent is really going to be a d**k about not letting me go 2 points over, then I'll just up one of the Treekin to an Elder and be 3 points under. Of course, I'd like to pull the Branchwraith and Treekin for a Wild Rider Noble and a unit of Wild Riders, but I don't have the models at the moment.

A lack of staying power in Treekin? In the couple games I've played thus far, Treekin were really good, hardly being hurt at all in the first game, and while practically melting under fire magic, the remaining model didn't take a wound for the rest of the second game. Is it just that in larger games, there's more stuff that can hurt them, while their size stays more or less the same?  

[explodeyFox]

Well, preparing for assorted GDs, 'Ard Boyz 2250 practice (My tourney list is solid for 'Ard Boyz), and GTs, I've been giving the Dwarf book another glance-over. Unfortunately, this is yet another Thorek List, but I refuse to play a full gun-line.

(Also note this is preparing for VC magic and Daemon/Mortal magic)
So without further ado, my newest 2250 list:

Lords:
Thorek
505

Heroes:
Runesmith (chills with machinery)
GW, SH, Spell Breaking (x2) Ro Stone
131

Runesmith (Front Liner)
GW, SH, MRo Kragg, (x2) Ro Snorri, Ro Stone
151

Thane
BSB, Shield
92

Core:
16 Warriors (BSB goes here)
Shields, SB
154

12 Long Beards
154

16 Thunderers
224

Special:

15 Iron Breakers (front line RS goes here)
SB
205

11 Miners
121

Cannon
Engineer
105

2 Bolt Throwers
Engineers
120

Rare:
Organ Gun
140

Organ Gun/Flame cannon/Gyrocopter (haven't decided yet D: )
140

~I've play tested with this list and it seems pretty solid so far. It does very well to slow and even stop magic, while sending the Iron Breakers, Warriors, and Long Beards into combat while the heavy artillery list just blows things away. Miners can wizard/machine/flank hunt (I love those little guys so much!). I like having 9 DD to really put a hold on Invocation and just let the static combat res win me some undead kills, and it helps protect against them nasty daemons. But if I overextend myself, I left 2 "scrolls" just in case.  

[Inenor]

2000 pt army list for Lizzies.

Slann:505
-etheral, +1 dice, 1 lore, regen
-plaque of dominion, dispell scrollx2
Skink Priest:150
-lvl 2
-Dispell scrollx2
Gor'Rok:215
Scar-Vet: 140
-Light Armor
- Sword of Might & Enchanted Sheild
Saurus Warriors:500 (250x2)
-FC
-20 saurus, two units of 20.
Skink Skirmishers:70
-10 skinks
Kroxigors:185
-3 kroxigores (one is the ancient)
Stegadon:235
-regular stegadon