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Hi,

Are Wood Elves playable in the 8th Edition? Their codex is really old, so i was thinking - is it a good idea to start a WE army?

There is endless rumour of a new codex for them with some new models at "some point". They have ended up very much like the Dark Eldar did - mostly not used as much because many people are on the fence about starting; waiting to see if htey get new models and also new rules.

Bonus is that their core army choices are cheap to buy compared to others - their battlebox hasn't had much of a price jump.

They have overcosted untis and many restrictions and limited choices. But they are fun to play.

I love my wood elf army! they are one of the most aggravating and rewarding armies in the game.

When you play right, and destroy the key parts of the opponent while only giving away the units you can afford to, nothing feels better. However there are games where you play the wrong matchup and there really is nothing you can do. I've even played my wood elves in tournaments and have done well, much to the surprise of many participants. My wood elves walk through people in my local area, but it is a small gaming group here.

As of right now, they are a fun army to play (however they can be quite annoying to play against) but have a steep learning curve. I can generally beat any army, but I need prior experience with the other army so I can make the right game decisions.

i wouldn't feel right making buying decisions, since a new book is rumored next month, but glade guard, dryads, and great eagles are your friends.

But this is all just my opinion

As a thought two or three (or maybe more if you want to go big) battle forces would probably set you up well for core troop choices. The only risk there is if GW decide to do new models for them ;but otherwise they'd be a solid core that won't likely go away and will only increase in price with any new release.

IMO there are 3 major issues that need to be changed:
1) Eternal guard moveing to core when led by a noble, not only highborn.
2) 2 more magic lores available, or 1 more lore and reworked Athel Loren
3) Cost reduction on eternal guard/waywatchers/treeman/spellweaver/wardancers, actually almost every unit.

I think this would make them more playable and popular, but not OP. Under current pricetag, non-forest spirit units should have army-wide ASF.

Wood Elves have one build I've seen work. It basically goes:

- characters on Eagles
- Wizards with Beasts
- Dryads, Waywatchers, more Eages
- tons of 10-strong units of Glade Guard

Focus fire, re-direct, and don't offer up many Victory Points in any one place.
Honestly? I hate playing lists like this. Avoidance is a neat trick and adds a lot of tactical options. But a whole army that does it is infuriating. I kind of want to ask my opponent, "...did you want me to play, or should I just pack up so you can move your models around and roll dice?"
...but it's the only option Wood Elves have.

NOTE there's some strong rumour of a new release coming up

...yup. But if the OP wanted to start now, that's the most common (and arguably the only) competitive build out there.

Remember to add that Arrow Hail item.

If you want to get specific, the standard is usually a High Born either on an Eagle or with the Alter Kindred rule, with the Bow of Loren, probably the Helm of the Hunt, and often Arcane Bodkins, for 5-6 shots that ignore armour.

Then, you run a BSB with Asendil's (?) Bane and the Hail of Doom Arrow, for 3d6 shots that hit on a 2+.

...the rest is up to taste, or so it appears. 1-2l units of 5 Waywatchers, 2 Eages, a few min. sized units of Dryads...and then as many Glade Guard as you can muster. One unit might be up to 15-strong. That unit take the Banner of Eternal Flame.

Now is a pretty good time to start on wood elves.
Yes, endless rumors of new book soon.
What does this mean?
Time to buy cheaper miniatures is limited.

I'd pick up a mix of units and get painting. Take a variety so you don't pigeon hole yourself when the book does come out.