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Heres a situation that was brought up in a group Im in.

Treeman Ancient +3 armor save, has a artifact that gives him +1... makeing him +2 armor save.

Mystic shield is cast on him, does he actually have a +1 armor BUT if he rolls a 1 he still gets a wound (because rolling a 1 for armor saves always fails). This was brought up because the case of rend.

So if he was attacked with a -1 rend weapon his save would then be +2 instead of +3.

Does that make sense?

He has a 1+ save, a roll of 1 will still fail because the rule of one overrides that, as you stated. But important to note is that he still has a 1+ save, the rule of one didn't change that. So a rend -1 attack would prompt a 2+ save, a rend -2 attack would be a 3+ save, and so on.

Got it, makes sense, thanks!

Note that the 'rules of one' mentioned above is NOT part of the standard rules. In the standard rules 1+ is an auto save, barring rend/mortal wounds etc.

from the FAQ

Q: Is it possible for modifiers to make a hit, wound or save roll
automatically successful? For example, a save roll of 3 or more
with a +2 modifier.
A: Yes. In this example, the save would be made
automatically.

The rule of ones only applies (by default) to pitched battle games from the generals handbook. Like any other rule you could use it elsewhere, but don't go into a game that is not pitched battle and assume it applies without asking first.

Yes, be wary of so called "narrative" gamers. They are known to stack mystic shield multiple times onto units to make them invincible and other such filth!

Also, as an aside, if he is the general, he can use his command ability to always reroll saves of 1. So, with a 2+ save, rerolling 1's, he becomes a tough bugger to kill. Even tougher if you give him Gnarled Warrior, making him ignore rends of -1 and Regrowth as his chosen spell from Deepwoods Lore.