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I'm using some Wood Elves as Exodites in my 40k army, but I'm wanting to magnetize the bases and eventually use them for fantasy too. So, keeping that in mind, I had a couple of questions.

Between Sisters of the Thorn and Wild Riders, is one or the other a must-have or a never-take unit? If they are both useful that's fine, but I have three of the dual kits, and the leftovers could get modeled as either type.

On the Wild Riders, is the Wild Hunter's sword something special? Or just a generic ccw? For the rest of the Wild Riders, same question for their spears.

Is it usually standard in Fantasy to use a musician and a standard in each unit?

Sorry for the noob questions, but I don't play Fantasy yet; I just want to make sure I won't have to reassemble my models when I start.

I'll try, don't have my book with me and its been 3 months since I played them,

Both sisters and wild riders are good, sisters are more niche, and I use a unit of 5 as an extra spellpower and flank hitter...their ward save is solid...
Wild riders are the alpha strikers
Off the cuff, I don't remember the sword in the magic weapon section, but if it is, you could only have 1 per army...use the others for modelling
Not every unit fields standards and musicians, but they can...one adds +1 to combat resolution, the other is a tie breaker...a ten man wild rider unit will most likely use them...a 5 man flanking unit may not

Okie doke. Thanks. Can you field them in units of 8, or are they only useful in multiples of 5?

Wild riders are really only very good at the front rank as they deliver 3 STR 5 attacks (rider only) on the charge. Supporting ranks are limited to 1 attack. There are two options to consider:

1) Your wild riders will likely get targeting with shooting / magic and don't want to run the risk of your unit's ability to threaten significantly diminish from a casualty or two. The solution, put more than 5 wild riders

2) However, if you do so, you run the risk of the original paragraph... CAPPED at 1 attack. The solution, run your wild riders 5+ wide to maximize your offensive capability.

The downside is it becomes more of a pain to maneuver (even being fastcav) the bigger your unit footprint is. Also, it's possible that your 7+-wide (for example) unit of Wild Riders can be excessive since if you hit a unit's flank... you may not necessarily be able to fit everyone into combat.

Wild Hunter has a hand weapon (sword) and an Asrai Spear, which gives him +1 Strength when charging, and always has Armour Piercing. He's exactly the same as his unit, wargear wise.

Standards and Musicians are useful depending on the unit. For Wild Riders, the Musician isn't too useful since they're Fast Cav and can Free Reform, but the Standard could be good - ideally you'll never charge them into a straight-up fight, which is where standards are most useful, but it can make the difference between drawing and winning combat.

To be honest, with Wild riders they either win by a ton by killing loads of the enemy or they all die. As the best save you can give them is 4+ and they have typical elven toughness, sustained combat is not going to go their way, making the musician and banner pretty pointless. That said, most people who play Warhammer don't worry WYSIWYG so building the full command group probably won't do any harm.

As for the Sisters, another good unit- a great place to keep a mage protected (give her magic resistance for added fireball proofing perhaps), or just use them to harass the enemy. They can be a real (literal) thorn in the side of the enemy.

As to the unit sizes, in Warhammer you only usually have a minimum unit size- 5 in these cases. Taking more than 7 or so Wildriders is a common tactic- better able to weather enemy shooting and a wider front for combat- but 5 can work fine too.

The sword on the Wild Hunter(the Wild Rider Champion) is really just there to make him stand out.

He does not replace his Asrai Spear when he gets upgraded, so for all intents and purposes he retains the Asrai Spear. It's up to you if you want to model him with the sword or not.

On the Treeman, is one build considered 'optimal' or are they all viable? (Should I build mine in any one specific way so I can still use him in a WE army later?)

Also, are the Wild Rider shields an upgrade, or something the unit just has? (Again, trying to figure out whether to attach them to the figs or not.)

 Jimsolo wrote:
On the Treeman, is one build considered 'optimal' or are they all viable? (Should I build mine in any one specific way so I can still use him in a WE army later?)

Also, are the Wild Rider shields an upgrade, or something the unit just has? (Again, trying to figure out whether to attach them to the figs or not.)

Treemen aren't really optimal.(The book has 2 optimal builds) No forest spirit is. However the sword is Durthu, the others are purely cosmetic.

As for the shields, they're an upgrade that should be already factored into the base cost of the unit.

So they always come with the shields? Or do they have to be bought separately?

Also, do people run Durthu? Is he any good? Or should I just stick to a garden variety ole Treeman?

Durthu just got a heck of a lot better with the change to spell generation and the new Power/Dispel Dice changes.

Previously, he was limited to just one spell from "Lore of Beasts". Now he has access to(if not necessarily the ability to succeed at casting) the entire Lore.
Previously, he was limited by the fact that someone could huck all of their dice at your attempt to cast with Durthu. But now? They have to roll a D6 to see how many dice they get to throw out as a Dispel--in addition to you potentially being able to outdice them with your own Power Dice roll. Couple that with the +2(+1 for Wizard Level 1 and +1 for the Lore of Beasts attribute) and the potential +1 for him being in a Forest when casting--all in all meaning that you could be getting off some fun spells damage wise and some fun spells buff wise on a very nasty close combat character.
You do have to keep an eye out for flaming attacks though, as he takes double wounds from any unsaved wounds suffered.


In regards to shields, they come separately but Wood Elf units have so little in the way of survivability while having such a high points cost that the shields basically become a necessity.

Honestly Fantasy from my experience isn't too WYSIWYG strict.

There are of course limites but you a treeman is a treeman especially if you only have one.

Are other Treemen a necessity when taking Durthu? Or can he be taken without them?

He can be taken without them, but again the new Magic rules just gave a huge boost to the Treeman Ancient.

He's a L2(upgradeable to 3+4) Wizard that can only use Lore of Life--allowing you to keep Durthu alive and rampaging.

Ideally you want the lvl 3. The end times lore of life vortex is pretty kick ass as long as it doesn't hit your opponent.

 Kanluwen wrote:
He can be taken without them, but again the new Magic rules just gave a huge boost to the Treeman Ancient.

He's a L2(upgradeable to 3+4) Wizard that can only use Lore of Life--allowing you to keep Durthu alive and rampaging.

So if I'm only planning on buying and building one, would you recommend building him as Durthu or the Treeman Ancient?

Build him however y9u think looks best. Nobody will argue with you and those who will are just being dicks.

Both are good. The Ancient is a great Support Mage who can smash stuff, Durrthu is a Beatstick who can sometimes be a really fricken awesome beatstick.

 Jimsolo wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
He can be taken without them, but again the new Magic rules just gave a huge boost to the Treeman Ancient.

He's a L2(upgradeable to 3+4) Wizard that can only use Lore of Life--allowing you to keep Durthu alive and rampaging.

So if I'm only planning on buying and building one, would you recommend building him as Durthu or the Treeman Ancient?

The Treeman Ancient, IMO.

You can run him as the Ancient or a generic Treeman without any real argument, while Durthu is very visually distinctive.

I appreciate all the advice, everybody! So what are the must-have units I should keep my eye peeled for? At least as far as Wood Elves are concerned?

Edit: and are there any I should avoid like the plague?

Must-haves:

Deepwood Scouts with Hagsbane Tips.

Waywatchers.


Must Not Haves:

Arcane Bodkins. They're a trap. You already reduce the target armour by 1 for being a Wood Elf. Bodkins are basically just an extra 1 or 2 armour reduction, and the only things in fantasy with an armour save worth using them on are monsters (too tough to reliably hurt) or heavy cavalry (which come in limited numbers). You're better off with Poison every time.

The widely accepted must haves are, and the reasons why they are, as follows:

Wild riders: Getting these out of the way early on. These dudes are the only way you can really rack up major points, short of running HotEK with a cauldron.

Waywatchers/Level 4 metal: these are there to deal with armour. Something wild riders can struggle to do, with them only being S5.

Level 4 death: Not even going to explain this beyond death magic. Interchangeable with shadow if you're taking metal though.

Sisters of the thorn: bunker for your mages. They can get you out of trouble by virtue of them being M9 fast cav with a 4++.

Trueflight glade guard: I've been using these more and more as I nail my wood elf list down. I still think a unit of bodkins is awesome for that extra source of anti armour, because waywatchers do die to stiff breezes. But, trueflight are tried and tested.

Starfire shafts: one unit of whatever the +1 to wound forces of destruction flaming arrows are.

Glade Riders: Ambushing fast cav with poisoned arrows. These guys control the entire deployment phase.

The problem with wood elves is that they have 2 lists that are good , and I've already listed one of them.

Are the sword and head the only bits signature to Durthu? Could I magnetize it?

The sword, the head, and the leg pose.

 Jimsolo wrote:
I appreciate all the advice, everybody! So what are the must-have units I should keep my eye peeled for? At least as far as Wood Elves are concerned?

Edit: and are there any I should avoid like the plague?

With the new magic rules, you are going to want at the very least a minimum unit of Sister of the Thorn. It will give you full spectrum access to the Lore of Beasts and the Lore of Life, both of which are excellent currently.

Wild Riders of Kurnous are also pretty hitty and killy, i like them a lot.

Glade Guard with enchanted arrows of various shapes and size are also highly recommended.

Past that... fill to taste.


Goes without saying you'll probably want a level 4, and maybe even a baby level 1 or 2, or a pair of level 1's. Woodies get a phenomenal range of lore access, so you'd be wise to take advantage of it.

Finished the model. Magnetized to switch between Durthu and Ancient.

And no pics? I am disappoint.