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OK guys, so I got completely massacred last month. This month, I want to come out strong and really redeem myself.

This is what I've got so far (SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL POINTS VALUES AND RULES):

HEROES (1-3)
Commander-- Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Dragon Armour, Ithilmir Barding, a Lance. Honours: Pure of Heart. Magic Item: Radiant Gem of Hoeth. Level 1 Wizard.
Mage-- Level 2 Wizard. Honours: Seer (can choose spells instead of rolling for them)
Commander-- Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Dragon Armour, Ithilmir Barding. He is the Battle Standard Bearer. Magic Standard: The Battle Banner

CORE (2+)
Archers x 10
Archers x 10

SPECIAL (0-3)
Dragon Princes of Caledor x 16-- Command Members: Musician
Shadow Warriors x 9-- Skirmishers, Scouts

RARE(0-1)
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower--Two Bolt Throwers can occupy one Rare Slot

Let me know what you guys think. My plan here would be to try and make the Wood Elves come to me, shooting them as much as I can until someone gets close enough to the Dragon Princes to be charged.
Definitely interested in reasons why this will not work or why different units are needed to make this work.

It's gonna be 1500 Points, Pitched Battle, generating Terrain from the Ulthuan & Naggaroth page of the big rulebook.


HOUSE RULES CURRENTLY IN USE
1. Wood Elf flying units CAN take off and land in their extra magic fey wood terrain (or all woods/forests if playing at home in Athel Loren). However, the normal rules of Line of Sight still apply for shooting and declaring charges.
2. Insane Courage - a unit that is defeated in close combat ALWAYS has the chance to pass a Break Test on double 1's (even in the case of a "Fear Autobreak")
3. Power Dice - the power dice generated by each individual wizard can only be used by him/her
4. Dispel Scrolls - Dispel Scrolls CAN dispel spells cast with Irresistible Force
5. Monsters with Breath Weapons- MAY use their Breath Weapons to Stand & Shoot and in Close Combat (not Salamanders, though)



.

Wood Elves were (are?) my main army in 6th and High Elf my main opponent, so my 2cents:

- If the Wood Elf player knows what he is doing, the Bolt Throwers will be swiftly dealt with (Eagles, Hawks, Waywatchers, hero with M9....) and will make that big juicy cavalry unit move around for an optimal position to multi-charge. If this happens, game over.
- WE mainly rely on movement (do not let them move freely) and support (picking out their small expensive units, very vulnerable to magic missiles). YMMV, WE armies can be quite varied.
- 2 Commanders + 16 Dragon Princes is a bit too much concentrated in one unit. Very easy to avoid with WE. Unless you are going for point denial.
- I always liked HE having at least two mages, one with their lore and the other with heavens, geared up with offensive magic items (the Khaine ring bound spell and +1 power dice are a must!).
- I find archers to be rather meh (that S3 never gets anywhere), and WE will outshoot you. Silver Helms are rather good.

But that's just my opinion. If you feel the list, let us know how it went!

VBS,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read that and for the thoughtful reply.

My opponent loves to run Dryads. Does that influence your advice at all?
In our recent games I have kept on getting massacred because I am always too eager and move up to him and get charged.
This time, I was planning on changing my game plan to more of a ranged attack. I certainly am not married to the strategy though, I'm just sick of walking a bunch of units up the field to have everyone flee before they get to fight.


I will definitely be making a Battle Report for this after its been played, I am trying to improve at making those.

Agreed on thinking the DPs and mounted characters are too much of an "all your eggs in one basket" scenario. He leads you around to where he can flank, and if he has even one unit that can deny your ranks, that Battle Banner won't be enough to stop you from having to break test. DOUBLY so if he coordinates the attack with other units. A Cav unit that massive is too large to maneuver in any meaningful way. You're better off with multiple cav units if you're trying to close the gap.

Me personally I would drop all shooting as you are going to be outclassed in that respect. WE don't have the static Combat Resolution that your High Elves have, and you have the speed to make them fight on your terms.

I agree with Tony. Wood Elves hate it when the enemy is very mobile and High Elves have the tools to do so.

Multiple 5-6 man Silver Helms + Dragon Princes is a good start. WE don't have much static combat res, so heavily rely on making the charge (if possible multi- and/or flank). Against many heavy armored and fast units, they struggle.

Against Dryads, I think magic missiles are the best. No need to hit and cancels their ward save. A 4+ and it's a wound most of the time. So while HE shooting is meh (I'd keep the Bolt Throwers as they are good distraction but require protection), I think they are excellent at fielding mass magic.
2 lvl2 Mages: one with the Khaine ring, the other with Seer (Fire magic for the D6 and 2D6 missiles) and +1 PD will give a hard time. That's 3-4 magic missiles a turn. From experience, WE don't go heavy into magic at less than 2k (their combat characters are much better).

I also think that a Commander on Great Eagle is a good choice. With a heavy weapon/halberd it can take on any small unit and be a pain in the flank. If you give him the Ring or the bow that shoots 3 times at S5, I guarantee that the WE player will concentrate efforts to remove him. Downside is vulnerability to shoot. A Hail of Doom can easily remove him.

Another point I'd keep in mind against WE is psychology. Many units cause Fear and with all the shooting, some Panic test will occur. If you have a Dragon Prince champion, giving him the +1Ld item to all units within 6" could be a good idea.

That's from the top of my head. I suppose many other options are viable, WE can play very varied so multiple strategies could work.
I also think that HE get the short end of the stick since their army book suffers from overcosted units and little variety (too many units have a similar role), while the WE is one of the best of 6th (right before 7th which started an intense powercreep).
So it's a bit of an uphill battle.

Also Howler Wind shuts down all their shooting. If you have seen there's no reason to bypass this spell.

OK guys,
Thank you a ton for all your expertise. After reviewing the advice and going back through the book, here is my next draft. (SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL POINTS VALUES AND RULES):

HEROES (1-3)
Mage-- Level 2 Wizard. Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Ithilmir Barding. Honours: Pure of Heart (Immune to Panic). Magic Item: Ring of Fury
Mage-- Level 2 Wizard. Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Ithilmir Barding. Honours: Seer (can choose spells instead of rolling for them)
Commander-- Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Dragon Armour, Ithilmir Barding. He is the Battle Standard Bearer. Magic Standard: The Battle Banner

CORE (2+)
Silver Helms x 6 -- Command Members: Musician
Silver Helms x 6 -- Command Members: Musician
Silver Helms x 6 -- Command Members: Musician

SPECIAL (0-3)
Dragon Princes of Caledor x 11-- Command Members: Musician
Tiranoc Chariot

RARE(0-1)
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower--Two Bolt Throwers can occupy one Rare Slot

My new plan is to play a Run-Them-Down style since everybody has 16-18 inch charge ranges, while hammering them with as many magic missiles and repeater bolt shots as I can.

It's gonna be 1500 Points, Pitched Battle, generating Terrain from the Ulthuan & Naggaroth page of the big rulebook.


HOUSE RULES CURRENTLY IN USE
1. Wood Elf flying units CAN take off and land in their extra magic fey wood terrain (or all woods/forests if playing at home in Athel Loren). However, the normal rules of Line of Sight still apply for shooting and declaring charges.
2. Insane Courage - a unit that is defeated in close combat ALWAYS has the chance to pass a Break Test on double 1's (even in the case of a "Fear Autobreak")
3. Power Dice - the power dice generated by each individual wizard can only be used by him/her
4. Dispel Scrolls - Dispel Scrolls CAN dispel spells cast with Irresistible Force
5. Monsters with Breath Weapons- MAY use their Breath Weapons to Stand & Shoot and in Close Combat (not Salamanders, though)

Why don't you have more banners? You're gonna need every point of res you can get.

Alright, third times the charm. Dropped the 3rd unit of silver helms and added heavy armour and shields to the first two, along with banners. Beefed up the mages with all the above suggestions.
Thank you guys a ton as always just for reading this (SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL POINTS VALUES AND RULES):

HEROES (1-3)
Mage-- Level 2 Wizard. Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Ithilmir Barding. Honours: Pure of Heart (Immune to Panic). Enchanted Item: Ring of Fury. Arcane Item: Dispel Scroll
Mage-- Level 2 Wizard. Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Ithilmir Barding. Honours: Seer (can choose spells instead of rolling for them). Arcane Item: Jewel of the Dusk (+1 Power Dice)
Commander-- Equipment: Mounted on an Elven Steed, Dragon Armour, Ithilmir Barding. He is the Battle Standard Bearer. Magic Standard: The Battle Banner

CORE (2+)
Silver Helms x 6 -- Equipment: Heavy Armour, Shields.Command Members: Champion, Banner, Musician
Silver Helms x 6 -- Equipment: Heavy Armour, Shields.Command Members: Banner, Musician

SPECIAL (0-3)
Dragon Princes of Caledor x 11-- Command Members: Musician
Tiranoc Chariot

RARE(0-1)
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower--Two Bolt Throwers can occupy one Rare Slot

My new plan is to play a Run-Them-Down style since everybody has 16-18 inch charge ranges, while hammering them with as many magic missiles and repeater bolt shots as I can.
The Silver Helms and Dragon Princes are very tanky with 2+ Armour Saves, and now both Silver Helms have Banners and I'm still bringing the BSB with the Dragon Princes.
I can't know who my General will be so, Mages can embed in Silver Helm units or fall back to a safe distance quickly on 9" steeds and have solid Armour Saves of 5+ considering theyre mages.

Let me know if were getting any warmer here.

All you can do is run it. With different tastes across gaming you'll always have someone prefer a different build. Just make note of what does and doesn't work.

Let's talk Lores of Magic and Spell selection-

I think for my Seer with the extra Power Dice I'm going to choose spells 3 and 5 in Lore of Fire (Fiery Blast, the 2d6 Magic Missile, and Conflagration of Doom, able to target any enemy unit anywhere on the table)

For my Dispel Scroll carrying, Ring of Fury carrying Mage, I'm not sure what to run. I'm torn between Fire, Heavens, and the regular High Magic in their book.

Howler Wind from the Lore of Life, and chase it with Master of the Woods.

I think you cant go wrong with Heavens, having 2 great damage spells with lightning and uranons, and the 2nd sign is probably the most useful spell in the game