Jeremy confused me by setting up in a corner and forced me to split my firepower between his large knot of Ogres in the far corner and his Yetis and Giant in the other. It was a sound deployment strategy since it forced me to focus a large amount of firepower into his Giant otherwise it would have wrecked havoc in my lines. Having 20+ Ogres suddenly 12" away from you Turn 1 is rather nerve wracking. Especially when it's not likely you will survive that combat. Fortunately I was able to maneuver properly and drop his Giant and enough Ogres so that by Turn 6 he only had 2 Ogres left on the board. It was a Massacre victory but I have a feeling that he won't be letting that happen again. I have a game against another player Eric's army next Wednesday and this will be my first run in against the annoyingly tough Dwarves of Warhammer Fantasy. Not to mention that Eric also runs with Slayers and some sort of solo Dwarf Heroes that are insanely good at just killing 10+ models a turn. This will definitely be a challenge and one I look forward to!
As I mentioned earlier here is my new list and the one I believe I will be running with until 8th Edition comes out.
The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren
2250 Warhammer Fantasy Wood Elf Army List
The Forest Stalkers of Athel Loren
Hero/General: Waywatcher Lord Sylvos Callandor the Huntsman, Ranger-general of Athel Loren
- Noble(75), Waywatcher Kindred(35), Rageth's Wildfire Blades(10), Hail of Doom Arrow(30): 150
Rare: 8 Waywatchers: 192
Rare: 7 Waywatchers: 168
Core: 10 Glade Guard: 120
Core: 10 Glade Guard: 120
Core: 10 Glade Guard: 120
Core: 6 Glade Guard Scouts: 102
The Wrath of Durthu
Hero: Branchwraith Ce'Nedra, Handmaiden of Durthu
- Branchwraith(65), Level 1 Wizard(50), A Cluster of Radiants(25): 140
Core: 8 Dryads: 96
Core: 8 Dryads: 96
Special: 3 Treekin: 195
The Outriders of Orion
Hero: Huntmaster Lloric Tanelsan, Lord of the Hunt
- Noble(75), Wild Rider Kindred(35), Great Stag(50), The Spear of Twilight(30): 190
Lord: Mist Walker Cyre Winterwolf, The Storm Warder of Athel Loren
- Highborn(145), Alter Kindred(35), Extra Hand Weapon(6), The Bow of Athel Loren(30), Arcane Bodkins(25), Briarsheath(15): 261
Special: 6 Wild Riders of Kurnous (158), Musician, Standard Bearer(18): 174
Special: 7 Wardancers: 126
Total: 2250
This list really puts emphasis on 3 things:
1. The strength of Wood Elf Archery - I've literally doubled the amount of shooting my army does from my old list. Due to the fact that Wood Elves excel at archery, this is really a no brainer.
2. Speed and Mobility and Killing Blow - I have several fast melee units that can snake around my archers and defend them against incoming attackers and by using multiple units I can move my archers and create an even better killing zone. I also have 4 units with Killing Blow, 2 of which are at range. This is a huge advantage, especially against armies that field heavily armored cavalry or foot soldiers.
3. Stronger theme for a Ranger lead army - Everyone who knows me knows that I love Rangers. They are my favorite D&D class, especially the ..Wood Elf Ranger. I wanted a Wood Elf army that had dual wielding, bow shooting, forest green cloak having rangers. Now I have it. I now have 2 units of Waywatchers that fit my desired type of unit to a T. I also have my themed squads that work together perfectly. Overall, I really am happy with how this list works and any modifications I do to it will only be made to further tailor it to the already existing theme. Also, the army is not cheesy or has anything ridiculously broken in it. The only questionable item is the Hail of Doom Arrow but even then, it's a one shot item.
I really feel Warhammer Fantasy has actually improved my tactical skills in Warhammer 40k. I enjoy Warhammer Fantasy more than 40k currently because the Wood Elf army really appeals to me. I enjoy the feel of how it works, I understand the limitations and strengths of the army. It took me less time to get the feel of this army and how it works than it did with my Eldar army. I owe that mainly to the fact that my Eldar were my first real experience with miniature war gaming and it was a true baptism by fire learning the best "feel" for that army. I also learned quickly how to cheese the hell out of my lists and make the broken-not fun to play against your friends lists. Knowing that I was able to finally settle into a theme and adapt a list to fit the way I like to play with my Eldar. I also learned that an Assault Eldar army is generally not expected, not to mention one that utilizes Guardians as shock troops (lol?). I had a really good anvil to be tempered against; Tau (insane amount of shooting), Chaos Space Marines (insane close combat), Imperial Guard (Jesus Christ could you not bring 13 tanks?) and lastly Dark Angels (god damn Space Marines have 3+ saves?). Each of these types of armies really helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do and also how I wanted to play. It also takes good friends to be patient with you while you learn so that when you do finally rise up and crush them they can smile and say "good job" instead of "well...I don't really see a big problem with your list" when they crush you by turn 4. Overall, I think knowing how to play both systems has really improved my wargaming skill and I can fully enjoy both systems now.
I think this weekend, time permitting, I'm going to try to fight Jeremy's Chaos Space Marines and if able Sunday attack Shawn's insane Ork army. The game against Jeremy will be 2k and will more than likely end up in a blood bath since Chaos Space Marines like it when you charge them in close combat. The game against Shawn will also be interesting since his Orks really like to shoot you ... a LOT. Dealing with Shawn's shooting Orks isn't the big problem, catching those Warbike riding bastards are!
If I'm able to get those two games in this weekend, I will definitely post some pictures and battle reps.
Insightful and interesting stuff, this. I'd be happy to read more articles like this. Editorialize it, tell us what it's been like on the Warhammer fast track.
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