Wood Elf Tactica - Treekin

I apologize for lack of updates in the last few weeks, gaming has been on a brief sojourn and I've been terribly busy doing other things.  (Composing a Dark Eldar army list that fits my playstyle for one).  I will start off this next topic with the tactics I use for my Treekin.  As I have said before, these are the ways that I personally use these units and I welcome the input of others on how they use them.

Wood Elf Tactica - Treekin


The Special selection for the Wood Elf army, the Treekin are arguably the best Monstrous Infantry in the game.  Why?   Well let's look at their stats first and foremost.  They are Str 5 and Tough 5 and have 3 wounds.  They are initiative 3 and boast a hefty 3 attacks each and the have both a 4+ armor save and a 5+ ward save.  Now yes they are flammable but we'll address that concern later.

The Treekin unit provides the Wood Elf army with some much needed toughness, durability and strength.  The majority of the Wood Elf army is not heavily armored nor especially tough or built to dig in and sustain multiple rounds of combat.  The Treekin however provide you with an incredible anvil to have your opponent smash into.

Let's examine the benefits and detriments of the Treekin unit.  (or as they are represented in my army as the Wolfkin, Feral Knights of Coeth Mara - teehee go go roleplaying nerdness!)

Pros:

• Monstrous Infantry - They are able to rank up 3 wide and get all their attacks 2 ranks deep.  They are able to utilize Stomp and a standard unit of 6 will provide you with 18 attacks.
• Scaly Skin of 4+ 
• Toughness, Strength and Movement of 5
• Initiative, Wounds and Attacks of 3
• Cause Fear and are Tree Spirits (Immune to Psychology and 5+ ward save)

Cons

• Their 5+ Ward Save is negated by magical attacks or spells.
• They are flammable and as a result take double the amount of wounds from flaming attacks
• They are very expensive - 65 points a piece.  A unit of 6 will run you 390 points.

In 7th edition I did not run Treekin because they were too expensive for what I was getting in return, however in 8th edition this unit has become a very serious staple in all my lists.  Now the question is, how do I use these elite monstrous infantry?

1. The Anvil -  I will march the Treekin towards what I have decided is the most threatening unit and have my opponent smash into them.  The Treekin normally can hold strong against practically anything allowing me to smash into the opponent's flanks with my other melee centered units.

2. The Shield - I will place the Treekin next to my Dryads and Wild Riders and march them forward at an angle providing the other two units with cover until the entire flank of my army is able to attack with the Treekin leading the charge.  This tactic is difficult to pull off if your opponent has multiple large blocks of infantry or massed shooting.

3. The Blender - Using my Wild Riders or Dryads as the initial charge unit, I will attempt to slam into the unfortunate enemy's flank and unleash the full strength of this fully operation death star upon them.

4.  The Roadblock - I will park the Treekin in a spot where my opponent has to engage them first or be forced to go around and get flank charged by another unit or eat 2 full 20 man glade guard units worth of arrows.  This tactic is similar to the Shield but I allow the opponent to come to me rather than me to him.

You can not be timid when using Treekin, they are tough as nails and can withstand a lot of punishment.  Using synergy with the Lore of Beasts can be ultra effective with Treekin.  Wyssan's Wildform can turn them into Treemen without the Thunderstop.  Having Str 6/T6 monstrous infantry is a nightmare to any opponent.  Lore of Life can also make them ridiculously tough giving them Tough 9!  In several of my games, I've used my Treekin to draw out my opponent and force them to engage them where I want them too.  This is perfect for Wood Elves since we work best when we can pick our fights rather than have them chosen for us.

The most optimal unit size for Treekin is 6.  I've seen some lists where people run 4 of them with only 1 rank or will run 8 treekin 4 wide and 2 ranks deep.  Honestly, for the point cost 6 give you the most bang for your buck.  Also if you are able to slam into your opponent's flank, they can negate ranks.  In smaller point games (sub 2000) taking more than 3 Treekin is really cost prohibitive but depending on how you support them with other units can be effective.  While your Treekin are tough as ...a tree, they do need support.  You need to always have another unit nearby to flank or rear charge your opponent.  Not many units if any can stand up to 6 Treekin and another unit of either Dryads or Wild Riders chewing through them.

Anyway hope this has been helpful to other Wood Elf players!

I'll post more hopefully in the next few weeks.