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 Post subject: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:41 pm 
Wayfarer
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Ive posted this list on warseer and wanted to throw it out for a new crowd to critique. I did a couple tweakings on Xelee's advice but havent seen too much difference (slightly more victories). Against Gondor I seem to do terrible but.

Thranduil
Legolas
BH

3 Galad Knights w/ bows and Elvish cloaks fortune
2 ents
3 Mirk Sentinels

3 WE Bows
3 WE Bows
3 WE Glaives w/ banner and captain
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 Post subject: Re: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 10:20 pm 
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I wouldn't add Ents unless you have points to spare and a very solid force already. Generally H2k models seem to go down on the first turn that they engage in melee. It's just not that hard to get a 6 if you have a full company attacking them. VH2K is a little better, and this weekend I used Treebeard for the first time in a 2000pt game with my Wood Elves and he did very good. A big part of this was having an effective Ambush with him coming up behind 6 Companies of Goblins while I had 4 Companies of Sentinels hit them from the front. His major Fight difference over the Goblins combined with his tremendous strength did great. And the fact that he was a Monster and Legolas (in the Sentinels) let them strike as Cav meant that the Goblins were pretty much wiped out before they could roll back. He didn't go down until he went toe-to-toe with a (heavily wounded) Balrog. But TBH any basic H2K model should be viewed as likely disposable once they engage. Ents do have a good ranged attack with high strength so that is something to consider.

The Glaives on Elves aren't as effective I've found. That +1 Fight just didn't pay for itself. Instead I've gone with a 100% bow armed force. Beyond doubt ranged attackes in WotR just aren't that effective, with Elf bows being Str 2 at best and Str 1 for many Turn 1 shots, but still, when you're throwing 90+ dice at 3+ to hit, you're going to be rolling some 5s and 6s. :-) On a typical game I may be able to eliminate a company of heavily armed foes before they get too close. Against most Cav it helps a lot more. Where it really helps though is with Legolas's special ability. Have him nail a Balrog or Mumuk with Crippling Shot (lower resiliance) then pump 50 or 60 arrows at it. You don't even need to spend Might for an Epic Shot (though that never hurts either).

The 100% Throwing Weapons on Wood Elves is awesome too. Again, 3+ hit and they are at your full strength so you have as much chance of wounding with them as you do with melee, except you aren't going to get slaughtered in return.

You need to basically accept that against anything tougher than a Goblin, for every die they roll in combat you will probably loose a model. D3 is just fun like that. So you have to pull all the stops you can to minimize that. Here are a few tips:

Keep your formations small enough to use Defensible Terrain when possible. I usually stick to 4-company formations since most of our terrain features hold 3 or 4. YMMV. The +2 Defense and limited charge bonuses even the odds dramatically. Also, use Legolas's Epic Defense when you can. You're now a reasonable D5 (or D7 if in Woods!!!!).

Legolas's Swift Strike is VERY important...but you need to take out as many enemy models as you can when you attack. I find he works great with Galadriel, Protectress of Lothlorien. She gives her Company a F10 and can call Epic Rage to give you a Str 7 for that turn. Too bad it lowers your Defense to 3...oh wait...WE already have a D3. :-) If the enemy fail their Terror as well (or you have Gandalf blast them with his special spell) and your enemy is at F0 then your Command Company rolls 18+ dice, all your other Companies roll 13+ dice, all at Str7 and dealing damage before they can strike back. It does work. And Galadriel can Duel in advance perhaps, with an "always on" F10. And if it happens to be a formation of Sentinels then the enemy may even be reduced to Str1 by them so even if you are at D3 it's not TOO bad.

Use your higher base move and Pathfinder, with smaller formations to get as many Flank/Rear attacks as possible.

You're "horde" isn't going to last long against many forces, but your Heroes can really make a difference. Might makes right, as the old saying goes.

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 Post subject: Re: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 6:41 am 
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Yes, Beowulf gives good advice. Who's BH may I ask? Drop the Galadhrim knights and the ents. Galadhrim knights don't hit hard enough and then aren't reselient enough to take out formations >2. Also, I used an ent with an elf army and any hero with a fair bit of might (primarily Boromir) can take it down first turn no problem. And as Beowulf said, don't bother with glaives. Just go for a pure ranged force. With the left over points, GPoL (scary Galadriel) would make a good adition with legolas especially if they fail their terror test. ALSO, playing elves, magic has saved my butt many times and is very useful for giving all your elves the buffs they need or de-buffing the enemy. You may want to ally in something hard-hitting. Perhaps some Khazad guard to go in your frontline?

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 Post subject: Re: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 2:52 pm 
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If you want to consider a "Five Armies" style force then dwarves are a very well themed ally and could give you a very hard hitting core formation. I personally would leave out Gimli and stick to more time-appropriate Heroes unless I was trying to be extra competitive.

However, a full Formation of Guardians of Caras Galadhon with Celeborn leading them can be as tough as almost anything. Put Gandalf in there for some magic power and a free Epic Defense or Epic Renewal each turn (not to mention Blessing of Valar to help replenish losses or his numerous other useful spells), or consider Saruman the White for a more aggressive stance (I'd probably use Gandalf). Have a 4-5 Company formation of Wood Elves or Sentinels with "Fighty" Galadriel and Legolas as I mentioned above for a softer but more hard-hitting force to support it. It's a lot of points in Epics but the more I play Elf forces the more I am learning to leverage them as a greater percentage of my overall army cost. My Mordor force is light on Heroes and heavy on tough troops, as is my starting Isengard army, but with Elves the Heroes really do carry the force.

With two key central formations like that, put the rest of your points to lots of WE archers and/or Galadhrim archers (WE have Enhcanted Cloaks and Throwing Weapons which I think make up the difference in 1D most of the time). Again, weak shooting but throwing a few dozen dice each turn you will hit something. No Heroes in these supporting formations eliminates risk from Epic Strike and forces your opponent to chase you to engage them, where your high Move and Pathfinder rules help. Keep these at maybe 2-3 companies each and dig into defensible terrain if you can, or keep moving and shooting otherwise. Give the enemy a wide range of things pestering them to draw off any forces you can or to give a chance for rear/flank attacks when possible.

If you do still have points for allies after getting a Wizard (I usually prefer one) then Eagles are often more effective than Ents. The ability to Swoop keeps doing frustrating damage to multiple enemy formations if you can line them up while keeping you away from countercharges that can take out an H2K model easily.

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 Post subject: Re: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 4:24 pm 
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Its the Mirkwood BH. No knights or ents eh? I really didnt wanna include any extra Galadhrim heroes. I was thinking of taking Radagast for some extra spells. The knights probably good to drop, as its 200pts with Fortune on them. But no ents at all eh? The Five armies idea intrigues me, and I was considering that for some time. Just a formation of shield dwarves then?
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 Post subject: Re: 1500 pts Wood Elf Army
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 4:59 pm 
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I have found the Thranduil's Halls Battlehost nice. If you don't have the models to get another company somewhere it can help. Obviously it's especially useful on a table with several wood/forest terrain pieces. The extra defense and ambush options are very nice.

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