Continuing on from my last thread, here are my first thoughts on the Wood Elves mandatory core choice. I’ll focus on 2,500 point lists, which I think will probably end up being the tournament norm again.
Love ’em or hate ’em, you gotta have ’em! Glade Guard are 1+ in the army, which I’m sure for some folks is a ‘tax’ they have to pay rather than something they are excited for. At 11 points a model, they are the cheapest model in the army, with T3 and no armour save. This is the same as the last few editions worth of rules, so shouldn’t come as any surprise. Glade Guard need to be kept away from the enemy at all costs! Thankfully, we have the tools to be able to do this.
Asrai Longbow
With a massive range of 32″, this gives us a short range of 16″ to shoot with. Maximum declarable charge range for a unit is now it’s Move + 6, which means we can shoot any infantry at short range without fear of being charged (cavalry with swiftstride have a Move + 9 declarable charge range, which means it’s not quite as safe). There’s a range of different arrows to choose from (see my other post), my preference is to go with Trueflight arrows for an extra point to grant Ignores Cover and Quick Shot, so you’re always hitting on 3s unless you’re at long range, and you ALWAYS get to stand and shoot. It also grants Volley Fire, which is not something we will use much because Wood Elves always be movin’, but YMMV.
Special Rules
Elven Reflexes, Open Order and Move Through Cover, all very thematic rules for our beloved Asrai. I covered Elven Reflexes in another post, but of particular note is Open Order. This formation gives Glade Guard a free 90° pivot after moving, as long as it didn’t march/charge/flee. I expect we will be able to use this to move past would-be chargers, then pivot and shoot them in the flanks. We also get to move unhindered through difficult terrain (i.e. forests).
In armies over 1,000 points, 1 unit per 1,000 can take Fire & Flee and/or Vanguard (and a magic standard up to 50 points, which is not worth it imho – maybe the Razor Standard if the unit is large). Vanguard is a 5″ move up the battlefield, which is most likely going to turn your Vanguarded unit into a target. However, occasionally you’ll be able to grab a building or a hill and make use of it. Not worth the points imho, because we have Scouts who do this job better. The Fire & Flee is a decent choice, as it gives you that option to be within charge range of a cavalry unit and still be at short range. If they charge, shoot ’em and run!
Command
Command models are 6 points each, and most likely a waste of points. The musician is the exception (just like last edition!), especially if you have Fire & Flee, as the musician gives you a +1 to your Ld roll when rallying. Expect your Glade Guard to do a lot of running away – there’s no point being involved in a close combat with these guys, because pretty much everything will win! We aren’t Bretonnians – running away is part of our core tactics 🙂 The musician also grants +1 for marching when nearby the enemy, because sometimes running away means running forward! The champion can take a magic item up to 25 points, but there really isn’t anything worth giving them. Save your points!
Army role
So, in 2,500 point lists, how will I play them? I have ~40 GG models. Given that you can take them in units as small as 5, it’s something I will definitely test out – running 6 or 7 units of 5 Glade Guard seems like a great way to conserve points and maximize shooting capacity – 60 points each with Trueflight, or 66 with the Musician – the ultimate in MSU, assuming I can fit them on the battlefield. The other way I’m thinking to run them is to take two blocks of about 15, give them both Fire & Flee, and run them as wide as will fit comfortably on the battlefield. Move forward, shoot, then move back, shoot, then fire & flee! Each of those units would be 201 points, but I worry they’d get wiped out by flying monsters as they’d be an easy win once in combat. Keeping them small and maneuverable, and not worrying about losing 1 or 2 units is how I’m most likely gonna go. They’ll whittle away at enemy units all game, and try to stay out of combat as much as possible.
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