Wood Elves: Treemen

Yes, despite everyone asking me for articles on Special units, I’m going to start with Rare. Why? For a few reasons:

1. There are only three of them
2. Special has a huge amount of units
3. Rare points are way more restricted
4. What you use from Rare potentially changes your build a lot
5. I love Treemen

First off, I’m gonna include Treeman Ancient (which I may shorten to TMA at times) in this discussion and I’ll often use she/her pronouns in this article when referring to the Ancient, which may seem weird. The reason is that my main Treeman model is the old Ultraforge Treewoman, who is very feminine looking, and I’m just in the habit of referring to her with those pronouns. I’m not excluding any other Treefolk 🙂 Her name, btw, is Ioreth.

In the rare slot you have 3 choices. Waywatchers, Great Eagles and Treemen. Each of these comes with some restrictions: Waywatchers require a Waystalker (an additional 85 points minimum), Great Eagles can be up to 3 per 1,000 points, and Treemen are just expensive points-wise at 215. Given that you can have max 25% of your army in Rare, this means you have to be careful what you spend your points on. You’ve got a limit of 500/625 in 2000/2500 point armies, so you have no way to take three Treemen without also taking an Ancient. At 2000 points, you can only have 1 Great Eagle if you take 2 Treemen, which likely means you are only taking 1. At 2500, it’s easier to fit in both, and still have enough for either a decent Waywatcher unit or 2-3 Eagles, but not both. Figuring out which, if any, of these combinations you will take is something to think about up front, because it’s where you are most restricted. Special and Characters can both take 50% so usually that’s not an issue, however running 2 Treemen plus a TMA is a big points commitment – 695 minimum, and likely more like 800 after customizations – so there’s a lot to think about when building an army with that many Big Trees.

Two Treemen?! I hear you exclaim, or three?!! Well, before you jump to the conclusion that I’m crazy (I probably am), let’s go through the Treeman stats and special abilities and talk about why they are good, their weaknesses, and what unique properties they bring to the army. Then we can talk about the correct number to take (which, as we’ve now determined, is somewhere between 0 and 2, plus somewhere between 0 and 1 TMAs (yes, I hear you heckling that you can take 2 TMAs, but I’m guessing you won’t after reading this article because of other limitations … ))

Special Rules

First I’ll go through what’s common between Treemen and their Ancient friends, and then I’ll talk about the differences (there aren’t many, but it does change their battlefield role a lot).

Treemen are Behemoths on 50x50mm bases (or up to 50x75mm, but all mine are on 50×50, which is definitely the preferred size for fitting into tight spaces and having fewer opponents able to strike back at you, so try to put yours on those if you can). As a Behemoth, they are Lumbering, which means they can’t join any units, but they also get a free 90° pivot after a regular move (i.e. not a charge, march or flee move). This is something to use to your advantage with their Strangleroots attack, among other things … more on that later. It also means that their Stomps (of which they get D3) are Thunderstomps, and so have AP -2.

They have a 4+ armour save, and a 5+ regeneration save (which they lose if your opponent has flaming, because they are counted as Flammable). They are Close Order, which just means they don’t get to count as Skirmishers (it doesn’t grant a +1 combat bonus as some seem to think, see p100 in TOW rulebook for an explanation as to why). Edit: The latest FAQ now means that Treemen do get +1 combat bonus because they are Unit Strength 5 (or 6 for TMA). Yay!

They are a Large Target, making them easier to shoot at, which means you need to keep an eye on your enemy warmachines to help prevent them from taking too much fire before they get into combat. This is particularly important for flaming attacks (mostly from Dwarfs/Chaos Dwarfs) … if you’re consistently facing these opponents, you’ll need to hide your Treemen behind buildings (or your free Woodland Ambush forest) while your fast movers or Deepwood Scouts take out their cannon. Dwarf Rangers with a Runesmith are also problematic, but thankfully slow moving, so just stay away from them if you can.

Like all Tree Spirits, they have Tree Spirit (duh), Magical Attacks, and Move Through Cover. The Tree Spirit rule is mostly just a bit of annoying bookkeeping: you can’t use your General’s Ld if the model is an Elf. Magical Attacks have limited use in the game, but they will cancel out Regen saves for Daemons (and allow you hit Ethereal units like Hexwraiths). Move Through Cover is of less use to Treemen mostly because you can’t actually take cover in a Forest, or rather, you don’t get any benefit from the cover in there. However, it does make it harder for your opponents cavalry to charge you by being in the trees (they’d be Disrupted), while you’ll have no penalty for charging out, so bear that in mind. (Edit: it’s been pointed out to me that you’ll still have to choose the lower of two dice when charging, you just don’t suffer the -1 M penalty … this kinda stinks and I hope they FAQ it, but those are currently the rules!)

They are Stubborn, which is great – you know that the first combat you’ll be in you won’t just Break from static combat resolution, which gives you time to bring in some other units. Number one rule of playing as a Wood Elf: never fight alone! And finally if your Treeman does eventually die, there’s a 50/50 chance they’ll fall on top of the enemy unit due to the Timmm-berrr! rule. A regular Treeman also has Armour Bane (1), something the TMA does not get (they get Lore of Athel Loren and are a L2 Wizard), but more on both these later.

A Treeman can take up to 50 points of Spites, and TMAs up to 100 points. What you do with them will depend on how many Treemen you take. We really only have four to choose from (two of the Spites give Terror and Magical Attacks which Treemen already have, and the other one is for Elves only), and you can only take each once. Annoyance of Netlings can only be taken by a TMA, and I recommend you take it, as it’s only 15 points. I think a Murder of Spites is a Waste of Points (d3 S2 AP -1 hits for 25 points), so that just leaves Befuddlement of Mischiefs (30pts) and Lamentation of Despairs (20pts). Both are worth taking. If you’re only taking one Treeman, give them both Spites. I’ll talk about why further down. If you’re taking more than one Treeman, pick which one will get which, but do take them both.

They do have some other special rules: Treewhack and Terror, plus their attacks of Oaken Roots and Strangleroots. I’ll start with Terror, and talk about the others after, as we get into battlefield role for both Treeman and TMA.

Combat

The Treeman on paper outshines the TMA in Combat, having WS 6 (vs 5) and 5 attacks (vs 3), but losing a point in both BS (4 vs 5) and W (5 vs 6). The BS is only really important when it comes to the Strangleroots attack, the somewhat unexpected ranged attack that your Treemen can use, especially to stand and shoot. It is D6+1 shots, but that’s -1 because of Multiple Shots, and if you’re standing and shooting that bumps up to -2, meaning a regular Treeman hits on 5s, but the TMA hits on 4s. These are at S5 AP -1, so not bad (and Armour Bane (1) on the regular Treeman, don’t forget!).

Treemen, are of course, slow and flammable, which are their two main weaknesses. Initiative 2 means they will likely go last, often even when charging, so you want to be picky about when they charge as best you can be. Keep them away from Dwarf Runesmiths! Shoot those guys with extreme prejudice!!

As my opponent brings units up closer to my Treeman, I like to try to move the Treemen out to the flank of their units if I can, and shield them from a charge with some cover (or some Dryads), rather than charge or accept a charge from them. Remember, you’re playing Wood Elves – our job is to dodge, run around, and make it hard to be hit … play the game on our terms, not our opponents! Being able to jab them with Strangleroots is a great way to do this, and definitely an area where the TMA shines. When you combine this with a Magic Missile or two, the TMA is actually pretty decent at range.

When you do finally get into Combat, first remember to check for a Fear test (this won’t happen too often, as it’s only models with unit strength lower than the Treeman (5, or 6 for the TMA)).

Once you’re hitting, the Treeman’s Oaken Fists hit at S5, AP -2 (and again, Armour Bane (1) for the regular Treeman), so they are no slouch. You’re also getting D3 Thunderstomps at the end. If you’re facing lower initiative models, particularly if they have multiple wounds, then this is the time to use a Tree Whack. Swap one of your Oaken Fists attacks for this special one, and you force one of the models in a unit that you’re in combat with to take an Initiative test. It’s important to remember they don’t need to be in base contact, so I’ve used this on Damosels who are hiding in the back of a Lance formation for instance–it’s especially good on Wizards as they tend to have whatever the base Initiative is for the faction, often 3 or lower, and obviously great vs Dwarfs or Ogres. If they fail the test, they take D3 S5 hits, with no Armour Saves (they get ward/regen still). Not bad, eh? This is also where Befuddlement of Mischiefs comes in handy. In addition to making your opponent fight at WS -1, it makes them Init -1, so they are more likely to get Whacked!

Treeman Ancient

I think the TMA makes an excellent General, because they are Ld 10 and a Large Target, meaning you’ve got an 18″ command range for that high leadership. They’re also very hard to kill, which means you’re likely conserving points for both the model and keeping your general alive. And EVERY model in the army can use their leadership (whereas your Tree Spirits can’t use an Elf’s leadership). I run Ioreth as my General in every game.

Also, the TMA can still shine in close combat, even with only 3 attacks, because they are a Wizard and have access to Battle Magic. Hammerhand is the Signature spell, giving them 2d3 S4 AP -2 hits, which helps make up for fewer attacks. It goes off on a 7+, so it’s pretty likely to be cast even if you don’t take any extra levels of Wizard on the TMA. Battle Magic also gives you access to Fireball to use in the Shooting phase alongside the Strangleroots. The rest of the lore is pretty useful, so it’s been my default for the TMA to date. I’m experimenting with Elementalism, which is more of a supporting lore for the rest of the army, rather than making the TMA useful on their own. I’ll probably do a separate article about Magic Lores later, when I’ve had more results. For now, I’m recommending Battle Magic for the TMA. Oh, and you remembered to take the Annoyance of Netlings on the TMA, right? So all your opponents attacks are at -1 to hit, when you’re in a challenge. It’s not an essential part of the kit out, so if you have another character that you’d rather take that Spite on, that’s probably OK.

The Terror Bit

Treemen cause Terror (and thus also Fear), and are themselves Immune to Psychology. Terror can be a very useful weapon in your arsenal, mostly because it puts extra pressue on many units, forcing more and more dice rolls. Remember, a Battle Standard Bearer’s Hold Your Ground special rule DOES NOT apply to a Terror test, so your opponent typically only gets one roll at this (unless they are Veterans). Even an Ld 10 unit will fail their Terror test 1 in 12 times, which means this will work to your advantage more often than you (or your opponent) might think. For reference, the more common Ld 9 will fail 1 in 6 times, and Ld 8 will fail almost 28% of the time (Ld 7 is ~42%!)

This is why I recommend you always declare charges with your Treemen first: your opponent must immediately take a Ld test, and if they fail they must flee. Then you can use your faster moving units (e.g. the Great Eagle, or cavalry) to charge into that fled unit and just wipe them out.

Earlier I mentioned taking the Lamentation of Despairs, and this is where it comes in handy. You have to be within 6″ (the big downside, 9″ would’ve been so much better!) but it gives an additional -1 to the Ld of every unit within that 6″ bubble for the purposes of Fear, Panic or Terror. As you can see from the numbers in the last paragraph, that -1 is a big deal. There’s another magic item that can be taken by one of your Elf characters (Wraithstone) that does the same thing … any unit touched by both bubbles will be at -2 Ld, so now your Terror becomes a really potent weapon.

If you have multiple units able to cause Terror (like, say, 2 Treemen and a Treeman Ancient) and you’ve got the Lamentation and the Wraithstone, you could be causing several units to just turn tail and flee before they ever even get into combat. (We also have a Spite AND a banner than give Terror, so you could easily have 4-5 Terror Causing units to really lean into this type of build). You’ll need to have Great Eagles, Warhawk Riders, or perhaps even some skirmishing Glade Riders close by to run them down (heck, any cavalry will do, but these ones will probably be the most capable given their greater manoeuvrability). I think there’s probably nothing more Wood Elfy than having the forest suddenly come alive and scare the living crap out of your enemies so that you can kill them while they flee and make sure they never step foot in Athel Loren again!

Summary

Phew! If you’re still with me, well done! I think Treemen are underrated and people don’t take them terribly seriously (everybody’s hot for Dragons right now too). However, at T6 with 5 or 6 Wounds and a 4+/5++, they are very survivable, and the can fit into small spaces to hit flanks or force advantageous charges for you. Give them a try, and try 2-3 on the battlefield at once, if you can. I think you’ll enjoy it!

What’s been your experience with Treemen? Let me know in the comments!