Wood Elves have a few choices of wizard, but this article really focuses on the virtually essential Level 4 Wizard, the Spellweaver, and a build that is easy to use in your army regardless of how you’ve built the rest of your list.
Fourhawk
It’s a level 4 wizard, on a Warhawk, geddit? I don’t take credit for the name, as it’s been kicking around on the web for a while (let me know if you know who coined it), but I’m using it because it seems appropriate! Here’s the build I’ve been using. There’s 30 points of magic items to spare, so you can also add Ruby Ring of Ruin if you don’t have a better place for it in your army.
Here’s what I wrote about the Oaken Stave in my Wild Riders article:
Bring the Oaken Stave (or Broaken Stave as it’s been nicknamed locally). This is our most potent Arcane item, on your L4 Spellweaver. I can’t overstate how good this item is. 27″ Dispel Range vs everyone else’s 24″, so you can stay out of range of their Dispel while still being able to Dispel them. Oh, and when you are Dispelling? Roll 3d6 and drop the lowest. It actually feels like cheating: it’s not, but the math is very good! Apparently the probability shows that 62.4% of the time 3d6 drop lowest is higher than 2d6, 27.6% of the time it’s lower, and the other 10% of the time it’s a tie which in the case of Dispelling means a loss. The odds of winning a straight up Dispel roll (my 2d6 beats your 2d6) is 44.4%, so it’s like you just got a 40% boost to your odds of winning that roll, which is why it feels like cheating 🙂 Yours for the low price of 40 points. (The downside is very mild: you must be within 3″ of a Forest.)
It’s hard to argue with this math, and you’ll definitely feel the benefit of the Stave on the battlefield. Place your Woodland Ambush forest within 12″ of the centre but close to the centre line of the battlefield, and you’ll have Dispel range over the whole battlefield except for maybe 15″ on one flank. You can often stay within 27″ of the enemy wizard while outside of 24″, given the high manoeuvrability of the Warhawk, thus giving you free reign to cast while still being able to dispel. However, even without that advantage, the dispel dice are definitely in your favour.
The Talisman of Protection gives you a 5++ save against the unexpected, stuff like Cannonballs that don’t actually target. Otherwise, you’re relying on the Evasive ability of the Warhawk to enable you to either flee behind another unit (e.g. some Dryads) or out of range, so that you end up not being a legal target. Often just telling your opponent the Warhawk is Evasive is enough for them not to try targeting you at all.
The Warhawk also gives you an extra point of toughness, and being a Monstrous Cavalry mount, you get that all-important 360° front arc for casting your spells, particularly useful for Magic Missiles, but it also applies to Enchantments and Hexes, so no need to worry about whether you can see that unit you want to cast Arcane Urgency on. You also get Feigned Flight along with Swiftstride, so if you are charged you can safely flee (over another unit preferably) and will have a high chance of getting out of charge range while automatically rallying once you do, thus being ready for your Conjuration sub-phase next turn. Finally, by causing Fear, your Fourhawk won’t have to take a Ld test when charged by a Terror causing unit (thanks to the recent FAQ!).
If you keep the Wizard near a unit of regular cavalry (e.g. Glade Riders or Sisters of the Thorn) then they can’t even be targeted by shooting attacks unless they are the closest model to the enemy.
Lore
Here’s a quick rundown of the four Lores available, and why you may or may not want to take each one. I’m listing them in my order of preference.
Battle Magic gives you Arcane Urgency, Fireball and Pillar of Fire, along with a couple of Curses that might be useful depending on your build and your opponent – I’ve had utility from both. You won’t want Hammerhand (or any assailments) with this build, and Oaken Shield is kinda useless (because you’ve already got a 5++) unless you also have Warhawk Riders, so I usually end up trading out for Treesinging. If unsure, take Battle Magic. It has low casting costs and pretty high utility, particularly as you’ll just be rolling for spells and not choosing (like you would if you had a Lore Familiar).
Elementalism gives you Plague of Rust, Wind Blast, Travel Mystical Pathway (remember it says ‘within 12″ of it’s original location’ not ‘wholly within 12″‘). Earthen Ramparts and Summon Elemental Spirit can be useful in some builds, depending on the rest of your army. The assailment is just bad, and this build doesn’t want assailments anyway. Storm Call is a bit meh as a signature spell, so again I’m usually trading out for Treesinging, but occasionally the -1 initiative is useful against certain foes (particularly if you’ve got a lot of Treewhacks in your army).
High Magic is higher casting values on average, so I wouldn’t recommend it for this build – it really wants an arcane item that boosts casting value (hopefully we’ll get a good one in the Arcane Journal!). However, if you’re feeling lucky, or don’t mind casting a bit less often, Fiery Convocation, Tempest, Fury of Khaine and Shield of Saphery are all good spells. Drain Magic is a bit of a nombo with the brOaken Stave, as it wants you to be within 24″ whereas the Stave allows you to be outside of 24″, so again, I’d be swapping out for Treesinging.
I don’t recommend Illusion for this build either, primarily because a lot of the spells don’t suit it well: Shimmering Dragon is a bit meh for Wood Elves because we tend to be very mobile anyway, Spectral Doppelganger requires a different load out, Glittering Robe isn’t a useful signature spell for an Evasive unit that doesn’t want to see combat, and Confounding Convocation and Mind Razor are both a bit meh. Miasmic Mirage can be game changing but is tough to cast on an 11+, and Column of Crystal is good but we can get a similar effect with Treesinging.
Summary
So, it’s pretty simple: stay near your forest, move around to get maximum value from the brOaken Stave, and generally dominate the magic phase. If I only take one wizard, this is the build. Have you been taking your L4 on a Warhawk? If so, do you build them differently? What’s your experience been like with them? Let me know in the comments, or on our Discord!
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