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Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 14 Oct 2014, 07:20
by edmondj
Gwill_of_the_Woods wrote:Hi edmondj,

Really enjoying the summaries so far. One thing though, you mention that the WWR get re-rolls with their attacks but they don't due to losing the ASF bonuses because the wield great weapons.

I will actually give the dryads a go.
Hey Gwill,

That's awesome, it changes the outcome in favour of the dryads! The EG will only do 4.44 kills instead of 5.93. It also means their ratio of damage dealt versus taken back is only
1.33 making the dryads more effective from the start!

I'll update the stats in the original post,
Thanks again mate

Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 14 Oct 2014, 07:39
by edmondj
Phil Rossiter wrote:I disagree edmond because I don't think the example would come up in competitive play.

Every time I have fought O&G in a tournament the Big'uns block has been Savage, with Lucky Shrunken Head Shaman, BSB and often other characters. You might find a block of 40 EG in a decent WE list but it would be very unusual. 3 Treekin and 10 Rangers are I agree with you, way too fragile. But comparing a passable unit to bad ones is not enough to justify it IMHO.

A combat scenario where the WE unit gets a flank charge is also a bit optimistic I feel. What if the enemy gets a flank charge? What if the Dryads (who can't Flee) get charged?

The Dryads have made it into my list for the reasons I gave earlier. If you could give an example edmond of a decent (not necessarily strong) list with them in that would be very helpful. Particularly to show how they would do a better job than picks from outside of Core.

Hey there Phil!

The reason I took the regular orcs as an example is because this actually favours the rangers and the treekin over the dryads.
The savage orcs have no armour, which doesn't influence the kill outcome of the former two, but which does mean the dryads will cause more casualties. Of course, the boosted ward save means the damage will be lower for all examples... But for all of them equally.
Moreover, the extra attacks will mean the savage orcs will cause more damage. This favours the dryads too. The rangers risk not having anything left after a single round. The treekin risk having a casualty within the first round and as such would lose a stomp immediately... And four attacks at least on the second turn.

I wanted to show that the dryads are still the best combat support even against opponents that favours their competitors

And I agree that 10 rangers or 3 treekin make for poor units. Exactly because at the role you'd put those units in (combat support), the dryads are better. My claim is that in this role, they're the best, because they have the highest amount of attacks per point value. For more or less the same value as the dryads, alternatives are either too fragile (rangers, wild riders, good units but in different roles) or do not offer the same attack output (treekin).

Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 14 Oct 2014, 08:17
by edmondj
liesmith wrote:
Phil Rossiter wrote:The Dryads have made it into my list for the reasons I gave earlier. If you could give an example edmond of a decent (not necessarily strong) list with them in that would be very helpful. Particularly to show how they would do a better job than picks from outside of Core.
I'd love to see an example list, too. I'm not disagreeing with the points made in this article and I certainly want to dust off the dryads, but some inspiration would be nice.

Hi there liesmith,

Well, just something quickly made from the top of my head:

15 hagbane glade guard
15 hagbane glade guard
10 dryads

These make a tactical corps. Put both archer units in your table corner and somewhat slanted (facing the centre). Put the dryads facing front by the side. If something charges your archers, it will be easy to flank counter charge with your dryads.

Cost: 560

Durthu
10 dryads

Your general and the dryads as his escort. They can help making sure that the big guy gets into the combats he wants to go and can help tip the balance in the ones he's at a disadvantage

Cost: 495

Lvl 2 high singer on a unicorn with items to choice

Cost: 225

30 rangers with full command and a branch wraith

Cost: 435

6 wild riders with shields
6 wild riders with shields

Cost: 336

10 way watchers

Cost: 200

5 hagbane scouts
5 hagbane scouts

Cost: 160

This puts you at almost 2200 so with just over 200 points to play with still. You have magic, you have shooting and you have strong combat options. You have counters for war machines, for big monsters and for enemy shooting lists.

You could play around. You could put the archers straight and with true flight arrows, then place the dryads in front. You could add another unit of ten to screen the rangers. And so on. Go nuts!

Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 15 Oct 2014, 06:17
by NonnoSte
The list looks quite standard except for Durthu (on which I wouldn't invest in competitive play) who can still be replaced by a TMA or a Weaver (probably with this approach, old Life and Beast could be very good).
The multiple 10 men units of dryads are basically taken from softened shooting units, but they can replace the nicely.
If you are able to pin down enemies' chaff with them, you won't miss too much TFA Glade Guards.
My only concern is when facing other elves: I see Dryads struggling to get the charge on Eagles, Scouts, Dark Riders or Reavers.

Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 16 Oct 2014, 18:00
by popisdead
Phil Rossiter wrote:You might find a block of 40 EG in a decent WE list but it would be very unusual.
I thought I read a list with 40 EG that did quite well in a tournament.

Unusual lists are the best :D

Re: dryad tactics

Posted: 19 Oct 2014, 11:44
by Phil Rossiter
As I said it can happen. I don't think I've ever run a 'standard' list in my life. Do you have details about this result popisdead? Placing, strength of player, army list, strength of opponents, lists they used?

The problem I see with using Dryads instead of Special/Rare edmond is that for example I feel your list would be stronger with eagles (for redirecting) and a third unit of Wild Riders (for combat) instead. Durthu is solid in general but will struggle v cannons, especially without Warhawks to screen him and Regrowth or Apotheosis to patch him up. High Magic can only be taken by lord level mages.