500pts vs Skaven

[pivole]

Hollo there!
I'm playing a game against a friend, and I'm currently laughing at the sheer number of models that he's able to turn out compared to mine. Anyhoo, I've come up with two main list ideas.
The first is a Noble with the bow of Loren, and then minimal two units of musical GG, plus one unit more. There's exactly enough points for a third unit, or I could have some combat support and then give the gg a few more men each.
The other option is three minimal units of musical Glade Riders, plus a noble on his horse, which, I intend to stay out of the way with.
I know that his list is an engineer, two hordes of rats, a warpfire thrower, and two ogres. So I've no real hope, I don't think,I'm just wondering which one can be an annoyance for long enough to break at least one unit.
Also, Am I allowed to charge a weapons team, without attacking the parent unit?

[brechttomme]

Hello there to you too!

The first list could fare quite well because of the sheer number of shots you put out every turn. Make sure you keep moving around and don't get into combat with him, and most importantly: focus fire! That means focussing all your arrows at one unit until it's completely dead. If you spread your arrows too much, you'll end up half-killing everything but not eliminating anything, thus netting you exactly 0 Victory Points. It could also be an idea to exchange the Bow of Loren for the Hail of Doom Arrow. It's cheaper, does approximately the same amount of damage, and damage done in burst is usually better than over the course of the game. It means you can finish off a unit or possibly even take out his rat ogres in a single special shot (don't count on that though :P)!

The second list I see as being very annoying for your opponent. If you use it right and dart around him all the time with your M9 Fast Cavalry, he'll never catch you. Seriously, NEVER. Do beware the few shooting attacks he may have, though. The downside, of course, is that this list does significantly less damage and while you may give up no Victory Points, you won't score many either. If possible, take the Hail of Doom Arrow here as well, it's seriously overpowered (yes, I said that in context with Wood Elves! ) at this points level. Really, it's good at any points level, but being able to take out a small unit with a cheap magic item is amazing.

All in all, I'd say you actually have a very solid chance of winning! Don't be too pessimistic about it. Wood Elves really rock at low points. And even if it seems you can't win, you can always avoid him, as you're faster than him most of the time. But go for it!

EDIT: Oh, and yes, you can charge the Weapons Team separately, but beware of the parent unit counter-charging or something. Also, in my experience, it's just easier to stay your distance (though preferably within close range) and shoot down the damned thing. If it's close to the parent unit, it gets a Ward Save, but IIRC, Weapons Teams only have 1 Wound (maybe 2), so a single volley from a unit of GG or GR should take care of it.

[pivole]

Thanks for that reply, thought:
For the final 126 points on the first list, would there be any sense in buying the Hail of Doom and 8 dryads, or will they be of little use against the hordes? I say hordes, it's two units of 20, but to me that's pretty daunting. so, HoD and 8 dryads, or 10 GG?
Seeing as the skaven are fairly fast, would it be sensible to march on towards them giving fire the whole time, or to just stand my ground?

[brechttomme]

In that case I would go for the HoDA and the 8 Dryads. Against normal clanrats, the Dryads should do ~5 Wounds per round of combat, while they would do ~1 to you in return. If you did any whittling down before combat, I'd say that would be over in a round or two. Hopefully you'll break them and run them down the turn you charge in your Dryads, then preparing them for their next prey . They can probably win an extended fight with the clanrats too, as long as they're not engaged against multiple units.

If I calculated correctly, though, you'd actually have 173 points left instead of 126. (As I understand you have a Noble, and 2 units of 10 GG with musician.) Adding the HoDA still gives you room for either another GG unit or the Dryads. With some spare points either way. Remember you can't fit both the Bow of Loren and the HoDA in the 50 points of magic items allowance for the Noble (and the Bow honestly isn't worth it on non-Highborn characters).

As for the Glade Guard, I prefer to always move forward (well, and sideways) with them. That way you get into close range as soon as possible, and you create space behind you to flee back into in case you get charged. If you stay at the edge of the board, it means you'll be shooting at long range all the time and have nowhere to escape once your opponent reaches you. It seems counter-intuitive to advance with your archers at first, but it makes sense once you try it.

I also did some quick math-hammer, and every unit of 10 GG will do ~4,44 Wounds at short range to the clanrats, and ~2,5 Wounds at long range. If you picture 2 or 3 units shooting every turn, that will kill a unit of 20 rats extremely quickly. Also, if there's only a couple of rats left, don't be afraid to take the charge (as long as nothing else charges). Firstly, you can Stand and Shoot, and secondly, your archers are actually better in combat than his clanrats . You'll be striking first at a higher WS.
For that reason, I'd advise you to concentrate your fire on the Rat Ogres first. If he brings two, ~30 shots at short range should do it; or ~70 shots at long range. This is an excellent example of the difference between short and long ranged shooting. Again, an incentive to move up with the GG!

[pivole]

Thanks again for your help, very useful. I'll have to try both lists, I think, but for now, I'm stuck with two Guard and dryads, until I get my second battalion. Then I can fill my army with any of the cores.
I'llneed to remember that units can actually move sideways.
Thanks again, I'll report back when it happens.