1000 Pt Combat Elves (escalation)

[eljimbobo]

So I'm going to try and track some of the progress of my escalation tournament on this post. I want to see if a combat oriented list is viable at a variety of points levels and what its inherent weaknesses are. I've already played my first game of the tournament and have my second today, so I will try to keep this post updated as I play more games. I've come up with a few different 1000 pt lists and in the end I really like one with waywatchers, but since I didn't have the models for it I settled on my second best list, the same but with a Tree Man instead. Overall I think I prefer the Tree Man now because I think I need his T6, especially at a lower point game, to make my opponent choose between combat targets. Removing some of the hate headed towards my other infantry blocks help them survive and win combats.

1000 Wood Elves
Heroes: (75)
Branchwraith – Lvl 1, Life (75)

Core: (295)
25 Eternal Guard – Champion, Standard Bearer (295)

Special: (385)
5 Sisters of the Thorn – (130)
20 Wildwood Rangers – Full Command, Gleaming Pennant (255)

Rare: (245)
Treeman – Strangleroots (245)

Total: (1000)

Branchwraith usually goes with the Wildwood Rangers to give them Earth's Blood. I'll take that unless I get Regrowth for the Tree Man. Sisters use Curse of Anraheir against my oppoents heavy cav or their meanest target and pepper with poison javelins. I find that Shield of Thorns is sort of hit or miss, we'll see if I use it.

Game 1

Matched against a Warriors of Chaos player. I wasn't too worried because of how few models he had on the board and my army's ability to chew through heavy armor and his lack of drops. He had a Nurgle themed army, which would prove hard to kill:
Festus
23 Warriors of Chaos
5 Knights of Chaos
Gorebeast Chariot

Turn 1
He got turn one and advanced across the board straight at me. I had placed my forest right between my WWR and his WoC so I just ran forward into the trees to prepare for a fight. My Tree Man moved up along with them on the right to square off against the chariot and my Eternal Guard moved up on the left, preparing to eat a charge from the Knights. The sisters moved around the Knights, hit them with the Curse of Anraheir, and peppered them with javelins (quick to fire and fast cav is so beautiful).

Turn 2
His Knights charged my EG and lost 2 of their number to the Curse! With only three knights he lost combat against my EG and broke. I couldn't chase him down, but would plan to charge him off the board next turn. His warriors moved closer to my WWR but had no interest in fighting them in the forest, preferring to let Festus sling spells at them. His Gorebeast charged my Tree Man, did a few wounds from impact hits, but we ended up tying combat.

On my turn I charged his Gorebeast in the flank with my WWR hoping I could overrun and get out of the forward arc of his WoC. I slaughtered the poor beast and did just that, letting my Tree Man reform and have him choose between charging my WWR and getting flanked by my Tree Man or charging my Tree Man and getting flanked the next turn. My EG charged the Knights, causing them to lose another model to the Curse of Anraheir and my Sisters did the same with exactly the same results, leaving the unit at 1 model and effectively neutering it. With only one intact unit on the board, things looked bad for him.

Turn 3
He decides not to charge at all, instead reforming to present neither flank to my Tree Man or WWR. However, doing so gives my Sisters and EG his rear. His unit is surrounded on all sides. He blasts my WWR with magic, reducing their number to 10, but still enough to chop through something on a flank.

For my part I close the trap, bringing my sisters and EG closer to the rear and preventing any escape routes. My Tree Man steps closer and my WWR swift reform and get on his flank. I don't need to charge just yet, so I hit him with some shooting from my Sisters and Tree Man to wither the unit down.

Turn 4
He charges my Tree Man as it is his only viable target, hoping to wipe it out and get out of range. He manages to have Festus beat it in the strength contest (somehow...) and forces a potion down his throat, dealing the max wounds and killing it! I did manage to stand and shoot first, further weakening the WoC. He overran, but only moved 4 inches, still within striking range.

I flank charged with my WWR and rear charged with my EG. He saved his dice for the Curse of Anraheir, so I got off Shield of Thorns and Earth's Blood although both proved to be irrelevant. I won combat solidly, my Branchwraith able to resist the potions my Tree Man couldn't, and ran him down. He was tabled on turn 4. Win for the Wood Elves

Notes:
So over all I'm very happy with the outcome of my first game of the tournament. I think a bit came down to his army build, my army seemed built for taking his apart, but he also made a few errors himself. WWR are frightening in the woods, but if he had dual charged them with his WoC and Gorebeast Chariot he probably would have killed enough to win combat and my Tree Man may not have been able to clean up. WWR in forests is really scary for any army without much shooting (and even ones with it, soft cover and long range is no joke) and the psychological aspect of that is really nice, it really helps create what feels like a fort in a forest that your opponent stays away from. He also lost his Knights before they could do much of anything, and for this I'm thankful to the Sisters. Their ability to simply shut down a fast unit due to their superior mobility, speed, and harass is just insane. I'm in love with them, they're useful in every phase of the game and were the reason I managed to kill his Knights. My Branchwraith ended up dying to attacks from is WoC in the end, but giving up 175 points due to losing a general is not really a big deal, and I like not having to worry about protecting my characters. Also, knowing what spells you have before the game starts is really useful for planning, as I'm assured to get them every game. Overall very pleased with the performance, we'll have to see what happens in my second game.