Transformation of Kadon

[Nogami]

Hello all,

I was asking myself if the transformation of Kadon may be good enought ?
I mean if we were able to ensure the presence of a Chimaera, or another huge monster, we may be able to deal with ennemy big monsters easier no ?
But i've read a lot of battle report, and i've seen noone uses this spell...
Is amber spear just more effective ?

I imagine a list with two beast weavers, one level 4 for instance, which may be a "classic" weaver and who will roll its spell first. If she rolls the transformation, then she exchanges it against the signature.
Hence the second weaver which will be level 3, and naked, will have the transformation, and for 215 points you get a monster that i think is more effective than a treeman.
(ok now she has to roll an irresistible cast if she does not want to be dispelled but if the winds are not too bad, it will happen soon or latter)
Further more the first weaver will be able to buff the second in the others rounds...

The main drawback i see, is that except for really large games, you won't be able to take a Highborn...
And in the worst case, you lose your access to Amber Spear or the Curse, or whatever is your favorite spell...

Have anyone tried such a thing ?

[The Wood Whisperer]

I believe there are 2 big problems with the Transformation of Kadon:
1. It can (and will) be dispelled in the next magic phase. At which point you have your naked level 3 in base contact with said Chimera... Ouch.
2. You need to make the charge first and (fingers crossed) then cast the transformation. If you don't get irresistible, you're screwed.

So basically it's only useful when you are absolutely sure there will be no-one left in the unit you charge when the fight is over.

[hardkorek]

I'm using it all the time. You have to give some wardsave for your mage to prevent his death in first round of combat in case you are not one who charged.
My setup is mostly large unit of archers (25-28) with BSB and beast mage with Rymer's Harp. Sometimes I'm adding another hero (with scout kinred to not waste him against defensive armies) or AoN (then dragon attacks goes to challenge which will probably break your opponent if you strip him from ranks during stand and shoot).

It is my best and most reliable unit in wood elves army. Lot of shooting and nasty dragon surprise if he/she charge it (unless he/she dispels the spell, then you need to survive to next magic phase but heroes + lots of archers with 5+ WS will probably make it possible)

Drawback of such unit is that it changes your tactic a lot and it is lots of eggs in one basket(I lost this unit once until now, cause of combined charge of hydra, spearman, immortal DE hero and witch elves. I played around 20 games in this edition)

I also think it can have synergy with wardancer unit, moonstone, and arcane item that deals damage to enemy units in the same forest. Unfortunately, this one is terrain dependent.

[Shandrakor]

The trick to the Transformation of Kadon is minimizing the risk before taking it. I've found it's a great spell to have when you have your Beastweaver in the 2nd rank of a unit of Eternal Guard, as the risk to lose the weaver then is mostly mitigated if you fail to cast the spell. If, instead, you succeed in casting the spell, your Beastweaver moves to the front rank and lays waste to whatever it's up against. Then in the following round of combat (assuming there is one), your opponent can dispel your transformation and the Beastweaver can move back to the 2nd rank.

Besides that, there's a few things you can do to protect a Beastweaver attempting to use Transformation of Kadon. A build I've thought about trying might include:

Spellweaver: Level 4 Wiz + Fencer's Blades + Talisman of Preservation + (20 points left for a Potion of Toughness or an Arcane Item) [Lore of Beasts]

That makes anything Weapon Skill 4 or less hit on 5+ against the Spellweaver and everything else on a 4+. Stack Curse of Anraheir and it goes to 6/5+. It also adds an attack if you don't get the transformation and instead you cast Savage Beast of Horros on the Spellweaver. (5 WS10 S6 I5 attacks aren't too shabby).

[Nogami]

Thank you all, I think i will give it a try. But i don't own any eternal guards, so I may first try with a "big" GG unit as hardkorek said.
If it does not work, I will attempt to convince my friends that these bows are in fact spears, and if it works well, i may buy some real eternal guards, I really like the idea of a huge monster in a Wood Elves army.

Should I take a treeman or maybe some treekins to help her to not be targetted too soon ?
Or can I rely on a faster build, say some wild riders and maybe a big number of dryads ?
(I'm not enjoying the trees initiative value...)