Dryads FAQ

[Myuriko]

Does anyone think there is a chance of dryads getting a FAQ to make hem more viable? Or as is, can anyone see a use for them. It is a shame because they are one of my favorite units.

[minionboy]

What questions did you have about them? FAQ's typically are there to answer questions.

Unless they Errata them to 8 points, I don't think they'll get any competitive game use.

[USG_Ishimura]

They are as competitive as high elves spearmen.

[Myuriko]

Errr errata yes! Is there a possibility of that happening? Does gw errata books soon after releases?

[minionboy]

Errr errata yes! Is there a possibility of that happening? Does gw errata books soon after releases?

Only if there's an actual mistake. They haven't really written a proper FAQ/Errata in over a year, so don't hold your breath.

[Andrew]

They don't need a FAQ. They need an errata. There aren't any questions that need answering about them.

I want them to errata this: "May give the whole unit Skirmishers for +1 point per model."

[ChaosPotato]

I have been trying to figure out what their role is in our new book, and after a quick play test I think it is to play the "anvil" in the "hammer and anvil" maneuver.

Now that they are no longer skirmishers they can take ranks, and if you take enough ranks you can get steadfast. I know this is a pretty unfamiliar concept for us Wood Elf players, but take a unit of 30 of them, line them up in 6 ranks of 5 and they will be able to withstand some pretty intense impacts (lances, ogre charges, whathaveyou) without fleeing. Then hit your enemy in the side flank with some charging Wild Riders, and BAM. Anvil meets hammer.

[Andrew]

As long as you're not in a forest, that is!

[ChaosPotato]

Right, but as far as I can tell they don't actually get any bonuses from being in the forest. It's the elves that get special when they are in the woods.

[hutobega]

Read some of the battle reports that have been happening since the new book. a unit of ten can be a potent chaff unit I believe. 6+ ward .. hatred can get a few kills in here and there and well if you position them well you get another round of shooting at your enemy. and they take up core requirements which is never a bad thing! think outside the box... or use a 40 man unit hoard with some characters in them =P i'm sure someone can make a weird but useful combo! use those brains of yours! Teleporting dryads hmmm. I think they would still do well in a building too.

[Myuriko]

Seems like they would be pretty sweet with wildform no? But I guess you could say that about almost any of our troops...

[Isjiek]

Right, but as far as I can tell they don't actually get any bonuses from being in the forest. It's the elves that get special when they are in the woods.

You realise how stupid this actually sounds? :') Dryads, creatures of the forest receive no bonusses in forests, only a penalty.

I don't see what they could possibly contribute when there are Eternal Guard.

Yes, they have hatred, but Eternal Guard have a fair chance to reroll as well.
Yes they are Immune to Psychology, but I actually prefer Ld 9 + Stubborn.
Yes they are T4, 6+ save, which is better than a 5+ save form EG.

Furthermore EG have better stats overall, can take a banner, have ASF, can hit from an extra rank, and even one more when in a forest, reroll 1's to wound in forest, have AP...

Makes me sad.

Isjiek

[WizzyWarlock]

Furthermore EG have better stats overall, can take a banner, have ASF, can hit from an extra rank, and even one more when in a forest, reroll 1's to wound in forest, have AP...

Makes me sad.

Isjiek

Yep, Dryads are really pointless now. Without a banner or musician, they're both unwieldy and lack any real combat res beyond ranks. On top of that, S3 is very weak and 6+ ward means a lot are going to die, so it's basically going to charge in, do very little, then get wiped out.

[Hyarion]

Whether they're everybody's go-to unit or not or whether we'll see them in high level tournament play isn't the question. The question is: do they still have a use? Absolutely!

They are great for being a tarpit against light/medium grade infantry.
Chasing down units so you can re-direct your bowfire on targets that are more deserving.
A screen/deterrent to delay enemies from catching waywatchers.
Don't overlook the value in a good slow flanker.

They'll still be good to use as a distraction for your opponent, give them something to fixate on so they will pay less attention to the real carnage.

[Coyle_Ravane]

Whether they're everybody's go-to unit or not or whether we'll see them in high level tournament play isn't the question. The question is: do they still have a use? Absolutely!

They are great for being a tarpit against light/medium grade infantry.
Chasing down units so you can re-direct your bowfire on targets that are more deserving.
A screen/deterrent to delay enemies from catching waywatchers.
Don't overlook the value in a good slow flanker.

They'll still be good to use as a distraction for your opponent, give them something to fixate on so they will pay less attention to the real carnage.

Part of the problem is that EG do most of that better.

The only thing I can think of that dryads are better at is soaking up s3 shooting, bogging down s3 skirmishers (dryads will be steadfast, negating the eg stubborn advantage and letting the higher toughness shine), and dishing out 15a on the charge from 10 dryads, while eg would only get 10.

[Hyarion]

Sure EG do most of that better, but that wasn't the question. Are there uses for Dryads? Yes. That doesn't mean that Dryads are the best choice, they aren't the go-to unit but they do have uses.

If you don't have any EG because they didn't fit your playstyle (like me) or because Dryads fit your theme better or if you play with a comp system like ETC, then you could easily add a unit of Dryads to your EG, designate them as flankers A and B and still have two useful units.

[-dragon-]

The real issue I have with dryads is not the comparison with EG, but the comparison with Glade Guard- these are actually our weakest close combat units (or should be) since they are primarily archers, given the unit is in a wood- which we really should utilize given the bonuses we get. (And we have the ability to force our enemies to fight us in woods)
So, a 20-man unit of Dryads will get a total of 15 (16 if a champion is presend) re-rollable attacks at S3 and BS4 off. A 20-man-unit of Glade Guard will get 15 Attacks off, too, which are re-rollable in most cases (really the only things that are I6 and higher are elf elite units, and these have ASF anyway and would probably wipe out dryads and glade guard alike before they can strike). Plus they get to re-roll 1's to wound. So their offensive potential is actually bigger.
With T3 and no Ward the Gade Guard probably get about 20-30% more losses. If that has any kind of relevance really depends on the situation, but consider this: either you're fighting chaff or you're fighting elite units. Against the latter, both are just plain dead and will likely run the first turn because they take so many losses that they're no longer steadfast. Against the former, the 20-30% more losses might actually change the outcome of the combat, but Stand&Shoot should give Glade Guard a good headstart to make up for this.
Even outside of a wood, Glade Guard only lose 5 S3 attacks compared with the Dryads. That's no more than two wounds in normal situations. A Banner makes up for one of them.
So, what I'm getting at is that, whatever you intend to do with Dryads, you can do with Glade Guard just as well. Plus they get a Banner and 30" bows.
The only situation Dryads are superior to Glade Guard is if you are 1) fighting outside of a wood and 2) are running a huge block of them against a horde and want them to stay put for a while- a huge tarpit for large units of chaff.
It's a pity that our versatile dryads that could fulfill almost any role were reduced to that. Mine won't see the board for a very long time.

Back to topic: I highly doubt that they'll get any kind of errata anytime soon. Missing such an essential special rule in print is quite a big thing, and I think they've playtested enough to be resilient to a cry for consolidation from the community.

[RedPanda]

Well, we can always use Dryads as "Eternal Guards" for the looks

All other things aside they really they really really really dropped the ball with Dryads, all the other units are just a different way of playing with all the stat changes, rule changes and point changes, but dryads pretty much lost their usage in a Wood Elf army (might work in other armies, but in a wood elf army they are pretty much unusable)

So sadly Dryads are pretty much until we get a new book are unlikely to be used or just for fun, which who knows when we will get a new book and I am not talking about the Core Rulebook, I am talking about our army book.

[Beragon]

The only thing I can think of that dryads are better at is soaking up s3 shooting, bogging down s3 skirmishers (dryads will be steadfast, negating the eg stubborn advantage and letting the higher toughness shine), and dishing out 15a on the charge from 10 dryads, while eg would only get 10.

That is not true. 10 EG would also get 15 attacks on the charge. Asrai spears don't function exactly like normal ones. Models equipped with them can fight in an extra rank all the time (read their description carefully).

[Coyle_Ravane]

The only thing I can think of that dryads are better at is soaking up s3 shooting, bogging down s3 skirmishers (dryads will be steadfast, negating the eg stubborn advantage and letting the higher toughness shine), and dishing out 15a on the charge from 10 dryads, while eg would only get 10.

That is not true. 10 EG would also get 15 attacks on the charge. Asrai spears don't function exactly like normal ones. Models equipped with them can fight in an extra rank all the time (read their description carefully).

I know, but as they only have 1 attack each now, 10 EG can only dish out 10 attacks.

[Beragon]

The only thing I can think of that dryads are better at is soaking up s3 shooting, bogging down s3 skirmishers (dryads will be steadfast, negating the eg stubborn advantage and letting the higher toughness shine), and dishing out 15a on the charge from 10 dryads, while eg would only get 10.

That is not true. 10 EG would also get 15 attacks on the charge. Asrai spears don't function exactly like normal ones. Models equipped with them can fight in an extra rank all the time (read their description carefully).

I know, but as they only have 1 attack each now, 10 EG can only dish out 10 attacks.

Umm... yeah, don't know how I missed that one!

[Coyle_Ravane]

That is not true. 10 EG would also get 15 attacks on the charge. Asrai spears don't function exactly like normal ones. Models equipped with them can fight in an extra rank all the time (read their description carefully).

I know, but as they only have 1 attack each now, 10 EG can only dish out 10 attacks.

Umm... yeah, don't know how I missed that one!

Don't worry, I keep forgetting that they don't get the second attack anymore. I got my friend to give me a quick game earlier today with proxies and partly assembled models, and after I defeated his orc boys and chased them down, we re-did the combat because we realized I'd given them an extra attack each!

[mbh]

Dryads won't be changing, just ask beastmen monsters.

Sometimes gw makes things worse for no good reason.

[Tethlis]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Dryads chaff better than Eternal Guard in my opinion.

-Immune to Psych means that if they get Panicked or charged by a Terror causer, you don't have to worry about them fleeing and screwing up their role as a redirector. Sure, Leadership 9 is great, but you don't want that Terror-causing monster redirecting into your squishy character bunker because you flopped a Ld9 test or had your redirectors Panicked out of the way. Dryads don't have to worry about that.

-Stubborn can be a liability as a redirector, not a benefit. If an enemy kills nine out of ten Dryads, they're almost certain to break and flee, unengaging the enemy and letting you shoot, nuke, or counter-charge freely. If nine out of ten Eternal Guard die, then the last one passes his Stubborn test and suddenly those Skullcrushers you wanted to shoot up with your Waywatchers are now locked in combat another round, and free to move in their own turn.

-I5, T4, Hatred with 2 Attacks is generally better for killing chaff than the Eternal Guard profile. If you're fighting to beat enemy chaff, such as opposing Fast Cavalry or Scouts, T4 is better for absorbing stand-and-shoots or handling their charges. Hatred and 2 Attacks also means your number of attacks, plus re-rolls, remains very stable regardless of whether your opponent has ASF or not, and regardless of whether or not you lose Dryads off the back rank.

I'm not saying that Dryads are great, but I do think they're better in a min-sized chaff role than Eternal Guard are

[robtion]

I don't have the new book yet how much do dryads cost now compared to the old book? I am comparing them to ghouls in a vc army but am not sure of the new cost. Thanks.