Starting with Sylvaneth

[real_amnz]

Hey guys, I wanted to start collecting an Age of Sigmar army to play with my friends, and after browsing for a while I decided to go for Sylvaneth. My idea was to get the Start Collecting box first, and try to add some units to that to have  a 1000 point army. Can you give me some directions on what units to get? And I saw that you can build the Treelord in three different ways, what unit is the best one to build? 

Thanks for your time! 

[Axter]

I suggest you to take another start collecting. I started with 3 start collecting, but for 1000 points 2 will be enough. 32 dryads are really good, for treelord first of all build a treelord ancient, is the best general you can have, his spell and ability to bring woods are really good, second one ypi decide, durthu is strong and fun, but it costs 400 points and for 1000 pts are too much (if you buy 3 strat collecting like me build 1x of every treelord). Additional units i suggest kurnoth hunter, really strong and looks so good. 

[Aezeal]

I'd second that start collecting because of the price, 2 trelords (make 1 an ancients) and 32 dryads is always good to have. I think our internal balance is pretty good so nothing is really much better than the rest, most will depend on playstyle, best loks and other personal preferences especially  in casual play.

[real_amnz]

Thanks for the answers guys! I really like the look on the kurnoth hunters, so I may add them to my mental list. At the same time I also like what the tree revenants allow for with the use of waypipes, deepstriking is always fun haha are they any good?

[Axter]

6 hours ago, real_amnz said:

Thanks for the answers guys! I really like the look on the kurnoth hunters, so I may add them to my mental list. At the same time I also like what the tree revenants allow for with the use of waypipes, deepstriking is always fun haha are they any good?

Not a bad unit, but not the best. I have 1 unit of tree revenant couse i need them for one of our strongest battalion (gnarlroot) and they can be used as a cheaper battleline then dryads but that's all. Talking about math: 10 dryads cost 100 (10 points per wound), 5 tree revenant cost 80 (16 points per wound); consider that dryads are so much bulky if well used (+1 save if they are more then 12, -1 to be hit if they are in a wood, even if just one of them is within 3" from a wood). 5 or 10 tree revenant in an army can do something, but they are situational, one unit is enough just to scary your enemy that will deploy tryng to preventing their teleport on the edge, or, if he will abandon an objective with a weak unit, they can go there and try to catch it. So, as i said, situational.

If you want some more suggestions about strategy just ask, we are here to help!

[Aezeal]

I don't use tree revenants  en masse (but people on here do and swear by it) but I think as a niche teleporting unit it can have its uses. Personally  I only have one unit and use it fairly  often bu don't intend to get more anytime soon.

[real_amnz]

Ok, I see. I'm glad they have their uses! I have one more question, regarding Sylvaneth Wildwoods. I've seen they have bases in which you can put up to three trees, my question is, does that make any difference? Like do the empty spots being filled mean something or it's just to put and remove trees to allow for units to be easily moved and removed through them while ingame?

[Aezeal]

12 hours ago, real_amnz said:

Ok, I see. I'm glad they have their uses! I have one more question, regarding Sylvaneth Wildwoods. I've seen they have bases in which you can put up to three trees, my question is, does that make any difference? Like do the empty spots being filled mean something or it's just to put and remove trees to allow for units to be easily moved and removed through them while ingame?

As far as I've heard tourneys want the trees to be on there, Unmoveable. Locally I just use mousemats with the same size as the base and no trees on them.

[real_amnz]

Good to know, thanks!

[Samanar]

On 7.11.2017 at 10:08 PM, Axter said:

Not a bad unit, but not the best. 

I thought that Kurnoth Hunters are the best Sylvaneth unit that win games. If not then what is? 

[Aezeal]

5 hours ago, Samanar said:

I thought that Kurnoth Hunters are the best Sylvaneth unit that win games. If not then what is? 

As I said: our internal balance is pretty good now (hunters where quite OP before their point increase) the only thing is that some armies are not optimized for dealing with troops with such good saves and then these guys will shine.. but on the otherhand.. against armies with mortal wounds or lots of rend they will be a bit worse.

Hunters and Dryads are pretty easy to use , tree revenants are more niche so (IMHO) they are harder to use and you'll need less units of them (there are people who disagree on this) IF you can use them AND use them well they can be very usefull though. Anyway.. hunters and dryads will always serve you well , especially if they are in a forest (this is quite needed for dryads). 

For hero's: you can't really go wrong with TLA, drycha and a single wych. Most of my armies I get (depending on size) TLA, TLA + wych, TLA + drycha or all 3 of them :D.

[Axter]

9 hours ago, Samanar said:

I thought that Kurnoth Hunters are the best Sylvaneth unit that win games. If not then what is? 

I was talking about tree revenant, not kurnoth. Kurnoth are pretty good, the onyl thing is that for 220 points that 4+ to hit with bows is not the best. But the schyte ones are really usefull, keep them in cover in the woods, cast mistic shield and you have a 2+ save with reroll of 1 (they are always considered in range of general ability, and you will always have TLA for general) if they get charged they can reroll every roll so you can cover even the save with rend. If you can try to fit always some kurnoth in your list

[Nico]

The Bow Hunters are junk at 220 (Skyfires and Arkanauts do a far better job).

You may grudgingly have to take Scythe Hunters even in the knowledge they are now overcosted as the army has so few Unit options.

Most people remove the trees - but at events you cannot stand on the stumps (the circles). The exception to this is units that can fly (which can land on top of the trees and ignore all vertical distances when moving. Alarielle, Gordrakk can land on a Wyldwood for example.

[Lhw]

Think you're wrong Nico, Bow Hunters still are OK. Think now you have to take advantage of all their different rules though. They need to be buffing a unit with general ability, you also need to consider their defensive ability and push them forward at times. 

[Samanar]

1 hour ago, Nico said:

The Bow Hunters are junk at 220 (Skyfires and Arkanauts do a far better job).

Well, I'm not talking about power gaming. Everything in this game is pretty much 'junk' if you compare it pound for pound to Skyfires.  I'm building a casual list of Sylvaneth so trying to assess what options do I have in 1k to 1.5k range of Treants. Uhm sorry - Sylvaneth  .

Do they have any kind of flexibility in terms of builds - in example can I run mostly Tree/Spite Revs instead of Dryads as main body? Looking at things like Khorne (mortals) and SCE - they seem to have a lot of options, so I'd like to know if Sylvaneth are similar. Of course unit count is lower but several of them are multipurpose (like Kurnoth Hunters).

Also I'm strongly considering/willing to add a strong contingent of Wanderers to my Sylvaneth. Would anyone mind shining some light on the mixed Sylvaneth / Wanderers list? It could be even the other way round - mostly Wood Elves with a splash of Sylvaneth - I just find those models very interesting to paint, and that is what I'll be most likely doing, instead of playing tournaments with them.

Thanks!

[Nico]

The auto unbind and cheap cost of a Spellweaver is strong.

Wyldwood Rangers are hideously overpriced for a 5+ Save.

Some people are trying Eternal Guard.

Liam Cook has done well with Sisters of the Thorn, but their mortal wound damage is avoidable (you can choose not to attack). The casting roll is also an issue.

Stormcast Allies offer cost effective 30” shooting (Raptors). Dracoth Cavalry could also be useful.

Bow Hunters are the worst of the three. They (and Swords) should be pointed separately and lower than Scythes. Hurricanum plus gunline Spam is much less of a thing these days after the Hurricanum went up.

[Freejack02]

Bow Hunters are a bit overcosted - at least offensively. Defense is still good for a 30" range unit, but you don't really need them for defense. I suppose they can hold a rear objective, but the two scenarios where that would be favorable (Battle for the Pass and Scorched Earth), their 3-model unit is at a disadvantage to do so. If you throw them forward, you can utilize good defenses, but then might as well have taken a sword/scythe option instead. 

[Aezeal]

On 14-11-2017 at 3:21 PM, Nico said:

The auto unbind and cheap cost of a Spellweaver is strong.

Wyldwood Rangers are hideously overpriced for a 5+ Save.

Some people are trying Eternal Guard.

Liam Cook has done well with Sisters of the Thorn, but their mortal wound damage is avoidable (you can choose not to attack). The casting roll is also an issue.

Stormcast Allies offer cost effective 30” shooting (Raptors). Dracoth Cavalry could also be useful.

Bow Hunters are the worst of the three. They (and Swords) should be pointed separately and lower than Scythes. Hurricanum plus gunline Spam is much less of a thing these days after the Hurricanum went up.

Your bias against swords is not backed up by either gameplay or maths.

[Aezeal]

On 14-11-2017 at 10:35 PM, Freejack02 said:

Bow Hunters are a bit overcosted - at least offensively. Defense is still good for a 30" range unit, but you don't really need them for defense. I suppose they can hold a rear objective, but the two scenarios where that would be favorable (Battle for the Pass and Scorched Earth), their 3-model unit is at a disadvantage to do so. If you throw them forward, you can utilize good defenses, but then might as well have taken a sword/scythe option instead. 

Yeah it's character sniping what you need the for , not killing mass units.

[Nico]

Quote

Your bias against swords is not backed up by either gameplay or maths.

Swords are an incredibly poor option. The 2" range combined with the rooting ability is the biggest reason.

If you've taken Swords against Vanguard Wing or any Stormcast list with a Stardrake or even a Treelord Ancient, then you've lost the ability to kill those pivotal units. Forgoing a chance of -2 rend is foolish (when you cannot dump out mortal wounds elsewhere).

[Lhw]

On 11/14/2017 at 9:35 PM, Freejack02 said:

Bow Hunters are a bit overcosted - at least offensively. Defense is still good for a 30" range unit, but you don't really need them for defense. I suppose they can hold a rear objective, but the two scenarios where that would be favorable (Battle for the Pass and Scorched Earth), their 3-model unit is at a disadvantage to do so. If you throw them forward, you can utilize good defenses, but then might as well have taken a sword/scythe option instead. 

I've said this elsewhere, but just because I think it's worth saying again, Bow Hunters can be chucked forward, slow something up and still carry on character sniping. Certain armies can block off Scythes and feed them chaff, bows can jump around into cover, block off a route and carry on dealing damage where you want. Model count is an issue, but the high wounds means they can also just sit next to or on a Damned terrain and tap it a few times (particularly if you have something that can heal/bring them back, as you probably will).