Why play Wanderers?

[Filius]

First things first: One of the most precious types of threads over there at the Bolter and Chainsword are the "Why play Xyz"-Threads, imho (the "Why play Blood Angels" Thread is pretty epic). Collecting what people love about the faction, how they came to play them is highly motivating. So … I want to start that over here too, and of course I'll start myself.

My ten (personal) Reasons for the Wanderers …

1. Beauty. The Minis are the most beautiful. And I don't mean, that they look cool. I also love Duardin, and Grots – they have great, cool Minis too. But the Minis of the Aelves and the Wanderers above all are really a feast for the eyes. They are just plain beautiful. And as I probably will be building and painting a lot of them an will be looking at them quite a while, I thinks it's a good Idea, to choose the most aesthetically appealing Faction, hehe.

2. Nomad rebuilders and humble Sinners. I like the Theme of the new Wanderers. Actually even more than the one of the Wood Elves of the World that was. They are still people of the Wild, but they don't have to be all from the Woods. The Theme of the Wanderers is open to many interpretations of nomads, hermits, aelves, pathfinders, rangers. At the same time, they have a mission: They are Rebuilders. I really, really like that: Connecting ley lines, laying Waystones – that's just a great basic narrative.

Plus: I like that they are a kind of humble, repentant sinners, or at least have a kind of burdened legacy with the Sylvaneth and Ghyran. I like broken heroes. That really fit's greatly for me.

3. Shields, Spears, Archers and Cavalry, on Deers. Those are the things I am looking for in an fantasy army, pretty much exactly in that order. It really is the perfect match.

4. Heroines. I like mixed gender Armies. I just don't get, how all those male-only Factions can actually assume to win a war, when they ignore half of their population (except the Orruks and Grots, which are just male looking Fungi, if I am not mistaken). Anyhow: The Wanderers have two all-female signature units and almost all other Minis from the Range (except the Wild Riders) can be genderswapped easily, thanks to the lithe and lissom figure of the Aelves (and the Eternal Guard even have female Torsos, as I recognised to my suprise, when I opend my first box).

5. Floral Patterns and Tatoos. I just love (painting) decorative patterns (on  minis), and especially floral or organic patterns.

6. The Name. I especially love the Name "Wanderers", for two reasons. First because it contains a reference to the poem "All that is gold does not glitter"           

Quote

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;"

       
And the second reason is, because it opens the former concept of the Wood Elves to the amazing and ultra-high fantasy setting of Age of Sigmar, it opens the faction to so many ideas and possibilities, on a narrative level. A wanderer is someone, who wanders. That's it. You don't have live in a wood, you don't even have to be an aelf (linguistically). The Wanderers roam through the Eight Realms on hidden paths. That is soo great.

And by the way: Theres another faction from the World that was, that has gotten an name, which is hardly more than a verb – The Dispossessed. And that's not the only similarity between the two … just sayin.

7. Mixability with other Aelf and Order Factions. As mentionend befor, the chance to have a faction, that allows me to incorporate protagonists, heroes and units from other aelf and order factions is an opportunity I really like. I already ordered a Skycutter and will definetly add some Longbeards and Ironbreakers with Wanderers-Style. But even only having the whole range of aelves is a great thing, kitbashing-wise.

8. Buildings and Terain. With the current state of the Aelf Factions being quite undefined (from a narrative point of view), it's a great chance to use everything for terrain building that appeals to me. Especiall stuff like the  Elven Tower of Miniature Scenery is a great outlook to what's possible to build.

9. Realm Wanderers and Stalkers of the Hidden Paths. It's just one Trait (or two, depending on how you count), but it sounds like a lot fun. Can't wait to play that for the first time.

10. Legolas and Gimli. The friendship between the Legolas the Wood Elf and Gimli the Dwarf is one of the things I love most about the Lord of the Rings, maybe it's even the thin I love most about the book. It's so unlikely, and on the other hand so wholehearted. Being able to reforge that into an Warhammer Army is beyond great, at least to me …        

I'm sorry for that wall of text! I wrote most of that stuff down weeks ago, in order to compare different factions. And so I thought, that I could post it anyway.

And now, I'm curios: What makes you (want to) play the Wanderers?

 

 

 

[Aezeal]

Where did you get the lore you mention under 2?

[Baz]

Its in the Grand Alliance Order book in the Wanderers section.

[Frozenbeast]

Well said new traveler friend!! 

My personal choice follows the idea of painting them a certain theme. Also...yes...I am confessing....I have always been a Beastmen player!!! And because of this very reason I chose to play then Wanderers (still Wood elves at them time), because of the same theme Beastmen had: the wood, the nature (the ordered respectful side of it rather then the feral and brutal one), the possibility to have sooooo many way of painting, customizing and making up a particular lore.

Also (and the attachment to Beastmen for so long might highlight it) I am pathologically addicted to underdogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aezeal]

2 hours ago, Baz said:

Its in the Grand Alliance Order book in the Wanderers section.

Ah interesting.. never bothered with that book.

 

[Filius]

17 hours ago, Aezeal said:

Ah interesting.. never bothered with that book.

 

Me neither, until I stumbeld about that one-pager, when I did a Google  Image Search for Wanderers. They actually have an intruduction text for every Faction, so I bought the book to get the other little pieces of fluff also. Quite interesting read here and there.

I'm also preparing a Post about currently know Wanderers Fluff … maybe I'll get it done tonight, at it really isn't much.

[Aezeal]

1 hour ago, Filius said:

Me neither, until I stumbeld about that one-pager, when I did a Google  Image Search for Wanderers. They actually have an intruduction text for every Faction, so I bought the book to get the other little pieces of fluff also. Quite interesting read here and there.

I'm also preparing a Post about currently know Wanderers Fluff … maybe I'll get it done tonight, at it really isn't much.

https://war-of-sigmar.herokuapp.com/bloggings/599

For those who didn't know this.

[Cerve]

Anyway, wanderers are Aelf, all the units have the keyword.

[Double Misfire]

Playing Wanderers when Sylvaneth exist feels comparable to being a vegetarian who's yet to go fully vegan. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. 

[Kaleun]

Wanderers are a good thing I would say. With their battalion and their allegiance abilities they seem to be neat. Teleporting is always a great ability in that mission objective battle plans. 

Sylvaneth are a different breed. They are more about close combat and rely more heavily on magic. At least that is my point of view.

[erasercrumbs]

On 2/17/2018 at 4:02 PM, Double Misfire said:

Playing Wanderers when Sylvaneth exist feels comparable to being a vegetarian who's yet to go fully vegan. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. 

I can see many folks going for the Wanderers over the Sylvaneth, they do have the popular 'stealthy woodland archer' vibe going on in spades, and they're not quite as alien as the Sylvaneth.

[Baardah]

Ive always loved wood elves and have been collecting them since 5th edition.

My 10 reasons

10. Skill, speed and grace over armor and brute force

9. The original fantasy elf in my eyes 

8. The mix of elves and living wood entities in the original set up. 

7. Wardancers

6. The steed of Kurnous/isha . I’m actually not a fan of the deer itself. I like the old metal elk one better. But that fact that it’s named steed of kurnous makes it so that it can be anything. In my case it’s wolves. Those models look awesome riding the 40k fenrisian wolves. 

5. Waywarchers

4. The way you need finesse to succeed with this army. The wood elves was never a beginners army. 

3. The eternal guard kit. It Is so extremely versatile for kitbashing. You can mix it with other elf kits to make lots of wanderer flavored conversions. 

2. Hoods and cloaks

1. Orion. The background for this character, the way he dies every winter and is reborn to go on the wild hunt each spring, the model for him...it’s what got my attention for wood elves in the first place. It is Age of Sigmars greatest weakness that his God of the Hunt is supposedly dead. Supposedly? Read about the huntmaster that is Allarielles closest advisor (in battletome: Sylvaneth) and tell me that she didn’t bring her lover and consort king back from oblivion....