AoS 2 - Sylvaneth Discussion

[Landohammer]

@jake3991

Thanks for that! These are the kind of posts I come here for!

However do note that Durthu is actually only 340pts rather than 380pts. Its not a big deal but it does push the Hunters into a slightly different league. They should outperform Durthu because they cost 18% more!

I personally  prefer the Hunters over Durthu, mostly because he never ends up fighting close to a forest.  The +2 attacks are just too conditional.

[Shmaravoz]

4 hours ago, jake3991 said:

I've been doing some thinking on building a workable competitive list with the new book. It seems like most players that have placed well in recent events have omitted the higher price characters (Allerielle, Durthu, etc.) in favor of more Kurnoth hunters.  I personally support this decision but would like to lay out some more critical analysis on it. 

Lets compare Durthu to a unit of 6 Kurnoth hunters, 380 and 400 points respectively.  Take a look at the following expected damage bell curves for both Durthu with +2 attacks for being near a wood and all 6 hunters getting in combat vs a 4+ save unit. 

First here is durthu, pretty solid potential, but a 39% chance you do 6 or less wounds.

Compare that with 6 hunters with Scythes. Note that the chance of doing 6 or less wounds drops to 6% while maintaining similar mean damage and top end. 

 

However this is not the biggest issue with Durthu, after  a mere 3 wounds his damage drops from 6 to D6. This is a pretty substantial drop off after just 3 wounds on a model with no built in method of saving mortal wounds.  However if a unit of Kurnoth hunters take 3 wounds they have no change in damage output as you won't even have lost a single model.

 

Given all this Kurnoth hunters are clearly the reliable source of damage output for 400 points.  But how do you use them?  How do you ensure they don't get killed before they get to combat? How do you get them to combat? How do you deal with the current activation mechanics (slanesh)? I think most players who have thought about this would say use the a combination of dreadwood (this also gives you major flexibility with your other units) and spiteswarm hive.  However  if you take the artifact that adds a cast and attempt throne of vines followed by spiteswarm hive, the probability of getting spiteswarm hive out then not rolling a 1 when you pick a unit to buff with it (assuming you can get a single unit inside its bubble) is not great about (50% excluding dispel opportunists). 

My point here is while spiteswarm hive does not provide the reliable alpha strike that you would hope when combined with a teleport move.  Additionally with most lists bottoming out at 4-5 drops you won't always dictate the tempo of the game.  Given all this I think its best to consider Kurnoth hunters with a screen of your favorite cheap unit so they don't get hit.  If you go first you can alpha if you get lucky  with the hive or turtle on the objectives whilst setting up the Kurnoths in a manner that they will be in combat should somebody charge the screen but unable to be hit and be able to hit back.  If you go second you could consider a counter charge move, if you creative enough you could even use the screen to mitigate the amount of return damage to the hunters.  This is critical because if you are playing a top tier opponent there is a good chance that your kurnoth hunters will be going last in combat. 

Just thought I'd share this with the group as it seems like there is a lot of back and fourth on what to take, how to play it and how to deal with armies that have more powerful books.

 

 

 

@jake3991 That is a great point! This is a type of analysis I would like to see on this forum. It should be used to review tactics and help to perform better in the tournaments. 

I personally believe KH are the way to go in a competitive play. Swords are the best, Scythes are good, Bows are OK. Alarielle is a great model, but she can be killed in turn one when you face a tier 1 army. I currently run a list with 18 hunters, Drycha, Arch Revenant, Spitswarm Hive and its doing well. Ideally I would like to have 21 KH list.  I also think in this list Drycha is a better option compared to Durthu, as she deals MWs and is a wizard. 

[Landohammer]

1 hour ago, Shmaravoz said:

@jake3991 That is a great point! This is a type of analysis I would like to see on this forum. It should be used to review tactics and help to perform better in the tournaments. 

I personally believe KH are the way to go in a competitive play. Swords are the best, Scythes are good, Bows are OK. Alarielle is a great model, but she can be killed in turn one when you face a tier 1 army. I currently run a list with 18 hunters, Drycha, Arch Revenant, Spitswarm Hive and its doing well. Ideally I would like to have 21 KH list.  I also think in this list Drycha is a better option compared to Durthu, as she deals MWs and is a wizard. 

Yea if you boil our army down to its most competitive components, you almost always end up with tons of Hunters, Archie, Hive and Drycha. Add Glades and Allies to taste.

What kind of battleline do you run? I tend to learn toward solid blocks of 20 Spites/Dryads, but i keep getting tempted to just go with the bare minimum of 5 Spites + 5 Spites + 5 Tree Revs.

 

 

[Shmaravoz]

2 minutes ago, Landohammer said:

Yea if you boil our army down to its most competitive components, you almost always end up with tons of Hunters, Archie, Hive and Drycha. Add Glades and Allies to taste.

What kind of battleline do you run? I tend to learn toward solid blocks of 20 Spites/Dryads, but i keep getting tempted to just go with the bare minimum of 5 Spites + 5 Spites + 5 Tree Revs.

 

 

Same: 5 Spites + 5 Spites + 5 Tree Revs. I also take Brachwraith (Throne of Vines) to summon Dryads (average 30 per game, to hold objectives) and I buy 1 CP. I put Regrowth for Drycha, to make her more survivable. As for the Glade I pick Winterleaf. So far, I am happy with how the list performs.  

[Lanoss]

Has anyone had any luck/experience with Skaeth’s Hunters? That +1 to wound spell seems fantastic 

[Ian Wallsh]

Hi 

I know its early days (and I'm still to fight my first Battle), has anyone any thoughts on the 'Ossiarch Bo'ness' Brigafe.......? 

 

[Shmaravoz]

48 minutes ago, Lanoss said:

Has anyone had any luck/experience with Skaeth’s Hunters? That +1 to wound spell seems fantastic 

Not for a competitive play. To expensive. +1 to Wound is good, but not worth the points.... 

[IArePope]

I've recently just go to 2k points for my sylvaneth army. Ive got the following so far:

Allegiance: Sylvaneth
- Glade: Winterleaf
Alarielle the Everqueen (660)
- Deepwood Spell: Throne of Vines
Arch-Revenant (100)
- Artefact: Frozen Kernel
Branchwych (80)
- Deepwood Spell: Verdurous Harmony
Drycha Hamadreth (320)
- Deepwood Spell: Regrowth
- Companions: Colony of Flitterfuries
Spirit of Durthu (340)
- General
- Trait: My Heart Is Ice
30 x Dryads (270)
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)
Spiteswarm Hive (50)

Total: 1980 / 2000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 88

I've mostly played 1k games the last few month have been doing slightly above 50% win rate and ive been quite happy with that result. I think the double attack and 6'****** twice at 1k point games can be quite swingy.

The transition into 2k games has not been smooth. I'm hoping to get some advice on how to address some of the problems i am currently facing while i budget for more units.

Here are the main problems:

• Alariele, Drycha, Durthu being killed in one turn.
• Not having enough battle lines to be able to protect my strong heroes.
• Being able to attack or be offensive in way that generates a point/objective/map advantage.

I this has been because i've been spreading out to much during deployment aiming for 2-3 objectives? Instead of playing a bit more clumped and using what small troops i have to block charge lines?

How would you play this list if that's what you could bring?

[Trevelyan]

Sylvaneth players remember the many times Durthu let us down, or was just generically uninspiring. Our opponents remember the few times Durthu single handedly wrecked face. 

I’m also in Camp Kurnoth when it comes to actual damage (6 scythes). Most of my local community has a strange attitude - they say that they fear the Kurnoths, but they’ll still happily feed them all the units they can eat. 

Last night I had Gotrek on my right flank, Durthu in the centre and the Kurnoths to my left. Gotrek got tied up by a unit of Boargruntas, Durthu got to finish off a Mawkrusha (which failed to charge past the Dryad wall so got stuck munching chaff In a forest while Durthu powered up and killed it) and a horde of Orruks lined up on my left to sacrifice themselves to the god of the hunt. The Kurnoths did more damage than the rest of my army combined, and singlehandedly swung the game as a double turn of Kurnoths (Winterleaf, with the Kernel and an Arch Rev in support) didn’t leave much left for him to fight with. 

Complete tangent, but Gotrek really is as tough as advertised. We had time to kill after the slaughter so decided to put Gotrek against the Mawkrusha. Mawkrusha got to charge and unleash its attack first. Gotrek killed it with his second set of attacks at the end of the combat phase with plenty of damage to spare. He took three wounds total. 

[Aenur]

16 hours ago, jake3991 said:

I've been doing some thinking on building a workable competitive list with the new book. It seems like most players that have placed well in recent events have omitted the higher price characters (Allerielle, Durthu, etc.) in favor of more Kurnoth hunters.  I personally support this decision but would like to lay out some more critical analysis on it. 

Lets compare Durthu to a unit of 6 Kurnoth hunters, 380 and 400 points respectively.  Take a look at the following expected damage bell curves for both Durthu with +2 attacks for being near a wood and all 6 hunters getting in combat vs a 4+ save unit. 

First here is durthu, pretty solid potential, but a 39% chance you do 6 or less wounds.

Compare that with 6 hunters with Scythes. Note that the chance of doing 6 or less wounds drops to 6% while maintaining similar mean damage and top end. 

 

However this is not the biggest issue with Durthu, after  a mere 3 wounds his damage drops from 6 to D6. This is a pretty substantial drop off after just 3 wounds on a model with no built in method of saving mortal wounds.  However if a unit of Kurnoth hunters take 3 wounds they have no change in damage output as you won't even have lost a single model.

 

Given all this Kurnoth hunters are clearly the reliable source of damage output for 400 points.  But how do you use them?  How do you ensure they don't get killed before they get to combat? How do you get them to combat? How do you deal with the current activation mechanics (slanesh)? I think most players who have thought about this would say use the a combination of dreadwood (this also gives you major flexibility with your other units) and spiteswarm hive.  However  if you take the artifact that adds a cast and attempt throne of vines followed by spiteswarm hive, the probability of getting spiteswarm hive out then not rolling a 1 when you pick a unit to buff with it (assuming you can get a single unit inside its bubble) is not great about (50% excluding dispel opportunists). 

My point here is while spiteswarm hive does not provide the reliable alpha strike that you would hope when combined with a teleport move.  Additionally with most lists bottoming out at 4-5 drops you won't always dictate the tempo of the game.  Given all this I think its best to consider Kurnoth hunters with a screen of your favorite cheap unit so they don't get hit.  If you go first you can alpha if you get lucky  with the hive or turtle on the objectives whilst setting up the Kurnoths in a manner that they will be in combat should somebody charge the screen but unable to be hit and be able to hit back.  If you go second you could consider a counter charge move, if you creative enough you could even use the screen to mitigate the amount of return damage to the hunters.  This is critical because if you are playing a top tier opponent there is a good chance that your kurnoth hunters will be going last in combat. 

Just thought I'd share this with the group as it seems like there is a lot of back and fourth on what to take, how to play it and how to deal with armies that have more powerful books.

 

 

 

That is a masterpiece Post, I really like your analysis. I want to know if you consider the ranged attack as the massive impaling  potential from Durthu and the mortal wounds from the KH at the end of combat phase. 

Thank you very much!

[Trevelyan]

5 hours ago, IArePope said:

Here are the main problems:

• Alariele, Drycha, Durthu being killed in one turn.
• Not having enough battle lines to be able to protect my strong heroes.
• Being able to attack or be offensive in way that generates a point/objective/map advantage.

I this has been because i've been spreading out to much during deployment aiming for 2-3 objectives? Instead of playing a bit more clumped and using what small troops i have to block charge lines?

How would you play this list if that's what you could bring?

Honestly, I wouldn’t play that list given the choice.  You’ve already touched on the reasons why yourself, but the essential problem is you’ve got too many heroes and not enough workers. I’ll be repeating that a lot. 

The reason Alarielle, Drycha and Durthu keep dying is that a) you’ve got all three of the most expensive single units in the faction in one list; and b) you’ve not got remotely enough other models to support them properly. You really need to drop at least one of them and find a better way to spend the points. 

Your second point is really the same as your first, but the problem isn’t so much that you don’t have enough battleline to cover your heroes, but rather that you’ve got too many heroes for your battleline. 30 Dryads plus 2x5 Tree Revenants is perfectly adequate in most lists. Maybe not optimal, but the battleline isn’t the problem.

Likewise, you are struggling to be offensive and generate advantage on the table because you’ve got too many heroes and not enough other models to support them. In theory you’ve got things that can apply pressure - Alarielle is superb at opening up a new front by flying a long way and summoning new troops. You’ve got the Hive so she could be goofing it the best part of two foot across the table before she summons whatever she summons. That’s how you apply pressure.  
 

The most striking think about your list is what you don’t have. We’ve all just been talking about how good Kurnoth Hunters are but you don’t have any. And getting Alarielle to drop three won’t be enough. Kurnoth Hunters are the real workhorses of the faction. They hit harder than anything else for the points, and they can take a hit vastly better. 

You’re also missing a Branchwraith. While I’m sure there are viable lists without one somewhere, I’ve never seen anyone suggest that paying 80 points for a wizard that can summon a 100 point unit each turn was a bad idea. 

But if you have to play that list then bunker down behind your Dryads and don’t spread out. Keep Alarielle safe until you’ve got an opening for her (that may be Turn 1, and should be by Turn 2) and use her summons to screen her from threats. She has a huge base but isn’t really a huge threat by herself. Similarly, don’t get over excited and run Drycha into combat. She hits hard but melts like ice cream under pressure, so let her take things down at range until it is safe to commit. 

Then go and get at least six Kurnoth Hunters and a Branchwraith. 

[Landohammer]

14 hours ago, Shmaravoz said:

Not for a competitive play. To expensive. +1 to Wound is good, but not worth the points.... 

Yea I love the models, and he is a heck of a lot better than the garbage fire that is Ylthari, but I still struggle to squeeze him into lists.

I find myself wishing he was a hero so that he could activate Glade command abilities and help out in hero-based objectives. But at the end of the day archie's abilities are similarly effective, more reliable, and cheaper. 

[jake3991]

5 hours ago, Aenur said:

That is a masterpiece Post, I really like your analysis. I want to know if you consider the ranged attack as the massive impaling  potential from Durthu and the mortal wounds from the KH at the end of combat phase. 

Thank you very much!

I did not! I also forgot that Durhtu is 340 points and not 380 as he was in the past. 

I plan on test some army lists with and without Durthu, I'll report back with an equally detailed post!

[Aezeal]

On 11/6/2019 at 7:10 PM, overtninja said:

@jake3991 6 Kurnoth with scythes are a mainstay of the list I run, and they definitely outperform Durthu in every game I play. To me, Durthu performs really well as a hate magnet that everyone is scared of, and like any monster he is extremely swingy, and has flubbed every attack I've ever made with him in a game. That said, he's a hero and makes a decent general, and if you invest in both Kurnoth and Durthu together, you've got two massive threats on the field that your opponent has to address and commit a bunch to, and often they can't deal with both.

Personally I think the threat of Durthu's potential damage and his hardiness are most of his draw.

Love those statistics

There is a bit more ofcourse.

Durthu

-can have item and trait

-has shooting (and not to shabby)

-stomp

-better save (though rerolling hunters are better)

- damage curves above are for +2 attacks.. which is NOT a give when using him offensively

Hunters

-WAY  more wounds 

-easy buff from Arch rev

-possibly rerolls on hunters (but often I prefer not to get charged and when I charge I've not got this

- possible cover save

- better increase in damage output when using ArchRev command ability

 

Personally I think Durthu is only worth it if you have good items and traits for him available: you need to build your list around him at least partially. 

All in all melee hunters are just easier to use for your army. Put them down, maybe buff with arch ref.. move and kill. 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by Aezeal

[a74xhx]

Anyone considering Wanderer allies since the CoS tome dropped? Our previous overpriced choice, Sisters of the Thorn, no longer have a useful spell for us. And I don't see anything else of any use .... Unless anyone has spotted anything?

It's a shame if there isn't as it could have been a gateway to getting a full living city army.

 

[Pigey]

On 10/25/2019 at 7:24 AM, Pigey said:

A while ago I posted a couple of lists and to be honest I did not have much success with them.

So I am trying something new. The idea behind the following list is to give up the idea of getting the priority first turn, and to play more defensively than I used to (no battalion and 10 drops).

Could you tell me what you think of it? My question being, do you think a battalion is mandatory for competitive playing?
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Allegiance: Sylvaneth
- Glade: Gnarlroot
 

LEADERS
Drycha Hamadreth (320)
- Deepwood Spell : Regrowth
Spirit of Durthu (340)
Arch-Revenant (100)
Branchwraith (80)
- General
- Command Trait : Nurtured by Magic
- Artefact : Chalice of Nectar
- Deepwood Spell : Verdurous Harmony
Branchwraith (80)
- Deepwood Spell : Verdurous Harmony
 

UNITS
30 x Dryads (270)
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)
6 x Kurnoth Hunters (400)
- Scythes
3 x Kurnoth Hunters (200)
- Greatswords
 

ENDLESS SPELLS / TERRAIN / COMMAND POINTS
Spiteswarm Hive (50)

TOTAL: 2000/2000

 

Cheers!

As promised I come with a debrief about the games I had with the list.

In the end I faced the Mawtribes at 1k (posted something else about it earlier this week), Shootcast at 2k and Gloomspite Gitz at 2k.

Shootcast game:

Scenario: Escalation

That was a very tough scenario for me. Stormcast had way higher mobility than I did, and of course a lot more shooting. I put all the Kurnoth and Durthu in the Realmroots to protect them. The rest of my army was deployed so that he could not teleport too close: chaff up front, casters and Drycha in te back.

He took the first turn, shot off my left flank (5 TR & 30 Dryads) and scored all of the objectives. My plan for the turn one was the following: summon a forest to counter charge on the left flank and take the center objective (harder without the models deepstriking since I could not give them the bonus from the Spiteswarm Hive). If not charging, making sure when deepstriking that most of  my units are not within line of sight of the 9 Raptors. Only 5 liberators were holding the top right objective, and Drycha would take care of that (but she was very far away). I cast Verdant Blessing aaaaaaand... it gets dispelled. From there, I was completely lost and did not know what to do. 

I deepstriked everything in the woods I had set up initially and prayed for a double turn. Which I got and played very poorly. I managed to execute my turn one plan but did not focus on the right things and got smashed back (Evocators, Dracoths + shooting phase). BTW , Durthu did a whooping 6 damages and died.

Stormcast then double turned me and it was over.

What I got out of this game: the scenario made it extremely tricky for me to deploy, especially knowing that I would not get the first turn and that my opponent had a shooting army. I think my deployment could have been better (putting my wizards far away enough not get dispelled... per example). Having one big unit of Kurnoths to teleport instead of two might have helped as well. Other than that, I do not really know what I could have improved. I was lacking mobility, like, terribly... I did not learn much from that game unfortunately, but I still learned something

 

 

 

Gloomspite game:

Scenario: Duality of Death

Where Escalation is really hard (I think), Duality of Death is the kind of scenario I like!  He had 11 drops and I 10 so I was able to take the first turn. I deployed in such a way I could make my two units of Tree-Revenants grab both objectives with a run roll. I had also put my 30 Dryads in the Realmroots. My Woods were near one of the objectives. I made those woods my Place of Power. I basically deployed everything else on the flank where the woods were, preparing for an alpha strike with Durthu and the unit of 6 Hunters.

Turn one went really smoothly: summoned a forest, summoned the Hive, got +3" move and charge for Durthu the Scythes Hunters and a unit of Tree-Revenants (did not get Dryads, though). I ran both my Tree-Revenant units and got the objectives. I teleported Durthu and the Hunters on the left flank. I moved everything else forward. Finally, I deepstriked the Dryads so that they could bubblewrap the Tree Revenants on my left flank. The plan was to score early and heavily defend the left flank. Durthu and the Kurnoth charged in and wiped the Stabba screen ready to take a charge in.  The Gloomspite turn was quick and easy: good magic, counter charges on Durthu, the Hunters and my Dryads. He was not able to get a charge in on the right flank. He killed Durthu (did not get my Stomp off) and a bunch of Dryads. It was not enough to chew threw my lines and he would need a double turn to really do more damage.

However, I got the initiative and I was able to counterstrike and also score 4 more points. I was not able to wipe everything I needed to kill, but did quite a bit of damage. His turn two allowed him to finally get the right flank and do a lot more damage on my left flank. I lost the objective on my left flank as well but he did not score it. I had to get ready for 80 more Stabbas coming 😛 

Gladly, I got the initiative (very lucky: he actually won the roll off, but endless spell shenanigans and other considerations made him choose to go second). I basically finished to clean up what was left of his left flank and prepared for the oncoming horde of Gitz rushing from the right flank. Drycha took controle of the objective and I screened her as much as I could.

During the Gloompsite player's turn, my defense held and the score was still in my favor (7 - 3).

Turn 4: he finally double turned me but did not enough punch to get the objective back. We stopped there.

Sylvaneth victory

What I got out of this game: Drycha is a BEAST. I love her. She can do anything and is active in any phase. And in Gnarlroot, she has a lot of utility. Durthu was a letdown... again: he did a little damage and died. Sure he is a magnet, but 340 for a magnet is really steep. The stomp can make a real difference, but it is a 4+ roll. Not that great. My two units of Hunters could have been one big unit. I think I played my list right and did what I needed to do. But, to be honest, I really think that the fact I went first made a huge difference in this specific game. If the Gloompsite had gone first, it would have been very hard for me to get those objectives. That being said, I think that is the one issue with this list: you will most of the time not get to choose who goes first. And even with battalions (6 - 7 drops), it is not reliable for a Sylvaneth player (to think they can go first). I think we just need to learn how to play second the best we can.

I still would change a couple of things in my list: dropping Durthu and taking 3 more Hunters. I am thinking of doing 2 units of 6. That leaves me 140pts that I could spend on:

• 10 Spite Revenants
• OR a Branchwych + the Geminids
• OR 20 more Dryads (providing I drop 10 from the other unit of 30 that is already in the roster)

Hope it was not too lengthy, but @jake3991, I think that is a concrete example of what Durthu does 😛 I'm gonna try more Kurnoth Hunters!

 

 

[overtninja]

On 11/9/2019 at 7:07 AM, a74xhx said:

Anyone considering Wanderer allies since the CoS tome dropped? Our previous overpriced choice, Sisters of the Thorn, no longer have a useful spell for us. And I don't see anything else of any use .... Unless anyone has spotted anything?

It's a shame if there isn't as it could have been a gateway to getting a full living city army.

 

I looked into it after the CoS book dropped, but Sylvaneth don't really need any of the support that Wanderers can bring - they've got strong melee, bunkers, chaff, decent casting, mobility and other such covered. The lack of strong ranged power is made up for by the ability to throw LoS-blocking terrain all over the place, and what shooting Sylvaneth do have is generally enough for weakening incoming melee blocks, which is what Sylvaneth need.

I might consider bringing some Wild Riders as allies, as they are very mobile and on a charge have serious damage potential, especially in a group of 10 (which would help make up for rubber spear syndrome). They would pair well potentially with infiltrating or teleporting units like Tree-Revenants (or anything in a Dreadwood army). Now that they have decent rules, I think I might try it in the next game I play. At 260 points, it wouldn't be too much of a burden to acquire, and would open options that Sylvaneth otherwise lack.

Another option would be some Sisters of the Watch, combined with Durthu or even Alarielle to create a 'no-go' zone for your opponent, such that anyone coming into range would expose themselves to serious shooting and then a gross counter-charge. While Sylvaneth already have Kurnoths with Bows, they are rather poor at hero sniping with their 4+ to hit (even with an Arch-Revenant making it 3+), since they have so few shots per model. If you really wanted some scary ranged power, you could go with Bow Kurnoth along with SotW and shell anything that approaches you to death. Another option I'd be interested in trying. This is a much bigger commitment, at 160/320 points for 10/20, but it might be worth trying depending on local meta.

You could also try a group of WWR and a Nomad Prince, but Kurnoth do their job just as well, if not better. The SotT/Eternal Guard combo is unnecessary for a Sylvaneth army, as you could just take a huge pile of Dryads if you wanted to bunker up.

As for CoS Living City list-building, the choices are much more interesting because you're only getting 2 or, at most, 3 Sylvaneth units as part of your army, so you end up having to be selective with what  to supplement your overall strategy with. I run a lot of (alright, basically 100%) Wanderers in my list (because that's what I own, and Wood Elves was my WHFB army, and I like them a lot), so in a LC list I plan to bring Melee Kurnoth for outrageous punch (and with 6 Scythe Kurnoth, they'd qualify as my Nomad Prince's retinue! ohohohoho). Drycha and a pile of Spite-Revenants is another cool potential option, and at 520 for a full compliment I think it's got some real potential. Durthu tends to duff his attacks, and he really needs Wyldwoods to be effective. A vanilla Treeman might actually be worth using, chiefly as the cheapest source of Groundshaking Stomp, which would really help WWR get their hits in before getting blended. You could also go with a Treelord Ancient and a Branchwraith to try and create a Dryad engine, but against any strong dispelling that might not go so well, and summoning every turn is definitely not a sure bet.

TL;DR - Wanderers don't bring too much to the table that Sylvaneth don't cover, but Wild Riders for speed and potentially brutal charges, or SotW for a zone-controlling shooting bunker list, both have some potential. For Living City, Drycha and friends infiltrating is appealing, as are melee Kurnoth and even Treelords.

[Azamar]

@Pigey what about replacing durthu with a tree lord ancient? If you are banking on getting out that second wood at the first opportunity, then an automatic wood seems like a solid idea.

[Pigey]

1 hour ago, Azamar said:

@Pigey what about replacing durthu with a tree lord ancient? If you are banking on getting out that second wood at the first opportunity, then an automatic wood seems like a solid idea.

I tought about it, but then I feel like the list lacks punch.

[a74xhx]

13 hours ago, overtninja said:

I looked into it after the CoS book dropped, but Sylvaneth don't really need any of the support that Wanderers can bring .................................

Thanks for the details. Sounds like we do have some options if played correctly.

Little sad that the best option for Living City comes down, once again, to Kurnoths. Love them and all, but they are always the answer.

[Neffelo]

I've seen mention several times of the top winning lists, but I can't seem to find a link to any of them.

Can someone provide that? 

[Pigey]

5 hours ago, Neffelo said:

I've seen mention several times of the top winning lists, but I can't seem to find a link to any of them.

Can someone provide that? 

If I remember correctly one of them goes

DREADWOOD

Arch Revenant with Dreadwood trait and artifact 100

Branchwraith with Spiritsong Stave, Throne of Vines 80

Branchwraith 80

10 Spites 120

5 Spites 60

5 Spites 60

30 Dryads 270

9 Kurnoth Hunters with Scythes 600

6 Kurnoth Hunters with Greatswords 400

Outcast Battalion 100

Spiteswarm Hive 50

Extra command point 50

1970pts

 

You can watch a game here (extremely well played):

 

[HollowHills]

Hi all, 

Looking for some advice. 

I'm going into my last two games if an escalation league. I'm joint first place with 1 loss and 11 majors. My last two games are both against gloomspite (one squig list and one spider list) against opponents I would expect to beat. The battle plan is shifting objectives. My list is attached for reference. 

I'm thinking of going first if I get the choice of turn and summoning a big wood between the primary objective and a second objective. The goal would then to set up a defensive position and ride out the counter attack. 

1) do you think this is a good strat? The risk of a squig charge and a double turn is fairly high, but I feel like it's worth it to get ahead on objectives. 

2) If I attempt to summon the wood with the branchwych I have a 70% chance of success (assuming I position to avoid unbinds turn 1). If I cast throne with the wraith and then wood the chance is closer to 95%. Although I forgoe the chance of dryads. 

3) option would be to drop durthu and take a TLA. This gives insurance if the spell fails, but is one less threat on the board. 

Thoughts? 

 

2ktrees.pdf

[Milo]

Good morning, 

any advice about this 2k list?

Glade: Heartwood

Branchwraith(80) General

Trait: Legacy of Valour

Artefact: Horn

Spell:Throne of Vines

Branchwraith(80)

Artefact: Acorn of ages 

Spell: Verdurous Harmony

Drycha(320)

Spell: Regrowth

Kurnoth Hunters with Bows 1x3 (200)

Kurnoth Hunters with Bows 1x3 (200)

Kurnoth Hunters with Bows 1x3 (200)

Kurnoth Hunters withScytes 1x6(400)

Spites 1x5 (60)

Spites 1x5 (60)

Spites 1x20 (200)

Battalion: Outcast(100)

Endless Spells:

Spiteswarm Hive (50)

Soulsnare Shackles (40)

1990/2000

 

[Landohammer]

On 11/8/2019 at 6:07 PM, a74xhx said:

Anyone considering Wanderer allies since the CoS tome dropped? Our previous overpriced choice, Sisters of the Thorn, no longer have a useful spell for us. And I don't see anything else of any use .... Unless anyone has spotted anything?

It's a shame if there isn't as it could have been a gateway to getting a full living city army.

 

So I make it a point to always field allies. I feel like how they make lists seem a bit more unique and less homogenized. 

Here are some of the ally picks I have used/considered lately.

Wildwood Rangers - Solid and reliable for a meta with large scary monsters like Archaon or Nagash.  20 should be able to kill pretty much any behemoth. They also fit in the price range between 3 and 6 Kurnoth Hunters. With the COS changes they get a +1 to charge which is nice.

Knight-Azyros - A cheap character that is fast, has a buff that affects our army, and also a once per game AOE nuke.  Arch Revenant replaced this guy for the most part, but the Azyros is still a bit better in certain situations. 

Celestar Ballista - A cheap but reliable shooting phase. 

Morsarr Guard - The Eels are a popular choice for a reason. They hit like a truck, move fast, and have decent survivability.

Wild Riders - These guys are fluffy, but are realistically just worse Eels. They do still fill the same role and are a good bit cheaper (both in points and dollars). They also maintain some rend off the charge which can matter.

Prosecutors - Dirt cheap objective grabbers, wound plinkers, and warmachine annoyers. Tree Revs are probably better but the prosecutors can start annoying things earlier. Their 3d6 charge range is nice too!

Sisters of the Watch - Solid and reliable shooting so your Kurnoth can fight instead of shoot.

Lord Relictor - An ability that does mortals and grants a  minus 1 to hit that cant be unbound. Great if your meta is full of casters. 

Tidecaster - A spell with a minus 1 to hit with a conditional mortal wound.