AoS 2 - Wanderers Discussion

[Aezeal]

6 hours ago, Gwendar said:

@Frozenbeast What I'm trying to say is unless the model you want to throw FmK on can pile in 6" (thus not have to charge) then it would most assuredly be within 3" or else it wouldn't be able to pile in in the first place.

Unless of course it charged the tail-end of a screen in front of the Nomad to be outside 3" and then piled in towards the Nomad during it's activation.. or if the Nomad was standing too close to said screen and got pulled into combat. Either way, I think there are better options for relics and I tend to opt out of using this one for various reasons.

Yes.. and no. The NP will most likely be in a unit of something. They could potentially charge to 0.5 of some other model but outside 3" of NP and then pile in and have the NP within their attack range. However this would not be the case often I think since piling into the nearest model would prevent to much movement there. THe mentioned oval base which can be turned might facilitate that somewhat though.

[Frozenbeast]

@Gwendar That was exactly his example. He charged the tail-end on a screen unit and then piled in. So as funny as Fmk can be it can be avoided by a skilled player especially because we need to keep our NP protected so in the majority of the scenarios the enemy will charge him or the unit he is being screened by. I agree with you that there are better artifacts we can give to our heroes

[awcamawn]

@Frozenbeast The solution is to ensure that all the bases within the screening unit are wholly within 2.49" of the Prince, so that no charging models can be placed within .5" of the screening unit without also being within 3" of the Prince. There are perhaps stronger options, but the Forget-me-knot can still be quite powerful as long as you do not make a mistake in moving and arranging your models; ensuring the models are in the right place is tricky but it is ultimately up to you to plan ahead and not leave an opening for your opponent.  To me, the Forget-me-knot's main weakness is that a wise opponent will simply go after your Prince with their non-hero units.

[GM_Monkey]

That the thing, since I started taking it I've never really had a chance to use it because nobody has been in range, also I don't use the Eternal Guards to screen like you showed @awcamawn I use them in a single line screen the whole block of SofW and Glade Guard behind them, with the Nomad Prince in the centre so I can take full advantage of the Protective Volley.

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by GM_Monkey

[Ndino87]

So another long Battle Report from me, I really like writing them but if the group rather not trawl through it then please let me know, I'll find somewhere else to post...

Sam, my opponent set the scene:

Nurgle had attacked an outpost of free people, slaughtering the town's defenders and spreading their vile disease and corrupting the innocents. The Wanderers' Spell Weaver had felt the screams and knew it was their responsibility to react.

 

Upon finding the outpost, the Wanderers knew there was no saving the free peoples, but the blight could not go unchallenged. They lay siege to the Nurgle army, a bloody battle that lasted for days... We join in the final action in the total commitment battle plan. 

 

The Wanderers set up with a heavy force of 20x Sisters of the Watch (SotW), 10x Eternal Guard (EG) locked in cover on top of an objective, 20x Wildwood Rangers (WWR) and the Nomad Prince (NP, all on the left flank surrounding a Nurgle tree. A light 10 x Eternal Guard (EG) garrisoned in a tower that contained another objective on the right flank and the Spell Weaver (SW) over looking the battle field in the centre from another tower. 

 

The Nurgle deployed with the Lord of afflictions  (LoA) and Pusgolye Blightlords (PBL) facing the Wanderers main force, and the Lord of blights and 10x putrid blightkings (PBK) facing the Wanderers right flank. Due to the battle plan, the Nurglings had to be deployed and were done so in the centre.

 

Turn 1 - Nurgle - the entire army moved forward, but stayed in range of their objectives to claim the points.

T1 - Wanderers - SW used Balewind Vortex and then cast Mystic Shield on the WWR. Both units of EG locked themselves down on their OBs with fortress of boroughs and would stay like this for the entire game. The WWR moved forward. The SotW used realm wanderers to move to the far left corner of the board. This meant they were a threat to the objective there, but also a threat to the opponents opposite flank and objective. This would be very important as the game progressed. 

The SotW loosed quicksilver shots at the pusgolye blightlords, killing 1 and taking a wound on the other.

 

2-2

 

T2 - Wanderers won the role, shot at the remaining Pusgolye and he somehow managed to live with 1 wound through the barrage of 40 arrows hitting on 3s, wounding on 2s... disgustingly resilient indeed. The WWR retreated so as not to take a charge from the PBL and LoA, everyone else stayed locked down. The Nomad Prince thought about joining the Sisters to assist with the incoming onslaught but was to far away from the board edge... 

T2 - Nurgle - the LoA and remaining PBL charged the SotW, the PBL went down to their 'loose to the last' ability. The LoA attacked and killed 4 sisters, two more fled with battleshock. Despite the losses, they survived and this was a huge result for the wanderers.  

The Nurgle Tree summoned the 5 plague bearers who charged the Wanderers left flank objective and were beaten back by the encamped EG. 

The blightkings hesitated, concerned the sisters may retreat down the board and threaten their OB. The nurglings moved to the left flank. 

 

4-4

 

T3 - The Wanderers rolled a 2, the Nurgle rolled a decisive 1...

The SotW proceeded to kill the Lord of the Afflictions but were not able to capture the OB as they were out of range. The final plague bearer was killed by the EG. 

The WWR re-positioned, ready to realm wander to threaten the final objective or cover the EG on the next turn. 

T3 - Nurgle, more plague bearers summoned, but not charged. The blightkings set up to prevent any Wanderers landing close to their objective. 

 

6-6

 

T4 - Nurgle won the roll. The new cycle of corruption killed two EG and 2 WWR. The nurglings were moved onto the the Nurgle OB. Another 10 plague bearers were summoned, overwhelming the Wanderers objective and claiming it through sheer numbers, 15 plague bearers vs 8 EG. The blightkings again locked themselves down. 

 

6-11 Nurgle

 

T4 - Wanderers - the SotW claimed the enemy objective by having more models closer. 

The Nomad Prince and Wildwood Rangers finally flexed and charged the plague bearers, killing 9 for no return. 

 

11-11

 

At this point, Sam evaluated his next moves and conceded the game. He would not be able to win my OB back and could not win his own back. His strongest units were on the otherside of the board, having not moved due to the realm wanderer threat and too far away to change anything.  A Major Victory to the Wanderers. the blight had been pushed back!

 

I continue to be impressed with the SotW. In 6 games they have been the decisive force. When I've combined them with the realm wanderers ability it has been deeply concerning for my opponents. In this game in addition to killing 440 points, a 320 points of PBK was essentially nullified due to the realm wandering ability and threat of the SotW.  I do throw them into pretty high risk scenarios, but 20 of them seem to be strong enough to handle alot.  

 

I also experienced for the first time how tough the EG are when locked down in cover. It took mortal wounds to take any of them off. For 70 points they were excellent. I also continued to learn that WWR are devastating on the charge. Luckily we hurt the nurgling so hard they couldn't hit back.  

 

I am becoming a fan of trying to play the Wanderers relatively balanced, EG defensive, SotW Aggressive, WWR some where inbetween. This was the first game I played without Glade Guard and I did not miss them. I also think the EG make for great distractions whilst concentrating our elites on aggressively going for objectives. 

 

Overall I think the dice balanced out, and it was just some small tactical adjustments, or even the scenario not quite suiting Sam's list, that really let us have the victory. 

 

Really great, tense game. Apologies about the appaling quality of photos. 

 

Nic

[awcamawn]

@Ndino87 awesome battle report, seemed like a fun game. Keep em coming, love all the pics. Somehow never considered putting the ol' Spellweaver on a Balewind Vortex before, but I am now!

@GM_Monkey True enough, add a very specific set up to the list of downsides of the Forget-me-not. I think the Starcaster Longbow is nearly an auto include for us as far as artifacts go, and with a choice of a second one (w/battalion) the Viridescent Shawl is more useful in more situations than the Forget-me-not. The Forget-me-not is on a short list of things capable of killing Morathi in one turn (as she cannot use The Iron Heart of Khaine for the combat phase that she is removed from); powerful but very niche.

One thing I've noticed is I haven't been able to effectively use Protective Volley ever since one of my buddies started using the Everblaze Comet; if I try to stack up to use the battalion as I would before I'm at risk of having half my army wiped out by one endless spell (after the Spellweaver uses Ancient Blessings or by my opponent casting the comet from 36" - beyond unbinding range).

[chord]

@ndino87 Loved the battlreport!

[GM_Monkey]

Is that in Bad moon cafe?

[Ndino87]

14 minutes ago, GM_Monkey said:

Is that in Bad moon cafe?

Ha, you know it is. If you haven't been, you must. 

Also, happy to have a wanderers vs wanderers challenge and meet up. PM  if interested! 

[Kramig]

Hello! In your opinion which are best allied units? 

I was thinking to

- akhelian guards

- dracoths

Because we lack damage and rend

[overtninja]

On 4/12/2019 at 2:05 AM, Kramig said:

Hello! In your opinion which are best allied units? 

I was thinking to

- akhelian guards

- dracoths

Because we lack damage and rend

Best source of melee damage and rend we can get is WWR, and they are very good at both things. If you need even more rending, scythe kurnoth are a good buy, as they are a compact group with plenty of wounds and great attacks, and are one of the few units in the sylvaneth range that don't require a wildwood to buff them up. Also, being 3+ rerollable in cover is pretty aces. I use these guys when I feel that -2 rending will help out (it usually does, but I can get by pretty well with 20 WWR, or even 2x20 if I really just want to saw everything down).

Of the units you suggested, akhelians would be a cheaper option, and dracoths would of course be beef (with cheese, 2+ reroll 1s vs shooting is kind of great).

[Thiagoma]

Greetings everyone!

I have a full range of High Elves and some Wanderers to back then up and i was wondering  if i should dip my toes into a wanderers small force, but i know very little about their alligeance and synergies, and would loke some help. 

My local meta plays with 1250 pts.

Here is what i got :

Sisters of the Watch x 10

Sisters of the Thorn x5

Glade Guard x 40

A complete Sylvaneth Army and all the current High Elves range for possible Allies. 

Also i belive i can convert models for all the Heroes. (I hate resin with passion)

What else i should aquire for a solid Wanderers team? 

 

Thank you in advance!

[awcamawn]

6 hours ago, Thiagoma said:

Here is what i got :

Sisters of the Watch x 10

Sisters of the Thorn x5

Glade Guard x 40

A complete Sylvaneth Army and all the current High Elves range for possible Allies. 

The Sisters of the Watch are solid keepers, and are workhorses of the faction. Despite being fragile they're best used aggressively along with the Wanderers' Realm Wanderers battle trait to redeploy without moving and thus get the benefit of their Quicksilver Shot ability. A unit of 20 of these can be a downright terrifying threat to a chaos player, as @Ndino87 mentioned in his battle report. Their mere presence on the board edge can force your opponent to react or be flanked.

The Sisters of the Thorn are likely a bit overpriced, but they wield a very excellent unique spell in Shield of Thorns. This spell combos quite well with Eternal Guard - and any other unit that has access to +1 save modifiers, such as all those Dryads you're likely to have from your Sylvaneth. Units of dryads with more than 12 models will be doing mortal wounds on 5+ when rolling saving throws in the combat phase with Shield of Thorns active. Eternal Guard are really efficiently pointed right now though, and are probably a better target for Shield of Thorns for that reason alone. If you have some old High Elves with spears they would work just fine as a proxy for Eternal Guard, otherwise I would consider buying some as they form a low-point-cost defensive backbone for any Wanderers force.

The Glade Guard are a bit of a one hit wonder with their Arcane Bodkins, but the fact that you get twice as many models vs a similar costed unit of Sisters of the Watch means they can be useful for objectives in AoS 2. Running the 40 you have in 2 groups of 20 is risky as they really want that +1 to hit from their Peerless Archery ability while they have 20 or more models. A unit of 30 may be better, able to put a solid hurt on something early with their -3 rend and then scooting off to hold an objective or to simply use their very large footprint on the table to take up some space and zone out your enemy (blocking deepstrikes to key areas, etc)

6 hours ago, Thiagoma said:

Also i belive i can convert models for all the Heroes. (I hate resin with passion)

Just to note, only one Wanderer hero is in resin, the Spellweaver with staff. There is an alternative Spellweaver available from GW in metal, and the Waywatcher/Wayfinder/Waystrider heroes are also in metal as well, not resin. So no need to mess with any resin! There are definitely conversion options out there though - please share any that you come up with! Dark Elf Sorceress as a Spellweaver is one I see a bunch, and a Waywatcher can be made by just building a really fancy looking Glade Guard/Sister of the Watch. Personally I really like the look of the metal Wanderer hero models though.

 The three key heroes you will likely want at 1250 points are a Nomad Prince (our sole hero available in good ol' plastic, and a great sculpt), a Spellweaver, and a Waywatcher [or maybe two]. A Nomad Prince is relatively points efficient with a very respectable melee profile and provides a key 'reroll 1's to hit' bubble to nearby Wanderer units. A Spellweaver has a nifty spells that revives slain Wanderer models to a target unit (especially effective on the 2 wound, 44-points-a-model Sisters of the Thorn) and additionally has a once per game ability to automatically succeed on an unbind attempt with her Ancient Blessings ability. I've found this once per game auto-unbind absolutely clutch against opponents with powerful spellcasting, especially when they're using some of the really powerful endless spells (looking at you, Everblaze Comet). Finally the Waywatcher, despite a 20 points cost increase in the last GHB, remains a powerful and extremely reliable source of relatively long range shooting attacks with rend.  Additionally, his command ability 'See, But Do Not Be Seen' will improve the resiliency of Wanderer units against enemy shooting attacks by providing a large bubble of '-1 to hit.'

7 hours ago, Thiagoma said:

What else i should aquire for a solid Wanderers team? 

Besides the heroes, potentially some additional Sisters of the Watch (I've found units of 20 to be especially effective), and the aforementioned Eternal Guard, some Wildwood Rangers would make a good addition. They have a solid melee punch even against non-monster keyword targets and their 2" melee range comes in extremely handy in making sure they get all of their attacks in. Ultimately I would pick them over some of the similar elite melee options High Elves have to offer, especially if you are looking to use the Wanderers Allegiance Abilities. Non-Wanderer alternatives won't reroll battleshock or have the option to use Realm Wanderers, nor will they benefit from the Spellweaver's Blessing of Life or either the Nomad Prince's or the Waywatcher's command abilities.

As far as allies, Kurnoth Hunters provide some very strong melee punch with potential -2 rend as well as some much needed toughness for the army (as @overtninja mentioned). I would also speculate that Drycha would make an excellent ally for Wanderers mechanically, providing a solid mortal wound output which Wanderers lack, but would not fit into the ally limit at 1250 points. As far as our options from the High Elf range, I think the Dragon Blades would make a nice allied detachment providing some mobile melee damage. I've seen folks ally in Phoenix Guard, but in my humble opinion 20 Eternal Guard are simply more efficient than 10 Phoenix Guard for the same point cost in a Wanderer allegiance list - especially when sheer number of models on a given objective can easily decide a game in AoS 2. The Phoenixes [w/Anointed] themselves are a different matter; they're strong ally options but again even the cheaper Frostheart Phoenix won't fit in the ally limit for a 1250 point game.

Based on what you already have, I might go for something like this:

Allegiance: Wanderers
Nomad Prince (80)
Waywatcher (120)
- General
- Trait: Masterful Hunter 
- Artefact: Starcaster Longbow 
10 x Sisters of the Watch (180)
30 x Glade Guard (360)
10 x Eternal Guard (70)
10 x Eternal Guard (70)
10 x Wildwood Rangers (140)
5 x Sisters of the Thorn (220)

Total: 1240 / 1250
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 90

You'd need to buy two heroes and three boxes of the Wildwood Rangers/Eternal Guard kit, or if you're looking to convert the heroes and you have 20 of the old High Elf spears (for Eternal Guard proxies) you might just need to buy a single box to get to 1250 points of Wanderers.

[Thiagoma]

First, thank you so much for your detailed input , i really apreciate it.

The conversion for the caster will use the IoB Archmage or  Sorcereress.

Also considering a Glade Guard with a Kurnoth bow and a Rider helmet.

 

Now another question, does the army work well without the battalion? Or my area point level makes Wanderers not that viable?

 

Thanks again!

[awcamawn]

Sure thing! Always good to see someone looking to join up with the Wanderer kindreds. I would say that Wanderers play just fine at less than 2000 points, and they possibly play better at lower points relative to some other factions. We don't have any big centerpieces or a large number of support heroes to try to squeeze in, so we can scale reasonably well at any size of game.

The Waystone Pathfinder battalion is far from required; although it is currently part of my 2000 point list I'm looking to expand my options with more Wildwood Rangers and some Wild Riders so that I can field a full 2000 points of pure models. For a whopping 200 points you do get a potential one drop army (or at least a very reduced number of deployment 'drops'), an extra command point, an extra artifact, a new deployment option, and some hero phase shooting that can be very powerful in the right circumstances. The downsides are the aforementioned high point cost, the fact that the special battalion deployment isn't always very useful, and that it forces your hand in both list building and in battlefield tactics. You generally have to have your army somewhat tightly grouped to benefit from Protective Volley and this can either leave your force open to AoE damage or leave you too focused in one area such that you are out of position and cannot effectively cover the multiple objectives that are present in many battleplans. It also makes your Nomad Prince essentially a 280 point model with 5 wounds that needs to get into charge range with big threats to activate the hero phase shooting, and while we do have some tools to protect him with some of our Command Traits and Artifacts it's still a lot of eggs in one basket. In short, the battalion is strong but can be difficult to use to full effectiveness, particularly against opponents who have faced the battalion before and have the AoE damage or the mobility to deal with it or avoid it.

[Thiagoma]

Isnt the trait Stalker of Hidden Paths better to make for intance the 30 glade guard deepstrike behind enemy lines?

[Ndino87]

I've been debating this for a while and have a definite preference to the Sisters for Stalkers of the Hidden Path. They get 40 shots over 30, will hit more (will hit a lot more against chaos) and if they get charged get to shoot another 20 shots with loose to the last. They've also got a better melee profile so can fight back (although combat is still to be avoided). 

Once you've shot the GG arcane bodkin their threat is greatly reduced and within reason could be ignored. The Sisters are continously nasty and the oppo will have to change their plans, providing us with other opportunities across the board. 

Just don't do what I did yesterday and put them in range of the gaunt summoners internal flames spell in your first turn... They had zero threat after suffering that... 

[Thiagoma]

But when you use Stalkers of Hidden path doesnt it count the SoTW as beeing moved so they can only shoot once on that round?

[Ndino87]

No, this was faqd a while ago, apparently doesn't count as a move quicksilver shots so relevant. 

Does anyone know if this is the same with the waywatcher? 

[Thiagoma]

Couldnt find anything about that SoTW rule about shooting twice after the teleport.

 

Not doubting your word but would be nice to read it by myself.

[Ndino87]

I didn't believe it to begin with either.

Top right of page three of this FAQ. 'counts as their move. '

Also referred to on the first page of this thread. 

age_of_sigmar_core_rules_designers_commentary_base_sizes_en (2).pdf

[bernoodist]

Shield of Thorns on Wardancers is nasty, with shadows coil they get +2 save , so punch back mortal wounds on 4+, pity they are not longer wanderers so come out of your allies allocation, 60 points for 5 is decent for what they do (8 move,  2 attacks 3+4+) , another downside is they cannot be regrowthed by spellweaver , im gong to try these next to 10 Eternal Guard for some added screening

Edited April 14, 2019 by bernoodist

[Aelfric]

18 minutes ago, bernoodist said:

Shield of Thorns on Wardancers is nasty, with shadows coil they get +2 save , so punch back mortal wounds on 4+, pity they are not longer wanderers so come out of your allies allocation, 60 points for 5 is decent for what they do (8 move,  2 attacks 3+4+) , another downside is they cannot be regrowthed by spellweaver , im gong to try these next to 10 Eternal Guard for some added screening

Unfortunately, you can't take Wardancers as allies either as they do not have a keyword that is relevant.   So you would have to be under General Order Allegiance and lose Wanderers allegiance and abilities.  Doesn't stop your combo, though (which also used to work with Sisters of Slaughter before their warscroll change).

Edited April 14, 2019 by Aelfric

[Thiagoma]

4 hours ago, Ndino87 said:

I didn't believe it to begin with either.

Top right of page three of this FAQ. 'counts as their move. '

Also referred to on the first page of this thread. 

age_of_sigmar_core_rules_designers_commentary_base_sizes_en (2).pdf 575.35 kB · 3 downloads

Wow the only Faq i didnt check!

 

That makes then really nasty !

[Thiagoma]

My SpellWeaver conversion. Planing on having her skin greenish to make her look like a Nymph/Faerie.

Gave myself a small challenge of making female versions of the Wanderers Heroes without buying any new miniatures. 

Intend to also make a Waywatcher and a Nomad Princess!