SylvanHunter

I just wanted to poke this thread and see if anyone has a different opinion on this now. Auto running 6" seems very weak for 140 pt battalion, and I believe it would say make your run roll a 6, not alter the characteristic. There are abilities that say increase the move characteristic by X and those are not runs. I've been playing it as giving them an 11" movement but cannot run. It's strong, but taking the battalion ends up 1010+ pts, it fits within reason. Especially considering Sylvaneth isn't exactly top tier. Combine with winterleaf it gets pretty narly, but without it there's no solid Sylvaneth response to a shooting army. Kharadron will table you 8/10 times, this battalion gives you a fighting chance to charge a gun line. Against anything else you're better off dropping Durthu and the battalion for 2 arch revenants and some scythes IMO.

I agree with Landohammer, and I would add one more thing: Split your Greatsword Hunters into 2 squads of 3. The swords only have 1" range so they cannot swing in 2 ranks, and on a turn you haven't charged you'll be using Tanglethorn Thicket so your pile-in will only be 1" as well, making your threat range only 2" on a model just under 2" wide, making it difficult to get all 6 in combat unless you're swarmed which won't last long due to their incredible effectiveness against hordes. You'll also get an extra Huntmaster that hits on 2's which is always nice! The Scythes are your big squad, they make a good defensive unit, your swords are your min squad you throw into stuff. Also with a hunter heavy list you'll want to bring the Gladewyrm for heals, and the Spiteswarm Hive to get them across the table or reroll 1's to saves on a turn they're about to charge. Personally I would drop the Branchwraith, Forest Folk Battalion, Cogs, and command point, drop the 30 dryads to 20, swap one of the dryad min squads for 5x Tree-Revenants (Rend, and Waypipes are awesome), and instead grab the Gladewyrm, Emerald Lifeswarm, Spiteswarm Hive, and Durthu, and split those swords into 2 squads of 3. I like to put Durthu in a Hunter heavy list, but I'm a Heartwood player so that's what I like to run. Winterleaf is obviously strong, and the 6's extra hit counts on Durthu's 6 damage sword so put him by a wildwood and smash face.

@Lanoss that's definitely the confusing part of the rule. I'm not sure what their motivation was for wording it so strange, but since it specifically says alter the characteristic I believe it's intended to not be considered a run. I also feel if it were an auto 6 it would be less expensive, the battalion is 140 points (on top of at least 800 points in models) which leads me to believe it's a bit stronger than that considering the value of the other battalion rules. I really hope this is included in the FAQ soon.

It clearly states change the move characteristic to 11", not change the roll to a 6, and do NOT roll a run roll, therefore it is not considered running, you're moving the same as your movement characteristic. By definition a run is in addition to the movement characteristic, your characteristic has changed to 11". It's poorly worded, but when you break it down it's very straightforward. You can move 11" but cannot declare a run move.