Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Edition 1.0/Wanderers

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Rules are here [1]

Wanderers Summary

Now a seperate army from the Dryads, the Wanderers have a very engaging playstyle that relies heavily on having the right tool for the right job available. Not an auto-win button in sight, but no dead weight, either. On average, they are really fast, hit hard, in part from far away, tend to have a lot of weapon profiles and are usually fragile as hell. Y'know, Aelfs.

For Dryads et cetera, go look at the Sylvaneth Tactics.

Wood Elves Warscrolls

Forenote: The following section will be arranged with similar units and formations being grouped together for easier reading.

This is by no means a complete guide. Also due to the relatively recent release of Age of Sigmar most of this is based on theory. Take everything with a pinch of salt.

Named Characters

Araloth: As far as special characters go, Araloth is pretty weak. He has the exact same bow and falcon missile weapons as a normal Glade Lord and has the same spear as a Glade Lord albeit with one more swing. His only virtues are that he can reroll his save, a model wounded by the falcon (unlikely, 0.25 damage per turn at no rend) takes a Hit penalty for the rest of the battle and that he has a pretty good Command Ability: Wanderers within 18" can use his Bravery of 9 and if they roll a 1 on Battleshock, they get to pile in and attack even though it's not the combat phase. Not much to say really. Use if you like the model, but don't expect him to be amazing.

Orion, King in the Woods: Oh yes. Remember back in WHFB where Orion was nigh unplayable due to a number of factors? Most of them are gone now. He shoots great, making him the shootiest monster by a wide margin, he swings 4 times with 3" range at 3+/3+/-2/3, which is damn solid, about the same as Archaon Everchosen, though keep in mind Archaon can't shoot, never mind shooting this well. He also heals a wound a turn, which makes his 8 Wounds at 4+ even tougher and he and all Wanderers within 8" can reroll failed charges. And on top of that he gets his Command Ability, which grants rerolls To Wound for all Wanderers within 16" but only in combat. If a Glade Lord on foot is a jack of all trades, then Orion is pretty much the King of all trades, doing everything the Lord does but way better. Oh, and he moves 12" which is excessively fast, almost fast enough to keep up with Wild Riders, whom his presence buffs.

The Sisters of Twilight on Forest Dragon: The Sisters are simply amazing. They shoot well, with one sister getting bonuses against Chaos and the other getting bonuses against Order, they attack better than a Glade Lord on Dragon and they have an amazing regeneration: You roll a D6 in each friendly Hero Phase. On 1, 3 or 5 nothing happens. On 2, 4 or 6 they heal that many Wounds. Combine with a BSB to make these ladies all but unkillable. Unfortunately however, they lack the Glade Lord on Dragon's shield and any sort of Command Ability and it must always charge if possible (not actually awful against most things, since again, they are awesome in melee anyway). In other words, the Sisters should never be your only Heroes. At best, you'll have a Lord on Dragon and a BSB prancing about to mess the enemy line up.

Heroes

Nomad Prince: Probably the best option for your General. Has a gimicky hawk for a ranged attack, but a fantastic melee profile. Take Legendary Fighter and Obstinate Blade to make him a killing machine in combat. He is very durable with a rerollable 4+ save, and his command ability is probably the best and most reliably useful. Keep him clustered with tons of elves to reroll hit rolls of 1 and your army's damage output will get a respectable boost. Works very well next to units that have a high volume of attacks, like Sisters of the Watch, Waywatchers, and Waywatcher Lords. Also fantastic to pair with Glade Guard's Arcane Bodkins.

Glade Captain Battle Standard Bearer: The BSB grants your Wanderers within 8" a bonus save of 4+ against spells. So, you take a mortal wound from a spell, you get a 4+ save instead of taking the wound automatically. If he doesn't move, he can increase the range to 16". Unfortunately many sources of lots of mortal wounds in AoS come from shooting/special melee abilities, and the banner doesn't help against those. He's situational but can make a huge difference at times.

Glade Lord: The Lord has three load-outs: He can either be armed with Blade and Spear, which is far and away the worst of the choices. Sure, 6 attacks, but it's 6 meh attacks. He can also be armed with Bow and Greatblade, which makes him scary in both melee and at range (though more so in melee), or you give him Bow, Blade, hunting falcon and the ability to once per game fire 3D6 shots instead of 3. Yikes. His Command Ability lets Wanderers reroll 1s to Hit so long as they're within 8" of him when they are activated. Notably, it does not specify melee or shooting, so wherever you put the guy, he helps your army. Grab a Greatblade and have him swing in concert with your Rangers, grab the shooty option and plonk him down between your Glade Guard and your Waywatchers, it's your rodeo.

Glade Lord on Great Eagle: The biggest mount you can take without being considered a monster. Combines the powerful mobility and melee of the Great Eagle with the nice shooting of the Warhawk Riders. His Command Ability grants +2 to charges for Wanderers, or +4 for Warhawk Riders. Also, 7 Wounds make him surprisingly tough. Don't use him as a general, instead use him to blast weak units off objectives, take out backlines, and be a highly mobile threat. Pairs exceptionally well with a Shadowdancer, who can make him fly a whopping 32 inches in a single turn.

Glade Lord on Great Stag: Slower, just as tough and much harder hitting than the Eagle version. His Command Ability is also very similar, only specifying Wild Riders instead of Warhawk Riders. It's a shame Wood Elves don't get any "additional attack with each melee weapon" ability, because on this guy it'd be hilarious. If you somehow manage to get such a buff on him, he's a real powerhouse.

Glade Lord on Forest Dragon: The oddest dragon in the game. His "breath attack" makes it so that enemies within 3" of the dragon can only attack after all other units already have attacked. This sounds useless, but can actually ruin entire strategies, as Age of Sigmar is mainly about choosing the most opportune unit to attack. Also it means your Dragon can tear enemies a new asshole in peace without being knocked down a peg beforehand. Which it really really can, with a bunch of powerful attacks. 12 Wounds with a rerollable 4+ save is also really tough to kill, especially if you have one of those BSBs hiding behing him. His Command Ability is also pretty sweet, letting a friendly Wanderer unit reroll 1s to Hit and Wound (again, not specifying melee or shooting, so it works for both). The only thing he lacks is a bow, but that's really nothing you should complain about.

Mounted Glade Lord: If you're too cool for a Stag, you can instead get this guy. Hits pretty hard on the charge, but since he only has 5 Wounds, he's pretty fragile. His Command Ability is, again, the same as that of the Great Eagle Lord, only specifying Glade Riders. The funny part about this is that the mounted Lord with no bow strengthens the shooty cavalry while the mounted Lord with bow strengthens the pure melee cavalry.

Spellweaver: Pretty standard issue Wizard, really. Can take a horse to be faster, is awful at fighting and quite fragile to boot. She can also automatically unbind a spell once per game, which can be very valuable. Her unique spell can return D3 slain models to a Wanderer unit, which is awesome for elite units like Sisters of the Thorn or Warhawks but rather meh for Glade Guard and other mass units. In other words, the mounted version in concert with a bunch of cavalry gets a lot more mileage.

Shadowdancer: The Shadowdancer has a very specific role. She's fragile and not particularly 'killy', so you basically want to use her like a wizard to support other units. The main use for her though comes from allowing other units to snipe objectives. When the Shadowdancer uses her unique spell to double another unit's movement (and grant flying) for the turn, you can really surprise your opponent by throwing a unit somewhere pretty far away. The best units to pair this with are guys like Orion, Glade Lord on a Great Eagle, Wild Riders/Sisters, or Warhawks. For example, a Glade Lord on a Great Eagle can suddenly move 32 inches in a single turn with this spell, allowing him to cross a HUGE difference and hit weak spots or clear off a weak unit holding an objective. The value of this spell obviously goes up with higher base movement units. If you aren't taking fast units, don't bother with a Shadowdancer.

Waywatcher Lord: This guy is what people think of when they hear Wood Elves. He's tough in cover and deals impressive damage with his bow, though to really appreciate it, you need to understand how his rules interact. He gains +1 to Hit with his bow if he didn't move. Then he can make either fast shots or precise shots. Precise shots deal damage 2 instead of 1 and Wound rolls of 6+ have -2 Rend, so they're pretty powerful. Fast shots on the other hand shoot 6 times instead of 3 and Hit rolls of 6+ let you make additional shots. This interacts with the above +1 to Hit, so that you hit on 2+ and gain additional shots on 5+. Because of the +1 to hit interaction, fast shots are almost always better as long as you can stand still. Just as with the Sisters, never let him be your only hero, since he's useful but doesn't provide much support to your army. The gunline uses him in conjunction with a Glade Lord with bow and that's exactly where the dude wants to be: Among other shooters and behind a nice wall of Eternal Guard.

Infantry

Wardancers: Wardancers are basically chaff units now. They CAN do decent damage or be fairly durable depending for a turn on the dance that you use. They move faster than any other infantry in the game at 8" (seriously, Chaos has some mounted stuff that's slower). The low point cost and high movement makes them pretty useful for contesting objectives, especially since the dances allow you to be deadly or durable depending on the need. At worst they are a speedbump against an elite enemy unit, and for the points they cost, that's actually an okay way to use them.

Waywatchers: They are very similar to their Lord, though their attack stats are basically -1 from the Lord all the way across. at 80 points for 3, these are a fantastic way to pay the battleline tax if you don't want to take Glade Guard. In small units of 3 they have 7 (sometimes more) attacks with rapid shots, making them dangerous enough to require attention, but cheap enough to not be much of a loss if they die. Very useful for harassing enemies or finishing off units/characters with a few wounds left.

Sisters of the Watch: The old High Elf elite archers have joined the Wanderers! They attack twice if they don't move, and they have a scary good statline at 3+/3+. They also have a nice bonus of getting to loose a single volley against units that charge them. Sisters pair amazingly well with the Eternal Guard, since both get better at not moving. A unit of 10 Sisters costs the same as 20 Glade Guard, and they are reliably better, if you can lure the enemy close enough to stand still and shoot twice. They lack the mobility and alpha-strike capability however, so decide carefully which unit fits your list better.

Glade Guard: At first glance the Glade Guard seem woefully bad. Elf archers shooting the same as Brettonian peasants?? However, in units of 20+ they hit get +1 to hit. Not great, but okay. The real reason to take them is the once-per-game Arcane Bodkins ability. Wanderers have an abysmal lack of rending or mortal wounds available to them. Glade Guard, however, can pump out a nasty volley at -3 rend. While Sisters of the Watch are consistently better each turn, Glade Guard can delete entire elite, armored units in a single turn. They are also great at immediately killing or heavily wounding monsters, making them less dangerous. Take at least 20 Glade Guard, keep them safe, and pair them with a Nomad Prince's command ability to get as many hits as possible. You want to use this ability the first turn you can, targeting heroes, monsters, and any other scary stuff. After the alpha-strike, any additional shooting from them is a bonus.

Eternal Guard: The main virtue of Eternal Guard is that they never fucking die. Get them set up in cover, don't move them and watch your basic infantry turn elite with a rerollable 3+ save. They can also attack, which is even sort of good when they didn't move, getting a swing at 3+/3+/-/1 with a range of 2", so they can easily fight in two rows. Get a BSB close to them and they are even less likely to die, since their only remaining weakness is mortal wounds. Do they even have Bravery? Sure, 8 (9 in cover), so very few enemies can kill enough of these guys to even force a chance of failing battleshock. Considering this is your goddamn basic infantry unit, these guys are golden. If you have to move them, make sure to Mystic Shield/Shield of Thorns them because they are only good in their stance. Also, they pair fantastic with other static units like Waywatcher Lords and Sisters of the Thorn.

Wildwood Rangers: Rangers are your monster hunters. These guys are how you break through Dragons and shit. With only one Wound and a 5+ save they aren't particularly tough, but each gets 2 attacks at 3+/3+/-1/1. The damage becomes D3 when attacking a monster, which is brutal, but even so they're pretty strong. But to think that against monsters, each Ranger becomes half as damaging as a Vampire Lord... wow. Don't rely on them to do every job, but if there's a monster, they'll kill it.

Cavalry

Wild Riders: Pretty powerful in terms of damage output on the charge, but not very durable. They are crazy fast, as they can run and charge, so 14"+ D6" run + 2D6" charge + possible 4" if you get a Glade Lord on Stag to tag along. Sure, 72" threat bubble. Generally though, Sisters of the Thorn are a better pick.

Glade Riders: Worse saves, worse mounts and worse personal attacks than Wild Riders, but they get a bow and can actually run and shoot with it, so they can be pretty useful. The High Elf Ellyrian Reavers are just straight up better though, since the move after they shoot. Since these guys will be roaming around outside of your General's Command ability range, you may as well proxy them as Reavers.

Sisters of the Thorn: YES. Very expensive but also very useful. Basically slightly slower Wild Riders (12" instead of 14" and can't run and charge), but they also get Javelins to throw, which means 2 shots at 9" with 4+/4+/-1/1. Sure you'll usually only get to use them once before getting stuck in, but that's alright, since they are also Wizards (collectively, not one spell per Sister) and can cast Shield of Thorns, which gives them rerolls to their saves and each 6+ rolled deals a mortal wound to the attacker if it happened in melee. Gets amazing if you have a Spellweaver behind them to cast Mystic Shield, giving them a rerollable 4+ save that inflicts damage on 5+, making it basically pointless to punch them as the attacker will take more damage than your Sisters. They also gain a +1 to their casting rolls if the unit's 10 or more models, but really, keep their units small, more casts are better as you need at least 15 of the ladies to reliably keep that +1 bonus. And remember, if necessary the Sisters can still cast Arcane Bolt and Mystic Shield.

The best way to run them, is in two groups of 5. Have one unit cast Shield of Thorns on a unit of eternal guard in cover, and the have the second cast mystic shield. This means you have a unit of eternal guard with a 2+ rerollable save that causes wounds back to attackers whenever you roll a 3 or higher. Plus, the ability to put out one attack each that hits/wounds on a 3+/3+. Absolute fucking murder.

Warhawk Riders: Oddly tough for wood elves. Warhawk Riders are basically Glade Riders with slightly better melee, better saves, twice the wounds and the ability to fly and fly far. They also get a few fun special rules. First, they always "run" 6 extra inches, no dice roll required, though with their 20" bows this will rarely see use. Then you gain +1 to Wound if they charged, which makes them pretty decent in big units. Finally, they have an oddly specific but potentially devastating special rule. If there are no enemies within 3" of them after they attacked, they can pile in 6" and attack again. Potentially cool, but requires pretty precise positioning and a good bit of luck to see use. These can make the value of the Spellsinger's "Regrowth" spell skyrocket, since it returns models and Warhawks have 4 wounds a piece.

Stuff

Great Eagles: Fragile, strong on the charge and with basically 40k's Hit and Run rule, which helps a lot since the eagles get bonuses for charging. Just don't expect them to survive shooting, as everyone and their dog will be gunning for your eagles.

Hunting Hounds: Hilarious. They are fast, tough chaff with meh attacks that only get good if you get Orion closeby. But there's one awesome thing about them: They can be summoned. Casting value 5, sets up 5 and Orion can cast this spell on every turn even though he's no Wizard, but all Wanderer Wizards know the spell. They aren't the most powerful summoned unit, but being able to create your own chaff is amazing for such a fragile army.

Battalions

Wanderer Host: Take a Glade Lord, a Spellweaver, 2 units of Glade Guard, 1 unit of Glade Riders, 1 unit of Eternal Guard and one unit of either Wardancers, Waywatchers or Wildwood Rangers gain the ability to appear from table edges instead of setting up normally and get a 4+ extra save against Deadly terrain. If you're a dick, you can also claim this save against the sacrificing rule of Damned terrain.

Tactics

Shoot it, then shoot it again and again until it stops moving. That's the basic gist of what you'll be doing. Or could do, actually. There are a number of different playstyles with the Wanderers, depending on how you want them to play. Castling up behind Eternal Guard and shooting the enemy down? Can be done. All cavalry that leaves the enemy in the dust and makes you feel like you're playing fucking Saim Hann Eldar? Easily the best army for that. Highly mobile skirmishing army? Perhaps their best build.

Castle Building: Find yourself a big piece of terrain in your own half of the field. Plonk Waywatchers, BSB and Glade Lord with ranged loadout in the middle. Build a circle with Eternal Guard and never ever move. With the BSB, a big unit of Eternal Guard never ever dies and the Waywatchers can shoot everything dead if they're motivated. Enemy has good Rend? You have Spellweavers with Mystic Shield. Sure, shit like a Dracoth's breath attack will fuck you up, but melee can't touch you and you outshoot most anything. If you must have Araloth, he'd feel sort of comfortable here.

All Cavalry: One Spellweaver on Purebred Steed, better take two instead. Also a Lord on Stag. After that, have your pick of Glade Riders (for shooty), Wild Riders (for fast smashy) and Sisters of the Thorn (for bullshit). The weavers are mostly there to Mystic Shield the Sisters and the Lord has the important duty of making sure the Wild Riders can charge across half the board. Really fast, really killy and the Weavers reviving dead Riders is amazing. Also impressive amount of shooting for an all cavalry force. Your weakest link here are probably the Glade Riders, but with run + shoot and 20" bows they should never even be in the line of fire. A Lord on Dragon can also help this army immensely, moving fast, tough, hard-hitting and adding to the superiority of your sudden charges. By the time the guys around the dragon could strike, they'll all be dead. The Sisters of Twilight are also of great use in this army.

Skirmishers: Use the fact that your infantry is crazy fast to the maximum. Most of your stuff can move and shoot perfectly well, so use the impressive threat bubble this grants to your Waywatchers and Rangers. Have Rangers hunt monsters, Waywatchers scythe down infantry and Wardancers killing lone Wizards while your Glade Lord shouts orders and your dragon eats stuff. Orion feels particularly comfortable in this army, as it's fast, but not as bullshit fast as the cavalry army that he would slow down.