I've actually given a lot of though to this, and this is what I would like to see/what I would do if I were able to write an errata update for Wood Elves. To be honest I don't think the book needs a huge overhaul, just a few tweaks in the right places.
Army-wide special rules:
Forest Spirit- the ward save becomes permanent.
YES
Asrai Archery- stays the same, but in addition all units from the Wood Elves army book never suffer a -1 to hit penalty for shooting into or through a forest- having trained in these environments their entire life, they’re fairly used to them.
More fluff than anything, but cool
New- “Forest Dwellers”- if Mysterious Forests are in use, the Wood Elf player may choose what each forest on the board edge is at the start of the game before deployment but after choosing table sides- the type of each forest is made clear to the opponent at the same time. In addition, all units from the Wood Elves army book never lose their Steadfast as a result of fighting in a forest
I'd change it to the forest(s) they can put down rather than board edge, but I'd let woodies place D3 forests at the start of the game
Copied from the Lizardmen book- “Arboreal Predators”- unlike normal flyers, models with this special rule treat woods as open terrain for movement purposes, including charging and fleeing
Makes sense
Woodland Ambush- the free forest may go anywhere completely within their table half, the FAQ ruling is reversed
Agreed
Glade Guard longbows- this becomes an army-wide special rule that applies to any model in the army that comes with a bow as part of its initial points cost. This special rule also applies to magic weapons. For example, Waywatchers would become S4 at short range, and so would the Bow of Loren.
Makes perfect sense. Why on earth do only some elves use better bows
Shadow Dances of Loec- instead of picking a dance before the combat, Wardancers (and Wardancer Kindred characters) instead benefit from all 4 of the dances at once, which are cumulative (so the extra attack from Storm of Blades is cancelled out by Woven Mist). The Wardancer Weapons special rule is unchanged.
So... ASF, 4+ ward and KB. I'd make the 4++ in combat only + maybe a few other nerfs/ points increases
Army list changes:
Lord characters may take 2 Spites and heroes may take 1 at the points cost listed. These are in addition to, and do not count towards, the character’s magic items allowance.
Characterful as they are, this makes sense
Treeman Ancient is reduced to 300pts per model
I'd love for the Treeman Ancient to get some 'Treeman Only' spites, like a pseudo dragonhelm
Wood Elf Dragon- gains the “Arboreal Predators” special rule
F yeah! points drop as well
If a character is mounted on an Eagle, they may join a unit of Warhawk Riders
Rather give warhawk as a mount option
Spellweavers may take Lore of Light in addition to the lores they already have access to.
No. I've always seen Wood Elves as more Mirkwood than Lothlorien. Shadow fits better, though a matter of my personal opinion
Spellsingers may take Lore of Life or Beasts in addition to the lore they already have access to
Hell's to the yeah
A complete re-write of the Lore of Athel Loren with Tree Singing as the signature spell, with a change to allow forests to be moved onto enemy units. This would help make small, elite combat units more viable as they would no longer have an option of breaking steadfast. A single unit/bubble spell of re-rolls to hit with shooting could be a nasty 6th spell.
I'll get to this later
Nobles no longer lose their bow is they are made the BSB, and the BSB upgrade costs 25pts instead of 15pts.
Agree
Eternal Guard are always considered a core choice, and have a 5+ ward. Eternal Guard Weapons also grant +1 Strength.
Hmmm. using Daemonettes as a base (that daemon players insist are undercosted by a point), I'd price this at 13 ppm minimum. Probably 14.
Personally, I'd change them to HA, shield, with spear and +1 S at 12 to 13 ppm. Fighty, anvily and stubborn - not bad for a core choice
Glade Riders reduced to 20pts per model. Command group options are all changed to 10pts each.
Light armour, +1S bows at short range for 24 or 22 ppm
Waywatchers may scout up to 6” away from the enemy, instead of the usual 12”
For the sake of consistency with the rulebook, no
Wild Riders cost 20pts per model, and the cost of the champion and standard bearer upgrades are reduced to 10pts each.
22 ppm. Maybe... though in context with the lore
Glade Guard- all the command group options are changed to 10pts each.
eh. I'd be looking at a points drop as well. Longbows don't give much of a save
Treekin are reduced to 55pts per model.
60, but the champion can take magic items or a spite or something
Warhawk riders are reduced to 30pts per model; their unit size is altered to 2-20 and they gain the “Arboreal Predators” special rule. The champion upgrade is reduced to 10pts.
Seems fine
Treeman is reduced to 255pts.
With a hard 5+ ward and a 3+ armour save? I'd say ~260 to 270
Eagles gain the “Arboreal Predators” special rule- this includes characters mounted on eagles.
again, fluffy and makes sense
When purchasing Common Magic Items, the points cost in the Wood Elf book is ignored and instead the points in the main rulebook are used. The list of changes is below:
Sword of Striking- 15pts
Sword of Battle-20 pts
Sword of Might- 15 pts
Enchanted Shield- 5pts
Power Stone- 20pts
War Banner- 35pts
well, yeah...
Kindred changes:
Wardancer Kindreds- Highborn upgrade is reduced to 40pts, Noble upgrade is reduced to 25pts
Eternal Kindred- characters may purchase magic weapons and armour and still benefit from the Eternal Guard Fighting Style. Magic Weapons will replace the Eternal Guard Weapons.
The Alter Kindreds- Highborn upgrade cost is reduced to 25pts, Noble upgrade cost is reduced to 15pts. In addition, any close combat/ranged attacks against an Alter Kindred character that use WS/BS suffer an additional -1 to hit on top of any other modifiers.
Scout Kindreds- upgrade cost is reduced to 15pts for a Highborn and 10pts for a Noble)
Wild Rider Kindreds- upgrade cost is reduced to 25pts for a Highborn, and 15pts for a Noble. Characters may also choose additional magic weapons and armour as per a non-Kindred characters.
Waywatcher Kindreds- upgrade cost is reduced to 25pts for a Higborn and 15pts for a Noble.
Glamourweave Kindreds- characters are not forced to buy a mount
Kindred characters may be the general and may bear the BSB (not on the same models, for clarity)
Agree with these. The amount of restrictions on these things (and cost) is ridiculous
What I would NOT like to see is the addition of monstrous cavalry or a rare war machine- following the OK and Empire releases I'm a little concerned that the game might be pushing towards a level 4, BSB, minimum core 3x4 monstrous cavalry and set of rare toys. Personally, I would be a bit unhappy if every army started to look like that. Also, I think that Stag Riders would be difficult to get right in a Wood Elf book.
But... Stag Knights
There are so many jokes to be made, puns to be said. I mean, I could go all night...
Also gives some Heavy Cav in terms of hitting power. Couples with a 5+ ward, they wouldn't be bad at all. If they were to be included, I'd want them to be rare at the very least. The army is about elves and/or forest spirits, not stags