Wood Elf Rumours II

[Harry]

Wood Elf Rumours I was closed by the Mods due to Off topic/wishlisting .... Let try to leep this one on topic!
Please only post if you have rumours or to comment on something which has been rumoured.

In an effort to pull together what few rumours we have …
I have started threads for each of the armies rumoured to be somewhere in the pipeline.
I will do my best to keep the first posts updated as more rumours appear in these threads.
I have tried to remember as much as I can of what has been posted so far.
I will have missed or forgotten some of it ... so, any rumours that have been posted please just remind me ‘who’ said ‘what’ and I will update this first post.



Wood Elves:

Release date:
Book for spring 2014(Earlybird)
There are rumours there was a draft book that got scrapped for not being up to par. They had to do a re-write and they had shifted it over to someone else.(Scoopdeta)
There are rumours of Wood Elves in 2013 Early to mid 2013 (Scoopdeta) Really? (Harry)
There is a rumour of Wood Elves in March 2013 (Why) UPDATE :Wood elves have been put back in favour of another army. Apparantly the book is finished and ready to go but they decided to rejig the release schedule. (Why) Really? (Harry)
Wood Elves have been in development "active playtesting" since 2010 (Meltedwing)

I asked Jeremy Vetock at gamesday Australia about wood elves and he said they are being worked on, but not due soon.(Har666) This is the first thing posted that matches my timescale for the Wood Elves. (Harry)

Clam pack artwork/photos for a plastic wood elf spell singer & a plastic wood elf lord had been seen.
Do not know if that was an indication that they would be released any time soon or held for main release later? (Hastings)

Author: Unknown.
Whilst there are rumours the book has been started there are no rumours of who the lead writer might be.

Rules:
There are rumours of darker and more dangerous Wood Elves based on the content of the currently unreleased Black Library Orion novel. Set for release in September? “I'm assuming that the author (Darius Hinks) spoke with the design studio prior to writing the book about the direction they wanted to take them. The guy on the Black Library stand says Darius has spent ages studying Paganism and other similar religions to get ideas, and he has really played up the darker, more capricious nature of the wood elves. One example he gave was elves cutting out the hearts of other elves to replace them with briar hearts" (Jedi)
Coeddil is in the new book as a special character. (Dudely)
Scouts become their own unit choice, but are still limited in their selection; I think this means either Special choices, or not counting towards the minimum 25% Core - rumours of a character/kindred (I'm leaning hopefully towards Skarloc) remove this limitation; either shifting towards core, or counting towards the minimum 25%.(Antipathy)

Not sure if this lot is supposed to come with minis:

Chariot is back.(Earlybird)
Packmaster with orion hounds or great bear. (Earlybird)
A "fairy" unit working a bit like the Banshee.(Earlybird)
Stags as mounts for Kurnous cavalry.(Earlybird)
Skaw the falconer is back with new mini (Earlybird)


Not so much a packmaster, but the new Alter Kindred takes on the form of an animal/nature and becomes some form of monstrous beast/infantry, apparently. The fluff being they give themselves over to the forest, and take on its aspects, sort of like miniature orions, rather than being a shapeshifter atypical druid. Playtested versions have seen "proxied" vargheists with extremely fast movement, so that may mean that they can take on an aerial aspect that gives them fly.(Antipathy)

As for the monstrous cav, I am lead to believe that wild riders current iteration is still viable in the rules.(Antipathy)

Chariots meanwhile, I have heard absolutely nothing about, other than suggestions of an altar type of unit acting like a mortis engine with its "spirit host", but that has been dismissed by my sources as pure wishlisting. (Antipathy)

Models:
A lot of miniature designs for new woodies already created and approved (scoopdeta)
TreeKin, Treemen and wardancers/warhawks. (Scoopdeta)
A Cavalry unit that packed some punch but no specifics. (scoopdeta)
Wild Riders, they're becoming "larger" and "much deadlier", including vine/ivy wreathed horns and "immense mounts" - matching the Orion, Vaults of Winter novel description. Whether they become the rumoured/(un)wanted for "Stag Knights" or Monstrous Cavalry in any form is unknown other than their size compared to the comparatively slightly built elves was heavily stressed. (Antipathy)
There are rumours of a BIG treeman. (Harry and Hastings) The treeman, however was said to be on the new monster base and about as tall as the Ogre Thundertusk's banner, and that it stylewise is more living brushwood-forest thingy than an actual anthromorphic tree. (Birdy via Darnock)
Both High Elves and Wood Elves may get the Treeman in their updated books. (buzz0783)
Forest Dragon (Strategos)
Plastic Dragon (Spellweaver/Highborn options; no comment yet on Sisters of Twilight) (Antipathy)
A plastic wood elf spell singer. (Hastings)
A plastic wood elf lord. (Hastings)
Plastic Set for Eternal Guard equipped with Saearath - presuming 10 to a set like High Elven Elites, including full command. Other than being plastic, I have been told that they will remain in the same style aesthetic so as not to clash with the existing Metal models - which in turn will also become direct only models. (Antipathy)

BRING IT ON!

[violenceha]

Was the forest dragon mentioned as a new sculpt or fincast of the awesome old one?

[Harry]

Was the forest dragon mentioned as a new sculpt or fincast of the awesome old one?

The suggestion was that it was a new sculpt.
Whilst I really like the original Forest dragon .... having seen a new plastic one for High Elves, a new plastic one for Dark Elves ........ I am not going to be too suprised if we see a new one for Wood Elves.

[Daniel36]

And isn't the current dragon already in finecast? Or am I making that up?

[Fanny Crowbar]

I would have preferred a plastic Branchwraith to a new Lord, as there are already tons of those. However, ANYTHING for Wood Elves is a good thing. The Treeman sounds interesting.

[violenceha]

And isn't the current dragon already in finecast? Or am I making that up?

Nah, I'm pretty sure it's still metal, that's why I asked.

[Eldarien]

What about that BIG treeman, Harry? This time You don't mention it might also be included in the High Elves army.

[Giladisb]

Seeing the size shift in the latest two batches of HE miniatures do you (Harry) have any knowledge of a same thing happening to the Wood Elves?

[Astraeos]

It'll be interesting to see how dark the Wood Elves go this time.

[Alebelly_Cragfist]

If Coeddil is in the army list, surely he'll be a typically anthropomorphised Treeman rather than a "dangerous terrain" bush? A big, points heavy beastie needs to have some form of face to appeal to us, or it's just a piece of terrain with no personality.

Reading the rumours as they are placed above, sounds to me like there are two very different models/units under development or in consideration. An iconic big named beastie would be great and the option of having an animated wood, much like the wood in LOTR that the Orcs try to escape through "cue screams of pain and wobbling trees" would also be interesting.

I would have to guess that the "animated bush of death" is either a friendly/dangerous piece of Athel Loren the Elves can take with them, or a spell effect model rather than a named character. GW wouldn't miss the trick of having a giant treeman, he'd be legendary!

Both sound interesting though.

Gotta think the talk of briarwood hearts and the like are hinting at a "Savage Elf" revamp much like the Greenskins got. I'm more interested in this than I thought I would be.

[Harry]

And isn't the current dragon already in finecast? Or am I making that up?

I am pretty sure it is still metal.

What about that BIG treeman, Harry? This time You don't mention it might also be included in the High Elves army.

I never mentioned it before. Someone else mentioned that .... I just added it to the first post of the High elf thread because it was a rumour. It didn't sound very likely to me ... but what do i know.

Seeing the size shift in the latest two batches of HE miniatures do you (Harry) have any knowledge of a same thing happening to the Wood Elves?

No. No idea. Sorry.

[Death Before Dishonour]

The suggestion was that it was a new sculpt.
Whilst I really like the original Forest dragon .... having seen a new plastic one for High Elves, a new plastic one for Dark Elves ........ I am not going to be too suprised if we see a new one for Wood Elves.

Awww that's a shame I loved the original forest dragon

[cosy]

Awww that's a shame I loved the original forest dragon

Well, nobody stops you to buy it know.
But remember that people said that about the old Karl Franz and other metal monsters...until they saw the new plastic ones and they never talk about the old ones again! ;-)

[Rybo5000]

There are rumours of darker and more dangerous Wood Elves based on the content of the currently unreleased Black Library Orion novel.

Well there's a new Orion book confirmed now so I guess that's it? I'm going to get it so I can guess future Wood Elf units! :P

[Death Before Dishonour]

Well, nobody stops you to buy it know.
But remember that people said that about the old Karl Franz and other metal monsters...until they saw the new plastic ones and they never talk about the old ones again! ;-)

To be fair I do have it, it was one of my first models (think its still lead) it has been a work in progress for years, my problem was getting a suitable model to ride it. Hopefully with the new dragon kit there will be one!

[Antipathy]

From my usual sources (Re; Breton and High Elf), I've heard that there's not only a Plastic Dragon (Spellweaver/Highborn options; no comment yet on Sisters of Twilight), but also a Plastic Set for Eternal Guard equipped with Saearath - presuming 10 to a set like High Elven Elites, including full command. Other than being plastic, I have been told that they will remain in the same style aesthetic so as not to clash with the existing Metal models - which in turn will also become direct only models.

As for the Wild Riders, they're becoming "larger" and "much deadlier", including vine/ivy wreathed horns and "immense mounts" - matching the Orion, Vaults of Winter novel description. Whether they become the rumoured/(un)wanted for "Stag Knights" or Monstrous Cavalry in any form is unknown other than their size compared to the comparatively slightly built elves was heavily stressed.

Lastly - Scouts become their own unit choice, but are still limited in their selection; I think this means either Special choices, or not counting towards the minimum 25% Core - rumours of a character/kindred (I'm leaning hopefully towards Skarloc) remove this limitation; either shifting towards core, or counting towards the minimum 25%.

[Harry]

Many thanks. Good stuff.

1st post updated

[N0th1ng c4n b34t 3lv3s]

Well, nobody stops you to buy it know.
But remember that people said that about the old Karl Franz and other metal monsters...until they saw the new plastic ones and they never talk about the old ones again! ;-)

You mean like the Dragon Princes, Phoenix Guard, Swordmasters, Shadow Warriors, Empire State Troopers, Handgunners, Stegadon & Thunderers? GW might get most of the things right when they update but some models are just inferior. Atleast you can search ebay & similar sites for old models you like.

[azhagmorglum]

What WE need are good sculpts and not sexually ambiguous models. Same for the treemen/treekins. I think the WE range is currently one of the worst.
So new plastic regiments and (wood)monsters sound great

[popisdead]

It'll be interesting to see how dark the Wood Elves go this time.

Read the Grail Knight short story by Ant Reynolds to see how he portrayed the hatred the Forest Spirits have for even elves. It changed my view of what Lores Branchwraiths/Glamourweave would have access too.

Whilst I really like the original Forest dragon

Me too, which is why I'm painting both

If Coeddil is in the army list,

Does anyone know where there are references to Coeddil from older stories/background?