“Athel Loren is both salvation and damnation. We lead the branches to infinite greatness and total annihilation. Only the forest has the answer, and too often the forest does not answer the questions. "
Elui Sospiralegno, prophet and scribe of the Phoenix King
Wood Elves
About 2000 years before the advent of Sigmar, the founder of the Empire, the High Elves who were colonizing the Old World at that time routed en masse to their native island, Ulthuan, to defend it from an invasion of Chaos. Some of these Elves, however, decided to stay on the continent and create an independent kingdom within the forest of Athel Loren. Thus were born the Wood Elves, also known as Asrai.
The Wood Elves are an isolationist faction based on regiments of a few elite soldiers and excellent missile units, who very rarely leave their territory and do not care what happens outside it.
Strategy in the campaign
Campaign Special Rules:
- Oak of the Ages:
The Oak of Ages is an imposing tree located in the center of the Elven forest. It is a province of its own, with only one single slot settlement (upgradeable over the course of the campaign) which provides significant faction bonuses and the ability to confederate with other elven factions. Upgrading it to the maximum is part of the victory conditions.
It is critically important not to allow the Oak to be destroyed, as this would seriously damage your countryside.
- Amber:
For Wood Elves, harvesting the amber produced by the Oak of Ages is top priority. It can be found throughout the map, and is obtained together with the control of a settlement (in an amount equal to two units if it is a capital of a province, one otherwise) or by signing military alliances (an act that automatically credits all the amber present in allied territories).
It is a currency used to recruit special non-elven units of Forest Spirits (such as Treemen, Tree Bloodlines, or Forest Dragons), to upgrade the Oak of Ages, or to advance certain technologies.
Amber is available, in principle, in very limited quantities, so it is necessary to choose carefully where to invest it. A negative balance of Amber instead implies penalties to the faction, for example on public order or on the reintegration of troops.
- Special Faction Rules:
Outposts of the Asrai
Wood Elves can colonize any settlement on the map, but outside the forest they can only create "outposts", ie settlements of up to two slots that cannot be improved. These are therefore very vulnerable to enemy attacks and contribute very little to the faction's finances. However, they can be used to harvest amber and facilitate the replenishment and recruitment of troops from far-away armies.
Army Mode:
- Marching
- Ambush
- Looting
- In the camp
- Use the roots of the world (analogous to Use Underground)
Recruitment Mode:
- Local
- Global (when in a Settlement or Camp Mode)
Settlement conquest mode:
- Occupy (All Regions)
- Raze to the ground
Start
The campaign begins in the sacred forest of Athel Loren, divided between the true faction of Wood Elves, two other factions of Elves and one of Forest Spirits. As soon as the campaign begins, you may immediately find yourself in serious difficulty, due to the limitation of being able to build valuable buildings only within the forest of Athel Loren. You are immediately at war with Carcassonne, the Breton faction of the Enchantress Fairy, and none of your neighbors looks favorably upon you. Having a very limited number of settlement slots, you choose how to develop your army, whether on missile or melee units, paying close attention to finances. It may be necessary to seek skirmishes with Breton settlements outside the forest and raze them to the ground to obtain the loot, carrying out courageous ambushes against the armies that will be sent against you; your remoteness will most likely cause riots in the forest which you must promptly put down, on pain of an early and unhappy end to the campaign.
STORM OF CHAOS
The arrival of Archaon is a great opportunity for you to negotiate military alliances with all the superpowers in your area. Having military allies is very important to your faction, constituting your major income for Amber. Take advantage of this situation to proceed with the development of the Oak of Ages, so that it can help you with public order and, above all, allow you to unite the whole forest under your banner without a shot being hurt. As soon as you have consolidated your possessions under the branches, you will have plenty of money to maintain more than one army, and you will be able to unlock the high-tier units necessary to meet the challenges that chaos will throw at you.
Wood Elves are valid antibodies against the forces of Chaos, but the Eternal Chosen's defeat is not their victory condition.
AGE OF PEACE
At this point, you will have no natural enemies, and you can freely expand along any free settlement on the map. It is not absolutely necessary to continue planting trees throughout the Old World, although Chaos has probably emptied much of the continent and your faction may colonize Norska as well.
Proceed as you please, always with a watchful eye on the defense of the Oak.
BATTLE TACTICS
Strengths:
- Better missile units, all capable of shooting as they move, and above average range
- Very fast infantry units, prepared for ambushes and outflanking the enemy
- Good monster infantry options
- Good knowledge of magic
Weaknesses:
- No heavily armored infantry units
- Units with few soldiers, vulnerable to artillery fire
- Total absence of artillery
USE The Wood Elves
Having formidable missile units, a good Asrai army will mostly rely on waiting for engagement in a place where archers can have a clean line of fire. The ability to shoot on the move is particularly advantageous when the line of Elves has to get close to the enemy.
Many of the units also receive bonuses that give them a considerable advantage when inside a forest (not for defensive combat or within Athel Lorien, but in all areas of the battlefield where trees are present. ). This generally consists of speed and aim for Elven units and physical stamina and discipline for Forest Spirits. For dense vegetation scenarios it could therefore be easy to attack the enemy from multiple sides, setting up ambushes with troops hidden in the trees.
FACE the wood elves
The greatest weakness of this faction is the great fragility of the infantry unit. Unable to protect themselves with thick armor, higher tier units won't have too much trouble fighting their pointy-eared counterparts. It would be very useful to look for a gig outside the forests, so as not to be caught off guard by nasty surprises like the Tree Breed and the Treemen.
If you have them, units with fire damage will be very useful against enemies made of wood, without which the Elves are unlikely to prevail.
Countering archers is another priority: for this purpose you can rely on heavy artillery fire or a good heavy cavalry with shield.
BEST UNITS
- Eternal Guard
Infantry unit with basic spear of the Elves. Also available with shields (highly recommended), it has large enemy charge resistance which combined with a bonus against large and penetrating damage makes it a very good compact front unit.
- Glade Guards
Basic Archer Unit. In addition to being excellent archers, they also have non-mediocre melee specifications, with unfortunately a very light armor.
Also available in Starfire Arrows, with magical, fire and piercing damage, and Witch Kill Spikes, with magical and poisonous projectiles.
- War Dancers
Truly excellent infantry when used properly, but also very fragile. The sword variant, with a very high basic melee attack, has a skill that switches 20 melee attack points into 20 defense, ideal for holding the front while other units flank the enemy and attack them from the flanks .
The variant of Spear Dancers, on the other hand, in addition to having a very high melee defense, has an ability that lowers this statistic in exchange for a protection from shooting of 44%, without which it would be easily decimated before facing the enemy. .
- Guardiavia
The best archer unit in the game. With exceptional range, they can also attempt to fire on enemy archer units behind the main line. Having penetrating damage, they can also thin the ranks of enemy armored units, causing severe damage. Add to this evasive skills such as Vanguard Hunting and Deployment to make the range of tactics in which you can spend them even richer.
- Sisters of the Thorn
Magical missile cavalry with high damage from poisonous shells. In addition to being able to engage the enemy in grueling skirmishes, she possesses two support skills, one to enhance the strength of the selected allied unit and one to hinder the enemy's speed and accuracy. It can be a good solution for harassing annoying enemy units while supporting your own.
- Uomoalbero
Monstrous single unit, definitely disruptive. Unlike the giants of the other factions, it is much more about defense, enjoying thick armor, resistance to physical damage and the charges of large, and a very good melee defense. Slightly flaws in the melee attack, lower than its counterpart in the other factions.
