In Defense Of: Wood Elf Warriors and Noldorin Exiles

Good morning gamers,

In our last article, we talked about Gildor Inglorion and what his value is to a Rivendell list. Part and parcel of his utility is based on Noldorin Exiles - another model (along with their more vanilla Wood Elf Warrior cousins from Lothlorien) that gets heavy critique from the competitive community. I have been using Wood Elf Warriors since I began playing the game in 2010 and today I want to share the reason why I haven't collected Galadhrim Warriors for my Lothlorien army until recently (and mostly for Quest of the Ringbearer/Fantasy Fellowship scenarios, though having the option for armored Elves is an interesting choice). I've also been playing recently with Rivendell and Gildor is one of my first inclusions (along with 5-9 Noldorin Exiles). We'll look at what these guys give you and why you should care to try them out. Let's get right on it!

Why NOT To Take Wood Elf Warriors

Some of my favorite units in the game, warts and all . . .

Wood Elf Warriors are available in the Lothlorien army list for 8pts each and as Noldorin Exiles in the Rivendell army list for 9pts each (they get +2" of movement). When you compare this to the armored Rivendell/Lothlorien counterparts, you can see the cost savings that come from relying on Wood Elves (and the extra speed from Noldorin Exiles), but it comes at a heavy price - 3 Defense points:

Wood Elves vs. Armored Elves . . . no comparison?

To make a fair comparison, what you're seeing above are Galadhrim/High Elf Warriors with shields and spears vs. Wood Elf Warriors/Noldorin Exiles with Wood Elf Spears. Both of these units can spear-support AND defend by shielding - and both are very common occurrences in Lothlorien and Rivendell armies. Their special rules differ slightly (Stalk Unseen for the Wood Elf Warriors thanks to their Elven Cloaks) and their stats are basically the same - except when it comes to their Defense stats.

If you've ever played with Elves, you know that your troops are expensive - and as a result, you're likely to have a low model count if you lean at all into their expensive, epic heroes or run very many cavalry models (which are appropriately expensive as well). For most players, though, paying 2pts more for +3 Defense is totally worth it - models that are D6 don't die as quickly as models that are D3, whether it's archery, magic, or melee damage that's trying to fell them.

Furthermore, while Elves are expensive, saving 1-2 points/model means you need to include 5-10 Wood Elves in order to get a single extra model in your army - and that means to get an extra handful of models, most of your army will need to be low-Defense troops. For most players (especially new players, as I discovered regularly when I first got started using Lothlorien in an older edition), this means you'll be staying away from your opponent, skirmishing for as long as you can, and then dying very quickly when you finally get caught. Just not worth it . . .

Finally, the points cost savings is completely wiped out if you get throwing daggers - a unique wargear option that Wood Elves have that no other Elven warrior model has. For 2pts/model, this allows your melee infantry to use their 3+ Shoot Value and allows more of your army to shoot at the enemy while you skirmish. As we'll see in a moment, this has its uses - but it also means you're not saving any points by going with Wood Elf Warriors over Galadhrim Warriors - and your Noldorin Exiles will actually be MORE expensive than your High Elf Warriors! That just doesn't seem worthwhile . . . or is it?

Why TO Take Wood Elf Warriors

To understand Wood Elf Warriors, we need to actually look at other D3 models that ARE viewed as competitive models and why it is that those models suffer no critique and Wood Elf Warriors do. The point of viewing this is simple: being D3 isn't necessarily a problem. So let's understand how other D3 models cement their place in the competitive community and see if we can apply that to Wood Elf Warriors.

Our first stop is in Goblin-town - often viewed as a very competitive army because it has LOTS of cheap troops (and part of what makes them cheap is their D3 stat). At 4pts/model, it's okay if you're only F2, S3, and D3 - you aren't expected to be good. With all Goblin-town Goblin Warriors able to support each other as well, having D3 troops is rarely a problem because a) you can get lots of models into fights with the enemy and overwhelm/trap them, b) you have lots of models to sustain casualties, and c) with a Goblin Scribe protected in your ranks, you can call in MORE D3 models from whatever direction you need. Elves aren't cheap, but it would be good if we could use them to outnumber the enemy in a particular part of the battlefield.

Our second stop is the Corsairs of Umbar - and in this list, you have both Corsair Arbalesters who are base D3 (but get +3 Defense when not engaged with enemy models), Corsair Reavers, and normal Corsairs of Umbar who don't take shields. I think most competitive players DO take shields on their Corsairs of Umbar, but if you plan to use them to charge into an enemy hero and then shoot your own guy to death so the hero can't Heroic Combat anywhere, you may think twice about giving some of them shields. Corsairs get past the problem of being D3 by a) having fairly cheap F4 troops (Corsairs of Umbar with no gear are 7pts each) and b) having Pavises to make the D3 of the crossbowmen appear less often. Reavers are pretty expensive though (9pts/model - comparable to a Wood Elf Warrior) but tend to be fielded in small clusters instead of en masse. Perhaps there's a guidance there too, but let's focus from this visit on finding ways to make their D3 be used less often.

Our third stop is the Dark Denizens of Mirkwood, which sports Giant Spiders, Mirkwood Spiders, and Bat Swarms that are powerful units but have a glaring issue with Defense. All of these are multi-wound models and they're fast - like really fast. With 2 Attacks each and the ability to Paralyze enemy models (Mirkwood Spiders), halving Fight Values (rounding down on Bat Swarms), and being F4 (Giant Spiders), these models can be a real nuisance to anyone who isn't prepared to deal with them. Like Corsair Reavers, these models tend to not be spammed, but can be used to add some extra flavor to an army of Moria Goblins (perhaps with Ashrak and/or Druzhag backing them up). Speed is good and being able to get multiple Attack dice might be nice too, but you need to shield these models from being shot to be really helpful.

Our final stop is in Isengard - specifically Dunland. The Army of Dunland Legendary Legion has two models that are not only valuable to the Legion, but are also very points-efficient additions to Isengard armies in general: Wild Men of Dunland and Crebain. Wild Men, backed by Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes, are the same cost as an Uruk-Hai Berserker, but get you +1 model and can potentially be Fearless if fielded by the Wild Man Oathmaker. At 5pts/model, these guys are very similar to Goblin Warriors, but cost +1pt to get +1 Fight Value and +1 Courage (but no ability to support). Crebain are fast and are only hit on a 6+ by archery, which makes them very difficult to snipe off objectives. Having ways to maximize the damage of Wood Elves, pass Courage tests, and be hard to shoot would be valuable too.

We could go through other D3 models - such as Watchers of Karna, Mirkwood Rangers (who may or may not appear later in this series), Ruffians (who definitely WILL be appearing later in this series), and Orc Trackers, but the list above are very competitive models. The D3 on these models isn't a problem - it's something to plan for (or rely on, in some cases). So, let's see if we can apply this to Wood Elf Warriors.

While they are expensive, by giving Wood Elf Warriors throwing daggers, we can get a lot of these benefits. Skirmishing with throwing daggers (we have lots of articles on this, but most notably this one) can be used to shrink enemy model counts so that you have a numerical advantage - especially if you can move-and-shoot with a 4+ shoot value (or a 3+ shoot value if you stand-and-shoot/charge-and-shoot). If your opponent brings an equal number of models towards a crowd of throwing-dagger Elves, any kill you get gives you a numerical advantage - and if you have 10-12 of these guys, you should be killing 1-3 models per turn, depending on their Defense and whether you're standing still or not. Support these guys with bow fire and it's not impossible for you to get a 2:1 advantage against your opponents in that portion of the battlefield.

Wood Elves and Noldorin Exiles also exist in lists that have abundant access to Blinding Light - Galadriel is a go-to for me in Lothlorien, Cirdan is another go-to for me in Rivendell, and both lists can ally with Galadriel, Lady of Light (historically for Rivendell, and conveniently for Lothlorien - which makes absolutely no sense AND with the recent FAQ, you need to bring Celeborn or a wizard with her). Both lists are also historical allies with the Fellowship, so you can bring in Gandalf if you want (or bring him in as a Convenient Alliance from the Shire or the Survivors of Lake-town). Blinding Light can give your D3 troops the benefits of a Crebain (hit on a 6+ only) which will make your D3 be used less often against shooting attacks. Anyone who isn't within range of your Blinding Light should be behind horizontal terrain if they can find it - the Elven Cloaks that come standard on these guys will make them ineligible targets for the enemy (which is even better than being hit on a 6+).

You can also field sub-100pt heroes to up your model count - especially in Lothlorien. Galadriel, Haldir, and a Galadhrim Captain, can all be fielded for about 300pts, which means that you can field close to 40 models with them at 700pts. If you play at 800, you could ally in Legolas or Boromir from the Fellowship to boost your killing power (or Gildor with a few Noldorin Exiles to boost your numbers) - and having 40 Elves means you can have LOTS of shooting (of the throwing weapon or bow variety). 40 models may not seem high, but you can bring most enemy armies down to size quickly and be all-but-immune to enemy archery. It's dangerous and effective if you have the time to shoot.

Wood Elves with throwing daggers are also very fast - since they don't have to move half-speed to shoot, they can move 6-8" each turn (depending on whether they're Noldorin Exiles or Wood Elf Warriors - with an extra +3" of movement if they're being Marched) and hit targets that end within 6" of them at the end of their movement. This may not seem that fast, but they can be a PAIN to catch if the enemy has less than 6" of movement OR if these guys are harassing from a flank and the enemy doesn't want to turn and fight them with their main battle line (especially if there are more Elves facing them from the front).

Wood Elf Warriors equipped with Wood Elf Spears can support each other OR defend by shielding if fighting alone - both of which give them 2 Attack dice. If you have a banner nearby, their innate F5 (which is better than all the other D3 models we've looked at so far - and better than most models you'll face) makes them effective at winning whatever fights they find themselves in so long as they have the same number of dice (or more) than your opponent. If you're spear-supporting, the front Elf should Feint to reroll 1s if not two-hand with his weapon so that you're more likely to crack through the enemy should you win. Only two-hand if you have more dice than your opponent - otherwise, it's a risk too far.

Finally, the main reason you want Wood Elf Warriors in your list is if you're okay playing the shooting game. You can mitigate the lower Defense in many ways, but if the shooting doesn't work, you're in for trouble. This isn't a weakness though - armies that rely on heavily-armored troops will need to actually engage before their melee troops can do anything - which may mean that armies like Goblin-town or Lake-town can overwhelm and trap the Elves (while both of these factions can suffer heavy losses from throwing daggers).

Making It Work

So what do we need to bring along with our army to make these Wood Elves work? Well, here are a few go-tos for me:

• First off, we need archery protection - I usually use Galadriel. If you object to her being your army leader, you can replace her with Cirdan and a Galadhrim Captain (it will cost you some models, but you can do it).
• We also need March in the army - which could be Gildor Inglorion for one turn or a Galadhrim Captain for two turns. Since this article is about Wood Elf Warriors and Noldorin Exiles, I've opted for Gildor - whatever.
• We want our numbers to be high - as high as we can while still having the toolkit to deal with whatever we face. To do this, we want to avoid warriors that cost too much (rely on Noldorin Exiles instead of cavalry for our fast troops, no Wood Elf Sentinels, one banner only). 
• If you use the recommendations above, you can run the following list (39 models!) at 700pts:
• Galadriel [ARMY LEADER]
• 7 Wood Elf Warriors with throwing daggers
• 5 Wood Elf Warriors with throwing daggers and Wood Elf spears
• 3 Wood Elf Warriors with Elf bows
  
• Haldir with Elf bow and heavy armor
• 4 Guard of the Galadhrim Court
• 4 Wood Elf Warriors with Elf bows
• 1 Wood Elf Warrior with Elf bow, Wood Elf Spear, and banner
  
• HISTORICAL ALLY: Gildor Inglorion
• 4 Noldorin Exiles with throwing daggers
• 4 Noldorin Exiles with throwing daggers and Wood Elf spears
• 4 High Elf Warriors with Elf bows

This list has 39 models (break point of 20), is mostly D3 (10 models are D4+), but has 20 throwing daggers for skirmishing (8 of those on 8" move models), has 4 F6 warriors to make your Elves win more fights (and they too can also defend by shielding), and we have 14 Elf bows firing each turn to add to the damage from our throwing daggers. If we get caught, yes, we're D3 and may fade to dust - but we may also be okay if we can get those Guard of the Galadhrim Court to double-support in important fights (and their warband has the banner in it too) - see a formations post from last year on how to do this without trapping your own guys.

Conclusion

Maybe you're not convinced on these guys - and that's okay. I've been playing this kind of army for a long time and low Defense doesn't scare me (it's part of the reason I'm excited to try out the new Rangers of Mirkwood LL - no Blinding Light, but plenty of archery). 

In our next post, we'll be looking at a model that no one loves - Harry Goatleaf. Introduced in the Quest of the Ringbearer supplement, this guy just doesn't seem to be worth his points to most players (including me on most days). So how do you get him to work? Find out next time as we delve into the longest discussion of this model ever. Until then, happy hobbying!