Here is how to play Sylvaneth in AoS, focusing on building Harvestboon and Heartwood 2,ooo points armies!
Welcome back, everyone, as we continue our dive into the Sylvaneth battletome, building a list for how to play the Sylvaneth Harvestboon and Heartwood sub-factions.
If you’re interested in playing any of the other glades, click on the links below!
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Dreadwood & Gnarlroot
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Harvestboon & Heartwood
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Ironbark, Oakenbrow, & Winterleaf
Battletome: Sylvaneth Retail Price: $55
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Sylvaneth Army-Wide Rules:
First, though let’s revisit what all Sylvaneth factions get.
Places of Power:
- After territories are decided, but before faction terrain features are set up you can select 3 terrain features on the battlefield wholly outside the enemy territory to be considered overgrown
- At the start of the hero phase, heal one wound to each friendly Sylvaneth unit wholly within 9” of awakened wood or overgrown territory
From the Woodland Depths:
- Walk the Hidden Paths: Once per turn at the end of the movement phase pick 1 friendly Sylvaneth unit wholly within 9” of an overgrown territory or awakened wildwood. That unit can be removed from the battlefield and set up more than 9” from enemy units and wholly within 9” of another awakened wildwood or overgrown territory that is more than 3” from enemy units.
- Strike and Fade: Once per turn in combat phase immediately after a friendly Sylvaneth unit wholly within 9” of an Awakened Wyldwood or Overgrown Territory fights you can remove it from play and set up more than 9” from enemy units and wholly within 9” of another awakened wildwood or overgrown territory that is more than 3” from enemy units.
- Unique Spell all Sylvaneth Wizards know Verdant Blessing: Casts on a 6 with range 18” if successful set up 1 Awakened Wyldwood terrain feature wholly within range and more than 3” from all other models, terrain features, and objectives.
Pick a Season of War for your army:
- The Burgeoning: All friendly Sylvaneth models that did not charge and are wholly within 9” of a friendly Awakened Wyldwood have a ward save of 6+.
- The Reaping: Add 3” to the range within which you can pick friendly Sylvaneth units with Places of Power and From the Woodland Depths battle traits.
- The Dwindling: In the hero phase you can re-roll 1 casting roll, 1 unbinding roll, and 1 dispel roll as well as the wizard is Sylvaneth and wholly within 9” of an overgrown territory or Awakened Wyldwood.
- Everdusk: Subtract 3” from the range of places of power and Woodland Depths abilities but if a melee attack made by a friendly Sylvaneth unit wholly within 6” of the Awakened Wyldwood or Overgrown terrain makes a hit roll of 6, it counts as 2 hits rather than just 1.
Now let’s dive into the sub-factions specific lists starting with the Harvestboon.
How to Play Sylvaneth: Harvestboon
Harvestboon: After deployment but before the first battle round starts you can move each Spiterider lancer and revenant seekers unit up to 12”. Revenant Seekers and Spiterider Lancers become battleline units.
- Alarielle the Everqueen: 840 Points, Leader 1 of 6, Behemoth 1 of 4
- The Lady of Vines: 325 Points, Leader 2 of 6
- Branchwych: 130 Points, Leader 3 of 6
- 3 Revenant Seekers: 235 Points, Battleline 1 of 3
- Spiterider Lancers: 210 Points, Battleline 2 of 3
- Spiterider Lancers: 210 Points, Battleline 3 of 3
- Spiteswarm Hive: 40 Points, Endless Spell
- Total 1990
This is a small model count army (at first) but you have a chance to add up to an additional 30 models if you want between Alarielle and the Lady of Vines. Your three battleline units are all incredibly fast, and if you can position them near the Spiteswarm hive you can get a bonus to move and charge for the turn 1 charge threat.
Back up one of them with the Revenant Seekers so that if you do lose a lancer (or seeker) in combat, you can bring them back. Alarielle is a beast herself along with the Lady of Vines, but make sure you get those summons out from both as your army is model light without them. Adding the additional models will let you take and hold objectives in your backfield or in the middle areas. (Or if your super sneaky your opponent’s backfield)
For a Battalion, I am going with the Battle Regiment, making this a one-drop army, which lets you decide if you want to go first or second (probably going to choose 2nd most of the time). With the Branchwhich being the only non-unique leader, we are going to make them you general and give them Spellsinger to add +6 to the range of their spells, and then the Vesperal Gem. For a unique spell, I am going to give her the Verdurous Harmony Spell and use her to return slain models to your units.
As this is a model light army, you need to make sure you can try and summon and bring back as many models as you can with it to hold those objectives. For Alarielle, she knows all the Deepwoods spells, so be sure to be aware of them all, but Throne of Vines might be useful should she begin to take a beating. Finally, for the Lady of Vines, we will also take the Throne of Vines to give her some healing power. Between that and her unique ward save spell, it can make for a pretty tank-like hero.
Heartwood 2,000 Point Army List
Heartwood: After deployment but before the first battleround begins, you can pick three different enemies on the battlefield to become the quarry. Add 1 to hit rolls for attacks made against those units. Kurnoth Hunters become a battleline unit.
- Arch Revenant: 120 Points, Leader 1 of 6
- Treelord Ancient: 360 Points, Leader 2 of 6, Behemoth 1 of 4
- The Lady of Vine: 325 Points, Leader 3 of 6
- Branchwych: 130 Points, Leader 4 of 6
- 3 Kurnoth Hunters with Greatbows: 230 Points, Battleline 1 of 3
- 3 Kurnoth Hunters with Greatbows: 230 Points, Battleline 2 of 3
- 3 Kurnoth Hunters with Greatbows: 230 Points, Battleline 3 of 3
- Treelord: 260 Points, Behemoth 2 of 4
- Spiteswarm Hive: 40 Points, Endless Spell
- Purple Sun of Shyish: 70 Points, Endless Spell
- Total 1995 Points
This list is about turtling with your hunters, planting the revenant in the middle of them, and shooting anything approaching you. If you can drop a purple sun next to your target, that is even better, giving them additional rend (or just deleting the unit). Use your Treelords to get between your hunters and enemy forces to keep them shooting and deleting units. If they can take and hold onto the middle-ground objectives, that are even better, but with the quarry and arch revenant bonus, your hunters will be doing most of the heavy lifting in this army.
Keep a command point handy to unleash hell in case your opponent somehow gets a charge in against your hunters, as if you lose some of them, you’re losing a lot of the threat this army has.
I will select Battle Regiment for a battalion, which makes this a two-drop army, which should get you the choice of going first or second in most matches. This will force your opponent to commit to getting in range if they want to threaten your army.
For an artifact, I like to give the Treelord ancient the Vesperal Gem and the Throne of Vines Deepwoods spell to essentially give him a free life if he gets hammered hard while plugging charge lanes to keep your hunters at range. To make him even more of a beat stick, give him the command trait Gnarled Warrior which lets him ignore positive and negative save modifiers. For unique spells, I want to give the Lady of Vines the Dwellers Below for a little bit of a range threat and the Branchwych the Verdurous Harmony spell to bring back any hunters that might get slain.
In the next article, we will finish off the Sylvaneth book with Ironbark, Oakenbrow, and Winterleaf factions.
Be sure to check out all the articles in this How to Play series below.
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Dreadwood & Gnarlroot
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Harvestboon & Heartwood
- How to Play Sylvaneth: Ironbark, Oakenbrow, & Winterleaf
More AoS How-To For Beginners & Veteran Players!
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About the Author: Travis Perkins
