If you love Sylvaneth don’t miss the full battletome of warscroll rules, points, battalions, and more that were spotted over the weekend!
Sylvaneth are an older 1.0 faction that desperately needed a book. While they were still popping up near the top of the order at tournaments, it was time for their rules to be spiced up a bit.
Don’t miss the battletome that was downloaded on iTunes by a few lucky hobbyists over the weekend, as there are some BIG changes ahead! The full book was posted up on Reddit we’ve got an inside look at what the tree people are getting.
Sylvaneth Battle Traits: Ways of the Wargroves
This table essentially shows the different ways that the Sylvaneth will be working on the table. From 50% of your army popping up in some Wyldwoods to being immune to battleshock tests within certain terrain features, the Sylvaneth are looking versatile at first glance.
Ins & Outs of the Wyldwood
If you’re wondering, you can only include one Sylvaneth Awakened Wyldwood (even though it consists of 3-6 in your army) and they’ve already previewed the new model earlier on. You actually have a lot of options when you place this thing down. Just make sure it’s outside of your enemy’s deployment and 6″ away from any objectives.
Keep in mind there are ways to generate more in game as well…
You really need to be careful about where you’re placing your Wyldwoods if you’re using Forest Spirits from above. While your army can be devastating with 50% coming in from reserves exactly where you want them, if you put the Wyldwood too close to the enemy, you essentially won’t be able to bring anything in. Keep that in mind while you deploy.
We know this is blurry but if you’re wondering how big the Sylvaneth Wyldwood is, it consists of three to Six Citadel Wood models. But each tip has to touch a different Wyldood model. (It’ll essentially be making a big ring). The trees can also attack any enemy units that get to close. Whenever you cast a spell or the enemy finishes a charge within 1″ of the Awakened Wyldwoods, you can slap them with your branches and do D3 mortal wounds. (Even though they only do this on a 5+ and 6+).
Exclusive pictures from Sablednah at Warhammer Fest showing scale
Winterleaf Ruleset
These Sylvaneth are angry and cold. They bring the winter with them and can really dish out a lot of damage from a few combat tricks. Each Winterleaf unit’s hit roll of a 6+ explodes into two hits which is nice. But the Frozen Kernel artifact can really change the tides of war in your favor. Especially when you’ve got a beefy melee squad in the midst of the enemy. Once per game, you can pick something within 18″ of the bearer and they get to attack twice. yikes.
Gnarlroot Ruleset
The Gnarlroot on the other hand, capitalize on having Wizards within their ranks. They can reroll hit rolls of 1 with they’re within 12″ of a friendly Wizard. If you like the magic side of AoS, you might want to bring these guys. On top of having the incentive to seed a few Wizards in your list, you’ll also be able to heal friendly units D3 wounds if you successfully cast a spell! Plus, rolling 3D6 to cast or unbind and picking the two highest is an artifact that is too good to pass up in this army. The best part is that the Chalice of Nectar isn’t a one time use artifact!
Sylvaneth Warscroll Battalions
The Household Battalion may be on the smaller side, but you’ll want to save this unit for melee with just the right enemy. A blobbed up Stormcast Ballista squad would be a perfect example. Anything in combat with these guys can’t retreat! You’ll be able to shut down any kind of firepower the enemy might have or just tarpit a scary unit that you don’t have time to deal with yet.
As for the Forest Folk Battalion, You can retreat and charge in the same turn. This Battalion is definitely going to have a more support-role feel. They can leave combat and run interference for a friendly unit by charging another unit that is closing in. You’ll probably lose these guys quick because they just want to pick a fight with everybody.
The Outcasts are just some scary boys that prey on morale. They add D3 units to whatever runs away from a failed enemy battleshock test within 3″.
The Free Spirits get a free 6″ run that doesn’t cost you a CP or anything. And the Lords of the Clan can dish out D3 mortal wounds on a 2+. The coolest thing about this Battalion is that it is literally LOADED with Treelords which are some of the coolest models out there.
Endless Spell Rules
The Gladewyrm can move up to 8″ when it’s summoned and only hates on enemies within 1″. Enemies that get too close can take D3 mortal wounds on a 3+. However, any Sylvaneth units within 6″ can heal D3 wounds on a 3+ as well. Because of the value on both ends of the spectrum, we feel like we’ll definitely be seeing this spell in almost every list.
This spell has some decent range at 15″. Plus it’s not a predatory spell. You just plop it down around your Wizard. At the end of the hero phase, two effects can trigger. Vital Venoms add 3″ to normal moves and charges to each Sylvaneth unit within 8″ on a 2+.
On the flipside, Shielding Swarm gives every Sylvaneth unit within 8″ the ability to reroll saves of 1 on a 2+. You can choose aggressive or defensive playstyles with this spell depending on where you’re at on the table.
Finally, the Skullroot is a spooky tree that moves 8″. This thing preys on the morale of enemy units making D3 more run away when they fail a battleshock test. Pair this with the Outcasts Battalion and you’ll be making 2D3 models run! The Skullroot dishes out D3 mortal wounds to whatever it passes over and can do D6 mortal wounds if it’s close to an Awakened Wyldwood.
Aarielle the OP Queen?
Arielle is still a powerhouse as she was in the old battletome. With her ability to heal D3 wounds to everything within 30″ each turn and having the choice to bring back a unit from a list of options, she’ll be a real supportive lynchpin to the army. She can dish out all the damage and help out all of her friends (which is her strong suit). Where she really falls behind is only having 16 wounds and a 3+ save. If you can get enough stopping power on her early on, your games will be going a lot smoother. She is also now 660 points, going up 60 points from her 2018 Generals Handbook entry.
This post might have a lot for us to digest but we’ve got time to sit back and break everything down. What do you think about everything that’s been previewed? Do you think the Sylvaneth are in a better spot for the meta now? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, King of sprues.
