Kings of War 3rd Edition: Sylvan Kin Army Review

Hello Dash28! Today I have a guest article for you by a player from my region, a man who can be seen happily wearing a kilt, while drinking various beverages at every event, and who is just an all-around awesome guy, Sean McCormally. Sean hails from the dreaded Kings of War club, the Aristocrats, who rule with an iron fist over the Midatlantic. A big shout out of thanks to Sean for taking the time to write this article!

This review has been updated for Clash of Kings 2022.  All changes are put in red text.

[UPDATER’S NOTE: Sylvan Kin may have had the most dramatic changes since 3rd dropped.  Both Halpi’s and Clash of Kings 22 have changed the army drastically.  For the historical record, I’m leaving Sean’s intro and adding updated comments in red below.  Hope you all enjoy] – Updated by Keith Randall

If you would like to find our other army reviews you can find them here.

Tier Rankings: 

Trying to rank units in Kings of War is not a perfect science. By pure design, many units are meant to work in combination with other choices in the army and can be hard to judge on their own. For this exercise, it’s assumed the unit is being used to its utmost potential within the army. This is not just a math problem to determine the most cost-effective unit but to also see how they compare in scope, role, and impact across not just a single army but all Kings of War armies. For the most part, units will be treated as one entry; however, if an option or size drastically improves a unit it will be separately mentioned.

S Tier: Reserved for units that are widely acknowledged as either being significantly undercosted or having a combination of rules that perform well above units in similar roles. These units are often called “auto includes” as any list stands to be made better with their inclusion. Expect these units to be addressed in future CoK book updates.

A Tier: These units are some of the best the army has to offer. They excel in their specific roles and commonly help form the core of most competitive lists. While not auto include, they are great in almost any army they are taken in and will be seen frequently.

B Tier: These units have a mix of strengths and weaknesses that make them very playable but balanced. These units work great with specific roles in mind; however, their weaknesses mean they do not help every list. In a perfect world, all units would fit into this category.

C Tier: C tier units may still shine in niche lists and roles; however, they will feel underpowered when compared to similar units in other armies. Decidedly suboptimal, you could make them work but frequently will see other things that are just better. You will rarely see many lists take these units.

D Tier: Units that need some considerable love and attention. You will struggle to find any role for this unit that another unit couldn’t do better. Very often you will see these units labeled as “unplayable”.

The Everyman’s Army…

Sylvan Kin was the army that I wanted to play when I came into KOW, but all I had available to me were the Elves from the corebook. Like many players, I’m a Warhammer refugee that has three to four armies, with a smattering of half-completed units and only one truly assembled/painted army. I love what they’ve done with the separation in the Elven people,  the flavor of the different Kin (Elves, Sylvan and Twilight), and how each plays a little different on the gaming table. 

However, what makes Sylvan Kin stand out? What does the Army have that others in KOW do not? First of all, Sylvan Kin does not have the best shooting in the game, especially with only one ranged unit that unlocks (Kindred Archers) and no Piercing in the entire list, save bolt throwers.  They don’t have magical or artillery domination of the battlefield (only bolt throwers and casters can be expensive) and they definitely don’t have access to Defense 6+ spam. In addition, they are the ONLY ARMY in KOW that does not have access to an unlocking unit with Piercing (2), Crushing strength (2), Thunderous Charge (2) and/or CS (1) / TC (1) in their list, and only one non-hero unit in the entire army who does have one of the above (Stormwind Cavalry). They are also Elves, so unlocks can be hard to come by. 

These aren’t complaints, they are observations that any general would take into account when trying to calculate the relative strengths/weaknesses of their army. So what makes them an interesting army to play in the tournament setting if there are no units that are easy choices to spam the board with? The answer is simply they are a Jack of all trades and a master of none, they are the ‘Everyman’s Army’ and they specialize in balance above all else. They are also very good at board control in the early game, due to the number of units that can scout with pathfinder built-in. 

Where most armies in KOW have niche lists that can dominate their local Meta’s and have notorious reputations in tournaments; i.e. Kingdoms of Men or Goblin War Machine spam, Lighting Bolt Spam, Dwarven Defense 6+ spam, etc. The Sylvan Kin have the ability to bring well-rounded lists that can do a little bit of everything and force your opponents to consider every part of your army dangerous. Especially, when half of your army is at the midpoint of the table before turn 1.  

However, to take full advantage of this you will need to understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of your individual units, and how to best utilize them on the battlefield. You may have the ability to claim board territory early in the game, but holding it for 6-7 turns can be difficult without understanding your army as a whole. 

Please understand that the ranking system used below is very skewed towards looking at Units in a vacuum and the relative ranks you see below may suggest that I believe Sylvan Kin lacks the tools to be competitive. However, where individual units may lack the wherewithal to compete with similar units in the opposing army, they increase in value when properly synergized with other units. 

Below I will be giving a general overview of each unit and their stats, followed by the GOOD, the BAD, and SYNERGY comments to emphasize these three main points in the army. 

I’d posit that this army thrives on being underestimated while being individually underpowered 

My how the Sylvan Kin have changed.  The Sylvan Kin are no longer an underestimated army of glass hammers in a grind meta, they are a preeminent shooting army in a developing shooting meta.  Look to the trees, for the arrows come from the shadows.

Sylvan Kin – Theme List w/ Master List from Elves

“The following units may be taken from the Master list: Kindred Tallspears, Kindred Archers, Stormwind Cavalry*, Forest Shamblers, Bolt Thrower, Elven King, Elven Prince, Elven Archmage, Army Battle Std. Bearer, Dragon Kindred Lord.” 

Lots of good choices available in this list from the Elves Master list. Most notably, Sylvan Kin trade Stormwind Cavalry as an unlock in exchange for Forest Shamblers, which makes for some very thematic lists based in the Fey Wilds of Pannithor. 

*Units with an (*) are irregular and do not unlock units as per the Core rulebook. 

Check out the Elf review for more on these units, found here.

Army Special Upgrade – Deathroot Arrows +5 pts. Unit upgrade

“Once per game, when rolling to damage with a ranged weapon, a unit may choose to reroll up to 3 dice that score a natural, unmodified 1. One use Only”

• Thematically this is a really cool upgrade but is only available to (3) units in the list and none of them have the volume of shots to benefit from its use. For this to be an effective upgrade the army would need more ranged units available to use it. In addition, the 10 pt. Magic item Piercing arrow is much more reliable with one ranged re-roll to damage a turn versus only re-rolling (3) ‘1’s, in a single turn once a game. 

Formation – Wardens of the Sacred Grove

The new formation leans into the scouting proliferation in the Sylvan Kin.  It consists of two troops of Boskwraiths, two regiments of Forest Guard and a King that must take the Wanderer Upgrade, all for a cool cost of 25 points.  The formation allows you to scout up some more interesting combat units with the Forest Guard, and some chaff – has some serious potential.  This formation is comfortably in the top half of new formations, and possible in the top quartile.

S Tier

There are none

A Tier

Master Hunter – Now this unit represents what Sylvan Kin units should FEEL like on the battlefield. It is a mobile lightly armored hero that shoots and engages in melee at need. At 115 pts. this Melee +3, Range 3+, Defense 4+, Speed 7, Attacks 4 and Nerve 11/13) with the Elite, individual, Inspiring (Trackers), Pathfinder, scout, stealthy and Piercing (1) hero should be considered for all Sylvan kin lists.

The Good: The Elves base list only get (1) hero like this (Madriga the elf), so make sure if you take them you take (2)….if you have the unlocks. These will annoy your opponent with their shooting and will reliably put wounds on enemy troops all across the battlefield. 

The Bad: They only inspire themselves, Kindred Gladestalkers and Forest guard so be careful to not move them too far afield. They also don’t pack much of a punch in melee without aid. Hey, guess what – they inspire everyone now…ruh roh.

Synergy: These work well with keeping your infantry on the battlefield when you are playing a mostly Kindred/tracker list.

The Shiny: So…why are these S Tier now.  Well, there are these artefacts that give you extra attacks against things, which make the 4 attack pest, into a 5-7 attack murder hornet running around with 3+ lightning bolts.  Combine a pair of these guys with an archmage or two, and your individuals can cause problems to even the toughest armies.

Tree Herder and Wiltfather [1] –This is the only Defense 6+ unit in the Sylvan Kin list and is the central anvil of most armies who want a TOUGH surge caster. At 260 points you get Melee 3+, Defense 6+, Speed 6, Attacks 9, Nerve -/18 and CS (3), Inspiring, Pathfinder, Radiance of Life, Scout, Strider, Surge (8) special rules. 

In addition, you can take the Wiltfather [1] upgrade that increases Attacks (10), Nerve -/19, exchanges Radiance of Life for Cloak of Death and gives an Aura of Vicious – Verdant only. 

• It should be noted that it has been ruled that units with the Unique upgrade can still take magic items as long as they are not SPECIFICALLY restricted from doing so (See examples Ahmunite Pharaoh (w/ Eternal Guard upgrade) Vs. Goblin King (w/ Jareth’s Pendant upgrade). This means you can take the Sacred Horn upgrade to increase your Elite aura to 9”!

The Good: The ability to give Elite to Hunters of the wild, Forest Shamblers/ Wardens and Tree Herders (including itself), makes this unit HIT like an Elven Dragon Kindred Lord with Defense 6+ on a 50X50mm base. This does leave the potential for weird charges and makes it less vulnerable to multi-charges.

Elite while casting Surge is neat!

I have not seen many armies take more than one Tree Herder since Radiance of life doesn’t stack with itself. However, having the Wiltfather upgrade makes having an entire Verdant based army viable in the tournament setting, as well as an awesome hobby project for the artistically inclined gamer. 

The Bad: It’s a little slow and you have to be conscience of your positioning, but what unit doesn’t?

Synergy: Verdant scouting units are now REALLY scary….put him nearby and watch your opponent sweat. 

Kindred Gladestalkers* – This is the unit that defines what it is to be Sylvan Kin. And now it has a ton of new toys. They are lightly armored ranged infantry available in troops and regiments (130 and 175 points, respectively), with elven stat lines (Melee/Range +4, Defense 3+, Speed 6, Attacks 10/12 and Nerve 10/12 or 14/16) and the Elite, pathfinder, Scout, 24” bows and steady aim (option for Deathroot arrows +5 pts.). Now featuring STEALTHY.

The Good: Gladestalkers can make a scout move into a piece of terrain and fire without the (-1) penalty on turn one. They are elite for both shooting and melee, which means they can be a deceptively effective flanking force, while Def+3 means that frontal assaults and high volume shooting will take this unit off the board quickly. They can move and shoot, sit on objectives, and will require your opponent to dedicate resources to be rid of them. 

Of the new Gladestalker varieties, the Sylvan Kin may lose out overall, but in the event of elf on elf violence, Stealthy gives the Sylvan Kin a decided advantage.  All Gladestalkers should be in terrain, so Sylvan Kin will be countershooting on 5s versus 6s for the standard Elves, Twilight Kin, and Kin Hunters – so what out new shooting meta, Sylvan may end up on the top of the barrel in shootouts.

The Bad: They die easily to concentrated fire (at the troop size) and can aid in charges by flanking, but will disappear if they are involved in frontal assaults. 

Shooting is less of an issue with stealthy – but concentrated LB can still kill them.

Synergy: Their blockers, shooters, and flankers. They can be chaff for many of your fighting units and work well with Heroes who are menacing the opponent (Master Hunter, Archwraith, Elven king/prince etc.).  

In the current iteration of the list, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 4-5 regiments of Gladestalkers in the majority of Sylvan lists – much like Spice, the arrows will flow.

Adding Nimue into A tier for Sylvan Kin.  Everything said about her for Elves applies equally if not more so to Sylvan Kin.

Nimue Waydancer — A new addition to the list in Halpi’s, prior to the latest CoK Nimue was intriguing but not great. Now, while not an auto-take, she can cause some serious problems for opponents with her ability to get behind their lines and drop Cloak of Death along with Fireball 10 (now with Shattering!). She is a great add-on to a shooting heavy elf list, but at 150 points, not quite an auto-include. She does inspire everyone now, which is a nice addition.

[NOTE: Putting the review of the Greater Air Elemental from Forces of Nature in here because obviously the forest elves needed a giant butthole tornado for more versatility]

Greater Air Elemental – The Greater Air Elemental combines Sp 10, Fly, Nimble, Pathfinder, Shambling, Me 3, 10 Att, Crushing Strength (1), and Thunderous Charge (1), which makes for some epic Surge potential. It’s a very fragile unit, but it can Rout enemies with surgical precision. You also have the option to upgrade to Wind Blast (6) and Lightning Bolt (3), which can give you something to do while waiting to set up the perfect Surge. The GAE is the first and only Monster unlock in Sylvan Kin.  That fact alone makes the GAE a huge addition.  Every Infantry or Large Infantry horde you take no longer has to waste an unlock for Monsters/Titans – and the GAE can do work with some surge help – even without surge help, it is a flying monster that will make enemies think carefully about getting close to your shadowy archers.

B Tier

Riverguard Treeleapers* -These are one of the ‘Jack of all Trades’ infantry options available to the Sylvan Kin. They are available in troops and regiments (110 and 170 points, respectively), with the following stat lines (Melee +4, Defense 4+, Speed 7, Attacks 10/12, and Nerve 10/12 or 14/16) and CS (1), Ensnare, Fly, Nimble and Pathfinder special rules. 

The Good: Treeleapers do exactly that, they jump all over the place. Having a speed of 7, nimble and fly means that this unit is hard to pin down and even harder to kill if charged from the front while sitting inside difficult terrain (I.e. Ensnare and pathfinder). You can use them as Chaff for big monsters that hit on 4+ or as flankers that can get behind enemy lines quite easily. Your opponent will underestimate them given that they only hit on 4+, but flanks/rears make this unit really shine. 

The Bad: Low nerve + light armor means they draw lighting bolts and small arms fire like CRAZY. Be careful or your flanker will get shot off the board in the early game.

Synergy: These work well with heavily scouting units (Gladestalkers, Hunters, Forest shamblers etc.) and can be blockers for those units to get into position more efficiently.

Hunters of the Wild / Forest Shamblers – Both of these are covered in the Forces of Nature review here, but they have unique advantages when taken in conjunction with other units in the sylvan kin list and this can raise their respective ranks in the tier system.

The Good: First off both of these units UNLOCK for the Sylvan Kin (normally they are irregular in the Elves standard army list), which makes them perfect for unlocks at Def +5, Pathfinder, and Scout.

The Hunters of the Wild are Speed 5 (VS. Shambling Speed 6 Forest Shamblers) and lack the fearless traits of their larger (CS 1) Forest Shambler brethren (Nerve 10/12, 14/16 Vs. -/14, -/17). These units are meant to be anvils that give you early board control (10” or 12” scout moves) by setting up on objectives with their high defense. Furthermore, both have the ‘verdant’ keyword which gives them Elite when they are within 6” of the Wiltfather (who can scout alongside them), which further alters their role in your army.

 Hunters of the Wild are also crazy cheap now…the spam potential is nutty…

Synergy – With the Wiltfather nearby is the best way to take them, bringing them up to B/C Tier

The Hunters will hit more reliably and benefit from niche items like the Hammer of measured force (always wound on a +4). The Forest Shamblers will also hit more reliably and benefit more from the Wiltfather being able to Surge them into flanks if enemy units don’t break them on the charge. Moreover, if you give Forest Shamblers the Mead of Madness or Brew of Haste they can make turn 1 charge after their initial Scout moves. This can feel gimmicky, but if you have multiple units ready to charge in turn 2 after your initial unit(s) have made turn 1 charges (from all the aforementioned scout moves), it can redefine the battlefield for your opponent.  

The Bad: You will want to put magic items on these units to shore up their shortcomings. Resist the temptation to spend too many points doing this, because these units are meant to take punches in the face and will become expensive very quickly. 

Forest Guard This unit is found in the Elves standard list, but it comes with the option to be taken in the horde size at 270 points. For those of you not familiar with a combat elf stat line (Melee +3, Defense 4+, Speed 6, Attacks 10/12/25, and Nerve values of 11/13, 15/17, and 22/24, respectively ) and the Elite (melee), Pathfinder, Thunderous Charge (1) special rules. These are your palace guard for all intents and purposes, due to the restrictions in the master list (see above), so they will make up the backbone of foot troops in most sylvan kin lists.

The Bad: They are lightly armored (Def +4) so they become a viable shooting target when they are not taking advantage of available cover (i.e. pathfinder). Due to having TC (1) (vs. CS 1 on palace guard), you must be wary of phalanx heavy armies that will strip your TC during the charge.

The Good: These are palace guard with pathfinder built-in! They have high nerve and they hit like a ton of bricks, 25 attacks with Elite will make a DEVASTATING number of hits on the charge countercharge. They are viable at any size; troops are great for sweeping or protecting flanks, regiments hold objectives and hordes just hit hard and command A LOT of board space. In addition, these units are perfect for various magic item upgrades that will customize their role in your army.

Example – Troops/Regiments can take the low tier items to gain Lifeleech, Iron Resolve, Brutal etc. to gain some staying or breaking power.

Hordes can take Brew of Strength (CS 1), Chant of hate (Vicious) or Brew of sharpness to become a terror on the battlefield.

Synergy:  All around unit that works with every other unit in the list. You need these in your list!

Forest Warden – For Brevity Please see Forces of Nature Army Review.

These are the Heroic version of your Forest Shamblers for 90 pts., with an improved stat-line; Melee +3, Defense 5+, Speed 6, Attacks 3, Nerve 11/13 and the Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Pathfinder, Scout and Surge (4) special rules. 

The Good:  As a Unit Strength (1) unit these guys are the cheapest way of claiming objectives/loot counters and are great at side combo charges or blocking enemy troops in your backfield. 

The Bad: A low number of attacks means that front charges will only ever result in blocking your opponent’s troops and even side charges will usually only net you a couple of extra wounds. Also, he’s not inspiring and with a low number of unlocks, this can really hurt as a pick. 

Synergy: Having the verdant keyword, this unit can get elite attacks from the Wiltfather AND can surge the Forest Shamblers in a pinch if the Wiltfather is an inch or two short (remember the Surge will ALSO be an Elite roll!). Also, consider giving them the Tome of darkness if you have multiple Forest Shambler units on the board. 

Archmage / Army BSB / Elven Prince / Elven King / Dragon Kindred Lord – All of these units can be seen in the Elf Army Review (see LINK) and are often the better picks for hero utility in the Sylvan Kin list. 

Main Differences: The Elven King and Elven Prince can take all the same upgrades as the main list, EXCEPT they don’t get the Hunting cat (i.e. Duelist). So you pay the same points for a less upgradable version. Personally, I think in this list they deserve to have a bow upgrade and options to take the Deathroot Arrows. It wouldn’t break the army and give them a utility role in this Army list.

The Elven King can now upgrade to the “Wanderer” which increases her speed to 7, lowers her defense to 4+, and gains pathfinder.  Nifty little upgrade, but doesn’t change my opinion much from the mounted version.

El’Rik Nisleen [1] –Like the Master Hunter, this unit is an AMAZING example of what Sylvan Kin should be like on the battlefield. At 160 pts. this Melee +2!!!, Defense 5+, Speed 7, Attacks 6 and Nerve -/14 with CS(1), Elite(melee), Individual, Inspiring, Mighty, Pathfinder, and Fireball (8) with Shattering special rules, El’Rik can weave in and out of close combat to wreak havoc on your opponents lightly armored troops. 

The Good: He has a ranged attack that can break chaff units and force your opponent to shift resources to deal with him lest he gums up the battlefield with his Def 5+ and -/14 nerve. He is also no slouch in combat and will almost ALWAYS get 6 hits!

The Bad: You will have to use him aggressively to get his full points potential. This means more chances for your opponent to get a lucky roll to clear one of your inspiring resources from the board. He needs to be in combat or Fireballing every turn he is able or else he will become irrelevant in the overall battle.

Synergy: Get an Elven King with the Shardblade upgrade on a horse and make the Bash Brothers combo of 2+ melee!!! Two fast heroes that can get guaranteed hits will make most opponents think twice about how they move around the battlefield. 

The Windborne [1] – This unit is the ELITE of the silverbreeze cavalry, so that means you only get to have the one at 165 pts.  Same stat line as the Silverbreeze and they only come as a troop. What makes them different is that they are Elite for all things and they have a specialty shooting attack that counts as a Windblast (7) spell, called Windborne arrows. In addition to moving the target, you get to roll to wound as normal with any hits caused by the spell.

The Good: This unit is FAST, which means it can get some unique angles on units when firing their windblast. This allows for moving targets in many different directions throughout the game, which plays havoc with your opponents’ plans on the battlefield.  Also, Windblast is a spell with no modifier restrictions (i.e. Cover, stealthy etc.) listed, which allows for a much more versatile target selection.

The Bad: You can only take (1). This unit is far from broken and the restriction may be thematic, but it severely limits the utility of the Windblast with only one caster beyond that of an Archmage. There are plenty of armies who have the ability to spam windblast to a much greater/effective degree and this unit would definitely not break the game if it wasn’t Unique.

Synergy: Works well with positioning flank charges and for surging forest shamblers in certain situations. In a pinch, they take a flank better than the Silverbreeze Cavalry, but not by much.  

Updated Note: Moved these to B-Tier – not taking cover or stealth modifiers on a shooting attack is epic.  And the synergy with Gladestalkers unlocking with Windborne pushing the enemy back makes them almost a must take.

Another new unit for Sylvan Kin – and again your effort-conscious updater is borrowing (some of)  the description from Forces of Nature – though I will note that in Sylvan Kin the flying combat option that unlocks can serve as Sylvan Kin’s budget Drakon Riders.

Air Elementals – These are the one flavor of Elementals that I would consider fielding in regiments. Sp 10, Fly, Nimble, Pathfinder, Shambling, Me 3, and 9 Att make them a decent chaff unit for 130 points. I know some generals have been running a horde with the Hammer of Measured Force. I appreciate the potential of that unit, but I think it’s just too fragile and not quite effective enough for 240 points.

Stormwind Cavalry – Adding these into B because now in the Sylvan Kin they have the option (nay the obligation) to upgrade with pathfinder…which is…quite good.  Elite, Pathfinder, maybe nimble, and the option for another artefact, that is quite the package…

C Tier

Silverbreeze Cavalry* – These are the fastest light cavalry in KOW that come in troops or regiments (130 pts or 200pts, respectively) with Speed 10, Melee 4+/Range +4, Def +4, Attacks 7/14, Nerve 11/13 or 14/16 and the nimble, shortbows 18”, elite (ranged), steady aim special rules (with the option to take Deathroot arrows +5 pts.)

The Good: They are fast, they shoot and they are NO different from the base Elf list. 

The Bad:They are fast, they shoot and they are NO different from the base Elf list. 

Like the Kindred gladestalkers these needed to NOT be irregular (or at least one of them did)! To be able to take a Shooty Elf list you have to fill it with irregular units that cost more and shoot less than EVERY OTHER ARMY.  

Synergy: This unit works well with a heavily scouting army, to get in wounds and sweep flanks when your opponent has to commit to Hunters of the wild, Boskwraiths, Forest guard etc.

Boskwraiths These are one of the new lightly armored infantry options available to the Sylvan Kin, they are available in troops and regiments (115 and 175 points, respectively), with elven stat lines (Melee +4, Defense 3+, Speed 6, Attacks 20/25 and Nerve 10/12 or 14/16) and the Elite, Fury, Wild Charge (d3) special rules. 

The Bad: Being lightly armored (Def +3) makes this unit very susceptible to ranged attacks, which is not helped by the current lightning bolt meta that defines ‘how to make a ranged army in third edition.’ Having any reliable shooting makes it difficult for this unit to be out in the open and/or to be taken in the troop size given the low nerve.

I don’t know why this unit doesn’t have pathfinder, unlike every OTHER Sylvan Kin unit, which severely hampers the reliability of this unit with its Melee +4 becoming Melee +5 in most fights around terrain features. This unit needs to have the J-Boots or Caterpillar to be more reliable, which limits their role sharply in your army and makes them expensive.

The Good: This unit is deceptively fast with Wild Charge (D3) and Speed 6, giving an effective 13-15 inch charge range for an infantry unit that brings 20-25 attacks. This pairs well with off the hill charges  (TC 1) or Bane Chant (CS 1) to make an effective medium-range hammer. The fury keeps this unit in the fray once they are locked in.

Synergy: These are a follow-up punch unit. They work well with Riverguard Treeleapers, Gladestalkers, and Forest guard who have already hit the unit or have held up the unit so you can flank/rear. 

D Tier

Wild Gur Panthers* – These are the only fast chaff in the army that come in troops or regiments (85 or 130 pts, respectively) with Speed 10, Melee 4+, Def +3, Attacks 6/12, Nerve 9/11 or 12/14 and the nimble, pathfinder, vicious (melee) special rules.  

The Good: They are cheap, highly mobile, and can get in the way of your opponent’s battle lines. They can threaten warmachines in the early game and complement the number of scouting units available in the Sylvan Kin list. 

The Bad: They are irregular!! Sylvan kin have very few unlocks, many of which are not cheap. On top of the fact that all of their specialty units are ALSO irregular, it becomes very hard for these units to be squeezed into a list.

Synergy: These work well with chaffing up your opponent and allow for great initial charge opportunities for Forest Shamblers, Forest Guard, Stormwind Cavalry etc. 

Archwraith –This is one of the new units available to the Sylvan kin and represents the heroic version of the Boskwraith, with slightly improved stat lines (Melee +3, Defense 3+, Speed 6, Attacks 6 and Nerve -/13) and the Elite (melee), individual, Inspiring (Boskwraith), Wild Charge (d3) special rules for 80pts.

The Good: This is a cheap hero that can take cheap magic items to annoy your opponent (i.e. Duelist, brutal, etc.) and clear cheap chaff / clog up enemy charge lanes. Or you can give them flying to hunt warmachines. 

The Bad: UNLOCKS!!! I’d love to put a few of these on the board, but with so few unlocks in the list, inspiring is hard to come by, especially without ANY CS (1), TC (1) or mighty for your opponent to deal with. At such a low armor value this unit can be shot up or chaffed up with a few lucky rolls to clear from the board.  

Synergy: Works well with Boskwraiths and other small infantry units that need a few more wounds added to their initial charges. 

Avatar of the Green Lady [1] –

There’s not much to add than what’s in the Forces of Nature Army Review. An Archmage can get a Stronger (Heal 7) MORE reliable heal because the Green Lady isn’t Elite for her casting ability.  At 185 pts. she can fly, choose between Cloak of Death / Radiance of life with higher Defense and Nerve than the Archmage, but she’s an expensive choice without basing a portion of your battle strategy on her deployment. 

Sample 2300 pt. Sylvan Kin Army

Sample 2300 pt. Sylvan Kin Army

Boskwraiths

Forest Guard

Riverguard Treeleapers*

Kindred Gladestalkers* – S

Hunters of the Wild – S

Forest Shamblers – S

Tree Herder – S 

Elven King

Elven Archmage

Total Unit Strength: 21

Total Units: 13

Total: 2300 pts

• This army has (5) units that can scout at the start of the game (marked by an “S”). This gives you a lot of flexibility in the early game for battlefield control. Depending on certain scenarios this will get you a SEVERE advantage and can put your opponent on their back foot early game.  
• The Forest shamblers and Wiltfather can almost ALWAYS scout their full move and threaten your opponent’s front lines. Initially, I was a fan of the 1st turn charge available to the Forest shamblers with Elite, but I’ve found that at higher level play you won’t find opponents who leave one-shot targets open for you to charge. However, threatening your opponent’s front lines can force them into ‘turtling’ or ‘aggression’ to break early board control. 
• The rest of your army can deploy as a secondary force OR just off-center to the advancing scout units. This can become a defensive bulwark that your opponent’s secondary/tertiary lines will get stuck on while you grind with your initial scouting force. 
• This army concept DOES NOT need to play aggressively, beyond the 1st turn. Take the early board control and make your opponent adapt through taking unnecessary risks. Openings will show up as the game progresses and a common mistake is believing that the game is further along than it actually is, due to unit positions being at the mid-board range. Hold the middle ground, secure objectives, and make your opponent grind at your anvils while you sweep flanks and pick away with your shooting.