Dave's Deadly Dryads (210 points)

My first month's entry is a truly fearsome defender of Athel Loren—the Dryads! An absolute delight to paint, these lovely models were designed by the incomparable Trish Carden, whose talent is responsible for the many iconic monsters of the Herohammer era. Together, Trish, Aly Morrison and Gary Morley sculpted the entire 1996 Wood Elf line, resulting in an incredibly consistent look that epitomizes the peak Golden Era of Citadel Miniatures for me!

A small but tough regiment, the Dryads fit the Wood Elf theme in being full of surprises. Not only can they move through forests with ease like all Wood Elf units, the Dryads are able to shape-shift to different tree aspects to take advantage of a situation. The Willow Aspect lowers an adjacent model's Attack value by 1, which is great when receiving the charge from heavy knights. When charging around the side of the enemy, the Dryads can adopt the Birch Aspect to gain an extra attack, which is excellent when only a few models are touching the victim's flank. Finally, the Oak Aspect increases both Strength and Toughness, making a good default form when you need to increase both the survivability of the Dryads as well as their punch. Combine that with Strength 4, Toughness 4, 2 Wounds and 2 Attacks with a 5+ ward save and you have quite a fearsome regiment!

6 Dryads ~ 210 pts

Next month will see more of the Grove Guardians emerge from beneath the shadowy boughs of the forest. Until then, remember to thin your paints!