Dave's Gallant Glade Guard (204 points)

What a journey! It is with a great sense of relief, no small amount of satisfaction and even an appreciable sadness that I present to you the final regiment in Galadrin's Guardians of the Grove. This month's entry brings the Wood Elf warriors to the princely sum of 1,000 points. We've seen deadly dryads, a terrifying treeman, a charging chariot and Lord Galadrin himself. The final regiment of the army, however, must of course be the plucky Glade Guard, every-ready to defend Athel Loren against any intruder!

These humble models, designed by the incomparable Aly Morrison, were the very first Games Workshop figures I ever laid eyes on. Not quite knowing what Warhammer was, I opened the promotional flyer I had picked up at a Games Workshop store to the center spread, showing the glorious GW studio Wood Elf army on full display. There were many exciting things to see: the colorful Wardancers, the swooping Great Eagles, the mighty Forest Dragon. Yet I couldn't help but be fascinated by the small regiment of blue-cloaked spearmen, with their stout, heavy-bladed polearms. Finally, decades later, I have recreated that original inspiration, ready to march to war on my own tabletop.

The Glade Guard come pretty close to being an objectively bad unit. They are quite expensive at 12 points a model fully upgraded. At the same time, their mediocre characteristics (Toughness 3, 1 Wound and a 5+ save at best) leave them incredibly vulnerable. They have neither the strength to defeat elite enemies nor the numbers to defeat ordinary troops. Finally, in an army where nearly every unit skirmishes, a rank and file regiment can feel very clumsy and may quickly find itself the target of enemy attacks.

Nevertheless, I adore the brave little Glade Guard and would never march to war without them. They are the heart of the army, both in terms of providing a solid block of troops to hold the line as well as representing the common Wood Elf citizen-soldier, taking up arms to defend his home. And with a good magical standard and careful coordination with the rest of the army, the Glade Guard can definitely hold their own on the battlefield!

15 Glade Guard (light armour, shield, standard bearer, musician) ~ 204 pts

And with that, the Wood Elf army is finished! Given that we still have another month to go in the challenge, I will be looking to paint up some bonus units and characters to keep up with everyone else, but you will have to wait and see what these surprise additions will be...