This a review of the Start Collecting Sylvaneth: the first step towards building an arboreal army. If you want to start a Sylvaneth army in Age of Sigmar, this can definetely be an amazing purchase.
Which models are included in the Start Collecting Sylvaneth Box?
The box advertises
- 1 Treelord
- 1 Branchwych
- 16 Dryads
However the Treelord has alternative warscrolls and assembly options, so you have a few more options here.
1 Branchwych
The Branchwych is the melee wizard, the classic battlemage, able to power up her attacks when wounded and to do area damage with her unique spell. Really useful all-round character for her cost, one or two always fit in a Sylvaneth army. A Branchwych with a Tree Lord are also essential in a Household battalion, preventing the enemy engaged by the battalion units to retreat.
16 Dryads
The Dryads are the basic infantry of the Sylvaneth. At 100 points they are also the cheapest battleline considering a unit size of 10 models. However this box contains 16 models, so 4 short for the second unit. The same problem is present also in the Dryad single box, so you will want to buy multiple of those to get as many full units as possible.
The Dryads can be buffed in different ways, especially around the Awakened Wyldwoods and can also be summoned in multiple ways. Some armies would prefer other troops, but as a starting point, you can’t get wrong with the Dryads.
1 Treelord
The Treelord can be assembled in 3 different ways. Starting with the one recommended in the box, the Treelord is your basic centrepiece. A strong melee combatant, he has also a short-range missile attack (12”).
All three variants have three common abilities: stomp the enemy (he fights at the end of the phase), impale (a natural 6 on the talon attack does D6 damage) and relocation from one wyldwood to another.
The Spirit of Durthu is the upgraded melee version with a wider range missile attack and able to improve bravery of surrounding friendly units.
The Treelord Ancient instead specializes in magic with the furthest missile range (18” for D6 damage). As a wizard, he can summon for free one wyldwood per game and do some damage to enemy units around one of them.
The Spirit of Durthu and the Treelord Ancient are leaders other than behemoths, allowing them to use Command Abilities and count as your general for a cheaper option than Alarielle. Their 3+ save that can be improved to re-rolling 1s, a ward save (roll for each wound/mortal wound and on a 5+ or 6+ ignore it) and potentially giving -1 to hit to your opponents, makes them extremely durable.
Total point cost and point cost of the different models in the Start Collecting Sylvaneth Box
Using the points from the last battletome
- 10 Dryads are 100 points
- Branchwych 80 points
- Treelord is a Behemoth for 200 points Both Spirit of Durthu and Treelord Ancient are Leaders and Behemoths worth 340 and 300 points respectively.
So just going with the box treeman and only counting 10 Dryads you get 380 points out of the box. If you can find a way to get the Dryads up to 20 man, we are talking 480. You can bump that up further to 580 or 620 depending on how you assemble the treeman.
Value of the Start Collecting Sylvaneth Box
The sum of all models as purchased directly from the GW store is 77£ for a discount of 28%, the lowest currently available. So the value is not amazing by any stretch, but any discount is a good discount. And if you are going to buy the same models as the ones in the box, it is always a good buy.
Factor in that these units are very standard to see in many Sylvaneth armies, you are definitely not getting any miniatures that are unusable.
Compare the Sylvaneth box to other Start Collecting options
Overall verdict on the Start Collecting Sylvaneth Box
This box in itself does not have many synergies between the different units. You have a starting point for a Household battalion, but then you are missing the Tree-Revenants. You have 16 Dryads but they can be fielded only in multiples of 10. It offers a discount on the miniatures bought as a collection instead of individually but it is also the lowest of discounts currently available.
This box is close to delivering something and ends up a bit short. However, it is a great starting point to get acquainted with Sylvaneth units and you may have to buy those models anyway at a certain point. The 16 Dryads problem can be easily overcome with 2 boxes giving you a full 30 models unit and 2 spare pieces for conversions. 2 boxes give you also the ability to have more treelords in the various variants.
Overall a recommended purchase as a starting point of a Sylvaneth army, but it could have been better.