It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. If you've had a chance to look through the Wood Elves book and admired the models, I'm sure you'll agree that the wait has certainly been worth it. After I managed to grab a spare half an hour with Mat Ward (co-author with Ant Reynolds of the forthcoming Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves book), we had a good old chat about all things Elven.

Says Mat, "We approached the Wood Elves in the same way as we tackled Bretonnians, with the idea of bringing them into line with the grim nature of the Warhammer world."

Rather than the happy, frolicking Elves of the forest, this latest incarnation of the Wood Elves gives them a much darker edge.

"While we didn't change their history at all, we added and embellished some parts of it to give it a more cohesive internal logic, and used these elements as a way of tying in narrative threads from other books and the Warhammer world as a whole."

Mat continues, "I would describe them as capricious. They are part of a group of three. There are High Elves who are thought of as noble and aloof, whereas Dark Elves are malicious and evil. The Wood Elves fit somewhere in the middle. They're not neutral but embody certain qualities of both. Sometimes they're nice, and sometimes they're nasty. They are Elves that have settled in the Old World and, over the centuries, have developed a symbiotic relationship with Loren Forest."

That relationship of Elf and forest is something that is not completely understood by outsiders and, oft-times, not entirely harmonious.

Mat explains, "The fate of Athel Loren and the Wood Elves is linked. Their existence is tied to the continuation of the forest and, in this way, the Wood Elves are part of a greater consciousness. Everything they do is geared toward the survival of Athel Loren, but the fate of the forest now depends on the Elves as well. Should the Elves fail, so too will the forest."

The idea of the forest as a vital part of the Wood Elves' lives is represented by the spirit creatures that Wood Elf generals can include in their armies.

"The spirits of the forest effectively coexist with the Wood Elves. While there is a solid alliance between them, there are occasions when they disagree."

Both Treemen and Dryads are described in more detail in the book and have an important role in Wood Elf culture.

Mat regards the Dryads in particular as, "Athel Loren's white blood cells, searching out intruders and expelling or slaying them. The spirits of the forest can be likened to dolphins – if they sometimes attacked and ate the shipwrecked sailors instead of leading them to shore."

THE ARMIES OF THE WOOD ELVES

Central to the new Wood Elf rules was the notion that the army should play in a way very much like its background. It was obvious from the outset that the army shouldn't rely on huge blocks of massed infantry. What was needed was a balance between that and something altogether more fluid.

"With some new units and rule tweaks, the Wood Elves can stand and fight like a conventional Warhammer army. They can make a battle line, but there is still the option of using a skirmisher-based, highly manoeuvrable force too."

These changes were very important in achieving a balance within the list, one of the trickiest obstacles.

Mat explains, "The thing we were aiming for was to make everything work together. Synergy is important, as was keeping the various options available to players. It was tough to get right, but hopefully we've done that."

One example of this approach is the new spell lore that the Wood Elves use. These spells include a number of short-range spells that enhance the combat ability of units. Similarly, the rules for shooting with Elf bows have been changed to encourage players to move their units and to engage with the enemy.

The full might of Athel Loren disgorges from the primeval forest to repel the vulgar Beastmen.

Next: Magic Moments