Sylvaneth Drycha Hamadreth

The Reawakening

Standing tall over the forest, Drycha Hamadreth, daughter of Alarielle, leads outcasts into battle with a hallowing cry. Her voice shakes the ground her roots grow from, and her hatred for all things that aren’t Sylvaneth rings true.

The Drycha Hamadreth is one of my favourite Sylvaneth models currently available, and in this review I’ll tell you exactly why that is. I’ll also talk you through how she performs on the battlefield, and the reasoning behind the paint scheme that I chose for this project.

Ancient Spirits

This box of tree comes packed full with everything you need to build the Drycha Hamadreth. That includes:

• 2x Sprues
• 1x Large oval base
• 1x Colour instruction booklet

In my box I had a really nice casting of pieces and sprues. No pieces were damaged or bent out of place, and everything was in the box and accounted for. However, there are quite a few spindly pieces that make up this set, and I’ve come to expect it from the Sylvaneth units. It’s not a negative, and ust means that you need to take care when removing the pieces from the sprue and assembling them.

That being said, I wouldn’t say that this is a difficult set to build. The instructions are beautifully designed and crystal clear in the order that the model should be assembled. Just make sure to assemble the model in the correct order as it is very difficult to squeeze any missed pieces through the gaps after the other pieces have been glued in place.

Although the Hamadreth is quite a spindly model, it stands tall and sturdy on its base once completed. And if you wanted to use magnets to make the arms and weapons interchangeable, you could easily include that in the building process.

Song Of Flitterfuries And Squirmlings

So, just what makes the Drycha Hamadreth such a formidable foe? Well, for one, it has to be the Flitterfuries and squirmlings. Making up both the melee and ranged attacks for this model, they are the bread and butter of its damage output. Both roll dice for 10 attacks, and deal an instant mortal wound on a 6. To make things worse, at the start of the round you can choose to be enraged or embittered. Enraged gives the flitterfuries an attack characteristic of 20 instead of 10, and embittered does the same for the other.

There are many different themes you can base your paint scheme on, but I went with an underwater coral theme so they could be paired with my Idoneth Deepkin models. This included using a red and orange paint for the coral color, and using a blue sand on the base to represent the bottom of an aquarium. Overall, I’m really happy with how the paint scheme came out, and I can’t wait to use it on more Sylvaneth models.

On the theme of painting, I’ve never had so much fun drybrushing a model as I have with the Hamadreth. Contrast paints shade the bark beautifully, so that you can come in afterwards with several layers of dry brushing where each colour is lighter than the last.

Flittering Thoughts

I really enjoy running the Drycha Hamadreth as part of my Syvlaneth army, as she is such a force to be reckoned with. Her weapons pack a punch, especially when they’re buffed at the start of the round.

This was also a really enjoyable kit to build. The instructions were simple to read, and each step was clearly labeled. Although there were limited alternative builds with this set, you still have the option to include different accessories on the arms if you like.

As with all larger warhammer kits, I recommend building and painting this model in stages. It allows more brush access to all parts of the model, and allows you to focus on other areas before adding the layer of armor.

Personally, I think this model is a must have for a Sylvaneth army. With a blistering ranged attack, disgusting melee, and the monster keyword; it’s a shame we can’t run 5 of them.