Tree Kin

Tree Kin is a Wood Elves melee infantry unit. The strongest of souls gather the forest around them and are reborn as instruments of its defence. In The Queen and the Crone, the Avelorn faction also has access to Tree Kin.

Description
At the heart of every Tree Kin resides the soul of a dead Elf, though this is not the fate of all. Only the strongest and most driven souls retain enough individuality to become such creatures. Most, eager to renounce the identity and struggles that shaped their mortal lives, pass into the Weave of the forest. Though their family and friends might occasionally fancy that they can hear their loved one's voice upon the wind, it is but an echo of a life long abandoned. However, those souls that become Tree Kin are unable to completely abandon their grip on their former lives, and they forge themselves a new body out of dead timber so that they might continue to defend in death that which they loved in life.

Strategy
Tree Kin are the definition of road blocks. They are meant to hold enemies in place and tie them down so other elements of your army can win the fight. With high melee defence, armor, and some physical resistance, these forest spirits will take ages to kill. Unless of course the enemy brings fire attacks or magical damage, in which case their survivability will be reduced.