Could Be's (continued)
One last possibility is that hero-level casters get access to WE magic, Beasts and Life. Lord casters get all 8 book Lores. I could live with that! Might be a nice touch, considering that in the old days lvl4's got access to High Magic.
Eternal Guard Changes
Bow of Loren +
Kindreds
As said, it seems pretty clear that EG will be getting ASF, which is obviously a big boost to their combat potential. Many on Asrai have suggested that their current Bodyguard rule (Stubborn if a fighting character in the unit) could simply become Stubborn. Less likely but possible is that they will get +1S from their weapon, the Saerath. This would at a stroke relieve the need to Wildform them every five minutes. At the moment EG are Special but become Core if a fighting lord leads the army. I suspect they will simply become Core, as 8th edition books tend to have around 5 options here and EG are a logical shift-over. The question then would be if they would retain the 50pt magic banner allowance essential to take the Razor standard. I believe Witch Elves have this, which gives me hope.
Fifteen years ago I concluded that a major disadvantage playing Wood Elves compared to High Elves, was the lack of RBT. I don't think this has changed. Really, this is what prevents Wood Elves from being a true Combined Arms army IMHO. As mentioned above, the lack of high strength ranged attacks is a big problem. The obvious place to look for these would be a revamped Bow of Loren. There might even be another magic item that helps here or more likely perhaps something from the Spite allowance. Amber Spear is a very useful tool to cover this weakness but it's just one spell, it's not that reliable. The new WE lore or access to book lores might help a lot here.
So what will they do with the Kindreds? Given the way the other elf books are it seems likely that these will be replaced with specific character choices. For example, the White Dwarf update lists in 6th edition (before the current army book) featured a Wardancer hero-level character. TBH I would prefer it that way. There are implications though, for my army. A stag-rider character might be a Lord choice or he might be a Hero, the latter would be a big problem as he just wouldn't have the magic item allowance (or the stats) to lead the line like the Lord. It's also possible the Stag will simply be a mount option. But how the Forest Sprit rules would work with that I don't know. A further problem for the Stag Lord is the likely loss of a 3+ Ward. It's in the DE book, I don't think they'll repeat themselves. However, he might get access to Charmed Shield or another magic item or Spite option that mitigates his vulnerability to cannon.
Possible
It's been postulated on Asrai that a new unit of Priests of Kurnous, riding either horses or Stags could be on the way. I think it unlikely that these would work like Doomfire Warlocks as has been suggested there. Again, too much repetition. The problem with new units is we simply don't know what mechanics GW will dream up to make them work (or not work).
At present, most things in the WE book seem overcosted. The cheapest model is 12 points. TBH I can't see the prices for infantry changing that much, given that they are generally overpriced in 8th edition books and the elves will be getting ASF. Will the big trees for example get cheaper? Perhaps not if the true Wards show up. I'm sure though, that characters like the lord-level caster will be brought in line with other elf lords.
One thing I have high hopes for is the Spite allowance. High Elves got lucky, in that despite lacking back-up abilities like these, their actual magic items were superb. Spites (I suspect they will stay) are a nice back up for the WE book and we may see some real gems in there. In particular they might give a second shot at a decent magic phase if the Arcane Item(s) turn out to be too defensive or just bad. A reliable boost to magic offense is pretty much essential.