Six Elite Choices but only 3 Slots?! (Lone Wolf)

As rare is it may be, the space wolves do not ALWAYS come through each fight victorious. As campaigns continue over time the packs of wolves sometimes dwindle down to one. A man without his brother at arms has but one wish: To bring glory back to his fallen pack members and fall in battle to join them!

The fluff surrounding the Lone Wolf is fantastically expressed in the game rules. As the final elite choice to look at we find the Lone Wolf with a large amount of upgrades to choose from and some fun rules.

At 20 points you get:

2 Wounds

CCW

Pistol

Nades

Eternal Warrior

Feel no Pain

Beastslayer

Counter-Attack

Fearless

WS5

Already we have a bargain beast who's downsides include:

May never join a squad

May not take a transport dedicated

Concedes a kill-point in kill-point games when he survives

Looking at the Lone Wolf this means: He is a close combat monster who needs to get the the enemy. Without transports or the ability to hide in a squad that means hes foot slogging up the field alone. With FnP and Eternal Warrior, he can make it, given you roll decently and the enemy ignores him.

Upgrade for him include:

Power Sword: Cheap, but not the best option

Wolf Claw: A bit more expensive than other claws and best in pairs. Still a good choice

Powerfist: Good for tank hunting or Monster Hunting

Thunder Hammer: Expensive but good

Frost Blade: Good choice over a power weapon

Storm Shield: 3+ Inv = This guy will take a TON of fire

Terminator: 2+/5+, power weap, storm bolter, FnP, Eternal, 45 Points Total. Thats a steal

Other upgrades become cheaper and he gains access to combi weapons which are a decent little thing for him to take.

Good thing to note is that Combi-Melta will have a re-roll vs. any vehicle he shoots at.

He may also take melta-bombs: good + reroll to hit

Up to 2 wolves: Good for wound allocation on that run towards the enemy

Mark of Wulfen: Better choices unless you are JUST taking a power weapon

Lone Wolf Setups:

The "Just try and kill me" Lone Wolf:

Terminator

Storm Shield

Chainfist

2 Wolves

105 Points

First point to make here: This guy is NOT going down. If you are playing annihilation against anything less than orkz or horde nyds, or possibly infantry guard, where you are taking 30 wounds to roll against then you simply will shrug off almost 90% of all wounds taken. With two wolves that first salvo may as well be cut in half as you will be taking 1/3 of the total wounds shot at him. On average we are looking at roughly 24 wounds before this guy goes down (not counting the wolf allocation).

That said: In all games THROW THIS AT THE LARGEST THING ON THE TABLE. What? Gazgull is coming? Here, have a lone wolf to tie him up for 2 turns. Huh? 3 Leman Russ tanks? Good luck getting through that 3+ inv twice before the Chainfist kills 1 or 2.

This is a Lone Wolf variant that if used properly will draw a lot of fire and MAY kill something large in the process. Just make sure you maneuver him properly or he will be sitting off on his lonesome and theres 105 points waisted.

The "throwaway" Lone Wolf

Frost Blade

Melta Bombs

2 Wolves

70 Points

Yes this variant will strike far less fear than the previous version, however it can be equally destructive with S5 and a large number of attacks. If you have 70 Points then throwing one in may be just the thing to take. He can easily tie up something that is 300 points bigger than him (cough Seer Council cough) for a couple turns, and who knows, he may even throw a couple wounds off a Carnifex before the Fex even has a chance to hit him. The wolves are there for allocation as he walks up the field.

Other variations on the Lone Wolf have been seen, double wolf claws, combi-melta + Chainfist, Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield Terminator, etc.. These are all variants on the same thing. Run this guy to the enemy as fast as possible and get him killed. He will in all likelihood bring something down with him, and that is what is important. If he is not drawing fire or tying up an Avatar (I had a THammer/SShield one take down an avatar in CC, it was epic) then he isnt doing his job.

I personally love the Lone Wolf and, given the opportunity, love to field him in my smaller games of 40k. I have yet to test him on a larger field (and now I have something to try next weekend :D) but I suspect he will do well given the wide range of other threats one will likely be fielding.

Lone Wolves just wanna go down in a blaze of glory! I say we let him!

Six Elite Choices but only 3 Slots?! (Iron Priests)

In the great halls of the Fang dwell the mysterious servants of the Adeptus Mechanicus. All tools of war used by the Space Wolfs is maintained and created by the Iron Priests of the halls. It is the Iron Priest that keeps the chapter running just as much as the scores of pups and wolves that go to war.

Techpriests have always been an interesting part of the 40k universe, and the Iron Priests of Fenris are no exception to this rule. As another Elite Choice one may beg to question the usefulness of this entry into the codex. At 50 points, packed with Runic Armor, a Thunder Hammer, and the ability to repair vehicles, the Iron Priest can be seen as a bit of a bargain points-wise. This usefulness of these abilities, however, is questionable.

The Iron Priests have an interesting slew of upgrades available for them:

Up to Four Cyberwolves: Good bodyguards with a lot of attacks and high toughness

Up to Three Thrall-Servitors: Good for making those pesky repairs even easier

Bike: Not if you plan to take wolves

Thunderwolf Mount: Great addition if you plan to take wolves, Pricey

Wolftail Neclace: Decent at only WS3

Wolftail Talisman: Shouldn't need it

Saga of the Iron Wolf: Extra D3 movement in a vehicle = FAIL if you can't be in a squad or take a dedicated transport

Thralls can take a Plasma Cannon, Multi-Melta, or a Heavy Bolter.

Setups I have seen so far:

Iron Priest of the Wolf ----- 150 points

4 Cyberwolves

Thunderwolf Mount

Wolftail Necklace

This variant has 16 wolf attacks + 5 (total with the servo arm) S8/10 attacks on the charge and a 12" charge range. Great for rushing a Rhino full of guy or catching something unaware. A bit of a point sink at 150 points, but it has a high survival rate and capable of some unexpected havoc. For those of you who wish to make that all wolf list, this is a great addition as a skirmish thunderwolf unit.

Iron Priest of Iron ----- 95 Points

3 Thrall Servitors

Saga of the Iron Wolf

As odd as it may seem, this unit could find its place into some fluffy lists, however competitively will likely never be seen. This unit could accompany a Land Raider into the front lines and after it has dropped off its men the Iron Priest could jump inside and keep the thing running around, possibly contesting objectives or causing some damage.

Iron Priest/Firebase ----- 120 Points

3 Thrall Servitors

2 Plasma Cannons

No I do not believe this is a good choice for your 120 points, just saying I have seen it done and it is a possibility. Iron Priest sat back on an objective with a razorback and kept its lascannon going while servitors blasted away with plasma at incoming troops. Was 1/2 way effective until the razorback got destroyed and a couple of bolt pistols killed the servitors.

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Overall the Iron Priest is an interesting choice for an Elite Slot, and with exception to the Wolf variant, the priest seems more like a conversion unit than a competitive unit. I suspect people will try their hand at the Iron Priest, but quickly switch to a Dreadnought or another squad of wolf guard before committing themselves to the Omnisiah

Six Elite Choices but only 3 Slots?! (Dreadnoughts)

"When the Space Wolves go to war, the do so in the company of giants" Space Wolves Codex.

Oh the much loved walking behemoths of the 40K universe. Some people love them so much that they will field 6 of them on the board at the same time (I've seen it!). The question in everyone's mind is whether the Space Wolf Dreadnought is worth those all important elite slots of if their 105+ points are more important spent on Wolf Guard, Scouts, or Lone Wolves.

Diving right in:

The Space Wolf Dread gets a free Assault Cannon built in. A nice little touch. Add a CCW, Storm Bolter, and AV 12/12/10 and for 105 points you get a pretty decent starting point.

Unique to Space Wolf Dreads are the ability to take 3 upgrades:

Wolftooth Necklace: Useful on the basic dread, less on the Venerable at WS5

Wolftail Talisman: Kinda spiffy, but most Psychic powers don't target vehicles anyway

Venerable may take: Saga of Majesty - re-rollable Ld tests within 6 inches is nice.... but in all likely-hood people are going to be Dropping the Dreadnought in, which is too far away from troops, or hanging him back which is too far away from forward troops. Sitting him near some Long Fangs might save them, but isn't that 15 points better spent elsewhere?

Now Dreadnought tactics have been done countless times on the web. Overall we find three variants of the same monster:

Close Combat

Mid-Ranged

Long-Ranged Tank Killer

As a Close Combat machine, a Space Wolf dread would replace his SB with a Heavy Flamer, take a multi-melta, extra armor, and possibly a Wolftooth necklace for good measure. Drop Pod this guy in and destroy something big. Hopefully bigger than the 140 points you just spent on him. If nothing else it is a good "OMG" distraction, however he is likely to go down from melta-fire or even plasma.

Without the ability to take an Ironclad (Ironclad?! Space Wolves don't need to Ironclad!), Close Ranged falls to the Venerable. It will likely survive, but now your adding 60 more points to a suicide unit.

So Close Ranged Drop may be useful, but it is situational at best. If you believe you can survive a round of shooting to get to the assault then by all means drop him right in to cause some havoc!

Moving on to Mid-Ranged we have the setup of taking that heavy flamer and keeping that assault cannon or a multi-melta. Extra armor is nice as always. The goal here is to march this guy to the front while dodging from cover to cover keeping him alive to get into assault with something big.

Venerable as always will survive longer getting there, has a higher WS, and is likely to make it, given that you don't have a firestorm on you every turn.

For Long Range you can take that twin-linked Lascannon, and pick whichever you like between the auto-cannon and missle launcher. Stick the guy in cover, pick off tanks. if something gets close stomp on it, pretty simple.

Overall the dreadnought is a useful and fairly priced addition to any Space Wolf army, as more armor can never really hurt. However the inability to take these guys as a Heavy Support does beg to question if they are worth the Elite Slot with the need for Wolf Guard. As a distraction/suicide unit they certainly are able to perform admirably, and if you have a spare Elite slot when all is said and done then, hey, maybe a dreadnought is for you!

2000 Point League List

Looking for opinions on this 2000 point League List.

HQ:

Njal Stormcall (Blood Claws)

- Runic Terminator

Wolf Priest (Terminators)

- Wolftooth necklace

-Storm Bolter

Wolf Priest (Long Fangs)

- Wolf Tail Talisman

Rune Priest (Pod)

- Jaws of the World Wolf

- Living Lightning

- Chooser of the Slain

Elite

Wolf Guard x 4

- Terminators x 4

- Wolf Claws x 6

- Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield

- Land Raider Dedicated

-- Extra Armor

Heavy Support

Long Fang Pack x 6

- Lascannon x 2

- Plasma Cannon x 3

Troops

Grey Hunter x 6

- Melta Gun

- Razorback

-- Lascannon

-- Extra Armor

Grey Hunter x 6

- Melta Gun

- Razorback

-- Lascannon

-- Extra Armor

Grey Hunter x 8

- Plasma Gun

- Wolf Standard

- Drop Pod

Blood Claws x 9

There are many Space Marine and Tyranid (Nidzilla) players at the club and I am trying to create a list that clearly covers both of those armies

Questions and Comments Welcome!

Pick up that Paintbrush!

Frustrated with yourself about never getting your mini's painted? Can't seem to remember the last time you sat down and painted something? Wish you had a that beautifully painted army you always dreamed of?! WELL GUESS WHAT! YOU CAN!!!!

Okay enough infomercial. Seriously now, I walked into the club today and it dawned on me that only 2 people have painted armies out of 10... and those 8 who didn't had all the same excuses:

"I don't have time." "I keep forgetting." "I'm not a good painter." "I can never seem to pick up a paintbrush." etc etc etc. Excuses people! I have a tip for all those people who always seem to forget to simply start painting. Do this:

STOP STORING YOUR ARMIES IN A BAG OR BOX AT HOME!

Set up a small display table next to somewhere you frequently find yourself. REASONABLE of course. Your wife probably won't appreciate a Daemon Prince staring at her while she's on the toilet. Example

This folks is my computer desk in my loft. Note the half painted Space Wolf army sitting to the left of the desk (ignore the crappy camera phone picture please!). I spend roughly 5+ hours on my computer every day. My army is STARING at me in the face, begging to be painted. You can't see it clearly, but I have my armies primary colors sitting on the table to the left of the monitor.

With my army constantly taunting me and asking to be painted I can't help but take 15 minutes here and and hour there to paint some helmets or basecoat 10 guys. My goal is to have the whole army painted by next Sunday, and using this method I progressively finish the army as a whole over the course of a week!

So next time your wishing you had your army painted, ask yourself this. What at home reminds you to do it? We are creatures of two things: habits and laziness. Everyone needs a reminder sometimes!

Space Wolf w/ Flamers?

I have been searching high and low for a flamer for my Space Wolves. No one seems to have one. I only need 2 flamers, anyone know where to find one? I league I am joining scores extra points for WYSIWYG armies...

What is your HQ really for?

So I have been playing around with some ideas on the table recently and some of the newer guys asked me about why I don't like to take models like Logan Grimnar or his buddy Arjac Rockfist. Named characters have a special place in my heart and while I love the fluff surrounding these often spectacular models I have a different use for that compulsory HQ unit in my armies.

An HQ unit can be classified in one of two roles in most of my lists: Pure Offense or Support/Offense. Being a Space Wolf player that means that I tend to lean towards HQ units that are a little less killtacular and a little more of a supportive role. Space Wolves have a million and a half ways to get the job done even without a badass mofo walking around on the field. That brings me to my personal favorite HQ unit in the army:

The Wolf Priest.

Even at base cost of 100 points he ranks in at one of the least expensive HQ units in the army. His statline is decent at WS5, 2 Wounds, Ld10, and 3+/4+ saves, but his greatest asset is the ability to give his squad the Preferred Enemy rule against a unit type of your choice (chosen at the start of the game). Fearless isn't a bad perk in many cases too.

Put this guy with a squad of Wolf Claw Terminators and watch as you reroll all failed to wound AND to hit rolls made against infantry.

Put him with some Long Fangs and have twin-linked lascannons against tanks. Plus you wont be falling back from losses anytime soon.

Place him with an assault pack and now your greatly increasing the squad effectiveness, hitting 75% of the time instead of 50%.

So ask yourself this when you make your next list:

What is your HQ unit in there for? Support or Assault? Is that huge character making his points back? Is there something in your codex that augments your other units to make them even better? I would love to hear opinions on the matter! List Construction is fun and I would love to see what people come up with!

Six Elite Choices but only 3 Slots?! (Wolf Guard)

I only have 3 Elite Slots and 6 Potential Elite choice to pick from? Where do you even start when this is the case. Over the next few days I will run down the value or lack of value of each of the Space Wolves Elite choices.

So to start things off I will begin reviewing the Wolf Guard:

As the sergeants and leaders of the many squads of a chapter, the Wolf Guard must be both powerful, and versatile. With a huge list of upgrades and the ability to be used as a Pack Leader for younger, less experienced, squads, the Wolf Guard is a great place to start when thinking about your Elite options.

Right off the bat when you turn to the Wolf Guard entry it is easy to tell that these guys are extremely versatile, able to take a variety of weapons focused on close combat. No, no 10 man squads of lascannons, but that would be just silly right?

Standard Wolf Guard are Blood Claws with one extra attack and one higher Leadership, and without the headstrong rule. Additionally the may join squads of: Blood Claws, Swiftclaw Bikers, Grey Hunters, Wolf Scouts, and Long Fangs.

NOT Assault Packs.

They are also the only unit in the book that may take a Land Raider as a Dedicated Transport.

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At 18 points a basic Wolf Guard is decent, better than the average marine by 1 attack, but its the upgrades that make these guys useful:

Either the bolt pistol or CC weap may become:

Bolter - Pointless

Storm bolter - Cheap and effective

Combi-weapon - For just 5 points? If you have 5 points why not?!

Power Weapon - Cheap, but better options

Plasma Pistol - Cheap, nice

Wolf Claw - Expensive and only useful in pairs

Power Fist - Less expensive than most other fists

Frost Blade - Nice choice over power weapon, a little pricey

Thunder Hammer - Just take a Power Fist

Storm Shield - Expensive

Terminator Upgrade - CHEAP! Makes all other upgrades cheaper

One for every five may have a:

Heavy Flamer - If you have 5 points why not?

Assault Cannon - We all love this weapon, a little pricey

Cyclone Missle Launcher - Pricey but 2 missiles a turn? Useful

If no Terminator:

Jump Pack - Extremely pricey and you may not join Assault packs

Bike - Pricey

May take Melta-Bombs for 5 points

ONE may have Mark of the Wulfen

ONE may become an awesome upgrade character (pricey but powerful)

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Now that the upgrades are listed here are a few load outs to consider for your Wolf Guard:

Leaders of the Pack

Wolf Guard x 5

Terminator x 1

- Cyclone Missile Launcher

- Join Long Fangs and add even more punch to the squad

Everyone else join a squad of blood claws or grey hunters with either a combi-weapon or storm bolter and a power sword or a Mark of Wulfen.

Don't forget that adding them to a squad of Blood Claws or Bikers takes away Headstrong

"Take me to the enemy!"

Wolf Guard x 4

Terminator x 4

Wolf Claws x 3 (6 claws)

Storm Shield / Chainfist

Dedicated Land Raider

Run this squad with a wolf priest and run them into anything

Ragnar's Guard

Wolf Guard x 8

Storm Bolter x 8

Ragnar Blackmane

Wolf Priest

Dedicated Land Raider

Expensive but oh so satisfying to unleash this on your opponent

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In closing, Wolf Guard can be a devastating unit if you choose the spend the points for it. Yes they can be inexpensive, but as an elite choice with tons of options they will quickly become a pricey unit to run. They can be either a supportive role or an assault role, it is all about how you gear them up. A solid elite choice for their points and overall a great starting point for the "What elite do I take?" Question

Blood Claws vs. Grey Hunters

<<-- Credit to Big Jim

That all important first question to anyone playing Space Wolves:

Who do I take as my troop choice?!

Lets take a look at each basic troop (excluding the wolf guard case) starting with

Blood Claws:

A basic space marine with lower WS and BS, extra attacks on the charge, and the headstrong ability which forces you to charge if able and prevents shooting. At 15 points a pop and up to 15 per squad this troop can lay down some serious hurt in the form of cheap shock units.

Many people will look at WS 3 and laugh but in 90% of cases you still hit on 4's at I4. Lets say you have 10 guys with no upgrades and you get the charge:

VS Space Marines

40 attacks

20 hits

10 wounds

between 2 and 5 kills

Lose 1 - 3 claws

VS Guard

20 hits

14 wounds

7 to 10 kills

Now compared to Grey Hunters, Blood Claws will likely get one or two more kills on the charge, but they are identical getting charged or in consecutive rounds of combat.

Additionally without being accompanied by a Wolf Guard, Headstrong prevents Blood Claws from using things like flamers or meltaguns when you wish to confront units in a vehicle or units in cover.

My preferred way to run Blood Claws is:

15 Blood Claws

Flamer x 2

Power Fist

Wolf Guard

Combi-Melta

Wolf Priest

If you are looking for a really punchy unit this is the way to go. Blood Claws need to be in a larger force and accompanied by a Wolf Guard. The Wolf Priest allows for me to have rerolls on attacks, making this unit very killy, however fragile on the counter-assault being only I4.

Moving on to:

Grey Hunters!

Some have claimed that Grey Hunters are the best single troop choice in the game. At 15 points a pop with Bolter, pistol, close combat weapon, counter-attack, and some cheap upgrades, who can blame people for loving these guys. Grey Hunters are the troop of choice if you desire versatility in your troops. Though less attacks than their Blood Claw brothers, Grey Hunters are able to hold positions or lay down some hurt. The additional bolter makes a big difference in the way you use this troop.

Here is my preferred setup

Grey Hunter x 10

Plasma Gun x 2

Power Fist

Drop Pod

or

Grey Hunter x 6

Flamer

Razorback

or

Grey Hunter x 10

Flamer x 2

Rhino

Grey Hunters are good at dropping in and causing some damage to, as well as distracting, your enemy. They are equally good at holding their own in smaller bands for holding or assaulting objectives.

SO there you have some basic outlines of the two troops in the Space Wolf army. What it boils down to is the use you have in mind for your troops over the course of the game. Sending 45 Blood Claws at the enemy on foot can be devastating and packing up your Grey Hunters to hold and grab objectives can be effective. It is all in how you choose to use them.

If anyone has any questions or comments please feel free contact me!

Answer the Call

Hello to all the internet!

Ribtibs here with the first entry on his 40k blog. This blog will be focused on the Son's of Fenris, the great chapter of Space Wolves. In the near future I will be updating this site with tactics, reviews, battle reports, and some of my own painting work. I will be happy to talk to anyone about the Space Wolves chapter and pleased to hear other's opinions on anything wolfy!

So to all you bloggers: May the lord's of Fenris grant you fortune!