wolf prists over rune priests?

[kickme829]

why do so many people say that wolf priests are so much better than rune preists? surely a rune preist with power fist or thunderhammer is awesome but it also gives the entire squad some cover and stuff. I mean what would be better in a match against a daemon prince and thousand sons?

[Vassakov]

Well, to use your guy makes him over 115 pts, depending on exact equipment. Now, whilst this seems alright, you get a guy who has two T4, 3+Sv wounds. Not really survivable, and he has every chance of vapourising himself. Also, he stikes last.

 

The advantages of a Wolf Priest is cheap, survivable, power weapon attacks. He's a basic HQ which is valuable in small games, and can be upgraded to about 120pts without any real difficulty, yet still be very effective.

 

Also, Storm Caller is frankly a mess, and with the predonderance of normal cover and Assault Grenades not overly useful.

[G. A. K.]

In my experience the Rune priest is my choice.

He may cost more but you can put him in a pack which advances along with a vindi, providing cover to it the whole way to keep it safe so that it can use the short range demolisher cannon as great support for the claws as they charge forward. Having a 'obsured' vindi moving around in the open is great and doesn't allow your opponent to just stay back out of range if you have to stay in the cover to get your save. And even if you have some cover, its still very difficult to get 51% of any vehicle obsured these days and still have any kind of a shot with it.

 

Not to mention screwing with any infiltrators who may be trying to use thier rules on you.

 

But to be fair the priest is the most cost effective HQ you can use. he comes with: a 4+ inv., a power weapon w/ pistol for a mere 95 pts!! If your skrimping and saving, thier isn't a better choice for those 1000 pt battles when you still need to shell out more points for another HQ (no doubt the pricy Ven dread) while your opponent is most likely only using one.

 

The wolves are a pack oriented army, you need to look at what else your using and how they will work together, not what each can do on thier own. No piece should ever be looked at in a vacuum, its all about the sum of the parts IMHO.

 

G

[Ullr Direfang]

i tend to use Wolf Priests over Rune Priests. i find that the 4+ save is better then anything Storm Caller does for me. plus if i ever run a rune priest even close to how i would want to run him (rune weapon, rune staff or storm shield, and varying types of armor) he would cost more then my wolf lord.

 

the few time i have taken a rune priest he has done OK, storm caller has saved some guys, but not many and he has been in combat once i think, and killed a few guys. every time i have taken a wolf priest he tends to last the whole game and kills far more enemies, plus he saves some combats with his save, actually i think he has yet to loss a combat.

[WG Vrox]

Rune Priest with Thunder Hammer and Storm Sheild. WP, WTN and WTT, for mobility & toughness add a Bike run him behind the vehcinal of your choice providing cover saves the whoe way, 165 points and he looks really cool, as well as can be anywhere on the table in one turn. You can even run a sripped down RP inside a LR giving a 50% chance of not being hit at all, making it one mean piece of machinery.

 

Now a WP with a HB&P with a WG in TDA throw in a few SS and ouch very nasty. You can do the same with a WG on bikes spendy though. but talk about making people cry.

 

There really is no right answer to what HQ is better, it's a matter of what hole needs to be filled and how many points can your list afford to make him what he needs to be. With cheap SS available, the loss of 1 attack is nothing compared to the 3+ invol save it provides.

 

I would run a RP more often but the rules for Storm Caller can be a pain to explain, so in local games I find running cheap HQs is more effective overall, so will usually stick with my 113 point WGBL SS/TH WP WTN model.

 

WG Vrox

[Bulywyf]

You can even run a sripped down RP inside a LR giving a 50% chance of not being hit at all, making it one mean piece of machinery.

 

I didn't think that the RP could cast SC inside a LR since there are no access ports to shoot out of, therefore, the RP can't use SC. At least that is how I have understood it. If I am wrong, then I have been screwed out of running my RP. I would love to give my LR a cover save all the time. Also, if the LR can get a cover save, wouldn't it be a 5+ instead of 4+? Any clarification would be appreciated.

 

Bulywyf

[Yeti]

Both have their uses and both have performed very well for me in the past.

 

Especially in smaller games, the Wolf Priest is a very good choice. "Naked" he's very reasonably costed and can more than hold his own in CC. A classic is it to put him on a bike with potions & balms and a squad of BC bikers. He'll minimise the impact of missing armor saves and add a fairly decent punch to any charges.

 

ATM I run a Rune Priest in larger games. With a SS, Frost axe & chooser, it's a very nice combo. Very mean on the attack, very good on defense and he can mess with infiltrators. Stormcaller is hit or miss ... but is very useful most of the time and generally worth it. Ther is always the risk that you'll blow your own head off, but it's minimal.

[WG Vrox]

I didn't think that the RP could cast SC inside a LR since there are no access ports to shoot out of, therefore, the RP can't use SC. At least that is how I have understood it. If I am wrong, then I have been screwed out of running my RP. I would love to give my LR a cover save all the time.

 

 

Sure, if you are trying to cast SC on anything outside of the LR, but I always figured since the RP is inside of it and well he can see nothing but the LR then he could cast SC on it as normal. In addition there is nothing in the rules that requires the RP to have line of sight, just that the unit must be within 12" of him.

 

Also, if the LR can get a cover save, wouldn't it be a 5+ instead of 4+? Any clarification would be appreciated

 

Yes, this is a debated topic. However our FAQ 4.1 reads vehicals that have SC cast on them are considered obscured, so it's pretty well spelled out as far as I am concerned. I convinced my LG group to just think of it as a smoke launcher effect, just make sure you cast it last in the shooting phase eh, otherwise shooting out of it with the vehical is another debate.

 

WG Vrox.

[JEFF4i]

Wolf Priest Liam Tamant ftw.

[Grey Mage]

Wolf priests tend to run cheaper, and are more survivable OR are more survivable and grant this ability to a squad in your army.

 

Rune priests are good at foiling infiltrators and giving some of your troops cover... wich granted adds a lil to their survivability but with the prevalence of 4+ cover saves in the current edition in many ways seems redundant.

 

IF I was running more of a gunline style force or expected no cover and/or near constant outflanking Id take a runepriest.... but really 90% of the time Id consider him its the chooser of the slain I want, not the LD9 psychic.

 

Wolfpriests add a measure of bite and of shielding to any squad theyre with... a rune priest cannot say the same, and thus cannot be as good in my eyes.

 

And thats without the constant debates over how his power works that makes me roll my eyes.