New Wolf

[g-unit]

Hail Brothers

 

Well after resuscitating my old second edition (yeah that’s how long ago I started) Imperial Fists and after 3 appalling defeats I now know that a static gun line doesn’t work so well anymore, that or maybe the past 10 years my opponents just got a bit better!!

 

So after being mauled by Orks – do I not lot like truck boys, munched by Tyranids – do I not like any of these bugs and totally obliterated by Chaos Marines – 1K Sons bolters are just nasty only 1 devastator left by the end of turn 5 out of 2000pts! Decided that I need a bit of close up hitty goodness that can give as good as it gets so new army time.

 

Always had a soft spot for the Wolves and some of my better paint jobs where on some Blood Claws & Ragnar, again years ago. So it’s time for a new army and seeing as the worst defeat was to the 1K Sons I figure the best way to strike back is with the guys that burnt their home world to dust and chased them to the Eye of Terror.

 

So now the questions

Wolf Scouts, any good? Is it worth building up a large pack & what’s the best way to equip them? Was thinking of 10 strong pack with Mark of the Wulfen, Melta, plasma pistol & power weapon, that way they have 2 shooty type weapons for maybe popping some armour &/or 2 close combat upgrades for mixing it with infantry?

Wolf Guard, if you have a pack of 10, 5 with terminator armour to form a unit & the other 5 in power armour to lead some other packs the Codex states “For every five models in the squad, one Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour may choose one of the following” so as the pack is purchased as 10 strong and only split to lead other packs just before the game does that mean 2 of the models in Terminator armour can upgrade their weapons to special weapons?

Does a Wolf Guard in Power Armour who joins a pack of Wolf Scouts gain the special rules like the scouts he joins – the scout, move through cover, infiltrate & behind enemy lines rules?

 

Any other pitfalls things that just haven’t worked well or conversely thing that have proven to work really well and can counter those cursed walking automatons?

[Verseau]

Wolf Scouts, any good?

 

Yes of course,

our wolf scouts are perfect to harass their flank and their back.

 

 

Wolf Guard, if you have a pack of 10, 5 with terminator armour to form a unit & the other 5 in power armour to lead some other packs the Codex states “For every five models in the squad, one Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour may choose one of the following” so as the pack is purchased as 10 strong and only split to lead other packs just before the game does that mean 2 of the models in Terminator armour can upgrade their weapons to special weapons?

 

Yes you can have 2 special weapons, even if you gonna split the 5 WG PA.

 

Since i am still a blood claw, i can only help with this 2 questions :wallbash:

for the other questions lets wait for the more veteran wolf brothers to answer it :cry:

[Lumdin]

WG

 

As long as you buy 10 total WG then you could upgrade 2 of them to terminator armor and then special heavy weapons -

Heavy flamer, assault cannon and the missile launcher upgrade.

 

Special weapons like ppwerfists, thunder hammers and such any WG can purchase.

 

Most times I see people getting scouts in smaller squads like 5 or 6 strong. They tend to get killed quickly after they come in and destroty a vehicle, depending on your weapon load outs.

 

Also they aren't scoring units so most people spend those extra points elsewhere.

 

Will add more info later

[TheLastHuzzah]

First off, welcome to the fang.

 

to answer the questions Verseau did not:

 

Does a Wolf Guard in Power Armour who joins a pack of Wolf Scouts gain the special rules like the scouts he joins – the scout, move through cover, infiltrate & behind enemy lines rules?

 

Yes, the Wolf Guard Joining the scouts will benefit from their rules he fills the same roll as a Veteran Sarge in the 'nilla codex. Not to scramble your brain too much, but it is debatable whether an Independent character with SotH (Saga of the Hunter) can join and use the Wolf Scouts' Behind enemy lines.

 

Wolf Scouts, any good? Is it worth building up a large pack & what’s the best way to equip them? Was thinking of 10 strong pack with Mark of the Wulfen, Melta, plasma pistol & power weapon, that way they have 2 shooty type weapons for maybe popping some armour &/or 2 close combat upgrades for mixing it with infantry?

 

You'll find that opinions on Wolf Scouts in 5th edition are as diverse as the Wolf Lords leading our great companies. I always used them in 3rd & 4th edition where the Operate behind enemy lines was a guarantee. Now you have to roll for it, granted, you have a 66% chance of doing what you want, but one game it will bite you and you will regret it.

 

Unless you are running drop pods or a fast army (bikes, TWC, Speeders). The scouts are likely to die in the round following their grand entrance, especially since nobody wants a bunch of angry space wolves in their deployment zone. It is best to keep them cheap, something like 5 scouts, 2pp 1 MG, w/ WGPL carrying a combi-melta and PF (If you really want to make sure that vehicle goes away).

 

The Scouts use up a valuable elite spot. Chances are you will run at least 1 WG pack (especially since a Pack leader w/ powerfist is cheaper and has 1 more attack than a GH or BC with a PF) even if you don't max it out. I could definitely see the scouts useful in a drop pod list, but there is no way they would work for me. When I do run pods it is in a pod/mech hybrid list that drops two dreadpods and 1 GH pod. If you are dropping something like GH then it could possibly work, but generally I think dreadnoughts in my opponent's deployment zone are more alarming than a pack of Grey Hunters.

 

Just my $ .02, I'm sure you will find those that disagree with me.

 

Cheers,

 

Huzzah

[g-unit]

Here’s the sort of list I’d be aiming to build up over the next couple of months, probably have some smaller battles to start off (400pts) to test out parts of the force before building up to say 750, 1000, 1250 etc.. Most of my opponents have decent sized forces probably 5000pts+ so have plenty of stuff to choose from.

 

HQ

Venerable Dreadnought (Bjorn the Fellhanded)

DCCW, Heavy flamer, Plasma Cannon

 

Wolf Priest

Wolf talisman, cronius, BP, melta grenades, jump pack (joins Skyclaws 1)

 

Rune Priest

Rune Armour, RuneSword,, BP, chooser, jump pack (joins Skyclaws 2)

 

Wolf Guard Battle Leader

Terminator Armour, Frost axe, combi plasma (joins WG terminators in Drop pod)

 

Always liked the idea of a dread leading the force, just to mean to lay down & die, may come up with a new name and back story but use the Bjorn rules & points – shouldn’t be a problem with that should there?

WP added some melta grenades to pop armour as a just in case & added the jump pack so he can accompany the bigger of the 2 SkyClaw packs as their job will primarily be combating infantry.

RP added the jump pack so he can accompany the smaller SkyClaw pack who are essentially either tank hunters & ablative wounds for the RP to get into position to deliver psychic attacks.

WGBL tooled up for a drop pod assault into the enemy deployment zone in turn 1 & causing mayhem!

For smaller battles it gives me a wide choice of HQ’s

 

 

Elite

Dreadnought

DCCW, Heavy Flamer, Multi-melta, extra armour, Drop pod

 

Wolf Scouts

10 Scouts, melta bombs, 7 x BP & CCW, 1 x power wpn & BP, 1 x plasma pistol & CCW, 1 x melta & CCW

 

Wolf Guard

Drop Pod (WGBL & WG 1-4)

1 - Terminator Armour, combi melta, power weapon

2 - Terminator Armour, combi melta, powerfist

3 - Terminator Armour, stormbolter, chainfist

4 - Terminator Armour, assault cannon, power fist

 

5 - Power Armour, combi melta, power fist (joins Grey Hunter 1)

6 - Power Armour, wolf claws, melta bomb, (joins Blood Claws 1)

7 - Power Armour, combi melta, thunder hammer (joins Grey Hunter 2)

8 - Power Armour, BP, thunder hammer (joins scouts)

9 - Power Armour, combi flamer, power fist, bike (joins Swift Claws)

10- Terminator Armour, power weapon, stormbolter, cyclone missile launcher (joins Long Fangs)

 

Dread ready to drop pod in to the heart of the enemy on turn 1 along with the WG & (hopefully) the scouts, MM to either hit armour or run amok in the enemy troops.

Big scout pack to hopefully turn up behind the enemy force and be able to pop a tank & still be able to charge into a squad and be able to hold their own in CC. For smaller games maybe a smaller more focused pack for doing either anti armour or anti infantry.

WG split so that 4 of the Terminators join the WGBL & drop pod into the heart of the enemy on turn 1, the remaining WG are split off to join the packs adding leadership & some punch with their weapon options.

 

 

Troops

Blood Claw 1

15 x Blood claws, 2 x melta & CCW, 2 x Power fist & BP, 11 x BP & CCW

 

Grey Hunters 1

9 x Grey Hunter, 1 x melta, BP & CCW, 1 x bolter, BP & powerfist, 7x bolter, BP & CCW

Rhino, smoke

 

Grey Hunters 2

9 x Grey Hunter, 1 x melta, BP & CCW, 1 x bolter, BP & powerfist, 7x bolter, BP & CCW

Rhino, smoke

 

Grey Hunters 3

10 x Grey Hunter, 2 x plasma, BP & CCW, 1 x bolter, BP & powerfist, 7x bolter, BP & CCW

 

Grey Hunters 4

10 x Grey Hunter, 2 x flamer, BP & CCW, 1 x bolter, BP & powerfist, 7x bolter, BP & CCW

Drop pod – deathwing launcher

 

Nothing looks quite as scary as 15 Blood Claws (+WG) charging straight across the board right at you, these guys job is to act as a shield, either they get shot up in which case the rest of the army advances taking a lot less fire or the enemy splits their shots tries to stop the Grey Hunters and gets pounced on, couple of melta in case of armour plus they can be fired prior to the assault softening up the squad before they get charged.

GH 1&2 – Mech assault, drive up off load & hit the enemy hard

GH3 – Sit back in the deployment zone, hopefully on an objective, plasma for longer range, sit and wait for the enemy to try and take the objective from them

GH4 – Drop pod in after the first turn to either support the dread or WG that dropped in turn 1 or the Scouts depending on where they showed up. Could also drop on objectives later in the game to take them from the enemy.

Will probably fill out the rest of the Troop choices with Grey Hunters in Rhinos

 

 

Fast Attack

 

Skyclaws 1

10 Skyclaws, 2 x power fist & BP, 8x BP & CCW

 

Skyclaws 2

5 Skyclaws, melta bombs, 4 x BP & CCW, 1 x BP & power fist

 

Swift Claws 1

3 Swift claws, 1 x flamer, & CCW, 3 x BP & CCW

1 x attack bike w/ multi-melta

 

As stated before SkyClaws 1 are here for anti infantry work, pick their target & manoeuvre for a charge lead by the WP so get some rerolls.

SkyClaws 2 are to accompany the RP so he can get into position for unleashing JoWW – my mates 3 DakkaFex better watch out or at least he’ll have to split them up at deployment. Bit of a 1 trick pony but so worth it if he lines up all 3 next to each other which he tends to do.

Swift Claws just liked the idea of them, hope the T4(5) keeps them alive long enough to zoom across the board and tie up the enemy , probably used to support the first turn deep strike. Attack bike with MM to hit armour .

 

 

Heavy

 

Long Fangs 1

6 Long Fangs - 5 x rocket launcher & power weapon, 1 x bolter, BP & power weapon

 

Predator Destructor

Auto cannon, heavy bolters, extra armour, storm bolter, smoke

 

LF + WG = 7 rockets (don’t use the “M” word otherwise they never hit anything!) impacting on the enemy with the ability to split that between several targets and can be either decent anti tank or anti horde.

Pred for when I need some real anti horde fire power.

Then either another Long Fangs Pack

6 Long Fangs - 3 x plasma cannon & power weapon, 2 x las-cannon & power weapon 1 x bolter, BP & power weapon. Designed for heavy infantry & anti armour duties.

OR

Another piece of armour – Vindi or Whirlwind. Thinking the Vindi for the psychological effect that means it’ll hopefully attract a lot of enemy fire leaving the other parts of the force unmolested!

 

Comments / criticisms / idea’s please??

[CainTheHunter]

I'd suggest not taking Skyclaws, since they are really not that good. Also You can't take two power fists for them. The requirement of expensive lashes - WP and RP, makes this choice unappealable.

I'd recommend putting RP in Rhino instead with one of GH packs. I'd also suggest You considering getting a second RP.

I'm not getting where the power weapon for LF pack comes from - if it is their pack leader, then drop it. He's gonna die first anyway. If You want them relatively safe, put a TDA WG with CML with them.

Wolf standards are great for GH packs as well.

[Lumdin]

The problem with giving you a general pros and cons of each unit is that it is all relative with how you want to play your space wolf army.

 

I have tried units and tactics that work for others but don't really work with my play style. So take all comments about how people use units with a grain of salt. Try what they say and see if it works in your play style. Also a big factor that can effect your army makeup is what armies you face on a consistant basis.

 

I personally face alot of mechanized space marine armies, tau and IG shooty armies.

 

I find scouts are great in small packs. They provide an intimidation factor because your opponent has to have in the back of his mind that the scouts can come into his back field and wreck havok.

 

So if you use OBEL and come in they usually are destroying a vehicle when they come in. The problem for me is that I suck at rolling and they tend to come in later than when I needed them to come in. So I stopped using them. But I know many others that love them and they work wonders, so you will need to see how that plays out for you.

 

I personally tried the drop pod of terminators and they usually popped a vehicle when they came in. But then my opponent would turn all weapons on them and +5 invuln save tends not to keep them alive that long in my local gaming store. So i found that it became an expensive throw away unit for me. I will admit that my drop pod placement was a major factor in this unit not being as successful as I would like. Tried the same with a dreadnaught with similiar results. I think it really takes more like 3 or 4 drops coming in first turn for that to be successful. Again from my experinces and i am no way stating I am a fantastic player. Some of the more knowledgable guys could probably give you good tactics.

 

Be aware that if Skyclaw pack - 2, takes 2 deaths , then they are making a leadership test, which if they fail that is a fall back of 3D6. The wolf priest gives them fearless for skyclawpack 1 which the Rune priest doesn't for pack 2. So you need to make sure you hide them well early in the game, the tables I play on tend not to have alot of terrain that blocks LOS.

 

These are things I have dealt with in my process of learning how to play space wolves. Each defeat I have I learn something new. I can beat some of the best players in my area, and when I lose it is usually because I lose sight of the scenario we are playing and that I didn't have a plan for my 4th and 5th rounds of play. I love the fact that Space Wolves are one of the most versatile armies out there and there really is no one great way to play them.

 

Just my 2 cents

[Durfast Spiritwolf]

Welcome to the Fang little brother - some sage advice there from Brother Lumdin.

 

I also keep my scout pack small - six with meltagun, plasma pistol and melta bombs to form a OBEL anti-tank force. They are a bit of a one-trick pony but they either kill more than they cost on the turn the arrive or they drive his heavy supports forward into the range of other things. I always have them in an army and they have always proved worth the investment.

 

Sky Claws - um one pack only and under a WP is okay, but you will find that you get more from your money from the fifteen dismounted BCs under a character - given their low BS I usually go with 2 x flamers rather than meltaguns. You want a character with warrior born rather than WGPL to make the most of the BCs in CC though.

 

Sky Claws are for CC, but the RP is a firepower monster so you may find yourself split between their focus. If they are there to provide cover for him whilst he gets in place for a maggick attack then they are expensive armour.

 

Vindicators rock.