Why Spacewolves?

[Marshal Wilhelm]

I swear i am going to install some locks on the doors around here, these templar trolls are getting to be a bit much!!

 

dont they have their own subforum to bother!?!

 

WLK

 

*this post is made entirely in jest. if you cant handle it, take a mallet to your computer until the screen goes black*

 

T++nks +for ++e great a+++ce, "+ate". You+++ighteous zeal mana+em+nt+techni+u+s wer+ as useful as flam++esting th+p+omethium caniste+++or potential++++ks!

So I'++ :) at your post, ^_^ at you+++elp-technique, and now I ha+e to listen to Tech-adept Homer 733t-speek++g me in binaric+whilst+he negati++ly-ac++lerates++he cogitator an++de-ripples the viewing port! :) !++

[Necron God]

To some it up!

 

Space Wolves > Black Templers

[Vlk]

You could play templars with the SW dex'.

 

 

And you could proxy a Greater Daemon of Khorne with a pink barbie doll in a sparkling skirt but it just wouldn't feel right.

 

 

Anyway, I joined the Space Wolves because of their fluff, not knowing a single thing about their codex (which was still 3rd ed at that time). Space Marines in general are cool but they have always seemed to me like some sort of Orlando Blooms running across the grimdark 40K universe. They like to stand in pretty poses, say overly esotheric quotes about how faith prevails, babble about honourable ways of fighting, have fanatical respect for all authorities, they are brothers because their Codex tells them so and when they want some fun, they kneel down and pray.

 

Now the Space Wolves are a different story. Their brotherhood is instinctive as well as their tactics and it works perfectly. When they pose, they do so with a xeno head in one hand and an axe or a hammer in the other. When they meet their enemy, they don't say: "For the omnipresent power of the Emperor, die, you traitorous scum, and thy soul be banished! You shall taste the crushing power of my page 2581 Codex power feet!", they just howl and cut his head off. When they feel their commander is weak or less capable, they challenge him so that the pack has the best leader available. And when a Space Wolf wants to have fun, he eats an elk or two, drinks a keg of strong ale, brawls with his pack mates and listens to thousand-years-old sagas (possibly told by a 10 000 years old dreadnought). Plus, our Primarch is 120% more badass than any other :)

 

To be short, that's why you want to be a Space Wolf. Templars have a cool colour scheme but they are far less drunk and awesome.

[Decoy]

What are the top few reasons you can give me to turn my vanilla space marine army into spacewolves.

 

 

Wow. This took a bit of digging to find. I forgot how long it's been (comparatively). Quoting, so that the other thread doesn't accidentally find itself Necro'd.

 

NOTE: This opinion may disturb certain players of other Chapters.

 

 

 

Other people are going to tell you that they like the fluff, that they like the models, that they like their battlefield effectiveness.

 

I have a slightly different take, and it "takes" the form of a rant. Here I go.

 

Let me open up with these lyrics by Manowar. I believe they fit the Wolves perfectly. This is from the song Hand of Doom.

 

 

 

 

Hands of doom are reaching out to crush all infidels who stray

Time to know the pain, no time to run within

And these hands you see before you will end the light of day

Your ashes will be cast into the wind

Your blood's upon the soil, your body fed to wolves

Not one of you will be left alive

Hear the sound pounding and the army of the night

By the hammer of Thor you now shall die

 

[Chorus:]

Tonight we strike, there is thunder in the sky

Together we'll fight, some of us will die

But they'll always remember that we made a stand

And many will die by my hand

 

High atop the mountain, with hammers in the wind

Lusting for blood and death again

In a flash of lightning strike now the house of death invites you

Body and soul to come within

I see the fear you have inside, you can run but never hide

I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb

Nothing shall remain, not your memory, your name

It will be as though you never, ever lived

 

 

 

My attraction to the wolves may indeed lie in the gameplay of the army. It may also be in the fluff of the army. Russ knows, I'd make quite a norseman. However, the real attraction to me wasn't the fluff, nor was it the power of the army, but of the attitude.

 

 

Before they're Wolves, humans on Fenris have to eke out an existence on a world otherwise unsuitable to the nature of humankind. It's too cold and too hot, food is both scarce and hard to kill, and man, for once, has natural predators. Once they're discovered, these humans are implanted with geneseed and cast out into the wild. Now, not only do they have to defeat the beasts without, but the beasts within (in a gruesome parallel to the Imperium itself.) If they pass the test, they go on to greater glory. However, if they fail, they lie dead, ripped to shreds by a wolf as big as an M1 Abrahms, frozen to death, or (in an arguably worst-case scenario), have turned to the very beast that they've been struggling with, a slavering Wulfen.

 

But once that test is completed, there is more to come, oh yes. However, Wolves don't prove themselves on the battlefield. More often, they prove themselves to their comrades. A Wolf without a Pack is nothing, and every Wolf knows it. Every Wolf feels the pack, breathes the pack, IS the pack. Every individual knows what the other is doing. Every individual will move to protect a fallen member. Every individual will gladly shed his life in the glory of the almighty Great Wolf, Russ.

 

While yes, this is all fluff, this is not the ultimate decision-maker, nor should it be. The Wolves, after the Codex Astartes was signed, basically said "piss off" to Guilleman, and followed their own rules. They knew that to be a mindless slave to the Emperor, with no independant thinking whatsoever, would be a wasted existence, and the losses of the Heresy would be in vain. Russ, in his infinate wisdom, said "Hells no" to the Codex, and formed his own rules. He knew a wrong path when he saw it, and lo, he was correct.

 

Yet again, however, the attitude of the Wolves to say "piss off" to whoever tells them what to do does NOT make them my favorite chapter.

 

What does, however, is taken into account when looking at the rest of the armies.

 

Ultramarines. What do these schmucks have? Great, they have feathered caps. What kind of egomaniacal name is the UltraMarines, anyways? They do nothing but follow lockstep orders, saluting anything of higher rank than them unquestionably, and they're decked out in an outfit that would make a Slaaneshi Noise Marine's eyes bleed out of sheer and utter pain. Never mind that they've never faced a challenge in their lives, having grown up on an absolute paradise with very little need nor want. There's absolutely nothing special about them. If anything, they're spoiled brats. If you want "Plain" and "Normal" and "Boring" marines, play the Ultras. Everyone else does.

 

Imperial Fists. Inherrently, I don't have a problem with these guys. However, I do have a problem with their primarch. What kind of god-creature decides to run headlong into a ship and then get himself killed by Chaos Marines? That shows either a severe lack of foresight, or a suicidal bravery that I'll respect him for. however, I'm leaning towards the former. Their siege abilities, I will grant, are an interesting bit of fluff, but nothing more than that. They have the same fluff as the Iron Warriors, and with an even more annoying color scheme.

 

Dark Angels. These guys are easily the worst Marines around, and not just because Lion stole Russ's kill. These guys dress in dark green. DARK GREEN. What kind of color is that? The Imperial Fists have a more interesting color scheme. Never mind that the Dark Angels are all emo, dark, broody, and are probably cutting themselves in their rooms before crying themselves to sleep every night. These freaks went CHAOS. They're the only current loyalist chapter-turned-Chaos to even still be around, probably because the Imperium feels so damned sorry for them. "Well, they were the first founding... We can't kick 'em out because they suck, so let's let them stay around a bit." Their homeworld is a giant speck of dust floating around in space, no better or bigger than an Ork Space Hulk. The Wolves current champion has kicked Dark Angel butt three times, THREE TIMES in a row. That means that these guys have absolutely NOTHING on the Wolves, aside from the fact that their Primarch is better at suckerpunches when another primarch is laughing. What a tool. [expletive deleted][expletive deleted] emo [expletive deleted] tool.

 

Blood Angels. Admittedly, these fellas have a better paint scheme than us. I've got nothing on red and black. However, I take major issue with an army that devotes itself to being beautiful and drinking blood. If I wanted to play Warhammer Fantasy, I'd be playing Vampire Counts. I'd rather not play an army of egotistical berserkers that want to suck your blood. Even if I did, Khorne does it better. Besides, the Blood Angels Primarch (Sanguinus) was a crybaby. He deserved to get the talon.

 

 

Now, I'm not saying Wolves don't have their faults. I think our color scheme sucks, which is why I used Fortress Gray instead of Space Wolves Gray. There. I admitted our one fault.

 

Our Primarch out-ate and out-drank the Emperor himself. Russ took a powerfist to the face FROM THE EMPEROR, while Russ himself was unprepared and unarmored, and yet Russ STILL stood up only an hour later. Unarmored and unknowing of consequences, Russ did what Horus himself was barely able to do, in Terminator armor and with Chaos on his side. Our Primarch broke another Primarch IN HALF! Never mind that this other primarch was probably a good three to four feet taller than Russ, Magnus got snapped like a twig. There's no doubt in my mind that if he wanted to, Russ could have killed off the Lion four times over before that little <DELETED BY THE INQUISITION>cat could even draw his toothpick sword. Our Russ, our Primarch, was capable of cleaving hordes of enemies in twain with one hand, while pounding an ale and eating an auroch with the other. Our Russ, our Primarch, is wandering the Warp to this day, killing ANYTHING that stands in his way, leading the great 13th Company by his own personal hand, taking the fight to the Chaos gods themselves. What are the Primarchs of the other chapters doing? Lion? Braindead, last I knew. Guilleman? Stasis. Dorn? Dead. Sanguinus? Dead. Khan? ... Okay, Khan is kicking tail right alongside Russ in the Warp.

 

My favoritism to the Wolves may lie partly in fluff, partly in gameplay ability. This much, I suppose, I cannot deny. However, I tell you, and I tell the rest of the Fang, and I tell all other Marines who are listening, that my favoritism to the wolves is in PURE UTTER BADASSNESS! NO other chapter kicks ass as hard as the Wolves do. NO other chapter can do what we do. The Wolves took an entire Kson Legion assault and beat it with nothing but a skeleton crew and one dreadnaught. The Ultras couldn't even defend their home with their entire first company. The Dark Angels LOST their world because they were too weak-willed. WHAT OTHER CHAPTER HAS STORMED HEADLONG INTO THE WARP ITSELF AND REAPPEARED, TEN THOUSAND YEARS LATER, STILL LOYAL TO THE EMPEROR AND TO RUSS, AND STILL KICKING THE ASS OF THE MOST POWERFUL CHAOS GENERAL?!

 

THE WOLVES!

 

THE WOLVES!

 

THE WOLVES!

 

And one day, when the rest of the Imperium is falling, and when the rest of these lesser chapters slide away into dust and rubble, one man, and one man alone will come to rise the Imperium and the Space Marines from the ashes of their deaths, and that one man will be Primarch of the Space Wolves, Leman of the Russ, Greatest of Primarchs! He will come for the Wolftime. He will save us all.

 

What can the rest of the Chapters say?

 

Ultras: "We have cool headgear. Wait. Was that a Nid?"

Blood Angels: "We're SO pretty. BLARGABLARGABLARGA!"

Fists: "We're... uh... yellow, and have tanks?"

Dark Angels: "We hate ourselves and by extension everyone else. Go away. *sobsob*"

Templars: "KILL FOR EMPEROR!!1!11!!11shiftoneshift"

White Scars: " FOR KHAN AND FOR RUSS!"

 

Oh yeah. Wolves, we may not have the best paint scheme. On the pure Badass meter, who can stand up to the furry flurry of fanged frenzied furies? We don't have wings, we don't have a frilly hat, we don't have a broken, useless sword, and we don't need tanks with huge cannons to make up for some physical deficiencies. We've got Russ, and we've got four things that the rest of the Marine armies don't have.

 

We've got attitude...

 

We've got balls...

 

We've got a bark...

 

And we've got bite .

 

 

For Russ, fellow Wolves. Never forget whose GeneSeed runs inside you. Do not despair in the light of the coming Codex. Do not waver and fall to the other Chapters out of fear of weakness. Do not whimper in the darkness of Jervis and the oncoming changes. Never forget who spawned us, never forget whose courage we carry inside all of us, never forget who made us the Wolves that we are today.

 

Pups, Wolves, and Wulfen alike.

 

WE ARE SPACE WOLVES! WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF RUSS!

 

FOR RUSS!

 

 

Obviously, ignore the bits about the new Codex. :P

 

That's just my take on the matter. Always has been, always will be.

[Grey Mage]

T++nks +for ++e great a+++ce, "+ate". You+++ighteous zeal mana+em+nt+techni+u+s wer+ as useful as flam++esting th+p+omethium caniste+++or potential++++ks!

So I'++ :P at your post, ;) at you+++elp-technique, and now I ha+e to listen to Tech-adept Homer 733t-speek++g me in binaric+whilst+he negati++ly-ac++lerates++he cogitator an++de-ripples the viewing port! :cuss !++

Play Space Wolves- because even a barbarian from a frigid, super destructive, utterly backwards wasteland can still type better than a black templar.

 

Oh, and were not scared of witches, we actually know how to tell them to 'leave'.

 

I do agree though- dont play BT as SWs- their dex works very well for them, and using the SW rules would just dilute their flavor, much like trying to play SWs with the BT would.

[Requiem of the Wolf]

Someone else that Thinks Manowar suits the Space Wolves perfectly I see.

 

A good solid hour of that is my pre-tournament ritual lol. And having it Blaring is a requirement for when Im writing my stories. But yeah..That was fairly close to my thoughts on why I play Space Wolves...Though I freely admit I didn't bother to consider the other space marine chapters. Probably because the guy that got me started on 40k,that got me started in the army,and saved my ass a couple times while I was there,played Space Wolves. So since I was borrowing his,thats what I started with.

 

As for why I think the Wolves are so damn awesome,I said it in the other thread but after that one from decoy I gotta pull it over.

 

Well...Lets look at it like this..Our home Fenris is without a doubt the meanest nastiest place to live all on its own. Figure into that the fact that every tribe that lives in Fenris has to go to War to find a New island to settle on at the very least every other year if not every year. And we spend our time Raiding and Fighting even when it isnt 100% neccessary for survival. And that knowledge is impressed on you the moment you are born...they take you into the world naked,screaming and covered in blood with the sure knowledge that from then on you will regard that as the normal state of affairs. They put an Axe within your reach,and any newborns that don't grab for it are chucked out onto the ice as not strong-willed enough to live.

 

Thankfully...Fenrisians breed like drunken rabbits...Because lets face it...When you live in a frozen hellhole...there isn't that much else to do at night. So even with the fact that we spend our entire lives kicking ass of man,beast and the planet itself,and have a mortality rate that would make most planets have heart attacks....we survive...hell we prosper in that environment. And every Fenrisian knows one truth from the time that they are old enough to remember the stories told. That there is only one way on the entire planet to spend an entire day without your balls being frozen at least once that day...and that is to be lifted up by the Choosers of the Slain.Now..When a Wolf Priest is described in the stories...they take at most 2 guys from a battle field...So 2 out of however many died,get chosen. But chances are good that at every fight that happens there will be at least one person that impressed the priests, Because every Fenrisian knows that the only way to get to Valhalla is to bust your ass fighting and make yourself the biggest baddest mofo on the block. Not only that...but you gotta beat out every other stubborn bugger thats trying to do the same thing to you.

 

Now....Even If you do manage to get chosen and get implanted...You gotta hike naked cross country If I remember the Fluff its like 100 miles And you spend most of it Fighting between letting yourself get hairy enough to not freeze to death and keeping yourself from getting so hairy you forget what its like to be a man. And if that isn't enough,You get to march that 100 miles across some of the nastiest icebergs and meanest creatures in the entirety of a world That would be classified as uninhabitable if we weren't born with a stubborn streak a mile wide.

 

Now...if that weren't enough to make it clear why we are the way we are. Unlike other chapters who stuff their new recruits into Scout platoons and teach them to stay back and lay low till they know enough to not get their head blown off...We say Screw that....We stuff a gun in their hands,tell them which end is the dangerous one and Point a direction,and we are more then enthusiastic to go screaming off like a banshee and cut down anything that tries to stop us. They treat the first couple deaths in a blood claw pack as a neccessary thing to show that we are actually serious because up to this point,everything in that new recruits life was children playing with sticks by comparison.

 

Now..When you consider the facts about our viewpoint of war,the fact that unlike other chapters...our recruits dont do training in battlerooms and crap like that. They cut their new teeth on the throats of the Chapter's enemies and those that don't bite hard enough don't live to get a second chance. The fact that every Wolf believes that throwing himself into battle with every ounce of his being,and finding the nastiest ugliest threat out there and jamming your fist down its throat till it chokes or you tear out its heart is the truest way to live. The fact that Space Wolves really all should have the Fearless rule,for one simple reason. We are taught from the moment we get back to the Fang,that the highest honor is to fight at the side of the Wolf Lord. That the Idea of jumping on the back of a Carnifex and trying to burrow through one side to the other with a chainsword is a win/win situation. Either you will live and succeed,and your tales will reach the ears of the Wolf Lord,or you will die and spend the rest of Eternity fighting beside Russ. All of these things should say we would be the smallest chapter...Or just as likely have fought ourselves into extinction centuries ago. But we haven't...not only have we not,but we are the most populous chapter. my theory why is because of two simple reasons...The first reason is that all these things combine to make every Space Wolf out there one of the meanest.most stubborn bastiges that the Imperium has ever seen. From the day we are born,we pretty much view fighting as most people would view breathing. Its something we do every day of our lives. Not only that...But we view being able to fight as our version of paradise. To fight alongside the greatest warriors and heros that our World has ever produced.

 

The second reason is not actually stated in any piece of Fluff like almost everything else here is...but if you look between the lines you can pretty much get it,given all the things that we have to endure. Because pretty much the Entire stock of our entire world that has a pair swingin would qualify to be a Space Marine of any other chapter with flying colors,And if the Geneseed would take,our women would probably outdo most chapters male recruits as well.. And of those...we pick the very best and baddest. But this means is that there will allways be a steady supply of warriors fit to become Space Wolves. And because we view the Codex Astartes as...well...Lavatory reading material most times...we will keep constantly refreshing our numbers with those new warriors.

 

 

All that being said...Decoy...I am honored to be able to call you Brother! This keg is for you.

[Freman Bloodglaive]

What he said.

[Darwinsfolly]

I too am a player looking for an army, and I also once considered Black Templars vs. Space Wolves. The Black Templars really resounded with me with the pious and fervent spirit they have. (I'm the guy who usually plays either a Cleric or Paladin in DnD games)

 

However, in terms of WH40k, I liked the modeling options of the Space Wolves more the the BT's along with the background and play style. The Space Wolves are about the only SM army I can think of where you can model more than one guy with his helmet off and not have it look like a Rogaine commercial. The standard Space Wolves pack gives you so many different heads that you could just about create 2 full packs and each model looks different from one another. After that, it's just a simple process of mixing in a few of the helmeted heads and getting some bits from the Fantasy Chaos Marauder Horsemen set and you can individualize each model in your entire army. That is what makes the Space Wolves stand above the other armies to me, the fact that every model is its own character and not "just another body in a tactical squad."

 

(There are times, though, when I still long for a BT army; Usually this is right after I watch Kingdom of Heaven.)

[Aeddon]

You could play templars with the SW dex'.

And you could proxy a Greater Daemon of Khorne with a pink barbie doll in a sparkling skirt but it just wouldn't feel right.

sig'd it!

[the jeske]

they are a safe army , just like eldar you can be sure that they never end up like IG or nids that after a edition change offten start to suck hard. SW are never a bad army.

[Requiem of the Wolf]

I too am a player looking for an army, and I also once considered Black Templars vs. Space Wolves. The Black Templars really resounded with me with the pious and fervent spirit they have. (I'm the guy who usually plays either a Cleric or Paladin in DnD games)

 

However, in terms of WH40k, I liked the modeling options of the Space Wolves more the the BT's along with the background and play style. The Space Wolves are about the only SM army I can think of where you can model more than one guy with his helmet off and not have it look like a Rogaine commercial. The standard Space Wolves pack gives you so many different heads that you could just about create 2 full packs and each model looks different from one another. After that, it's just a simple process of mixing in a few of the helmeted heads and getting some bits from the Fantasy Chaos Marauder Horsemen set and you can individualize each model in your entire army. That is what makes the Space Wolves stand above the other armies to me, the fact that every model is its own character and not "just another body in a tactical squad."

 

(There are times, though, when I still long for a BT army; Usually this is right after I watch Kingdom of Heaven.)

You know...With a bit of work,and making sure to use the right variety you could still use the space wolf heads for black templars. You might have to cut off the excessive braids and some of the beards,maybe make some green-stuff hair. You could also use some of the heads from say,Fantasy Empire or even High elf. What this entire thread is about...is playing an Army that resonates with you. And it does sound like Black Templars does that with you and there is nothing wrong with that,nor in finding ways to follow that. And please don't take this as a "leave of my Codex" type of thing because it isn't. That is reserved for those cheese-mongers that take Sagas and ignore the prohibitions rampantly. Like the bastige Sisters player that played Wolves for a bit and had Logan Grimnir cowering like a pup from missile fire for 3 rounds in a row just because he didn't want to lose a Long fang he was attached to. Anyways...It honestly sounds like you would really rather play Templars,but don't because you feel like you can't make them individual enough. But see...here's the thing that you should have allready learned by hanging around us Wolves. It's your army...It's your hobby. Field the Army you want to field,and model it the way you want to. Hell...Call it a 37th founding...Call it a splinter group. Hell...Play Amish Black Templars that don't deepstrike and only use Bolt Weapons because anything else is heretical in their eyes. Play Black Templars that firmly believe with all their heart and soul that they have to go to War wearing pink bonnets and nametags that say "Larry the Cable Guy" because a vision from the Emperor told them so. Ok maybe the bonnet was a bit over the top...I mean its not like you were saying you wanted to play Blood Angels...But still. History has taught us that Religious Zealots,and Black Templars are without a doubt the best example in the 40k universe, can and will split off from their parent group because of differences of belief from major ones,to minor ones. Maybe the Chapter Master of your army was given a vision from the Emperor saying that he ordered that Chapter to remove their faceplates when going into battle. That their enemy would see the fires of vengeance burning in his children's eyes,and that those they protected would know them as pure and righteous from the light of faith shining in their eyes,and would be comforted. That they let their hair and face grow hair,to show that though elevated,they are still a brother to man.

 

Five minutes of thinking,and I came up with a explanation that I feel would do pretty well against all but the worst Codex-Nazi spouting off BS. And them,you just say The God-Emperor told me to,so back the hell off or eat my Ceramite-plated boot.

[Wispy]

lol @ this thread.

 

to the op: If you like the fluff of the Space Wolves, you know what to do.

[pucadubh]

Just thought I would add I played BTs up until late last year. BTs are a great assault army but quite restricted in playstyle which gets a bit dull after a while (end of tourney scene last year I had enough of BTs and was looking around when I read about Thunderwolf Cavalry!). Space Wolves are a very versatile army and while I still play a primarily assault list they are far more FUN to play and if your list starts to get a bit dull you have far more options to change things and spice the list up.

 

Grey Hunters are IMO the best troops in the game too!

 

Check out Firenze'sTales from the Fang : http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...topic=183535and Warhorse's More Tales from the Fang : http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=185566 for a feel of the 'Fang' the guys are talking about. I reckon these tales will settle it for you because playing Space Wolves matches are as much fun as these stories.

[Jonny Roxtar]

I did a Space Wolves army cos I could have a 1750 all terminator force that cost less than £75. That and the idea of drunks in Terminator armour covered in fur somehow appealed to me.

[army310]

decoy i love your rant it sums it up.

 

thiers no middle gound thiers only black and white in a Space Wolves mine. like your good or bad and dont piss on my front door and say its raining inquistion and adeptus ministorum. you know what you did.

 

i think space wolves is the last chapter to care about human lives like it saids about the first armageddon war(realy bad name for a place) and other tales. in short thier the last heroes of the imperium.

[Jonny Roxtar]

i think space wolves is the last chapter to care about human lives like it saids about the first armageddon war(realy bad name for a place) and other tales. in short thier the last heroes of the imperium.

 

*Cough*The Salamanders *cough*

 

Actually, thinking about it, the only 2 Marine chapters that seem to give a rats ar5e about humanity are the 2 with no known successors.

 

Weird huh.

[army310]

i think space wolves is the last chapter to care about human lives like it saids about the first armageddon war(realy bad name for a place) and other tales. in short thier the last heroes of the imperium.

 

*Cough*The Salamanders *cough*

 

Actually, thinking about it, the only 2 Marine chapters that seem to give a rats ar5e about humanity are the 2 with no known successors.

 

Weird huh.

o ya them my bad i forgot about them so ya...