Are Lone Wolves any good?

[amberclad87]

So after the hundreds of times i've poured over my Space Wolves codex I just cannot justify taking a lone wolf. I've seen them kitted out to take on tanks and also to deal with infantry but there are some glaring weaknesses. after they are kitted out they run around 100 points, I could get a rune priest for that much! I can see tanks just avoiding them if you kit them out for anti-armor cause they are slow. And they are not too hard to kill. I've never actually fielded one and I get the feeling that I need the hands on practice with them to form a solid opinion but i was just wondering if anyone has fielded them and had any such success?

[chaplain belisarius]

keep them cheap...i give mine a pair of lightning claws (his name is logan...hes the best he is at what he does, but what he does aint very nice!)

 

he does ok...and hes very cheap (people go wrong tooling them up and making them cost lots...keep them cheap and cheerful)

 

hope this helped mate!

[Koremu]

That whole "haha, your army has an extra KP to make up" is a pain, but other than that they are a nuisance, nothing more.

 

I find they make good targets of opportunity for a minor unit or a transport that's not busy doing something else.

 

The players who make best use of them play to their sacrificial nature and make threatening moves to force their enemy to deal with them, and thereby stretch the enemy defence too thin.

 

Equipment is a minor side issue.

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

I have fielded a Lone Wolf since the release of the new codex and he has always done well for me often pulling his weight in points no matter what I arm him with. He actually isn't easy to kill unless you want him to be and if you know how to use him you can get him into combat every time. The only problem I faced is that he competed for an Elites slot but since I field a counts as Logan I was able to move my Wolf Guard to Troops and free up an Elites choice. There have been a number of threads discussing the viability of a Lone Wolf that I suggest searching for. And in my experience those who have said that a Lone Wolf isn't worth taking are those who don't know how to use him right or don't use him at all (not to step on anyones toes thats just my opinion).

 

You do have a number of options with a Lone Wolf. You can give them TDA and make them even harder to kill which combined with a chain fist and storm shield makes him a great monster/tank hunter, most players I know give them 2 wolves to act as meat sheilds against shooting but at the same time if you run your Lone Wolf behind a unit of Grey Hunters most likely he will get into cc. Personally I think that sending him after tanks is a waste and I prefer to leave that for my Wolf Scouts. I send mine after enemy monsters, characters and large units and in the end he is usually the only one to leave the combat. A very chepa way to field them is with MoTW which makes them effective against just about everything.

 

In the end it is up to you if you field one or not but personally I think he is worth every point and mine is my favorite unit in my army due to his track record of killing just about everything. My suggestion would be to try it out yourself, if you don't like it or feal it isn't working for you then take him out.

[amberclad87]

Ok, so I finally used a lone wolf last night, actually 2 of them. Both with mark of the wulfen and they did awesome! I played 2 games both using kill points. My first game against Tau, one was shot to death then the other killed a bunch of crisis suits and fire warriors in CC before getting a glorious death after being dragged down by sheer weight of numbers. The second game against Tyranids one killed a whole unit of termagaunts then the other assisted in killing warroirs and a hive tyrant. I later sent them after the doom of malantai purposfully to die, (I was desperate for kill points) and I actually won the game by 2 points because of them.

 

So back to the tactics part, I think lone wolfs are very good, especially if you keep them cheap (I took chaplain belisar's advise). They are surprisingly durable and hit fairly well. It was a lot of fun playing with a unit that you have every intention of getting them killed, usually your trying to preserve your stuff, and if you play them like this then you really play to there strengths.

[Race Bannon]

It was a lot of fun playing with a unit that you have every intention of getting them killed, usually your trying to preserve your stuff, and if you play them like this then you really play to there strengths.

 

This is the answer to your thread question.

[Bay]

I keep mine simply cheap, giving them MOTW or put them in TDA. There great speed bumps and at the same time do some damage back.

Great for the points.

[Blitzkreig]

Frost Blade and Melta-bombs. Can kill Infantry and Tanks reliably, give him a pair of Wolves as ablative wounds and watch his enemies freak out as he really brings the pain. 70 points so he isn't all to expensive, but not all to fast. Although he makes an excellent bumper unit, preventing the enemy from coming to close.

 

All in all they are more useful in a Logan list due to the Wolf Guard being troops, Elites are a very in-demand slot for Wolves.

[Grey Mage]

I tend to throw him down with a Thunderhammer, TDA, Storm Shield, and a pair of fenrisian wolves.

 

He doesnt get alot of attacks, no matter what you do, so might as well get him something big and killy I figure- I tend to run him up a flank towards artillery batteries, heavy weapon teams, or objectives to try and force my opponent to deal with him.

 

When they dont, its alot of fun :down:. When they do, he takes a while to go down most days.

[Marshal Wilhelm]

I tend to throw him down with a Thunderhammer, TDA, Storm Shield, and a pair of fenrisian wolves.

 

He doesnt get alot of attacks, no matter what you do, so might as well get him something big and killy I figure- I tend to run him up a flank towards artillery batteries, heavy weapon teams, or objectives to try and force my opponent to deal with him.

 

When they dont, its alot of fun :D. When they do, he takes a while to go down most days.

 

Would a Chainfist be better for him? s8 + 7ish = 15, he is likely to penetrate LR and so pretty much everything else!

Would that be a good trade-off for stunning opponents to i1?

[Grey Mage]

I tend to throw him down with a Thunderhammer, TDA, Storm Shield, and a pair of fenrisian wolves.

 

He doesnt get alot of attacks, no matter what you do, so might as well get him something big and killy I figure- I tend to run him up a flank towards artillery batteries, heavy weapon teams, or objectives to try and force my opponent to deal with him.

 

When they dont, its alot of fun :lol:. When they do, he takes a while to go down most days.

 

Would a Chainfist be better for him? s8 + 7ish = 15, he is likely to penetrate LR and so pretty much everything else!

Would that be a good trade-off for stunning opponents to i1?

Yeah, I havent tried it myself but Ive seen alot of reports of such a setup just walking right through armored colums laughing his butt off.

 

I have a less mechanized enviroment, so hes more concerned about monstrous creatures and light vehicles.

[Blitzkreig]

I tend to throw him down with a Thunderhammer, TDA, Storm Shield, and a pair of fenrisian wolves.

 

He doesnt get alot of attacks, no matter what you do, so might as well get him something big and killy I figure- I tend to run him up a flank towards artillery batteries, heavy weapon teams, or objectives to try and force my opponent to deal with him.

 

When they dont, its alot of fun ;). When they do, he takes a while to go down most days.

 

Would a Chainfist be better for him? s8 + 7ish = 15, he is likely to penetrate LR and so pretty much everything else!

Would that be a good trade-off for stunning opponents to i1?

Yeah, I havent tried it myself but Ive seen alot of reports of such a setup just walking right through armored colums laughing his butt off.

 

I have a less mechanized enviroment, so hes more concerned about monstrous creatures and light vehicles.

 

Lone Wolf, Terminator Armour and 2 Chainfists is 80 points and will tear through armour like paper. Unfortunately he is quite slow and any player with half a brain will just drive off shooting him as he goes... That said against Walkers it is just brutal. He frequently gets back around 4 times his points value when I use him, because my main opponents play heavy armor lists and always forget how much damage one psycho in terminator armour will do, so they aim at my Wolf Guard.