newbie needs advice on spacewolves

[rayshimi]

hi, iam new in warhammer and got space wolves for my chapter since theyre most likely the melee type.

i got ragnar blackmane for my hq and thinking of having drop pods with all terminator suits for my army.

which weapons should be advisable? there so many to choose from :P iam getting confused ahhah

[Growler67]

There is now quick and simple answer. Part of it depends on whatever opponent you face in a given battle. Another will depend on your preferred style of fighting be it flanking with support of mechanised or letting the enemy come to you so you can take advantage of counter-attacking. Then there is the scenario or mission being played. There are many variables to be sure.

 

My best advice to you would be to spend some time reading this forum and gather what information is available on things that will shape your Army best for your circumstances.

[Grey Mage]

First thing to note: your idea doesnt work. You cant take an all TDA army led by Ragnar- it has to have Logan in order to get the Wolf Gaurd *in TDA* as troops choices.

 

Second thing- welcome to the fang. *hands you an ale*.

 

Thirdly, Space Wolves are indeed 'the melee type'. Were also pretty darn good at shooting. Dont ignore the shooting phase, fire support makes and breaks alot of armies in this game.

 

If your serious about doing a DP army though we have alot to discuss. Theyre more of a skill army, as its easy to over extend yourself and let the enemy shred you to ribbons as you drop. TDA can help that... but numbers count for alot. Wich brings me to Greys top three rules for space wolves:

 

Boys before Toys. If you spend to much upgrading all your men every wich way youll find you have a very small army, and your force will become a glass cannon. Everyone takes casualties, factor that into every unit and every list.

 

Specialize in Generalizing. SWs are incredibly flexable- kings of the 'shoot the choppy and chop the shooty' if you will. You should be able to out fight shooty armies in CC and outshoot CC armies as they try to close with you. Yes, even as a DP army I maintain a high rate of fire power and occasionally deploy back to force my enemy to come to me.

 

Go All In. A well constructed pack should have little to fear- Ive had Long Fangs take down greater demons before in close combat, and swat down gene-stealer mobs with a bit of help. Alot of fights end up with a the field rather devoid of any living thing- with a few space wolves sitting around enjoying an after-fight feast. Dont be afraid to get your units in to assault, hit the enemy as hard as you need to make sure they wont hit you back, and take the big risks more often than not. Youll have more fun, and if my record is anything to go by youll win often. *knocks on wood*.

[Simo429]

http://clawsandfists.blogspot.com/2010/10/...lf-box-set.html

 

learn to love magnets and then you don't have to worry about getting the weapons load out right.

[rayshimi]

thanx guys, hmm looks like i'll be buying the battleforce to add more troops instead of buying more terminator

[Simo429]

2 battleforces are a great start to any space wolf army.

 

Grey Mage once gave me the excellent advice of 1 grey hunters squad per 500 points and I stick with that up to 2000 points.

 

Try and concentrate on getting bodies on the board and not going for the shiny special characters, Grey Hunters are the best troop choice in the game in my opinion.

[rayshimi]

any tips for painting? ive seen some guys here make really great figs :huh:

[SJumppanen]

2 battleforces are a great start to any space wolf army.

 

I would advice against that. I would mix bit more normal marine parts instead of going all the way with SW stuff. It might work beter if you had 1 SW battleforce and 1 SM battleforce. Ofcource if there was some of those old SW sets still aviable then those would be good for this.

[Andrew_Beck]

2 battleforces are a great start to any space wolf army.

 

Grey Mage once gave me the excellent advice of 1 grey hunters squad per 500 points and I stick with that up to 2000 points.

 

Try and concentrate on getting bodies on the board and not going for the shiny special characters, Grey Hunters are the best troop choice in the game in my opinion.

 

so 3 troops for 1750/1800 games right

[Grey Mage]

3-4. If you have 3 full 10-man squads or 2-10 man squads and a large bloodclaw pack it can work, personally though at 1850 I run 4 scoring units, full size and it doesnt dissapoint.

 

Something that makes the SWs so very different than many marine armies out there is the simple fact that for atleast the last 10 years Grey Hunters have been without fail the most flexable and intense troop choice out there, and really are the backbone of the army.

 

Of course, if you play wolfwing thats a little different, but a pack or two of GHs still doesnt hurt.

 

Edit: I should note, I agree- a SM battleforce and a SW battleforce are probly a better bet for most players than a single SW battleforce. You get the rhino, more options for your scouts, some extra special weapons *not just plasmaguns* and you can start a Long Fang pack with that missile launcher..... all around its a good deal. And having a DP and a Rhino gives you some things to try out as you decide wich style you prefer.

 

Lastly, while the rhino in the SM battleforce is a good deal- its entirely free- in general NEVER buy a rhino. For TWO dollars more you get everything you need to make a razorback, and can switch out the backplates at will. Whirlwinds are also good for this....

 

:) I love me some whirlwinds.

[Andrew_Beck]

3-4. If you have 3 full 10-man squads or 2-10 man squads and a large bloodclaw pack it can work, personally though at 1850 I run 4 scoring units, full size and it doesnt dissapoint.

 

Something that makes the SWs so very different than many marine armies out there is the simple fact that for atleast the last 10 years Grey Hunters have been without fail the most flexable and intense troop choice out there, and really are the backbone of the army.

 

Of course, if you play wolfwing thats a little different, but a pack or two of GHs still doesnt hurt.

 

Edit: I should note, I agree- a SM battleforce and a SW battleforce are probly a better bet for most players than a single SW battleforce. You get the rhino, more options for your scouts, some extra special weapons *not just plasmaguns* and you can start a Long Fang pack with that missile launcher..... all around its a good deal. And having a DP and a Rhino gives you some things to try out as you decide wich style you prefer.

 

Lastly, while the rhino in the SM battleforce is a good deal- its entirely free- in general NEVER buy a rhino. For TWO dollars more you get everything you need to make a razorback, and can switch out the backplates at will. Whirlwinds are also good for this....

 

:wub: I love me some whirlwinds.

 

im running at 1750

3*9+1gh, full eq

1thunderlord (ss+fb+w.born)

1thunderlord (ss+th+bear) - sometimes swap him for longfangs and rune priest

4thundercavalry 2ss,1th,2Melta Bombs

1Longfangs with missiles

[rayshimi]

should i include squad with jump packs?

[SJumppanen]

should i include squad with jump packs?

 

I don't see a reason why not, but Swift Claws are faster.

[Freman Bloodglaive]

Swiftclaws are sub-optimal, if you're going for the expense of a bike squad you can get five thunderwolf cavalry from Mythicast for more or less the same cost as five bikes. You can turn one into a Thunderlord, and then have a squad of four, or two of two.

 

If you get one box of Space Wolves, and then invest in tactical squads you get the best of both worlds. You can use the Wolf squad to wolf up the tactical marines, and they give you missile launchers for your long fangs and meltaguns for the Grey Hunters.

 

If you plan for squads of 8, meltagun, power weapon and mark of the Wulfen, then a 9th model with a power fist to be a Wolf Guard pack leader, then throw in a Rune Priest (paint a Librarian grey).

 

In New Zealand Razorbacks are the same cost as Rhinos... I can't figure that one out.

 

Think one Rune Priest for every thousand points.

 

If you can mail order Maelstrom Games can offer a considerable discount. I bought an Empire cannon from them and it worked out at almost half the price I'd pay in the local store ($28 versus $48).

[SJumppanen]

Swiftclaws are sub-optimal, if you're going for the expense of a bike squad you can get five thunderwolf cavalry from Mythicast for more or less the same cost as five bikes. You can turn one into a Thunderlord, and then have a squad of four, or two of two.

 

They might be expensive, but they also work well. And IMHO they work most of the time better than TWC. This is because they can get to the target before the TWC.

[Grey Mage]

*shrugs* thats debatable.... still, I find the best way to get a swiftclaw pack is to snag a Battleforce- you get 6 bikes, a landspeeder, and an attack bike... for the price of 5 bikes *online*.

[rayshimi]

its becoming more and more complicated brothers. :D if i still stick with TDA with just changing my hq to logan is it competative?

only real problem is being too few :( . or should i stick with ragnar and fill them up with grey hunters with bolt pistol / chainsword and a little bit of long fangs? should i still stick with drop pods rather than rhinos? :P waaaa so many to choose from

 

sorry brothers being a pain.. ive only just started last month.. :mellow:

[Simo429]

Personally I think that all of the 'named' special charaters are over rated. Models on the table win games, Rune priest or a wolf lord or both and then troops. In a big game I mess with lots of HQ's.

[Grey Mage]

its becoming more and more complicated brothers. :cry: if i still stick with TDA with just changing my hq to logan is it competative?

only real problem is being too few :( . or should i stick with ragnar and fill them up with grey hunters with bolt pistol / chainsword and a little bit of long fangs? should i still stick with drop pods rather than rhinos? :cry: waaaa so many to choose from

 

sorry brothers being a pain.. ive only just started last month.. :(

PROXY!

 

Seriously, talk to some of your friends, borrow some models, and write down on stickynotes what they have on them- and run a few games, see wich type you enjoy more. If none of your friends are into 40k, then atleast ask around the LGS, most people are willing to help out the newbie, so they can have a cool opponent down the line.

[Wysten]

Welcome to the forum and to the Fang!

 

 

Generally, have a good thing of what you want to do. To start with at least, it's best to stick to the bread and butter until you can figure out what you really want. Grey Hunters, Long Fangs, Rune Priest is considered the bread and butter of any general space wolves force. Thunder Wolves, Wolf Scouts, Land Speeders tend to be considered hard staples and the best of their kind while Wolf Guard are used to boost the leadership of each squad. Rhinos are the standard way of transporting Grey Hunters, though smaller squads in razorbacks and lists focused on droppods also work really well.

 

Space Wolves battle forces are a brillent resource for drop pods, Grey Hunters and Scouts, however, for every single Space Wolf Battle Force, I would buy one or two tactical marine packs so you can get special weapons that you want (melta and flamers, and Missles for Long Fangs) and use the wolf parts to make the extra bodies into tacticals/long fangs. That will give you 30 bodys to use as Grey Hunters, Wolf Guard, Wolf Lord, a little work you can make a good Rune Priest or Lone Wolf. Those basics give you enough bodies to make more or less anything you want to provide the starting backbone of your army.

 

The only reason I don't really recommend the space marine battleforce is that you get a lot of extra bodies but not much quaility in special weapons. Though if you don't wish to use Razorbacks, the space marine battle force can be a good deal provided you buy the special weapons onlines, as you will wish to.

 

 

From there, you will probably want to stock up on missles, lascannon, melta and flamers as they tend to make Long Fangs valuble support and Grey Hunters dangerous respecitvely.

 

Eventrally, when you do want to practice something new, take care to proxy and try out whether you like it first, as Grey Mage had spoken just above me. ^^

 

Swiftclaws are sub-optimal, if you're going for the expense of a bike squad you can get five thunderwolf cavalry from Mythicast for more or less the same cost as five bikes. You can turn one into a Thunderlord, and then have a squad of four, or two of two.

 

They might be expensive, but they also work well. And IMHO they work most of the time better than TWC. This is because they can get to the target before the TWC.

 

But also what you have to factor in is that Thunderwolf have a higher theshold to instant death, the squad itself can take twice as much damage before it starts losing members and that the typical table is not that huge. 19 to 23 inches movement is big enough.

[SJumppanen]

Swiftclaws are sub-optimal, if you're going for the expense of a bike squad you can get five thunderwolf cavalry from Mythicast for more or less the same cost as five bikes. You can turn one into a Thunderlord, and then have a squad of four, or two of two.

 

They might be expensive, but they also work well. And IMHO they work most of the time better than TWC. This is because they can get to the target before the TWC.

 

But also what you have to factor in is that Thunderwolf have a higher theshold to instant death, the squad itself can take twice as much damage before it starts losing members and that the typical table is not that huge. 19 to 23 inches movement is big enough.

 

But TWC don't have that 3+ cover save that bikers get from turboboosting. Witch is realy usefull in many other ways.

[Freman Bloodglaive]

Thunderwolves can have 3+ invulnerables, although you probably don't want to go overboard with those (expense).

 

@Rayshimi, if you take Logan you can get your terminators as troops. Be careful though, as all terminator armies (although cool, obeying the first rule of playing Space Wolves) are not easy armies to play, and although we can make our terminators cheaper than standard (storm bolter and wolf claw for 38 points) the HQ is expensive (cutting into your numbers) and if you start taking things like storm shields, they can quickly add up (again reducing your numbers). Combi-weapons aren't provided in the box, so if you want some you'll have to hunt down some Chaos terminator arms, or convert.

 

Everything counts in large amounts (like 8th edition fantasy).

[rayshimi]

thanks brothers for this advices.. guess iam going to buy a battleforce first and take things from there. :P

is drop pod armies good? cause iam going to have 2 DP in the shelf

[Orphus]

2 battleforces are a great start to any space wolf army.

 

Grey Mage once gave me the excellent advice of 1 grey hunters squad per 500 points and I stick with that up to 2000 points.

 

Try and concentrate on getting bodies on the board and not going for the shiny special characters, Grey Hunters are the best troop choice in the game in my opinion.

 

So my 2 squads of 9 GH loaded to the teeth and droppod plus

a fully decked out RP and WGBL plus

Bjorn clone(unnamed[still :P ]) is to much glass?

 

Thunderwolves can have 3+ invulnerables, although you probably don't want to go overboard with those (expense).

 

@Rayshimi, if you take Logan you can get your terminators as troops. Be careful though, as all terminator armies (although cool, obeying the first rule of playing Space Wolves) are not easy armies to play, and although we can make our terminators cheaper than standard (storm bolter and wolf claw for 38 points) the HQ is expensive (cutting into your numbers) and if you start taking things like storm shields, they can quickly add up (again reducing your numbers). Combi-weapons aren't provided in the box, so if you want some you'll have to hunt down some Chaos terminator arms, or convert.

 

Everything counts in large amounts (like 8th edition fantasy).

 

Also remember you cant assult from droppods and only five TDA clad wolf guard can fit in one. (but you can mix them up eg. 2 wg in TDA and 6 not but this is not advisable!!!)

[rayshimi]

yeah, since they cant assault on the time they drop. i was planning to equip them with

3chainsword and 3storm bolter

1thunder hammer and 1storm shield (for the las cannon)

pair or wolf claw

so that they can still undergo the shooting phase and just rely on the counter attack skill just in case :lol: