Scout load-out

[Paradill]

I know wolf scouts seem to a bit out of favour, but for those of you who do take them, how do you use kit them out and what application do they have in your force?

 

Many Thanks

 

Paradill

[Sigmund Hammerhand]

I've used them to great effect, but the problem is that every now and then, they are completely useless because they either don't show at all, or in the wrong place at the wrong time, spending all game not killing anything, and desperately trying to look insignificant so as to not get themselves killed.

 

When I do use them, I spend as few points on them as possible. That way you minimize the risk of part of your army not performing, but one way or another, you find yourself with about 10% of your army at the risk of not performing.

 

A basic squad of 5, with meltagun and WGPL with combimelta comes quite cheaply, but at the right time in the right place, can cause horrendous damage. I also use 2 squads of these, mainly because that way I can be almost guaranteed one squad will show up when needed (turn 2), where needed (right behind a leman russ exterminator bristling with plasma cannons), and blow it up.

 

The problem is, you still have to plan for the eventuality that they don't show up (so you can't just not try to blow up the leman russ). And that's where the problem with all reserves arriving by deepstrike, OBEL or outflanking is. You have to plan the battle as if they'd never show. And that leaves you playing a list that is 200 points less than your opponent, with the potential of those 200 points being a worthwhile investment rather than having something solid on your hands that you know will perform.

 

In order to minimize that, you have to play the psychological advantage of having wolf scouts (your opponent will, after having had their plans messed up by those fellows for a few games, know what's coming). Usually they'll push the battle line 12" away from the table edges, and tanks even further to avoid being in melta range. This means that during the turn that they're not ever going to be there, heavy weapons and tanks will be moving, thus shooting less.

 

These are the reasons why I'd recommend using minimal sized squads with minimal equipment (but with equipment that can maximize their chance of doing damage exactly when and where needed). and always tell your opponent you're using them (perhaps throw in some examples where they've blown land raiders and Leman Russ exterminators sky high ;) ).

[Danosef]

I always field at least one squad of these guys in my 1500+ lists. A small squad of 5 equipped with a Meltagun and joined by a WGPL with a Combi-Melta and Powerfist.

 

They invariably make their points back in my mind when simply equipped like this. Even in games where it turns out they took the scenic route and don't come on exactly as hoped, they will have often had a great influence on the battle by determining where the opponent deploys, which in itself is a handy power to wield. My friend, who regularly plays IG, has learned to hate them with this configuration - as they reliably scrap his shiny tanks upon the turn they enter - and if not, force him to bunch his units up a little more than normal away from the board edges in fear - at which point the crew of my Vindicators shed single tears of joy :blink:

[d@n]

The standard way to use them is for meltacide, by taking a basic squad of 5 with a melta gun maybe some melta bombs and possibly a wolfguard with combimelta or/and powerfist and taking advantage of the bol special rule by hunting high value vehicles. Thats a pretty good squad if your oponent has something scary like a land raider ect but if your going up against nids, green tide,razorspam ect there pretty worthless as there going to blow something up and then get shot to pieces and land speeders do the same job better for less points.

A sniper squad isnt really any good due to the fact that there not scoring and dont have camo cloaks.

I like to use them by turning up behind enamy lines and then go hunting dev squads or killing objective holding squads or tying up elites.

I take a flamer mark of the wulfen, power weapon if points allow melta bombs if points allow and a wolf guard with mark of the wolfen and combi flamer.

I actuelly think the 2x rending models are pretty good against armour any way and its not like you need extra meltas as everyone takes squads of missile launcher long fangs and melta's in there grey hunter packs and i normally take 1 or 2 land speeders anyway.

 

5x wolf scouts with mow flamer wg with mow and combi flamer is less then 120 points and can kill whole squads of looters devestators hive guards and anything else that hides in cover causing a problem and with the possible 14 rending attacks threaten the rear armour of most things.

[WG Vrox]

I love this question, seems like it needs to be in the top 10 of questions asked once a month.

 

5 Wolf Scouts 1 Mela Gun

Wolf Guard Combi-Melta / Thunder Hammer (most people run Power Fists, but I suggest spending the extra 5 points to get all the benefits the TH brings to the table)

 

If your feeling your oats, attach a Wolf Priest with Hunters, Plasma Pistol, Runic Armour, Mela Bombs and Wolf Tooth Talisman.

 

Then "prey" you roll a good BEL roll and show up in the right place at the right time, if you do, the Saga will be told in the halls of Russ for a long time to come.

[Tograth]

I tend to play against a lot of marine armies, and I've found that the best setup is as follows:

 

2 squads of Scouts:

 

Squad 1: 5 scouts, 2 PW, meltabombs, CM/PF WG

Squad 2: 5 scouts, 2 PW, meltagun, CM/PF WG

 

 

Taking out tanks was never a problem with them, rather, it was killing the stuff inside, or taking out longfangs, which was where they consistently fell down. For the extra 60 points between the two squads they suddenly become vicous. They come to 331 points, but they have yet to not make their points back.

[Schertenleib]

Standard unit is 5 with meltagun. I put a WG with them with Thunderhammer or powerfist and a combi-melta. In my 1850 list I had seven scouts (melta, MotW, 2 x plasma pistols, and 3 x sniper rifles). Gave them a WG with Combi-melta and thunderhammer. The sniper rifles are insurance against a bad BEL roll.

 

Played them in a tourney against another SW army. BEL roll put them right behind his Long Fangs. Shooting made the old timers run away so I didn't get to assault. My opponent then opened up with his LRC that was nearby. Scouts survived and hunted down the last of the Long Fang pack. ;)

[Simo429]

5 men, 1 Melta gun melta bombs alround

[MaveriK]

I know wolf scouts seem to a bit out of favour

 

I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that ;)

[Danosef]

I know wolf scouts seem to a bit out of favour

 

I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that ;)

 

Perhaps the OP is thinking of C:SM Scouts - which did lose their appeal to a great many at the turn of the 5th Ed. Codex? However, SW Scouts - I've never known them be out of favour in my neck of the woods. SW Scouts - when you absolutely, positively have to put a kink in the enemies plan - accept no substitute ;)

[Fang of Morkai]

Where I play customizing armies against a particular opponent is frowned upon, therefore, we usually play with all-comer lists.

 

My scout loadout is expensive but the results are usually devastating and scary. I gear them up to deal with ANYTHING (Except maybe hordes).

 

6 Scouts (Meltagun, Meltabombs, MOTW, 2 Power Weapons), WGPL (Thunderhammer, combi-melta).

[Forté]

D@n. Like the look of the flamer squad. Something different. Meltacide seems the norm way to run them.

 

As much as I normally like sniper rifles. I don't see them being a weapon of choice for any wolf brother. Too quiet and too detached from his prey.

[narf]

I agree with the MG unit, though usually go for 6, with 1 MG, 1 MOTW, and a WG with PF and Combi M.

 

These guys are there to disrupt the enemy lines, as long as your enemy fears them they have made their points back, as your forcing him to play your game, and over react. If they then also kill something then its a Bonus ;)

[Marshal Wilhelm]

I know wolf scouts seem to a bit out of favour, but for those of you who do take them, how do you use kit them out and what application do they have in your force?

 

Many Thanks

 

Paradill

 

They are one of those choice units who are more than just 'X pts kills X+ pts of baddies"

 

It is the threat, or fear, that they bring, which is their biggest strength. They only pack a Mg just like a pack of Greys might. And they have worse armour. So what makes them good?

No, not what they actually kill.

What they might kill.

 

That is something that you can't put a value on.

 

Gunline armies that would happily pewpew you to death, and avoid you by deploying close to their table edge, are now worried - "Oh, I better not put my Leman Russ there...." or 'hmmm, my Broadsides, better put them 12" away from the edge' etc.

You have gained a whole turn because your foe has deployed up to 12" in from his edges.

 

Now when you think that even rush armies, like Orks or Nids, have Objective campers and shooty squads, like Lootaz or Tyrannofexes, then you still have someone you can mug.

 

I think only Daemons and Necrons don't have static, sit in DZ, shooty units. The rest of the armies do.

 

Imo, Scouts work well when your Wolves have things like TWC, Fenwolves, LRC full of choppy stuff, etc. These benefit most from your foe not being as far away as he'd ideally have them.

 

If your list is full of Fangs [who have range] and Greys [who don't need the enemy to rush them, they have the Objective(s) after all] then I think Scouts offer less. They then need to 'earn their keep' by killing stuff, whereas before, anything they killed was just a bonus.

 

That's what I reckon, anyway. :P

[Grey Mage]

Unless you enjoy being aggressive with your hunters like I do- in wich case the added threat of a unit of Wolf Scouts is incredibly handy, as is the sudden support they can lend.

 

If nothing else Ill take them on the off chance my opponent has a basilisk batter sitting in the corner that they can fry :P

 

But, MW has hit the nail on the head- I dont even need them in my list, just having them visible to my opponent screws with their head... and since the pack I run is 100pts Ive had opponents triple check my list, had me confirm they werent in the game, and then still deploy as if they were.

 

Because if nothing else, every once in a while they kill 1000pts of stuff all on their own, and that sticks with a player for a long while.

[greatcrusade08]

sorry to hijack this thread, but an interesting convo came up in my last game.. my opponent was running scouts with a wolf guard, and the wolf guard doesnt have scout/infiltrate special rules.

so what happens when he joins scouts, can they stil OBEL and infiltrate and whatnot.

I let him run them anyway (im not a jerk.. well not all the time) and tbh a wolf guard with OBEL and scouts with BS/WS 4 and meltaguns is brown pants scary, i really like them :)

[narf]

the WG squad leader acts as part of the unit, hence he gets their rules, if he was put in long fangs, he would be able to split fire, the only one where it states he cant gain the rules is with bloodclaws. This also means that the squad leader moves out of the Elite slot he used to occupy, and ends up being in the same slot as the unit he joins.

 

IE

WG = Elites (unless u take logan, who makes them troops)

WG + GH = Troops

WG + LF = Heavy

WG + switftclaws = Fast

WG + Scouts = Elites (but its now the scouts elite slot and not the WG one, important if you take logan as you have just moved the WG from tropps to elites)

 

Note this doesnt mean that if you empty the WG from their elites slot you can buy another elite, as all this is decided pre game, but after army list construction.

 

I think its in the GW SW FAQ as well,

[Grey Mage]

sorry to hijack this thread, but an interesting convo came up in my last game.. my opponent was running scouts with a wolf guard, and the wolf guard doesnt have scout/infiltrate special rules.

so what happens when he joins scouts, can they stil OBEL and infiltrate and whatnot.

I let him run them anyway (im not a jerk.. well not all the time) and tbh a wolf guard with OBEL and scouts with BS/WS 4 and meltaguns is brown pants scary, i really like them :huh:

They are unit rules, and as such he benefits from them too. Since hes not an IC, they dont lose them.

 

As opposed to model rules, such as beserk charge. Similarly to how telion gives his scout unit stealth....

[greatcrusade08]

Since hes not an IC, they dont lose them.

 

that was how i figured it would be, but it was a little confusing to the un-initiated..

happily my chaos berserker list smashed his logan wolf guard list to bits :huh:

 

i like to combinations the WG and elite scouts open up, in my area few peope have really experimented with them, im seeing snipers and bolter scouts iding in bushes instead..

its a real shame, becuase i could imagine some really nasty combos.

[Stormshrug]

Scouts are a nice microcosm of our codex. They can fit themselves easily to any role, and then take it up with gusto.

 

Snipers:

Slap on some Sniper Rifles, and infiltrate them into a key building. BS4 Sniper rifles are nothing to sneeze at, and a Wolf Guard can be kitted out to help take hits that would otherwise ignore their (relatively) poor armor save. I never use them for this myself, but some people swear by it.

 

Suicide Tank Hunters:

Minimum Squad Size, Meltagun, maybe a Power Fist, and a Wolf Guard with a Combi-Melta and Melta-bombs. They're cheap, and they'll waste just about any vehicle you can outflank them into Base-to-Base contact with. Possibly two, if you can creatively charge to hit multiple vehicles. Yes, they'll probably get nuked by shooting shortly thereafter, but that's what suicide troops are for. This is probably the most popular build for Wolf Scouts, since they're almost guaranteed to buy back their points against any army with vehicles.

 

Shock Troops:

This is how I like to use my Scouts. I usually favor a large squad, so that they can soak wounds (since they won't be making a ton of saves, in all probability). Take advantage of their ability to grab two power weapons (or fists, but I prefer to strike at initiative, because of their relatively flimsy defenses), attach a close-combat Wolf Guard, and send them up against anything without a good Invul. save. Pop transports with a meltagun and waste the contents, rip up shooty enemies, or just tie things down in close combat until the bulk of your army arrives. Add a Wolf Priest or Battle Leader with Saga of the Hunter to the squad for some extra kick. This build is, admittedly, a bit situational - it's awesome against IG, Tau, and anything with squads that have a specific emphasis on shooting. It performs pretty well against standard marine lists, but tends to under-perform against Herohammer shenanigans (2,000 point armies with sixteen models, etc). Still, it can double as a tank-hunting squad in a pinch (surprise meltabombs!), unexpectedly challenge an objective, and generally messes with your opponent's head in their tactical considerations throughout the game.

 

 

-Stormshrug

[narf]

you are aware that scouts themselves cannot take power fists, the only way to get that load out on a unit is to give them a wolf guard.

 

I've not used them yet as sniper scouts (partly dont have the models, partly i think its an expensive loadout) though i have used 30 scouts in a game once, and they rocker, 6 pw attacks, 2-8 rending attacks and 21 normal attacks on the charge puts a dent in most things, then times that by 3 :P

[Matt D]

i have 2 packs of 5 scouts. one has melta and WG w/Combi-melta, fist. the other is plasmagun, 2 plasma pistols, and WG w/plasma pistol, powersword. bothe dedicated to one thing each. tank busting and infantry killing. i love love love my plasma team. they take out rear armor when needed, infantry, and especially MS's. my buddy has stopped playing nids and bought a hole new army because of them... that gives me a warm fuzzy felling inside.

[Hfran Morkai]

I run a Morkai (Heresy Era though, so perhaps Lokyar would have been better :P) company as Scouts are my favourite.

 

I like running a relatively tooled out pack.

 

At 1000 points I run with 5 members, Meltabombs, 2 Power Weapons and a Meltagun. Surprisingly I don't take a Wolf Guard with them, I might at 2000 points but then he'll get a Thunder Hammer and Combi-Melta.

 

I'm interested in running a large pack with 2 Power Weapons, Mark of the Wulfen, Flamer and a Wolf Guard with 2 Combi-Weapons (Probably a Flamer and one Melta) and the Mark of the Wulfen. I think this unit would be hilarious in larger games.

 

I just really wish Wolf Scouts had a way of acquiring Stealth, that and locator beacons...then again my Wolf Lord could have rules representing this. It just doesn't fit fluffwise that Wolf Scouts either can't hide very well/make use of Camo cloaks when every other chapter's entire 10th Company can XD (I know it's game balance but meh).

[Aeddon]

I run something similar. Two packs, one is 6 Wolf Scouts with 2 Power Weapons, one model with both Mark of the Wulfen and a Meltagun (+ Meltabombs if I have the points), Wolf Guard Pack Leader with Frost Blade, Bolt Pistol and Melta Bombs. They are often joined by an IC with SotH. The other pack has 2 Plasma Pistols, 4 Sniper Rifles and a Missile Launcher, Wolf Guard Pack Leader with Wolf Claw and Combi-plasma (though admittedly the second pack rarely gets used).

 

...I just really wish Wolf Scouts had a way of acquiring Stealth...

They do, Wolf Priest/Wolf Guard Battle Leader with Sage of the Hunter :confused:

[Hfran Morkai]

...I just really wish Wolf Scouts had a way of acquiring Stealth...

They do, Wolf Priest/Wolf Guard Battle Leader with Sage of the Hunter :D

 

Whoops, I forgot that FAQ XD hmm...the temptation to throw him in with a Sniper pack, making them fearless and nasty to assault. Though it would break the oath...