my long fangs keep dying!

[Mr.darkness]

Ok, i've been playing space wolves for a couple of months and (like a lot of others) i have been using 2 or 3 squads of long fangs, alongside rhino mounted GHs and a couple of rune priests.

obviously the LFs are the only guys on foot. this means that they are basically the only targets for anything that cant hurt AV 11. that includes all poisoned weapons, heavy bolters, etc...

 

because of the fact that they only have the 5 or 6 guys, and almost all of them are heavy weapons, every casualty is a big loss. they tend to die on T1 or 2, even when in cover.

 

So, what do you do? when playing mech, do you leave the Lfs at home, and take vindis or preds?

Or do you play hybrid, or hide the LFs behind the rhinos, etc...

All input is welcomed. Thanks

[Arez]

Ok, i've been playing space wolves for a couple of months and (like a lot of others) i have been using 2 or 3 squads of long fangs, alongside rhino mounted GHs and a couple of rune priests.

obviously the LFs are the only guys on foot. this means that they are basically the only targets for anything that cant hurt AV 11. that includes all poisoned weapons, heavy bolters, etc...

 

because of the fact that they only have the 5 or 6 guys, and almost all of them are heavy weapons, every casualty is a big loss. they tend to die on T1 or 2, even when in cover.

 

So, what do you do? when playing mech, do you leave the Lfs at home, and take vindis or preds?

Or do you play hybrid, or hide the LFs behind the rhinos, etc...

All input is welcomed. Thanks

I recommend putting them in a razorback.I did that on one game and they lasted till the very end of the game.

A good strategy is keep them in the razorback and if you notice tankbuster weapons aiming towards your razor take the LF's if they're by cover then send the razor to do what ever you think is good

[Wulfebane]

I've been going mech-hybrid lately. I occasionally use one vindicator, but I don't own a pred. Long Fangs are considered the best devastator unit in the game, atm. Regardless, yeah you need to give your opponent something more urgently threatening to distract those higher AP units.

 

You could try dropping a unit of LFs and go with multiple (yet separate) Land Speeders to achieve close to the same amount of firepower for the cost. Move them in behind a building and pop up to fire then drop back down to avoid LoS.

 

For hybrid routes, I'd go with a scout pack or a GH pack in a drop pod.. maybe deepstriking Skyclaws or flatout Swiftclaws. Anything to get one of your packs as close to the opponent's gunline in Turn 1 as possible. The close proximity causes most people to abandon a sense of strategy out of concern that something that close is uncomfortable. Think about what you do when someone invades your personal bubble.. likely flail, lash out, or jump back in alarm.. usually something instinctual that you do without thinking. That's what you want to force on your opponent.

 

So yeah, drop pods and swiftclaws are a good mech way to achieve that. Alternately, you can go with Wolf Guard. A drop pod filled with WG in TDA with maybe 1-2 SSs, and/or Arjac and your Wolf Lord will completely freak your opponent out. Alongside that, you could put a WG in TDA (and even with a SS) with your LF units to soak up some firepower. Traditionally, a cyclone WG is used, so he's not standing around picking his nose.

[Thylacine]

Sit them in cover and leave them there. Look at the table and work out where in your deployment zone you LF's will have the best LoS to enemy targets and where they will get the best cover saves from.

 

Use the vehicles in your army to shield them, if you can. Rhinos, Razorbacks and Land Raiders can be used as rolling shields for your LF's blocking LoS from enemy units that can hurt them. Roll your vehicles out of the way in the turn you want to shoot and you should have all your LF's concentrating fire on the one target.

 

Give your opponent something else to worry about.

 

T.

[Ash Tekka]

I find taking two squads of them each carrying 3 missile/2 las(for example) deployed in cover a decent distance apart (depending on deployment zone) each with a las/plas razorback that is deployed near them works good. I use grey hunters with rune priest(s) in rhinos to help add to the armor wall.

 

I then will take a dreadnought or two (or other fun toy) depending on what point value I'm playing and how I'm feeling that day.

 

Generally I will loose one pack of LF in the first 2 turns but the other one is still going strong, meanwhile those two las/plas razorbacks are also blowing holes in things along with the dreadnought(or whatever) and the Rune priest(which my opponents are beginning to learn to fear).

 

So far this has worked out really well for me even though my opponents usually throw everything at those long fangs. I usually plan on them doing that though and deploy and attack with that in mind.

 

If I have the points to spare I might add a wolf guard to each, sometimes one with terminator armor and cyclone missile launcher just to guarantee that that is the prime juicy target. Once I had one in terminator armor, cyclone missile, storm shield, and mark of the wulfen. Expensive but more then paid for itself by the end...especially when his pack died and he ran around eating people.

 

 

Its like a game of slight of hand with my army. While your looking over there are the crazy dangerous long fangs the rest of the army is stabbing you in the back.

[Grey Mage]

They should be in cover at extreme range. This means that 1) they can only be hit by most armies anti-tank weapons, 2) that they get a save against said weapons, 3) they are protected against enemy artillery strikes, 4) That they have a wide-angled veiw of the enemy forces.

 

By the time fast elements of the enemy force can arrive in strong enough numbers to reliably deal with them you should be able to wreck your enemies vehicular mobility and position your GHs to intercept, while using the LFs covering fire to keep them save from the enemies 'big guns'.

 

Atleast, thats how it works in my force when Im running mech.

[clanfield]

i always task 1 10 man gh squad with 2 plas guns as esscort for my long fangs ,

 

1 it lets me concentrate my ml on heavy targets at start

2 it gives them a good defence vs enermy infantry

3 they can if push comes to shove be used as a screen togive cover saves to the long fangs

 

its not mobile but hey it gives me a good start to strike out from and works a charm

[Hear da Lamentation]

I would agree with all posts here. I always have 2 packs of LF - and as you say, they are usually the focus of attention the 1st 2 turns. However, when placed in the back field and in cover - they weather a considerable amount of firepower. After turn 1-2 is over I have given them something else to worry about and the missile tends to be on other targets.

 

The advice here can be summed up as

 

1. Placement is all important. In cover, as far away from opponent as possible (and remember stuff like outflankers)

2. Give the opponent something else to think about asap.

[dswanick]

Two tactics that work well for me, in addition to the above advice on cover and positioning -

1. If the unit is on foot, add a bone-stock Wolf Guard to the unit. Give them an 18pt ablative wound.

2. I use WG Pack Leaders, so I often add one more Wolf Guard to the pack leaving a pack of 1 after the others are seconded out to their packs. I then deploy this "Lone Wolf-lite" as a speed bump against Infiltrating and Deep Striking units.

 

A tactic I've seen used effectively (especially on light terrain boards) is a screen of Fen.wolves. If you use fantasy models for your wolves they are less than the full height of a marine. By rining your LFs with a pack of wolves you bubblewrap them against charges and they provide a cover save against shooting if there is no good area terrain to deploy in.