Advice for a new Wolf

[Viridia]

Hello there all, I'm a long-time (now former) Ultramarines player, and over the years I've created armies with several different styles, such as the hoody-style DA look for my own Imperators Gladii to the Raven-Guard esque presentation of my Tempest Reapers, but one 'look' I've never experimented with is the feral look of the Wolves. (Also I'm a huge fan of grey colour schemes. I don't care if that's sad, grey is awesome.)

 

So, I've decided that I'll have a go at a SW army, and do something unusual for me and buy the Battleforce box first ;) (Only once in my life have I bought one and that was the Third Edition Space Marine box.)

 

So, with the provisio that I don't own the Codex either at the moment, how should I best use these models? Being a fan of ten-man units, I would split them into two equal squads, but the split between Grey Hunters and Blood Claws is less than clear to me. I know that the latter are the new recruits and take the role of assault squads for the Wolves, but I've also heard that the Grey Hunters have something similar to True Grit. If so, then wouldn't they be a better choice?

 

My other questions include how varied exactly can Wolf Scouts equipment get? Are plasma pistols and special weapons a good choice?

What about a HQ? While I like being able to convert my own commander and have done it for the past two armies, I also like the special characters that are available to the SW.

 

TL;DR I'm a newb wannabe SW who wants to know how much shiny Wolf Scouts can get, what sort of HQ is good for a SW army, and are Grey Hunters better than Blood Claws?

[Eirik_Xenobane]

Simply put, Grey Hunters are better.

 

For 15 points you get a standard Space Marine statline, boltgun, bolt pistol and CCW

 

For 15 points a bloodclaw gets a scout statline, bolt pistol and CCW

[Viridia]

Simply put, Grey Hunters are better.

 

For 15 points you get a standard Space Marine statline, boltgun, bolt pistol and CCW

 

For 15 points a bloodclaw gets a scout statline, bolt pistol and CCW

 

Ah, I see I feel into the trap of thinking 'space marine - BS/WS/S/T is always going to be 4' then. Thanks for answering that question Eirik.

[eyeslikethunder]

wolf scouts are normally taken with melta guns but a plasma pistol can be handy second shot or Wolf guard with combi

 

Grey hunters all the way unfortunately the BC's are over priced. The optimum squad sizes varies depending on your style for GH's

Drops pods tend to use 10 man squads

Rhino riders seems to be a bit smaller 7-10

razorbacks squads 5-6

Space wolves dont get combat tactics so no squad splitting. but GH's have a Bolter CCW and bolt pistol so have attacks equal to assault marine and can charge and shoot plus counter attack so get extra attack when charged

rune priests are the best HQ

thunderwolf lords second best dependent on style

 

Hello there all, I'm a long-time (now former) Ultramarines player, and over the years I've created armies with several different styles, such as the hoody-style DA look for my own Imperators Gladii to the Raven-Guard esque presentation of my Tempest Reapers, but one 'look' I've never experimented with is the feral look of the Wolves. (Also I'm a huge fan of grey colour schemes. I don't care if that's sad, grey is awesome.)

 

So, I've decided that I'll have a go at a SW army, and do something unusual for me and buy the Battleforce box first ;) (Only once in my life have I bought one and that was the Third Edition Space Marine box.)

 

So, with the provisio that I don't own the Codex either at the moment, how should I best use these models? Being a fan of ten-man units, I would split them into two equal squads, but the split between Grey Hunters and Blood Claws is less than clear to me. I know that the latter are the new recruits and take the role of assault squads for the Wolves, but I've also heard that the Grey Hunters have something similar to True Grit. If so, then wouldn't they be a better choice?

 

My other questions include how varied exactly can Wolf Scouts equipment get? Are plasma pistols and special weapons a good choice?

What about a HQ? While I like being able to convert my own commander and have done it for the past two armies, I also like the special characters that are available to the SW.

 

TL;DR I'm a newb wannabe SW who wants to know how much shiny Wolf Scouts can get, what sort of HQ is good for a SW army, and are Grey Hunters better than Blood Claws?

[hendrik]

first of all you'll need the space wolves codex, then have a sit down and play around abit with your army composition. i know this will not be the advice you want but don't assemble any space wolves yet (unless maybe your standard grey hunters). given the fact that you already have a couple of marine armies i'd say you use those for maybe 3-4 games to decide what tactics you like with the wolves, droppodding, mechanised? footslogging, or a combination of them all?

[Patrikthegrim]

Grey hunters are definitely better. You can't split them into 2 squads like other space marine units though. The free weapon at 10 men is nice though. The scouts can get pretty shiny if you want them to be. I find less is more with them most of the time. I have a sniper loadout and a melta cc louadout depending on what i want them to do in my army. Rune priests are good especially if your facing psykers, im personally a fan of a wolf lord because you can kit him out so many different ways.

[Kassill]

Welcome to the Fang! *slides ale over* Have a drink and take a seat.

 

Grey Hunters are where it's at my friend. They'll be the meat of your army. Now how to kit them out can very.

 

Rune Priest, never leave home with out one. These are by far one of the best, if not the best, HQ's.

 

Scouts, I run mine cheap and effective. 5x man with a Melta Gun. For 85 points these guys can really sow seeds of destruction behind enemy lines. Some kit them out a little more, plasma pistols, melta bombs, power weapons etc, but I usually have all my points tied up else where.

 

Be sure to check out other threads and some of the stickies up top for more helpful info, and feel free to ask. :(

[Viridia]

first of all you'll need the space wolves codex, then have a sit down and play around abit with your army composition. i know this will not be the advice you want but don't assemble any space wolves yet (unless maybe your standard grey hunters). given the fact that you already have a couple of marine armies i'd say you use those for maybe 3-4 games to decide what tactics you like with the wolves, droppodding, mechanised? footslogging, or a combination of them all?

 

That's perfectly fine advice actually, normally I'm a fluff-player but with the Wolves I'm more inspired to get an army that's that little bit more competitive going. Though admittedly I'm not a fan of mechanised assaults, and I've never used a drop-pod before, but I'm willing to give it a go this time around.

 

Grey hunters are definitely better. You can't split them into 2 squads like other space marine units though. The free weapon at 10 men is nice though. The scouts can get pretty shiny if you want them to be. I find less is more with them most of the time. I have a sniper loadout and a melta cc louadout depending on what i want them to do in my army. Rune priests are good especially if your facing psykers, im personally a fan of a wolf lord because you can kit him out so many different ways.

 

1. That's great, I've never really been one for using the Combat Squads rule.

2. A free weapon at ten men you say? Interesting. Is this for special weapons or close combat weapons? If it applies to both, do GH have the ability to be used effectively in both ranged combat and melee?

3. Snipers for Wolves? Does...not...compute... :( I kid, I kid, I only ask because the original Wolf Scouts released by GW had some nifty armaments such as power weapons and plasma pistols and the like.

4. Is it possible for a Rune Priest to take a bodyguard of these Wolf Guards, and can they be given Termie armour? I only ask so I can form a vision of what else I might need in the future.

[postal105]

rune priests and wolf guard can both take TDA and the rune priest con join the wolf guard pack if he wants to.

[hendrik]

a special weapon, but really get the dex, it has all the rules :(

since you mentioned you don't like mechanised i think droppoding is definetly the thing for your wolves. we can do footslogging but really lack the speed a bit for it, sure we've got swiftclaws and skyclaws (think scouts stats on bikes or with jetpacks, and 2+A in the charge instead of 1) but i think you'll find these lacking a bit. in droppoding however our terminators are more reliable(you'll need to use a droppod for them instead of deepstriking like standard space marines do), our grey hunter packs can recieve a charge better and they can pack more special weapons!

edit: not to mention you can have each pack led by a wolf guard in terminator armour aswell!

[Viridia]

a special weapon, but really get the dex, it has all the rules :(

since you mentioned you don't like mechanised i think droppoding is definetly the thing for your wolves. we can do footslogging but really lack the speed a bit for it, sure we've got swiftclaws and skyclaws (think scouts stats on bikes or with jetpacks, and 2+A in the charge instead of 1) but i think you'll find these lacking a bit. in droppoding however our terminators are more reliable(you'll need to use a droppod for them instead of deepstriking like standard space marines do), our grey hunter packs can recieve a charge better and they can pack more special weapons!

edit: not to mention you can have each pack led by a wolf guard in terminator armour aswell!

 

Excellent, thank you all very much for helping this newcomer. I'm planning to wait for my birthday next month in order to get the necessary bits and pieces, and in the meantime I'm going to do as you said Hendrik and maybe try to proxy a few games down at my local GW. You've all been a great help.

[Jonas Stromclaw]

Don't listen to hendrik, we can do footslogging. :( You'll just have to miss out on some of our shinier toys in order to have enough bodies. The skyclaws and swiftclaws by themselves can be a little underwhelming, but coupled with a wolf priest they are brutal. Wolf scouts are a must with a footslogging list to sow disruption in the enemy gunline as you cross the field. Also consider some long fangs; our heavy weapons troopers are the best in the game right now. Win many victories for Russ!

[hendrik]

i'm not saying we can't do footslogging but there are space marine armies that do it far better then us, most notable the bloodangels with all their jetpacks, more experienced bikers and a lot of FNP to get acces to, which, lets face it,helps you a lot to get through a field under heavy fire

[Lord Ragnarok]

Can't, Should't, never, those type of finite statements often to capture the accuracy of the situation. Footslogging can be done but it may be a tad more difficult v/s armies which were mentioned above.

 

And I echo the sentiment that GH's are better than BC's. Same pts, lower stats. BUT, if you want to field them for fluff, fun always is a winner. :tu:

[Forté]

Welcome to the Fang Smurf :tu:

 

Best advice I can give echoes Hendrik. Get the codex. Read it all so you get the proper feel for Wolves. Charactor and rules. Try out some lists using proxies too. Nothing in our dex can win you games without support from the rest of the force so don't expect them too.

 

And check out Brother Ramses stickied FAQ topic. Some very useful links for new pups.

 

Lastly...don't write of Blood Claws on someone else's say so. Try them.

[Jonas Stromclaw]

i'm not saying we can't do footslogging but there are space marine armies that do it far better then us, most notable the bloodangels with all their jetpacks, more experienced bikers and a lot of FNP to get acces to, which, lets face it,helps you a lot to get through a field under heavy fire

Didn't mean to attack you hendrik, just advertising my own favorite way of taking the field :D