Just some simple(minded) questions

[Firepower]

So I'm diddling around with a DIY, and with a bit of thought and browsing the SW dex comes up as the most similar fit for the idea.  Namely, the theme is a tribal savage-ish, shooty oriented idea.  I didn't see a sticky to answer these outright, so I'm just wondering what some basic building blocks of such a list would be, and some questions about particular ones.

 

Long Fangs- as I understand it, the staple of fire support.  Squad of 5 with 4 MLs.  Seems very fitting for my idea.

 

Scouts- I like scouts, and they fit the theme quite a bit.  The question is viable uses.  Sniper Rifles would be the most fluffy choice, but from what I can tell at a glance the Wolf scouts don't seem to be intended for such a purpose.  So, do snipers work, or are they a poor choicecompared to X loadout?

 

Bikes- The DIY is a White Scar successor, so these are of course worth at least investigating.  Are they a good use of the Fast Attack options?  Are they better used for Assault or Shooting?

 

Landspeeder- If not Bikes, is this a good choice?

 

G. Hunters- A very important question, how good of a gunline do they make?  My limited experience playing against them (in 5th) gave me a faceful of bolts, only to get kicked in the face on the charge because of counterattack.  If they do make a solid gunline, is it best to go with all the bells and whistles (2 plasma, sword, banner, Wulfen)?  Note that I'm wondering about their gunline-rating versus other marines, rather than against other armies like IG or Tau.

 

Wolf Guard- Bit of an open ended question, but what would be the best way to employ these guys for the given theme/approach?

 

Lone Wolf- Very cool, but should I even bother?  It seems like a fluffy (Elite) sacrificial lamb.

 

Vanilla allies- Assuming the Vanilla marines are not a better choice for the army as a whole, would they be useful for filling in any gaps or better for purposes like Fast Attack or Scouts?

 

I think that pretty much covers the things currently buzzing about in my brain :D

[Squark]

-Long Fangs: Up there with the best in fire support. The White scars probably don't like the idea of a slow moving heavy weapons team, but perhaps your successor has slowed them down a bit.

-Scouts: Sniper scouts are generally inferior to their codex marines counterpart because they don't score. Assault teams got nerfed heavily by the changes to assaulting from reserves. At the moment, they're mostly relegated to suicide plasma teams (2 Plasma Pistol/Bolt Pistol Wolf Scouts, Plasmagun Scout, & 2 vanilla scouts)

-Bikes: Main issue is that they're very assault oriented, and for the most part Thunderwolf Cavalry do their job better. Not nesacarilly bad, but outclassed by another unit in the same slot

-Land Speeders: AS good here as they are in any other mechanized Space Marine army.

-Gray Hunter Gunline: Errr... Not really. Grey Hunters are a midrange unit, specializing in close range firefights. Gunline is focused on long ranged fire.

-Wolf Guard: Wolf Guard pack leaders in TDA with Power Axes and Storm Bolters/Combi-weapons are a staple part of foot-based Space Wolves lists, and they're worth considering in drop pod lists as well.

-Lone Wolf: Generally they want to have fenrisian wolf bullet shields as well, but with TDA, a Storm shield, and a Chainfist, they make excellent tarpits and tank hunters.

-Vannilla Marines Allies: Offer Scoring scouts, the potential for scoring bikers (Also, bikers who are better at shooting), and the various Code Marines specific goodies like Ironclad Dreadnaughts, Thunderfire cannons, etc. Also a decent source of fliers; a Stormtalon escorting a Stormraven gives you a decent anti-air platform, and the Stormraven appreciates having access to cheap hammernators (Honestly, Hammernators are one of the few things it's safe to put in a stormraven, simply because of their 3++ save).

 

If you're going for gunline or bikers, you're probably better of with C:SM, maybe with Space Wolf allies. If you want a more midrange force, Space Wolves are the way to go.

[dswanick]

Long Fangs- Long Fangs are a good, cost-effective method of putting heavy waepons on the table. Their great flaw is a lack of ablative wounds.

 

Scouts- Space Wolf Scouts are a wasted resource when used to field Sniper Rifles, IMO. While the BS4 is nice, the lack of Camo Cloaks and the premium price argue against them in this role. I think you're better off taking an Allied C:SM Scout Squad with Sniper Rifles. One Troops FOC will get you two scoring 5-man teams with Cloaks and fulfill your requirement for a C:SM allies detachment. 

 

Bikes- Space Wolf Bikes are an expensive proposition. The Swift Claw pack is BS3/WS3 and Headstrong and any Character capable of joining them on a bike is going to be an expensive addition. A C:SM Bike Captain might be a better choice, giving you access to Bike Squads as Troops in the C:SM Allied detachment.

 

Landspeeder- I love me some Land Speeders. I just wish they weren't so fragile. (A flaw of the platform, not of C:SW). 

 

G. Hunters- Grey Hunters are argueably one of the best Troops choices in the game. BS4/3+Save/Bolter and Counter Attack makes for a formidible gunline/midfield anvil against most opponents. As for the options - go for it. Sometimes fun costs. 

 

Wolf Guard- In a static, gunline army I would have a large pack consisting of PAWG attached to the various Grey Hunter packs providing their Ld bonus and special equipment and TDAWG packed into pods as suicide/strike elements. 

 

Lone Wolf- I'm actually not sure how well they would fit into a gun-line army. Unless you kept them intermingled with the packs to act as champions who charge out of the mass to challenge some charging CC monster opponent?

 

Vanilla allies- Go for it. Bike Captain and Bike Troops squads or Sniper Scouts already seem to fit your list and offer access to a Thunderfire Cannon, Storm Talon, Teleporting Terminators, Sternguard/Vanguard, etc... 

 

Hope these thoughts are helpful.

[eyeslikethunder]

Giving your GH's a wolf guard leader with Assault cannon or Cyclone missile launcher is a good way of increasing their firepower.

 

 

A recent tournament was won by guy using    6 long fangs 5 heavy weapons, runepriest ageisline with quad gun and Logan to fire the quadgun and wolf guard with cyclone       so mass of firepower with reroll misses reroll and pen tests or rerolls 1's to wound with a few 2+ saves to protect you from flaming chaos beasties

 

The bikers have always struck me as good value   4 attacks on the charge+HOW attack  25 pts  but need a leader but yeah the TWC slightly are better

[Wulfebane]

Long Fangs are the best devastator squad for marines.. Split Fire and 5 heavies vs 4 C:SM heavies per squad.

 

I love my sniper Wolf Scouts. I've always preferred them to the assault Scout packs. With cover rules, the cloaks are nearly superfluous, but having BS4 sniper precision shots are amazing.

 

IMO Swiftclaws are horrid in the fast attack slot. Too expensive for what you get and as what was said before, TWC outshine. That said, with a DIY army, there's nothing stopping you from having mega-awesome bikes and use the TWC profile, just make sure the bases and size match. Maybe some chariot blades on the hubcaps for the Rending USR or something.

 

Again, as said, Hunters dominate the the 12-24" midfield with bolters and +1A for 2 ccws in addition to counterattack. Put in a droppod with a TDAWG, some plasma, and an poweraxe, and they'll make anyone cry.