Added to the rule book army

[spikyjames]

Hi all,

 

It's been a while!

 

As some of you may know, I painted the Wolves army that's featured in the big 40k rule book. I've recently started playing alot more regularly again and was playing alot with a vanilla marine list, I just wasn't quite getting it though. So after a few conversations with some friends I decided to run the wolves again, this time however I decided to expand the army significantly.

 

This is what I'm currently playing with;

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/spikyjames/Wolves/590DC55A-A54D-47F7-A03B-43934B128A89-9690-00000D90E1657CC0_zps253c9c0d.jpg

 

Looks something like this prior to deployment;

 

Rune Priest(RA), Wolf Guard Combi/power weapon, 8 Grey Hunters melta, Drop Pod (1)

 

Rune Priest, Wolf Guard Combi/power weapon, 8 Grey Hunters melta, Drop Pod (2)

 

3 Wolf Guard, combis, Drop Pod (3)

 

Dreadnought, Drop Pod (4)

 

Dreadnought, Drop Pod (5)

 

10 Grey Hunters, 2 meltas, Drop Pod (6)

 

10 Grey Hunters, 2 meltas, Drop Pod (7)

 

10 Grey Hunters, flamer/melta, Drop Pod (8)

 

10 Grey Hunters, flamer/melta, Drop Pod (9)

 

So yeah, 56 Grey Hunters, 5 Wolf Guard, 2 Rune Priests and 2 Dreadnoughts all in pods, 5 pods turn 1 of the game so potientially 50 marines right in your opponents deployment zone!

 

I've only really started playing the list over the last few weeks, managed to get one practice game in prior to taking it to a local tournament and managed 13th out of 34 which wasn't too bad. the things it struggles against are big gribblies, either flying or on foot, it needs a little bit more of a punch somewhere. I'll probably try and fit it in somewhere at a later date when I've got a bit more experience with 6th ed.

 

The main thing for me is that it's great fun to play with and a bit out of the blue and not what alot of folks expect.

 

Here's a few more pics of some of the new stuff;

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/spikyjames/Wolves/100_5342_zps07f49dfd.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/spikyjames/Wolves/100_5338_zps0054fb00.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/spikyjames/Wolves/100_5337_zps64e393a5.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/spikyjames/Wolves/100_5339_zps434d844c.jpg

 

I'd be interested to hear what some of you guys think about the list, very happy to discuss the pros and cons and answer any questions you might have.

 

James

 

 

 

[Grimtooth]

Not about the list, but are you greenstuffing facial hair or are you finding those from the existing line of models?

[spikyjames]

Ah, thought that would get a question, I do a bit of work on the heads of my minis but it's mainly trimming top knots and mohicans off etc. the guys in the pics with the beards etc are all from the Thunderwolf boxed set, there are 3 GW sources of SW style marine heads, the pack set, the GW upgrade sprue and the Thunderwolves set. Ther are of course all the other marine sets that work as well along with things like the fantasy chaos marauder set too.

 

James

[Lord Ragnarok]

Always nice to see you drop in Spikey. Chaps are looking great as usual. I love me a drop pod force. Are you feeling like you need a little speed as well as range?

[skeletoro]

Are those two forge world Lucius pattern drop pods? I was wondering if they were bigger than the plastic kit. How do they compare in terms of looks?

[Grimtooth]

Ah, thought that would get a question, I do a bit of work on the heads of my minis but it's mainly trimming top knots and mohicans off etc. the guys in the pics with the beards etc are all from the Thunderwolf boxed set, there are 3 GW sources of SW style marine heads, the pack set, the GW upgrade sprue and the Thunderwolves set. Ther are of course all the other marine sets that work as well along with things like the fantasy chaos marauder set too.

 

James

Thanks.

 

As for the list, you are pushing hard with a get right out there and get in your face force which is highly dependent on burninating things down when your guys get out of pods or suffering a serious counterfire/assault.

 

As you mentioned, you are lacking a bit with something to take out the biggun and flyers. I can't tell by the pic what your dreads are equipped with, but rifleman dreads could serve dual purpose of providing some antiair while having strong enough weapons to put some wounds on bigguns.

 

Your other option for air could be some ADL or even some FW weapon platforms. Either could also serve to drop some low AP wounds on bigguns as well.

 

Lastly, not too sure about mixing the flamers with meltas. I am never a fan of mixing special weapons due to possible negating the use of one weapon completely when it comes to a target. Flamers in my GH serve what I call close support roles and with the introduction of overwatch in 6th, I will even go as far as making them extreme close support. This means I will always put them in a position to be multiassaulted with either my plasma or melta packs to provide for the wall of fire effect to add to the overwatch fire.

 

Otherwise, way to make a MEQ swarm army....hahahaha!

[eyeslikethunder]

 

Are those two forge world Lucius pattern drop pods? I was wondering if they were bigger than the plastic kit. How do they compare in terms of looks?

I much prefer mine to the plastic pods

[Forté]

Once again...another army which has my jaw on the floor. Looking really tasty. Ale on me.

[Kassill]

Love your army as always brother!

[spikyjames]

Thanks for all the replies guys, glad you all like the expansion.

@Brother Ramses, Yeah, there's loads of other bits and bobs I'd like to try with the list, I have some plans for big gribblies etc. once I've got a better feel for how this list works in the current game I'll start developing a bit more.

Yeah, the Dread pods are big beasts compared to the GW ones, they're pretty heavy compared to them as well, I do find them slightly akward though.

James

[Cowmonaut]

Drop Pod Space Wolves are a thing of beauty.  Love how your army looks aesthetically as well.

 

But your weapon selection is made for 5th edition, not 6th edition.  There is a lot I would change and a few things that have to change:

 

Rune Priest(RA), Wolf Guard Combi/power weapon, 8 Grey Hunters melta, Drop Pod (1)

 

Rune Priest, Wolf Guard Combi/power weapon, 8 Grey Hunters melta, Drop Pod (2)

 

3 Wolf Guard, combis, Drop Pod (3)

 

Dreadnought, Drop Pod (4)

 

Dreadnought, Drop Pod (5)

 

10 Grey Hunters, 2 meltas, Drop Pod (6)

 

10 Grey Hunters, 2 meltas, Drop Pod (7)

 

10 Grey Hunters, flamer/melta, Drop Pod (8)

 

10 Grey Hunters, flamer/melta, Drop Pod (9)

 

So yeah, 56 Grey Hunters, 5 Wolf Guard, 2 Rune Priests and 2 Dreadnoughts all in pods, 5 pods turn 1 of the game so potientially 50 marines right in your opponents deployment zone!

 

First off, your Rune Priests still need separate wargear.  A Runic Axe and a Runic Sword are the same thing per GW.  They also still need different powers.  I'm curious what you are using currently, but in any event Living Lightning can help shore up some of your ranged weaknesses.

 

Second, your Dreadnoughts look to be armed with Multi-Meltas and Heavy Flamers is that right?  I'd strongly recommend either doubling up on Twin-Linked Autocannons or taking an Assault Cannon and Twin-Linked Autocannon.

 

Volume of fire is very important in 6th edition.  You'll end up using Snapfire a lot, particularly with a Drop Pod list, so you'll be BS1.  Either you will be shooting during Overwatch or you'll be trying to peg an enemy Flyer (Chaos Helldrakes get a special mention since they are very strong against foot lists, of which Drop Pods are a variant).  The number of invulnerable saves your enemy is rolling also a major factor, since every bike/skimmer/flyer/unit in cover and a plethora of other rules and abilities give enemy units invulnerable/cover saves.

 

Even in 5th edition I would have recommended this, but even more so in 6th edition I recommend Plasma Guns over Meltaguns.  And as nice as Flamers are, especially in numbers during Overwatch, I would avoid them and double up on either Melta or Plasma.  Yes, Plasma can over heat blah blah blah.  It was rarely that big of a deal previously, and now you get armor saves if you do overheat.  S7 is still excellent for dealing with AV12 and below, which is usually the AV you'll be facing, and you get a lot more shots.  It is particularly nice when receiving a charge of Terminators or something equally terrifying that hates AP3 or better, since you get more chances to land a hit before they strike.

 

I could go on a multi-page tear about the glory of Plasma weapons, but seriously.  Take them.  Personally I take 3 units with Plasma and 2 with Melta (sometimes you do face Land Raiders after all!) in my list.

 

Also, where on earth are your Wolf Standards?  Even with no other combat upgrades, the ability to re-roll all one's in a combat phase can make or break games.  I'd highly recommend sticking a model with Mark of the Wulfen in minimally as well as again, volume of attacks is important but Rending is AP2 and strikes at Initiative 4 (instead of Initiative 1 like every other AP2 melee attack).  For added fun, feel free to take Power Weapons on top of it but that gets expensive and I prefer to be a little frugal with my units that are going to suffer heavy casualties.

 

Long Fangs are still important for Drop Pod lists.  Since you can Snapfire Heavy weapons you can even keep them in a Drop Pod if you want.  Or stick them on that landing pad fortification so they have a 4++ save and an elevated firing position.  Possibly consider Land Speeders, as though having 2 HP they seem very fragile I'm slowly learning that Fast Skimmers can be hard to bring down sometimes.

 

Anyways, my point is you need more firepower at range.  6th Edition is even more shooty than 5th, and while the Objective based nature of the game means we Space Wolves tend to be right at optimal range, sometimes you need to shoot farther than 24".

 

 

Oh, and don't let enemy flyers worry you too much.  With Drop Pod lists and aggressive Objective placement (when you play a game where you and your foe actually place the Objectives anyways) you can maneuver your forces to limit their effectiveness.  Enemies that bring flyers seem to depend on them too much so this can really put them at a disadvantage.

 

EDIT: I had a brain fart and read RA as Runic Axe vs Runic Armor.  The eff.

[spikyjames]

Cowmonaut,

 

Thanks for your reply, in answer to a few of your points.

 

Firstly I'll say I played Wolves pretty much exclusively through 5th ed, right from the beginning of the edition with the new codex hitting and just before that with the previous book as well. So I'm no stranger to all the added benefits of all the lovely wargear that our codex supplies

 

Indeed, RA does stand for Runic Armour.

 

As for psychic powers, I've only played about with the codex stuff so far, mainly JotWW, LL and MH, I'm sure I'll play about with more including rule book powers as I use this list more and more.

 

Not sure how the Dreadnoughts look like that if I'm honest (did you not notice them in the pic at the top?) Assault Cannons and Storm Bolters for the pair.

 

The turn this lands it potientially puts out, 2 of the above Psychic Powers, minimum 78 bolter shots, a potiential 9 melta and one flamer shot along with that there's 10 BS1 storm bolters, is that a big enough weight of fire for you?

 

Plasma over Melta, horses for courses really, I've personally never been a plasma fan, I'd rather be confident I wasn't going to kill myself.

 

Every Grey Hunter pack I've ever painted has had Wolf Standards and a Wulfen, I'm really wanting to take a fresh approach, consider this, 5 standards and 5 Wulfen cost 125, that's almost one of my packs of Grey Hunters, 6th ed is more shooting orientated, 125 of CCW buffs probably isn't the best choice (frugal?), just my thought.

 

Again, Long Fangs, I've never been a fan.

 

The real point of this list is getting bodies on the ground, it really puts opponents off, it suits the way I play, I'll continue playing it for a while if I feel like changing it at some point down the line I will.

 

James

[Cowmonaut]

First day in a while its been sunny outside, the glare and my poor crippled eyes apparently made me see the assault cannons as having two barrels stacked vertically instead of a circle of death!  So my apologies on that, you already are packing heat :)

 

Anyways, I fully get the point to your list.  Believe me.  All I do is play pure Drop Pod lists myself, except the occasional IG Ally in a special null-deployment list (I abuse the reserve rules so nothing starts on the table; IG allies included) depending on my mood.  You have to be super aggressive, and smash the enemy hard.

 

I'm just surprised that you don't run into problems on Turn 2 or Turn 3 with the Meltaguns on the ground not being in range to actually Melta anything.  Likewise, I'd be shocked if half your Grey Hunters didn't end up in an assault at some point against many lists (Tyranids, Daemons, Chaos, Blood Angels, Grey Knights, Space Marines, Orks, Dark Eldar, or any list with some of those as allies), especially being in such short range.

 

You also complained of having trouble with 'big gribblies' and needing more of a punch somewhere.  Hence the points I was trying to make.  You may want to sacrifice 8 Grey Hunters and shuffle around a little wargear to bring in some extra firepower.

 

Don't like Long Fangs?  That's fine.  Find the points for either a third Dreadnought or some Land Speeders.  Unfortunately the Land Speeders would have to start on the table, and if you go second they can't Turbo Boost so have a chance of being blown up right away, but at least they can bring some more punch.

 

With regards to your list, you have 5 pods coming in on Turn 1 right?  With Pods 1, 2, 6 and 7 most likely coming down Turn 1?  Possibly your remaining Wolf Guard in Pod 3 or a Dreadnought in Pod 4 or 5 or your other Grey Hunters in Pod 8 or 9?

 

So minimum 60 Bolter shots, possibly as high as 80, depending if you take 5 Grey Hunters in Turn 1 and your Wolf Guard don't use their Combi-Meltas.  6-9 Melta shots; 0-1 Flamer shots, or 2 if you take both Pods 8 and 9.  Obviously Living Lightning is awesome so likely 2-12 S7 AP4 shots as well from the Rune Priests.  Right?

 

Not too bad depending on the opponent.  The Melta is only worthwhile if you are within 6" (likewise for the Flamers) but its pretty easy to position your Pods so you will be able to disembark into range.  Your maximum effective range for 98% of your army is 30" (6" + 24"), 12" for your special weapons (6" + 6" for Melta range; Meltaguns are lackluster when they aren't in Melta range).  You should be in that range the bulk of the game, though some things will be out of range.  Many things in armies like Dark Eldar or even Tau will be able to avoid your 18" Rapid Fire range.

 

Turn 1 is scary for your foe.  But we already knew that.  I'd be more worried about Turn 2 and Turn 3, when the enemy Reserves come in (Flyers, Deep Strikers, Outflankers, oh my!).  I'd just be concerned that the majority of the weapons that can actually affect 'big gribblies' require them to be on top of me.

 

Food for thought.  It sounds and looks like you know your army, just have faced different things than I have.  I've found I can largely ignore enemy Flyers if they only take 1-2 by forcing the Flyers to move more than 18" when they come onto the board and spending a turn or two coming about to shoot at me.  Where I've personally run into issues is with large amounts of cover saves, the need to rapidly react to faster moving enemies, and either weathering intense enemy shooting or enemy charges while deep in their territory and only half my force is available.  My main opponents have been Dark Eldar, Chaos, Blood Angels, Necrons, and Grey Knights (and soon a crap ton of Tau as I start going to League night again) in case the perspective helps.

[Ragnars Claw]

What would you put in an 1850 pod list then Cownonaut? :)