How are Space Wolves in apocalypse?

[skeletoro]

So, with apocalypse looming, I'm wondering, do space wolves currently have anything interesting in apocalypse? That is, beyond what space wolves get in normal 40k?

 

I noticed that in IA11, there's an interesting formation for Bran Redmaw's company: ~3 grey hunter squads in land raiders, plus the Redmaw... gets your models Furious Charge and Rage.

 

Interesting...

 

Any other cool tricks? I'm a complete apocalypse noob. I've never even looked at the apoc rulebook.

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Agreed with skeletoro, I was actually wondering if you guys took super heavies, and if so which ones.

[skeletoro]

I guess thunderhawks. Assuming you wanted to be 100% space wolves rather than a mixed force.

 

That land raider formation, though... Really makes me want to paint up 3 land raiders! IA10 has another formation with 3 caestus assault rams too. That would be fun to play, I think. That said, 3 rams costs almost as much as a thunderhawk. ;)

[Sturm Moonwolf]

I'm an Apocalypse player and have a really large Space Wolf army. I prefer to play pure wolves, but I do own a Baneblade that I liked to refer to as my Legion Fellblade, however since Forgeworld is actually making Fellblades now I'm soon to buy 1 (or 3). Generally I don't need any superheavies as I have specifically tailored Wolf Guard packs designed to ruin any superheavy in a much more cost efficient way. Packs of 10 combi-melta WG in drop pods mostly, and Dreads in Lucius Drop Pods. The Dreadnought formations are really nice like the Hextad of Ancients and Iron Cylone. Anyways, other than a Thunderhawk, Fellblade or Typhon Seige Tank there isn't anything else out there really for Superheavies if you want to stay pure SW.

[SW1]

I'm an Apocalypse player and have a really large Space Wolf army. I prefer to play pure wolves, but I do own a Baneblade that I liked to refer to as my Legion Fellblade, however since Forgeworld is actually making Fellblades now I'm soon to buy 1 (or 3). Generally I don't need any superheavies as I have specifically tailored Wolf Guard packs designed to ruin any superheavy in a much more cost efficient way. Packs of 10 combi-melta WG in drop pods mostly, and Dreads in Lucius Drop Pods. The Dreadnought formations are really nice like the Hextad of Ancients and Iron Cylone. Anyways, other than a Thunderhawk, Fellblade or Typhon Seige Tank there isn't anything else out there really for Superheavies if you want to stay pure SW.

 

I was looking at the 10 combi-melta units in DP's to specifically use in Apoc games.  Would you say it's worth while adding 2 or 3 power fists/thunder hammers in the units so they are useful in a following turn if they survive in the next turn?  Changes them from a one shot weapon.

 

Drop 5 units and all have to be wiped out by the opponent or they'll be loosing more vehicles to the units in the next turn, but this time from H2H attacks?

[Sohail187]

I am in need of combi weapon advise. Do you guys custom build each combi weapon? or pre purchase the kit from forge world? if you custom build your combi's which packs do you use that offer the most bits to make more than 1 combi melta.

[SW1]

I am in need of combi weapon advise. Do you guys custom build each combi weapon? or pre purchase the kit from forge world? if you custom build your combi's which packs do you use that offer the most bits to make more than 1 combi melta.

 

It depends on which combi-weapon you are looking to use.  Are you after melta or plasma or flamer?

[dswanick]

I built 1 of each using GW bits, then made a mold and pour my own.

[Sohail187]

i want combi melta's. Now i have seen a guide on how to make em, but i want to know where or which box sets i can buy to get the most parts i need. 

[Cate]

I am quite used to Apocalypse, usually 7-15 matches per year. I have never played a pure SW list yet as most of the time I am forced to use some Superheavies, (I use Stormlords and Baneblades) and that in Apoc you will often meet more fliers than in a normal game. I have gone through many of the  datasheets that exist and have been tweaking them for my group, so they get more into line with Space wolves, titan hammer formation with drop pods, Battle company becoming a Great company formation etc. As Apoc is only playable for fun, even thinking of making a apocalypse tournament makes my brain hurt, your opponents should really just go along with the crazy stuff.

A Contemptor mortis Dread in a Space Wolf force? Why not? A recently built Baneblade variant on rout to Fenris for the the Aett guard, pressed into support for the Space wolfes in one battle just because it is sitting in a storage area on your battle cruiser. Thunderhawks are awesome if you can afford them, otherwise are predator assassin squadrons workable to take out those Superheavies, all the annihilator preds lascans are suddenly twin linked. You need those area blasts to dig out all those infantry, so the Suppression force is one of the few ways we can do massive damage on infantry.

Bastions, Aegis and Skyshields many times shine in Apoc. The right stratagems really can throw a spanner in your opponents plans.

 

/C

[Sturm Moonwolf]

@SW1 I use my 10 man combi melta packs as suicide squads in Drop Pods with the sole intent of destroying a superheavy. Generally I only give 1 a Mark of the Wulfen for CC, and I sometimes break them down into 5 man packs in drop pods. It just depends how many Titans/Superheavies I'm likely to face.

 

About the combi-malta conversions, you guys can check my thread for the painting challenge, I have a 5 man combi melta Terminator pack in there. I buy the 10 pack of GW's metal meltaguns and dremel off the barrel. Then just slice off barrel on the stormbolter, add the melta barrel to one side and use a spare bolter or bolt pistol barrel tip for the other side of the barrel.

[skeletoro]

infernus pistols look OK strapped onto a trimmed-down storm bolter. You get more of the detailing of the melta tech, and the barrel is a bit smaller which I think I prefer (perhaps befitting of a 1-shot melta weapon?)

[Grey Mage]

Alot of the good stuff comes from converting SM formations to our needs. The Ancients Assault Force is a good one, outflanking dreadnaughts all day long

The Skyhammer Orbital Strike Force is also alot of fun. Though you should talk with your opponents about it- Sever the head doesnt exist, so most of the time people will let you replace it with trophy kill.

The Space Marine first company formation can be easily used to represent Grimnars Great Company, though Id ask my friends to make it 10+ Wolf Guard units totally atleast 100 models, with no packs at fewer than 5 men- and so far theyve agreed to this change.

However I think its unlikely well get a new apoc edition without a complete overhaul of the formations and invalidation of the old ones.

I am in need of combi weapon advise. Do you guys custom build each combi weapon? or pre purchase the kit from forge world? if you custom build your combi's which packs do you use that offer the most bits to make more than 1 combi melta.

Combi-meltas and Plasmas come, one each, in the SM Commander box- wich has other wonderful bits in it too. However a cheaper/faster way to get alot of them is to cut one, and only one, barrel off a stormbolter and add on the muzzle of the gun you want to 'combi'. You can even magnetize these on your HQs if you like to take combis alot.

[skeletoro]

So... Bran Redmaw has some pretty crazy offensive potential in the new apoc ruleset. The turn he channel's Leman Russ, he gets double attacks and strength (if in B2B with enemy model or somesuch). In the formation (giving rage), after a charge, that's 10 strength, AP2, 12 attacks (5*2 + 2, not to mention the strength 10 HoW attack), and initiative 6/WS7/wolftooth necklace. And he gets to roll twice to pen because he's a monstrous creature. I can imagine him singlehandedly taking out superheavies?

 

Anyway, looking at the formation in IA11... I'm wondering how the pics for formations relate to the rules. The bullet point text of the formation just says you need Bran or a WGBL, some grey hunters packs, and the GH packs must be mounted in Land Raiders. Only when it represents the formation pictorially does it suggest that Bran needs to be IN one of the grey hunters packs. What I'm wondering is... Could he be in a separate Land Raider with a unit of wolf guard, say, instead of the grey hunters? If the pics are prescriptive (rather than just a nice illustration) then no. But if they're just a nice illustration, then only the bullet point list for the formation matters, and it seems that Bran can be in his own transport with whatever unit you like.

 

What do you think? And if you can put Bran in a unit of wolf guard, blood claws, or whatever, do they count as a "unit in the formation" and hence get Rage?

 

Not that it would necessarily be worth doing.

And I'm still kinda unclear on how to make sense of "All grey hunters packs in the formation have the Furious Charge special rule." If I joined a rune priest to each unit, they'd be considered part of the UNIT. But are they part of the "grey hunters pack"??

[skeletoro]

Also, the wolf pack flanking force does sound pretty decent too. Outflanking TWC are nice. The outflanking units of Fenrisian wolves are also not to be underestimated, though!!! Rage on an 8 point model is kinda ridiculous. That means they're getting about double the attacks of a blood claw, but at WS4 and potentially init 5. They'll completely munch infantry of just about any stripe, I think. Except maybe wraithguard.

 

EDIT: (disclaimer) I haven't yet played apoc, so I'm probably not appropriately adjusting my expectations for the simple fact that in apoc, *everything* is overpowered by 40k standards.

[Grey Mage]

Pictures dont matter, they just help illustrate the idea ;)

 

If it doesnt say he has to be in a GH unit, he doesnt. HOWEVER! Be prepared to have every current datasheet invalidated in a week when the new apoc comes out, theres not a single guarantee that any of htem will be transferable, seeing as how theres no longer a cost to field formations.

[sn33r]

You guys do know that bran redmaw is 40k approved so can be used in any 40k game not just apoc. I've used him and yes he's a lot of points but the red maw went toe to toe with a daemon prince and survived and took out a squad of blood letters next.

[Grey Mage]

If your group allows FW, sure.

Were talking specifically about the datasheet though.

[skeletoro]

Ooh, by the way, when I said "picture", I meant something closer to "diagram replete with caption." ;) Not just any old pic... Have you got the book?

[Grey Mage]

Parts of it have been shown to me, but I dont have the book on hand Im afraid.

I did notice there are alot fewer D-weapons, and not as many d-blasts as before, though maybe I wasnt looking hard enough. Im ok witht his though.

[skeletoro]

Doh, I was ambiguous there. I actually meant IA11 - was wondering if you're familiar with the kind of "illustrated diagram" I was referring to.

[SW1]

I' really looking forward to the SW formations. I'm hoping the Great Company will be something like 5+ GH packs, 2+ BC packs, 3+ LF packs and 2+ WG packs allowing a lot more flexibility in the lists. They had better not insisted in Great Companies containing exact amounts of certain units like vanilla companies. Also things like TWC (pet hate of the unit), if they do I might have to model some fully turned Wulfen out of Rat Ogres or something and play them as counts as TWC. Prepping myself for the worse case scenario.

 

Another unit I'll be looking forward to seeing what it does is the unit of Rune Priests. I'm actually rummaging for more models to use as Rune Priests now and will be including them in the next ETL vow (only got 3 at the moment plus one with a jump pack that will be going up with the other jump pack units I'm currently working on).

 

What unit's are you looking forward to seeing in more detail?

[skeletoro]

Lots of that stuff has already been leaked, more or less. I haven't seen anything that says what the specific makeup of the "Great Company" formation is though. Hopefully it's as you say and we have some flexibility in defining it. That GW one-click purchase is ridiculous.

 

Wolf flanky formation is 2+ TWC units, 5+ fenrisian units, and lord on TWC (or Canis). They get outflank, hit and run, alert senses (golly gee?), rage, and the ability to charge the turn they arrive from reserves. So it's quite potent.

 

The rune priest formation is just like a librarius, they join a unit and make a big D vortex thingy that moves around.

[SW1]

Lots of that stuff has already been leaked, more or less. I haven't seen anything that says what the specific makeup of the "Great Company" formation is though. Hopefully it's as you say and we have some flexibility in defining it. That GW one-click purchase is ridiculous.

 

Wolf flanky formation is 2+ TWC units, 5+ fenrisian units, and lord on TWC (or Canis). They get outflank, hit and run, alert senses (golly gee?), rage, and the ability to charge the turn they arrive from reserves. So it's quite potent.

 

The rune priest formation is just like a librarius, they join a unit and make a big D vortex thingy that moves around.

 

Lol ... Just need to wait for the damn book.

 

If the Wolf Flanking Formation is that good I might have to go about converting BIG Wulfen to count as TWC, just not giving them any ranged weapons.  Not sure Rat Ogres will be big enough though.  Maybe I could chop up a TW and convert it into a more upright look?

[Sohail187]

Speaking of Bran Redmaw, you guys got any tips for converting my own. A decent model to begin with and then i can just go crazy from there on.