Tactics Help for Us New Pups

[Disciple of Caliban Sgt]

Greetings from a wet behind the ears whelp!

 

I have had some ale and looked around the tavern and halls of the great wolf and noticed a severely quiet setting! This cannot be and well honestly doesn't help those of us deciding to start wolves much.

 

So to start I am a DA player (yes I know) and I've decided to join the pack as it were and the irony is not lost on me. I've been reading quite a few Horus Heresy novels and am attempting to read the current era space wolves stuff but some of it is hard for me to get through. So there you have it I have a complete Dark Angels Army and will eventually get a Great Company set up.

 

I personally intend to do mostly Drop Pods and to also use Bran Redmaw for the outflanking fun and pain it will bring plus who doesn't like giant werewolves?! I've read quite a bit of the posts and threads on specific units but I am asking for some help from the old wolves out there.

 

We young pups need a generic Tacita type thread to help us out. Many of you have years of experience and state things like "Long Fangs to do their thing." Which doesn't help me at all. What is the Long Fangs thing? I mean I understand basics I'm not completely hopeless (unless you ask my wife) I get Long Fangs for long range shooting but do you split fire all the time? Do you take 5 of the same weapons? Do you use them for anti infantry or anti tank?

 

Drop Pods with Grey Hunters is obvious but do you always take a pack leader or Ten men for the Second Special? Dreadnoughts or leave the armor at home? These questions I have and I'm sure I'm not the only new guy coming to the forum asking for it. I also understand there are a few tactics articles out there but very few have any 6th edition bend to them.

 

I get the codex is a bit old and might feel a bit worn out even. I also understand many of you vets aren't going to discuss stuff you know by heart but a general 6th edition tactics for each unit with some examples of stuff that has been play tested would be appreciated by us wet behind the ears blood claws.

 

Speaking of blood claws I know there are units people never bring (Skyclaws, WGPL etc.) or rarely bring if you guys can at least give us pointers as to how to attempt to make them work it would be greatly appreciated.

Just a request and if it dies and no one is willing to help I understand real life etc but I love B&C and this is the best place I've found to get tactical and strategic advice getting some for Space wolves would be greatly appreciated.

 

DoC

 

[Rift Blade]

Valerian the old wolf wrote a very comprehensive tactica a while back which I found to incredibly useful. He was even kind enough to try an update it with 6 Ed not to long ago. Don't know if it survived the server crash a little while ago. He'll probably read this thread soon & let us know. I probably should reread it myself. Basically you'll have to decide for yourself on the details but here goes a basic:

 

Gray Hunters are your troops-Blood Claws are not currently worth it IMO 'cause you pay the same pts. Wolf Std. is the best 10 pts you'll                               spend on your GH packs. From there 10 packs for the free second special weapon or the WGPL for challenges an extra

                      Ld is up to you. I prefer the WGPL simply 'cause challenges the choices in wargear. Take a good look at Mark of the Wulfen                           for your packs. Some people love it & some don't. Good rule of thumb is one GH pack per 500 pts.

HQ's               Couple of choices here but the stand by is the Rune Priest to compliment Bran IMO. Gives you lots of choices for pyschic                            powers & the Runic weapon so far is the best nullifiyer in the game so far. Put him in a pack & get him midfield & let the                              fun begin. Murderous Hurricane, Living Lightning & Jaws of the World Wolf are my go to powers.

Long Fangs:   These guys are the anchor for you Great Co. The most common load out is 5 missile launchers giving you the option for                            frag & krak mayhem with great range. IMO, whenever possible, take that 5th HW. It's one of the Wolves strengths & you                             don't win by not playing to your strengths. This , more then split fire, is what make LF's so dangerous. Don't get me wrong,                         Split Fire is a nasty surprise & and an incredible perk but quantity has quality all it's own. Besides, we get both. LOL!! With 6                       Ed, it seems 3 missile launchers & 2 Lascannons are being more viable so something to consider. General rule of thumb is                         one LF pack per 750 pts.

Fast Attack:    Couple of choices here & these are just MY preferences for the top 3. Your previous experience playing those Dress                                 wearers may bias you here but here goes

Swift Claws     This is about the only form of Blood Claw I would consider. A fast hard assault unit but needs supported. These guys are                            not nearly as good as Black Knights but are not to be dismissed. Best results with 4 or 5 with an attack bike &/or an HQ on                         bike. Can be helped with WGPL but pricey. Needs supported.

Land Speeders: These guys work the same as with your Dress wearer army. Pick your poison & have fun.

Thunder Wolf Cavalry: I'm totally biased with these guys so take this with a grain of salt. These guys are your Death Star unit. Don't be                                         shy with these guys. Get them stuck in & let your opponent deal with them while the rest of your army wins you the                                       game. There are few units that make assault work in 6 Ed but this is one of them. Give them a Storm Shield or 2, a                                    power weapon of your choice & field them in units of 3+. Juice them up with an HQ on a TW & give your opponent                                        fits.

 

That's about it for basics. Hope it helps. Lots of others here with good advice & I'm sure you'll hear from them shortly. Good luck & welcome to the pack dress wearer! LOL!!!

[Schertenleib]

All very sound advice from Rift Blade. I know with the rumor of a new codex sometime next year many of us are waiting patiently to see what happens. The great thing about the Wolves Codex is it's flexibility. We have some great HQ's, probably the best Troop unit (Grey Hunters), and the Long Fangs are good and solid. Other than that is't all up to you. Lot's of guns? Lot's of armor? Fur and fangs everywhere? What do you want it to do? Some love our Wolf Scouts and always have them in the list. For others it the Lone Wolf. Look at your local meta and try different things. Find what works best. Just keep in mind that the warriors of Fenris work best in packs. Work them together.

[Rune_Priest_Rhapsody]

6th edition is all about shooting and flyers. An aegis Defense Line with Quad Gun is a good option, even for all around builds.

Blood claws are actually decent with an outflanking Wolf Priest. But 90% of the time, Grey Hunters are going to be your go too pack. I've recently dropped the WGPL in my  packs in favor of a second special weapon. I will always run a power axe and wolf standard. The standard as Rift Blade stated is an amazingly powerful upgrade that will allow you to put serious hurt on whatever you are attacking. And a hidden Power axe allows you to smash things your melta/plasma didn't.

I love dreads but have not fielded any recently. But Drop Podding them in your opponents face and frying nasty units seems like a decent tactic too me...

Long Fangs, ahhh glorious Long Fangs!! Five Missile launchers give you the most umph for the cost of them. But I like the 3 Heavy Bolter/2 Plasma Cannon load out as well. I'm a stickler for keeping my LF weapons the same range. So you're not stuck with certain models falling short after the pack leader has been snuffed out (he's usually the first to go for me, opponent depending...). Splitting fire is very useful, and is one of those things that again, is dependent on what you're facing. I'll say that the amount of times I am splitting fire is far less than the amount of time I am all out shooting the :cuss out of a single unit because I want it DEAD!! Take that wit ha grain of salt, mind you.

 

Unfortunately we are an assault-centric with an amazing ability to adapt to most situations. But we do not have the fire power to match these new codices. BUT, we have options that allow us to combat most units/armies. Think about it this way: Look at what is being played by the new codices. As more new codices are released, what are the 'older' new codices doing to combat the armies of these newer books (i.e. how is Tau dealing with Centurions??)?? Now what units do we have that can combat the units that these armies are using to combat the other new codices??!! OR, you can assemble your CCW/BP troops and hibernate/wait until we get new shininess!!

 

End of Line

[Valerian]

Valerian the old wolf wrote a very comprehensive tactica a while back which I found to incredibly useful. He was even kind enough to try an update it with 6 Ed not to long ago. Don't know if it survived the server crash a little while ago. He'll probably read this thread soon & let us know. I probably should reread it myself. 

 

Rift Blade, indeed the Guide was lost to the Warp when the BnC software was updated and the Blogs disappeared last Jan/Feb.  I was hoping they'd eventually recover those, and even bugged Kurgan about it once or twice.  Unfortunately, I wasn't prescient enough to foresee the problem, and didn't save the latest version (updated for 6e) on my hard-drive, but I do have an older version that I can probably spend a little time tweaking and post it back up.  It seems like we have grown a completely new cohort of Blood Claws here in the Fang in the past year, and some of them could use a little help to get them started.  I'll see what I can do.

 

Valerian

[Disciple of Caliban Sgt]

Rift Blade thanks for the basic advice I appreciate it even as a dress wearer haha.

Valerian I know I would greatly appreciate it and it does seem like there is a few of us new blood claws and some kind of basic tactics would be a big help.

 

I know you guys help people out on here I've seen the advice given it just surprised me there was no tacita but with the server crash that makes a lot more sense then.

 

DoC

[Kasper_Hawser]

Rift Blade thanks for the basic advice I appreciate it even as a dress wearer haha.

 

Valerian I know I would greatly appreciate it and it does seem like there is a few of us new blood claws and some kind of basic tactics would be a big help.

 

I know you guys help people out on here I've seen the advice given it just surprised me there was no tacita but with the server crash that makes a lot more sense then.

 

DoC

 

In your defence Disciple, I never thought of the sons of Lion wearing dresses, more like western christian monk robes. Then again I am Chinese whose traditional attire of Sam fu looks manly enough to me though would fit the western definition of a dress. Ass kicking Jet Li in his "Wong Fey Hong dress" kicked his way through many movies, even westerners armed with guns. :P

 

Apparently, Middle Ages Christian monks also had a tradition of unarmed combat out of the necessity of the war torn time. Could be wrong, but I keep thinking Friar Tuck with his bald hair spot and ample belly, smacking Sherriff of Nottingham lackeys silly with his bare hands and tummy.

[Logan230]

I'm sorry, I had to edit this, my eyes were starting to bleed.

Gray Hunters are your troops; blood claws are not currently
worth it because you pay the same points. The Wolf Standard is the best 10
points you’ll spend on your GH packs. From there 10 marines gets the free
second special weapon or the Wolf Guard Pack Leader for challenges and
Leadership 9, is up to you. I prefer the WGPL simply because challenges, and the
choices in war gear. Take a good look at Mark of the Wulfen for your packs.
Some people love it & some don't. Good rule of thumb is one GH pack per 500
pts.

 

HQ: Couple of choices here but the standard is the Rune
Priest to compliment Bran (If your meta allows FW). Gives you lots of choices
for psychic powers & the Runic weapon so far is the best nullifier in the
game so far. Put him in a pack and get him midfield and let the fun begin.
Murderous Hurricane, Living Lightning & Jaws of the World Wolf are my go to
powers.

Long Fangs: These guys are the anchor for you Great Company; 

the most common load out is 5 missile launchers giving you the option
for frag & krak mayhem with great range. Whenever possible, take that 5th heavy
weapon. It's one of the Wolves strengths and you don't win by not playing to
your strengths. That, more then split fire, is what make Long Fangs so
dangerous.  Don't get me wrong, Split
Fire is a nasty surprise and an incredible perk but quantity has quality all its
own. Besides, we get both. With 6 Ed, it seems 3 missile launchers & 2
Lascannons are being more viable so something to consider. General rule of
thumb is one LF pack per 750 pts.

 

Fast Attack: Couple of choices here & these are just MY
preferences for the top 3. Your previous experience playing those Dresswearers
may bias you here but here goes:

 

Swift Claws: This is about the only form of Blood Claw I
would consider. A fast hard assault unit but needs supported. These guys are not
nearly as good as Black Knights but are not to be dismissed. Best results with
4 or 5 with an attack bike &/or an HQ on bike. Can be helped with WGPL but
pricey. Needs supported.

 

Land Speeders: These guys work the same as with your Dress
wearer army. Pick your poison & have fun.

 

Thunder Wolf Cavalry: I'm totally biased with these guys so
take this with a grain of salt. These guys are your Death Star unit. Don't be shy
with these guys. Get them stuck in & let your opponent deal with them while
the rest of your army wins you the game. There are few units that make assault
work in 6 Ed but this is one of them. Give them a Storm Shield or 2, a power
weapon of your choice & field them in units of 3+. Juice them up with an HQ
on a TW & give your opponent fits.