What are the biggest differences between Wolves and Scars?

[Leif Bearclaw]

The other point that makes the XII unsuitable as executioners imo is their tactical doctrine, even pre Angron their threw their mariners into the fray and fought until one of 2 outcomes, victorious slaughter or simple slaughter. This blunt approach, if sent against another Legion, its quite likely to result in crippling casualties on both sides.

Indeed. Angron would have tried to fight the XV with a preliminary orbital bombardment, followed by landing all his Marines and ordering them to kill everything with chainaxes.

Russ ordered an orbital bombardment, then landed all his Marines and told them to kill everything with frostblades. A much more subtle and refined strategy.

Of course, a chainaxe is only AP4, a frostblade is AP3 and +1S, all the difference in the world .

On a more serious note, the point I was trying to make is that the XII had one modus operandi, namely, get marines within arm's reach and kill it with sharp things. Whereas the Wolves have shown more technical flexibility. For example, in taking down the world with the funky space station (can't remember the name) In PB, initially the Wolves start turning using enemies weapons against them to gain the initial advantage in the boarding action. Then they end the campaign by dropping the station on the enemy instead of a costly frontal assault. While I've haven't read many of the more recent Heresy novels, FW leads me to believe the XII on both situation would have charged down the enemies throat to administer a chainaxe enema. A less efficient strategy for winning the engagement with minimal Astartes losses. Hence why I say the Wolves had a more tactically flexible doctrine than the War Hound/World Eaters, making them more suitable for the 'executioner' role (along with my gene-seed speculations).

[Kol Saresk]

Actually when it came to the battle of Armatura, the World Eaters wanted to just bombard it into dust. But Lorgar wanted everything on the planet to be killed with death and fire at the edge of a chainaxe so that's how they killed it.

[Wade Garrett]

But when Khârn is telling his men to pull back from the Ultramarine shield wall instead of charging it, he is defied with "ANGRON ordered no bombardment!", not Lorgar.

 

The World Eaters do have a marked preference for doing their killing face to face as opposed to 'nuke it from orbit' (see Isstvan 3).

[Kol Saresk]

But when Khârn is telling his men to pull back from the Ultramarine shield wall instead of charging it, he is defied with "ANGRON ordered no bombardment!", not Lorgar.

 

The World Eaters do have a marked preference for doing their killing face to face as opposed to 'nuke it from orbit' (see Isstvan 3).

Page 52,

 

'You should have let me bombard the city from orbit.' Lotarra added. 'I'm sure the two Word Bearers king-ships would have loved to do the same. You never got to see the size of them, stuck in your little drop pod. Quite a sight.'

 

Page 210

 

'Angron is on his way. He asks you to be ready to bombard the planet in twelve hours.'

 

She leaned forwards in her throne, eyes wide. 'Is that a joke? After all this, you want me to do what I should've done at the very start?'

 

He didn't feel like going into the metaphysical details of pain resonance and the spiritual reflection of torment. It wasn't that he didn't understand it; it was that he wasn't sure he believed any of it.

 

'Lorgar's orders.' He was too weary to even smile. 'The world bleeds, and all remaining life has gone to ground. He wants to burn them for the sin of cowardice.' And to squeeze out the last trickles of suffering, he thought.

 

Pain resonance, torture and suffering. The way the World Eaters killed, not much of that. Brutal, but quick. With the exception of poor little Orfeo.

 

Also, we do know from the Exemplary Battles in Betrayal, the World Eaters are not against orbital bombardments. If it kills the foe, it kills the foe. They prefer CQC, but also feel it is an honor to be bestowed on worthy opponents. Hence why Angron immediately led the ground assault on Istvaan III the moment the survivors were discovered.

[b1soul]

" (...) and initial attempts to impose order by Terran troops had been thrown back in disarray as it became apparent that among the insurrectionists was a renegade cadre of outlawed Thunder Warriors - long believed dead - calling themselves the Dait'tar".

Same book, same page, just before the part I quoted in my last post.

 

OK...man this deserve a short story or something. I love any tidbits of fluff about the Thunder Warriors.

 

At first, I didn't like the idea of physically larger and stronger TW (relative to Astartes)...but now I kinda like the idea that the TW were powerful but prone to mental and/or physical malfunction.

 

I think of Astartes as accurate, reliable weapons of a smaller calibre. TW on the other hand are larger calibre, less accurate weapons with a higher incidence of malfunction