Tactical help ..

[Lothrik Stormbringer]

Wanted to start off by saying that I've only recently abandoned the ways of a foolish pup for Space Wolves.

 

I started playing in 1994 when the Space Wolves book was first out.  Being Scandinavian (father was from Iceland, mother Norway) and the 2nd ed codex being released that same week, everyone assumed I'd play them.  Don't know why (I think it was teenage rebellion) but it ticked me off so I went the other way entirely and played Orks.  I put it down not long after and didn't play again until 2000, when (guess what?) the 3rd edition codex was being released.  Again, Freki and Geri bayed in the night for me to come home, but I still refused the call, diving headlong into making my own Chapter of Marines instead.

 

Over the years I've played about every army in the game (except Eldar, the metrosexual space clowns always creeped me out) eventually adopting to paint my Space Marine Chapter as the Deathwatch so that I could collect all the Marine miniatures I wanted and play as any Chapter at any time.  I never really connected to an army before though, and found that I had 2 Assault Squads, a Scout Squad, a 10 man TDA squad, some Land Raiders and three Tactical Squads painted in all that time.

 

Looking through my gaming room, I realized I had 2 Devastator Squads, 6 complete tactical squads,  2 more assault squads, a predator, a vindicator, 2 drop pods, 10 TDA's, 2 Dreadnaughts, 20 close assault TDA's, 6 Thunderwolves, Canis, Harald, 10 Mk2, Mk3, Mk4, Mk5 and Mk6 power armor sets, and Arjac just sitting in boxes.  When Stormclaw was announced, I grabbed one, and all of a sudden the silliness of denying the howl of the fenrisian wind struck me.

 

From the first model I painted when I opened that boxed set, I felt the joy of the Saga's with me.  Finally accepting the wolf, I tore through the box and assembled the Blood Claws, and am using the spare bits to wolf out the unpainted kits I had.  By weeks end I'll have 30 Grey Hunters, 15 Blood Claws and Lukas complete.  I'm prepping the two Drop pods as well and I've never had this much fun painting the models!

 

Russ's satisfaction is assured, as I was even lucky enough to get one of the Wolf Guard Edition limited codex's!

 

Which brings me to the point: I understand the Codex is new, but from what I've seen from the spoilers, not much is fundamentally changing for us.  That being said, I was wondering if I can get some pointers on how to successfully deploy and capture with Space Wolves.  Some specifics;

 

1) Mobility - It's incredibly tempting to go Drop Pod heavy (both by fluff and by coolness) but how survivable do you find the army outside of it's transports?  I know attempting to foot-slog a space marine army across the field is tough, but I'm not sure if the Wolves would fair better due to the targets they present an opponent.  Should I use Rhino's instead?  My gaming club uses the Maelstrom of War missions almost exclusively, so the ability to adopt to a changing warzone is important.

 

2) Unit Composition - Playing Marines, I got into the habit of 4 Troops (the scouts and 3 Tacs) forming the core of the army, but with the Wolf Scouts being Elite, I'm not sure if heavy Troop saturation is the right call for the Wolves.  I'm getting the impression that at least one squad of Long Fangs is a requirement.

 

3) Target Acquisition - What units do I need to watch for?  What eats puppies for breakfast that my Long Fangs need to focus on, and what do I let the Blood Claws off the leash at?

 

 

Thanks in advance to everyone!

[Leif Bearclaw]

And by 'new' you mean 'not actually out yet' .

For all the rumours and leaks, the advice remains the same, wait a couple of days for us to actually get our physical copies, then the tactics threads will inevitably follow.

However, I'll say 2 thigns now, we're a jack of all trades army, so almost any kind of nasty unit has the potential to ruin our day if you let it/are unlucky, all the classics are threats, Riptides, D-Scythes, Leman Russ, Hive Tyrants, TH/SS termies etc.

Long Fangs aren't a requirement, the majority of the lists I've run over the years haven't included them, in favour of more tanks.

[Lothrik Stormbringer]

 

Long Fangs aren't a requirement, the majority of the lists I've run over the years haven't included them, in favour of more tanks.

 

Interesting, I have to admit, I've been salivating at the thought of Split Fire and 5 heavy weapons + 1 special.  Then again, I play a lot of Necrons players in my area, so I'm a little frustrated with getting glanced to oblivion when I bring tanks.  In no right universe should you lose a Land Raider turn one to Necron Warriors ... it's just .... grrr.

[mactire]

Welcome to the Fang brother. Remember to post pics.

[Lothrik Stormbringer]

Welcome to the Fang brother. Remember to post pics.

 

Thanks!  Currently I only have a blurry one .. I took it to taunt the local Chaos Marine Player I work with.  I'd just finished painting my first Blood Claw the night before and I wanted to start some friendly rivalry ... (did I mention said player is my boss?)