Absolute must have SW units for current edition?

[ImperialChaplain]

That's a question I'm looking for an answer to.
I'm coming back after a long break, both new to the current rule book and codex.

 

So what, in your opinion, would be the absolute 'must have' unit to remain valid on the field, even if only casually?

For example, are the fliers that great? Or would I be better off allying in another chapter's bird?

I think I'll end up running pretty mechanized, since I have a pretty sizable motor-pool, so if it helps that sort of build, even better.

[Lord Blackwood]

Thunderwolf Cavalry are widely considered the best non character unit in the codex.  ( Despite what some hipsters will tell you)  They are one dimensional yes ,but are amazing at that one dimension.

My two cents  ( hahahaha get it ...centurions ... we dont have those !  (( but my white scar allies do)) ) 

[Rune_Priest_Rhapsody]

Thunderwolf Cavalry are widely considered the best non character unit in the codex.  ( Despite what some hipsters will tell you)  They are one dimensional yes ,but are amazing at that one dimension.

 

My two cents  ( hahahaha get it ...centurions ... we dont have those !  (( but my white scar allies do)) ) 

*groan*

Don't quit your day job for one in comedy, brother!!

 

I would say the 'top' entries in the game are TWC and TDAWG. At least in my opinion. The flyer is good, it's not game breaking. I think it's really up to you.

What do you want your army to do?? How do you want it to look?? Ask yourself those simple questions, throw in your play style, and then look through the catalog of models and codex entries. Maybe something will pop out at you.

 

End of Line

[Frater Cornelius]

Whatever you feel like playing. *Must have* is a term that is totally meaningless. What if I tell you that I consider a certain unit a must have, but you fail miserably because you dislike the concept, looks, feel and play style.

Better ask yourself, what sort of play style do I enjoy and what units appeal to me. Then move on from there.

[Mal Luck]

 

So what, in your opinion, would be the absolute 'must have' unit to remain valid on the field, even if only casually?

From a casual standing? All units are viable. The internal balance of the codex isn't too far off, although CoF does introduce greater disparity that favours TWC and TDAWG. But seriously, in a casual setting you can run all units in the dex just fine - there aren't really any that can't pull their weight if used and supported correctly.

 

So, go with what you like and what you enjoy as that is far more important.

 

If you start looking into the more competitive tournies etc, then things might become a little different: TDAWG combi-bombs in drop pods and/or TWC with allied imperial knights, bikes or centurions (in a pod) are generally considered our bestest set ups.

[Yoyo ninja]

I was in a similar position, took a long break from the game and started again a few months before 7th came out. My current list has TDA WG in a drop pod with combi meltas and an imperial knight to hopefully draw fire while my mechanised GH units move up and get stuck in to the fight. I am still building the knight and termies so I have yet to test this list, but im hoping it will work quite nicely.

[MeatGrinder]

I think anyone not taking thunderwolves is fairly foolish. Unless you have an army dedicated to one specific playstyle, like full on drop wolves, there is no reason not to include thunderwolves. Theyre hugely points efficient, can be made extremely survivable and hit like a truck riding a wolf.

[DanPesci]

I think anyone not taking thunderwolves is fairly foolish. Unless you have an army dedicated to one specific playstyle, like full on drop wolves, there is no reason not to include thunderwolves. Theyre hugely points efficient, can be made extremely survivable and hit like a truck riding a wolf.

 

 

i wouldnt say foolish..Non-competetive maybe, as they are obviously a very strong unit for us (especially when combined with CoF supplement). But i know theres people who just wont use them because they find the idea of space marines riding on big wolves just that step too far/dont like the fluff etc, which is totally fair enough.

[Yoyo ninja]

I think anyone not taking thunderwolves is fairly foolish. Unless you have an army dedicated to one specific playstyle, like full on drop wolves, there is no reason not to include thunderwolves. Theyre hugely points efficient, can be made extremely survivable and hit like a truck riding a wolf.

They might hit like a truck, but that is all they do, there is nothing tactical about it. Personaly I think that if every wolves player goes TWC spam it will be to our detriment as everyone will get used to killing them and get bored of playing against the same list all the time.

[Rift Blade]

I personally would not say that there is any one must have unit in our codex. I REALLY like my TW's but I play lists without them so A-I don't get bored with them & B- I don't get dependant on them. The flexability between the codex & the CoF means the only real limitation is our wallet. My 2 cents.

[NightHowler]

I think the Servitor is the only real "must have" unit in the whole codex. In fact if you take the detachment from the supplement you could spam up to six units of a lone Servitor and then just rush them across the table at your enemy in a frenzy of gibbering, rabid, frothy-mouthed, mind-locked berzerkers!!! I paint mine pink to make them more intimidating.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I'm not wild on TWC, I have a squad of them, and they're fun every now and then, just like my mech list. I'm not huge on melee deathstar units, but they are definitely something to have. I run a lot of dreadnoughts, and fliers, as well as infantry heavy lists. Rule of cool, if it's a unit you like, play it, find a way to make it work and then make it yours. That's what I did with my C:SM fliers, found a way to get them in my list cheaply, and made a list around it.

[crimsonhand]

Excuse my ignorance, what is TDAWG? 

[Lord Blackwood]

Excuse my ignorance, what is TDAWG? 

Tactical Dreadnought Armor Wolf Guard 

 

Aka 

 

Wolf Guard Terminators 

 

 

Wolf guard in Tactical Dreadnought Armor !  ./confetti 

[ImperialChaplain]

Thanks for the suggestions ...and attempts as humor. Hey ho sheesh.

I liked mechanized. The Rhinos, Vindicators, Predators, Land Raiders are what pulled me into 40k in the first place. So I have a lot of vehicles laying around from when I was buying with 5th ed in mind. I still have never used or fought against a flyer. So I have no idea how to prepare for that.

I'm currently torn between running solely wolves, or allying in an LRC and regular Termies (Thanks to WYSIWYG on my old stuff), because I love the adaptability of TDAWG, but if you don't run combi-spam, it seems like you either end up with a schizophrenic TDAWG unit or overpaying for a mono-build compared to other Astartes.

I like that see I see a more open view, I was actually dreading this post being a landslide of meta geared arguing for mono-builds. so, very cool that 7th seems to keep things viable and playable, even if more casually, instead of feeling beaten over the head with a 'right way'.

[Frater Cornelius]

7ed codices have done a marvelous job of keeping things in line. Sure, some 6ed are getting far ahead because of that, but it is just a matter of time until they get reworked.

The way of 7ed ist basically to play what you like ;)

[Reichfaust]

Venerable Dreadnoughts with Axe + Shield are without a doubt my must-have unit of the current 'dex. Haven't run a list without 'em since the codex dropped, they're absolutely beastly. I have long argued that Dreadnoughts needed an invulnerable save to stop them being so utterly underwhelming when compared to mechanical Monstrous Creatures such as the Riptide or Dreadknight, but never in my wildest dreams would I have given them a 3++! 

 

You know how TH/SS Terminators are stupidly hard to kill? Imagine that in Walker form. 

[Guest loganwolf]

7ed codices have done a marvelous job of keeping things in line. Sure, some 6ed are getting far ahead because of that, but it is just a matter of time until they get reworked.

The way of 7ed ist basically to play what you like

I have to agree with this. 7th codex's are all very much inline and balanced. Only really eldar tau and necons that are a little unbalanced. Sisters are to weak. Chaos could do with a boost.

[NightHowler]

Instead of "must have" units, a much shorter list would be the "nonessential" units. They're still good units, just overshadowed by other units in the codex.

 

This just my opinion, as I'm sure there are other players who still love these guys, but the list of "nonessential" units is pretty short. Not considering named characters, the only units I never consider when making a list are: long fangs; stormfang; skyclaw/swiftclaw; scouts... and that's about it really. Everything else in the codex is pretty solid, and even these nonessential units are only on the list because they're competing with better/cheaper/cooler units with the same battlefield role.

 

You'll notice Servitors aren't on the list. It's because I was only half joking. I actually think Servitors are one of the most underrated units in our codex. I don't take them in friendly games, but my tournament lists almost always include 2 or 3 lone Servitors. 10 points for one dude? That's the just so cheap, it's impossible to say no.

[Frater Cornelius]

Servitors are an amazing way to fill your mandatory Elite slots for COF, provided that you have no IP in the army. 20pts tax? This is as close as you can get to unbound without actually being unbound.

[NightHowler]

Most of the time, I'm not taking them as a tax but for the purpose they serve. I usually play low model count lists, and none of my units find any glory in sitting on homefield objectives - so they all look over their shoulder at the mind-locked Servitor drooling in the corner of the transport bay and then shake heads in agreement. The Servitor is a 10 pt objective holder. They do it cheaper than any other unit in our dex. As long as my opponent isn't deepstriking, I place one behind LoS blocking terrain on an objective in my deployment zone, otherwise I reserve them. I love them.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

 

I have to agree with this.  7th codex's are all very much inline and balanced.  Only really eldar tau and necons that are a little unbalanced.  Sisters are to weak.  Chaos could do with a boost.

 

 I have to disagree with your statement about Tau and Necrons. Tau seem broken because all you really see is riptide spam, and broadside spam. I've been told, that if you're not fielding 2 riptides you're doing it wrong. I've won games with out riptides, now above 1500pts, I need to start bringing riptides because I won't have the points if I don't. But the Tau codex overall is balanced, and there aren't tons of high S, low AP weapons, most stuff is AP3-5, with only a smattering of AP2 or AP1 and only select units have access to those. (Battlesuits and Pathfinders really).

 

As for Necrons, again very balanced, none of the units have a natural 2+ (you have to upgrade to it, and only overlords/lords). Overall the army is weak in CC (not as weak as Tau). Sure there's an army wide 5+ invuln/FNP, but its part of the army's character. Again the notion that the codex is unbalanced comes from the fact that you really only see one of a handful of builds that are disgusting. 

 

In both cases the notion of imbalance, comes from the cheesy builds. The builds that win without tactics, because the people who gravitate towards those builds are the ones that are too lazy to use tactics. Necrons are in dire need of some reworking, I don't want them to lose anything, because they don't have much to lose in the first place, but some units should be more useful, so as to increase the number of viable builds. 

 

Of all the armies I have faced, I'd play against necrons, tau, orks, or chaos, before eldar, or space marines. The DA players at my last meta played TDA spam, one went melee TDA spam (which was obnoxious), or they do ravenwing and stack their cover saves to a 2+, ignore everything I shoot at them and hit like a semi; and the C:SM players alfa strike sternguard and vindicator/land raider spam. The one eldar player we have actually has a balanced list (somewhat, he does to invisible harlequins, and the seer council) but uses very dirty tactics (I don't mind that, it actually helps me become a better player). But the ability to run and shoot in the same phase is bothersome (though, I get Jet pack shenanigans in the assault phase so it evens out). 

 

TL;DR, Just because you only see cheesy builds doesn't mean the codex is unbalanced just that your opponents don't know how to do anything else. Beat the cheese and you'll beat them.

[Frater Cornelius]

I agree with the above. Crons are hardly a problem. In fact, the greatest issue with them are those bloody Mindshackle-Scarabs. Rest is fine.

Tau seem broken to us, because they negate our biggest advantage, namely Deep Strike (in pods). Beyond that, they are as squishy as the rest of them.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Even with interceptor, you're forcing the Tau player to make a hard choice. Does he waste shots trying to kill the incoming force, and if he misses, he cannot fire that weapon in his shooting phase; or does he wait and use his big guns to try to kill it in his shooting phase. I've not had good luck with interceptor, and if I were to use it, I would take something like a vengeance battery with Icarus lascannons, so I'm not wasting my good units shooting on something that may just prove to be a distraction. The only time I've had luck with interceptor was against a DA player, and we were playing something like 3k per player with 4 of us. I wiped belial and his unit off the map with a well placed Ion accelerator shot. I take it as a matter of course, but It rarely helps me.

[Valerian]

++Let's get back onto the topic of Space Wolves units, and off of the discussion on Xenos codices.++

 

 

 

I think anyone not taking thunderwolves is fairly foolish. Unless you have an army dedicated to one specific playstyle, like full on drop wolves, there is no reason not to include thunderwolves. Theyre hugely points efficient, can be made extremely survivable and hit like a truck riding a wolf.

 

 

i wouldnt say foolish..Non-competetive maybe, as they are obviously a very strong unit for us (especially when combined with CoF supplement). But i know theres people who just wont use them because they find the idea of space marines riding on big wolves just that step too far/dont like the fluff etc, which is totally fair enough.

 

 

Also, there are guys like me that aren't necessarily offended by the idea of TWC, but just haven't bothered to add them to their army because we already have more units on hand than we ever get to play with anyway.  If I were to invest in TWC, then they'd displace another unit (or two) that I've already got available to game with.  I've done well enough without TWC for the last couple decades that I don't really feel much need to invest in them now, just because they're so much more efficient/effective in 7e.

 

I'm not saying that I'll never get them, but they're not high on my list of things to get.  

 

V