Joining the Wolf Pack

[Zoccola]

So last time I played, was 2002. And I was a skirt wearing Dark Angel heretic scum.

 

Now that I am older and wiser, and sporting a mighty beard, I said to myself, "Self, if you are going to start 40k again with your friends, admit it, you are a Space Wolf player."

 

And lo, here I am.

 

Ever the packrat, I did keep all my stuff from when we last played, which need to be converted to the Wolf. To that end yesterday I bought a Grey Hunter's box and tonight's plan (provided the wife doesn't have plans for us running about town), is to Exacto greenstuff tabards and apply wolf tokens.

 

My friends and I have decided to limit ourselves to 1000 points until everything is painted as gone are the days of the 4k pewter armies. So I am planning my army.

 

I know, the rules haven't officially even dropped yet. But I need some advice.

 

I am torn between a few units:

 

Wolf Guard Bikers or Wolf Guard Terminators

They cost about the same. The Bikes are tougher and faster, with many more guns. The terminators can deepstrike (weird for Space Wolves to teleport, this is new to me) have an invulnerable save, and an assault cannon (although I can slap some Storm Shields on the bikes, for an added cost).

 

Swiftclaw or Skyclaw

This depends on the answer to Bikes or Terminators. Again the bikes are tougher, marginally faster, and have a lot more firepower, whereas the Skyclaws have more attacks in melee (provided they survive to get there) and can Jump Pack Assault.

 

Any advise?

 

To fill out should I aim at 1 HQ and 2 squads of Grey Hunters or 2 HQ, 1 GH squad and a Rhino?

[Wraithwing]

We're collectively not sure whether the cool load out for Wolf Guard bikers will survive the inevitable release FAQ. You might be safer with Terminators, as they're a whole lot beefier this edition.

 

Oh, and welcome to the Fang!

[Karack Blackstone]

Welcome to the Fang!

 

Glad you saw the right of things, in time.

 

WG TDA models might work well, however, they most often need a delivery vehicle, such as a Land Raider Crusader; the LRC is expensive in cost as well as points now, coming 8th ed. tomorrow and what not.

 

If you go WG Bikers, give them Storm Shields; it has been theorycrafted that the WG Bikers with SS and PSword (or other of your choice) and I think they can also take a combi-(whatever) and come in at a pretty solid points value for that performance.

 

If you do take WG Bikers, take the Swiftclaws if you want to, they will indeed be a great compliment to each other.

 

As far as SkyClaws go, they can Deep Strike I think as of the 5th, or, failing that, the 7th edition Curse of the Wulfen Codex. While strange, the apparent need of battlefield performance now outweighs the risks the Wolves see with teleporting, as opposed to the old outlook of, "Will not teleport."

 

As to the last point, 1 HQ and 2 Troops choices is the mandatory minimum for a small group. 1 HQ, 1 Troop, and a Rhino won't work; the Rhino is a dedicated transport, and therefore does not count as a Troop choice on its own.

[Zoccola]

Thanks for the replies!

 

Could we not play with a Patrol detachment that has a minimum 1 Troop requirement?

Edited June 16, 2017 by Zoccola

[Valerian]

Yes you can.

[Frater Cornelius]

Thanks for the replies!

 

Could we not play with a Patrol detachment that has a minimum 1 Troop requirement?

 

It is a start, but you will find that Command Points are very useful, so moving up as you aquire models is adviseable.

 

As for WG TDA or Bikes, both have received a boost due to the Combi-Weapons. TDA can do a savage alpha strike, especially with a HQ is nearby that allows re-rolls to hit. Both Bikes and TDA benefit from Rune Priests and their cover bonus spell, though one could argue bikes get he bigger benefit.

 

I suppose it comes down to whether you want a rushy list that oves quickly or an alpha strike with long-ranged firepower and deep strikes. The former would mean Bikes, Thunderwolves, Fenrisian Wolves, Wulfen and Rhinos/Razorbacks and a whole lot of melee focus. The latter would be more shooty and include TDA, maybe one Pod and then stock up on anything that shoots, seeing as only half your army can start in reserve, so we are talking Long Fangs, Razorbacks, definitely Scouts as they can get close with the TDA (although Scouts fit both archtypes).

 

In either case, start with 2 units of 5 Grey Hunters in Razorbacks. You can always get them to 10 and turn the Razors into Rhinos. After that, you would need to choose.

 

So, what do you prefer, the coursing or the trap? The hunter that hounds down the prey or the hunter that lays in wait before he strikes in one devastating blow?

[Hear da Lamentation]

I'm not convinced with the termies. Pretty expensive and with weapons effecting your save that 2+ just isn't as good as it used to be ...