Thinking of starting Space Wolves - questions

[requizen]

So I'm thinking of doing a #New40kNewArmy and am comparing the various Marine factions.

 

For Space Wolves, the things that interested me are the power units and big showpiece models. So I was wondering, how do they all look in 8th? Are TWC still smashy wrecking balls that run across the table and smack down almost anything? Are the Flyers worth taking (since they seemed to be pretty underutilized in 7th)? Are Wolf Guard Terminators on the table now that Termies have been buffed across the board?

 

I know that the basic troops for Wolves are pretty good (Grey Hunters standing out by being basically Marines with slightly better melee) and the support pieces are pretty similar to other factions (Long Fangs compared to Devastators, for instance), but I'm interested to hear about the more flashy units.

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Welcome!

 

Let's jump into you questions

 

Thunder cav are still good though they did get toned down a bit. But the are still a string unit worth bringing, now they are just less a required unit and now a decent option should you desire.

 

The flyers are amazing, if pricy points wise. The new rules regarding disembarking (no longer need to be in hover) and vehicle facing (doesn't matter where the gun is you can shoot a target if you can see it) have made these units very strong choices.

 

As for termies, the jury is still out. They look good on paper but the large amount of high damage weapons seems to blunt their usefulness. But I think a bit more testing will be required before final judgement is passed.

 

Wulfen are fantastic force multipliers and melee units, though a bit pricy. But the stormshield version is reasonably durable and helps other dude get upfield.

 

Like you said troops and support are much like other marines. Grey hunters are fun and I usually take several packs in a list. Long fangs also routinely make my lists as they are strong. The Claw units are better this time around (3+ weaponskill finally) and if supported are also wrll worth it.

 

On the whole 8th has looked positive for the wolves at least where I stand and are a solid marine army choice.

[requizen]

Thanks for the response!

 

I was hoping to make a really aggressive type list with TWC charging up the field, or Wulfen in a vehicle (though they don't strictly need it with Advance + Charge and rerolls), backed by Longfangs or vehicle shooting support. 

 

I play in a meta with a lot of pretty good players and I'm a bit worried about the vehicle/big monster spam that seems to be going on right now. It seems to me that TH/SS or other powerful melee weapon models should deal with that at least somewhat well, and Lascannons should also do a pretty good number on them. Are there any tricks with hunting big targets?

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Thss is always good at big targets and wulfen do that best from what I can see this edition.

 

Las cannons on both long fangs and predators have worked well for me for the ranged version.

 

The storm fang is also a brutal large target hunter with good mobility as well.

 

I don't have a ton of games under my belt so this is a mix of light experience and a lot of theory, coupled with comments others have made here as well.

[Brother Hellion]

So I'm thinking of doing a #New40kNewArmy and am comparing the various Marine factions.

 

For Space Wolves, the things that interested me are the power units and big showpiece models. So I was wondering, how do they all look in 8th? Are TWC still smashy wrecking balls that run across the table and smack down almost anything? Are the Flyers worth taking (since they seemed to be pretty underutilized in 7th)? Are Wolf Guard Terminators on the table now that Termies have been buffed across the board?

 

I know that the basic troops for Wolves are pretty good (Grey Hunters standing out by being basically Marines with slightly better melee) and the support pieces are pretty similar to other factions (Long Fangs compared to Devastators, for instance), but I'm interested to hear about the more flashy units.

 

TWCs or Thunder wolves calvary have been both buffed and debuffed. While they have an extra wound and three attacks from the wolf alone, their movement has been reduced by 2 inches and they lost the fleet ability. This is rather crucial to the success of the TWC because bike units and even jump packs can out run them with advances and charges. Still, with frost weapons and stormshields they can take more punishment and dish it out.

 

Flyers are still expensive but from what I've seen have improved a lot since 7th. The airborne rule means that as long as they are in flyer mood, most ground forces are gonna have a little bit of trouble hitting them where as they take no penalties because of the machine spirit rule, which both Stormfang and stormwolf both have (Valykries don't btw which helped in my first game). Because they can cover most of the field in one turn, these guys can get close to enemy positions frighteningly fast and take down units quickly. Best part is  they don't need to start the game in reserve. If you want them turn one just find a spot and unleash the fury.

 

GW Termies are a little more survivable due to having one extra wound but the five inches does hamper them a little. Stormsheilds though help out a lot with them.

 

Wulfen with Storm shields can survive lots-I me more then they should-including mortal wounds thanks to their death frenzy rule. +5 compared to most chapters' +6 rules.  Not to mention they are a little bit faster (7inch movement) and can still advance and charge with re-roll in the same turn. Granted for now you have to take wulfen pack leader with frost claws but with the attacks he'll be dishing out probably means most things will be dead by the time it takes to roll hits with wulfen thunder hammers.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Brotherblur

[requizen]

Thanks for the responses!

 

Do you think Rhino/Razorback spam with Wulfen is decent? Even with SS getting them across the table on foot is a bit risky but with how good vehicles are they might be able to pop out of a transport and tear some faces off!

 

TWC got slower sure but they still look like one of the best mixes of speed, durability, and damage in the game. I'm interested in pursuing either but unsure which works better.

[Frater Cornelius]

The greatest benefit of Wulfen is helping other units reaching melee. When playing MSU with Razkrs, I fesl like tbat advantage is lost a bit. MSU also means you are likely to start second, thus eating the first damage. In my eyes, Wulfen are better to supplement aggressive lists. If you want aggressive beatsticks fo shooty lists, I prefer TDA because they can shoot and TWC because they are a good stand-alone unit.

 

Having said that, this is theory. Maybe Wulfen are powerful enough to justify their inclusion in almost any list.

[Gherrick]

Wulfen are pretty solid with good movement and fnp 5+. They,like TWC, suffer most from a lack of shooting phase, which lowers their overall effectiveness.