Space Wolves Synergy

[TheUnrealArchon]

With our new Codex, I'm looking at making a casual army list that uses the most ubiquitous Space Wolf units, but also integrates them in a synergistic way. Just wanted to share some of the units I wanted to include and what units I think synergizes the best. Wanted to hear thoughts on if there were any synergies I missed.

 

Wulfen: The obvious choice, this unit screams SW more than any other unit in the codex. I don't think I need to explain more. Only question is what combination of TH/SS and Great Frost Axes should they be run. Potentially depends on whether they are footslogging, riding in a transport, and what their final target is which can depend on local meta.

• Wolf Priest with Jump Pack: Wolf Priests go great with Wulfen, helping to heal your expensive models and granting them re-rolls on failed hits. Doesn't do much for standard Wulfen on the charge with our new Hunter's Unleashed chapter tactic, but can be very useful for TH/SS. Wulfen. Jump Pack allows the Wolf Priest to keep up with the Wulfen. Could consider replacing with Ulrik the Slayer if taken in a Stormwolf.
• Great Company Ancient / Primaris Ancient: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe their ability procs alongside Death Frenzy, giving an even greater boost when they eventually die. Only works when they are in CC and not quite as effective as with ranged weapons, but if flootslogged between the Wulfen and a core of the army, could provide benefits to both.
• Stormwolf: 16 transport capacity, 2 for Wulfen means you can carry up to 8 Wulfen or 5 Wulfen and 6 normal bodies. Great way to keep your Wulfen alive and deploy them right next to your enemy's favorite things. Loses some efficiency as Wulfen are some of the fastest units in the Codex already and keeps Curse of the Wulfen away from other units while in the transport. However, allows for other units to move with the Wulfen, as talked about below.
• Blood Claws: Cheap, effective, 65 points to hold up whatever enemy unit you want. Increased range of Curse of the Wulfen, greater benefit from Wolf Priest's leadership bubble. Maybe replace with Grey Hunters, some have shown the extra Bolter shot may be more valuable than the extra attack, now that they cost the same. Reivers could also multiply Wulfen effectiveness with their shock grenades, but their added cost may not be worth it. Then again, 2W would slow down their deaths.
• Wolf Guard: Drop in a 5 man squad equipped with Melta guns or Plasma guns to delete any specific target. Wulfen also fill this slot, but why delete 1 enemy unit when you can delete 2 for twice the price? Also a great target for Lone Wolf due to small squad size.

Bjorn the Fell Handed: 30 point reduction makes our already good dreadnought commander even more appetizing. +1 CP for being on the board, 5+ Fell no Pain, but most importantly his 6" re-roll 1s to Hit aura, giving him pretty much constant Wisdom of the Ancients for free (That's 1 CP per turn saved plus the one he generates already). An absolute beast in CC with his 5 S12 AP-4 D6 rerolling wounds attacks. Conflicted between running him with a Heavy Plasma Cannon for anti-TEQ efficiency with his re-roll 1s or just coughing up all of it for the Twin Lascannon. Not sure if he needs a unit in front to cover him, but his 3+/5+++ 8W does make him one hard bastard to kill. Great warlord option, increasing the range of his aura to 9" and a good chance to unlock his Deed of Legends by slaying the enemy warlord. 

• Hellblasters: You know what's better than 20 supercharged plasma shots? 20 supercharged plasma shots that kill your units 83% less. Utilize Bjorn's re-rolling aura to take away the big downside of plasma. Run the assault variant and keep up with Bjorn as he runs towards the biggest thing on the enemy's side of the table. Concern is whether or not these points are better used as Long Fangs in the backline, or if I should just run both.
• Iron Priest: Great if you really want to keep Bjorn alive, but might not be worth it just for Bjorn. Could allow you to put Bjorn ahead of your army to soak damage. Could also be put on a Bike or Thunderwolf from the Index if you want it to move forward and be a beat stick

Rune Priest: With our new psychic powers and stratagems, I can't stop hearing about these boys. Cloaked by the storm to give -1 to hit against SW units within 6". Expensive at 3 CP for use with just Long Fangs, but great if included in the center of your army. Chooser of the Slain for anti-reinforcements shots at only 2 CP. Living Storm seems good, but requires 3 Rune Priests within 6", which becomes a solid core of your army for a single stratagem which may or may not really proc effectively. Could be replaced with Njal Stormcaller for added reliability, but can be cheaper otherwise.

• Long Fangs: First obvious traditional choice. Throw him next to some Long Fangs and give them cover through Storm Caller if easy cover is not available. Maybe not as useful as it has been traditionally, but still an idea.
• Just throw it in the center of your army with Bjorn. Moves the Rune Priest forward to do offensive attacks while providing cover to anything around it. Maybe protect the Hellblasters that are brought with.

Arjac Rockfist: I have been hearing great things about this character, but I'm unsure how to fit him in. Thought I'd throw him down on this list and see if anyone has ideas.

• Wolf Guard Terminators: Obvious first choice, but I'm unsure where they fit in with the rest of the army. Land Raiders don't really fit my style, so they are either deep striking or footslogging. I also feel a lot of their role in being able to delete enemy units is covered by Wulfen, their only upside being their resiliency. Also seem to slow compared to the other parts of the army.
• Thunderwolf Cavalry: The Index and Codex haven't been great to these guys, but I still feel the need to run at least a 3 man pack of them now. Throw Frost Sword and Storm Shield on them and get a fast moving, hard to kill Distraction Carnifex for 171 points that can grab objectives or hold down important units. If they run into Arjac, then they get his aura benefit. Not sure exactly what synergizes well with them now when the real idea is to keep them cheap. Maybe just get buffs from whatever may be near and leave it at that.
• Wolf Guard on Bikes: These have been removed from the Codex, but (correct me if I'm wrong) they can still be ran, and I have a few so I plan to do so. Throw Stormbolter and Chainsword on each to have a highly mobile anti-horde option.

 

If there are any other fun synergies or units that you feel I've left out, or if you feel a synergy I've detailed isn't actually that great, definitely tell me.

[Karhedron]

Looks like a good selection of our best units.

 

Based on personal experience, I would definitely include some Grey Hunters. I feel they are better than Blood Claws in general and are probably one of the best Troop units available to any MEQ army.

[Armchairarbiter]

The company ancient ability doesn't stack with the Wulfen death frenzy. It's in their rules or the Wulfens, sadly. Would be an amazing combo to do it twice! lol 

[Karhedron]

The Banner also doesn't stack with "Only In Death Does Duty End" stratagem either. GW seem to be taking care to prevent overlapping bonuses from stacking.

[M.Redbeard]

It is always fun to look for synergies in the game.

 

The Anvients though I'd hardly recommend for Wulfen for a few reasons. Their ability usually shouldn't stack. And most importantly after rereading the combo in FB I noticed that it is a sklingle attack. Using a single character that you will either have to tranaport of pay CP to DS for a 4+ of a single extra attack is not worth it. They also move slower than the Wulfwn for quite a bit so hard to keep them in the bubble.

 

I'd also comment that an RP with Long Fangs i cool, but not a great use of Storm Caller. First it's unreliable cover. Second they are a unit that will hardly move. They are better for Chooser of the Slain, although I think Hellblasters and Aggressors not moving are better choices for that.

 

Long Fangs for themselves are an awesome unit always. And they do have a great synergy with the Ancient.

 

That Ancient can move with the bulk of the army amd it should look really cool.

 

Edit: RP also has synergies with all other -1 to hit modifiers that can be stacked. So the have good synergy with Ven Dreads, Rhinos amd flyers making them really hard to hit something

[Lord Ragnarok]

I’m looking to have arjac+2-3x Gw termite packs+tda wolf priest with wulfen stone and warlord trait of hunter

Arjac gives one more attack

Wulfen stone gives one more attack

Wolf priest re rolls on hits, wolf priest warlord trait gives aura to charge after advance once unlocked. (If they survive lol)

Arjac re rolls hits of 2

Wolf priest add wounds back

Lone wolf stratagem to turn last TDAWG in a fenrisan ball of vengeance. This would be part of a 2x battalion list.

[Kallas]

Edit: RP also has synergies with all other -1 to hit modifiers that can be stacked. So the have good synergy with Ven Dreads, Rhinos amd flyers making them really hard to hit something

I'm currently planning to try out a form of Rhino rush

 

Battalion:

Wolf Lord (TH/SS, JP, Warlord - Beastslayer, Wulfen Stone)

Rune Priest (JP, Rune Sword, Storm Caller, Tempest's Wrath, Armour of Russ)

 

3x9 Grey Hunters, 2 Plasma, Chainswords, WGPL with Combi-Plasma, 2 with Frost Axe, 1 with Frost Sword)

3 Rhinos

 

5 Inceptors (Plasma)

 

Supreme Command:

3x WGBL (TH/SS, JP)

 

Low drops, so very likely to get first turn (which it really wants) and with the Wulfen Stone the GH packs kick out a lot of attacks on top of their shots so should be able to dogpile (hah!) most mobs and overrun even Guard lines. Storm Caller and Cloaked by the Storm should get the Rhinos up field with -2 and a 2+, and Tempest's Wrath on something like a Knight Castellan should mean that they get there pretty much intact. Character mob can also jump on heavy vehicles (Knights, for example) with the Armour of Russ letting them get all of their licks in first (and hopefully having the WL bring it down to achieve the Deed).

 

Anyway, yeah, I think Rhinos and Storm Caller/Cloaked could be a real solid choice.

[M.Redbeard]

 

 

Edit: RP also has synergies with all other -1 to hit modifiers that can be stacked. So the have good synergy with Ven Dreads, Rhinos amd flyers making them really hard to hit something

I'm currently planning to try out a form of Rhino rush

 

Battalion:

Wolf Lord (TH/SS, JP, Warlord - Beastslayer, Wulfen Stone)

Rune Priest (JP, Rune Sword, Storm Caller, Tempest's Wrath, Armour of Russ)

 

3x9 Grey Hunters, 2 Plasma, Chainswords, WGPL with Combi-Plasma, 2 with Frost Axe, 1 with Frost Sword)

3 Rhinos

 

5 Inceptors (Plasma)

 

Supreme Command:

3x WGBL (TH/SS, JP)

 

Low drops, so very likely to get first turn (which it really wants) and with the Wulfen Stone the GH packs kick out a lot of attacks on top of their shots so should be able to dogpile (hah!) most mobs and overrun even Guard lines. Storm Caller and Cloaked by the Storm should get the Rhinos up field with -2 and a 2+, and Tempest's Wrath on something like a Knight Castellan should mean that they get there pretty much intact. Character mob can also jump on heavy vehicles (Knights, for example) with the Armour of Russ letting them get all of their licks in first (and hopefully having the WL bring it down to achieve the Deed).

 

Anyway, yeah, I think Rhinos and Storm Caller/Cloaked could be a real solid choice.

Yeah that is a solid choice. I'd recommend the Armour of Russ in a WGBL, since I'd say is more worth the melee effect than the invuln. And if Storm Caller fails (which it probably will considering the WC) consider the option of Smiting for a reliable power to cast and get the benefit of the stratagem.

[Kallas]

Yeah that is a solid choice. I'd recommend the Armour of Russ in a WGBL, since I'd say is more worth the melee effect than the invuln. And if Storm Caller fails (which it probably will considering the WC) consider the option of Smiting for a reliable power to cast and get the benefit of the stratagem.

AoR on the Rune Priest is more for the Invulnerable save (as the WGBL and WL all have Storm Shields), although you're definitely right that the RP isn't particularly impressive in melee. Tempest's Wrath is also reasonably WC, but Smiting is definitely a good idea!

[navitude]

 

Edit: RP also has synergies with all other -1 to hit modifiers that can be stacked. So the have good synergy with Ven Dreads, Rhinos amd flyers making them really hard to hit something

I'm currently planning to try out a form of Rhino rush

 

Battalion:

Wolf Lord (TH/SS, JP, Warlord - Beastslayer, Wulfen Stone)

Rune Priest (JP, Rune Sword, Storm Caller, Tempest's Wrath, Armour of Russ)

 

3x9 Grey Hunters, 2 Plasma, Chainswords, WGPL with Combi-Plasma, 2 with Frost Axe, 1 with Frost Sword)

3 Rhinos

 

5 Inceptors (Plasma)

 

Supreme Command:

3x WGBL (TH/SS, JP)

 

Low drops, so very likely to get first turn (which it really wants) and with the Wulfen Stone the GH packs kick out a lot of attacks on top of their shots so should be able to dogpile (hah!) most mobs and overrun even Guard lines. Storm Caller and Cloaked by the Storm should get the Rhinos up field with -2 and a 2+, and Tempest's Wrath on something like a Knight Castellan should mean that they get there pretty much intact. Character mob can also jump on heavy vehicles (Knights, for example) with the Armour of Russ letting them get all of their licks in first (and hopefully having the WL bring it down to achieve the Deed).

 

Anyway, yeah, I think Rhinos and Storm Caller/Cloaked could be a real solid choice.

 

Running almost the same list, however I have swapped the inceptors and supreme command detachment for 3 long fang squads of 6 with missile launchers. 

 

Problem I have is that the Long Fangs seems great to pair with imperial bunkers as it functions as a fire magnet that allows them to survive for a turn longer and dish out fire at the same time.

 

Problem is, and no one in my group can find or agree on, do the Long Fangs get access to their built in rules as they are embarked, and do they get access to the stratagem The Wolfs Eye while firing in the bunker?

 

If not, then I am pretty much going to end with something similar. 

 

Another question, do you guys find that you have to be saving 2 cp for Howl of the Great Pack quite consistently in games?

[Kallas]

Problem is, and no one in my group can find or agree on, do the Long Fangs get access to their built in rules as they are embarked, and do they get access to the stratagem The Wolfs Eye while firing in the bunker?

 

If not, then I am pretty much going to end with something similar. 

 

Another question, do you guys find that you have to be saving 2 cp for Howl of the Great Pack quite consistently in games?

They'll have access to their own Fire Discipline rule, but they won't get to use the stratagem, as they're not on the table.

 

Howl of the Great Pack does seem like it could be useful, especially if you want to trigger the Lone Wolf stratagem! Will have to get some games in to see if I use it, though Wolves seem like they like to use their CP quite generously.

[PeteySödes]

I don't see howl as very useful TBH I certainly don't hold back for it. Too many restrictions i think, should have been pick a character vs. a WL only.

 

Any opponent who whittles down multiple units instead of smashing them I don't think I would be afraid of. I just don't ever see using this as it is when insane bravery is just easier to use in a pinch.

[navitude]

I don't see howl as very useful TBH I certainly don't hold back for it. Too many restrictions i think, should have been pick a character vs. a WL only.

 

Any opponent who whittles down multiple units instead of smashing them I don't think I would be afraid of. I just don't ever see using this as it is when insane bravery is just easier to use in a pinch.

I have been rocking 10 man units for a while now, before the codex dropped, and the only thing that seems to melt a squad with all the buffs added on are knight feets. My opponents have figured out now that with the Wolfstone and the Saga of the Wolfkin, it is better to saturate the fire and not waste a shot as a single grey hunter generates 4 attacks after popping Honour the Chapter on my WL.

 

I just always auto burn the cp for howl just because I do not want to lose a single model... But with the way things are, I only get 9 cp total to spend a game. That goes for -3 for cloaked by the storm, then -3 honour the chapter, then -1 for talismanic shield and then I only have 2 left... Sadly, not enough for another honour the chapter so I am usually stuck cracking howl for the final two to make sure as many models last when the bombs start going off on turn 3. Howl does effect more than one unit btw, while ib only effects one unit.

 

Just wondering what other people get stuck with after turn 2.  

  

[M.Redbeard]

 

Yeah that is a solid choice. I'd recommend the Armour of Russ in a WGBL, since I'd say is more worth the melee effect than the invuln. And if Storm Caller fails (which it probably will considering the WC) consider the option of Smiting for a reliable power to cast and get the benefit of the stratagem.

AoR on the Rune Priest is more for the Invulnerable save (as the WGBL and WL all have Storm Shields), although you're definitely right that the RP isn't particularly impressive in melee. Tempest's Wrath is also reasonably WC, but Smiting is definitely a good idea!

 

I understand the idea of getting the RP an invuln, but I'd rather have the 5++ and pay the points for Runic Armour and use the Armour of Russ as a melee tool, rather than the 4++. THat comes to personal preference though.

 

As for the Hwol. I really like it. It is more cirumstancial than Insane Bravery, yeah, but for the same CP it gives more, so when it comes out it is always better to use the Howl. Might be a bit expensive as a debuff, but can be used that way too. It a nice tool, specially after a brutal Fight phase. where several units might've suffered casualties and you are close enough the debuff comes in, it is cool. If I have a WL I'd use it ratehr than Insane Bravery.

 

As for Talimsanic Shield. Unless it is a crucial power, I'd save that CP.

[TiguriusX]

why is everyone trying to change his RP?

 

it has a jp and 6 inch HI

 

it can do the same job a wgbl would to counter a melee target

 

RP isn't a liability in melee either. you give him fury of the wolf and watch him single handedly clear a unit

 

i say play on and tell us how it performed

[Kallas]

why is everyone trying to change his RP?

 

it has a jp and 6 inch HI

 

it can do the same job a wgbl would to counter a melee target

 

RP isn't a liability in melee either. you give him fury of the wolf and watch him single handedly clear a unit

 

i say play on and tell us how it performed

Hah, thanks 

 

Definitely going to give it a shot, it's worth trying out. Fury of the Wolf Spirits is definitely a solid second power choice too, may be switching to that if Tempest's Wrath doesn't work out for me (although my meta does have quite a lot of tanks/Custodes/other high value units to slap TW on).

 

Though I will say that my Libra..I mean RP model (I'm definitely not a Howling Griffons player trying to find a fun faction that meshes lore and rules  ) has failed me sooo many times!

 

I went to a 6 round tournament late 2017: in 4 games he killed himself through Perils; 1 game he did literally nothing; and in the last game he utterly failed to kill two enemy Scouts with 7 Red Thirst (BA Codex at the time) attacks...

 

His only notable achievement so far has been killing a Vindicare Assassin. And that's about it!

[M.Redbeard]

why is everyone trying to change his RP?

 

it has a jp and 6 inch HI

 

it can do the same job a wgbl would to counter a melee target

 

RP isn't a liability in melee either. you give him fury of the wolf and watch him single handedly clear a unit

 

i say play on and tell us how it performed

I am not trying to change his RP, I am just giving him my opinion.

 

The RP can still do the work of making a unit go last, but the presented build I think it is not melee oriented. The Runic Sword is ok, but the other two options are better for going with a full on RP melee. The RP is okay in combat but even with the power it is not great, and as I saw his build as a more as a buff/debuff character. As such I sugested that the armour is better in a Character that he wants reliably in combat like the WGBL and keep the psyker put of the way doing his buffing, with a little invuln in case he does get dragged in or targeted.

 

And giving wiht Fury of the Wolves Spirits is changing his build.

 

I'd also be interested in finding out how the list goes.

[Kallas]

I am not trying to change his RP, I am just giving him my opinion.

The RP can still do the work of making a unit go last, but the presented build I think it is not melee oriented. The Runic Sword is ok, but the other two options are better for going with a full on RP melee. The RP is okay in combat but even with the power it is not great, and as I saw his build as a more as a buff/debuff character. As such I sugested that the armour is better in a Character that he wants reliably in combat like the WGBL and keep the psyker put of the way doing his buffing, with a little invuln in case he does get dragged in or targeted.

 

And giving wiht Fury of the Wolves Spirits is changing his build.

 

I'd also be interested in finding out how the list goes.

No worries guys, I'm happy to receive constructive criticism (which it all has been).

 

I'm not exactly dead set on the build (although my JPRP does have a sword, and I built him before I had my magnets!), but I figure it's worth trying out. The 5++ from Runic Armour is definitely nice, especially as it's only 7pts, but 4++ is leagues ahead (it's a 50/25% increase in saves). My main hope is that with the WGBL and WL around, the Librarian won't actually get threatened much in melee (and the other guys in melee are more threatening, so other than the AoR he'll be low on the priority list).

 

Hopefully I'll get a game in tomorrow night and will bring some feedback in.

[Karack Blackstone]

Your RP being utility and support makes sense, especially if you have two melee beatstick HQ's nearby to escort and bodyguard for the caster.

 

Rune Priests excel in one thing, above all others, on the table: clutch utility. Despite their high points values, RP's really seem to be a very solid all-rounder choice for buffs, synergy improvements, and, at times, genuinely pushing the game to new levels as the two powers known, plus smite, in the right choices are truly able to augment, supplement, or both, the benefits other units provide across swaths of the table.

 

Pack synergies only aid the army as a whole; still, knowing when to break off an element if the need is great enough can at times be key to victory.

 

So long as you have a mission for your JPRP, by all means, keep said RP dedicated to that mission. There's plenty of melee potential elsewhere in your list, HQ and otherwise, if led right.

[Kallas]

Your RP being utility and support makes sense, especially if you have two melee beatstick HQ's nearby to escort and bodyguard for the caster.

 

So long as you have a mission for your JPRP, by all means, keep said RP dedicated to that mission. There's plenty of melee potential elsewhere in your list, HQ and otherwise, if led right.

Yeah, his main mission is escorting the Rhinos upfield, and then jumping in to shut down a dangerous melee threat. If there's nothing else to do, he'll just jump around and hit weaker units that he can bully.

 

The list is kind of intended to rush up together, hopefully weathering a turn or two of fire and then breaking apart to swamp the enemy in power armoured bodies and keep the close-range pressure on. Who knows if it'll work, but at least I get to put basic power armoured models on the table and they won't be utterly pathetic! 

[zero88]

TH/SS Wolf Guard Terminators deep striking with Arjac and a WGBL in Terminator Armor with the Wolfen stone is a nasty NASTY unit if I'm understanding it right.. 4 hammer attacks each, hitting on 3s with re roll ones to wound. Wolfen still probably do it better but hey if it makes terminators a little better than just "fun"

[Karhedron]

TH/SS Wolf Guard Terminators deep striking with Arjac and a WGBL in Terminator Armor with the Wolfen stone is a nasty NASTY unit if I'm understanding it right.. 4 hammer attacks each, hitting on 3s with re roll ones to wound. Wolfen still probably do it better but hey if it makes terminators a little better than just "fun"

They are good but are also expensive and slow with only a 28% chance of making a successful charge. That chance can be improved by adding rerolls but even at best is only around 50:50. It is a lot of points to spend on a unit that needs to be hitting people in close combat. If you fail the charge, your opponent will simply withdraw while shooting and your expensive unit will spend the rest of the game jogging to try and reach a target.

[Axilleas]

 

TH/SS Wolf Guard Terminators deep striking with Arjac and a WGBL in Terminator Armor with the Wolfen stone is a nasty NASTY unit if I'm understanding it right.. 4 hammer attacks each, hitting on 3s with re roll ones to wound. Wolfen still probably do it better but hey if it makes terminators a little better than just "fun"

They are good but are also expensive and slow with only a 28% chance of making a successful charge. That chance can be improved by adding rerolls but even at best is only around 50:50. It is a lot of points to spend on a unit that needs to be hitting people in close combat. If you fail the charge, your opponent will simply withdraw while shooting and your expensive unit will spend the rest of the game jogging to try and reach a target.

This is true, but I really want to make my 5 th/ss TDA's and Arjac work. I'm planning on supporting them with a rp in TDA with wolf spirits and wulfen stone. Hoping that I'll be able to utilize the -1 to hit buff and have other elements of the army move in range the turn the TDA's arrive to maximize the benefit of those 3 cp. They can then hold that section of the board or slowly press forward to add pressure if possible.

[Kallas]

So, played my game tonight vs Tyranids, I'll put the lists and some detail in spoilers below for those that want to dig in a bit more.

 

Lessons Learned:

• Big, tooled out Grey Hunter units aren't particularly great against Nidzilla. They didn't have particularly good targets this game, and I definitely misplaced my Beastslayer WL a couple of times, but they were approximately 600pts that definitely did not come close to achieving anything worth that investment
• Rhino-rush plus Storm Caller/Cloaked by the Storm was a solid combo. I felt a major CP pinch, however, and feel like this kind of tactic really wants a decent stock of CP to function properly. Between a CP reroll to successfully cast and the 3CP for CbtS, I spent half of my stack immediately, leaving my little to play with my for characters to properly go ham on the big Tyranid gribblies
• I did kind of need that kicking, as that really showed that I didn't play the objective game properly (and my updated list has taken that into account somewhat)
• Plasma Inceptors are solid, and Keen Senses would've really helped had I chosen to go for his 'Fexes (-1 from Spore Cysts) and against any other kind of modifier, but for 350-odd points they reeeally need to make a big splash when they drop, or else they'll get snuffed out post haste. I made an error when I dropped in this game (I put them where the Exocrine could see them, instead of staying low and protected by the LOS blocking ruins) but even so, they ate a Super Smite and would've had to deal with Hive Guard anyway, even if they'd survived. A massive hammer, but they need a correspondingly big nail to get enough mileage out of them
• Hunters Unleashed was great. 6" HI was brilliant (triggered it at least twice, and possibly could have done so more times, but late game I had checked out a little bit), and the +1 to hit in the first round was also brilliant, particularly with the multitude of WS2+ Thunder Hammers, but even for the Grey Hunters (despite having no good targets, their hit rates were great, which is worth noting). But that 6" HI is absolutely golden.
• Storm Caller was great on the approach. Nids aren't great for testing out Psychic Powers, so going to hold off on other comments, as they didn't really see enough time to know whether they're decent or not)

 

Overall, a valuable learning experience, and it wasn't the most demoralising game I've ever had, which is good!

 

After some chat with another local Wolf and my opponent, I've come up with a new version of the list that has some of the same themes but with a decent shift in approach:

Battalion:

Wolf Lord (TH/SS, JP, Wulfen Stone, Warlord - Beastslayer)

Rune Priest (Sword, JP, Psychic Hood, Armour of Russ, Storm Caller, Tempest's Wrath)

Bjorn the Fell-handed (Twin Lascannon)

 

3 Bolter Inceptors

 

3x 5 Grey Hunters (B&C)

 

Rhino (2x SB)

Razorback (Twin Assault Cannon, SB)

 

Battalion:

3x WGBL (TH/SS, JP)

 

3x 5 Grey Hunters (B&C)

 

Rhino (2x SB)

Razorback (Twin AC, SB)

 

+++

 

Fundamentally similar with the core of vehicles pressing up the board protected by SC/CbtS but with the Razorbacks providing fire support and more Rhino hulls overall. 6x5 GH squads should give me much more flexibility when it comes to capturing objectives; I stripped out their special weaponry/WGPLs as they simply didn't achieve much and are a significant expense (the 3 Combi-Plasma/6 Plasma/3 FA/FS comes to 148pts! That's 10 more bodies or 1.5 Rhinos!) without actually doing much. With four Rhino hulls and 6 ObSec units, I can more reasonably split off 1/2 units to grab objectives (or leave them behind) without losing significant firepower, and more vehicles makes it harder to stop the whole thing from rolling onward.

 

Double Battalion obviously gives me a greater stock of CP, and Bjorn helps that. Bjorn is also yet another heavy hitter as well as another buffing character to hang around with my Razorbacks. He also hits like a Knight, basically. With his Twin LC, even on the move he's pumping out decent shots and in melee he is terrifying (especially with a 6" HI). He's protected by his character keyword, and T8 with a 5+++ should keep him ticking over for quite a while.

 

The Bolter Inceptors give me a little bit of fast moving fire support without being so incredibly expensive, but Assault Bolters are damn solid choices and if they're near the WL after the Beastslayer deed is fulfilled then they'll be able to at least pour on the fire, as well as being plentiful capable to stripping out -2/3/whatever units with Keen Senses that think they're safe on a backfield objective.

 

Overall, I think this revised list has a lot more in-built redundancy which I think will help it function better. It's got more individual units (while not being many more drops: it's 11 to the previous list's 9) that can be much more flexible in positioning as well as being much more disposable.

 

Any comments and criticisms on this list would be greatly appreciated: either in this thread or PM me if you don't want to detract from it! Thanks! 

 

 

 

Here's the breakdown of the game, for those interested

For those who may have looked at my list and wondered why I was quite light on points: our league is 1750, as our previous 2000pt league had many games going late, which often meant that they didn't end conclusively (as we have to be out of the venue by 11pm). Figured that was worth explaining!

 

Space Wolves:

Battalion:

Wolf Lord (TH/SS, JP, Wulfen Stone, Warlord - Beastslayer)

Rune Priest (Sword, JP, Armour of Russ, Storm Caller, Tempest's Wrath)

 

3x9 GH (Chainswords, 2 Plasma Guns), 1 WGPL (Combi-Plasma, 2 Frost Axes, 1 Frost Sword)

 

3x Rhino (2 SB)

 

6 Plasma Inceptors

 

Supreme Command:

3x WGBL (TH/SS, JP)

 

Tyranids (all Leviathan):

Supreme Command:

3x Neurothrope (urgh, -ing horrible to fight against)

 

Battalion:

2x Flyrants (2x Devourers, Wings)

 

3x 3 Ripper Swarms

 

6 Hive Guard (because Hive Guard...)

 

Spearhead:

Another Flyrant

 

3x Carnifex (Sporce Cysts, Bone Mace, 2x Monstrous Scything Talons)

 

Exocrine

 

We are playing an ITC, Champions I believe, League (to change up our previous League format) and this was Mission 1: Seize Ground (so lengthways, two chevrons of objectives pointing towards the centre)

 

My Secondary Objectives:

 - Headhunter (Neurothropes and Hive Tyrants)

 - Big Game Hunter (Carnifexes and Hive Tyrants)

 - Old School

 

His Secondary Objectives:

 - Headhunter

 - Big Game Hunter

 - Recon

 

We rolled Hammer and Anvil (which wasn't ideal, but ok) and I finished deploying first (with a mighty 9 drops to his 13) but I did win the roll off to go first.

 

SW T1

I rushed up with my Rhinos, getting some good advance rolls and putting a bunch of my stuff just over the halfway line. Storm Caller went off successfully (I moved my RP just outside of the closest Shadow in the Warp generator!) and then Cloaked by the Storm followed. My WL Warlord and two WGBLs were up amidst the Rhinos, who had some Carnifexes lingering approximately 12-15" away in case I needed to Heroically Intervene.

 

Nids T1

Things move to encircle me somewhat: two Flyrants on my left, one straight up the centre sitting on the first floor (second floor for you Yanks!) of a central ruin for LOS. Two Carnifex move up threateningly. Psychic gets little done: Catalyst goes up on the central Flyrant, but Smites are massively curtailed by the Beta Rules, some Denying and Armour of Contempt!

 

Shooting begins, the Hive Guard, thanks to CbtS and Smoke Launchers, are only hitting on 5+, so they manage to achieve very little all told. Between them, the Flyrants, the Exocrine and Smites, they trim about 5 wounds off of the leading Rhino on the left, and 3 on the leading Rhino on the right. Excellent, all things considered.

 

One Carnifex charges that Rhino, hoping to finish it off (which it actually does!) My RP isn't in range to HI, unfortunately which may have saved my Rhino but could have caused me to fail my Storm Caller (which saved about 3-4 extra saves from the Flyrants, so well worth it!); but two WGBL and my WL promptly jumped on it! The 'fex killed the Rhino (1 GH dying in the disembarkation) and then got splatted: unfortunately I overestimated the Carnifex's resilience - I attacked with one WGBL first, hoping to soften it up just in case the WL got some cold dice, but actually killed it meaning I couldn't achieve my Deed of Legend this turn (which would have been suuuper helpful!). Oh well, Next time I'll use my WL first, as he easily crushes Carnifexes! Anyway.

 

Score: 2-4 to him

I got 1 BGH from the Carnifex and 1 from holding 1 objective on my turn (none for killing the 'fex, as that was during his turn).

He got 1 BGH from my Rhino, he killed a unit (but not more), and he held multiple objectives (for 2 more).

 

SW T2

A second unit of GH jumped out to support the first forcibly disembarked unit. The WL and one WGBL jumped over to the left to threaten his flanking Flyrants, the other two WGBL and the RP jumped towards the middle Flyrant and its two supporting 'Fexes. the Grey Hunters prepped to unload on the central Flyrant while the last, still full, Rhino pushed up to try and get towards the Exocrine and Hive Guard.

 

My RP achieved nothing in the Psychic Phae (either failing to cast or being Denied). Oh well.

 

The Inceptors shot at two Flyrants, hoping to either bring them down or at least wound them severely enough to have them finished by my characters. Unfortunately, the dice weren't onboard with that plan... My dice weren't bad, but my opponent's 4++ saves and 5/6+ FNPs were extremely annoying (comfortably over half of the Invulns passed, and far too many FNPs were successful!). Essentially, neither targeted Flyrant died. Beastslayer would've been helpful here, especially as I could have moved my WL much more sensibly (ie, keep him near the Inceptors and both GH units, making the Plasma wound on 2+ and the Bolters wound of 4+, instead of 3/5+ respectively). That likely would have made a significant difference.

 

Charges: RP successfully charges the central, ruin-mounted Flyrant, along with one WGBL. A second WGBL charges a Carnifex; the WL charges away from the two Flyrants on to the other, central Carnifex while the last WGBL attacks the slightly wounded flanking Flyrant. One unit of GH also charges the WL's Carnifex to wrap around and protect him from possibl incoming Smites (I hate those -ing Neurothropes!)

 

Fight Phase: RP stops the central Flyrant from attacking, then the WL curbstomps the Carnifex (triggering the Beastslayer Deed). He interrupts to try and bat the leftmost WGBL away, but failed to break through the Storm Shield but takes very little damage in return (again, lots of Invuln/FNPs made). Central Flyrant gets hurt, but doesn't go down (again, a lot of Invuln/FNPs); the last Carnifex doesn't go down to the WGBL this time, unfortunately, but at least doesn't hurt the WGBL.

 

Overall, a frustrating turn for me.

 

Nids T2

Flyrants disengage, Neurothropes flop about. Two units of Rippers drop down on my backfield objectives (NB: this is one of the reasons I'm leaning toward 6x5 basic GH instead of 3x10 tooled up GH!).

 

Psychic onslaught begins: a lot of Smites come in, killing 2.5 Inceptors off the bat (a bloody 11!) and several GH, as well as the leftmost WGBL who I had left hanging out to dry. Horror gets cast, but the unit dies before it ever becomes relevant. Essentially just a ton of Mortal Wounds, even through the Beta rules.

 

Shooting: Exocrine annihilates the remaining Inceptors, because Plasma. Flyrants kill a bunch of Grey Hunters with their bajillion shots each. Hive Guard obliterate the forward, Smite-denying squad (at least they did their job!)

 

Charge/Fight: One Flyrant charges in to finish off a unit of GH, but flubs. My central characters all HI to support my WGBL that's facing down the Carnifex, and my WL promptly splatters it across the ruin.

 

Morale: Both units of GH (down to their last guys) flee: I could have used Howl of the Great Pack to save them, but at this point I was down to 2CP and saving one WGPL w/FA (would have been nice if I had 1 more CP to make him a Lone Wolf) and one basic GH (he was left because he was ObSec on an objective) wasn't really worthwhile. I could also basically see the game going against me, so I wanted to save the CP for more impactful parts of my list (like my WL).

 

Score: +2 - +6 (4-10)

I scored 1 for killing a unit, holding an objective and 2 for BGH (two Carnifexes).

He scored 4 Primary (kill; kill more; hold; hold more) as well as 1 for Recon and 1 for Headhunter.

Not good!

 

SW T3

Not going well.

 

I jump my remaining GH unit out and press up towards the Exocrine and Hive Guard, along with their Rhino. The remaining Death Squad members all jump forward to try and break his backfield (those Hive Guard are the most individually potent unit he has, and if I can break the Neurothropes' invulns, they'll go down quickly); plus there are as many objectives that way! One lightly damaged (but not degraded) Rhino pulls back to try and pry one unit of Rippers off a backfield objective.

 

Psychic: I manage to Smite his full health Flyrant for 3 wounds. Nice, but ultimately unnecessary (see: Fight Phase )

 

Shooting: Oh, oh God-Emperor... My GH squad shoots: I'm in for a penny at this point, so all three Plasma Guns overcharge Rapid Fire at the Hive Guard. All three kill themselves (rolling separately!) and score a measly 1 wound (thanks to the Leviathan 6+ FNP!!!) total. Bolters account for another wound. I also made another mistake here, I could have had my WL closer to my GH to give them both Beastslayer (to shoot up the Exocrine) and rr1s for the Plasma. That would've been a much smarter play, but me dumb dumb!

 

Front Rhino does manage to knock two wounds off the Exocrine with its Storm Bolters and Beastslayer(!). Rear Rhino manages to cause...1 wound to the Rippers (caused 4 wounds; 1 failed save...)

 

Le sigh.

 

Charges: AWFUL! My character contingent all proceed to multicharge everything after my Rhino ties up the Hive Guard. The highest was a 6, the rest were 4 or 5, meaning they all only got to the Flyrant (and not the Warlord Neurothrope or Hive Guard!) Urgh! Still, the Flyrant gets splattered (but, yet again, makes a ridiculous amount of 4++/6+++ saves, meaning it takes all four characters!). Rear Rhino charges the Rippers because at this point I've basically checked out I did manage to at least lock the Exocrine in combat with my GH unit (sans WGPL...) with its back press up against a ruin so it couldn't fall back!

 

Nids T3

Hive Guard fall back, Neurothropes flop. Flyrants flap. Rippers nom.

 

Psychic and shooting phase see my two WGBLs and RP evaporate.

 

Fight phase is a slap fest between the Exocrine and GH.

 

Score: +3 - +8 (7-18)

I scored: kill one; hold one; one HH.

He scored: kill one/more; hold one/more; three for HH (maxed); one for Recon

Game is decided at this point, but might as well see if I can scrape a few more points together (worthwhile considering the league scoring format, even though this is a practice game before we start proper - besides, quitting isn't the way of the Griffo- er, Wolves!)

 

SW T4

WL is at " it" levels. He heads back to take on the two wounded Flyrants, because why not? They're the most important (story-wise) big beasties left!

 

Rhino continues bumping into the Hive Guard. GH and Exocrine continue flapping.

 

WL charges both Flyrants (again, I've hit " it"). Takes two wounds in overwatch but makes a good long charge. Attacking the weakest Flyrant with only 5 wounds left. Guess what happens... Flub two wound rolls, one gets saved...then three -ing FNPs! ARGH! Survives on 2 wounds. 

 

So, uh, yeah.

 

Remaining Turns:

WL gets Smited/Smote/Smoted/flop-sweated into oblivion. Front Rhino gets the same treatment. GH get cleared up and eventually (T6) the back Rhino gets finished off.

 

Final Score:

8 - 34. Ouch.

[TiguriusX]

i really enjoyed that batrep thanks

 

Now you know why I run at least 1 culexus assassin in my competitive lists

 

i hate smite bs