Back again

[Ragnar_Einarsson]

Well it has been a logn time and I really mean a long time. 2 small kids kept me away from any hobby (they still do but it is easier to find time).

Now I see a lot have changed. I've missed on our new codex, don't even know what edition are we playing and I see a lot of talk about Primaris which I get are the "new" SM and the way GW is heading.

 

Need advice and there is no better place to ask then here.

 

I'm a viking nere and play SW mainly cause I love the look and the history. So for me it is important to convert (small or big depends on the modela) and have fun while I try to keep with the spirit. But it is fun to win, sometimes too. :)

 

If this is better suited for army list forum then I appologize and feel free to move it but Im morely asking for guidance then army list help.

 

I want to use untis I love and want to know if they are still viable plus I need to know what to add more.

 

Bjorn or Dreadnaught, Fenrisian Wolf Cavalary and Terminators are the only units painted so them I want in.

Then Wulfen, Grey Hunter, Stormfang (our flyger), some tanks for transport are all on shelf. Bikes would be awesome too.

Alweys loved the idea of scouts and now I read there are some Primaris units that are good at it.

What else from Primaris range is needed? Need to buy Codex and new Rule Book so will get more boxes (never enough) but is it smart to still build "old SW" boxes or is better to wolf up Primaris units while I at it?

What lords do work now? Last time I heavily converted twim claws mark of Wulfen lord but guess that is over now. Rune Priest too. Or who was running with Wulfen to keep them in check.

 

Sorry for many questions but maybe I can get them answered when someone have time, thank you.

[The Great Squark]

Of the units you mentioned really liking; Bjorn the Fell-Handed is excellent. TWC are good, but suffer in a ruin-heavy metagame because they can't climb. Terminators aren't a mainstay, but they're not bad, either, especially with storm bolters.

 

As far as more general army building advice goes;

Troop choices

-Blood Claws are generally favored over Grey Hunters at the moment because Powerfists are pretty cheap, and our tactics strongly encourage you to get into melee.

-Of the primaris troop choices: Intercessors are a decent frontline troops choice, while Infiltrators offer vital deep strike denial and board control. Incursors are cheaper than Infiltrators and can cover bust, but lose that anti deep strike bubble.

 

HQ: The only primaris HQs of note at the moment are the Primaris Battle Leader from the Start Collecting Box (Because he's cheap), and the Phobos Rune Priest and Wolf Lord. The latter offers a sniper rifle that can fire on the move without penalty and the infiltrators' anti- deep strike bubble, while the Rune Priest is cheaper than his normal counterparts at the moment and has access to a lot of shenanigans.

-The current flavor of the month for Wolf Lords is Thunder hammer, Storm Shield, and Jump Pack. Unfortunately, it looks like thunder hammers are headed for a massive price hike, so I'd hesitate to put a "Smash Lord" together unless you magnetize him. Or GW comes to their senses and realizes the reason characters with thunder hammers are everywhere is to counter Imperial Knights.

 

Other things to note;

-Wulfen are the glue that hold competitive Space Wolves lists together.

-Biker HQs and Wolf Guard bikers have a bit of an uncertain future right now due to the upcoming warhammer Legends updaye.

 

As far as recommendations go... the Start Collecting Primaris Space Wolves gets you 2 squads of 5 intercessors (MSU is back in full force), a squad of 3 aggressors, and a Primaris Battle Leader. All are pretty useful.

[Ragnar_Einarsson]

Big thx for reply.

 

Will get starter box as it is ok value.

 

Was looking att minis. Not much that is diffrent. Is it possible to covert SW Grey Hunters box to Prinaris or am I missing something?

 

I like that Blood Claws are usefull again. MSU with them too or 8-9 pack?

 

How about Long Fangs? We still use them?

 

Thx again

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Long fangs are quite good I still use them to good effect. Plasma cannon are a good choice, heavy bolters get you a good strat, and missiles can provide anti air in a pinch. Las cannon are good if pricy.

 

The space wolf box won't really convert to primaris, primaris are larger and have a different aesthetic. It is however possible to use all of the little wolfy bits, tails wolf skulls and the like, to wolf up your primaris models.

[Ragnar_Einarsson]

Ok. Awesome. Didn't see that they were larger. That will still work perfect with our wolves.

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Passes a mug of ale..

 

Welcome back brother! :)

I returned just like you, not long ago, missing the whole 5th Ed up to now.. It was a bit confusing at first but that is also kinda exciting, learning all the new stuff!

 

I would take a serious look at getting a lot of Primaris Marines. Unlike you I have a totally clean slate though but I seriously consider it. Modelling is really my main enjoyment but they can be made into just as fierce looking Space Wolves in my humble opinion. They are more expensive money wise but there is certain to be more coming.

 

I am not fully up to date what mixes and not but it seems that heads are fine. Arms okay-ish - but I think I´ll try to cut wrists of old SW arms and glue to Primaris Marines as much as possible (Primaris are taller, more true scale).

 

It seems like a good time to come back, 8th Ed rules confused me for a bit but it seems action packed and fun with loads of details in wargear, units, stratagems etc. while the basic rules are easy and simple enough.

[TSkouboe]

TWC are good, but suffer in a ruin-heavy metagame because they can't climb.

(...)

-Blood Claws are generally favored over Grey Hunters at the moment because Powerfists are pretty cheap, and our tactics strongly encourage you to get into melee.

I disagree here.

Thunderwolf Cavalry are durable, but expensive and not very killy. They're decent horde killers, though.

I don't think there's a general favour to Blood Claws. What I hear, they're considered significantly worse than Grey Hunters. Blood Claws may be more efficient in close combat, but they're slow and fragile - not good for a melee unit. Grey Hunters are at least versatile.

[Vassakov]

Hail brother. I found myself in a similar position (small children aside) last year but have taken the plunge back into the 41st (42nd?) Millennium.

 

Most of my recent purchases have been Primaris themed - the Warhammer 40,000 Conquest subscription has helped here, but I've found them to be pretty good on the tabletop. Intercessors are great objective holders and a Pack Leader with a Power Fist gives them bite in close combat - he's also an excellent target for the Lone Wolf Strategem if things go sideways.

 

The Primaris stuff is also pretty easy to convert - heads and shoulders are compatible with the old Marines range. As you might be able to tell from my profile picture, you can convert even the monopose Dark Imperium/Shadowspear stuff without too much of an issue, and if you are confident with Green Stuff it's even easier. The only slight annoyance I have is the fact that the chest Aquila is almost identical across the range, so there has been a lot of trimming and sticking of small bits. Tweezers are recommended for this!

 

As far as Firstborn units go - Grey Hunters are solid, but suffer from the more general Marine issue of T4 W1 Sv 3+ just not being durable. Wulfen, Bjorn and Long Fangs are the cornerstone of any competitive list for my mind and I never leave the Aett without them. Stormwolves are also excellent, but suffer slightly from being the target of every AT weapon in the enemy list. Our Rune Priests are also pretty good, though I've recently become fond of a Phobos Priest using Mind Raid and Teneborus Curse.

 

Good luck, and welcome back to the halls of Russ!

[Guest]

Welcome back brother, lay your weapon at the entrance and grab something to drink.

 

My personal opinion is that primaris are great ranged damage dealers, and can hold their own in melee. However any dedicated melee will ripe them apart.

 

Reivers are great at tearing through horde armies especially less than S4. At 40 attacks, hitting on 2s for the first turn, I have wiped out whole pack of Boyz in a single turn.

 

Wulfen I love as they are fast, hit hard, and have a delicious 3++ save. Use cunning of the wolf and outflank to really get inside the enemy backlines.

 

Intercessors I prefer to grey hunters. Same attcks, slightly better range, bit double the hit points makes them hard to remove.

[The Great Squark]

 

 

TWC are good, but suffer in a ruin-heavy metagame because they can't climb.

(...)

-Blood Claws are generally favored over Grey Hunters at the moment because Powerfists are pretty cheap, and our tactics strongly encourage you to get into melee.

I disagree here.

Thunderwolf Cavalry are durable, but expensive and not very killy. They're decent horde killers, though.

I don't think there's a general favour to Blood Claws. What I hear, they're considered significantly worse than Grey Hunters. Blood Claws may be more efficient in close combat, but they're slow and fragile - not good for a melee unit. Grey Hunters are at least versatile.

TWC have benefitted greatly from shock attack. They also come in a different slot than wulfen, which means they don't have to compete with them for elites slots. And hode killing is an important job in 8th edition, so that's not a big mark against them. Still, they're not the focal point of our lists anymore, especially since they need the buffs from Wulfen to reach their full potential.

 

As for Grey Hunters vs. Blood Claws... Both have their issues, but Shock Attack corrected the mathematical imbalance on charging turns (Yes, prior to the summer update, Grey Hunters actually beat out Blood Claws on a charge), which means it comes down to special weapons. The extra attack(s) with the pack leader(s) power weapon(s) give Blood Claws an edge in close combat, which is where your troops want to be. Access to more strategems help Blood Claws as well. Still, awkward troops choices are one of Space Wolves' bigger issues at the moment. Oldmarines suffer from insufficient volume of fire and a lack of AP on their boltguns, while Primaris troop choices would really rather be from another chapter.

[Ragnar_Einarsson]

Still, awkward troops choices are one of Space Wolves' bigger issues at the moment. Oldmarines suffer from insufficient volume of fire and a lack of AP on their boltguns, while Primaris troop choices would really rather be from another chapter.

Thank you all.

This right here is how I see it now.

I have no problems with getting new models and wolfing them up. That is fun part of hobby. But it seems like they dont really want to be with us while GW is pushing it forward.

Dont want any other army but SW but reading more and more it seems like it would be best to get a lot of Prinaris and get them ready for when they add them in their own Codex. Sad cause SW were what some got me into the hobby

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Keep Wolfing up any Space Marine models you like into proper Space Wolves! I would love to see a heavily Wolfed up Primaris Space Wolf warband! Probably the way I will take myself.. I think that would look great!

As for what rules - depends a little bit on how you play, friends, groups etc.. if you like the models you could always use the normal Space Wolf units if that works in your group?

 

I used to be a bit against new ffangled things and the story line moving forward, too much.. But I kinda like this move.. It is exciting and the new models are really cool! Not sure I like their playstyle over traditional Space Wolf Packs however.. But some of them look more than interesting (Intercessors taking the Grey Hunter role and Reivers the Blood Claws´ seems like an idea?)

[The Great Squark]

I don't think we're going to see a new space wolves codex or a dedicated Primaris Codex any time soon. Rules updates are going to come in Chapter Approved and Psychic Awakening campaigns.

 

Primaris don't really replace existing units for the most part, though. They're too specialized compared to normal marines. Now, in a troops choice, that's very desirable, as it reduces the impact of the "troops tax" if they're able to focus on doing one thing very well. But Primaris HQs tend to be mediocre or worse with few exceptions (Non-Phobos Primaris Battle Leaders remain a cheap force multiplier/hq tax, Phobos Wolf Lords and Rune Priests have unique traits not available to regular Marine HQs), while their Elites, Fast Attack, and Heavy Support choices are all super specialized.

 

The issues Space Wolves have are

1) 8th edition favors Shooting over melee. Space Wolves' unique rules do nothing for shooting, and aside from specialized units, Blood Angels do assault better. Which is a real problem in the Age of Soup Armies.

2) Almost all of the new toys for Space Marines are heavily focused on shooting, which is not ideal for us, because of 1)

 

It's possible a campaign supplement-augmented version of Hunters Unleashed and the new Combat Doctorines feature could change things, but we have no idea if/when such things could happen.