5 ways to buff Wulfen through Saga of the Beast

[Lee Smith]

Recently I have seen a lot of hype around how great Wolf Guard Terminators and Thunderwolves are now following the psychic awakening. Reading through the Saga of the Beast for the first time and you may be forgiven for thinking that Wulfen didn’t get buffed through Stratagems, Characters or rules changes. But scratch beneath the surface and omit the direct wording references to “Wulfen” and you can find a host of new Space Wolf changes that make Wulfen even better than they were before and in my opinion something worth building your entire 2k list around.

I personally build all my competitive ITC lists around 19 Wulfen, mostly with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields. The below points are caveated by being played in the context of a single Vanguard Detachment of:

 

Wolf Priest w/Jump pack and 3 units of Wulfen, all running together.

 

So here is my take on 5 ways Wulfen just got better in Psychic awakening and why they are worth every point now:

1. Litanies. Specifically, Canticle of Hate (+2 to charges, +3 to Pile in and +3 to consolidate). This litany has been on the most wanted list for many space wolf players after reading the other marine books, so I am glad it came through and I would have been happy with JUST getting this. Wulfen naturally re-roll charges, so where I see the real use in this isn’t just increasing their reliability of getting in on the charge, it is putting them 2 inches further to the back of the unit you are about to wipe and lining up the next charge or tagging consolidation. With a +2 re-roll able charge and a 6inch pile in, then a 6 inch consolidation, I now fully consider declaring EVERY unit within 12 inches as a charge target (especially if it doesn’t have a gun to overwatch with).The wolf priest also still retains litany of hate for later so if you have a short charge, you might want to consider popping this one off instead. Note: If trying to use a litany, remember it is rolled start of battle-round so won’t affect wolf priests jumping in from reserve, as they are not on the board to generate the litany to begin with.
2. Transhuman Physiology (2CP Stratagem) Staying alive just became so much more viable, as this stratagem basically modifies your toughness to match the strength of the weapon hitting you. This is useful for taking Strength 5, 6 and 7 shots that kick out 2 damage as well as strength 8+ multiple damage. Especially useful in turn 1 if you had no where to deploy and hide your Wulfen or wanted to chance an aggressive deployment.
3. Counter-Charge (1CP Stratagem). A Stratagem to heroically intervene Units (Wulfen) for 1 CP. Wow! The number of opponents I have played who asked: “They can’t heroic right?” and I would answer: “No, they are not that good”. Well, now they can! The Space Wolf 6 inch heroic intervention can sometimes feel like a “gotcha”, but it is also really “what we do”. I would not be afraid to use this Stratagem without telegraphing it. The specific wording is use in your opponent’s charge phase, not at the beginning. Besides all heroics can only happen after all charges are resolved and the pieces are still in motion. A well place Wulfen squad heroically intervening 6 inches through a ruin into a unit on an objective, killing that unit and claiming the objective on your opponent’s turn is game changing and in ITC could give a point swing of hold more in a turn (especially if you are playing the middle L ruins terrain layout). Place a squad in range of an uncontested objective, see if your opponent takes the bait and spring the trap!
4. Assault Doctrine (+1AP to Melee Weapons). From turn 3 onwards Thunder hammers are AP -4. By this point Wulfen are denying most things in game a basic save and if you don’t have an invulnerable, they are probably going through you even more efficiently than before. Savage Fury causes unmodified hit rolls of a 6 to explode in the assault doctrine. This is a nice little buff, however personally, I won’t be waiting to strike on turn 3 and holding back. I like a turn 2 charge, as it stands, I am considering the assault doctrine as purely an offset for the casualties sustained positioning for combat. Importantly, Space Wolves have gone so long without doctrines, we now need to remember we have them in game!!
5. Hero of the Chapter (1CP Stratagem)/ Relics. Giving your Wolf priest caddy the right tools for the job is important. Wolf priests can now enter the fray with a warlord saga without being the designated Warlord. Handy for getting stuck in whilst reducing risk of your opponent gaining “Slay the warlord” if it is in play. My personal favourite Warlord traits are Saga of the Wolfkin (+1 Attack) and Saga of the beast slayer (+1 To wound against monsters and vehicles. Alternatively, you can go “all in” as the Warlord, adding in the new relics and you have some options. Armour of Russ is still my favourite relic, but the new Mountain Breaker Helm will be considered as the deed of legend will go off with the death of an enemy character and the relic helps you take down that character. You can also go for Morkai’s teeth bolts and all you need to do is hit on a 3+ with your Wolf Priests bolt pistol for re-roll wounds of 1.

 

Honorary Mention: Battle lust Buff from Ragnar. A lot of players are saying Ragnar is a must in any army and so if I will be taking him. Combined with Wulfen this is great, see point 3 above for obvious play after Heroic intervention without Canticle of hate around.

 

In Summary, Wulfen can now do so much more and I believe this takes them from great to awesome status. They can still take more of a beating on the way into combat, gain extra AP and attacks from Assault doctrine, charge further with canticle of hate, pile in further, consolidate more, heroically intervene (through ruins too, as infantry) but most of all kill things better and they still strike back when they die.

Is anyone else running 3 squads in a Vanguard, does anyone else agree they are worth the points now? I honestly feel they are the top tier combat unit in the game and can't wait for the tournament scene to restart. I would welcome if anyone else has a conflicting opinion or has dropped them for Wolf Guard or Thunderwolves in case I am missing something.

[Karack Blackstone]

Just goes to show how far:

 

- WG TDA

- ALL TDA in general, both Loyal and Chaos

- Thunderwolves

- Most SM TDA / PA Assault units

 

Will have to go to be "viable" in comparison.

 

There is such a thing as too good, however, with this idea as a base, maybe without sinking too many CP's into either:

 

- WG TDA

- Thunderwolves

- SkyClaws

- SwiftClaws

 

We as players can figure out how to get the four directly above back on the table?

[Guest Triszin]

Just goes to show how far:

 

- WG TDA

- ALL TDA in general, both Loyal and Chaos

- Thunderwolves

- Most SM TDA / PA Assault units

 

Will have to go to be "viable" in comparison.

 

There is such a thing as too good, however, with this idea as a base, maybe without sinking too many CP's into either:

 

- WG TDA

- Thunderwolves

- SkyClaws

- SwiftClaws

 

We as players can figure out how to get the four directly above back on the table?

honestly, im half tempted to see how well a Twolf with a SS and bolter would perform. then you use the mort wounds on 6's/charge when in cqc. give the pack leader a ss and th