Tactica: Wolf Priests

[PeteySödes]

With the release of our rules update it seems we've had a craving and cause for some new discussions relating to our units. Every week we'll feature a new unit available to the 6th with the purpose of discussing the tactics, use, and synergies around them. The Space Wolves are also about legends, sagas and great deeds as well so each week will also kick off or feature a showcase for you bloodclaws and longfangs alike to show off your units and inspire your battle brothers. These discussions will be archived to allow for reference by the new and old as well!

Note, this isn't to lament any nerfs, etc, from previous editions; the rules are as they are so try to unlock its potential for those who wish to use them all the same. Similarly, this thread is only for using the option being discussed; it matters not if you feel something is a better choice as such comments aren't constructive to the topic and shall be removed.

- Week 6 -

- Wolf Priests -

How do Space Wolves best use Wolf Priests?

• Wargear?
• Which strategems are worth throwing out?
• Any solid unit combos?

What say you fearless Warriors of the Rout? And please post your finished heroes here!

[PeteySödes]

Im really looking forward to this one, I haven't had a chance to game since the new world began so i'm looking forward to reading everyone takes on the new stuff!

[BadgersinHills]

They seem really good with Litanies. I want to try to use one with a jump pack for a Terminator strike, so they can charge a little easier. He starts on the board and ideally moves into cover, if not, a Runic Mantle might be a good thing to invest in so he doesn't get shot immediately. Going to try Murderfang with wolves moving up as well as a distracting presence. Any thoughts on this idea? 

[ranulf the revenant]

Would also like to hear about this one. I recently build a model which is supposed to be a JP WP with powerfist. Opinions on this build :)?

[Kassill]

Definitely following. I'm slowly plotting out a list to use when we get back to some version of normal life. Wolf Priests have always been a mainstay in my army for 5th and 6th, but having missed all of 7th basically and only a few games in 8th with the indexes, I'm eager to see how they perform with the latests buffs/additions. 

I see people either run them with JP/PF to work like a sort of smash captain and to follow twc/wulfen around, and I see others run the Primaris version (like I plan to) with intercessors in an impulsor. What about terminator Wolf Priests? Recently there has been some talk about Wolf Guard Terminators being in a rather good place currently, so would run a WP-terminator alongside them be worth it, or is it still better to stick to the jump pack version? 

[Guest Triszin]

They are probably the best apoth/chaplain in the game.

 

I like using ulrik. But Im also planning a jump jet iteration soon

[TiguriusX]

Space wolves have the best chaplain around.

 

Ours can chant litanies AND heal.

 

Apparently the price we pay is we have no stratagem to become master of sanctity.

 

Totally worth it.

 

 

I have field tested them and they should be included must have for melee armies.

 

Canticle of hate is all you need. I even suggest taking 2 WPs and both having this litany.

 

It will make or break your turn 2 melee alpha strike.

 

Always use CP if it fails to activate...it is that powerful.

 

Jump pack is also mandatory

 

WP has to be on the board for the canticleto activate...not a problem.

 

Hide behind LOS and then advance towards your charge target (12+d6 movement with a 6" aura is plenty of range)

 

Saga of majesty needs an FAQ but this may even extend your aura to 9" which is huuuge range

 

Combine with a source of reroll charges (wulfen or ragnar) and you have a reliable unstoppable alpha strike melee unit.

 

After you make your 7" charge don't forget you now have 6" to pile in and consolidate if you daisy chain and remain in the WP bubble.

 

What insanity can this do?

 

15 blood claws out flanking and erasing a screen then pushing deep into the shooting elements beyond

 

10 terminators dropping anywhere and getting 21" of free movement if the charge succeeds (that is 4 turns of terminator waddling to get you up close and personal)

 

This 1 buff alone makes our existing codex units super powerful.

 

Embrace the wolf priest

[Wolf Guard Dan]

Litanies are the thing that I’ve been looking forward to most with our update. Canticle of hate is such a game changer if you can keep your priests alive. Which if you play ITC there’s no seize and you know if you’re going first or second before the deploy.

 

Do y’all like using power fists in the jump pack iteration? That D3 damage seems so unreliable. Especially because there’s hidden fists and hammers in the units he’s pushing forward.

 

Unless I’m missing something I believe RAW saga of majesty works with the litanies. It would be a good combo. You’d just have to worry about that priest being a prime target anyway and you’d lose your warlord and litany producer to snipers.

[TiguriusX]

Litanies are the thing that I’ve been looking forward to most with our update. Canticle of hate is such a game changer if you can keep your priests alive. Which if you play ITC there’s no seize and you know if you’re going first or second before the deploy.

 

Do y’all like using power fists in the jump pack iteration? That D3 damage seems so unreliable. Especially because there’s hidden fists and hammers in the units he’s pushing forward.

 

Unless I’m missing something I believe RAW saga of majesty works with the litanies. It would be a good combo. You’d just have to worry about that priest being a prime target anyway and you’d lose your warlord and litany producer to snipers.

I used to put PF on WP whenever I had points because of SW bonus to hit.

 

However, after field testing the WP with canticle of hate I have found everything in melee range is already dead.

 

If they are not dead I am too busy advancing to the perfect aura spot for multiple units to get buffs and unable to charge myself.

 

So now I lean towards no PF unless I have no other war gear to upgrade

 

 

As for losing the warlord dont forget we get 1 extra WL trait without having to be the actual WL now. I use that for the saga of majesty because I know it puts the WP in the crosshairs on the front lines if he is the true WL as well

Edited May 11, 2020 by TiguriusX

[Lord Blackwood]

So since  I am running a  mostly Primaris List   the Primaris Wolf Priest goes in a shielded Impulsor with 5  Veteran Intercessors 

Canticle of Hate for the Litany choice 

Wulfen stone for the relic. 

Objective is to crash him and his boys  into the same target ragnar and his boys are crashing into if possible. 

Wont also be the easiest thing in the world to orchestrate obviously. 

I dont put much stock in the healing of the wolf priests since they cant bring models back from the dead like other apothecaries can , which would have been really nice. 

 

[Valerian]

 

What about terminator Wolf Priests? Recently there has been some talk about Wolf Guard Terminators being in a rather good place currently, so would run a WP-terminator alongside them be worth it, or is it still better to stick to the jump pack version? 

 

A Terminator Wolf Priest doesn't really work right now, simply due to the requirement to be on the board at the beginning of the Battle Round to recite the Litany.  Thus, if you're going to Teleport Strike him in to support other Deep Strikers (like Wolf Guard Terminators), then he'd have to arrive in Turn 2, in order to support the Wolf Guard who'd have to wait until Turn 3.  It just isn't an effective use of the potential, there.

 

So, as it stands, there are really only 2 ways to effectively build and implement your Wolf Priests, and both have already been covered.  The first, for those going for Primaris focused lists, is to just use your Primaris Wolf Priest in Tacticus Armour, and move him with an Intercessor Squad in an Impulsor.  Still can't do anything in the first round, but can get really far up the board on Turn 1, thanks to the Impulsor's Assault Vehicle rule (14" Impulsor move, 3" Disembark, 6" Move, and d6" Advance.  (24-29 total inches of movement, in the first turn).  The Wolf Priest and his Intercessor escort can't charge this turn, but they can sure get into position for a 2nd turn charge (or a 1st turn Heroic Intervention :)  ).

 

The second, is the tried and true Firstborn Wolf Priest with a Jump Pack, who can Move and Advance in the first and second Turns, to get into position to support other units coming in from either Teleport Strike (Wolf Guard Terminators) or from an Outflank via Cunning of the Wolf (Wulfen).

 

Those two are pretty much it.

 

Val

[Debauchery101]

I like the primaris wolf priests. They're fairly cheap and pretty tough. I like that they have a ton of utility but the whole 1 turn delay from entering the board or exiting a vehicle is lame

[Dark Shepherd]

Powerfists all day long for me, gotta capitalise on our chapter tactic which also includes the 6' heroic intervention, PF gets more done here. Jump pack for fly keyword stacks here too.

 

Before CA I gave mine Armour of Russ too and it worked really well. As said before the Wulfen stone works great for them roo

[Karhedron]

I like the primaris wolf priests. They're fairly cheap and pretty tough. I like that they have a ton of utility but the whole 1 turn delay from entering the board or exiting a vehicle is lame

I agree, it seriously affects the utility of Chaplains as a whole. It would make a lot more sense for it to happen at the same time as the Psychic Phase. Maybe they could rename it the Hero Phase where a variety of special character abilities are triggered.

 

Put the idea in the hat for 9th edition.

[BadgersinHills]

The healing of the Wolf Priests works ok with Terminator strikes, I feel. TiguriusX would be give more accurate thoughts on this matter, but if a wound gets chipped off of a terminator then a decent chance to get him back up. Doubt this will do much though, lots of D2 will be hurled at them. Still nice to have, with a Saga of the Bear warlord. If I interpreted correctly, you roll a die for each point of damage? 

 

 

I like the primaris wolf priests. They're fairly cheap and pretty tough. I like that they have a ton of utility but the whole 1 turn delay from entering the board or exiting a vehicle is lame

I agree, it seriously affects the utility of Chaplains as a whole. It would make a lot more sense for it to happen at the same time as the Psychic Phase. Maybe they could rename it the Hero Phase where a variety of special character abilities are triggered.

Put the idea in the hat for 9th edition.

 

 

Too radical an idea, no other games by GW use that system. 

[TiguriusX]

Powerfists all day long for me, gotta capitalise on our chapter tactic which also includes the 6' heroic intervention, PF gets more done here. Jump pack for fly keyword stacks here too.

 

Before CA I gave mine Armour of Russ too and it worked really well. As said before the Wulfen stone works great for them roo

For the wolves who like to run unique lists...

 

PF toting Jump WP with mantra of strength will punch massive holes in things.

 

5 attacks on the charge hitting on 2

 

S10 d3+1 damage (so doing 2-4 damage with a guaranteed primaris equivalent killer at minimum)

 

Basically turns his litany ability into a pseudo relic that only buffs himself

 

Not exactly a bad unit but when you see what canticle of hate does as an army wide synergy boost you might decide the gimmick isn't worth it.

[Dark Shepherd]

Multiple wolf priests, now we're talking :)

[Bulwyf]

You can still take a WP in a Stormwolf to support a Wulfen squad. It isn't as effective as it used to be but to whoever above stated there are only two ways to use WP I completely disagree. Until they change him Ulric the Slayer still has the old aura so he works just like he did before. Even with the changes you can still put a WP in a Stormwolf with Wulfen. You don't get the immediate litany which frankly should be altered to go off in another phase for exactly the reason it hurts them in a transport or off the board. That being said it still works. The Wulfen aren't going to just stay in one spot, you can move them and the WP around so that next turn the WP can try for the reroll hit litany.

[Dark Shepherd]

I think in that scenario (jumping out of a transport) a Wolf Lord would work better

[theprophetofwar]

I already had altered my old Wolf priest to have power-fist and jump pack to follow the cavalry and thunder lord around, cant wait to do the same with litanies and charge bonuses.

[Bulwyf]

I think in that scenario (jumping out of a transport) a Wolf Lord would work better

 

I disagree. The WP still gives you the leadership buff and heals wounds. That's huge. You throw in the litany that will come the next round after they disembark and it is not even close as to which is better.

[Dark Shepherd]

 

 

I think in that scenario (jumping out of a transport) a Wolf Lord would work better

I disagree. The WP still gives you the leadership buff and heals wounds. That's huge. You throw in the litany that will come the next round after they disembark and it is not even close as to which is better.

The next round part is key for me there.

No guarantee the Priest (or Lord) makes it that far. Or gets off litany. And priest can only heal max one wound on the Wulfen per turn.

But the lord lets them rr1s to hit, ads to strategem options for leadership buffs too if needed.

IMO you need to frontload that first fight phase to reap maximum rewards

 

Wulfen disembark and will mulch first target esp with rerolls. Ideally you want them attacking again, maybe even more than once, through strats and death frenzy. Wolflord could be buffing 48 thunder hammer attacks in your fight phase alone.

 

In my experience too once Wulfen are deployed they attract a lot of firepower once they deploy

 

Advancing a jump priest through cover the way to go I reckon if you want a Wulfen buddy

[FabulousRex]

The new litany with the absurdly long name has been the lynchpin for my entire army these days. It can let us emulate the White scars trick of turning Troops into murder machines, +1 dmg on Monsters/Vehicles is killer when multiplied across a 10 man Wulfen or Incursor squad. 30 to 40 2d attacks can drop Knights and Riptides with surprising efficiency.

 

I go with pure Infantry board control, and the Wolf Priest is my most important buffer, but is usually ignored by snipers for my Wolf Lord.

 

The Canticle of Hate is easily the 2nd choice for me. Even without a heavy deep strike attack, the 6" consolidate movement is an anti screen tool extraordinaire on a huge blob of Infantry crashing into the opponent.

 

As for a powefist, it's a decent back up, and cheap, but it's better on a dedicated beatstick with the Mantra of Strength and a Master Crafted Fist. Otherwise, going without one lowers the percieved threat from your opponent, which is my primary goal.

Edited May 13, 2020 by FabulousRex