Tanky Wolf Priest on bike

[Karhedron]

I was inspired by this thread on making a tanky Blood Angels biker Chaplain and decided to see what the Wolves could do in the same vein.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/369933-unit-of-the-week-primaris-chaplain-on-bike/?p=5750313

 

Biker Chaplain 115 points

Master of Sanctity 25 points

Relic: Armour Indomitus

WLT: Wise Orator

WLT: Saga of the bear (taken using the Warrior of Legend stratagem)

Litanies: Litany of Hate, Mantra of Strength, Catechism of fire

 

For 140 points you have 8W T5 2+/4++/6+++ with a one-off 3++ if you run into something nasty. You can also regain D3 wounds by spending a CP on Healing Balms if you find yourself in a pinch.

 

This guy compares well to the BA version. While he only has a 6+++ rather than a 5+++, enemies attacking him cannot reroll wounds or Damage. Also he has the possibility to spread a 6" aura of 6+++ if he loses a Wound. Unlike the BA version, he has Wise Orator meaning he chants on a 2+. Mantra of Strength and Litany of Hate will be the bread and butter options but one of the shooty buffs might be useful in the first turn or two.

 

So we have a very fast and tanky 140 point character who can dish out reasonable buffs and damage. What do we use him for?

 

The answer is "almost anything". This guy is a real swiss army knife. Turn 1 you can buff your shooting with Catechism of Fire (or switch this out for Recitation of Focus). Turn 2 onwards you can get stuck in alongside your melee units in the midfield. Where he really excels though is where the enemy has a nasty Deathstar unit or two. This guy has the speed to intercept them and the durability to tank crazy levels of damage. With 8 wounds, stacked saves and access to THP, there is not much in the game that can 1-shot him. Even the Daemon Primarchs will struggle to kill him in one round and if they fail, he can heal up and keep them tied up for a bit longer. Using Mantra of Strength also means he can hit at S7, Ap-1, 3D with 6 attacks (7 in the first round) and exploding 6s once we reach the Assault Doctrine.

 

If there are no heavy hitters, he can go solo from T3 onwards as he is more than capable of wiping small units off an Objective and has the durability that your opponent will struggle to take him down by the late game.

 

If you want to trade durability for a bit more speed, Saga of the Hunter allows you to Advance and Charge as well as fall back from combat and then charge again. This guy can ping-pong all over the battlefield and wipe multiple small units over the course of the game.

[TiguriusX]

Pelt of the balewolf is an option too

 

Makes him harder to kill in melee

[Guest Triszin]

what are the big differences between armor indomitus and Armor of russ?

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

Main difference is Armor Indomitus gives you an extra wound and you can buff your invulnerable save once per game. Amour of Russ lets you give out strikes last. They're both good choices. For a pure tank build I think Armor Indomitus, and pelt of the balewolf are better choices.

 

That said the best part about the Primaris Chaplain on a Bike is how flexible they are so you can justify a lot of relics and warlord traits for them.   

[Karhedron]

AoR has a permanent 4++ so is best on characters who don't have a stock invulnerable. Rune Priests get the most benefit from it but it is never a bad pick.

[Karhedron]

Pelt of the balewolf is an option too

 

Makes him harder to kill in melee

Definitely a good option. This is where the BA version pulls ahead as they can use Artisan of War to double-stack relics. We have to chose between Armour or a defensive relic.

[TiguriusX]

 

Pelt of the balewolf is an option too

 

Makes him harder to kill in melee

Definitely a good option. This is where the BA version pulls ahead as they can use Artisan of War to double-stack relics. We have to chose between Armour or a defensive relic.

It is gimmicky but fun to use on a bike character

 

Basically always have transhuman or better as defense

 

Against most melee hordes they only wound on 5/6s in melee

 

The bear combo preventing rerolls is perfect synergy for this

 

This chaplain laughs at all the meta LCs and only gets wounded on 6

 

He can also fight knights S9 or less beasties with at worst a 4 to wound a 4++ invulnerable as backup

 

Not sure how much tactical usage a target pit like this provides but it is fun.

 

I tried it on a wolf lord a few times but lack of obsec or killing power made it feel sub par

 

curious to see how you build around it and maximize value

[Dark Shepherd]

My problem with the build is the crozius lacks a bit of offensive capability even with the litany; he needs to be able to kill nasty targets in combat to stay alive too

 

That and unless you have 2 of them then getting that 2 inch extra charge litany off is crucial in turn 2 and/or 3 ie when hes most likely charging

[Karhedron]

My problem with the build is the crozius lacks a bit of offensive capability even with the litany; he needs to be able to kill nasty targets in combat to stay alive too

With the proliferation of Invulnerable saves that seem to be creeping through the meta, the extra Strength from the Crozius may be more important than its lack of AP. Space Wolves do not lack stuff to chew through MEQs but a high strength hitty stick with no -1 to-Hit is handy in some circumstances. The ability to dial it up to 3D with the Litany is handy for dealing with Death Guard and the like.

 

That and unless you have 2 of them then getting that 2 inch extra charge litany off is crucial in turn 2 and/or 3 ie when hes most likely charging

With a 14" move (20" if he has Saga of the Hunter") then I think the +2" charge Litany is less useful. He is not there to springboard units from Reserves into melee, he is there buff squads, intercept Deathstars and fly solo in the late game.

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

My problem with the build is the crozius lacks a bit of offensive capability even with the litany; he needs to be able to kill nasty targets in combat to stay alive too

 

That and unless you have 2 of them then getting that 2 inch extra charge litany off is crucial in turn 2 and/or 3 ie when hes most likely charging

 

I think Karhedron was more showing off how good of a Tanky build you can make with wolves, than suggesting that its the best way to run a Primaris Wolf Priest on a Bike.

 

For me I tend to go all in on damage, or keep my Wolf Priest cheap and go for canticle of hate, and rites of war. With a tanky build I don't know if Canticle of Hate is as important, and the tarpit element makes up for the lower damage. At some point I'm going to give Karhedron's tanky build a shot just to see if it does work well with my army, but I look at this thread as more of an example of how flexible the unit is. 

[Dark Shepherd]

 

My problem with the build is the crozius lacks a bit of offensive capability even with the litany; he needs to be able to kill nasty targets in combat to stay alive too

With the proliferation of Invulnerable saves that seem to be creeping through the meta, the extra Strength from the Crozius may be more important than its lack of AP. Space Wolves do not lack stuff to chew through MEQs but a high strength hitty stick with no -1 to-Hit is handy in some circumstances. The ability to dial it up to 3D with the Litany is handy for dealing with Death Guard and the like.

 

That and unless you have 2 of them then getting that 2 inch extra charge litany off is crucial in turn 2 and/or 3 ie when hes most likely charging

With a 14" move (20" if he has Saga of the Hunter") then I think the +2" charge Litany is less useful. He is not there to springboard units from Reserves into melee, he is there buff squads, intercept Deathstars and fly solo in the late game.

The Relic crozius is seriously good though, extra point of AP maybe not best feature but extra 1D and bonus mortal wounds on 6s to wounds

[Arentius]

Sorry for jumping on a thread a few days old, but how does this guy reach 7 attacks?

 

4 base +1 charge + 1 Mantra...where does attack 7 come from?

[Karhedron]

Possibly I miscounted. Maybe it is only 6.