Space Wolves refresh

[TheMawr]

On 3/28/2025 at 11:23 AM, Joe said:

I'm curious about long-term additions to the range moving forward. The below is a loose collation of the rumours Valrak shared, but there's other stuff I suspect will pop up in 11E and beyond. A new Rune Priest seems certain, as do the likes of Skyclaws or Longfangs in the long term. I wouldn't put it past them to fix the Wulfen models either. Definitely some exciting times ahead, and I'm glad I was buying up Space Wolves bits last year. 

• new Logan Grimnar (as previously mentioned), no longer on sled, larger base alongside some Fenrisian Wolves
• new Njal Stormcaller
• new Arjac Rockfist
• new generic Wolf Priest, unclear on loadout / armour
• new Space Wolf Lieutenant model (multiple weapon options)
• new HQ / Elite Guard unit (Bladeguard-styled, but with Fenrisian wolves)
• new Wolf Scouts (also with a Fenrisian wolf attached)
• new Terminator Wolf Guard unit (similar to Deathwing Knights)
• new Blood Claws
• new Grey Hunters

 

Im pretty sure all those Terminator wolves will be shown soon, I imagine they will be one of those weekly monday previews we had before ( Blood angels, votann, kroot, 9th edition eldar release.) Howl at the Moonday or something, 3-5 weeks. When the boxset goes on preorder ( with the codex ) the nda will be lifted and the cat is out of the bag after all. Wich might mean it could start as early as next monday.

 

The wolfscouts sound as if they could turn out to be a kill team. ( because of the random psyker staff there in the rumors mostly.) if this is the case, wich already is just a 50/50 chance, as in, they are or they arent, it could go two ways.. they are in the codex and previewed beforehand.. but released a little time later with the first set of the next season ( jul-aug-sept ) we have seen this done before, not in the least with regular spacemarine scouts. Or they are not in the book in their final form only to be an addition shortly after, this too we have seen before ( vespids and Tankbustas recently ) especially if they are basically more bespoke hounds of morkai. ( a new phobos based kill team popping up, just when the old one is removed from the classified list is something I could definitely see.)

 

I do wonder if there even will be a new upgrade sprue, you'd expect so.. but I think they are a little less systematic -equal attention- with spacemarines among each other as they where in 8th. While not spacemarines, Krieg showed that an expectation of such doesnt necessarily translate to a certainity. But I think it might be the only thing not on the list released for now.

 

 

Another thought ocurred to me in regard to your first bullet point however. regarding logan grimnar "no longer on sled".. when making the list of possible removed datasheets I realised right now both versions exist as datasheets, this could actually remain the case for a little while longer. There are several 7th edition releases that stuck around without any good reason apart from probably being considered too recent to remove. From this pov Logan grimnar on sled ( and the dreadnaught ) is more safe than Thunderwolves and fenrisian wolves. Not something I would bet on mind you, but not something that would suprise me either.

 

[Flaherty]

On 3/27/2025 at 4:09 PM, DemonGSides said:

 

Anyone who thought 11th was happening this year was either just a perpetual grumbler using it as ammo about why modern 40k sucks or was delusional.

 

But the rumors for a loooong time were EC this summer, not this spring. And having Imperial Knights be completely removed from the roadmap is an obvious indication that some stuff has changed. 

I'm starting to think we will see a new pattern emerge. The breadcrumbs I'm following:

 

+ Horus Heresy isn't enough to anchor the big summer release slot. 

+ Space Marine II has created a huge wave of interest

+ It's too soon for 11th

+ But it's never too soon for a giant wave of power armor

 

So we won't get a new edition, but we'll get a new wave of base marines with upgrade sprues. It's Space Marine summer! This jives with Valrak's rumors and the teaser images of Salamanders, Imperial/Crimson Fists, and now Ravenguard.

 

New editions pull double duty – the change refreshes the rules and provides an entry point for new players, but it's also Space Marine-palooza. This way they get a big bump in sales for the most popular army in the game without creating too many rules wrinkles.

 

So I'm predicting a dozen or so power armor-focused battleforces to be the big summer push. I think Chaos will get a nice push here as well with the unaligned chaos legions getting upgrade sprues, a la the Night Lords.

 

Does this cannibalize 11th? A bit? Maybe? but as M:TG has shown, you can bleed whales to an extreme degree. And Shadowspear dumped a host of new models a year or so before 9th and the world still turned.

 

Am I taking crazy pills?

 

 

[lonewolf81]

Really curious to see what other stuff we are going to get.  Valrak rumors where spot on so far, the best case scenario for me is to get all the other stuff rumored (scouts, termies, logan , Njal, arjack) plus a dread kit or dread upgrade sprue to build bjorn , wulfen dread and murderfang. Wulfen are still cool for me and would be cooler if they could be joined by the new wolf priest. All other old stuff can go (and i own too many thunderwolves). It would be great for T_wolves to get an update but doesnt seem like it, weather we like it or not all first born are going away one way or another thats a fact

Edited Saturday at 03:28 PM by lonewolf81

[Wispy]

Feeling unbelievably spoiled compared to Dark Angels and Blood Angels but according to Valrak we can still expect new Wolf Scouts, Wolf Guard terminators, and 3 more characters (Arjak, Njal, Logan). And presumably a new upgrade sprue as well like BA, BT, & DA all get.

 

Really did not expect new individual Blood Claws and Grey Hunter kits. Maybe one kit that built both.

[Nephaston]

Not to mention a transfer sheet that ideally has most if not all the great companies, maybe wolfspear seeing as that sheet is kind of limited.

[Blindhamster]

1 hour ago, Wispy said:

Feeling unbelievably spoiled compared to Dark Angels and Blood Angels but according to Valrak we can still expect new Wolf Scouts, Wolf Guard terminators, and 3 more characters (Arjak, Njal, Logan). And presumably a new upgrade sprue as well like BA, BT, & DA all get.

 

Really did not expect new individual Blood Claws and Grey Hunter kits. Maybe one kit that built both.

Whilst Blood Angel players may lament, you should just bask in the glory of your release :) 

It's looking very exciting!

 

Also remember that rumours are rumours, and Valrak said many times there was a Blood Angel Terminator Captain coming, but it never came, so the other things listed for wolves aren't guaranteed (though I imagine they're very likely in this case!)

 

Both blood claws and grey hunters are excellent. I'm interested to see what it means for wolves use of intercessors long term.

[Karhedron]

3 minutes ago, Blindhamster said:

Both blood claws and grey hunters are excellent. I'm interested to see what it means for wolves use of intercessors long term.

 

My hunch is that Wolves will retain access to Intercessors. The glimpse of the Grey Hunter and Blood Claw sheets made it look like they are fixed 10-man squad sizes. That means Wolves will need Intercessors for cheap 5-man Battleline units and Objective holders. Just speculation of course. 

[BadgersinHills]

Love these, though it's a real shame that a lot of the old SW kits will be retired.

[TheNicronomicon]

1 hour ago, BadgersinHills said:

Love these, though it's a real shame that a lot of the old SW kits will be retired.

They served with honor, and will await the coming of Russ deep in the Aett among the victorious dead.

[Blindhamster]

2 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

My hunch is that Wolves will retain access to Intercessors. The glimpse of the Grey Hunter and Blood Claw sheets made it look like they are fixed 10-man squad sizes. That means Wolves will need Intercessors for cheap 5-man Battleline units and Objective holders. Just speculation of course. 

my theory is a little reversed, I'm thinking its possible that tactical squads will go and we'll see a new intercessor kit with the next marine codex. If that happens, I could see wolves losing access to the two standard intercessor units. Like they didnt have tacticals previously.

[Graymane]

I confess brothers i had lost my faith in Russ and the Allfather. I was at the point of hanging up my brush. And so it is in my darkest hour, Russ and my brothers in the fang have come to my aid. 

Lo, they do call my name and bid me join them in the halls of Fenris, where the brave shall live forever! 

Now, where did i put my brushes....?

[Wispy]

4 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

My hunch is that Wolves will retain access to Intercessors. The glimpse of the Grey Hunter and Blood Claw sheets made it look like they are fixed 10-man squad sizes. That means Wolves will need Intercessors for cheap 5-man Battleline units and Objective holders. Just speculation of course. 

Only way to get bolt rifles in the army too. Intercessors probably get a Grey Hunter keyword.

Edited Sunday at 03:12 AM by Wispy

[dalmer]

still hold to my prediction that Russ returns to kick off 11th.  Wolves vs Orks.  And the latest Armageddon talk doesn't lessen that for me

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

On 3/29/2025 at 5:19 AM, Harald Fairmane said:

Except for the Primaris Crusader Squad which can take a flamer 

Even then it's only loyalist marines who lost the special weapons, IG, Chaos and storm guardians all kept them to name just a few off of the top of my head. It's one of my pet peeves regarding Primaris, along with mixed/ older MKs of armour not being a big thing anymore, but the latter is starting to change.

Edited Monday at 02:52 AM by FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants

[Karhedron]

1 hour ago, FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants said:

Even then it's only loyalist marines who lost the special weapons

 

I wonder if it is to do with Marines being perceived as a beginner's army. Keeping weapons the same without a squad simplifies dice rolling and speeds up game play. 

[TheNicronomicon]

5 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

I wonder if it is to do with Marines being perceived as a beginner's army. Keeping weapons the same without a squad simplifies dice rolling and speeds up game play. 

Traitor Legionaries still have access to the Rhino, though. I still think the special weapons were intended for Rhino-riding squads and designed to complement that platform. Take away the Rhino, take away the guns. 

[WrathOfTheLion]

15 hours ago, BadgersinHills said:

Love these, though it's a real shame that a lot of the old SW kits will be retired.

I picked up the last of the old ones that I want for my army, so it'll be on to a new project for Space Wolves with the new kits. I'm going to do Wolfspear I think, although I may do a tiny bit with another Great Company.

[DemonGSides]

1 hour ago, TheNicronomicon said:

Traitor Legionaries still have access to the Rhino, though. I still think the special weapons were intended for Rhino-riding squads and designed to complement that platform. Take away the Rhino, take away the guns. 

 

The impulsor has Firing Deck 6 so I'm not sure this line of reasoning holds up to any scrutiny. 

[Karhedron]

56 minutes ago, DemonGSides said:

The impulsor has Firing Deck 6 so I'm not sure this line of reasoning holds up to any scrutiny. 

 

That makes it a good choice for 5 Hellblasters or Infernus Marines and a character.

 

It is not the Firing Deck that is the issue, it is that the Firing Deck 2 of the Rhino is ideal for the 2 Special/Heavy weapons that you can normally take with 10 Firstborn/Traitor Marines. 

[TheNicronomicon]

1 hour ago, DemonGSides said:

 

The impulsor has Firing Deck 6 so I'm not sure this line of reasoning holds up to any scrutiny. 

Right but it only takes Primaris units, who all have a single type of gun that matters. Intercessors, Hellblasters, Sternguard, etc. The Impulsor’s been designed with that in mind. You can’t stick a unit of Grey Hunters with a pair of grav guns (based on index datasheets not the upcoming codex here) in there. (If you wanted to be even sillier you could try to cram an extra unit in and intentionally “lose” models from either unit, giving you potentially 4 heavy weapons in a fast mobile platform. I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but possible in the letter of the rules.) Firing Deck (X) isn’t the issue, it’s the units that ride in the transport. 
now look at the Rhino. It’s not a threat without a squad in it. The heavy weapons on the firing deck are what give it its firepower. Without those, it’s a lesser dread with a terminator’s gun. The squads don’t need the heavy weapons—the APC does. I think that’s what they’re thinking. 
 

The designers seem to want each unit to have a single role/identity. Adding in special weapons to every squad dilutes that and makes the game more difficult to balance, since there are more edge cases to account for.

Edited Sunday at 05:06 PM by TheNicronomicon
More thoughts

[skylerboodie]

20 hours ago, Blindhamster said:

Also remember that rumours are rumours, and Valrak said many times there was a Blood Angel Terminator Captain coming, but it never came, so the other things listed for wolves aren't guaranteed (though I imagine they're very likely in this case!)

 

May well still be coming, when the upscaled Assault Terminators get released

[Blindhamster]

4 minutes ago, skylerboodie said:

 

May well still be coming, when the upscaled Assault Terminators get released

Honestly I think the space wolf terminator wave will be end of April, maybe May.

 

generic assault terminators I think will be much later in the year

[Moonstalker]

5 minutes ago, Blindhamster said:

Honestly I think the space wolf terminator wave will be end of April, maybe May.

 

generic assault terminators I think will be much later in the year

 

I had thought we'd get generic Assault Terminators as part of the 11th Edition box set, like we got standard Terminators for 10th.  But if I were engage in some idle speculation, we've got Imperial Fists on the roadmap.  Wolves are getting a bunch of terminator characters with a terminator squad (if Valrak's generally reliable rumors are to be believed).  Who else is known for their terminator units?  Who has a famous Captain/Chapter Master in terminator armor, that sports a hammer and shield?

 

Assault Terminators alongside a Primaris-ized Lysander coming with that Imperial Fists update on the roadmap, anyone?

[TheNicronomicon]

9 minutes ago, Moonstalker said:

Assault Terminators alongside a Primaris-ized Lysander coming with that Imperial Fists update on the roadmap, anyone?

Ooo, Chapter-specific Termite upgrade sprues…! *picture GW accountants running their hands together and cackling*

[Nephaston]

10 minutes ago, TheNicronomicon said:

Ooo, Chapter-specific Termite upgrade sprues…! *picture GW accountants running their hands together and cackling*

Given how they set up chest, shins, and tassets, I'm honestly surprised they're not a thing yet.

 

So much so that in the meantime 3rd party capitalises on it

Spoiler

Lets just hope the eventual assault termies keep the same idea.