Favorite new units/combos

[L30n1d4s]

 

What are your favorite new combos from the upcoming Codex?

 

So far, some of my favorites are:

 

1) Alpha Strike Strat with Murderfang - With 9" move, D6" advance (which can be re-rolled), and a 2D6" charge, Murderfang gets an average charge threat range of about 20", letting him unleash his 8 x S14 AP-2 Dmg3 attacks (with TLed and SH1). Pretty great value for 170 points and 1CP.

 

2) Battle Leader with "Wolf-Touched" enhancement leading a pack of Wulfen with Storm Shields - Giving Wulfen re-rolls of 1s to Hit and Sustained Hits can really amp up their damage, plus multiple useful strats from the Saga of the Beast Slayer detachment (Blood Surge, +1 to wound, 6" reactive move, "uppy downy," etc.), not to mention Lethal Hits against Characters/Monsters/Vehicles. Overall, gives you a highly mobile, decently tough, very hard-hitting unit that should be able to handle almost anything it gets into melee with (and, with the Battle Leader giving them OC1, can actually hold objectives, unlike Wulfen by themselves)

 

3) TWC in the Gladius Detachment - With the ability to Advance and Charge from the Detachment rule, plus a strat to give them Lance and +1AP, this both extends their threat range significantly and buffs a 6 man pack up to 24 x S5 AP3 Dmg3 and 18 x S5 AP-2 Dmg1 attacks, all with +1 to wound. 

 

 

What about everyone else? Any new SW combos are you excited about with the release of the new codex?

[Karhedron]

Head Takers with a Wolf Priest (Transport optional) probably in a Beastslayer Detachment. The +1 to Wound and Lethal Hits really lets the Head Takers punch up into tougher targets and the Priest can revive one 3W 3+/4++ model per turn meaning they should stick around long enough to get the mileage out of their Quarry ability.

[TiguriusX]

I really like Iron priests and vehicle support (but I absolutely expect a nerf ASAP)

 

1 IP and 1+ anti tank vehicle (lancer or annihilator) on each flank and then hordes of SW infantry can focus on doing their thing mid board

 

Doesn't care what detachment you run...it is a self contained combo

 

 

*update*

The mad scientist in me also can't wait to test the survivability of a 20 man BC unit in any detachment

It is the cheapest point per model for a MEQ body and you can do stupid tricks with it

 

Example1-Just put 1 or 2 guys on the objective and hide the rest behind a wall...if he exposes a huge amount of guns to wipe you out then pull the guys out of cover first...not many units will wipe 20 BC in 1 activation.  If he dinks and doinks then use the BCs in cover and ride it out as long as you want to risk it

 

Example2-Put the entire brick in the open and dare him to kill me.  I use GO TO GROUND and have cover + 6++

It will take a significant investment to kill that brick with shooting...and then i just counter shoot with my army the following turn

 

Example3-Opponent sends a massive melee army after me...well if I'm in Gladius or Beastslayer or Stormlance I reactive move and just leave for free

Edited May 22 by TiguriusX

[Kassill]

new/old tech - Gravis Captain with the 4+ enhancement isn't a bad "lone wolf" at just under <100pts. T6 6W 2+4+4++ half damage little beat stick, button pusher, heroic intervener. You can do this in iron storm as well. 

iron priest stonks are up. You can get some great mileage out of 2-3 predators or ballistus dreads etc. Especially in the slayer detachment rapid firing lethal hits with lascannons and missiles. You can also do silly things with impulsors and lasfusil eliminators or hellblasters or desolation marines. Not optimal but funny for a pick up game with a mate. 

the revive enhancement on a lone op combi LT is nice, forces them to overcommit shooting etc for someone already hard to nudge with lone op, stealth, 5+fnp, reactive move. He used to get me bear saga quite often as they'd leave him on 1-2 wounds because they under-committed. Now if he does fall (airball every fnp) he bounces back up and skedaddles like shaggy and scooby

I think wulfen and venerable both have some neat play still. really happy they survived. With logan's reserve ability you could rapid a wulfen dread into a neat spot further up the board as a real distraction carnifex. The venerables are solid aura buffs to you mainline and going up to 9" means they can keep pace quite easily with most things

 

I'm still marinating on it all though, i'm sure I've overlooked some things or maybe dwelled to much on options that end up being kind of mid. Time will tell

[L30n1d4s]

Another good one is Ragnar leading Blood Claws in Gladius. They can Advance and Charge, Ragnar gives the unit rerolls to Wound, and you can use a strat for +1AP and Lance... so, on the charge, this unit has 76 x S4 AP-2 Dmg1, 4 x S5 AP-3 Dmg1, and 10 x S6 AP-4 Dmg2 attacks, all with +1 to wound and full rerolls to Wound. Throw in Oath of Moment for rerolls to hit and you have a unit that should be able to Woodchipper even super tough targets like Knights or C'tan or Greater Daemons.

[Apokalypsi]

I'm liking a Wolf Priest with a full Wulfen squad. May not be as much damage output as with a WGBL, but survivability goes through the roof!

 

Another one is WGBL with Grey Hunters in Hunter detachment. 36x S4 AP-1 Dmg1, 8x S8 AP-2 Dmg2 all with +1 to hit, +1 to wound if saga completed, reroll hits of 1, reroll wounds of 1 minimum, SH1.

[L30n1d4s]

One more combo that seems pretty good is an Iron Priest with a Repulsor Executioner, using Oath of Moment in an Ironstorm Spearhead detachment.

 

Using the strat that gives you Sustained Hits 1 on rolls of 5s or 6s, with full re-rolls to Hit, plus the extra shots from the IP for rapid fire, you can reliably turn the 2 shot Heavy Laser Destroyer into 3-4 hits at S16 AP-4 Dmg D6+4... the reliably high damage is where I think this combo has an advantage if you really need a certain target dead (also, don't forget the free reroll to wound or damage roll from the Ironstorm detachment rule).

[lonewolf81]

One more combo i saw with beastslayer is use the strat to put a ven dread in strategic  reserves turn one and then arrive next to your other strategic reserve units ( you can put many of them in beastslayer detachment) and have + 1 to charge rolls for them ( 8" charge) .

Edited Monday at 10:43 AM by lonewolf81

[Lord Ragnarok]

On 5/26/2025 at 6:42 AM, lonewolf81 said:

One more combo i saw with beastslayer is use the strat to put a ven dread in strategic  reserves turn one and then arrive next to your other strategic reserve units ( you can put many of them in beastslayer detachment) and have + 1 to charge rolls for them ( 8" charge) .

That seems potentially nasty with murderfang

[Lord Ragnarok]

For anti tank and big monsters what are you thinking of using? it appears that much of these options would need to come from the standard codex options, at least from ranged damage perspective. 

[Apokalypsi]

1 hour ago, Lord Ragnarok said:

For anti tank and big monsters what are you thinking of using? it appears that much of these options would need to come from the standard codex options, at least from ranged damage perspective. 

Beastslayer, IP, Impulsor, 2x3 Eliminators. 12 shots 9S AP-3 D6Dmg with lethals.

[Dried]

I intend to play my Iron Priest with my Repulsor executionner in Beastslayer.

I don't know if it's the best combo but the Heavy Maser Destroyer with rapid fire 1 and lethal hits will be quite terrifying for.my opponent I think

[Lord Ragnarok]

I'm assuming IP will be nerfed so I'm not even attempting to use him until after the day 1 errata.

Interesting thought on the Eliminators. Will need to ponder that.

[L30n1d4s]

Holy Toledo... IP with Impulsor and squad of Desolators... at half range, that's 10 x S10 AP-2 Dmg 6+1 attacks, plus you still have the indirect fire (5D3 +5 (blast) S4 AP0 Dmg 1 attacks) to help clear some enemy chaff on Objectives... expensive, but can deal with both heavy and light units each turn (don't forget the Impulsor's own Missile Array, Heavy Stubber, and 2x Storm Bolters)!

[Moonstalker]

I haven't put as much thought into it as I think a lot of other people have.

 

I've always liked Predators, I've got two Deimos Annihilators already, I'm probably going to run at least one Iron Priest.

 

I think the WGBL is going to pair well with Grey Hunters, giving them Sustained 1 (and reroll 1's to hit against units within 6", where they're pretty likely to end up anyway).  Wolf Priest can get big value resurrecting Headtakers, and the +1 to wound will really help their damage output.  I had an initial chuckle about the anti-synergy presented in the WarCom article that showed us Beastslayer and how much they hyped it up for Headtakers, but their Dev Wounds rule is probably harder to pull off in practice - so just having Lethal Hits on them anyway sounds pretty good (if you go Beastslayer).  I've got Ragnar from back when he came out in the box set with Ghaz, and he seems a natural fit with Blood Claws.

 

I think Venerable Dreads with Hellfrost Cannons are going to make good support units for our battle line.  They provide mobility and overwatch (Heavy Flamer and Dispersed Mode for two Torrent Weapons).  You can also push them into midfield, then deep strike WGT within 6 inches of the Ven Dread and 9 inches from an enemy unit.  Make that charge a little easier.

 

WGT really want something to help them wound.  Lethal Hits from Saga of the Beastslayer may be popular, but I think Gladius is going to be pretty common.  I thought Saga of the Bold would be the best Detachment in our book at first glance, but now that I've sat with it for a while I think the Space Wolf keyword requirements may be too onerous.

[TiguriusX]

1 hour ago, L30n1d4s said:

Holy Toledo... IP with Impulsor and squad of Desolators... at half range, that's 10 x S10 AP-2 Dmg 6+1 attacks, plus you still have the indirect fire (5D3 +5 (blast) S4 AP0 Dmg 1 attacks) to help clear some enemy chaff on Objectives... expensive, but can deal with both heavy and light units each turn (don't forget the Impulsor's own Missile Array, Heavy Stubber, and 2x Storm Bolters)!

Firing deck says "select one ranged weapon"

 

You cant fire both if you are inside

 

You also lose ignore cover by being inside...it works best to leave Desolation marines on foot and embark if they have LOS and need to kill a big target...then you get oath and all the super kraks on demand.

 

I also advise 4 kraks and 1 vengor so the indirect is better

 

 

[Karhedron]

5 hours ago, Lord Ragnarok said:

For anti tank and big monsters what are you thinking of using? it appears that much of these options would need to come from the standard codex options, at least from ranged damage perspective. 

 

My starting thoughts are standard Astartes anti-tank choices and then consider how they can be improved by the addition of an IP and potentially Lethal Hits (I am planning to run Beastslayer initially). Predator Annihilator and Ballistus Dreadnought both look like promising options, especially with an Iron Priest around. The Balistus is handy as it has built-in rerolls to Hit which synergises particular well with Lethal Hits. Even the trusty Land Raider is not a bad choice as both sponsons gain SH1 from the Priest and it provides transport for Ragnar and the Blood Claws.

 

For more infantry based options. Eradicators are good as the built-in rerolls synergise well with Lethal Hits. They really don't need character support so you can run 2x3-man squads and spread the incendiary love about a bit.

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

I'm just pretty excited to have a wolf priest model that has rules that reflect the lore so a wolf priest and basically anything it can join. That said I'm still trying to figure out which detachment I want to go for. I'm not a big fan of SoH, but I want to try both SoBS, and SoB. It wouldn't surprise me if I end up running a base marine detachment in the long run though.

[TiguriusX]

22 minutes ago, Jorin Helm-splitter said:

I'm just pretty excited to have a wolf priest model that has rules that reflect the lore so a wolf priest and basically anything it can join. That said I'm still trying to figure out which detachment I want to go for. I'm not a big fan of SoH, but I want to try both SoBS, and SoB. It wouldn't surprise me if I end up running a base marine detachment in the long run though.

I think beastslayer is gonna be our most competitive SW specific detachment but also has a high skill requirement...i fear gladius will be our best overall

 

You can really flip a game using these strats in the right matchup

-reactive move of 6

-bloodsurge

-pinning fire

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:38 PM by TiguriusX

[Moonstalker]

Depending on our access to librarians/rune priests (and ability to include them in squads), Librarius Conclave might be interesting.  For a low point game, it may be pretty oppressive.  Imagine Njal in a brick of 20 Blood Claws with Biomancy Discipline, Iron Arm, and a Venerable Dreadnought as backup.  16+2d6" threat range, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 S6 AP-1 D1 attacks.

 

Firestorm Assault Force may give our Grey Hunters a nice bump to their movement; Intercessors haven't needed the bonus granted to their guns by the Detachment rule since they have Assault naturally, but Grey Hunters would certainly like to get up close and personal with the ability to Advance and Rapid Fire for 3 S5 shots within 12 inches.  If you've got a WGBL attached to them, you'll be double-dipping with 6" bonuses, getting both +1 to hit and reroll 1's to wound from Crucible of Battle.  Crucible of Battle would also help out Headtakers and WGT with +1 to wound in the fight phase.  If it's not fixed via errata, the Desolator + Impulsor + Iron Priest combo may benefit from Burning Vengeance - when the Impulsor is shot, the Desolators can disembark and shoot back.  Venerable Dreadnoughts sporting Heavy Flamers and Hellfrost Cannons would benefit a decent amount from the Dev Wounds provided from Immolation Protocols.

 

Anvil Siege Force doesn't look very good for us, but it has the hilarious potential of allowing a Grey Hunter Squad to be OC 60 with Not One Step Backward.

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

1 hour ago, TiguriusX said:

I think beastslayer is gonna be our most competitive SW specific detachment but also has a high skill requirement...i fear gladius will be our best overall

 

You can really flip a game using these strats in the right matchup

-reactive move of 6

-bloodsurge

-pinning fire

 

 

 

Yeah, I think beastslayer is the best detachment in the book as well. I just feel that there will be moments where I would have to decide between completing the saga and doing what's best in that moment for the mission. To be fair that is part of that high skill requirement you mentioned, because it may be better to give up some points for the completed saga bonus. I also feel that the opponents list is going to impact how good it is, and sometimes it may not even feel like it matters when I complete it.

 

Bold is weaker but I think completing the saga will be satisfying, and it leans into the new units harder which is exciting. The drawback is that it feels like I'd really want Bjorn in the list every time for shooting at oath targets, and maybe even logan for reserve tricks to get a unit into position early. So, I worry that it may get stale fast if I try to use it competitively. For casual games I could see it being a go to. 

 

The base marine detachments have the perk of their abilities just being on from the start. Which is simple and it lets me just concentrate on the mission. I suspect I'm going to end up running one of these, because I don't have a lot of time to play (work is crazy lol). 

[Wolf Guard Dan]

+1 to beast slayer being best bespoke detachment. Agree that Gladius might be better. Beast slayer is where I’m going to start. Lethal fits well with all the low strength damage 2 attacks our new units have. Saga of Bold might end up good. Not high on Hunter. Too many terms and conditions unless it gets cleaned up with codex Marines 2.0. I’d really like to try librarius conclave if we ever got the ability for librarians to lead our bespoke units. 

 

Outside of fixing IP’s interaction with firing deck I don’t see them nerfing the ability further. Rapid fire is a trade off making you bring your vehicles closer to danger. Maybe a points increase down the line. I would be amused by eliminators with rapid firing snipers picking off characters to fulfill the saga. Likely too against the spirit of the saga.

[Karhedron]

7 hours ago, Jorin Helm-splitter said:

I'm just pretty excited to have a wolf priest model that has rules that reflect the lore so a wolf priest and basically anything it can join. That said I'm still trying to figure out which detachment I want to go for. I'm not a big fan of SoH, but I want to try both SoBS, and SoB. It wouldn't surprise me if I end up running a base marine detachment in the long run though.

 

Yes, a Wolf Priest looks like a fantastic choice on a unit of Headtakers, probably better than BGVs + Judiciar. I think Saga of the Beast is the easiest Detachment to use out of the box. Lethal Hits against big targets is good to start with and possibility of triggering it to go army-wide is even better. The good thing is that if you run up against Knights or Monster mash lists, you won't really care if it takes longer to activate your Saga because you will already have the benefit against the units that really matter.

 

The only armies I can see Beastslayers struggling with are elite infantry armies like Custodes and Death Guard. You will have an uphill battle dealing with T6+ infantry without Lethal Hits but focussing too much on the vehicle support may leave you struggling to avoid getting swept away by a tide on bodies.

 

Saga of the Bold looks fun but I agree with the earlier comment that every list is likely to start with Bjorn + Logan. If you are tight for points then I can see Skjald on an Iron Priest instead of Bjorn perhaps.

 

Saga of the Hunter looks weak and only benefitting SW units will penalise those who want mix in some more standard astartes units.