Codex Space Wolves Review, Part Two: A Closer Look

Posted by Ranillon on 11. October 2009 01:38

Last time I provided my basic thoughts on the new Space Wolf codex, so this time I want to go into greater depth.  Since a number of the Wolf units are just virtual clones of regular Space Marines I won’t discuss every unit, but I will try to concentrate on what’s new and interesting.

HQ and Special Characters

Perhaps the first thing you notice when flipping through the pages on your HQ choices is that Space Wolf special characters are both super nasty and super expensive.  Most of them are over two hundred points while none are less than one-hundred and forty.  There are also a lot of  them – sure, the vanilla Space Marine book has more, but then again it is meant to represent the lion’s share of Marine chapters.  Don’t worry though if you are balking at the high prices of the named characters as their generic equivalents are on par cost-wise with those from other chapters.

The second thing you notice upon closer examination (you have to look carefully on page 81) is that Space Wolves can take two characters for every HQ choice.  Now, that’s not as nice as it might sound as all Marine characters tend to be pricey, but it does mean that stocking up on powerful individuals would not be out-of-place for this army.  So, go for it if that’s your type of force.

As special characters go I think they are all impressive, but for various reasons there are a few standouts.  The Great Wolf himself, Logan Grimnar, allows you to take Wolf Guard as troops.  Combined with the usual Guard properties this is a killer ability, so much so that I will devote a post to this next time.  Canis Wolfborn allows you to take wolves as troops.  That’s nice in that it allows you a whole new approach to making your army, but not so nice as Fenrisian wolves can never take objectives.

However, the character I think makes for the most interesting addition is Lukas the Trickster.  He’s a 140 point add-on for a Blood Claw pack – as costly as the rest of the squad combined, potentially – but he has a number of powerful uses.  One is that he has good stats and a power weapon, meaning that whatever squad he’s with could potentially have three – him, an attached Wolf Guard, and the single trooper who can take one normally.  He has some other nice features, but they all pale before his ability to take those who kill him out at the same time he is slain.  When he dies all models in base-to-base contact have a roughly 2/3 chance of being removed as well.

So what, you ask?  There are surely ways to get around this, right?  Maybe, but that’s not really the point as I see it.  The fact that Lukas can potentially take out anyone and anything encourages your opponent to have his high-quality units and characters run the other way.  For a close-combat army this can be devastating.  Imagine a bloodthirster who has to lurk on the sidelines or only go after prey that is beyond the possible charge range of Lukas.  Basically, you can force your adversary to react to your movements, thus giving you an advantage in battle.  Put another way, Lukas can positively influence the game even if he never actually kills anything.

Elites

The Space Wolves suffer from a problem many other recent army books do as well – too many elites.  Or, maybe, it’s more accurate to say that there are enough good choices that some others may never get used.

A good example of this are Wolf Scouts.  Even in the last book I had a hard time seeing their use in relation to what else was available.  Sadly, that hasn’t changed.  They are basically regular Marine scouts with +1 skill that cost a bit more and – far more seriously – take up a precious elite spot.  The appeal of regular scouts is that they are tactically flexible and can serve as a cheaper alternative to fill troop slots.  Take away that second attribute and suddenly they aren’t all that tempting.

Likewise, neither are Lone Wolves.  The idea behind them in flavorful – the last survivor of an otherwise devastated unit looking for revenge.  The problem is that they are (a)lone – since they are literally a unit of one the enemy can target them freely.  That means that their ability to take all sorts of nifty toys is a likely waste.  The more you give them, the higher your opponent will place them on his kill list.  Even with Eternal Warrior and Feel No Pain they are still a unit whose effectiveness relies on your enemy ignoring them long enough for them to amble in close and do damage.  Good luck with that.

By comparison, the Wolf Guard are pure gold (which I will get to next time).  Beyond this there are the always useful Dreadnoughts and Iron Priest (with cyber-wolves in this case).  I find either of these two a better choice in most instances than Scouts or Lone Wolves.

Troops

Not much in particular to say here – you have Blood Claws and Grey Hunters, both of which are pretty much what you expect.  However, with the aid of detached Wolf Guard and potential extra powers like the Mark of the Wulfen these units can have significantly more close-combat punch than their other Marine equivalents.

Fast Attack

The most interesting unit here are clearly the Thunderwolf Cavalry.  Come on, who can’t but be impressed with the notion of Space Marines riding giant wolves?  The real question is just how effective they might be.  For fifty points base you get a wolf and rider with a charge range of 12”, five strength and toughness, two wounds, four attacks (five if you stick with the default bolt pistol and close-combat weapon), and a 3+ save.  That’s pretty darn good.  Add in a model with a power weapon and another with the Mark of the Wulfen and you have a unit anyone will be forced to respect.  Nevertheless, I’m not sure if they are still worth the points given that you easily spend 300 for just five guys.  I suspect they can be nasty if you are smart about how you use them, but a giant waste if you aren’t.

The Skyclaw and Swiftclaw units are just Blood Claws using jump packs or bikes, respectively.  Otherwise, they are the near clone of similar Marine squads where you trade in one less point of skill for a break on the points.  All the usual ‘Wolf abilities and extras apply, which is good since both of these squads will tend to shine best in close-combat anyway.  Oddly, you can give Swiftclaws a Wolf Guard leader, but not Skyclaws – despite Guard being able to take jump packs.  I wonder if that isn’t an editing error that will be fixed in some later FAQ.

Finally, you can take packs of Fenrisian Wolves.  They have the stats of Space Marines, extra charge range, two or three attacks, counter-attack, poor saves, and poor morale.  However, they do have the virtue of being by far the cheapest unit available at a mere eight points a pop.  I see them as fast, if disposable one-shot-wonders who tie down the enemy before you can pounce with your beefier units.

Heavy Support

In this category Space Wolves are almost exactly what you get from regular Marines.  The one big exception are the Long Fangs who continue to have the ability to split their fire between two targets if their leader does nothing else.  I see this as usually only being useful if they are built for anti-vehicle.  Note that the squad size is one leader and up to five extra guys, each of which much have a heavy weapon.

Otherwise, you can pick from Predators, Vindicators, Whirlwinds, and all the flavors of Land Raider.  Bizarrely, the vanilla LR can only carry ten models, not twelve as like with vanilla Marines.  At least you can take the Redeemer now.  Too bad that the Executioner has been reassigned to duty only with the Imperial Guard.

More to come…