Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Foolishness with Wolves

Well, as you know (if you've been reading my posts on here with much loyalty), I've been trying to make Blood Angels work the way they did in the old codex.  I haven't given up that pursuit at all, but all this thinking about static fire support in devestator squads, coupled with strong assault elements and lots of rhinos/razorbacks, made me think of Space Wolves.  So I made a list.
  (with comments on why I took each)

2000 Space Wolves

Wolf Lord w/ Thunderwolf mount, Saga of the Warrior Born, Belt of Russ, Frost Blade  (he's a really really badass infantry killer, if you couldn't already tell, with 7 attacks on the charge at S6, and getting 'bonus' attacks in the next combat round for how many kills he got last turn)

Rune Priest (this guy is there for anti-psyker goodness.  He'll just ride in a razorback with a squad.  Not even sure what powers to take- probably something aggressive like JotWW or something.  I dunno, he's not going to do much more than anti-psyker duty)

5 Thunderwolf Cavalry w/ 1 Thunder Hammer, 1 Storm Shield (These guys are my hard-hitters.  At natural S5 T5, they really do hit very hard.  Along with the Wolf Lord there, I can't imagine much that would survive a charge from these guys.  The cool thing is I can charge such a long distance with them, that I don't have to venture a long long way from my fire support base.  If I open a transport, they can charge them, but not expose themselves TOO much.)

4x 5 Grey Hunters w/ 1 Melta, Razorback w/ Las Cannon and TL Plasma Gun (Hard, scoring units, they'll just sit around on objectives and counter-charge if they need to.  The Las cannon/ Plasma gun combo on the razors should also help with suppressing fire)

3x 5 Long Fangs w/ Squad Leader (6 total), 3 missile launchers, 2 las cannons (These guys just sit around and plunk away at things that need to die.  Eventually you'll see, but I want a Wolf Guard in every squad as well, so I can soak up wounds a little easier.  Remember that these squads can fire at 2 different targets if they want as long as the squad leader is alive, which is why there are 2 different weapon types.  Also to be noted, is that these guys are AWESOME at taking down monsterous creatures and transports, helping the cavalry out a lot)

6 Wolf Guard w/ 3 Fists, 3 Combi-meltas, Razorback w/ Las Cannon and TL Plasma Gun (Mostly, this squad is going to attach to various squads out there, giving them a Sergeant with a fist, and 2 melta guns in every squad (except the squad w/ the Rune Priest, who simply get a Power Weapon.)  These guys also get me a 'spare' razorback to shoot with, or let squads hide in (or behind) if their own transport gets popped.

11 Las Cannons
9 Missile Launchers
5 Plasma Guns (twin-linked)
7 Melta Guns

What do you think?  It seems almost exactly like what I had in mind with the Blood Angels, only lots better.  Tons of high-strength firepower, coupled with ample combat ability and even 7 meltas for AV 14-duty.  If I wanted, I could drop a few of the Wolf Guard and their Razor, and get a squad of 'deployment-flanking' scouts to help disrupt an IG gunline, as well.  In fact, that might be the superior option, heh.   

Here's what it would cost me to build the army from Games Workshop: 

Rune Priest-  $13
20 Grey Hunters- $70
5 Razorbacks- $175
6 Wolf Guard- $35 (box of Grey Hunters)
5 Scouts (just in case)- $20
18 Long Fangs- ~$150 (if I had to buy blisters for each, with a sergeant for each from the 'extra' grey hunters)
6 Converted Thunderwolf Cavalry including the Lord- Anywhere from $100-$200 I'm sure.  Not less than $100 though, sadly.

Total:  $563-$653, depending on the Thunderwolf Cavalry costs.  A little more if I want to buy a few bits.

...and, if I wanted to get 20% off at the Warstore (who wouldn't?), the price would be cut by ~$100.  So, less than $600 for a full army.

Kinda expensive, I think I'll stay away for a little bit (at the very least until I get finished with Blood Angels).  I mostly just wanted to get this out of my system.  Seems like a really fun list to play, that could really do what I've been trying to do with Blood Angels and failing.  Now that I know there's a list out there that I can build similar to what I've been trying to do, I can rest easy and 'get out of the box' that I've been in lately with the Blood Angels.

Tell me what you think of the list, even if it's just a 'for fun' one.  Could it beat Mech Guard?  Why or why not?  Let me know!

2 comments:

Zac Pauga said...

Thats really close to the list I was using with my wolves, definitely rock solid.

Space wolves are a little easier to make a list for because they don't have as much cool stuff as blood angels. If you have a solid core of grey hunters and long fangs it doesn't really matter what else you take.

Jon said...

Gotta love the Long Fangs, one of the best Heavy Support choices out there.

I've kitted two squads of mine out with 5 heavy bolters each, the other squad with 2 Las, 3 Missile. I figured with that many S5 shots, light armour and infantry will find it hard to reach my lines.

Currently working Ragnar and wolf guard with Wolf claws and Thunder hammers into my list as well. That character is a BEAST!