What are the best weapons for my Wolf Lord? Read our Wolf Lord guide to find out!This Wolf Lord guide is the first in a series of Space Wolves unit guides written by Jim and myself to help you to build the most ferocious and cost effective Space Wolves army.
Armed with the philosophy of getting real 'value for points', we're going to explain whether you should splash out on the hard hitting special weapons or keep things cheap and cheerful. Sometimes we'll give you a selection of well rounded options to choose from to fit your playing style or the amount of points left in your army list.
So without further ado, let's get started on the Wolf Lord, effectively a Grand Master of the Space Wolves.
The Wolf Lord weighs in at 100pts with a fantastic stat line, a close combat weapon, a bolt pistol and a huge list of equipment to choose from.
OPTIONS:
Boltgun - erm, why?
Storm bolter - good and cheap!
Combi-weapon - also good and cheap!
Power weapon or plasma pistol - Power weapon for cheapness
Wolf claw - for 5pts more a power weapon with rerolls! Better than the power weapon.
Powerfist or Frost Weapon - Powerfist is no good, Frost weapon is a +1S power weapon.
Thunder Hammer or Storm Shield - both excellent, but very expensive
Runic Armour - expensive, especially when terminator armour is more cost effective.
Terminator armour - expensive, but comes with weapons and makes other weapons cheaper
Jump Pack - only if joined to Skyclaws.
Space Marine Bike - high movement, +1T. Not too expensive.
Thunderwolf Mount - gives rending and +1T and cavalry movement. Thunderwolf or bike?
Melta Bombs - sure, if you have 5pts left over
Wolftooth Necklace - Take it!
Wolf Tail Talisman - Take it!
0-2 Pet Wolves - if riding Thunderwolf
Mark of the Wulfen - Not worth taking for characters.
Belt of Russ - 4+ inv save. For 5pts more take a Storm Shield and get a 3+ inv save!
Saga of the Beastslayer - Brilliant value for points!
Saga of Majesty - you're playing Space Marines, why bother?
Saga of Wolfkin - Boosts the stats of your Fenrisian Wolves
Saga of the Warriorborn - Awesome, but expensive.
Saga of the Bear - Can't be instant killed. Expensive. Debatable if worth taking.
Okay, having been through the options, I'll detail the weapons I think are worth taking and present a couple of equipment combinations.
The Wolf Lord is in command of Space Wolves Company, so the urge to go completely crazy and festoon him with badass equipment is really tempting. I can see a lot of people wanting to give him Saga of the Bear to keep him alive. But in truth, if he gets pumelled by a Powerfist, eaten by a Monstrous Creature or hit by a Lascannon, then he deserves to die, because you didn't play him very well. Chances are, he was going to suffer 3 Wounds at this point anyway.
So when it comes to designing our Wolf Lord, let's think of his battle field role and how he will be arriving.
A Wolf Lord will arrive either in a Drop Pod, in a Transport, on a Bike or on a Thunderwolf. And he should always be leading a unit.
If he's arriving via drop pod, rhino, razorback or preferably Land Raider, your Wolf Lord will need something to shoot with and something to fight with.
Essentially he's a melee character with some excellent ballistic skill. So he needs to be protected with armour while making the most of his high Attacks and Initiative stats.
Terminator armour is a must have for that 2+ save and 5+ invulnerable save. Don't worry if he can't 'sweeping advance', because he's going to kill absolutely everything!
Terminator armour comes with a storm bolter and powersword, but he needs something with a bit more clout. +5 pts turns the storm bolter into a combi weapon. Combi-melta or combi-plasma will make the most of his Ballistic Skill. Meanwhile for +5pts he can upgrade the power weapon to a Wolf Claw and choose to reroll to hit or reroll to wound.
Saga of the Beast Slayer is a must at just 10pts for all those Toughness 5 models. Couple it with the Wolf Claw and you can re-roll to hit and re-roll to wound every time!
Wolf Lord 1: 160pts
Terminator armour, combi-melta, wolf claw and saga of the beast slayer.
If you've got the points, a wolf tooth necklance and wolf tail talisman boosts him up to 175pts
For a few points more, you can swap the combi-weapon for a wolf claw and swap the left wolf claw for a Storm Shield and get a 3+ save.
Wolf Lord 2: 180pts
Terminator armour, wolf claw, storm shield and saga of the beast slayer.
If you've got the points, a wolf tooth necklance and wolf tail talisman boosts him up to 195pts
Finally for a few more points, he can have a Thunderhammer. I don't feel that he needs one because someone in the squad he's leading should have a powerfist for tanks and tough things. I'd rather keep his Initiative 5 for inflicting lots of wounding power weapon attacks to prevent the squad he's leading from taking wounds from enemies with Initiative 4 or less.
Wolf Lord 3: 190pts
Terminator armour, thunderhammer, storm shield and saga of the beast slayer.
If you've got the points, a wolf tooth necklance and wolf tail talisman boosts him up to 205pts
Bike or Thunderwolf? If you have a unit of Swift Claw bikers, it's best to put your Wolf Lord on a bike. If you have a unit of Thunderwolves, then it's the perfect time to put your Wolf Lord on a Thunderwolf. You may think that your Space Wolves commander is safe on a Thunderwolf all on his own, but he'll soon drown in heavy weapons on Turn 1. There goes your 200 points character.
Personally, I'm in favour of the Space Marine Bike. While the Thunderwolf may grand +1 Strength, +1 Toughness and +1 Attack, it's not quite as reliable as a unit that can Turbo Boost 24", gaining a 3+ invulnerable save -and all for 10pts less.
Let's start on the essentials. Your Wolf Lord needs to be protected with either a 2+ or invulnerable save. Runic armour isn't cheap, neither is the Belt of Russ, but for an extra 5pts, you can take a Storm Shield and get a 3+ invulnerable save. Coupled with the 3+ Turbo Boost save, this seems like a healthy compromise.
That leaves 1 hand free for a close combat weapon. This time you have the choice of a power weapon (rubbish!), frost blade (more like it), a wolf claw or a thunder hammer.
Obviously the power weapon is rubbish when the frost blade is just 5pts more for +1S, the wolf claw is another 5pts for rerolls and then there's the expensive thunder hammer.
I'm going to go with the Wolf Claw combined with Saga of the Beastslayer for rerolls to hit and rerolls to wound against anything with a Toughness of 5 or above. Finally some 5pts melta bombs should make tanks a push over.
Wolf Lord 4: 200pts
Space marine bike, wolf claw, storm shield, melta bombs and saga of the beast slayer.
If you've got the points, a wolf tooth necklance and wolf tail talisman boosts him up to 215pts
Alternatively, if you simply can't resist putting him on a Thunderwolf:
(personally I'd take a Land Raider instead!)
Wolf Lord 5: 230pts
Thunderwolf, 2 Fenrisiam wolves, wolf claw, storm shield, melta bombs and saga of the beast slayer.
If you've got the points, a wolf tooth necklance and wolf tail talisman boosts him up to 215pts
A Space Wolves Wolf Lord is an inspirational character and a force to be reckoned with on the tabletop. However, there are far more cost effective characters to be found in the Space Wolves Codex.
I'd rather pay 30pts less and take a Wolf Guard Battle Leader who has exactly the same options with 1 less Attack, 1 less Wound and 1 less Leadership.
As a tournament player, I'm looking to squeeze every drop of potential from a unit, but for those less competitively minded, a Wolf Lord is an inspiring character to lead a grand army. But just make sure you don't bestow too many trinkets on him in your pursuit to make an incredible and charismatic character to lead your Space Wolves company.
28 comments:
October 29, 2009 at 4:04 PM
That's a great write up Adam. You've offered some great builds.
Personally I'm going to run a fighty foot Lord with the following wargear.
Jim's Wolf Lord: 195pts
Runic Armor, Storm Shield, Frostblade, Wolf tooth Necklace and the Saga of the Beast Slayer
October 29, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Great, great post!
I'm really anxious to see how the two of you will disect the rest of the units 'cause I'm going to use it :)
Thanks, and keep it up!
October 29, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Your Thunderwolf is wrong. Its 1S, 1T, and 1A. Storm Shield + Frost Blade.
You should not be singling out the Wolf lord builds. You must always consider army synergy. What type of army are you planning? Do you want mobile cav, tank, foot slogger.
October 29, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Nice work, as usual. I can't get past that incredible model. What is it converted from?
Personally, my WL/WGBL is usually kitted out like Big Jim's, minus runic armor. Sometimes with Saga of the Hunter, leading some scouts.
October 29, 2009 at 9:58 PM
I think in a Wolf Cav build, Wolf Lord on a T-Wolf + wolf claws can be disgusting.
Consider that he can hide in a T-wolf cav unit (not bad; they can soak any S8+ shooting wounds you take) or in a Fenrisian Wolf unit. Take Canis Wolfborn to shift those to troops, grab three hefty units of T-wolf cav, and a Wolf Lord with something like T-wolf + Wolf Claws + Warrior Born, and then hide the two HQs in 10+ Fenrisian Wolf squads.
Watch the enemy decide what to shoot first. Put Thunder Hammers in the T-wolf cav units. Point at enemy.
I'd take the T-wolf over the bike for a few reasons:
1) Better statline buffs; S5 Wolf Claws or S9 chainfist = terror.
2) Better army synergy. You're stuck with WS/BS3 bikers as a delivery mechanism, and while they're good on the turn they charge, that's about it. You could try to bring a Wolf Guard on a bike w/ combi-melta and a meltagun and hunt armor, but honestly? I'd rather the T5, 2-wound S5 massed rending T-wolf cav.
The other build would be Saga of the Bear + Shield + Chainfist, but I think you can get the giant-killing elsewhere.
I'd wait on whatever the FAQ says about Fenrisian Wolves to clarify before recommending them; there's readily some room to debate that he's an IC, but now he's in a unit with 1-2 wolves. Tau Drones get an explicit pass on this; the Fenrisian wolves do not thus far.
About the only use of Fenrisian Wolves is to bring them as Lord Delivery Mechanisms, as if you can keep to cover you can deliver a wrecking ball safely by purchasing a crap-ton of wounds.
For 'Saga of the Beast Slayer' I'm not sure what T5+ models you're talking about. That pretty much limits the pool to Wraithguard, Plague Marines, bikes and monstrous creatures, and Walkers.
Unless you've gone Chainfist/shield/saga of the bear, you're not going to try to hunt MCs or Walkers. The re-rolls are undoubtedly nice against Plague Marines, but if you're seeing Wraithguard you should probably have a leg up.
Regarding Wolf Lord 3:
If you're willing to lose a little in the way of stats, you can gain immunity to instant death and pay 85 points for a Terminator armored Chainfist/storm shield Lone Wolf.
As a whole, though, I'm with you on Wolf Guard Battle Leaders > Wolf Lords, unless you're going for the T-wolf Delivery System Of Death.
Personally, I'd just about default to a Rune Priest with Living Lightning and a Chooser of the Slain + another power for my HQ, just to get that psychic defense and a sweet shooting attack on the field.
October 29, 2009 at 10:18 PM
"For 'Saga of the Beast Slayer' I'm not sure what T5+ models you're talking about. That pretty much limits the pool to Wraithguard, Plague Marines, bikes and monstrous creatures, and Walkers."
Limits? That's actually quite a long list of common units.
October 30, 2009 at 12:51 AM
Great info!
I'm surprised Saga of the Bear does not get more props.
My WL is coming in at 185. Terminator armor, Wolf Claw, combi melta, saga of the bear and belt of russ. He's in a WG termie pack which includes Arjac count as, two Storm Shield and Wolf claw WG, and 1 combi melta and wolf claw WG. Saga of the Bear on two models will allow the pack to absorb more strength 8 and higher weaponry. These guys are podding in. They'll have 4 GH packs, some long fangs, scouts and swift claws in support.
October 30, 2009 at 1:18 AM
Blackheart, If I were going to spend that much for a Saga, I'd go for Warrior born and place my faith in the 3++ Storm Shield save.
With that said I do see the value in Saga of the Bear, but how useful is it compared to the potential of the Warrior Born is a decision that must be made by each Wolf Lord on his own.
October 30, 2009 at 2:50 AM
I agree that Saga of the Bear is a great way to soak up high strength firepower if the model is part of the squad.
BUT, for the high points cost you could get an extra model to bite a bullet instead.
Coupled with the Wolf Lord's already high points cost, you're throwing well over 200pts into 1 character.
October 30, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Blackheart, don't forget that you also can not double up on sagas unless you have named Characters.
Personally for my Wolf Lord I will be running him as such; Frost Blade,Belt of Russ,WTN, Rune Armor and either Warrior Born or Beast Slayer.
With this load out he's 180 base + the cost for either Saga. That's base 5 Str 5 attacks, with a 2+/4+.
October 31, 2009 at 12:52 PM
I find the following wolflords to be great. The thunder wolf is a better option then a bike, as you have a 19 - 24 inch assault range - which is greater then the 18 inche assault range on the bike. Plus with a storm shield, you have a better then a cover save on the bike etc.
Wolf Lord #1 - Wolflord, Thunderwolf, Storm Shield, Frost Blade, Runic Armor, Saga of the Warrior Borne
Str 6 - usually hitting on 3+ and wounding on 2+. Also if you hit a vehicle, you can always just use the rending attacks without the frost blade (killed a defiler this way). I prefer him this way over Wolf Claws as he has a 3+ inv save.
Wolf Lord #2 - Wolflord, Thunderwolf, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer, Saga of the Bear, 2 Fenris Wolves
This is a run behind the Thunderwolf Cav pack and shoot off as need be to deal with a Dreadnought, Assault Fex, Crazy Big str 10 jerk etc.
Wolf Lord #3 - Wolflord, Thunderwolf, Wolf Claws (2), Saga of the Wolfkin
You can also swap to a Wolf Guard Battle Leader as it shaves off 30 points. This is a good guy to throw into some Fenris Wolves as he is cheap and still very effective if he hits a unit. Plus he will push your Wolfkin to ini 5 and make them a threat to anything out in the open.
But yeah those are the things I have messed around with. I like to use a All 3 in an army with lots of cav guys.
October 31, 2009 at 4:17 PM
I concur a Wolf Lord on a Thunder Wolf is a fantastic Killer. Although until I work out my TW conversion I'm going to have to pass on this Brute.
Damn GW for not releasing a unit box.
November 1, 2009 at 11:36 AM
I agree - I got lucky going the Space Goats route for them and using Juggers. I wish they would have thought of this and made the kit in time.
November 1, 2009 at 10:53 PM
@TFC, Yes you are correct about not taking two sagas. In the example I provided, Arjac is a named character.
November 1, 2009 at 10:56 PM
@Jim, with my dice rolling I just can't place faith in the +3 shield, especially if I'm absorbing a lascannon shot for the "team". That said, I'd much prefer warrior born over bear for WGBL's, as they have a reduced wound.
November 3, 2009 at 10:41 AM
"For 'Saga of the Beast Slayer' I'm not sure what T5+ models you're talking about. That pretty much limits the pool to Wraithguard, Plague Marines, bikes and monstrous creatures, and Walkers."
Not sure what T5+ models you are talking bout either considering walkers have Armour value not toughness
November 29, 2009 at 10:47 AM
I do not see how the Terminator armour i cheaper and more cost effective than the rune armour.
If you are going to replace the weapons and pick a SS the points are the same, and the model gets to sweep and takes up less space in a transport.
November 29, 2009 at 5:11 PM
If he's in terminator armour his weapons are cheaper apart from the storm shield.
So many units are fearless or very squishy nowadays, so sweeping advance isn't a huge issue.
He takes up 1 more slot in a transport. Big deal.
December 12, 2009 at 3:49 PM
I have had alot of success with the WL on TW w/frostblade/stormshield, runic armour and wolftooth (leading a squad of 4 tw cavs) these guys just eat up everything that they are put infront of! 30 strong ork mobs = ready to charge the next unit in your next turn! T5 rocks - but these guys really really dont like dreadnaughts or ork boss's (and i guess any other S10 weapon) cant really see why anybody would go for beastslayer on a wolf lord. T5 models - isnt that what long fangs were made for? or razorbacks? i intend to chuck my thunderwolf cav straight into the nearest combat. 19 inch - 24 inch charge arc is awesome - they do cost a bomb tho - specially if u have 1 SS and 1 PF in the squad aswell
January 23, 2010 at 12:32 PM
For those of you arguing over Termie armor giving cheaper weapons your actually very wrong. Yes it looks cheaper on paper but you have to realize the base 40 cost to give a character Termie armor. This in fact cancels out any "reduced cost" that you replace the weapons you are given at the "reduced cost". I point an example (and I just did the math)
Runic Armor + TH/SS - 80 pts
Terminator Armor + TH/SS - 80 pts.
if you move the points around basically it looks pretty on paper, but in all you are paying the same cost no matter what. And From perspective utilizing the characters high initiative when wiping out platoon squads, of just barely winning combat and killing a bunch of guys is what makes sweeping advance really good. And the other difference coming from a guy who just picked up the Army in October is 35 dollars to make an awesome HQ vs 50 to make one. Runic Armor costs the same, and on a HQ if your not taking a SS something is seriously wrong. He has enough attacks on the charge. And if you give him SotWB on a thunderwolf (which you can't do in Termie armor) then your gonna roll over everyone, I only know this cause I do when I take them.
January 23, 2010 at 11:27 PM
I think it's more practical to give the Wolf Lord a bolt pistol, frost sword, saga of the warrior born, Belt of Russ, wolf tail talisman and melta bombs. It does come to 195 points, which can seem quite expensive, but put him in a squad of Grey Hunters or Blood Claws to give him some buffer and some sort of armor to protect the squad until he's close enough and he's the best infantry killer you would ever need. Due to his WS 6 it seems pointless to give him a wolf tooth necklace since he'll be hitting against mostly WS 4 and 5 anyways, and although the wolf claw and saga of the beast slayer gives him the re-rolls for hitting and wounding, with a bolt pistol and frost sword he gets 6 strength 5 attacks, not to mention the bonuses he'll get for saga of the warrior born. I was playing my friend, hopping from one squad to the next and the wolf lord alone took out an entire tactical squad, since he got 6 attacks on the charge plus the extra 6 for killing off some infantry the turn before.
January 4, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Just an update here for the Saga of the Bear debate... The new leaders in the Dark Eldar codex have quite a few Instant Death in CC poison weapons. So Saga of the Bear isn't just about "taking a lascannon for the team" or "if he's taking one you're playing him wrong." So, beware when playing those DE players as they have high Init and Instant Death weapons! Warrior Born won't get you anything if that 200+ pt WL gets killed before he can even swing a sword!
March 31, 2011 at 7:24 PM
someone above said a thunderwolf mount + chainfist =str9 chainfist, it isn't, it's a str 10 chainfist (the mount permanently gives +1 str so hes str 5 not str 4(5) so 2x5=10.
But i have been running a wolflord in a 750 pt tournament and he is owning.
I run him with a thunder wolf, stormshield and frost blade. (we have a 200pt cap on hq)
so hes strength 6 toughness 5 with a 3+ unalterable save.
he runs by him self using line of site and his 19-24" assault range to get in and kill things.
remember the other advantage to a thunderwolf, calvary get the fleet rule, so he is moving 6"+d6" and assaulting 12"
there is almost nothing that can stop him, he has killed abadon the despoiler before we brought in the hq limit, not much can survive 6 str 6 attacks at initiative 5 on the charge, he runs in and wipes out a squad of marines in 2 turns, freeing him up when its my turn again ready to go another 19+ inches and kill something else.
August 14, 2011 at 7:17 PM
nice i completely agree with u why would you give a wolf lord a stupid bolter
June 2, 2012 at 6:34 PM
This may be in an FAQ somewhere, I have not looked as of yet, but I will.
Having said that here is my question....
Thunderwolves are a 2W model. If you take a Wolf Lord and give him a Thunderwolf Mountwould that not give him a fourth wound? There by giving him 3 wounds for the Lord plus 1 wound for the mount.
As I have said I will hunt the FAQs to see if there is an answer to this, but I would love to hear your thoughts and comments to this.
June 3, 2012 at 6:46 AM
No, a thunderwolf mount does exactly what it does in the wargear section. +1 to Strength, Toughness and Attack. The basic thunderwolf gets 2 wounds just as a basic stat. They do cost 50 points like.
June 3, 2012 at 1:32 PM
I don't disagree with that at all. But here is my logic behind this...
The rider is a single wound model, the mount is also a single wound unit. When on the mount the wound allocation merges due to the fact that the rider is now harder to hit since the mount can move and evade any blows directed towards them.
To me, this logic is confirmed when you look at the swiftclaw bikers. 1 wound for the rider and none for the mount due to the fact that its not living and therefore can not evade incoming blows.
I have looked at the official GW FAQ and found nothing, but i feel that this is a debatable subject
Dark Wolf
June 4, 2012 at 5:32 AM
Sorry there but in 40k there is no extra wound for mounts. You could try and argue that there should be more wounds and all but it will get no traction.
The only thing that could give you traction is if you had a squad that you could upgrade with Thunderwolves and it said explicitly that they then gained an extra wound.
If you feel strongly about it bring it to a forum and see what happens.
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