Dark Eldar VS Space Wolves

My first game with my Space Wolves army against the Dark Eldar. This would be an interesting Space Wolves VS Dark Eldar battle report, because neither myself or my opponent knew exactly what we were doing, but the game was brutal, close and bloody all the same.

I knew from reading Sean's Dark Eldar blog that his army was fast, numerous and relatively fragile. Unfortunately we didn't roll the Kill Points mission (shame!) and got Secure & Control with 5 objectives instead and the standard Pitched Battle set up.

I rose to the challenge with my new army, who would no doubt be outmanoeuvred and get shot a lot. But that does with the territory if you're a Space Marine it seems. At least the Space Wolves should be a lot tougher than my old Tau army.

Adam's 1500 Points Space Wolves Army

Wolf Priest: Runic armour and wolf tooth necklace
Wolf Guard: Terminator armour, combi-melta, chainfist
15 Blood Claws: 2 Melta guns

5 Wolf Scouts: Melta gun

(X3) Wolf Guard: Combi-melta, powerfist
9 Grey Hunters: Melta gun, power fist, wolf standard, mark of the wulfen, + Rhino APC

Wolf Guard: Terminator armour, cyclone missile launcher
6 Long Fangs: 5 Missile launchers + Razorback APC with twin linked lascannon


Sean's 1500 Points Dark Eldar Army
Archon: Reaver Jetbike, Punisher, Combat Drugs, Shadow Field, Tormentor Helm, Plasma Grenades

Dracon: Agoniser, Splinter Pistol
5 Incubi + Raider

7 Wychs: Shredder, Plasma Grenades, Succubus with Agonisor + Raider

(X2) 5 Dark Eldar Warriors: Dark Lance + Raider with Horrorfex
(X3) 5 Dark Eldar Warriors: Splinter Cannon + Raider with Horrorfex

(X2) Ravager: 3 Disintegrators
Ravager: 3 Dark Lances

DEPLOYMENT
We rolled for Objectives and got 5. As neither of us had actually made any objective markers, I reached into my pocked for five £1 coins. Now there was something worth fighting for!

Between us we placed the Objectives fairly close together, which suited me just fine. The last thing I wanted was to have to chase after a large number of objectives spread far and wide.

We then rolled off to choose table sides and take the first turn, which Sean won, before saying that I should go first. I was quite baffled by this, because he had so many dark lanced that he could make life hard for me by taking the first turn, but he insisted that going second would be better, so that he could swoop onto objectives.

In my experience people don't tend to do so much 'swooping' if they're dead! And with that I began my deployment.

It was quite apparent by this point that I didn't really know what I was doing with my army, how the units should work together or how I'd fair in close combat against Dark Eldar Wyches, Incubi and a drugged up Dark Eldar Lord. So I thought I'd do a mixture of attack and defend to see what works. I didn't want to stray too far from the objectives, because Sean had a lot of units and they were all very fast.

I deployed my Long Fangs in a building to the left along with their Razorback transport. I deployed the 3 Grey Hunter packs in their Rhinos in the centre and the Blood Claws led by my Wolf Priest to the right.

Each unit would go forth and claim and objective while remaining within sensible distance to help one another out should the going get tough. Or at least, that was the plan.

Sean set up his army spread out evenly with the Dark Eldar Lord, Wyches and Incubi in reserve. On the left was his Triple Dark Lance Ravager, in the centre a Triple Disintegrator Ravager and to the right another Triple Disintegrator Ravager. Each Ravager on the flanks was accompanied by a Dark Eldar Warrior squad in a building with a Dark Lance. Other Dark Eldar Warriors were deployed in their Raider transports which were sprinkled liberally along his lines.

TURN 1
The Wolf Priest led the Blood Claws charging forward, to the nearby ruin, next to one of the objectives.

Two of the Grey Hunter Rhinos roared their engines and moved forward 12", skidding sideways and firing their smoke launchers. The third Grey Hunter Rhino held back should any of the forward squads need reinforcing. I also didn't know where to drive the Rhino, so it seemed safest to stay put.

The Long Fangs split their fire between the Triple Dark Lance Ravager on the left and the Triple Disintegrator Ravager in the centre. with most of the krak missiles missing their targets or striking cover, it's a pitiful display of firepower, but they do manage to stun the Triple Dark Lance Ravager on the left.

In the Dark Eldar turn, Sean gets his vengeance with the Triple Disintegrator Ravager in the centre which opens fire on the Long Fangs before they can improve their aim. The Space Wolf veterans go to ground, but still lose 3 of their number, including the Sergeant.

The other Triple Disintegrator Ravager on the right fires at the Blood Claws, inflicting 2 casualties as the young Space Wolves go to ground to avoid the incoming plasma fire.

Important Note: Dark Eldar Disintegrators are the equivalent of plasma cannons and they hurt!

An empty Raider for the Dark Eldar Warrior squads with a Dark Lance each both zoom up the flanks, behind buildings. Meanwhile every Dark Lance in the Dark Eldar army opens fire on the two Grey Hunter Rhinos parked in the centre of the board, but are either unable to hit their targets or cannot see them through the cloud of smoke.

TURN 2
The Wolf Scouts arrived from reserve and appear Behind Enemy Lines, next to the Triple Dark Lance Ravager that was stunned by the Long Fangs in the previous turn and blow it apart with their melta gun.

The 2 advancing Grey Hunter Rhino rumble forward and the Grey Hunters disembark, blasting the Triple Disintegtrator Ravager in the centre apart with a melta gun and blowing the Dark Lance off of a nearby Raider before it's finished off by a lascannon shot from the Long Fang's Razorback. The Dark Eldar Warrior squad survives and hides in the wreckage.

With the Razorback threatened by one of the flanking Raiders, the third Grey Hunter Rhino speeds towards the nearby church ruin. The Grey Hunters disembark and do their best to shoot it down, but only succeed in stunning the Dark Eldar crew, leaving the skimmer unable to move or fire next turn.

In the Dark Eldar turn the Wolf Scouts are fired upon by the two nearby Dark Eldar Warrior squads, losing two of their pack to splinter rifles.

The remaining Ravager blasts the Blood Claws with Disintegrator fire once again, killing a few more of the young Space Wolves.

Meanwhile, the Wyches arrive from reserve and charge into one of the Grey Hunter packs. Calling upon the power of the Wolf Standard to reroll all 1's, combat commences and the Space Wolves counter charge their enemies. The Grey Hunters lose 4 of their number before tearing the Wyches apart in a frenzy of chainswords, claws and powerfists. Only the Wyche Succubus remains standing and flees the battle, too fast for the Space Wolves to pursue.

It was at this point we all realised just how ferocious the Space Wolves are in close combat!

TURN 3
Having caused plenty of carnage, I decided to pull the Grey Hunter packs back. They both got back in their Rhinos and reversed up to the objectives around the centre. I knew that the Archon on jetbike and the Incubi would no doubt be showing up this turn and I didn't fancy my chances. I think in hindsight that this was far too cautious.

The Grey Hunter pack in the ruined church on the right flank continued firing at the stunned Raider, blowing off its Dark Lance and stunning it again. I can't believe I'm wasting a whole Grey Hunter squad on a single Raider.

The Wolf Scouts continue to battle the Dark Eldar Warriors on the left and lose close combat. It has to be said that Sean rolls some exceptional dice. But the grizzled Space Wolves hold their ground and fight on.

The Long Fangs split their fire and take out both Raiders on the left flank. Good shooting boys!

The Razorback targets the Ravager on the right, stunning it.

The Blood Claws begin moving slowly through the cover of the ruins again, trying to get closer to the Dark Eldar Warriors in the building while guarding the nearby objective. The Ravager is still an issue and will need melta-gunning next turn!

In the Dark Eldar turn, the Incubi led by the Drachon arrive from reserve and Turbo Boost alongside the Blood Claws.

Similarly, the Dark Eldar Archon on jetbike also arrives and Turbo boosts behind cover, Ready to attack the Grey Hunters on the objective.

Sean fires what few Dark Lances he has operable, but has no luck against the Grey Hunter Rhinos.

The Dark Eldar Warrior squad armed with a splinter cannon begins running towards the Archon on jetbike from their downed Raider on the left flank. Sean is fast running out of units.

TURN 4
Determined to take down the Raiders to reduce Sean's mobility in the dying turns of the game, both packs of Grey Hunters left disembark into cover and opened fire.

The Grey Hunter pack to the right destroyed their target and had moved forward to claim an objective in the ruins. The Grey Hunter pack to the left only succeeded in disabling the Dark Lance of the nearby Raider. Unfortunately, they were also likely to get charged by the Dark Eldar Archon on jetbike who was hiding around the corner of the building. Bring it on!

The Grey Hunter squad slowly moving through the church ruin bottom right finally blew up the Raider!

Meanwhile, the Blood Claws move through the ruins, onto an objective and fire their melta guns at the Turbo Boosting Raider carrying the Drachon and Incubi. The skimmer explodes in a huge ball of flame, but only one of the elite bodyguards are killed in the spectacular crash.

With the Raider gone, the Long Fangs and their Razorback can draw line of sight to the remaining Ravager, but once again, due to cover and obscuring ruins, they only manage to stun the crew.

The Incubi charge out of the burning Raider wreckage only to be counter-charged by the Blood Claws, led by the Wolf Priest. After a swift and bloody close combat, only the Drachon, Wolf Priest and Wolf Guard remain standing.

Meanwhile, the Archon revs his reaver jetbike into action and slices through the Grey Hunters holding an objective to the left. He takes a wound from a combat drugs overdose before killing 4 of the Space Wolves. In retaliation, the Grey Hunters land a dozen blows, with a wild strike from their Wulfen brother disabling the Dark Eldar Lord's Shadowfield, rendering him helpless in the next round of close combat. The Archon wins close combat and the Space Wolves, fee, but are quickly caught by the swift Dark Eldar. They regroup and get back into the fight with their And They Shall Know No Fear special rules and pass all of their armour saves. Things aren't looking too good for the Archon!

A squad of Dark Eldar Warriors runs towards the close combat, looking to contest the objective.

The Wolf Scouts and the Dark Eldar Warriors in the building to the left continue to battle it out, fighting to a stalemate.

A Dark Eldar Warrior squad in the centre disembarks to rapid fire the Grey Hunters holding the objective and manage to kill 3 of them! Holding this objective could be tougher than I thought.

TURN 5
This would be the final turn, so I had to grab those objectives and make everything count. Due to time restrictions, Sean and I had earlier agree to conclude the game on Turn 5.

This turn was all about objectives, so the Grey Hunter in the ruined church got into the Rhino, which promptly parked itself inside what was left of the building, sitting squarely on an objective.

In the centre, the Grey Hunter pack climbs to the higher level of a ruin to be within claiming range of the objective. Meanwhile the Rhino moves through the lower levels of the ruin to sit on the objective itself...until it gets stuck on a rock and immobilises itself. Doh!

The Long Fangs and their razorback target the Ravager again, only managing to stun it once more. At least it's not blowing me apart with its Disintegrators.

Now exposed and vulnerable without the Shadowfield to protect him, the Dark Eldar Archon is ripped apart by the ferocious Grey Hunters, before the battle weary Space Wolves consolidate on to the nearby objective, supported by their Rhino APC. The approaching Dark Eldar Warrior squad will never be able to take it from them.

On the right, the Drachon kills the Wolf Guard terminator with his Agoniser before being finished off by the Wolf Priest. Wounded and weary from the fight, the Wolf Priest consolidates back into cover to contest the objective.

At the back of the battlefield, in the ruined tower, the Wolf Scouts finally lose their war of attrition and the last Wolf Scout is killed by the last Dark Eldar Warrior.

By the Dark Eldar turn, Sean doesn't have much left, but moves the Dark Eldar Warriors on the left within 3" of the objective held by the Grey Hunters to contest.

Another squad of Dark Eldar Warriors performs the same move, contesting the objective in the ruin in the centre which was also held by a Grey Hunter squad.

This leaves the objective currently contested by the Wolf Priest. Right of the centre, a Dark Eldar Warrior squad embarks in a nearby Raider, which moves 12" to contest the objective, then fires its Dark Lance at the Wolf Priest. It hits, wounds and a failed cover save later, the objective is claimed by Sean.

The game ends as a Draw with 2 objectives contested, 1 objective unclaimed, 1 objective claimed by the Space Wolves and 1 objective claimed by the Dark Eldar.

CONCLUSION
It was tense and it was close. But that's because we both played like noobs!

Full credit to Sean though, because this is his fourth game with the Dark Eldar and prior to that he hasn't really played much Warhammer 40K at all.

He could have gone first, set everything up and then proceeded to systematically blow me away, one unit at a time. But he didn't. I guess I'll find out how that feels next time we play!

As for me, I could have played a lot better. I was also cautious to commit all 3 Grey Hunter packs to the front line. My placement of the Blood Claws was also poor.

However, I didn't want to surge forward, get all my Rhinos blown up and be left stranded. Sean has a lot of units in his Dark Eldar army and when everything's moving 24", he can easily leave you behind.

But while I could complain about my deployment, tactical choices, pulling the Grey Hunters back, then putting them back into the fight, my biggest mistake was failure to identify key threats.

All those sleek Eldar skimmers sort of look the same until they open fire. The Ravagers were (ravaging?) very destructive, which became clear when they vapourised half my Long Fangs pack on the first turn.

With only the Long Fangs and their Razorback providing long ranged firepower, picking my targets is incredibly important.

Anyway, there's some food for thought for my next game. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that no one messes with the Space Wolves in close combat!

You can also read this battle report from the Dark Eldar's point of view.

Big Jims 2000 point Space Wolves GT list

Hello to all the faithful readers of the Space Wolves Blog, I know it’s been a while since I regularly posted here. That is about to rapidly change, as I have decided to jump back into the tournament scene, and am planning to attend the Ragnarok GT (very fitting) in San Francisco.

I have two choices of armies to take with me. My Chaos Marines which to be competitive I have to use an I army I would dislike or get off my backside and get enough of my new Space Wolves done to meld with my existing army of Wolves.

There are many conversions to do, so I figure I may have to dip into the old army for a few things. I plan on attempting to build and paint a completely new force, but can still rely on my 15 year old Space Wolf army for many things.


This 2000 point Space Wolves force will be a blending my fluffy side with my competitive side. It can be tough for me to really create a hard tourney list since I am a big time casual, themed battle type of hobbyist. I always seem to muddy the waters with something background oriented. With that said I think this list blends the two concepts nicely.

As a huge fan of Thunder from Fenris, I must use a unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry.

The Long Fangs are armed the way that they are because the configuration has been a staple of my Space Wolf armies for 15 years. I know there are more optimal load-outs and I’ll be open to changing one units if you can make a good case for doing so.

The Wolf Guard will be parceled out to the Grey Hunters and Wolf Scouts.

HQ (335)

Wolf Lord (PV: 225)
Runic Armor, Belt of Russ, Frost Axe, Thunderwolf mount, Saga of the Beast Slayer

Rune Priest (PV: 110)
Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane, Chooser of the Slain

Elite (320)

5 Wolf Guard (PV: 220)
2 Combi-Plasma, 3 Combi-Melta, 5 Power Fists

5 Wolf Scouts (PV: 100)
Melta gun, MotW

Troop (690)

8 Grey Hunters (PV: 205)
MotW, PW, Melta
Rhino, extra armor


8 Grey Hunters (PV: 205)
MotW, Power Weapon, Melta
Rhino, extra armor

5 Grey Hunters (PV: 140)
Plasma gun, Power Weapon
Razorback

5 Grey Hunters (PV: 140)
Plasma gun, Power Weapon
Razorback

Fast Attack (215)

3 Thunderwolf Cavalry (PV: 215)
Power Fist, Stormshield, 2 Melta bombs

Heavy Support (440)

6 Long Fangs (PV: 220)
2 Heavy Bolters, 2 Missile Launchers, Lascannon
Razorback: TL Lascannon

6 Long Fangs (PV: 220)
2 Heavy Bolters, 2 Missile Launchers, Lascannon
Razorback: TL Lascannon

Choosing a 40K Army

I felt it was time to talk about choosing a 40K army to play. My gaming group has recently gained a new recruit who is looking for a new 40K army and it made me realise just how difficult choosing a 40K army can be. Unfortunately choosing a Warhammer 40K army is no longer as simple as picking a tournament list and going with it. You need something that can survive the constantly changing game Codex after Codex, edition after edition. Sounds impossible? Then let me explain.

Once upon a time there was a teenager named Phil. Phil played Orks. In fact, Phil had collected Orks since he started the hobby aged 11 and had amassed a terrifying Ork horde which could completely blanket his parents' living room carpet.

I met up with Phil again aged 23 and asked about his Orks.

"They're up in the loft, haven't had them out since the new Codex."
"I bet you had to buy a load of stuff for the new Codex?"
"Couple of Dethkoptas."
"What about Battlewagons, Nob bikers, Lootas?"
"I've got loads of them already. Oh, I did by the new Shokk Attak gun though. It looks really cool."

And that was it! He bought 15 Dethkoptas (for about £5 each on eBay) and a Big Mek with a Shokk Attak Gun. Then he asked if I fancied playing an Apocalypse game. Shamefully, I had to decline, telling him that I only had about 2,000 points of Tau at the time.

I know this is an extreme example, but it clearly shows the benefit of choosing Warhammer 40K army and sticking with it. Phil didn't need to buy anything when the new codex came out because he'd invested in an army to the exclusion of all others.

So when I'm talking about choosing an army, I don't mean a small tournament sized force designed for pwning noobs, I mean that you take the army Codex and gradually collect everything in it.

Now that's a big commitment and even I'm a little frightened by it!
But it isn't the building, painting and playing that worries me, it's not being able to have a go with all the other armies in Warhammer 40K and I think that 'Codex envy' and the 'cool factor' is a big problem that so many 40K players suffer from.

Resist!
Some model kits genuinely blow your socks off. The Tyranid Tyrgon, the Ork Stompa or the Imperial Guard Valkyrie are a few jaw dropping examples that conjure up all sorts of awesome imagery.

I'd like an Imperial Guard Valkyrie army. I'd like an Ork Battlewagon army. I'd like a Salamanders Space Marines army with Land Raider Redeemers transporting thunder hammer and storm shield Terminators led by Vulkan Hestan. The list goes on...

But none of us have the time or money for all of that, so we're often restricted to playing one or perhaps a couple of armies at a time.

Bad Habits
Unfortunately, with so many great army Codex books constantly being released, it's far too easy to give into temptation. Many players, like myself fall foul of rules changes either in the game itself or the release of new Codex books and fall into an evil circle of selling an old army 1500 points tournament to fund a new 1500 points tournament army. Although some people who only play tournaments actually prefer this and acquire a new army every year.

How to Choose a Warhammer 40K Army

Actually choosing a 40K army comes down to three things: winning games, painting models and army background. You need to be able to tick all three boxes before you should begin to part with your hard earned cash.

1: Winning Games
Winning isn't everything, but it's no fun getting stomped on. You need to find an army that suits your playing style or at the very least your idea of warfare.

2: Background
If you're playing your army purely to win and aren't inspired by its background, then the gaming experience is going to become boring when you're not continually winning. If you're swept up in the character of your force, you’re telling a story and enjoying the game whether you’re having a close fought battle, a glorious massacre or making a desperate last stand.

3: Painting
Everyone has their limits when it comes to painting. Whether it’s struggling to paint a complicated scheme to a standard that you are happy with or if you just feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of miniatures you need to paint to produce a decent force. So try not to bite off more than you can chew, and if you have a lot to paint, stick to your standards and do a little at a time.

Why I Chose Space Wolves as My Warhammer 40K Army
If this were a forum, now would be the time for everyone to shout that you should choose the army that they play and how awesome it is.

Well, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to tell you that I essentially chose to play a Space Marine army, because that's what Space Wolves are. They're Space Marines with some special rules and unique units.

On the whole Space Marine armies are versatile, very forgiving to play, easy to paint, easy to convert and have a great history. I chose a Space Wolf army because it's easy.

I know that I'm never going to win any tournaments simply because I don't play the game enough and the Dice Gods hate me. So I felt that choosing a forgiving army that's easy to pick up and play would be a good idea.

Having played a Tau army with a very difficult paint scheme for 2 years made me realise that I needed something easy to paint, more forgiving to play and an army with a longer history in the Warhammer 40K universe. It was incredibly frustrating being invited to campaign weekends set in the Imperium's history when the Tau hadn't even been discovered yet!

By comparison, playing a Space Marine army is a walk in the park. Although sometimes I wish I'd chosen Orks for the added humour.

So for me, the plan is to keep building my Space Wolves army ad infinitum in the same way my regular opponent James has been building his Dark Angels army for the past few years. He's got everything at his disposal. It doesn't matter what size game you play, he can produce a good, well rounded army and some very characterful themed armies as well.

Of course, James is looking forward to the next Dark Angels Codex when it comes out, because apart from any new units, he's got everything already. Expanding his existing army is relatively affordable and effortless.

Armies to Avoid
Tau, Necrons, Dark Eldar, Daemons and anything whacky like 13th Company or Lost & The Damned. Seriously though, the newer races in Warhammer 40K simply don't hold their weight in the long term.

Warhammer 40K was built on melta guns, plasma guns, lascannons and powerfists. Many of the newer armies have been designed around Troops armed with basic guns and very few weapon options.

With all of the 'original armies' like Orks, Space Marines, Chaos Marines, Eldar and Imperial Guard having the staple weapons that the game is built around, the more recent armies pale in comparison. (Although Tyranids have always been a strong army.)

Of course, this could all change if any of them receive a major revamp -and we all know that they really need it!

As for Chaos Daemons, they are a strong army at present, but having been designed entirely around the 5th edition rules set, a change in the rules could cripple them in one fell swoop.


FINAL THOUGHTS
The safest armies are the classic armies like Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Chaos or Imperial Guard. They've been in the game since the start and they've comfortably survived every edition and every new Codex. Okay, the Imperial Guard used to die in droves, but they're pretty good now.

They're all versatile armies with a lot of units and a lot of tactical choice and form the core of the Warhammer 40K game. Now begs the question whether Games Workshop made a mistake in 3rd edition with the release of the new Necrons, Dark Eldar and Tau armies? But that remains to be seen.

As for our new gaming group recruit: He's doing his best to make his Dark Eldar army work as best as it can, but until the army gets a new Codex, he's contemplating an Imperial Guard army.

Even so, he's making the most of playing his Dark Eldar, which you can read all about in my first Space Wolves battle report this weekend!

A Tale of Four Gamers

I don't know about you guys but I'm sick of seeing a table full of unpainted grey and silver miniatures, why spend hundreds of Pounds, Dollars, Euros, Goats etc on an army when they just sit unloved and unpainted for eternity? Well part of my new year resolution is that I will strive to get my millions of miniatures painted starting with my Space Wolves!

After discussing this with my three closest gaming buddies we all felt the same and suggested we do something to motivate ourselves into painting an army. After a bit of thought my mind wandered back to spring 2009 when White Dwarf did a feature called "A Tale of Four Gamers." Those of you that read it will remember that they got four gamers who each started a new army and were set deadline to assemble and paint the armies whilst getting in plenty of games, sounds good to me.

So with a bit of thought I came up with some basic rules and got the guys on board. The first objective will be to assemble and paint a 1000 point army by the end of February. Well this will be easy for me as I've got to get mine painted for the 7th of Feb due to Vapnartak.

If you successfully complete this task you earn 10 league points. Stage two's deadline is the end of March where players must have 1500 points painted and finally stage three will conclude at the end of April with 1500 points and a bonus unit painted, again 10 points for each deadline met.

We all agreed that in between these periods we will gather at the Man Cave (my garage) at least once a month and hold a games night. I can set up two 6'x4' boards in my garage so all four of us can meet up and get in a couple of games in one evening, brilliant!

The league kicked off a couple of weeks ago with two 1000 games being played in one evening, I didn't do a battle report as I am making myself do Bat Reps with painted armies only if it can be helped. I can say that I've managed to take the lead with two wins so far earning 20 points. I intend to keep you guys updated with the progress of this little friendly competition and hopefully get some nice battle reports up for you all.

You can follow the progress of this competition over at Captain Yukkas Tau blog.

Vapnartak Battle 4: Sisters of Battle

With a win, a loss and a draw under my belt there was still chance for me to pull in some last minute points to get my Space Wolves up the standings table. I was back on the table where I had faced the Daemons earlier that day which was a bit annoying as I was hoping for a new table I the find my opponent has a Sisters of Battle list which I knew bugger all about, this was going to be fun.

Mission: Table Quarters
Deployment: Spearhead
Army List:

Sister of Battle Head Nun? (Cannoness! -Adam)
5 Celestines, 2 Meltaguns, Immolator
5 Celestines, 2 Meltaguns, Immolator
5 Storm Troopers, 2 Meltaguns,Rhino
5 Storm Troopers, 2 Meltaguns,Rhino
Guardsmen Platoon HQ, 4 Meltaguns, Chimera
10 Guardsmen, Autocannon
10 Guardsmen, Autocannon
10 Vet Guardsmen, Autocannon, Chimera
Exorcist

This list may be wrong but he had a lot of transports toting a lot of Melta, the HQ choice was a vanilla choice with no upgrades.

Deployment
Once again the dice gods torment me and I lose the roll off for deployment being forced to take first turn and deploy first oh well its happened in every other battle why moan now?

I set up the Rhinos in the "Boarshead" while the Long Fangs take up position in some trenches giving them self a nice field of fire of pretty much the entire battlefield.

The Witch Hunters deploy a combined Guardsmen platoon in some ruins and deploy for a two pronged mech attack with the rest of the army. The Exorcist hides behind some ruins giving itself cover.

Turn 1
With a mighty Howl and Led Zepplin Immigrant Song blasting out the loud speakers Ulf and the boys charge forward 12". Ulf Casts storm caller and all three Rhinos pops smoke. The Long Fangs send some krak Missiles over to the Exorcist but the cover is too good and nothing hits home.

In return the Witch Hunters proceed to manoeuvre towards my advance setting up multiple firing positions.

The Exorcist opens up first and takes down a couple of Long Fangs despite being in decent cover. A torrent of Autocannon fire sweeps across the Space Wolf Rhinos wrecking Ulfs ride.

Turn 2
My two remaining Rhino's plough into the middle of the battlefield across some more trenches, the pack on the right flank heads for a patch of long grass, dismounts and meltagun the nearest Storm Trooper Rhino wrecking it.

Feeling a little exposed Ulf and his pack shuffle into cover. Ulf then charges his axe up and fires off some living Lightning which bounces off the front of an Immolator. The Long Fangs return some fire at the Excorcist but the missiles "ping" off the heavy armour.

The Witch Hunters respond by backing up the recently dismounted storm troopers with another squad of Storm Troopers and the Cannoness on her own.

Combined Exocist and Guardsmen fire finish off my Long Fangs who get wiped out for the first time ever! The Storm Troopers in the grass try to kill my Grey Hunters but only drop a few through the cover.

Finally the Cannoness leaps into action straight towards the shocked Grey Hunters who didnt see her coming. She gracefully dodges incoming fire shining with Holy Light, screams a prayer to Emperor brandishing her chain sword, flips over a rock like an armoured ninja......and is powerfisted in the face by the Wolf Guard.

Turn 3
With the smell of blood in the air I move the Grey Hunters in the grass into position lining up a double charge on the Storm Trooper units. Ulf and his pack head towards the Trench in the centre to get closer to the action. The pack still mounted dismount and head towards the Witch Hunters on my left flank.

Ulf fires off some Living Lightning but only gets a couple of shots off which harmlessly patter off a Rhino.

On the right flank the Grey Hunters forgoe firing to charge into the Storm Troopers killing one squad outright whilst the other is reduced to two men and flees, the pack leader reigns in the Grey Hunters who consolidates back into cover.

My pack on the left charge into Immolator and Chimera stunning the Immolator and wrecking the Chimera forcing the Platoon command squad to spill out.

Angered by the heavy blow just received the Witch Hunters retaliate hard on the the Space Wolves. The Exorcist hammers the Grey Hunters in the trenches along with combined fire from pretty much the entire Witch Hunter army nearly wiping them out to a man. Ouch!

Turn 4
Ulf and his pack finally make it into the trenches whilst the Grey Hunters in the Grass try to make it out of the terrain but get bogged down in the tall grass.

The Wolf Guard on his own on my left jumps over the wrecked Chimera in an attempt to get to the Celestians nearby but fails leaving himself in the open. Little else happens in my turn as there are no units in assault range.

The combined firepower of the Witch hunter army hits the Grey Hunters in the Grass this turn with a squad of Celestians using faith points to cause a couple of Rending hits. The pack is reduced to two Grey Hunters one of which has the Mark of Wulfen.

My lone Wolf Guard on the left is Meltagunned to death by the nearby Platoon Command squad.

Turn 5
One pack down, one nearly dead and Ulfs pack stuck in the middle, the Witch Hunters still had plenty of troop choices left to claim table quarters and mobile elements to contest mine if I claim any.

I move the Wulfen towards the Guardsmen platoon holding the ruins but end up in charge range of the platoon command squad.

Ulf and his pack cannot really get into range of anyone so they make a move to contest my home quarter. Ulf again tries to pop a transport with Lightning but fails again.

My Beserker and his mate charge into the platoon command squad and whiff tremendously only killing one, they are both then battered into the ground by rifle butts and trenching tools. Oh dear.

We roll the dice and the game continues

Turn 6
last chance to do something really but Ulf is stuck in a useless position and the enemy have got mobile units all over the place plus a strong fire base.

I try to close in on the nearby Celestians but they survive the salvo of bolt gun fire.

In the final turn of the game the Witch hunters close in for the kill wiping out Ulfs pack. The Exorcist fires off 6 shots which pretty much seals the deal killing most of the pack off leaving Ulf standing alone.

At this the game ends, Ulf is contesting but not claiming one table quarter and a lone Rhino another. However its not enough as the Witch Hunters claim two and a victory.


Conclusion
And with this my Vapnartak comes to an end,this was a tough game, plenty of Transports and units packing melta gave my opponent plenty of options and plenty of Firepower to basically drop a pack a turn. I knew little about what this army could do or how to handle it really so I just went to "brick to face" tactics which failed me really.

That Exorcist really scared the pants off me and probably kept me from being too aggressive with my troops once they were foot slogging which allowed my opponent to out manoeuvre me.

Overall a good game I just wish I had a little bit more time make notes etc but the day had to end and we had to squeeze all four games into one day so I can't complain.

Vapnartak Battle 3: (Traitor) Space Wolves

After a spot of lunch and a browse around the trade stalls it was time for game 3, my opponent had already set up on the table we were playing on.

A quick glance at this army and I saw two Land Raider Crusaders a bunch of Nurgle Marines and the Space Wolf codex sat next to them. What?!? How dare he disgrace our sacred book of Russ with the taint of Nurgle. These traitors must be punished once I figure out how to sort those two Land Raiders out.

Mission: Secure & Control
Set Up: Dawn of War
Army List:

Rune Priest
10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns, Wolf Standard
10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns, Wolf Standard, Mark of Wulfen
Land Raider Crusader, Multi Melta
Land Raider Crusader, Multi Melta

Deployment
I try to place more objectives on my opponents side of the table as I dont want to be hanging around capturing stuff on my side with a unit when I could be killing things with my troops. We end up with a nice triangle of objectives near his deployment zone.

The terrain was made up of quite a few Ruined buildings providing cover but still had plenty of lanes of fire to cause me problems. True to usual Bradimus form I lost the roll and end up going first.

Heres why I make my first mess up and I hold my entire force off the table, what I should have done was deploy a pack far forward to get stuck in straight away but isnt Hind sight brilliant. My opponent elects to hold his entire force off board too waiting to see where my Rhinos pop up.

Turn 1
First turn I move all three Rhinos on 12" straight towards the centre of the battle field and the objective. I pop smoke on all three and Ulf casts storm caller just in case. The Long Fangs slog onto the board and make good progress setting up into some ruins.

Both Land Raiders come on 12" putting them just in range to shoot. Only one can draw line of sight but a melta shot hits Ulfs Rhino and sends it up in ball of flames, Ulf and the boys bail out.

Turn 2
Ulfs pack heads for cover of the nearest building, trying to close the gap I move a Rhino over the difficult terrain caused by Ulfs Rhino and as expected immobilise my Rhino.

My Third Rhino heads for cover getting out of the way of those Land Raiders, Ulf tries to cast storm caller again but his traitorous counter part blocks his attempt.

Both Land Raiders open up on Ulfs pack who failed to get out of sight fully and they end up taking heavy casualties leaving Ulf and a few Grey Hunters standing.

Turn 3
Things are going badly already for me and heres where I make the most stupid decision of the tournament. I move my Last working Rhino 12" straight in front of a Land Raider, what I should have done is jumped out and melta'd it into next week instead I just sat in the Rhino and did nothing thinking to take what ever attacks next turn and then attack. Duh!

With a nice big juicy target sat right in front of them both Squads of Nurgle Hunters jump out of the Land Raiders and take aim at the lone Rhino. Now if gaming miracles could happen this is one of them. After four Meltagun shots, 2 Multimelta and 8 Assault cannon shots my Rhino is still sat there with a missing storm bolter and an immbolised engine with some rather shaken crew inside.

I would have probably been better off losing the Rhino because now I had 20 Marines climbing all over my Rhino this is bad because if he gets a wrecked result I've got no where to climb out of that Rhino safely. As expected after some 20 something krak grenades later my Rhino gets wrecked and only three of my nine Grey Hunters make it out alive but pinned.

Turn 4
With things going from bad to worse I must admit I lose my composure here and just cant think how to recover this situation. My Long Fangs stun one of the Land Raiders whilst Ulf and a few survivors run into some ruins and claim an objective.

Ulf tries to cast Living Lightning but is shut down by the Nurgle Rune priest.

The Nurglings advance on Ulf and his depleted pack, the un stunned Land Raider tries to move into position but immobilises itself on some terrain.

The remaining pack members who escaped from the Rhino are gunned down as they try to get thier senses.

In Assault Ulf is swarmed by Traitor marines and he and is pack is brought down before any damage could be caused. They then consilidate onto the objective in the ruins.

Turn 5
It looks like its all over for me, I had kept my last pack inside the immbilised Rhino hidden just in case I could jump out and claim the nearest objetive at last minute but that looked impossible. However the Marines that had just killed Ulf looked to be within 12" so I decide to dismount and make a move towards them.

In assault I get the "6" I need for movement and I charge into the Marines in the ruins. The combat is bloody but thanks to my Wolf Standard and Powerfists I give them a bloodied nose but they hold ground.

The un engaged squad of Traitors move to claim an objective in the open and with nothing to fire at we go straight to combat. The fight is pretty much one way, my Grey Hunters finsh off the enemy and kill the Nurgle Rune priest. I roll a 6 for consilidation and move straight towards his remaining squad.

We roll to see if the game ends and I get the result I wanted, the game continues.

Turn 6
My last pack hungry for blood and overcome by the inner wolf head straight for the enemy, I dont fire my pistols as the charge distance is pretty fine.

My Long Fangs Stun the Land Raider again.

I assault the enemy and cause massive damage with my fists with little in return, they break from combat and I let them run.

My opponent has nothing to do in his turn, he cannot rally his marines as I am within 6".

At this the game ends a draw with neither sides claiming any objectives.

Conclusion
Wow what a game, I was sure it was all over for me by turn 3. My set up and battle plan were poor to say the least and I certainly did not use the terrain to my advantage. By rights I should have lost but the ferociousness of my packs saved it for me. That one Grey Hunter pack disabled his troops in two turns ending the chances of a win and only just pulling a draw for me. His land Raiders posed a real problem for me as I had no long range method of taking them out but I knew this when designing the list as one of my weaknesses.

On a personal level I lost my composure in this game when things were not looking good for me especially when I pulled the "Dont get out of the Rhino stunt" I had the face on a little bit.

The thing is I realised this and took a deep breath and sorted my head out but it showed how easy this happens as I've often had opponents get the "face" on with me during games, its definately something to watch for in future games.

Vapnartak Battle 2: Chaos Daemons

Well after a victory to the Space Wolves and a quick look round the trade stalls, the posting for round 2 were placed up.

My little heart sank when I saw a Daemon army waiitng for me on the table. Something was odd about this Daemon army, I had seen this army before yet how could I when I have never played Daemons before?

The army actually belonged to Neil Kerr from the Pink Tyranids blog. My friend Cpt_Yukka had just been table'd by this army and to say I was nervous was an under statement.

Now I aplogise in advance for the upcoming reports as these will have to be done entirely from memory as the time limit on the games meant I had no time to take notes.

I used the same 1000 points Space Wolves army list (link) as before.

Mission: Kill Points
Set Up : Spearhead
Army List: (from Memory)
Great Unclean One, Breath of Chaos
6 Fiends, Unholy Might (Nurgle Spiders)
6 Fiends, Unholy Might (Nurgle Spiders)
Khorne Hounds
4 Screamers
Plague Bearers
Plague Bearers

Deployment
Again I lose the roll off and my opponent allows me first turn. I deploy my Long Fangs on a hill near the centre of my deployment zone giving them dreat fields of fire all around. I then castle up my Rhinos around this little strong point waiting for the Daemons to deep strike in.

Turn 1
With no enemies to target or close in on Ulf decides to stay put to provide cover for the Long Fangs, I cast storm caller just for the sake of rolling some dice!

With a stinky belch the first wave of Daemons pop out of the warp but the Emperors shining light must have been watching the Sons of Russ as the chosen wave is no where to be seen. A group of Plague Bearers appear in a trench network on the far side of the table closely followed by the screamers who then scuttle into cover behind some trees. Lastly a group of Fiends appear on my left flank and again scuttle for cover. With no shooting the Daemons turn comes to a close.

Turn 2
Sensing an opportunity Ulf and the pack closest to him make a dash towards the Fiends on the left flank. Both packs jump out of thier Rhinos and rapid fire the Fiends dropping a couple thanks to some nifty Inv save rolls from my opponent. The third pack puts itself between the Long Fangs and the threat on my right flank. My long Fangs then try to lock onto the Plague Bearers in the trenchs with nothing else to target, 5 Krak missiles, two hits, 1 wound and a cover save later they are all still stood upright, not good.

More Daemons spew forth from warp in the form of another group of Spiders and more Plague Bearers, no sign of the big fat man yet praise be to Russ! In a bold move the Spiders deep strike in very close to the Grey Hunters and then run forwards closing the gap. The other group of Spiders charge into one of the Grey Hunter packs and manage to claw a few down taking some wounds in return from the Powerfists, they then pull off a hit and run and jump back out to safety. Whilst this is taking place the Screamer turbo boost out of cover and begin to re posistion across to the other side of the battle field.

Turn 3
Still no greater Daemon running around gives me a chance to hit the rest of Daemons hard before he can swing the battle in thier favour. Ulf leads his Grey Hunters towards the nearest Plague Bearers and the other pack head towards the fresh pack of Spiders. Pistol fire causes mimimal casualties before both Grey Hunter units charge into melee popping thier Wolf Standards. The Long Fangs spot the Screamers dashing from cover and try to lock on but again a combo of crap shooting and covers keeps them all alive. The third pack of Grey Hunters advances on the trenches but fail to do any damage after a round of rapid firing.

The two combats see casualties on both sides the Wolf powerfists causing damage but the Daemons inv save shrugging off the hits.

The Daemons respond by bringing in the rest of thier forces from the Warp, a pack of Flesh Hounds and the Great Unclean one himself. The Screamers swoop in and blow one of the Rhinos whilst the two combats on the right rage on. The Packs of Grey Hunters finish off the Plague Bearers and leave one Spider standing who hits and runs out of the way.

Turn 4
By now its 2-1 to me on kill points but this is the game breaker turn potentially. Ulf moves back towards the Great Unclean one as does one of the Grey hunter packs. The last pack moves to the centre of the battlefield into some trenches.

The Grey Hunters in the trenches kill off the Screamers with bolter fire whilst the rest of the packs open up on the Great Unclean one with pistols and assault weapons causing a wound.

I'm then torn between shooting the big guy with krak missiles or finishing off the lone spider. I decide to go for the easy kill point and fire all five missiles at the spider making sure it is proper dead.

Ulfs packs and the other Grey Hunter pack then charge into the Great unclean one figuring I'd rather charge than be charged. A couple of Wounds are put on the Greater Daemon but then poor old Ulf is stomped into the ground flat.

The Khorne Hounds dash across the table heading straight towards the Long Fangs and then make a good fleet roll bringing them within charge range of the Old boys.

The Great Unclean one proceeds to smash apart the Grey Hunters educing one pack down to a man and then causes both the flee the combat.

The Hounds charge the Long Fangs and drop two but the marines hold thier ground.

Turn 5
Things are looking grim for me now and get worse when I try to move my last Grey Hunter pack out of the trenches but dont move far enough to help in the Hound combat. The Great unclean One is within 6" of the other two packs so they don't re group.

I lose another two Long Fangs in combat anf fail to do any damage to the hounds, the Long Fangs then break from combat but are not pursued by the Khorne Daemons.

The Great Unclean One then charges the Lone Grey Hunter who knocks another wound off the Daemon before being destroyed.

At this point the game ends with a Daemon Victory 5 to 4. Shame about this one really I was one wound off dropping the big lad but thats the nature of the game. I enjoyed the game and came away with some great experience for future battle against the critters from the Warp.

Vapnartak Battle 1: Chaos Space Marines

My first tournament battle of the year sees my Space Wolves pitted against Tim and his Chaos Space Marines army. Now Chaos is one of the armies that I have had next to no experience against, but I was pretty clued up on what the army can do through reading the codex, fail to prepare, prepare to fail says Bradimus.

Brad's 1000pts Space Wolves Army List

Ulf the Horrible, Rune Priest

3 Wolf Guard:
3 Combi Melta and 3 Powerfist
(Each of these is attached to a Grey Hunter unit

Grey Hunters Pack:
8 Grey Hunters, Powerfist, Meltagun, Wolf Standard and Mark of Wulfen
Rhino APC transport

Grey Hunters Pack:
8 Grey Hunters, Powerfist, Meltagun, Wolf Standard and Mark of Wulfen
Rhino APC transport

Grey Hunters Pack:
8 Grey Hunters, Powerfist, Meltagun, Wolf Standard and Mark of Wulfen
Rhino APC transport

Long Fangs Pack:
1 sergeant, 5 Long Fangs with Missile Launchers

Game 1: Capture & Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Opponent: Chaos Space Marines

Prince, Lash, Wings

Plague Marines, meltagun, Powerfist, Rhino
Khorne Beserkers, Rhino

2 Obliterators
2 Obliterators



DEPLOYMENT
I win the roll off and decide to deploy first and take first turn, I wanted to close in on the Chaos army as soon as possible seeing as I would be taking quite a few Lascannon shots from those Oblits. Here's where I make my first screw up of the day and deploy the Long Fangs in some nice cover but at the same time limit my field of fire with them. I deploy the Rhinos in what is now my standard "Boars Snout" formation with Ulfs Rhino taking the lead providing Storm caller cover.

The Chaos army deploys opposite mine with the Berserkers placed aggressively forward covering the Prince behind them and the Nurgle Marines deploying behind a hill covering the base. The Oblits are placed with good fields of fire covering all my approach routes, this is going to be tough.

TURN 1
I dashed all three Rhinos forward. The formation has to close in due to a bit of bottle neck in the terrain ahead, seeing the danger of the Obliterator Mercs this Daemon has hired I decide to pop smoke on all three Rhinos and cast Storm Caller in case any troops get dismounted. The Long Fangs cannot see anything apart from a single Obliterator so open fire with some Krak Missiles, half miss and the ones that do hit are easily saved by the bulk of their armour.

The Chaos Army reacts to my aggressive move by sending the Beserkers to intercept and then letting loose with the Obliterators. For some reason Ulfs Rhino is not targeted but the Rhino to his right is wrecked with Lascannon fire from all the Obliterators and the Grey Hunters Spill out into the open. The Daemon Prince then Lashes the unit 4 inch backwards away from the action as Ulf fails to stop the Psychic attack.

TURN 2
In this turn the two remaining Rhinos clear the bottle neck and make it into the Chaos half of the battlefield. The pack on foot runs forward eager to catch up and not miss out on the glory that is about to had. The Long Fangs this time round are able to spot more targets so the grizzled old pack leader barks out orders to split fire. Two krak missiles are sent hurling into the Berserkers Rhino and a the other three towards the Daemon Prince. The Berserker Rhino takes the hits dead on and wrecked completely whilst the Prince takes a wound from his salvo. Ulf conjures up another storm to cover the Space Wolves advance.

The now even angrier Berserkers advance towards the Space Wolf lines and open fire on the foot slogging pack dropping two Grey Hunters. The Daemon Prince then lashes the unit into a tightly packed formation whilst an Obliterator unit takes aim and fires two plasma cannon shots into the unit. The Grey Hunters see the incoming balls of plasma and decide to hit the deck aided by the Storm caller cover from Ulf and drastically reduce the casualties taken from this deadly attack although it now reduces the unit to 5 Grey Hunters. The last Obliterator unit fires at Ulfs Rhino but one shot falls short and the other saved by Storm Caller. To finish off the turn the Beserkers let loose a bloody roar and surge forward to charge but suddenly stop realising they are too far way to carry the momentum.

TURN 3
Seeing that the timing was right Ulf orders the rest of the Grey Hunters to disembark from the Rhinos and close in on the enemy. The fresh pack disembarks and heads straight towards the oncoming Beserkers with pistols and chainswords drawn. Ulfs Pack covers the advance waiting for a Chaos counter attack. In the shooting phase the Long Fangs split fire again with three missiles at the Daemon prince and two at the Obliterators. The Prince sees the danger and manages to dodge the missiles but an Obliterator on the hill is blown to pieces by some well placed missile fire.

Ulf then unleashes a lighting attack on the Daemon Prince firing off 6 shots which all hit home and overwhelm the Prince who falls to the ground crackling with energy. The Grey Hunter Pack attacking the beserkers are overcome with the Wulfen within and decide they would rather fight hand to hand instead of firing and charge in. I decide to pop the Wolf banner and the initial clash see's casualties on both sides and the fight is a draw until the Wolf Guard and Grey Hunter with power fists swing into action dropping another four Beserkers. The fight ends a Space Wolf victory but the Beserkers hold and take no further casualties.

In the Chaos turn the Plague Marines rush forward to assist the Beserkers in the melee. The Obliterators turn thier guns on Ulfs pack and fire Plasma Cannons. Luckily for me the shots scatter and the damage is not as bad as it could have been as I had no Storm Caller cover protecting them but at least half the pack are nuked. The Plague marines then charge into the Beserker combat. With only two Beserkers left standing I allocate all my attacks into the Plague Marines except the Mark of Wulfen who I decide send into the servant of Khorne for some Beserker on Beserker combat. The Wulfen drops both Beserkers but at the same time is struck down himself whilst the Grey Hunters attacks bounce off the Plague Marines. (wish I had my banner still) I then lose a few Grey Hunters to the Plague Marines attacks but the Powerfists kill 3 in return. The combat is again won by the Wolves but the fearless Chaos Marines hold fast again.

TURN 4
This turn I had a decision to make with Ulfs pack, I could either take out the Obliterators or assist the Grey Hunters locked in combat with the Plague Marines. I decided that if I wiped out the Plague Marines then I would be toast next turn from mass Plasma Cannon fire. With that in mind I advanced on the two Obliterators. The Long Fangs finished off the final Obliterator on the hill whilst the Wolf Guard in Ulfs pack killed another with his CombiMelta. In the assault phase Ulf and his Pack assaulted and finished off the final Obliterator. The Plague Marine combat carried on with a few more casualties on either side being caused by powerfists.

With little else to do in his turn we went straight to the combat phase which saw the Grey Hunters killing off the Plague Marines with Powerfists.

TURN 5
In this turn there wasn't much else left to do the only active unit in the Chaos army was the Plague Marines Rhino. My remaining Packs advanced on the Chaos objective claiming victory.

CONCLUSION
A brilliant game and a good start to my day, Tim was a great opponent and I was really intimidated by his list. I really messed up the deployment with the Long fangs but luckily they still managed to get shots off every turn but it could have easily gone the other way due to the Long Fangs lack of mobility. The Grey Hunters proved deadly in combat, five Powerfist attacks on the charge really tipped the scales for me.

Land Raider Tactics

The mighty Land Raider is not just a mere tank, but a mobile bunker reinforced with the heaviest of ceramite armour and bristling with an array weapons.

They are the heaviest vehicle fielded by the Space Wolves and are used as command centers, tank hunters, firebases, and assault vehicles. These venerable behemoths are the core of a mechanized Space Wolf assault, rumbling steadily across the battlefield and leaving only destruction and the corpses of the foe in their wake.

The first strength of the Land Raider is their Armour Value of 14. This thick armour makes them nigh-impregnable to all but the heaviest of anti-tank weapons. By having this value to all sides, they are equally protected from enemy attacking from the flanks, rear or in close combat. These tanks truly are among the mightiest on the table and most attacks will rattle harmlessly off their slab armoured sides.

The second strength of the Land Raider is the Power of the Machine Spirit. Equipped with powerful cognitive engines, every Land Raider is possessed of an internal consciousness that is honoured as a full Space Wolf. This ghost in the machine assists with the weaponry of the vehicle such that they target with unmatched skill and accuracy. They allow the tank to always fire one more weapon than normal, even times when it would otherwise not be able to fire at all! Additionally, this weapon may be fired at a different target than the rest, greatly increasing the flexibility of Land Raider shooting. Coupled with an impressive array of armaments makes every one of these tanks a mobile firebase in their own right.

The third strength of the Land Raider is the Assault Ramp. These jawlike ramps protect the front of the tank, ramming into enemy positions and opening to disgorge the warriors inside. This special equipment allows any infantry transported to assault even if the tank has moved already. Disembarking adds a 2” base displacement away from the ramp, giving the transported unit one of the longest assault ranges in the game. This makes the vehicle perfect for the lightning assaults favoured by the Space Wolves; the pack swiftly closing for the kill before the enemy has any chance to react.

OPTIONS

There are three main variants of Land Raider available to the Space Wolves:

1. “Godhammer”: The basic variant, the Godhammer packs a Twin-Linked Lascannon in each side sponson and a Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter in the front pintle. It is also capable of Transporting 10 normal Infantry or 5 Terminators.

Sadly, this iconic tank suffers from a bit of identity crisis. As an assault transport, it is designed to smash into the enemy at close quarters. Yet its weaponry is designed for long-range engagements and has to remain stationary to fire all weapons. Thus the most optimal role is as an anti-tank firebase with a counter-assault unit inside. As a defensive stance rarely wins games, most players will either accept some reduction of effect or field a different variant.

2. “Redeemer”: The newest variant to take the fields of the 41st millennium, the Redeemer puts a fearsome Flamestorm Cannon in each sponson and an Assault Cannon in the front pintle. The redesigned troop compartment also allows two more Marines or another Terminator, making this an excellent choice of transport for a 10-Marine Grey Hunter unit, a Wolf Guard Pack Leader, and an Independent Character.

With a maximum weapon range of 24”, sponson ranges of only a Flamer template, a decent Transport capacity, and Frag Assault Launchers, the Redeemer variant truly is a mighty assault vehicle. Much like the Godhammer though, this variant has difficulty getting full effect from the weapons mounted on it. The short range and hull separation of the Flamestorms make it nearly impossible to maximize the coverage of both templates, especially as few opponents are polite enough to bunch their units up when they see a Redeemer coming. Additionally, the tank cannot fire more than two systems while on the move.

Thus a Redeemer typically closes with the enemy at top speed while using the Machine Spirit to fire the Assault Cannon or optional Multi-Melta. It is only at short range that the vehicle will slow down, pivot to favor one sponson or the other (typically the right to maximize fire arc from the front pintle), and then open up with a Flamestorm. This type of attack can be devastatingly effective and leave the assault unit inside with little to do but clean-up the mess.

3. “Crusader”: Arguably the most common variant seen on the tabletop, the Crusader mounts a set of devastating Hurricane Bolters in each sponson and an Assault Cannon in the front pintle. It also boasts an even larger internal capacity and is capable of Transporting 16 Marines or 8 Terminators.

This variant really is the luxury model of Land Raider. Not only does it boast room enough for your Wolf Guard and all their lupine friends, the sponson weaponry is classified as “defensive” and can be fired to full effect on the move. This allows the tank to close on the enemy while putting out fire similar to a Tactical Squad. Even if you add on the optional Multi-Melta for anti-tank, the Machine Spirit keeps you able to fire every weapon and move 6”. When you add the effect of Frag Assault Launchers to all these other benefits and the normal Land Raider package, it is easy to see why the Crusader is the favorite choice of most Wolf Lords.

Storm Bolter – Cute, but only meshes well on a Crusader
Hunter-Killer Missile – Nice if you have the points
Multi-Melta – Nice normally and great on a Crusader
Extra Armour – Expensive, but worth considering


CONCLUSION
For all the perks and benefits spoken of above, the Land Raider has one simple problem and that's price. You have to pay for every single one of those bells and whistles, even if you never use them. For the cost of a single Land Raider, you could run two or more of any other basic tank. A Land Raider will also often have a full unit and attached character embarked in it. This can quickly push the sum value of the model to 600 points or more and eat up a sizeable chunk of your points. This kind of investment is too sizeable to just “tack on”. It is a core choice around which the rest of your list will be based. There’s a certain risk to this too… one lucky shot will see a lot of that going up in smoke. Land Raiders are tough, but don’t expect them to save you from bad tactics. Trust in your armour and the Emperor, but also trust in your cover and Smoke Launchers.

An army fully mounted in multiple Land Raiders offers you certain unique pros and cons. While you will have less units to attack the enemy with, you’ll also cede less Kill Points in total. While you might have issues against an opponent with lots of anti-tank, you’ll be able to ignore any weapon with a strength less than 8. This is certainly the extreme style of Land Raider use, but it can be extremely daunting to face.

Overall the Land Raider still offers a protection package unparalleled by any lesser vehicle. If you absolutely, positively want to move a big unit across the field and into assault, there’s nothing better. Though it is not a cheap vehicle to field, every Wolf Lord should consider having a few available for their Great Company.

-Guest post by Bill "Dverning" Lewis.

Vindicator Tactics

Vindicator tactics are anything but subtle. About as subtle as a sledge hammer, a Vindicator is the tank of choice for assaulting urban areas and fortifications.

Fielded in a multiple tank formation known as a “Line Breaker” or “Siege Breaker”, the massive Demolisher cannon jutting from their prow is capable of not just cracking open enemy defenses, but leveling them flat with the defenders trapped underneath.

A sturdy Dozer Blade or massive Siege Shield is often mounted to their front to assist in the navigation of the rubble their guns create. These mighty tanks rightfully form the iron point of many Space Wolves attacks.

The primary strength and weakness of the Vindicator is the Demolisher Cannon. It is a massive piece of Ordnance that can reduce the mightiest of targets to a fine mist and crack even the hardest armour.

This fearsome power is balanced out by a short range, Blast template deviation, and the gun being silenced by even a Glancing hit. A heavy front armour helps keep the tank moving and shooting, but their short range also makes Vindies an optimal target for enemy melta weapons.

This huge gun also brings another benefit: Vindicators will get shot at... a lot. They are a fire magnet unmatched by anything else in the same points cost. This makes them an excellent resource for pulling enemy fire away from the rest of your army.

The Vindicator is a wonderfully easy tank to run. It goes at the front of your lines with the heavy front armour facing the enemy. The first turn it moves forward to bring the enemy into range and starts shooting. From there you either continue advancing and shooting against a static enemy or backing up while pounding those foolish enough to come towards you.

OPTIONS
Dozer Blade – Nice
Siege Shield – Even better
Storm Bolter – Gives you two, but this isn’t exceptional
Hunter Killer Missile – Nice if you have the points
Extra Armour – Expensive as you still can’t fire

It is easy to buy a bunch of upgrades for the Vindicator but be warned that the cost can add up fast. A Dozer Blade or Storm Shield is excellent for keeping the tank mobile, but even they are not critical. When in doubt, simplicity is usually the best option.


CONCLUSION

The Vindicator is an excellent assault tank that really compliments the range and style of a Space Wolves army. It likes being close to the enemy, hits hard, dominates the local field and is able to take a hit in return. They can be an excellent core component for fully or semi mechanised lists of any size.

Still, one medium-heavy tank all alone will often find itself the focus of every enemy anti-tank weapon in the area. The key to also getting offensive power out of your Vindicator is to give your opponent problems with target priority. Do this by pushing into their lines with two or even three heavy tanks together. Just match your Vindicator up with one or two Land Raiders, Predators, or additional Vindicators and enjoy the fireworks!

-Guest post by Bill "Dverning" Lewis.

How to Convert Space Wolf Characters

Space Wolf characters are quite easy to convert from plastic. In this simple guide I'm going to show you how to convert Space Wolf characters using components mostly from just 2 boxed sets.

Many of the Space Wolf character models are a nightmare to get hold of, which makes them either extremely rare, very expensive or a bit dated. Most of the character were sculpted in the tail end of 1st edition Warhammer 40K! So it's much easier if you can make your own characters from the plethora of plastic kits available.

You Will Need:
1 Space Wolves squad box
1 Chaos Warriors box

If you want all the fancy bits, you'll also need the frost axe, a head and crux terminatus on a chain from the Space Wolves Terminator box. You'll also need a loin cloth, purity seals, gun holsters and pouches from the regular Space Marine Tactical Squad box.

If you're building a whole Space Wolves army, you should have all these bits anyway, so it's not quite so expensive as it would be. In fact, all you probably need to buy in addition to your collection of bits is the Chaos Warriors box, which makes these characters reasonably affordable if you think about it.

Get Your Bits Together
The first bits you need are a pair of Space Marine legs, a Chaos Warrior torso front and a Chaos Warrior body with cape.

It's also worth gathering a selection of weapons, arms and head. Spare arms are a must for these conversions because the arm holes on the Chaos Warrior body can be very restricting on the poses of your models.

First up, you take the Chaos Warrior body with the legs attached, line your knife up along the underside of the belt and cut a neat, straight line through it. Then tidy up any wibbly edges with your knife.

Don't worry if it's not perfect, the lower bit is going to be covered in accessories to hide a horrible joint anyway.

You may want to be selective about which Chaos Warrior torso you use for which character. I'm going to demonstrate how to make a Wolf Priest, so I've chosen the chest peice with a wolf skull in it.

Next you need to cut the line of plastic out of the Chaos Warrior cloak. You can see from the white marks where I've dug it out with a modelling knife. Cut straight down the sides, then keep cutting out triangles until there's virtually nothing left. Carve the rest out with your knife blade until it's almost flat. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Now you need to glue the front of the Chaos Warrior torso to the Chaos Warrior cloak and glue the Space Marine legs on to a base.

Once these are dry, it's worth holding them together to get an idea of how the body is going to go together and what the cloak is doing. Sometimes you need to chop the arse off the Space Marine legs so the cloak flows straight down and the torso lines up on top of the legs nicely.

Once you're happy with it, glue the two pieces together. It's worth having some parts of the cloak touching the back of the Space Marine legs. It just increases the strength of the model, which is important for someone like me who travels around with their army and plays a lot of games. My miniatures have to be quite robust -hence my preference for plastic.

Once the body is together, it's time to add the arms, head and accessories which will be used to cover that nasty join between the belt and the legs.

This is where the big loin cloth from the Space Marine Tactical Squad box comes in handy along with a large pouch (also trimmed from the tac-squad box) and a wolftail talisman.

I'd better mention that the double-handed Crozius the Wolf Priest is wielding is the double-handed power axe from the Space Wolves box with the axe head chopped off and replaced by a suitably wolf-like skull with wings.

And here's one I made earlier! Now you can see how the loin cloth and other accessories can cover all the nasty bits I don't want you to see. Now you have a use for all those accessories Games Workshop include in their boxed sets!

Once the accessories have been stuck on, you need to add the arms. This is really quite tricky and I...er..'bodged' it a bit and glued on some purity seals to hide the nasty joins. My Wolf Priest actually has two lots of elbow armour. The Chaos Warrior elbows and then the Space Wolf arms glued on from the elbows. Fortunately accessories and a little bit of green stuff can cover this to.

Finally, you need to stick on the Space Marine back pack. It's a little harder than you think, because it needs a flat surface to glue on to.

Hold it up to the back of the cloak (once your model is fully dried) and then cut away the fur on the back of the cloak where you want to glue on the Space Marine backpack. Once you've got a relatively flat surface, glue it on. Obviously the more rounded bit at the top will stick over the lip of the Cloak collar.

Here's my Rune Priest and Wolf Priest from earlier alongside a Wolf Guard Battle leader armed with a pair of wolf claws. I've used a similar technique to make him, but used some different Space Wolves accessories to cover the join between the Chaos Warrior torso and the Space Marine legs. I also gave him some Khorne Bezerker legs to be different.

So there you go. Some simple and effective Space Wolf character conversions.
Have fun, and best of luck with the arms -they're the most difficult part.

Whirlwind Tactics

For any Space Marine army Whirlwind tactics are pretty straightforward. Capable of raining a torrent of steel fragments and fiery death with pinpoint accuracy from miles away, the sturdy Whirlwind tank forms the mainstay of Space Marine artillery.

A conversion of the standard pattern Rhino, it swaps passenger transport for a massive missile battery, tracking systems, and additional ammunition supplies. Every Whirlwind loads both “Vengeance” class fragmentation missiles and “Castellan” class incendiary missiles for optimal target efficiency. These missile barrages are devastating to any enemy caught in their fury; no other tank is so rightly favored for the swarms of an Ork or Tyranid horde.

The Whirlwind is a remarkably simple tank to play. Just find it a decent piece of terrain to hide behind, locate a suitable target, pick your missile of preference and let fire. Often they will go an entire game without ever moving or being targeted. It is worth noting that the battery has a minimum 12” range, but this isn’t usually a problem as the vehicle can move and fire.

Another fun item to remember is that they are a Barrage weapon; cover saves against their shots are drawn from the center of the template. This can surprise many units who thought themselves safe behind a barricade.

OPTIONS
Dozer Blade – Unnecessary
Storm Bolter – Unnecessary
Hunter-Killer Missile – Extra cost, but sometimes worth it
Extra Armour – Unnecessary

The Whirlwind doesn’t have much in the way of options and most of them are too situational to be worth taking. The only option really worth a second look is the Hunter-Killer Missile. It is a great backup shot for anti-tank or other quick punch, but isn’t critical if points are tight. I’d only take it for larger games where it is likely to have a decent target.

CONCLUSION

The Whirlwind suffers from only one major drawback: being Heavy Support. Those vital Force Organization slots are going to be eaten up by more glamorous units such as Long Fangs, Land Raiders, and Predators, especially in larger games. In small games, enemies won’t have as many units, won’t be forced to bunch up as much, Large Blast templates will hit less targets, and the Whirlwind will be less useful.

Though it does offer a significant amount of firepower for how little it costs, they will mainly be chosen due to personal preference, local game factors, or to diversify the composition of a mechanized force.

-Guest post by Bill "Dverning" Lewis.

Land Speeder Tactics

Space Wolves Land Speeder tactics are much more aggressive than that of other Space Marine Chapters. Famed for lighting strikes, daring acrobatics, and complex maneuvers, Land Speeders are adept at hitting the enemy hard and from unexpected quarters.

On the table, a Land Speeder is the lightest and fastest vehicle within the Space Wolf armoury. Sporting a mere Armour Value 10 on all sides, the Speeder is capable of being wounded even by basic armaments. Yet this seeming vulnerability is balanced out by a potent selection of heavy weaponry, being a Fast Skimmer, and the capability to Deep Strike onto the field. Not only can they ignore intervening terrain by flying over it, they can also zip 24” across the field and generate their own 4+ cover save. An excellent harassment or task-oriented unit, Speeders provide a combination of flexibility and mobility unmatched by any other unit.

OPTIONS
Primary Weapon
Heavy Bolter - Decent.
Heavy Flamer - Poorly located for this.
Multi-Melta - An excellent choice.

Secondary Weapon
Heavy Flamer - Not bad for a backup, but not critical.
Heavy Bolter - Great, if your primary is also a HB.
Multi-Melta - Not needed.
Assault Cannon - Too expensive!
Typhoon Missile Launcher - A decent choice.


Land Speeder Squadron 1: 70 points
1 Land Speeder with Multi-Melta and Heavy Flamer

This build is intended to Deep Strike or otherwise enter the board from Reserves. With a main purpose of alpha-striking tanks with the Multi-Melta, anything they do after their first turn is pure gravy. Though a squad of Wolf Scouts with a meltagun can perform a similar role, the Speeder is cheaper, faster, and doesn’t compete for Elites slots. Just in case the enemy didn’t bring me any tanks to shoot, I’ve also taken the backup chin Heavy Flamer for roasting batches of Infantry. This option is one of the most common to be seen as it meshes well with just about any force.

Land Speeder Squadron 2: 180 points
3 Land Speeders with 2x Heavy Bolters each

This is my favorite build of Speeder Squadron: a fast moving firebase designed for eliminating enemy Infantry. They are able to move 6” and still throw out an impressive 18x S5 shots at 36”. Their mobility often allows them to sneak around cover and deny the enemy saves. Their range also allows them to operate outside the range of most squad based weaponry, swinging out to a flank and avoiding the bulk of return fire. Dealing with this threat will often require dedicated anti-tank weaponry, drawing that fire away from your other units. They work best paired with a mechanized force because of this, but can function well in any armies.

Land Speeder Squadron 3: 270 points
3 Land Speeders with Heavy Bolter & Assault Cannon

This type of squadron is similar to the previous, but takes increased cost for increased versatility. The Assault Cannon allows an additional shot and point of Strength over the Heavy Bolter. Additionally, it has the Rending ability, providing a small chance to threaten even the heaviest of tanks. This made it an extremely popular build in 4th edition as the Rend added a d6 of Armour Penetration. Yet in 5th edition, Rending only gives an extra d3. This, the short range of the Assault Cannon, and a change to the basic statline of another weapon has given rise to a new king of Speeders...

Land Speeder Squadron 4: 270 points
3 Land Speeders with Heavy Bolter & Typhoon Missile Launcher

For exactly the same cost, you can arm your Speeders with Typhoon Missile Launchers instead. The Frag Missile will reap heavy casualties on close packed enemies and 6x Krak Missiles can threaten any type of tank. Though you lose that slight chance for Penetrating AV14, you gain the ability to fire from up to twice the range away. This will keep your Speeders alive longer as they won't have to close within range of enemy squad-based weaponry.

Additionally, both weapon systems are mounted high on the vehicle’s hull rather than one being underslung at the chin. A Land Speeder Typhoon placed behind a Rhino will often be able to see and shoot over it at full effect yet gain a cover save from return fire. This makes them a natural choice for a heavily mechanized force. Still, the increase of cost and fragility when unprotected make them questionable in smaller points games and/or with footslogging armies."


CONCLUSION

It is important to note that Speeder Squadrons will work better in an army heavy in Rhinos or Razorbacks, to benefit from target saturation of the “light” AV10-11 range. Though this is a common choice for some Wolf Lords, the versatility of the Space Wolf Codex supports many strong builds that are not to this pattern.

Land Speeders also suffer from the same onus as Fenrisian Wolves: the competition for Fast Attack slots. Thunderwolf Cavalry and others vie strongly for that limelight.

As they lack any “Space Wolf flavour”, I doubt many Wolf Lords are going to be particularly inspired by this little machine. Still, if you find your forces needing that extra little bit of mobility or punch, Land Speeders are very well balanced in terms of cost to effect. I don’t expect them to be a very common choice, but they might be just the right thing for you.

-Guest post by Bill "Dverning" Lewis.