"I don't care what it is, just kill it!"

Normally we don't talk about Warhammer Fantasy here at the Space Wolves blog. Heck, we don't even acknowledge Warhammer Fantasy in real life! It's just 'that other game' that none of us play. 40K is the way forward.

But, there's no denying that Warhammer Fantasy is producing some truly horrific monsters. When I saw the Hell Pit Abomination my jaw hit the floor.

Horrific. Awesome. Insane.

Finally, something worthy for my Space Wolves to slay!

I can't wait for a Chaos Marines or Daemons player to convert it into their Great Unclean One or Daemon Prince.

I'm sure Wayland Games will have it available to order soon.

James has been trying to talk me into building a small Nurgle army all Christmas.
He says it'd give me a break from the Space Wolves in the same way his Thousand Sons give him a break from his Dark Angels.

I think the Hell Pit Abomination just gave me a gentle nudge and some horrific conversion ideas...

...but I'll focus on the Space Wolves first!

Furious Flashback

We look back in anger at the best batreps from the past year and recall our hard fought games and victorious slaughters.

A heck of a lot has happened in a year!

Brad took the plunge into leapt into the tournament scene, getting his arse kicked at the start, but gradually fine tuned his Space Wolves into a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile Alex joined the blog and showed us the cheesier side of the Space Wolves, like how to run 3 Rune Priests and use Land Speeders to plug the gaps in the army structure.

Finally, my own Space Wolves progressed from a bunch of drunken hooligans running forward en masse into a coordinated army of advancing Grey Hunters and Long Fangs lending long ranged support which won me 3rd place at the highly competitive Battle Of The Chumps tournament.

It's been a real roller coaster ride and with our sights set on new pre-heresy themed Space Wolves armies for 2011, we're excited to see what our second year with the Space Wolves will bring.

So in the meantime, Brad and I have picked our Top 5 games of 2010.

Click on the images to read each battle report.

For all of our games, check out the full list of Space Wolves Battle Reports.

Imperial Guard
The toughest game I ever played. Turn 1 he opened fire and left my army in tatters.

Even after some truly disastrous dice rolls, I was still able to give me opponent a run for his money.

Or did I just cling on to the objectives and sell the lives of my men dearly?

The stakes were upped when a friend passing by told me that I was battling for 3rd Place at the Battle Of The Chumps.

Despite a failed charge that could have cost me the game, the Space Wolves pulled through, earning a bloody victory with casualties piled high on both sides.

Space Wolves 13th Company
Hot Space Wolf on Space Wolf action! This was one of the most enjoyable games I ever played.

Our armies were locked in combat from Turn 2, which took up so much time, we had to agree to end the game on Turn 5 before the timer ran out.

My opponent was a great laugh and had the same gung ho attitude with the Space Wolves as I did, although our armies were very different.

I've been tempted to field Arjack Rockfist ever since he held up 2 units of my Grey Hunters in this game.

With our armies in tatters by Turn 4, the game turned into a desperate rush for objectives.

Thousand Sons
This Space Wolves VS Thousand Sons was pretty close! As the heroes of might and magic clashed and horrific casualties were inflicted on both sides, there could only be one winner!

This was a fun little 1000pts game between James and myself as a warm up for the BOTCH tournament.

The game was a tough one. If the Space Wolves could get into close combat, the Thousand Sons would be ripped apart. But if the Space Wolves lost their transports and had to advance into open ground the sheer torrent of AP3 inferno bolter fire would slaughter them all.

Using a piece of irresistible bait (aka: the juicy bone), I encouraged James to split his forces, depleting his firepower in one area, allowing my Space Wolves to get stuck in without sustaining too many casualties.

Blood Angels
Brad faces the Blood Angels for the very first time. Back then all-assault squad Blood Angel armies were all the rage. In fact, we recommended a cheap Blood Angels jump pack army ourselves.

A sneaky deployment using Long Fangs as bait to split his opponent's army allows Brad to overwhelm the Blood Angels with superior numbers in key battlefield positions.

The Blood Angels charge in, inflicting massive casualties and being cut down in return, but with their forces divided and their momentum lost, the tide turns in favour of the Space Wolves.

In the final round of Turn 7, with both armies in tatters, the Space Wolves gun down the last two Blood Angels, winning the game and claiming all objectives!

Imperial Guard Mechanised
Faced against a rather nice looking Imperial Guard mechanised army with too many Chimeras in a Dawn Of War battle, Brad's Space Wolves find themselves advancing on foot as their transports are reduced to twisted, burning wrecks.

In a display of tactical foot slogging, the Space Wolves advance up the field with Grey Hunters laying down covering fire before getting to grips with the Imperial Guard up close and personal.

By the end of the game, the battlefield is littered ruined bodies and blazing wreckage. It's a costly victory for the Space Wolves...or is it?

Next Year at the Space Wolves Blog:
What a blast 2010 has been! We've played more games than we can remember and had a great time doing it.

We'd like to thank you all for your continuing support for the blog and the Space Wolves army. Especially to the guys who have stuck with us right from the start, long before the 5th edition Space Wolves Codex was even a rumour.

So what do we have in store for 2011: Well, how does more of the same sound?
We're going to carry on doing what we do best and that's painting, conversions, battle reports, tactics and general Warhammer 40K fandom at its best.

But you can also look forward to seeing more on pre heresy era Space Wolves, an exciting Space Wolves wallpaper for your desktop, forum avatar pictures, internet resources and a Battle Of The Fang campaign with battle reports.

See you in the new year!

Wolf Scouts with Sniper Rifles

I've been thinking about a small 5 man Wolf Scout pack with sniper rifles recently. In fact, they could work a heck of a lot better than the current 5 Wolf Scouts with melta gun load out.

The problem with Wolf Scouts is that they're a melta-cide unit. Aka: Fire melta gun and die!

Either they miss what they're shooting at, hit it and blow it up and/or get stuck into close combat. Whatever happens, they die like dogs.

Although sometimes, if your Behind Enemy Lines roll is bad, they get stranded for the whole game. In rare instances, they blow something up... then get stranded in the enemy deployment zone for the rest of the game.

So how about making them more versatile with some Sniper Rifles!

Now you can choose to send them to their deaths with a bit of meltacide. Or you can infiltrate them into some woods (don't forget that have the Scout ability too!) and use them as Snipers with BS4 compared to the regular Space Marine Scouts BS3. They also get Acute Senses and Counter Attack, even if they have to give up one of their weapons for the Sniper Rifle.

Wait, how you can you have a melta gun and a sniper rifle?
Glad you asked!

Give them all sniper rifles for +3pts each.
These replace their close combat weapons.

Give 1 a melta gun for +10pts. This replaces his bolt pistol.

See what I did there?

So now you've got the regular 5 Wolf Scouts with a melta gun, but for + 15pts, they all got sniper rifles, allowing you to field them in a choice of 2 roles for your games.

They were 85pts but now come to a nice round 100pts.

I'm going to build another 5 man Wolf Scout pack, but with tiny magnets drilled into their backs, then get some Sniper Rifles from Heresy Miniatures and fit these with tiny magnets too. Then I can just clip the rifles on and off as I need them, provided I have the points.

What do you guys think? Or are Wolf Scouts simply not worth taking when Land Speeders are better for the points in this game of mechanised armies?

The Fang

An illustration of the Space Wolves mountain fortress The Fang has popped up online amongst a number of sketches by Chris Wraight for his book Battle Of The Fang.

There's also a very rough campaign map, but we'll just focus on the exciting bits for now.

For anyone who didn't have the 2nd edition Space Wolves Codex, here's a quick synopsis of the book and a Space Wolf history lesson:

"It is M32, a thousand years after the Horus Heresy. The Scouring is over and the Imperium at the height of its post-Crusade power. When Magnus the Red is tracked down to Gangava Prime, the Space Wolves hasten to engage the daemon primarch. Even as Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm closes on his ancient enemy, the Fang on the Space Wolves home world is besieged by a massive force of Thousand Sons. A desperate battle ensues as the skeleton forces of Wolf Lord Vaer Greylock attempt to hold back the attacking hosts before the last of his meagre defences gives in. Though a single Scout ship survives to summon Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm back to Fenris, none of the defenders truly realise the full scale the horror that awaits them, nor what the Battle for the Fang will cost them all."

The FangThe Fang, drawn by Chris Wraight seperates the Space Wolves fortress into 5 sections while highlighting 9 key rooms.

Valgard: includes rooms 9 and 3 as well as South facing docking platforms and void shield array.
Jarlheim: includes room 1 and South facing defensive batteries
The +cannot decipher+: includes entrances 7 and 8
The Hammerhold: includes rooms 2, 4 and 5
The Underfang: includes room 6

Note how the docking platforms, void shield array and defensive batteries have been placed on the South facing side of the mountain. Meanwhile The Fang's North face seems vacant, but for a single entrance.

I assume this is to do with the extreme weather conditions on Fenris, with the North face taking the full brunt of blizzards and scorching sun while anything in the shadow of the mountain (the South face) is protected. We'll just have to read the book and see.

Here's a list of the various rooms. I'll leave you to ponder what they could all be.

1] The Fangthane
2] Borek's Seal
3] Chamber of the Annhleui
4] Forges
5] Halls of the Relexes Fallen
6] Geothermal Reactors
7] Sunrirng Gate
8] Bloodfire Gate
9] Fleshmaker Laboratorium

Personally, I like the idea of the fortress being powered by the geo thermals (6) rising from the firey heart of Fenris itself.

In the meantime, I'll have a chat to my gaming buddy James. I feel it's time for a historical re-enactment or two between my Space Wolves and his Thousand Sons!

I'd better start thinking of a Bjorn The Fell Handed conversion...

Top 5 Space Wolves Units

What are the best Space Wolves units? Read our top 5 and fine tune your Space Wolves army to be most cost, effective and competitive!

Lately I've seen some pretty god awful Space Wolves armies. I'm not talking about Razorback spam, because by now everyone will have realised that a 5 Grey Hunter pack gets torn apart fairly easy. Not to mention that the sheer number of units will have you throwing away kill points.

But I degress.

I'm seeing lots of Dreadnoughts. Stormclaws and even Swiftclaws. Why would you even inflict these units on your army?

Okay, I'm being harsh about the Dreadnoughts, because they're very characterful, even if the points could be spent far better elsewhere. The only reason I'd take a Dreadnought in this Codex is for a plasma cannon...and I'm not really dying to field a plasma cannon right now.

Don't even get me started on Wolf Scouts. Lots of people like them, but ultimately, they're a bit naff. For the same points you could have a lascannon Razorback. I'll take the Razorback for long game results thanks.

The Best Space Wolves Units
So, having slated a fair chunk of the Space Wolves Codex, you're probably wondering what the best Space Wolves units are.

1#: Rune Priests

We always knew Rune Priests were awesome, but hands down they are one of the best HQ units in the game. With access to 2 excellent powers, 4+ psychic power shut down with 24" and a force weapon that wounds Daemons on a 2+, they're pretty tasty. To top it all off, they can take heroic upgrades from Wolf Tooth Necklaces to Saga of The Beast Slayer, making them very cost effective all-rounders.

Best Powers: Murderous Hurricane, Jaws Of The World Wolf, Living Lightning.

2#: Grey Hunters

Disgustingly underpriced. Grey Hunters form the back bone of any Space Wolves army.

Taking a Wolf Standard is compulsory, as is the Mark Of The Wulfen. Finally, a melta gun for firing out the top hatch of a Rhino is essential.

Grey Hunters should always be led by a Wolf Guard for a Leadership boost, cheap Power Fist and one-shot combi-melta.

Of course, the 5-man pack in a Razorback (preferably with twin linked lascannon) to claim the home objective is also a good choice, but not as a mainstay template for a Troops choice in an army that's likely to get in close and take some casualties.

3#: Long Fangs

Also disgustingly cheap for what they are -and you can have 6 of them!

Give them all missile launchers and a Razorback transport with a lascannon and sit them in terrain all game.

First casualty should always be the Sergeant. Splitting fire is only applicable when some of your guys can't see the main target and might as well get a sneaky shot at something else. Awesome for the points and better than most heavy weapon teams thanks to Counter-Charge.

4#: Wolf Guard

Essential squad leaders for larger Grey Hunter packs; Wolf Guard are best armed with combi-melta and powerfist. If you're going to run a pack of them, they should always be in terminator armour with a mixture of combi-weapons, power weapons, wolf claws and powerfists. While often overlooked, Wolf Guard Terminators are excellent over 1500pts, but you do need a Land Raider to get them where they need to be. Simply think of them as superior Grey Hunters in a bigger tank and you can't go wrong!

5#: Land Speeders

The humble Land Speeder. They rarely survive to see the end of a game. With their speed, Heavy Flamer and Multi Melta, a Land Speeder zooming down each flank can cause a real headache for your opponent who often won't be able to bring enough firepower to bear to bring down both the Land Speeders and slow your advance. Fly them in close, blast apart very expensive tanks with their Multi Meltas, then be as much of a nuisance as possible! Despite their poor armour, they can soak up a lot of firepower which could otherwise be blasting your Grey Hunter Rhinos apart and stranding your Space Wolves.


CONCLUSION
If your army doesn't include a Rune Priest (or three!), Land Speeders or even some Wolf Guard Terminators in a Land Raider, then you're really missing out.

Although I expect that most people won't have tried the Wolf Guard yet, having been tempted by the more whacky choices in the Space Wolves Codex.

These 5 units are the stars of the show and form an essential rock in any Space Wolves army. Build your Space Wolves army with nothing but these high performance units and you've got a very competitive army to play with...once you get used to playing it and figuring out some strategies of course.

But wait...

What About Thunderwolves?
Well, what about them? I never rated them since day 1 of the new Codex. They're simply too susceptable to gettng shot. Any player worth his salt can lay down a withering fire and slaughter them before they get to charge.

In the past we've talked about keeping them in reserve, so that they can potentially storm 24" on and into close combat with the enemy. But to be honest, the enemy aren't likely to get that far across the board in the early stages of the game.

Wolf Lords riding Thunderwolves and leading packs of Fenrisian Wolves are a nice idea, but they're expensive and unless you're going to put 600+ points in reserve, they force your army to charge forward in the same way that Blood Claws suck.

Whie Thunderwolves may occassionally shine and slaughter all before them, your points are always better spent on more consistent units which are guaranteed to perform admirably in every game.

However you choose to play your Space Wolves, you will find units that you love and units that you loathe. But with constant practice and fine tuning, there's no mission you can't complete and no army you cannot beat!

On Foot, Like Russ Intended

Ive been asked numerous times about the “All On Foot” army lists. Now 1 Problem we have always had is vulnerability to long range firepower, more so from guard armies, and perhaps now even the new Dark Eldar. To that end I have always suggested never to take an army on foot.

This has changed, now with the new Faq. Saga of the hunter is a great new thing, which all wolf players can now take full advantage on. Here is a 1750pt army I have thought up of due to these changes, and hopefully will take your fancy:

Wolf Priest: 110pts
Saga of the hunter.

Rune Priest: 100pts
Storm Caller, Tempest Wrath.
15 Blood Claws: 250pts
1 Power Weapon & 2 Flamers.
+
Wolf Guard with Power Fist & Combi-melta: 43pts

This will form the frontal assault. 18 bodies rushing towards your opponent. Spread this unit out infront of the rest of your army to give them a cover save (as your opponent will have to shoot through this unit first). Now, with storm caller, even in the open this squad has a 4+ cover save. If half the squad is behind or in cover, they are getting a 3+ cover save. Pretty handy if you ask me.

Next we will need some Grey hunters to for the spear head assault to back up the blood claws assault:

10 Grey Hunters: 180pts
2 Meltaguns, Banner, Mark of the wulfen.
+Wolf Guard with Power fist & Combi-melta: 43pts

3 units of these come to 659pts. Total so far is 1172pts, leaving us with 578pts. Now from here I would personally suggest some Long fangs and wolf scouts. However, I would really push people to try their own units to supplement the 51 marines rushing forward. Perhaps some Lone wolves or even 2 small units of Thunderwolves. Whatever you fancy, as long as it hits hard.
Now, onto my own variation. Next I will take 2 units of Long fangs, as they are great & reliable anti-tank, and go well with the whole “All On Foot” theme. Ill take some missiles and plasma cannons to give me some useful anti-meq and to throw some templates on any terminators which might try to smash their way through our battle lines:

6 Long Fangs: 150pts
3 Rocket Launchers & 2 Plasma Cannons.

2 of these bad boys costs us 300pts, leaving us with 268pts. These lay down the hurt from afar, supplying your army with useful and sufficient long ranged firepower.
Time for some scouts! Now usually I would take small units and just throw them behind enemy lines and pop a tank. But seeing as we need to reliably assist our force on foot, I suggest taking them a little more geared for combat:

6 Wolf Scouts: 115pts
Meltagun, Mark of the wulfen
+Wolf Guard with Combi-melta: 23pts

Now as you can see, they just aren’t as threatening as I originally planed. Although there are 2 units, they just arnt much of a threat. So instead, I suggest dropping 2 of the blood claws and a flamer to accommodate the scouts, giving us 35pts to play with. This should allow 1 of the wolf guards to take a power fist, and the other a wolf claw.

Now, the army should now look like this:

Wolf Priest: 110pts
Saga of the hunter.
Rune Priest: 100pts
Storm Caller, Tempest Wrath.

6 Wolf Guard: 253pts
5 with Combi-meltas & Power Fists.
1 with Combi-melta & Wolf Claw.

13 Blood Claws: 215pts
1 Power Weapon & 1 Flamer.

10 Grey Hunters: 180pts
2 Meltaguns, Banner, Mark of the wulfen.

10 Grey Hunters: 180pts
2 Meltaguns, Banner, Mark of the wulfen.

10 Grey Hunters: 180pts
2 Meltaguns, Banner, Mark of the wulfen.

6 Wolf Scouts: 115pts
Meltagun, Mark of the wulfen

6 Wolf Scouts: 115pts
Meltagun, Mark of the wulfen

6 Long Fangs: 150pts
3 Rocket Launchers & 2 Plasma Cannons.

6 Long Fangs: 150pts
3 Rocket Launchers & 2 Plasma Cannons.

Total: 1750pts

That gives us 75 marines on foot, all sorts of sizes and threats.

Plenty of melta to really scare your opponent away. Lots of bodies to literally liter the board with marines, which should really scare the pants off your opponent. You have decent long range firepower & the scouts should really threaten your opponent from behind. Blood claws give your hunters a cover save, and the storm caller will provide your blood claws with a cover save aswell (4+ due to saga of the hunter from the wolf priest).

Tactics come hand in hand. Dawn of war will be the biggest pain. If you win initiative I suggest taking first turn, so you can push up as fast as possible. Even if you don't get first turn, deploy those blood claws with the priest in a solid possition so that they are on the board ready, deployed in cover for a steady 3+ cover.

Spearhead is your friend, unless your opponent is clever and deploys right back in the corner. Make sure you try and interlink those grey hunters so that some meltaguns are facing the front, as some armies may try to ram your units. having meltas up front allows you to death or glory when needed. Not many armies expect this many 3+ armour bodies. Guard with their Hydras, vendettas etc will quake, as they wont be able to handle that many bodies.

Remember that your scouts don't always need to deploy via BEL'S. They can infiltrate then scout, to gain good ground. They are gret for stopping your opponent scouting first, or stop infiltrators getting too close i.e. genstealers & vendettas etc.

Let me know what you guys think and remember to push forward and never give up. This isnt precicely a finese army, and its rather slow. You wont be doing much on turns 1 & 2 except moving forward and putting down some rocket/plasma shots, so keep at it. The game will take a huge turn once you reach your opponents lines, and with that many grey hunters/bloodclaws etc. it wont be an easy fight for your opponent.

Any requests or questions, feel free to contact me on alexflyf@hotmail.co.uk

-Killswitch

Lukas The Trickster in "A Barrell of Laughs" Batrep

Lukas The Trickster turns a simple Space Wolves battle report into complete anarchy in the adventure "A Barrell of Laughs".

Having just played a very close battle between my Space Wolves and James' Ravenwing (batrep coming soon!), we got chatting about the game in general. Then James suddenly asked out of the blue "Have you got Lukas The Trickster?"

Ironically, I've never played him, even though he was the 2nd Space Wolf I ever painted for my army.

Yes, I had him, but I'd always felt that he was a waste of points that could be better spend on Long Fangs or Land Speeders. But having just given James a sound thrashing, I thought "What the heck?"

So I threw down my friendly Space Wolves list with some modifications, while James threw down his 1500pts Deathwing army.

Neither of these are serious tournament winning lists. They're just good fun.

1500pts Deathwing Army
Belial with storm bolter and master crafted power sword
+5 terminators, assault cannon, chain fist

Librarian with terminator armour and Hellfire and Force Barrier
+5 terminators, assault cannon, chain fist

5 terminators, assault cannon, chain fist
5 terminators, cyclone
5 terminators, cyclone

1500pts Lukas The Trickster Space Wolves
Wolf Priest with wolf tooth necklace, saga of the hunter, runic armour
Lukas The Trickster
Wolf Guard in terminator armour with combi-melta and chainfist
14 Blood Claws with 2 melta guns

Wolf Guard with combi-melta and powerfist
7 Grey Hunters with melta gun, wolf standard, mark of the wulfen
+ Rhino APC

Wolf Guard with combi-melta and powerfist
7 Grey Hunters with melta gun, wolf standard, mark of the wulfen
+ Rhino APC

Wolf Guard with combi-melta and powerfist
7 Grey Hunters with melta gun, wolf standard, mark of the wulfen
+ Rhino APC

Wolf Guard in terminator armour with cyclone missile launcher
6 Long Fangs with 5 missile launchers
+ Razorback APC with twin linked lascannon

SET UP:
We rolled for mission and set up, getting Capture & Control with a Dawn of War deployment.

James won the roll off, opting to go first (he had a cunning plan) and placed his Beer Barrell objective top right in some ruins.

I wanted to keep the battle fairly close ranged, so placed mine directly opposite 24" away, on the edge of some ruins.

James then deployed 2 Terminators squads. One top right and one in the centre.

Meanwhile I deployed the Blood Claws led by the Wolf Priest, Wolf Guard and that unsavoury roustabout, Lukas The Trickster in the ruins to the right.

To their left, was an empty Rhino transport.

Now I had to wait for James' first turn and the arrival of 2 of his 3 remaining terminator units via Deathwing Assault.

TURN 1:
Deathwing Master Belial and his squad deep strike North West of the barricade with autocannon anti-aircraft turret. This barricade effectively become the centre of the battlefield.

Meanwhile the Librarian leading another Deathwing squad deep strike directly North of the barricade. Both land bang on target.

The entire Deathwing army opens fire on the Rhino and Blood Claws, many of them unable to find a target in the darkness until Dawn begins on Turn 2.

The Space Wolves army arrives, but for the lone Wolf Guard in terminator armour with cyclone missile launcher...because I forgot to put him on. We agree that he can go into reserve instead.

The Blood Claws run towards the barricade, hugging cover.

A pack of Grey Hunters marches into the board and embarks into the empty Rhino, which then speeds forward 12", up to the edge of the barricade and fires its smoke launchers.

Two more Rhinos full of Grey Hunters speed on, as does a Razorback who fires its smoke launchers before the Long Fangs inside get out and run into the cover of the ruins and take up firing positions for the rest of the game.

TURN 2:
The Deathwing fall back and form a firing line. Krak missiles slam into Rhino transports with little effect, while storm bolter and assault cannon fire rake the advancing Blood Claws, killing 5 of the ferocious Space Wolves.

The Space Wolves press the attack with the Blood Claws running up the field, towards the top right Beer Barrell, closely followed by a pack of Grey Hunters in their Rhino who hastily disembark to rapid fire the Deathwing Terminators, but inflict no casualties.

The other two packs of Grey Hunters begin to establish a foothold in the barricades with one disembarked pack of Space Wolves using their own Rhino to block line of sight and shield them from two of the Deathwing squads.

The Long Fangs launch a salvo of krak missiles to no effect, meanwhile their Razorback slays a single Deathwing terminator to the left.

The lone Wolf Guard walks on and takes cover behind a building before killing another with deadly accurate fire from his storm bolter and cyclone missile launcher.

TURN 3:
The Deathwing hold position and keep firing. Meanwhile the terminators top right, claiming the Beer Barrell fall back, firing.

Between them they kill 6 Blood Claws.

Led by Lukas The Trickster, the Wolf Priest and Wolf Guard, the 2 remaining Blood Claws charge into close combat! The Deathwing terminators are torn to shreds...all for 1 who passes all 3 of his 5+ invulnerable saves. Meanwhile the Grey Hunters alongside them continue to advance.

Two Grey Hunter packs occupy the barricades in the centre and open fire on Belial and his terminator squad with 28 bolter shots and 2 melta gun blasts, as well as 4 shots from the Rhino storm bolters. 1 Terminator falls.

The Long Fangs fire another krak missile salvo into the Librarian and his squad, but fail to kill any of them. Finally, their Razorback cuts down one of the terminators with its twin linked lascannon.

From behind the cover of a building the lone Wolf Guard continues to fire, but this time his weapons have no effect.

TURN 4:
The 5th Deathwing terminator squad arrives from reserve and Deep Strikes right behind my Long Fangs. I knew this was going to happen, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Fortunately, one of my Grey Hunter packs was just a short Rhino ride away.

The terminators open fire on the Long Fangs, killing two of them, but it's enough to cause them to break and run right off the board. I rolled a double 6 for their Leadership and then another double 6 for their fall back move -doh!

North of the barricade the Librarian leads an attack on Lukas The Trickster, the Wolf Priest, terminator Wolf Guard and a single Blood Claw.

The Librarian and his squad cut them all down (while passing an insane number of 5+ invulnerable saves!) leaving just Lukas, surrounded.

The Space Wolves begin their tactical withdrawal. The Grey Hunter packs in the centre barricade, get back into their Rhino APCs and speed away. The one to the North speeds towards the top right objectives, while the one of the South speeds towards the bottom right objective, currently claimed by the newly arrived Deathwing terminators.

The razorback fires its lascannon, killing one of the nearby terminators.

Then all eyes turn to the combat between Lukas the Trickster, the Dark Angels Librarian and 4 Deathwing Terminators.

Because of his Cloak Of The Duppelgangrel, the Librarian fails to land a single blow on Lukas who in turn wounds the Librarian once, twice, thrice! Then James rolls a trio of dice, passing every one of his 5+ invulnerable saves.
Now it's time for the Deathwing terminators and their powerfists. They seem to have no problem battering Lukas The Trickster into a bloody pulp!

Surrounded by 5 hulking figures, Lukas' stasis bomb detonates with his dying breath...

I roll a 4 and James rolls a 5. Damn it! Had I equalled or beaten his score, all 4 terminators and his Librarian would have been trapped in stasis forever with Lukas.

With everything to play for the game continued and the Librarian and his terminator squad swept towards to the top right objective currently held by 2 packs of Grey Hunters in Rhinos.

TURN 5:
Realising two of his terminator squads are miles away from the objectives and the Space Wolves have left him in the dust, James advances Belial and his squad to the North and the other squad to the South who gun down the lone Wolf Guard with a lucky burst of storm bolter fire.

The Librarian leads his squad into the top right ruins, immobilising one of the Grey Hunter Rhinos with their assault cannon, before charging the vehicle and ripping it apart with their powerfists.

The Grey Hunters disembark out the back of the transport and pass their pinning test.

At the bottom right objective the Deathwing terminators open fire on the approaching Grey Hunter Rhino. The assault cannon rounds simply patter off its armoured front.

Suddenly the Librarian and his squad are surrounded as the second Grey Hunter pack disembarks and the two packs charge through the terrain, inspired by their Wolf Standards.

The ferocious mob of 16 Space Wolves took a handful of casualties as they quickly cut down the Deathwing terminators and quickly surrounded the Librarian who was now on a single wound.

At the bottom right objective, the Grey Hunter pack disembarked from their transport, marching towards the terminators in cover and fired their melta weaponry. The terminators went to ground, saving them from the melta blasts and the sweeping beams of the Razorback's twin linked lascannon.

The Grey Hunters declared the use of their Wolf Standard...then failed to charge into cover due to the difficult terrain. At least the terminators had Gone to Ground and wouldn't be able to shoot them this turn.

Meanwhile the Rhino moved to block line of sight from the advancing terminators to the west of the barricade in the centre.

TURN 6:
The Deathwing started running towards the objectives, but it was all too late now.

The Librarian was cut down and the Grey Hunters embarked into the one remaining Rhino while the Grey Hunters who had sustained the most casualties waited in the ruins...just within range to claim the objective, but hopefully be out of charge range of Belial and his squad should the game go on for another turn.

At the bottom right objective, the Grey Hunters and Razorback opened fire once more, killing two of the terminators before charging in and finishing the job up close and personal.

We rolled for another turn...and the game ended.

Space Wolves: 2 Beer Barrells
Dark Angels: A serving of hard cheese

CONCLUSION
Lukas The Trickster didn't get The Last Laugh, but the Space Wolves did win the game. If only I'd rolled a little higher, James would have lost 4 Deathwing Terminators and his Librarian to Lukas' stasis bomb, which would have pretty much won me the game right then and there and made Lukas worth his points, having taken 240 points to hell with him.

Would I take Lukas again? -Not when I can better spend 155 points elsewhere on more cost effective characters of even a pair of Land Speeders. Also, the Blood Claws are a terrible unit and eat up a lot of points which could also be better spent elsewhere.

In terms of strategy, I knew that the Deathwing would just keep falling back and shooting as I advanced, so with this in mind, I advanced the two Grey Hunter packs into the centre, pushing the Terminators back.

Anyway, he'd have been mad to charge 16 Grey Hunters in cover with no frag grenades. That's before I even declared use of the Wolf Standards -which I would have, to make sure he died quickly.

In the following turn I was able to get back in the Rhinos and fall back to the objectives, leaving his 2 Terminator squads and Character to slowly run after them. Having held him back for a turn, he had little hope of reaching both objectives.

Anyway, it was a fun game and Lukas The Trickster is quite a fun character too!

Finally, having Saga of the Hunter on the Wolf Priest leading the Blood Claws was nice, but it made me want to hug cover too much, which isn't an effective mindset for a 'get in close combat as fast as possible' kind of unit. Definitely better for a unit like the Grey Hunters who tend to spend their life in cover.

Stay tuned for more Space Wolves batreps!

Getting Back Into Warhammer 40K

Hi, I'm Scott and I'm just getting back into Warhammer 40k after 12 years out.

Here's what I've come up with some far, but there are points left over in my 1750 point army, and can't decide which option to go with from the list below - any suggestions would be welcome!

UNIT 1
15 Blood Claws - 2 Flamers, Power Weapon
Wolf Priest - plasma pistol (on model unfortunately), wolftooth necklace, melta bombs, runic armour
Rune Priest - chooser of the slain, wolftooth necklace, wolf tail talisman, master of the runes with storm caller and living lightning
Razorback - extra armour, TL assault cannon (obviously riding empty)
* have had a few people suggest against BCs but want to give them a shot at least once

UNITS 2
9 Grey Hunters - meltagun, power weapon, wolf standard, mark of wulfen
Wolf Guard Pack Leader - powerfist
Rhino

UNITS 3+4
2x5 Grey Hunters
2xRazorback - extra armour (to keep laying down heavy bolter fire)

UNIT 5
Long Fang Squad Leader
5 Long Fangs with 3xMissle Launchers, 2xHeavy Bolters
Wolf Guard Pack Leader - Terminator Armour (to give some extra protection)
Razorback - extra armour, TL assault cannon (obviously riding empty)

2x Land Speeder Tornados - heavy flamer, multimelta

TOTAL: 1597 points (with 4 Razorbacks and 1 Rhino)

Any suggestions on what to use the extra 153 points on?



Hi Scott and welcome back to Warhammer 40K. I hope you haven't bought most of this stuff yet, because I'm going to be quite brutal with you.

I'm going to run through everything you've listed, give you a list of articles to go and read (these are all off the side bar anyway) and then an army list.

Your Units:
I would not advise taking Blood Claws. They're a good laugh for fun games though, which is what you'll be playing if you're just coming back into the game.

The Wolf Priest has far too much equipment. You're better running him 100pts straight out of the Codex and any wargear and skills should be bought if you've got points left over.

The Rune Priest also has waay too much junk. 100pts straight out of the codex. Wargear if you have point to spare.

Small Grey Hunter packs die. I have 1 pack of 5 with a melta gun in a Razorback with twin linked lascannon to sit back. Otherwise you should be running optimised 8 man Grey Hunter packs in Rhinos to go forward and beat face or hold points further up the field.
Power weapon OR Mark of the Wulfen. Both isn't worth it.

All Razorbacks should have twin linked lascannons (if you can afford them) or las/plas. The twin linked assault cannon isn't good enough and the army needs as many mobile lascannons as you can get.

Every Grey Hunter or Blood Claw squad should be led by a Wolf Guard.
Every Wolf Guard should have a combi-melta and power fist.

Long Fangs are best armed with missile launchers. Lots of missile launchers! I used to run a Wolf Guard with cylcone with them, but found that they need the Razorback to get them into position when they can't set up in terrain and this leave the Wolf Guard wandering around on his own. For the same points you could get a Land Speeder instead, which would be a better investment.

Landspeeders with heavy flamer + multimelta = good!

Go Read:
You've got some serious reading to do my friend! Read through these articles before taking the list below. Some of these need minor tweaks, because they were written in 2009, but they'll help you to understand why I'm recommending certain builds and recommend playing them in a certain way.

Blood Claw Tactics
Wolf Guard Tactics
Grey Hunter Tactics
Long Fang Tactics

If you've got some time after reading all these, then I suggest reading through all of the Space Wolves battle reports for ideas of strategy against different armies.

Finally, never tailor your list to beat 1 army. You need 1 strong list to take on all comers.

1750pts Space Wolves Army:
As you love your Blood Claws, I've done a list that includes them.
Identify a target early in the game and run your Blood Claws at it. Don't start running in different directions, or you'll never get them into close combat.


Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter (blood claws)

Wolf Guard:
1 Wolf Guard in terminator armour with Combi Melta and Chainfist (blood claws)
3 Wolf Guard with Combi Melta and Powerfist (grey hunters)

Blood Claw Pack:
15 Blood Claws, 2 Melta guns

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

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

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

Grey Hunter Pack:
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Mark of Wulfen
Razorback APC with twin linked lascannon

Land Speeder:
Multimelta and Heavy Flamer

Long Fangs Pack:
1 sergeant, 5 Long Fangs with Missile Launchers
Razorback APC with twin linked lascannon

Long Fangs Pack:
1 sergeant, 5 Long Fangs with Missile Launchers
Razorback APC with twin linked lascannon

Advice for Beginners
Obviously, read the articles about each unit in your army (there are loads more on the right side bar), get a rough idea of the strategy behind each one and the army as a cohesive whole -then get some games in!

Don't worry yourself with objectives so early on in your gaming. You're playing Space Wolves -an army of cold blooded killers. So learn to kill and kill well. You can get all 'strategic' later.

Have fun and let us know how you get on!

How Many Melta Bombs Do the Job?

When your heavy weapons aren't effective, you need to use melta bombs as a last resort, but how many melta bombs do the job?

It seems to be a common question, which could lead me to believe that many people simply aren't taking enough heavy weapons.

The other problem is that melta bombs simply aren't as a common as they used to be...unless you've got some Imperial Guard with Demolitions of course.

Either way, I've put my Mathammer cap on to figure out how many melta bombs you need to ensure the destruction of a transport, big tank or dreadnought.

Melta Bombs VS Transports
The rear armour of transports is typically 10. So once you get a melta bomb stuck on there, it tears through the armour like a hot frizbee through butter!

But, sticking it on it the tough part.

You need 4+ to hit if the vehicle is moving.
You need 6+ to hit if the vehicle is moving fast.
You hit automatically if the vehicle is stationary.

So, if the vehicle is moving, you need (statistically) 2 melta bomb attacks.

If the vehicle is moving fast, you need (statistically) 6 melta bomb attacks.

If the vehicle is stationary, then 1 melta bomb attack is all you need.

Melta Bombs VS Dreadnoughts
Trying to tag a Dreadnought with a melta bomb, is just like trying to stick a melta bomb on to a fast moving vehicle.

So you'll need 6 melta bomb attacks to ensure a hit.

In the meantime, the melta bomb should tear through the Dreadnought's armour of 12 or 13 with relative ease.

Melta Bombs VS Land Raider
But what can melta bombs do against big tanks like the Land Raider with their armour 14 all round?

Once again,you need 4+ to hit if the vehicle is moving.
You need 6+ to hit if the vehicle is moving fast.
You hit automatically if the vehicle is stationary.

However, now you need to not only hit, but penetrate the high armour value.

Strength of a melta bomb has an armour penetration value of 8+2D6

2D6 Probability
2 --> 2.78%
3 --> 5.56%
4 --> 8.33%
5 --> 11.11%
6 --> 13.89%
7 --> 16.67%
8 --> 13.89%
9 --> 11.11%
10 -> 8.33%
11 -> 5.56%
12 -> 2.78%

So you've got a 13.89% change of glancing and a 58.04% change of penetrating. For easy maths, let's call that 60%.

If the Land Raider is station, you need only 2 melta bombs to ensure damage.

So for a land raider moving, you'd need 4 melta bombs in total, because you're hitting on 4+. That gets you 2 hits, 1 of which is likely to do damage.

Against a land raider moving flat out, you're hitting on 6+, so you'd need 12 melta bombs, which would result in 2 hits, 1 of which would cause damage.

I wouldn't bother trying to stick melta bombs on a fast moving Land Raider!

Melta Bombs VS Necron Monolith
The Land Raider was tough, but what about the Necron Monolith with it's Living Metal special rules which negate the extra D6 rolled for melta bombs?

to even Glance the vehicle, you need to roll a '6' on your 8+D6 roll.

If the Monolith is stationary, you need 12 melta bombs. 12 automatic hits, gets you 2 glancing results (because you have to roll 6+), which may do some damage.

If the Monolith is moving (god help you!), you'd need 24 melta bomb attacks! That would get you 12 hits in total and 2 glancing results.

CONCLUSION
So to answer the question "How Many Melta Bombs Do the Job?", the answer is "Lots!"

If you're relying on melta bombs to blow up big vehicles, you're going to be very disappointed.

But thrown in with the mix of heavy weapons and a well balanced list, the occassional melta bomb here or there (usually on Independant Characters) can make quite a difference -especially if you stick it to enemy transports.

Transports are the prime target for melta bombs. Just make sure that whatever's inside the transport isn't going to tear your troopers to pieces in the following turn!

Having written this article, I've just realised that none of my characters carry melta bombs. It might be time to swap the Wolf Tail Talismans I always forget to use for a different piece of equipment...

How to Paint Space Wolf Faces

Hi I'm back with another tutorial for you, this time on quick and easy faces.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Dwarf Flesh
Elf Flesh
Ogryn Flesh (wash)
Devlan Mud

From Tutorials

STEP 1
Mix Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh 50/50 this gives you a very close mix to the old Bronzed Flesh paint which was awesome!
Apply this in one or two thin coats.

From Tutorials

STEP 2
Wash whole face liberally with Ogryn Flesh wash and allow to dry.

From Tutorials

STEP 3
Wash a little Devlan Mud in around the eyes, ears and mouth to darken the shadows.

From Tutorials

STEP 4
Repaint  the skin on the raised areas with the original skin mixture and then a final highlight of Elf Flesh.
Now you can leave the face at this stage if you like or you can add some details (might be too fiddly for some though)

From Tutorials

STEP 5
The eyes are painted in off white and the pupils Codex Grey, the teeth picked out in white and the tongue in watered down Red Gore.

I will cover more detailed facial painting techniques in a later Tutorial if people want me too.
Have fun trying this out and let me know how you get on!

How to Paint Wolf Fur Cloaks

Hi Space Wolf fans. It's been a long time since I posted anything on here so I thought I'd help Adam out with a quick tutorial.

This one is how I do my Space Wolves fur, on the loincloths and cloaks as well as the wolf tail talismans.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Bleached Bone,
Snakebite Leather
Desert Yellow
Gryphonne Sepia
Ogryn Flesh
Devlan Mud

STEP 1

From Tutorials

Start by painting the fur Bleached Bone and the the Leather with Snakebite.

STEP 2

From Tutorials

Wash the fur with Gryphonne Sepia all the way to the edge.

STEP 3

From Tutorials

Wash Ogryn Flesh into the fur but keep it away from the edge of the fur leaving a little bit of Gryphonne showing.
I also wash the Snakebite Leather in this stage too.

STEP 4

From Tutorials

Finally add a small wash of Devlan Mud in the center and at the top of the fur to really darken it.
And once again I wash the Leather.

OPTIONAL

From Tutorials

I paint little lines of Desert Yellow on the edges  of the leather to show it wearing thin.

Thats all there is to it, go and give it a try and let us know what you think?

Space Hulk Videos Round Up

If you missed the recent Space Hulk Videos, here they are collected together in a Space Hulk video round up.

It's been fun shooting video these past few weeks and I can see why a lot of guys choose to run YouTube channels over blogging.

Although it does take some practice talking with a script, then talking without a script and finally keeping the pace of your words and staying coherent without going into too much detail.

If you've been struggling with Space Hulk or haven't got it out of the box in a while, check out these video tutorials. You may become a master Space Marine strategist over night!

Space Hulk Tactics
Space Hulk Character Guides
Space Hulk House Rules
Space Hulk Mission Walkthroughs

As always; good luck, put your faith in Overwatch and try not to die screaming!

Space Hulk Mission Walkthrough

The complete walkthrough for every Space Hulk mission. Each of these Space Hulk mission walkthroughs is approximately 1 minute in length, making them quick, concise and clear.

The most important part of playing the Space Marines in Space Hulk is learning to get to a strategic position as quickly as possible, then defending it before finding an opening in the swarm of Genestealers and pressing on to achieve the mission.

Standing around too long will allow the Genestealers to overwhelm you with their sheer volume of blips. You have to complete the mission quickly, before their numbers become too great.

Watch and learn:



Transcript


"Hi Warhammer 40K fans. Adam from the Space Wolves blog here with some more Space Hulk tactics.
Today I'm going to take you through all the Space Hulk missions -one minute at a time!

Space Hulk Mission 1: Suicide Mission

The Space Marine objective is to set fire to the room in the bottom right hand corner of the map.

Meanwhile the Genestealers have to kill the heavy flamer Space Marine or force him to run out of ammo.

At the top of the map, the Space Marines need to order their line.

The best approach is to place the Sergeant first, followed by the Heavy Flamer and then three Scrubs.

It's then important to march down the two centre corridors as quickly as possible with the Heavy Flamer in front on either of the sides to establish a foothold.

You then have to force the Genestealers back by using Command Points to maximise your firepower.

Using the Heavy Flamer to seal off the different tunnels, you can then run him up to the room, while the Space Marines behind can look down the tunnels and provide covering fire.

Space Hulk Mission 2: Exterminate
Mission two is quite tricky. This is due to the strange deployment of the Space Marines.

You take it in turns between the Space Marine and Genestealer player to place Space Marines in the various rooms.

The Space Marine players goes first, so it's best to take the Assault Cannon and place it in one of the central rooms. Meanwhile, the other Space Marines are likely to get dotted around.

The Genestealers enter from the top and bottom of the map.

There's two ways of playing this mission. You can either go and attack the Genestealers and seal off the entry points, or you can sit tight and defend.

I tend to start by opening as many doors as possible to maximise my line of sight down the main corridors before congregating my Space Marines in the two central rooms. Then I'd use a crossfire to hold off all the Genestealers.

Once the Genestealers have taken enough casualties, then the Space Marines can advance.

Alternatively, if the Genestealers aren't advancing, you can press forward in a large mob and mop up as you go with the Assault Cannon and Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant.

Space Hulk Mission 3: Rescue
In mission three, Team A on the right need to get the C.A.T. across to Team B on the left and off the board.

The key to this mission is ordering your line perfectly.

So on the bottom right I've got the Sergeant with the C.A.T. followed by 2 scrubs.

Top right I've got a scrub and a Heavy Flamer.

This order will allow them to secure the immediate area and then advance.

Meanwhile on the left, one alley is led by the Assault Cannon, followed by two scrubs. The alley next to it on the right is led by a Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant, followed by a scrub.

Once again, this order it to allow them to get into positions to secure this area and advance.

In Turn 1, Team A advance with the Sergeant moving down and eventually along the bottom corridor and up into the green room.

Above him, the Heavy Flamer and a scrub are able to rotate round a doorway, allowing the Heavy Flamer to seal off the corridor to the left and fire down, through the room to seal off the corridor behind the sergeant who's likely to be pursued by lots of Genestealers.

On the left Team B have advanced. One scrub is looking down the tunnel on the left to stop too many Genestealers appearing.

Meanwhile the rest of the squad, led by the Assault Cannon and Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant will advance up into a dangerous area where the power of the Assault Cannon and Thunder Hammer can be brought to bear.

The Team A Sergeant can dash from the green room, itno the dangerous area where the Assault Cannon and Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant are waiting.

Then Team B can form a conga line and pass the C.A.T. from one Space Marine to another and all the way back to Base B.

Space Hulk Mission 4: Cleanse & Burn
In mission four the Space Marines have to set fire to or shoot with the Assault Cannon, two rooms located top left and bottom left, while they enter from the far right.

The Space Marines are going to have to run down the asymetrical corridors as fast as they can while dropping off some guys on the way.

I've optimised their lines for maximum chance of success.

Corridor 1 is led by a Heavy Flamer, followed by a Sergeant and three srcubs.

Corridor 2 is led by an Assault Cannon, followed by the Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant and three scrubs.

The whole mob is going to advance as quickly as they can, dropping off 2 guys to look down the first set of corridors to stop the Genestealers coming on in large numbers.

Then plan is to keep advancing, opening as many doors as possible and keep shooting.

Eventually, advance up top, using the heavy weapons to cleanse the first room, through corridor to the first objective room and set fire to it. The continue down and into the second objective room.

Meanwhile Space Marines will continue firing down the asymetrical corridors to keep the Genestealers back.

Space Hulk Mission 5: Decoy
In mission five you've got to get as many Space Marines as you can down to the exit and off the board. Meanwhile the Genestealers are going to try and butcher them.

However, this can be a very easy mission!

All you need to do is figure out where the two Space Marine squads need to go.

I have Squad B top left and Squad A top right.

It's all about getting down these tunnels as fast as you can, into these two rooms and holding them off against the advancing Genestealers either side.

Up the top, simply leave two guys behind. One looking up the top on overwatch (with the door open) and one looking to the right, on overwatch.

Then it's a case of how many terminators you can get out of the two rooms to fight their way through the long corridor and down the to exit point.

Space Hulk Mission 6: Alarm Call
In mission six you start with just the Librarian and the Lightning Claws Space Marine.

There are five rooms, each with an unconscious Space Marine that you need to revive. After reviving three of them, you then need to get the Librarian and two Space Marines to the exit on the left.

The Space Marine and Genestealer players take it in turns to place Space Marines in rooms with the Space Marine player going first.

I always put the Heavy Flamer in the nearest room, so he can be quickly revived and start cleansing corridors.

Meanwhile a good Genestealer player will then place the Sergeant in the bottom right room, which is the most difficult to get to in order to deny rerolls on your Command Points.

The best plan is to ignore the room at the top, because the door needs breaking down. Instead, lead with the Librarian, break down the first door, advance into the room with the Heavy Flamer. Then wake the Space Marines in the first two rooms as quickly as possible.

Advance down to the next corridor, you need to hold it off as best as you can, which is where the Heavy Flamer comes in.

Once you've got enough Space Marines, make a run for it, down the corridor to the left, while using the Heavy Flamer and Librarian's Force Barrier psychic power to hold off different points.

Space Hulk Mission 7: The Artifact
In mission seven the Space Marines need to advance as quickly as possible through the Space Hulk, to the artifact room, grabbing the cup from the dead Space Marine and then taking it all the way back to the starting point.

In this instance I've got the Librarian at the front of my line, followed by the Heavy Flamer, then the Sergeant and three scrubs. Finally, the Lighting Claws Space Marine brings up the rear to hold a point.

The whole force will advance as quickly as they can through the centre corridor. A couple of Space Marines can be used to hold off the first couple of junctions.

Meanwhile the Librarian and Heavy Flamer advance up the middle, cleansing corridors as they go with psychic powers and the heavy flamer.

Eventually, they'll reach the junction in front of the artifact room.

This is where the Heavy Flamer Space Marine flames the junction. Then it clears, allowing the Librarian to dash across. The flamer seals off the junction behind him. Finally the Librarian runs back across with the cup, the Heavy Flamer seals off the junction once more, before both of them use as many Command Points as they can to run all the way back to the start.

Space Hulk Mission 8: Escape Route
In mission eight the Space Marines need to get through the Space Hulk as quickly as possible -preferably through the centre and off the board via a room bottom right. Meanwhile Genestealer appear from all around in increasing numbers. Particularly, at the end of the map, where they're likely to cluster around the objective.

I've ordered the line with the Librarian in front, holding the artifact, followed by the Heavy Flamer, two scrubs and the Lightning Claws Space Marine.

Just like before, they're going to advance up the middle of the board with the Librarian smashing apart all of the sealed doors, utnil they get to the end junction with a room either side.

This is where the Heavy Flamer comes into play, keeps flaming the corridor until the Librarian can fight his way into the bottom right room and off the board with the artifact.

Space Hulk Mission 9: Regroup
Mission nine is a tough one! You start with just two Space Marines: The Chainfist & Storm Bolter Space Marine and the Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant.

They start at the bottom of the map and while they're advancing you have to roll for your Reserves in order for the other squads to come on.

Note: You have to keep rolling for Group 2 until they appear, then roll for Group 3, then Group 4. You can't roll for all the groups at the same time or choose which group you'd like!

The best way to bring them on quickly is to use your Command Points to boost your reserve rolls.

Do this for the first couple of turns until everyone is on.

In the meantime, you need to get the Chainfist Space Marine up the board, looking to the left, on Overwatch to keep the Genestealers back. To the right, the Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant moves to keep an eye down the corridor on the right while on Guard.

Later on the Lightning Claw Space Marine can take his place and advance to be within 6 squares of the Genestealer entry point, which prevents them from entering play.

The Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant can then advance up and go on Guard to stop Genestealer pouring down from the rooms in the middle.

Meanwhile, you need to push up the long corridor on the left with the Librarian (and his Force Barrier psychic power), followed by the Assault Cannon.

The Genestealer player is going to try his best to flood this area with Genestealers. This best thing to do is advance the Librarian to the top, turn around and cast Force Barrier with the Assault Cannon just below.

When the Force Barrier dissipates at the start of the Space Marine turn, they can both shoot any Genestealers in adjacent squares, advance round and start cleaning out the corridor for th other Space Marines to follow behind them.

The pair start fighting their way towards the exit, most likely, needing the Assault Cannon to hose down any Genestealer clustered around the exit while the Librarian keeps him safe using Force Barrier.

The rest of the Space Marines follow behind and help to secure a route to the exit.

Space Hulk Mission 10: Defend
In mission ten, you've got the stop the Genestealers from wrecking the control panel in the room up the top.

Unfortunately, the squads are divided and you don't get your usual Sustained Fire bonus.

So for the best defense, I've placed all the Space Marines next to a door, which they can open at the start of their turn.

The Space Marines in the lower rooms will advance up the board and join the Space Marines in the upper rooms.

On the right I've optimised for close combat. On the left I've optimised for heavy weapons.

The heavy weapons should allow the Space Marines to quickly cleanse the top left area and hold it off against any Genestealers.

Meanwhile the Space Marines on the right are going to need some extra help. But they've got plenty of Storm Bolters as well as the close combat specialists who will go on Guard.

Once the left side is secure, the Heavy Flamer can look straight down the corridor to keep any Genestealers back and if need be, advance up the top, opening the doors and firing the heavy flamer into the top right hand side.

Finally, if it all goes to hell in a hand basket, the Space Marines can fall back to the objective room, although they can't fire any heavy weapons...which will have probably run dry by then anyway.

CONCLUSION
Once you've battled your way through missions one to ten, missions eleven and twelve should be a dawdle.

As walways; good luck, stay on Overwatch and try not to die screaming!"

Space Hulk House Rules

I noticed a pretty big glitch in the Space Hulk rules, so here are some quick Space Hulk House rules to make sense of some strange occurrences and plug the gaps in an otherwise mighty fine rules set:



Transcript:
"Hi Warhammer 40K fans, this is Adam from the Space Wolves blog.

Today we're going to talk about some more Space Hulk and in particular, some house rules about revealing genestealers.

It's something that isn't particularly well covered in the rules, so I thought I'd better mention it as it's not 100% clear. Although the rules do allow you to make some improbable things happen.

In this instance I've set up. You've got a Space Marine off on his own, a blip to his right, out of sight and a Genestealer about to attack him from behind.

Meanwhile another Space Marine who could be on Overwatch, who knows? But the important thing is that he's looking straight down the corridor.

The blip is no.3, which means I can place 3 Genestealers.

In the Genestealer turn, the Genestealer is going to attack the Space Marine and kills him.

This automatically reveals the blip.

Because it's an 'involunary reveal' the Space Marine player gets to place the 3 Genestealers.

But, there's a problem with this.

Even though it adheres to the rules, about placing Genestealers, a Genestealer cannot physically occupy a space that was taken by a Space Marine in the same turn.

Under our house rules, the Space Marine was in that square, so there's no way you can place a Genestealer in that spot when you reveal it.


In another example, we've got a Genestealer blip behind a door with a Space Marine on the other side.

Once again, I'll turn to blip over to show that there are 3 Genestealers.

In the Space Marine turn, the Space Marine opens the door, causing another 'involuntary reveal' and the Space Marine player gets to place the 3 Genestealers.

However, because a Genestealer is occupying a space which was held by the door which has now been opened, it cannot be placed there.

Just to clarify, I ran the same set up again, but this time opened the door in the Genestealer turn.

Once again, a Genestealer cannot be placed where the door was.

After opening the door, it would have been better to move the blip back 1 space in order to reveal all 3 Genestealers.

To round up; these are two quick examples of how the Space Hulk rules aren't entirely water tight and a little bit of common sense is needed.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more Space Hulk tutorials."

Space Hulk Characters Tactics & Guides

Following last my Space Hulk Tactics, we're going to take a look at the different Space Marines and how to get the best results from them in your games of Space Hulk:




Transcript:

"Hi Warhammer 40K fans. This is Adam from the Space Wolves blog with more Space Hulk tactics.

This time we'll be going through the different Space Marine characters and explaining their strengths, their weaknesses and how to get the best results from them.

Part 1: Basic Space Marines
Often referred to as Scrubs, Grunts or Plebs, the basic Space Marine terminator forms the core of any squad. So you'll need to use them effectively to complete your mission.

They're terrible in close combat, so make sure you keep them shooting.

Often you'll have to leave your basic Space Marines to hold a strategic point.

This could be looking down a corridor to prevent Genestealers from entering the board or defending a room.

It's best for Space Marines to work in pairs. This then allows them to cover different angles out of rooms while providing a cross fire in case one of them gets jumped by a Genestealer.

Just make sure that you maintain a reasonable distance and put your faith in going on Overwatch.

Part 2: Chainfist Space Marine
Essentially the same as a regular Space Marine Scrub, Super Scrub as we like to call him, can automatically destroy doors in close combat.

This makes him vital in some missions, but a bit pointless in others.

But when it costs 1 Action Point to open a door, you may as well assault it with this guy -especially if you want the door to stay open.

After all, there's nothing more annoying than a Genestealer playing with a door switch!

Part 3: Space Marine Sergeant
Essentially a Scrub with a sword. He may look important, but he's not that hot.

His sword gives him +1 in close combat, but he's still gonna die screaming.

However, as a Sergeant, he allows you to re-roll the number of Command Points.

So make sure you keep him alive, because Command Points can make or break a game.

Finally, with all his bling, he seems to be an irresistable target for the Genestealers, which makes him great if you need a piece of bait!

Part 4: Heavy Flamer Space Marine
The undisputed King of Space Hulk. The heavy flamer can cleanse whole rooms and drive back hordes of Genestealers.

Just remember to use those 6 shots sparingly, because once you start firing, you never seem to stop.

However, the flamer's greatest strength is being able to seal off sections of the board, holding back the tide of Genestealers and allowing you to complete your mission.

Part 5: Lightning Claws Space Marine
Everyone loves this guy, but I have no idea why.

He's okay in close combat, but only if he goes on Guard. So charging in like Wolverine isn't going to end well for him!

Instead, I'd always leave him to hold a doorway or a corridor whilst on Guard. He tends to perform fairly well in that capacity.

Although, because he doesn't have the same benefits as the Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield armed Sergeant, he does eventually get killed.

Part 6: Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield Sergeant
When I read that he had been included in this edition of Space Hulk, I felt he was a bit overpowered -and he is!

He gets +2 to his combat result, reduces the Genestealer's attack dice by 1 because of his shield (provided he's facing the right way) and generally batters whatever he comes across.

The best practice is to stick him in a doorway or corridor and leave him on Guard. That way he's almost immovable, but just make sure that no Genestealers can attack him from the side or behind and he'll be perfectly fine.

Although I will confess that in Mission 2 I have charged him down corridors screaming FOR THE EMPEROR while smashing Genestealers round the face!

Part 7: Space Marine Librarian
Now this guy is a one man army and it's all thanks to his Psychic Powers and Psi Points.

Stat wise he's the same as a basic sergeant. Although he needs the sergeant's Command Points re-roll special rule to be most effective.

The Librarian starts each mission with 20 Psi Points and has 4 Psychic Powers.

The first is Force Axe which allows him to boost his close combat result by +1 for each Psi Point used. This makes him virtually unbeatable in assault -until he runs out of Psi Points of course.

The second is Force Barrier which prevents movement through a single square within 12. When combined with the Hevay Flamer Space Marine, the pair can seal off large sections of the board, keeping the Genestealers at bay.

The third is Prescience which allows you to move the Command Point marker back 1 space. Very handy when you're short on Command Points.

Finally, there's Psychic Storm which has a range of 6. It hits the intended target on 2+ and any others on the same tile on a 4+. It's not bad, but it's not quite as reliable (or long ranged) as the Heavy Flamer.

The Librarian can only cast 1 Psychic Power per turn, which is just as well, because once you start using Psi Points you don't seem to stop.

There's a real art to using the Librarian and when combined with the Heavy Flamer Space Marine, the pair can cleanse huge areas and lead a very aggressive assault, which becomes essential in many of the mid level missions.

Part 8: Assault Cannon Space Marine
Like a storm bolter on steroids, the Assault Cannon fires 3 shots per volley and kills Genestealers with ease.

But once it starts firing you can expect the ammo counter to drop dramatically.

Things tend to get scary once you slap in the spare magazine, although the gun has never exploded on me -yet!

Just try not to rinse all the ammo too quickly.

Ideally the Assault Cannon should be used as a back up weapon for anything that gets passed your storm bolters. Although it is very tempting to stick him at the end of a long corridor and just spray away, killing thousands of Genestealers, until, eventually, you run out of ammo.

And a Genestealer player will try and get you to do that. Then, all they have to do is get passed your storm bolters.

CONCLUSION
Hopefully that's given you a good idea on how to get the very best out of all your Space Marines in the game of Space Hulk.

Stay tuned for the next video which will be a set of mission tutorials and quick guides to help you walk through the game."

Space Hulk Tactics

I've been brushing up on my Space Hulk tactics. So if you're having trouble playing Space Marines in the Warhammer 40K Space Hulk board game, this is the ultimate Space Hulk Guide for you.



Transcript:

"Hi Warhammer 40K fans, this is Adam from the Space Wolves blog and today I'm going to show you how to win at Space Hulk.

This is the first in a series of Space Hulk videos that are going to show you how to complete each mission and use each Space Marine in your squads to their full potential.

Sorry to all the Genestealer players out there, but you've got a pretty easy time with this game. Really it's the Space Marine player who needs all the help they can get.

So we're going to start with some basic Space Marine tactics and expand from there.

Part 1: Deployment
Just like regular Warhammer 40K, a bad set up can really ruin your game. Which rooms you place your Space Marines in and what order you line them in will often depend on the mission you're playing.

But generally, it's best to lead with the Sergeant (or Librarian), closely followed by a heavy weapon.

The Seargeant can go on Guard if his shooting isn't very effective, which makes him much better in close combat than a regular guy. Meanwhile the heavy weapon is close enough to quickly cleanse and corridors full of Genestealers.

Your basic troops can then follow behind. This allows them to secure rooms and tunnels as required.

Finally, if you have any close combat specialists in your squad, it's best to keep them towards the back of the line, this way they can stand on Guard in a doorway and cover your advance latr in the game.

Part 2: Overwatch
Overwatch is the most important part of Space Hulk. Once your Space Marines have advanced to claim a position, they may have to hold it or mop up any Genestealers before they can proceed.

Overwatch allows you to increase your firepower by getting lots of free shots on any moving Genestealers in line of sight.

Similar to Overwatch, you also have going on Guard. Effectively it's the same thing and it uses up 2 Action Points.

Best used on close combat specialists, this allows them to reroll 1 dice in close combat. By doing this a close combat expert can fend off a huge brood of Genestealers quite comfortably.

A close combat specialist should never actively go and attack, because they lose all the benefits of going on Guard and are more likely to get killed by a Genestealer.

Part 3: Crossfire
While Genestealers excel in close combat, the Space Marines have to rely on their shooting instead. So through a mixture of Action Points, Overwarch and Command Points a Space Marine can gun down a lot of Genestealers.

However, unlike the heavy weapons, which can easily cleanse whole corridors, Space Marines with storm bolters need to combine their firepower.

The best way to do this is to create overlapping fields of fire. In this example, the Sergeant has line of sight straight up the corridor while the other two Space Marines only have line of sight into the room they are defending.

By standing around the edge of the room, it gives them plenty of square to cover each other.

A Genestealer will have to pass over 3 squares to reach any of them in close combat. With 3 storm bolters firing, a Genestealer is unlikely to get very far.

Part 4: Run!
This is my favourite part of Space Hulk. Using the Command Points a Space Marine can outrun a Genestealer.

This can lead to some desperate tactical decisions during a game, but if you're Sergeant's still alive, allowing you to reroll your Command Points, or you have the Librarian's "Prescience" psychic power to recoup used Command Points you can get away with some amazing stuff!

In this example, the Space Marine armed with a heavy flamer has fired his penultimate shot to keep the Genestealer's at bay.

He needs his final shot to burn the room to his left, but cannot run down the corridor, open the door and fire his heavy flamer into the room with just his Action Points.

He moves down the corridor using his 4 Action Points, then using the extra 5 Command Points the Space Marine player rolled, he can turn, approach the door, open it and fire his heavy flamer, completing the mission.

Using the Command Points in a strategic way, you can make daring sprints through the Space Hulk, outrunning the Genestealers, grabbing objectives and then and then legging it back before you get jumped on!

Conclusion
I hope you've enjoyed my Space Hulk Tactics.
Please check out my other Space Hulk videos for all the character guides and mission guides.

Good luck and try not to die screaming!!"