I think Saga of the Warrior Born could be a great way to kill Necrons. We know they're tough, we know they get back up and we know that power weapons make short work of them. So it's likely that our Wolf Lords are going to be stuck in close combat with them for a couple of rounds.We played a game yesterday where Brad's Thunder Wolf Lords caused untold carnage as they rampaged from squad to enemy squad, reaping a huge tally of kills thanks to Saga of the Warrior Born. Or 'saga of the blender' as it's affectionately called!
This allowed Brad to unleash a total of 11 Attacks in the second phase of combat, using his Wolf Claw to re-roll to hit while deflecting any retaliation with his Runic Armour and Storm Shield. Of course, riding a Toughness 5 wolf-monster also helps!
Even I had to admit that Thunder Wolf Lords are a great choice after yesterday's game. Previously I'd turned my nose up at Thunderwolf Cavalry. They're still not great, but a properly equipped Wolf Lord isn't just a fun and characterful unit, he's incredibly destructive too.
Here's the best load out for a Wolf Lord with Saga of the Warrior Born:
Wolf Lord:
Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Tooth Necklace, Wolf Claw, Runic Armour, Storm Shield, Saga of the Warrior Born, 2 Fenrisian Wolves
The Thunderwolf boosts his Toughness, Strength and Attacks by +1. So he can't be instantly killed by a Strength 8 Powerfist.
The Wolf Tooth Necklace ensures he always hits on a 3+.
The Wolf Claw allows him to reroll to hit or reroll to wound. This works well with the Wolf Tooth Necklace to make sure you inflict as many wounds as possible.
The Runic Armour and Storm Shield obviously helps to keep him alive, as do the 'ablative Wolves'.
Finally, Saga of the Warrior Born works with the Wolf Tooth Necklace and Wolf Claw to keep the number of successful kills as high as possible turn on turn.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start killing those Necrons!
12 comments:
October 16, 2011 at 8:10 AM
My only criticisms would be that the wolftooth necklace isn't really necessary. There aren't that many WS 6+ things out there for him to not get by with just his WS6.
The ablative wounds can actually be a hindrance since they make the "squad" have an average of T4 making attacks against them more effective and wasting his T5. If you can spare the points it's better to take TWC as a bodyguard.
I usually take Saga of the Bear because of S10 and force weapons but I'll have to give warrior born a try. Couldn't agree more about the wolf claw though. I'll never understand why ppl take the thunderhammer.
October 16, 2011 at 3:26 PM
my wolf lord on thunderwlf got nailed by a vindicator shot the first round of shooting, the first time i took him out, haven't used wrrior born since, lol. i'd love to, to see the carnage he'd cause, but my opponants usually always have vindiators, force weapons, arjac, carnifexes, dreadnoughts etc... so i never have the chance to test it out
October 16, 2011 at 3:29 PM
fexes, trigons and dreds are also the reason he can switch between taking a frost blade and thunderhammer heh
October 16, 2011 at 3:55 PM
I've also had success with this build against large numbers of orks, the build is not without it's risks though, as I've had similar experiences to the other commenters.
Strength 10 ordnance and dreadnought weapons are a real pain, I usually run the TWC build in addition to my other Wolf Lord in larger games (2000+ points)
October 16, 2011 at 4:14 PM
Wolf Lords with Saga of the Warrior born are GREAT. I always take one whenever I'm facing horde-style armies or anything with numbers or Stubborn that might hold my Thunderwolves in one place. They are definitely great against Necrons, especially in the Space Marine Vanguard mission, in which they all get Stubborn. Lemme tell you what.. breaking that unit is pretty much impossible even for Thunderwolves without Saga of the Warrior Born. First charge I did I reduced the entire squad to 1 or 2 models, killing 6 Necrons with my Wolf Lord (I run him with a Frost Axe, Belt of Russ for maximum attacks - hurray 7 attacks on the charge.) Next turn my Wolf Lord had 12 attacks, lol. And it only got better from there on.
Though, I almost stopped reading after the "They're still not great". Really? The most destructive, feared, mobile and characterful unit in the Space Wolves codex and THE Space Wolves blog is still turning its nose up at them. For shame.
October 16, 2011 at 11:36 PM
I would never take a Thunderwolf Lord with any saga other than Bear at this point.
Given how many Grey Knight players I see Eternal Warrior is a must if one is planning on investing any amounts of points into a multi-wound character.
Not that warrior-born is a bad saga; it's lots of fun. But until the meta turns from silver to grey I don't think I'd give up my Eternal Warrior.
October 17, 2011 at 2:17 AM
I was talking about the basic Thunderwolf Cavalry, not the Lords.
October 17, 2011 at 2:51 AM
Still, it is their numbers and wounds that allow a Thunderwolf Lord to wreck havoc. One for all and all for one, etc. etc.
October 17, 2011 at 3:55 AM
@Anon: I'm going to say that Grey Knights instant-killing your Wolf Lord is the least of your troubles. The great mobility of the Thunderwolf Cavalry allows your Lord to get in combat fast and by picking and choosing what models will be in b2b contact with him. A good player will make sure to be in b2b with no more than 2 Grey Knights. Then they need 4's to hit you and 5's to wound you, because they can cast only one psychic power and we all know that Force Weapon is going to be THE one. IF they manage to cast it (rolling 9 or less and then going through your 4+ psychic ward), +then+ your Wolf Lord is getting a what.. a 3+? 4+ invulnerable save?
Grey Knights only have 1 attack base, chances that they will insta-kill your Wolf Lord on a Thunderwolf are minimal. And if they fail to kill your Lord... he will kill all of them.
Unfortunately it is not the instant death force weapons that you should fear Grey Knights. It's the Vindicare assassin/tons of high S shots that we should fear. For you see, Matt Ward thought it was a good idea to make the Grey Knights the best at shooting and assaulting in the game.
October 17, 2011 at 4:40 AM
I think your power weapon will be far less effective now, since their WBB roll is now going to be 5+ (4+ with res orb) REGARDLSS of what killed them (Power weapons, thunder hammers,etc)
October 18, 2011 at 5:37 AM
@Da Warboss: .. except the squad will be dead. Fully dead. And you are implying that the necron squad has not been broken, caught and swept, because that's what's going to happen when Thunderwolves charge Necrons. They will lose.. by lot. They will fail their Ld check and with their I of 2 they will be easy pickings..
November 27, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Is giving the wolf lord a wolf claw worth it since its at the cost of losing the rending special rule granted by the mount?
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