Goatboy - Paint schedule and Space Wolves Unit Review

I've decided to go over some of the things I have noticed with my Space Wolves and review each unit from what I have noticed in my own play testing etc. Most of the time people just review it before they even have a chance to use any of the parts. Seeing as I am one of those, build everything in the codex type of players, I have dabbled in just about everything. Mix that with needing all things painted on the field, means I have a ton of jerk Space Goats :).

First things first - current Paint schedule

My stuff - Just list of stuff on my mind right now
Iron Priest on Juggernaut with 4 Cyber Wolves - Completed
Redo Paint scheme Zonathropes 3 - Completed
Redo Fist Hive Guard Squad 3 - Primed and rebased
Create Assault Cannon tops for Rhino/Razorback Hybrid - Primed
Build rest of 2nd Bike Command Squad - Halfway built and primed
Attack Bike # 2 - Primed
Attack Bike # 3 - Still on sprue

Clients - Stuff I want to finish this week
Build Inquisitor Rhino with FW Doors for Spain Client - Still in Box
Chimera #4 for Local IG Client - Completed
Chimera #5 for Local IG Client - Primed
Shokk Attack Gun - in pieces
Zagstruck - Missing one claw, will have to build one and prime to finish

There are some other things and it will all depend on what I can get done. Right now I am waiting on some more Elysiums to get built and then I can get started on them. I am also waiting on some pieces from Spain to start his new White Scars army as well as some other clients pieces to arrive. It is looking like the next month will see a nice push of new work so hopefully look for less Army guys hah.

But enough of the paint schedule lets start the review for Space Wolves. Will start with HQ's. This is how I plan on doing it for the new Nid codex when it comes out for BOLS.

Space Wolves/Goats - Super Goatboy Review 4000!!!

HQ:

Wolf Lord/Goat lord/Sr. Ass Kicker

The Wolf Lord is what I feel the Chaos Lord should have been. It is also the reason why I took my own Chaos bent for my own Space Wolves army. Here you have a very good combat style character choice that can easily do a large amount of damage to a squad and still live through it and continue kicking ass after finishing off whatever missed his chain/fist/hammer etc. You mix above average stats with a large amount of customization, creating a way for you to easily create your own special character. This is a definite win for GW as it really allows you to create a Hero for your army that fits your own play style. Here are two Lord builds I like and the role they play. Both are riding Thunder Wolves as I feel that you are not playing with them in your Wolves army, you are missing out on what really helps make them tick.

Wolf Lord # 1 - Unit Killer - Bain of 3+ armor - Attack Super Beast!!
Thunder Wolf Mount, Saga of the Warrior Borne, Frost Axe/Blade, Storm Shield, Runic Armor, 2 Fenris Wolves

This guy is designed to run with some cavalry friends, break off and shove a brick in whatever unit is in front of him. His ability to generate extra attacks makes him a threat to any unit on the table. His strength is 6 so most of the time he is hitting on 3's and wounding on 2's at initiative 5. He hits initially with 6 attacks and can easily get up to the 10's after a few rounds of combat. His two dogs allow him to have extra wounds to dump off if need be. This is all based on the FAQ from Adepticon on how Thunder Wolves as well as Fenris wolves work etc. Letting them be an Independent character as well as a Retinue.

Wolf Lord # 2 - Big Monster killer - Tin Box Buster -
Thunder Wolf Mount, Saga of the Bear, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, 2 Fenris Wolves

This is your run out, hit the LR that might be too close and hope you can survive. He is also the guy to take the first strength 10 hit from a Vindicator if shot towards the Thunder Wolf Cavalry. This guy stays with the Cav more often, giving you another fist to throw down with as well as a great way to get 3 to 4 kills in the combat. He can also work pretty well with a bunch of dogs and the two extra dogs are a great way to throw 2 wounds on him, without having to waste them on Cavalry.

10/10 if built the Thunder Wolf way - 6/10 if just left to walk around

Rune Priest - Magic User Jerk Face

One of the best, cheap HQ's in the game. You get access to a bunch of interesting powers as well as access to one of the few instant kill "weapons" that ignores eternal warrior. His leadership 10 is also a great thing to attach to a Grey Hunters squad as Tank Shocking is a good option to do versus anything Space Wolves. You mix this with probably one of the more BS anti psychic abilities in the game and you got one of the best 100 point options around. I usually take one in most of my lists and just leave him blank. I have found all the other bits to be rather worthless as his role is better suited to help holding an objective and his his death line blasts to hopefully kill some of the bigger MC in the game. If the Trygon can be affected by Jaws then you have a serious contender for the HQ slot.

9/10 - I always like to use him, but you don't always need him as he is not an extreme assault threat.

Wolf Priest - Why take him?

Initial rules had him with the ability to give the squad he is attached to Feel No Pain. If that was true he would seriously be worth it. But right now there is just too many better options at the HQ slot. A Rune Priest will always do more at this points cost. Also for just a few more points you can get a walking Wolf Lord that just has more offensive punch. Or you can take a Wolf Guard Battle Leader that has better options. Fearless is alright and if you have the option to throw him on a Thunder Wolf he might be a better option then an Iron Priest too. He just isn't worth the points.

5/10 - Just not worth the points as a Rune Priest will end up doing more.

Wolf Guard Battle Leader - I'm CHEAP!!

A nice option to let you drop 30 points off your normal HQ choice. You do lose some nice things, but with a Thunder Wolf Mount you have another option to try and shave off 30 points in your army. Since you can give him Saga of the Bear it does limit some usefulness as a Dreadnought/Walker hunter. If you could give him a belt of the Russ he might be a good option to give dual Wolf Claws to. Again if you want to do a Saga of the Warrior guy to run with your Saga of the Bear buddy, then this is not a bad option to save some points. Equip him the same as the first Wolf Lord from above and watch as your opponent cringes when you break into combat.

8/10 - Cheap option to help you drop 30 points.

Special Characters - These are just from experience as I have not played with all of them. I find most of them to be too expensive to really use as they normally take too much space at the HQ slot to allow for better cohesion within your army.

Logan
This guy is interesting as a lot of local players played him very aggressively and within a trick squad (Long Fangs with MM or some other form of Heavy weapon nonsense). Usually with a trick like that, you will get one or two good games in, and when people start to see how he keeps falling from the sky to cause problems, will respond in kind and just take him out quickly or leave less space for you to do your damage. His ability to make Wolf Guard troops is an interesting thing and something worth looking into. I still think the lack of Thunder Wolf option leaves him lacking as it is something that would make for an interesting conversion as well as create a neat focal point in the army.

6/10 - Too expensive to be worth wile most of the time - but can be used to create a themed army

Njal
Now here is where we start with some BS. This guy is a frigging annoyance. Good thing he is too expensive most of the time. His large points cost really starts to hurt your HQ choices, as most of the time you need a Wolf Lord to help him stay alive long enough to get annoying with his special storm powers. His 3+ psychic counter is also a pain too, so look for him more if the Nids rumored psychics are really worth wile. He is usually someone you have to deal with quickly or else he will start to push the game into the pain in the ass stage pretty quickly. The biggest issue is that he needs to be fairly close to the enemy, meaning his wound unit will be susceptible to plasma/massed fire pretty easily enough. I have had games where he has lost 2 full squads of guys to opponents attention.

8/10 - Very powerful, but his costs hurts your overall threat ability in your army. Plus you can get two Rune Priests for one Njal.

Ragnar
Now here we have someone that can be rather crazy. The big issue I have, is that it takes too much help to create a unit that can really utilize Ragnar. Throwing him in a rhino is just not worth it as well putting him in some kind of LRC or LRR to create a super fist of Wolfie Doom. Again if he could ride a big dog, he would be an automatic addition to the army. It is probably a good thing he can't as I would get tons of crap from the local players when I yelled and whooped my way through combat.

6/10 - Too expensive to create a "win" situation for your army on the board

Ulrik
Just like the Wolf Priest, I just don't see the point of this guy. His Mentor ability is very meh and the lack of anything really insane combat wise makes him not worthwile. Maybe if he had head hunter thing like a roll of a 6 to hit or wound always kills. Just something to make him cooler. As of right now he is just not worth it.

3/10 - Just meh

Canis
Here is the newest character for the Space Wolves army and probably one of the best. He is super cheap for all his abilities as well as someone the is extremely effective. He always hits on 3's so most of the time you will reroll wounds on tougher enemies. Rank and file guys will usually die on a 2+ and he just murders through anyone. His Saga of the Wolfkin is also great as it makes your Iron Priests and Fenris Wolves even more annoying. He is just one of the cheapest special characters around with a butt load of wargear, good stats, and riding the best option in the codex. I usually take him as he is always a great option to ride with a Saga of the Bear Wolf Lord into battle. If he had an Invulnerable save of some kind he would just be over the top.

9/10 - I wish he had and Invulnerable save. He has to be run with another Wolf Lord as his Leadership of 8 is annoying.

Bjorn
I really like the design for this character. I do not like his cost. He is just too costly to be worth wile right now. If he had a 4+ invulnerable save he might be better but as of right now he just eats it too easily. Most of the other characters can either dump wounds on his other guys around him or have a good invulnerable save to help ignore the death blow. A good melta shot has a good chance to hinder him pretty quickly. He is the best of the Walkers right now which isn't saying a whole lot as you can get 2 walkers for his price point. Still I applaud GW's design sense with this, as his rules are pretty neat. I just wish they look at their points allotment and dropped his cost a bit.

5/10 - Play him if you want to make a Dreadnought army - otherwise leave him be.

There you have my initial HQ review. On Wednesday I plan on going over the Elites section. There are some fun things in there for sure and I have played all the options available there. All have their bonuses and it makes for a really hard time trying to pick what hole you need help filling in your own Space Wolves army.