[News] Tyranid and Space Wolf Second Wave!

Well then, it's been a while since I last posted. Lots going on at work and home, not much hobbywise. I've been meaning to post about my Necron progress, but constantly forget to take pictures.

Anyways... I spotted this a few moments ago thanks to Bell of Lost Souls and thought it was worth sharing on here!

Product	Contents	Date	Price	Material
Thunderwolf Cavalry	3 Minis	Mar 03	$54.50	Plastic
Fenrisian Wolf Pack	5 Minis	Mar 03	$24.75	Plastic
Hive Tyrant / Swarmlord	1 Mini	Mar 03	$53.75	Plastic
Tervigon / Tyrannofex	1 Mini	Mar 03	$57.75	Plastic
Arjac Rockfist	1 Mini	Mar 03	$24.75	Finecast
Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf	1 Mini	Mar 03	$41.25	Finecast
Hunter with Wolf Standard	1 Mini	Mar 03	$24.75	Finecast
Cyberwolf	1 Mini	Mar 03	$16.50	Finecast
Boneswords Set	3 x BS pairs	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Bonesword / Lash Whip Set	3 x BS & LW pairs	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Ragnar Blackmane	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Ulrik the Slayer	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Njal Stormcaller	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Iron Priest	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Terminator Rune Priest	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Rune Priest	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Wolf Guard	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Wolf Guard with Wolf Claws	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Lukas the Trickster	1 Mini	Mar 03	$19.75	Finecast
Bjorn the Fell-Handed	1 Mini	Mar 03	$49.50	Finecast
Deathleaper	1 Mini	Mar 03	$24.75	Finecast
Old One Eye	1 Mini	Mar 03	$41.25	Finecast
Biovore	1 Mini	Mar 03	$41.25	Finecast
Spore Mine Cluster	9 Minis	Mar 03	$24.75	Finecast
The Red Terror	1 Mini	Mar 03	$41.25	Finecast
Ripper Swarm Brood	1 Mini	Mar 03	$13.25	Finecast

 I'm a bit too excited for a plastic Hive Tyrant. It might be the thing that drives me towards buying Nid stuff...

Also nice to see with the way Finecast is going, that GW are starting to do Bitz packs again, as they shown with the banner for WHFB stuff and whatnot.

Anything on there interesting you guys?

SB

[Battle Report] Apocalypse! Tyranids v Guard, Wolves and Grey Knights

Hey everyone,

I've finally had the motivation to pick up the stack of scribbled notes on my desk and write them up to cover the Apocalypse game we played a few weekends ago, with Angryman using his Tyranids against my Imperial Guard and Col. Straken's Space Wolf / Grey Knight list. Our club hall was double booked, so we had to play the game on a standard 6 x 4 table at my house - not ideal, but it meant for a quick decisive game...

Battle Lines are Drawn.

The objectives of the game were for 4 objectives - 3 minor (worth 1 each) and 1 major objective (3 points). These were spread around the board, 2 being Bastions, 1 being a Tyranid spawning pool, and the final one being an Imperial defence outpost.

Imperial Heavy Armour deploys on the Table.

The Tyranid horde deploys - plenty left in reserve to drop down on the board.

Turn 1 - Imperium
The Imperial armour advance forwards up the board, destroying Razorwire left from previous battles. Hellhounds and Leman Russes hold the right side, the remaining Russes and the Wolves on the left.

Imperial shooting however wasn't so good. Most of the Guard tanks scattered off wildly from their targets. The hellhounds however fared better, attacking a brood of Warriors and Zoanthropes in close proximity to one another.

In totalt, the Imperium managed to kill; 1 Carnifex, 4 Tyranid Warriors, 2 Zoanthropes and left 2 fexes badly wounded, as well as the foot slogging Tyrant and his guard.

Imperial Advance - Turn 1.

Tyranids - Turn 1

The Tyranid horde pressed forward, the Carnifexes and Tyrants towards Imperial Tanks. The Tervigons managed to spawn 27 gaunts between them.

In the shooting phase, one of the Tervigon attempted to cast Feel No Pain on the Tyrant's unit but took a Perils of the Warp wound. A Heavy Venom Cannon Fex destroyed a Grey Knight Dreadnought. A 2nd Carnifex managed to blow up the turret from the very effective Hellhounds. Zoanthropes fail to damage a Grey Knight Land Raider. Hive guard shoot and Shake a Leman Russ.

In assault, the Carnifexes run into the Hellhounds and manage to Stun the 2nd Hellhound.

Tyranids Turn 1 - They do NOT like Hellhounds

Imperium - Turn 2
From reserve, the Marauder Bomber arrives and aims for a strafing run across the entire Tyranid back line. Drop pods with an Assault Squad, and a Wolf Guard squad arrive aiming to attack the Tyranid defensive horde. Grey Knight Terminators leap out from the Land Raider.

In the shooting phase, the Grey Knight Terminators Land Raider shoots and kill a Tyrant Guard, Drop Pod causes 2 wounds on the fresh Tervigon. Wolf Guard terminators wound the cowardly Hive Guard and the Bomber with it's strafing run killed another Tyrant Guard. The Guard opened fire, with a Leman Russ Vanquisher blowing up a Bastion housing Genestealers, a Leman Russ then followed that up with dropping it's Battle Cannon on the Genestealers, scattering, but managing to kill 1 Zoanthrope nearby and a Genestealer (darn cover saves...). The Leman Russ Demolisher killed the final Tyrant guard and wounded Old One Eye. Another Leman russ kiled a Dakkafex with it's shooting, along with 4 nearby Gaunts.

In assault, the Grey Knight Terminators take out Old One Eye in combat before the feared beast had chance to even open his Claws.

Leman Russ tanks press forward to Hammer the "Big Ones".

Tyranids - Turn 2
In the movement phase, the Mawloc, Trygon Prime, Doom of Malantai, Screamer Killer fex and Genestealers with Broodlord manage to arrive from reserve. Spelling big trouble for the Guardsmen... The Tervigons manage to spawn 18 more Gaunts between them, but unfortunately, both roll doubles - no more spawning in this game. The Gaunts to the back corner of the board move forward to target the Wolf Guard and press on the Objectives.

Shooting, the Tervigons cast Feel No Pain on the walking Tyrant (who's buddies have been killed) and a Carnifex. The Doom of Malan'tai wrenches the souls from 2 Grey Knight Terminators. A Dakkafex causes a Shaken and Weapon Destroyed result on a Space Wolf Rhino. The Gaunt wave shooting kills 1 Grey Knight terminator and the Hive Guard pop the Storm Bolter off the Drop Pod.

In assault, the Hive Tyrant and Gaunts charge into the GK Grand master, hits the Tyrant 5 times but fails to wound, more Gaunts charge the Wolf Guard. Carnifexes blow up both Hellhounds, destroying them and taking 2 Genestealers in the blast.

Tyanid Reserves en Masse

Imperial - Turn 3
Imperial Guard reserves show up now, with Kratos (Guardsman Marbo) appearing, along with 2 Veteran Squads in Chimeras, Company Command Squad in another Chimera and then 3 Vendetta Gunships.

The Grey Hunters and Grey Knights disembark from their vehicles, and "Jimmy Gauntslayer" the Lone Wolf moved towards the Trygon prime - a fitting test for him. The Marauder bomber strafes along the centre of the board.

In the shooting, the Marauder Bomber annihalated 25 gaunts with more dropped bombs, Grey Hunters kill 5 Ymgarl Stealers, GK Land Raider killes 6 gaunts. Marbo throws his demo charges and wipes out a squad of 3 warriors lurking near the backfield objective. Veterans and the Command squads, along with their Transports bring down the Mawloc thanks to Melta guns and a pinch of luck. The Wolf Long Fangs fail to wound anything and the Vendettas take their toll on the Tyranids, wounding a Tyrand, wounding a Fex and wounding the Trygon twice. A Leman Russ kills one Hive guard and another wiped out a Spore pod.

Assault phase, Dreadnaught assaults the Screamer Killer Fex, Lone Wolf assaults the Trygon and manages to survive. The Grey knights stuck in assault are killed off, and the Hive Tyrant headbutts the Grey Knight Grand Master to death.

Reinforcements FTW!

Tyranids - Turn 3
Reinforcements - Tyranid Warrior Prime, along with his Warrior Bodyguard show up, Raveners appear, Winged Tyrant, 3 Lictors jump out near the Imperial Artillery line, Parasite of Mortrex and Shrikes all appear. Everything in the Tyranid army pressed forward to cripple the Imperium.

In shooting, the Hive Guard turned their attention to Guardsman marbo, which thanks to their nifty guns, bypassed his Cover Save and Stealth rule (he was stood behind a wall). The Winged Tyrant knocks a Lascannon off the Marauder bomber, Tyranid warriors kill 3 space wolf Grey hunters and one of the Carnifexes blows up a Space Wolf Rhino.

In assault, the Tervigon and Fex destroys the Land Raider, Tyrant attacks the Demolisher, the 2nd tyrant stunds a Leman Russ, Carnifex wrecks the Vanquisher, Genestealers attack a Veteran Squad Chimera, wreck it and kills several Veterans, Raveners shake another Leman Russ and the Ymgarl Genestealers attack the wolves, killing 2, then the remainder of the unit being wiped out by the Wulfen marked trooper. Finally the Doom of Malan'tai blows up the Leman russ, and the resulting explosion destroys 4 Gaunts. The Trygon finally kills off the Lone Wolf.

"There used to be more tanks than this..."

Imperum - Turn 4
Imperial retaliation time... Veterans and the command squads turn to wipe out the Genestealers with Brood Lord. The Grey hunters move to combat the Raveners and the Vendettas move up towards the destroyed Bastion.

In shooting, the Bomber kills 2 gaunts and all of the Shrikes. Long fangs take 3 wounds from the Trygon prime and Grey hunters killed 2 Raveners. The Company Command squad issues 1st rank fire, 2nd rank fire to the Veteran squad out of the Chimera. The Veteran squad kills 7 gaunts and the Colossus Siege Cannon kills off a Hive Guard. The Leman Russ scattered it's shot, managing to land on the Colossus but luckily failed to damage. The Demolisher missed the Trygon completely. The Vendetta gunships kill off one of the Tervigons, kill a Tyrant and finish off the Trygon prime - awesome shooting there Imperial Navy.

Assault was scarce, the Grey Hunters moved to the Raveners, 3 Hunters being killed in the process but the Hunters managing to kill off the Raveners.

"That's better lads... Thank the Emperor for the Imperial Navy!!"

Tyranids - Turn 4
The remaining Tervigon regenerates 1 of his lost wounds, the Lictors spread around cover. Gaunts move to secure the 2nd bastion objective and the remaining Tyranids dispersed to avoid Guard artillery fire.

Shooting caused a Carnifex to shake a Vendetta, but the remaining shooting patters harmlessly off the Imperial Armour.

Assault was more prolific for the Tyranids. Warriors with the Alpha Warrior charge the Leman Russ and Space Wolves, removing the Battle Cannon and killing the Wolves, Screamer Killer carnifex assaults a Vendetta, removing 1 of it's 3 Lascannons. The Lictors assault the Colossus mortar, shaking it, and a Tyrant assaults a Leman Russ, blowing it up. The Doom's assault against the Demolisher and the Lictors assault on a Razorback was fruitless, but the Genestealers and Broodlord stunned, then blew up a Chimera with a Veteran squad. The Tervigon assaulted one of the Drop Pods and destroys it.

ZERG RUSH!

Imperial - Turn 5
The remaining Razorback tank shocks the Gaunts, moving them up the battlefield. The Vendetta moves to contest the Tyranids home objective, while other Vendettas spread out to move for objectives. The Command squad disembarked from it's stunned Chimera and the attached Inquisitor moved and joing the remnants of the remaining Veteran squad. The Bomber again strafes across the table for maximum impact.

The Bomber's strafing run kills off 3 warriors and wounds around the rest of the unit. The Razorback fails to wound the Carnifex. One Vendetta kills the Screamer killer Carnifex and the Long Fangs fail to hurt the lurking Lictors. The Company Command squad kills off another 7 gaunts and the nearby Demolisher takes a wound off a Hive Tyrant. The Leman russ kills 3 gaunts with it's template and the other shootable Vendetta killed off a Sniper Fex.

In assault, the Veteran squad and Inquisitor moved to charge the Broodlord, but failed to damage it. Fortunately, their leadership held and kept the Broodlord pinned with them for a turn.

Zooooooooooooom!

Tyranids - Turn 5
The Gaunts press to a Bastion objective and the Winged Hive Tyrant moves to support them.

The Flying tyrant shoots a Vendetta but nothing happens and a Carnifex moves to support, managing to Shake the Vendetta.

In assault, the Tyranid prime targets were the Vendettas.. Tyrant attacks one, fails to do anything, similar story with a 2nd Vendetta assaulted by a Carnifex. A lone Lictor attacking a third Vendetta managed to cause a Weapon Destroyed result. Another Lictor assaulting the Colossus caused an immobilised result. A Tyrant attacking a Leman Russ caused 3 penetrating hits, resulting in a wrecked result. Gaunts charging in on the Imperial Guard Command Squad kill off all but the Company Commander who stands firm, killing 3 gaunts in retaliation. The Broodlord versus the veterans again resulted in a drawn combat.

"Stand still damn you!!"

Imperial - Turn 6
The Vendettas move around the board to contest 3 of the objective, the Shaken Vendetta moving flat out to reach it's one near the Winged Hive Tyrant. The Bomber strafes across the board again and the remaining 2 Leman Russes (1 Demolisher) move to open fire on remaining targets.

The Marauder bomber kills off 1 Lictor, the Vendetta nearby shoots another Lictor but thanks to it's Chamelionic skin and going to ground, it survived. The Leman Russ kills a Tyranid Warrior. A 2nd Vendetta attempts to open up on another Lictor, who again, dives for cover in the ground. The Doom of Malan'tai takes a Demolisher shell, but passes his invulnerable save. The Space Wolf Long Fangs nick a wound from the Winged Tyrant.

In assault, the Brood Lord kills off the Veteran squad (finally...) and consolidates towards the Bastion objective. Imperial Commander Grant wins the combat against the Gaunts, who take 2 casualties - standing firm to contest the Objective on his own.

Tyranids swarm the Digestion Pool objective

Tyranids - Turn 6
The Winged Hive Tyrant moves to assault the nearby Vendetta, Warriors, Carnifex and walking Tyrant move to attack Leman Russes, Gaunts move toward the digestion pool, and the Tervigon goes to attack a Chimera lumbering toward the Tyranid home objective.

Shooting caused no issues on the Vendettas, one passing it's Flat Out cover save and the other from the lone Hive Guard missing it's target.

In assault, the Tervigon destroyed the Chimera, Winged Hive Tyrant shakes the Vendetta, and all 3 remaining Leman Russes were destroyed. Commander Grant stood firm once again, holding the Gaunts for a draw.

Imperium - Turn 7
The Vendettas and the Long Fangs move to contest their nearby objectives. Everything else remaining (not much) held their positions.

The Marauder bomber shot the Lictors and wounded 1, the Vendetta with 1 lascannon remaining shot at the Winged Tyrant but failed to wound.

In assault, the Gaunts finally manage to beat down the Imperial Commander - not bad for someone who sits in a box ordering people around mostly.

Tyranids - Turn 7
So final turn for the Tyranids. The Warriors move to combat a Vendetta objective, one remaining Lictor moves to attack the Long Fangs and a Lictor / Gaunt combo move to secure the digestive pool. The Parasite of Mortrex and Tervigon head to the home objective to secure it.

Final round of shooting caused a Vendetta to become shaken, 2 Long Fangs to be killed and the Marauder bomber to finally take a hit, causing a Gun crew stunned result.

In assault, the Hive guard failed to damage his Vendetta foe, the Long Fangs caused 1 wound on a Lictor, but the Lictor held, the walking Tyrant managed to smash down the buzzard Vendetta hovering near his objective and the Winged tyrant failed to damage the final Vendetta.

The Aftermath of Portsmotia...

Result
Tyranid Victory - 1 objective held, other 3 were contested.

Conclusion
It was a tough game full of bloodshed, had Imperial Template Weaponry been a bit more accurate, the Portsmotian defence force may have held - alas. We have crippled the Tyranid foe significantly and can send for further reinforcements to cleanse this Tyranid infestation sector.

SB.

Manutia Defence Strike Force

+++ Incoming Transmission+++

I have recently received information about your plight at Portsmotha and as such am going to divert my armies to assist in the defence.

Inquisitor Maleth
Ordo Malleus

+++ Transmission Terminated +++

Inquisitor Maleth has Commandeered (or so he believes) a strike force built from Space Wolves and Grey Knights. He has sent them straight to the defence of Portsmotha as he believes the Tyranid assault will cause havoc with the planet and has pulled as many men from the front lines as he could do so without weakening the defences.

Below is Inquisitor Maleth who is over all commander of the defence and Jimmy the Gauntslayer flanking a squad of Veteran Long Fangs and their Razorback transport.




The main bulk of the Space Wolf Strike Force, consisting of a Grey Hunter squad and two Wolf Guard squads in Tactical Dreadnought Armour. These will be spearheading the counter assault while the Grey Knights get into position.

The Grey Knight element of the strike force, consisting of two Dreadnoughts, 6 Grey Knights, Grand Master Varco and his Teminator Retinue and a Land Raider Redeemer to deliver them to the heart of the Tyranid forces.

Lastly is a Marauder Bomber which the Imperial Navy has spared from the battle in space against the Tyranid Fleet, this will provide air support for the Strike Force while the PDF provides long range fire support to the counter attack.

Hopefully, the combination of the Strike Forces assault capabilities, the PDF's ranged firepower, and the air support provided by the Marauder Bomber will be able to overwhelm the Tyranids attacking force. What horrors await the Imperium if they fail to hold the Xeno at Portsmotha, we can only guess at, and will fight to the bitter end to prevent them travelling further than the outer reaches of the spaceport.

+++ Incoming Transmission +++

13 hours until Tyranid force reaches defence lines... I pray to the Immortal Emperor we can hold them off here, we of the Ordo Malleus have seen untold horrors, but I believe this may be my last command, as nothing the warp can spawn can compare to the unwavering focus of the Tyranid Hive Mind.

We will reach the spaceport within 12 hours, I hope that leaves enough time to prepare the final defences and co-ordinate our counter-assault.

The Emperor Protects

Inquisitor Maleth
Ordo Malleus

+++ Transmission Terminated +++

[Battle Report] The Weekly Waaagh! in Spearhead

Hey all,

After my post Monday afternoon where I showed off my attempt at a Spearhead list, Monday night I actually got to play the game - our club's first game of Spearhead.

We rolled for the deployment and got a standard Pitched Battle style setup where we had to stay in our own half and 18" away from one another (I can't remember the name!) and then the mission was to get as many scoring units into the enemy deployment zone.

To setup, we were allowed to place 1 Spearhead formation on the board, or 3 non-Spearhead units. So, us having 2 Superheavy units involved, wanted to place them on the table to take each other on. Everything else would come on in reserve.

I placed my Stompa down first, hiding behind the largest building I could in my deployment zone, and the Hellhammer wedged between terrain pieces for cover to the front. Each Super heavy took a penetrating hit before the game started as per their Spearhead rules - the Stompa was unable to move for the turn and the Hellhammer unable to shoot in the turn.

Turn 1 - Orks
First turn to the Orks, the Stompa was unable to move, so couldn't get out from behind cover to threaten the temporarily toothless Hellhammer. Fortunately for the Orks, I had taken 3 Trukk Boyz with Rokkit Launchas in a Mechanised Assault Spearhead which meant they could Outflank and show up from Turn 1. I rolled a 5 for my Outflank roll, meaning I could choose which edge they came on - this was to be the beginning of a few very lucky rolls here...

The 3 trukks all came on behind the Baneblade, looking for some very hopeful Rear Armour shots with their shoddy Ballistic Skill using Rokkit Launchas...

3 Ork Boyz with Rokkit Launchas shoot at the reat armour, 2 actually managing to hit the gigantic vehicle and 1 managing to make a Penetrating Hit.

Somehow (the Ork must have been covered head to toe in Blue Paint) I managed to roll a 6 on the first damage roll meaning Hellhammer loses a Structure point and Chain Reaction allows me to roll again.... Another 6 and a Chain reaction... And a 5. Meaning with 1 16pt Ork Boy managing to destroy a Hellhammer in the first turn, before it had a chance to do anything - Sorry Imperium, but that was an absolute fluke shot.

Needless to say, the Boy has now been promoted into the Tankbusta Corps with Honours! On the down side, 1 Trukk was Immobilised and the other 2 were Stunned.

Turn 1 - Imperium

Having had the Hellhammer destroyed, the Imperium attempted some swift justice, bringing on their own Mechanised Assault Spearhead, with the aim to get revenge on the Orks by taking down their Stompa. 2 Grey Hunter squads in Rhinos armed with Meltas drove onto the board from the side egde and crippled the Stompa with 2 Weapon destroyed results - 1 removing the Titan close combat weapon and the other removing it's primary Cannon.

Turn 2 - Orks

In this turn, Ork reserves started appearing from their board egde, with a Tankhunter Spearhead of Killa Kans and a Crusher Spearhead Battlewagon with Tankbustas and a Kustom forcefield Mek attempted rolled onto the board.

Both attempted to destroy the Rhinos and Grey Hunters, but managed to fail miserably. 5 S10 penetrating hits from the Deff Rolla managed nothing but Shaken, Stunned and the Storm Bolter destroyed. Seems like Ork luck has run out!

Turn 2 - Imperium
Reinforcements showed up in the form of Wolf Guard Terminators, drop podding close by the Tank Hunter Killa Kans and the Battlewagon. The Grey Hunters jumped out of their stunned and shaken Transports, one of them managing to bring down the Battlewagon in an explosion of Red Paint, flames and burning Tankbustas.

You'll have to now forgive the vagueness of some of the turn descriptions... I was trying to play this game, referee a War of the Ring Game and follow a World Cup game on my phone...

The Grey Hunters then moved into assault with the Tankbustas, killing several and another one being lost to No Retreat rules. The Mek and Tankbustas managing to thin out a Grey Hunter or two in return.

A spearhead Dreadnaught moved onto the board and made the nearby Ork Trukks his main priority, immobilising another one.

To top the start of the game off for the Imperium... deep striking Grey Knight terminators ended up very harshly deepstriking off the board and suffering a destroyed mishap result... Ouch... 800+ points destroyed via bad (or good for the orks) dice rolling without doing anything.

Turn 3 - Orks
In turn 3, all my remaining reserves showed up - 2 Units of 3 Killa Kans with Big Shootas, a Seek and Destroy spearhead consisting of 2 Killa Kans and a Deff Dred and a walking Big Mek with Forcefield to safeguard all of the above.

The combined firepower from all the Kans near the Wolf Guard terminators managed to thin them down to 2 terminators. The Stompa unleashed a hail of fire on the Grey Hunters and then proceeded to literally Stomp them in close combat until they ran away.

The Tankbustas and Grey Hunters continued their fued in the middle, neither running away and slowly whittling one another down.

Turn 3 - Imperium

Lots of Dreadnaughts showed up this turn and decided to take offence to my Trukks being in their half of the Board so managed to blow up 2 of them and assault the Boyz inside.

Combined with this, the Wolf Lord himself showed up and jumped into combat with the Boyz but had a pitiful round, killing nothing, despite his supposedly superior combat prowess.

Turn 4 - Orks

The Orks started to head up the board, the Killa Kans and Deff Dred focusing on killing off the Drop Pod and remaining Terminators, dispatching them without too much trouble.

The Ork Trukk Boyz moved to combat the newly arrived Dreadnaughts but the rocket launchers bouncing off their armour. 1 Dreadnaught becomes immobilised and loses an arm.

The Stompa finished off the fleeing Grey Hunters it crushed most of in the last turn, and the Tankbusters and Grey Hunters remain locked to the death.

Turn 4 - Imperium

With all it's force now committed or destroyed the Imperium had it's last throw of the dice in terms of attack, throwing all the Drednaughts and the Wolf Guard battle leader into combat with the Ork Boyz and trukks around their deployment area - hoping to drive off the scoring units.

The Orks however did become depleted, but managed to hold firm, destroying a Dreadnaught and causing the Wolf Lord to lose a wound.

The Tankbusters finally were destroyed, but the Grey Hunters were now left 2 models strong... the Melta and the Rending Wulfen Marked leader in the hopes they can remain alive, they moved away to the corner of the board, attempting to blow something up with the Melta along the way and having no luck.

Turn 5 - Orks
The Egg and Spoon race now began! With the turns running out, all the Killa Kans, Deff Dred and the Stompa then began to turn and run towards the finishing line of the enemy deployment zone.

The Boyz and Double Dreadnaught combat continued with 1 squad of Boyz being forced to flee.

Turn 5 - Imperium
The only thing remaining were the last Grey Hunter squad with Melta, who attempted to rear armour the Stompa and had no luck, along with the 2 Dreds in the Imperial Deployment Zone.

Another Ork Boyz squad began to flee from combat, but a Drednaught was destroyed in the process.

Turn 6 - Orks
The Ork Kan wall continued to race, but were having no luck, with run moves rolling low... They weren't going to make it.

More Boyz died in the Drednaught combat, but they held firm and managed to damage the Drednaught, knocking off his Dreadnaught close combat weapon.

Turn 6 - Imperium
This turn, I think the Dreadnaught finally got popped leaving the win open for the Orks.

We then rolled for a turn 7 and it ended there... Some extremely lucky dice rolling!

Conclusion
Some things we thought after the game (aside from the Hellhammer destruction and GK Terminators flying off the board) was that the Long table deployment, combined with Outflankers and Deepstrikers meant that the vast majority of the table didn't get used.

Had it been a game involving Eldar, Valkyries or Tau, then I'm sure it would have, but in re-acting to Outflanking or Deepstriking threats meant committing forces in our own deployment zones, meaning restricted movement.

Overall though, I enjoyed Spearhead. It somewhat combines the scale and Chaos of an Apocalypse game with the speed of a normal game of 40k. We managed to get a 2,500pt game played in the space of a normal 1,500 - 2000pt 40k game, along with refeering and watching a bit of War of the Ring too.

Looking forward to the next game, where I may leave the Stompa at home and bring an extra Battlewagon, Warbuggies and Looted Wagons for even more chaos!

SB

Ursus' first command

Last night was my first game of Spearhead, and I took my Space Wolves with a couple of Grey Knight Allies, 4 Dreads and a Hellhammer superheavy (a baneblade that got told it was a Hellhammer to be precise.) I will let you decide how it went for me!

It was Ursus’ first time in command and he had been requested by the Inquisition to support them as they tried to stop Waaagh Nobrot, they had had reports of a Stompa leading a swarm of Killer Kans. Ursus had come up with a solid plan with the support of the Grey Knights and a Hellhammer, the Hellhammer would draw the Orks close before opening fire and the remaining forces would attack from various angles to cause disorder or chaos among the Orks.

As the Hellhammer trundled into position the Ork Stompa could be seen moving between buildings, the superheavy powered down so that the Orks crude sensors didn’t pick up its heat signature. Little did Ursus, or even the Inquisition know that the Orks had been cunning and three trukks roared to life only metres away from the idling tank, one Ork boy who had obviously spent the last few years on the target range fired its Rokkit and hit a power coupling crippling the tank but the warhead didn’t explode and drove deeper into its armour cutting more and more power cables and finally detonated deep within the Hellhammer amongst its high explosive ammunition, the Super heavy tank exploded in a nova of heat damaging all three Trukks and leaving a crater where the Imperials hopes once lay.

While Ursus’ squad prepared themselves in their drop pod, he remained in the Strategium to help plan the counter assault. Two squads of Grey hunters with Meltaguns drove their rhinos recklessly behind enemy lines they quickly fired their tank destroying weapons and sheared off both the Stompas most fearsome weapons at the joints, but failed to be able to stop its rampage the same way the Orks destroyed their icon of victory.

As the Orks walker contraptions known as Killer Kans horded into the immediate vicinity, Ursus declared the beginning of their counter assault and his Grey Hunters deployed out of their Rhinos to face down the oncoming horde after it had been hit by a speeding Battlewagon. Ursus’ squad was launched and he saw them land amidst the enemy, it took a moment to realise he himself was supposed to be in the Drop Pod, and he dashed towards the launch bays to commandeer a Thunderhawk trying his best not to look like a complete fool as his squad held an entire army at bay. 

One of the dreadnoughts had finally arrived at the battle and opened up at the closest Ork Trukk destroying it with contemptuous ease causing the Orks inside to bail out before the towering machine charged into battle ripping two apart with its huge claws. The Grey Knights, although had been deployed were no-where to be seen and suspected that they had teleported to a different location after discovering a daemonic infestation elsewhere on the planet. 

 

The Ork Horde swarmed over the Space Wolves who had been abandoned by their Inquisition allies and their only hope lay in ruins before it had fired a shot. The Space Wolves were slowly torn apart by the Kans and the Stompa with little able to fight back as all their heavy weapons had been destroyed or elsewhere on the planet the Ork Waagh could only gain strengths in the coming days. Ursus landed and charged straight into the closest band of Orks supported by 3 Dreadnoughts but his last stand didn’t last long and the overwhelming numbers of the Orks tore him and the Dreadnoughts apart. The Orks had suffered few casualties compared to the Space Wolves and were eager for more destruction. But with nothing else in sight they turned their glaring red eyes towards the main hive of the planet.

Well as you can see, it went very very badly, but oh well, better luck next time eh.

Road To Stockport - The Night Before!

After 4 Weeks of painting and playing with my Space Wolves they are finally finished and I thought I would introduce you to Logan's Great(ish) Company and the characters from my battle report story.


First up we have Logan Grimnar (my model of him anyway) in the middle, acompanied by his retinue, containing a Storm Shield and lots of Power Weapons.

Here is my second squad of Wolf Guard "led" by Sergeant Vulkan (not that Space Wolves actually have Sergeants) in the middle, and his Squad containing a Storm Shield, an Assault Cannon, and a Power fist.

Here is Squad Leonis, with his Power Fist, Leading a Grey Hunter Squad containing a Melta, a Flamer and a Wulfen cursed brother.

Here is Squad Lykan (or Lycan, I can't remember how I spelt it) Leading my second squad of Grey Hunters with a Plasma Gun, a Flamer, and a cursed brother.

Here are the Long Fangs under the Command of Sergeant Sven (the only Sergeant I actually have) they are all weilding Missile Launchers and are acompanied by a Wolf Guard with Cyclone Missile Launcher. Their Razorback is more of a support unit for the other units than a transport for Sven's Squad

Lastly we have Squad Lycus (or Lykus), he is a cursed Brother who has controlled the Wulfen and can release it at the right time to be devestating after sneaking behind the enemy lines, he is accompanied by two Power Weapon's and a Melta.

And there you have it, my 1500pt Stockport army, finally painted (finished about 10 minutes ago).

Enjoy!

Road To Stockport Week 4!

Once again, its that time of the week, its the Road to Stockport, if you are wondering what happened to week 3, you didn't miss it, we were busy last week painting, so there was no game! This week, however, once again (due to people being off and other gaming systems) Logans Great(ish) Company faced off against the Tyranids of Hivefleet Tattybojangles. Enjoy! (PS. I appologise that the pictures are out of sequence, we didnt think to take any until turn 4, it got really interesting at that point!)

The Drop pod Rattled around Logan as it screeched towards the Drop Zone, they would be going in hot today. The pod smashed into the ground just in bolter range just as planned, Squad Vulkan was already setting up firing arcs aiming at the centre of the large horde of Tyranids heading towards them. Logan could see in the distance Sven’s Long fangs were already set up with clear fields of fire in all directions and closely supported by Lykan’s Grey hunter squad. A grin crept across his lips bearing his large fangs as he saw the contrails of 6 missiles spear into the Warrior squad blowing one of the creatures apart and ripping chunks out of the largest. The assault cannon of Squad Vulkan was the next to open up, the high calibre bolts tearing chunks out of the remaining warriors. Then the hive mind kicked in and the horde began to move towards the Wolves positions, Logan could see one of the larger creatures churning out more and more gaunts and expected a bloody fight. Their guns opened up and through sheer weight of fire managed to wound one of the mighty terminator clad marines, but it was of little consequence, the Space Wolves were about to get to grips with the enemy, where they worked best.

Logan saw the drop pod for Squad Leonis crash down further forward disgorging his Grey hunters on the far flank ready to burn the foul xeno off the planet. The missiles of the Long fangs opened up again shredding the last of the Warriors, only leaving the largest looking bloodied and bruised from the barrage. The Terminators lumbered forward under Logan’s command and he heard the Assault cannon whine as it powered up and began hurling more explosive shells at the large creature that was disgorging the gaunts. The Grey hunters also opened up on the Tervigon but despite the barrage of fire it remained standing though a few of the gaunts in the path of Squad Leonis’ flamer were not so lucky. Squad Lycus had appeared behind the horde as he was best at doing and charged into the rear of the enemy, but the Hive mind had been prepared for this and quickly tore the scouts apart leaving the remnants to flee bloodied possibly beyond help. The terminators were not quick enough and the gaunts protecting the larger Tervigon poured into them ripping with claws and teeth, but the stoic heroes stood firm and began to beat back the flooding horde. Logan felt the ground shake and heard a great crash and as he turned he saw one of the dreaded Trygons smashing out of the ground in front of the Long fangs forcing them to fall back as their equipment failed from the electromagnetic discharge the creature released. Then the horrid sickening feeling began again and Logan’s hackles began to rise, he knew what was coming, it was the dreaded doom, no matter how many times they killed it, it kept coming back. He watched as it smashed into the ground and immediately began leeching the life out of Squad Leonis killing 5 of his men before they even knew what was happening, one of Logan’s terminators also fell to the psychic assault. Leonis reaped a horrid toll in combat taking revenge for his squad by killing almost every gaunt that charged in against his remaining men.

Logan saw Squad Lykan jump out of their Rhino in defence of Sven’s retreat and bravely poured plasma and bolter fire into the giant Trygon, but it was little use and merely distracted the beast from its prey. Logan wanted revenge against the dreaded Doom and sent his personal squad to assist Vulkan against the pressing horde while he himself charged towards the floating brain. Even as the Doom absorbed more souls from Squad Leonis, leaving the sergeant alone to face the coming horde Logan smashed his great Axe into the creatures’ cranium splitting its carapaced skull and brain apart, hopefully ending its life of terror for good. Squad Vulkan backed up by the remaining terminator of Logan’s squad managed to beat the swarm of gaunts and finish off the giant warrior before it could cause any harm. Victorious the terminators regrouped and fell back towards the pods to bring their heavy weapons to bare and create a solid wall of ceramite as they were the remaining few after the Trygon ripped Lycus and his squad apart.

This was it, the last stop they needed to make before reaching Stockport, and they just had to hold out here. Logan was no coward though and charged towards the Tervigon that had caused so many problems, he took shot after shot and his armour was beginning to fail blood began trickling down through the cracks but on he continued under the supporting cover of the remaining terminators of Squad Vulkan and the remaining razorback, while his own remaining bodyguard faced down against the Trygon and the left flank of the Tyranid assault on his own.

Logan Smashed into the Tervigon crushing its legs under the might of his blows causing it to crash to the ground before bringing his great axe down to cleave the creatures head apart in a furious flurry of blows. He stepped back and bellowed a howl like no other before, then the horde opened up and the living ammunition found the cracks in his armour worming into his wounds causing Logan to falter at the last moment. Vulkan managed to remain standing once again keeping his master safe, Logan would have to promote this heroic figure a promotion soon, he had deserved it time after time. The Tyranids began rampaging through the Space Wolf vehicles as the remaining men fell back, Logan’s lone bodyguard stood firm but the weight of fire took him down eventually, his duty done in delaying the horde for his master he fell to the ground proud in himself.

Road To Stockport: Week 2

(Last night was an interesting 3 player game involving the Space Wolves of Logan’s Great(ish) Company, the Tyranids of Hivefleet Tattybojangles, and the Guardsmen of Manutia)

As Logan and the Commander of the Guardsmen discussed the plan to destroy the Tyranid hive, a lone Alpha warrior strode forward leaving its pack behind.
Logan pointed to the Alpha Warrior “See how the Xeno scum believes itself better than us, it doesn’t even deem speech worthy of itself.” He appealed to the Commander.
The Guardsman turned to his squad and began whispering among themselves “I think you are right, but maybe we can discuss a truce so that no-body gets hurt!” he said to the two other commanders.
“That sounds reasonable” replied Logan, “Oi, Bug, I suggest you return to your ships or face the consequences.” The Alpha Warrior just stood there.
“That isn’t what I meant by a truce!” shouted the Guard Commander.
“You are willing to consort with Xeno, you disgust me!” bellowed Logan.
“I wonder what wolf meat tastes like?” were the only thoughts going through the Alpha warriors head.
That’s when the hive started to move, the group of Warriors in the near distance moved quickly to join the feast with their leader and the other creatures surged towards the Imperials. The Guardsmen had little time to react and their Commander was too stunned to move. The Wolves were a little quicker and got both squads of Terminators on the ground immediately, while a Lone Razorback surged forward eager to get the fangs of its heavy bolter into battle. The Long Fangs, securely in Position opened fire on the Imperial Valkyries believing them to be consorting with the Xenos but in the confusion the missiles went wide and missed with every one. Logan found his Retinue and regrouped with them after they launched a volley of bolter fire into the Guardsmen.

Then all hell broke loose. The Tyranids avoided the newly arrived Terminators and rushed towards the Vehicles of the Guard, but failed to do any lasting damage, leaving them open to a counter attack. The Guardsmen opened fire on the Tyranids but inflicted little damage to the large horde, the massed confusion left their ordered guns firing wildly. The Space Wolves got their Discipline back immediately and the Last Drop Pod Smashed into the Ground amidst the Tyranids, pouring Squad Leonis out into the wastes, they wasted no time and opened fire on the Alpha Warrior and his Brood, Terminator Squad Vulkan poured their own fire from the deadly assault cannon into the fray as well, killing off a couple of the Warriors, while the Long Fangs kept their Focus on the Valkyries.

Squad Leonis charged into the Alpha warrior hoping to bring it down with their weight of numbers, while the Terminators of Squad Vulkan secured the chapel with the help of Logans personal retinue. The Long fangs finally took off the weapons of one of the Valkyries. Leonis was able to kill off all the remaining Warriors but failed to wound the Alpha at all, leaving them open to a counter assault from a large swarm of gaunts, which hit them hard and despite a hard effort the Grey Hunters fell. The Alpha warrior took lead of the gaunts and headed towards the chapel under a hail of Lasfire from the Guardsmen. The Ogryns charged fearlessly into a looming trygon, wanting to prove they were worthy servants of the Emperor and through their ferocity almost felled the giant beast before they were cut down leaving the Commisar to face off against a monster three times the size of him.

Then the air screeched as if in pain, Logan Knew the sound, he saw the fleshy pod head straight for the chapel and as it burst open the horrific form of a lone Zoanthrope floated out. He knew that it was no ordinary Tyranid from the way his hackles raised, it was the Doom of Malan’tai. The first waves of Nausia washed over him and his squad and he could see Squad Vulkan suffered the same, he watched as the souls of his warriors were sucked into the creatures body and their lifeless forms crumpled to the ground, he could feel his own will being sucked away. He saw Squad Lykan jump from their Rhino and burn a large number of gaunts to a crisp before charging into the Alpha Warrior determined to avenge their fellow Grey Hunters. Then everything went black, once again, he would have to get used to this. Sergeant Vulkan was the only Terminator to survive defending the Chapel and told Logan how the Guard Squad had blown away the Mycetic Sport before the Long Fangs ripped the Doom apart before it could absorb the last of his soul.

The Guardsmen were not so lucky, the Trygon ripped into the Commisar and moved towards the Hovering Valkyries, and ripped one apart with its razor sharp claws, while the dreaded Zoanthropes used their great minds to blow another apart by sheer force of will. The Long Fangs were not kind towards their would be allies and destroyed one of the Chimeras while the Razorback blew apart a second Valkyrie from behind. Lycus had spent a while getting into position behind the Hive’s base spawning pool and charged straight into the largest creature they could find, which was a hulking Tervigon, Lycus entered a feral rage ripping shreds from the creatures armour and the Melta gun found these weak spots causing untold damage, while the other Scouts darted in and out stabbing and slashing at the large creature, it could not withstand the assault and a final drive into the creatures skull saw it die, but had also sealed the squads fate. The Rest of the Hive felt the loss of one of their birthing creatures and turned towards Lycus and opened fire, killing 3 of the squad, only the Melta gunner remained standing, and protected Lycus like a wolf protects its cub. The Space Wolves held the chapel securely with Vulkan stood sentinel while Lykan moved his squad in support, they had also managed to destroy the Tyranid Spawning pool, but would not be able to hold the area while the Scouts retreated back into the shadows, but it was at a cost and the Imperial guard base had been devoured by the Tyranids. The guardsmen put up a hard fight and destroyed the weakened Trygon with a single well placed Melta Shot, blowing its head apart in a shower of roasted gore.

The Imperials held the Chapel and it would be a long clean up to rid the infestation of Tyranids. The Misunderstanding between the Guardsmen and the Space Wolves was settled and they worked together to remove the foul Xeno from the planet.

The Road to Stockport

I am going to start doing a kind of Battle Report, but putting the battles into stories to set them apart from any other Battle Reports on this site. Here is the first part, where my newly built Space Wolves are facing off against Angrymans Tyranids. It is a 1500pt game in preparation for our Stockport Tournament (hence the title)

As Logans pod Burst open he looked around and could see that the Grey hunters had taken up effective positions one Rhino was speeding towards his own position to help him destroy the foul Tyranid Spawning pool while another rumbled slowly forward keeping some xeno warriors within its sight and a clear path towards their own rally point. He turned and looked to see if his Long fangs were in position, but there were nowhere to be seen.
“Sven, report your position!” he rumbled into the comm-link.
“We are having problems, the rubble is denser than first thought, ETA. 3 minutes.” Came the reply

Logan looked back onto the battlefield and spotted a foul Tervigon heading towards his squad, without cover and backup he could get easily overpowered by its firepower, and there had to be more nearby. He started towards the solid plascrete wall of a building with his Wolf Guard in tow, but he wasn’t quick enough and he saw the rest of the horde appear from the rubble. They were in range and he could see the guns spasm as they prepared to fire. It was too soon, they hadn’t expected this. The entire horde opened fire on his position and he managed to throw himself behind some rubble, taking only a glancing hit, his squad wasn’t so luck and three of the Wolf Guard fell their armour no protection against the living and thinking ammunition of the foul xenos.
As he assessed the situation he heard an increasing roar from above him, he recognised it as another Drop Pod, and heading for his position and he grinned showing his long fangs.

“Lycus, in position ready to pounce.” Came a soft voice over the comm-link.
The Scouts had flanked the Tyranids, the plan was beginning to play out as he had hoped. The pack were converging and about to strike from all sides, just like a pack of wolves hunts is prey back on Fenris.
“Prepare to pounce when Brother Torvald lands. Strike in unison.” He roared back, the xeno knew he was there and they couldn’t understand human speech and even if they could it was unlikely they knew the native Fenrisian tongue.
Just as the pod crashed into the ground mere metres away from Logan a Rhino drove recklessly through the wall next to him skidding to a halt as a Flamer wielding Grey Hunter hung out the side hatch. The trap was sprung and the Tyranids had walked right into it, he saw the other squad of Hunters pulling back slightly supported by a razorback keeping the Warriors in their sight.
“Sven, are you nearly ready the trap is already sprung.” Logan was becoming impatient they should be setup by now to support his assault.
“the stairs have collapsed, we are having to make the climb another way, ETA still 3 minutes.” Came the frustrated voice from the Long Fang Sergeant.

He turned back and looked to his arriving brother, more hulking terminators strode out of the drop pod already pointing the massive assault cannon at a looming Carnifex while the scouts could be seen sneaking up from the enemy rear. Then the killing began. The Assault cannon opened up at the same time as the flamer from the Rhino. There was a hiss of superheated air as the melta in the scouts opened up at the carnifex at the same time. Gaunts screeched as they were roasted alive but the carnifex just shrugged off every bullet and even the melta shot only managed to score its carapace. Logan heard the sound of bolter fire coming from behind and saw a mighty Tyranid warrior fall to the Razorback and second Hunter Squads fire.

He went to jump from his cover but he had left it too long and his scouts were already charging in, slaughtering more gaunts and hoping to distract the Carnifex, then a Trygon roared and smashed the rhino apart with its guns before charging into the Grey hunters followed by the Tervigon they had first seen. Dispite the Scouts attempt to keep the Terminators free to bring their firepower to bear again they were swamped by gaunts. Dispite all this every warrior fought on bravely and died like a true Fenrisian. Logan was stunned into inaction by the ferocity of the xeno and even his own wolves although fighting like cornered beasts couldn’t match it. It was over in a matter of minutes, every last battle brother lay dead, except himself and his lone Wolf Guard. It had been his fault, his inaction had led to this, he saw the Long Fangs finally in position and begin to open fire, but it would be too late. He also watched as the second squad of Hunters fought bravely and killed off the warriors and gaunts heading to the rally point. Not that it was any use anymore, there was no-one to rally. The Trygon loomed above him and a third pod cam roaring down, but this one was living and contained the most horrific creature possible. It crashed next to the Grey hunter Sergeant and his Melta wielding squadmate, and ate their souls, just as a second Tervigon scuttled around the corner, he didn’t know which fate would have been worse, but he planned on doing something to repent for his inaction and charged headlong into the Trygon.

He heard missiles loose and caught a glimpse of the horrid creature that had spawned from the pod get blown apart then he saw the Trygon getting larger, it was much bigger than he thought, with a sweep of its tail it sent Logan flying into a wall under the Long Fangs, he heard bones snap, then he blacked out just as he saw the contrails of four missiles lash out and rip the Trygon apart. At least someone could claim glory this battle. He awoke in the apothecarion in a sombre mood, they had lost the world to the foul xenos, and it had been his inaction that had cost the lives of many battle brothers. It was going to be a long road to Stockport, if he survived that long.

Tune in Next week for the next installment, hopefully the Space Wolves wont die this time

[FLUFF] The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

(Now I don't mean to steal Uriel's thunder, but I have been waiting to hear his next part of the Ultramarine / Blood Angel story, so I decided I would take a stab at adding a part. I dont think it is anywhere near as good as his writing but I wanted to add in my my favourite Space Marine Unit in the game... so read on and I hope you enjoy.)

His Prey was close, he could smell it, the sickly smell of taint, the metallic tang of freshly spilt blood and the anger radiated from its body all this he could pick out from the dense cloying smells of the jungle. He knew it hadn’t noticed him yet it was too busy butchering its latest find and drinking deep from the heart of the last Ultramarine. It must have been the Ultramarine that sent the request for help on a broad frequency. Lukan’s ears pricked as he heard a muffled step and cursed in his head, his fellow Wolves should be quieter than that. The Wolf Scouts stopped as one when their newest recruit stood onto some damp sticks, but it appeared their prey was too intent on its kill. Lukan started forward again and his pack followed, only the super heightened senses of the Space Wolves able to know where each member was, it was even more enhanced than that of a normal Space Marine, if such a creation could be called normal. Lukan caught sight of his prey for the first time and was disgusted, he knew what his squad had been sent to do, they were here to quell the Red Thirst from the Blood Angels before the Inquisition found out, but to see a fellow Astarte standing over the body of the fallen Ultramarine sickened the Wolf. He drew his power sword, but didn’t activate its power field to keep up his current stealth, his enhanced hearing picked out the sound of the rest of his Pack as they did the same. He was only five strides from the Blood Angel when the trees of the jungle came to an end, reaching the clearing he waited until he knew his pack was surrounding the prey. After only a few heartbeats he leapt from the trees, the Blood Angel finally looking up from its horrid food to see the snarling face of Lukan bearing down on him. To his credit the Blood Angel did not freeze in horror as most mortals would when faced by a charging Space Wolf, he bared his own fangs which were thin and needle like compared to the Wolves thick Dagger like fangs, he brought up his own chainsword just in time to parry the wolves power sword, luckily the power field hadn’t been activated yet.

Lukan turned with the force of the Blood Angels parry, he was stronger than he had thought. Lukan brought his sword round again this time activating the field and cut deep into the leg armour of his prey, out of the corner of his eye he saw his fellow pack ready to strike if he fell. He was determined he wouldn’t. The Blood Angel was unhindered by the cut to his leg and fought with a madness seen only in those who have fallen to the Red Thirst. Lukan knew he had to end it quickly and put all his effort into breaching his preys defences, time after time he scored a hit, but the Angel refused to fall, he could smell other Blood Angels approaching, they had to leave before they arrived. He pushed himself to his limits and releasing the inner wolf he managed to get inside his preys guard, his sword bit deep into the side of the Blood Angels army piercing both hearts and coming out at the shoulder snarling fiercely into his preys face, the Blood Angel didn’t even blink, he brought down his own chainsword and only Lukan’s wolf like instinct kept him out of harms way as he dived around the back of his prey twisting his sword and pulling it free. The Wolf pack had vanished by the time the Blood Angel fell to the ground, short seconds later a Sanguinary Priest arrived to find their fallen comrade lying next to the last Ultramarine, he believed they killed each other. Lukan could smell the shame radiating from the Priest and the other Blood Angels lurking in the tree line, he waited in the shadows until the Priest had left before going back to the hunt.


(As with everything, feel free to comment.)

[Space Wolves] Space Wolves Theoryhammer overview

Hello again people, its been a while since I have posted on here, this has mainly been because I was “saving” my money, I didn’t do a very good job of that. Unfortunately the set of Work In Progress posts that I was doing on the Space Marine army has come to an end as I just lost the love for them and well any form of building or painting.

Then I decided I would do a Space Wolf army and incorporate the paint scheme I had decided on into them, so I went and bought the codex and read through, they had kept some of my favourite rules for the Scouts and Long fangs so I was happy with them to start with. I then also went and bought some models to get building with, but I still didn’t have the motivation. That is until I started reading the Space Wolf books, which got me right into them, now I have only built half of my 1500pt list which will be played at Marauders in Stockport, Manchester, England (which is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean for any Americans). Before I get them on the table I am going to go through and do a big Theoryhammer blog on each of the units, so be warned, this will be a BIG read.


So for starters, lets look at the basic HQ’s, I will go over the Special HQ’s another time.

The Wolf Lord, well there isn’t much to say here, he is basically a Space Marine Captain with some different and lots of options, comes at a basic of 100pts with a CCW and pistol, and Power Armour, I think he comes with a 4+ Invulnerable but not 100% sure, in general I overlook this option in favour of the Rune Priest and Wolf Priest. The biggest letdown is that for 100pts the other two come with power weapons as standard whereas it costs the Wolf Lord 15pts, but odds on, you will be giving him a Frost Blade for the extra Str.

The Rune Priest looks like a good buy, 100pts basic with 2 psychic powers and a force weapon, I would defiantly pay the extra 50pts to upgrade him to using two powers in a turn, even if you don’t use both it means you can either use two, or use one AND his force weapon, which means you don’t have to be too reserved with when you use your powers. There isn’t too much point putting him in Runic armour as the biggest bonus it gives is a 5+ save against psychic powers, his hood/staff gives him negate powers on a 4+ anyway and for a similar cost you can put him in Terminator armour for the 2+ save and a 5+ inv.

A Quick overview of the psychic powers, everyone raves over the Jaws of the World Wolf which isn’t too bad, but there are other powers which do look good. The Spirit of the Wolves where you get an Assault 3 high Str High AP shot and I think Assault 2 Str 4 (or 5) AP 2 (or 3) which seems like good fun. There is also a power which means any jump infantry, jetbikes, and Skimmers take a Dangerous Terrain test if they move, and because they count ALL terrain as Dangerous (including Clear Terrain) that means they have to take a test when they start moving AND when they finish moving (or not move at all) there are a couple of other powers which are decent but those 3 powers are by far the best.

The Wolf Priest, a cross between a Chaplain and an Apothecary. Any unit he is attached to gains preferred enemy against a unit type of your choice, which you decide at the beginning of the battle, very helpful. He has the basic Stats of a Marine Chaplain but with some extra rules for the same price, starts at a basic 100pts, though I plan to give him Saga of the Hunter, which means he can infiltrate/outflank and stick him a unit of Wolf Scouts, also giving him a Wolf Tail Talisman means he and his unit are protected from Psychic powers. And for those two upgrades he only costs 115pts.

The last basic HQ choice is the lowly Wolf Guard Captain/hero/leader. Basically he is 30pts cheaper than the Wolf Lord, with 1 less WS and BS and also only 2 wounds, good for smaller games, but again I overlook this choice in favour of the Rune Priest and Wolf Priest who give more to the army.


Now For the Elites.

The Wolf Guard, the Elite of the Space Wolves, put into the right section that’s for sure. They have the same stats as a normal Space Marine Veteran with having an extra attack, and a massive LD 9 (which is big in the Space wolf army), but what makes them so good is that they are a basic 18pts, which isn’t too dear compared to the Sternguard and Vanguard Vets of the Smurfs. They can take almost any upgrade, Terminator armour with Power weapon and Storm bolter, only 15pts, everyone can take power fists, power weapons, Frost blades and so on, the cost does rack up, but they are good. If you take Logan Grimnar, they become troops, not just scoring like Pedro Kantor, but actual Troops, which means for 177pts (and a Drop Pod) you can do a Deathwing Army for cheaper than well, the Deathwing. If you take Ragnar Blackmane with 9 of these guys in a Rhino/Drop pod or maybe even 10 of them in a raider, then they get +d3 attacks on the charge! The biggest bonus that these guys give though, is that they can be split off to lead other units, which takes the basic Wolf LD of 8 up to 9, doesn’t sound like much, but it is. Also, giving one of these guys a Cyclone missile launcher and sticking him in a unit of Long Fangs, gives you an extra 2 Missile launcher shots to fire somewhere, good fun.

Next up is the Wolf Scouts, these guys are some of the Veterans of the Space wolves, and it is understandable that they are in the Elites section, but I think it distracts people from them as they aren’t scoring units. To make up for this though they are WS and BS 4 unlike the new Marine Scouts. They can have two power weapons/Plasma Pistols, and they can also take a meltagun, or flamer/plasma gun, but metlas are probably the best choice. They can also take heavy weapons, but I think this would be a waste of points seeing as their biggest bonus is that they can outflank but better, when deciding which table edge on a roll of a 1 to the players left, on a 2 the players right, on a 3+ the player decides out of all four table edges, including the enemies long table edge. For 15pts each, it’s a bargain. As you can turn one into a wulfen with D6+1 rending attacks, two power weapons and a melta, they would be a big threat, especially if you stick an outflanking Wolfguard leader/Wolf Priest or even let a Wolf Guard lead them giving an extra power weapon or a power fist. Big cost, but deadly and adaptable.

Lastly that is unique to the Wolves are the Lone Wolves, I don’t think these guys are competitive but they could be useful and very very fun. 20pts and you get a guy with 2 wounds and FNP that you WANT to die. For 65pts you can give him terminator armour and twin wolf claws, or two Fenrisian wolves for extra protection. This means he is a big threat if he gets into enemy lines, but if they kill him, they don’t get a kill point for him. This could cause the opponent to make bad decisions in annihilation missions where they need the kill point but cant risk letting him loose in their own lines. In this case, you could use him as a sheep dog and herd the enemy where you want them, because if they don’t move, he will kill at least most of them.

The Space Wolves also have an Iron Priest, which is basically a Techmarine and they also have the Standard Dread and Venerable Dread, but no major changes, except to wargear options.


Onto the Troops

This is a small section with only two choices, the Grey Hunters and the Blood Claws, the Grey Hunters are the Bread and Butter of the Wolves and have some good choices, they don’t have a Sergeant so anyone ca have the upgrades, I will usually take a Flamer and one of the other two weapon options, this is because the Flamer is free, and if you have 10 men you can take a second special weapon for free, which means flamer/plasma is free! Also because there is no Sergeant it means you don’t have to put the plasma Pistol and the Power fist on the same guy, so an unlucky 1 to hit doesn’t mean your fist dies. At 15pts each you get a Basic marine, with Acute Senses, Counter-attack AND a Bolter, pistol and combat weapon. However they are only LD8 lacking a sergeant to boost it up. But at 205pts for a flamer and melta/plasma gun, a Plasma Pistol, a Power Fist and a Mark of the Wulfen (d6+1 rending attacks) which is the same as a standard Marine loadout of Melta and missile/multi-melta and fist, they are pretty good.

The Blood Claws are a decent choice, but don’t compare to the Grey Hunters, they lack the Bolter to start with, but keep all the other options, however, unless accompanied by a Wolf Guard or IC they wont shoot at people as they prepare to charge. So if you are using them, best to stick a guy in there as the +2 attacks on the charge can be devastating, but the downside is they are only WS and BS 3 which means if they get hit back they will be hit a lot. At 15pts each which is the same as the Grey Hunters I don’t expect to use these guys a lot, if at all.


The Fast attacks

Here is where people cry cheese to the Space Wolves. The feared Thunderwolf Cavalry, and from looking at the rules, rightly so. Looking at the rules, and never used or seen them used they do look nasty, two wounds each, at T and S5, however the biggest question is, do you give them any special weapons, with 4 Attacks you would think so, but they come with rending basic and at 50pts basic is it worth the points. I’m not sure, if I used these guys then I would run them in a unit of three with one having a Plasma Pistol and Storm Shield, one with a Fist and Storm Shield and one with just a Storm Shield. This small unit of 3 would cost 250ish pts, but 2 wounds each with a 3+ save and a 3+ invulnerable would be hard to take down, and nasty in combat, however, I doubt I will use them as for 3 models, 250pts is a lot to fork out.

The next up is the Swiftclaw pack, these are basically the bikers, the problem is that they are part of the Blood Claws, which means, unless an IC or Wolf Guard is with them then they wont shoot, and usually the point of a biker is to carry around a special weapon and blow people/tanks up with it, they can also take an attack bike with a heavy weapon, but with a BS of 3 and only shooting with an IC/wolf guard around, these guys seem like a waste of points, they might not be as I haven’t used them but I don’t expect to see them on my army list.

Last of the Unique Space Wolf fast attack units are the Skyclaws, these are the jump infantry, the assault squads, they are also Blood Claws again, but this time, they got it right. They move fast, they don’t care about shooting oh well, I have 4 attacks on the charge and they only cost 18pts each. Here I am happy to put a Wolf Priest in with them to let them shoot a plasma pistol, maybe a melta and the rest of their pistols. I would put the wolf priest in there because with my dice rolls the preferred enemy would be helpful in the combats, throw in a fist and 235pts +Wolf Priest (as for some reason this is the only unit a Wolf Guard cant join even though they can take jump packs) you got a better than average assault squad. I may use a unit of these every now and again just because they seem like they might be good, even if they aren’t on the same level as my Khornate Raptors with two Meltas, plasma pistol and fist, but then again, they are 305pts.


Lastly the Heavy Support slots, and here they only have one Unique choice, but it is an amazing choice.

The Long Fangs, the most seasoned Veterans around other than the Wolf Lords, they are so amazing that they can shoot at two SEPARATE targets. I will always be running a unit of 5 with 4 missile launchers, at 75pts for the 5 of them, they are already starting cheap, you can make them very cheap by giving them 4 Heavy bolters for 20pts, but this means you have 6 shots at two targets, which normally if they have weak armour, 6 shots wont make much of a dint in numbers, so you will want all 12 shots, and if they have good armour then 6 shots wont kill many, so you want all 12 shots to force saves. The missile launchers are 10pts each, so taking two missile and 2 HB’s is an option, but I think 4 missile launchers making the unit 115pts is a good choice, as this means that you can take on armoured units, small units of marines, and large units of low armour troops, also if you attach a Wolf Guard in Terminator armour, with a Cyclone Missile Launcher it gives you the equivalent of 6 missiles to spread between two units, going either frag or Krak, and 6 Krak missiles can make a mess of a squad of marines, or a rampaging Carnifex, but because you also have the option to go frag you can make a bigger mess of a unit of gaunts.

All in all, I am looking forward to getting a game in with these guys, and I hope the the Long Fangs and Wolf Scouts live up to their expectations!