Odd Man Out

So, we've had the new Space Wolf codex for over six months now and one of the proofs that it's such a good book is the sheer number of different builds you can get out of it. Recently I've been playing around with some of the Special Characters and I've tried out Bjorn, Ragnar, Njal and Canis. I've also put together a Logan list. However, I've seen a real lack of Ulrik lists, both online and on the table. It's not that he's bad, it's just that so many of his special rules are situational. I think that most people look at a normal Wolf Priest for 80 points less and see that they can get Preferred Enemy against any troop type rather that just becoming the T5 monster slayers that Ulrik gives. The issue is really that since most players play Space Marines, unless you're up against a Plague Marine army or a bike army there's not much T5 out there. The thing is, I quite like Ulrik; the model is a bit old but it's on of the first Space Wolves I ever bought. His fluff is great, he's the man who killed three Bezerkers in hand to hand combat and he's the only Space Wolf who is older than Logan Grimnar. Plus, he's actually the cheapest Space Wolf special character and he definitely has 180 points worth of wargear and special rules. And yet. And yet, those 80 points could almost get you 6 extra Blood Claws to go with your Wolf Priest. The +1 WS buff for one other model is nice but the Wolf Helm of Russ making people take Leadership tests before attacking Ulrik is awesome against some armies but nearly useless against others. The re-rollable leadership for LOS is also very nice but for some reason it feels like something is missing. The thing is, if they'd let him give his squad Feel No Pain, which would have been very fluffy, Ulrik would have been in a lot of lists. As it is he feels like he was custom made to fight against the Tyranids, which, given the release schedule he might have been. Maybe when the Space Wolf 2nd wave comes out, he'll get an amazing new model and people will field him purely under the rule of cool. Although, it's more likely that everyone will just buy lots and lots of Thunderwolves (that's my plan anyway). I'm going to make a pledge now to try Ulrik out in one of my next games, maybe he'll prove me and the rest of the internet wrong and be fantastic. I do hope so. In fact I might put together a Blood Claw army once these guys are ready, representing Ulrik's latest recruits on their first mission.