Codex Review - Mark of the Wulfen

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry

Codex Review - An Introduction

I feel like I've been planning this for ages and here it finally is. A couple of quick points before I start though.  Firstly, this is probably going to be a bit scattergun. That's because I don't have any set order in which to go through things but, hopefully everything will come together in the end. Secondly, here at C&F, we believe that you should be free to take any unit that you like - at the end of the day it's your army. Hence there will be no "you have to take this unit" or "don't take this, it's rubbish" Instead, I'll just be talking through my experiences of what's gone well and what's not gone quite so well...

Mark of the Wulfen - What is it?

Deep within the Canis Helix, lies the Curse of the Wulfen. Some fall victim to this curse during the Test of Morkai, the final trial to become a Space Wolf, and become inhuman beasts stalking the plains of Fenris. Others overcome it and are welcomed into the hallowed ranks of the Vlka Fenryka. However, there are those who manage to control the Wulfen only until they are in the fires of battle. Then, the beast within emerges, the warrior eschewing his weapons to fight with tooth and claw.

In the game, this is represented by the Mark of the Wulfen. A Space Wolf who takes it replaces their Attacks characteristic with D6+1 Rending attacks. You don't get any bonuses for additional hand weapons but you still get you charge bonus.

Who can take it?

(Deep breath)

Wolf Lord
Wolf Guard Battle Leader
Wolf Guard
Wolf Scout
Lone Wolf
Grey Hunter
Thunderwolf Cavalry
Sky Claws

For the TWC, it sets you back 5 points for every one else it's 15.

I can see a good case being made for giving a Wolf Lord the Mark so that you could use im as Bran Redmaw (at least until IA11 comes out!) However, most of the time, the Wolf Lord or WGBL will probably be taking "proper" close combat weapons. It's a similar story for the Wolf Guard with their discount weapons while the TWC already have 4 Rending attacks so it seems a bit self-defeating to swap that for D6+1 (you could possibly argue that it's useful for wound allocation but I think taking one with a Boltgun is a better option)

Take a chance

Whenever I've use MotW, I've given it to Grey Hunters or Wolf Scouts. In this case it's a straight choice between another guy or the Mark. So, that's a guaranteed 4 base attacks vs an average of 4.5 base attacks (on the charge/counter it's 6 vs 5.5)  A lot of people talk about minimising randomness and I have plenty of tales of rolling low when I needed to roll average (or indeed forgetting that I had MotW at all!) Conversely, I have stories of rolling high and doing far more damage than I should have done.

Don't count on Rending

My first thought when I saw this in the codex was; "8 rending attacks?! I'll cut through units with this!" Similarly to above, I can point to times when I've rended my way through Dreadnoughts but I've also had games like the two a couple of weeks ago where I managed a single rend in 13 turns of Warhammer 40,000. Far better to look at MotW as a way of potentially increasing the number of regular attacks that a unit can put out. So, if your faced with Terminators or Meganobz, don't just charge in because you've got some Rending attacks.

Is it worth it?

That depends. Personally, I like the risk/reward nature of it while some people will prefer the reliability of an extra guy. I also think it suits quite an aggressive playstyle as you really want to get stuck in to make the most of those potential attacks. For me though, the key is having a plan for the unit and your army as a whole. In some circumstances, it can change a small unit from one that will fold into one that will hold, allowing you to counter-charge. I like to run it on bigger units, as it can give a nice increase to the damage output but you're still pretty killy even if you roll poorly for it.

Having said that you'll notice that MotW is conspicuous by its absence in my 10WC list. This is because if those units get charged, I want them to get killed so I can shoot whoever charged them. As I said MotW is a personal preference based on list and playstyle.

One final point and this whether or not this is relevant will depend on what sort of gamer you are. Personally, I'm the kind of guy who likes to sit in the bar after a game and talk about the cinematic things that happened in the game and MotW is almost perfect for this. The times when I've rolled badly with it will never overshadow the impossibly good roll that led to 5 Wolf Scouts doing so much damage to to 2 10-man Ork squads that they fled off the board.

Mark of the Wulfen - love it or hate it? Share your sagas of MotW glory and defeat below the line...

We Eat Ham and Jam and SPAM-a-lot

During the break for lunch at Open War this weekend we got to discussing a silly Grey Knight list

and Keith (my game 2 opponent) said he expected to see it up on the blog this week, I don't like top let people down so here it is for your consideration:

HQ

Coteaz

Ordo Xenos Inquisitor (Rad Grenades, Lvl 1 Psychic Mastery w. Hammerhand)

TROOPS

2x 5-man Death Cult Assassin Squads

4x 3-man Warrior Acolyte Squads

FAST ATTACK

3x Storm Raven (TL Multi-Melta, TL Lascannon)

HEAVY SUPPORT

2x Land Raider

Land Raider Redeemer (Multi-Melta)

Pretty straightforward, Coteaz and the other Inquisitor go with the DCA squads, one in a Storm Raven, the other in the Redeemer. They plough forward in hope that they can take out something important. The other Squads hang out in the other four vehicles and add to the fire support and take objectives as necessary.

It's simple and could be very nasty if you can keep the Storm Ravens alive. If they get taken out early then you're in trouble. Simples.

It's a silly list that could cause problems for certain builds but is just as likely to be quickly taken to bits by others. I'd be interested to hear your feedback on it, I may try and make this a regular topic posting a list that's silly but possibly fun for your comments.

Black Library do it again - a rant

Just finished reading The Outcast Dead and found it to be an enjoyable book although it doesn't really drive the Heresy forward at all but there are moments in it that absolutely drive me crazy.

Why is it that Black Library authors seem to have an inability to keep a consistent level of fluff. Is it so hard to expect that the authors who write the Heresy books to read the rest of them or the authors who write Space Marine books to read around the topic.

I'll give a few examples, the first from The Outcast Dead, no spoilers about the plot I promise.
A World Eater fights a Custodes and wins seems unrealistic from the outset once you've read First Heretic and seen the Custodes going undefeated against regular marines and in a couple of movements dispatching a chapter master and a number of other marines.
It becomes even more 'unrealistic' when you take into account that the World eater was unarmed, he breaks the Custodes Guardian Spear in half because apparently they are just wood, he is also unarmoured, he punches through the Custodes armour and rips out his spine. Seriously, yeah its a unrealistic world of Psykers and Daemons but still keep some sort of consistency.

The second example comes from the Salamanders series of books. Its very clearly set out in the fluff, Power Armour is rare, so what do the Salamanders do? They burn their dead in power armour. Have the Salamanders got so much Power Armour that they can just put it on the bbq?

The third is from the last book of the Word Bearer series, the warp has been shut off through the use of the Nexus Arrangement and yet they still all manage to teleport into the middle of it, how does this happen?? Is Teleportation not involving warp travel because I always thought it was.

I asked Chris Wriaght last year how much guidance authors get from the editorial team and he said not much, well I am saying now that this is the wrong way to go, there should be a set of rules produced that writers have to stick to.

Rant over and I look forward to seeing your ideas or other examples where you have thought 'that that just doesn't make sense'.

Space Wolf Display

I was going through the pictures on my camera and found these from the start of last year. Everytime GW release a new codex or army book, they put on a display for that army which includes old miniatures, 3-Ups, artwork, etc. Anyway, this is what the Space Wolf display looked like:

WD coverage

Codex artwork

The new 5th Ed releases

The Blackmane

Waaaaaagh!

Artwork for the Great Company markings

Power Armour 3-Ups

Phil Kelly's army

Old School - 2nd Ed

Terminator 3-Ups

The 3rd Ed range

The 2nd Ed range

 

10 Week Challenge - Week 0: The List

A week's a long time in politics

Go Small or Go Home

I've been thinking a lot lately about running small squads. I've also been bemoaning the lack of tactical flexibility of larger squads.  So, for the next 10 games, I'm going to stick with an MSU Rhino list...

HQ
Rune Priest, Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane


Elites
5 Wolf Scouts, Meltagun
5 Wolf Scouts, Meltagun
10 Wolf Guard, 2 Terminator Armour, 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 8 Combi-Meltas, 2 Power Fists

Troops
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino

Heavy Support
6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers
6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers

All of that comes to 1600 points. Now, there was a time where I'd take two Multimelta/Heavy Flamer Land Speeders and 10 points of wargear and call it good for 1750. However, my question would be; what would I use the Speeders for? Blocking and suicide Melta. Well, I already have that in spades. Instead, what I want to do is leverage the flexibility of the Wolf Guard.

So, normally, the Combi-Melta/Power Fist guys go with the Scouts and either go behind enemy lines or infiltrate. The Combi-Melta guys go with the Grey Hunters and the CMLs each go with a Long Fang pack. However, if I give their pack a Drop Pod, I have the option to drop in a 3/4-man Melta-cide unit on Turn 1 or a 4 Krak Missile firing unit for side armour fun. In fact it gives a lot of potential deployment options.

Well, that leaves 115 points to play with.

I could stick 5 Power Fists and a Wolf Claw on the Wolf Guard to make them better in combat but that takes away their throwaway nature in the list. Similarly, I don't want to give Mark of the Wulfen to the GH packs. I could add in a Wolf Priest or a Wolf Guard Battle Leader to give some counter-attacking punch or I could take some Thunderwolves for the same effect (if I had any!) A shooty Predator is also an option as it would give some much needed anti-infantry firepower (although getting LOS around 6 Rhino hulls could be an issue)

However, there are two options that come to exactly 115 points:

Rune Priest, Chooser of the Slain, Wolf Tail Talisman
5 Long Fangs, 4 Missile Launchers

I've always been loath to take a third Long Fang pack as I've always found it hard to find good fire-lanes for two units. Also, with 6 Rhinos in front, it could be very easy to block your own shooting. So, for now, I'll go with the 2 Rune Priests but I think the switch for the third Long Fang pack could be the first tweak after the 10 weeks is up.

So then, the list in full:

HQ
Rune Priest, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane, Chooser of the Slain
Rune Priest, Living Lightning, Jaws of the World Wolf, Chooser of the Slain

Elites
10 Wolf Guard, 2 Terminator Armour, 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 8 Combi-Meltas, 2 Power Fists
5 Wolf Scouts, Meltagun
5 Wolf Scouts, Meltagun

Troops
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino
5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Rhino

Heavy Support
6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers
6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers

So, there we have it - the list for my next 10 games. Stay tuned to see how it gets on...

Game 3 Open war - Wolves vs Vanilla Marines AGAIN

Game three saw me face off against Colin's beautifully painted Vanilla marines army which I personally thought were robbed not to win the best painted award at the tournament.

Colin had
a librarian with Gate of infinity and another power that he never bothered using
2 ten man tactical squads
1 5 man assault squad
1 5 man scout squad
1 squad of assault terminators with hammers and shields in a godhammer land raider
2 rhinos
1 multimelta dreadnought

The mission was 4 objectives in a diamond pattern with the armies setting up in opposite corners in an L shaped deployment.
Now last time we played at Open War we got to deploy the objectives ourselves with some strict rules on how close they could be to the board edge and other objectives, our own Darren however found a way to break this (he drew a map and everything) which made sure that if you deployed an objective first you would end up with 3 objectives close to you and 1 objective close to your opponent.

I lost the roll off for first turn (damn you Vegas dice) and my opponent picked the corner opposite to the corner I would have picked so I was happy enough anyway.

He deployed quite bunched up while I tried to make sure I had the lanes of fire to three objectives covered with my Long fangs as there was a big piece of line of site blocking terrain in the middle of the board. I attempted to seize but rolled a 5 but cest la vie, I knew that first turn shouldn't be too heavy because he only had 3 missile launchers, 1 lascannon and 4 sniper rifles to offer long range fire power.

His turn 1 saw one of my rhinos explode but all the inhabitants got out safely, it also saw my las plas stunned, I fired back destroying 2 rhinos and their inhabitants being pinned, I also fired on the las cannon squad which were holed up in a tower, 2 died they failed their leadership and ran 7 inches. I had also hid 1 squad in a rhino behind the LOS blocking terrain and one of my speeders around the other side in ambush for the raider, my other speeder raced up the other side of the board to kill the scouts.

Turn 2 saw the librarian use gate of infinity to bring the assault marines closer, the missiles fired on the las plas but as I couldn't fire I had popped smoke and the shots hit cover. My turn 2 saw me poor fire into the dreadnought and eventually it exploded and killed a couple more marines with shrapnel, they failed their leadership test and ran 4 inches. I also managed to kill the scouts with flamer and melta.

Turn 3 saw the assault marines move forward to contest an objective. The land raider also went and sat in front of my ambush squad but unfortunately for Colin he didn't notice them and instead continued to try and kill my las plas that wasn't really doing a lot, it had cover so the melta shot hit a pile of rocks evaporating them but leaving the razorback alone.
It was at this point that I knew the game would turn, 3 melta gun shots all within half range to try and destroy the landraider and then 15 missile launchers 8 bolters 1 las cannon, a twin linked plasma gun and jaws to try and thin down the ranks of terminators inside. Unfortunately that old adage of best laid plans came back to haunt me, 3 melta misses and the land raiders occupants were looking very very scary. One success I had was killing the librarian and the assault squad with a squad of grey hunters and a Rune Priest.

Turn 4 saw the terminators discourage and run straight into my lines (it was at this point that the 30 minute warning was called) thankfully the greatness of a grey hunter with a banner and counter charge shone through, I lost 2 grey hunters, he lost 2 terminators and the combat was drawn. I then had a very similar choice as I did in the first game, do I save a squad or go and take another objective, I felt that I needed 4 scoring units to win the game and although time was getting tight I charged another grey hunter into combat with the terminators, the weight of numbers showed and the terminators were no more, both squads rolled a 6 for their consolidate move and the more decimated squad secured an objective while the others went for another.

It was at this point with 15 minutes left that Colin asked if we wanted to call it a day, he kindly pointed out that the win was mine if we stopped there but I didn't want to win like that so I said we would have 1 more turn 7 and a half minutes each if you aren't done you aren't done and we swap.

Turn 4 saw two squads take one objective, all I needed to do was contest it with a troop choice to win the game, two squads of grey hunters moved in, a multi charge later and all the opposition troops lay dead and I lay victorious.

With another turn I may have been able to finish the land raider to get an extra point but it was mainly my fault that we had wasted time because I knocked over a can of pop and had to sort that (sorry Brett who's land raider took vimto damage).

In the end I finished fifth, my best tournament finish ever. I was delighted. I don't think I could have played the games much better, I achieved all my objectives which were to think about the tournament missions and break into the top ten. I also managed to remember a bit of advice Darren imparted to me on Thursday, if you can do nothing else try and make them take leadership tests because eventually they will fail one or in Colin's case 4.

Open War really is a great tournament I wish there were more 1 day tournaments on the scene, its a tiring weekend and having a Sunday to recover is really nice. I played 3 fantastic opponents and I would like to thank them for making the weekend what it was.

Open War 16 Recap - Game 3

Game 3 vs Eldar

HQ

Farseer (Fortune, Doom ,Guide, Stones of Witnessing & Warding, Spirit Stones) Singing Spear

4-man Warlock squad (Embolden, Enhance, Destructor) all w. Singing Spears

The Avatar

ELITE

7-man Fire Dragon Squad (inc Exarch w. Fire Pike) in Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones)

TROOP

8-man Guardian Jet-Bike Squad (inc Warlock w. singing Spear)

2x 10-man Dire Avengers (inc Exarch w. Bladestorm)

HEAVY SUPPORT

3x War Walker Squadron (2x Startcannons)

Fire Prism

Wraithlord (Eldar Missile Launcher)

The last game of the day pitted me against another Andy with a hybrid Eldar list. The mission was 4 objectives with L-shaped deployment zones in opposite table corners, 12” deep half stretching way up the short edge and half way acrossthe long edge.

Andy kept his Dire Avengers in cover as close to two objectives as he could and began to flank me. On my lefthe sent the War Walkers and Fire Dragons, circling round on my right came the Jet-Bikes, the Wraithlord and the seer council. The Fire Prism held the centre with the Avatar advancing purposefully up the middle. His first round of shooting silenced both Preds and took out the TFC which was a bit of a blow as I was hoping to apply that to the Dire Avengers.

With a fair proportion of my shooting disabled I decided to focus fire on the most pressing threat which I felt was the bikes. Three died, the leadership test was failed and they ran off … RESULT! Not content with that show of force, the speeders managed to get a weapon destroyed result on the Fire Prism …SUPER! This was all going rather swimmingly.

Without its main weapon the Fire Prism decided to ram the nearest Predator, not entirely successfully as it turned out as it blew up rather spectacularly leaving only a lightly stunned Predator in its wake … NICE! Then I made a bit of a mistake, my Terminators came in from reserve and I placed them in firing range of both Dire Avenger units, the Walkers and charge range of the Avatar … ERRM? Still, they're double-hard so they can take it right? Well, yes and no. They took heavy casualties from the shooting and the 8-man squad (including the Librarian) became a 3-man squad by the time they were charged by the Dire Avengers and the Avatar, but they managed to win the combat by two. Sadly in the next assault phase the Avatar took out the last Terminator and the Librarian took a particularly vicious poke in the eye from the Dire Avenger Exarch killing him … SAD!

That combat was pivotal because the Dire Avenger Squad were able to capture an objective and the Avatar would appear again on the  to take out a Razorback (and the gooey contents) that was rushing to contest that very objective. Eventually I managed to  both the Wraithlord and the Avatar but I could only manage a draw so it ended 1 objective each. Final score 17-16 WINNING DRAW.


All-in-all it was a good day's gaming, I finished up 29^thout of 44 players, not brilliant but probably about right. I did expect the list to perform a bit better than it did, but now I think about it it's quite reliant on getting first turn. If I don't get first turn then it's not too difficult for my opponent to take a lot of the sting out of my shooting attack, as demonstrated in games 1 and 3. I'll put some thought into tweaks I need to make before the next tourney in December and post here for feedback.