Hello and welcome to Gwar!'s Fantastical Wondiferal Awesomgasmic Review of Space Wolf Characters (or the GFQARSWC if you so wish).
So, with the release of the new Space Wolf codex and all the nerdrage that ensued, we come now to the period where we start to see refinement and tweaking of the initial power lists. Now, just how do the Special Characters fit into this? There is no denying that
GW are pushing special characters as the way to customise your army, even if it is via counts as, so good special characters are the cornerstone of any army nowadays.
A quick note about the style of the review:
I have tried, where possible, to try and keep things on the level with regards to rules. We all know
GW's legal team has been working their Attack Pandas ragged these last couple of months, so it is better to be safe than sorry. Of course, if any of the powers that be feel I need to change anything, let me know (or change it yaself ya lazy gitz!) That is also why I have included the disclaimer at the top. Yes, it is petty, but I don't actually care what you think
For each Character I will give an in depth review of their abilities and wargear, before summing it up with a handy three part guide, consisting of The Good, The Bad and
The Ugly Hot or Not? before comparing it to attractive (or not so) ladies.
So without further ado, I treat you all now to my eleventh thousandth, one hundred and eleventh post. Enjoy!
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Bjorn the Fell-Handed
Ah yes, good old Bjorn. Much missed when the 3rd edition codex was unleashed Bjorn comes stomping back, crotchety as ever and ready to carve swathes into the enemy battle-lines in the name of Russ and The Allfather, but does he cut the mustard?
Sadly, no, he doesn't, even though a quick glance at his profile might suggest otherwise. With a pretty hefty +2
WS and
BS compared to a standard Dreadnought, +1 Strength, +1 Front Armour and +2 Attacks, Bjorn is quite a beast both shooting and in close combat. However, he loses a point of Initiative, presumably because he is nearly as old as Frazzled. That loss of initiative is not a major loss though, as most things that are a threat will be striking at Initiative 1 anyway, but it does allow
MEQ to get a few Meltabomb equivalent attacks in before Bjorn swings. He is, luckily, immune to Krak Grenades though.
His armament is not too bad either. His standard Assault Cannon as well as the free replacement Plasma Cannon are very effective with 5th editions change to Ballistic Skills greater than 5 and blast weapons respectively. These changes are of no use to his Heavy Flamer though! His non-free Twin-Linked Lascannon option, however, is a massive waste of points, just like how lascannons anywhere seem to be this edition. Saga of Majesty allows you to bolster your gunline or assault force and keep them where they need to be, while the Wolf Tail Talisman lets you annoy psykers occasionally. What is surprising is the lack of a Wolf Tooth Necklace, but with his high
WS I suppose it is not going to be an issue 90% of the time.
Moving right along to his special rules we see has four in total. One is poorly written, Two simply do not work and the last makes him such a phenomenal waste of a character it completely nullifies all the previous positives. He is, of course, Venerable, which still has the ever so hilarious politically correct wording from the Space Marine codex, meaning your opponent can refuse to apply the rule.
Ancient Tactician is supposed to replace the Old and Wise rule from the previous codex, but the wording is utterly unusable. However, using the rule like it is supposed to be used, could be pretty powerful for Wolves who favour Drop Pod Assaults, however Bjorn lacks an option for a Drop Pod, making his inclusion in Drop Pod Wolves a non-starter and a huge negative in terms of usability.
Ward of the Primarch is the other rule that doesn't work. Honestly, it already seems as if they don't even read the rules while typing this, and we are only on the first Special Character! It doesn't get any better folks, believe me. Even if the rule did work, it is not particularly powerful anyway but might save his bacon once if you are lucky.
Living Relic is a good old fashioned bad special rule and in good old fashioned
GW style, they totally kill off any use Bjorn might have with it. Kill Points are bad enough, hosing certain armies a LOT more than others (especially those with lots of transports, which Wolves happen to have a natural affinity for) but to pretty much ensure free
KP for the enemy? No thanks. Even in Objective missions, it means you have to babysit him with a unit of infantry just in case something happens. This is pretty much the killer as far as usability for Bjorn goes, along with the lack of a Drop Pod. A sad ending to what should have been a great comeback.
And the points premium he pays for these wonderful set of non-rules? Seventy five points. Now, that might be worth it just for the enhanced profile, but Living Relic takes that might and hits it so hard with The Nerf Bat of Dhoom™ you'd think Jervis himself had crafted it. So, yeah, give Bjorn a miss boys (and more boys, no girls on the internets!), he just is not worth it.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Great Characteristics and effective Weapons
The Bad: Everything else. Special Rules are poorly written and unusable. Living Relic makes him even MORE unusable.
Hot or Not?: The cranky grandma in the corner that might have been a looker in her day but now is akin to how aged wine turns to vinegar.
Ulrik the Slayer
The red headed postman's child that no-one actually likes but buy birthday presents for anyway because they had to of the 3rd edition Space Wolf codex, his only noteworthy point were discounted sniper wolves. Does he make the grade this time around, or will his pupils outshine him once again?
His profile is pretty standard for a special character, with a bonus point in
BS,
WS, Initiative and Attacks. This results in, again, a pretty standard ability when it comes to meleé, swinging before most rank and file but after a lot of special characters nowadays.
So how does his gear stack up? Well, he only has Power Armour but also sports a Rosarius equivalent, meaning he can take quite a bit of punishment and walk away, despite his relatively low number of wounds. Just like other Wolf Priests, he has the Fang of Morkai, meaning Fearless, which is both a blessing and a curse for the assault units he is geared towards leading. His Wolf Tooth Necklace helps him out in close combat, but the real money maker is the Wolf Helm of Russ.
Now, notwithstanding the rule is pretty poorly written with regards to the Line of Sight clause (told ya so!) it has two very powerful effects. The first allows friendly units with Line of Sight to re-roll failed morale tests, meaning that your tarpits will stay tarpitting and those poor sods who just got WTFBBQed by those Oblits stay where the hell they are. When you consider that this is essentially unlimited range, its awesome factor seeps in a little more. The second forces any model trying to attack him to pass a Leadership test. While not that useful considering most units are either fearless or have some way to reliably pass Leadership tests, it does help offset his slightly fragile frame.
However, he has a Plasma Pistol. I don't think I have to elaborate why this is a bad thing to have on an already fragile expensive model.
His unique special rules alternate between more useless than a kettle made of bananas and holy gak that's awesome levels, which I am not the only one noticing the trend within the Space Wolf codex it seems. Slayers Oath pretty much means anything with Toughness 5 or more is gonna die a very swift death in close combat, especially when you have a bunch of mad Blood Claws throwing literally buckets of dice on the charge. Mentor however, just bumps up a generic models
WS by +1. Completely useless for Characters (as they have access to Wolf Tooth Necklace) and useless for Rank and File (where it will make zero difference). Only use for it I can see is to make that last Wolf Guard model unique for Wound Allocation.
So does Ulrik pass the test? It really is a hard call. His points premium is a paltry 55 points, for which he gains so much awesome in the way of Slayers Oath and the Wolf Helm. However, his is rather fragile and mediocre when actually in close combat. Overall, he is not the best character to take, but he is by no means the worst. Take him if you like his look or his utility, though if you are looking for
raw power, leave him be.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Great Value, superb special rules and utility benefit.
The Bad: Fragile, mediocre combat ability and a few duff special rules. And a Plasma Pistol!
Hot or not?: Kinda cute, but not your first pick.
Arjac Rockfist
So we finally come to the first of the upgrade special characters that are the current fad at
GW HQ. Arjac Rockfist is a new addition to the Space Wolf family, with some classically camp and over the top fluff that just manages the stay the right side of complete Mary Sue Syndrome. Perfect fluff if you ask me.
His characteristics are pretty nice, with a bonus point of
WS,
BS and Attacks compared to his Wolf Guard brethren. What is especially of note however is his base Strength of 5, which combined with his super special awesome Thunder Hammer means some Strength 10 goodness when smashing faces in the name of Teh Empra, and an extra wound, which is just one of the many ways Arjac stacks up to be an absolute pain in the arse for the enemy to actually kill.
His wargear is entirely focused on Close Combat, which might give you the impression his Wolf Lord level Ballistic Skill is utterly useless. This is not the case however, as we will see in a minute. Terminator Armour and a Wolf Tooth Necklace means he will be able to take a lot of punishment and dish it right back when he gets around to it. He also has the Saga of the Bear, granting him immunity from instant death, making Arjac perfect for risking the occasional Lascannon shot that flies their way or those nasty power fist attacks that leak through.
Foehammer is Arjacs unique Thunder Hammer. It is unique in that it allows him to fling it at something and hopefully feth it's day right up. With a mind boggling six inch range, it is however, Strength 10 and AP1. Combine that with his high
BS, and it means that whatever vehicle or monstrous beast he was about to assault is more than likely not there to assault.
The Anvil Shield is a cute play on his blacksmith back-story, but it is also a formidable piece of wargear. It's ability to grant Arjac a bonus attack in the first round of combat is worth it in itself, but add to that the invulnerable save from a Storm Shield? You now have a model with a 2+/3++ save, two wounds, Eternal Warrior and unable to be picked out by the enemy in close combat. If he dies before everything else on the board, the Dice Gods hate you and you take the hint and go play Chess.
However, no Space Wolf character would be complete without a bizarrely placed useless rule. Arjac is Stubborn, which unless his mates have all been picked off does just a shade less than sweet bugger all, as only independent characters confer stubborn to the unit they are with. At this point I am beginning to wonder if they (and by they I mean Jervis. Don't give me that look I know you are thinking it too) are doing this deliberately to mess with tournament gamers.
Gimnars Champion is a little more effective, but can also be a disadvantage if one is not careful. It allows him to utterly massacre enemy Independent Characters and Monstrous Creatures, but with the number of attacks Arjac receives when assaulting, there will be times when you will cause a lot of wasted wounds that cannot spill over to the rest of the enemy unit, especially if the enemy Independent Character has taken a wound or two.
However, if we have learnt anything from Bjorn, there is one thing that will kill a Special Characters usefulness more than anything, and that is an exorbitant premium in points. Unlike Bjorn, Arjacs Special Rules make him an incredibly useful and powerful character and is nigh impossible for the enemy to kill in the early game save for a few select units or cursed dice. However, you are paying a premium for this, and this premium is a hefty one hundred and twenty five points over
TH+
SS Wolf Guard Termie. No that isn't a typo, and this is the sole reason why no-one is ever going to use him. I mean, in all fairness, you can get a full Grey Hunter squad, with two flamers and a Drop Pod for only two points more than what Arjac costs!
Now, to be fair, the premium does drop a bit once you factor in the Saga of the Bear and his Wolf Tooth Necklace, neither of which can be taken by normal Wolf Guard. However, the premium is still a rather large eighty points, which is the highest premium paid by a
good Space Wolves character.
So, is Arjac a worthy addition to the Space Wolf roster? It is really unfair, but the answer is no. Arjac is an amazing character, but the points cost attached to him make him unusable in any realistic way, which is a shame because he is a really good character.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Superb special rules, can take on anything in close combat and win, nigh unkillable.
The Bad: Holy Hells did they feth up the points cost. Also Stubborn is useless.
Hot or Not?: Hot but Skanky. Give it a miss.
Lukas the Trickster
Now this lad makes me smile, if only because he lets me vent my anger at the injustice that was Arjac. I am not even going to pretend here, Lukas the Trickster is, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst Special Character in modern
40k history. And not just in one area. Everything about Lukas is awful, from his fluff, his abilities and his points cost. His fluff is just, bad, apparently being some sort of famous pre-pubescent womaniser on a world where long distance communication is shouting off a cliff to the blokes below, and then single handedly wiping out huge swathes of Chaos Marines by tricking the most anal "Omg we must plan this with perfection" traitor legion (Alpha Legion are more intricate, while the Word Bearers strive for perfection) land on thin ice. Yeah, that smells a bit of Bull Crap to me too. Oh, and apparently some Dark Eldar guy ripped out only one of his hearts and decided to not kill him. Honestly, he is bordering Calgar territory here. What next, he has some sort of ultra rare stasis field wired into his chest despite the fact such technology would be so priceless he would be hunted down by pretty much every single branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus if so much as a funny look got out?
…
You have
got to be kidding me!
Anyway, to get back on topic, lets look at his profile. Pretty good all things considered, with +1
WS and +2
BS compared to Blood Claws, along with an extra wound, +1 Initiative and two extra attacks. However, his leadership remains unchanged from a Blood Claw, and his special rules make that even worse.
His wargear is no better either. A single Wolf Claw and a Plasma Pistol make me shake my head in shame. Claws are pretty pointless unpaired, though his extra attacks mitigate this. The Plasma Pistol + Super Expensive Special Character I have already covered and even if I hadn't I would assume you can see the insanity of doing such things. The Wolf Tail Talisman and Wolf Tooth Necklace are your average fare.
Rebellious is another wonderful example of a Bad special rule, presumably to balance... out... the... umm... wait a sec lemme think... errrr... actually, it doesn't balance out anything, it just makes it pointless to try and attach a Wolf Guard or Independent Character, meaning unless you stick a Wolf Priest in for Fearless, Lukas and his Pussy Claws are gonna be high tailing it more often than not.
The Last Laugh caused a lot of nerdrage when it was first reported, with people crying about how it was going to take out Emperor Titans and Land Raiders left and right. Well, here is news for you. Firstly, he had to get to the opponent. Secondly he has to die. Furthermore, when he dies, he takes out a large chunk of his mates with him. And it doesn't even work all the time as you have to roll off with your opponent.
However, things get really interesting with the Pelt of the Doppegangrel, and by interesting, I mean utterly fething pointless with completely gak fluff and that once again is about as useful as grilling a haddock steak during a hurricane. It is useful in two situations. One is if he is picked out by one of the few models that can actually pick him out at range. The other is if his Blood Claw squad have been wiped out, in which case the Pelt is not going to do jack gak to stop him biting the dust.
Now we come to the real kick in the nuts. For all that wonderful crap, how much are you paying as a points premium? Well, it is hard to even work out, as Blood Claws cannot take Wolf Claws. However, using the points cost from the Wolf Guard Battle Leader, the points premium is calculated to be one hundred and five points. Yes, you are paying over one hundred points for absolutely nothing of any value. Do not take Lukas under any circumstances.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Nothing. Nada. Neit. Zip.
The Bad: Everything else.
Hot or Not?: This is the Ugly Sister, and not the light Disney one, the Brothers Grimm one where they cut their toes off to fit in the shoe before being executed by walking across hot coals in iron boots.
Njal Stormcaller
Sorry for that, just had to rant and get it all out. However, comparing Lukas and Njal is like comparing a lump of coal to a Fabergé egg. Njal is one of the best, if not the best special character in the Space Wolves codex. Another character lost to the ravages of 3rd edition, Njals comeback was much wanted and welcomed by long time Space Wolf affectionate. Why? Lets find out.
Firstly his profile is a little strange for a special character, in that almost nothing is changed compared to his generic counterpart. In fact, the only difference is an extra attack. This might lead you to think he is not a good character, but what he lacks in profile he makes up for tenfold in ability.
His generic wargear is pretty standard fare, coming with Runic Armour, a Wolf Tooth Necklace, a Bolt Pistol and the Saga of Majesty, nothing too interesting. Where it gets interesting is with his unique gear. First item of note is his special Rune Weapon known as the Staff of the Stormcaller, combining all the joys of a Force Weapon and Psychic Hood in one. Except it is far better than a Psychic Hood. Instead of that Leadership contest nonsense, Njal simply kills off any power within range 66.66% of the time. No Judge, No Jury, just straight to execution because he is the LAW!
Nightwing is his augmented Chooser of the Slain, and this little guy is sadly not that useful. I mean, extra attacks is nice and all, but not exactly a major selling point. This is a case of It's not good, but at least it ain't bad wargear. Of course, I have to mention the fact that the rule is poorly worded, both for his extra attacks and the line of sight issues for the standard Chooser of the Slain rules, but by this point we are used to it. Just remember to keep Njal out of base contact with friendly models unless he is also in base contact with a enemy model, otherwise Nightwing will come and attack the friendly model!
Njal also has the unique option for Runic Terminator Armour and without a shadow of a doubt there will be very few times when you won't take it. Normal Runic armour is nice and all, but it lacks a normal invulnerable save, which on a fragile non-eternal warrior is quite a liability. Runic Terminator Armour fixes this by giving him a proper invulnerable save one better than normal Terminator Armour, making him much more survivable for a bargain cost. One point to note is that, unlike other models with Terminator Armour pretty much anywhere to my knowledge, Njal has learnt to fire a Bolt Pistol with it! Yes, he keeps the bolt pistol and so keeps the bonus attack for two close combat weapons, even with his Terminator Armour. Again, if you don't take the Runic Terminator Armour, you had better have a damn good reason.
Unlike Lukas or Bjorn, Njal seems to have no bad special rules to balance him out, which is weird considering the complete and utter insanity that he brings to the table. Like a Master of the Runes, he can shoot off two powers a turn (not three like the Ultrasmurf guy, no surprise there
) and has pick of all the available powers of which the ever so hotly discussed Jaws of the World Wolf is one. Yes,
JotWW is powerful, but so much can be done to outright neuter it, I do not foresee it being a real problem.
Where Njals real power comes from however is his Lord of Tempests rule. Believe me when I say this thing is eight levels beyond utterly fething insane. It is essentially a free psychic power that always works, cannot be countered, gets stronger as the game goes on and seriously messes with the enemy plan. Yes, it is a random effect, but every single effect (bar the lowest result which can only happen on turn one, and even then only 1/3 of the time) is a powerful, awesome effect. If the above only made you want to take Njal a little, this should seal the deal and lock it up in a Nuke Proof Bunker under the Alps.
There is, however, a slight downside to Njal, and that is his points cost. Compared to a normal Master of the Runes Rune Priest he is paying a points premium of a huge, massive and ungodly forty points! I mean, ffs
GW, can't you price a Special Character aggressively for once! I mean, I know they are special but... huh? What? Forty ? Ooooh I thought you said one hundred and forty! Wait, that can't be right.
-Checks maths-
Holy crap, it is. Forty points for a better Rune Staff, a better Chooser of the Slain, all the psychic powers and Lord of Tempests? Lord of Tempests alone is worth that and more! OK, I admit, the premium shoots up to sixty five points if you take his Runic Terminator Armour, which you will, but still, Lord of Tempests alone is worth that. In sort, Njal is pretty much an automatic inclusion to any Space Wolf army that can use him. His weak profile and lack of eternal warrior are more than made up by his simply ungodly ability on the field.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Holy hells bells this guy is amazing. It really does seem that the
SW codex is bi-polar, swapping from utter uselessness to omfg haxx levels in a heartbeat.
The Bad:Slightly weak profile, lacks eternal warrior.
Hot or Not?: See that big yellow thing in the sky? That bizzatch aint got nufink on dis guy!.
Canis Wolfborn
Another newcomer to the Space Wolf roster, and his back-story is almost as cringe worthy as Lukas, but nowhere near as outright awful. It is actually a pretty interesting concept, if you discount the fact that an eleven year old boy (presumably, since he later became a Spess Mahrine) somehow beat the living tar out of a veteran Space Wolf out naked in the snow who was about to bare-handedly strangle a Fenrisian wolf to death.
Profile wise he is almost bog standard when it comes to special characters, gaining a point in Weapon Skill, Wounds, Initiative and Attacks compared to Thunderwolf Cavalry. However, he loses two points of Ballistic Skill (not an issue as he has no ranged weaponry anyway) and only had Leadership 8, which for a Space Marine Special Character, or any Special Character for that matter is peculiarly low, especially for an
HQ Special Character. Having a toughness of 5 rather than 4(5) though is very handy, as it makes him just a little more resilient.
Wargear wise there is not really anything outstanding. The Standard Wolf Tail Talisman and Wolf Tooth Necklace make his bumped up weapon skill a faux bonus at best, though his matched pair of Wolf Claws ensure he brings the pain to any rank and file he so wishes to slaughter, however, he might be outmatched should he end up locked in combat with a Dreadnought or very tough beasties like Carnifex or Wraithlord, though Rending (giggle) might help somewhat. Fangir does nothing except make his profile better apparently, while his Saga of the Wolfkin helps any Fenrisian wolves you might have take a few of the enemy down with them.
Sadly, things go into a nosedive and don't really recover from there. First we are greeted with what has to be one of the most hilarious rules feth ups in
GW history. He has the special rule Rending, whatever that does, since there is no special rule by that name. Sure there is a weapon type, but it never actually says his Wolf Claws are Rending. Even more hilarious, it is not close combat only, so if he somehow gains a ranged weapon ability, it is also supposed to be rending! By Russ and the Allfather, that is six special characters so far, and all six have rules that seem to have been written by a four year old. Do they not have play-testers or editors?
Lord of the Wolfkin is one of those rare special rules that have the decency to work, but it is not by any means a powerful rule. Yes, having Canis nearby ups your wolves Leadership by a point but he would have been far better off with a re-roll effect, especially as he has the Saga of the Wolfkin already. Wrath of the Savage is no better. In 90% of situations it won't be used, as he gets seven attacks when assaulting anyway.
But now comes the Coup dé Grace as they say in Belgium, and it takes the form of a rule called The Wolf King. What's worse than Fast Attack units that cannot claim objectives? Troops that cannot claim objectives! Yes, Canis makes Fenrisian Wolves Troops, which is (as a lot of special rules here seem to be) about as much use as a empty bucket made of air. This is because not only can they not score, they are competing for slots with Grey Hunters, which are point for point perhaps the best Troop unit in the current game by miles. In short, no-one will ever want to use this option outside of a lulz battle or a battle you know for certain is based off Kill Points or Victory Points and not objectives.
Oh, and he doesn't have Eternal Warrior or an Invulnerable save, meaning a stray Demolisher shot will turn him into a red streak of bacon in no time flat.
So what kind of points premium are you paying for this rather poor special character? Ninety five points. Not exactly the best value is it? However, Canis has one redeeming factor, and that he is a completely bat-guano crazy Viking riding a Massive Wolf and that just about out cools anything else you can think of!
In Conclusion:
The Good: For what it's worth, if he gets there, he will rip apart 99% of stuff he might come across. Has a 19-24 threat range so will catch an unwary opponent off guard.
The Bad: Poor Value, Easy to kill, Useless special rules and overall just sub par, but by no means as bad as some others.
Hot or Not?: Hot (if ya into that kinda thing).
Ragnar Blackmane
Ah yes, the Young King himself. Cursed with what can only be described as a god awful fugly model that has not gotten an update since 2nd edition, Ragnar is one of the more well known Space Wolf Characters, being the star of his own Black Library Series (the great bastion of brilliant writing that it is).
Ragnars profile is 100% identical to that of a Generic Wolf Lord. While this may seem strange, especially in the Attacks department, his special rules more than make up for this.
Ragnar keeps things simple with a standard array of weapons and wargear, a Wolf Tooth Necklace and Wolf Tail Talisman ensuring he does his thing well, while rather strangely he also has meltabombs. His weapons seem to have to be sent to the Iron Priests for a tune up though as both his Bolt Pistol and Frost Blade lose master crafting. Saga of the Warrior Born is pretty powerful too, ensuring Ragnar has six or seven attacks each turn.
His special rules cement his role as as close combat monster, with Insane Bravado forcing you to assault when you can and giving you very, very nice assault bonus, which two thirds of the time will be better than a normal assault. When you consider it gives Wolf Guard up to a whopping six attacks each, of which any number could be from Wolf Claws or Frost Blades, means that whatever Ragnar and his pals hit will die, very swiftly.
War Howl is a once per game effect that, if used right, means that the above mentioned swift murderdeathkill will be an even swifter massacremurderdeathkill. Making Ragnar himself Strength Initiative 6 for that round, along with 60 or so Strength 5 or 6 (or perhaps even 9 if you have a few Thunder Hammers around). Use this just after flying out of a Land Raider Crusader and whatever poor sods thought they were holding an objective no longer are. He also gets an invulnerable save, just as he did before, meaning he can actually survive close combat so long as he can dodge them power fists.
Wait, did we just go through a whole Space Wolf character without an unusable rule? Wow, we really did! Nice work
GW! I guess one out of nine thousand isn't bad, eh? Though, they could have made it a bit more clear how Insane Bravado interacts with Blood Claws Berserk Charge, but at this point you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Points wise Ragnar pays essentially no premium, a paltry forty five points compared to an identical Wolf Lord. pretty good value when you consider he can add up to 20 or more extra attacks on the charge compared to said Wolf Lord.
In Conclusion:
The Good: A beast in close combat, makes whatever unit he is with a veritable slaughterhouse.
The Bad: Pretty limited in scope, can be blasted by a hidden fist.
Hot or Not?: The shy younger sister who once she gets drunk is actually really freakay.
Logan Grimnar
Finally, we arrive at the big man himself. Logan feth the Inquisition Grimnar. Known for his feud with the Ordos after the First Armageddon War, Logan was one of the few Old Space Wolf models to age gracefully and even today looks amazing.
Profile wise he is the same as a Wolf Lord but with an extra attack to offset the loss of the two weapons bonus, which is always a plus. He has your standard issue Terminator Armour, Wolf Teeth and Tail, and Ye Olde Reliable Storm Bolter for those ever so important pre assaulting shots. He also has a Belt of Russ, giving him a 4++ save which combines very nicely with his Eternal Warrior, making him a pain to kill. He also has the Saga of Majesty, which when combined with Stubborn (which works this time thank you very much) means that whatever unit Logan is with is not going to go anywhere they don't want to unless forced to.
The Axe Morkai is essentially unchanged from its previous iteration, allowing Logan to split his attacks if needed or just go for one or the other, allowing him to take on Tough Monsters, Light Tanks and Rank and File all the same.
The High King enhances his abilities many-fold, allowing him and his lads to adapt to whatever situation they might be facing. Land Raider gotta dies? Go for Tank Hunters. Wanna make sure you wipe out that unit of Grots? Preferred Enemy is your friend here. Just Drop Podded in with a pack of Long Fangs? Relentless for epic Multimelta Pewpew! Or perhaps you just have to absolutely stay where you are, no matter what? Tell the boys to stop crying and become Fearless for a turn. What is great about this rule as well is the fact you are able to pick a different rule on your opponents turn if you so wish. For example, you can choose Preferred Enemy on the turn you assault, then at the start of the opponents turn decide you wish to be Fearless.
After the awesome that is The High King, Living Legend is a bit of a let-down. +1 Attack once per game is not the most amazing ability, but the large 18 radius means a large chunk of your army will benefit.
His most powerful ability though is his rule, The Great Wolf, allowing you to take Wolf Guard as Troops. Yes, you can have Drop Podding Space Wolf Terminators as scoring units, and you can take six of them.
All this comes at a price however, and make no mistake he is pricey, being the most expensive model in the Space Wolf codex and is even ten points more than Mary Sue Calgar, but once you factor in the fact that he essentially is a Wolf Lord with a Power Fist and Frost Blade, the points difference works out to only forty points. I think you can all agree that what Logan gains for forty points makes him easily on par with Njal for price/performance, and perhaps even better.
In Conclusion:
The Good: Powerful in close combat; makes whatever unit he is with able to deal with any sort of threat they need to; more value than a 50% off bin at a dollar store.
The Bad: Living Legend is a little underwhelming; rather expensive.
Hot or Not?: Hot, like the girl next door's mom.
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And so, there you have it, a comprehensive review of the new Space Wolf Codex special characters.
As always, direct your typo discoveries and spelling errors to my
PM inbox, your adoring fan-mail to the reply box and your hate mail to wherever you want (otherwise the Attack Pandas get sent).
Of course,
YMMV
Eldar Corsairs: 4000 pts
Imperial Guard: 4000 pts
Corregidor 700 pts
Acontecimento 400 pts 
Suffused with the dying memories of Sanguinus, the warriors of the Death Company seek only one thing: death in battle fighting against the enemies of the Emperor. 