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So I just played my first game with my new space wolf codex after coming from a year and a half of playing nothing but tyranids. My opponent has had his dark eldar army for about 2 months now, but I think my bugs were all he's gotten to play them against until tonight. Here is a quick recap as the game is fresh in my mind.

For those of you who don't want to read the wall of text i've typed out, spoiler:



The lists:

Space Wolves (me):

HQ - Rune Priest, CotS, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane, wolftooth necklace, terminator armor
Troop - 6x grey hunters, meltagun, mark of the wulfen, wolf standard, razorback ( TL heavy bolter, HK Missile)
Troop - 6x grey hunters, meltagun, mark of the wulfen, wolf standard, razorback ( TL heavy bolter, HK Missile)
Elite - Lone Wolf, 2x fenrisian wolves, terminator armor, 2x wolf claws, melta bombs
Heavy - Long fangs - Squad leader, 4x Missile Launchers
Heavy - Long fangs - Squad leader, 2x Missile Launchers

Total - 750 points

Dark Eldar (His list, as best as I can remember)

Troop - 10x Warriors, Blaster, in a Raider - Dark Lance, FlickerField
Troop - 10x Warriors, Blaster, in a Raider - Dark Lance, FlickerField
HQ - Archon - shadowfield, agonizer
Elite - 5x incubi - riding in a Venom (2x splinter cannons, Flickerfield)
Heavy - Ravager - 3x Disintegrator Cannons, FlickerField

Total - 750 points (if i mislabeled the number of members in his squad i apologize, i had to make this list back from memory)

So we rolled for the mission, seize ground with 5 objectives.

The table, from my POV - Lower left section, a large bunker with a hill. Middle area - Ruined building. Upper left section - Rocky outcroppings, upper right section - Ruined tower (newest GW terrain piece, witchblight or something). Lower right section - GW Bastion. Scattered in various areas and places are craters and stone walls. We placed one objective in each main terrain feature, to keep things fairly well spread out.

We rolled for pitched battle deployment, and he won the roll off and opted to go first, hoping to take the punch out of my alpha strike list. I placed my chooser of the slain marker (a fantasy dwarf with a handgun) on the building ruins near the center, giving it LOS to nearly the whole table.

He placed his venom with the incubi and archon inside along with a raider full of warriors by the witchblight ruin on my far right. To my far left he placed his ravager and the other raider full of warriors behind the large rocky area where they would be out of LOS if i happened to seize the initiative.

I placed the large squad of long fangs in the bunker terrain piece in the left portion of my half of the table, and the smaller squad (along with the rune priest) just to the right of the bunker, screened by my lone wolf and his two fenrisian wolves (as well as being invisible to the venom/raider in the extreme right upper corner of the table). My two razorbacks shouldered up behind the long fangs so they were out of LOS from the raider/ravager combo by the rocks. I roll to seize and fail, and the game begins.

TURN 1 - Dark Eldar

A ravager lays into the lone wolf and his wolf escort, ripping apart the dogs with disintegrator cannons and placing a single wound on the lone wolf himself. Dark lances whiff and the venom/raider combo flat out towards the center of the table.

TURN 1 - Wolves

The long fangs split fire and manage to wreck the ravager, as well as stun the raider behind the rocky outcropping. One razorback moves combat speed and fires the heavy bolter to little/no effect, while the other moves cruising speed and pops smoke. The lone wolf heads towards the ruin at the center of the table.

TURN 2 - Dark Eldar

Disheartened at the loss of his ravager, and the temporary use of one of his raiders (which is camping on an objective, not a bad place for it to be anyhow) he focuses splinter fire and dark lance fire on the smaller squad of long fangs now in the open since the lone wolf moved away and causes 4 wounds. The rune priest makes his save as do the missile launchers, but the squad leader takes a splinter round to the face and doesn't survive. No more fire control.

TURN 2 - Wolves

The lone wolf moves further toward the raider in the center of the table, hoping to take care of some kabalite warriors if the missiles crack open their tin can. The rune priest separates from his missile launcher squad, we ruled that the IC leaving doesn't cause the troops to count as having moved. It sounded right but i wasn't 100% since i haven't played MEQ's in almost 2 years. The pair of missile launchers wrecked the raider in the center of the table, and the rune priest managed to kill 2 warriors with living lightning. Between the other 4 missile launchers, and the razorbacks, i manage to immobilize and then wreck his other raider. The only vehicle he has left is a Venom full of killy death. His warriors fail their morale check and proceed to fall back, leaving them out of the lone wolf's assault range.

TURN 3 - Dark Eldar

Quick turn here - the warriors in the rocks try their best to stay hidden and out of LOS. The falling back warriors are still above half strength and manage to regroup. They move 3" towards the furthest objective in the right corner. He's castling! The venom lights up the long fangs who lost their squad leader with splinter cannons and kills one, but the survivor makes his morale check!

Turn 4 - Wolves

The lone wolf continues to pursue the warriors, hoping to catch them with good movement rolls through a crater, but he gets hung up and hangs out in the middle of it, probably 10" away from his warrior squad. One razorback moves combat speed to fire onto the warriors on the rocky objective, while the other goes cruising speed to get even closer and disembarks the grey hunters. The rune priest maintains his line of fire towards that squad, and the long fangs stay put so as not to lose any firing. I try throwing frag missiles onto his warriors from my long fang packs but many of the blasts scatter far off target, doing minimal (i don't remember any) casualties. The grey hunters that can see warriors rapid fire, as well as shoot melta, but he makes his cover saves.

Turn 5 - Dark Eldar

The venom disembarks the archon, then moves towards the grey hunters in the open. The warriors by the far right objective move further onto it, holding it quite well. The archon approaches the lone wolf in the crater. The warriors open fire on the grey hunters, killing one. The splinter cannons on the venom kill another, but i make my morale check for the second time. As an ex-tyranid player i really took being fearless for granted! The archon assaults the lone wolf, but goes last as he doesn't have frag grenades. I opt to re-roll to hit with my wolf claws, and get 4 hits. I pick up my dice, and roll to wound....Four Ones! no wounds, epic fail, etc. The archon proceeds to cause 3 wounds with his agonizer, and i fail all of my invulnerable saves (though he only had one wound left anyhow). The archon consolidates towards the center objective.

Turn 5 - Wolves

Here is where i made a huge tactical mistake -- I could have moved my remaining 4 grey hunters up and shot bolt pistols into kabalite warriors, and then assaulted them to either contest/claim that objective. Instead, I piled back into the razorback and just moved combat speed towards the objective intstead. I moved the other razorback cruising speed to be within claiming distance of the objective in the bunker. I manage to cause his kabalite warriors to fall back from shooting casualties via the long fangs (krak missiles instead of frag this time), a heavy bolter, and I peril on my living lightning psychic check! I make one invulnerable save but fail the re-roll.

We roll for game end and I roll a 1. Game over! Did i get the razorback close enough? The objective was on a tall rock, and was just under 3" from the rhino measuring and looking down. However, i feel the game should be measured in 3-D (so the claim bubble for the objective in my mind was orb-shaped) and the tank wasn't tall enough to claim the objective on his side of the table. The game ends 1-1, a tactical draw!

Final Thoughts -

Well after hearing the strength of rune priests and long fangs and grey hunters, i managed to put together a list that experimented with all 3 at a skirmish-level point game. I think that they are all indeed strong units, but with drawbacks to always keep in mind. For example, the lack of being fearless and LD 8 (unless you pay for a wolf guard escort) make it easier to fall off the table after taking casualties. The rune priest needs a squad because he draws a LOT of fire, given his abilities i understand why. Being able to benefit from fire control in a long fang squad is a pretty neat trick as well. My opponent shook my hand, and i thanked him for the game. He said thanks back, but admitted that he didn't have a lot of fun, as it felt like an uphill battle for him. He compared it to my experience vs LeafBlower IG with my tyranids.

Overall I'm very excited about getting to finish modeling/painting all these Space Wolves and testing them out at larger point levels.

Thanks for reading the wall of text, I didn't intend to do a BatRep or i would have recorded the turn by turn with my Flip Video.

Hey,

If I read this right the incubi never got out of the venom and were in the middle of the table turn 1? If that is correct then ouch half his points are invested there and he did not use them?

Shooting the ravager first was good... then everything should have been on the incubi.. .that unit easily could get to the big fangs in the back and even without assault grenades take em out. Once that is done then they are 3+ with FNP and in cover..... There is not a unit in your list that can handle incubi in CC once they have FNP.

I agree with your thoughts about the wolves. Just realize that the incubi are the greatest threat in that list.

I tried Vect out the other day against wolves and he is a beast... 8 attacks on the charge (Had +1 attack drug) re-rolling to hit WS8 with a 3+ to wound anything power weapon.... brutal. I think meph would likely die in one turn against him.

The way the table was set up, I placed both squads of long fangs diagonally as far from the archon & his venom as reasonably possible. He spent a couple turns maneuvering and shooting splinter cannons from the venom instead of rushing it towards my heavy support and trying to chew them up in CC.