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Okay, so I'm getting into playing Space Wolves, and I'm going to run a drop pod list with Thunderwolf Lord and TWC retinue to lead them (I know it probably won't win any tournaments, but it will be fun to play and paint)

The tactics here are in tooling out my wolf lord. All of the TWC are carrying stormshields and on has a Thunder hammer, so I1, high str, ap2 attacks are covered by him as well as the rending attacks that TWC have just for being awesome. Now I'm looking for a high initiative, tarpit/marine slaying while still being respectably sturdy wolf lord

So, Thunderwolf mount (obviously) runic armor and storm shield for the T5, 2+/3++ saves.

Here's where it gets hard, do I take a frost blade, wolftooth necklace and saga of the warrior born for plenty of accurate, S6, AP3, I5 attacks, or do I run him with Wolfclaw, mark of the wulfen and saga of the bear for less attacks, that could be more accurate and a tougher lord?

As for modeling, I have the finecast wolf lord on thunderwolf with frost axe, so that has to be redone anyway. Shouldn't be too awfully hard to make it a lightning claw, while a sword would be considerably easier to do and could probably be made from the axe itself.

Help me out here Dakkaers.

EDIT: Alternate build for the same number of points: Wolf lord, Thunderwolf, Runic Armor, Storm shield, Power Weapon (LANCE!) 2x Fenrisian Wolves, Saga of the Warrior born.
I think this is my man. I might even ask about house ruling this thing, make it cost as much as a frost blade and make it a FROST-LANCE, for S7 AP3 on the charge

I run mine with Wolf Tooth Necklace (arguably not necessary), Runic Armour, Storm Shield, Wolf Claw (the rerolls are SO handy) and Saga of the Bear to suck up any S10 shots (again, arguably not necessary). Definitely worthwhile to run a fist on one of the TWC though, that way you have S10 attacks, but the IC retains his I5.

Thanks so much! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Have you tried the Frost blade configuration? I think it might be worth a shot

I use the frost blade configuration quite a bit. It's worked well against Khorne blobs...

 reece_mess16 wrote:
I use the frost blade configuration quite a bit. It's worked well against Khorne blobs...

Bloodletters? I would imagine they would kill the cavalry handily and leave your wolflord nearly untouched.

 bocatt wrote:
Thanks so much! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Have you tried the Frost blade configuration? I think it might be worth a shot

I haven't, but I imagine that the blade would be a decent alternative... it's just that the claw is very versatile since you can choose to reroll hits or wounds. Also, this is probably obvious, but never use the axe. It's horrid. Same price as a powerfist, but far less hitting power.

I think I'm going to use the blade configuration because the three man thunderwolf retinue between masses of rending and thunder hammer on the charge can clean up elite infantry pretty well. It's just a matter of not getting tarpitted. Having S6 AP3 I5, hitting on 3's, gaining attacks for every enemy slain would rip through even a 30 boy ork horde in 4 assault phases (2 turns) and would make mincemeat of something like a guard blob (4 dead guardsmen, 8 dead guardsmen, 16 dead guardsmen, 32 dead guardsmen... )

Thanks everyone for the replies! This has helped bunches

take the frost blade if you take the belt of russ. If you take storm shield then take the wolf claw

I personally dont care for keeping that I5, so I run him with powerfist (but then I need eternal warrior since I face a lot of S10 hitters and Grey knights)

That's really not an efficient way to kill boys. A plasma toting GH squad nets the same number of kills per shooting phase as your wolf lord. Make those flamers and suddenly that number sky rockets. Not to mention they score and can take a charge from the orks and win the assault if they pop their standard. Oh and a hell of a lot cheaper without being vulnerable to challenges or ID.

The Wolf Claw is the better choice if you want to strike at Initiative and don't mind AP 3. Because you can elect to re-roll your To-Hit you end up edging out even the Frost Blade in number of kills. Assuming a 4+ to hit, 3.56 Unsaved Wounds for the Wolf Blade and 3.33 Unsaved Wounds for the Frost Blade with the same number of attacks. So, for a Wolf Lord on a Thunderwolf the Wolf Claw is not only cheaper, but is 23% more deadly with the same number of attacks (and you are taking a Storm Shield, right?).

Never do the Frost Axe. I'm taking it purely because of WYSIWYG. I have an awesome Thunderwolf mounted model with a wicked Frost Axe perfectly posed, so I'm just going to deal with the fact that I strike at S7 instead of S10 for the same amount of points. Since I was taking a Frost Weapon for style points instead of efficiency it's slightly less painful, but still sucks.

I used the body from the Finecast model for my Thunderwolf by the way. I snagged some bits (such as an alternate head) from the Thunderwolf plastic kit and didn't bother using the torso or axe from the Finecast model. Get a Wolf Claw from a regular Grey Hunter kit (if you don't have 50 Grey Hunters you need more ).

Mark of the Wulfen does not work the way you think it does. It replaces all your attacks with D6+1 Rending. Anything spiffy bought on that guy would not get used. In short, do not take Mark of the Wulfen on any of the HQ choices. They get enough attacks natively that you are throwing attacks away to gain Rending (which you would have from the Thunderwolf Mount anyways).

If you take a Saga, either take Beastslayer, Majesty, or The Bear. With Beastslayer you can have fun with MCs, re-rolling both To Hit and To Wound. And its cheap point wise. Majesty is always useful, especially with a large base, since most of the army is Ld 8. My favorite is The Bear, because I find I need Eternal Warrior to keep my Warlord up half the time. But then my Wolf Lord is in TDA with TH/SS cause I end up fighting stuff that is Initiative 6 and absolutely needs to die. If you strike last, you need EW sometimes.

Saga of the Warrior Born is a trap. It only works out like 50% of the time.

So a Wolf Lord w/ Runic Armor, Wolf Claw, Storm Shield, Thunderwolf Mount, and Saga of the Beastslayer runs you 195 Points. If it were me, I'd keep him cheap and I would add Meltabombs and a Wolf Tail Talisman before I added a Wolf Tooth Necklace. As WS 6, pretty much only enemy HQs are going to be hit on worse than a 3+ and everything else is hit on a 4+. With re-rolls to hit, a 4+ is a 75% chance to hit and a 3+ is an 89% chance to hit. 10 Points for a 14% extra chance to hit 1 model in the enemy army you might not even get to fight in combat is best spent as "filler" if there was absolutely nothing else to take IMO.


So my advice is to remember the important bits I said above and in the end do whatever looks cool/makes you happy. The Wolf Lord is YOU on the table basically, so style over substance. Be a little reckless in this one instance.

 bocatt wrote:
I think I'm going to use the blade configuration because the three man thunderwolf retinue between masses of rending and thunder hammer on the charge can clean up elite infantry pretty well. It's just a matter of not getting tarpitted. Having S6 AP3 I5, hitting on 3's, gaining attacks for every enemy slain would rip through even a 30 boy ork horde in 4 assault phases (2 turns) and would make mincemeat of something like a guard blob (4 dead guardsmen, 8 dead guardsmen, 16 dead guardsmen, 32 dead guardsmen... )

Thanks everyone for the replies! This has helped bunches

In 5th edition, I ran the TWC Lord I mentioned above, Canis, 2 TWC (1 TH, 1 regular and both with shields) and 4 Fenrisian Wolves and they shredded through a maxed out Guard power blob in 2 assault phases without suffering a single casualty.

I run three basically

Clarkston: Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer
May: Power Fist, Wolf Claw, Belt of Russ
Hammond: Power Lance/Spear, Power Axe [Though I might change this to a Frost Blade]

As for what to use with the Storm Shield:
Frost Axe: Devastating vs. almost everything, but you go off last
Frost Blade: Good vs. everything, but AV 13/14, take Melta Bombs
Chain Sword: 5 S5 Rending Nothing to ignore as a possibility. Take Melta-Bombs.
Power Axe: See the Frost Axe, but not as good.
Power Fist: 5 S10 Attacks, but attack last.
Power Lance/Spear: The most over looked choice, you are talking on the Assault 6 S6 AP3 Attacks, then it goes to 5 S5 AP4 Attacks, makes for a good choice for Challenges and it could look cool on the table top.
Power Maul: 5 S7 AP4 Attacks, you can kill most thing quickly even 3+/2+ Armor just by making them make saves, and next turn they will be I1
Power Sword: Nothing Special Here. Take Melta-Bombs.
Thunder Hammer: Think the Power Fist with the ability to make your opponent go on I1 next Assualt
Wolf Claw: Re-Rolls to Hit or Wounds, AP3. When mixed with the Saga of the Beast Hunter a lot of MC's will have an issue with you. Take Melta-Bombs.

 Anpu42 wrote:

Power Lance/Spear: The most over looked choice, you are talking on the Assault 6 S6 AP3 Attacks, then it goes to 5 S5 AP4 Attacks, makes for a good choice for Challenges and it could look cool on the table top.

O.O

I never even considered the lance. That could be friggin awesome. Talk about Calvary. Can I make a Frost-lance and pay 25 pts for it so it'll be Str 7 on the charge? That would just be flat out amazing. I would take that every game and it would be the coolest looking friggin Wolf Lord ever.

And Saga of the Warrior born makes up for the loss in strength in the next turn by giving you free attacks for killing things, so it would mow through rank and file infantry in like one full game turn

 bocatt wrote:
Can I make a Frost-lance and pay 25 pts for it so it'll be Str 7 on the charge? That would just be flat out amazing.

OH by Russ I wish, but no.

Something to pray for in the next codex update before 7th edition. Option for all TWC to swap their CCWs for Frost-lances. Har-har-har.

With my lord i run him with a frost blade and a frost axe, it keeps the extra attack making him 6 base and he can take nearly anything and i'm sure the faq states that now frost blades and frost axes are 10pts?? anyone else confirm for me? i'll still use it because it looks awesome and i love the flexibilty, krak grenades as a shootphase FTW

The FAQ is right here. They did not reduce the point cost. They just added Frost Blade and Frost Axe as options for models in Terminator armor. You are still paying 50 points for an extra attack, which is worse than spending 50 points on Master of Runes IMO. The model probably looks sweet though.

Edit : deleting my own stupidity before it lays eggs

Both say the same exact thing. The one you are looking at is the older version, but its the same exact text. The problem is you aren't reading what it says, you are skimming. The key phrase here: replace the fifth bullet point. The fifth bullet point for the Wolf Lord and WGBL lists the options for a model in Terminator Armor to replace its Power Weapon. The first bullet point gives you the prices for weapons when you are in Power Armor or Runic Armor.

You have to read what the FAQ says fully and be looking at your Codex to understand what's going on.

Ah, of course, that awkward moment when your brain trails off at the end of a sentance, thanks for clarifying, i'm afraid i'm guilty of paying less attention that i should have, you sir are the steven fry of FAQ's both a genius and a gentleman *tips hat*

I don't know if anyone has said this yet or not because I was too lazy to read the whole page. (*sorry*)



But I think this is what you're looking for.

Wolf Lord + Thunderwolf, Runic Armor, Storm Sheild, Wolf Claw.

You do NOT need a wolf tooth necklace. I'm sure someone must have said that already, so I won't explain why.

You do NOT need saga of the warrior born. I will explain this...If you get into close combat with a unit and you are NOT challenged, then it is VERY unlikely that you will actually get your extra attacks the next round. Why? Because you will have killed the whole unit already and there won't be a next round. On the other hand, if you are challenged, then you're not going to be getting many unsaved wounds anyway. Save your 35 points and get another drop pod OR spend it on Saga of the Bear. But even then, the only thing that can cause you instant death are is S10 weapons.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Anpu42 wrote:
I run three basically


As for what to use with the Storm Shield:
Frost Axe: Devastating vs. almost everything, but you go off last

Never. NEVER EVER take a frost axe with a storm shield. For the same price you get a power fist which is better. The ONLY time you should ever take a Frost Axe is if you also take a pistol with it.

 Grugknuckle wrote:
Never. NEVER EVER take a frost axe with a storm shield. For the same price you get a power fist which is better. The ONLY time you should ever take a Frost Axe is if you also take a pistol with it.

There is another topic on this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/529151.page
I say if you want to use a Frost Axe go for it.
Anothe rgood thing to take with a Frost Axe is a Power Maul or Power Lance/Spear

 Anpu42 wrote:

 Grugknuckle wrote:
Never. NEVER EVER take a frost axe with a storm shield. For the same price you get a power fist which is better. The ONLY time you should ever take a Frost Axe is if you also take a pistol with it.

There is another topic on this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/529151.page
I say if you want to use a Frost Axe go for it.
Anothe rgood thing to take with a Frost Axe is a Power Maul or Power Lance/Spear

Frost Axes will kill things, no arguing that, but a power fist kills even more things in the same role for the same price.

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:

 Anpu42 wrote:

 Grugknuckle wrote:
Never. NEVER EVER take a frost axe with a storm shield. For the same price you get a power fist which is better. The ONLY time you should ever take a Frost Axe is if you also take a pistol with it.

There is another topic on this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/529151.page
I say if you want to use a Frost Axe go for it.
Anothe rgood thing to take with a Frost Axe is a Power Maul or Power Lance/Spear

Frost Axes will kill things, no arguing that, but a power fist kills even more things in the same role for the same price.

Yes. And to respond to Anpu42, sure if you *want* to take a Frost Axe go ahead. If you want to hit your mini's with a hammer, go ahead. But if the question is, "Which piece of wargear gives you the best game effect for the point value," then the answer is power fist. And honestly, if the guy is asking for wargear suggestions on Dakka, he's obviously not asking us "Which wargear is 'cooler' or 'more fluffy'," because he can figure that out on his own. So don't encourage players to take sub-optimal wargear.

I'm really starting to consider just using the CCW and Saga of the Beastslayer. He may not be very good against a mob of Orks, but in challenges he would be a rapestick. 5 Str 5 rending attacks that reroll wounds as long they are T5 or above. Means lots more 6s against that Terminator Chaos lord with MoN or whatever big baddie my wolf lord gets into a scrap with. So I don't really want to hear about drawbacks, I can see those myself, but I mean what options are there that are just straight up better in every way?

 bocatt wrote:
I'm really starting to consider just using the CCW and Saga of the Beastslayer. He may not be very good against a mob of Orks, but in challenges he would be a rapestick. 5 Str 5 rending attacks that reroll wounds as long they are T5 or above. Means lots more 6s against that Terminator Chaos lord with MoN or whatever big baddie my wolf lord gets into a scrap with. So I don't really want to hear about drawbacks, I can see those myself, but I mean what options are there that are just straight up better in every way?

In that case, just take a Power Sword, it'll still have rending and you're getting slightly more damage output.

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:

 bocatt wrote:
I'm really starting to consider just using the CCW and Saga of the Beastslayer. He may not be very good against a mob of Orks, but in challenges he would be a rapestick. 5 Str 5 rending attacks that reroll wounds as long they are T5 or above. Means lots more 6s against that Terminator Chaos lord with MoN or whatever big baddie my wolf lord gets into a scrap with. So I don't really want to hear about drawbacks, I can see those myself, but I mean what options are there that are just straight up better in every way?

In that case, just take a Power Sword, it'll still have rending and you're getting slightly more damage output.

If you take anything but a CCW you loose your Rending.

 Anpu42 wrote:

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:

 bocatt wrote:
I'm really starting to consider just using the CCW and Saga of the Beastslayer. He may not be very good against a mob of Orks, but in challenges he would be a rapestick. 5 Str 5 rending attacks that reroll wounds as long they are T5 or above. Means lots more 6s against that Terminator Chaos lord with MoN or whatever big baddie my wolf lord gets into a scrap with. So I don't really want to hear about drawbacks, I can see those myself, but I mean what options are there that are just straight up better in every way?

In that case, just take a Power Sword, it'll still have rending and you're getting slightly more damage output.

If you take anything but a CCW you loose your Rending.

Yes exactly

So Lord and two Thunderwolves with CCW/Storm shield and one Thunderwolf with TH/SS? Sound like a pretty good unit for engaging pretty much anyone?

Instead of a CCW you should take a Power Weapon or better still a Wolf Claw. Rending is nice, but normal Thunderwolves can put out a lot of Rending attacks for cheaper. Beyond that, not bad but you may want Runic Armor to deal with Challenges (the 2+ is really worth 20 points vs the 3++ Storm Shield when facing Power Swords).