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Played my own share of games with my trusty Sons of Russ, and they seem to be, well, lacking something this edition with my handling. What HQ's are the people of Dakka loading their lists with nowadays? Any off-the-wall tactics that actually work/are interesting-sounding enough to be worth giving a shot?
My HQ choices at the moment consist of a tooled-up Thunder Lord running with some fellow Thunderwolves, and a Rune Priest giving Divination buffs to a squad of Long Fangs. My Grey Hunter packs are also usually packed to the gunnels; 8-9 men, special weapon, Wolf Standard, Mark of the Wulfen, extra Power Fist, Rhino & WGPL with Power Fist and Combi-melta. Very 5th-ed-esque I know.
I play against mainly CSM and Nids, at around the 1500-2000 level, usually towards 1500, for those wondering.
Any advice?

People may disagree with me, but I feel there are two ways to play Wolves in 6ed.

Loganwing with power armor (one TDAWG per squad), mass combi weapon spam in drop pods (6 with Wolf Guard, one with MM Long Fangs and Logan) (but Tau is almost an auto loss). Throw in two Rune Priests as well, imo.

The other (and far more popular) is with Guard. Rune Priests anchoring Guard blobs (and ideally twinlinking Manticores), drop pods with GHs or Wolf Guard.

Heavy Mech might work too, but there are better codexes for that.

Long Fangs are dead, Thunderlords are good, but too pricey (best way to run them is definitely in a Wolf blob though), TWC are completely outclassed by Wraiths.

I am going to try a "classic" Wolves list, only with 12 Hyperios platforms....That may be viable, but I doubt it. This is not a MEQ friendly edition.

Dont forget drop podding wolves. Still a very viable and fun list to play.

Would you say gh razorback spam is dead?

100% dead. If you're relying on av11 to protect your heavy weapons, you're not going to have much out put. They'll fall faster than you can kill what threatens them...which is practically everything.
I've been able to keep a single razorback alive in games, but only by being very cautious with it and being very aggressive with drop pods.

@Anonymou5: You say Long Fangs are dead. What would you suggest as a suitable replacement? I only run 1 pack as it is, with usually a Vindicator, if not two.

anonymou5 wrote:
People may disagree with me, but I feel there are two ways to play Wolves in 6ed.

Loganwing with power armor (one TDAWG per squad), mass combi weapon spam in drop pods (6 with Wolf Guard, one with MM Long Fangs and Logan) (but Tau is almost an auto loss). Throw in two Rune Priests as well, imo.

The other (and far more popular) is with Guard. Rune Priests anchoring Guard blobs (and ideally twinlinking Manticores), drop pods with GHs or Wolf Guard.

Heavy Mech might work too, but there are better codexes for that.

Long Fangs are dead, Thunderlords are good, but too pricey (best way to run them is definitely in a Wolf blob though), TWC are completely outclassed by Wraiths.

I am going to try a "classic" Wolves list, only with 12 Hyperios platforms....That may be viable, but I doubt it. This is not a MEQ friendly edition.

And exactly how do you twin-link your Manticores? The prescience power allows you to re-roll to-hit, but you don't roll to hit with Manticores so Prescience does not work.

 Sandyman11 wrote:
@Anonymou5: You say Long Fangs are dead. What would you suggest as a suitable replacement? I only run 1 pack as it is, with usually a Vindicator, if not two.

Long fangs dead??
Still cheapest most reliable means of reaching out and killing squads or vehicles (they can split their fire right?, right?)
Most other armies need vehicles for that kind of shooting which are far less reliable.
Only real weakness they have is aircraft so spend some points in a fortification with some skyfire and you are good to go.
I think it is by adding a Rune Priest it can get even more fun.

 Talizvar wrote:

Still cheapest most reliable means of reaching out and killing squads or vehicles (they can split their fire right?, right?)

Cheapest, sure. Most reliable certainly not. Str:8 ap:3 is really quite poor at killing vehicles. Also in any sort of competitive environment you're going to lose those LFs by turn 2/3. That's not much time to strip hull points.

Most other armies need vehicles for that kind of shooting which are far less reliable.

In what respect?

Only real weakness they have is aircraft so spend some points in a fortification with some skyfire and you are good to go.

And heldrakes, and FMCs, and collossi, and riptides...

I think it is by adding a Rune Priest it can get even more fun.

Twin linking missile launchers is barely worth it.

While I will agree that MEQs have the sort end of the stick, its not the end of the world.
Not every list will have a Helldrake on it, but because of the Hyper-Focus on defeating 2+ Armor saves things have gotten out of hand. I have myself gone for two games without being aloud to make a single 3+ Save.

Saying that, I don’t think Long Fangs are dead, they just can’t plant themselves in minimal cover without support of some kind. Be it a Fortification, a Grey Hunter Pack or two or even a Allied Hydra Battery.

I will sat I have only lost my Long Fangs twice since 6th. One was a low point game vs. Nids and the other to a Chaos Marine Army, without a Helldrake that came down to Njal and two Wolf Guard [one with a Cyclone] vs. a Havoc Squad [with Missile Launchers] in a long range duel.

My suggestion is find Just Dave’s Article on Space Wolf Tactics or mine. Though mine is out of date. This should give you a good feel for what Space Wolves are good at.

Marshall Ragnar wrote:

anonymou5 wrote:
People may disagree with me, but I feel there are two ways to play Wolves in 6ed.

Loganwing with power armor (one TDAWG per squad), mass combi weapon spam in drop pods (6 with Wolf Guard, one with MM Long Fangs and Logan) (but Tau is almost an auto loss). Throw in two Rune Priests as well, imo.

The other (and far more popular) is with Guard. Rune Priests anchoring Guard blobs (and ideally twinlinking Manticores), drop pods with GHs or Wolf Guard.

Heavy Mech might work too, but there are better codexes for that.

Long Fangs are dead, Thunderlords are good, but too pricey (best way to run them is definitely in a Wolf blob though), TWC are completely outclassed by Wraiths.

I am going to try a "classic" Wolves list, only with 12 Hyperios platforms....That may be viable, but I doubt it. This is not a MEQ friendly edition.

And exactly how do you twin-link your Manticores? The prescience power allows you to re-roll to-hit, but you don't roll to hit with Manticores so Prescience does not work.

PG 33, BRB. Prescience works (and is insanely good)

Long Fangs are dead primarily because of the Heldrake...but also Riptides, markerlights in general, Guard Artillery (triply so if it's FW), FMCs....and just the fact that 5 str 8 shots isn't that great. It's good, but it's not good ENOUGH in 3 turns. When I bring my Demons out to play, if I play Wolves, I really hope he's running 18 Long Fangs.

MEQ units on their own die too fast in 6ed. Durability is now either bodies or high toughness. A 3+ save is too expensive for the level of protection it offers. I suppose you could run them on a Skyshield, but then you're clustered up, and that's just going to make the Drake/Barrage options even more brutal.

I kind of listed what I would run instead. Either Guard HS options (plus Sabres Vultures and Vendettas), or just throw them with Logan in a pod and use them as part of an alpha strike of doom. I wouldn't even use Vindicators, as the Demolisher does the same job much better (and if you're not running all pods, it's a mistake not to be allied with Guard).

anonymou5 wrote:

Long Fangs are dead primarily because of the Heldrake...but also Riptides, markerlights in general, Guard Artillery (triply so if it's FW), FMCs....and just the fact that 5 str 8 shots isn't that great. It's good, but it's not good ENOUGH in 3 turns. When I bring my Demons out to play, if I play Wolves, I really hope he's running 18 Long Fangs.

Yes the days of 5x ML x3 SPAM is Dead [This is one thing I am happy about]
Now it seems to about making the most of your Long Fangs.
I have been running a 1x Heavy Bolter, 2x Las Cannon 2x Missile Launcher Pack and it has been doing well in performance. It does well vs. anything especialy when mixed with a Rune Priest or even a Cyclone Launcher added. Also Plasma Cannons are the new Missile Launcher from what I have seen.

MEQ units on their own die too fast in 6ed. Durability is now either bodies or high toughness. A 3+ save is too expensive for the level of protection it offers. I suppose you could run them on a Skyshield, but then you're clustered up, and that's just going to make the Drake/Barrage options even more brutal.

Like I said early this is true, but there are ways to cope, Skyfire Allies, Fortes of Redemption, or even just a Land Raider. There is also the Drop Pod Tactic, keep the to busy to fire on your Long Fangs.

I kind of listed what I would run instead. Either Guard HS options (plus Sabres Vultures and Vendettas), or just throw them with Logan in a pod and use them as part of an alpha strike of doom. I wouldn't even use Vindicators, as the Demolisher does the same job much better (and if you're not running all pods, it's a mistake not to be allied with Guard).

I might even start running Guard Allies now.

Guard allies really change SW from good to fantastic. I'd argue that that ally combination is top tier, and probably better than almost all ally combinations out there.

anonymou5 wrote:Loganwing with power armor (one TDAWG per squad), mass combi weapon spam in drop pods (6 with Wolf Guard, one with MM Long Fangs and Logan) (but Tau is almost an auto loss). Throw in two Rune Priests as well, imo

Jayden63 wrote:Dont forget drop podding wolves. Still a very viable and fun list to play.

anonymou5 wrote:The other (and far more popular) is with Guard. Rune Priests anchoring Guard blobs (and ideally twinlinking Manticores), drop pods with GHs or Wolf Guard.

Griddlelol wrote:Guard allies really change SW from good to fantastic. I'd argue that that ally combination is top tier, and probably better than almost all ally combinations out there.

^ All solid options, each with their own drawbacks and weaknesses. Allying in IG is worse than using IG with allied SW most of the time. Part of the problem is the IG options tend to dominate the list when you build it. Its way to0 easy to spend 50% or more of your points purely on the IG. It still is probably the strongest option at first glance.

Drop Pod lists are more popular now in 6E than they were in 5E, but they've always been viable. Most people have no idea how to deal with Drop Pods, and even the ones that do don't have it easy usually. Drop Pods are superior to Rhinos for force projection a lot of the time after all. And if you are trying to make the most competitive list possible, its hard to pass up on taking a lot of Wolf Guard with Combi-Weapons, with the only TDA being the ones carrying Heavy Weapons.

rubicant99 wrote:Would you say gh razorback spam is dead?

Razorspam has always been a bad list. Even in 5E. You never really saw it place well in tournaments, let alone win them. The fact that other armies, like Blood Angels, could do the same thing but better made it even more stupid to try it with Space Wolves. Cheaper and faster? Why wouldn't you just do a counts-as chapter if you hate the red paint job and wanted to field a lot of Razorbacks?


Long Fangs aren't as good as they used to be, but that doesn't make them not useful. For example, against my Drop Pod list the Chaos regulars usually have some other targets taking priority. It only becomes an immediate problem for my Long Fangs when you see 3 Heldrakes hit the table.

And really, D3+1 S7 hits vs AV 11 isn't going to keep my Predator alive much longer than the Long Fangs usually anyways. Each hit has a 50% chance of taking off a Hull Point, and each hit Penetrates 33% of the time. Plus the Baleflamer can just hit the rear armor thanks to its ridiculous 360 degree turret and it also has a 50% chance of taking off a Hull Point, and 33% chance of Penetrating!

So really, if you replace all your Long Fangs with Predators, that Predator is going to be taking 3-5 hits from the Heldrake anyways. To say nothing of any other anti-tank weapons on the field.


Your best bet these days, ignoring allies, is to play Space Wolves how they were intended to be (IMO): Hybrid builds. Take a few Drop Pods along with a few Rhinos. Maybe have one GH unit that is just on foot. Bring some Lone Wolves and Cavalry. Mix up your Heavy Support section, grab a Predator and a Long Fang Pack. Diversify the types of targets as well as your deployment methods.

6E is actually pushing us towards more diversified lists, which I think is neat.

cowmonaut wrote:
Allying in IG is worse than using IG with allied SW most of the time.

I completely agree. I just switch it up for fun sometimes. There's not much in the SW codex that you need more than one of anyway. RPs and GHs are the only ones, and you can take 2 of each with allies. Guard on the other hand really benefit from 3 FA slots and 3 Heavy Slots.

6E is actually pushing us towards more diversified lists, which I think is neat.

QFT. 6th may have its netlists, but they're generally only a basis for many different types of lists that work. In 5th there were tried and tested lists and there was little room for ingenuity. 6th on the other hand rewards creativity to some extent. I like it too.