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Good evening everyone - or morning, depending on where you are (and, I suppose, when you're reading this). I was hoping you could help me with an issue I've been running into.

I like my space wolves. I've always had a soft spot for those crazy, boisterous space-heathens. Our codex has held up pretty well in 6th edition,all things considered. Even after the roll out of C:SM, the Space Wolf Codex stands pretty tall. The problem I'm having though is perhaps one that most SW players fall into: We're a very meat-and-potatoes codex.

Nearly every list I run winds up being some combination of Grey Hunters filling up my troop requirements and at least two squads of Long fangs sitting in the back. From there, it's a rune priest (or two), and/or sometimes Njal Stormcaller. From there, you season to taste with either Thunderwolf cavalry or Wolfguard.

This has for the most part been pretty effective - and even points efficient. The problem is, of course, that after a while you just get bored of it.

So I'm calling out to you, brave Dakkans. Help me work out other ways to make my vikings worthwhile on the tabletop.

SW are fairly limited to the RP/GH/LF lists if you want to just play competitively, but if you're perhaps willing to sacrifice a bit of effectiveness, there's a lot you can add that is pretty fun.

Blood Claws, despite being mathematically inferior to GH, can still be pretty good, especially a full squad assaulting out of an LRC with a Wolf Priest. Similarly, outflanking the same squad with Saga of the Hunter on the priest is just funny.

Try out the other elements of the army, don't be deterred if they don't work at first. There's still plenty of fun to be had with playing a very fast army using Skyclaws/swiftclaws, or running Fenrisian wolves en masse. If you use GH in pods, try them in rhinos, if you use them in rhinos, try them in pods. It totally changes the dynamic of the army.

Have you thought about meching up? Roll out a wall of Vindicators/predators instead of the Fangs for Heavy support.

It all depends on how much you're willing to give up an amount of competitiveness and are willing to try new stuff. The SW codex is amazingly fun to run and has some great variety, so just experiment, and have fun.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Put your guys in drop pods. The dynamic of the army changes drastically, however, your points for firepower wont change and you wont really have to relearn how some units work.

My personal list doesn't have a single long fang in it. I run twin Vindicators and LRC from my Heavy support. True my only HQ is a single rune priest, but I run Arjac as beat stick/hero of my army.

Just go nuts with the HQ section! Space Pups get a ton of HQ options, 4 I think, and the codex is full of colourful characters. Lukas is fun, especially when he dies in CC! Bjorn is great as he gets better armour than most dreadnoughts and he can also change the game a bit when he dies. In fact, Bjorn dying could even win you the game if you're playing for points or objectives as his corpse becomes worth points. Nothing to bank on but it is fun and fluffy.

HQ units aside the Wolf codex is chock full of exciting stuff. I think where the OP is getting bogged down is building lists based purely on competition whether that is their intention or not. Take some of the more flavourful units and play around with them. You'll enjoy it and you'll surprise the heck out of your regular gaming crew if you show up with something wildly different. Remember it's just as fun for your opponent as it is for you.

Are there any good forgeworld units that SW have access to? FW really added some spice to my CSM and Daemons thanks to the characters and vehicles.

 gwarsh41 wrote:
Are there any good forgeworld units that SW have access to? FW really added some spice to my CSM and Daemons thanks to the characters and vehicles.

I'm pretty sure they have Bran Redmaw as a SC in one of the IA books, and I have a feeling they still get things like the Storm Eagle and Fire Raptor. Certainly would add a little to the army using one of those.

Also, OP, have you considered adding an allied detachment, even only a small one. Allies are one of the best ways to completely change the dynamic of an army, and have a far lower buy-in cost than a whole new army. IG certainly make good allies, as their defensive nature means the SW have to take a far more aggressive role. In my experience, SW/IG armies (either way round) are some of the most fun to play.

 kazian wrote:
Good evening everyone - or morning, depending on where you are (and, I suppose, when you're reading this). I was hoping you could help me with an issue I've been running into.

I like my space wolves. I've always had a soft spot for those crazy, boisterous space-heathens. Our codex has held up pretty well in 6th edition,all things considered. Even after the roll out of C:SM, the Space Wolf Codex stands pretty tall. The problem I'm having though is perhaps one that most SW players fall into: We're a very meat-and-potatoes codex.

Nearly every list I run winds up being some combination of Grey Hunters filling up my troop requirements and at least two squads of Long fangs sitting in the back. From there, it's a rune priest (or two), and/or sometimes Njal Stormcaller. From there, you season to taste with either Thunderwolf cavalry or Wolfguard.

This has for the most part been pretty effective - and even points efficient. The problem is, of course, that after a while you just get bored of it.

So I'm calling out to you, brave Dakkans. Help me work out other ways to make my vikings worthwhile on the tabletop.

I know what you mean and my lists normally look exactly how you describe it.

We had an apoc game these days and i converted a bran redmaw for it (fielded all space wolves special characters in that game ). Bran himself is bullcrap (especially since he gets worse when he transforms) but his ability to give behind enemy lines to one GH squad will be food for some friendly games. Ive also converted my own ulric and lucas and im planning to start fielding these special characters in friendlies.
I had a game against sisters of battle before their new codex some weeks ago where i took bjorn and he pretty much killed his entire army almost alone (to be fair celestine killed the rest of MY army alone in the same game) but it was a blast.

Best thing about space wolves is going crazy with HQs.

sadly our HQs are so expensive, unless you're playing apocalyps

try wolf gaurd termies. thats a chalenge

i win some of those loose some of em but its a blast when they go all heroic

I may have to try a wolfguard termie-spam list. Another thing I'm seeing is a lot of people will sink significant points into characters / HQs with Space Wolves.. which is something I've never been able to bring myself to do, but maybe I'll give it a try and see what happens.

I've been collecting Space Wolves since the first codex was published in 1994. Since I don't play competitively and only ever play with friends, my army always includes at least a few of the more fun elements to go along with the bread and butter.

I have full squads and characters mounted on bikes, jump packs and thunderwolves and always take at least one, if not multiples of these unit types. They're wild and reckless, they're bullet magnets and frequently die before getting into combat, but boy are they colourful, and occasionally they're spectacular! (They can also be an excellent distraction to allow your serious units to get into position and wreak havok)

I also tend to feel that a Space Wolf army not lead by its Wolf Lord is an army with no heart, and I have at least 5 or 6 different Lord models to suit any occasion

Finally... look at some of the Forge World units. They open a few doors not otherwise open to us Wolf Lords, like fliers

I'm a big SW player myself and know all too well. Besides, having something different always through your opponent for a loop. Ever thought of adding in Land Speeders? Very versatile in either being anti horde or tank hunting.

 Norfallen wrote:
I'm a big SW player myself and know all too well. Besides, having something different always through your opponent for a loop. Ever thought of adding in Land Speeders? Very versatile in either being anti horde or tank hunting.

I've tried fooling with some borrowed ones a couple times. They have a tendency to get shot off the board before they are useful. haha. Maybe I should give it another shot.