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Just looking to quantify the ridiculousness that is the Space Wolf naming policy.

How many units are there in the Space Wolf codex?

How many of those have the word 'wolf' in the name?

Examples: Thunderwolf Cavalry, Wolf Priests, Lone Wolves, Stormwolf etc. (I'm sure there's more...)

'Long Fangs' and other such references don't count. They're wolfy, but they don't specifically have 'wolf' in the name...

50% of space wolves is wolves the other 50% is space

Going to the codex's Reference sheet, I counted about 16 of 30 statlines having the word 'wolf' in them.

5th edition book is to blame for that before then it was fine then they decided we needed wolf claws and wolf tails to go with our wolf cloaks while we rode our thunderwolves while we wolfed.

But it's okay we know the jokes just hide peoples envy of our superior training regime, you can pray we'll go fishing then have a nice swim and finish the day with a few barrels of ale served by hot shieldmaidens.

Ynneadwraith wrote:
Just looking to quantify the ridiculousness that is the Space Wolf naming policy.

How many units are there in the Space Wolf codex?

How many of those have the word 'wolf' in the name?

Examples: Thunderwolf Cavalry, Wolf Priests, Lone Wolves, Stormwolf etc. (I'm sure there's more...)

'Long Fangs' and other such references don't count. They're wolfy, but they don't specifically have 'wolf' in the name...

Do we count when "wolf" is used in differant languages? I mean their homeworld is call wolf for gods sakes so Im pretty sure we are heading around 80 to 90% margin for 'wolfyness' but to be fair as much ire it brings to most people I love all the wolfyness I think its hilarious, I mean we are in a universe where chainsaws are a viable alternative to ballistic weapons. Im perfectly fine playing against a named character called wolf being pulled on a chariot by wolves with an army of space wolves riding wolves on a planet called wolf.

Reavas wrote:

Ynneadwraith wrote:
Just looking to quantify the ridiculousness that is the Space Wolf naming policy.

How many units are there in the Space Wolf codex?

How many of those have the word 'wolf' in the name?

Examples: Thunderwolf Cavalry, Wolf Priests, Lone Wolves, Stormwolf etc. (I'm sure there's more...)

'Long Fangs' and other such references don't count. They're wolfy, but they don't specifically have 'wolf' in the name...

Do we count when "wolf" is used in differant languages? I mean their homeworld is call wolf for gods sakes so Im pretty sure we are heading around 80 to 90% margin for 'wolfyness' but to be fair as much ire it brings to most people I love all the wolfyness I think its hilarious, I mean we are in a universe where chainsaws are a viable alternative to ballistic weapons. Im perfectly fine playing against a named character called wolf being pulled on a chariot by wolves with an army of space wolves riding wolves on a planet called wolf.

For the 'Wolf Time'......

Reavas wrote:
Do we count when "wolf" is used in differant languages? I mean their homeworld is call wolf for gods sakes

Actually I think Fenris means "fen dweller" and is a modification of the name of a specific wolf in Norse mythology.

Picking on the Wolves is a bit unfair though, GWs naming conventions have always been whacky at times.
War walker - it walks to war?
Mega Nobz hurhur
Genestealers - oh they steal genes?
Dunecrawler - really?

We could go on.....

Reavas wrote:


Do we count when "wolf" is used in differant languages? I mean their homeworld is call wolf for gods sakes so Im pretty sure we are heading around 80 to 90% margin for 'wolfyness' but to be fair as much ire it brings to most people I love all the wolfyness I think its hilarious, I mean we are in a universe where chainsaws are a viable alternative to ballistic weapons. Im perfectly fine playing against a named character called wolf being pulled on a chariot by wolves with an army of space wolves riding wolves on a planet called wolf.

Hah, I suppose that is true.

Still, I can't help but think that Orks are the go-to comedy relief faction.

Spark of inspiration! Looted Battlewagon made from that 'santa's wolf chariot' thing pulled by Squigs.

Brilliant!

Don't steal Santa's sleigh or he'll wolf you and you won't like it.

 Ratius wrote:
Picking on the Wolves is a bit unfair though, GWs naming conventions have always been whacky at times.
War walker - it walks to war?
Mega Nobz hurhur
Genestealers - oh they steal genes?
Dunecrawler - really?

We could go on.....

Are you trying to be sarcastic and I'm missing it? Those aren't remotely whacky names except maybe Mega Nobz because they are supposed to be whacky

In short? Too much.

Sonic Keyboard wrote:
Going to the codex's Reference sheet, I counted about 16 of 30 statlines having the word 'wolf' in them.

But that's not all. you should count in 'claws', 'fangs', 'pelts' and, of course, Wulfen.

 oldzoggy wrote:
50% of space wolves is wolves the other 50% is space

No, I think 30% is beer drinking.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Ratius wrote:
Picking on the Wolves is a bit unfair though, GWs naming conventions have always been whacky at times.
War walker - it walks to war?
Mega Nobz hurhur
Genestealers - oh they steal genes?
Dunecrawler - really?

We could go on.....

Are you trying to be sarcastic and I'm missing it? Those aren't remotely whacky names except maybe Mega Nobz because they are supposed to be whacky

Yeah they seem fine to me. If you 'Space Wolfed' the Tyranids you'd end up with 'Gene-Warriors' and 'Genifexes' and 'Termagenes'...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 wuestenfux wrote:

 oldzoggy wrote:
50% of space wolves is wolves the other 50% is space

No, I think 30% is beer drinking.

130% Space Wolf!

Here is a bit of ghoulish fluff about the Space Wolves: there are no wolves on Fenris.



SJ

Are you trying to be sarcastic and I'm missing it? Those aren't remotely whacky names except maybe Mega Nobz because they are supposed to be whacky

Not at all.
Ok maybe whacky isnt the right term but a bit silly at least.
I see them as no better or worse than the use of wolf throughout the SW codex.

Y..you all d-don't understand Phil Kelly's genius!

*runs away in tears*

 Ratius wrote:
Picking on the Wolves is a bit unfair though, GWs naming conventions have always been whacky at times.
War walker - it walks to war?
Mega Nobz hurhur
Genestealers - oh they steal genes?
Dunecrawler - really?

We could go on.....

Individual examples are one thing, and most of these dont actually follow the same pattern. War Walker is just fine and is pretty descriptive. Wolf Claw was just a better Lightning Claw just for its own sake.

Space Wolves took that to a rather absurd level, and took a garnish theme and ran it into the ground. It went right past "cool", beyond "tired", up to "farcical" and straight into "near parody" and finally with sleighs and actual cavalry wolves into "absurdity". SW's are a faction I want to like very much, but theyve been takrn overboard in so many ways they just come off as an 8 year olds bad internet fanfic.

BA's had the same problem with their 5E book, with things like replacing DCCW's with "blood fists" that were identical but renamed for literally no reason, or having "bloodstrike" missiles...

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Here is a bit of ghoulish fluff about the Space Wolves: there are no wolves on Fenris.

Spoiler:

All "wolves" on Fenris are Astartes aspirants that failed the process of becoming an Astartes, morphing into a Thunderwolf instead due to the unstable nature of their gene seed. As such, all of the wolf fetishes worn by Space Wolves are in fact peices of their Fenrisian brothers.

SJ

I hear that all the time, but I'm nevertheless confused. The Space Wolves were not an existential force on Fenris until after Russ was discovered by the Emperor, and Russ was RAISED BY WOLVES.

That seems like a contradiction.

 Unusual Suspect wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Here is a bit of ghoulish fluff about the Space Wolves: there are no wolves on Fenris.

Spoiler:

All "wolves" on Fenris are Astartes aspirants that failed the process of becoming an Astartes, morphing into a Thunderwolf instead due to the unstable nature of their gene seed. As such, all of the wolf fetishes worn by Space Wolves are in fact peices of their Fenrisian brothers.

SJ

I hear that all the time, but I'm nevertheless confused. The Space Wolves were not an existential force on Fenris until after Russ was discovered by the Emperor, and Russ was RAISED BY WOLVES.

That seems like a contradiction.

The original theory was that the colonists who got there first used genetic engineering to cope with the climate but some devolved into wolves so the wolves are just devolved humans.

Not sure if this has been said, but we literally have a guy named Canis Wolfborn, which literally means Dog Wolfborn.

But we have -

WOLF lords, WOLF guard battle leaders, WULFen, canis WOLFborn, Harald deathWOLF, WOLF priest, Lone WOLVES, WOLF guard, WOLF guard terminators, ThunderWOLF cavalry, StormWOLF gunship, Fenrisian WOLVES.

Not counting named characters, that is probably a bit more than 50% of the codex with wolf IN THE NAME.

So yeah, its ridiculous.

You forgot wolf scouts.

pm713 wrote:

 Unusual Suspect wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Here is a bit of ghoulish fluff about the Space Wolves: there are no wolves on Fenris.

Spoiler:

All "wolves" on Fenris are Astartes aspirants that failed the process of becoming an Astartes, morphing into a Thunderwolf instead due to the unstable nature of their gene seed. As such, all of the wolf fetishes worn by Space Wolves are in fact peices of their Fenrisian brothers.

SJ

I hear that all the time, but I'm nevertheless confused. The Space Wolves were not an existential force on Fenris until after Russ was discovered by the Emperor, and Russ was RAISED BY WOLVES.

That seems like a contradiction.

The original theory was that the colonists who got there first used genetic engineering to cope with the climate but some devolved into wolves so the wolves are just devolved humans.

Fair enough, though it does contradict the statement that ALL wolves on Fenris are the result of failed Space Wolf aspirants, and it seems to call into question whether it is the Space Wolf geneseed that is at fault.

Frankly, I've always heard the failed aspirants described in more humanoid werewolf terms... more wulfen than wolf.

Where is it stated in the lore that there are no [true] wolves on Fenris, by the way? Does it explicitly state that your theory is the case, or is that an in-universe speculation? Are wolf-like xenos species also considered a possibility?

 Unusual Suspect wrote:

pm713 wrote:

 Unusual Suspect wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Here is a bit of ghoulish fluff about the Space Wolves: there are no wolves on Fenris.

Spoiler:

All "wolves" on Fenris are Astartes aspirants that failed the process of becoming an Astartes, morphing into a Thunderwolf instead due to the unstable nature of their gene seed. As such, all of the wolf fetishes worn by Space Wolves are in fact peices of their Fenrisian brothers.

SJ

I hear that all the time, but I'm nevertheless confused. The Space Wolves were not an existential force on Fenris until after Russ was discovered by the Emperor, and Russ was RAISED BY WOLVES.

That seems like a contradiction.

The original theory was that the colonists who got there first used genetic engineering to cope with the climate but some devolved into wolves so the wolves are just devolved humans.

Fair enough, though it does contradict the statement that ALL wolves on Fenris are the result of failed Space Wolf aspirants, and it seems to call into question whether it is the Space Wolf geneseed that is at fault.

Frankly, I've always heard the failed aspirants described in more humanoid werewolf terms... more wulfen than wolf.

Where is it stated in the lore that there are no [true] wolves on Fenris, by the way? Does it explicitly state that your theory is the case, or is that an in-universe speculation? Are wolf-like xenos species also considered a possibility?

SJ

This thread reminds me of how much I hate Space Wolves.

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
This thread reminds me of how much I hate Space Wolves.

Quoted for truth.

You think this is bad. Go through the 5th ed. Blood Angles codex and count the Blood refrences.

Matt Ward renamed the dreadnaught close combat weapon the Blood Fist. Didn't change a single rule or stat. At least the Wolf Claw got a stat change over the Lightning claw, thus a new name was probably needed.

And dispite the bad over use of the Wolf monicure in unit naming, we have the Iron Priest, which IMO is a much cooler name than Techmarine, which is just well... marine with Tech thrown in front.

Blood Angels are all blood.

Khorne Daemons however....

Skull this or Skull that on everything.

 Ratius wrote:

Are you trying to be sarcastic and I'm missing it? Those aren't remotely whacky names except maybe Mega Nobz because they are supposed to be whacky

Not at all.
Ok maybe whacky isnt the right term but a bit silly at least.
I see them as no better or worse than the use of wolf throughout the SW codex.

I don't really see them as silly either. They're mostly just descriptive names, Genestealer - an alien that steals genetic material. Dunecrawler - crawler of dunes. It's no more silly than calling a craft that flies through the air an aircraft or a buggy that traverses across dunes a dunebuggy or an armoured vehicle for carrying people an armoured personnel carrier.

They're absolutely no comparison to Space Wolves, who shove Wolf in to everything they possibly can. If there were only a couple of Wolfy things it'd be fine, I didn't have a problem back in 2nd edition when I started collecting Space Wolves because it was basically just the HQ choices and the Wolf Guard that were actually "WOLF" in the title.