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Hello, everyone!

I am brand new to Warhammer 40k as a tabletop wargame, although I've read some of the fluff and played some of the computer games. With the launch of 8th edition just around the corner, I'm looking to finally take the plunge! I've always liked the Space Wolves as an army, so that is what I am leaning towards playing as. However, as someone who has never played before, I really have no idea where to start and would love some advice on where to start my army.

Here's some general notes on what I'm looking for:

- I'm not looking to play in tournaments or serious competitions, but I don't want to have an army which just immediately gets rolled by anything I'm up against.
- This is an army I'll probably be slowly building over time due to budget, so I'm looking for what to prioritize.
- The things that have been recommended to me so far as wolfen, thunderwolf cavalry and long fangs, but I have no idea how important those are to an army or what else goes in.
- Are drop pods critical? From what I've seen, the Space Wolves seem very light on the vehicle side of things.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice that folks can offer! I really appreciate it.

Nobody knows what 8th units will really be like.

You are as in the dark about building your army as everyone else.

the space wolves will be getting primaris Marines, so if you've got a friend who plays chaos you might wanna consider going halfers on the new starter set thats coming out

Wait until 8th drops. You'll be able to get actual advice a few weeks after that.

Grab a box of Scouts, paint them up as Space Wolves and start learning Shadow Wars Armageddon - until 8th drops we know nothing except 8th is coming.

The general look of 8th is that normal infantry have rebounded in value (well, a lot of other stuff went way in points cost, but it amounts ot the same thing). There's nothing wrong with starting with a box of Bloodclaws or Grey Hunters. You need to get your feet wet painting anyway, and that probably shouldn't be with expensive figs.

Thanks, all.

I guess my question was more in line with if there's anything that is considered a "backbone" unit that is unlikely to change with the new edition. I realize that everything is in limbo right now with the new edition coming out, but I've literally never played 40k before.

I'm seeing deals like a squad of Grey Hunters bundled with a drop pod, but I don't know if drop pods are something that every space marine army should have. Things like that. Am I best off just to buy a basic squad of infantry and start painting them? Or should I force myself to wait another three weeks until 8th edition and ask again then?

I've no idea if it was actually considered "good" at a tournament level, but I saw thunderwolf Calvary heavy lists around here. A few lists consisting of almost exclusively thunderwolf Calvary/wulfen (I think this was half to annoy other players)

Yes and no.
Most of our strengths come through formations that will disappear in 8th, a combination of Allies and the Psychic Phase, also destined to get nerfed in 8th.
Currently in 7th ed TWC is the backbone of the Space Wolves but we don't know what they'll be like in 8th.
Considering in 8th edition Strength 3 weapons bust up Toughness 5 the same as Strength 4 weaponry meaning Guard are downright terrifying to our loyal mounts, and our bikes.
GW claims it will be a melee heavy edition but every rule seems to benefit shooting armies more than melee armies.


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You can never go wrong with a box of Blood Claws-Grey Hunters-Wolf Guard if you simply MUST build and paint something.
I'd also recommend grabbing a box of vanilla bikes - converting your own Rune Priest and Wolf Priest Bikers is really satisfying.

Well greyhunters will remain a solid choice I think and plasma guns got better so that's one thing.

Thunder wolves look decent more wounds now and the wolf itself attacks.

Beyond that wait and see we've seen too little to be sure.

hobojebus wrote:
Well greyhunters will remain a solid choice I think and plasma guns got better so that's one thing.

Thunder wolves look decent more wounds now and the wolf itself attacks.

Beyond that wait and see we've seen too little to be sure.

Was there a leak?

Before collecting wolves, ask yourself two questions:

1. Do I like painting 1000 little fiddly bits on every troop?
2. How do I feel about pelts?

If the answers are "yes" and "great!" respectively, wolves are for you! If not, consider a simpler kit. The wolves have A LOT of fiddly bits to paint. It takes me 2-3 times as long to paint a wolf marine as a vanilla marine.

They are outstanding to look at though, and I am a sucker for their fluff.

Here on dakka somewhere there's weapon stats point values and a few other stuff I looked at it on my mates PC though so couldn't bookmark the page.

Start Collecting boxes are always good. I would buy one for Space Wolves and one for normal Marines. You can then kitbash the kits resulting in nice looking Space Wolves with less bling and fiddly bits to paint.

If you stumble over the big christmas bundle box from last year "Iron Claw Strike Force" in your FLGS, grab it. It's amazing good value and has a ton of stuff.

From the 8th leaks I would say Wulfen are still very good and a great force multiplier. Grey Hunters are better than Blood Claws for only 1 point more. Vehicles are mighty expensive, so don't buy too many. Drop pods are not really necessary, I would rather get terminators or jump troops and deep strike for free.

Scouts seem also to be nice to get some cheap and usefull bodies on the board. Snipers are good to camp backfield objectives and snipe characters. If you build them more close range with bistol/knife or shotguns, you can deploy them on the enemies table edge to make it harder for him to disengage from your Wulfen/Thunderwolves.