Space Wolves 2009 ‘Ard Boyz
Here’s a fun list I put together for the first round of the 2009 ‘Ard Boyz tournament. I had three goals: 1) play fast (our local store penalized you if you don’t complete a game within the allocated time), 2) win close combats (I expected to see Orks, Nurgle Daemons and Tyranids several times), and 3) make a viable army with FOUR Landraiders.
I threw together the list five hours before the event, so I didn’t have a chance to tune it (or to test it), but it handled better than I expected and I had lots of fun, which is the true test of a good army.
HQ
Venerable Dreadnought (Assault Cannon, DCCW, Storm Bolter)
Rune Priest (Rune Staff, Frost Blade, Chooser of the Slain, Wolf Pelt)
Wolf Guard Battle Leader (Runic Charm, Wolf Pelt, Frag Grenades, Frost Blade, Storm Shield, 4 Fenrisian Wolves)
Wolf Guard Battle Leader (Runic Charm, Wolf Pelt, Frag Grenades, Frost Blade, Storm Shield)
ELITE
7 Wolf Guard Bodyguard (7 Runic Charm, 2 Wolf Pelt, 2 Wolf Tail Talisman, 2 Power Fist, 5 Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Power Weapon, 3 Bolter, 1 Frag Grenades)
— Transport: Landraider
TROOPS
11 Blood Claws (Meltagun, 3 Power Fists)
11 Blood Claws (Meltagun, 3 Power Fists)
10 Grey Hunters (Meltagun, Power Fist, Power Weapon)
HEAVY
Land Raider
Land Raider
Land Raider
ORGANIZATION:
Landraider #1 with Rune Priest + 11 Blood Claws
Landraider #2 with Battle Leader + Fenrisian Wolves + Wolf Guard Bodyguard Landraider #3 with Battle Leader + 11 Blood Claws
Landraider #4 with Grey Hunter Pack
TACTICS: Space Wolves use the Space Marine codex for their wargear and their vehicles, so that gave me sweet, 3++ Storm Shields (for 5pts) and Landraiders with a capacity of 12. I designed each of the Wolf Guard to have slightly different gear so I could be more effective with wound allocation. This unit ended up being an unbelievable terror in close combat (taking out TWO Hive Tyrants, Tyrant Guard, one or two Carnifex, Belial and a decent number of Deathwing Terminators). Judicious use of Storm Caller was also a key tactic.
TRICKS: Storm Caller let me go first with my Frost Blades in almost every combat. I also used Storm Caller a couple of times on advancing Landraiders to get a cover save. The Venerable Dreadnought gave me a re-roll on first turn. The improved Counter Attack made all of my units terrifying to assault.
RESULTS:
Game 1 vs. Tyranids: The charges (and counter attacks) of the army were devastating. I also managed a lot of lucky rolls on my end (an impressive number of miraculous saves) and unlucky rolls by my opponent (his outflanking genestealers came in piecemeal and in bad locations). Resulting in a massacre for me.
Game 2 vs. Imperial Guard: I worked hard not to get max points in Game 1 so I wouldn’t have to face Darkwynn’s Imperial Guard or Jwolf’s Dark Eldar in Game 2. Unknown to me, Darkwynn also made an effort not to get max points so he wouldn’t have to face Jwolf’s Dark Eldar lol. So my goal shifted to hitting him and staying alive (I had a huge advantage on potential kill points). It ended up being a very tense game. In the end, it came down to a single save. Pass and I win (with a SINGLE MODEL on the board!). Fail and I get massacred. Luck wasn’t with me, lol. Darkwynn went on to win the tournament.
Game 3 vs. Deathwing: This game started off with some luck on my end. I managed to control all of the assaults and the momentum (thanks to some lucky Landraider shooting and some lousy scatter rolls). The sheer number of Power Fists won the day and gave me another massacre.
High Point: Wiping out a brood of Genestealers that assaulted my Wolf Guard without taking a single wound. The Storm Shields and Runic Charms were just amazing.
Low Point: Stupidly sacrificing my Rune Priest (and my Psychic Hood), giving Darkwynn’s Psyker Battle Squad a much needed opening.
I had a lot of fun, but wish that I’d managed to get a few games in advance to get a better feel for moving the army around. I knew the Wolf Guard were tough, but a couple of practice games would’ve shown me just how much punishment they could take (which would’ve made me a bit more agressive against Darkwynn’s Imperial Guard).
This was my first tournament playing Space Wolves and I really loved it. Now I know what all the fuss is about, lol. Since I didn’t get a chance to really optimize the list, I’d love some feedback from you Space Wolves fanatics!
