With all the excitement surrounding the release of Codex: Space Wolves I just couldn't help myself. I picked up a box of the new Wolf Pack and then a few days later decided to have a go at the new codex.
As I talked about in a previous post I was wanting to play a Dark Wolves force. Reading through the codex there was a couple of things that made me want to do this even more when it started talking about the 13th company. Basically the 13th company disappeared into the Eye of Terror right after the Horus Heresy and was either wiped out or just disappeared. Since then they have stricken the 13th company off of their records and it is now used to refer to those chapters that have turned from the Imperium - perfect for what I am wanting.
Since Monkey is the lord and master of all things Wolves in these parts I am going to leave it to him to go into the big picture on this codex. I am going to be looking at the elements that I want to focus on in my force - namely foot slogging infantry, wolves, scouts, and long fangs. The only other fluff that I could find for the 13th Company talked about how they didn't have many vehicles or dreadnoughts so I am going to try to have very few vehicles in my force. If I do want to run some vehicles I can use my CSM vehicles that I already have - the Wolves will just have 'borrowed' it for a bit.
For your basic troop you have two options - Grey Hunters or Blood Claws. Grey Hunters are basically a Chaos Space Marine with ATSKNF, Acute Senses, and Counter Attack. Quite a bargain for the same cost. You can also take two special weapons if your squad contains ten models. What is different in this codex from the other Marine variants is that you don't have a unit sergent but one model out of the unit may take a special close combat weapon. Blood Claws are basically assault marines - bolt pistol and CCW - but with acute senses, counter attack, and berzerk charge. For those of you that don't know berzerk charge gives you +2A on the charge - nasty. They can take two special weapons if they number 15 models, and can take on special CCW. They cost the same as the Grey Hunters but are one less on WS and BS.
For my force I am looking at taking the Grey Hunters. They more closely represent the hardened veteran that has been in the Eye of Terror for so long that they have started to go native and don't even realize it. This will also let me pack more punch per model in the form of special weapons.
For my Fast FOC I am looking at fielding Fenrisian Wolves. In my Chaos Daemons army my Fiends of Slaanesh are one of my favorite units because of how fast they are. Fenrisian Wolves are of course beasts so they will be just as fast and they are crazy cheap to boot - less than 10 points a pop. They do have a horrible armor save (6+) but they should be able to make up for that with numbers. As far as the rest of their stats they are basically a Space Marine with two attacks. They only have LD 5 but you can improve that with a Saga.
For my second Fast choice I am going to be fielding a small unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry. These guys are just crazy. Four attacks a piece, 2 wounds, S,T5. And beasts to boot. Wow. The only downside to these guys is the cost - 50 points a pop - and the fact that the only model they have is Canis. I have a few ideas on how to model these guys up and I am super excited about it.
For heavy I am going with Long Fangs. This fits in with the lac of vehicles that I am shooting for and they are also pretty stout. Right now I am planning on two units. One with 3x Heavy Bolters and 2x Lascannons the other with 3x Heavy Bolters and 2x Rocket Launchers. This should help me out with a bit of ranged anti-armour and also some ranged anti-horde. Since each unit can split fire no shots should be wasted.
Now for the HQ. I am kinda torn on what to field for my HQ right now. I am sure after a few games I will get the hang of it. In my current list I have a monster Wolf Lord on a Thunderwolf who clocks in at 265 points. I am thinking this guy will be more fun than effective because that is more than a land raider. I am also taking two Rune Priests for the new fancy psychic powers and will run them in to units of Grey Hunters.
Overall I think I am going to have a lot of fun with this army but not do well competitively with it. Not taking any (or very few) vehicles is just going to be an uphill battle. Hopefully I can make up with that with my long fangs and my Thunderwolf Cavalry. If that doesn't do the trick I might have a go at some scouts - nasty little buggers.
I will be sure to post some pictures as the force comes together and my list evolves.