White Dwarf 379 - July 2011

What is the point in reviewing White Dwarf I hear you asking? It is merely a vessel for Games Workshop to list endlessly and relentlessly everything that they sell, with little to no content that can be deemed useful to the hobby. Well, this month its still a large majority of its usual self, but there is a fair chunk of brand new information within its pages.

WD starts with the introduction of Storm of Magic, something that looks to be quite an expansion to Warhammer. I don't know much about Warhammer as I have never played it, but the expansion sees a host of new models to be released including individual men and a fair few monsters. These come in the usual variety of materials including Citadel Finecast. The remaining coverage in WD looks at various articles surrounding the Storm of Magic release and culminates in a battle report based on the expansion.


The remainder of WD turns its focus on the goings on in Warhammer 40k. Beginning with a Dark Eldar workshop, tutorials are given for preparing and assembling Citadel Finecast and painting tutorials for the skin of Wracks (or quite conceivably any DE) and the vials that pretty much all DE carry. A few handy tips and tricks in there.

Then we move onto the Cities of Death feature which has 12 new official stratagems, giving a new one to each army type, and 4 new scenarios, as well as an article on terrain that has made me want to get going with designing and building my own battle board. The battle report then goes on to use one of the new scenarios and stratagems as the Space Wolves (led by Ragnar Blackmane) take on Huron Blackhearts' Chaos Space Marines.

The July edition of White Dwarf for me has been more interesting than any for a while. The 40k section especially as GW have not used their latest army (Grey Knights if you had forgotten!) to beat everything else to a pulp to prove it is a must have army. Here's to hoping that GW can keep it moving in this sort of useful direction, rather then reverting back to the 120 page advert for GW of recent times. And here's looking forward to the first part of Codex: Sisters of Battle that will be in next months White Dwarf.

Space Wolves and Imperial Guard vs Necrons. Report 2

Deployment Necrons v Space Wolves & Imperial Guard

I finally managed to get at least a partial game in this week, with my Space Wolves joining up with 1500pts of Imperial Guard to take on 3000pts of Necrons. The game only got as far as turn 3, so I won't run out full details of what happened, but I will look at two units I deployed and what they achieved in their short time on the battlefield.

Space Wolves 1500pts

Ulrik the Slayer
Rune Priest - Runic Armour, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane

5x Wolf Guard - Arjac Rockfist, 3xCombi-Melta, Combi-Plasma, 2xWolf Claw, Powerfist, Power Weapon
6x Wolf Scouts - Melta Gun

8x Grey Hunters - Flamer, Drop Pod, Standard
8x Grey Hunters - Flamer, Rhino, Standard
10x Grey Hunters - 2xFlamer, Standard

2x Land Speeder - Heavy Flamer, Heavy Bolter

6x Long Fangs - 3x Missile Launchers, 2x Lascannon
Arjac Rockfist

Firstly we will look at the Anvils contribution to the battle. Coming in on turn one with the drop podding Grey Hunters, Arjac had the choice of chasing down the phase out total and smashing apart Necron Warriors, or going after the living God, the C'tan The Nightbringer. Needless to say, Arjac was in God hunting mood and dropped as close as possible to the C'tans position.

With Arjac out of the drop pod, began by firing off his hammer at the monstrous Nightbringer, scoring a wound in his very first attack while under my control, taking it down to 4 wounds. Further lascannon and missile fire saw the wound counter drop to three before the end of that turn. I was hoping to see some close combat with Arjac and his Grey Hunters against the C'tan, but it moved away instead choosing to try and hunt down the Rune Priest.

 
Following the Nightbringers attack on the Rune Priest and his squad, they were forced to fall back and flee, leaving the C'tan perched nicely on the top of a hill. Arjac followed closely behind, taking another wound from the enemy with his flying thunder hammer, reducing it to 2 wounds, which were quickly reduced even further down to zero thanks to some crack shooting from the Long Fangs. Unfortunately, the explosion from the dying Nightbringer caused a wound on Arjac, but the man mountain remained standing as of the end of turn 2.

Ulrik the Slayer
Starting off in a Rhino, the main aim with Ulrik for this game was to get him as quickly as possible to the front lines and then unleash him on the Necron Warriors he found there before moving on to the Destroyers that were hiding out behind them. In the two turns we played, objective one was achieved.

Ulrik took his rhino 12" from his first turn, before the transport was targeted and immobilised on the Space Wolves/Imperial Guard right flank. From here Ulrik and his pack of Grey Hunters set out on foot, managing to get into close combat with a full squad of Warriors. With Ulrik going first, he personally took down 4 Warriors while the remaining 8 men in his squad managed only 1 between them. The strike back from the Warriors caused no casualties and the Wolves sweeping advance saw no Warriors remaining.

During turn two the Necrons took some incredibly heavy casualties, losing two squads of Warriors, one squad of Destroyers with another squad waiting on their 'We'll Be Back' rolls and a Lord down as well. On kill points at the time the game ended it was Necrons 3 - 5 Wolves/Guard.

Conclusions

While Arjac and Ulrik both contributed during the battle it is still a little too early to decide whether or not they were used to the best of their abilities and indeed what those abilities entail. Arjacs hammer throw can damage even the mightiest of opponents, but luck must've played a huge part in getting two wounds out of two off the C'tan. The drop pod delivery system for Arjac also hampered his ability to get into close combat for the first turn, something that could potentially be remedied by the use of a Land Raider in future.

As for Ulrik, the delivery system was fine and got him to where I needed him to be in the time frame I required. He ripped through the Warriors without too much trouble, which leaves me wondering whether he would have been better used going after slightly tougher targets (as his rules suggest) or if using him to take out the most amount of Necrons possible in the quickest time possible was just as useful. Either way, his one turn of use was incredibly productive and leaves me wanting to try using him again.

Conversion - Cyclone Missile Launcher

This cyclone missile launcher conversion is one of the simplest conversions I have done. All you need is a typhoon missile launcher from the Space Marine Land Speeder box and some green stuff. So as long as you don't require a Typhoon-pattern speeder, or you have a friend who doesn't want that type of speeder, you are on to a winner!

For the next stage we need to assemble the missile launcher and trim the missile feed to the launcher down to a suitable height. With my launcher I left a couple of the missiles visible in the feed in place. It is possible to take it right down, but all modelling is down to your own preferences and how you want your own models to look.

The last and final stage is to use the green stuff to create a lid to the missile feed to close it off and to hide the cut edge from trimming down the feed. Leave the green stuff to go solid and voila, a cyclone missile launcher. With mine I have used a magnet in the bottom of it and the top of the terminator so that I can have a bit of flexibility in list writing depending on what I want to do.

And that's the sum of it. There really is nothing more to it than that, apart from adding on insignias of your own army and painting it up. So go forth now, and let those missiles cleanse the enemies of Humanity.

Finding New Gamers

Another Friday gone, another night of no action for my Wolves. I was all geared up and ready to take on anyone in a battle to the death, only to have everyone from my gaming group of friends slowly drop out. How often does that happen to everyone else?

The night wasn't a total loss though as I went off to the cinema for the first time since watching Cloverfield a few years back. This time it was Green Lantern and in 3D! Sorry to make that sound like a surprise but it was my first experience of 3D and it was incredible. But that would be an entire different story/review for another day.

Anyway, I enjoy playing 40k and playing for fun as it allows me to explore the codices more fully, being able to try out fluffy as well as the hardcore competitive lists depending on what I fancy. Winning is nice, but having fun with the list I put out is the main aim. But what can you do when you have no one to even put your army out against?

This whole post has been inspired somewhat by this article over at From The Warp about how people react to knowing the hobby we are involved in. Cracking read and everything in it rings true for myself. So where can you go to find other people who will want to join your battles?

First and foremost you have your local gaming stores, where ever they may be. You know everyone in their has at the very least one thing in common with you - miniature wargaming. Whether that is 40k, fantasy or any of the many other different wargames out there, someone will play your game in that store and will be up for a game or two. Outside of the most obvious place though, where can you go? Where can you find other gamers? Who can you convert to playing 40k etc?

None of the answers to those questions can be easily found. The internet is a great source for displaying your finished models, army lists, battle reports, conversions but you would have to cast a very thorough and wide net across many sites to find people in your locality. I found the gaming group I play with through Bolter and Chainsword and its worked out fine.

Other gamers can literally be found anywhere, but as largely discussed in the FTW article above, not many of us shout out from the rooftops about the hobby, so discrete enquiries are generally shunned in preference of keeping quiet about it altogether. This also impacts on trying to convert people into playing the game. Family members can be a good target as even if they decide to mock you for a bit over it, they will generally forget about it quite quickly as well. I am currently working my wife up to playing some 40k with me. Unfortunately she won't come with her own army, so I'm having to set up a second army so she has a force to use, but then I can use that army any time I want when I'm out playing on my own. Swings and roundabouts.

I'd be interested to hear anyones thoughts on how they increase their pool of opponents and how they attract new people to the 40k universe, and how you find existing players to join your gaming groups.

Space Wolves: Heavy Support

Long Fangs
Their normal load out for my lists are:

6 men, 3 x Missile Launchers, 2 x Lascannons.

This keeps it simple and allows them to focus on two different targets with similar weaponry. The missile launchers can focus on troops/light armoured vehicles while the lascannons focus on tougher vehicles. The sergeant is kept as basic as possible to keep the points cost down.

 They are also normally accompanied by a Wolf Guard in terminator who will also be sporting a cyclone missile launcher. Added to the current set-up thats 5 Str 8 AP3 krak missiles with 2 Str 9 AP2 lascannon shots per turn until they can be cut down. Its no real surprise to see the Long Fangs targeted from the outset as they are able to deal out serious amounts of damage with their weaponry. The sergeants Fire Control special rule allows for vast amounts of damage to be done as fire from the Long Fangs can be directed at two different targets.

The Long Fangs are also pretty decent in close combat. With a full squad you can be looking at 14 I4 attacks on the counter-assault (as assaulting with them is something you don't really want to do if it can be helped).With your Long Fangs generally being in cover they will be striking first more often than not and should be able to do some damage, especially if they have a Wolf Guard with Power Weapon with them. If you read here, these Long Fangs were immoveable in the face of Blood Angels onslaught.

Land Raider Redeemer
As with all Land Raiders, the pinnacle of Space Marine vehicles is available to the Wolf Guard alone as dedicated transport, or as a heavy support choice. If taking it as the latter it is possible to load it up prior to turn one with any unit you have in your army and then run it forward to deliver its payload. Effectively you can launch a 20" assault (move the tank 12", disembark 2", assault 6") in one turn. So if you are loaded up with Wolf Guard, or even Grey Hunters led by a Wolf Priest/Lord, a lot of enemy units would fall under such onslaught.

Outside of this tanks ability to launch assaults half way across the table, the weaponry available on this variation of the machine is rather short-ranged. The Flamestorm cannons, while being Str 6 AP3 still only have the same range as your normal flamer template, which means you will have to be very close to your opponents troops to make them work. The assault cannon with its 36" range will help to clear out one or two men prior to launching any assault.

Land Raider Crusader
With its increased capacity to 16 models (from 12 in the Redeemer variant) this variant can transport up to 8 men in TDA or a full pack of Blood Claws led by a Wolf Priest, the latter of which gives 64 re-rollable to hit attacks on the charge in which you can have up to 8 re-rollable to hit power weapon attacks. The potential for inflicting damage on your opponent is incredibly high, but taking into consideration the cost of the tank and unit inside it you could easily be looking at a 550pt+ point cost.

The Hurricane bolters add in a decent amount of fire against the enemy before disembarking and assaulting, and the frag launchers help to negate the fact that terminators do not carry any grenades that can help while assaulting units in cover. It is fairly safe to assume though, no matter what you are transporting in the tank and what your plans are for the unit, that this flagship vehicle will be target priority number 1 for any enemy that it is used against. Using it in conjunction with drop pods and sufficient fast attack units will give your army enough of a hammer strike to hopefully put a big hole in your enemies lines before they have chance to take yours apart.

This post completes the quick look through the units I have painted and available for my Space Wolves. Hopefully over the coming weeks I will get a bit more game time and will be reporting back on the successes of the named characters and in which configurations and set ups they achieved their success.

In the mean time, please get voting in the poll on the side to decide which character model I will get hold of and get painted up for this blog.

Space Wolves: Fast Attack

Swift Claws
The full loadout of this unit is as follows:

6 x Bikes
1 x Flamer
1 x Power Fist
1 x Attack Bike.

Usually they run with a Wolf Guard on bike to prevent the headstrong ruling becoming too much of a problem. These guys still want to get into close combat where possible due to the amount of attacks they can throw out. The flamer in there helps to negate the BS3 of the Blood Claws, while the twin-linked bolters help to diminish the low ballistic skill even further. And with the Space Marine bike having the relentless rule, these guys can shoot then fight their way through a target unit in no time at all.

Due to their speed the Swift Claws can cover a lot of distance around the battlefield, and benefit from a 3++ invulnerable if they turbo-boost in their previous turn, which can become invaluable if your opponent identifies them as a serious risk and turns their heavy weapons on you.

The greatest problem I have faced with this unit is that when fielded at its full size, the physical dimensions of the squad make it difficult to keep them fully covered from the enemy. Having them shielded by a Land Raider can be a viable option, which leaves you with two expensive units running together, but ones that should be able to tackle most things in their path.

As for their most impressive feat, it has to be wiping out almost three squads of Necron Warriors, almost single-handedly forcing the phase-out of that army.

Space Wolves: Troops Pt 1

Grey Hunters
One of only two choices for Space Wolves troops but boy, what an option to have. Described by many as the very best troop choice in the game, these guys have it all. With a basic loadout of bolter, bolt pistol and close combat weapon they can shoot up to 24" if they remain stationary as well as getting the +1 bonus for two close combat weapons.

Their special weapons define the role of each Grey Hunter squad. Those equipped with melta guns will be looking for tanks or tough monsters, plasma guns will be your objective sitting troops who will be taking out anyone coming near them, while a flamer squad can be useful for toasting bodies in cover. All of this is added to by the bolter fire the unit can pump out on top of the special weapons.

Grey Hunters are almost equally adept in close combat, as already mentioned. Further to their basic load out they can also take power weapons, power fists, a wolf standard and Mark of the Wulfen. Generally speaking the Wolf Standard is a must have item for all my Grey Hunter Squads. The power weapons and fists I leave to the HQs and Wolf Guard, while Mark of the Wulfen finds a place in one, maybe two squads depending on the overall usage of the squad he will be with.

Grey Hunters can take Rhinos, Razorbacks and Drop Pods as transport and when led by an Independent Character and accompanying Wolf Guard they will lay to waste quite a lot before them, as well as being tough enough to hold on to objectives when required. As with all Space Wolves their counter assault gives them an extra attack (if it goes off) whenever they are assaulted and having a Wolf Standard in there makes all 1s re-rollable for one assault phase which can make a huge amount of difference.

There is another choice for troops for the Space Wolves, the Blood Claws, who will be looked at once they are fully painted and ready for battle. Until that point all I will say is that they are a fun unit who, when everything goes right for them, will dish out a vast amount of damage.

Thanks for reading and I do hope you can place your vote as to what character you think I should look into painting as a mini break to painting up Space Wolves!

Space Wolves: Elite Units

Wolf Guard
Continuing on with a brief look at the units I have available for my Space Wolves army, next up we have the bodyguard of the Wolf Lord, the Wolfguard.

With so many options these guys can be tailored to suit any army. More often than not a combi-weapon is the first choice of weapon, followed closely by a specialist close combat weapon of the wolf claw/power fist/frost blade variety.

It doesn't even stop there. They can also be equipped with terminator armour which gives access to the heavy weapons of the assault cannon, heavy flamer and cyclone missile launcher. They even have access to all Land Raiders, Drop Pods and Rhinos for transport.

However, the ability that makes the Wolf Guard invaluable to me is them being able to be split up and used as pack leaders for the other Space Wolf units available in the codex if you so wish. They can nullify the Blood/Swift Claws headstrong rule, give the Grey Hunters an extra leadership point as well as adding extra close combat attacks with special weapons to an assault, same with the Scouts, and can add an extra wound (or an extra tough wound with TDA with a cyclone missile launcher) to the Long Fangs. Their versatility really lends it self to whichever tactics are best to overcome the enemy.

Dreadnought
The second dreadnought of this Space Wolf army is primarily used as a long range fire base. With his assault cannon and missile launcher there is a fair chance that anything he can see will be taking some heavy fire.

Used alot during my initial return to 40k almost a year ago now, the dreadnought has slipped down the pecking order somewhat in favour of the Wolfguard, Scouts and Lone Wolves. He does however see a lot of action in games against horde armies (assault cannon and frag missiles will rip holes in large squads) and also against Necrons where the current aim of the game is to whittle them down to phase out as quickly as possible.

A dreadnought also tends to be a huge fire magnet until it is destroyed which means, whilst repeating myself from earlier posts, that while the dreadnought is taking fire, it leaves parts of the rest of your army unscathed and able to carry their objectives. Ideally though, with the longer range weaponry he has equipped, he should be dealing out some damage before the enemy can get enough on him to bring him down.

Wolf Scouts
A very popular unit for many Space Wolf players, the scouts are Grey Hunters with a couple of special rules and slightly different armour. They can pack just as much punch as a squad of Grey Hunters of a similar size, but can turn up from whichever side of the table you need them to, providing the dice rolls go your way!

I have seen these scouts turn up, blow a tank to smithereens and then move on to wipe out a couple of infantry squads. The threat of their arrival helps to shepherd your opponent forward, which will hopefully put them in the target sights of your Long Fangs or other heavy weaponry, and if it doesn't push them away from their table edge, then you have a very real chance to do some top quality damage to your opponents force. A Wolfguard pack leader can also be added to give the unit some additional bite, as they can bring combi-weapons to add to the units main usage.

I have heard a lot of talk of Scouts being a throw away unit but if used as part of a calculated strike against your opponent, it should be manageable to use them in conjunction with, say, drop podded Grey Hunters or some Swiftclaws, to eliminate or isolate part of an enemy force.


Lone Wolves
Equipped with a thunder hammer and storm shield and accompanied by a Fenrisian Wolf, this chap has seen a fair amount of action, which includes, amongst others, taking a Trygon down to its last wound, dispatching Daemon Princes and destroying Leman Russ Battle Tanks.

As he can't take any transport from the outset and being equipped in TDA, transporting him around is tricky unless you have a spare Land Raider. Generally he is run from one piece of cover to the next, until close enough to pop out and strike, or wait for something to assault him in cover.

As long as you wound with the hammer, you will always be striking at a similar initiative as the monstrous creature you have sent him out to take down or fall to while trying. His special rules make hunting anything with toughness 5 or more a priority. 3+ to hit with the wolf tooth necklace, re-rolls to hit T5 or more models and the thunder hammer wounding most things on 2+ makes him a threat to any creature on the table.

However, it is probably best to avoid getting him into combat with large squads or hordes as the sheer volume of numbers will finish him off pretty quickly and his attacks back will not count for anything.

Looking for a Challenge

I have spent the last 18 months painting up my Space Wolves army. It has been a very enjoyable experience but I fancy trying my hand at something else before I begin on the final leg of painting of this army.

I have no preferences over what I give a go to painting, just that it has to be named character. I have gathered a list of 16 characters and would like anyone reading this to help me chose which model of the sixteen I shall get hold of and paint.

All progress made on the model will be detailed on this site and pictures added as regularly as possible until the model has been completed.

I have added a poll to this blog for everyone to vote on. I will give the poll two weeks and the winning model will become this blogs very first challenge. So, please vote or if you have any other named character suggestions, let me know as I'd only be too happy to hear any other ideas!