For Tomorrow We Fight

So tomorrow the local gaming store is holding a 1,500 point Warhammer 40,000 tournament. As you’ve seen from yesterday’s blog entries, this is going to be my last hurrah with the game, having finally (after 21 years) decided to give GW the same attitude they’ve been giving me for the last decade or so, namely the finger. The other reason I’m going to attend is to show off my newly painted Space Wolves army (see a future post).

Here’s the list I’m taking:

HQ – Wolf Guard Battle Leader with Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter, Wolf Tooth Necklace, Wolf Tail Talisman, Wolf Pelt, Frost Blade, and Auspex (116 points).

HQ - Venerable Dreadnought with Assault Cannon and Extra Armour (160 points).

ELITES – 6 Wolf Guard Bodyguards in Terminator Armour, all with Wolf Tail Talismans. One has an Assault Cannon, one has a Storm Bolter and Power Sword, two have Lightning Claws, and two have Cyclone Missile Launchers (316 points).

TROOPS – 10 Grey Hunters. Seven have Boltguns and Close Combat Weapons, one has a Boltgun and a Powerfist, one has a Boltgun and a Power Sword, and one has a Meltagun (213 points).

TROOPS – 10 Grey Hunters. Seven have Boltguns and Close Combat Weapons, two have a Boltgun and a Power Sword, and one has a Meltagun (207 points).

FAST ATTACK - Land Speeder with Multi-Melta and Extra Armour (70 points).

HEAVY SUPPORT - Leman Russ Exterminator with Turret-Mounted Twinlinked Autocannon, Hull-Mounted Heavy Bolter, Sponson-Mounted Heavy Bolters, Extra Armour and Smoke Launchers (203 points).

HEAVY SUPPORT - Long Fangs Pack, consisting of one Pack leader with a Boltgun and Close Combat Weapon, and four Long Fangs each with a Heavy Weapon (one each of Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Plasma Cannon and Missile Launcher) (214 points).

TOTAL: 1,499 points (18% on HQ, 21% on Elites, 28% on Troops, 5% on Fast Attack and 28% on Heavy Support).

Yeah, I know it’s not an optimum army, or even vaguely competitive, but it should be fun list to play. Besides which, my options were limited as I bought this army second-hand (and unpainted, of course) on eBay a while back. The only other things I could add would be Ulrik Runeslayer, Ragnar Blackmane, an Iron Priest and four Thralls, and/or a few more Terminators. So this is probably the best list possible from what miniatures I have.

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As for a battleplan, well I have a rough idea. The Long Fangs will hang back and hit heavy vehicles/monstrous creatures first, followed by light vehicles and then take on an anti-infantry role. They’ll also be useful for drawing enemy fire. They’re a small unit and a valuable one, so I know my opponents will be hitting them first.

Meanwhile, the Leman Russ Exterminator will be heading up one flank, hitting light vehicles and infantry. The ability to fire all three Heavy Bolters and the Autocannon while moving is fantastic. The tank will be supported by the Dreadnought and by both squads of Grey Hunters, who will either be protected by the tank or be protecting it, depending on the opponent and what’s happening at that particular time.

My two flexible units are the Land Speeder, which will either speed around on suicide missions trying to take out tough targets (heavy vehicles/monsterous creatures) or hide out for the whole game in order to grab/contest objectives in the last turn, depending on the mission, and the Lord and his Bodyguards, which will either hang back and soak up damage, firing their Cyclone Missile Launchers and Assault Cannon in support of the Long Fangs (and they also make a good counter-attack unit) or advance with the main thrust or even advance elsewhere as a diversion.

Of course, this is open to change at any time. I don’t want the Leman Russ to get too close to some enemies, after all. And if the enemy is a killer horde (like Orks or Tyranids), then I’ll just hang back and shoot, hopefully having the opportunity to counter-attack if need be.

And before anyone says it, I’m not deepstriking anything because the rules don’t permit Space Wolves to do so. Yes, I’m well aware that many people do but most of the time they’re breaking the rules.

There is a section dedicated to Space Wolves and deepstriking in the old Codex. The newer Space Wolves FAQ tells players to use the rules for Droppod Assault in Codex: Space Marines. That’s fine, but what most players miss is the rule in that section stating that only units that can purchase droppods may deepstrike during the game. No Space Wolves unit can purchase a droppod as per their Codex. Therefore, technically, Space Wolves can never deepstrike.

However, looking back at the Space Wolves section there is a list of which units can deepstrike. Assuming most players use this list as the basis for which units can ‘purchase’ droppods then the problem is solved, correct? Almost. It’s still technically illegal to do so and the rules also state that the entire Space Wolves army must deepstrike. You cannot take anything that cannot deepstrike if you wish to deepstrike anything else (i.e. no Bikes, Attack Bikes, Land Raiders, Exterminators, Iron Priests, etc.). So even if you break the rules in one place, you still have to obey them elsewhere and thus a Space Wolves army that deepstrikes must consist of all deepstriking forces.

And as I really wanted to field my Leman Russ Exterminator, obviously I couldn’t deepstrike (by either interpretation of the rules).

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Stay tuned for a tournament report, complete with photos and round-by-round batreps.

~ by 101stmonkey on June 20, 2008.