Iron Priests - Loadout and Tactics

Masters of the Forge, the war engine and the Machine Spirit; it is the Iron Priests who forge each blade, bless each bolter and appease the spirits of plasma and flame. 

What can I say, the drop of 7th Ed Codex has turned Iron Priests into Badasses and there's only one loadout that matters: 

Iron Priest (Thunderwolf Mount) 

For 5 points more than a basic Wolf Guard Battle Leader, this fellow comes with Runic Armour, Thunder Hammer and a Servo-arm and is now an Elite Independant Character! 

Unmounted, at only one wound he's pretty vulnerable however the increase in base Wound, Strength, Toughness and Attacks characteristics by mounting him on a Thunderwolf does wonders for this guy. The increase to his strength and attacks sees him throwing out a punishing 4 S10 Ap2 concussive attacks from his thunderhammer followed by a further S10 Ap1 attack from his Servo-arm on top of a S5 hammer of Wrath. 

Bottom line is you need this guy Mounted on a Thunderwolf. 

The rest of his wargear is limited to a degree but the other selections worth considering are 'Digital Weapons' as it allows a reroll a single to wound each combat phase (which could be handy considering the amount of S10 you're throwing out) and Cyberwolves. 

Cyberwolves have increased by a point since the last codex, however with the new changes to the Fenrisian Wolves and CyberWolves rules makes this a minor negative. First of all an iron priest can take up to four of these puppies as wargear. With a base T5, A3 and a 4+ they are head and shoulders above regular Fenrisian Wolves. The fact that each Cyberwolf is a (character) in it's own right makes their selection all the more entertaining, being able to accept challenges on behalf of his Iron Priest master. The other important role they play is to 'look out sir' your iron priest maintaining those valuable two wounds. 

As mentioned before as the Iron Priest is a Independant Character and with the new rules around Cyberwolves, he can join and leave units with his puppies - there's no limit as to the potential Space Wolf or even Allied combos you can include him in. 

Wolf Guard Battle Leaders - Loadouts and Tactics

Fenris breeds heroes like a bar breeds drunks - loud, proud and spoiling for a fight.

Since the drop of the 7th edition Space Wolf codex, the Wolf Guard Battle Leader has become even more of a budget power house. In my view earning his place as a must take Thunderwolf HQ. 

In this blog post I am going to discuss a few of my Favorite Wolf Guard Battle Leader load-outs accross both Codex: Space Wolves and the Champions of Fenris suppliment.

CODEX: Space Wolves

Wolf Guard Battle Leader #1

(Thunderwolf mount, Armour of Russ, Helm of Durfast, Plasma Pistol,  Fangsword of the Ice Wolf)

Needless to say, the Thunderwolf adds +1 S, T, W & A to an already above average statline. The Armour of Russ providing a 2+/4++ and -5 to your enemy's initiative when in a challenge so this is where this guy tends to work best. Helm of Durfast becomes a must take, allowing you to reroll all failed hits (shooting and combat) and ignore cover (great for the plasma pistol). 

The Fangsword is the icing on the cake, often overlooked by weblists by the more favourable Black Death, but 6 S6 Ap3 Rending attacks is pretty decent especially as it forces a S test on your opponent for every wound inflicted otherwise remove from play. 

It's worth bearing in mind 'Remove From play' ignores 'eternal warrior' and being able to drop your opponents Initiative in a challenge means you have a good chance of inflicting a few wounds and subsequently forcing a few S tests before they strike back (unless your opponent is base I10 or has similar wargear to reduce your initiative in turn). 

Wolf Guard Battle Leader #2

(Thunderwolf mount, Runic Armour, Storm Shield, Helm of Durfast, Black Death, The Wulfenstone)

If you're goin for damage output this is your guy! Thunderwolf as per above, boosts the statline nicely and gives Rending. The Runic Armour/stormshield combo gives a nice 2+/3++ which on T5 makes him a pretty tough Cookie; essential as Black Death is an unwieldy weapon meaning you can't take advantage of the Wolfguards High Initiative). Helm of Durfast, again, as per above.

The fan favorite wargear Relic here is the Black Death - essentially it's a frost axe, which if the Bearer is outnumbered, grants +3 attacks on his profile for the duration he is locked in combat, knocking him up to 7 attacks at S7 Ap2. 

The Wulfenstone I have mixed feelings over - on one hand it grants the bearer Rage giving him +2 attacks on the charge. The fact it also grants him and his squad furious charge sees him an extra +1S. Each Turn he charges, this guy is dishing out a whopping 9 rerollable attacks at S8 ap2. The downside is it's a 40 point piece of wargear which will push this guy a bit over 200points. But, Hell if you got the points spare - take it!!!

Champions of Fenris (codex: space wolves suppliment)

Wolf Guard Battle Leader #3

(Thunderwolf mount, Runic Armour, Storm Shield, Krakkenbone Sword, Fellclaws Teeth)

This Guy is very similar to Wolf Guard Battle Leader #1 however if you plan to use a 'Champions of Fenris' detachment you lose access to the Codex: Space Wolves Relics and must pick from the Champs selection. In my view there are some pros and cons in doing this: no access to armour of Russ which means you need to take a Storm Shield to obtain a good invulnerable save and miss out on your two CC weapon attack bonus. 

The big differences here is the Krakkenbone Sword - knocks your WGBL up to S6 with AP2. A big pro/con of Champions of Fenris is that all Wolf Guard & TWC leaders must always issue and accept challenged wherever possible. This is offset by the fact your WGBL gains 'Prefered Enemy (characters)'when in a challenge which is a handy advantage especially as you'll be striking at I5 with S6 Ap2. 

Fellclaws teeth Relic item is not a nessecity but a handy back up allowing you to reroll all failed hits in combat. All it takes is for your opponent to decline the challenge and your Preferred enemy buff doesn't come into effect, so still being able to reroll failed to hits outside if a challenge is worth it especially as they're striking with S6 Ap2. 

All in all the Wolf Guard Battle leader allows for some pretty beastly Budget builds and is a great HQ to have as part of your space wolf army. Although he's pretty Tough, he's not tough enough to go it alone and requires his battle brothers by his side to truly cause havoc! 

I will fire up a few more Tactics articles over the next few weeks with my thoughts of getting the most out of the new Space Wolf builds. 

Hope you enjoyed the first instalment 

Eindridi 

The Emperors Executioners

It was the Allfather who created Leman Russ, the primogenitor of the Vlka Fenryka, and the Allfather who fashioned the Legion that served under his name. For every Legion he created, there was a purpose. Some were blessed with the power to build, or the skill to administer, or the capacity for stealth. Our gift was different. We were made to destroy. Our whole being is destruction. Such was the will of the Allfather. He made us not to construct empires, but to murder them. We were bred to perform the tasks that no other Legion could, to fight with such extravagance that even our brother warriors would shrink from treachery in the knowledge of what we, the Rout, would do to them.