Space wolves 8th edition codex pdf download

This is the 8th Edition's Space Wolves tactics. Their current tactics can be found here.

Why Play Space Wolves[edit]

Just like their legendary progenitor, the Primarch Leman Russ, Space Wolves are fierce and aggressive warriors. Though they are not berserkers or madmen (well, OK, maybe some of them are a little crazy) their headstrong personalities and inherent sense of justice means that the Space Wolves are forever waging a war against the evils of the galaxy, fighting with the cunning of a hunting pack rather than the frenzy of a rabid dog. Space Wolves like red meat, strong ale, bawdy songs and good old-fashioned brawls, but most of all, they like to hunt glory upon the battlefield. They see death in battle as a fitting end for a true warrior, and if they leave a long and exciting saga of heroic deeds as their legacy, so much the better.

The Space Wolves are a truly different and unique Space Marine army built around a core of charismatic champions. Each of the Space Wolves is a hero in his own right, and though this means that Space Wolves armies are typically few in number, their individual prowess more than makes up for it. Space Wolves are master of the ferocious assault and their bombastic leaders are amongst the most feared and respected warriors in the 41st Millennium.

Pros[edit]

• You like any of these things: assault, Vikings, runes, wolves, werewolves, wolves, snow, ice, honor, beards, Nordic names, repeating words, wolves, and not wearing helmets.
• Your troops units reliably pull their weight. Blood Claws hit impressively hard on the charge, and your Grey Hunters can be more mobile and choppy than Tactical Squads.
• The Space Wolves have access to unique wargear that is generally slightly better than what Codex Astartes Space Marines use.
• Awesome looking exclusive models. Space Wolves are covered in pelts, teeth, talismans, and runes which gives them a Viking-inspired, savage appearance.
  • Consequently, an added benefit of playing Space Wolves is that you'll piss off PETA
• Not only are the models awesome looking, but they're cheaper than vanilla marines, depending on which units you buy. Specifically their devastator, tactical and assault squad equivalents all go for 37 US bucks each. And that unique flyer ~6 points down goes for a dollar less than a Storm Raven gunship (really saving up for that Nuln Oil).
• Powerful HQ characters, both special and standard.
• The Tempestas discipline is good for helping you survive shooting long enough to get into combat.
• All the Wolf you could ever wolf. If you like Wolves, look no further. We also have legitimate Werewolves in the army now.
• Unique access to Thunderwolf Cavalry and Wulfen means that few armies come close to being as good at assault as the Space Wolves.
• Between strong troops and strong HQs, you can take bigger detachments for more command points without feeling like you're being taxed.
• A unique flyer in the Stormwolf which is essentially a flying Land Raider. Packs a 16 troop capacity and half a dozen heavy weapons to back it up.
• Between Prospero Burns, Leman Russ: The Great Wolf, and Horus Heresy Inferno, the fluff is being overhauled to make the Wolves both more serious and more likable.
• Grey Hunters, Blood Claws and Long Fangs can take Wolf Guard who are able to upgrade to Terminator armor. It might not seem like much at first. However an extra heavy or power weapon can't be understated. Cyclone Missile Launchers have strength comparable to a Plasma gun with more range and doesn't have to exchange his Storm Bolter.
• Confirmed to be getting the next Codex with a handful of new units, as well as the goodies from the vanilla Codex that the Wolves didn't have access to. Can you say "Wulfen Dreadnought"?
• A certain HQ can be painted as a killer Santa

Cons[edit]

• No ability to Combat Squad. Not necessarily a bad thing but all other Space Marine Chapters can do it.
• With the elimination of USRs we've lost Counter-Attack, and now that Decurions don't exist anymore we don't have Counter-Charge either. This takes a lot of flavor and versatility away from our army- gone are the days of being able to Rapid Fire into a dedicated melee unit, overwatch them when they charge you, fight like you had gotten the charge, and have one of your nasty CC specialists Counter-Charge them in their assault phase.
• All the Wolf you could ever wolf. If you have a thing for cats, or varied naming conventions, the sons of Fenris don't want you. We also have legitimate Werewolves in the army now.
• No heavy weapons in Grey Hunter or Blood Claw squads (which is compensated by adding Wolf Guard, but not wholly). Blood Angels players will rub it in by mentioning their access to Heavy Flamers.
• No access to Grav weaponry without allied Space Marines. With the nerf to grav weaponry this isn't as bad as it used to be.
• You won't be able to play Space Wolves without people constantly reminding you to Wolf your wolf... seriously its fucking ridiculous on /tg/. With Fenris being in the middle of the Great Rift , "Yiff in Hell" jokes now hit pretty hard. A vocal minority of neckbeards and salty nerds consider Wolves Mary Sues worse than the Ultramarines. Thus the hate is widespread.
• Santa Grimnar jokes will never end. Thanks Games Workshop
• Grumpy old man Bjorn jokes are funny at first, then become annoying after the first ten minutes.
• PETA
• Also helmets seem to be a precious commodity to the space wolves, so be prepared to rage paint bare bearded space marine heads or buy some off the secondary market.
• While the extra bling looks nice when well painted and can alleviate some of the boredom of painting 30+ troops by focusing on making each one look individual, it also makes things more time consuming. Consider purchasing a few codex marine kits to mix in to reduce the sheer quantities of wolf bling you have to paint. As an added benefit, this is also your best way to get ahold of meltaguns, flamers, one-handed power axes, and combi-weapons.
• Wolfing Wolves
• Getting murdered by a Killer Santa
• Every problem that plagues Space Marines applies to the Space Wolves. They are a (mostly) melee army in a shooty edition. Bring out the Plasma, Flamers and the big guns because your going to need it. Remember, Only a noob charges a full strength unit. Primaris Marines and allies act as a temporary patch for said problems.

Special Rules[edit]

• Hunters Unleashed: If a unit with this ability charged, was charged, or made a Heroic Intervention this turn, it gains +1 to hit rolls in the Fight Phase. In addition, Characters with this ability can perform Heroic Interventions from 6" away.
  • Similar to the Red Thirst ability that the Blood Angels have, and makes the Wolves nearly as potent in melee, with the caveat that +1 to hit is usually not nearly as good as +1 to wound. It acts as a useful way of discouraging opponents from charging your gunlines, especially if a melee-focused character is nearby to perform a Heroic Intervention. Compared to the red thirst, it is both better and worse. More hits is always good, since that influences the number of to-wound rolls. However, since you're hitting on 3+ all the time anyway, a +1 to wound is more impactful, especially against toughness 4+. The 6" heroic intervention for all characters, instead of being a warlord trait, is probably what makes 'Hunters Unleashed' competitive with the Red Thirst, what with how character-packed astartes lists tend to be.
  • Obviously of course, this makes the cheap 16 point Thunder Hammers on some 3 attack models very powerful. Also makes spammable powerfists all the better (aggressors, pack leaders, wolf guard, etc.)
• And They Shall Know No Fear: You have it just like every other loyalist Space Marine. One thing to bear in mind, though, is that careless re-rolls can increase your casualties if you don't consider the odds.
• Combat Doctrine: Feel like it's 7th edition all over again. Each of the three Combat Doctrines gives an AP-1 buff to different weapon types in your armies (non-cumulative with buffs from other sources). You have to use each Doctrine in order, starting with the Devastator Doctrine, and once you switch there's no going back, so pay attention to the rhythm of the game. Your army gains this if all units in it have this rule, meaning taking a Guardsman Battalion or even a single Assassin CP'd in right before the battle would prevent the detachment from getting this rule, but allied SM detachments are ok even from a different chapter.
  • These nifty rules will make your marines more efficient killers, but their rotation makes them predictable - devastate -> advance -> assault. Savvy opponents may try to break LoS to force movement penalties on your heavy weapons, rush for melee while you're still under the ranged doctrines, then fall back when you're finally under the assault one, scale buildings, etc. As such, don't be predictable yourself. Remember, you don't need to switch doctrines on the same turn they become available: surprise drop pod a target turn one or advance your infantry under cover of Devastation while your enemy remains confined to their hiding spots turn 3, what have you. The doctrines are as follows:
  1. On Turn 1, your army will always start with the Devastator Doctrine turned on, giving all your Heavy and Grenade weapons the extra -1 AP so that you can soften entrenched infantry and cripple enemy vehicles from afar in preparation for your advance. Remember the first points of AP are the most important ones: AP-2 Heavy Bolters and Assault Cannons are more noticeable than AP-4 Lascannons. Do keep in mind the plethora of sniper rifles and Heavy Flamers (Incendium/Inferno/Flamestorm cannons) are Heavy Weapons too. The boost to Grenades matters only to Intercessors for the most part.
  2. On the 2nd turn you switch to Tactical Doctrine, shifting the boost to your Rapid Fire and Assault weapons. Be it to close the distance to the enemy or because your vehicles are about to give their last, this mostly passes the ranged baton to your infantry. And a bolt rifle going from AP-1 to AP-2 is more noticeable than a lascannon going from AP-3 to AP-4. Storm bolters and auto bolt rifles work wonders here.
  3. On the 3rd or 4th turn you shift to Assault Doctrine (you MUST change to assault on the 4th turn) giving the extra AP to your Pistol and Melee attacks. Don't. Forget. Your. Pistol. The first point of AP is the most important one - chainsword/CCWs benefit the most, while AP-4 on a sword can become excessive.
  • As of the 02/27/20 FAQ, you MUST change from Devastator to Tactical on turn 2, and then change to Assault on turn 3 or 4. This will force you to keep at least a few units that are capable of fighting in CQC, as you can no longer just bum around in Devastator or Tactical doctrine and persist on blasting things from across the map.

• Savage Fury: While the Assault Doctrine is active, an unmodified roll of 6 to hit in melee will grant an additional hit.

Stratagems[edit]

Codex Marines Copypastes[edit]

• Armour of Contempt (1 CP): When one of your vehicles takes a mortal wound, for the rest of the phase, you get a 5+ to ignore mortal wounds, and can use it on the one you just took. Doesn't work on regular wounds.
• Orbital Bombardment (3 CP):One use only. If your warlord is a Space Wolf and didn't move, you can use this stratagem in the shooting phase instead of having him shoot any weapons. Pick any spot on the battlefield that the warlord can see, and roll a D6 for every unit within 6" of it (subtract 1 if it's rolling for a Character). On a 4+, it takes D3 mortal wounds.
  • While it costs three times as much as Linebreaker and seemingly does 1/3 of the damage, this one needs no Vindicators in position and affects 4 times more area. Still expensive, and might still not hit enough units to replace Linebreaker, but can supplement it.
• Linebreaker Bombardment (1 CP): Use in the shooting phase if you have a Vindicator within 6" of two other Vindicators from the same Chapter. Instead of shooting their Demolisher Cannons, pick a spot within 24" of all three and roll a d6 for each unit within 3" of it (+1 if the unit has 10+ models, -1 if it's a Character). On a 4+, the unit takes 3d3 mortal wounds.
  • Averaging 3-4 wounds per unit (three Vindicators average 4.86) irrespective of BS (meaning you can advance those Vindicators into position), reminding an entire edition that pack armies around aura-generating characters what templates used to be, and allowing you to snipe characters using heavy ordnance instead of faggy snipers, the only reason not to use this stratagem is due to a lack of either Vindicators or CP. Be sure to keep your own units at a safe distance, though- they can be hit too if they're too close!
  • Its a little like killshot, in that your opponent needs to kill one tank to negate the stratagem. Its wise to keep your vindicators safe turn one, then advance into a shooting position as soon as its all clear while ignoring any penalties for moving.
• Killshot (1 CP): Use in the shooting phase if you have a Predator within 6" of two other Predators from the same Chapter. Add 1 to the wound and damage for all of its attacks against Monsters and Vehicles. Unlike the Vindicator stratagem, while the boost depens on BS and thus on movement & HP, it doesn't restrict your targets to a single spot on the table. So Split fire those 12 Lascannons away, and remember to buy those Hunter Killer missiles.
  • Now only effects baseline Predators, not Deimos patterns. Apparently the crews are too full of themselves to coordinate fire anymore.
• Hellfire Shells (1 CP): Instead of shooting normally with a heavy bolter, the Space Marine model rolls only once to hit. If it hits, it does D3 mortal wounds. Even if it's a tank.
• Flakk Missile (1 CP): When an Infantrymodel shoots a missile launcher at a unit with Fly, make a single hit roll with +1 to hit. If you hit, do D3 mortal wounds instead of rolling to wound. RAW, the strategem doesn't say that it replaces the normal shot, it just causes Mortal Wounds on a hit - You still theoretically get the regular Krak Missile hit as well. However, the tournaments have ruled against this interpretation, so don't get used to exploiting it.
• Honour the Chapter (3 CP): At the end of the fight phase, pick an Infantry, Cavalry or Biker unit to fight a second time. The usual "fight twice" stratagem, best on characters and units with good weapons to delete someone.
• Only in Death Does Duty End (2 CP): When one of your Characters dies, it can shoot or fight again. Doesn't combo with the Banner abilities on Ancients. Makes your characters too dangerous to deal with in melee, as not even killing them prevents them from hitting back, and most of them have melee boosts on top of being already good fighters. Overcharge their plasma pistol if they were killed at range.
• Datalink Telemetry (1 CP): When shooting with a Whirlwind, if you have a Land Speeder within 12" of the target, the Whirlwind's shots automatically hit. +2.3 Castellan / +1.33 Vengeance hits, plus the HK missile, with proportionally bigger benefits for damaged Whirlwinds.
• Wisdom of the Ancients (1 CP): At the start of any phase, pick a Dreadnought to turn into a 1-phase Wolf Lord. Any same Chapter units within 6" can reroll hits of 1 that phase, including itself. Note that this cannot be used with Wulfen Dreadnoughts or Murderfang.
• Duty Eternal (1 CP): When a Space Wolves Dreadnought is under attack, they reduce any damage they take by 1 to a minimum of 1. Pretty effective at mitigating damage from a mob, not so much for high-powered weaponry.
• Boltstorm (2 CP): Select one Intercessor unit during your shooting phase. Their Auto Bolt Rifles will automatically hit any enemies within half-range. This is especially helpful if you're softening them up for another squad to clean up your mess.
• Rapid Fire 2 CP): Select one Intercessor unit during your shooting phase. Their bolt rifles all have Rapid Fire 2 now. You're trading off Boltstorm's guaranteed hits for a weight of fire at the same range.
• Big Guns Never Tire (1 CP): Select one Vehicle during your shooting phase. They won't suffer any penalties for moving and firing with heavy weapons.
• Veteran Intercessors (1/2 CP): Select one Intercessor unit with 5 or fewer models (or 6+ models for an additional CP) at the start of the game. This unit gains an additional attack and point in Ld, which is quite useful for a melee-focused chapter.
• Hammer of Wrath (1 CP): When a unit with a Jump Pack charges, they can roll a d6 for an enemy within 1" of the unit. They suffer a mortal wound on a 5+, which makes this more of a topping than anything useful.
• Hero of the Chapter (1 CP): One generic character who isn't your warlord gains a Warlord Trait.
• Fury of the Champions (1 CP): Select one Terminator unit during any phase. The termies gain +1 to their hit rolls for that phase, which gives a bit of flexibility.
• Gene-Wrought Might (1 CP): Suring the Fight phase, one Primaris Infantry unit will automatically hit and wound on a natural 6 to hit. This benefit still stacks with your chapter trait, meaning that you score two automatic wounds when using the Assault Doctrine.
• Target Sighted (3 CP): During the shooting phase, one Intercessor unit with Stalker Bolt Rifles can target characters regardless of range and deal a MW on a nat 6 to hit.
• Hunter-Slayer Missile (1 CP): During the shooting phase, one Impulsor can fire a special missile at an enemy Vehicle or Monster within 48" and 1" away from any friendlies. Roll a d6 - it deals D3 MWs if it beats the enemy's BS.
• Skilled Riders (2 CP): During the movement phase, one unit of Bikers or Land Speeders gains a 4++ save against shooting for the turn, upping to 3++ if the unit advances.
• Steady Advance (1 CP): You can make one Infantry unit act as if they didn't move for the purpose of Bolter Discipline. More useful for Stalkers and classic rifles.
• Transhuman Physiology (1 CP): When a friendly unit that isn't a Servitor or Vehicle is attacked, they will never be wounded on a 3 or lower. This is your answer against plasma and lascannons. This is how you screw with poison. Expect to use it.
• Skyfire (1 CP): Select a Hunter or Stalker unit during the shooting phase. They will only target flyers, adding +1 to hit and wound and dealing double damage on a nat 6 to wound.
• Vengeance of the Machine Spirit (2 CP): Select a dying Land Raider, Repulsor, Storm Raven, Stormwolf or Stormfang model - They can choose to automatically explode, or immediately make one last shot or swing at their top wounds bracket.

Space Wolves Exclusives[edit]

• True Grit (1 CP): Use in the Shooting phase. Select a Space Wolves Infantry within 1" of an enemy. Their bolters, bolt rifles, auto bolt rifles, and bolt carbines can fire as if they had Pistol 2. They can't fire any other Pistols they might have this phase, however. You'll be getting up close a lot, so this means you'll always get in two bolter shots in melee range instead of one bolt pistol shot. Especially nice on Intercessors because of their extra attack and the Bolt Rifle's AP.
• Cunning of the Wolf (1 CP):You select one INFANTRY unit to be 'On the Hunt' during the deployment phase ( and can do this for more than 1 unit, as the deployment part of the game is not subject to the 1 use of a stratagem rule), and at the end of your movement phase you can set them up 6" from the side of the board but more than 9" away from an enemy unit. Congratulations, you got Outflanking back. Enjoy watching your opponent's backline melt. For only a single command point to spend on each unit you do that for. Hell yeah! Shenanigans will ensue for armies with similar abilities (aka. Eldar, Blood Angels, Raven Guard etc.), prepare for hilarity.
• Overwhelming Impetuosity (1 CP): Use in the Fight Phase. Use this on a blood claw unit that successfully charges a unit with a HIGHER power rating; re-roll all failed hit rolls when attacking the target.
  • Blood claw specific, and more focus on power ratings of units.
  • Again, it's good, but what you really need are more ways to enhance wounding.
• Cloaked by the Storm (3 CP): In the psychic phase, when a Rune Priest manifests a power it imposes a -1 penalty for all ranged attacks made against Space Wolves- units within 6" of it until the next psychic phase. Expensive, but now you can buff your army without ever using a buffing power.
• Tokens of Fenris (1 CP/ 3CP): Extra Relics. 1cp for 1 extra, 3 cps for 2 extra
• Mentor's Guidance (1 CP): Use in the shooting phase, or fight phase, choose a space wolves character other than a wolf priest within 6" of a wolf priest, reroll failed wound rolls for that character in this phase.
  • Need to give Bjorn or any character reroll wounds? With many characters (I'm betting) sporting brand new thunder hammers, chances are you will wound anyway. Saying that, there is always those times you roll low in a sticky situation.
• Chooser of the Slain (2 CP): Use this stratagem immediately after an opponent sets up a unit on the battlefield as reinforcements and is visible to a Rune Priest from the army, a single Space Wolves unit within 6" of the Rune Priest can immediately shoot at the enemy unit as if it were the shooting phase, at -1 BS from the shooting
  • NOTE: this could be anywhere on the table, as long as you can see them you can use this stratagem. (Be aware, the SW unit firing at the reinforcements must still be within range of the SW's shooting weapons) A single Space Wolves unit within 6" of the rune priest can immediately shoot at the enemy unit as it it were the shooting phase but you must subtract 1 from the hit roll.
  • NOTE: According to FAQ it must be Space Wolves. It didn't say shoot a single weapon. So if you were to, say, have a Imperial knight within 6" of the rune priest at all times, any unit coming in gets splattered by the Knight in a free shot. It does say a Unit, so whole squads, not single models. Could be VERY powerful.
• Laugh in the Face of Death (1 CP): Use in the fight phase. Choose a SW Infantry, Biker, or cavalry unit from your army that is affected by an enemy units ability that modifies their leadership (harlequins lol), you can re-roll all failed hit rolls for that unit in this phase.
  • Again, its good, but what you really need are more ways to enhance wounding.
• Overwhelming Savagery (1 CP): Use in the fight phase, Choose a unit of thunder wolf cavalry, you may re-roll wound rolls of 1 for this unit in this phase. Pretty good because with 2 attacks you don't want to be wasting bad wound rolls, especially if you're sporting thunder hammers. No effect if you have claws.
• Howl of the Great Pack (2 CP): Use at the beginning of the morale phase, choose a wolf lord, models in your army within 12" autopass morale tests in this phase, and your opponent within 12" must add 1 to their LD rolls in this phase
• Seeking a Saga (1 CP): Use in the fight phase, Choose a SW character that is within 1" of an enemy unit with a greater power rating, you may re roll failed wound rolls made by that character
• Keen Senses (1 CP): Use this stratagem in shooting phase. Choose a SW unit from your army; they suffer NO penalties to hit this phase. Those Alaitoc Shadow Specters will hate your guts. Time to break out the BIG guns. Use this broke-ass stratagem on leviathans, fellblades and tank destroyers. The more guns the better.
  • This stratagem lets you turn your Long Fangs into Dark Reapers, meaning you can have move without suffering any minuses to hit. This makes any unit you wish had Power of the Machine Spirits that much faster.
• The Wolf's Eye (1 CP): In the shooting phase, a selected unit of Long Fangs can either re-roll all failed hit rolls or all failed wound rolls for the duration of the phase.
  • NOTE: It does say 'OR'; this means it's not reroll hits AND wounds. You must choose 1.
  • Most of the time you should re-roll the wounds and keep using the innate re-roll 1s to hit, making Long Fangs truly masters of ranged warfare and quite reliable.
• Lone Wolf (1 CP): At the end of any phase, select a Space Wolf Infantry unit (that isn't a Servitor, Wulfen, or Character) that has been reduced to a single model. That model gains two extra wounds, the Character keyword, and can re-roll failed hits and wounds for the rest of the game.
  • Note: THIS IS GREAT. Sadly it might have been wished that we could still purchase lone wolves, however how many games would you have a 150 point lone wolf (tooled up)?
  • Note: Because you get to choose slain models, let's face it, the wolf guard unit or sergeant with the power fist will be the last model standing usually. Very Very fluffy narrative which means you could have lone wolves every game. You always make the coolest thing left alive to turn into a lone wolf. Now your terminator wolf guard with the thunder hammer storm shield has 2 more wounds (to 4) and re-rolls to hit and wound rolls for the rest of the game (and now they are a character, they can pile in 6"). Special mention to Agressors and Inceptors Lone Wolves, too.
  • Note: You could make an army with heaps of 5 man units to take advantage of this rule to 'make' lone wolves. How many 6 man units can you make to charge the enemy?
• Talismanic Shield (1 CP): At the start of the opponent's Psychic Phase, select a Character. That Character can now deny one power as if it was a psyker.
• Living Storm (1 CP): If you have a Rune Priest within 6" of 2 other Rune Priests and that Rune Priest manifests Living Lightning, it deals d6 damage instead of d3 damage(every time! Whenever the power would inflict D3 mortal wounds, it instead inflicts D6 mortal wounds.). More wounds means more chances for Living Lightning's effect to spread beyond its original target. It may change game resolve in just few rolls. Wisely used against already wounded units it may destroy many squads and characters in one phase.
• The Emperor's Executioners (1 CP): In the Fight Phase, if a Space Wolves unit makes a hit roll of 4+ against a Thousand Sons unit, it gets an extra attack with that weapon. More situational than other exploding attack stratagems, but you get the extra attack more frequently when you do benefit from it.
• Knowledge of the Foe (0 CP): Gain a free CP whenever you kill an enemy character in the fight phase.
• Counter-Charge (1 CP): This allows one unit to perform a Heroic Intervention against an enemy charge, letting them move 6" to do so. This little gem is useful in protecting more vulnerable forces by throwing more durable (or disposable) forces against the enemy.
• Crushing Assault (1 CP): The buffed-up version of Hammer of Wrath. When one Thunderwolf Cavalry unit charges an enemy, they can any enemy unit within 1" of the unit and roll a d6 - unlike HoW, this deals mortal wounds on a 2+, a big step up.
• Touch of the Wild (1 CP): In the Fight phase, pick a character. He now gets an extra attack on a 4+ to hit, which is pretty hefty.
• Vicious Executioners (1 CP): One Wolf Guard unit during the fight phase gets to deal a MW on top of any normal damage when they roll a natural 6 to hit.
• Pack Hunters (1 CP): Select a pack of Fenrisian Wolves or Cyberwolves during the Fight phase. Any models in the unit within 3" of a friendly Infantry or Cavalry unit can re-roll to hit.
• Storm Strike (1 CP): During the shooting phase, your Stormfang adds +1 to all rolls regarding the Helfrost Destructor.
• Death Grip Bite (1 CP): One Thunderwolf Cavalry unit gets to double the damage their puppers inflict during the fight phase.

Special[edit]

• The Lion and the Wolf (1CP): Use before the battle begins if your army contains any Dark Angels units. These must be taken in a different detachment, or else you can't use Space Wolves stratagems. Choose one Dark Angels Infantry model and one Space Wolves Infantry model, and roll 1D6 for each, individually. On a 4+, those models take a mortal wound. Each model that survives then receives +1 Weapon Skill, Strength, Attack, and Leadership for the duration of the battle. This is simultaneously considered one of the best and one of the worst Stratagems out there, as most Space Wolves players don't field Dark Angels, but it's also easy to abuse:
  • Gives you a crunchy excuse to field these two famous rivals together. The combinations are phenomenal, particularly since there seems to be no limit on who can be your champions. HQ choices and named characters can comfortably soak a 50% chance of a wound before the battle begins if it means getting extra attacks and strength for the whole battle. Get a Wolf Priest on the job and restore that wound so it barely even matters.
  • This works well for librarians, who start off hitting on 3s.
  • Also turns Primaris captains of all types into pretty stout beat sticks, considering that they were already fairly stout.
    • You could take a patrol detachment, load it up with various types of plasma and/or a lascannon in the single tactical squad, then take some form of melee HQ. Wont set you back that much really, and the Dangels provide potent dakka to cover your advance.

Tactical Objectives[edit]

11 - Oath of Vengeance

The opponent picks a unit in their army (which must be a Character if one is present). 1 VP for destroying it.

12 - The Stuff of Sagas

1 VP if an enemy vehicle or monster was destroyed, upped to 1d3 VP if the last wound was caused by a Space Wolves character.

13 - Unleash the Wolves

1 VP if you make at least 2 successful charges.

14 - Counter-Attack

1 VP if you made a Heroic Intervention. Effortless thanks to Hunters Unleashed.

15 - Hunt with Cunning

1 VP if you completely destroy an enemy unit, 1d3 if it was done by a unit that arrived during your turn.

16 - The Heroes of Fenris

1 VP if at least 1 friendly Character is in melee range of an enemy at the start of the fight phase. Increased to d3 VP if 2-4 characters are in melee range of an enemy, and d3+3 VP for more than 5.

Warlord Traits[edit]

Space Wolves' Sagas each have a secondary effect that expands their self-only buff into a 6" aura, which is activated by successfully performing a Deed of Legend (DoL). What this entails depends on the Saga in question.

• Saga of the Warrior Born: Warlord always fights first in the Fight Phase, even if they were charged. Deed of Legend is to slay an enemy Character with your Warlord. Ragnar Blackmane and Krom Dragongaze have this trait.
  • Don't let the ability to buff multiple units fool you - this is still the same hot garbage Always Strike First is everywhere else in 8th, because to be relevant, a buffed unit has to be charged by two or more units - otherwise, the ability never gets a chance to trigger, as your opponent can just choose the lone charging unit first. Besides, you should always be agreeing to charge, you're the Space Wolves.
• Saga of the Wolfkin: Gain an extra attack in the fight phase if you charged, were the target of a charge, or performed a Heroic Intervention (i.e. more or less 100% of the time). Deed of Legend is to slay a total of 5 models with the Warlord in the fight phase (cumulative for the entire game). Harald Deathwolf and Canis Wolfborn have this, and it's one of the better choices, provided your Warlord is a melee beatstick.
  • One of the easier ways to fulfill this is to ram your Warlord into something cheap and flimsy you'd normally ignore, just to spike his body count - make sure he's very mobile if you do this, so he can catch up to the real action after he's done, or a canny opponent will kite him out of position.
• Saga of Majesty: The Warlord auto-passes Morale tests and gains an extra 3" to all aura-based abilities. Deed of Legend is to slay the enemy Warlord with your Warlord. Logan Grimnar, Bjorn, and Njall Stormcaller have this.
  • Sadly, it's just unnecessarily difficult fulfilling the Deed of Legend on this - you don't want to have to commit early to your Warlord being the one to land the finishing blow.
    • Some Warlords may also be beyond your ability to slay. Your furry fuck won't stand a chance against the walking blue GW hard-on that is Guilliman, or the walking black hard-on that is Abbadon, flying green genital wart that is Mortarion, or rainbow hard-on that is Magnus. Then we have the Coldstar battlesuit Commander can jump 30" away at a moments notice while carving 'fuck balance' into your forehead with plasma. Of course Grimnar is enough to give most characters a run for their money, but is it really worth staking the entire game on him suceeding?
• Saga of the Beastslayer: Add 1 to wound rolls made against monsters and vehicles. Deed of Legend is to use the Warlord to slay a Monster or Vehicle. This also applies to ranged weapons, so laugh as your wolfy gunline outshoots Tau, Guard, and Tyranids. Also one of the best ways to trigger this is with a ranged optimized chaplain dreadnought. Ulrik the Slayer has this. Absolutely fabulous. If you're going with The Land Raider Excelsior take this trait. With four laz cannons, a grav cannon, hunter killer missiles and various small arms you can basically just pick a vehicle to erase from the backfield. Put some other big guns nearby to get that sweet +1 wound the very first time you shoot.
• Saga of the Hunter: Warlord can charge after Advancing. Deed of Legend is to successfully charge an enemy.
  • Not the most flashy ability, but the Deed of Legend is easy to trigger, and charging after an advance gives you more opportunities to activate Hunters Unleashed.
• Saga of the Bear: Gain a FnP on a 6+. Deed of Legend is to make a successful save. Arjac Rockfist has this.
  • Better than the usual incarnation of this Warlord trait because of its ability to spread to other units. Feel No Pain is always useful.

As flashy and fluffy our Warlord Traits are, they are garbage compared to other armies' traits. Before completing the DoL, two of the WTs are literally the same as the ones from the Basic Rule Book. And some DoLs are ridiculously hard to complete therefore you pretty much always assume the saga will only affect your warlord.

• An alternative way of playing Space Wolves is to bring a Phobos character and take the Vanguard WTs from the main SM Codex instead, Master of the Vanguard (+1' to Move, Advance and Charge for friendlies within 6") is really nice for us if you are bring a generic list.

Wargear[edit]

Space Wolves Ranged Weapons[edit]

• Assault Bolter A Primaris Inceptor come stock with two of these things. 18" S5 AP-1 Assault 3. Hand-held Heavy Bolters that don't suffer a -1 to hit penalty unless you advanced? Hell yes. The range isn't usually an issue because you either set the Inceptors in reserve, or took advantage of their 10" move.
• Boltgun You know it, you love it. A 24" S4 Rapid Fire 1 standard issue small arm. The lack of AP hurts but with what you should be targeting Bolters with (light infantry) it shouldn't matter too much. These things can be fired into CC with the True Grit stratagem.
• Bolt Rifle A 30" Bolter with -1AP. Primaris Intercessors come stock with these.
• Boltstorm Gauntlet Wolf Lords in Gravis armour come with these. It's their only gun, and being Pistol 3, S4 AP0 D1 with only 12" range, this can be annoying. Is made up for by the fact that the Wolf Lord in Gravis armour can destroy in CC.
• Combi-Weapon You know it, you still love it. A bolter with a special weapon slapped on top. You can now choose to either fire the bolter or special weapon on their own, or shoot both with a -1 to hit penalty.
• Storm Bolter DO NOT underestimate what a Storm Bolter can do in 8th. Now that they are rapid-fire 2, each of these suckers puts out 4 shots when at 12" range. For 2 points per gun and a huge variety of different ways to spam special weapons in space wolves, these can get crazy. (See Wolf Guard)
• Bolt Pistol The standard Space Marine pistol. With S4 AP0 and D1 it's nothing spectacular, but at least it's ubiquitous and free. Don't forget they can be fired in CC now, too.
• Plasma Pistol High strength, good AP and with no risk of overload unless you choose so. Space Wolves can get a lot of these, and at only 7 points they're hard to say no to.
• Plasma Exterminator Replaces the Inceptor's Assault bolters. It's an 18" Assault d3 Plasma (P̶i̶s̶t̶o̶l̶ no it is not pistol just assault weapon). How awesome is that?
• Helfrost Pistol While not quite as absurdly powerful as it used to be, this Iron Priest-exclusive pistol still packs quite a punch, at double the range of an Inferno pistol.

Space Wolves Melee Weapons[edit]

• Chainsword Has taken over the old '2CCW' trick of giving units an extra attack in close combat. Can be given to almost everyone in a Space Wolf army.
• Power Fist Sx2 User AP-3, D3 damage, -1 to hit. Having a few of these will make up for your lack of heavy weapons. Fortunately, the effect of Hunters Unleashed cancels the hit penalty, so your fists will hit much more often.
• Power Sword S User AP-3. The dedicated anti-infantry power weapon. Definitely has its uses on pack leaders, but for only 3 pts more characters can get a Frost Sword which is simply better.
• Power Axe S+1 AP-2. The 'balanced' power weapon option, probably one of the better pack leader options. Characters can get a Frost Axe for only 5 pts more.
• Power Maul S+2, AP-1. Has a niche in the vanilla Space Marine arsenal but here there are better alternatives for getting to S6 in close combat.
• Lightning Claw S User AP-2, with re-roll to wound and +1 attack if you've got two. Anyone who can get these can get Wolf Claws instead, which are straight-up better at 1 extra point, whether you take one or two. Never get these.
• Thunder Hammer Like a Power Fist, but deals 3 damage instead of d3. All the strengths (and the -1 to hit modifier) of the Power Fist, with none of the random damage. Costs the same as a Power Fist on non-Characters, so it's a flat better choice than a Fist for Sergeants. 5 points more than a fist for Characters. The extra reliability could mean the difference between one-shotting a Centurion or get an Assault Drill in the face, so consider that 5 points investment over a Fist. Again, Hunters Unleashed helps a lot with its reliability.
  • As at CA2019, these things cost 40 points on Character models, so make sure you pair it with Wulfen Stone and Saga of the Wolfkin to make the most out of it.
• Tempest Hammer A Thunder Hammer that deals a Mortal Wound on a 6. (Nerfed in the FAQ to still have a penalty to hit.) Only available to the Iron Priest.
• Frost Sword S+1 User AP-3. These are why you play Space Wolves. Combine the best qualities of the Power Sword and Power Axe for a minimal increase in points.
• Frost Axe S+2 AP-2. A great way of getting to S6 in close combat. They are a bit less cost-effective than frost swords, though.
• Wolf Claw S+1 AP-2, with re-roll to wound and +1 attack if you've got two. Costs 1 point more than Lightning Claws for either one (7 points) or two claws (11 points) as of Chapter Approved 2019.

Relics[edit]

• The Krakenbone Sword: S+1 AP-4 re-rolls to wound. It replaces the bearer's frost sword. For a mighty beatstick this one is great: it has the special properties of a Wolf Claw without needing to sacrifice your shooting, the boosted strength of a power axe, and the AP of a meltagun. What's not to like?
• Frostfury: Replaces a Storm Bolter. Loses Rapid Fire, but with Assault 4 it has as many shots as a Storm Bolter in RF range anyway and gains a little extra mobility for good measure. AP-1 and 2 D make it more useful against multi-wound models, and as an added bonus it causes a mortal wound on a 4+ on anything that's wounded by it but not slain (like a Helfrost weapon).
• Armor of Russ: Grants a 4+ invulnerable save and forces an enemy within melee range of the wearer to fight last in the Fight phase. No restrictions on who can take it, so give it to a Primaris since they don't normally have a way of improving their invulnerable saves. It's a good item to play on a Land Raider Excelsior. This would also be tasty on all flavors of Battle Leaders as it would grant them a much needed invulnerable save.
• Black Death: Frost Axe extraordinaire and replaces one. S+2 AP -2 D1, and each time the bearer fights, he makes additional d3 attacks. Makes your character a decent GEQ/MEQ eraser.
  • If you're giving this to anyone, make sure they're on a Thunderwolf. The pups additional teeth and claw attacks mean they'll have similar targets.
• Helm of Durfast: Re-roll failed hit rolls for this model's ranged attacks, and no bonus to saving throws from being in cover for those. Good on shooty characters, but those aren't exactly common in the Space Wolves. Cough: Land Raider Excelsior. Give a Rune Priest or Wolf Guard Battle leader on a bike a Storm Bolter, and benefit from the new Bolter Discipline rules. 8 shots at 24 inches, rerolling all hits, and ignoring cover. You will be the bane of the Loyal 32 every game!
• The Wulfen Stone: 1 additional attack for friendly SPACE WOLVESINFANTRY, CAVALRY, and BIKERmodels in friendly units that are within 3" of the bearer. Wulfen units are not affected, and does not stack with Curse of the Wulfen (Kill/Hunt). Still pretty great, and possibly the best buff available for your character.
  • Take a Wolf Lord as your Warlord With Wolfkin trait, give him the stone, take a WGBL make him field commander with saga of the savage and THATS A LOT OF EXTRA ATTACKS!!!!!...well only 3, but for a squad of 10 grey hunters with chainswords is total of 50 attacks...
  • Give this one to a Thunderwolf Character for the biggest base.
  • Both Rob from SpikeyBits and Reece from Frontline Gaming, in their reviews for the Codex, view this as working for the whole unit, not just individual models. It just comes down to poor wording and no FAQ on the matter from GW. The ability states models in a unit within 3" of (etc). So, even though it started with saying models, it's models within the unit that's within range, so if the unit's within range all the models within the unit are within range. See also the discussion of the Cadre Fireblade's Volley Fire ability.

• Mountain-Breaker Helm: Infantry only. After the bearer finishes attacking but before consolidating, you can roll a d6 on an enemy within 3". You deal d3 MWs on a 2+, and if you kill an opposing Character with this helm, you'll have fulfilled a deed of legend!
• Talisman of Storms: Rune Priest only. After using your first power in a Psychic Phase, roll a d6 for every enemy unit within 12". They take a mortal wound on a 4+.
• Wyrmsplitter: Replaces a power axe. S+1 AP-2 2 D, and attacks against vehicles and monsters do double damage.
• Stormsong: Replaces a master-crafted stalker bolt rifle. It becomes S6 AP-3 D3 and can hit a Character even if they aren't the closest.
• Wyrdbane: Replaces a runic sword. S+1 AP-4 Dd3 with a re-roll to wound and inflicts max damage on Psykers.

Tempestas Discipline[edit]

Litanies of Battle[edit]

Now litanies are like the Dark Apostle's prayers, going off on a 3+. Before the game starts, generate the litanies your wolf priest (except Ulric) knows and start with Litany of Hate + Chapter Litany. Like psychic powers, you cannot spam the same litany even if several chaplains know it, but they are chanted at the beginning of the battle round and remain active until the end of it. This also means a Wolf Priest won't have an active litany on the turn he deepstrikes, as he can't chant while not on the table. The same rules apply if he rides a transport, so you'll need to come up with other ways to make him fast, like putting him on a bike. (If your oppenent is okay with legends.)

• Litany of Hate: Default prayer, 6" aura of re-rolling all melee hit rolls (not just misses) for your chapter.
• Tale of the Wolf King and the Lord of the Deeps: The chapter-exclusive litany. Pick a Space Wolves unit within 6”. When you make an attack by a melee weapon with a model in that unit against a vehicle or monster, it does one more point of damage. Try pairing with Wyrmsplitter to really dunk on the Nidzilla lists.

1. Litany of Faith: 6" aura of FnP 5+++ vs mortal wounds for friendly Space Wolves units. Not cumulative with other rules, as per usual (but stated regardless).
   • Extra protection vs witchery. Will help with whatever goes through the Librarian. Also makes your plasma vehicles more durable when firing plasma, and your company vets more durable when bodyguarding. A 2/3 chance of a 1/3 chance to ignore damage is equal to 2/9, so this is slightly (4/3) better than a 6+++ FnP, with the caveat that it only works on Mortal Wounds.
2. Catechism of Fire: Select a friendly Space Wolves unit within 6". +1 to the wound roll when "resolving a shooting attack" against the closest enemy unit, meaning it affects Overwatch, too.
   • Nasty with flamer Vets/Aggressors - generally better the less the gun relies on S or range to get work done. "Of Fire", get it? Deepstrike/transport them next to a chaplain who was already on the field.
3. Exhortation of Rage: Select a friendly Space Wolves unit within 6". Their unmodified 6s to hit in melee generate another attack with that weapon, which cannot proc extra attacks itself. Good when you already have a Captain/CM/second Chaplain giving you a re-roll and their aura would overlap with the Chaplain's.
   • If you're already betting on exploding 6s, use it alongside Death to the Traitors or even Gene-wrought Might.
4. Mantra of Strength: He'll show you how it's done. +1A +1S to the Chaplain, and +1D to his melee weapons. D3 Crozius!
5. Recitation of Focus: Select a friendly chapter unit within 6". +1 to their hit rolls when shooting. Even during overwatch, meaning you should answer enemy charges with supercharges. Safe plasma!
   • If you don't have a special interaction with getting +1 to hit, this generally makes your Chaplain a worse Captain: a 2/3 chance to improve BS3+ to BS2+ is mathematically identical to (and will stack with) re-rolling 1 to hit, but this Litany only hits 1 target, so even ignoring all the other caveats (inactive when you ride a transport/deep strike, doesn't work on both shooting and melee, etc) this alone will make your Chaplain a waste of points. He'll only earn his keep when you have a deathstar unit going that cares about +1 to hit beyond improving BS by 1. This is good for a plasma unit; if you want to support a gunline bring a Lieutenant instead.
6. Canticle of Hate: Non-cumulative 6" aura of +2 to charge rolls, as well as +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. In all cases, the friendly <chapter> unit in question has to be within the aura at the time the move is made - the consolidate move especially will often not happen unless the Chaplain also made his charge.
   • Do keep in mind the chaplain has to be on the field at the beginning of the battle round. Not even the Impulsor's broken disembark rules would help here, only a Jump Pack / Turboboosting Biker Manlet would have a chance.

Specialist Detachments[edit]

Specialist Detachments are an upcoming type of Detachment that will be added starting in the Vigilus Defiant campaign supplement by use of stratagems that costs CP. These Detachments are custom made for specific sub-factions which grant them access to a new key word as well as additional Stratagems, Warlord Traits, and Artifacts.

General stratagems[edit]

• Field Commander (1 CP):' This stratagem bears special mention. For one command point, you can designate a character with a Specialist Detachment keyword and they gain the warlord trait associated with that detachment. Can't be used on named characters or to give your warlord a second warlord trait. Usefulness may vary.

Stalker Pack[edit]

Upgrade Battle Leaders, Blood Claws and Reivers with STALKER PACK keyword

Stratagems:

• Blood Scent (2 CP): use it on a monster or infantry unit that is wounded or is missing models. Stalker units gain +1 to wound against them. Shoot a single book before the charge and begin the carnage
• Pack Killers (1 CP): after a STALKER PACK successfully charged, Pick another STALKER PACK unit, they roll 3D6 for charge and discard lowest. Time this well and your Reivers will have a much better chance of charging after they drop in with their fall speed retarding equipment

Warlord Trait - Saga of the Savage: +1 attack for warlord when he successfully charges. To complete the saga, the model must inflict 5 wounds in a single phase. This would actually be fairly difficult, unless they are referring to unsaved wounds, in that case, take a hammer and wound away

Artifact - Ironfang of Ammagrimgul: Replaces a Power-Axe. S+1, AP-2, D:D3. If the wound roll for an attack made by this weapon is an unmodified 6, the target model suffers D3 MORTAL wounds instead of normal damage.

Unit Analysis[edit]

HQ[edit]

The average SM HQ is a heroic model that can do fairly well in melee and, being the poster faction, we have a lot of choices when building our guys. Listed here are some common builds so that you don't have to read "Captain, Captain with Jump Pack, Librarian, Librarian with Jump Pack" and so on.

1. Jump pack: Mobility is the name of the game. The model gains 12" movement, fly and can deepstrike, so he can appear anywhere and ignore terrain, jump over the enemy's bubblewrap alongside your Vanguard Vets and even punch a damn airplane to death.
2. Bike: High speed, high drag. The character becomes a battering ram, gaining a speedy bike that can turbo boot to M20", T5, +W1, and an additional 4 bolter shots. Sadly, all but Captain on the bike were relegated to the Index, which makes the whole bunch overpriced and without the new rules like Shock Assault or Doctrines. SQUATTED.
3. Terminator: The heavy armour. +1W 2+/5++ and Deep Strike but only 5" movement and a slightly reduced wargear selection. Not meant to move around much, positioning is often determined by a Deep strike or the Land Raider that is carrying him around. Provides a lot of protection for your character. A Character's Iron Halo or Rosarius' 4++ has prevalence ofc.
4. Primaris: Extra beef for a relatively low cost. +1W +1A, but usually restricted customization options. Segregated to their hover transports; that used to mean restricted, but now they're more of a separate-but-equal kind of deal.
5. Phobos: Operator Primaris with stealth training, Concealed Positions let them keep up with infiltrators.

• Wolf Lord: The Captain-equivalent is the no-frills infantry HQ choice. While his aura can prevent your Space Wolves plasma from blowing themselves up (and also affects Vehicles) and he's got a nifty Master-crafted Bolter he can swap for Combis, his stats make him really shine when wielding a Power Fist/Thunder Hammer; don't do this without a credible plan for delivering him into melee. If his job is babysitting your backline only, give him your favorite ranged weapon of a bolt pistol (minimum cost, and gives him 2 shots, since he has another one), a storm bolter (best cost efficiency against GEQ/MEQ), or his original gun (best cost efficiency against TEQ), and keep other options off him to keep him cheap. Otherwise, see the Jump Pack section for how to equip a mobile Lord, even if your solution is going to be a transport instead.
  • Jump Pack: What it says on the tin, your Captain can now Fly. Deep strike, 12" movement, jump over units, punch a damn airplane to death. Key above all is that he can jump over the enemy's bubblewrap alongside your Van-Wolf Guard and Skyclaws, and get his aura or his melee murderin' to where you need it most. For wargear choices, if you take the Power Fist/Thunder Hammer you ought to, while the Storm Shield no longer hinders him in melee, he's already got the protection of being a Character and a 4++, but 3++ can be crucial against strong enough Overwatch, since you'll probably be charging things a lot. It's an option if you absolutely need it; other reasonable choices for his non-melee-weapon hand include his footslotting ranged choices, a combi-flamer for hordes/overwatch, or a combi-melta if you really want even more anti-tank punch, since he can't take a regular melta.
  • Wolf Lord in Terminator Armour: Essentially +1W, a 2+ save, and deep strike, at the cost of -1" movement, 31 points, and taking up more transport capacity. Terminator weapon options are more restricted than the regular ones, but he can mount a grenade launcher on his power fist. There's no good reason to take this guy - the points cost is brutal relative to the lackluster benefits, particularly since after showing up, he's so lacking in mobility.
  • Wolf Lord in Cataphractii Armour: +1W, a 2+ save, 3++ without taking up his arm, and deep strike, at the cost of -2" movement, 1/2 distance Advances, 52 points, and taking up more transport capacity. Shares most of the problems as the Lord in Terminator Armour; the 21 point cost to get the 3++ without needing a Storm Shield is a bit steep, since the Shield only costs 15 - even without the Cataphractii suit's movement penalties, it would be like taking the Terminator Lord with a Storm Shield, and paying 6 points extra for a second weapon. With the movement penalties, it means it's a poor choice for the same reason as the Terminator Lord: not nearly enough mobility for the cost.
  • Primaris Wolf Lord: Regular foot Wolf Lord, but Primaris: for when you want a bigger Wolf Lord but you aren't buying him a motorcycle, termie suit, or decent melee weapon. As with most Primaris units, even with +1W +1A, he's geared for ranged combat first, melee second (lest he invalidate the regular Wolf Lord). Decent personal guns to do stuff while he buffs your backline dakka, can buy a regular Power Sword as a deterrent, and that's it. Can only mount a Repulsor, but he's not in a hurry to get anywhere anyway. Not really worth the cost; he hasn't got more attacks than your regular Lord would with a chainsword, and the +1W and better output past 12" isn't worth the 11 point cost, given you're paying for a babysitter, not a murder monster.
  • Primaris Wolf Lord in Gravis Armor: He's an up-armoured melee-focused Primaris Wolf Lord, with T5 (as opposed to 2+) providing protection against S4/S5 hits (does nothing against lasguns). You'll only use his Master-crafted Power sword against T2 W2, because his Boltstorm Gauntlet has Power Fist stats, meaning the only benefit of the sword is the flat D2, offering a slight boost when murdering targets with exactly 2 wounds left in exchange for half strength, on top of having a Pistol 3 Boltpistol strapped on. 5" movement but no deepstrike means this guy NEEDS to outflank or a Repulsor to get anywhere, but being built for murder, you need to deliver him or he'll waste his points. Clever GW. Still cannot compete with a non-Primaris Wolf Lord deliberately built for murder, since A5 D1d3 is worse than A4 D3 in general, and likewise his other benefits can't compete with the choices available to a standard Lord - his primary benefit is that if you're taking a Repulsor anyway, he can legally ride it.
  • Primaris Wolf Lord in Phobos Armour: A Primaris Captain with a combat knife (+1A), and a sniper rifle equivalent (30", Heavy 1, S4, AP-2, D2, can target characters, but does NOT cause mortal wounds on a wound roll of 6). Also has a camo-cloak (+2 to saves when in cover instead of +1), an omni-scrambler (no enemy deepstrikes within 12"), and concealed positions (deep strike, but before first turn). You'll want him to give his re-rolls to your Eliminator teams or Infiltrator squads. Like the Lieutenant, this guy is really nothing more than an old, cranky primaris marine...and overcosted to boot.
  • Wolf Lord on Bike (Legends):It took Cawl 10,000 years of work to still come short of what this guy becomes by just riding a bike. He's not only the fastest Wolf Lord at 14" movement (barring deep strikes), but can also become one of most resilient ones by virtue of combining his T5 with a Storm Shield, something a Gravis can't do. He's also the shootiest, as the bike has a Twin Boltgun, and he can swap his Master-Crafted Bolter for a Storm Bolter. The thing he does that nobody else can, however, is being a fast T5 W6 TH/SS dude. Resilient, Fast, Strong, and he's not even the most expensive Wolf Lord! It's a steal at only 98 points base.
    • Make him your warlord with Saga of the Hunter which allows him to advance AND charge in the same turn. Give him Wolf Guard on Bikes as an escort with storm shields and a melee weapon each, along with the bike's gun, and you have a very dangerous distraction carnifex. Reminder that the Deed of Legend for this warlord trait is simply making a charge, so you have a whole bike squadron moving 20" AND charging. If you don't advance, then you have 20 shots from the 5 man guard unit alone, or 40 if you give them storm bolters. Very fun.
  • Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf: Fast, tough, and deadly. 20 points more than riding a Bike, and you lose 4 inches of movement, automatically fast Advances, the (mandatory) storm bolter, and the choice of a master-crafted bolter, in exchange for +1W, the ability to take a normal bolter, and 3 additional attacks at S5 AP-1 D1. Those last are the real reason to take him over the Bike choice; they only hit as hard as basic Wulfen claws do, but they do it with the Lord's WS (2+, re-rolling 1s). Note that if your primary desire is combining mobility with number of attacks, Harald Deathwolf does this better, not least due to having Outflank.

• Wolf Guard Battle Leader: While the Wolf Lord lets you reroll 1s to hit, his subordinate lets you reroll 1s to wound, which is better for anything that automatically hits, like flamers. Have them babysit mobs of Blood Claws or Skyclaws along with Wolf Lords/Priests. This approach makes the newbies surprisingly deadly on the charge, while letting you shoot for detachments that give you more command points. A really useful unit, seeing as how prevalent hit bonuses are in this codex. Improving wound rolls is key.
  • Jump pack: If you were thinking of footslogging this guy in power armor for 60 points, he makes for a very cheap HQ. However, it costs a mere 18 points to give this man a jump pack, letting you get both his buff and his combat output where you need it; it's pretty much an auto-include if you take him this way. Start him in low orbit, and then bring him down at the end of the movement phase wherever you want to get the perfect 12" bubble, and from then onward he can jump around getting wherever he is needed.
  • Wolf Guard Battle Leader in Terminator Armour: Don't bother and just take Arjac.
  • Wolf Guard Battle Leader on Bike (Legends): Absolutely amazing, at only 7 points more than the Jump Pack option, since both his melee and his ranged are worse than the Lord's, meaning you care even more about his mobility, to get his buff into position. Can't Deep Strike or traverse intervening models, but 20" is a lot more than 13.5" average.
  • Wolf Guard Battle Leader on Thunderwolf: Goes along with his Wolf Lord counterpart very well. These guys together babysitting Thunderwolf Cavalry make them something like the rape machines they once were. Costs 19 points more than the Bike version does, but at BS3+, the inferior guns matter slightly less than the same choice for your Lord.
  • Primaris Battle Leader: Wolf Guard Battle Leaders with an extra wound and (much) more limited weapons options for 10 points more. They also have a different starting loadout than the vanilla Primaris Lieutenants, with a power axe and a bolt carbine as their standard weapons.
  • Battle Leader in Phobos Armor: Another Primaris variant, with the same Tactical Precision ability as the others, but this one has a master-crafted D2 version of the cover-ignoring Occulus Bolt Carbine that Incursors get, along with their paired combat blades. However, instead of Concealed Positions, he takes a grav-chute for deep striking.
    • He can swap his normal loadout for a heavy bolt pistol and single combat knife, just like a Reiver. He even gains the REIVER keyword, and therefore the Terror Troops capacity (scary). But, ironically, he then has to sacrifice his grav-chute (not that scary), instead taking the same smoke grenade that Incursors get. Technically, he becomes a good leader for other Reivers, but because he loses his capacity to deep strike, you have to put him in a transport. Since deep striking is an essential part of the use Reivers squad (grav-chute or grapnel), if you really want to babysit them, you should stick to the "normal" Lieutenant in Phobos Armour.
    • Yes, the Incursor-like Lieutenant is forced to take a Reiver-like grav-chute that would only let him join concealed Incursor squads a full turn late, while the Reiver-like Lieutenant is forced to replace his grav-chute with Incursor-like smoke grenades making him useless for accompanying Reivers. Cross your fingers that this will be corrected in errata, otherwise accept that whatever loadout you use will be awkward and unoptimized for the role you use it in.

• Rune Priest: Mobile cover is still useful, and with the Cloaked By the Storm Stratagem he can buff allies even without Storm Caller; his wargear is pretty good, and he's cheaper off the bat than a vanilla Librarian on top of having a -1 improvement to WS, since you can field him without a Psychic Hood, so he's a cheaper Smite source. Go ahead and take him. Particularly good with a jump pack, for making sure Smite happens where you want it to. A decent melee weapon is optional, but goes nicely with Fury of the Wolf Spirits to make a melee beatstick.
  • Rune Priest in Terminator Armour: If you give him the Storm Caller power, he can make a nice escort for Wolf Guard Terminators, keeping them alive long enough for them to get into close combat. With wargear and a psychic hood they come to 164 points, though, which is only 3 points less than Terminator Njal, who is far superior at pretty much everything. Keep them cheap and mobile or just take Njal.
  • Rune Priest on Bike (Legends): Having a 14" move on a caster is really useful, and so is having a T5 HQ. Taking this guy as your warlord will go a long way to deny your opponent Slay The Warlord unless you peril (This is what command points are for.) Give him a Storm Bolter to stack with his Twin Boltgun and the classic Runic Axe and this guy becomes pretty good at everything, especially CHARACTER killing.
  • Primaris Rune Priest: +1W, +1A, and more limited wargear - his psychic hood is mandatory, and he can't take runic armour, a jump pack, or a combi-weapon - but costs a point less than a Rune Priest with identical wargear (a bolt pistol and force/runic sword), and he hits harder than Rune Priest, too. Take if and only if you want to footslog him, as he's nigh-impossible to deliver anywhere quickly, unlike a Rune Priest.
  • Rune Priest in Phobos Armour: Primaris Rune Priest with a camo-cloak (+2 to saves when in cover instead of +1) that makes him extra durable in cover, and concealed positions lets him deploy with your other sneaky marines. Has access to a special psychic discipline focusing on stealth, of which he knows two and can cast two. (Including one that's basically Warptime!) Comes stock with psychic hood, force sword, and bolt pistol.
    • Frankly, this option seems to be the only Vanguard HQ worth the points. The others look cool, but neither has a single melee attack with an AP value, and the captain has a single bolter shot at AP-2!?! This guy can genuinely hurt people with smite and his force weapon while providing tactical viability.

• Wolf Priest: The lovechild of an Apothecary and Chaplain, he makes you deadlier in combat (re-roll ALL failed to-hit rolls in the fight phase) and braver (friendly Space Wolves within 6" use his Ld9), but can also heal wounded models. Makes a natural companion to Wolf Guard Battle Leaders, as their buffs are complementary, and the priest can keep the youngster alive. Remember to keep in mind that he can't return slain models back to a unit, unlike our apothecary brethren. Can't swap his gun for a powerfist unlike the codex version, instead letting you take a powerfist outright, which allows him to keep his pistol.
  • Wolf Priest with jump pack: You know it, you love it. Deep strike next to a wounded character, heal d3 lost wounds, then make them turn around and punch the nearest unit with their buff.
  • Wolf Priest in Terminator Armour: +1W 2+ armour, at the cost of 5" movement, but can deep strike. Take this when you want resilience over damage after deepstriking.
  • Wolf Priest on Bike: If you're looking for both survivability and the mobility then this is for you. Bikes got a massive buff as they move farther than before, giving the rider an extra wound and a toughness bonus. Lacks the Jump Pack's Fly & deepstrike shenanigans, but can still cover massive amounts of distance per turn.
  • Primaris Wolf Priest: Functionally identical to the Primaris Chaplain, albeit with the Wolf Priest's healing abilities added. Comes with the standard Primaris buffs, along with the better pistol.
• Chaplain Dreadnought ^Forgeworld.It shares Bjorn's awesomesauce "ability" of being a 5++,6+++ dread that can't be shot at(apart from snipers). It also buffs the strength of friendly models fighting the same unit as the dreadnought. It's also reasonably priced considering it's many advantages, 204 points vanilla but can be cheaper or more expensive depending on wargear choices (taking an assault cannon makes it cost 183 as an example). Despite it's strengths ultimately it's buff is weak; more a bonus than something your army can rely on, if you want a HQ that buffs than the Chaplain Dreadnought is a bad choice, however, if you were planning to bring a dreadnought and/or want a tough and killy HQ then the Chaplain is a fantastic option that also saves you an elite or heavy support slot.
  • Disagree on that last point; Bjorn provides additional CP, his buff is active much more of the time, and hits much harder in assault, with Trueclaw being S12, AP-4, Dd6, re-rolling failed to-wounds. Take BOTH.

• Iron Priest: Like a standard Techmarine, but with swapped WS and BS(better WS, worse BS), and comes stock with a Thunder Hammer, that can be swapped for a Tempest Hammer that for +5 points.(Swapped in the Codex) Sadly has a -1 to hit from the FAQ but inflicts a Mortal Wound on a 6 if it fails to kill its target (it's alright). Also gets the option to take a Helfrost pistol(stock in the Codex), which is equivalent to a pistol Meltagun with Mortal-on-6 instead of Melta at a 2 pt discount (may have some value if you keep the Priest close to the front lines). As of CA 2018 Servo arms are now free making this unit a far more compelling choice. As your cheapest HQ he acts as an excellent relic holder or warlord for smaller point games. An Iron Piest with servitors following can seriously break some stuff in CQC for an exceedingly low cost. Iron Priests have no options to take a Servo-Harness or Conversion Beamer, bummer. Looks like the Alpha Legion and Thousand Sons did some ransacking before they left.
  • Iron Priest on Bike: The Biker Priest is the option you'll want to go for - that 20" move will allow you to zip round the battlefield healing your tanks where required for only 7 points more than a regular priest. Note, though, that an Iron Priest on bike can't repair if he moved more than 6", so his move is for getting him ready to repair - he can't just zip over and repair now, and his repair mobility is actually worse than on foot, since the foot version can Advance for a total of 7-12" and still repair. Also, of course, the bike comes with a storm bolter.
  • Iron Priest on Thunderwolf:These guys used to be really good in 7th edition, but they've fallen hard. 6 wounds and a 2+ is nice but without a decent invuln save, he's very susceptible to anti-TEQ shooting. And he can't take Cyberwolves to eat wounds anymore! He's okay-ish in melee with the Thunder/Tempest Hammer, but with only a few attacks plus the mount's attacks, he doesn't do all that much in melee. Unfortunately, there really isn't much reason to take him anymore.

• Rhino Primaris (Legends): One half of the Command Tank duo, the Rhino Primaris distinguishes itself from the basic Rhino by 3 things: its twin Plasma Gun, the ability to call an orbital bombardment (a 72" range monster with S10 AP-4 Heavy D3 D6 damage that becomes Heavy D6 when used on a unit with 10 or more models and doesn't need line of sight, but can only be fired once per game), and its servo-skull hub. The hub allows the Rhino Primaris to buff allies within 12" with either a +1 to hit, a -1 to morale tests, or healing a wound (for vehicles only). It only has room to transport 6 units, though that's just enough for a Character and Wolf Guard Pack.
  • Never fire the plasma gun on overcharged mode; the risk of destroying the Rhino Primaris isn't worth the extra damage. Unless you use the Servo-skull hubs +1 to hit on the Rhino, in which case you can overheat without risk. Probably better spent on those Hellblasters or plasma Long Fangs though.
  • Positioning is important, but it's even more important with the Rhino Primaris. Rhinos are tougher now, but you don't want your light APC in harm's way. But if you camp it behind a ruin that's somewhat central, flying units and other assets fighting in the vicinity all become viable options for the servo-skull hub. Imagine an overhead Caestus flying in, getting tagged by the Rhino, and then vomiting its weapons onto an enemy. Hitting enemy targets with BS 2+ anti-tank weaponry from nowhere? That's the value of positioning.
  • Worst case, have the Rhino Primaris pick itself on Turn 1 with its servo-skull hub, and fire the orbital relay (which can now be fired on turn one, a significant boost from 7th). Hitting on 2+ with a weapon this powerful is amazing, whether it's D3 or D6 shots. Add some way to reroll ones/hits and you can really lay a beating on something. A footslogging Wolf Lord may be better here than the Excelsior, but each scenario is different. If the Rhino is far enough back, a Primaris Wolf Lord with a stalker bolt rifle babysitting some Hellblasters anyway could help.
  • If you're looking for a good base for a conversion, the Damocles Rhino from Forge World is a good start.
• Land Raider Excelsior (Legends):