All Terminator Lists Part 2: Wolfwing

We’re now onto the second portion of the three part article on all Terminator armies. I chose to do Wolf Guard second since I was toying last night with the list for the Invitational (yes, the Invitational is 1,750 and the articles are based around 2k, sue me) and so it’s fresh in my mind. Plus I wanted to close out the series with GK’s J

Anywho, onto the article.

The second of the three armies that can take an all terminator army is Space Wolves. In fact, if you remember, until the FAQ came out for DA’s most people playing Deathwing and slightly shifted to play Wolfwing as it provided a better and more competitive Terminator army. So let’s look first at some of the differences between Wolfwing and Deathwing as they currently stand.

To take Wolfwing you need a special character. That’s no different than Deathwing except that your character is everything Belial wishes he could be while also being over twice the points. This means you’re paying a much higher “tax” to take terminators as troops. WG Termies also aren’t Fearless which is a bit of a disadvantage in such a low model count list. And they’re equipment is bought is bought individually which means a much higher cost for the same type of units that Deathwing field.

Enough of the disadvantages, let’s look at some advantages. Oddly enough many of the disadvantages are also their advantages. Logan, while much more expensive, is an EW beast of a character who massively increases the close combat effectiveness of his unit. He has most attacks, at higher weapon skill, than Belial and can actually choose his weapon instead of being locked in. The higher cost to make TH/SS terminators is also negated by the fact that properly built WG Terminators are cheaper/same cost as Deathwing but with more versatility.

In the overall scheme of things Wolfwing suffers from the same issues as all other pure terminator lists in its low model count and low unit count. So how do we build an effective all Terminator list? To be honest I’m not sure that you can. Much like Deathwing, I think that a Wolfwing listis probably going to need support units. However the type of support units you’ll be looking at are much different than the with Deathwing. So let’s start with what I would consider a basic squad of Terminators for a Wolfwing list:

5 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor

4 of them have Combi-Weapons (Generally Plasma) and Wolf Claws

1 of them has Chainfist and Cyclone

That’s a 250pt unit that is a pretty solid take all comers unit. I generally tend to take combi-plasma on these units as it’s more useful for what your lacking than combi-melta. This also allows for some bolter shot clearance at range, something you can’t do with Deathwing without taking “Tac” squads. The Wolf Claws are also nasty as choose what to re-roll every turn which can be nice. But it gets downright ridiculous when Logan happens to join a unit since they’ll now re-roll to hit and wound. Granted you only have one Logan so he won’t be boosting all squads but it’s nice to know wherever you need him he’ll massively increase your damage output.

Now, assuming 2,000pts, I wouldn’t fill my force org up with these units. Granted it’s a nice unit but it does have its disadvantages (such as getting torn up by dedicated, high init. Units) and you’ll need some more support throughout your list to make it work. So my initial feeling is 3 such units. That gives you a solid core for your force. Now I’ve personally had a ton of success with a unit designed to accompany Logan that takes full advantage of his abilities. Granted that unit normally sheds a few WG to other units as bullet catchers or sergeants but it normally looks something like this:

10 Wolf Guard (4 in Power Armor, 6 in Terminator Armor)

All Power Armor w/combi-weapon

2 Terminators w/Stormshield and Wolf Claw

2 Standard Terminators

2 Terminators w/Cyclone and Chainfist

It’s not a cheap unit by any means but it does allow you to take full advantage of Tank Hunters and has a ton of counter-attacking power weapon attacks that re-roll to hit.

Let’s look at some of the supporting units that are a big help to a list like this in my opinion. You know I like to stay away from armor in a terminator list as that just makes target priority for your opponent easier since his missiles can kill Dreads much easier than termies. That said there are 4 easy support units I’d like to focus on:

-Thunderwolf Calvary

-Long Fangs

-Lone Wolves

-Wolf Scouts

Which one you prefer is probably based on your playstyle. Lone Wolves are blockers for your main force and can really help keep units that would run through one of your squads out of play. Thunderwolf Cav are disruption units that used in 1-2 man squads can force your opponent to ignore your troops as they move up the field. Long Fangs naturally excel at making your opponents army an all foot army like yours and cheap missile launchers are never a bad thing. Wolf Scouts are a great disruption unit as well and affect the opponent from deployment forward.

That all being said here is a quick list that I feel can compete in the 2,000pt range.

Logan

2x5 Wolf Scouts w/Melta

3x5 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor

4 of them have Combi-Weapons (Generally Plasma) and Wolf Claws

1 of them has Chainfist and Cyclone

10 Wolf Guard (4 in Power Armor, 6 in Terminator Armor)

1 Power Armor w/Combi-Melta and Power Fist

3 Power Armor w/BP+CCW

2 Terminators w/Stormshield and Wolf Claw

2 Standard Terminators

2 Terminators w/Cyclone and Chainfist

2xThunder Wolf Calvary w/Power Fist

2x5 Long Fangs w/4 Missile Launchers

It’s got disruption, 18 Missile shots (4 of them St9), and solid close combat abilities.

That’s it for this one, I’m almost finished with the last batrep to which should go live tomorrow. Thoughts on Wolfwing armies? Experiences? This is probably my most theoretical of the group as I’ve never played with more than Logan’s bodyguards.