[Wolf-Tau]

There are not very many Space Wolf Players here, so if I can help. PM me. I have this little tactica on Grey Hunter set-up. I have been trying these combinations out for a few months now. This are not law but common sense. I did an easy to look at list and these will work on all comes lists. The vet players will see this as common sense but new SW players and new players all together should get something out of this.

I know it's tough modeling your guys only to have buy more models because certain weapons just don't seem to work. The Grey Hunter units are great units armed with Bolters, Bolt Pistols and Close Combat weapons. So they can shoot and melee but remember they can be specialized even more. I think the Grey Hunter one of the best and cheapest units in 40K.

Here are the best ones

1 Frost Weapons, Wolf Guard Only, - you go at Initiative and get an extra attack for two CC weapons.WG 3/4 on the charge. I placed this here as most players are attaching WG to the Grey Hunter units. This WG adds the needed extra leadership but an added special weapon. And believe me, in today gaming environment of 5th ed. your going to love this weapon. 5th ed has brought the use of troops and well armored troops in larger numbers. This is why it is now very important to have some type of power weapon. Being that Frost weapon have +1 to STR really helps out when you begin to go against tougher troops and can wound up to a T8 creature.

I have all my Wolf Guard with this, 4 attack at STR5, you can't go wrong! This is a good weapon if you care about going at Initiative and want that extra attack.

2 Powerfist Wolf Guard, 2 / 3 on the charge. This is second only to the Frostweapon but not by much. This weargear for your WG, is great against Heavy troops and armor. You will want to take this if you plan to use the unit for tank busting. Hitting vehicles on rear armor AV10 should be easy with STR8 + 1d6. Your WG can take Meltabombs and has Krak grenades so it's not as necessay but still a very good option to consider. Meltabombs will only give you one attack vs 2/3 of the powerfist. The only draw back would be a Landraider where a Powerfist will only glance it (AV14). Meltabombs would be more effective on that type of armor than a Powerfist. Frostweapons can't touch anything AV12 or above. I would take the WG with Powerfist is if you plan or want to be prepared to take out armor and meltabombs are a meager 5 points so you can still throw those in. Just be aware of popping a Tranport vehilce will leave you open to a charge or getting blasted by whatever is in there.



2a GHs with Powerfists . -Embedded in the unit, great tank/Heavy troop tool. pricey but very good return on it. This weargear will be doing most of the killin and slapping around when you hit a MEQ type unit.

3 MotW - potential for a Rending hit is good. BUT It's the Extra attacks that hurt!
This works well against cheap troops and should rend once for every 6 hits. There is a potential for 8 attacks on the charge.

4 Meltagun - Very Nice Assault weapon.
If your going to be assaulting this is the gun to have. If I have the points, I take MotW with Meltaguns units as they will be charging. With Plasmaguns you can't shoot and charge. My assault units have this, my objective units have Plasmaguns.

5 Plasma Pistol- AP2 good against transports or that Claw wielding Terminator and this guys still gets all of his attacks! 2 attacks and 3 on the charge. Embedded in the unit.

6 Plasmagun- is ok / Rapid fire. My objective taking units have these. These units will not have MotW guys unless I have plenty of points to burn. Why did GW put these in and no Meltaguns!! Thanks GW, now I have to more of your old spures as Meltaguns are perfect for assault armies and last time I checked, Space Wolves were an Assault Army!

7 Powerweapons - In my humble opinion - Sucks. Hmm, lets see, at WS4 STR4 attacking the same type of unit, your not going to do much. ( espicially if your dice suck like mine! ) If your hurting for points it's okay but your going to wish you left this at home and brought a Powerfist when you go up against anything tougher than T5. For the points paid it's not a bad weapon, but for 10 more points you get a Powefist which really does more for you. I won't recommend it if it's a front line unit using it, if it's doing rear guard it's good to have.

8 Flamer - is not bad but with GHs now having the number of attacks and ability to Rapid Fire bolters this is now not as necessary a tool as it once was. I have one in my army and while it is a handy weapon, it just does not cut it any more. With all the Uber units and Terminator options out there, most everyone is shrugging this off (expect for GEQs of course).

Wild Card here!
Wolf Standard - I used to laugh at this. I said no way, but I tried it once and it's surprising to be able to re-roll armor saves and to wound rolls. Of course 1's in rolls to hit as well. Re-rolling all those 1's for one turn of Close combat for only 10 points. I will start using it in my 2.5K games and up date this. I want to see if this will work in larger games against Uber Units.

It's nice when you can have a cheaper GH unit take out an Uber Terminator Squad. Frost Weapons and Powerfist let you do just that, throw in a Meltagun and Plasma Pistol and that makes it just more deadly. 10 GHs vs 5 Terminators, you have a few wounds to give, they don't. You do have to play it smart.

If your going to get hit by 'nilla marine terminators, get inside some terrain. They don't carry Frag Grenades, so you can hit first.


I have since played a lot more games with this list and have adjusted my weapon loadouts.

My current Assault unit has
9 GHs, Meltagun, Powerfist, and MotW
WG w/ Frost Weapon.
I am looking to squeeze more points from somewhere so I can throw in a Plasma Pistol as well.

My Objective taking unit
10 GHs, Plasmaguns x 2, Plasma Pistol, Powerfist

Short Tactica on Space Wolf Grey Hunter loadouts.

If you have a comment or believe I'm off my rocker, post it. Or have something to add. That's what we need, something interesting to discuss.

WT

[Zen]

What? No mention of Transports? You really should add what Transports you should take as Transports overcome the short-range nature of the Grey Hunters by giving added mobility and protection.

[Wolf-Tau]

Originally Posted by Zenai

What? No mention of Transports? You really should add what Transports you should take as Transports overcome the short-range nature of the Grey Hunters by giving added mobility and protection.

I can mention it.

And your right, weapon loadouts do change with the type of transport you place the unit in. I will add more to this because I have gone from Rhino Rush to Drop Pods. And now I'm trying mixed units with Drop Pods and Razorbacks. My problem is I love the heavy bolter and I can go on and on about the positives of the Razorbacks with Heavy Bolters.

WT

I will start on something. Plus I thought you guys might like a preview of my TWC, sorry for the poor Pic, it's from my phone.

[space wolf bob]

Mark of the wulfen is my favourite upgrade of all times. Even if you roll a 1 with the guy you still get as many attacks as every other grey hunter. Everything after that is just bonus attacks.

I played my friend last night with my wolves vs him doing a counts as orks. My one scout with mark of the wulfen managed to kill his warboss in 1 turn of combat. 30 point models with 7 attacks are too good to pass up!

[Sardis Varrn]

Originally Posted by Wolf-Tau

2 Powerfist Wolf Guard, 2 / 3 on the charge. This is weargear for your WG, it's great against Heavy troops and armor. Except that your WG can take Meltabombs so why take it. Go with the Frost weapon and add the meltabombs as meltabombs are way more effective on armor. I would only take the WG with Powerfist is points really were tight and you could not spend the meager 5 points for Meltabombs.

I have to disagree with this, power fists are better than meltabombs against any vehicle except Landraiders! Meltabombs are a type of grenade so regardless of how many attacks the model carrying them has, you only get 1 attack with the meltabomb against vehicles.

Look at it this way-

You always hit the rear armour when assaulting a vehicle, and most vehicles have AV10. Would you prefer 1 hit at Str 8 + 2d6, or 3 hits at Str 8 +1d6? The meltabomb should get you 1 penetrating hit (unless you roll double 1's) but the power fist will on average get you 2 penetrating hits and 0.5 glancing hits!

Another thing is that meltabombs need a 6 to hit a walker (still only 1 attack) unless it has been immobilised where as a power fist will be hitting on its WS (usually 3+ or 4+).

Originally Posted by Wolf-Tau

7 Powerweapons - In my humble opinion - Sucks. Hmm, lets see, at WS4 STR4 attacking the same type of unit, your not going to do much. ( especially if your dice suck like mine! ) If your hurting for points it's okay but your going to wish you left this at home and brought a Powerfist when you go up against anything tougher than T5.

I think that your being a bit harsh on the humble power weapon. On a WG I would usually take a power fist or frost weapon if I have the points, but on a GH power weapons are a decent choice. A GH with a power weapon has double the attacks compared to the GH with a fist (not including charging bonus). It is also cheaper and better slightly better against MEQ's using its standard number of attacks (the fist is slightly better on the charge).

Originally Posted by Wolf-Tau

If your going to get hit by 'nilla marine terminators, get inside some terrain. They don't carry Frag Grenades, so you can hit first.

I'm pretty sure that terminators of all flavours (including Wolf Guard) can't have any type of grenade!

Apart from that its all good info!

[Wolf-Tau]

Originally Posted by Sardis Varrn

I have to disagree with this, power fists are better than meltabombs against any vehicle except Landraiders! Meltabombs are a type of grenade so regardless of how many attacks the model carrying them has, you only get 1 attack with the meltabomb against vehicles.

Yes, you are right in this.

Look at it this way-

You always hit the rear armour when assaulting a vehicle, and most vehicles have AV10. Would you prefer 1 hit at Str 8 + 2d6, or 3 hits at Str 8 +1d6? The meltabomb should get you 1 penetrating hit (unless you roll double 1's) but the power fist will on average get you 2 penetrating hits and 0.5 glancing hits!

A Frost Weapon on AV10, you will be getting 1 more attack than a PF, so 4 hits at STR5 +1d6. I still think this is very good, not as good as a fist but enough to get the job done.

Another thing is that meltabombs need a 6 to hit a walker (still only 1 attack) unless it has been immobilised where as a power fist will be hitting on its WS (usually 3+ or 4+). You are abosolutely right. A Frost Weapon will NOT do anything to a walker.

So if the unit is going tank busting, yes, I will say a Powerfist is the better choice than a Frost weapon. I will add that in there. The GH unit can be set up for tank busting. I still recommend the Frostweapon as number 1 because it can do both tank busting and troop killing. It is not the perfect weapon, neither one is. I placed the Powerfist second because a Grey Hunter unit should not be Transport busting. They will get charged or shot up the next turn by whatever unit was in there. The other reason, which I should have mentioned, is all Grey Hunters have Krak Grenades. (str6 + 1d6) so instead of relying on the fist to do all the work, the whole unit can throw 1 Krak Grenade each. My main complaint is the Initiative 1 on a Powerfist and losing 1 attack is not bad but going last is very hard when wound allocation comes into play late in the game. Powerfists are very good but Frostweapon is just a bit better. If I have to rate it, 8 is a Powerfist, 8.9 is a Frostweapon.

I think that your being a bit harsh on the humble power weapon. On a WG I would usually take a power fist or frost weapon if I have the points, but on a GH power weapons are a decent choice. A GH with a power weapon has double the attacks compared to the GH with a fist (not including charging bonus). It is also cheaper and better slightly better against MEQ's using its standard number of attacks (the fist is slightly better on the charge).

It's cheaper but not better. It's toughness 4 vs STR4, 50% to wound, vs Powerfist there is an 83% chance to wound. Much better. And like you stated the Fist is very good at taking down tanks or walkers. This is part of the reason why I have Frostweapon on my WG. It works very well when you have a Powerfist in the unit. Call it synergy if you want.

I'm pretty sure that terminators of all flavours (including Wolf Guard) can't have any type of grenade!

LOL, I was just picking on the 'nillas as I seem to be hit with either one flavor or another.

Apart from that its all good info !
Thanks, for adding,

WT

Edited to make it easier to read, as my eyes are old!

[Wolf-Tau]

Transports: A very necessary means of transporting your troops quickly and safely. I am adding in transports as Zenai had suggested. The weapons loadout on your Grey Hunters will/should change with the type of transport being used. Transports covered here will be Foot Sluggers, Drop Pods, Rhinos, and Razorbacks.

Foot Slooggers: Ground troops are quickly becoming a thing of the past. 4th and 5th edition have brought about the introduction of transports. It is now very necessary to be able to bring your forces quickly from your deployment zone to any number of objects or to engage the enemy.

Weapon load out on foot Sluggers You looking at longer range weapons such as Plasmaguns. Your most likely to use footslugging GH unit to either protect your objectives or heavy support choice near your deployment zone. They are a poor choice for going after far objectives. A unit with 10 GHs and two Plasmaguns, and Powerfist or Power weapon should be enough. You can not afford to spend too many points that will most likely not do very much unless your opponent want to engage them.

Drop Pods: A very cheap and effective means of getting your troops where they need to go. Here you have a lot of choices on weapon load outs. You just have to decide what task you want your unit to do. When I started my army list, I wanted a unit to do a little bit of eveything, turns out, it's not going to work. The unit has to be assigned a task and set them up that way.

Drop Pod: You get no protection when you land. Well not exactly true. There is a level of cover given to you when you land the Drop Pod. It will depend on your local gaming rulez or how willing you are to be cheesy and model your drop pod with only two doors that open. Even open, it will still afford you some cover if you choose to hide behind it. It will be one very long turn as your opponent has the chance to shoot his whole army at that unit. So be very careful when you do. BUT you will win and lose games playing Drop Pods.

What it does lack in protection you get in destination. Unless you roll VERY poorly the Pod will most likely auto-correct and land very close to where you want. Now pick the right weapons for them. My main army list now has a Plasma Pod, 10 GHs, 2 Plasmaguns, 1 Plasma Pistol, and 1 Powerfist. I hope to unload on my target and do a good amount of damage. This same unit can Hold an objective. This unit is not meant to engage into Close combat. I am not going to waste points on trying to get it to kinda do something. It's there to shoot and take the Charge (and hopefully live long enough to get my Fast Attack there to counter charge) . Keep this in mind or you will spend too many points on one unit and then wonder why Wolf-Tau said this was a good unit. You can even take out the Powerfist to spend points somewhere else.

Assault Pod: You can also go Aggressive with more assault weapons. 10 GHs 2 x Meltaguns, Powerfist, MotW, even a Wolf Stanard. Now it can Melt something and charge next turn. Meltas being Assault weapons can shoot and then charge.

WG in the Pods: Will add very valueable leadership. If your landing these Pods right into enemy territory, extra leadership will help because you will be taking causalties. Wolf Guard can add that extra bonus that really does help out. Add this WG to your Assault Pod and you will have a very good assault unit. Fix him up with a Frost Weapon or Powerfist and now you can deal out some damage.

Drop Pods: Allow your units drop to almost anywhere on the board as long as the dice are kind to you. You decide where it needs to go, and your opponent has to deal with it. You get a little bit of LOS blocking terrain out of your Drop Pod. The MAJOR DRAWBACK is where ever you land, your stuck there for one turn. So equipt your GH appropriately, it will depend on what's necessay for your list. What do you want them to do? Shoot and hang on until reinforcement arrive or Wait to be charged and have your unit Maxed out to do Close Combat.
Destination. Surprise and Mobile Terrain

WT

next is Rhinos.
if anyone has more to add please post. I would like to add more to this. I hope we can all benefit from this.

edit: added some stuff. 2/3/2010

[Zen]

Drop Pod? Zero Protection? You use the Drop Pod as a Terrain; making sure that it's between your landed Grey Hunters and a potential threat like something with AP2/3 weapons. The Drop Pod can provide your cover while you deal with your intended target. The Drop Pod will provide the Cover Saves for any low AP weapons.

[Renzokuken]

Originally Posted by Zenai

Drop Pod? Zero Protection? You use the Drop Pod as a Terrain; making sure that it's between your landed Grey Hunters and a potential threat like something with AP2/3 weapons. The Drop Pod can provide your cover while you deal with your intended target. The Drop Pod will provide the Cover Saves for any low AP weapons.

Not to mention it blocks line of sight, meaning if your enemy is for example a group of firewarriors, you can plonk a drop pod infront of them, benefit from it's cover, and keep the doors facing the enemy closed, giving your troops behind a reletively safe alleyway to advance up without fear of too much frontal fire. Also, one of it's best features is defensive, if your enemy is tyranids for example, an opponent who'll have to advance on you anyway, you can use your drop pod with other terrain to create alleyways of fire effectively blocking off prospective approaches and forcing them to run into your firelines, and/or counter charges.

In short, never assume your drop pods are just for getting you up in your enemy's face.

[crazyguy832]

Originally Posted by Renzokuken

Not to mention it blocks line of sight, meaning if your enemy is for example a group of firewarriors, you can plonk a drop pod infront of them, benefit from it's cover, and keep the doors facing the enemy closed, giving your troops behind a reletively safe alleyway to advance up without fear of too much frontal fire. Also, one of it's best features is defensive, if your enemy is tyranids for example, an opponent who'll have to advance on you anyway, you can use your drop pod with other terrain to create alleyways of fire effectively blocking off prospective approaches and forcing them to run into your firelines, and/or counter charges.

In short, never assume your drop pods are just for getting you up in your enemy's face.

And I'd punch you in the face for doing the bold'd section. Either have all your pods completely closed. It's just sporting. Open is generally considered "proper" most of the time.