The Fenrisian Wolf is a semi-sentient carnivore similar in appearance to the Terran dire wolf that grows in size from that of a small horse up to that of an Imperial armored vehicle. They are considered among the most intelligent and deadly of predators in the galaxy and make use of chillingly efficient pack-hunting strategies. Well at least that is what we are told. The real case is they are a fast attack option for the Space Wolves and they are nowhere to be found outside of their home world.
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| "Nice doggy! I think I have a milk-bone...AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" |
On the tabletop they are beasts, have counter attack and are armed with claws/fangs. They are WS 4, BS 0 (finally a BS 0 for a non gun-toting unit so why do Genestealers and others have a BS skill?), strength toughness and initiative 4, 1 wound, 2 attacks, leadership 5 and 6+ save. They cost just about half of a normal space wolf costs, so they are fairly cheap. They come in packs of 5-15. One of them can also be upgraded to a cyberwolf. This gives on wolf toughness 5, 3 attacks and a 4+ save.
So why are they shunned? Well there are so many better ways to spend points in this codex. No player with 80-100 points to spend will choose to grab a unit of Fenrisian Wolves. They’ll buy more Long Fangs, Grey Hunters, Wolf Guard or anything else.
They are assault based and have no way to ignore cover, so they will go last. Sadly they are also beasts, which mean they can’t move up in ruins. Sure it doesn’t sound awful, but if you need to assault a unit above and can’t due to the rules it sucks.
Their 6+ save also isn’t strong enough for protacted combat or heavy loses on the way across the board (hope for a lot of cover). Then add in the leadership and any minus there will surely have them fleeing from the table. They can be buffed by characters/HQ units that take the Saga of the Wolfkin. This gives all the Fenrisian Wolves in the army leadership 7 and initiative 5. That can help these guys, but it doesn't seem like enough.
Now if you grab Cainis Wolfborn, then these guys become troop choices (and he gives them his leadership if within 12”). COOL! A super cheap scoring unit.....wait....supernumerary here.....They can never claim or hold objectives because they are untrained stoopid dogs. So there goes that use for them. They become non-troop troops. Cainis gives you access to lots of wolves, but they are still just not that great.
Their 6+ save also isn’t strong enough for protacted combat or heavy loses on the way across the board (hope for a lot of cover). Then add in the leadership and any minus there will surely have them fleeing from the table. They can be buffed by characters/HQ units that take the Saga of the Wolfkin. This gives all the Fenrisian Wolves in the army leadership 7 and initiative 5. That can help these guys, but it doesn't seem like enough.
Now if you grab Cainis Wolfborn, then these guys become troop choices (and he gives them his leadership if within 12”). COOL! A super cheap scoring unit.....wait....supernumerary here.....They can never claim or hold objectives because they are untrained stoopid dogs. So there goes that use for them. They become non-troop troops. Cainis gives you access to lots of wolves, but they are still just not that great.
I like the idea of them as a unit. I just cannot find a way to make them work. It seems nobody else can either. Maybe if they had initiative 5? Well they would still lose in cover but 5 is better than 4 right? Other than that they have descent stats, minus the armor and leadership, but they are big dogs and not everything can have carapace or power armor and be quasi-fearless.
They should function like Chaos Marine lesser demons, but just don’t. They are tough and can put some hurt on a small squad; they are just too frail to do much else otherwise. I guess in a themed or counts as army they could function. However, those armies usually pale in comparison to most other armies. They instead get passed over for more power armored guys. I can’t think of a good way to incorporate them into a Wolf army. Looks like nobody else can either or they would be in every netlist out there.
I like that except for the wolf lord mount will lose his toughness 5, outside of close combat. Thunderwolves are only scary because of their toughness 5 (and strength 5 as well). Enough shots or a nice fat strength 8 template can really ruin this unit’s day. Then again, if your local is S 8 template free or rare, then this could work. Saga of Magesty is a must though. In combat everyone will just kill wolves and possibly force a potentially nasty leadership check. Leadership re-rolls are an awesome thing to have, especially on fragile units.
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