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Wednesday 14 March 2012

Space Wolf Codex Review: Special Characters

Hi again, and welcome to the second part of the Codex Review. This section will deal with Special Characters; specifically the HQ choices and not upgrade SCs like Lukas, for they shall be covered in their unit entries.
Logan Grimnar
As the only Eternal Warrior special character in the codex, this puts him ahead of the game already; throw in The High King special rule and he becomes a miniature incarnation of DOOM! While Living Legend is an OK special rule; the Axe Morkai is a pretty awesome piece of wargear, and the Wolftooth Necklace seals the deal in CC, not to mention a 2+/4++ save. Whatever you do though, don't neglect the rerolls for his Saga. Wolf Guard as troops are good too. Too much expense? I let you decide

Njal Stormcaller
Nightwing is almost a gimmick, if you go second half of Njal's table is ineffective, you only really need about two/three psychic powers in a game anyway, his Terminator armour is really just like one with a Belt of Russ, but his Staff is epic! To be honest, for almost the price of a Land Raider, I expect so much more; and Njal sadly fails to deliver.

Ragnar Blackmane
To get rid of the negatives first, Insane Bravado means he and his squad are uncontrollable in the assault phase; like unaccompanied Blood Claws that can shoot first. That is it. As for the positives: Insane Bravado can give ridiculous amounts of bonus attacks; Furious Charge for his squad and for one turn, every Space Wolf within 12; and a Frost Blade. But again; for around the price of a Land Raider, you need a lot or it should be replaced by more bodies. This is a capable character, and so far, in my opinion this is the only one that is worth his points in Close Combat and without Force Org swaps.

Ulrik the Slayer
An uber Wolf Priest, and again worthless to me. Slayers Oath is a lesser version of Saga of the Beastslayer that spreads to the squad; a Saga that isn't much good against most armies anyway, except the odd gimmick army or Tyranids. Mentor is similarly useless; if it was for a squad then maybe it would have a use, but Wolf Lords already have WS 6, and the only other non-special characters you want in CC are Wolf Guard Battle Leaders, which should only be taken when you don't have the points to shell out for Wolf Lords and you need a hitty character. His helm replaces his Saga, and is possibly the one good part of his equipment/special rules.

Canis Wolfborn
Cheap for a special character, if you run a wolf based list then TAKE HIM! He may lower your scoring unit choices but the reliability he throws into a wolf list is beyond compare; Lord of the Wolfkin and the Thunderwolf Mount he is on mean every Fenrisian Wolf is on rerollable LD 8. Awesome. Wrath of the Savage is similarly excellent in certain situations; particularly facing horde armies. The FAQ implies that Canis does not have rending due to his Wolf Mount; but I am unsure whether he still has rending as it is in his special rules not as part of Fangir, feel free to comment with thoughts. All this, a wolftooth necklace, and two Wolf Claws; for less than 200 points? Yes please. Less points than a Wolf Lord with the same equipment, and you get the rules on top.

Bjorn the Fell-Handed
A venerable dreadnought HQ? With an invulnerable save? Rerolling the dice to go first? SOLD! Wait, he gives away an objective or D3 kill points when he dies? Makes our army Fearless when he dies? And I'm paying 270 points for this? Get lost. This guy is not worth it by a long way unless you hide him; and then what is the point in having him?

2 comments:

  1. Heya Wolfie.
    Just thought I'd stop by and say hai.
    Nice to see someone that likes Canis in the doggie list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gave yer blog a plug in today's Top-X.

    ReplyDelete