Tactica - Wolf Guard Terminators

Terminators and You: Howl of the Armored Wolf

My brothers! It has been far too long since we have last convened, but fear not, for the time apart has bestowed upon me wisdom and experience. Today I wish to talk to you about our Tactical Dreadnought Armoring wearing Wolf Guard brethren. Long has it been said that our brothers in this revered armor are but antiquated units that are incapable of bearing fruit on the planes of combat. Today I assure you that this is not truly the case. We are blessed by Russ in our tactical flexibility and independent natures, unlike our codex adhering brothers who must conform to standards set out by Gulliman and are as such much more specialized than we. Here are a few combinations that I think will serve us well in the fields of combat. Our brothers under the command of Logan Grimnar, the Champions of Fenris, are the greatest of us with superb skills with weaponry and are as such much more deadly than those under the command of other Wolf Lords. I highly suggest always using these champions when developing a Terminator heavy list.

Storm Claws - 5 Wolf Guard Terminators with 5 Wolf Claws and 5 Shields

This combination comes in at the same point cost as our dual Wolf Claw wearing variant with a slight difference: they lose an attack but gain an immense amount of resilience. This unit is a premiere unit to wade through the ranks of enemy infantry and even to deal with lightly armored enemies. The unit sports an impressive 15 strength 5 attacks on the charge that have shred, not a unit to be taken lightly. The unit’s one downside is how to deliver them. At the cost of a normal Space Wolf assault squad the unit has to find a way into combat, leaving them three options: Land Raider, Drop Pod, and Deep Strike. The Land Raider will generally get your terminators across the field safely and, depending on the opponent, will deliver this squad into assault on turn 2. If you take a Redeemer or Crusader variant you will also have enough room to support an independent character or HQ to support the squad or to give them an extra oomph while still maintaining a decent amount of anti-horde units. However, this strategy is expensive and is prone to dying quickly to amassed high strength fire power. Drop Pods on the other hand deliver the unit first turn but place them into the open. If you are feeling lucky, the Drop Pod is a cheap delivery option that should be considered. Deep Striking the unit seems a bit risky considering you want this unit terrorizing the back field as soon as possible and a streak of bad luck could land you in only having your Storm Claws on the table for 1 turn without assaulting. 

Void Claws – 5 Twin Wolf Guard Terminators – Champions of Fenris Formation

The fact that this unit arrives first turn no matter what and re-rolls scatter is amazing. The fact that it helps you manipulate rolls for further reserves is even better. The use of this formation is one of the few times I will suggest a simple deep strike for your terminator units since it almost guarantees you will get a turn 2 drop. Decently resilient in a game full of AP 2 and hard hitting with up to 20 attacks on the charge, the Void Claws are a fantastic addition to any Wolf Lords pack. 

Tactical Advantage – 5 Wolf Guards with Combi-Weapons, 2-3 Storm Shields, Wolf Claw, Chain Fist.

Cheaper than the Storm Claw and Void Claw terminators, the Tactical Advantage squad maintains the resilience of the Storm Claws while also having the explosive punch to tackle any foe. Pack Combi-melta weaponry to eliminate armor, Combi-plasma to eliminate hard targets like Rip Tides and Wraith Knights (though plasma will simply soften a knight for your hopeful next turn charge to kill the abomination), or Combi-flamers to deal with horde armies. The use of combi-weapons in this instance is totally up to you and your meta. I personally run two squads: one with melta and one with plasma. What truly makes this unit shine is the use and availability of free Storm Shields in place of our power weapons. While this may at first sound like a bad idea, it works well in order to make the unit stick around and to continue to assault the enemy. Drop Pods or Deep Striking is the preferable methods of delivering this unit to surprise the enemy and force them to their knees. 

Brotherhood of the Barking Wolf – 10 Terminators with 4 swords, 2 axes, 4 mauls and 2 Assault Cannons

This unit, while expensive (it will run you ~ 400 points) is filled with heavy hitting power weapon attacks, 16 bolter shots and 8 assault cannon shots. It takes a good amount of space on the board, allowing you to blockade areas while maintaining their ability to assault other units and eliminate the enemies of mankind. Deep Striking this unit unfortunately is one of the few ways to deliver this unit unless you have access to a Land Raider Spartan. 

Riot Wolves – 5-10 Terminators with 5-10 Storm Shields, 4-8 Storm Bolters or Combi-flamer/Combi-plasma, 1-2 Heavy Flamers

This unit is another possibly expensive unit that is highly effective in its role: hold the line and survive. This unit will be ~ 400 points as well, but works much differently than the Brotherhood of the Barking Wolf. The Brotherhood is offensive while this unit is capable of eliminating an entire horde in a brilliant flash of light and fire and still stand on their point. It may also be useful to divide this squad into two to hold two different objectives and give you two points of flaming or bolter fire. This is one of the few squads that doesn’t require a delivery method. Its objective is to keep the backline safe and keep things away from your objectives while holding it and to that end this unit performs beautifully.

While our brothers in Terminator Armor are not completely obsolete, they do require units to support them. Units with some range to their armament work wonders in supporting these units. Long Fangs, Sicaran Battle Tanks, Storm Fang Gunships/ Storm wolves, or allying in Centurions with invisibility support and tactical squads with death wind launchers work wonders in assisting Terminator units by either softening the enemies that will give them trouble or just outright destroying them. Terminators suffer greatly from amassed small arms fire and high powered AP 1 and 2 fire. Make sure to deal with these targets first with your long range fire power and allow the terminators to take points and do their work.Our brothers can and will work if you give them the support they need, so go forth and slay the foes of the Allfather and suffer not the xeno or heretic to live. Till next time brothers and, as always: For Russ, for the Allfather, for the Wolftime.