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So why do you think Space Wolves are dominating the tournament scene?
Sure they are a newer codex and codex creep is certainly a factor, but Tyranids and Blood Angels seem to be struggling and they are the latest codexes.
Let's look at the Nova Open where they had a ton of Space Wolves and the worst one went 2-2 and they had 5 out of the 8 top finishers playing Space Wolves.
I played them at the team tournament at War Games Con and it was like playing Chaos on easy mode.
I am going to post a very long article on why I think they are doing so well, but what does everyone think the reason why they are doing well is?
My 2 Cents:
ReplyDeleteSpace wolves, above all other codices, have three things going for them. 1)Mech in great numbers, their troops and transports are cheap 2)MSU power, small units with great abilities (counter-attack, BG/BP/CCW, Mark of Wulfen) and multiple melta 3)Anti-Mech, super cheap long fangs with krak missile spam.
In other words, they have both the ability to do Mech and the ability to dismantle Mech. They're shooty and excel at CC. Few other armies can claim such power.
This coupled with the fact that good competitive players are drawn to Space Wolves and therefore further the Space Wolves standings.
People haven't figured out their weaknesses yet.
ReplyDeleteNamely that they're not very fast, so taking out their tanks is the key to success, followed by some heavy shelling.
They do everything at once, while most lists have to focus on one or few aspects of the game. They can be almost as shooty as IG and capable of beating nearly anyone in assault while maintaining decent mobility. Long Fangs are definitely underpriced.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget that they are still popular. Some of the guys that could handled a Space Wolves lists at the NOVA Open were probably playing the codex... like Stelek and Chumby.
ReplyDeleteMessanger
Darth Diggler PMed this to me:
ReplyDeleteSpace Wolves have great shooting - and can target a great many different units per turn - to go along with very strong assault elements. This combination is the pinnacle of 40k list design. The SW army has the ability to counter any other army out there. They can outshoot most and then quickly out assault the few they can't outshoot. Two things make this possible:
1) Cheap Long Fangs which can target two units each. Cheap Missiles is a huge advantage. GW didn't think MSU would be as strong as it is and allowed the Missile to get cheaper in the LF squad. Add to this the ability to split fire with those LF's and the unit is a shooting dream.
2) Thunderwolves - these guys are at or near the top of assault units in the game. The ability of an HQ to take a T-Wolf mount is to much. Cavalry movement plus natural toughness 5 means those SW HQ's are among the toughest and fastest assault elements in the game. The T-wolf cav would have been fine on their own in the FA slot, but adding HQ's to them made them extremely strong in assault. Enough so to win some games on there own.
These two things allow SW to play the whole game. There is not an army in the 40k universe the SW will play that will beat them in both shooting and assaulting. So the SW player will see which one they need to do - either assault or shoot - to win the game. And the SW list can beat the enemy by doing either one. It's not like their assault is there as only a counter attack, SW assault can win them the game on it's own and the same can be said for the SW shooting. This flexibility is unmatched in the 40k game and can only be matched by another over the top codex.
Blood Angels will do better. It just takes time for people to figure out what works the best. Blood Angels are much more mobile and also overall better in assault. I have finally figured out how to handle the Long Fangs and now I don't have much problems with SW anymore. The Thunderwolves are scary monster but they can be beaten in close combat as they have their own weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteG