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This is similar to my tactical squad one, But specific to the Grey Hunters.
Chapter Approved Tactica – Grey Hunters
Hello and welcome to my second guide on Space Marines Troops. Due to request I have opted for Space Wolves this time, hopefully we will soon have a guide for every Chapter’s version of the Tactical Squad. So without further ado, lets go.
Like before, I will split this article into six sections, beginning with Squad size and ending with transports. Since Grey hunters don’t have Veteran Sergeants, I will put anything that is similar to a sergeants war gear in the section ‘Extra’ and the ‘Magic’ items will be under ‘Special Equipment’
Squad Size
The basic squad size for a Grey Hunters squad is 5 models. This provides a small squad that will often get over looked by the enemy, not providing a large amount of fire power you may struggle to find a position in your army for them. However as I have already said, they may often be over looked by your enemy, you can use to your advantage by placing them on an objective in the last turn or using them to quickly contest and enemy held objective. However, if you need a large more threatening and combat ready squad, you are able to double the number in the squad to ten. This will give you more bodies and more Bolter shots per turn. Nothing says leave me alone like 10 bolter shots a turn or 20 when rapid firing! Naturally with more bodies comes increased survivability and Offensiveness.
Special Weapons
Grey Hunter have the same options as a normal combat squad in terms of special weapons except for the ability to have a second special weapon for free if the squad numbers 10 models. The options include flamers, melta guns and plasma guns.
Flamers are useful for clearing enemies out of cover, forcing them into the open where you can blow them up with some higher calibre weaponry. This weapon is also good for killing multiple enemies in a single turn, consider running a flamer up to a squad of Orks or Tyrannids (Not the ideal place to be) with this high risk manoeuvre, you can potentially kill two or three enemies, no when you take a second flamer in a ten man squad, that can double to 4-6 dead enemies on top of the casulties from bolters. Since a flamer is also an assault weapon, you are able to torch the enemies and then charge into hand to hand combat with your chain sword!
Melta Guns are more dedicated anti-tank weapon, with a high strength and AP value, it should be able to rip through most armour the enemy can throw at it, and with the ‘Melta’ Special Rule, you can ruin many tank commanders day in a single game reducing the chance of your weapon doing nothing. With a second Melta gun in the squad your squad is transformed into a tank hunter squad, where its best interests lie in taking down the enemy vehicles and armoured support. This squad could also be used for hunting down the enemies expensive elites units where its strength and Armour Piercing rating will make their armour redundant.
Plasma Guns are the Jack of all trades but master at none weapon. Its high strength will make it able to damage medium to low armoured vehicles and ruin a heavy infantry squad’s day. However, be warned the high strength comes at a risk, with the ‘Gets hot’ rule, it makes the weapon a bit risky. Using two of these weapons will increase the offensiveness and make the squad a lot more intimidating. But with higher risks come higher rewards. Making this squad a good line holder or a good spearhead unit.
Extra
As I have said above, Grey hunters do not have Sergeants in their squad, the unit is a group of space marines all hungry for their own glory. Once they draw the eyes of command, they may be elevated to the position of Wolf Guard. But in order to achieve the feats of glory needed to rise through the ranks, Grey Hunters will need some special War gear. A single Grey Hunter in your squad may replace his bolt pistol with a plasma pistol. This pistol does exactly the same as its bigger brother but with a reduced range. The same grey hunter or another may replace his close combat weapon with either a Power fist or a power weapon.
Power weapons are the same as a normal close combat weapon, however they are wrapped in an energy field that denies the enemy their armour save when wounded by it. This weapon is great for carving through masses of enemies, it is even better when used against models with a decent armour save.
Power fists are similar to a power weapon in the aspect that they deny the enemy their armour save, however this weapon also double the strength of the user, so that would be a massive Strength Eight! This weapon is great for attacking high toughness enemies or armoured targets, now that we strike the rear armour of enemy vehicles there is a high chance that you can transform a battle tank into a pile of molten slag.
Special Equipment
The Space Wolves have access to all sorts of talismans and tribal items. One of such is the ‘Mark of the Wulfen’ This weapon will replace all the attacks of the bearer with 1 + D6 attacks, it is assumed that the bearer resorts to using his finger and fists to attack the enemy as if the wolf inside had taken over him. This upgrade can be very effective against low toughness models where you can inflict wounds easily. This can turn the out come of a fight into your favour quickly and giving you victory.
The other option is the ‘Wolf Standard’. For less than the cost of another marine, once per game the Grey Hunters squad may reroll any roll of a 1 for the turn. This can be a pivotal move that not only can turn the out come of shooting and change combats but turn the tide of battle in your favour. I would recommend using this in a turn when you are about to assault, so that you can use it to affect your shooting with pistols as well as in close combat allowing you to devastate the enemy.
Transports
And so we come to the final option for Grey Hunters. How will the traverse the battle field, with the same three options for the tactical squads this section will be similar to my other tactica.
- Rhinos are the basic transport tank for any Space marine army. With a transport capacity of 10 men, this tank will allow you to taxi your whole squad across the board under the relative safety of a steel wall around you. And for a measly 35 points, this is a very popular option. Once you have dropping off your contents, the transport tank is able to either taxi another squad, or block of line of fire by parking in the way effectively acting as mobile impassible terrain.
- Razorbacks are a more specialised variant of the Rhino chassis. With a lower transport capacity of 6 men you are able to transport half of your tactical squad (Providing you combat squad them) and a special character. However, instead of carrying the whole squad, you are paying for a heavy weapon on top to suit the role of the squad inside. Once your cargo has disembarked, you are able to provide fire support with your heavy weapon whilst blocking lines of fire.
- Drop pods are often the most popular transport for a combat orientated army. With the ability to land on the thick of battle without needing to worry about scattering onto the enemy and combined with the ‘Drop Pod Assault’ rule, you are able to get into the enemies face immediately.
Wolf Guard
As I mentioned above, Grey Hunters are constantly striving to be promoted into the ranks of the Wolf Guard. These are the Elite warriors of the space wolves, next in line to become a Wolf lord, you would struggle to find anyone with better skills bar the wolf lord himself. Space Wolves are unique in the fact that Wolf Guard can actually separate from the squad they are purchased in and opt to lead another squad like a sergeant. Also, being the best of the best, Wolf Guard are allowed the best equipment and war gear. I will give a quick run down on how Wolf Guard could best be used in your army in relation to your Grey Hunters.
The best way to allow the Wolf Guard leader to effectively lead your Grey Hunter is by deciding what role the Grey Hunters will be doing. Will they be Tank Hunters (2 Melta guns and a power fist?) how about and Anti Horde unit (2 Flamers and a Power Sword) Or even perhaps a spear heading unit (2 Plasma Guns and a Power Fist). Once this is determined it is simply a matter of deciding how the Pack leader will aid this cause. For example if you are Tank Hunting, consider equipping him with a Thunder Hammer or a Power fist. This will add to your offensive ability against the armoured targets and ensure that the enemy tank is going down. If you are fighting against a Horde style army (Oeq or Teq) Consider a combi flamer or a storm bolter with a power weapon, to ensure that you are dealing as much hurt as possible. If you are simply Holding the line or spear heading the assault. Maybe consider a Power fist and Storm shield or Plasma gun. This will increase the versatility of the squad allowing you to counter either an armoured strike or heavy infantry.
Perhaps the most interesting option for a Wolf Guard pack leader is that it can wear terminator armour. This drastically increases its survivability and looks cool to-boot. But with terminator armour also comes the heavy weapons. You can Equip your Pack Leader with either and Assault Cannon, Heavy Flamer or Cyclone Missile launcher and the ‘Relentless’ Special rule that is attached to Terminator armour means that these heavy weapons will be able to move at the same speed as your squad whilst still firing. Obviously a Cyclone Missile launcher is best for the tank hunting role, although it can also use frag missiles, so this is the more versatile weapon. Although the Assault cannon also fills the role of ‘Jack of all trades’ With a relatively high strength and the ‘Rending’ special rule, this weapon will be able to take many things down. The Heavy Flamer is perhaps the most straight forward. It burns things slightly hotter than the normal flamer. Use this weapon to counter your Ork or Tyrannids opponent or simply to just scare the enemy out of cover.
So how can these Pack Leaders help the squad get around? By increasing the squad size from 10 to 11 or from 5 to 6, it rules out a lot of transport options. It means that they can’t use a rhino to transport a 10 man squad plus leader. It is also worth bearing in mind that having terminator armour also means that you can’t embark into a rhino or razorback. That leaves the drop pod. Once again if the squad originally is of the 10 man size then they will not be able to use the drop pod, however some people prefer to use a squad of 9 Grey Hunters and the Wolf Guard Pack Leader. This allows them to use a transport and have the special weapon. But not being at the maximum squad size, they will not get the free second special weapon.
Chapter Approved Tactica – Grey Hunters
Hello and welcome to my second guide on Space Marines Troops. Due to request I have opted for Space Wolves this time, hopefully we will soon have a guide for every Chapter’s version of the Tactical Squad. So without further ado, lets go.
Like before, I will split this article into six sections, beginning with Squad size and ending with transports. Since Grey hunters don’t have Veteran Sergeants, I will put anything that is similar to a sergeants war gear in the section ‘Extra’ and the ‘Magic’ items will be under ‘Special Equipment’
Squad Size
The basic squad size for a Grey Hunters squad is 5 models. This provides a small squad that will often get over looked by the enemy, not providing a large amount of fire power you may struggle to find a position in your army for them. However as I have already said, they may often be over looked by your enemy, you can use to your advantage by placing them on an objective in the last turn or using them to quickly contest and enemy held objective. However, if you need a large more threatening and combat ready squad, you are able to double the number in the squad to ten. This will give you more bodies and more Bolter shots per turn. Nothing says leave me alone like 10 bolter shots a turn or 20 when rapid firing! Naturally with more bodies comes increased survivability and Offensiveness.
Special Weapons
Grey Hunter have the same options as a normal combat squad in terms of special weapons except for the ability to have a second special weapon for free if the squad numbers 10 models. The options include flamers, melta guns and plasma guns.
Flamers are useful for clearing enemies out of cover, forcing them into the open where you can blow them up with some higher calibre weaponry. This weapon is also good for killing multiple enemies in a single turn, consider running a flamer up to a squad of Orks or Tyrannids (Not the ideal place to be) with this high risk manoeuvre, you can potentially kill two or three enemies, no when you take a second flamer in a ten man squad, that can double to 4-6 dead enemies on top of the casulties from bolters. Since a flamer is also an assault weapon, you are able to torch the enemies and then charge into hand to hand combat with your chain sword!
Melta Guns are more dedicated anti-tank weapon, with a high strength and AP value, it should be able to rip through most armour the enemy can throw at it, and with the ‘Melta’ Special Rule, you can ruin many tank commanders day in a single game reducing the chance of your weapon doing nothing. With a second Melta gun in the squad your squad is transformed into a tank hunter squad, where its best interests lie in taking down the enemy vehicles and armoured support. This squad could also be used for hunting down the enemies expensive elites units where its strength and Armour Piercing rating will make their armour redundant.
Plasma Guns are the Jack of all trades but master at none weapon. Its high strength will make it able to damage medium to low armoured vehicles and ruin a heavy infantry squad’s day. However, be warned the high strength comes at a risk, with the ‘Gets hot’ rule, it makes the weapon a bit risky. Using two of these weapons will increase the offensiveness and make the squad a lot more intimidating. But with higher risks come higher rewards. Making this squad a good line holder or a good spearhead unit.
Extra
As I have said above, Grey hunters do not have Sergeants in their squad, the unit is a group of space marines all hungry for their own glory. Once they draw the eyes of command, they may be elevated to the position of Wolf Guard. But in order to achieve the feats of glory needed to rise through the ranks, Grey Hunters will need some special War gear. A single Grey Hunter in your squad may replace his bolt pistol with a plasma pistol. This pistol does exactly the same as its bigger brother but with a reduced range. The same grey hunter or another may replace his close combat weapon with either a Power fist or a power weapon.
Power weapons are the same as a normal close combat weapon, however they are wrapped in an energy field that denies the enemy their armour save when wounded by it. This weapon is great for carving through masses of enemies, it is even better when used against models with a decent armour save.
Power fists are similar to a power weapon in the aspect that they deny the enemy their armour save, however this weapon also double the strength of the user, so that would be a massive Strength Eight! This weapon is great for attacking high toughness enemies or armoured targets, now that we strike the rear armour of enemy vehicles there is a high chance that you can transform a battle tank into a pile of molten slag.
Special Equipment
The Space Wolves have access to all sorts of talismans and tribal items. One of such is the ‘Mark of the Wulfen’ This weapon will replace all the attacks of the bearer with 1 + D6 attacks, it is assumed that the bearer resorts to using his finger and fists to attack the enemy as if the wolf inside had taken over him. This upgrade can be very effective against low toughness models where you can inflict wounds easily. This can turn the out come of a fight into your favour quickly and giving you victory.
The other option is the ‘Wolf Standard’. For less than the cost of another marine, once per game the Grey Hunters squad may reroll any roll of a 1 for the turn. This can be a pivotal move that not only can turn the out come of shooting and change combats but turn the tide of battle in your favour. I would recommend using this in a turn when you are about to assault, so that you can use it to affect your shooting with pistols as well as in close combat allowing you to devastate the enemy.
Transports
And so we come to the final option for Grey Hunters. How will the traverse the battle field, with the same three options for the tactical squads this section will be similar to my other tactica.
- Rhinos are the basic transport tank for any Space marine army. With a transport capacity of 10 men, this tank will allow you to taxi your whole squad across the board under the relative safety of a steel wall around you. And for a measly 35 points, this is a very popular option. Once you have dropping off your contents, the transport tank is able to either taxi another squad, or block of line of fire by parking in the way effectively acting as mobile impassible terrain.
- Razorbacks are a more specialised variant of the Rhino chassis. With a lower transport capacity of 6 men you are able to transport half of your tactical squad (Providing you combat squad them) and a special character. However, instead of carrying the whole squad, you are paying for a heavy weapon on top to suit the role of the squad inside. Once your cargo has disembarked, you are able to provide fire support with your heavy weapon whilst blocking lines of fire.
- Drop pods are often the most popular transport for a combat orientated army. With the ability to land on the thick of battle without needing to worry about scattering onto the enemy and combined with the ‘Drop Pod Assault’ rule, you are able to get into the enemies face immediately.
Wolf Guard
As I mentioned above, Grey Hunters are constantly striving to be promoted into the ranks of the Wolf Guard. These are the Elite warriors of the space wolves, next in line to become a Wolf lord, you would struggle to find anyone with better skills bar the wolf lord himself. Space Wolves are unique in the fact that Wolf Guard can actually separate from the squad they are purchased in and opt to lead another squad like a sergeant. Also, being the best of the best, Wolf Guard are allowed the best equipment and war gear. I will give a quick run down on how Wolf Guard could best be used in your army in relation to your Grey Hunters.
The best way to allow the Wolf Guard leader to effectively lead your Grey Hunter is by deciding what role the Grey Hunters will be doing. Will they be Tank Hunters (2 Melta guns and a power fist?) how about and Anti Horde unit (2 Flamers and a Power Sword) Or even perhaps a spear heading unit (2 Plasma Guns and a Power Fist). Once this is determined it is simply a matter of deciding how the Pack leader will aid this cause. For example if you are Tank Hunting, consider equipping him with a Thunder Hammer or a Power fist. This will add to your offensive ability against the armoured targets and ensure that the enemy tank is going down. If you are fighting against a Horde style army (Oeq or Teq) Consider a combi flamer or a storm bolter with a power weapon, to ensure that you are dealing as much hurt as possible. If you are simply Holding the line or spear heading the assault. Maybe consider a Power fist and Storm shield or Plasma gun. This will increase the versatility of the squad allowing you to counter either an armoured strike or heavy infantry.
Perhaps the most interesting option for a Wolf Guard pack leader is that it can wear terminator armour. This drastically increases its survivability and looks cool to-boot. But with terminator armour also comes the heavy weapons. You can Equip your Pack Leader with either and Assault Cannon, Heavy Flamer or Cyclone Missile launcher and the ‘Relentless’ Special rule that is attached to Terminator armour means that these heavy weapons will be able to move at the same speed as your squad whilst still firing. Obviously a Cyclone Missile launcher is best for the tank hunting role, although it can also use frag missiles, so this is the more versatile weapon. Although the Assault cannon also fills the role of ‘Jack of all trades’ With a relatively high strength and the ‘Rending’ special rule, this weapon will be able to take many things down. The Heavy Flamer is perhaps the most straight forward. It burns things slightly hotter than the normal flamer. Use this weapon to counter your Ork or Tyrannids opponent or simply to just scare the enemy out of cover.
So how can these Pack Leaders help the squad get around? By increasing the squad size from 10 to 11 or from 5 to 6, it rules out a lot of transport options. It means that they can’t use a rhino to transport a 10 man squad plus leader. It is also worth bearing in mind that having terminator armour also means that you can’t embark into a rhino or razorback. That leaves the drop pod. Once again if the squad originally is of the 10 man size then they will not be able to use the drop pod, however some people prefer to use a squad of 9 Grey Hunters and the Wolf Guard Pack Leader. This allows them to use a transport and have the special weapon. But not being at the maximum squad size, they will not get the free second special weapon.
