Hello everyone the greatest 40k player in the world here to discuss my Thunderdome list version 2.0. Check out the Tactics Corner for more great articles!
If you have played games against me in 5th edition I was most likely playing with the Thunderdome. I used to shake my opponents’ hand and say, “welcome to the Thunderdome!” haha! It was a strong list that was based around heavy hitting Space Wolf HQ’s on Thunder Wolves. They gave my speed, hitting power and the fun of playing hero hammer. The weakness was in only having two 5 man troops in razorbacks! Back when only Troops scored, this list didn’t win all that often. Especially against the Maticore spam and Psyker Battle sSquad heavy IG lists we saw all over the place back then. But, that’s besides the point. Lets talk about version two!
So with the new Space Wolves codex the Thunder Wolf Lords got cheaper. They went up five points as did the Thunderwolf mount. But, you gain one wound now from the Thunderwolf taking them up to 4 AND they come stock with a 4++. The extra wound is what the Thunderwolves were really missing in the last codex. You were paying way too many points for a character with only three wounds. So after everything is said and done the Wolf Lords are around 10 points cheaper with the same kit as before but with one more wound. Huge upgrade. You can also forgo the Storm Shield if you want, and save an additional 15pts, going for say, Wolf Claws to make a Lord an infantry lawn mower.
Another of the problems that the first version of the list faced was not being able to pop open vehicles for the wolves to charge. The fix for this problem is taking a Stormwolf, which automatically comes in on turn two if you use the Space Wolf detachment. No rolls needed in the unleashed detachment! The Stormwolf is an armor 12 flyer with three hull points that has one twin linked lascannon, two twin-linked multi-meltas, and one twin-linked hellfrost cannon. With all these twin-linked weapons that are low AP it is quite easy to pop open transports and they also give you a pretty good anti air vehicle. As you know this is coming in on turn 2, that usually means it can pop a transport right before your wolves charge. The second issue which was the main problem before is the troops: the two five man squads didn’t cut it before. A good player just focused on killing them off and ensured I couldn’t take objectives. Now since everything is scoring, the two five man squads don’t matter much at all.
Here is my current version of the list!
| Thunderdome! | |||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Wolf Lord | Thunderwolf, runic armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist | ||
| Blood Claw x 5 | |||
| Blood Claw x 5 | |||
| Storm Wolf | Multi Melta | ||
| Fenrisian Wolves x13 | |||
| Fenrisian Wolves x12 |
So the way the list plays is pretty straight forward. It charges up-field turn one. It takes a beating from the opponent’s shooting and then charges with the close combat bad asses on turn two while the Stormwolf pops transports to get to the juicy insides. Each lord has six strength ten powerfist attacks. The army is incredibly fast as well since it moves twelve inches, ignoring terrain and has fleet. Practically a guaranteed turn two charge and can kill just about anything in close combat. The Thunderwolves are extremely resilient as well since each unit has twelve Fenrisian Wolves to soak wounds and the lords have a 2+, 3++. Since it is a low model count army, I need my flyer to survive and carry that little troop towards the objectives while the lords clear the table.
So, after three games I think the list has made it to its final form! I believe it will be able to win some tournaments or at least have a pretty fair showing. I am loving the new wolves and I will get you guys a tournament report as soon as I take it to an event. Let me know what you guys think the list will have problems with and if you are willing to get into the ring with the Thunderdome!
