G-dubs givin’ us the skinny on the new Space Wolf rules for the upcoming Psychic Awakening Book: Saga of the Beast!
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
Raise a flagon of mjød to the glory of the Allfather, as today we’re showcasing some of the supplementary rules for the Space Wolves featured in Saga of the Beast! Sharpen your axes, battle-brothers and sisters, as we’re about to dial the heroism up to 11. Awwwoooo!
Ragnar Blackmane
After awakening from the Red Sleep* following his fateful duel with Ghazghkull Thraka, Ragnar found that the Wolf Priests had borne him across the Rubicon Primaris in order to preserve his life.
On the plus side, Ragnar is now more powerful than ever – check out his devastating new profile…
Yes, that’s right. 7 Attacks! But there’s more. Ragnar’s berserk rampages are legendary – as his slaughter of the Ork Warboss Borzag Khan and his entire Nobz bodyguard can attest. So much so, in fact, that the standard Shock Assault ability doesn’t quite cut it when it comes to the Allslayer…
With a potential 10 Attacks at Damage 2 (courtesy of his legendary blade, Frostfang), it’s fair to say that Ragnar won’t have any problems being bogged down in combat. What’s more, the Young King’s infectious Battlelust ensures that he and his warriors stay on the front foot, enabling you to keep the pressure on your opponent as you chew through their battleline.
Whether he’s up against a horde of enemies or duelling a powerful foe in combat, there’s not much that will stand up to the sheer ferocity of Ragnar Blackmane!
Combat Doctrines
The answer to the question on everyone’s lips is yes, the Space Wolves do indeed gain the Combat Doctrines utilised by other Chapters.** This method of fighting is as instinctive to the way that Space Marines wage war as Bolter Discipline and Shock Assault, regardless of the Chapter from which they hail. With that being said, the Space Wolves certainly have their favourite – and no prizes for guessing that it’s the Assault Doctrine that they specialise in!
When combined with an extra Attack from Shock Assault and a bonus of +1 to hit in the first round of combat thanks to their Hunters Unleashed ability, the Space Wolves certainly won’t be taking any prisoners in the Fight phase!
Stratagems
The sons of Russ will also be able to make use of a whopping 24 additional Stratagems! Some of these Stratagems, such as Duty Eternal (making your Dreadnoughts super-tough) and Veteran Intercessors (for +1 Attack), will already be familiar to many, but there are some powerful new additions that are unique to the Space Wolves. For example, check out Knowledge of the Foe, which offers a handy – if rather gruesome – way of replenishing your Command Points.
If you’re looking to give one of your Characters a boost in melee, try activating Touch of the Wild for the opportunity to generate extra Attacks. When combined with Savage Fury (not to mention Ragnar’s potential 10 Attacks!), 1 Command Point can turn your Character of choice into a warrior to rival Russ himself!
That’s some serious hitting power right there. Now for some shouting power…
Litanies of Battle
More good news – the Space Wolves are about to receive Litanies of Battle too! After all, there are few more inspiring sights to the sons of Russ than a Wolf Priest bellowing forth mighty oaths of war and tales of inspirational deeds as they unleash the murdermake. In addition to the six standard Litanies of Battle, there is one unique to the Space Wolves that can inspire nearby warriors to bring down even the largest prey in short order.
The Space Wolves have always been renowned for their oral traditions, but now you can make them count!
Relics of the Fang
Saga of the Beast also includes a number of new Relics of the Fang available to the Characters of the Space Wolves. If you want to double down on the Litany of Battle shown above, accompanying your Wolf Priest with a Character wielding Wrymsplitter will make for a brutally powerful combination against both Monsters and Vehicles.
If you like the idea of getting stuck into the enemy with your Rune Priest – or favour using the Concealed Position ability of a Primaris Rune Priest in Phobos Armour to set up right in your opponent’s face – consider giving them the Talisman of Storms. With the right positioning, your Rune Priest can cause loads of damage and disruption.
And that’s just a selection of SOME of the rules the Space Wolves will be picking up in Saga of the Beast. You’ll also be able to read loads of exciting new lore as the sons of Russ hurl themselves into the events of the Psychic Awakening with fangs bared. Cool, huh? So cool, in fact, it’s full-on helfrost!
The good news continues, as Psychic Awakening: Saga of the Beast is up for pre-order this weekend, alongside the stunning new miniature for Ragnar Blackmane, who features in the Prophecy of the Wolf battlebox. Until then, grab yourself a Primaris Impulsor to ferry Ragnar into the heart of the enemy line.
* This is the term by which the Space Wolves know the trauma-induced coma into which grievously injured Space Marines descend as a result of their Sus-an Membrane implant.
** Though remember that the rules for Combat Doctrines have since undergone some changes. Saying that, you’re going to want to rush through to the Assault Doctrine with the Space Wolves anyway!
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
It’s nutty how good space wolves look in combat. Only trick will be delivering them there and surviving till turn 3.
Ragnar is nuts, he scores an avg of 15 hits with that new strat off the charge.. That’s crazy compared to other armies CC specialists, he’d better be well over 200pts. It’s no wonder the new Orc warlord has such an odd ability to only take 4 wounds a phase, wouldn’t matter what his stats were Ragnar can and likely will polish anything without that ability off in 1 charge.
I’d be very excited if I was a Space wolf player, I’m terrified as a Xeno player that were just going to shift into a different space marine meta.
Eh, not being active till turn 3 is a big issue (unless they get some way to accelerate it). It’s not like White Scars are dominating tournaments. And Ragnar will clean up Primaris and middle-weight characters like no one’s business, but even if Ghaz didn’t have his wound cap Ragnar still would average 4-6 wounds against him with the stratagem — T7 and a 4++ makes him one tough lad.
*being less efficient, not not being active at all.
They lose the -1 AP and the explosion on 6’s, but keep things like the strat to get more hits on 4+ or the litanie for +1 damage.
That being said, it do seem like the designers painted them in a corner and feel forced to make the melee marines particulary, ludicriously good because they are active only on turn 3.
Yeah, he is well and truly a blender.
Sure, Ragnar is nuts compared this things like Jain Zar with her measly 4 attacks.
On the other hand, that Flawless Host Disco-Lord with the Flawless Host WL-Trait kicks out 40+ attacks without breaking much of a sweat for 160-ish points (?).
Looks fine.
Though truth be told, my Space Wolves never had problems killing stuff in combat when they got there. Now they kill it even more dead.
Problem was and has been in 8th to get them there without being shot to pieces (just in the plain shooting phase or in overwatch).
Hope there is something more there to actually help get stuck in reliably. Some 3d6 charges, re-deploys, double-moves, more reliable outflank charges, no overwatch utility, etc.. something along those lines.