Wolftimes

After this loss and another just like it, I was finally able to defeat c2’s witch hunters last night with my space wolves drop pod force (the 1500 point version). I was going to switch the terminators out for a venerable dreadnought and 5 long fangs, and that still might be the best way to go, but I wanted to give the 3-pod list one more chance. For the first two games, I think I was concentrating the surprise attackers too much in one place. The terminators, grey hunters, and wolf scouts can do good damage on their first turn, but often the surviving elements of the witch hunters would swarm me with flamers and divine guidance, reducing my best units to dust in less than 2 turns. One-on-one, the wolves are easily superior, but if the more numerous witch hunters gang up on isolated or crowded elements, they can combo almost anyone to death very quickly. For the last game, an annihilation scenario, I was a little more careful with my deep-striking. I tried to land them just far enough away from the sisters swarms, my major goal being to split up the major threats and refrain from needlessly sacrificing anyone to the mass flameage. In the end the wolf guard terminators were destroyed, but the rune priest hobbled away wounded and the blood claws and vindicator cleaned up the offending seraphim and cannoness to make it a crushing victory for the sons of Russ.

If I did switch out the terminators for a ven dred and long fangs, I would still have two drop pods of grey hunters, but it would amount to a much different kind of force. In that case I think the main strategy would be to hold back and snipe, make the enemy come to me, and then use the deep-striking grey hunters to capture objectives or join the wolf scouts for rear-echelon disruption attacks.

I changed out the 5 ratlings in my 2000 point imperial guard force (the 14th Tiefwalder) for a third sentinel, to be attached to the command HQ squad. That gives me three lascannon sentinels that operate independently, sniping at vehicles and heavy infantry and grabbing objectives at the last minute (if they survive). I eschewed any vehicle upgrades for them, so they’re still pretty vulnerable, but if folks are shooting at them and not the tanks, it’s all gravy anyway. That gives me 9 armored units and 73 infiltrating or deep-striking infantry, 3 ordinance weapons, 7 lascannons, 7 missile launchers, 9 heavy bolters, 5 meltaguns, 4 plasma guns, a couple of multilasers and flamers, and finally, a demolition charge in a pear tree. Mmm, that's good squishy.