Book Review – Space Wolves and Champions of Fenris

I’ve been a Space Wolves fan boy since the first time I watched a Wolf Priest wade through a squad of my Iron Warriors. Their heroic way of doing warfare for the Allfather has always appealed to me, particularly in the value they place on innocent human blood, and the glorious way they willingly hurl themselves into the jaws of death, to secure their places in the sagas.

The two newest instalments for playing Space Wolves in Warhammer 40,000 do not disappoint! The books stay true to much of their traditional fluff, and the rules give you a wide variety of flexible choices to get the job done on the tabletop.

Codex: Space Wolves was an eagerly anticipated release for me. Space Wolves are part of the triumvirate of special armies for me, factions that take up most of my attention during gaming. Along with Tyranids and Chaos, they have formed the heart of what the 40k game and universe are to me.

With all that said, I’ve been terribly disappointed with the direction that Games Workshop has taken Chaos in recent years and editions. I always appreciated them as a dark, true threat to the continuation of the universe. Now they seem somehow reduced; in the place of the dark villain who has the means and intelligence to conquer the galaxy, we’re greeted with drooling monsters who would rather die on Swarmlord’s sabers than prosecute a successful battle. While I’ve always accepted this aspect of Chaos Marines, it simply isn’t the type of traitor I’m interested in playing on the tabletop.

The Tyranids have held my interest, but when compared to the other books of 6^th and 7^th edition they have always seemed somehow undone. I can do well with them, but in essence they are somewhat boring to play. Rather than going for the throat and swarming the enemy in a tide of stabbing killers, I feel forced to play laterally in most instances, sacrificing units for no attritional gain just to keep the enemy busy while I gather up objectives. The army works, but it does not feel like the Tyranids I knew when I started playing in late 3^rd edition.

Space Wolves don’t seem to have any of the problems listed above. They’ve remained true to their fluff, and it is carried through the rules as well, giving the impression that the models you are playing feel like Space Wolves on the tabletop. Even the rules in Champions of Fenris that force you to issue and accept challenges don’t bother me, as I’m given several decent ways of winning those challenges (and I don’t have to deal with the Boon Chart in the aftermath!).

The Space Wolves have a lot of promising new units. Blood Claws, Sky Claws and Swift Claws all appeal to me, as their reduced points and tweaked options make them incredibly useful on the table. Wolf Guard in all forms are still very useful as well, giving you options for cheap, elite bikes and jump pack troops. The rules for most of the characters are pretty good; while I’m not a fan of Ragnar, Logan and Harald Deathwolf pack a serious punch! Ulrik and Njal also fill very powerful and interesting roles within the force.

Champions of Fenris only added to all the positives in my mind. They bring an incredibly solid Warlord Traits table, along with a very decent set of Relics. In fact, I’m of a mind to homebrew my own Ragnar from this expansion, giving him the Krakenbone Sword for AP2 and Runic Armor to aid survivability.

My favorite part of the Champions of Fenris supplement, however, has been the fluff. The stories are truly gripping, as they pit the warriors of Grimnar’s Great Company in some harrowing situations. It helps to bring to life the dark struggles of the 41^st Millennium; rather than hiding behind some ridiculous caricature of a good guy that cannot be killed, you get the real sense that Logan and his men are mortal, and the enemy has a good chance of destroying them.

Add to all this the impressive Force Organization Chart that comes with the book, and you’re all set to cause mayhem in the name of the Allfather. I’ve already been experimenting with a mix of the Combined Arms Detachment for scoring units and this bonus detachment to make the heavy hitters of the codex hit even harder. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want WS5 on all their Terminators?

These two books will be featuring heavily in my painting articles and my battle reports for a good long while. I’m excited to try several lists and approaches, and I’ll most likely end up with more Space Wolves than I know what to do with. I hope to have you all along on the journey as I continue the saga of the old bearded warriors from Fenris.