Thursday, December 23, 2010

Insane Njal Delivery System: Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest

I cannot possibly fall asleep, so it's time for some crazy talk. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Actually, please do. Then tell me all about it.

People seem to think of two, maybe three possible ways to protecting and delivering Njal Stormcaller:
1) In Land Raider with either Grey Hunters or Wolf Guard - VERY expensive, blocks line of sight and does not let Njal make use of his awesome shooting Psychic attacks.
2) In a Drop Pod with Grey Hunters or Wolf Guard - Good for unleashing a salvo at an enemy unit, slow down a horde unit with Murderous Hurricane or try to get an early Jaws of the World Wolf from a good angle. Leaves you open to the enemy when you want Njal to stay alive for as many turns as possible to reap the benefits of his Lord of Tempests.
3) On foot with Grey Hunters of Wolf Guard - Cheap, you have numbers and if you spam Storm Caller you'll get yourself a 5+ cover save in addition to your 3+ armor save or 2+ if with Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor. Cover save is wasted on them, however.

Now, here's what I think would be awesome:

This is just as bad ass!
Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest - The Berserker
Njal Stormcaller + 15 Blood Claws + Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter - Yes, all of them on foot. As long as you keep casting Storm Caller as one of Njal's psychic powers each turn, with the new FAQ concerning the Stealth you'll be getting from Saga of the Hunter (if one model in a unit has Stealth, the entire unit gets it) you''ll get a Fearless unit (with Saga of Majesty!!) that in the open has a 3+ armor/4+ cover save and Preferred Enemy with 60 basic attacks on the charge. For the points you're getting the numbers to protect Njal and he will make sure to protect his guardians as they are slowly advancing while a scary tempest is blackening the skies...

Surround your flanks with Rhinos and Land Raiders and you'll be able to get a 3+ save (as long as half the squad is being covered by your APCs). As long as you deny your enemy tons of line of sight (a building in the center would be gorgeous) you'll be able to deliver this massive force to the center of the table where you want Njal to be anyways.

"Shitty weather everywhere I go!"
Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest - For the Wolftime!
Slightly different, much cheaper version:
Njal Stormcaller + 15 Fenrisian Wolves (1 Cyberwolf) + Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter 
You save about 100 pts. with this variant and you will only lose an attack per model if you don't manage to charge. You get only a 6+ armor save but again with Storm Caller you get a 4+ cover save in the open and a 3+ cover save if already hugging some delicious cover. Oh, and the bulk of your guys get WS4 where the Blood Claws are only 3. No frag and krak grenades, though.


Just like any Njal list, you want your army to make sure he stays alive. March forward with your sneaky, storm-covered blob as your vehicles are covering your flanks - Cheap Razorbacks, Rhinos even a Land Raider will help you with that. A Land Speeder Squadron is also perfect - Turbo Boost them in front of the Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest and you'll have a 3+ cover unit protecting a 3+ cover unit. Again, protecting your flanks is vital so Wolf Scouts are ideal, because they'll have a 5/6 chance of coming from the side you need them to be. A Vindicator driving forward, parallel with your blob would also be threatening. Or how about two on your flanks?

What do you think? Is this crazy enough? Or does it fail because it's deviating from the "All Grey Hunters. All Long Fangs. All the Time." mentality? Would you give it a shot?

5 comments:

  1. I think that is a freaking awesome idea, especially the one with wolves! I've been very keen to try Njal on the field but all the other ways seem to soak up around 700+ points to get him there in one piece, not something that is viable, with the wolves, you've got a unit less than 500pts that could still be pretty awesome.

    Some very nice ideas, I may just have to see if I can get that on the table!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, Andy. I've been itching to try this too, but the lack of Fenrisian models and cavalry/bike bases to try this with is the only thing stopping me from giving old Njal a shot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. if you use the 15 Fenrisian Wolves and take a HQ of some kind with the saga of the Wolfkin the 15 Fenrisian Wolves become Initiative 5 and this HQ can be any where in your army they could be safe in a rhino or razor back with a unit of hunters if you want just an idea on how to make that unit of 15 Fenrisian Wolves a beast when or if they get to combat. its intersting to see 15 Fenrisian Wolves kill a unit of any kind.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a nice idea, but Blood Claws always need to be Running. Same goes for the Wolves. This means Njal can't cast any additional psychic powers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. For the turns where running is needed Njal can always cast Stormcaller and the anti-skimmer, anti-DP power.

    ReplyDelete

You think you have something to say? You Shall Show no Fear of expressing your thoughts. The Inquisition can't.. =][= PURGED =][=