Come see all the major Warhammer 40k rules changes coming for the Space Wolves in their 9th Edition Codex Supplement!
Join us as we dive into the new supplement and look at the biggest changes coming to the Space Wolves. We will go over changes to the Chapter Tactics, Relics, Warlord Traits, and Psychic Powers.
Keep in mind that for other units they can take, you will need the base Space Marines Codex (which looks to be the norm now for all future supplements). We talk more about that in this article, along with the pending new releases for marines overall.
Some of the datasheets for this post are from reviews by Hellstorm Wargaming and the Sprues and Brews Youtube channels, be sure to watch their videos below and subscribe to them for more great Warhammer content.
All The New Space Wolves 40k Rules
Chapter Tactic & Assault Doctrine
They will be getting plus one to hit almost all the time. Especially with every single unit being able to make a Heroic Intervention, you’ll almost always be at +1 to hit. This will almost always allow you to have more units in combat than your enemy.
The Chapter Tactic is the exact same as before, although, with an addition. Space Wolves can take Successor Chapters now. This is kind of a grey area in the lore, but the options are great for the tabletop!
When the Assualt Doctrine is active you can score a bunch of extra hits. While it’s an unmodified roll, it’s still 17% more hits. 20 attacks should net you about 3.5 extra hits, not too shabby.
Warlord Traits & Sagas
If you haven’t played Space Wolves before, they have a unique mechanic called Sagas. Essentially, when you give a character a warlord trait, they also get a “saga challenge”, if they complete the condition, the warlord trait upgrade and becomes an aura!
The two best options here for the Space Wolves overall are probably Warrior Born, because it’s easy to complete the Saga and fighting first is great, and Wolfkin, once again because it’s easy to complete and it more or less just gives core units an extra 2 attacks on average! If you playing melee Space Wolves and want to charge in a lot, these are both great options.
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Stratagems
Vicious Executioners, Death Grip Bite, Touch of the Wild, Knowledge of the Foe, and Crushing Assault are all gone. Touch of the Wild probably hurts the most, as it was super nice to essentially on average get an extra 50% hits on from a character fighting for only 1CP- no more blender Ragnar it seems.
For the new Stratagems, Go for the Throat and Savage Strike are probably the best most of the time. Being able to add one to wound rolls in melee is great and extra ap is great as well. Obviously, if you are playing against Thousand Sons, The Emperors Executioners is nuts, well against one enemy.
Psychic Powers
Looks like all WC 6 except Jaws here. Two offensive, two defensive, and two “mess with your opponent” type spells- nice.
Relics of the Fang
If you give your Warlord Black Death, he’ll be making an additional +D6 &+D3 in every combat phase! That is just an insane amount of attacks. Not to mention in the Assualt Doctrine getting extra hits on every 6. Your warlord could easily get into the double digits of hits.
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Give your favorite weapons a little buff with Frost Weapon. Nothing crazy but additional strength and damage could make a big impact. Digital Weapons is also solid as a simple +1 to hit and nice mortal wound to boot.
Secondaries
Heroic Challenge is not only a flavor win but also fairly reasonable. Space Wolves have plenty of ways to beef up characters in melee, making this an easy 15 points if you go for it. Otherwise, it’s a very safe 10 points if you can kill the target character in melee at all, which by the way, Space Wolves are very good at doing anyway!
Unit Change Highlights
For the unit changes Grimnar now always has his Saga completed. This isn’t insane but just a, pretty nice to have, quality of life change that is also lore-friendly. There is one new unit in the Hounds of Morkai. These are basically psyker hunting Reivers. Nobody seemed too hyped about the Reivers, but maybe if you’re constantly fighting psykers, these could be worth it.
Overall though, with so many rules towards psykers alone, they seem to be very niche. While they are insanely good at killing psykers, the points may be too much for how often it’s useful. This is just raw rules though, so we’ll have to see how it all plays out in the tournaments/meta to come!
So looks like Space Wolves are getting some much-needed love in 9th edition 40k already out the gate with a ton of new and updated rules! Plus don’t forget they also have access to the Space Marine codex and all the new updated Forge World units from the Imperial Armor Compendium as well. Be sure to check out our rules post covering all that here.
What do you think about the rules? Are you excited to bring the Wolves to the tables soon?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
Socials: Facebook
About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
