Come see the psychic shenanigans that the Space Wolves may be able to do with psychic powers and multiple formations.
This article is rated: Not sure if want…
This is a guest post sent to us by Kyle Sawdy
CAVEAT: THIS IS A RAW VS RAI DISCUSSION. I understand more than likely GW did not mean for this to happen. That is the Rules as Intended. However, Rules as Written, this is something that you can do. Do not try this in your local tournaments without clearing it with your TO beforehand, which more than likely won’t happen given how OP this could be.
As most Space Wolf players known by now, GW has finally given us a Space Wolf version of the Librarius Conclave in the Curse of the Wulfen, called the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood.
The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood is similar to the Dark Angels formation in that it encourages the use of their respective chapter specific Psychic Powers. The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood can generate warp charge points on a 3+ instead of 4+ when manifesting powers from the “Tempestas” discipline. This is pretty good by itself, because the Primaris power is a WC1 18” Assault 3 Str7 AP- with the “Shock” rule called “Living Lightning”. Shock is a rule that states “For each To Hit roll of 6 made with Living Lightning, the target suffers an additional automatic 2 hits, unless those To Hit rolls were Snap Shots.” Throwing 1 die at this is not a bad use of a single warp charge, or 2 if you really want to get it off.
Something that may have went unnoticed, is the “wyrding” of the other Wyrdstorm Brotherhood rule. “The Eye of the Storm” rule states: “At the start of each of your Psychic Phases, select 1 model from the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood to be The Eye of the Storm. That model can attempt to manifest “The Living Storm” psychic power (See Below). Increase the attacks rolled [for The Living Storm] by D6 for each other Rune Priest in the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood that is on the battlefield.” The Living Storm is exactly the same as Living Lightning, except it has a 24” range, is WC3, is Assault 2D6, and is part of the Tempestas Discipline, so warp charges are harnessed on 3+.Taken as face value, that power is pretty good. The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood is 2-5 Rune Priests, so at a minimum you will get an additional D6 as long as everyone is still alive.
What happens if you take multiple formations of the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood, though?
Say you were to take three formations of Wyrdstorm Brotherhood. The last line of The Eye of the Storm rule states: “Increase the attacks rolled by D6 for EACH OTHER Rune Priest in the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood THAT IS ON THE BATTLEFIELD”. This could be interpreted as every Rune Priest that is part of a Wyrdstorm Brotherhood formation, because it doesn’t say that this is formation specific.
If that were the case, by running three formations of three Rune Priests, the attacks would be increased by 8D6 whenever a Rune Priest manifested this power, bringing it to 10D6, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE for a Str 7 attack. Here’s the other kicker: with three formations of this brotherhood, that gives you three instances of The Eye of the Storm rule, which means three “The Living Storm” attacks. 10D6 at three different units each turn is pretty devastating, no matter how many saves someone may have. Even snap shotting at flyers, while you don’t get the Shock Rule for snap shots, you can still take down most flyers with volley of fire, as this is a Str 7 attack still, meaning you are glancing most flyers on 3-4, penning on 5+. All you need is 3-4 of those hits to get through to take down most flyers in the game.
Now, this all being said, I do truly believe that this is not how the power was intended. I do believe that if you run multiple of this formation, you do get multiple instances of “The Living Storm”. I believe Rules as Intended however make those additional attacks specific to each formation.
That being said, this formation is still a huge boon to Space Wolf players, as even at 4D6 attacks, you can average 12-14 attacks before the Shock rule takes effect. That is still very powerful when you are threatening multiple units each turn with it, and manifesting on 3+ WC rolls.
When it comes to the formations for Space Wolves in the Curse of the Wulfen supplement, I believe the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood may very well be one of the best additions to our forces. Obviously the Wulfen are powerful, but this is just something that can fit into most lists with ease, and give you a huge power return.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It may be that the designation of “the” instead of “a” Wyrdstorm brotherhood is possessive of THAT particular formation and does not extend to other formations.
Either way a good look at two ways you can interpret the rules.
-Kyle Sawdy
Hobbyist, Theorist, and Extra Life Twitch Streamer. Follow me at www.twitch.tv/vagrantwolf to see me play games to raise money for sick kids!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
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Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
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About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
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