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Space Wolves

2021-10-22T15:24:43Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:7419:43C:C553:BEC4: /* The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries" */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by Brother-Captain Stern to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

For his part, Guilliman brought much needed reinforcement for the Sons of Russ, in the form of squad upon squad of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris, those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters tall with powered armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wulfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The Space Wolves would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Space Wolves

2021-10-22T15:24:01Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:7419:43C:C553:BEC4: /* The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries" */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by Brother-Captain Stern to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

For his part, Guilliman brought much needed reinforcement for the Sons of Russ, in the form of squad upon squad of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris, those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters tall with powered armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wolfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The Space Wolves would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Space Wolves

2021-10-22T15:23:47Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:7419:43C:C553:BEC4: /* The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries" */

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Space Wolves / Vlka Fenryka / Space Corgis
|Heraldry = [[File:Spacewolveslogo.png|200px]]
|Battle Cry = "For Russ and the All father!"|Number = VI
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = The Rout
|Successor Chapters = [[Blood Wolves]] [[Mooneaters]] [[Skyrar%27s Dark Wolves]] [[Wolf Brothers]] [[Wolfspear]]
|Chapter Master = [[Logan Grimnar]]
|Primarch = [[Leman Russ]]
|Homeworld = [[Fenris]]
|Specialty = CQC, shock assaults, infantry, encirclement tactics, being viking enthusiasts.
|Strength = 2-3000
|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man]]
|Colours = Generally Bluish-Grey and Yellow. Red, Black and White used for specific Companies.
}}
{{topquote|Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a [[Wolfspear|spear]] on the way without.|Havamal}}
{{topquote|War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it?|Joe Abercrombie, Heroes}}

The '''Space Wolves''' (also known as ''The Rout'' or the '''Vlka Fenryka''') is a [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] hailing from the icy [[Death World]] of '''Fenris''', who appreciate the value of a strong and consistent brand identity. They are known as noble, if savage warriors, who have little love for Imperial bureaucracy but will fight fiercely for its common citizens. The Marines of the Chapter are famed as experts in the art of close combat, much like the [[Blood Angels]], but unlike the sons of [[Sanguinius]] their fighting style is less that of a maddened, blood-crazed berserker, but that of a cunning pack of hunters running down their prey.

Thematically, the Chapter draws a lot of real-world inspiration from Nordic culture, ''especially'' the Viking sagas, particularly in terms of aesthetics as well as ferocity. That said, there's a bit of a disconnect between how the Wolves are portrayed in fiction compared to how they're presented as a tabletop army.

On one hand, we have a nuanced portrayal of a proud warrior tradition that just so happens to have the Wolf as its primary totem animal, among many other Fenrisian nature spirits they worship. On the other, we have an over-the-top army of wolf fetishists that precedes most of their equipment and vehicle names with "wolf", ride ''actual'' giant wolves into battle, and are like a drunken frat party outside of it.

==Origins==

Back during the [[Great Crusade]], the Space Wolves began as the VIth Legion, and was developed in conjunction the [[Salamanders]] and the [[Alpha Legion]]. Developed in isolation from the other two Legions, they proved to be a vicious and aggressive fighting force, but also almost impossible to keep in line by its officers. What's worse, they were indiscriminate in their slaughter, and even helpless civilians were not free from their wrath. Due to this brutal reputation, they soon became known as "the Rout", the Emprah's agents of fear and retribution.

===The Wolf King cometh===

The ice world of Fenris was found early on by the Crusade fleets, and the Emperor soon heard of the exploits of its so-called Wolf King, a man named Leman Russ. Raised in the wilderness by wolves, then adopted and educated by the jarl Thengir, Leman was a massive ox of a man of extraordinary strength, sharp cunning, and personal magnetism, and the Emprah was sure he was one of His lost sons. He descended onto the world in disguise, ingratiated Himself to the locals to gain access to the High King's feasting hall, and there he sought to test the Wolf King's mettle.

Depending on the version or edition, this led to the following: an eating contest, a drinking contest, and a brawl. Leman won the first two rounds, but was finally goaded into a fight when the Emprah insulted him, [[Imperial Truth|saying that he was nothing more than a glutton and a drunkard]]. What followed next was either a massive fight that wrecked the drinking hall, Beowulf versus Grendel style, or the Emprah laying out Leman with a single fabulously golden [[Power Fist]] to the forehead.

Regardless, when Leman finally came to, the Emprah revealed himself, and told him about his true origin as one of his [[Primarch]]s, as well as his role in the greater Crusade. What happened next, as they say, is history.

===From the Rout to the Wolves===

Leman Russ' rediscovery, and the integration of his own Fenrisian retinue, slowly remade the VIth Legion. Their ferocity was soon tempered with discipline and obedience, as the Fenrisian culture slowly spread through its ranks, and while they would still crush any traitor to the Emperor, they would at least have the good sense this time ''not'' to slaughter the innocents that just so happened to be in the area. It didn't happen overnight, but soon enough the Legion became less about punishing oathbreakers, and more on watching out for the little guy.

Oh, and if an offhand comment by Russ is to be believed, they had a hand in destroying the two so-called Lost Legions. Emperor's Executioners indeed.

Under Russ' leadership, the Wolves proved their worth to the fledgling Imperium by winning many victories and conquering many worlds, which brought them glory and even more notoriety. On one of their campaigns, they managed to recover a near-complete STC printout of a battle tank, and as a bit of thanks, the Martian adepts named it after the Legion's Primarch.

It was also during this period that the Wolves' rivalry with the [[Dark Angels]] began, a feud that ''still'' continues into the present day of the Imperium. While the specifics have been lost to myth and legend, the Dulan Campaign ended with Leman Russ and his brother, the mercurial [[Lion El'Jonson]], in a one-on-one duel. This culminated with Leman knocked out flat on his back, the Dark Angels leaving in a huff, and the Space Wolves similarly insulted by the Lion not being a good sport about everything.

===The Heresy Dawns===

The Space Wolves are infamous for their role in the burning of Prospero, the homeworld of the [[Thousand Sons]] Legion. Though they were initially ordered to bring in [[Magnus the Red]] alone for both going against the edicts of the Council of Nikea, as well as accidentally breaching the defenses of the Imperial Webway, their orders were changed by [[Horus]] (who they were unaware was already full-hog traitor at this point) to instead [[Burning_of_Prospero|burn the planet and its inhabitants to the ground]].

This blind adherence to orders, not helped by the fact that Leman ''wanted'' to confront his nerd of a brother for his shenanigans, was the final straw. Prospero was literally and figuratively put to the torch in the ensuing battles between the Legions, as well as Leman's [[Adeptus Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] babysitters. When Magnus finally joined the fray to save his sons, Leman met him in one-on-one combat, and while the Wolf King was badly mauled over the course of the duel, Magnus was broken and forced to flee with the surviving Thousand Sons.

In the end, Magnus was forced to throw his lot with [[Chaos]] in order to survive, and his Legion followed suit, joining Horus in his rebellion.

The battered Wolves were not allowed any respite however, as they were soon hounded by a massive [[Alpha Legion]] fleet, and forced to flee into the Alaxxes Nebula. [[Battle_of_the_Alaxxes_Nebula|While a breakout was eventually executed, the Space Wolves fleet eventually found itself cornered]]. As they prepared for a last stand, unexpected aid arrived in the form of a [[Dark Angels]] fleet. With the Alpha Legion driven off, Russ was left to ponder what to do next.

Eventually Russ and a small contingent of his men managed to find their way to Terra, while the rest of the Space Wolves fleet continued to harry the Traitors. He sponsored an expedition to Molech to see if Horus could be taken down, but this just resulted in getting dozens of [[Knights-Errant]] killed. Afterward, in a council with his brothers [[Rogal Dorn]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Jaghatai Khan]], Leman decided to forego Dorn's plan in delaying the traitors at the '''Battle of Beta Garmon''', and instead returned to Fenris to try and divine a way to take away all those juicy [[Chaos]] boons that were supercharging [[Horus]].

===The Wolf King and the Luna Wolf===

In what amounted to be a spirit quest (where, among other things, Russ met a possible version of himself who stayed on Terra and never grew up on Fenris), Leman decided that he would confront his brother Horus one last time. For this task, he would need to use the Spear of Russ (yes THAT Spear of Russ, that [[Ragnar Blackmane]] would use many millennium later), a weapon that he ''absolutely hated'' (because it gave him the literal heebie-jeebies) and actually tried to get rid of multiple times, but which somehow always managed to return to him.

It turns out that the Spear was a massively powerful artifact invested with a fragment of the Emprah's power, with the ability to reveal the "truth" of whatever it pierces. Although the chance was slim, Leman hoped to use it to convince his brother to return to the Imperial fold and let their father heal him; if the Warmaster remained undaunted, Leman would then use the spear to slay the traitor for good.

Leman knew that it was a suicide mission, and indeed made it clear to his assembled [[Wolf Lord]]s that their participation was ''voluntary'', but none of them refused to join their Primarch. If their death was to come, then it would be together with their Battle-brothers.

===The Battle of Trisolian 4A===

The [[Forge World]] of Trisolian -- where a young and cheeky tech adept named [[Belisarius Cawl]] and his buddy were taking what amounted to their internships -- had just surrendered to Traitor forces, and was in the process of hosting the [[Vengeful Spirit]] and its escorts. Then all of the sudden, this absolutely ''massive'' fleet (made up of around fifty ships of the line from the various Traitor Legions) found itself under attack.

Taking advantage of the gravitational interactions of the Trisolian system's three stars, the Space Wolves fleet had snuck into the sector, and threw its vastly-outnumbered ships at the gathered armada. As the ships of the Rout tried to make as much as a ruckus as it could, Leman confronted the [[Vengeful Spirit]] with his own flagship, the '''Hrafnkel''', and as the latter's barrage collapsed the former's void shields, Leman personally led a massive assault unto his brother's flagship using everything he still had -- boarding torpedoes, assault boats, teleport deep-strikes, and even gunships.

As thousands of Space Wolves ran wild inside the Vengeful Spirit, Leman personally tracked down Horus in the heart of the corrupted ship, while down below Cawl managed to make sure his master met an "accident", and took control of the Mechanicus forces to aid the Space Wolves. The Wolf King eventually found the Warmaster, and was disgusted at what he beheld -- Horus was wallowing in Chaos corruption, and was half-mad as a result. When words didn't work, Russ attacked his brother, knowing too well he was outmatched.

Then the Spear managed to pierce Horus' side. The wound was not fatal, though it could have been, had Leman not hesitated, but it was enough -- the madness cleared from Horus' eyes, and for the first time in what seemed to be forever Horus' mind was clear. Despite this however, the Warmaster would not be swayed; he was in too deep to stop now, and of his own free will this time, still decided to continue the fight against the Emperor.

Horus continued his assault on Leman, and had mauled him gravely. Before he could finish him off with ''Worldbreaker'' however, one Space Wolf, followed by dozens, which were then followed by scores of marines, interposed themselves between the Warmaster and their Primarch. Horus cut them all down all the same, but their sacrifice bought Bjorn the time he needed to drag the injured Leman Russ to a [[Stormbird]], and then back to the ''Hrafnkel''.

With their Primarch secured, the Space Wolves fleet made a fighting retreat, but all seemed lost as the Vengeful Spirit and its cohort seemed to be catching up... Then one of its magazines exploded, crippling it enough to allow the Wolves to escape.

The Wolves would fight another day, but the price was too high. Of the Wolves that went into Trisolian, only one-fifth managed to make the escape. The VIth Legion effectively stopped being an effective fighting force from that point on, and had to be eventually rescued by the Primarch [[Corvus Corax]] and his [[Raven Guard]] after the fleet was cornered by [[Abaddon]]'s forces at Yarant.

The Wolves would sit out the remainder of the Heresy, and would be still trying to recover as the [[Siege of Terra]] came and went, and Horus had his fated showdown with the Emprah.

===The Fate of Leman Russ===

Of Leman Himself, you ask? Well he stuck around during the [[Great Scouring]], and while he groused about [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s reforms, he eventually caved in, and begrudgingly agreed to split apart the remains of his ravaged Legion into Chapters.

In theory anyway.

In ''practice'' however, due to the massively reduced numbers of the Rout, only one Chapter was ever created -- the ill-fated [[Wolf Brothers]]. The rest of the survivors remained Space Wolves, opting instead to stick with their semi-independent Great Companies, as one small snub to the stuck-up Roboute.

Barely a century after the end of the Scouring, Leman Russ just ups and vanishes from Imperial History. Legends state that after a great feast, He said unto his warriors:

<blockquote>"Listen closely Brothers, for my time is short. . There shall come a time far from now when our Chapter itself is dying, even as I am now dying, and our foes shall gather to destroy us. Then my children, I shall listen for your call in whatever realm of death holds me, and come I shall, no matter what the laws of life and death forbid. At the end I will be there. For the final battle. For the Wolftime."</blockquote>

And so, Leman departed, with his closest retinue... No, not you Bjorn... Some say he searches for a means to revive His God-Emperor.. But despite the efforts of the Great Hunt, Leman remains beyond the reach of Man... Who knows what great feats of Heroism he undertakes...oh right [[Kaldor Draigo]],

Oddly enough, it seems that [[Magnus the Red]], of all people, has an idea about his brother's fate, but he's not telling anyone, and is far too fond of slaying Leman's get to even care.

==Recent History==

===The Siege of Fenris===

Much like the rest of the Imperium, times had been rough for the Space Wolves by the [[Time of Ending|time the end of M41 rolled in]]. Magnus in particular still had a massive hateboner against the Sons of Russ, and finally put his long-prepared revenge plan into motion. The rebuilt [[Thousand Sons]], plus their [[Chaos]] Daemon and Traitor Legion allies, put the worlds of the Fenris system to the sword. Not even the Space Wolves homeworld was spared, and it took the combined effort of the Chapter and a [[Grey Knights]] Brotherhood led by Brother-Captain Stern to slow down the massive daemonic incursion that followed.

Then the [[Dark Angels]] arrived above Fenris with [[The Rock]], and leading an Imperial task force of ''fourteen'' assorted Space Marine Chapters, titans, knight houses, and Imperial Guard, intent on cleansing the system of Chaos filth. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the Sons of the Lion were duped by [[The Changeling]], who then proceeded to mass-summon Daemons into the Rock itself.

Things took a turn for the worse when Magnus himself arrived on Fenris, its spiritual nexus already under assault by Thousand Sons covens trying to corrupt them, and what was a hard but possibly winnable fight against a massive invading force turned into a desperate battle for survival. It says a lot that the Iron Priests had to awaken ''all'' of the Dreadnoughts of the Fang to fight alongside Bjorn, plus whatever Wulfren that could be found, and even then it wasn't enough. Magnus was far too powerful, and the Daemon Primarch swatted aside Dreadknights with ease, and even pulled down whole Imperial Battlecruisers from the upper atmosphere, just so he could detonate their cores and irradiate the skies above Asaheim.

Magnus would not have his victory however, as through Egil Ironwolf's sacrifice Logan Grimnar was able to wound the Daemon Primarch with strikes from ''both'' the Axe of Morkai and the recovered '''Spear of Russ'''. With his concentration broken, Magnus was then banished from the Fenris by [[Grey Knight]] [[Purifier]]s. With Magnus gone, the Thousand Sons and their daemonic allies quickly followed, but the damage had been done. The worlds of the Fenris system were almost all ravaged beyond recovery, and what's worse, due to their populations bearing witness to a massive daemonic incursion, their people had to be liquidated by the Inquisition. Unlike the aftermath of the First War of Armageddon, the Great Wolf didn't make a fuss, as the Chapter was too mauled and weary to oppose them.

===The Fall of Cadia and the Era Indomitus===

Despite the drubbing they experienced at the hands of Magnus, the Space Wolves were still able to send two Great Companies to Cadia's defense, and while that world eventually fell, they made a good accounting for themselves, with Sven Bloodhowl contributing to the demise of the Blackstone Fortress, while Orven Highfell fell in the defense of Kasr Kraf. As the [[Great Rift]] formed and the Imperium was torn in half, and the age seemed to become all the more desperate, the Wolves fought on, but when news of [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s revival reached the Fang, a small contingent of Wolves braved the long warp journey to [[Ultramar]] to confirm it.

For his part, Guilliman brought much needed reinforcement for the Sons of Russ, in the form of squad upon squad of [[Primaris Space Marines]]. This brought the Space Wolves Great Companies back to fighting shape, and while the Firstborn initially looked upon these newcomers with suspicion, once they had braved the initiation rituals of Fenris, those who survived were fully welcomed into their brotherhoods.

Another thing that the Lord Commander brought was even more welcome -- thanks to Belisarius Cawl's efforts, the Space Wolves can now found their own Successors again, and immediately formed ''strong'' ties with the first of these Primaris Wolves -- the '''[[Wolfspear]]'''. While it hasn't ''quite'' gotten rid of the Curse of the [[Wulfen]] (you don't get it unless you really lose it, and its still better than falling to Chaos), but it was still better than the alternative.

==Organization==
[[File:Tyranid Attack.jpeg|350px|right|thumb|The wolves taking on a [[Tyranid]] horde.]]

The Space Wolves ignore the organizational restrictions recommended by the [[Codex Astartes]], and instead forms itself around the '''Great Companies'''. These are twelve semi-independent battle groups that are the rough equivalent of a Codex Battle Company, but are functionally much larger in size, with many featuring upwards of more than a hundred fifty battle-ready warriors on top of their support serfs and equipment.

Each Great Company gains much of its character thanks to their Wolf Lords preferences, as well as its tactical preferences -- see Egil Ironwolf's predilection for tanks and heavy artillery, or Ragnar Blackmane's hardon for massed planetary assaults. A long-serving Wolf Lord will definitely leave his mark on a Great Company, and it might take a while for it to reinvent itself under his Successor when he inevitably falls in battle.

Although no Great Company ranks above their fellows, all eventually must defer to the current Great Wolf's Great Company, as it holds both the his household as well as the Chapter's greatest warriors. When the Great Wolf Speaks, everyone must listen.

===Hierarchy===

The "classic" organization of the Space Wolves is partially based on experience, with the hot-blooded novices starting out with the Blood Claws, before they battle-hardened enough to become Grey Hunters, etc. There's also a bit of meritocracy here, as a Blood Claw who did a particularly heroic deed might "jump ranks" straight into the Wolf Guard/Thanedom (*coughs* '''Ragnar''' *coughs*). It's somewhat implied in some of the text regarding long fangs such as ''"Their former Packs, whittled down to but a handful of Veterans"'' that Blood claw squads are not reinforced and as the members gain experience they are promoted to Grey Hunter then to Long Fang as a unit.

The arrival of the Primaris has put a slight wrinkle into this however, but the Wolves are, if anything, adaptable.

*'''Great Wolf''': Also known as the ''High King'', he is the equivalent to the [[Chapter Master]] of other Chapters. The Great Wolf is also effectively the First Captain of the Space Wolves, commanding an elite Great Company that includes the members of the three Priesthoods and the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. [[Logan Grimnar]] serves as the current Great Wolf.
*'''[[Wolf Lord]]''': Also known as ''Jarls'', they are the equivalent of the [[Brother-Captain]]s of a company in Codex Chapters. Wolf Lords lead their Great Companies; likewise Great Companies owe a lot of their personality and tactical preferences to their Wolf Lords.
* '''[[Wolf Guard]]''': A cross between [[Veteran Squad|Veterans]] and [[Honour Guard]], Wolf Guards (''Thanes'') serve as the body guard of the Wolf Lord and leading packs in battle, serving as the Space Wolves version of a [[Brother-Sergeant]]. They also get [[Terminator]] armour. In ''Second Edition'' they also got to take any weapons they liked and could be built from stock parts with an Assault Cannon and Cyclone Missile Launcher. This led to many games being won as Assault Force Dickhead rampaged across the table murdering everything.
* '''[[Wolf Priest]]''': Combining the role of [[Apothecary]] and [[Chaplain]], the Wolf Priests do the standard roles of preaching and medical duties, but are also charged with recruiting Aspirants for their companies. Plus they have a secret role on the battlefield, trying to prevent their battle-brothers from turning into Wulfen.
* '''[[Iron Priest]]''': The Iron Priests serve the role of [[Techmarine]]s, overseeing the motorpool and equipment of the companies they belong to.
* '''[[Rune Priest]]''': Taking the role of [[Librarian]]s in Codex Chapters, Rune Priests are the [[psyker]]s of the Space Wolves. However, instead of seeing their powers as coming from the [[Warp]], they hold that their powers come from the world spirit of Fenris, and consult the runes in a means to divine the future. Trying to explain to the Rune Priests that they're drawing power from the Warp, and that they cannot "draw their powers from Fenris" while being half-Galaxy away from it will usually result in the non-Space Wolf getting a month's stay in the Apothecarion. The ultimate irony of this is that they are, in reality, Sorcerers, the very thing they denounced the Thousand Sons for being. Whether they are psykers or not. Besides, if Fenris has a world spirit, it is something akin to a Daemon World (or an eldar maiden world)...
* '''Wolf Scouts''': Each Great Company will have members who shun their pack brothers and are shunned in return, preferring the company of more somber individuals, Wolf Scouts serve to scout out enemy positions and terrain. As opposed to the regular codex, Wolf Scouts tend to be veterans of battle able to rein in their savage rage.
* '''Lone Wolf''': Space Wolves who are the last of their pack. The loss of their brethren drive them to seek a glorious death in combat at the hands of some form a fell enemy. Think of Dwarf Slayers only a few meters tall with powered armour and weapons of doom and destruction. Often the only way out of the Lone Wolf lifestyle is managing to kill something that the individual shouldn't have survived killing and being elevated into the Wolf Guard. [[Wat|They sometimes take part in a small pack of Wolf Scouts, being lonely wolves in company of other lonely wolves]], [[DERP|which technically should defeat the purpose of the analogy]].
* '''[[Skyclaw]]s''': Skyclaws are the trouble makers among a Chapter of trouble makers, forced to wear Jump Packs. The Space Wolves view Jump Packs as an insult, reasoning that if the Emperor wanted them to fly, he would have given them wings.
* '''[[Thunderwolf Cavalry]]''': Space Wolves who function in a manner similar to a [[Bike Squad]], but instead of actual bikes, they use Thunderwolves, which can be the size of a small car, and biologically more akin to Terran rhinoceros than actual oversized wolves.
* '''[[Long Fang]]s''': Taking the role of [[Devastator Squad|Devastators]], Long Fangs are veterans who have grown long in the fang. No pun here - Space Wolves' teeth actually lengthen as they age, as an effect of a mutated Betcher's Gland.
* '''[[Grey Hunter]]s''': Having the role of [[Tactical Squad|Tactical Marines]], Grey Hunters are those Marines who have survived long enough as Blood Claws to quell the worst of their ferocity and blood lust (read: wear a helmet in battle). Their new found experience and control allows them to shoot and fight better than their younger brethren.
* '''[[Blood Claw]]s''': Neophyte Space Wolves who serve in the [[Assault Squad|Assault Marine]] roles of Codex Chapters. As mature as a buncha punks that just discovered a Metal band and think the life of a Marine is fucking Chaos’ shit up and killing stuff. Unsurprisingly, the survival rate among this guys is not that high. Something to point out, is that it [[Lukas the Trickster|is perfectly possible for a Blood Claw to stay on this rank for his entire life]] if you are not seen as someone to trust in a higher rank.

As of the new Codices, the Primaris Marines seem to have slotted seamlessly into this, though the Primaris neophytes don't start out as Blood Claws, and instead join the line as Intercessors, etc.

* '''Intercessors''': Space Wolves intercessors seem to have gained a rivalry with the Grey Hunters, as steadfast gunlines that can anchor a flank. This rivalry manifests in typical one-upsmanship via drinking and eating contests, and other feats of strength outside the battlefield, and kill counts during firefights.
* '''Inceptors''': The most impetuous of the Primaris, Inceptors are always aching for ways to prove themselves. Of those who arrived with the Indomitus Crusade, the Inceptors were the most eager to take the Trials of Morkai, and seemed to have fully bought into the boisterous Fenrisian customs.
* '''Aggressors''': The most bro of the Primaris Wolves, Aggressors are friendly and boisterous, to the point that they could be heard laughing heartily during combat. For all their loudness however they're not headstrong or impetuous -- far from it, as they make sure they're deployed to the places in the line where they can make the most impact.
* '''Reivers''': The opposite of the Aggressors, Reivers apparently make for poor drinking buddies, but more than make up for their effectiveness of their terror tactics. Its no surprise that they've become best buds with the Wolf Scouts, who they're often also partnered with in patrols.
** '''Hounds of Morkai:''' A unique cult of edgy reivers who envision themselves as standing by the gates of Morkai. These marines are specially trained to hunt down witches, focusing more on melee and adorned in runic totems that blunt the effect of psykers. They also have special vox-emitters made specifically to interfere with casting.
* '''Hellblasters''': Surprisingly fatalistic, Space Wolf Hellblasters believe that their sagas are tied with their plasma weaponry, and while they relish bringing ruin to the enemies of the All-Father, they also accept that, if they need to, they will go out in blazes of glory that will definitely put a fiery climax to their sagas.

=== Unique Assets ===

The Space Wolves have several bits of equipment that differentiate them from a "generic" Codex Chapter.

They have their own equivalent to power weapons, the so-called '''Frost''' weapons, the most famous is the '''Frost Axe'''. With their blades made from either diamonds or crystals native to Fenris, they shine like cold ice once their fields are active.

Speaking of native crystals, these are used for their '''Helfrost''' weaponry, which fire subzero blasts of cold that can freeze its target in place. These are either man-portable, or mounted on their many vehicles.

While the Chapter has its own complement of bike squads, they also have heavy cavalry in the form of the ferocious '''Thunderwolf Cavalry'''. These warriors form a close bond with these apex predators, who then allow themselves to be use as mounts.

Space Wolves heroes also are able to bring with them regular [[Fenrisian Wolf|wolves]] into battle, much like Leman Russ before them. These wolves are treated less like pets, and more like family and fellow warriors, and many Wolf Lords owe their lives to these faithful packs.

On the subject of Leman Russ; prior editions allowed the Space Wolves to use the heavy tank of the same name, their codex being the first sighting of the Leman Russ Exterminator but past 3ed edition this was quietly dropped.

Rather than the '''Stormraven'' and its variants, the Space Wolves rely on the '''Stormwolf''' to airlift battle-brothers to key locations, and the '''Stormclaw''' as a dedicated gunship. And yes, they're ''very'' wolfy in profile.

==Combat doctrine==
{{topquote|The best way to defeat a Space Wolf is to wolf his wolf. You must be careful, though, because if the Space Wolf wolfs your wolf first, then your wolf is wolfed.|Leman Russ himself ''On the Weaknesses of the Space Wolf Doctrine'' later Quoted by Wolf Rider Volk Wolfclaw, }}
{{topquote|A good way to get into a state of pure wolfness, would be that you shall wolf the wolf until the wolfing wolf wolfs. Then, when the wolf wolfs your wolfness, the wolves of the wild will wolf your wolf up. Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Master Jonal Wolfhand, "The Call of the Nightblizzard''}}
{{topquote|Wolf wolf wolf wolf wolfity wolf. Wolf wolf, wolfo wolfy wolf wolf wolf. Wolf? Wolf!|Attributed to Wolf Lord Egil Ironwolf, ''On the Intricacies of Tactical Wolffare''}}

Jokes aside, Space Wolves doctrine normally builds their strategies around a "Pack" -- a group of unusually close battle-brothers that have very often been together since they were Blood Claws. While a Wolf Lord will generally set ''some'' broad strategies in a campaign, by and large he leaves the actual details and implementation to individual Pack Leaders. This... sort of works, as each pack's competitive nature eggs them on to one-up their buddies, but not so to the detriment of the campaign. This means that ''most'' of the time multiple packs will work together to accomplish a particular goal.

Space Wolves in general love a good scrap, and many will find that their "tactics" involve getting as close in as possible to their enemies and punching their lights out. Even the more sensible Long Fangs, who often roll their eyes at such youthful bravado, still indulge in the occasional brawl.

That said, all of this is still tempered by the Wolf Lord in charge of the Great Company. For example, Erik Morkai prefers stealth and very brutal ambushes, hence his preference for Wolf Scouts (and likely Reivers), while Engir Krakendoom likes going to war in all sorts of armored transports while escorted by Swiftclaw outriders.

== Criticism ==
As many on /tg/ will happily tell you, (and [[Magnus]] won’t stop [[RAGE|raging]] about) the Wolves are far from perfect. Where the [[Imperial Fists]] are inflexible and stubborn, the [[Dark Angels]] are unreliable and austere, and the [[Raven Guard]] are aloof and brooding, the Wolves are boisterous and arrogant. During the Heresy (and/or when Chris Wraight is writing them) they were incredibly brutal toward those they saw as oath-breakers, even if the oath-breaker in question was a fleeing, defenseless civilian.

The Ragnar Blackmane books further emphasize this and also portrayed the Chapter as willing to ignore the misdeeds of their heroes in spite of the importance they place on honor. This, combined with the Wolves hating the Thousand Sons for being psykers [[Rune Priest|while also using psykers]] led many to label the Wolves hypocrites, especially since the Space Wolves pick a fight with the Flesh Tearers for killing civilians in spite of their own troubled history in that regard.

Now, everyone including Wolves players admit that the Sons of Russ are entirely too short-sighted and prone to making enemies for their own good. During the Heresy, almost nobody liking them bit them in the ass at Alaxxes Nebula, but fast-forward to M41 and they're happily pissing off the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, etc. During Warzone Fenris, the galaxy at large is only too ready to write the Wolves off as heretics. Fans and detractors alike also note that it's [[Skub|arguable]] whether being so quick to make enemies and disobey orders to save civilians really saves more people in the long run, especially at Armageddon, where the Wolves' actions backfire badly.

== Civilians ==

Of all the inconsistently written aspects of the Chapter, this is by far the worst offender. Sometimes, the Space Wolves are written as brutal and merciless, giving zero fucks about collateral damage or civilian casualties. On the other hand, sometimes the Wolves [[Salamanders|put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.]] This can induce [[Rage]] in just about any fan, because some people get into the Space Wolves seeing them as heroes while others prefer their more savage, bloodthirsty tendencies.

The best fluff attempts to find a middle ground by presenting them as violent and pragmatic, but disciplined during the Heresy and increasingly heroic over time. By M41, the Wolves actively stop the Flesh Tearers from murdering Imperial civilians at Honour's End, disobey orders so they could protect the settlers at Thressiax, and play chicken with the Inquisition to save the people of Armageddon; this example is particularly notable, because the Wolves didn't just attempt to save the civilians from the Inquisition, for the first few months of the conflict they did so with passive resistance, defending civilian transports with the shields and hulls of their own ships, never firing back. This paints a picture of [[Awesome|a Chapter that actually becomes MOAR independent and heroic as the galaxy goes to shit around them.]] Or perhaps, they've remained the same and the galaxy has gone so grimdark that the Space Wolves now appear heroic in comparison.

Then Warzone Fenris happened. In it, the Wolves pretty much abandon their allies to focus on the Wulfen.

==Daily rituals of a Space Wolf==

08:00 - Early Risers - Most of the Wolf Scouts and Reivers, having avoided the last rounds the previous evening, wake from their quarters. They give each other quiet nods of approval, before heading for the festhall for an early breakfast. 
08:30 - Morning Firing Drills -- The Wolf Scouts and Reivers take advantage of the otherwise unoccupied firing range to get their drills in. The Lone Wolves are appreciative of the Primaris Vanguard stealth training, while Primaris marvel at Lone Wolves sniper marksmanship. 
9:00 - Wilderness Training - Wolf Scout squads leave for their regular wilderness patrols, while Reivers try to stalk them. Most of the day will be filled with one trying to track down the other, or stalking a particularly worthwhile prey. 
13:00 - Wake Up with Hangover - The majority of Space Wolves battle-brothers awaken by this point. 
13:10 - Morning Piss - The Space Wolf empties the alcohol that has accumulated in his bladder(s) in the Sacred Alcohol Excretion Grounds. (Doing so anywhere else is hazardous as space wolf urine is capable of corroding ceramite) 
13:11 - Morning Fart - The Space Wolf empties his intestines. Pissing without farting is like going to a holy site without praying to the Emperor, which is heresy. 
13:20 - Morning Piss Ends - The Space Wolves have finally finished urinating. The surrounding landscape is scorched with a aura of menace resembling nurgle’s rot. 
13:30 - Ritual of the Hair of the Dog - The Space Wolf now cracks open his first cold one of the day. The first of many. Cheerios may be consumed as well. 
13:45 - Firing Drills - The Space Wolf consumes another liter of alcohol before going out back and shooting empty beer bottles with his bolter. This takes place far away from the Alcohol Excretion Grounds, after that one time Brother Brynjolf accidentally lit his own piss on fire. an entire company had to spend 6 months in the sickbay until their hair grew back and they were thus fit to be seen in public again. 
14:00 - Freeze your Balls - The Space Wolf sheds his armor and most of his clothing to wander around Asaheim for an hour. 
15:00 - Feeding of the Land Raiders - Space Wolf observes a feast with his brothers in honour of the chapter's revered battle machines. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow not grasping that the Long Fangs and Grey Hunters beelined for the chow hall as soon as the claws were out of sight. 
15:30 - Boozing of the Land Raiders - No feast is complete without metric fucktons of liquor. Fenrisian Ale, beer, and if available bylestim blend are poured and scrubbed all over the most honoured of the chapter's war machines. Many still have bullet holes, sometimes allowing beer to get into the exhaust ports and make for kickass explosions later. Blood Claws are still wandering around outside naked in the snow. 
16:00 - Wolf your Wolf - Grey Hunters and older Space Wolves take this time to play with their favourite 4-legged companions. Any Blood Claw who's showed up by now is made a Grey Hunter. 
16:30 - Save the Blood Claws - Blood Claws are brought in from the cold. Most are frozen blue or black - and hungry for more. 
17:00 - Evening feast - Eat. Drink. Start brawls. The usual non-warzone Space Wolf thing. 
18:00 - Try to wake up [[Bjorn the Fell Handed|Bjorn]]. 
18:10 - Give up, try to find something fun on the Vox Saga. 
19:00 - Night shitter break. 
20:00 - Night firing drills - Much to the Iron Priest's dismay, the Space Wolves practice writing their names in the snow with bolters. In runes. In the dark. 
21:00 - Ritual Intake of Narcotics and Purging of Testicles - bitches and blow. 
05:00 - Daily Rest - The Space Wolf passes out. 

==A Quick Word Out of Character==
The true reason for all this, is that, we at /tg/, in our pathetic, low-reaching mastery of comedy, have seen how idiotic it is that every goddamn Space Wolf codex unnecessarily uses the word "wolf" as a prefix or a suffix every 3rd sentence (similar to the [[Robin Cruddace|Tyranid codex]] shoe-horning the prefix ''bio-'' into every 3rd sentence). Since /tg/ is an easily angered monster, not unlike an [[Angry Marine]], we furiously attempt to link Space Wolves to furries (it's really fucking annoying), as we are as fucked up as [[Chaos Pretty Marines]].

It has been established in the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series that the VI Legion doesn't employ the word "wolf" as much as they appear to do. Wolves are readily apparent in their motifs, such as Leman Russ's titles as "Wolf-King" and "Great Wolf," as well as in the formal name of the Wolf Guard, but it's not as overblown as it's made out to be. Apparently, whoever did the Fenrisian-to-Gothic translation made a few errors. First off, they don't call themselves "the Space Wolves." When speaking formally, they refer to themselves as the ''Vlka Fenryka'', which we can look at a few ways. "Fenris" is easy, a reference to Fenrir from Norse mythology. "Vlka" has a couple options; if you walk it backwards through the Germanic ''Volk'' you get "Folk of Fenris". This supports a common theory on 1d4chan where a bunch of colonists landed on a planet, bred giant dogs from their great, great, grand-children (more on that in a minute) then thought, "You know what's better than planet Unicorn? Planet fucking Fenris". So the the ''Vlka Fenryka'' are literally the folk of Fenris. Alternately ''Vlka'' can be translated from Slavic to get the "Wolves of Fenris" again.

No matter what you conclude on, you get Dan Abnett using linguistics to reinforce his theme that the Space Wolves are misunderstood by the rest of the Imperium - calling the Space Wolves because of a mistranslated word. One could even argue they are actually called "Space People", would make sense since Ragnar referred to them as "Star warriors" in the William King novels and their Fenrisian ''Kaerl'' auxiliaries call them "sky warriors," but the lore from these novels has been left by the wayside so take that as you will. When speaking informally, they refer to themselves as "the Rout", solidifying their purpose as the Emperor's executioners (self-proclaimed)/snowflakes. Additionally, the post of "Wolf-Lord" is also a mistranslation, as they refer to their Company commanders as ''Jarl''. Finally, they don't call their fortress-monastery the Fang, but rather the ''Aett'', which can be literally translated as "clan home." There's also this in-universe [[meme]] "there are no wolves on Fenris." At all. This was started by one of the primarchs remarking that they should be called xenos, because they're natives of an alien planet, and it quickly morphed into a joke. As it turns out, this is literally true.

With regards to the [[Fenrisian Wolf|Fenrisian wolves]], the origin a little more freaky than expected: they're not wolves, but descendants of human-wolf mutants. Back when Fenris was first settled, the colonists had the ''Canis helix'' added to help them adapt to the harsh environment by adding wolf genes to their genetic-makeup. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well--the ''canix helix'' caused a number of settlers to degrade into wolfmen and wolfwomen. Following this, they bred and produced a new strain of wolf into the environment. So there are no ''wolves'' on Fenris. They're just the descendants of human mutants. Which might explain why, post-Heresy, only Fenrisians can become Space Wolves (assuming that's why the successor chapters couldn't handle Russ' gene seed).

So yes, naming the planet after the wolves means we really do just end up all the way back at Wolves of Wolves after all. Whelp.

Of course, that means that the Space Wolves are wearing pelts made of [[Fabius Bile|human skin]], but lets not dwell on that - after all it's fairly common in the Imperium to wear human skulls... WolfyWolfWolf {{BLAM|''' *BLAM*}}.

===The Wulfen issue aka "Fucking Furries"===
The blatant author favouritism annoys fans of the other chapters with "Dark Secrets". GW's treatment of the Wulfen makes it effortless for fans of other chapters to hurl [[Mary Sue]] accusations at them, unlike the [[Blood Angels]] and [[Dark Angels]]. The Wulfen are now out in the open; once they were exposed they get little (arguably no) punishment while the Inquisition and Grey Knights just "kept one eye open". The aforementioned chapters on the other hand have to keep their secrets from being found out by the Inquisition and the Imperium at large.

Despite the fact that Fallen Angels were paraded around on Terra, many would assume they were [[Ravenwing]] without their fancy bikes. While any claims of Dark Angels being the real traitors from the Fallen would have [[Guilliman]] retort back that they are full of shit (with more and longer words), as he knew exactly what The First was up to during the Horus Heresy with the exception the events that caused the destruction of Caliban. Of course, the Unforgiven would also be pissed if they found out if one of the predecessors of the Grey Knights killed a Dark Angel and were part of the reason their homeworld was destroyed and would demand censure.

The Blood Angels on the other hand have an infection similar to the Wulfen without mutating into some kind of half-human man-beast. The [[Red Thirst]]. The Blood Angels and their successors organize the afflicted into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] who are lead by their Chaplains into killing Xenos and foul traitors. If they somehow survive the mutated Blood Angels are {{BLAM}}ed.
Both chapters send their traitors/mutants into battle to be used as cannon fodder. A much more grimdark action that would be in character for Space Marines. [[White Scars|They wouldn't be the only]] [[Raven Guard|chapters to have done this either.]] Instead of treating mutants as fellow warriors.
Inserting noble bright into the setting where it doesn't belong. The same reasons that so many players also hated the Tau until GW retconned them into being more grimdark.

Making this all the more strange. In all likelihood [[Guilliman]] himself wouldn't see a problem with using mutated Space Marines as cannon fodder. Because he did so himself when he created the [[Moritat]]s after combat exercises with the [[Raven Guard]]. So chances are he would side with the other two former [[Imperium Secundus]] Legions. [[Ogryn|Due to not only favoritism but he and the rest of the Imperium at large would find it strange that the Space Wolves do not]].

If [[Guilliman]] ever found out about all three. He would most likely order [[The Fallen]] and [[Wolfen]] organized into [[Death Company|Death Companies]] style formations as well. Something that the Dark Angels are more or less doing already. This would just make it official. The [[Space Wolves]] would look like the bad guys if they objected, putting them in a tough spot.

=== Why people hate the Space Wolves, tldr version ===
One user on reddit summed it up with this. (fixed for grammar somewhat)

"The Space Wolves remind me of a 13 year old’s first D&D character: very cool, special, powerful barbarian hero who is morally flawless but doesn't listen to authority and always does the right thing but don't you dare cross them. They get away with shit because they're so special and the rules don't apply to them, guys. They got to wage war on the Inquisition with a slap on the wrist, while the Celestial Lions were slaughtered for merely questioning the morals of the Inquisition. [[Mary Sue|They get a free pass on mutation in a setting where that gets chapters purged.]] They drink and party while other chapters lose hundreds of brothers on meaningless, forgotten battlegrounds. They aren't even Vikings! The White Scars are Space Mongols. The Black Templars are Space Teutons. [[Ultramarines|There are Space Rome]]. [[Thousand Sons|Space Egypt]]. [[Raven Guard|Space Iroquois]]. But Vikings? No. They don't raid. They don't pillage. They don't terrorize. They don't explore, chart, map, and push boundaries. [[Mary Sue|They just fuck around, being special, unique perfect little dudes who don't suffer in GrimDarkness.]]

They exist in the wrong game."

So basically Space Wolves now have the same problem as the Tau did a few editions back.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Lightning2.jpg|'Tis only a matter of time until Steve Blum voices 'em. Apparently, this set somehow makes things you hit weigh less.
File:Warlord of Fenris by NachoMon.jpg|Totally not overcompensating...Yeah he's just <s>hiding a massive hardon with</s> supporting the skull with a massive hard-on.
File:Lemanruss39.jpg|Leman Russ. About to mercilessly fuck over the Thousand Sons.
File:Prospero.jpg|Is he carrying a wooden shield? Really? Against a bolt shell? It better be a Combat Shield.
[[File:http://l.wigflip.com/DucDpDtG/roflbot.jpg]]|Pretty cool guys to hang with.
File:SneakySpaceWolves.png|Good thing they brought the sneaking flag.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bjorn the Fell Handed]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Space Wolves (9E)|Space Wolves Tactics]]
*[[Warriors of Chaos]] - With whom they get into bar brawls and drinking contests to see who is moar [[Viking]]
*[[Skyrar's Dark Wolves]] - Before calling your [[Dark Angels]] brothers [[Troll|traitors]] read [[Svane_Vulfbad|this]] first to understand [[Fallen_Angels|their]][[ rage]].
*[[Legion Consul]] - The old "Commissars" of the VI legion.
*[https://youtu.be/Bh_5ofa__pY/ Space Wolves theme song]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Space Wolves}}
[[Category:Furry]]

Advance Wars

2021-10-22T14:46:17Z

2600:1700:91C1:A4E0:7419:43C:C553:BEC4:

{{/vg/}}

[[File:AdvancedWarsTitle.jpeg|thumb|250px|HEY KIDS - WAR IS [[Dwarf Fortress|FUN]]!.]]
'''Advance Wars''' is a [[video game]] series for the Nintendo consoles and handhelds and the older brother of [[Fire Emblem]]. Which means it's probably cutesy, family friendly, and costs less than competitors. To a normal person, this would sound perfect - to a veteran of [[/tg/]], this is [[heresy]] and complete opposite of things they are used to. The remakes of the first time games will be out on the Nintendo Switch in 2022. If it sells well enough, it would convince Nintendo to do more with the franchise.

But despite that, it is still about war, [[derp|with all its glory and all its horror]]. I mean... just look [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_W34QsM6NY| at it]

==Summary==
Advance Wars is a turn-based, [[Awesome|Panzer General]]-inspired strategy game that is set in an alternate modern and [[weeaboo]] universe (with western cultural <s>influences</s> blatant, obvious, and yet amusing stereotypes). Gameplay involves making dudes from preset bases, using those dudes to take over buildings (by stomping on them.... ''tad'' odd, I know), and using those buildings to build MORE dudes to eventually [[meme|kill all the dudes in the enemy base]] and stomp on the base itself.

However, only footsloggers can stomp on the buildings, while everything else can kill them - in a way, it's a perfect balance. On the other hand, it's annoying, because infantry is fragile as a piece of paper, when it's out of cover. And when in cover, it's slow. And there are dozen of nuances that are surprisingly simple to learn but annoying to overcome.

Oh and there's some aircraft and navy battle stuff but they're not really important, the stomping on things, is, though.

One important factor in the battle, is the CO (Commanding Officer) which leads the army. Each of them has a set of different abilities, therefore ensuring that the games will always be unbalanced as all hell.

And then we get to the latest game in the series, Days of Ruin. Turns up the grimdark fairly far and makes fog and weather the norm rather than the exception, creating an appropriately tense atmosphere far more appreciative of reconnaissance, cleverness, and [[just as planned]]. The single-player campaign is [[Skub|very polarizing]] compared to its lighthearted predecessors. Combined with a whole slew of very careful unit modifications and additions this is the evenhanded tactics game you [[Skub|really want]].

There was also a spinoff known as ''Batallion Wars'' for the gamecube, with a sequel for the Wii that added online multiplayer on Nintendo's now defunct online service. These games were action real time strategy with a more of a focus on the action and implementing third person shooter aspects such as the player directly taking control of units. Unlike the rest of the series, they were produced out of Japan by British developers. Whilst they were well received, most fans ultimately preferred the turn based strategy aspects of the series.

Thus far the series has been in a coma, with no titles released since Days of Ruin.

==Factions==

=== GBA ===

The designs and COs various factions are all influenced by the four most important powers in World War 2 - or, at least, by stereotypes and cutesy re-imaginings of the 4 main powers, with less genocide and war crimes.

* Orange Star (Red Star in the Japanese version) is the USA
* Blue Moon is the USSR (You don't know how lucky you are, boy)
* Green Earth is Nazi Germany
* Yellow Comet is Imperial Japan
* Black Hole isn't based off any singular world power, but goes for a much more "alien" look, with their soldiers all being clad in space-suits and their vehicles mostly being [[METAL BOXES|Blocky, angular things]]

Also, there are [[xenos|aliens]] or something, but fuck those guys.

If you want to think in terms of Warhammer 40k, you can think along those lines:

* Orange Star are [[Space Marines]] as they are overall most average in power and style.
* Blue Moon is the [[Imperial Guard]] as they love their artillery and cheap unit spam.
* Green Earth are [[Eldar]], because they are all specialized towards a certain unit type and also tend to be [[Eldrad|dicks]] about everything.
* Yellow Comet are [[Tau|Communist Weeaboos]] for obvious reasons.
* Black Hole is [[Chaos]], especially since in the first game they were a reskin of Orange Star, and therefore were [[Chaos Space Marines]]. They have a lot of random-effect powers and specialized crazy shit.

...You should also stop calling your cat "Xeno Scum".

=== Days of Ruin ===

* Rubinelle 12th Battalion: The post apocalyptic remains of the army of the country of Rubinelle, it was formerly affiliated with the New Rubinelle Army. Essentially the counterpart to Orange Star right down to the red color scheme.
* Lazurian Army: The army of Rubinelle's rival nation of Lazuria. Like Blue Moon, their color is blue and they act as the initial antagonist before the true antagonist is revealed.
* New Rubinelle Army: The fascist government that rules post apocalyptic Rubinelle. Its color is yellow, though its lacks any real similarities to Yellow Comet.
* Intelligent Defense Systems: Private military contractor organizations that sells weapons of mass destruction. With their black palette and position as the true enemy, they could be loosely compared to Black Hole.

==Units==

Your army. They all have distinct roles, and depending on which CO you select, will appear as a certain faction. They're all identical (sans color and Infantry units) on the non-battle-animation map.

===Foot soldiers===

Foot soldiers are very important because you need them to capture properties and get gold. Or you can just [[Tarpit|spam them to jam the heck out of chokepoints]].

* '''Infantry:''' Infantry are the weakest- and yet most important- unit in the game. They move slowly (3 tiles a turn), countered by their ability to cross mountains and rivers slowly, and free movement through woods. Their firepower is VERY low, since they only have rifles; at best an Infantry unit will finish off a 1 hp Tank. Though they are plenty effective against other infantry and mech units. Their main draw is their ability to capture shit; they'll take cities, bases, airports, and other properties for you, at a speed dictated by their health. Most of the time they will be critical to your operations. They're commonly used at high tiers for their excellent spamming capability; as meat-shields they excel.
* '''Mech:''' Anti-tank infantry units. Moves only 2 spaces a turn, but can cross mountains and rivers without penalty, and carry a bazooka that lets them engage light armor such as tanks and recon jeeps. They're another useful unit- while their mobility leaves a lot to be desired for, they can be spammed in obscenely large numbers if one does not care about winning QUICKLY. They stand a chance against armor, though their defense is still low, meaning you generally have to attack first. Also has a slight firepower bonus with their rifles over regular Infantry, but that really doesn't matter. Surprisingly potent up through mid-game: they're realistically as powerful as a regular tank, and while they're much slower sticking them in an APC gives them the option to either ride quickly or march through difficult/impassible terrain like mountains.
* '''Bikes:''' Added in DoR. High-speed infantry unit. Though they slow down significantly when crossing non-road terrain, bikes let you get a head start on capturing distant cities and bases before your enemy can. Though they're vulnerable to anything that kills infantry (read: pretty much anything), bikes extend your reach and income quickly, and can beat down regular infantry with slightly more powerful guns.

===Direct-attack vehicles===

* '''Recon:''' It's basically a jeep with a heavy machine gun mounted; fastest moving ground unit in the game, but suffers mobility penalties on literally anything that isn't a road. Can rape infantry units (but must be cautious against mechs). Has a huge vision radius, making them critical on Fog of War maps.
* '''AA Gun/Anti-Air:''' SPAAG vehicles with low anti-armor firepower, but their 40mm autocannons can one-hit kill footsoldiers in certain terrain, and they tend to one-hit kill (or at least very severely debilitate) any air units. Defense is also good, meaning that they can slowly beat Recons to death without much problem. If the enemy is shitting waves of footsoldiers at you, this is probably your best bet.
* '''Tank:''' A set of light tanks, your bread and butter. Can fuck up Infantry and Mechs bad with their turret MG, and can also engage light armor with a tank cannon. Since they're so cheap, they can be spammed in mass amounts as a generalist tank. Though their firepower is low against heavy armor. They have high mobility, at 6 spaces, and also don't have as severe terrain penalties as tire-using Recons, meaning they are excellent flankers and versatile attackers capable of driving through the shattered bodies of a broken frontline to tear up the exposed artillery or rockets.
* '''Medium Tank:''' Heavyweight bruisers that will smash up most other units while taking little damage in return. If your opponent went mostly for light-medium units like bikes, tanks, and anti-airs a few medium tanks will push them around without sacrificing too much in terms of speed or flexibility. The predators to watch out for are artillery, rockets, and bombers, though enough mech infantry can whittle down a medium tank's hp. Almost worthless in AW2 and DS, because of its bigger cousins, unless you really couldn't afford more than 16000 G.
* '''Neotank:''' Added in AW2, removed from DoR. A monster of a tank which overpowers the Medium Tank in pretty much every way, packing slightly higher attack & defense and the same movement speed as a regular Tank. Same strengths and weaknesses as other tank classes, just bigger and better.
* '''Megatank/War Tank:''' Added in DS and somewhat modified for DoR. Superheavy seige-breakers with superior combat ability but huge drawbacks in cost, mobility, and supply. This tank is so big that rather than being shown as a squad in battle animations like most land units, it's just one giant tank. Seriously impractical in most cases, but if you see your enemy fielding a heavily armored column, just one war tank with some support can flatten a path to victory (one war tank can happily kill two medium tanks or almost a half-dozen regular tanks given decent terrain and ammunition).
* '''Oozium:''' An extremely rare special land unit that only appears in Dual Strike. Oozium cannot be constructed, so the only way it can be used is by playing on a map that has some at the start. These are extremely resilient giant slime monsters (yes really) with the ability to instakill any unit it attacks with no risk of being damaged by a counterattack. However in addition to being irreplaceable if present at all, damage done to Oozium is permanent, and it cannot counterattack. It also has the worst mobility out of any unit in the series, able to move at most one space per turn. It can somehow attack air units, however, making ranged attacks its only major weakness. If that's not an option, throwing enough non-ranged units at it, while expensive, will eventually kill it.

===Indirect attack vehicles===

Indirect attack vehicles can target squares which they aren't adjacent to. They usually can't move and fire, most of them have a minimum range, and they are usually sitting ducks when attacked directly.

* '''[[Basilisk Artillery Gun|Artillery]]:''' Dirt cheap indirect attack unit with a range of 2-3 spaces. That might sound like shit, but at a blocked-up chokepoint it is the difference between spending 5 turns shooting the same 2 infantry cycling back and forth, and breaking through to your objective. Also reasonably powerful even against stronger units like Medium Tanks, giving them a good use even in the late game. To decide whether you need artillery, just look at the map: Are there choke points, mountains, or dense forests? If so, buy you some basilisks. Is the map dominated by water, aircraft, or wide-open roads and plains? If so, ... don't.
* '''Rockets:''' Expensive, longer-range version of the Artillery. Excellent damage but serious problems moving across non-road terrain. Surprisingly useful anti-naval units: their long range and high firepower projects a lot of power out into normally impassable waters and almost every naval unit costs more than a rocket group. Perfect food for battle copters, though.
* '''Missiles:''' Same basic stats as the rocket, but can only attack air units. Will obliterate any flier in the game from far enough away, serving as either powerful area denial or a trump card hidden in obscured terrain. Too powerful to ignore, but too immobile to use unsupported -- it has a minimum range, and every flier is faster than its maximum range.
* '''Piperunners:''' Only appears in DS. The silliest unit in all Advance Wars, and that's saying something. It's got the same maximum range as rockets and missiles, with slightly less minimum range, it has stupidly high attack and defense, and it can attack anything other than a submerged submarine. The only downside is that, as its name implies, it can ''only'' move along pipelines. If you're playing on a map without pipes, it'll sit on top of its factory for the whole game. These units are probably at least partially based on the Train unit from Super Famicom Wars (a Japan-only predecessor to the Advance Wars series), which were bound to railroad tracks instead pipes, could be used as transport, and were faster.
* '''Anti-tanks''': A DoR addition. Powerful and infuriating anti-tank artillery. Unlike the self-propelled guns representing normal artillery units, anti-tanks are crew-served weapons with large blast screens. Despite being moderately expensive, anti-tanks are difficult to counter and problematic to engage: they attack at range like artillery but also have no minimum range and are capable of counterattacking direct-damage attackers like tanks or infantry. Their offense is very strong, particularly against medium or war tanks, and an anti-tank's defense is nearly unmatched, with most units dealing less than 3 HP of damage even if attacking at full health. An attack force relying mostly on tanks (as most attack forces do) will very quickly find itself ground to a halt. The best countermeasures (bombers, seaplanes, battle copters, and battleships) are costly, restricted by available airports or seaports, and are efficiently countered out themselves. Only infantry and perhaps rockets fight cost-effectively against anti-tanks, and the former present the great difficulties of employing slow units against long-ranged indirect-fire weapons.

===Utility vehicles===

* '''APC:''' Unarmed, but can pack an Infantry squad inside. Can also supply fuel, gas, etc. in unlimited supply to other units, giving it a critical role as a supply unit. Used for cheeky tactics such as driving past the enemy flank and plopping an Infantry unit on their HQ. Somewhat low defense though. Days of Ruin renamed them to '''Rigs''' and gave them the ability to build temporary airports or seaports to serve as fuelling stations for planes or ships. In the first game the AI was obsessed with killing these, so you could lure their entire army away from the objective with a few serving as distractions (something that is actually required for the completing certain maps as fast as possible).
* '''Flare tank:''' Another DoR invention. Lightweight vehicles with an anti-infantry machine gun and a long-ranged flare launcher that clears the fog of war in an area, including revealing units hidden in forests or cities. Essential to breaking the line of a clever opponent, and to almost any big action in Days of Ruin if you're playing with Fog of War on.

===Sea units===

Sea units go on the water, as you'd expect. A lot of maps are based around islands, meaning that you need to build them to ship your units back and forth, but they're a very secondary consideration on non-island maps.

* '''Lander:''' Vulnerable but essential transport ships capable of carrying two units of any size at once. An attacking army needs several of these, making killing or protecting these the prime directive for both sides. For some reason you can only stick two infantry units in one, but can stick two APCs loaded with two infantry units each (for a total of four) in one.
* '''Cruisers:''' These were an odd duck in the noblebright AW games, where they were a hard counter to submarines and flying units, but couldn't actually attack other ships. This made them very dependent on getting the first strike -- if they took a hit from a full-health bomber or sub, or a battleship took a potshot at them, they were toast. Then Days of Ruin gave them the ability to shoot other ships, and suddenly they're one of the best units in the game. Weirdly enough, cruisers have always been able to carry and refuel helicopters, giving them a niche supporting role in a combined-arms sort of battle.
* '''Battleship:''' Naval siege engine with superb damage and the singular ability to move and fire at long range, dominantly powerful but require support. Once you have a cruiser or two this is probably your prime naval unit. Days of Ruin cranked their price even higher but gave them the ability to move and attack, thoroughly breaking some maps.
* '''Submarine:''' Stealth-capable naval superiority unit with enough firepower to sink a lander or cripple a battlecruiser. Can "submerge," as an action, using twice as much fuel but making themselves invisible to all but adjacent enemies. And the only unit besides a cruiser capable of attacking a submerged submarine is another submerged submarine. Fighting cruisers takes crafty and evasive tactics, and usually amounts to "don't". Used carefully a submarine can recoup many times its own cost, as even one solid strike on a battleship will cost more than the sub. If you can afford the expense, a hit squad of a few submarines and a scattered few cruisers and battleships can wipe out much larger and more expensive fleets.
* '''Carrier:''' Both DS and DoR feature aircraft carriers. They're quite different between the two games, but what they have in common are a huge price tag, monstrous power in the right hands, but relatively low defense and a dependence on other ships to protect them. In both games, planes can land on them for resupply. In DS, they pack an anti-air missile with a massively long range -- just as powerful as the Missile but much less susceptible to being flown over. In DoR, they're unarmed, but can build very nasty seaplanes to harass the enemy.
* '''Black Boat:''' A variant on the Lander which only appeared in DS. It can only carry infantry and mechs, but it can also repair adjacent naval units for 1HP. Unarmed, but dirt cheap, and good for spamming infantry in the early game on island maps.
* '''Gunboat:''' DoR's replacement for the Black Boat. They can carry one foot soldier and have a single salvo of transport-killing missiles. Good for infantry spam on island maps but die horribly to most other naval units.

===Air units===

Air units can, um, fly. Which makes them the gamechangers on most maps. Helicopters can be shot at by most ground units, whereas planes can only be targeted by specialised anti-air weaponry.

* '''T Copter:''' Transport heli, basically a flying, terrain-ignoring APC. But it can't supply units, and can also be mercilessly raped by AA guns, balancing it. Used for even cheekier HQ-dropping tactics.
* '''B Copter:''' An attack helicopter, good defense against ground units, mostly because only machine guns and rifles can hit it. Can batter enemies to death with its autocannon and missiles, though an AA Gun will instant-kill it. Also is helpless against fighter jets.
* '''Fighter:''' Air superiority unit with exceptional speed and enough firepower to cripple any other flier in one salvo. Also excellent as a fast but expensive reconnaissance unit. Fighters are quite costly to build, especially in the early stages of a map. With no anti-ground capability at all it's often reasonable to only build fighters when your opponent(s) already have an air unit or two, but sometimes getting an early fighter can dissuade your foes from ever taking off in the first place.
* '''Bomber:''' The Fighter's fat, ground-attacking cousin. Pure offense fliers that hammer most ground units with impunity, but expensive, highly vulnerable to its counters, and can't counterattack air units. When you're looking to bust up a ground army with insufficient anti-air, accept no substitutes; a bomber is capable of reducing a medium tank to an expensive pile of scrap in one run. As most ground units cannot engage a bomber at all it's a key offensive weapon on some maps.
* '''Black Bomb:''' Only appears in DS. It's the fastest unit in the game, but it doesn't attack -- you can instead set it to explode, which deals 5 damage to anything within 2 squares of it, be it Infantry or Neotank (although it isn't allowed to kill anything, it'll just leave them on 1 health). It immediately dies (without exploding) if anything attacks it or if its very small fuel supply runs out. In spite of these restrictions, it has the potential to be very very nasty, mostly because it can only be killed by dedicated anti-air weapons.
* '''Stealth:''' Only in DS. Capable of attacking every unit except for submerged submarines, but not as powerful as fighters or bombers, and built like tissue paper. Acts like a flying submarine -- it can become invisible to other units at the cost of burning stupidly large amounts of fuel per turn.
* '''Duster:''' Added to DoR. Propeller-driven WW2-era fighters, extremely cheap, highly mobile and capable of modest combat duty but badly outgunned against real anti-air or especially fighters. Do not expect these to win you the war; dusters are unquestionably budget fliers. However, a duster can make a real nuisance of itself by slowing infantry advances, especially if your opponent doesn't have anti-air tanks nearby.
* '''Seaplane:''' Another DoR addition. These are built from Carriers and can attack every unit type in the game except for submerged submarines. They don't pack as much firepower as Fighters or Bombers, but are still incredibly versatile beasts and brutally overpowering if your economy is strong enough to support more than one carrier. Their main balancing factor, aside from dependence on Carriers, is their incredibly small fuel tank and ammo reserve, so they're somewhat tethered to their mothership unless you have some friendly airports on hand.

==COs==

The Commanding Officer, the one who directs the troops. Most COs have a day-to-day passive ability of some kind, which means a strength AND a weakness (with only deliberate game-breakers having no weakness), and all COs can activate a CO Power by getting into combat. Interestingly, all powers grant a 10% defense boost in addition to other effects even though it's not described in the manual or hint screens.

Abbreviations signify which games they are playable in:

* AW 2 = Advance Wars 2
* DS = Dual Strike
* Days of Ruin is a different continuity, so they get their own section altogether.

===Advance Wars Mainline CO list===
====Orange Star====
* Andy: The middle-roader of the middle-road. No real strengths and weaknesses, with a power that repairs his dudes. Has a personality that fits his playstyle, plain and unremarkable, but reliable and without real annoyances. He does need to be reminded what airports are though. Generally unused in multiplayer beyond one's first few matches, because any CO with a particularly good day-to-day ability or CO power will have an advantage over him.
* Max: Every crew of heroes needs a big beefy guy. Crappy with artillery, but great in a straight up fight, with big damage buffs to all direct combat. Has exactly the personality one would expect from a big, beefy guy. Might or might not be dating Nell. In the first game he was the most broken CO in the entire list, having 150/100 attack/defense stats (including his range-challenged indirects) along with movement bonuses from his CO powers. Nerfed to hell in AW2 (though that in practice just makes him a good high-tier CO) with 120/100 stats. Having indirects with lower range isn't much of a weakness for him since he doesn't really need them.
* Sami: Infantry specialist and standard issue [[Hot Chicks|Hot Chick]]. The most finesse-oriented Orange Star CO, relying on skirmish tactics and a bonus to capturing cities to gain a property advantage in the early game, followed by a wall of rapidly-replenishing mechanized infantry and tanks in the late. Also, that CO power that lets her one-shot-capture any property in the game in one go is cheating good if she can land it on the enemy base; her tagteam with Eagle in DS can potentially end games in one turn. Likes: Drinks, guns, camo, WW II fighter-pilot jackets. Dislikes: Straight fights, shenanigans.
* Nell: Commander-in-chief of the army, and the sexy voice constantly bitching in your ear throughout the first game. Super-lucky, all of her units have a higher chance to deal extra damage; her CO powers boost this to the point where infantry can trade evenly with anti-air tanks. In practice, this makes her a strong generalist with no weakness, since her units will invariably be dealing more damage in all situations over the long-term. She's also Rachel's big sister.
* Hachi (AW 2): Is the map merchant in the first game. When playable he's one of the strongest COs in the game, focusing on decreasing the cost of units without making them any weaker. Also, his super CO power lets him shit out units from ANY CITY. Which means you can suddenly plant some ungodly powerful unit like a Medium Tank or Neotank down next to the enemy's base in those maps with cities along them. He is absolutely hated, and is one of those COs that you basically have already lost to.
* Jake (DS): The Japanese version is just kinda bland, while the American version speaks entirely in hip-hopisms which get so annoying that the main villain himself flat out says he's had it up to HERE with his "hipster slang". Your choice which is worse. He gets an attack bonus when fighting in the open on the Plains. In practice, this isn't too reliable, though his CO powers are alright: both grant him a boost to indirect attack range while his super boosts mobility. Friendzoned by Rachel. First co-protagonist of the DS game.
* Rachel (DS): Nell's little sister, and the serious one. ''Dual Strike'''s "Andy" character, with few real strengths or weaknesses. She has a mix of different powers: her day-to-day allows her to repair units more quickly than usual, her regular CO power is a downgraded version of Nell's power, and her CO power carpet bombs the enemy. Particularly strong on smaller maps. Second co-protagonist of the DS game.

====Blue Moon====
* Olaf: Grumpy Orange Star defector, who started out as a cowardly starter villain before succumbing to the ravages of time and transforming into Santa Claus as the games progress. Specializes in winter combat and fighting in the snow, with a CO power that summons a storm (inflicting damage in later games) and units that gain bonuses and ignore penalties for ice. Rain, unfortunately, fucks up his shit even worse than usual. He is mostly regarded as a midtier CO; having the same "nothing-special" problem as Andy, though his CO power works better for fucking up mobility-oriented COs. Basically has no downside if you are smart enough to disable random weather while your buddy is in the bathroom.
* Grit: Indirect combat specialist, and another Orange Star defector. Max's opposite, a long-range specialist whose artillery shoots further and hits harder, but whose tanks crumble more easily under direct assault. Lazy gunfighting badass, who may or may not still be schtupping Nell behind their countries' backs. One of the more broken COs due to his utterly murderous indirects, which only get longer-ranged and more powerful with his CO powers.
* Colin (AW 2): Sickly, insecure rich kid conscripted in the face of the alien invasion in the sequel. His units kind of suck, having 90/100 stats, but their cheap price lets him crank them out fast enough to do [[communism]] proud. One of the best COs in both games he appears in, because he can simply drown the enemy in troops, and you will be surprised how many infantrymen you can squeeze out from your budget having just built 2 neotanks already. His CO power multiplies his money by 1.5 (allowing him to asspull even more units), but his Super CO Power is widely regarded as immensely broken: you just need to save up and build no units for a few turns, pop the SCOP, and all of a sudden you will see mechs one-shotting Megatanks from full health. Jesus Christ.
* Sasha (DS): Colin's sexy, confident older sister. Her units don't gain any advantage or disadvantage from her leadership, but she gets extra money from all her properties, and her powers drain enemy CO gauges and give her more money whenever her dudes shoot stuff. One of the nastiest one-two punches in the game when she teams up with her little brother, as she covers his weaknesses (sub-par attack power, susceptibility to some CO powers) while enhancing his strengths (giving him ''even more money'' than usual). Has a thing for Jake.

====Green Earth====
* Eagle: Badass fighter pilot and angry German who keeps getting fooled by clones. Air units benefit from potent buffs, and his CO power lets his entire army reactivate and move again, something that has proven more and more difficult to balance as the games go on. Doesn't like water so his naval units are weaker. Starts dating Sami after they almost kill each other, and mellows out a little by the second game. Basically the go-to Green Earth CO for any map that doesn't overly rely on naval units, as his vehicles and infantrymen are just fine. Pro-tip: Use his CO power to park your aircraft right above enemy factories/shipyards/airports and watch as they can't produce jack shit.
* Drake: Badass fatass admiral. His navy is powerful, which is good when you have one and useless when you don't, his units all ignore rain penalties, and his CO power, on top of direct damaging the entire enemy army, halves their fuel, immensely fucking over them on Fog of War-enabled maps, and flipping the bird to any and all naval units, especially submarines. Done right it can single-handedly reverse the enemy's momentum. Fun, if situational. Personality-wise, a fun, good-natured guy who loves food and relaxing more than combat. Also apparently used to be a pirate or something.
* Jess (AW 2): Grumpy German tank commander (inspired by Rommel) with a suit and a fuckhueg tank shell she carries everywhere. Good with, you guessed it, tanks and other mechanized units, and her CO power resupplies all of them and buffs up their firepower and speed. Cools down a little in ''Dual Strike'', apparently dealing with Eagle just puts her on the rag. Surprisingly regarded as a low-tier CO; her infantrymen are nerfed (along with most non-vehicle units), and that means she will severely struggle at getting an economic advantage, which in turn means she will struggle to build her more powerful vehicles. Though she is good at trolling Sami hard. Her infantry were buffed in Dual Strike making her mid-tier.
* Javier (DS): A flamboyant Don Quixote clone who is the sole generalist among his more-specialized comrades, Javier is either laughably mediocre or utterly broken. On top of the usual offence bonuses from communications towers, he also gets defence bonuses; just having two will give him a solid advantage over most COs, while three essentially means that the game is all but won, nevermind his CO powers which ''double'' or ''triple'' his bonuses. However, on maps where there are no communications towers (and there are a lot of them), he is probably the weakest CO, with only his defence against indirect attacks to fall back on.

====Yellow Comet====
* Kanbei: Angry [[Legend of the Five Rings|Lion Clan-style]] raw raw Bushido stereotype. His powers mirror Colin's: better units at a higher price, especially in AW2 where they get buffed more than normal. Like Colin, really powerful, especially once he gets a good enough economy to put out tanks that can go toe-to-toe with other COs' medium tanks, and has a very straightforward CO power that just ''buffs the hell out of his entire army''. The buff wasn't that big in the original, the sequels changed that, with AW2 giving him the biggest passive buff of any CO in the series until Days of Ruin, while not making his units anymore expensive than in the original. On top of this he also gained a Super CO power that gives an even bigger buff. Generally a very high-quality CO built for countering enemies that rely on sheer numbers. Has no drawback in maps that don't give you the option to build units and force you to fight with only predeployed ones. Even the cost of his units isn't much of a weakness because when you station units on terrain with good defense bonuses, combined his innate buffs, means the enemy attacking will typically lose engagements they would have won against anybody else. His Super CO power makes his army all but invincible, a humble infantry can get blasted by attacks that would kill it outright and not take any damage.
* Sonja: Kanbei's much more cool-headed daughter. Master strategist, passable tactician. Her units have a grab-bag of unusual abilities, including increased vision in fog-of-war and hidden unit HP (allowing you to troll the enemy with careful Medium Tank shuffling on Fog of War maps), and the ability to circumvent some terrain bonuses. Her CO powers let her units shrug off enemy attacks and return fire with full effectiveness. 'Very'' situational, but has some good counter-picks and makes a good partner in ''Dual Strike''. She is utterly useless against AI, because they ignore her health-hiding abilities.
* Sensei (AW 2): An increasingly-senile PC from the old series turned into an old man who won't take off his lucky parachute. Buffed infantry and helicopters, with transports that move farther on a regular day to day basis; his only drawback is his weaker naval play. Hard to master, but generally reckoned to be broken in high-level plays. His CO power doesn't really take that long to charge, and shits free 9 HP infantry into every unoccupied city he owns. His super CO power does the same, but with mechs. Taught Kanbei and Grimm everything he knows.
* Grimm (DS): Fat pro-wrestler-turned-[[neckbeard]]. His units abuse steroids for a beefy attack boost, but suffer defense penalties from the side effects. Flat, but fun, if you like watching your tanks mulch mediums one turn and get wrecked the next.

====Black Hole====
* Sturm (AW & AW 2): Pretty much just [[Star Wars|Darth Vader]] doing his best [[Commissar]] cosplay. In the original game, the version fought at the end of the game buffed offense but lowered defense, the playable one doing the opposite. In AW2 both versions are the same, and as [[BBEG]], he is the best CO in the game, buffing all his units without increasing cost (in fact Kanbei has his passive raised to keep Sturm's units from being as strong as his), with no real weaknesses and a CO power that summons a meteor shower to devastate the enemy army, even its long charge time not enough to balance it. Super-potent, but what do you expect from the final boss? Main enemy in the first two games, killed by Hawke when he tries to nuke the world into uninhabitability at the conclusion of the second. Badass theme and generally extremely broken CO. That doesn't actually even cover WHY he's so broken and not just a superior Kanbei; his units ''ignore terrain movement penalties,'' except for snow but that doesn't appear often enough to be a real weakness. What Lash gets as a CO power he has as a passive ability. In other words, unless it's totally impenetrable (say, a tank trying to cross a mountain), his units will just fly through them, meaning that it's utter child's play for him to acquire a total economic advantage.
** The only CO from AW2 who does not appear in DS. Hawke made sure to double-tap.
* Flak (AW 2): Evil version of Max, and the Black Hole army's vicious, expendable muscle. Like Nell, has a chance to deal bonus damage, but unlike her sometimes whiffs completely. His CO and Super CO powers are the shittiest in the game; they increase dispersion, meaning that sometimes your infantry will fuck up a tank, but that also means your Medium Tank might do a single point of damage to the enemy's regular Tank. He DOES have an awesome theme though, and spouts some entertaining lines. Sometimes used as a self-imposed challenge.
* Adder (AW 2): Juda from [[Fist of the North Star]] in a Nazi uniform with guyliner. An otherwise-average CO with a quick-charging movement buff that catches you upside the head when you least expect it. Extremely annoying and anger-inducing lines and smug personality, making it all the more fun to smash him with a superior CO.
* Lash (AW 2): Mad, petulant teenage genius and Sonja's evil counterpart. Specializes in terrain use and builds all the evil superweapons. Defects to the good guys in ''Dual Strike'', where she learns to use her dark science for good. Surprisingly good CO: her units gain firepower bonuses that increase according to the defensiveness of their terrain. Both her CO powers eliminate terrain movement penalties, with her super CO doubling her firepower bonuses. Anti-social.
* Hawke (AW 2): The stoic, competent [[Eliphas]] in an army of cackling supervillains. His units have universal stat-buffs with no cost increase (though not as much as Sturm's) in exchange for a slow-charging CO power that does minor damage to enemies and repairs minor damage to friendlies. Not earth-shattering, but puts out a complete game that makes him hard to counter. Keeps killing off his bosses for being too crazy and evil, and defects to the good guys with Lash partway through ''Dual Strike''. In AW2, he is the one Black Hole CO besides Sturm to be vaguely competent; when he sees his enemies surrounded and preparing to rebuild their army, he just immediately attacks instead of waiting or doing some sort of retarded time-limited superweapon plan.
* Jugger (DS): Either a defective robot or [[Adeptus Mechanicus|a guy who likes pretending to be one]]. Gameplay-wise, pretty much Flak with even more erratic luck. In practice, this encourages taking risks with weaker units while avoiding stronger ones. Same as with Flak, he's wholly inferior to Nell in most respects.
* Kindle (DS): Smug, upper-class bitch who looks like a lit birthday candle. Gets a massive attack boost when fighting on urban terrain. Unusually, her CO power is often more useful than her super, since it damages any enemy units sitting on properties and increase her urban terrain bonus; all her super does is give an even higher bonus, along with a slight firepower bonus according to how many properties she owns.
* Koal (DS): Frustrated would-be master strategist with a bloated ego and a kabuki actor's face. A bookworm who gets all his tips from Sun Tzu's big book of war. His units get buffs for fighting on roads and he's got Adder's quick-charging speed buff power. In practice, his day-to-day bonus is kind of useless, since lack of defence on roads means that you do not want your ground units to be caught fighting on them.
* Von Bolt (DS): The new [[BBEG]], filling in Sturm's gigantic shoes as best as he can. [[Emperor|An impossibly old man confined to a techno-throne, draining away other life into himself so that he can never truly die.]] Has Hawke's stat buffs, and his CO power fries a huge area, damaging and paralyzing friend and foe alike. No slouch, but not the monster final enemy his predecessor was.

===Days of Ruin CO List===

====Rubinelle 12th Batallion "Brenner's Wolves"====
* Will: [[Thaddeus|Idealistic kid struggling with a grimdark-riddled world]]. Unusually for a protagonist, he's somewhat specialized, equipped with Jake's movement buff CO power and plains bonus. Once his mentor pulls an Obi-Wan, his balls grow three sizes and he takes over the army to keep his mentor's ideals alive. Finishes the game fairly happy, and boffing your worst enemy's daughter-clone after destroying him has got to be the '''best''' kind of vengeance.
* Brenner: [[Tarkus|Grizzled veteran who leads from the front, favoring defensive tactics and coming through with powerful humanity]]. He saves Will and keeps his unit on the straight and narrow in the face of the apocalypse. Dies half-way through, because that ''never'' happens to the hero's mentor. Has Andy's repair power, but his CO aura boosts defense.
* Lin: [[Cyrus|Cynical, gloomy skirmish fighter teaching tactics to the new meat.]] Also wants Brenner to slip her the d, which makes the ongoing comparisons on this page ''hilarious''. Also the one who does dirty business for more-idealistic comrades, like blowing Greyfield's brains out rather than dragging him in to stand trial ([[Awesome| after giving him a speech on how much he sucks]]). Gameplay-wise, she's got Sonja's Fog of War powers, but also gives out a pretty big all-around stat boost in a fairly small area.
* Isabella: An attractive and mysterious amnesiac girl Will finds and saves in the middle of the mountains, who turns out to have encyclopedic knowledge of military matters who becomes very important to the plot later on. Never actually fights in the campaign, which is a shame because she's probably the best CO in the game, with a big aura that gives out big buffs to all stats for all units, and a ''nasty'' power that buffs range ''and'' speed simultaneously, giving her army any number of viable builds.

====Lazuria====
* Forsythe: [[Davian Thule| Honorable old soldier]] who looks exactly like Lee Van Cleef. Pretty cool guy, shame the protagonists had come down with a bad case of the stupids and sided with Greyfield against him. Gunned down like a dog once he surrenders, kicking off Brenner's rebellion. Gameplay-wise, is the only CO with no power, but makes up for it with a giant aura that hands out a modest buff to all units. Thankfully you don't have to fight him before the CO power system becomes a part of the campaign.
* Tasha: [[Avitus|Angry, violent bitch out for revenge.]] Mellows out a little once Brenner's Wolves go rogue to save her and her army, and she joins the gang to help bring down Greyfield, then to fight Caulder. Fighter pilot who plays a lot like Will, but with air units instead of tanks.
* Gage: ...Crap, ran out of ''Dawn of War'' characters. Cold-hearted sniper who follows orders without questions regarding the moral implications of his work. Joins the Wolves with Tasha halfway through the game, and takes charge to open fire on crazed civilian cultists attacking the army that he thinks his fellows might have qualms about shooting. Has Grit's buffs and CO power, but the reworked CO system gives him a much more complete game.

====New Rubinelle====
* Admiral Greyfield: Fat evil sumbitch who sets himself up as generalissimo, then as a king of Rubinelle. About as stable as a house of cards, and [[Commissar|guns down his own men to maintain morale]] at the drop of a [[hat]]. Nukes lots of his own men to kill Brenner, then gets counter-attacked by the resurgent Wolves. Picks the one member of the army who isn't Lawful Good to surrender to, who promptly airs out his skull. Gameplay-wise, he buffs defense to helicopters and naval units and has a power that resupplies all his men, which is okay... so long as the map has ports. Honestly kind of terrible in most matches, but has a lulzy synergy with Sea Planes that's worth it just to see.
* Waylon: Southern-fried mercenary pilot who ends up working for Greyfield. Not really 100% evil, but still kind of a dick. Mechanically, he buffs defense to usually-fragile air units, giving them a lot of staying power.

====Intelligent Defense Systems====
* Penny: Calder's youngest "daughter," and bug-fuck nuts as a result of her creator's experiments on her brain. She talks to her bear, "Mr. Bear," and likes big explosions. Ultimately defects to the good guys once her father tries to get her to kill herself to take them down. Gameplay-wise, is the ''only'' CO in the game with an army-wide power (immunity to weather effects), on top of a minor buff in a huge area. Do not screw with the [[loli]].
* Tabitha: Calder's eldest "daughter," and a daddy's girl. Considering who her daddy is, this makes her kind of a bitch. Unlike most COs, she doesn't so much buff her army as pump one unit into god-mode with a '''gigantic''' buff to attack and defense. Her power calls in an air strike, but the big buff of her maxed-out aura means few ever bother using it.
* [[Fabius Bile|Caulder]]: Loony mad scientist and sinister PMC owner. That's ''double evil'' and [[Azariah Kyras| shit gets very bad when he shows up]]. The [[BBEG]] behind all the events of the game, [[Dark Eldar| because he's a dick and likes to watch everyone suffer]], and the abusive creator of his "clan" of gene-tinkered clones. (Including, incidentally, ''himself'', he killed the real Caulder). Makes the final battle an absolute motherfucker, with an aura that repairs all units for half their health every day and gives them a big buff to all stats (tied with Tabitha for the biggest in the game). He doesn't have a CO power and can't increase his CO Zone but the buffs he starts with are all he needs for him to be banned from PvP games for being too powerful. On TOP of that the mission you fight him is at at his death factory which will spewing loads of cannons and mortars, some of which can't be destroyed. In short, a worthy successor to the throne of Sturm and a very memorable villain.

====Others====
* The Beast: Crazy post-apocalyptic bandit king who serves as the primary villain in the first segment of the story. Once a bloodthirsty sergeant in the New Rubinelle army, he went crazy after the meteors hit and now can't even remember his own name. Essentially a beginning game bandit who got lost on his way to [[Fire Emblem]], then swapped his axe for a machine gun and motorcycle. Whilst he is unplayable and lacks any special abilities, the Beast is still rather memorable, especially for his [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLMpX2Z72Q rocking theme song].
* Mayor of Freehaven: Never fights, but manages to be a despicable, memorable villain none the less. Deliberately antagonizes the heroes and screws them over for his own gain knowing they morally can't shoot him. His eventual, well deserved death is glorious.
* Cyrus: The last of Caulder’s clone “family” and the only guy. This is not because Calder wanted to do experiments in creating some kind of incest harem anime scenario, but because [[grimdark| he wanted a backup body to transfer his mind into in case he ever died]]. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for all other life on earth, Cyrus is a good kid with a conscience who does not suffer from the streak of insanity that runs in the family. Once the old man is dead, [[This Guy|he hands over a cure for the supercharged plant parasite his dad had unleashed and then dies to prevent himself from being body jacked.]]

==More 40k Relations and other Notes==
[[File:AWBoardgame.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Derp|This costs more than the actual Video Game.]]]]
Any [[Warhammer 40000|40k]] player who plays Advance Wars will breathe with relief for the fact that he doesn't have to worry about morale of his troops. After all, the infantry for all factions are [[Imperial Guard|cheap and expendable]] - but they are fearless and don't need [[Commissars]].

However, there is still [[nerdrage]] to be had, because:
* Even the mighty [[Baneblade|Megatank]], the biggest tank in the series to date, can't even crush a puny squad of soldiers. Instead, it has to rely on it's main armaments of [[Dakka|<s>eleven</s> five barrels of hell]]. <s>Which work on Command & Conquer logic, and therefore suck against infantry (and wasting precious ammo and time on infantry is painful).</s> Megatanks use their [[Heavy Stubber|infinite-ammo machine guns]] on infantry. It will still get [[tarpit|easily walled out by infantry spam]], so make sure to use your leftover money on Recons for screening.
* There are only two variants of infantry, although to be true, since the game is "Panzer General: Light", you don't really need dozens of different infantry units, since it can be assumed that infantry uses a variety of weapons, while only Assault Rifles/Rocket Launchers/Machine Guns are shown. It's a game for 12 year olds for [[Emperor|god's]] sake!
* No special characters appear, so all of the units are little more than minions for the slaughter. And units you can't build are also minions to be slaughtered. Truly, this is a game fit for all children in the [[Imperium|Imperium of Man]].
** Days of Ruin lets you attach your player character to a unit of your choice. This nets you some useful aura buffs.
* The last game of the TBS series has turned [[grimdark]], but has a somewhat happy ending. Therefore it's too happy for 40k players and too dark for the [[/v/|vidja]] fans of the series.

[[Category:Video Games]]