Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Space Wolves (section)

====Forge World====
*'''Relic Contemptor Dreadnoughts:''' 37 points (around 38%) more naked than a naked normal Contemptor.  Two more wounds compared to the standard Contemptor, ignores wounds received on a 6+ AND has a 2+ save, but Attacks also degrade with damage now (rather than Movement). You also get access to way more options than any other Dreadnought. For your convenience, they're all listed below; you can take any two you like, unlike the base Contemptor, which is forced into 1 melee option and has only a Kheres and a Multi-melta to choose from for its main gun.  Unfortunately is a Relic, so each one of these forces you to take a non-Relic Elite.  If you really just want a Contemptor but better (i.e. filling the same role against the same targets), take 1 chainfist with a heavy flamer and 1 Kheres.  You'll get into position for the Kheres faster since your Movement doesn't cripple, it'll take way more work to cripple your statline, and your fist's output in both melee and ranged will be incredible.
**'''Cyclone Missile Launcher''': FAQ'd, 50 points for two 36" range missile launchers; two actual missile launchers cost the same, but with 48" range and the ability to split fire. '''Pass.'''
**'''Powerfist:''' AP-3 and D3. Pay 6 points and get the chainfist. 
**'''Chainfist''': Contemptor Chainfists gain -1 AP and +1 damage over a normal DCCW. Overall a solid upgrade that lets them do terrible damage to both vehicles and monsters. It's a must-take for all purposes. Don't take 2, though - 1 chainfist + 1 powerfist will give you identical performance while saving you 6 shiny points.
**'''Combat Arm Gun Options''': Built-in Storm Bolter, Heavy Flamer, Plasma Blastgun (an assault 2 plasma gun at a steep price hike), or Graviton Blaster (an assault 2 grav-gun without paying a point more, which is sadly not nearly enough to make it worthwhile). Relic Contemptor Dreadnoughts have the ''Unstoppable Fury'' rule, allowing them to reroll 1s to-hit if they are armed with two melee weapons, but doesn't specify in which phase. So you have less concern about overcharging your plasma weapons now that you hit on a rerollable 2+, but any main gun will be more effective than four overcharged plasma gun shots. Movement no longer cripples, meaning the Heavy Flamer is a really solid choice, allowing you to easily get into range while ignoring the decreasing BS. 
***Re-rolling hit rolls of 1 is hardly worth the cost of the second melee weapon, which is quite steep, with even a DCCW running you 40; your best bet if you want melee is a single chainfist and heavy flamer. 
**'''C-Beam Cannon''': The new Heavy Conversion Beamer is a single shot weapon that starts at S6 AP-3 that does D3 damage. It also gains +2 points of strength and +D3 damage after each 24" bracket of distance, totalling [[Awesome|S10 AP-3 3d3 Damage]] at anything over 48" range. If ''a model is removed from play as a result of wounds caused'' then it automatically trigger 2d6 extra auto-hits on the target unit at S6 AP0 D1. Generally speaking, this weapon suffers the exact same problem as the Vindicare Assassin, with a crippling downside that the Contemptor MUST remain stationary for the entire turn in order to use it. It cannot be stressed enough that this thing really '''<u>NEEDS</u>''' the range, though firing it at infantry squads has a good chance of killing a random mook and triggering an average of seven further S6 hits, which is still better than a twin heavy bolter. At full range, the initial hit will likely knock the crap out of any target, wounding it on a 2+ or 3+ depending on its toughness and generally reducing its save to 5+ or worse but those additional hits will likely be wasted.
***Against the infantry targets you have a serious chance at one-shotting, the C-Beam Cannon suffers from costing so much.  Against GEQs, you'll do a lot of damage even at short range, but not enough to outperform the Kheres, and you'll face similar scaling problems at any range, largely because as your ability to guarantee the "splatter" improves, your splatter's actual value gets worse.  This weapon actually becomes the best when used against hard targets at range - at 48" or more away, the only 6+ wounds target it's not your best choice against is T5 or T6, where the twin autocannons take over - but without the range, it's just not going to earn its keep.
**'''Kheres Assault Cannon''': Take this against GEQs and T5+ enemies; it gets the valuable 2+ to-wound against the small stuff, and the S7 helps it more effectively threaten things like Tyranid Warriors, Crisis Battlesuits, Astartes Bikers, and light vehicles. 
**'''Twin Heavy Bolters''': Take this against MEQs; both this and the Kheres wound on a 3+ against T4 targets, but this is cheaper and has an extra 12" range. 
**'''Twin Autocannons''': Best suited for two-wound infantry (Terminators, Stealth Battlesuits, Bikers of all flavors), and light vehicles/monsters (War Walkers, Sentinels, Tyranid Warriors). However, it also finds its use against most medium/heavy targets but is wasted against single-wound models since the above two guns spit out more shots for less points. Due to the range and price, this is much more effective on the Contemptor Mortis, where you won't be hit by the -1 to-hit from moving. 
**'''Twin Lascannons''': Has fantastic range and anti-tank effectiveness, but is crippled by its staggering cost; in order to earn its keep you have to shoot things with the wounds to notice that 1d6 damage rating. Due to the range and price, this is much more effective on the Contemptor Mortis, where you won't be hit by the -1 to-hit from moving. 
**'''Multi-Melta''': Half the shots and half the range (or one-quarter of the range for the melta effect) than twin lascannons. '''Pass.'''
**'''Heavy Plasma Cannon''': The Kheres or bolters are better against infantry, and the autocannons are better against anything you'd normally overcharge this for. '''Pass.'''
*'''Relic Deredeo Dreadnought:''' The end-all solution to your dakka-Dread needs, for when even the Contemptor Mortis won't cut it. Its armor save is slightly worse than the Contemptor's at only a 3+, but to compensate it has 2 more wounds and its invulnerable save rises to 4+ in the Fight phase (but why are you in melee in the first place?) on top of the built-in smoke launchers. For guns, you have the Anvilus Autocannons (8 36" autocannon shots with +1 S) for mulching infantry, the Hellfire Plasma Carronade (5 overcharged plasma gunshots which deal 3 damage each but cause mortal wounds on a 1) as the generalist option, and the Arachnus Lascannon Battery (2 S10 AP-4 D6 Damage shots that deal an extra mortal wound on 6s) for taking out vehicles, and also chest-mounted heavy bolters/heavy flamers. Don't bother upgrading to heavy flamers. While auto-hits are good, the Deredeo should be as far away as possible. It should be shooting things, not tied up in melee. It can supplement the main weapon with either an Aiolos Missile Launcher for extra fire support or an Atomantic Pavaise to give everyone within 6" of itself a 5+ invulnerable save. The latter works great with Devastators or other long-ranged units that can help support the Deredeo's firepower.
**8th edition is kind of a mixed bag for the Deredeo. While 8 shots at BS2+/3+ on the move with the Anvillus sure are are great, the 12" range reduction is very painful, especially for the plasma carronade. 24" max means it will be in range of most weapons in addition to the risk of losing wounds which is very probable at 5 shots per turn. So it is advised to have a reroll/repair character nearby should you go for the plasma option.
*'''Deimos Pattern Relic Predator''': Take a Predator, give it an extra wound, and slap a Plasma Destroyer on it as its turret weapon, and you have one of these tanks. The Plasma Destroyer itself can't be overcharged, but with the same number of shots as the basic Predator Autocannon and 2 Damage it doesn't really need to be. While it can swap out the plasma destroyer for the standard Predator guns, that's a waste of its options. Instead, you should use its unique options: the Conversion Beam cannon to make it a hard-hitting artillery unit, the Magna-Melta for close-range anti-vehicle firepower, and the Infernus cannon for a double dose of heavy flamer goodness.
*'''Relic Javelin Attack Speeder:''' The poor Deodorant Tanks got a huge nerf in 8th edition. For the most part these fulfill the same role as before, that of a Heavy Land Speeder. [[lolwut|But they lost the twin-linked rule on their Missile Launchers'''(WTF)''']]. They even lost their trademark Outflank ability. Overall this turned what was already a mediocre relic slot item, at best, into a shitty tool that's worse off than a generic land speeder. 
*'''Relic Sicaran Tank:''' The Sicaran has transitioned smoothly into 8th ed, retaining its status a high-speed menace. With a big 14" move, T7, 14 wounds, and 3+ Save it falls in between a Predator and a Land Raider in terms of size and durability. It's armed with a single Heavy Bolter and can grab 2 sponson-mounted Heavy Bolters or 2 sponson-mounted Lascannons, a hunter-killer missile, and a pintle-mounted Storm Bolter if you crave more dakka. 
**'''Sicaran Battle Tank:'''Armed with a nasty twin accelerator autocannon which has a couple of neat tricks. It fires at 48" Assault 8 S7 AP-1 D2, suffers no penalties to its hit rolls when attacking flyers, and a to-wound roll of 6 increases the AP of that hit to -3. This Sicaran is a useful anti-air unit in a pinch and is well known for its ability to counter skimmers. Make good use of the Assault rule on its main gun by zipping around and firing while advancing. 
**'''Venator Tank Destroyer:''' The Venator trades the regular Sicaran's quantity of anti-skimmer shots for vehicle annihilation; even if a tank survives the Neutron Pulse Cannon's S12 AP-4 D6 damage hits (all 3 of them), it'll have all its shooting rolls reduced by 1 for the turn, which can make life very difficult for vehicles like Executioners or Tau vehicles with Ion Cannons. Additionally, it doesn't get penalties for moving and firing its heavy weapons.
**'''Punisher Assault Tank:''' A new flavor of Sicaran, its draw is the Punisher Rotary Cannon - 18 Heavy Bolter shots guaranteed to make any hordes within 36" hate life. And if you don't move that turn, it re-rolls all to-hit rolls of 1. Enjoy making Orks and Tyranids cry.
**'''Arcus Strike Tank:''' Another Sicaran variant, this one is armed with a rotary missile launcher. Though 24" is a bit short-ranged for a vehicle weapon, it's still Heavy 2d6 with S5 AP-2 D1. And not only does it negate cover saves, but it also deals an extra mortal wound to INFANTRY units on a 6+ to wound. If you're forced to fight an extra-large horde, it can switch its weapon profile to Heavy 4d6 at the expense of not being able to fire its missiles until after the end of the next turn. As a result, taking the heavy bolters/lascannons and the storm bolter is a good idea to ensure it doesn't render itself defenseless after a missile massacre. 
**'''Omega Tank Destroyer:''' Yes, it's datasheet really describes it as a "tank destroyer". A really shit plasma variant; 24", heavy 6, S7, AP-3, D1, or 24", heavy 3, S9, AP-3, D3. The overcharged version inflicts a mortal wound on the target on a to-wound roll of 6 but inflicts '''d3''' mortal wounds on itself on a to-hit roll of 1. If it had twice the shots (which would make sense as it has two guns, in a similar way to the regular Sicarian), it would be fine, but it doesn't. 
*'''Relic Whirlwind Scorpius:''' The Scorpius is set apart from the basic Whirlwind by its Scorpius Launcher (and its occupation of an Elites slot, not a Heavy one) - while it has only half the range of either of the Whirlwind's rocket types, 3d3 S6 AP-2 D2 shots is still plenty to threaten hordes and light vehicles alike. And as an added bonus, it can fire twice in a shooting phase if the Scorpius hasn't moved in the movement phase.