What is the deal with Dire Wolves?

[GeneralZero]

I wanted to order some dire wolves...but out of stock for ages. I hope they rebox them with proper round base (65*30mm)

[grungolah]

24 minutes ago, GeneralZero said:

I wanted to order some dire wolves...but out of stock for ages. I hope they rebox them with proper round base (65*30mm)

Unfortunately not as of this last batch.

[Cargo Cult]

9 hours ago, GeneralZero said:

I wanted to order some dire wolves...but out of stock for ages. I hope they rebox them with proper round base (65*30mm)

Definitely have a look at the Fenrisian wolves. They are available, are dead easy to make and paint and the poses are really dynamic so they give a great impression on motion.

[Honk]

5 hours ago, Cargo Cult said:

Definitely have a look at the Fenrisian wolves.

I did... doubled the price tag of my doggies and after getting a taste I need more!!!

damn you gdubs *shakeshisfist

[Deadkitten]

Very nice!  That really just the best wolf model.   

[GeneralZero]

Nice indeed, but I prefer to wait for the zombie like ones... They don't really look prettier but they fit better in a dead army IMO

[Blastbeat_Pie]

I have to say that I was tempted by the Fenrisian Wolves as the Dire Wolves are truly... well,  dire. In the end I decided to try something a bit off the wall and am currently building up some spiders from the  Grotfang range instead!

[Seadee]

On 4/13/2018 at 8:53 PM, ParachuteHopper said:

Chaos warhounds could also be a model option if you aren't totally into the fenrisian wolf look. 

thank you, i had no idea they were a thing, you just solved my problem of "more vicious looking that Fenrisian but less dead than direwolves"

[ogmaadn]

On 7/16/2018 at 12:37 PM, Seadee said:

thank you, i had no idea they were a thing, you just solved my problem of "more vicious looking that Fenrisian but less dead than direwolves"

So what's the chaos warhound size compared to the original dire wolves? Are they similar, or just smaller?

[Evil Bob]

On 7/16/2018 at 6:37 AM, Seadee said:

thank you, i had no idea they were a thing, you just solved my problem of "more vicious looking that Fenrisian but less dead than direwolves"

What you need are the original Direwolves.  They were wolf bodies used by goblins riders with a metal head replacement that looks like a blood craving canine.

[Mephisto]

I run 5, 10, or none of them depending on my list. Hot take incoming: I don't like them. They are a tax I pay to meet my third battleline requirement when I'm over-stuffing a list with bonkers stuff. That said, my opponents also feel my agitation as they must pay the targeting tax. They don't want to deal with 60 point puppies either but they are forced to.

I most often use them to screen  by stacking them tail to nose and Tokyo Drifting them sideways at my opponents. Sometimes they run off and scoop an objective.

They don't wear buffs particularly well for dealing damage (you would likely never spend a spell/ability buffing them when you have other better targets to do though so this is a moot point) and  odd rolls on your Deathly Invocation are wasted on them to bring models back. That said, they are deceptively resilient. I've watched an entire mixed Destruction list be forced to waste a Thundertusk Snowball on them, plus blood vultures, and some orruk arrows just to clear them out and fail by a single wound. In fact, I've screened with them on a handful of occasions and WANTED THEM TO DIE and they live despite me with a couple models. Luckily with the new edition when that happens, I've just been taking them off out of cohesion so they explode and I can counter charge.

I'm not overly fond of their model. It's not terrible looking, mind you, it just doesn't do anything for me. I'm going to get another box and do them up like Amaterasu from Okami to fit my Yama Kings / Pseudo-asia/ Japan Themed Death list and see if that makes me like them more. I suspect it will actually. That would be sweet.

Hot take aside, Dire Wolves are exactly fine which is what you want for 60 points. That's why people like them. Because when you take them they are exactly as advertised which is sort of a super power.
 

[Seadee]

18 hours ago, ogmaadn said:

So what's the chaos warhound size compared to the original dire wolves? Are they similar, or just smaller?

no idea, have not bought them yet, the path to glory campaign i am playing it took and interesting twist and we are using older rules, so i dont have as many units at the start...

12 hours ago, Evil Bob said:

What you need are the original Direwolves.  They were wolf bodies used by goblins riders with a metal head replacement that looks like a blood craving canine.

i've got a couple of the above that i used in Mordheim but only 2 

[grungolah]

I have about 20 of those, but they are mounts for my goblins grots.  I'm not ready to give up on greenskins.  

[GeneralZero]

Hey!! I just got mail from GW: dire wolves are back in stock!!

[Captain Roderick]

?? (can't find a party hat emoji) 

[GeneralZero]

bah, just thx me with the button lol

[Deadkitten]

I'm running 45 of those old skool wolves!

 

[GeneralZero]

I ordered only 20 ;-) 10 seemed not enough if I wanted 3 min taxes, so 2 boxes = 20, pretty versatile... plus 4 boxes of 5 ovals bases grrrrrrrrrrr

[ianob]

On 7/17/2018 at 10:12 PM, Mephisto said:

I run 5, 10, or none of them depending on my list. Hot take incoming: I don't like them. They are a tax I pay to meet my third battleline requirement when I'm over-stuffing a list with bonkers stuff. That said, my opponents also feel my agitation as they must pay the targeting tax. They don't want to deal with 60 point puppies either but they are forced to.

I think they're overrated, it makes me especially sad when I see people taking them in large units. That ain't what they do. Like you say, 60 point battlelines are great. But 60 point battlelines with a 5+ base save, 10" move, 4+ 3+ on the charge (really relevant attacks that can easily have them seeing off enemy 10-man objective sitters like Chainrasps or Skinks) are just stupidly efficient. They aren't setting anybody's world on fire, but given what other armies have to take in this points bracket, we definitely come out on top here.

I've won multiple games (especially in V2, thanks BPoV being dumb) already because a unit of 5 Dire Wolves made a charge on T1. A 60 point unit.

[GeneralZero]

1 hour ago, ianob said:

BPoV being dumb

what is this??? so many acronyms...

 

One thing that many people forgot is that: speed+summonable =  they are fast back everywhere you want. So, you can let them go hit something or stay, never mind, you can set them up super fast back. Almost game breaker at this price! (plus the usual blabla 60p battleline, fast, 2 attacks etc...)

[Sception]

with decent gravesite spread and protection, you can bring back most anything at around 10" from an enemy unit, which is an automatic charge even for our slowest units.  The extra speed might help you get to an unattended objective or something in the turn after you summon them back, but that's still a bit of a stretch.  Honestly, I don't think the extra movement speed is that big a boost for endless minions use.  Don't get me wrong, it's great to have for a unit that starts on the table, but once the unit is coming up from a gravesite it's not that big a deal anymore.

Now, if you could move on the same turn you get brought back by endless minions, that would be a different thing altogether, but in 2e endless minions happens at the end of the movement phase, so that's a no go.

[Mephisto]

Command Points are precious. If I summon a unit back I'm not likely to use it on a 60 pt battleline. I'd go a step further and say if your opponent had an ability that took away your command point and gave you five dogs, they'd do it. "You mean he's not going to get back graveguard, 40 skeletons, or go battleshock immune and all I have to do is give him 5 puppy dogs? LUL. Fine."

[GeneralZero]

good point

[ianob]

49 minutes ago, Mephisto said:

Command Points are precious. If I summon a unit back I'm not likely to use it on a 60 pt battleline. I'd go a step further and say if your opponent had an ability that took away your command point and gave you five dogs, they'd do it. "You mean he's not going to get back graveguard, 40 skeletons, or go battleshock immune and all I have to do is give him 5 puppy dogs? LUL. Fine."

I’ve pribaby spent CP bringing back dogs more times than I’ve brought back anything else. Dogs get wiped more often than big units and hence are more often there as a summonable resource, for me anyway.

A unit of dead dogs that wins the game be being summoned onto an objective doesn’t care that it’s only worth 60 points

[Mephisto]

1 minute ago, ianob said:

I’ve pribaby spent CP bringing back dogs more times than I’ve brought back anything else. Dogs get wiped more often than big units and hence are more often there as a summonable resource, for me anyway.

A unit of dead dogs that wins the game be being summoned onto an objective doesn’t care that it’s only worth 60 points

Oh, you're not  wrong but this comes back to my greater point about dogs. They're another tool in the tool box of Death. Death has a lot of tools which gives us flexibility on the battlefield and in list building. The Battleplan and match-up will dictate how you play it. Sometimes bringing back dogs is the answer and I assure you they've been blown up and are available for a summon the way I play them.