Space Wolves in Stormclaw - What is revealed?

I picked up my copy of Stormclaw yesterday (well two copies actually) and I'm currently deciding what to keep and what to sell on. I'm certainly keeping one of each limited edition character but the rest I'm not sure on. Anyway, what's interesting about the kit is the rules within the Stormclaw Campaign Supplement. At 33 pages it's hardly a tome but we do get a bit of glimpse of some of the Space Wolf rules. Obviously I'm making a lot of assumptions here but it would be strange for them to change things significantly and the models in these supplements are legal in regular 40K as far as I'm concerned.

Krom Dragongaze

His statline is identical to the current Wolf Lord so we can assume that hasn't changed. He comes in at 135pts. The basic wolf lord in the current codex is 100pts and with a Belt of Russ, Saga of the Warrior Born and Frost Axe (which is effectively what Krom has) he'd be 185pts. That's not including his Furious Charge and Stubborn. 

Rules-wise his Frost Axe is the same as that in the 7th edition FAQ so it looks like that will stand. The Belt of Russ still gives a 4+ invulnerable save but Saga of the Warrior Born is now a Warlord Trait. This fits with one of the recent rumours that Sagas are Traits in the upcoming book. The Saga itself has changed from an attacks bonus to a re-roll to Hit in challenges. Sounds like a nerf but when you consider Warlord Traits are free it isn't really surprising that something you paid 35pts for before has changed. I'll be disappointed if they get rid of some of the sagas though.

All of the Space Wolves have kept Counter-Attack and Acute Senses. With the way Acute Senses works now I can only assume Space Wolves will get some more ways to Outflank since otherwise there's no point the whole army having it. 

Wolf Guard Terminators

The squad shown in the campaign supplement comes in at 230pts but when you add up their wargear with the current codex prices they should be 245pts. That either means their base cost has gone down by 3 pts per model or the wargear is cheaper. I'd expect the latter really. Their rules are otherwise unchanged but they receive a Character to lead the squad. This guy is listed as Unique so this might be something that only happens in Stormclaw. I wouldn't be surprised if they can include a Character though.

The biggest news for Wolf Guard is their listing for Terminator Armour states that they can Deep Strike. This is a change from the fluff that stated they had a "deep mistrust of such arcane tactics and prefer to fight with their feet on solid ground, just as Russ intended". They must've changed their mind or no longer give a toss what Russ thinks! Whatever the reason this is a big change to Space Wolf terminators and how useful they are. In the current book you have to buy a drop pod or Land Raider to get the most from them so it'll be interesting to see how the army dynamic changes with the ability to Deep Strike. Of course someone at GW might've just copy and pasted the Terminator Armour rules into this supplement and the codex will still not allow it but who knows?

Grey Hunters

Once again these guys come out at a slightly different points value to the current codex. Their squad should be 115pts but they're listed at 125pts. Either that means a base cost of 17pts per model or perhaps the upgrades have changed. I could see the plasma gun being 15pts in line with other marine books but I can't see anything else having gone up in price so I can only assume individual hunters now cost more. Options seem the same in that you can take a plasma gun, power weapon and plasma pistol in a squad of 5. 

There's another significant change revealed here though. All of the hunters are listed as having pistol and grenades but it no longer seems like you get a bolter for free. That's a big deal for Grey Hunters and will make for a pretty different loadout. There's been recent rumours to corroborate this too so I wouldn't be surprised if they're now effectively tactical marines with Counter-Attack and Acute Senses tacked on. No indication of pack size is given though.

Blood Claws

Recent rumours have Blood Claws as being cheaper in the next book and the points cost here would seem to tie in with that. The squad listed here comes in at 110pts compared to 115pts which means unless the power fist is cheaper the individual Blood Claws would cost 14pts a piece. I can certainly see that happening but that makes Grey Hunters over costed if they've lost their extra weapon, at least in my opinion.

Berserk Charge and Headstrong seem to have gone and been replaced by Rage. That means they're no longer forced to forgo shooting and charge and therefore don't require a wolf guard/IC to keep them in check. Both the Blood Claws and Grey Hunters in this supplement have a Character with them that gains an extra attack. This might just be a Wolf Guard but the leadership 8 would make me think otherwise. 

Conclusion

Assuming these assumptions are correct, there's some interesting Space Wolf changes revealed here. If Grey Hunters are indeed more expensive and they've lost their extra weapon then Blood Claws might start to look tempting. The big deal for me with Grey Hunters will be how Mark of the Wulfen and Wolf Standard turn out but even so losing an attack for the sake of a boltgun will be a difficult call to make. Basically it'll be a toss up between having extra attacks on the charge or being able to shoot at range.

I'm pleased to see WG terminators getting deep strike whilst becoming apparently cheaper. I often struggled to fit them in to my lists with them needing a transport of some kind to be effective. Krom is an interesting character and the little formation in the book is a nice touch. I'm still struggling to get my head around army selection in 7th so I'll need to write up a post to help me figure it out. Look out for that.