Tyrannic War + Lego Wolfpack

 I recently finished an Eldar Pirate army for OWAC 8.

I sat down with my kids over dinner one night and asked them what I should try to complete before the next OWAC. Near the top of the list was Tyranids and Space Marines for the various games we have. 

So, since the end of OWAC 8, I have been diligently working to complete a small army of Space Marines (next will be Tyranids).

But this isn't any ordinary army. It is an Space Marine force designed to meet the requirements to play Space Hulk (1st edition), Tyranid Attack, and the 4th edition Battle For Macragge boxed set AND, I wanted it based on the Wolfpack faction from Lego Castle Theme. 

So first things first, the Ansel pose:

Roguish Commander Byron and his platoon of Wolfpack Marines.

Space Hulk

Most Space Hulk missions only require a squad of 5 Terminators. Typically, one will be a sergeant with a power sword, and another will have a heavy flamer. I also had a Librarian in terminator armor, so I painted him up too. (There is also a terminator with assault gun in the works). The unit also has a Space Wolf terminator Sergeant since the space hulk game states that squads come with a sergeant with a power sword but no mini represents him. His wolfy aesthetic goes along with the Wolfpack vibe.

Tyranid Attack

The core game of Tyranid Attack has the Space Marine player start with two squads of Space Marine Scouts. Each squad has a sergeant, a heavy bolter, and three troopers.

The monopose scouts can be a bit repetitious so I converted a few of them to match some of the game art. 

One of the sergeants has been given an axe like the scout on the rulebook cover with an axe. And, a scout has been repositioned to be aiming his bolt pistol like one of the scouts in the background.

Next, one of the scouts is laying on the ground and one of the heavy bolters has been slightly repositioned to match the artwork in this picture.

Battle for Macragge

The Battle for Macragge set comes with 10 marines, a sergeant, a missile launcher, a flamer, and 7 troopers.

Warhammer 40k 4th ed.

I place warhammer 4th edition with my kids. Kids play Tau, Space Marines, and Tyranids. Part of my inspiration for the army project as a whole was that the scouts have the infiltrate rule. This means they deploy after everything else is down on the table. My son likes to add tanks to his army, so it seemed sneaky that I could add a missile launcher to a scout unit and line it up with a tank on turn 1. So The first unit of Scouts is armed with bolters and a missile launcher (the heavy bolter is a second option). I also gave them all the same number on their shoulders, 6075, which is a product code for the Wolfpack stronghold Lego set. 

The next unit of scouts is armed with bolt pistols and knives. I figured they would be useful for hunting down his whirlwind or a tactical squad. Again the heavy bolter is for Tyranid attack or an extra option. These guys got the number 1596 - another Lego Wolfpack product code.

Next, to continue with the theme of infiltration, I was going to get the Wolfpack marines the following Chapter Traits: See but don't be seen, Trust your battle brothers, and Flesh over steel. See, but don't be seen can allow tactical and devastator squads to infiltrate as well. The Combination of heavy bolters, a plasma cannon, and a missile launcher make them effective against swarms of bugs, Tau firewarriors, and space marines. 

The army needs an HQ. I can use the Tac Squad Sergeant from Macragge as a commander and put him in a retinue, or make them all into either a veteran squad, or a tac squad and give them infiltrate.

In a bigger point game I can also get a squad of Terminators and a Librarian in Terminator armor. They cannot infiltrate, but they can deep strike into the battle via teleporting. So it would have a similar impact during the deployment phase of me not placing any on the table. The Librarian model has been reposed to make him more like the later monopose sergeant holding his chainsword to the side. It's a little awkward (which is fine) but it also makes his weapon more readable. Which is important for your opponent to make informed choices. I try to make special close combat weapons bright red so it's clear that they are extra dangerous. 

The final unit in my army is the landspeeder. It's a standard loadout with a multimelta and flamer. It has the Wolfpack product code of 6038. I painted it blue because that is the color of the cart/wagon from the 6038 lego set. My son came up with the name "the Prowler". The dark blue has also been used as an additional contrast color throughout the army - mostly for details like helmet lenses, the plasma cannon etc. The landspeeder is also scratch built. The riders are converted tactical/bike rider marines. The vehicle is made from 40k bike bits, airplane engines, cardboard etc. I am very happy with how it turned out. Also, in 4th edition, landspeeders could deep strike by screeching down from the sky - with the same result that it does not deploy during the deployment phase. So, if I have played my cards right, my army will deploy nothing during the deployment phase. 

And, finally, I'd like to share some of the little slogans I painted onto the marines - both to add to their roguish vibe and give them a Rogue Trader homage:

"toast"

"DED END"

"LEGGO OR DIE" a wink to the fact that they are based on Legos.

"BANG"

Tally marks and "2 many" and his power fist is labeled "Fist"

"PAK life"

PAK ATAK

Once I add on the Terminator with assault cannon and the Terminator seated in a Heroquest throne, I will never need to paint another Space Marine again.