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Other Space Marine Themed Army Ideas The Great Hunt
of Vargr Ironbane
by
Ross Watson
Background
Vargr was a brash, headstrong pup, yet every inch a leader and a Wolf Lord in his own right. Vargr’s warband had taken charge of gathering the support personnel and materials for many of the other Space Wolf units operating during the Siege of Prospero – as a consequence of this duty, Vargr was responsible for three Iron Priests recently returned from training on Mars, medical supplies, food, spare parts, and an impressive kennel of Fenrisian Wolves. The Wolves of Fenris have long been the mascot of the Space Wolves chapter, and many of the Marines of the 13th Company looked on Fenrisian Wolves more as fellow battle-brothers. Few could deny there was a strong bond between man and wolf from the same homeworld. Normally, Space Wolves have only a few of these great beasts with them while on campaign, but the Siege of Prospero had engaged so much of the Chapter’s strength that special places were required to feed and house the wolves during the thick of the fighting. Under Bloodfang’s orders, Vargr took his warband into the Warp. The Empyrean is a vast and unpredictable tide upon which to send ships even as mighty as a Space Marine Battle Barge. Vargr’s Navigator did his best, but the warband soon became separated from Bloodfang’s host and materialized near a string of industrial worlds held in the grasp of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion. Discovering that he and his warband were lost, alone, and surrounded by enemy forces, Vargr did the only thing a Space Wolf could do under the circumstances – he led a great feast, asked his Rune Priests to cast the runes, and bade the Wolf Priests place blessings on each and every warrior. Vargr’s warband was preparing to fight for their lives. The Rune Priests reported that the omens read auspiciously for a campaign, and Vargr agreed. Marshalling every resource available, Vargr unleashed the attack on the unsuspecting worlds of the Iron Warriors and brought a savage war upon the masters of siege warfare itself. The Great Hunt had begun. Time flows strangely within the Eye of Terror, so it is unclear how much time passed as world after world was cleansed of the Iron Warriors taint. The warband’s Iron Priests were kept very busy maintaining the equipment and power armor as the centuries of conflict began to take their toll on men and machines. None can say how many Daemons were destroyed, how many monsters slain, how many Traitor Marines ripped apart by Vargr and his men over the centuries. Such a massive and ongoing campaign could not be achieved without losses, however, and slowly but surely, all the Iron Priests were slain or injured beyond recovery. Vargr, known also as Ironbane for his valor against the Iron Warriors, gathered together the last remaining Iron Priests of his company and bade them pass on the secret teachings of the Mechanicus so that his company could continue the battle against Chaos. The Iron Priests conferred, and an agreement was made: the Iron Priests would not share all knowledge, but some rituals and maintenance procedures would be taught to other Space Wolves so that the Great Hunt would go on. The crusade against the Iron Warrior worlds was costly in both men and equipment. However, the Iron Warrior stockpiles were rich in bionic parts and weaponry, both of which could be adapted for use. Grudgingly, Vargr Ironbane ordered that the Iron Priests use whatever they could. The Great Hunt soon began to change as more and more battles were fought and millennia passed. The Space Wolves began to receive bionic replacements where the Wolf Priest could not heal a crippled limb. Eventually, even the hardy Fenrisian Wolves were no longer fully flesh, but rather cybernetic brains operating mostly mechanical robotic bodies. Fenrisian Wolves, after all, had little to no protection against the corrosive toxins and pollution that chokes each planet conquered by the Iron Warriors. When Abaddon's 13th Crusade began, Vargr Ironbane bade his banner be lifted once more, and the Great Hunt roved once again among the stars of the Imperium. Much had changed while the 13th Company had been lost in the bizarre tides of the Warp, but Vargr knew well the scent of his enemy. And his enemy knew well the terrifying sounds of cybernetically-enhanced voices raised in a discordant electronic howl. Vargr Ironbane’s Great Hunt is comparable to other Space Marine Chapter’s Crusades: the Great Hunt is fanatical about seeking out and destroying the enemies of the Emperor wherever they hide. Einar Fangfury, the oldest and most veteran Wolf Priest in the warband, has been having some concerns lately that the bionic replacements that have been incorporated into many of the warband’s heroes may be cooling the fiery passion that burns within the heart of most Space Wolves. Feasts, drinking bouts, and carousing in general has been less common and less intense of late, and Einar suspects that Vargr may have replaced too much flesh with metal. Philosophy
HQ
Wolf Priest Einar Fangfury carries meltabombs and healing potions and balms. Rune Priest Gunnar Snowborne wields a combi-melta, wears Terminator armor, has a frost blade and a Chooser of the Slain. Elites
Troops
Pack Whitefang consists of 10 Grey Slayers with two meltaguns and a Wolf Guard Pack leader with a bolt pistol, powerfist, and the Mark of the Wulfen. Fast Attack
Heavy Support
Modeling and Painting
For my Fenrisian Wolves, I knew I wanted to go a little differently than the usual WFB Dire Wolves. Eventually, I found that the Necromunda Cybermastiff suited my needs admirably! When I constructed my Storm Claws, I took the cybernetic theme to an extreme by replacing the chainswords with various bionic weapons from the Necromunda Pit Slaves range. One of my favorite models looks like he’s about to do something unspeakable with a massive bionic drill… One mistake that I made during the modeling of my army is that I used the two-handed grip on the bolter and meltagun for all of my Grey Slayers. Looking at the army now, I wish I had instead taken the time to put the bolter in one hand and a close combat weapon in the other. It’s easy to go back and add a chainsword here and there to each Grey Slayer to represent his close combat weapon, but I feel like a dunce for waiting until now. Ah well, live and learn.
General Tactics
Related
Pages
© Copyright Ross
Watson, October 2005. Used with permission.
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