Tau Update, and A Possible Wolf List

The Tau
With employment (and, a paycheck) around the corner, I can actually plan on finishing them. I'd put them on the shelf (albeit temporarily) as I want a decent carrying case (and foam). At current, the only case I have is optimized for infantry, and the Crisis Suits are not exactly the right size. I'm getting tired of patching the damned things, but part of me quails at spending money on 40k that's not directly meant to kill something. Then again, it's kind of necessary.

The Space Wolves, Wolf Heavy at 1850
The name's a prototype as well

HQ
Rune Priest w/ Tempest's Wrath, Living Lightning, Chooser of the Slain, Saga of the Beast Slayer [120]

Elites
Lone Wolf w/ Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Chainfist [85]

Lone Wolf w/ Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Chainfist [85]

Lone Wolf w/ Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Chainfist [85]

Troops
10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns [155]

10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns [155]

10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns [155]

Fast Attack
4 Thunderwolves, 1 Thunder Hammer [230]

4 Thunderwolves, 1 Thunder Hammer [230]

4 Thunderwolves, 1 Thunder Hammer [230]

Heavy Support
Long Fang Pack
Leader, 5 Pack Members, 4 Lascannons + Missile Launcher [180]

Long Fang Pack
Leader, 5 Pack Members, 5 Missile Launchers [140]

Total: 1850

Brainstorm 2
Lose the Long Fangs, drop Saga of the Beast Slayer, add Termie Armor to the Priest, bring two more such Grey Hunter squads.

Thoughts Behind The Army
Well, it's got units I want to use: Thunderwolf Cav, and Lone Wolves.

The Rune Priest
Psychic defense a little more effective than the basic psychic hood. Living Lightning is there to engage lighter enemy targets at range. The Saga of the Beast Slayer is there for re-rolls against MCs and/or Dreads, which might be potential problems. Tempest's Wrath is an 'up yours' to skimmers and other enemies that might try to get to grips with me. He rolls with one of the Grey Hunter squads.

To be honest, he should pretty much be standard issue for Wolf armies, just for the utility from Chooser of the Slain and the Rune Staff.

The Lone Wolves
Go for broke on durability + killyness. 2+/3++ over two T4 wounds with FNP, and a Chainfist to mug anything it can lay a paw on.

The Grey Hunters
Well, my elites and fast attack are on foot. I can either try to mech them up, or just walk them behind my other elements. If I want to mech them up and KO transports, it's either two meltaguns out of a Rhino's access port, or two meltas + Guard w/ combi-melta out the top. Mmm, impressive. Except, not.

So, 155 points gets me ten guys with the ability to engage armor and infantry alike. Not bad, plus it's a lot of power armor bodies all told.

The Thunderwolf Cavalry
The two thoughts: go for fewer, but add storm shields? Or, just get more. Four of them with a Thunder Hammer on the lead give them a whole lot of punch, though I'd rather shoot walkers as S10 insta-gibs an expensive guy. Sure, the replying 4-5 thunder hammer whacks ought to sort the problem right back out, but I'd rather not use them in that capacity.

Against anything else, they ought to be some fun.

The Long Fangs
Their job is to try to get mobility off my enemy. Their weapons are priced quite reasonably, to be honest.

They're supposed to hang back, and with all the targets, well, it should be more difficult to try to torrent them down.

Overall
First question? Why foot? Stelek's answer is that they're just better on foot. I'm rather inclined to agree. Mech Grey Hunters run the risk of trading your troops for enemy armor. There are a plethora of quality foot options available to the wolves, mostly in your elite and fast attack sections.

To be honest, if you're not using the distinctive capabilities of the Space Wolves, why play them? I'd say some of those are:
1) Grimnar's FuzzWing
2) Foot Wolves
3) Drop Pod Wolves (...which are, admittedly, foot wolves)

A bunch of the cool stuff in the 'dex just doesn't benefit that much from mech. In the above army, the major question of mech comes in two places:
1) Do I mech up my Grey Hunters?
2) Do I bring Predators over Long Fangs?

Regarding number 1:
35 points for the rhino. I suppose I could get some nice 'wall of rhino' and take like 4-5 or so if I broke them up into smaller, more easily eaten squads. I might also block LOS for my heavy weapons, and I'd make sure my enemy focused their anti-personnel weapons onto my Elites and Fast Attack. Furthermore, I'm not convinced of the utility of the 'wall of Rhino' tactic in this army. I'd have to go around them, and the Lone Wolves and Wolf Cav get the best mileage out of busting ass directly towards the enemy, not around some Rhinos.

On Number 2:
Well, honestly, a heavy weapon Predator is 120 points. Autocannon, 2 lascannons, AV13. Downside? They're beacons for heavy weapons. I've got 320 points sunk into the Long Fangs, and I've got four lascannons and six missile launchers in them. If I could free up another 40 points (probably by dropping a Thunderwolf) I'd get a total of six lascannons and six autocannon shots.

The Fangs are another chunk of infantry staying way the hell back; the Predators are a similar threat but are handled by a totally different set of weapons. For the cost, the Long Fangs seem like a better fit.

Is the Army ideal?
I don't know. Looks cool, though, and I've got Eldar and Tau that are meant to be angrier 'punch you in the gonads' armies. Does it have some of the basics?

1) Claim Objectives?
30 Grey Hunters say 'probably, yeah' on that count.

2) Kill Infantry?
By their nature, wolves are assaulty. I'd say most of the army (outside of the Long Fangs) can kill the things. Thunderwolves on the charge are bound to be somewhat nasty.

3) Kill Vehicles?
Every unit in the army has anti-tank capabilities; some more than others. The Priest has his torrent of living lightning (and re-rolls vs. walkers and MCs), the Grey Hunters have meltaguns, the Lone Wolves have Chainfists, and the Thunderwolves have S5 Rending in heaps and an S10 Thunder hammer each.

Oh, and there's about 10 heavy weapons in the backfield, too. Yeah.

More To Come?
I'm looking at ways to use Canis Wolfborn and mobs of Fenrisian Wolves, though the feel will be similar to this list, I think. Just, y'know, more wolves.

Thoughts, reflections, comments, critiques, all that welcome.