# Are Sky Claws any use?



## punkedoutleppy (Dec 1, 2009)

I am building a space wolves army and was wondering about the effectivness of sky claws. I want a fast, hard hitting army and sky claws are quick, but theyre kind of expensive and have a weak statline. Any advive on whether they are worth the points or are blood claws the better option?


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

Not an article, moved to 40K Tactics.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

absolutely, there VERY cheap and have a decent stat line, so I dunno where that comes from, but even 10 and a priest to stop them running around is pretty cheap all together, and hits hard.


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## Raptors8th (Jul 3, 2009)

Yeah and they'll be even better when the FAQ comes out and says they can get WG like everyone else


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## papercutdan (Oct 28, 2009)

they are only better than regular assult marines if you give them a wolfpriest because they get a bunch of attacks and they can reroll there hits. they are also a lot cheaper than standard assult marines


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

papercutdan said:


> they are only better than regular assult marines if you give them a wolfpriest because they get a bunch of attacks and they can reroll there hits. they are also a lot cheaper than standard assult marines


They are? They're the same cost...


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Katie Drake said:


> They are? They're the same cost...


except there not
10 assault marines costs 190pts, 10 sky claws 180pts
individually they may be the same, but when was it you saw singular assault marines being deployed


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## papercutdan (Oct 28, 2009)

Stella Cadente said:


> except there not
> 10 assault marines costs 190pts, 10 sky claws 180pts
> individually they may be the same, but when was it you saw singular assault marines being deployed


lol exactly my point


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Stella Cadente said:


> except there not
> 10 assault marines costs 190pts, 10 sky claws 180pts


Ah, that'd explain it then. Didn't have my Codex in front of me and haven't committed it to memory quite yet. :laugh:


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Even if they're running around on their own, they're inexpensive and they're quick. Jump infantry is ALWAYS useful in a Space Marine army of any flavor. Even if you're playing against an army that's very close combat oriented, like Tyranids. Jump packs let you quickly react to where your opponent assaults, and that's more useful, in my opinion, than just having a unit able to move 12'' instead of 6''. That's not to say the fast movement isn't excellent for delievering a decisisve assault of your own, though. 

I've never quite followed why people have gotten hung up on the issue of Wolf Guard not being able to join a skyclaw pack. That's not a reason not to bring them. Their impulsive charge is just something that a skilled player works around by maneuvering the unit so that they charge what you want them to charge.


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

The Son of Horus said:


> I've never quite followed why people have gotten hung up on the issue of Wolf Guard not being able to join a skyclaw pack. That's not a reason not to bring them. Their impulsive charge is just something that a skilled player works around by maneuvering the unit so that they charge what you want them to charge.


Or you could attach an IC to them 
Yes they're good, they deliver a devastating charge, but if you don't win that first turn really well then you're not going to be happy about the rest of the combat.

It's probably a good idea to have a backup unit, who can charge in if your Skyclaw charge fails.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

This is why Wolf Priests are handy.  Preferred Enemy is nice and isn't only good for the turn that the unit charges like the bonus granted by Chaplain.


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

Katie Drake said:


> This is why Wolf Priests are handy.  Preferred Enemy is nice and isn't only good for the turn that the unit charges like the bonus granted by Chaplain.


I prefer Chaplains actually, but Priests are still great.


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

But you shouldn't need to put a character with the unit for them to be a viable option. They're fine as a first wave assault to tie down enemy units while your Grey Hunters in Rhinos disembark and get ready to charge. If you can pull that off without getting charged, then the Skyclaws are worthwhile-- and I'd be willing to bet that if you're good at maneuvering, it's not that hard to do. I use my assault squads for that purpose with my Space Marines, and my Tactical Squads in Rhinos rarely are charged since the assault squads engage anything nearby that is a potential threat.


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

By no means do you have to attach an IC to them, of course not.
But you are missing out on an extra attack if you don't, the shot from the Bolt pistol.

While it may be just a single attack that you don't get in addition to the 4 they have on the charge, it can make all the difference.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Winterous said:


> By no means do you have to attach an IC to them, of course not.
> But you are missing out on an extra attack if you don't, the shot from the Bolt pistol.
> 
> While it may be just a single attack that you don't get in addition to the 4 they have on the charge, it can make all the difference.


Indeed. Too many players miss out on firing their pistols which can help a lot. Less models to deal with, less return attacks and such. Plus, Sky Claws get a really cheap flamer, which is ace. :good:


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## punkedoutleppy (Dec 1, 2009)

They do get a cheap flamer, but if you give that to them, do they lose close combat attacks?


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

punkedoutleppy said:


> They do get a cheap flamer, but if you give that to them, do they lose close combat attacks?


Yeah, you replace the model's bolt pistol with a flamer, meaning that the Sky Claw would have a flamer (two-handed weapon) and a chainsword (one-handed), so no additional attack. He'd still get the Berserk Charge bonus though.


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## Aramoro (Oct 7, 2009)

A lot of people don't forget the bolt pistols but choose not to fire them so their assault actually hits. Otherwise your pistols kill a few guys and you fall short on your assault, leaving you kinda stranded. 

The Skyclaw flamer is very cheap but you have to factor in the fact you must take an IC with that squad if you ever want to fire it. 

Aramoro


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## Wolf_Lord_Skoll (Jun 9, 2008)

If you 2-3" away, killing a couple of guys won't stop your charge in most cases. Its only when your at the edge of your assualt range that you need to restrain from firing.


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## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

or you kill too many, they fail / choose to fail a morale check & you're left in the open... I don't know how many times my noise marines have been denied an assault because my doom siren has killed one marine too many...


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## Wolf_Lord_Skoll (Jun 9, 2008)

Its unlikely your going to kill too many with a Bolt Pistol though, unless there are like 5 left in which case it would be wise not to shoot.


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