Uppsala Legion

My friends Ultramarine army is still very much a third edition gun-line. Sadly this is not that effective with the latest fifth edition game rules. Ultramarines still have a few nice options, mostly involving tanks, however Space Wolves and Blood Angels do foot armies better. So we are relaunching the marines as the Uppsala Legion, from the planet Schveeden!

The Ultramarines @ 1750
Chaplain with Jump Pack leading Assault Marines with Fist & Flamers
Terminators x10 with two heavy weapons
Dreadnought
3 Tactical Squads with Flamer, Missiles & Fist in Rhinos
Devastator Squad with 4 Missile Launchers
11+ Kill Points; 10 Terminators, 46 Marines, 4 Vehicles

Two main problems have been hampering the army. First the Dreadnought, being the only armour, just dies too quickly. Secondly they just get raped by psychic powers. The answer to both these problems is to replace the Dreadnought with a Librarian in Terminator armour. We would have to drop an upgrade from one of the units to get his armour; however since we are converting to Space Wolves what we drop does not matter at the moment. So our aim today is to convert the army to use the Wolf codex without buying any extra models. There is going to be a few bits of extra wargear that we are going to have to kitbash

Uppsala Legion - Phase One
First of all we just want to convert the units over as closely as we can to the Space Wolf units. A like for like conversion gives a few things to consist. With the loss of combat squads we have to decide now if we want five or ten man troop units. Grey Hunters also lack any heavy weapon options. While this makes them better on the move you lack the option of leaving a missile launcher with four ablative wounds guarding the home objective. If however you add a Wolf Guard squad leader he can bring Cyclone missiles. Not only does this mean you get two shots per turn but you can move and fire as well. We will take thirty marines as troops and organise them into four squads.

Rune Priest would most likely take Lighting and Hurricane. The first can take care of light armour and monsters the second deals with hordes and slows their movement. Jaws is also worth considering (especially if you know your opponent is going to be playing Tyranids).

1750 Uppsala Legion
130 Rune Priest with Terminator Armour, Chooser of the Slain
135 Wolf Priest with Jump Pack, Wolftooth Necklace
460 Terminator Wolf Guard x8 with Power Fist x4, Wolf Claw x4
190 Wolf Guard x4 w/ Combi-melta x4, Rhino
220 Grey Hunters x10 w/ Melta x2, Power Weapon, Wulfen Mark, Rhino
215 Grey Hunters x10 w/ Flamer x2, Power Weapon, Wulfen Mark, Rhino
75 Grey Hunters x5 w/ Flamer & Wolf Guard Sgt in Terminator Armour w/ CML & Wolf Claw
75 Grey Hunters x5 w/ Flamer & Wolf Guard Sgt in Terminator Armour w/ CML & Wolf Claw
110 Skyclaws x5 with Flamer, Power Weapon
140 Long Fangs x6 with 5x Missiles & Wolf Guard Sgt in Terminator Armour w/ CML
13 Kill Points; 12 Terminators, 46 Marines, 3 APC's

In the above list the unit cost for the Wolf Guard includes the men reassigned as leaders. Since this is done at the start of the game you do not have to attach them to other units. We still have three squads in APC's that can surge forward while leaving two scoring units protecting our home base. We are also still able to fire eleven missiles a turn. We have lost out on power fists (both the number and units with them). However the Wolves have a lot more flamer and melta weapons as well as shear volume of melee attacks.

Uppsala Legion - Phase Two
There is a second Devastator Squad in the army case and since Long Fangs are so good we might as well use them; also Skyclaws do not really help that much. This time around we have replaced the Skyclaws with Long Fangs and used the points remaining to boost the Wolf Guard unit since the Wolf Priest will now be leading them.

1749 Uppsala Legion
130 Rune Priest with Terminator Armour, Chooser of the Slain
110 Wolf Priest with Wolftooth Necklace
460 Terminator Wolf Guard x8 with Power Fist x4, Wolf Claw x4
229 Wolf Guard x8 w/ Power Fist & Combi-Flamer x2, Pistol & Sword x6 in Rhino
220 Grey Hunters x10 w/ Melta x2, Power Weapon, Wulfen Mark, Rhino
220 Grey Hunters x10 w/ Melta x2, Power Weapon, Wulfen Mark, Rhino
75 Grey Hunters x5 w/ Flamer & Wolf Guard Sgt in Terminator Armour w/ CML & Wolf Claw
75 Grey Hunters x5 w/ Flamer & Wolf Guard Sgt in Terminator Armour w/ CML & Wolf Claw
115 Long Fangs x5 with 4x Missiles
115 Long Fangs x5 with 4x Missiles
13 Kill Points. 11 Terminators, 49 Marines, 3 APC's

I like this configuration better. Twelve missiles split between six targets each turn is a decent amount of long range dakka. The Terminators act as a hammer unit support by three APC's full of marines. I am not sure if the Grey Hunters would be better off with Flamer & Melta; I just like having the double shot as it is so annoying when a single melta misses.