The Rune Priest is a psychic character in the Warhammer 40,000 game. As a psyker, the Rune Priest has access to a set of psychic powers that allow him to manipulate the warp and harness its energies for various purposes. There are five psychic powers available to the Rune Priest: Living Lightning, Fury of the Wolf Spirits, Storm Caller, Jaws of the World Wolf, and Murderous Hurricane. **Living Lightning** is a power that allows the Rune Priest to call down a bolt of blue lightning from the sky to strike his enemies. This power is especially useful against vehicles and other highly armored targets. **Fury of the Wolf Spirits** is a power that enhances the Rune Priest's abilities in close combat.
I direct you to the following rule taken word for word:
If you choose instead to take psychic powers from the disciplines in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, this restriction does not apply, as the specific powers are selected randomly. A second Rune Priest may then choose to take Living Lighting and Jaws of the World Wolf, as he will not have the same two psychic powers as the first Rune Priest.
**Fury of the Wolf Spirits** is a power that enhances the Rune Priest's abilities in close combat. When activated, the Rune Priest becomes surrounded by ghostly wolf spirits that lash out at his enemies, increasing his strength and causing additional damage. **Storm Caller** is a power that allows the Rune Priest to summon a storm to the battlefield.
SPACE WOLVES – GW Says We Can Do What?
Come see the psychic shenanigans that the Space Wolves may be able to do with psychic powers and multiple formations.
This article is rated: Not sure if want…
This is a guest post sent to us by Kyle Sawdy
CAVEAT: THIS IS A RAW VS RAI DISCUSSION. I understand more than likely GW did not mean for this to happen. That is the Rules as Intended. However, Rules as Written, this is something that you can do. Do not try this in your local tournaments without clearing it with your TO beforehand, which more than likely won’t happen given how OP this could be.
As most Space Wolf players known by now, GW has finally given us a Space Wolf version of the Librarius Conclave in the Curse of the Wulfen, called the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood.
The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood is similar to the Dark Angels formation in that it encourages the use of their respective chapter specific Psychic Powers. The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood can generate warp charge points on a 3+ instead of 4+ when manifesting powers from the “Tempestas” discipline. This is pretty good by itself, because the Primaris power is a WC1 18” Assault 3 Str7 AP- with the “Shock” rule called “Living Lightning”. Shock is a rule that states “For each To Hit roll of 6 made with Living Lightning, the target suffers an additional automatic 2 hits, unless those To Hit rolls were Snap Shots.” Throwing 1 die at this is not a bad use of a single warp charge, or 2 if you really want to get it off.
Something that may have went unnoticed, is the “wyrding” of the other Wyrdstorm Brotherhood rule. “The Eye of the Storm” rule states: “At the start of each of your Psychic Phases, select 1 model from the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood to be The Eye of the Storm. That model can attempt to manifest “The Living Storm” psychic power (See Below). Increase the attacks rolled [for The Living Storm] by D6 for each other Rune Priest in the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood that is on the battlefield.” The Living Storm is exactly the same as Living Lightning, except it has a 24” range, is WC3, is Assault 2D6, and is part of the Tempestas Discipline, so warp charges are harnessed on 3+.Taken as face value, that power is pretty good. The Wyrdstorm Brotherhood is 2-5 Rune Priests, so at a minimum you will get an additional D6 as long as everyone is still alive.
What happens if you take multiple formations of the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood, though?
Say you were to take three formations of Wyrdstorm Brotherhood. The last line of The Eye of the Storm rule states: “Increase the attacks rolled by D6 for EACH OTHER Rune Priest in the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood THAT IS ON THE BATTLEFIELD”. This could be interpreted as every Rune Priest that is part of a Wyrdstorm Brotherhood formation, because it doesn’t say that this is formation specific.
If that were the case, by running three formations of three Rune Priests, the attacks would be increased by 8D6 whenever a Rune Priest manifested this power, bringing it to 10D6, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE for a Str 7 attack. Here’s the other kicker: with three formations of this brotherhood, that gives you three instances of The Eye of the Storm rule, which means three “The Living Storm” attacks. 10D6 at three different units each turn is pretty devastating, no matter how many saves someone may have. Even snap shotting at flyers, while you don’t get the Shock Rule for snap shots, you can still take down most flyers with volley of fire, as this is a Str 7 attack still, meaning you are glancing most flyers on 3-4, penning on 5+. All you need is 3-4 of those hits to get through to take down most flyers in the game.
Now, this all being said, I do truly believe that this is not how the power was intended. I do believe that if you run multiple of this formation, you do get multiple instances of “The Living Storm”. I believe Rules as Intended however make those additional attacks specific to each formation.
That being said, this formation is still a huge boon to Space Wolf players, as even at 4D6 attacks, you can average 12-14 attacks before the Shock rule takes effect. That is still very powerful when you are threatening multiple units each turn with it, and manifesting on 3+ WC rolls.
When it comes to the formations for Space Wolves in the Curse of the Wulfen supplement, I believe the Wyrdstorm Brotherhood may very well be one of the best additions to our forces. Obviously the Wulfen are powerful, but this is just something that can fit into most lists with ease, and give you a huge power return.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It may be that the designation of “the” instead of “a” Wyrdstorm brotherhood is possessive of THAT particular formation and does not extend to other formations.
Either way a good look at two ways you can interpret the rules.
Sure Space Wolves Land Raider Pilot
This storm boosts the morale of friendly units and hampers the movement and firing accuracy of enemy units. **Jaws of the World Wolf** is a power that creates a swirling vortex of destructive energy. Anything caught in the vortex is torn apart and destroyed, making it an incredibly deadly power. **Murderous Hurricane** is a power that causes the Rune Priest to summon a powerful hurricane. This hurricane sweeps across the battlefield, damaging enemy units and making it difficult for them to move and fire accurately. These psychic powers can be used strategically to support the Rune Priest's allies, weaken the enemy, and turn the tide of battle in favor of the Space Wolves army. With their combination of offensive and defensive abilities, the Rune Priests are formidable psykers that can greatly influence the outcome of a game..
Reviews for "Awakening the Ancients: The Ancient Psychic Powers of 40k Rune Priests"
- John - 1 star: I was highly disappointed with the psychic powers of the 40k rune priest. They felt weak and ineffective on the battlefield. The range of abilities provided little strategic advantage, and I found myself relying more on other units for damage and control. Overall, a lackluster choice for psychic support.
- Anna - 2 stars: The psychic powers of the 40k rune priest left much to be desired. I didn't feel like they had a significant impact on the outcome of battles. The limited options made it difficult to adapt to different challenges and opponents. I struggled to find a real purpose for the rune priest's abilities, and ended up feeling underwhelmed.
- David - 2 stars: As a dedicated 40k player, I was let down by the rune priest's psychic powers. They seemed relatively weak compared to other unit choices. The lack of versatility and potency made it challenging to effectively use them on the battlefield. The limited range of abilities severely limited their tactical value, and I found myself wishing for more impactful options.
- Sarah - 3 stars: While not terrible, I found the psychic powers of the 40k rune priest lackluster. They were decent for supportive roles but fell short when it came to dealing damage or controlling the battlefield. It felt like there were better options available for psychic support that could have provided a greater impact on the game. Overall, an average choice for psychic powers.