Space Wolves - Wolf Packs: Instead of organising into the squads dictated by the Codex Astartes, the Space Wolves form their battle-brothers into "packs." Each pack will generally be made up of Astartes who have fought together for some time and will work together as a pack of Fenrisian Wolves do on the hunt.For the Space Wolves their finely honed, superhuman senses of smell and hearing are just as important to them as their keen eyesight. Packs will work together to sniff and sound out their foes, hunting their prey like the wolves of Fenris, identifying the locations of their comrades as much by their enhanced sense of smell as by any technological means.The Space Wolves maintain four primary types of packs in the Chapter, including the Blood Claws, Grey Hunters, Long Fangs, and the Wolf Guard. There are also Wolf Scouts, who are an oddity among the Adeptus Astartes, as they are not neophytes but can be Veteran Astartes.Blood Claws - A Blood Claw is a newly inducted Astartes of the Space Wolves Chapter and the equivalent of a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's neophytes or Scout Marines. Still struggling to control the spirit of the Wulfen within, Blood Claws are notoriously savage and fiercely aggressive. These hot-headed young warriors cannot wait to prove themselves, charging in howling packs at the front lines of the enemy in their efforts to garner personal glory. They prefer to fight at close quarters and are armed with melee weapons such as chainswords and Bolt Pistols as a sidearm. The Blood Claws are the shock troops of the Space Wolves and spearhead the majority of assaults. If they survive to become mature and capable warriors, they will eventually be elevated to the Veteran ranks of the Grey Hunters.Swift Claws - A subset of the Blood Claws, the Swift Claws are culled from the ranks of the Blood Claws when the Chapter needs a swift, hard-hitting assault force comprised of Bike Squads or Land Speeders. The young and ambitious Blood Claws are well suited to this role. In addition to forming a lightning assault force, Swift Claws will occasionally be tasked with a dangerous quest to track down and slay a particularly powerful enemy. Given the opportunity to sow the maximum amount of carnage and disruption possible, these young warriors apply themselves with particular relish in the performance of their duties. Some Blood Claws are so taken by this role -- not to mention the opportunities for raising havoc that come along with it -- that they demand the right to a permanent position as a Swift Claw. Unlike other Chapters that use their Bike Squads primarily for forward reconnaissance, the Space Wolves use their bikes in a demolitions and close assault role.Skyclaws - The Skyclaws are a subset of Blood Claws. This specialist unit is composed of the most headstrong troublemakers from each Blood Claw pack and are often "rewarded" by reassignment to a Skyclaw Assault Pack and thus serve as the Chapter's equivalent of Assault Marines. Entrusted with a Jump Pack, this vital piece of wargear provides the young warrior with the opportunity to indulge in their desire to charge headlong into the thick of battle. It is said amongst the more experienced battle-brothers of the Chapter that if the youngsters wish to slake their reckless bloodthirst, let them, and if they die in the process then they will still learn a valuable lesson. Though considered a dubious honour by their more mature brethren, the Skyclaws are bound and determined to prove themselves in the eyes of their elders. Unafraid and uncaring, they soar fearlessly through the skies in great leaps, taking great joy in watching the enemy crumble beneath the reckless fury of their airborne assault. Truly the most rebellious and free-spirited of all the Space Wolves, the Skyclaws are constantly trying to prove themselves. They are known to compete against packs of Blood Claws through friendly contests of athletic prowess, drinking and eating. Impetuous and foolhardy, the Skyclaws are known for their fondness for practical jokes. Although transgressions that cost the lives of their fellows are punished severely, even their Wolf Lords admit that they were young once, and so they often overlook these offences. It is rare for a Skyclaw to be exiled for their reckless deeds. But those that push their luck too far and commit an offence that is anathema to their Chapter are assigned a punishment that fits the crime. One who has caused the death of a senior member of the Space Wolves may be struck down, only to awaken to a new life as a Med-Servitor.Grey Hunters - If Blood Claws survive long enough to mature into seasoned Astartes, they are promoted to the ranks of the Grey Hunters. These experienced Astartes are the equivalent of a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's Tactical Marines. The Grey Hunter packs form the greater mass of the Space Wolves' warriors. They are strong and resolute fighters, tempered by battle but as hungry for honour as any proud warrior of Fenris. They are experienced warriors, dour and sombre, proud of their skills, and rightly honoured by their younger brethren.Long Fangs - Long Fangs form a cadre of Veteran warriors within the Chapter. Hoary with age, proud and wise, they are quite literally endowed with long fangs, for as a Space Wolf ages his canines lengthen and his hair grows course and grey. After many Terran centuries of long wars, their esteem stands as a mountain, commanding awe and respect from those of lesser years. There are relatively few Long Fangs within the Chapter, for many warriors die in battle so only a minority survive to reach a venerable age. Their saga is almost complete. These veteran warriors are disciplined and steady even in the heat of battle, and hence entrusted with the Great Company's heavy weapons. They are the equivalent of a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter's Devastator Marines. Having fought and survived so many wars the Long Fangs are rarely unsettled even by the most serious set-back. There are many accounts within the Chapter's history that recount the deeds of the stalwart Long Fangs, who have held the field against overwhelming odds, even after all others have fled or been slain.Wolf Guard - Some Space Wolves, having achieved feats of exceptional valour and martial prowess, may become members of the Chapter's Wolf Guard. These mighty Astartes can lead smaller forces of Space Wolves drawn from other packs, serve as the Space Wolves' version of an honour guard for the most experienced warrior in a deployed Space Wolves force or serve as the pack leader for one of a Great Company's squads, imparting their knowledge and experience to their younger charges and serving as the equivalent of standard Space Marine sergeants. In addition to access to the best suits of power armour and the most advanced wargear available to the Chapter, the Wolf Guard have earned the right to wear Terminator Armour. Unlike other Chapters, entrance into the elite ranks of the Wolf Guard is not the result of seniority or Veteran status but is an honour earned directly through merit, through the display of extraordinary acts of courage and heroism under fire, regardless of the chosen Astartes' former status in the Chapter. Eventually, it is possible for a Wolf Guard to rise to the position of Wolf Lord, the mighty officers equivalent in rank to standard Space Marine captains who command one of the 12 Great Companies that comprise the entirety of the Chapter. It is to the elite of the Wolf Guard that each Great Company first looks when a new Wolf Lord must be raised.Thunderwolf Cavalry - Thunderwolf Cavalry units are a sub-group of the Wolf Guard. According to official Imperial records, the Thunderwolf Cavalry doesn't exist and the Space Wolves keep them as a closely guarded secret. Thunderwolves are giant Fenrisian Wolves that stand about the height of a Terran rhinoceros and are used as mounts by the most elite members of the Wolf Guard. Thunderwolves are used in the near-mythical Thunderwolf Cavalry, and are often augmented with adamantium jaws, Imperial bionics, and back-jointed metal limbs that end in razor-sharp blades. The havoc that these creatures are capable of wreaking is said to be startling to even a hardened Veteran Space Wolf. The taming of a Thunderwolf is often used as a ritual trial for a Space Wolves Astartes who wishes to rise into the ranks of the Wolf Guards.Wolf Scouts - For some Space Wolves Astartes, the close-knit and boisterous brotherhood of the pack (squad) is not well-suited to their personality, as they yearn for the open spaces and isolation of the Fenrisian tundra. These Space Marines are selected to become part of a Great Company's Wolf Scout force, providing reconnaissance in force, skirmishing capabilities and disrupting enemy movements and logistics. These Space Marines are often already Veterans, as opposed to the raw neophytes commonly used in other Chapters' Scout Squads.Lone Wolves - Over time, as Space Wolves packs take casualties and gain experience, they pass through the ranks, and eventually the last few survivors may earn the right to enter the vaunted ranks of the Wolf Guard. However, sometimes a pack will suffer particularly harsh casualties, leaving a lone survivor who has not yet earned a place in the Wolf Guard. These last standing "Lone Wolves" will take on an air of vengeance and doom, determined to regain the honour of their pack in combat or die trying. Those who succeed in their quests to seek out and slay dangerous or potent enemies and survive are accepted into the Wolf Guard, while the rest have at least earned an honourable death in combat like their lost packmates.Wolfblade - The Wolfblade is an ancient honour guard of Space Wolves that are sent to Terra to protect the millennia-old Navigator House Belisarius, long-time allies of the Chapter. They train the ruling celestarch of House Belisarius' house troops and lead them into battle. The Wolfblade act as the celestarch's strong right arm when there is need. They slay his enemies in open battle and by stealth if need be. This pact's origins are lost to legend, but the most commonly accepted version of the story dates it from the time of the Great Crusade and the friendship between Primarch Leman Russ and Alexander Belisarius. Belisarius was a Navigator of genius, who aided Russ on many of his adventures. On the day of the Feast of the Founding they are said to have sworn a pact of eternal friendship. As a sign of this friendship, the Belisarius family agreed to provide Navigators for the Chapter in perpetuam, in return for the Space Wolves' martial aid. An entire pack of Space Wolves would accompany the celestarch of House Belisarius as his bodyguard. Given the fractious nature of the Navigator Houses of the Navis Nobilite, and a commercial rivalry which, at that time, could result in conflicts as large as wars, this was an alliance of vast importance for the Navigators. The Space Wolves still enjoy a close bond to House Belisarius, a political alliance between a Navigator House and a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes that is shared only by the Blood Ravens, White Scars, and Blood Angels Chapters.