Are Space Wolves a close combat army?

            Greetings brothers (and sisters) of the Vlka Fenryka!
                                        Today we are going to talk about a controversial topic...Dun Dun DUHH- are the Space Wolves a close combat army? Well, I'm going to give you the short answer from my prospective: YES.

     I know, I have to be crazy right? Historically, Space Wolves have not been considered a CC army- more-so they've been considered a mid-field defensive army. Many new players would pick up the Space Wolf codex and assume it was infact a melee style army only to be shot down and corrected by more veteran players. The 5th edition codex really epitomized this and as it was out and valid for many years and the most recent-this post will be talking about 5th edition vs 7th edition Wolves.
     In 5th edition the Space Wolves had a strong reputation for being the "I f*cking dare you to charge me" army while they rhino-rushed or drop podded into an opponents face and started rapid firing. Grey Hunters were the poo and not even Blood Angels' Death Company would dare to charge them. Two cc weps, and counter attack along with a stupidly over-powered banner and the Wulfen would make any player think twice. GHs easily made up 60-80% of most players army's and were exhibit: A of why the Space Wolves were a mid-field army.   Our Long Fangs would sit in the back by their Razorbacks launching death into enemy ranks while the Grey hunters sat on objectives making the Ultrasmurfs blue with envy (lol). That was the way of it. Blood Claws were too expensive and too unreliable. Thunderwolves were sexy, but pricy(er) and Wolf Guard were largely used to sneak Terminators with missile launchers into Grey Hunter squads, kitting them for cc was crazy expensive and not very effective when you consider it. The Wolf Lord was our CC MONSTER but he alone did not make the army. Basically, Space Wolves were the kings of getting up to the center of the field and shooting. They had cc power, sure. But they were so good at holding the middle ground and objectives that playing them any other way was really wasting their potential.
     Fast forward to 7th edition and a few things changed. Our Grey Hunters lost their "ultra-grit" loadout unless you pay a premium for it. Face it-we still will cause its awesome. They used to pay 10 points for their plasma gun and got a second one FREE with a 10 man pack! Now, however, the plasma gun costs 15 points and a second is no longer free. Ok we still have this right? Well they also lost adding a terminator leader with missile launchers to the pack, a banner in every squad (one per detachment now-and it doesn't work the same)and the Wulfen (almost cried..). A sizable point increase and a tactical usage decrease both at the same time (that is not to say they are not good-they are still a great unit as far as troops go, just no longer the beasts they were). Additionally Blood Claws became much cheaper (12 points!), lost headstrong, gained more options and became all around more attractive. perhaps a move to the cc direction right? Longfangs too have lost some umph-taking us further from the shooty side. Thunderwolves (who are arguably the best unit in the codex) took an AMAZING price cut while getting EVEN BETTER at cc, Terminators took a nice price cut when equip for cc, almost all of our characters are cc oriented and took a price cut. Long story short: We don't have centurions we don't have highly proficient shooting and we will be out-gunned by 80% of the armies we get into a gunfight with. However, this alone wouldn't make me believe the Wolves were a cc army.
     Then Champions of Fenris came out. Oh man. I probably should put a disclaimer out stating that this, and 3/4ths of every blog I post, will probably lead back to CoF. This supplement changed everything. What was a perfectly OK and fairly competitive codex turned into a true force to be reckoned with when the Champions of Fenris hit the shelves. It also pushed us into the CC scene like nothing else could. Our FoC turned into 1 HQ 2 Elites and gave us up to 8 Elites and 4 HQs at the cost of 3 Troops slots. Wolf Guard of both varieties, pack leaders and THUNDERWOLF CALVARY get +1 WS standard. Characters must issue and accept challenges but get preferred enemy-characters while in challenges. Add all this in with the fact that our gear is just plain better than regular Space Marines gear when it comes to cc -our Frost Blades are better than their power weapons, our Wolf Claws are stronger than their Lightning Claws, our units have more cc options, and we have counter attack. All this tells me the wolves want to be in combat. Higher weapon skills, more access to cc units via elite armies, stronger cc weaponry and the plain killing power of our Thunderwolf Calvary. Our army hits easier, is harder to hit, wounds easier and has easier access to cc units. I haven't even talked about the relics or formations yet... Arjacs Shieldbrothers? Krakenbone Sword?
     All this taken into account I must point out that I do NOT think the Space Wolves are an ASSAULTY army. Theyre too versatile to be put in such a fine term. Theres some rage here, furious charge there but its rare. I think they're a strong cc army. Charging or getting charged, put your troll face on when you clean up any combat no matter who started it.
     Obviously this is all speculation and opinion and has a lot to do with a supplement, but it is a valid corner to fight from. The fact of the matter is they are easily out gunned but not easily outclassed in combat. Of course this is not to say they cant be a shooty army or hold their own. They're Space Marines! Of course they can! I just think, more than other chapters, the Space Wolves bring the pain when they're in your face. Our terminators and formations challenge Deathwing. We challenge Blood Angels at their own game as well (though certainly there would be carnage in that match up).
     Also, I'm sure I'm in the minority, as most Wolf players wont let go of their heritage. I am biased and try to play cc games whenever possible. Theres always this talk of "an increasingly shooty edition" or "cc is fail" that I must object strongly to. This edition may seem to favor armies like Tau or Guard or Eldar (and it does) but I promise when you learn effective means to get to an enemy with most of your army intact (which will be discussed in length in a later post) these armies crumble quite quickly. In fact, (and not to brag) since CoF, I've actually not lost a game in the past 8 I've played-all CC armies with notoriously "fail" units like Terminators (I will talk about Terminators and their effectiveness relative to 7th edition in the future). I am simply trying to say, open your mind to new possibilities, do not ever let someone tell you something wont work cause "thats how it is in 7th" and dont paint yourself into the corner of "mid-field defensive only" or "shooty only" cause, frankly, Space Wolves are not.
     This post represents my opinion, I am not Sir lord and savior of the Wolves and my word is not law. As usual I am presenting an alternative view that the whole of the community  does not agree with and I understand that. Whats your opinions? Do you agree with me? Do you not agree? Feel free to comment why or why not (as always, be respectful if presenting an opposition) with reasons you feel either way!
                                                         Keep Gaming and may Russ be with you!
                                                                                                              Jorvar