Does anyone use Interceptors?

[Kilofix]

Does anyone use Interceptors for TAC lists?

 

I'm trying to figure out if I can use them as a vehicle killer - in lieu of something like a Sternguard Drop-Pod. But they don't seem to have the right weapon options. Except maybe Hammer but they can't Assault after Shunting.

 

Otherwise, I'm assuming just use Incinerator and go after troops?

 

Or should I not bother at all and stick just to NDKs. Which are already a given, I just wasn't sure if there was any worth to adding Intercepts in addition to them.

 

Otherwise, my Fast slot is kinda lonely with only one Raven but maybe that's typical.

 

Thanks for the opinions.

[Reclusiarch Darius]

Interceptors are not vehicle killers persay. They're a spoiler unit. You send up up a flank to annoy backfield static units that don't wanna move (ie heavy weapon squads). Remember you have krak grenades on all of them, so if you need to take out a Basilisk or something like that, it's doable even without a nemesis hammer on the Justicar. 

 

I'd generally just take an incinerator on a combat squad and call it a day. No more than two combat squads normally. 

 

DK's are a great workhorse, but there is a argument to putting Interceptors in the same list. That way, the enemy has multiple mobile targets they have to deal with, rather than just 1-2 obvious problems (ie the DK's). Depends on your list though, you probably won't have points for it below 2k. 

[Inquisitor Fox]

I would say they go after "Targets of Opportunity" due to higher overall mobility and the ability to "jump" move 12" not including their shunt.  Really you're spending points on mobility on the tabletop, but they're precious dear points.  That and not being scoring (without a Grand Master) hurts their use a little.  I have a small squad though because they're just neat and open up some options :)

[thade]

I treat all jump infantry in 40k as if it's "fast cavalry"; they have small numbers but very high effective engagement range. Due to their extreme mobility (which is innate/isn't dependent on a transport) they can support multiple infantry units, quickly moving to offer extra support-fire or counter-charge when a unit gets mired in melee that you don't want stuck there. Interceptors are especially good for this as they don't have pistols: they have storm bolters and can take some really sweet ranged ugprades, like psycannons. 24" shooting range + 12" movement range means they threaten a 36" radius on the table. Not to mention they have force weapons by default, which makes them particularly nasty if they charge in to bail out their buddies (who likely also have force weapons).

Like any unit, if you send them in on their own (which can be tempting, as Jump Infantry mobility makes it easy to get juicy flank shots) they're going to be isolated and murdered; your units are strong when together and already fewer than most (GK are outnumbered by even marines) so an Interceptor unit can go a long way in a list by supporting other units that are otherwise spread a bit too far apart. They're like halfbacks in a soccer match.

++ EDIT. Font-size needed fixing. t++

[jeffersonian000]

Interceptors are a vital part of my GK army, filling the role of high-mobility firebase and problem removal specialists. Much like Thade posted above, I use my GKIS to bring firepower to bear on any target that needs attention. My guys are run as 10man squads with 2 Psycannons, 2 Hammers, Psybolt Ammo, and Combat Squaded into 2 equal teams. Shunt is great for last minute objective grabs, and I have used them to physically block the retreat of enemies that break in CC with my TDA, wiping out the broken unit. Hammers are for dealing with vehicles, mostly, as I tend to avoid actual CC with them.

 

Recently, I've been thinking about using them to create a fast moving Warp Quake bubble to assist with protecting Imperials Knights from DS'ing Melta. In conjunction with GKSS covering the rear, GKIS can cover front/sides while leaving a nice kill zone to put mishap'd enemies into.

 

SJ

[thade]

Recently, I've been thinking about using them to create a fast moving Warp Quake bubble to assist with protecting Imperials Knights from DS'ing Melta. In conjunction with GKSS covering the rear, GKIS can cover front/sides while leaving a nice kill zone to put mishap'd enemies into.

This is brilliant.

[treadhead]

I've been using a 10 man squad for ages armed with a mix of falchions, stave, hammer, halberd (on the champion), 2 incinerators for general burinination and psybolt ammo (who doesnt love str 5 shooting) costly but fun.

 

As for the shunt it can be great for a last minute objective denial, but it is also handy for just repositioning mid game if needed or used in conjunction with some NDK to put a squeeze play on an area of the table your opponent thought was safe to leave poorly defended.

 

But i really think the fast cavalry description works best these guys can guard a flank, harass support units or pile in from the sides if needed.

[Cpt_Reaper]

I run a 5-man squad with 3 pairs of falchions, a psilencer and a hammer. I run them in a headhunter role: drop in, seek out target, eliminate. The psilencer is for the higher number of shots against GEQ, and the falchions for extra attacks with the hammer for hurting tanks and characters. Units like artillery, heavy weapon squads, backfield command squads and the like are all viable targets. That being said with the right amount of luck you can remove a guard blob squad from an objective with a well timed assault.

[Gentlemanloser]

 

This is brilliant.

 

Seconded.

 

With a 12" move, they keep pace with the standard 12" move of a Super Heavy Walker.

 

And allow you to start crossing the board turn 1 if you go first, without fear of moving them out of a static protection from Drop Melta.

 

Pure win!

 

/appluad

[Reclusiarch Darius]

>using Imperial Knights outside of Apoc/Escalation

Uh oh

 

Getting back to reality, you should look to keep your investment in Interceptors low. They're still as squishy as a Tac Marine, so if they get into trouble (which given their more aggressive posture they often will), you can lose them fast. DK by comparison can shrug off a lot of firepower and still keep truckin. I'd use both to support one another, DK's risk getting bogged down in chaff, whereas Interceptors risk fighting stuff they can't kill/outshoot. 

 

Remember that they're still not scoring (barring a further investment in an expensive HQ), they eat up points as fast as Purifiers whilst being still essentially Strike Knights with jump packs, and you should never be taking psycannon on them (incinerators, whilst expensive, are much better on a fast assault unit). Psycannon is best employed on either camping units or on Relentless ones. 

[Gentlemanloser]

That being said, a combat Squad of Interceptors is less than a Rhino more expensive than Strikes.

 

So for cheaper than a transport, you get Shunt + 12" move.

 

Not bad if you look at it that way. ;)

[Reclusiarch Darius]

That being said, a combat Squad of Interceptors is less than a Rhino more expensive than Strikes.

So for cheaper than a transport, you get Shunt + 12" move.

Not bad if you look at it that way.

Two problems. Firstly, Rhinos are terrible, and made even more redundant by the fact that both Strikes and Interceptors can Deepstrike into position.

Secondly, whilst I think Interceptors are base costed fine, their upgrades are absurdly expensive. They also don't fill mandatory Troops, which is a problem for a force that struggles already with scoring and bodycount.

Interceptors aren't bad, by any means (they're a million times better than Assault Marines), but they are a pricey unit that dies like Tacticals. This is Marine hate edition currently, so its punishing to us in particular. It's just something to be aware of when you take big squads or multiple units, you run out of points fast,

[thade]

I can't agree with the statement "Rhinos are terrible" because they certainly have their uses: they can contest control points, they can re-deploy your troops during Turn 1, they make the occupants effectively immune to small arms fire and can soak a big hit for them, and they are a wheeled barrel of laughs if they're still alive come Turn 3.

[Grey Mage]

The rhino has been having problems in any tau-heavy meta for almost a decade now. S5 infantry weapons just do that to the game.

 

Tau are very popular right now, so Rhinos are struggling.

[jeffersonian000]

RD, I disagree with on Psycannons and Incinerators. Interceptors are not Assault Troops. They are too expensive, to fragile, have too few attacks, and no special ability to off-set these penalties. They do, however, make great firebases, and have inherent CC ability if needed. I'd rather be able to kill a Tank or an MC or a Blob as needed with a cannon, than kill just Blobs with a Flamer.

 

SJ

[Reclusiarch Darius]

 

I can't agree with the statement "Rhinos are terrible" because they certainly have their uses: they can contest control points, they can re-deploy your troops during Turn 1, they make the occupants effectively immune to small arms fire and can soak a big hit for them, and they are a wheeled barrel of laughs if they're still alive come Turn 3.

They're lucky to survive past Turn 1 in my experience. AV11 just doesn't last long these days. YMMV, but I've given up on Knight mech this edition. Henchmen, Eldar and IG can still pull it off, but not us. 

 

RD, I disagree with on Psycannons and Incinerators. Interceptors are not Assault Troops. They are too expensive, to fragile, have too few attacks, and no special ability to off-set these penalties. They do, however, make great firebases, and have inherent CC ability if needed. I'd rather be able to kill a Tank or an MC or a Blob as needed with a cannon, than kill just Blobs with a Flamer.

Interceptors are most certainly assault troops. What you should say is they're not elite melee. AP3 swords still hurt shooty units that can't fight well in melee, and they still work against Marines just fine (they'll eat Tacs and other non-melee Marine squads fine). You'll almost always get the charge, and with 'Hammerhand' you can even clean bikes off the table. Don't send them against Terminators etc, send them against Havoks, Lootaz, Broadsides etc (you might want a hammer on the Justicar to get through the 2+ armour of course). 

 

If you're seriously teleporting up the field then camping with psycannons, you are doing it wrong. If you want to camp with psycannon, Deepstrike in some Strikes. Interceptors camping is a waste of their mobility. Incinerators love being on mobile platforms, it means you'll actually use it more than once per game. 

 

I would not rely on Interceptor psycannon for anti-tank. PsyDreads, DK's, Jokaero, suicide Henchmen melta, Henchmen Razorbacks....these are all cheaper and more reliable in the same role. You aren't gonna stay still long enough with Interceptors to take advantage of 4-shot mode. 

[jeffersonian000]

Guess our local meta is different, as I find the Incinerator limits their usefulness rather than enhancing it.

 

SJ

[Reclusiarch Darius]

 

Guess our local meta is different, as I find the Incinerator limits their usefulness rather than enhancing it.

I find it hard to believe you have no good targets for a teleporting incinerator. Granted, it's not always effective, but 6th is infantry edition. Backfield stuff usually trades away resilience for raw damage output, that's why they're 36" or 48" away from the line of battle. 

 

You have to consider how effective psycannon will be on a mobile unit. Most of the time, you're essentially upgrading the storm bolter to fire Rending autocannon shots, whilst trading in the force weapon as well. Which isn't bad persay, but compared to 4-shot mode (which is what makes Purifiers a scary support unit), against a lot of infantry you'd rather the incinerator. Against vehicles, 2+ saves and MC's of course you want psycannon. 

[Inquisitor Fox]

I think that's why they priced the Incincerator so much more than the psycannon for Stormies and Interceptors.  It's just well... useful.  The psycannon is more useful to Termies who count as a stationary platform.  The only reason I use a psycannon with mine is thematic and fluff reasons.  Technically I think an Incincerator is more useful.

 

Then again I plan on magnetizing ALL my strikes eventually anyway so...

[Kilofix]

For a 10-man Interceptor squad; Psycannon vs Incinerators aside, and assuming maybe a couple of Hammers already;

 

Halberds for the rest of the Interceptors? Or Falchions?

 

Are Falchions any good on any other GK squad?

[thade]

I would just leave them with force swords (i.e. not upgrade them for melee beyond a hammer or two) focusing on their application as (extremely mobile) ranged support. If they do need to leap in and lend a hand to a mired unit of Strikes (or what have you) they are already VERY well prepared for it: they have force weapons and their mobility affords them very high odds of getting the (counter)charge. Making them more expensive is very similar to the shortcoming of most Vanguard configurations I saw when I was trying them out.

Spread your points around: make it as hard as possible for your opponent to prioritize targets. (If your Interceptors are tricked out to wazoo, they're an obvious thing to focus-fire as they're dangerous and you'll feel it when they die. If they're more reasonable and you have points elsewhere, it's not nearly so clear-cut for them.)

++ EDIT: Added some carriage returns for readability. t++

[Valerian]

As thade just alluded to, Interceptors don't make a terrific dedicated Assault Force; they've got standard marine stats (just 1 attack, too, and no off-hand weapon options).  Even with Force Weapons all around, they can't do what either Purifiers or GKT can do in close combat.  So, the lesson there is, you're going to want to aim your Purifiers and GKT for those assaults, and invest in close combat upgrades (e.g. Halberds and Hammers) on those units.  Interceptors are best used as very mobile shooters, so you can leave them with their Swords (which still work well when you have to do close combat with them),  Since they're largely dedicated to shooting, you probably can afford to give them some ranged upgrades (such as Psybolts, and Psycannon - or even Incinerators, as discussed earlier in the thread).  

 

In this way, you will have invested in capabilities that make them better at doing what you intend to do with them, while not splurging to spend points on upgrades that you won't, or shouldn't have them doing.

 

V

 

EDIT: Oh, and as to your question about Falchions, I'm not sure that anyone uses Falchions at all, in any squads, with the exception of maybe one here or there just for kicks.  They're just a little too expensive for what you get (a single extra attack), when you consider the already expensive cost of all of our units.  It'd have been distinctly different if they'd gone with the "a set of Falchions gives you +2 attacks" ruling back when the codex FAQ first came out, but it didn't, so all water under the bridge from there.  They just don't compare well with the other upgrades, the Hammer and Halberd.

[Inquisitor Fox]

My Grey Knights list has everyone with halberds save a couple hammers here and there, one set of falchions on a Justicar because it was a neat conversion.  Granted I've only spent 51 points on halberds (3 purifiers, 7 strikes, 2 interceptors) which would be at most one and a half extra boots on the ground or so.  My brain inherently hates not upgrading the weapons on the power armored forces because well.. um... it's passing up an almost no brainer opportunity cost.

 

You really have to decide how much you want to spend on upgrades though.  Pound for pound I'm inclined to say halberds are still our best bet, as they let you strike before just about anything.  There's very little in the game that goes before I6.  As a general rule though, you're better off killing things when they are still "over there" so psybolts and psycannons are overall our best bet.

[Kilofix]

One last question ....maybe....

 

Is there any point to taking a 5-man Interceptor squad? Or is it 10 or nothing?

 

Thanks again!

[Reclusiarch Darius]

 

Is there any point to taking a 5-man Interceptor squad? Or is it 10 or nothing?

 

I'd always take them as 5-man. They're easier to hide, easier to manouvre, and you get multiple Justicars (unlike other Marines, we don't actually pay a premium for our squad leaders). Taking 10-man makes it a bigger investment, and makes it easier for the enemy to gouge a big whole in our army (Interceptors are not cheap).