Tactica: Intercessors

[PeteySödes]

With the release of our rules update it seems we've had a craving and cause for some new discussions relating to our units. Every week we'll feature a new unit available to the 6th with the purpose of discussing the tactics, use, and synergies around them. The Space Wolves are also about legends, sagas and great deeds as well so each week will also kick off or feature a showcase for you bloodclaws and longfangs alike to show off your units and inspire your battle brothers. These discussions will be archived to allow for reference by the new and old as well!

Note, this isn't to lament any nerfs, etc, from previous editions; the rules are as they are so try to unlock its potential for those who wish to use them all the same. Similarly, this thread is only for using the option being discussed; it matters not if you feel something is a better choice as such comments aren't constructive to the topic and shall be removed.

- Week 1 -

- Intercessors -

How do Space Wolves best use Intercessors?

• Wargear?
• Which strategems are worth throwing out?
• Any solid unit combos?

What say you fearless Warriors of the Rout? And please post your finished Intercessors here!

[Zephaniah Adriyen]

Mine are kitted out with auto rifles, 'nade launcher and power fist. Might swap out for a thammer at some point because I'm reasonably sure we can take them now, but fist for now while I don't have the paint to upgrade.

[Lord Blackwood]

Mine are rolling with regular bolt rifles , but I am considering the auto ones. 

Going to be building out some power fist sarge models  for some  Lone Wolf Shenanigans 

I think intercessors are really solid , and with the changes in the new book can potentially be that middle ground unit for us. 

I am also strongly considering running 3 impulsors for them putting Ragnar with one squad , A rune priest with one , and a Wolf Priest with the other  

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Pre update I was leaning on them as backfield objective holding and so I armed my 3 squads with bolt rifles. And they did a good job at that. Now however I'm looking into putting a Thunder hammer in the pack and rolling them up in impulsors. Not sure if I will go auto bolt rifle or regular as I dont really see the benefit of auto bolt tifles over regular when riding in a transport.

[Kallas]

Not sure if I will go auto bolt rifle or regular as I dont really see the benefit of auto bolt tifles over regular when riding in a transport.

Auto Bolt Rifles are, statistically, better than Bolt Rifles (and that is accounting for the AP difference) against most things except for Sv2+, basically. Also consider that Wolves will, typically, want to be on the move to engage the enemy close in (well, if you're going with a Hammer/Fist anyway) then the three shots at 24" always will serve well compared to only one shot out to 30" (or two at 15" but that restricts your targeting options more).

[PeteySödes]

Do we think there is still value in stalker squads for backline obj camping? I still like having maybe one, the dev doctrine also helps to mitigate some enemy movement and increases their threat for T1 which is great for setting up plays.

[Valerian]

I'm leaning toward two different builds for Intercessor Packs.  A couple Packs to stay in the deployment zone to camp on rear objectives, and help protect other long-range assets would just get the standard Bolt Rifles.  They'd take advantage of that sweet 30" range, combined with Bolter Discipline to still get to contribute to the fight across the board.  I'd maybe give the Pack Leader a Power Fist to keep them cheap, but still be a threat to any sneaky gits that make it into my rear lines.

A couple other Packs would be tasked with what I call Forward Consolidation, and would get the Auto Bolt Rifles, to take advantage of the extra shots at shorter ranges, and the Pack Leader would get a Thunder Hammer.  These guys would move forward in Impulsors, and at least 1 of these Packs would get the Veteran Intercessor Stratagem, and act as Wolf Guard for the new Primaris Ragnar, who'd ride in the Impulsor with them.  

[PeteySödes]

I definitely am liking the idea of the ABR mid range troops. The hammers are just the cherry on top.

[Karhedron]

Do we think there is still value in stalker squads for backline obj camping?

I think so. They are a troop unit who can shoot deep into the enemy DZ from your own. They can even threaten vehicles at a pinch. They are probably one of the most points-effective ways to kill other 2-wound infantry. They can screen other fire support units like Long Fangs from chargers and push back deep strikers.

[TiguriusX]

I view our intercessors as either (1) bullies and objective takers or (2) rear objective babysitters

 

They can beat up other basic troops and objective holders other than fellow primaris.

 

Tactical doctrine they can outflank and arrive with AP2 bolters

 

Power sword or fist to keep them cheap and they take a lightly defended objective far from the real fight then sit on it until end game.

 

As an alternative they are a cheap source of 10 MEQ wounds to hide on an objective all game

Edited April 5, 2020 by TiguriusX

[One Two Wolf]

Yay! Unit of the Week is here! And what a good selection to begin with, I shall raise a toast in admiration of this development as soon as I've finished my toast.

 

Everything said here is sound common sense, it's all good guidance.

 

Personally, because Ragnar has 10 infilcursors with him my 3x5 intercessors are now perhaps a 1x5 and 1x10. I used 5 from the boxset with nurgle nurgle to set up with PF and SBR and as a bit of a colour test at the same time, holding backfield with a bite if needed ala TiguriusX's thinking. The remaining 10 together would drop a hammer but provide a bit of shooty, each with 3 shots. I look forward to trying different options and taking more suggestions from the wise brothers.

 

Either way my lads will be going forwards, always forwards, and offering another problem to be dealt with. They are a very strong troops choice esp hitting on 2's that first round, and as said above those 15 shots will start to chip away at things quite quickly. 20 cultists shielding a vehicle? My 5 intercessors say no, no they're not. 20 pox walkers? OK, you'll probably live through it but you will now have to deal with me.

 

Intercessors are in my opinion our best wolfie type infantry of the new choices and can be really versatile with the load out options.

Edited April 5, 2020 by One Two Wolf

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

Right now I'm running two different loadouts for my Intercessors.

 

My favorite is running 5 man squads with auto bolt rifles, 1 auxiliary grenade launcher, and a pack leader with a thunder hammer. I put these guys in Impulsors. Typically I run 3 squads.

 

My other loadout is a 5 man squad with heavy bolt rifles and a pack leader with a chainsword. I like to run one squad of these guys to hold an objective.

 

 

I'm building two five man incursor squads to replace my bolt rifle guys. Forward deployment adds alot imo.

[SvenIronhand]

I have three units, with one of each weapon option.

[ranulf the revenant]

 

Do we think there is still value in stalker squads for backline obj camping?

I think so. They are a troop unit who can shoot deep into the enemy DZ from your own. They can even threaten vehicles at a pinch. They are probably one of the most points-effective ways to kill other 2-wound infantry. They can screen other fire support units like Long Fangs from chargers and push back deep strikers.

Hmmm... those guys next to a Phobos Lord with the Bolts of Morkai in turn one to delete/damage something heavy maybe

[theprophetofwar]

I'm still stubbornly trying to keep my grey hunters in tanks working, but I have used and like the intercessors(and primaris troops in general) too.

I think the new book really pushes us towards using all flavors of our troops depending on task. I think I'm leaning towards 5+ with auto rifles and melee weapons, and 5 stalker sniping from backfield. I think a mix is a very fine idea, especially if mixing with phobos troops. The doctrines regardless how you feel about them, really buff us, especially our troop styles. We benefit every turn this way. Let the auto rifles rush in and let phobos hold mid then follow. Feels good to have wolves feel like troops aren't a tax, but a perk again.

Autos and hammer

Stalkers and nade launcher possibly. I'd offer up a melee weapon for counter charging deep strikers

Basic bolt rifles are great, but too all rounder I feel with our other options.

Edited April 6, 2020 by theprophetofwar

[Bulwyf]

I absolutely love them. They are easily our best troop option. They can stay back and babysit objectives or you can move them up and count on their extra attacks and wounds in combat. I have mine with the -1 AP 30 inch option for rifles. 

[Valerian]

I absolutely love them. They are easily our best troop option. They can stay back and babysit objectives or you can move them up and count on their extra attacks and wounds in combat. I have mine with the -1 AP 30 inch option for rifles.

Yeah, I agree on that; they really are our best Troops choice. Fantastic all-rounder, that can handle whatever task you give them, which is exactly what the core of a Space Marine/ Space Wolves force should be. It’s nice when the Troops aren’t a “tax” to pay to get the units that actually work.

[Karhedron]

I'm still stubbornly trying to keep my grey hunters in tanks working, but I have used and like the intercessors(and primaris troops in general) too.

I have run a mechanised force based around Grey Hunters for several editions and I think it is still very viable in 8th. Grey Hunters benefit from both the Tactical and Assault Doctrines so they start off in a good place. If you are looking to build around them, you need to identify where they outperform Primaris Troops and build you list accordingly.

 

The first advantage is the availability of special weapons and the ability to douoble-down on them, even in small packs. Bolt rifles are great all-round weapons but when you are up against heavily armoured targets, there is something to be said for having a couple of melta or plasma guns in your squad.

 

Next up are melee weapons. While tooling up 2 models in a squad (PL and WGPL) is a bit more expensive, that gives 2 weapons to benefit from Shock Assault. I like the combo of power axe on the PL and power fist on the WGPL. I am not convinced yet of the merits of Thunder Hammers on Troop squads outside of Veteran Intercessor PLs but experience may change my mind.

 

The next thing Grey Hunters have access to is a cheap, shooty Transport in the form of the trusty old Razorback. You can buy 3 of these for the cost of one Repulsor and they are more shooty than the Impulsor (probably the closest Primaris equivalent) making a mechanised force somewhat cheaper to build. I tend to favour Assault Cannons on my RBs and I leave the anti-tank to Long Fangs, melta guns and melee but you could mix some Lascannons on there if you want to go for a purely mechanised force.

 

GW are clearly pushing Primaris as the way forward but our trusty Grey Hunters are still more than capable of pulling their weight and mechanised armies help to mitigate the fact that they are not quite as durable as their Primaris brethren.

[Bulwyf]

Grey hunters with a plasma gun in the squad and in Razorbacks is still valid. I personally only have 4 squads of Intercessors right now and when I go with dual battalions in a list I fill in the last two troops with GH in RB. 

[PeteySödes]

Brothers remember for this series we should only be mentioning other units for the purposes of specific comparisons such as roles etc. The Grey Hunters time will be in in the coming weeks/months. 

[Karhedron]

Brothers remember for this series we should only be mentioning other units for the purposes of specific comparisons such as roles etc. The Grey Hunters time will be in in the coming weeks/months.

I recognise my failing brother and will be sure to correct it.

 

My current plan for Intercessors is 2 packs with either regular or stalker bolt rifles as backfield units. I plan to run these cheaply with an AGL and Chainsword on the pack leaders.

 

Next up will be 2 packs of Veteran Intercessors with ABRs and Thunderhammers riding in a Repulsor. These will be my midfield threat and the additional firepower of the Repulsor should help them seriously thin the foe. Now I realise that even with just Intercessors inside, this Repulsor is likely to have a huge bullseye on the hull which I need to find ways to mitigate. A combination of "Prepared Positions", "Storm Caller" and/or "Cloaked by the Storm" is one possibility but is hungry on CPs. I think that simply running other armoured threats such as AC Razorbacks, an Impulsor full of Hellblasters or even a Gunship might be more effective. As noted above, I feel Wolves play very well as a partially or fully meched army as we don't have the number of jump units and movement buffs that BAs do.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Karhedron

[theprophetofwar]

Right, so I wanted to say that I didn't mean to derail, just to mention them as where my mentality comes from.

Space wolves have historically had very good basic troops compared to other factions, usually more accurate and more numerous attacks, and I think they nailed this aspect. So, I've done more thinking about the intercessors recently, reading better to pick out their specifics. I had blinders on about our higher rank squads. So I have to say im pretty impressed with their buffs and strategems. I stand by my earlier statement that we would do well to have a mix of each troop type, and the stratagem combos really point that out more to me.

So I'll focus on the basic bolt rifle setup first, the one I felt was too all rounder.

Well, with stratagem support and new rules I think it's powerful.

So basic a bolt rifle: rapid fire 1, s4, ap-1(-2 in tac, turn 2)

So if we use the new rapid fire strat, they become rapid fire 2. Double shots.

Then we can use steady advance, they count as stationary for bolter discipline. Double those shots and can still move. So for a couple of command points, they are 4 shots each (if I'm thinking clearly) and can move without penalty. In tac doc that's 20 s4 ap-2, with a 36" threat range on 5 guys. I think focusing on this means bigger squads is better. More bangs for the buck.

Once they are in enemy lines(or the enemy comes to them) counter charge let's nearby squads jump into the fray to support each other, and true grit still lets them shoot bolt rifles in melee like pistols (which are ap-2 in tac doc remember)

I've realized that the old counter charge style of play is right there in strategems and base rules, and powerful with larger squads of intercessors, and pushes me more towards trying for dual battalion, focusing at least one on intercessors.

Edited to clarify my ramblings.

Edited April 7, 2020 by theprophetofwar

[TiguriusX]

Bolt rifle is 30" max not 36"

 

You are confusing it with the stalker range

[theprophetofwar]

Bolt rifle is 30" max not 36"

 

You are confusing it with the stalker range

Well, I'm using that in context of steady advance, able to count as stationary even if moving, extending their threat range to include movement and fire extra shots

[TiguriusX]

 

Bolt rifle is 30" max not 36"

 

You are confusing it with the stalker range

Well, I'm using that in context of steady advance, able to count as stationary even if moving, extending their threat range to include movement and fire extra shots

Ah gotcha. My mistake