Equipping standard Intercessor sgt. with special CC weapons

[Helias_Tancred]

... do you think its worth it? Power sword, power fist, thunder hammer, etc.

 

Based on your experiences has it been worth it?

 

I've had an Intercessor Sergeant in a auto bolt rifle squad carrying a thunder hammer the last few months and it has not panned out well. I went ahead and removed the hammer and gave him a chain sword instead. On paper it seems good to give them a harder hitting CC weapon, but on the table top so far it's a no. Just curious what others think?

 

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

I think it depends on you chapter and how aggressive you plan on being with the unit.

 

For me I tend to run a squad or two with special weapons but I'm pretty aggressive with my troops and the SW chapter tactic really comes in handy.

[Helias_Tancred]

I think it depends on you chapter and how aggressive you plan on being with the unit.

 

For me I tend to run a squad or two with special weapons but I'm pretty aggressive with my troops and the SW chapter tactic really comes in handy.

 

Good point. As a Blood Angel player I feel less of an impact going with the ol' trusty Astartes chainsword. 

[Karhedron]

I play wolves so chucking TH on my pack leader has frequently payed dividends. I run ABRs and tend to run my Intercessors fairly aggressively in the midfield so there is often something for them to whack. So many Primaris units are mono-tasked, it is handy to have something in an anti-infantry unit that can threaten tougher targets.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Karhedron

[Oxydo]

If you're expecting to put your Intercessors into melee, I would always pay for a PF or at the very least a Power Sword. It turns the unit from a nuisance in melee to an actual threat, and you only need to kill 1-2 MEQs with it to get your points' worth back really..

[Lord_Ikka]

I'm using Ultras rules and I've got three Intercessor squads in my current list(s). Two of them are auto bolt-rifles and one regular bolt rifles- the autos have a powerfist and thunderhammer in them and the regular one has a powersword/chainsword depending on points. The autos are part of my forward-storming force, so I expect them to get into melee fairly often while sitting on objectives. Giving them the powerfist/thunderhammer means that even if they get charged by a dedicated melee unit the sergeant can usually survive and possibly take out a more expensive enemy, or allow them to tarpit a vehicle for a turn and have the ability to give it a smacking. The regular squad with the powersword/chainsword sits on a backfield objective, so I don't need them to have anything nastier than that.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

I’d say it largely depends.

Is the squad large enough that they have a high likelihood of surviving 2 or more rounds of combat?

No? chainsword for that extra attack

Yes? Special weapon for the extra oomph

I’d avoid the weapons with a -1 to hit rule as well.

[Malakithe]

I like power swords because DA like swords...thats the only reason lol

[Captain Idaho]

Generally I'd concentrate on chainswords due to their cheaper upgrade cost of zero. Whilst it is true a squad of Intercessors can very well get bogged down in melee, generally they're your mid range minimal investment objectives holders.

 

A power sword isn't terrible as a "just in case" weapon.

 

Thunder Hammers in such units, now that Primaris have access to Bladeguard and Assault Intercessors, just seems like a waste of points due to the hitting on a 4+ issue. That's fairly rubbish.

[Blindhamster]

I usually use a chainsword or power sword, to echo others. Intercessors don’t suck in combat and can quite comfortably bully non melee units. For blood angels in particular the upgrades make more sense than higher cost ones as they maximise the benefit of the +1 to wound.

[Captain Idaho]

Yeah Blood Angels really enjoy Chainswords and Power Swords. +1 to wound is delicious.

[Casual Heresy]

Last game I played a unit of intercessors in a game, the sergeant with thunder hammer dealt the killing blow to a lord discordant after it wiped out my aggressors. I swear by special weapons on Intercessor sergeants, plus thunder hammers are cool.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Casual Heresy

[Captain Idaho]

Never dismiss rule of cool. :) Edited October 29, 2021 by Captain Idaho

[TheNewman]

I ran Power Fists on my ABR Intercessors a lot at first, but I find they pretty consistently bounce off everything.

 

...which is at least on par with how everything else in the army does, but that might be a problem with my dice.

Edited October 29, 2021 by TheNewman

[Captain Idaho]

I've lost track how many times I'll roll 3 ones out of 6 when my Captain wades into the enemy with his Thunder Hammer. The dice gods are fickle. Edited October 29, 2021 by Captain Idaho

[phandaal]

I ran Power Fists on my ABR Intercessors a lot at first, but I find they pretty consistently bounce off everything.

 

...which is at least on par with how everything else in the army does, but that might be a problem with my dice.

That is why it always pays off to have two sets of dice on hand.

 

If one set is failing you, you put it away to think about what it has done. Maybe next game it can try again.

 

If both sets fail you, then the gods have decided that you will not be winning any games today and that is just how it is.

[TheNewman]

 

I ran Power Fists on my ABR Intercessors a lot at first, but I find they pretty consistently bounce off everything.

 

...which is at least on par with how everything else in the army does, but that might be a problem with my dice.

That is why it always pays off to have two sets of dice on hand.

 

If one set is failing you, you put it away to think about what it has done. Maybe next game it can try again.

 

If both sets fail you, then the gods have decided that you will not be winning any games today and that is just how it is.

I carry three sets, Tzeentch could curse all three and I probably wouldn't notice.

 

I keep saying I need to arrange them all in a nice circle and smash one set with a hammer as an example to the others, but so far I haven't done it.

[Helias_Tancred]

I usually use a chainsword or power sword, to echo others. Intercessors don’t suck in combat and can quite comfortably bully non melee units. For blood angels in particular the upgrades make more sense than higher cost ones as they maximise the benefit of the +1 to wound.

 

That definitely was my sense of thought in this case. That -1 to hit was getting old, and even with a chainsword or power sword that +1 to wound makes them so much better.

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

 

I usually use a chainsword or power sword, to echo others. Intercessors don’t suck in combat and can quite comfortably bully non melee units. For blood angels in particular the upgrades make more sense than higher cost ones as they maximise the benefit of the +1 to wound.

 

That definitely was my sense of thought in this case. That -1 to hit was getting old, and even with a chainsword or power sword that +1 to wound makes them so much better.

 

 

This is actually one of the best parts of how they balanced special weapons. I like that thunder hammers, and axes makes more sense for wolves, and that BA are brutal with swords. 

[Helias_Tancred]

Well at least when I switched out the thunder hammer for a chainsword, the latter got some sweet BA-ish love.

[Son of Sacrifice]

I take a power fist on every sergeant, I've never regretted having one. Gave a Tau Suit Commander the business in my last game.

[ADragonuFear]

I make the list first and see if I have a few spare points left after that. If I do, I consider putting on a fist or power sword on my auto rifle squads. Assault intercessors bring cheaper makes them get a fist more often as they're a more dedicated and slightly cheaper melee unit than intercessors. But if it's a choice between a new unit or a better unit, intercessors are low on the point priority list. I wouldn't shell out 20 points for a Thunder hammer on my battleline considering it costs as much as another marine.

[Orange Knight]

I think a Power Fist should always be taken on an Intercessor Sgt. It can easily make it's points back in a game, and adds CC threat to every unit.