Which 10 man Intercessor squad to use?

[Helias_Tancred]

I play against primarily marines (BT), and CSM. 

 

I'm eager to use a 10 man squad of Intercessors. I'll either advance them up the board to shoot then charge, or have them stay in cover and shoot (stalker bolt rifles). I play Blood Angels so I'm hoping I get a little more impact when they do charge, and I usually equip the sergeant with power sword or power fist fyi. 

 

I know the role of a stalker squad, but where I'm the most divided is choosing between auto bolt rifles and regular bolt rifles. Turn two the regular ones would be at -2 AP but effectively -1 AP against my opponents. The auto bolt rifles it wouldn't matter, I'd be relying on volume of shots. 

 

I plan on using the Intercessor shoot twice strat with any of them ... so 40 shots at -1 AP,  20 shots at -2 AP and 2D, or 60 shots at 0 ap?

 

If I wanted to I could move my stalker bolt rifle squad up the board, but I'd have to use the strat where they perform as if they remaining still to get the best effect in addition to the shoot twice strat, which in the end would be 20 shots at -2 AP 2D (turn 1).

 

lol lots of variables to figure out which one would be the best?

 

I appreciate any thoughts or analysis.

 

Thanks.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Helias Tancred

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

ABR is prolly best choice… go for quantity.

[CCE1981]

I would not suggest shoot twice combined with remain stationary strats. It’s just too resource intensive, and as Blood Angels you generally want to spend your CPs somewhere else.

 

Have you thought of Heavy Intercessors doing the same thing? It’s an additional 70-80 pts, no melee weapon, 1 pt of toughness, 1 pt of str on the gun, and 10x wounds.

 

If you think you will be advancing a least a couple of turns the auto-bolt rifles should be your thing. I haven’t done the new math on auto-bolt rifles vs bolt rifles vs Armor of Contempt in tactical doctrine, but outside of tactical doctrine the Auto-bolt rifles are a LOT better now that that 1 ap is null.

 

Is a Blood Angels Successor an option? Take the auto-bolt rifles and Rapid Assault to ignore the penalty for advancing with Assault Weapons. If I knew more about your list I could suggest a second option. Whether you want more shooty or something to help melee?

[Medjugorje]

I have a friend who plays Blood Angels on tournaments with 4x10 Assault Intercessors. Combined with Stromspeeders and Characters. Of course the last year was not good for him and he suddenly switched to his orks but I think with AoT the Assault Intercessors are really good for BA.

Against BT a 10 Intercessor squad with ap2 (then ap 1) hitting on 3s and wounding on 3s with lots of attacks are scary.

[BloodyB]

With Armlur of Contempt, the auto has a slight edge most of the game. Turn 2, you get an effective AP of 1 for the regular rifle, but vs. an extra 10 rounds, it becomes hard to justify outside of tactical doctrine. Additionally, the ability to fire and advance is a great fit for BA's +1 to advance roll. If you desperately need the AP, take stalkers. The Bolt Rifle has it's place, but it feels more like a support weapon now than the main component for me.

[Marshal Mittens]

Auto seems like a solid choice against most things, volume of fire is very strong.

 

Stalker I think is nice for your rear objective troops to hold a back objective and send some long range shots down at the enemy.

[Helias_Tancred]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Yeah I will go with a full auto bolt rifle squad, and will probably have a 5 man squad with stalker bolt rifles behind cover in my deployment zone. 

[Dracos]

There are as many armies out there without the AoC as is, maybe more. Just my opinion but too much emphasis is being out on it currently.

[Brother Kraskor]

ABRs mean those Intercessors can be very mobile if need be. 10 relatively tough obsec bodies to make a clutch Advance onto an objective and still shoot could tip the balance in many gams.

[BloodyB]

There are as many armies out there without the AoC as is, maybe more. Just my opinion but too much emphasis is being out on it currently.

You aren't wrong about that, but so many people play marines that it pays to work around it all of the time. Besides, most armies without AoC have less impressive save profiles anyway.

[Medjugorje]

in adddition you can advance and still shoot. If you have rerolls so -1 to hit is not that disadvantage.

[Grand_Master_Alpharius]

I play against primarily marines (BT), and CSM. 

 

I'm eager to use a 10 man squad of Intercessors. I'll either advance them up the board to shoot then charge, or have them stay in cover and shoot (stalker bolt rifles). I play Blood Angels so I'm hoping I get a little more impact when they do charge, and I usually equip the sergeant with power sword or power fist fyi. 

 

I know the role of a stalker squad, but where I'm the most divided is choosing between auto bolt rifles and regular bolt rifles. Turn two the regular ones would be at -2 AP but effectively -1 AP against my opponents. The auto bolt rifles it wouldn't matter, I'd be relying on volume of shots. 

 

I plan on using the Intercessor shoot twice strat with any of them ... so 40 shots at -1 AP,  20 shots at -2 AP and 2D, or 60 shots at 0 ap?

 

If I wanted to I could move my stalker bolt rifle squad up the board, but I'd have to use the strat where they perform as if they remaining still to get the best effect in addition to the shoot twice strat, which in the end would be 20 shots at -2 AP 2D (turn 1).

 

lol lots of variables to figure out which one would be the best?

 

I appreciate any thoughts or analysis.

 

Thanks.

My advice here, you need three squads for an battalion, so I would go with one stalker squad to hold the back field objective (because chances are you are never going to move them anyway) and then use auto bolt rifles for the other two squads. 

 

Reasons:

1, You can advance and shoot with them, so you can get up the board faster

2, The more shots will serve you better in the long run than the small amount of AP

[Medicinal Carrots]

Auto over regular for sure. In terms of damage, the regular are only best against a 2+ save with no AoC (or AoC and in Tactical doctrine). Against a 3+ they break even. Against anything else, auto wins. Auto also has the mobility advantage. Regular has a slight range advantage, but it's only really worth it in a couple specific circumstances. And for a squad that wants range, go stalkers.