Blood Angels Unit of the Week series Unit of the Week: Assault Intercessor Squad

[Jolemai]

 

Welcome to part three of the Blood Angels Unit of the Week series!

 
Following the release of the 10^th edition Codex Supplement, there is no better time to discuss all the units we have access to. Each week a different unit will appear, with the idea being that we discuss how best to use that model on the battlefield. Where part one will discuss the units from the units found within Codex Supplement: Blood Angels, parts two to four will discuss Codex: Space Marines, part five will be Imperial Armour, and part six will be Legends.
 
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.
 
Without further ado, here's this week's entry:

 

 Assault Intercessor Squad

What are you thoughts here folks? How best would you use a Assault Intercessor Squad?

• To compliment a list, or to build a list around? 
• MSU or full squads? Are you taking multiple units?
• Which Detachment are you using?
• What delivery options are you using? 
• What deployment options are you using?
• What weapon options are you using?
• Are you attaching a Leader?
• Stratagem synergy of note?

 

Over to you.

 

Please note that Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs will be discussed elsewhere.

Edited 5 hours ago by Jolemai

[Jolemai]

Should you want your model on display here (or on another thread), then submit a photo here please.

 

(Once I work out how best to float it!)

 

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As an aside, the thread setup may change over the coming weeks until I'm happy with them. This includes the photos.

[Karhedron]

For many editions, Blood Angels players wanted the opportunity to field melee infantry as a Troops choice. In 9th edition, Sanguinala came early and we got our wish. While the concept of Troops has morphed into Battleline in 10th, Assault Intercessors remain a popular unit for basic infantry in Blood Angels armies.

 

 

What they lack in range and flexibility, they amply make up for in cheap hitting power, particularly in the Liberator Assault Group where even a basic squad will dish out 25 S6 attacks on the charge. Their ability to reroll 1s to Wound (or full rerolls if the target is on an Objective) is great and really helps them punch above their weight as Wound rerolls are generally not that common in Marine lists.

 

Rerolling wounds is also passed onto any characters that join them and this ability forms the basis of the latest incarnation of our signature Smash Captain. This guys has existed in some form or other since at least 8th edition and is basically a spoiler. A cheap(ish) character who can briefly punch above his weight and potentially take down (or severely maul) tough targets who would otherwise pose a problem. The basic loadout is usually as follows:

 

5 Assault Intercessors with Plasma pistol and Power Fist

Captain with either Power Fist or Relic Weapon and Rage-fuelled Warrior

Transport (normally either an Impulsor or a Land Raider)

 

The trick is simply to charge a tough target (ideally on an Objective and also the current OOM target) and trigger both Rage Fuelled Warrior (Sustained Hits 3) and Finest Hour (+3A) at the same turn. The result is normally 9 or 10 attacks, often with full rerolls both to Hit and Wound with each 6 generating a further 3 hits. These then have Devastating Wounds which you can combine with the rerolls from the Assault Intercessor to fish for extra 6s resulting in potentially silly numbers of Mortal Wounds.

 

Beyond this, AIs have multiple uses. You can field multiple 5-man squads cheaply for board control, light assault duties and Actions. You can also go for a full 10-man squad and add a Captain (potentially tooled out as above) and a Sanguinary priest. The Priest boosts their melee out to Ap-2 and gives them a very nice 5+++ to keep them around longer. Piling out of a Land Raider, there are few infantry units in the game who can withstand a torrent of 50 S6 Ap-2 attacks backed up by the attacks from the Characters.

 

Having extolled their virtues, here is my recently completed squad, complete with black rims on the shoulder pads.