The New Intercessor Veterans Unit Explained! Analysis of their abilities and more

You know, I think Eldar players have every right to be annoyed right now... the Imperium keeps on nicking their stuff. Let me explain...

Hello chaps and chapettes, we're back in the classroom to discuss the Eldarification of the Space Marines, and what we can look forward to from the new Intercessor Veterans! 

I'm only half joking about the Imperium nicking Eldar ideas and applying it to new models. Primaris Aspect Marines was a joke way back in the beginning of 8th Edition, and I even pointed out some of the similarities (much to the casual disgust of the internet). And I can't be the only one who is marvelling at the new AdMech Swooping Hawk:

I'm certainly not comparing the aesthetic of these guys to what's come before, but I think we can definitely draw some parallels to an aeldari unit. 

You probably know which one.

Yeah that one.

If you didn't know already:

Now clearly the new Primaris aren't dead souls locked inside tough robot constructs, but I am going to point out the similarities in war gear, and why we might not see a huge amount of use for them. There's also another unit we can point out from the Necron side, which might have some nifty symmetry:

The information we have on them is this:

• Storm shields (3+ invulnerable save)
• Master crafted power swords (AP-3 Str: User D: 2)

Blood Angles players are already feeling very happy. But we can make them happier with some expected stats for them:

• WS/BS 3+
• Str/T 4
• Attacks: 4
• Wounds: 3
• Movement: 6
• Armour save: 3+
• Heavy bolt pistol

Now all of these are certainly conjecture. We're likely to see WS 2+ to make these guys extra sweet, and may only see 3 attacks/model as opposed to 4. We could also see only 2 wounds, but that would make them rather tricky to field, so I don't think so.

Let me explain that last point about the wounds.

A lot of semi-decent weapons deal 2 Damage these days, and a single failed invulnerable save pops off the expensive model in short order. This was what prevented Aggressors being used competitively for a long time until they were boosted to 3 wounds. Not a deal breaker in any sense of the word, but even with a Storm Shield you'll find these guys feeling rather fragile.

After a little thinking, maybe 3 attacks and 4 on the "Sergeant" model is probably more likely. This brings them in line with the Veteran Intercessors stratagem available already. I wish I could say more on that point, but honestly there's not much more to say... it'll be down to how powerful Games Workshop wants them to be, so lets move on.

Unit size is going to be an interesting one. We have a precedent already for max unit sizes of 3 in the Eliminators, where even though we would like to see more models to take advantage of the sergeant buff we can't. The reasons for this are two-fold; one, to limit the sheer power of the sergeants ability (+1 to Hit and To Wound are huge), and two, because that's the number of models in the kit. Since there may well be a theoretical max size of 3, they might not be used as strongly as Aggressors which can come in double sized bundles. 

What special rules can we expect?

In the trailer we saw these guys being used as front line shield walls, tanking hits for the Marines behind them. That's pretty neat, and I wonder if they will get a rule similar to the Salamander stratagem meaning they need to be targeted first compared to other units. A storm shield wielding ablative wound source as long been a staple of the Death Watch and Space Wolves, and this would be a way of formalising that across the rest of the Space Marine forces. 

It would also be very remiss of me not to compare them to the humble T'au Shield Drone, which has often led to me getting mad at myself for making such a broken list thAT SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED AND HOW CAN YOU FIT THAT MANY WOUNDS INTO 500PTS THAT STILL HAS A RIPTIDE AND OMG HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET CLOSE TO TH-

ahem.

Anyway, they might fields some sort of similar tanking mechanic. Tau shield drones are widely regarded as being the I Win button for T'au, and Space Marines are very good at stealing other factions I Win buttons.

But without such a special rule, can we expect to see them in games?

Maybe?

They're either going to need a transport of some sort of deep strike shenanigans to get them into melee without being shot to pieces. For the Wraithblades that's usually Webway Strike with a Warlock or Farseer in support to make the charge roll easier. Space Marines have similar mechanics in the Space Wolves, White Scars and Raven Guard, with Chaplains and re-rolling charge range stratagems. 

You probably wouldn't want that though. Vanguard Veterans with native deep strike will probably hit harder, and Aggressors give some fairly hefty shooting on top of the melee punch you would be looking for from this unit. And let's not mention Assault Centurions, who are the current meta leaders for deep strike shenanigans. 

The Primaris Veterans do have one advantage though; they can fit inside Impulsors along side a buffing HQ unit. You could even fit two units of them to one Impulsor if the unit size is 3. If the Impulsor rocks a shield generator then that makes for an exceedingly tough nut to crack that you wouldn't really want walking up and down your battle lines.

Which is cool, and which the Aeldar could have been doing with Wave Serpents and Wraithblades since the start of 8th. They haven't, and the question is why?

Too many points and finickiness for the end result. The Aeldar have Shining Spears which do roughly the same job (heavy hitting assault unit), only with native mobility and a fairly strong shooting game. They lose out on toughness, but with speed and Fly they can literally hide behind a wall before charging.

As mentioned, Aggressors can do this largely better from Deep Strike, and you're probably better off in points putting a regular Intercessor unit in the Impulsor with a Thunder Hammer Sergeant. I think you'd get roughly equivalent melee output for a much better shooting phase, only losing out on the 3+ invulnerable save. The trade off there is more ablative wounds which don't hurt your melee output so much (2 bolt rifle intercessors dead versus 1 Veteran means you still haven't lost any thunder hammer damage compared to 3/4 power sword attacks). You also get ObSec with the Intercessors.

So... I don't know. I think this units usefulness is going to hinge on the special rules it comes packaged with. No doubt Black Templars will love having Primaris Sword Bretheren to throw into their Assault Intercessor blobs, and Blood Angels will appreciate them being there (although with very stiff competition from Death Company and Sanguinary Guard). White Scars again could see some very niche use once their Assault Doctrine gets going, as that many D3 hits is nothing to sniff at. 

 

They do look super cool though, and I have a little suspicion they will be using some special rules like the latest chamber of Stormcast Eternals have. I for one will be very happy to field some Judges as part of my newly revamped Space Marine Field Police.

If you think I've missed something or are overly pessimistic about the quality of these guys on the tabletop, let me know in the comments below, and make sure to Subscribe to the blog to get notifications about updates.

Until next time!

Thanks for reading.

If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated.

If you have anything you want me to look at, let me know in the comments below. I'll probably be able to write an article about that topic within a day!

If you want to support me directly, use the affiliate links below. I get a small percentage of purchases you make there, and you get cheaper miniatures! If you really love what I do, you can make a one off donation at my PayPal, or become a true hero to table top education and make a regular donation to my Patreon. Every Little helps!


Element games gives you usually 20% off all 40K purchases, and I get 5% of your purchase.
KB Silk is my own business, selling authentic silk scarves. If you're looking for a present then this is your one stop shop.