First Impressions - Reivers

It's like this, but with power armor

So, after a work-related break from gaming, I'm back.  Would've had a round tonight, had illness not said otherwise.  That being said, I did get around to testing a small squad of Reivers the other night, and I'm reasonably pleased with them.

So, that being said - Reivers - let's take a look.

The Basics 
Squad Size - Start at 5, go up to 10, and they eat an elite slot.  If you take ten, you can break into two five-man squads during deployment (or via stratagem).

Weapon Option - here's where you pick your role - each guy packs a bolt carbine (Assault 2 bolter, essentially) or a heavy bolt pistol (an AP-1 bolt pistol) and combat knife (good for an extra attack in melee).

Mobility - Now we're getting somewhere.  You've got two options to pick from - grav chutes or grapnel launchers.  If you take grav chutes, you can start in reserves and drop further than 9" away from the enemy.  If you take grapnel launchers, you get two perks - first, you stop caring about vertical movement and second, you get to walk onto the enemy's backfield.

Assaulty perks - You've got a couple perks when it comes to assault - you have shock grenades, which disable overwatch and screw up enemy melee, and you also have the 'terror troop' special rule which forces a -1Ld penalty on anyone within 3" of reivers.  So, y'know, being in melee with these guys is apparently scary.

Battlefield Role - Disruption
Reivers are designed to drop in and sow chaos - they aren't super-mobile with just a 6" walk, but you should be taking grapnel launchers or grav chutes so that you can get the drop on the other guy.  From there, you leverage volume of attacks (either via bolt carbines or assault) and try to deal with either numbers of melee troopers or with shooty troops.

Shooty - you take bolt carbines.  You drop in via grav chutes and dump bolter-fire onto soft targets from an annoying angle.

Stabby - you take heavy bolt pistols and combat blades.  Pick grav chutes or grapnel launchers, and find the enemy's non-melee troops.  Engage in butchery. PROFIT!

Comparison of Roles - shooty is guaranteed to get at least one good round of shooting in, and can easily grab good ground via grav chute.  Stabby needs a good assault roll to start producing on turn one (you've got about a 28% chance of making a 9-inch charge) but can crank out a higher volume of attacks once you do get there.

NOTE - Black Templar chapter tactics with a re-roll to the charge give you about a 50/50 shot to make that charge, though.

Compared To Other Troops
Frankly, I don't see a point in trying to transport or walk Reivers - best bet is to leverage their deployment shenanigans.  So, let's compare them to other troops that specialize in wonky deployment and screwing with the enemy's plans -

1) Assault Marines
You can drop in via jump pack assault, or can footslog it.  Assault marines specialize in volume of attacks, though you gotta be close.

PROS
-cheaper per model
-more mobile per model (with jump pack)
-can take specialist melee kit (namely a fist or eviscerator on sarge)
-can take special weapons (flamers, or plasma pistols)

CONS
-fewer attacks per model
-less durable (one wound per model vs. two)
-must get into melee to do damage

Both units specialize in volume of attacks - assault marines (and stabby reivers) need to get in close, and the carbine rievers do it from range.  Rievers are more durable and more killy per model, but also more expensive.  The big perk assault marines have is specialist kit - flamers or a higher-strength melee weapon.

2) Drop Pod marines
I'm listing this because of the option to take grav chutes and bolt carbines - which means you set up where you want and dump bullets into people.

PROS
-more options (heavy/special/combi for tac marines, special issue bolters/combis for sternguard)
-drop pod can take up space (a la objectives, deny deployment)
-ability to bring more than just boltguns

CONS
-significantly more costly - a drop pod pretty much costs as much as a minimal reiver squad
-you have to keep more units in 'reserves' - drop pod + squad versus a squad of rievers
-Rievers don't have to get within 12" to unload two bolt shots
-rievers are more durable per model
-rievers are more able to defend themselves in melee (admittedly sternguard have 2 swings per guy)

Honestly, drop pods are kinda 'meh' in 8th at this point - I lean towards Reivers here.

3) Scouts
I'm throwing out scouts here because they can fill similar roles.  Specifically, I'm talking about bolter scouts or pistol/CCW scouts.  Sniper scouts are entirely different.

PROS
-fill up troops slots (for things like a Battalion force org)
-deploy normally, but outside of the DZ - so you can screen off deep-strikers
-can bring a heavy weapon
-can bring a specialist melee weapon on sarge
-cheaper

CONS
-less durable (single wound, 4+ save)
-deploy on table - so the other guy DOES know where they are
-less damage output (less attacks per model)

Really, the big thing scouts get over Reivers is that they're troops (if you're looking to fill out a battalion force org) and that you can use scouts to screw over someone else's choices that drop from reserves.

Notable Chapter Tactics
Ultramarines - More applicable to shooty reivers, since they might want to fall back instead of fight.
White Scars - being able to charge after falling back could help stabby reivers if the enemy threw a screening unit at you, but you could still get into melee with something important.
Imperial Fists - cover-ignoring bolters are fun, period.
Black Templars - Stabby Reivers are totally down for re-rolling charges, ESPECIALLY the 50/50 charge chance.
Raven Guard - shooty reivers love this - get those two shots from 24" away, and make the other guy either get closer or take penalties to hit.
Iron Hands - more wounds per guy mean more chances to take that 6+++ save and laugh.

In Closing
I think the natural partner for Reivers is actually the Terminator Assault Squad.  Why?  Deep-striking assault troopers really, really don't like cheap screening units (cultists, scouts, that kind of thing).  What kills screens? Boltguns.  What do reivers have?  Boltguns.

They also go neatly into a Vanguard Detachment - your assault terminators probably want a chaplain (especially if they have thunder hammers) and then you just need one more elites choice to fill out a small detachment.

And even on their own, it's nice to be able to dump a handful of durable guys on an objective, especially if it's in cover.

2k Batrep - Iron Hands/Admech vs. Chaos

An auspicious start

I got around to testing my Iron Hand/Admech, and my buddy threw down his own beta test of various chaos units.  Believe this was his first outing with Chaos in 8th, and my first real outing with any Admech outside of a 1,000 Battle for Konor.  Armies were -

Iron Hands/Adeptus Mechanicus/Inquisition Army

Admech Spearhead Detachment (Forge World - "take -1 to hit outside of 12")

Tech Priest Dominus - macrostubber, vulkite blaster

Cybernetica Datasmith

2x Kastelan Robots (3x heavy phosphor blasters each)

Onager Duncrawler (neutron laser, 2x heavy stubber)

Onager Duncrawler (neutron laser, 2x heavy stubber)

Inquisitorial Supreme Command Detachment

3x Inquisitors (chainsword, bolt pistol)

Iron Hands Battalion

Captain (Medusan Axe)

Terminator Chaplain

5x Assault Terminators (4x TH/SS, Lightning Claws on sarge)

5x Rievers (assault bolters, grav chutes)

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

My logic - the Admech detachment is just plain shooty.  The Inquisitors provide psychic support to my tac squads, and the elites and HQs drop in where needed.  I can't really justify taking that much plasma without a captain, and needing 4+ to hit with thunder hammers means I really, really ought to take that Chaplain.  I'm curious about how Rievers will do, and I feel like pairing a shooty deep-striking option with the terminators is the way to go - I've got options, and can strip away a meat shield.

World Eaters Battalion

Demon Prince w/ Wings, 2x Claws

Kharn the Betrayer (real swell guy)

9 World Eaters (fist)

-Rhino

10 Chaos Marines (2x meltagun)

Cultist Squad (CCWs/pistols)

Cultist Squad (autoguns)

5x Chaos Spawn

Defiler (reaper cannon, scourge)

Maulerfiend

3x Obliterators

Lascannon Pred

Heldrake w/ flamer

His logic - test out World Eater options.  Get them on the field, get a feel for them.  That, and he's seen how much fun it is to have Heldrakes rush across the field.

Scenario - Cloak and shadows, with that happy, HAPPY little "take a penalty to shooting outside of 18 inches or so"

First turn goes to chaos.

Deployment

 I set up in the middle - the Admech folks deploy around the Dominus for re-rolls.  Each Razorback gets an Inquisitor (AKA - wannabe smite-bot) while my captain, Rievers, and Terminators wait for a good time to drop in.

Chaos Turn 01

 Chaos forges ahead.  His las-predator fails to do much interesting, and he manages to kill one of the Kastelans.  Oblits drop into cover, open up, and secure the middle objective.

Imperial Turn 01

 Well, that's a LOT of stuff in my field.  I fail to get first blood, but do significant damage to his Heldrake.  One Razorback lost its shooting due to falling back.  I drop my Terminators in his backfield, and drop the Rievers near his other objective.

 My Rievers have words with his cultists.  They prove to be mildly allergic to bolt shells.

Chaos Turn 2

 His Heldrake moves out to have words with my Rievers, and fails to do much damage between hot dice and the chapter tactic.  His cultists, regular marines, and Khorne Berserkers divert to handle my deep-strikers.  He proceeds to roll a number of '4s' to charge, which is why his Cultists get hammered to death, and his Maulerfiend has a stare-down with a Razorback.  He does kill the Kastelans, giving him First Blood.

Not pictured - Cultists, because they're dead

Charge fails

 The chaos lord watches the Razorback make too many 5+s to die.

Berserkers roll a 4 to charge

 Rievers luck out.

Imperial Turn 02

 The captain drops in to supervise the plasma gunners...because I don't feel like blowing up.  His chargers and Heldrake get it, along with his regular marine squad.

Terminators vs. Chaos Marines

 Turns out that regular Chaos Marines don't do well when Terminators charge them.

Massive sigh of relief

 His chargers get a case of the death, between plasma, bolt guns, assault cannons and some smite lovin'.

I Derp Out

 So, I'm trying to hold 3 objectives.  I get the bright idea to charge his Berserkers (to deny them the charge).  Turns out it doesn't hold them in place, AND he consolidates into range to contest an objective.  Go me.

Chaos Turn 03

 His spawn hit my lines.  Kharn heads off after the Rievers, while his 'zerkers head towards me.  The predator plinks away at razorbacks to degrade their stats, and my Termiantors laugh off his defiler's gunfire.

Lotta Saves

 My Dominus gets charged, manages to live through it, and even kill a Spawn.  The Onager gets savagely beaten, but remains alive.

Imperial Turn 03

 Terminators advance toward his defiler (and the objective in that building).  I finally get around to throwing fire at his Oblits, and kill two.  The Dominus and Onager fall back - after repairs, the Dominus is feeling fine, and the Onager gets patched up a little.  The Spawn get a case of the rapid-fire death.

Captain for the cleanup

Chaos Turn 4

 His Rhino backs off (after sustaining some damage).  Kharn, having finished with that last stubborn Riever, heads towards the terminators.

Defiler vs Terminators - Terminators win

Imperial Turn 04

 I polish off the Rhino, and thin out the Berserkers some.  He's still got a healthy lead on objectives.  I also got around to killing that last stupid Oblit.

Chaos Turn 05

 Kharn mops the floor with assault terminators (...who saw that coming?  I did.)  His Berserkers polish off the tac squad.

 Kharn victorious.

Endgame

At this point, he's down to a handful of models - I table him, after the neutron lasers go hot, and small arms kill the last of the 'zerkers.

End result - a narrow win for the Imperium, due to tabling the enemy.

Closing Thoughts
Admech - I'm keeping that detachment.  I think it's a good balance of volume (Kastelans) and outright destructive power (neutron lasers).  Seriously, neutron lasers are totally awesome.  Canticles of the Omnissiah was a non-issue, mostly because of the invulnerable saves and the fact that everyone was next to "Mr. Re-rolls 1's".

Inquisitors - I feel like smite-bots are better on foot behind meat shields.  I got about two meaningful turns of smiting out of them.  I think Malefic Lords at 30pts a head are really the nasty, nasty spammable ones.  But, hey, Inquisitors do help with morale.  Probably more important in an actual admech army with its absolute crap leadership.

Rievers - I actually like these guys for hitting from an unexpected angle.  Bolt carbines + grav chutes let them hit from an unexpected angle.  They're also pretty durable, when you get down to it - especially if you've got cover.  They won't kill specialist units, but can thin down stuff with volume of fire from a couple feet out.

Assault Terminators - They definitely need a chaplain.  I've opted to go for claws on sarge so they've got a stop-gap vs. hordes.  It also cuts the cost a little, and with sarge you get a good four attacks that hit on 3's and re-roll wounds.

Tac Squads - they're workhorses.  5-man squads aren't super-durable, but plasma + re-rolls is pretty nasty, and a good balance to the assault cannon razorbacks.

Jump Pack Captain - I like the jump pack for the option to drop him wherever I need him.  I was a little light on points in this test, which is why captain had the Medusan Axe instead of a hammer/shield.  In fairness, if you haven't picked up another relic the axe is pretty decent.  Points permitting, cap gets a thunder hammer, a storm shield, and probably gets the shield upgraded to the Shield Eternal.

Chaos Spawn - honestly, they're kinda durable.  I'd forgotten they went up to four wounds and have AP-2 on the melee attacks - it's kinda nasty.  They'll either draw fire, or potentially do some damage when they hit.

Khorne Berserkers - they do one thing really, really well - evaporate things in melee.  ESPECIALLY with the World Eater legion tactics - +1 attack is just kinda painful.

Batrep - Iron Hands vs. Black Templar at 2k. Paint Rounds FTW

It's been a minute - but I finally got enough of my Iron Hands painted to throw down.  So, I grabbed them and a camera.

Iron Hands

Battalion Detachment

Captain in Gravis Armor (warlord)

Captain w/ Storm Bolter, Power Sword

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

5 Scouts

5 Scouts

Stormtalon gunship (assault cannons, skyhammers)

Stormtalon gunship (assault cannons, skyhammers)

Vanguard Detachment

Techmarine

Dreadnought (multi-melta, storm bolter)

Dreadnought (assault cannon, storm bolter)

Ironclad Dreadnought (hurricane bolter, chainfist, meltagun, assault launchers)

Admittedly, the dreads are a bit of "what I have on hand" more than anything else.

Black Templar

Damocles Command Rhino

Techmarine (warlord)

Emperor's Champion

Terminator Chaplain

5 Terminators (4x hammers/shields, sarge w/ lightning claws)

5 Terminators (4x hammers/shields, sarge w/ lightning claws)

10 Crusaders (meltagun, missile launcher)

10 Crusaders (meltagun, missile launcher)

5 Scouts

10 assault marines (2x flamers, axe/plasma pistol on sarge)

Predator (twin las, 2x lascannons)

Predator (twin las, 2x lascannons)

Scenario - Cleanse and Control

Deployment

 I end up choosing DZs, and realize I'm going second.  I deploy scouts at the edge of my DZ, and the gunships serve as additional deep-strike deterrent.  I set up around my objectives, and his warlord/CP generator set up on his.

BT Turn 01

 Rhinos advance and pop smoke.  His predators completely whiff against everything - bunch of rolls of 1-2 n his shooting and wounds, which keeps him from scoring first blood.  His assault marines drop in.

Orbital Bombardment

 I learn (the hard way) that the Damocles Rhino comes with one free orbital bombardment.  Which hurts.  Mortal wounds to the rhinos, dreads, and gunship.  Somehow the marines avoid the pain.

What were our orders again?

 His assault marines fail the assault.  Which is fine with me.

Iron Hands Turn 01

 I hold my ground and open fire.  My objectives are kinda sad - I've got to get across the board, and hold the objective right by my dreads/2x razorback squad for two turns. 

Bullet allergy

 The stormtalons shred the predator, so first blood goes to me

Scout vs Scout

 I shoot his five-man scout squad off the objective they were trying to hold.

BT Turn 02

 His Rhino unloads, his assault marines unload, and his dice finally cooperate and shoot one of my flyers off the board.

Even in death, I still serve pain

 His marines whiff the missile and meltagun against the dread, then dive into CQC with it in an attempt to deny my "hold for two turns" objective.

You got this, boss!

 His assault terminators fail the charge, but the chaplain makes it, and crushes a few skulls.

I had a wingman a minute ago

Iron Hand Turn 02

 I solve the assault problem, and move to contest/claim up the objective in his DZ.  Man, I drew some sad objectives this game.

BULLETS!

 My regular dread broke off the assault, and everyone else combined to shoot the crap out of his Crusader squads.  They died to a man.

Stalemate

 The tac squad tags the Gravis captain into the melee, and the chaplain lives.  Takes a couple slaps with a fist, though.

BT Turn 03

 His last squad of assault terminators drop in, and promptly flub their assault.

Whiff

 The fight continues, and his marines whiff the assault again.

Tyin' up everything

 His assault marines grind through a few dudes, then consolidate into everything.

Finale

At this point, we called it.  My plasma squads fail to do anything against his Terminators, and he's got a 7-2 lead on objectives at this point.  I'm out of CP and have to get across the board.  We figured that at this point, he could've kept me pinned in and/or killed a lot of stuff, while I wouldn't have been able to close the VP gap.

End Result - Iron Hands are glad it's a paint-round-only match.

Closing Thoughts
Assault Cannon Razorbacks & Tac Squads
Pros - the configuration I brought is reasonably well-rounded.  Twin assault cannons have a solid volume of fire, so moving isn't THAT much of a penalty.  Plasma is decent as long as there's a captain nearby for re-rolls - and captains aren't too terribly expensive.

Note that combat-squadding a tactical squad is probably giving up first turn, period.  Your tac marines will probably take two drops at that point.

Dreadnoughts
I think these guys are gonna get lascannons next time around.  I need more long-range guns, and while the multi-melta and assault cannon are nice, I could use some longer-ranged firepower.

Ironclads
I think the hurricane bolter and chainfist are the way to go.  You don't have a ton of attacks, so the seismic hammer's -1 to hit is a bit of a pain.  The Hurricane bolter lets you do something outside of assault.

Scouts
I think a squad or two of scouts is still worth including - they're not that expensive, and they provide a much-needed buffer against deep-striking units. 

Gunships
I like the speed and firepower.  They're not too hard to kill, though, so you need to bring plenty of targets.  I'm definitely getting paint on these guys soon.  Still mixed about the secondary weapons though - the heavy bolters are cheaper, but the skyhammer rockets would be nice vs. other flyers.

BT - Assault Terminators
Really, these remind me that I need to get mine assembled.  I got lucky because he flubbed his assault roles, but if these guys don't make the charge when they arrive, you have a few options -
1) run away
2) kill them
3) bury them in bodies
Otherwise, they'll get into assault.  I think a sarge with claws is a good addition to the TH/SS guys, since it gives you a handful more attacks to thin out crowds.

Las-Preds
They're expensive and mono-purposed, but very good at what they do.  Unless the dice hate them.

BT - 10-man squad comp
He ran them with a meltagun and missile launcher - I think going with a combi-weapon matching the special would help.  Then again, missile launchers remain a versatile choice.  You don't get the AP of the lascannon (or strength) but you get the ability to do something beyond dropping a ton of damage on a single target.

Damocles Command Rhino
I'm not sure I'd take it under 2k points, but it and a cheap HQ (like a techmarine) will give you the two HQ choices for a battalion, and give you another 2-3 CP over the course of the game as long as you hide the warlord in the back. 

You want a cheap warlord choice, and you want to hide them for the CP and sit this thing in the back.  Drop that orbital bombardment on turn 01, and then sit on an objective.  If you aren't going to sit a cheap warlord in there, skip it.  BUT, getting extra CP through the game is potentially useful.

Gravis Captain
Honestly, if you have a gunline, you could do worse for an HQ than this.  A minimal captain is about 40ish points more than this guy, but this dude WILL do some damage in CQC.  I'm pleasantly surprised with this dude. 

Army Tweaks for the future
I'm thinking of re-tooling the dreads.  My first thought is to change the vanguard detachment to be 2x lascannon dreads and some grav-chute Rievers for objective-grabbing.

Chaos Space Marines Codex - First Impressions - Alpha Legion

I had a Khorne Daemonkin list back in 7th - so I've a heap of old Chaos stuff I haven't really trotted out in 8th edition.  I have been a fan of the Alpha Legion's fluff from the Horus Heresy books, and thought that the Warlord trait of 'I AM ALPHARIUS' is hilariously in-character and troll-tastic.

So, I trotted out a list that I thought would fit with some of the KDK stuff I had, and try some new stuff in 8th.  My buddy and I were both trying out the new books, so we agreed to a 1500pt list.

Hydra Dominatus! Battalion
Demon Prince (warp bolter, 2x talons)
Demon Prince (wings, sword, talons)
Hellbrute (twin-las, power scourge)
Hellbrute (twin las, fist, combi-bolter)
11 Cultists (heavy stubber)
10 Cultists (heavy stubber)
5 Marines (missile launcher)
Defiler (reaper cannon, scourge, combi-flamer)
4 Bikers (2x meltaguns)
4 Bikers (2x meltaguns)
Heldrake (claws, bale flamer)

Black Templar
Grimaldus
Emperor's Champion
5 Assault Terminators (Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield)
5 Assault Terminators (Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield)
15-man Crusader Blob (fist, flamer)
5-man Crusader Squad (meltagun, multi-melta)
10 man Crusader Squad (meltagun, multi-melta)
Land Raider Crusader

The Battle, In Short
Due to good dice on my part, the Land Raider Crusader got wrecked turn one, between dreads and a biker squad.  The large Crusader Blob ended up dead in assault after that, and Grimaldus ended up staring down a bike squad and a Daemon Prince.

So, he promptly called for backup.  TH/SS guys deep-struck in on turn two, and then promptly failed their charges.  From there, his TH/SS guys wandered towards my DZ, trying to claim objectives and crushing the 5 guys with a missile launcher.  Cultists absorbed the charge, broke off, and he made a BUNCH of saves, even with  Death Hex stripping his saves.  Ultimately, my fast forces down-range managed to get linebreaker, and I drew some stupid-good objectives while he got a little hosed.

Highlights include -
-winged demon prince making an inordinate number of 5+ saves vs. the Emperor's Champion
-bikers are great for shooting, but not so much for assault
-land raider crusaders put out a stupid amount of dakka, but we already knew that

Lessons Learned
1) The Emperor's Champion is a Blender
He gets bonuses against characters AND monsters.  Characters that are monsters really, really need to stay the hell away from this guy.  S7 with re-rolling hits and wounds means if you get charged, you're going to die unless you're really good at making invulnerable saves. Like, really good.

2) Demon Prince Weapons
Skip the sword.  If you're bringing melee support in general, you want twin talons for the seven attacks.  Hitting on 2+ and wounding on a 2+ or 3+ with a -2AP for 2 damage is useful, and the volume of attacks helps.  I'm not sure about the axe, but I'm pretty sure I'm out on the sword.  Ditching two attacks for -3AP and 3 damage on your strikes seems iffy unless you're going after vehicles or monsters, and the axe's better strength, AP, and damage (even if it 'only' hits on a 3+) seems like a better call.

3) Assault Terminator weapons
These guys need help with accuracy and quantity of attacks - they will absolutely murder hefty targets, but struggle with numbers.  A Chaplain is always a good idea, because re-rolls on those 4+ thunder hammers is huge.  Additionally, I think giving the sarge Lightning Claws is a decent move - sarge will have a total of four attacks with re-rolling wounds.  It will help a bit if you end up running into hordes.

4) Alpha Legion - Army Composition
So, -1 to hit outside of 12" is hilarious.  Note also that it only works on bikes, infantry, and hellbrutes.  Demon Princes may not get mileage out of it, but as characters you should be able to position them so shooting isn't as big a deal.

So it brings up the question of "What do I bring outside of those?"  Because anything you bring that doesn't get the -1 to hit bonus is going to draw the long-range fire.  If you bring one thing, it gets all of it.  If you bring two, there's a split.  That's why I went with a Heldrake and a Defiler.

That's also why I effectively had two modules - a speedy one and a backfield one.  Cultists bubble-wrap the dreads, Defiler, and daemon prince while the bikes, winged prince, and heldrake push up.

Since I'm alpha legion, the winged prince starts out as warlord, and since I Am Alpharius applies, I can risk him without worrying about him getting ragged.  The other one serves as counterassault and re-roll buffs.

Codex Space Marines - First Impressions on Inceptors

Gotta say I enjoy the sculpt of the Inceptors.  The trick's going to be getting the most out of them.  As with the Inceptors, they compete with some other units an in interesting way, and it's about options.

Inceptors - The Basics
Squad Size - starts as three guys, and can bulk up to a six-man squad per Fast Attack slot.

Weapon Options - they carry a pair of guns.  Bog-standard gear is a pair of assault bolters (translation - take a heavy bolter, cut the range in half and switch it to assault 3 vs. heavy 3).  If you feel like dumping a chunk of points on them, you can swap the whole squad's bolters out for plasma exterminators.  They're assault 3 plasma cannons with half the range.

The guys have no specialized melee weapons, but can deal a mortal wound on a 6 on the charge.  This is not what we'd call 'reliable.'  These guys are guns on jet packs, but melee is a partial consideration.

Mobility - you've got a base 10" move, and Meteoric Descent lets you set up in reserves and drop in no closer than 9" away.

A Note on Durability - As with all primaris, they've got two wounds per bob with the typical marine 3+ save.  However, you do have T5 on top of that - so you're a little more resistant to small arms than the average Marine.

Battlefield Role
Your choice in guns here is really going to determine your use.

Assault Bolters - these are the cheaper option.  You have a good volume of fire at six shots per Marine, and S5 / AP-1 / 1 damage is a useful profile.  A minimum-sized unit cranks out 18 shots (12 hits on average).  These guys can do a number on infantry.  Also, in a pinch you can knock some wounds off of vehicles.  It's not ideal, but a T8 3+ vehicle will probably lose a couple of wounds to a full squad shooting.

Short version - assault bolters are more for killing troops, but in a pinch can soften up or finish off vehicles/monsters through volume of fire.

Plasma Incinerators - these are pretty expensive.  You are, however, paying for the ability to drop a pair of plasma cannons per marine when and where you need them, and get the first volley in.  Each dude fires 2d3 plasma cannon shots - It's either S7/AP-3/1 damage, or S8/AP-3/2 damage (and die on ones).

Note that a squad of these guys is probably going to melt high-value targets.  Math is a little tricky because you're rolling number of shots, then rolling to hit, then to wound.  You can fire as many as 6 shots per guy or as few as 2.  AP-3 means that heavy-armor troops and vehicles should be concerned - things like Terminators and Knights are going to be taking their invulnerable saves unless they're in cover.

Note also that you probably want a captain nearby - if you're going to do anything other than murder one-wound infantry (and frankly, there are PLENTY of ways to do that with cheaper troops) you're gonna want to overcharge.  Each Incepter with plasma incenerators is almost 90 points - and overcharged guns kill them.  You really, really want to re-roll those 1's.  You might consider a deep-striking captain (Terminator armor or jump pack), but with 18" range you might also be able to get away with taking a captain on the board that's mobile.

On purely average dice, a squad of these will knock out 4-6 wounds off a T8 3+ statline.  If you're fighting T7 or less, you're going to up that to 6-8 wounds, which translates to "I think I just deleted a 150-200ish point model".

Overcharged plasma on terminators and the like is just kinda hilarious to watch - each failed save is a dead 45+ point model, and it's not hard to delete a small unit.

Short version - it's risky, but bring re-rolls and plasma incinerators can melt multi-wound infantry and seriously maim vehicles.

Compared to other troopers
1) Assault Marines
Inceptors are their shooty cousins.  The best comparison would be assault bolter Inceptors versus Assault marines - both are going to go after infantry.  Inceptors do it from range; assault marines need to get into hand-to-hand.

You can get a full ten assault marines (and probably a melee upgrade on Sarge) for the price of a minimum-sized inceptor squad.

In melee, the assault marines put out many more attacks - each guy's good for a couple of swings, and they probably got pistols on the way in.  Sheer volume of attacks is going to do better than the assault bolters, but note carefully that assault marines are going to end up putting themselves into the thick of it, and be open to retaliation.  Melee is a risk - there's the part where you're asking to get both shot AND punched, versus just shot.  And make no mistake - you're going to spend time in charge range.

Furthermore, unless you're Black Templar, your odds of assaulting out of deep strike are somewhat iffy - BT can swing it around 48% of the time, whereas everyone else is looking at a ~28% chance - not so great.

Assault marines do better when it comes to volume, but Inceptors are much more likely to get the first strike off, and less likely to get counter-assaulted.  Durability is a bit of a wash; six T5 wounds vs. ten T4.

2) Land Speeders
A couple of land speeders with heavy bolters is about the same as a minimum-sized squad of assault bolter Inceptors.  The tradeoff here is in the platforms and range.

Land speeders have more wounds and a worse save (T5/W6/4+) with the same toughness.  The big difference in their durability is in range - speeders can sit back at 36" and dump shots, whereas the Inceptors are going to have to be much closer.

The big difference here is in the range - Inceptors are close enough to draw fire from just about any source, whereas Land Speeders can sit back.  Land Speeder durability is based in part on the rest of the army - they're kinda allergic to heavy weapons, but if they're one of multiple targets then they're probably less likely to get murdered at range.

Mobility is an interesting comparison - Inceptors can move and shoot without penalty, but Land Speeders take a -1 because Heavy Bolters are, well, heavy weapons.  That being said, Land Speeders have a 16" move, while Inceptors have only 10".

Overall, this one's an army composition comparison - speeders need to be part of a target-rich army to make sure they aren't the only ones taking heavy fire, whereas the Inceptors can get the first strike.

3) Heavy Bolter Attack Bikes vs. Assault Bolter Inceptors
Heavy bolter attack bikes are comparable in points - the firepower and mobility are different.  Bikes have better base speed and turbo-boost, but have no way to get around the -1 penalty for moving and shooting heavy bolters.  Heavy Bolter bikes are more durable per model (T5/W4/3+), but also have less firepower (a heavy bolter and a twin bolter vs. two assault heavy bolters).

Inceptors are also likely to get the first strike.  I'm leaning towards Inceptors here because of the first-strike capability, and because they've got a little better mobility.  I feel like you might as well go with a double heavy bolter Land Speeder over a heavy bolter attack bike.

4) Multi-Melta Attack Bikes vs. Plasma Incinerator Inceptors
Ah, now we're finally getting around to throwing the plasma inceptors.  Costs are similar.  The inceptors can throw more dice, but the attack bikes through much scarier dice.  The bikes have the speed to get within 12" get multi-melta dice.  The problem is that they're only throwing three dice with a 50/50 chance to hit.  You are also asking to get shot up or tied up in assault.

The major advantage that the bikes have here is cost - they're about 20 points cheaper a head than Plasma Inceptors.  Both sides really, really want re-rolls to hit.

While multi-meltas are pretty scary, I'm leaning towards Plasma Inceptors because of weight of fire on this - who cares if you do 1d6 damage if you're only putting out a few shots?

 5) Shooty Terminators vs. Assault Bolter Inceptors
I'm comparing these options because they're both around to drop in and shoot.  The difference lies in what they do after popping up and shooting.  Terminators punch things and hold ground; Inceptors either avoid melee, or break away and shoot.  Terminators also really kinda mess things up in melee with powerfists.

If you want a drop-and-shoot option, your decision here is based on what you want to do afterwards.  Also, if you're Black Templar, consider the fact that you've got almost 50/50 odds to make it into assault when you arrive, so there's that.

In Closing
Inceptors are a fascinating addition to the marine army.  They provide you with a solid deep-striking shooty option that remains mobile after its arrival.  The assault bolter ones are workhorses that can thin out infantry and do a little damage to vehicles.  The plasma-toting Inceptors are significant threats to expensive targets - but are costly and really require re-roll support to avoid being a threat to themselves.  They're also a bit dice-reliant since they have random numbers of shots.

I lean towards assault bolter inceptors myself because of the price, and the fact that they aren't asking for re-roll support.

Adeptus Mechanicus - First Impressions

I got around to finishing up my AdMech and threw them on the table the other day.  It's an interesting lot in 8th, though I look forward to a full-up book and rules here in a bit.

I took 1,000 points vs. Necrons in the Konor scenario - as we'd both elected to fight for the Imperium since the Necrons apparently hate Chaos.  It ended up being a furball in the middle.

Admech (patrol detachment)
Dominus (Volkite blaster, macrostubber)
5x Sicaran Infiltrators (power sword/stub-carbine)
Cybernetica Data-smith
5x Skitarii Rangers (2x Transuranic Arqeubus)
5x Skitarii Rangers (2x Transuranic Arqeubus)
Onager Dune-Crawler (Icarus Array, cognis stubber)
2x Kastelan Robots (Fists + flamethrower)
Ironstrider Ballistarii (twin lascannon)


Necrons (vanguard detachment)
Cryptek
Warrior Blob
2x Deathmark Squad
Praetorians
Tomb Blades

Synopsis of the battle
I set up in cover in a corner as the defender, and as the attacker, his reserves were hampered by deployment restrictions - so instead of deep=-striking on top of me, I ended up digging in and shooting him on the way in.  The Icarus array did a number on his Tomb Blades, and the Kastelans absorbed the abuse in the middle of the field long enough to win the day.

On the Canticles
So, I admit that I forgot about these a couple times - you roll at the start of your turn.  I recommend an index card or something - you're going to either pick one (1x per battle) or just roll.  You can get a variety of neat abilities out of it (like re-rolls of 1's for shooting or melee).

Note also that you only get canticles if your whole detachment is admech - so if you're going to mix with these guys, pay attention to the detachments you take.  These guys do bring a soolid sniper to the table and some interesting troops in the form of robots and onagers.  Note that the current lack of HQ options (you have the dominus and Belisarius Cawl, and that's it) does make an impact on what you can bring in detachments.

Thoughts on the Models
Domninus
The tech-priest Dominus does two things - give you re-rolls and provide melee punch not found in many places in the army.  Mine hung out with the rangers and Onager and provided re-rolls.  In a pinch it can fix other stuff if it takes a hit, but you really have to think about where you need the buffs and repairs.

If you're going to camp in the back with rangers and/or shooty Dune Crawlers, then the "+1 to leadership" bubble warlord trait is useful.  Mostly because Skitarii have kinda sad leadership and few buffs for it.

Sicaran Infiltrators
Turns out T3 and a 4+ isn't much of a defense.  You're reliant on positioning and infiltrating to keep them alive and get them into melee.  I'm 50/50 between the swords/carbines and the taser goads/flechette guns.  I think the echoice comes down to what else you've got in your army - there isn't really a cost difference, and the kits don't lend themselves to magnets to switch up the loadout.

Whatever loadout you've got, I think these guys are an important part if you're gonna go Admech pure - you need something with some mobility and melee ability.

Cybernetica Datasmith
Bring one if you're going to bring Kastelans.  Otherwise I'm not sure why you'd bring one.  And remember that you need to be near the Kastelans at the start of the movement phase to switch out their protocols.  And think hard about whether you need the extra efficiency (fight twice or shoot twice) vs. the +1 to saves.  And do NOT forget you can repair d3 damage off the robots - getting back T7 wounds is pretty awesome.

Skitarii rangers
Take them with a couple Arqebus and camp.  The 30" rapid-fire 1 guns lose out to the Skitarii vanguard gun (Assault 3, 18" range, and other goodies).  Note that the Arqebus is both a sniper weapon that can pick out characters, and a decent anti-materiel weapon period with S7 and D3 damage (with a mortal wound on a 6+ wound roll).

Onager Dune-Crawler
These guys take up a chunk of real estate - I mean, they're on a pretty hefty base.  That aside, these guys are lumbering gun platforms.  Their role depends on their main gun - the Neutron laser is basically a heavy D3 lascannon with better strength and damage.  The Eradication beamer loses out to the neutron laser unless you're within 12", so I'd skip it.  The twin phosphor blaster is just rate-of-fire, but if you really want RoF I'd think about the Icarus array - against flyers, it's absolute murder as it's a heap of mid-strength shots at BS2+.  If you're shooting at ground-bound targets, it's still 10 shots at S6-7 on a 4+, and you'd just want to hang around the dominus for some re-rolls.

You'd also be surprised how much stuff has the Fly keyword that doesn't sit in the Flyer force org slot.

Kastelan Robots
So, these guys are your anchor.  T7 with 6 wounds and a 3+/6++ (that can get a +1 bonus to saves) is going to soak some abuse.  They're also reasonably spry with an 8" move (which is nice, but it means your datasmith is going to end up advancing to pace them and switch out protocols/execute repairs.

Note that their shooting is more about volume than strength - each can mount three heavy phosphor blasters, so they're dumping 9 shots at S6, AP-2, and 1 damage per 'bot.  18 each if you switch over to Protector Protocol.  If you're bringing these guys as shooters, remember their BS is 4+ and consider sitting a Dominus nearby.

If you're going into melee (and this is pretty much your only high-strength, high-damage melee) then I'd bring the flamethrower on the shoulder.  You may be hitting at S10 AP-3 for 3 damage each, but remember that you're only three swings at a WS4+ - these guys are for holding the line and punching a few guys to death, not killing hordes (outside of the flamers).

Note that the kit itself isn't too difficult to magnetize, which I'd recommend doing based on the price.

Ironstrider Ballistarii
These guys exist to bring a large gun onto the field.  They're also among the swifter things in the book, but you don't have a rule that lets you ignore the penalty for moving and firing heavy weapons.  You can pick either a twin-lascannon, or a twin-autocannon.  On the bright side, they're cheap.  They're also going to disintegrate if the other guy throws heavy weapons at them - T6, six wounds and a 4+ isn't going to do much if you take more than small-arms fire.

Codex Space Marines - First Impressions on Intercessors

We've seen these new Primaris fellows in the various starter sets - and now that we've got the codex, we've got the full picture.  That being said, here's my first swag at just where the Intercessor Squad comes into play.

The Intercessor Squad - the basics
Squad Size - starts at five; if you go up to ten then you can combat squad them.

Weapon Options - so, here's where they really stand apart from the other troops choices.  Everyone carries a bolt pistol and one of three types of bolter - assault bolt rifle, a regular bolt rifle, or a stalker bolt rifle.  Also for every five guys, one of them grabs an under-barrel grenade launcher.  And that's it - those are your options.

Mobility Options - grab a repulsor, or walk.

Battlefield Role
They're probably walking, unless you sprung for a Repulsor - which is awesome, and also like 250-300 points of firepower.  You also probably want something more painful in squad than a few bobs with bolters.  Sarge can grab as word in a pinch, and with three attacks he's not terrible in mlee.

 That being said, the battlefield role depends on their bolter of choice -

1) Bolt Rifle
This is your 'IDK' loadout - compared to a regular bolter, you've got another six inches of range and a -1AP.  Factor in the auxiliary grenade launcher and you're reasonably flexible; you've got one dude that can sorta/kinda threaten armor (Krak grenades) and everyone else has bolts for folks on foot.

2) Auto Bolt Rifle
You pay an extra point a guy to get an assault 2 bolter.  Better volume of fire at range, but you lose the -1AP.  And you should have that aux grenade launcher.  The assault bolters win out at longer range in terms of volume of fire and do better against lighter targets.

3) Stalker bolt rifle
You're now a heavy 1 36" rifle with a -2AP.  This is your camping squad - you trade volume of fire for range, and a pretty solid AP.  They can pick off stragglers at range, though - and that -2AP is going to annoy anyone without cover or a decent invulnerable save.

Compared to Other Troops
1) Tactical Squads
I don't think Intercessors are going to put tac squads out of business any time soon.

PRO
-versatility (sarge has options, and you can take a special and heavy weapon)
-weapon options allow tac squads to engage targets that Intercessors cannot do so effectively (IE - armor, vehicles, etc.)
-cost per model - a tactical marine is about 65% the points cost of a regular one
-transport options - you have Rhinos and Razorbacks
CON
-less durable (1W models vs 2W models)
-basic-issue bolter is inferior to all the options in terms of range and/or volume of fire and/or AP

So it's a matter of role - Intercessors and Tac Squads compete for the following roles - short-range firefight (bolt rifles and bolters+flamers) or home-base objective camping (long-range anti-infantry via Stalker rifles vs. heavy weapons at home).

The biggest difference is that if you're trying to keep it cheap, a five-man band of Intercessors is going to be a bit more durable than a minimal tac squad.

2) Scout Squads
This is a bit of apples-and-oranges comparison.  You can't really compare scouts deploying via Concealed Positions - the Interecessor don't have that.  You're trading durability for board position.  Instead, I'll compare Scouts w/ camo cloaks and sniper rifles to Intercessors

PRO
-slightly cheaper per model
-can take a heavy weapon
-sniper rifles can pick out characters
-sniper rifles can inflict mortal wounds (if you're lucky, so maybe like one per shooting round)

CONS
-need cover to get a comparable save (both have a 2+ in cover; the scouts get a 4+ in the open)
-sniper rifles without mortal wounds are inferior to Stalker bolt guns
-scouts are inferior in melee (one less attack in melee each)

I think Stalker-armed Intercessor squads are a reasonable substitute for snipers - they aren't as dependent on terrain, if the other side DOES get into hand-to-hand with you, you're slightly better off.  Slightly.

3) Crusader Squads
Crusader Blobs (bunch a guys with pistols/swords) are simply going to be meaner in CQC due to volume of attacks and the number of bodies they can bring.  Crusader squads as campers win due to cost and ability to take a special AND heavy weapon in a five-man screw.

In Closing
Intercessors trade the flexibility of tactical squads* for the durability of multi-wound models,
** and cheap access to transports.  They bring better rifles, and unless you're dumping them in a Repulsor then you're using them as mid-to-backfield support.  Intercessors with Stalker rifles compare reasonably well with Scout Snipers*** for backfield campers, and can even sorta/kinda fight in melee.

They're not going to be replacing tactical squads any time soon, but they do offer some durable backfield support.

At least, not at first glance.

*and heavy weapons
**and a hardcore allergy to 2-damage weapons.  Like, hardcore.  It's not even funny, unless you're the one shooting at 'em.
***trade mortal wounds and the ability to cap characters for durability and a lack of reliance on terrain