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intercessor squad sergeants. 4 points for the power sword having the -AP at just 4 points sounds tasty but shouldn't my intercessor squads really be as cheap as in which case give the sergeants the free chainsword for the extra attack with no -AP and save the points for the juicer units. If I got say 4 squads of intercessors all with power swords that's 16 points that could get me a extra body in another unit elsewhere. So cheap bear bones with a free chainsword or with the power swords?

My general rule of thumb with Intercessor Sergeants is either keep them cheap with just the chainsword or go all the way and get them a Thunder Hammer. My BA Sgts all have hammers, which helps the squad deal with lots of different types of threats since the 4 other guys get 12 attacks between them to deal with chaff so giving up an extra attack on the Sgt for a genuine CC threat against tougher units is very useful.

I don't see much point in going for the middle ground of a power sword in almost all cases. I don't think it gives enough of a buff over the +1A from the chainsword to justify even 4 points more.

If a squad is planning on mostly just hanging back and camping objectives, might as well just go with the free chainsword.

Moving forward aggressively? Take a CC toy.

Now that we have the options for more chunky weapons, going with a fist/hammer is not a terrible idea. You get a lot of bang for your buck on the 3A intercessor sarge.

But power swords? They look cool, are classic, and you probably have a few in your bitx box that would fit.

I always field swords, and rarely begrudge the points I spend on them. That said, I play at the more casual level, am WYSWYG, and I put power swords on most of my sarges. Haven’t got many games in with the ‘fist sage, and I still need to get around to building chainsword and TH sarges.

yeah the chainsword being a free upgrade is tempting

Honestly I find Intercessors too slow to really make use of the Thunder Hammer, and likely whatever they're in combat with that makes use of the Thunder Hammer's stats will likely have charged them first and killed the whole lot unless you run a max squad.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Honestly I find Intercessors too slow to really make use of the Thunder Hammer, and likely whatever they're in combat with that makes use of the Thunder Hammer's stats will likely have charged them first and killed the whole lot unless you run a max squad.

There are a lof of things that THs enjoy smashing that don’t want to be in CC. Like most vehicles.

I agree with the concept that even with the better options, an intercessor squad is not going to go toe-to-toe with any devoted combat squads. However, giving them an upgrade will give them an edge over their peers, or allow them to threaten a broader spectrum of units.

 Nevelon wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Honestly I find Intercessors too slow to really make use of the Thunder Hammer, and likely whatever they're in combat with that makes use of the Thunder Hammer's stats will likely have charged them first and killed the whole lot unless you run a max squad.

There are a lof of things that THs enjoy smashing that don’t want to be in CC. Like most vehicles.

I agree with the concept that even with the better options, an intercessor squad is not going to go toe-to-toe with any devoted combat squads. However, giving them an upgrade will give them an edge over their peers, or allow them to threaten a broader spectrum of units.

That's why you would go with the cheaper upgrade of the Sword. Remember that if you're running three squads of them, you get three Power Swords for that Thunder Hammer. That point distribution is key. It's hardly any more an investment too.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Honestly I find Intercessors too slow to really make use of the Thunder Hammer, and likely whatever they're in combat with that makes use of the Thunder Hammer's stats will likely have charged them first and killed the whole lot unless you run a max squad.

As a Blood Angels player my Intercessors are getting into combat quite often. The TH makes them a genuine threat to enemy infiltrators and over the course of the game they'll often be in a position to charge a lot of different units. Having a TH gives you so many more options for what to charge because it hugely increases the range of targets you can threaten. I've found them pretty invaluable so far.