Which is better?

  I've played a couple of games recently and used my Primaris marines against my son's Tyranids.  I didn't post about it because, well, it's a lot of work to take pictures and remember everything that happened.  More, I lost those games and it got me to thinking about something. 

  I love my Primaris marines, but they aren't as effective as the so-called 'mini-marines' that I've used for decades.  And with the upcoming release of the special-ammunition wielding Deathwatch marines, I really started to wonder if Primaris are really worth more than their old school counterparts.  Now I'm not talking about the Delta-force wannabes that are getting released, I'm just talking about in the Ultramarines list.  Hmm...

  Since Primarch Guilliman wrote the codex, many things have changed in the Imperium's armed forces.  The days leading up to the Horus Heresy saw the different squads in the Astartes all specialized with their wargear and purpose with very few options inside the units.  Realizing that splitting the legions would require some creativity, he ordered that the troops (or 'Battleline') units should have some variety of weapon options and be able to split once in the campaign area to fulfill various roles.  This is seen in the Tactical Squads. 

  The Tactical squad ranges in size from five to ten, with one being the leader (the 'Sergeant') and another being the backup (the 'Squad Leader').  One member of the squad would be designated to carry a special weapon (flamer, meltagun, plasma gun, or grav-gun later on) and another would be designated to carry the heavy weapon (heavy bolter, missile launcher, plasma cannon, lascannon, multi-melta, and eventually the grav-cannon).  Finally, the Sergeant has access to a wide variety of weapon options himself, including power weapons, plasma pistols, and even combi-bolters.  This would give the unit the ability to manage assaults, firefights, and supporting fire roles depending on the immediate need.  A squad to overwhelm the opponent with numbers and armed with boltguns or split down to specialized teams with one being an assault element while the other layed down covering heavy weapon fire.  This captured the 'good at everything but not great at anything' aspect of the regular old marine squads. 

  Now let's look at the gaming elements of the Tactical Squad.  Each member is worth 13 points per model and comes with the free boltgun, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades.  The special weapons add another nine to seventeen points while the heavy weapon adds ten to 28 points.  The Sergeant can take close combat weapons worth zero (for the chainsword) up to twelve points and shooty weapons from two points to nineteen points, including pistols.  This means that the squad can range in points from 65 points for five regular dudes to 214 points for a full squad with all the most expensive options (if I have my math correct).  Ten wounds, a grav-cannon, a meltagun, a combi-melta, and a powerfist for over 200 points?!?  Wow!

  Now for the other unit that is supposedly replacing the reliable Tactical Squad- the Intercessors.  When Primarch Guilliman returned, he apparently wanted to return the Astartes back to the glory days of specialization and revealed the creation of the newer, taller, tougher, meaner marines.  This new Battleline unit is the same in size, from five to ten, but all come equipped with bolt rifles.  They have no options for special weapons or heavy weapons, and the Sergeant can only be armed with a power sword (or chainsword if you're a Blood Angel) and one in every five marines may also take an under-slung grenade launcher.  But that's it.  These Intercessors are meant to be the basic troopers of the 'new age' and use advanced bolter ammunition to spray their opponents while depending on their increased toughness to stay around longer. 
 

  It's hard to actually give any game-related info as they are so basic that the above description pretty much covers it.  They are 18 points per model, may take one of three different kinds of bolters (the free bolt rifle with an AP -1, the 1 point assault-oriented auto bolt rifle which gives 2 shots out to 24" for a point, or the sniper-like stalker bolt rifle that is heavy and costs two points), may include a grenade launcher for every five for a point, and otherwise come as-is.  The really big difference (besides lack of options) is that they have two wounds and two attacks each.  Otherwise, there's not much difference other than they are just... bigger.   

  I've found that against horde armies with low damage weapons (like Termagants), Intercessors are the way to go.  The 'staying power' of the two-wound models can make a huge difference.  But these Intercessors just don't put out a lot of damage.  Against more powerful weapons (like Hive Guard and their artillery guns), the Intercessors melt away like butter and they lose effectiveness very quickly.  I like the bigger models, but I don't like how the game is set up with a bunch of dice or damage-heavy attacks, which makes my big marines just bigger targets.

  On the other hand, there's something to be said about the cheapness of the Intercessors.  Remember how I mentioned that the Tactical Squad can easily get up to 200 points or more?  Intercessors, fully loaded, end up being around the same but they come with twice as many wounds and bolters that punch through armor a bit better (not to mention the increased range).  In this modern world of Command Point-farming, being able to quickly and cheaply fill a Battalion to get those extra five CP can be much better than trying to pay points for an optimized Tactical Squad or three.  Obviously, everyone uses Scouts, but that hide-chapping reality is another post for another time. 

  So which one is really better?  I like to be the purist and either only use old-school marines or the new Primaris-type, but I'm finding that I'm basically choosing cheap and no teeth or expensive and no staying-power.  Good weapons or wounds?  Little guys with options or big guys with time?  It's a hard decision and one that I'll continue to mull over.  In fact, my next battle will see me use my old marines and see if I'm more satisfied with the 'ol Tactical Squad than the newer Intercessors.  I may even *gasp* start to mix them up a bit!  But that's going to require some mental adjustment on my part. 

  If you happen to play with marines and have enough to be able to compare, let me know what you think!  I look forward to seeing if I'm just being crazy or if this is a great philosophical question that teases the minds of others.  Until then, Happy Gaming!