Optimal weapons options for Ultramarines

Hiya!

I've been building a fluffy, but hopefully effective Ultramarines Primaris force. Part of that project has been to build the models. Dark Imperium box was easy, simply because you had no options.

Now that the Codex is out and about with weapon options galore, I've been pondering the weapons options for each squad a bit. I decided to write down my musing and the choices I've ended up with or have made (obviously I don't have the 3rd wave models, like Intercessors, in my hands yet).

So let's begin with the already-mentioned Intercessors

Options:

Bolt rifle

The "standard". I've been thinking about this gun a lot. On paper it's pretty sweet. Extra 6" compared to a normal bolter and AP -1 are sweet. The problem come from the platform. If these were equipped on cheap Tactical Marines, I'd go for these almost always, put them in Drop Pods or Storm Ravens and land everything I can within 15". Or even put them on Rhinos, why not? However, if you want to get your Intercessors to the front line, you'll either have to foot-slog for a while, or cough up a lot of points (and cash) for some Repulsors, which I feel is a waste. I've thought of having 30 Intercessors, 10 of which carry bolt rifles and aux grenades. For Ultramarines the chapter strategem makes these guys more worth it. Funnily enough, I think bolt rifles are sweet on Raven Guard and Imperial Fists. For Ultras, my idea for these guys is to be the 2nd line of defence. I plan on sitting these guys behind flamer Aggressors or CC Reivers and be ready to unleash some close-range bolter fire. I also think that you have to plan your movement phases extremely carefully with this rifle, since running closer to enemies and punishing them out of cover can some cases be really powerful. Or running back and shooting at the same time, but regardless this rifle needs some planning to get the most out of it. Can punish 3+ armour as well.

Auto-bolt rifle

I think this is the only rifle if you want to advance and contest enemy objectives. I'll be including 10 of these with the auxiliary grenade launchers to act as the mobile fist. They are +1 point, so take that into account.

Stalker bolt rifle

Some of my friends said this rifle is useless. I disagree. 36" -2 AP Heavy 1 shots aren't nothing. They can really just sit on your backline objectives and start shooting down those Terminators or Devastators (depending on the deployments of course). Obviously nice against Marine armies. I'll be including two squads of 5 for objective-sitting, leaving my other two squads free to do what they want. I'll have a stalker bolter lieutenant baby sit them so they can wound more often. The rifle is +2 points, so fielding a bunch of them might get costly in a jiffy. The gun has few preferred enemies (MEQ).


Ultramarines stratagem makes sure these weapons can achieve pretty decent hit rates, although I would use it only when necessary or if you get 20 shots off. Guilliman helps as well, especially with Stalkers, which have a high chance of pay-off if you success in wounding enemy models. I suppose Auto-bolt rifles are the tournament-goers choice, but if you like some variation to your lists, I can see use for all of these guns.


Reivers:

Bolt carbine

Same as auto-bolt rifle, but comes in a cheaper and more assault-y Reiver package. Slap these with Reivers, give them grav-chutes and you're set to kill some back-line units.

Pistol and combat blade

With this loadout, your Reivers become the only dedicated close combat unit in the Primaris list. 10 Reivers get 31 attacks, and with the 3 CP stratagem "Honour the Chapter", they can fight twice in a fight phase! That's nothing to sneeze at. Being Ultramarines, you can afford to spend those CPs every now and then. Hell, it might be free. Slap a Chaplain there and enjoy the carnage. Lieutenant with power sword is a desired bonus.

I went with Combat blades and grav-chutes, although I might not use those chutes every time and might just drop them out. I just like the way they look, so I decided to slap them on anyways. In friendly games my opponents will forgive some wysiwyg-discrepancies. I intend to run them as distraction units, which is where the grav-chutes come in handy. They work pretty well as front line shields. Charging into 31-62 attack squad? No thanks. Especially if there's a lieutenant and Chaplain nearby, which make the squad downright horrible to face.


Inceptors

Assault Bolters

I always felt that Inceptors are hard to use, simply because they often operate outside the aura zones of your characters. Ultramarine stratagem to the rescue. Well, in fairness the ability to re-roll 1s is more useful on plasma exterminators, but when you slam 6 Inceptors with Assault bolters on the field and start rolling those 36 heavy bolter shots, you're most likely gonna roll some ones. For a unit that usually needs to do sufficient damage to survive return fire or be able to safely charge to an enemy unit, re-rolling 1s in to-hit rolls is nice. I prefer these guns, simply because the plasma exterminators cost an arm and a leg. They're pretty decent against most types of infantry and smaller monsters/vehicles.


Plasma Exterminators

So taking these makes your Inceptors shoot 2D3 S7 plasma shots with the same range as Assault bolters. I don't think they're worth their cost. The randomness of the amount of shots and the ridiculously high points cost feels like they're way too situational. They're super deadly, and with the Ultramarines stratagem they can re-roll those 1s when they overcharge, but I feel you can get plasma weapons easier. However, I say they are pretty awesome murder squad for when your opponent has some nasty long-range firepower and they can take down tanks, so they're not useless. The cost of these guns makes them high risk, high reward.

So yeah, I went with Assault bolters. I'll be getting 3 extra when they come out, simply because I feel that you should never field less than 5 Inceptors in a squad. They die off easily, unless you can whittle down the enemy numbers enough. I've had the most success with them when I dedicate all firepower to secure their landing site and survival.



Next up

Aggressors

Boltstorm gauntles and fragstorm launchers

Honestly, I think both of the options are pretty decent. So, the Aggressors aren't your long range Devastator/Centurion type of squadron. They're close support, which can pour amazing amounts of fire to enemy lines. This setup, let's call is dakka-build, is great if you don't want to invest in a Repulsor. They can slog forward and fire every round. Don't forget that you can Advance and fire assault weapons and not suffer -1 to hit with these guys! I used these in a 5-man squad (I borrowed some dude's Aggressors), had them slog forward and kill more infantry than dysentery. Then I just park them around mid-field and start killing things. I highly recommend placing an Apothecary nearby, Primaris or otherwise. Mine died once I got one double-shot round of shooting of and then got shot and hacked to bit by everything my Tyranid opponent had.

Flamestorm gauntlet

My favourite. 2D6 flamer shots, yes please! This loadout makes the Aggressors the ultimate shock troops. They're pretty awesome in attack AND defence. The randomness can cause trouble, but then again you have an average of 35 auto-hits with a 5-man squad emerging out of a Repulsor. Oh, yeah, these guys really need that Repulsor. Pop them out and let them sit on an objective. If the enemy comes for you and you survive their turn, good. If you get charged, you can just overwatch, fight and then Chapter Tactic your way out of that combat and let them feel the burn. I think Salamanders and Ultramarines benefit from the flamestorm gauntlets immensely, even if the Repulsor as a transport is somewhat mandatory in most cases. Again, keep an Apothecary nearby.


Phew, almost there.

Hellblasters:

Plasma incinerator
The default. I think they are versatile and pretty good. S7/8 hits the sweet spot of being able to kill off both infantry and tanks. I think these are pretty great for Ultras, since even if you get charged, the regular incinerator can Fall Back and shoot down whatever came close to it with impunity.

Auto-plasma incinerator

If I played tournaments, these would be my go-to choice. I understand Marines and infantry are the most used things, so these are good against that. The weakness of this gun is that it has a hard time with T8, so Wraithknights and tanks are pretty safe. You'd need to invest in some other form of anti-tank, which is hard if you play Primaris only. If you mix in the little guys, this gun is the best option. Just never advance and over-charge the guns.

Heavy plasma incinerator

Your long-range fire support. I like the gun, although they are Heavy 1. 36" of range is not bad, and they can severely weaken many elite squads and heavy hitters before they reach your lines. This means they might overcharge a lot, so keep a Captain or a Primarch nearby, if you do.


I personally might go with 10 plasma incinerators, divided into 2 combat squads, as well as 5 Heavy plasma incinerators for shooting down stuff like Bikes and Terminators. Plasma incinerators can do a lot of stuff. If you put 10 plasma incinerators in a Repulsor and drop them off, they're gonna wreck stuff. A lot.



A quick gloss-over for the Redemptor and Repulsor

Repulsor:
I'll be going for lascannons (the only Primaris platform for those). I'm not sure whether or not you'd ever wanna use the auto-launchers on this thing, simply because it shoots SO much. So my Repulsors would have lascannons, las-talons and onslaught gatling cannon, Icarus rocket pod and a bunch of fragstorm launchers.

Redemptor:
Double minigun baby! Fragstorms for carapace. With Guilliman running around, those miniguns are beastly.



So those are just my ideas and musings. I'm not a tournament player, so I have no idea on the wound averages etc. This is just what I think in the context of my Primaris-only Ultramarines army. I'd love to hear your ideas and build, as well as your reasons for those choices.

Ohhh, I'l give my two cents:

INTERCESSORS
A unit of 10 with Stalker Bolt Rifles and 2x Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Combat Squadded into two groups to hold any objective at or very close to your deployment. This seems like a really nice base unit for any army. Think of them like sniper scouts, with +1 armor and +1 wound, but less swingy weapons.
Otherwise, I'd footslog them with Auto Bolt Rifles. I really don't think I'd ever choose Bolt Rifles, because they are too situational. The ABRs give a good volume of firepower at a very decent range. BRs are like a half-way between ABRs and SBRs, and I'd rather pick one or the other depending on my plans for that unit.

REIVERS
The minis are cool, but I don't like them at all. Like, not one bit. If anything, I'd play a unit of 5 with Grav Chutes and Combat Knives as a cheap "drop me on an objective" unit. At best, to have them assault snipers or something.

INCEPTORS
A unit of 6 with HBs kills 8 MEQs on average in a round of shooting, so that's pretty much what they're good for. They do almost no damage to tanks. Against weaker troops they Don't do better, killing 13-14 orks. That MAY sound good on paper, but you can't expect them to get their points back. At most they are a bother to the enemy, but are too expensive for that. And yeah, plasma makes them WAY more expensive, but overcharging a unit of 3 kills 3 termies on average, or deals around 8 wounds to a T7 vehicle or monster (without invulnerable save). But unless you use stratagems, odds are they will kill themselves in the process.
TL:DR I don't think they're much good.

AGGRESSORS
These guys are, I believe, situationally very good. A unit of 3 with Flamestorms is the perfect counter-assault unit for a shooty army. As in keep them right behind the units you want to protect (as in, so your unit is within flamer range). When the front unit is assaulted... they will take damage. But next turn have them retreat and unload 12D6 S4 auto-hits. That's scary, and cheap. So they provide a nice defensive bubble.
Then again, that's the only situation I'd play them in. You want them to stand still to be effective, so they are a defensive unit. And as a defensive unit, you want it CHEAP.

HELLBLASTERS
I'd only ever give them Assault Plasma Incinerators. A unit of 10 gives you 18 S6 AP-4 shots. I don't think plasma is really good against vehicles anyhow, but better as an anti-elite unit. They may only kill 2-3 termies per round of shooting, but they have the range to do this multiple times. And if you need to, you can overcharge so, assuming you are re-rolling 1s to hit (they SHOULD be in bubble range or you did something wrong) they will kill 7 termies on average, and suffer only 1 loss. They are also really good monster/vehicle hunters IF AND ONLY IF they overcharge, dealing on average 16 wounds against T7 or 10-11 wounds against T8 (before invulnerable saves or special rules). That makes them a VERY good choice, so go nuts.

REPULSOR
It doesn't fly, so I like it less than the Stormraven. If you MUST use a Primaris transport, you have no other choice. But UGH.

REDEMPTOR
Yeah, I totally agree this is a minigun platform. A very GOOD minigun platform. Firing everything, it kills around 6 MEQs on average per turn of shooting without counting rerolls from your bubbles. Considering it is tough as nails that's pretty good.


So I'd say the winners are Hellblasters and Flamestorm Aggressors as a small defensive unit. The troops are REALLY good imho, and the Redemptor is decent.