Aggressors are my favorite Space Marine Primaris unit both in terms of the miniatures, and also their rules. The miniatures are not quite fully painted, the edge highlighting took a lot longer than i had expected, there are far more details than on a regular Intercessor, but there are only a few details left to complete. I'm quite happy with them so far. I just have to finish the helmet visors, the basing, a few of the details, and add a few more transfers.
Unit Overview
Aggressors are an Elite unit in a space marine army, meaning they will not fulfill any of the compulsory choices you have to take in most detachments. This also means they lack the 'defenders of Humanity ability' which is restricted to troops choices only. They are equipped with Gravis armour which increases their toughness to 5 and their wounds to 3 each, making them much more survivable against most units than normal Primaris units who have toughness 4 and 2 wounds apiece.
You can take them in units of 3-6 models, and they are equipped with Auto boltstorm gauntlets and Fragstorm grenade launchers or Flamestorm gauntlets which both provide fairly short ranged firepower in addition to close combat power in terms of power fists.
They also have a couple of neat unit abilities. If they remain stationary they can fire twice and they also Ignore the to hit penalty for advancing and shooting. Aggressors with Auto boltstorm gauntlets and Fragstorms put out an average of 19 shots apiece, with a maximum of 26 shots per model, if stationary although the range is limited to 18" which is quite limited. The sheer volume of shots they can put out though means they can decimate masses of infantry with ease and threaten almost any vehicle with destruction, or at the very least, severe damage.
First Among Equals: Ultramarines Aggressors
While aggressors are naturally a very potent offensive unit, being Ultramarines will take it to the next level. Aggressors are at their most threatening when they remain stationary, doubling the number of shots they can put out. This naturally limits their mobility and thus flexibility. However 'Scions of Guilliman' which you will get when you are Ultamarines means that units will count as being stationary (unless they advance or fallback) as long as you are in the tactical Doctrine. Usually this will be limited to turns 2 and 3, however as Ultramarines there are 2 ways you can have units in Tactical for the entire game. The first is the 'Master of strategy' warlord trait which allows your warlord to put a friendly unit within 6" into Tactical doctrine for a turn. The second is a 1CP Stratagem, 'Squad Doctrines' which allows you to put an infantry or biker unit into Tactical for a turn. having either or both will allow you to keep your aggressors shooting at maximum efficiency for the whole game. If that isn't enough, Ultramarines can fall back from combat and still shoot (at -1 to hit), and using the 'fallback and re-engage' stratagem they can ignore the to hit penalty, and also charge back into combat.
Their offensive prowess makes them a priority target for your opponents, and despite their high toughness and 3 wounds they can be killed by concentrated fire.
There are a few ways to boost their resilience. Deploying them in transports is an option, but you will be limited to either version of the Repulsor as these are the only units that can transport models in Gravis armour, and you will be limited in the size of unit they can transport. 5 for the Repulsor, and 3 for the Repulsor Executioner.
'Transhuman physiology' is a generic Space marine stratagem which makes wound rolls of a 1-3 fail for one round.
Tigurius' 'Master of prescience' means a selected unit will be -1 to hit for a whole battle round.
And if you are prepared to recruit an Ordo Malleus inquisitor their 'Warding Incantation' can give an infantry unit a 5+ Invulnerable save. Otherwise you can give a Chief apothecary 'The Healer's Aegis' to give models within 1" the same 5+ invulnerable, this will require a much more compact formation though but the same apothecary will also be able to heal wounds and bring casualties back.
Unit Assessment
Aggressors are a very good unit to take in any space marine army. Their firepower will mean they will be an early target for your opponent unless you can hide them behind cover or provide a more pressing threat to eliminate. I prefer to use them as a second line unit, keeping them safe and using them as a counter punch unit once an opponent commits. You can use them as a distraction unit utilizing stratagems and other abilities to make them tougher to kill, but if you do that, be prepared to lose most of, if not the entire unit.
Next on the painting table
The Aggressors take my points painted to 1191 (8th Edition) and means my current painted roster has plenty of infantry, but not much in the way of characters. I had planned to get started on an apothecary and finish my Ancient, however life conspired against me. I will instead aim to get these finished this week, and make some progress on other models I've already started. these will give me a lot more options when it comes to army selection.
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