Scuba Steve coming at you with another Khorne Daemonkin tactics article and the topic of today’s discussion is how you can effectively include Chaos Terminators into your Daemonkind army!
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Death Itself
There are few things that get me as excited than seeing someone actually playing Chaos Terminators, they are so awesome that I can barely stand it! The issue is finding a way to use them effectively; there are so many major threats and high value units in the KDK codex that taking Chaos Terminators may seem like a waste, however there is always a way to make a unit shine. Walk with me for a few moments on the chaotic side of life and let’s figure out how to kick ass with a unit of Terminators. As I do with all of my articles, it is probably best to break down the unit and its options to see what is “good” and what we can label as “just okay”
Wargear
- Terminator Armour (Good): Terminator Armor has its ups and downs, but all-in-all it rocks pretty hard, any model with a 2+ or a 5++ is absolutly solid in my books. Additionally, they gain Bulky, Relentless, and Deep Strike special rules. Bulky isn’t really something you need to worry about but the other two are incredibly important. Having a squad of Terminators Deep Strike into position throughout the game means they have the ability to do some real damage to your opponent in their back lines – having a unit of Terminators stomping around your deployment zone is something that no player wants. Also, they can fire all of their rapid fire/heavy/combi-weapons and still charge their target afterwards… big bonus!
- Combi-Bolter (Good/Just Okay): It is awesome that these guys have a TL Boltgun, however the real power will come from switching this out for a different kind of combi-weapon (Plasma, Melta, etc…)
- Power Weapon (Good): These come stock on every Terminator and it’s awesome! You can take your AP 3 swords and charge Marines and Eldar into the ground. These weapons make the Chaos Terminators really dangerous and most units will need to avoid them in close combat because of it. – Most of the time people model the Terminators with swords, but the other Power Weapons are options as well.
Special Rules:
- Blood for the Blood God! (Good): The great thing about this rule is that you can dish out additional attacks and Feel No Pain with it. A squad of Terminators with Feel No Pain is absolutely fantastic, you take an already resilient unit and make them more resilient – no down side.
- Mark of Khorne (Good): Having Rage and Counter-Attack on these bad boys means that you will always have a ludicrous amount of attacks on the first round of combat – with those AP 3 weapons of theirs, they are going to settle most arguments pretty quickly, if you get my drift.
- Skulls for the Skull Throne! (Just Okay): This rule is the standard Chaos “must challenge” thing, it is a blessing and a curse depending on who/what you’re facing. The bonus here is that with a 2+ armor save, a 5+ invulnerable save, a power weapon of some kind, and a decent inititive, you can reasonably go toe-to-toe with most other units (not including the obvious super-nuts units that everyone avoids: Wolf Lords, Chaper Masters, etc…) and do reasonably well.
Options:
- Additional Terminators (Just Okay): Lists now-a-days are becoming tighter and tighter, there is rarely room to squeeze in “up to 7 additional Terminators” due to their higher point cost. Keeping the unit relatively small is my advice and if you must increase it, never increase it above 5 – which is where you unlock the ability to take a Heavy Weapon.
- Close Combat Replacements (Good): The list of options here is really good, however you always have to be aware of cost. If you are deciding to switch out the Power Weapon for a Lighting Claw, Power Fist, Double Lighting Claw, or Chainfist, I would suggest only changing out one or two of the models in your unit to keep cost down. (one change in a unit of three, two changes in a unit of five) – The Power Fist is a personal favorite of mine because it gives them the ability to take out vehicles, something that KDK are not universally adept at doing.
- Combi-Weapons (Good): These are the kind of upgrades that I can always get behind. Sure, they’re one use only, but they are incredibly dangerous when they first touch down after a Deep Strike. I would steer clear of the Combi-Flamer, it just won’t do enough, but the Combi-Plasma/Melta can do some real fine work. Getting some much needed AP 2/1 shooting can really put the hurt on your opponent, especially when you target a vehicle that they desperately need, or a unit of aspect warriors that are ready to evaporate thanks to your plasma shots. I would always trade out all of their Combi-Bolters for more dangerous Combi-weapons.
- Heavy Weapon (Good/Just Okay): Alright, there is an upside and a downside to this… upside: heavy weapons are super bitchin’, Heavy Flamers are solid and the Reaper Autocannon is also a weapon to be feared. The Terminators can also move and shoot them at full BS, seems like a no-brainer, right?… Well, here is the downside… The weapons are only unlocked when you have at least 5 Terminators in the unit. This means you have to spend more of your precious points and invest in this unit, depending on your play style, this may be okay, but generally speaking the Chaos Terminators are a bit too pricey to invest in them so heavily. If your opponent is rocking a ton of Grav-cannons, let’s say, this super expensive unit disintegrates before you can barely say “Blood for the Blood God!”.
- Icon of Wrath (Just Okay): Alright, this Icon is pretty good, but I don’t believe it does enough to be considered a “Good” option to include. It helps you win assaults, it lets you re-roll charge distance, and it does give these bad ass guys Furious Charge… however… for a 25pt fee; you can equip three of the Terminators with Power Fists for less points. I would steer away from it, if I were you.
- The Chaos Land Raider (Just Okay): For the same reason you want to avoid the Icon of Wrath, you want to avoid this 230pt sinkhole. Sure, it’s AV 14 all around and Eldar shit bricks when they see one, but as soon as someone crosses your path with an abundance of Melta and Grav… things won’t look so hot for you. Save the points and put them elsewhere. The terminator armor gives them the ability to come down anywhere, use that delivery system instead.
Suicide Squad
There are definitely a few different ways you can use a squad of terminators properly. Personally, I have always been partial to the “Suicide Squad” approach. I almost always expect my squad of Terminators to die, it’s a tough pill to swallow sometimes, they are expensive after all, but their sole purpose is one thing – assassination and disruption. Both of these strategies can work perfectly in the Brazen Onslaught formation – which can be contained within a Blood Host Detachment. Taking the larger detachment is great if you’re going to be relying on the Blood Tithe points to boost the Terminator’s power.
- Assassination: Because of their Deep Strike capabilities and ability to take dangerous combi-weapons, they are perfect for suicide missions where their one goal is to destroy a certain vehicle, or cripple an important unit; Combi-Meltas and Combi-Plasmas are perfect if you plan you use Terminators like this.
- Disruption: This is perfect for when you want to Deep Strike behind your opponents lines and hold/contest objectives, shoot/assault their weaker back-line units, score yourself Linebreaker, etc… Though it seems like a menial job, Terminators are hardy enough that it actually takes dedicated heavy or special weapons to reliably destroy them, if your opponent is worrying about a squad of three terminators and not the rest of your army, you’re golden.
Well… That Was Underwhelming…
Being critical of the Chaos Terminator dataslate… there are better options. They don’t really play any key roles in any of the formations they are included in and their price is so high for single wound models that it is rarely worth it in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, it comes down to personal choice, there are other distraction units you can use, other ways to get rid of vehicles, etc… I will say though, that there aren’t many units in the KDK codex with an armor save of 2+, so that’s a major upside. Being a single wound makes them such a liability and their point cost can make that liability a little too much to handle, the best way to balance that cost is to kit them out so you know they are going die and you need them to simply do something specific before that happens, for example:
- 3x Terminators- 104 w/ 3x Combi-Melta- 15, Power Fist- 7 (126) – This is a cheap Deep Striking vehicle killing unit.
- 3x Terminators- 104 w/ 3x Combi-Plasma- 15 (119) – This unit is built to put the hurt on higher toughness units, 6 plasma shots at BS 4 will make your opponent sweat a little bit. You could even give this unit a power fist or lightning claw, but that’s not 100% necessary, they will still have AP 3 Power Swords.
T-800 Forever
As I always do with all of my articles, I issue a challenge! Find a way to make Terminators competitive again! Above you’ll find my two ideas, take some time to post your thoughts in the comment section and maybe some of your favorite ways of running them! They have always been some of my favorite models and it would be great to see them on the battlefield again! If you want to give it a try, Frontline Gaming offers GW for up to 25% off, so you can pick some up for a great deal!
Scuba Steve, Signing Out.
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