Chaos Space Marine Terminators
These are perhaps a Chaos army's most powerful troop. And you certainly pay for them. On average, they will cost more than Imperial counterparts, because all they come with is a measly chain-axe. You should replace this for a better weapon if you are going to go up against armies with saves better than 4+, otherwise you could find that the terminators lose their hard-strike capability. If you are going up against IG, Orks, or an Eldar-Guardian army, leave the Chain axes on as the saves will be low anyhow, but perhaps include a powerfist or two for heavily armoured targets. In the way of heavy weapons, the Reaper AC is a must have. I'll say it again. You MUST take a Reaper AC. As it only rolls two sustained fire dice, many think it is inferior to the Assault cannon. A lie. It is, in my opinion, far superior. You can re-roll one of those dice, so jams are far less frequent, meaning the odds are that you get from 2 to 4 strength 8 shots each turn. Plus it doesn't explode on a bad day. The heavy flamer is useful if you plan to go up close to the enemy, or if you're fighting Eldar, as you need that large template to kill those fast-moving troops such as Warp Spiders and Swooping Hawks as soon as you can.
If you plan to use your Terminators as close-combat troops, you should consider giving them the mark of Khorne. Unfortunately, there is no 2+ save on 2D6, but you do get other benefits. Firstly, the great bonus of Frenzy combined with the combi-weapon bonus gives them 3 attack dice. It does cost you, so if you take them make sure you get them into HtH with minimum casualties. Give them good HtH weapons. I've found that a Flamer-Bolter combi in one hand and a powerfist in the other is an irrestiable combination. Avoid chainfists, as they are horrendously expensive. I give them to the champion leading the squad, as I know that I will be getting better value-for-points. Besides, it makes more sense. The Champion would have the choicest equipment. Khorne squads are superb at eradicating Psykers. A Collar of Khorne given to the champion will make him a walking nullify to all psychic powers, if he is even touched by a power. Or perhaps you could take a Daemon weapon instead, but this is slightly cheesy to some people, so don't be surprised if your opponent gets a bit grumpy. But hey! HE (or she) took that Level 4 psyker with all that wargear, now didn't he? :)
If you want to make your terminators even tougher, the mark of Nurgle is the way to go. Toughness of 5 AND a 3+ save on 2D6 will make them tough nuts to crack. A Champion with a Nurgle Reward will boost the power of the unit immensly. I would reccomend Nurgle's Rot (On a 6, one wound is suffered by an enemy model in base to base contact, no armour or field saves allowed) if you plan to see some HtH. While not having the extreme-mincing power of Bezerker Terminators, they are still powerful, and will be tough to get rid of. The Nurgle's Rot, or indeed any Nurgle reward will aid in the destruction of enemies in HtH. I always use some Nurgle Terminators in take-and-hold missions. They make good mid-range troops aswell, so your opponent will face a dillema as to whether he should aim small-arms fire (bolters, lasguns, etc) at the Terminators or your other troops. More choices for the opponent means he will make more mistakes.
Noise Marine Terminators are very good at ranged attacks. Swapping some of their combi-weapons for Noise Marine weapons is a must, as you now have unbreakable troops with awesome weapons. Use Noise Marine Terminators equipped with sonic blasters and a blastmaster, and watch the enemy line disintergrate. A downside is that they lose the extra attack for having a combi-weapon, but you can make this up by giving a champ the Gaze of Slaanesh (-1 to attacks characteristic on models fighting against the Champion). If going up against low-leadership troops, a combination of high rates of fire from Sonic Blasters, the fact that a unit suffering a casualty from a Blastmaster needs to take a break test, and the fact you can make the champion cause fear by giving the Scream of Slaanesh (model causes fear) or softening enemies up by giving the champion the Allure of Slaanesh (Enemy model must pass ld test on 3D6. If it fails, fight combat normally but if the enemy model wins the combat is a draw) means you could seriously damage whole armies. Always take a Doom Siren of two if you plan to face good HtH troops. Noise Marines are thus a good choice no matter who you face. And when you consider the pyschic cacophany...
Thousand Sons Terminators are really useful as a bodyguard for a sorceror. They are often overlooked as people see the Energy Drain rule and never give them a second look. But what you get is a troop that will never break, is immune to the same things as Daemons, and have a 4+ NULLIFY (not just save!) against pyschic powers! And for how much? Only 10 points extra! It's a bargain! But they are vulnerable to the same thing as Daemons, so keep that in mind. So, if you keep these with your expensive sorceror, you basically rule out many psychic attacks against him as you not only have the sorcerors ability to nullify, but the Terminators too. But if psychic powers that affect areas are used, you could have up to 8 nullify attempts. The only thing that stops Thousand Sons from being the ultimate anti-psyker troops is the fact that they are very vulnerable to force weapons. However, if you can tie up the enemy Pysker with one of your, the Thousand Sons can elimate the bodyguard, and then aid in the destruction of the psyker. Always take at least four normal Thousand Sons just in case Energy Drain is played. Rather some cheap 25 point marine is sucked away than a fully kitted out terminator. Preferably, 6 Thousand Son marines should skulk about at the back of the battlefield, perhaps with a heavy weapon or two. Always choose the worst marines to be sucked away.
A NOTE ON ALL TERMINATORS.
These WILL attract fire. Expect almost every heavy weapon to take a potshot at them. This means that they can disappear fairly quickly. So use them well, and make use of cover. Have nearby troops throw smoke and blind grenades, and use the way they absorb so much fire to your advantage. If your terminators advance, have other troops advance nearby. Always support terminators to the fullest.
Go back to the Chaos Tactics Section
Go back to The Traitor Legions
E-mail the maintainer, Despoiler
Copyright Adrian Johnson © 1999. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.