KItting out Assault Terminators

[TheBigC]

Alright, I've got the points for six assault termies mounted in a Land Raider, what do I give 'em? Lightning Claws are cool, but the thought of smashing things while being protected from hard hitting stuff is also nice. It seems like the obvious combos are:

 

1) All LCs

2) All TH/SS

3) 3 of each

4) some other combo (4 LC, 2 TH/SS maybe)

 

Anyone have any experience/advice for equipping and using this unit? Thanks!

[Koremu]

First, if you have 100 points to spare, drop the sixth guy and get a Chaplain.

 

It depends really what you want to kill, but I almost always have at least half TH/SS for the saves if nothing else.

[minigun762]

Don't see any reason not to do half/half.

 

TH/SS Terminators are now officially awesome but they really suffer against hordies actually (who don't care about S8 and 3++). Thats where the Twin Claw Terminators can help thin out the opponent, usually before they strike.

 

Orks are the prime example I'm thinking of. 3 Twin Claw Terminators will kill 3.4 Orks before they can even strike and thats alot less attacks coming your way.

[StormTAG]

Depends wholistically on your local meta-game. Lots of vehicles on your battle field and plenty of plasma rounds or things that ignore your 2+ save? Go with the thunderhammers. Lots of weenies to drown in? Take the Lightning claws.

 

Though, I'd definitely second the getting of a Chaplin to lead your Assault Termies. Rerolled misses is a big deal for Assault termies, because BOTH kinds rarely have trouble wounding. Between the 2+ wound with a Thunderhammer (on all but the MC) and the re-roll to wound with the Lightning claws, wounding isn't usually the issue. WS4 is great and all but rerolls can drastically increase your kill potential.

 

All that said, I'd probably try to bring atleast one Stormshield. Getting a 3+ invuln is great against things like Single squads with Lascannons or Hammerheads/Broadsides.

[Kairos]

You still wound most monstrous creatures on a 2+ with strength 8.

[rackham19]

As far as the Chappy goes, you're only getting the reroll for litanies on the charge, right?

 

Why not go all Master Crafted with the TH's and enjoy the re-roll all the time?!

[Kairos]

Umm... You can't.

[Koremu]

Unless you take He'stan. I assume he means He'stan.

[StormTAG]

If you're toting He'stan, I'd probably go the all Thunderhammer route. Plus, if you're into apocolypse, you can start gathering for a Titanhammer squad.

[Reinholt]

My squad of assault terminators is all TH / SS.

 

I prefer to use them in games where I intend to crack hard to kill foes; I prefer using assault squads against hordes, as they tend to provide more killing power and bodies for the same points, thus I avoid the LC guys.

[StormTAG]

LC Termies really are in their element chewing up and spitting out large units of power armor or 4+ armor. Their saves are high enough that a significant amount of them are not going to die to Assault Marines, they are usually high enough leadership that you're not terribly likely to run them down. Termies can't run people down, so keep that in mind. Assaulting Codex marines is likely just going to mean the survivors break from combat and his army turn around and blast you to hell and back.

[Koremu]

LC Termies really are in their element chewing up and spitting out large units of power armor or 4+ armor. Their saves are high enough that a significant amount of them are not going to die to Assault Marines, they are usually high enough leadership that you're not terribly likely to run them down. Termies can't run people down, so keep that in mind. Assaulting Codex marines is likely just going to mean the survivors break from combat and his army turn around and blast you to hell and back.

 

Throw a Tactical Combat Squad into the melee next to them. Not only do the Tacticals chase runners down for you, they shield the Terminators from incoming fire.

[rockdeity]

Though, I'd definitely second the getting of a Chaplin to lead your Assault Termies. Rerolled misses is a big deal for Assault termies, because BOTH kinds rarely have trouble wounding. Between the 2+ wound with a Thunderhammer (on all but the MC) and the re-roll to wound with the Lightning claws, wounding isn't usually the issue. WS4 is great and all but rerolls can drastically increase your kill potential.

 

 

and if you are going to do that... get Cassius instead. He's almost always better than the term chaplain for 5 poitns less... as explained here

[travh20]

the way I see it, why would you pass on a free 3+ invuln save?? If you have a chance to make a unit 2+/3+ for no extra cost you have to do it! even if they were armed with a meat cleaver, but they are not, they are armed with awsome thunder hammer!

[Koremu]

the way I see it, why would you pass on a free 3+ invuln save?? If you have a chance to make a unit 2+/3+ for no extra cost you have to do it! even if they were armed with a meat cleaver, but they are not, they are armed with awsome thunder hammer!

 

You lose an attack.

[StormTAG]

Lightning claws, hitting at Initiative 4 and getting 4 Attacks on the charge, should not be underestimated. Plus, getting 3 attacks in subsequent rounds isn't anything to sneeze at either. They're just almost as useful as thunderhammers against T4 (3/4 wounds vs. 5/6 wounds) and better against T3 (8/9 wounds vs. 5/6 wounds) as far as wounding goes. Plus, and most important in my opinion, they fight at initiative four.

 

If I weren't planning on running a He'stan counts as with them, I'd totally mix in Lightning claws. Master-crafting thunder hammers increases their effectiveness pretty succinctly.

 

Some Mathhammer:

 

LC Termie on the charge is getting 4 attacks, 2 hits, 1.5 kills against MEQ

TH Termie on the charge is getting 3 Attacks, 1.5 Hits, 1.25 kills against MEQ.

 

LC Termie on the next round is getting 3 Attacks, 1.5 Hits, 1.125 Kills against MEQ

TH Termie on the next round is getting 2 Attacks, 1 Hit, 0.833 Kills against MEQ.

[Koremu]

Consider this from the POV of an aggressor Ork mob of 15 boyz and a Nob;

 

5 2LC Terminators will kill 5. 65 Orks average - for ease of maths let's say 6

 

The squad will therefore face

 

9 2*CCW boyz + 1 Nob with Klaw, assaulting

=

36 WS4 S4 attacks + 4 WS4 S10 Power Weapon

=

18 S4 hits + 2 S10 Power Weapon

=

9 wounds + 1.666® Power Weapon

=

1.5 kills + 1.111® kills

 

vs. a TH/SS Squad

 

15 2*CCW boyz + 1 Nob with Klaw, assaulting

=

60 WS4 S4 attacks + 4 WS4 S10 Power Weapon

=

30 S4 hits + 2 S10 Power Weapon

=

15 wounds + 1.666® wounds

=

2.5 kills + 0.555® kills

 

 

 

So the full TH/SS squad takes 0.5 more casualties, and critically takes them before combat

 

 

Incidentally, a Squad with 2 TH/SS and 3 2LC would kill 3.75ish boyz before combat and take 2.111® casualties

[Narthecium]

While mathhammer is neat, it pretty much to me seems like a long silly way to just use common sense. "Lightning claws kill more before the orks hit, so you take less hits in return from the ork". Well duh.

[StormTAG]

I remind you, common sense is an oxymoron. Some people like to roll the numbers around to compare option A and option B to see the degrees of severity between the differences.

[CompanyOfTheFallen]

I like mathhammer - gives me some idea why even termis die. Yeah, the 3++ is useless against orks cause of the mass of casual attacks, but what's abaout some frickin Eldar with countless Power Weapons @ I5? ^_^

[Narthecium]

They die because something killed them! :sweat:

[travh20]

the way I see it, why would you pass on a free 3+ invuln save?? If you have a chance to make a unit 2+/3+ for no extra cost you have to do it! even if they were armed with a meat cleaver, but they are not, they are armed with awsome thunder hammer!

 

You lose an attack.

 

 

Well, I kitted out the 5 termies that came in the box with all TH/SS. I used 2 of the LCs that came in the box on my Black Legion termies, so that leaves 3 left for 3 Black Reach Termies. The best of both worlds.