How to equip Chaos Terminators?

[Cmdr Shepard]

I bought two boxes of Chaos Terminators and I'd like to build them before the Codex is released (I want to play the new Codex as soon as possible and I'm trying to have my termies assembled for the release day)

 

What weapon options do you suggest? If I'm not mistake Chaos Terminators are one of those units we saw the army list entry so I hope you will have some advice to share ^_^

I plan to build a 10 men unit.

 

I suppose two reaper auto cannons are a versatile choice for the heavy weapons but what about melee weapons?

I was thinking about a mix of fists/chainfists and Ligthning Claws (I hope they can take claws) but even some power weapon can be useful if I want to lower the cost of the unit.

 

I believe they can take combi-weapons too so which of them?

 

Thanks for your assistance.

[Iron Sage]

I have one box myself that is unassembled. I dont actually want to assemble it before I have the new codex.

 

In my opinion, unless you really need them now for a tournament or something like that, you should wait untill you have the codex. Not sure what the cost of their weapons is now. The letters on the WD page was so tiny, that even with magnifier, I was unable to dicypher the cost and so forth.

 

Edit: They can take combi-spam though.

[Cmdr Shepard]

I have one box myself that is unassembled. I dont actually want to assemble it before I have the new codex.

 

In my opinion, unless you really need them now for a tournament or something like that, you should wait untill you have the codex. Not sure what the cost of their weapons is now. The letters on the WD page was so tiny, that even with magnifier, I was unable to dicypher the cost and so forth.

 

Edit: They can take combi-spam though.

 

That's a very good point. I only wanted to avoid an "assembling congestion" when the codex is released.

Anyway I can build the bodies and let the weapons unglued, a part from the combi-spam, who seems nice. Beside they can always count as standard twin-linked bolters...

 

However if we ignore the points cost for now and we talk about the possible usefulness of the various weapons, what would you think about each of them?

[Smurfalypse]

What I did was magnetize all 20 of my terms and all arms that came with the sprues. This way you can mix and match all you want/need and not have to worry about it, it is very handy for Terminators especially because of the plethora of different load outs they can have. When I get home I will post some pics so you can see how the arms and such turned out, it was fairly simple. I bought like 5 pizzas and had all of my friends over, we set up an assembly line type of thing, and within a few hours we were done.

 

 

I bought the magnets from http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/. Low price, fast delivery, and they work great.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Waiting for the codex is a good idea, but I'm not waiting either. Sort of.

 

I'm assembling a five man squad right now, and for ranged weapons I'm going with two combi-melta, two combi-plasma, and a reaper (might put this on the Champ too; dunno). This provides both light and and heavy anti-tank, as well as anti-infantry firepower. Coupled with the Mark of Tzeentch for a 4++ save, they should make for a good deep striking unit.

 

As for combat weapons, that's really what I'm waiting on for the 'dex. I'm leaning heavily towards a power/chainfist for the champ -- I'm hoping the 2+/4++ will keep him alive long enough to punk someone in a challenge -- but the others I'm unsure about. I might throw on an extra power fist somewhere, but other than that, I'm thinking about keeping them cheap with a smattering of swords, axes, and a maul for good measure.

[Brother Nathan]

i would go for a mix, not too heavy on the fists as we do usually have to pay extra for those, but at 10 man 2fists/chainfists, 2claws a couple of axes with some maces and swords and even a spear. and before anyone says but x is crap vs y, thats why you put it in the front rank and let it be the first to die if any, giving you situational superiority(in theory)you don't want to load too many points into anything or one configuration and then discover its weaker against something than another of your weapons would have been. also mixed weapons just look cooler...(with regards to cc ones, not so great an idea with ranged usually)and makes more sense fluff wise for chaos....

 

but i also second waiting till you have the dex in hand in case you miss something....(such as possibly hammers or the like....) hate ripping appart a decently built model because is not as effective as you thought it would be...

[Ammonius]

I magnetized my 5-man squad's arms, and so far I have run them as follows:

2 absolutely standard: Twin-linked bolters and power axes

1 with a combi-melta and a power fist

1 with a combi-melta and a chain fist

1 with a reaper autocannon and a power fist

 

I went with the mix because of the vagaries of deepstriking and I wanted them to be a threat even if they scattered the full 12". Also, since I face a lot of tanks, the extra punchiness seems justified.

[Smurfalypse]

i would go for a mix, not too heavy on the fists as we do usually have to pay extra for those, but at 10 man 2fists/chainfists, 2claws a couple of axes with some maces and swords and even a spear. and before anyone says but x is crap vs y, thats why you put it in the front rank and let it be the first to die if any, giving you situational superiority(in theory)you don't want to load too many points into anything or one configuration and then discover its weaker against something than another of your weapons would have been. also mixed weapons just look cooler...(with regards to cc ones, not so great an idea with ranged usually)and makes more sense fluff wise for chaos....

 

but i also second waiting till you have the dex in hand in case you miss something....(such as possibly hammers or the like....) hate ripping appart a decently built model because is not as effective as you thought it would be...

 

Yeah, the mix of power weapons is a big deal for what you are fighthing against. I do a similar load out with mine.

 

10 man unit

x2 chainfists

x4 power axes

x4 power mauls (you would be surprised how well these do)

 

This is what I use 90% of the time when I use ten man term units. The shooty weapon loadout really depends on the rest of my army, if I feel I do not have enough vehicle kill I will actually go with 6 combi-melta, if I feel I dont have enough AP2 I will go with 6 combi-plasma, since sixth I also find that combi-flamers can be very good when saved for overwatching.

 

Another thing to remember is the base kit doenst come with combi-plasmas, so you are on your own to make those if you want them.

[Jacinda]

What I did was magnetize all 20 of my terms and all arms that came with the sprues. This way you can mix and match all you want/need and not have to worry about it, it is very handy for Terminators especially because of the plethora of different load outs they can have.

This.

 

Magnetize, magnetize, magnetize. If you just have to get started, build and paint the bodies and magnetize the shoulders. It is a sure bet that you wil need a few pair of lightning claws, a Reaper autocannon or two and a few combi-flamers and/or combi meltas so you can start painting those arms, to. In less than a week we will be seeing more people with codex in hand and if all else fails, a week and a day is all you need to see the rules first hand.

 

I don't know how fast you paint but for me, 10 CHAOS terminator bodies in 1 week is a good size job. Sure, I can kick out 10 Deathwing terminators in a weekend but there is so much detail on the chaos TDA it gets to where you can spend forever just going back and picking something else out to make just a little bit better.

[Trevak Dal]

I have one box myself that is unassembled. I dont actually want to assemble it before I have the new codex.

 

In my opinion, unless you really need them now for a tournament or something like that, you should wait untill you have the codex. Not sure what the cost of their weapons is now. The letters on the WD page was so tiny, that even with magnifier, I was unable to dicypher the cost and so forth.

 

Edit: They can take combi-spam though.

 

That's a very good point. I only wanted to avoid an "assembling congestion" when the codex is released.

Anyway I can build the bodies and let the weapons unglued, a part from the combi-spam, who seems nice. Beside they can always count as standard twin-linked bolters...

 

However if we ignore the points cost for now and we talk about the possible usefulness of the various weapons, what would you think about each of them?

 

An important question, are they still units of 3-10, or 5-10? If they are 3-10 and can get their heavy at 3, then take a heavy flamer. It provides an offensive boost for a unit assaulting, as well as a defensive in terms of the autohits from overwatch.

[Brother Ambroz]

I have 5 regular termis, all magnetized. I usually run them with my Abby counts as, 3 mauls, a chainfist, 3 combis (usually melta), either a reaper or heavy flamer (usually heavy flamer because they usually assault) and a LC champ. This combo pretty much has everything covered, for power armored challenges my champ takes them with his LCs and for TDA Abby does a good job mopping up. Then I have the chainfist for armor and mauls do an amazing job against non MEQ forces (pretty decently against MEQ as well).

[Smurfalypse]

I just wanted to show ya some pics on the terms my friends helped me out with on the magnets, I really cannot tell you how handy it is to be able to swap everything as you want, and I obviously highly recommend you invest the few bucks and an extra hour of your time into getting them all magnetized.

 

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s326/Smurfalypse/5.jpg

 

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s326/Smurfalypse/3.jpg

 

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s326/Smurfalypse/4.jpg

 

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s326/Smurfalypse/2.jpg

[Iron Sage]

I am sold. Bought, whatever, lol. I am going to get myself magnets and now soon! I realise I have been a fool, not to do it earlier, as it will save me a lot of work and will make me able to field a variety of terminators with the 10 models I actually have (well, I have a sorcerer and lord as well, but).

[Smurfalypse]

I am sold. Bought, whatever, lol. I am going to get myself magnets and now soon! I realise I have been a fool, not to do it earlier, as it will save me a lot of work and will make me able to field a variety of terminators with the 10 models I actually have (well, I have a sorcerer and lord as well, but).

 

Yeah, two of mine are the sorcerer and lord as well but I just use em at Champions.

My buddy plays Dark Angels and kept talking about being a little to lazy to do it, took me a while to convince him but he has thanked me up and down for it the passed few times we have played. Really makes life easy.

[Iron Sage]

I am sold. Bought, whatever, lol. I am going to get myself magnets and now soon! I realise I have been a fool, not to do it earlier, as it will save me a lot of work and will make me able to field a variety of terminators with the 10 models I actually have (well, I have a sorcerer and lord as well, but).

 

Yeah, two of mine are the sorcerer and lord as well but I just use em at Champions.

My buddy plays Dark Angels and kept talking about being a little to lazy to do it, took me a while to convince him but he has thanked me up and down for it the passed few times we have played. Really makes life easy.

 

So, its easy, right? You just glue the magnets into the shoulder sockets etc., and it fits alright without you having to add much greenstuff etc., or?

[Smurfalypse]

Drill a small hole in the arm and body, dab of glue, insert magnet. I had one buddy just do nothing but the drilling, he had a little drill and sat around eating pizza and cheesecake drilling holes for the rest of us.

 

Pro tip. . . Make sure your magnets are all the same direction, I learned this one the hard way :P

[Iron Sage]

Drill a small hole in the arm and body, dab of glue, insert magnet. I had one buddy just do nothing but the drilling, he had a little drill and sat around eating pizza and cheesecake drilling holes for the rest of us.

 

Pro tip. . . Make sure your magnets are all the same direction, I learned this one the hard way :P

 

Hehe, had to grin when I read the part about the direction, heh

[Smurfalypse]

Drill a small hole in the arm and body, dab of glue, insert magnet. I had one buddy just do nothing but the drilling, he had a little drill and sat around eating pizza and cheesecake drilling holes for the rest of us.

 

Pro tip. . . Make sure your magnets are all the same direction, I learned this one the hard way :P

 

Hehe, had to grin when I read the part about the direction, heh

 

lol yeah, i had some facing the wrong way and had to dig them out (ruined two of the terms doing it), hence why i only have 20 with two lord models :P

[Jacinda]

So, its easy, right? You just glue the magnets into the shoulder sockets etc., and it fits alright without you having to add much greenstuff etc., or?

Pretty much. Google up "magnetize terminator arm tutorial" for a bunch of guides. Here's a quick one I saw.

http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2011/05/how...erminators.html

 

The biggest problem is watching how you match up the polarity of the magnets so ALL the left arms fit on ALL the left shoulders and vice versa. It would not hurt to use an old model like a template so any additional projects later will still match up with what you already have.

[Smurfalypse]

So, its easy, right? You just glue the magnets into the shoulder sockets etc., and it fits alright without you having to add much greenstuff etc., or?

Pretty much. Google up "magnetize terminator arm tutorial" for a bunch of guides. Here's a quick one I saw.

http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2011/05/how...erminators.html

 

The biggest problem is watching how you match up the polarity of the magnets so ALL the left arms fit on ALL the left shoulders and vice versa. It would not hurt to use an old model like a template so any additional projects later will still match up with what you already have.

 

This

[Urauloth]

w/r/t magnet directions - I assigned an arbitrary "positive" side to a stack of magnets, marked the top one with a markr pen, drilled a hole in my desk and embedded it with the plus sign facing up. It's been really helpful, whenever I need to mag something I can just test the stack I'm using against the one on my desk.

[Emperors Immortals]

w/r/t magnet directions - I assigned an arbitrary "positive" side to a stack of magnets, marked the top one with a markr pen, drilled a hole in my desk and embedded it with the plus sign facing up. It's been really helpful, whenever I need to mag something I can just test the stack I'm using against the one on my desk.

 

Clever, i just stack them up (they only go one way) and half the stack , now i have left-hand and right arm magnets :P

[Brother Ambroz]

Yeah polarity is the main problem with magnetizing. In addition termies are much easier to magnetize than power armor, with power armor there's alot less room to mess up on....

[Iron Sage]

Yeah polarity is the main problem with magnetizing. In addition termies are much easier to magnetize than power armor, with power armor there's alot less room to mess up on....

 

Yes, but its only really termies I care for. Possibly walkers and preds.

 

I mean, painting an extra marine is no big deal really and not that expensive. Buying extra termies is to get enough models with different weapons is much more stress, both model-wise and economically especially

[Cmdr Shepard]

I don't know how fast you paint but for me, 10 CHAOS terminator bodies in 1 week is a good size job. Sure, I can kick out 10 Deathwing terminators in a weekend but there is so much detail on the chaos TDA it gets to where you can spend forever just going back and picking something else out to make just a little bit better.

 

I was talking about building them for the release not painting them :). We usually play unpainted models at local store and I?m sure it's not uncommon around the world.

I don't like to rush painting because I prefer to have nice looking models ;)

 

 

 

Back on topic:

It's clear magnetizing the weapons is a very good idea and I'll do it.

However this brings us to the original question: what is it the best loadout for Chaos TDA?

After I magnitized them I have still to choose the weapons when I write the army list

 

Currently I think the mix of power weapons with a couple of claws and chainfists should be the best approach.

Right now I'm thinking about:

 

2 Chainfists

2 Lightning Claws

2 Power Axes

4 Power Maces

 

The maces are very useful against most xenos armies and better then power swords against TDA (they get their save anyway but the mace wounds them on 2+)

I can reduce the number of maces and add more axes but I thought striking at their initiative may be useful; it's something loyalist TDA can't do. ;)

What do you think?