Terminator Weapon combat weapon loadouts

[Rune Priest Ridcully]

So with the changes to the various combat weapons, what are people's thoughts on equipping terminators?

I'm thinking with plus one strength swords may be the way to, as they are cheaper then power fists whilst also not losing death to the false emperor and being cheapness, plus quite fluffy for Emperor's children.
Not sure in much point in lightning claws as they just don't seem to do much when compared to the new improved weapons. Powerfists likewise I am not sure on due to cost and the minus one to hit, 2 damage is nice but not that helpful against the likes of knights, heroes or big tanks/walkers at first glance.

[Marshal Loss]

Swords have indeed received a nice boost, which is great, but being able to inflict 2 wounds a hit is so important now - even more critical than it has been over the last 3 years. Equip your Terminators with swords and in the event they clash with an equivalent unit (as unlikely as that often is) they're going to struggle to make any kind of impact.

 

We don't have the stats for mauls yet anyway, do we? So the picture is not yet complete (& that's not even factoring in points costs, etc). So much of this comes down to price, to the extent that I don't actually think it's much use speculating yet. Chain axes are the most popular choice now not because they are the best weapon but because they provide the best bang for your buck.

[Sonoftherubric21]

I think Powerfists are going to find their way into lots of squads, given the multi-wound swings are now not a gamble for them, I quite like it. 

 

at 3 wounds with good shooting and D2 melee attacks? They may see a great deal of table time in many lists. 

[Emicus]

Marines are the meta, D2 is key, powerfists alllll the way!

[Brom MKIV]

Chainaxes and 1-3 power fists depending on squad size for me. Unless mauls come out with d2..

[battle captain corpus]

I always go for a mix up of power fists, chain fists, power axes and swords. Then I can deal with anything that comes my way!

 

BCC

[Sception]

In my old age I've gotten too lazy to magnetize anything.  The squad of 10 I built when the current kit was released is armed with chain axes, apart from two powerfists and a lightning claw on the champion.  Looking over the new rules, the only bit of that I kind of regret, at least in terms of their melee weapons, is the lightning claw.  Even then, probably not enough to change the bit out.

[Karhedron]

Previously I would have said power swords to keep the squad cheap would be a great option. However now that most Marines are 2W, I think the extra points on a PF are looking more worthwhile, even with the +1S that Power Swords are getting.

 

Against Marines, a Termie with a fist will have double the killing power of a sword. Hitting on a 4+ is balanced by wounding on a 2+.

[Snazzy]

I'm tempted at the prospect of both Power Swords and Power Axes at first glance.  Points will determine everything.  If getting a 3rd wound prices Terminators too high, i will have to rethink my Combi-Plasmas, anyway.  I hate saying wait, but i think the changes we already know of are enough to give us serious reconsiderations.

[Relic]

Chainaxe and combi bolter all the way. I don't want my terminators to be any more expensive then they already are. If you don't have a way to deliver them into combat from deep strike going anymore expensive seems like a gamble. An expensive gamble at that.

[Cheex]

Given the changes to power swords and axes, and the change to the accursed crozius in the last codex, I suspect power mauls will go up to 2D.

 

If that's the case, I could see those becoming the newest "thing" for Chaos Terminators, though it ultimately depends on costing.

[Gothical]

I still quite like the single Lightning Claw and Combi-Bolter. It is cheap and that re-roll to Wound makes the Claw surprisingly good even with the improvement to the sword/axe we have seen. (this thread contains the original post that made me change my mind about the usefulness of the Claws: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/366166-best-melee-weapons-for-astartes/) Although it may depend on what the Maul does (s+3 AP-1 is my guess given past trends between swords/axes/mauls).

 

Definitely need to sprinkle in some Power Fists or Chainfists for anti-vehicle and anti-Primaris work. 

 

I just wish we had some better heavy weapons to go with them! The Heavy Flamer is alright but something with decent punch would be welcome.

[MasterDeath]

On a Squad of 5, my tendency would be 2 with Combibolter + Chainaxe (the pawns), Champion with dual Claws (last to survive if melee is on the menu), one with Combi-Plasma/Melter (not sure, need to see new weapon stats) and P-fist, and the heavy with Heavy Flamer (12"!) and P-fist. Can fight any target, can wipe out some infantery on the deepstrike and if only the Champion survives, thats still 4 Claw attacks (+1 for charge).

[Captain Incompetence]

Do you guys think kitting out terminators with expensive melee weapons is worthwhile? I've rarely seen them get into melee in the past as that 9" charge is unreliable on the best of days and they do tend to draw quite a bit of attention to themselves once deployed.

Right now I'd probably place my bet on powerfists seeing a huge resurgence due to that flat 2 damage. I'm quite looking forward to it, as Night Lords can usually get around that -1 to hit with the Prey On The Weak stratagem. I don't quite get why you'd pick lightning claws on terminators though. Rerolling wound rolls is nice, but I don't believe they're worth the 4 extra points they cost in comparison to chainaxes. If you're giving them double lighting claws, aren't you just better off picking up some warp talons instead?

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Do you guys think kitting out terminators with expensive melee weapons is worthwhile? I've rarely seen them get into melee in the past as that 9" charge is unreliable on the best of days and they do tend to draw quite a bit of attention to themselves once deployed.

 

Right now I'd probably place my bet on powerfists seeing a huge resurgence due to that flat 2 damage. I'm quite looking forward to it, as Night Lords can usually get around that -1 to hit with the Prey On The Weak stratagem. I don't quite get why you'd pick lightning claws on terminators though. Rerolling wound rolls is nice, but I don't believe they're worth the 4 extra points they cost in comparison to chainaxes. If you're giving them double lighting claws, aren't you just better off picking up some warp talons instead?

 

If you're looking to maximize the use of Lightning Claws, I would definitely leans towards Warp Talons - especially with Night Lords (I actually have some I'm looking to paint up). Personally, that feels fluffy and lore friendly, and fits the targets I would throw Warp Talons at - gun lines and light infantry (ideally). The inability to target them with Overwatch is also good for this (even if less useful in 9th than it was in 8th). It may also just be partly down to my personal distaste for lightning claws. They seem impractical to me for anything other than clawing through meat.

 

For Terminators, having just ordered some bits to build 5 with powerfists, I think the extra damage and higher strength makes them better for Terminator units. This might not be everyone's style, but I'd prefer Terminators to have a bit more bite so I can use their higher wounds and better armour save to throw them into beefy targets or vehicles after teleportation. Alternatively the power fists and greater resiliency make them harder to dislodge from an objective and discourage a charge from more melee focused armies. I can't wait to see how they function with 3 wounds and the IW stratagem to gain a FNP after armour saves.

[Marshal Loss]

Do you guys think kitting out terminators with expensive melee weapons is worthwhile? I've rarely seen them get into melee in the past as that 9" charge is unreliable on the best of days and they do tend to draw quite a bit of attention to themselves once deployed.

If you have a means of dramatically increasing their chances of making the 9" charge (e.g. EC's Honour the Prince) then a melee heavy build can work. The problem is that an astute opponent with the right tools is going to make it very difficult for you to deep strike a Terminator unit 9" away from the kind of target they want to be using their expensive melee weapons on - and that's assuming you are able to reliably make a 9" charge in the first place, something most Legions are unable to do. Some armies are going to be far better at denying us those opportunities than others. While a Terminator unit kitted out for shooting is going to be a constant irritation until it is destroyed, a Terminator unit intended for melee can easily be kited and will be all but useless if it fails that initial charge.

[Verbal Underbelly]

That's a really good point @Marshall Loss. Shooting let's you reach out whereas in your average battle you might only get one charge off. I'm wondering with the change in table size it's worth having them on the map from the beginning and having them charge in on a united front of other assorted combat units instead.

[Gothical]

With the way the 9th Edition missions are shaping up I figure that long-ranged firepower will be my go-to for most hard targets, so I see a Terminator unit as more of a tough bully unit going toe-to-toe with the opponent's objective holders (and as an Iron Warrior it's fun to imagine them wading through the trenches carving up the weak).

 

To this end I figure that I might run something along the lines of Champion & 2 Terminators with Power Fists, and then 4-ish Terminators with Combi-Bolters and Lightning Claws. For the Champ and Fist guys I am undecided betweer a Combi-Plasma or Combi-Melta (the Plasma is better against MEQ opponents but I would never want to overcharge on a 3W expensive model). The Power Fists keep stuff like Dreadnoughts honest and help the unit flatten other MEQ, whilst the Claws are effective against pretty much everything else and still retain a bit of an anti-vehicle role thanks to that re-roll to wound and -2 AP.

 

I might give the Champion a Chainfist instead of the Power Fist, mostly for looks, but he can off-set the swingy nature of the Damage stat with his additional attack and therefore still punch like a regular Power Fist guy against newMEQ but give me a little more oomph against vehicles.

[BrainFireBob]

With Abaddon, BL has full to-hit rerolls

 

World Eaters have Red Butchers

 

Emperor's Children have ASF.

 

So CC termies can have a place

[BrainFireBob]

With Abaddon, BL has full to-hit rerolls

 

World Eaters have Red Butchers

 

Emperor's Children have ASF.

 

So CC termies can have a place

[Abaddon303]

It's disappointing that chainfists now seem to be less effective than powerfists. I feel like they should be a clear upgrade, how can adding a chainsword make the damage less reliable??

 

I think the issue with kiting slow melee units is mitigated to some extent in this new edition as so much is about taking objectives. Your opponent can't just move away from your melee threat unless they want you to just walk onto an objective. It's why blightlord terminators are so good at the moment you just point them at an objective and they'll get there eventually, even footslogging them from the first turn.

 

I've actually had a bit of success with using mutilators recently. They're cheap and will ruin stuff when they charge, even slightly above average rolls will wipe a 5 man intercessor squad. Drop them 9" from an objective and even if you don't make the charge the threat of them means your opponent has to chew through 9 2+ 5++ wounds or they will get an almost guaranteed charge next turn. Even with a failed charge that's quite a lot of pressure to put on your opponents backline objectives for 105pts...

[Brom MKIV]

Weird I was just discussing muti's. If we take them, add 2" move and set their d3 rolls to 1,3,2 we almost have bladeguard. Consider the 4++ a trade for deep strike.

 

Makes me think they could be decent if their move wasn't so abysmal or their damage stat so random.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Brom MKIV

[BrainFireBob]

Wish LRs were cheaper- muties+ a buffing character are 10 models

[Xenith]

Since we know that mauls now definitely arent D2 (potentially the only way to redeem them), what are you favouring for the future? 

 

I feel that sword is definitely superior vs MEQ, while axe wins out on anything T3, where you'll be wounding on a 2+ and likely ignoring their saves. 

 

With Storm Shields now being +1 save, there's going to be a bunch of vanguard with 2+/4++ and Terminators with 1+/4++ to deal with. 

 

[TrawlingCleaner]

We've also yet to see what Chainaxes do, we know that chainswords give -1ap hopefully axes get a difference like they (currently) do