Anyone using Terminators? If so how, and how are they doing?

[Helias_Tancred]

Subject line says it all.

 

I'm not a tourney player. More casual. I'm curious how Blood Angel terminators are doing so far in 9th? Right now I'm up to 2 TH+SS squads, 1 dual LC squad, and 3 regular terminator squads (2 with assault cannons, and 1 with heavy flamer).

 

I've also got a Land Raider and a Land Raider Crusader for my Blood Angels. Terminator characters include Karlaen, Librarian, and Chaplain. 

 

Thanks.

 

 

[BloodyB]

Terminator squads aren't amazing, but they definitely have roles to play. For me, I use relic termies with LC/bolters and use them to sweep objectives from deepstrike. I have had some use utterly eradicating enemy deathstars, few and far between they may be, with THSS terminators. Regular terminators can be excellent sources of fire power to shore up a weakened flank or to press an attack from an unexpected angle.

 

I see terminators as a rapid deployment asset, to reinforce wherever you need them at the moment you need them most. After deployment, they are slow, but the shooty termies have a good threat range and are kind of scary to charge, as well as being tough. Seizing an objective with some assault cannon armed termies can, especially if in good cover, leave the opponent scrabbling forms meaningful response.

 

From this, my personal recommendation is the shooter termie varieties held in reserve to sweep objectives, with assault termies with THSS to shatter enemy strong points. BA have plenty of ways to improve our charging, so be sure to use them to help out there. Be aggressive with the deepstrikes you choose, and try to leave the shooty boys something to charge, so they can push up faster, and give fire support to the assault termies to soften up heavy resistance.

 

While the termies wreck things, bring up your fast moving elements. Land speeders with multimeltas and assault squads are my personal preference, one wrecks tanks, the other can layout cheap hordes.

 

A whirlwind with the Suppressive Fire strat, reivers with their shock grenades, or even just suppressors can all help these guys have their way with the backfield units they meet. Thunderfire cannons are criminally underated, the power they put out can cripple hordes, while their strategem can halve the movement, and block advances, on fast moving units. If you smash apart a unit of havoc's with your termies, this helps stop the raptors on the flank popping round to have a chat about your terminator's sudden arrival. Any of these units can help your terminators shine in the field, and most of them are pretty decent by themselves.

 

Keep any support characters in termie armour where possible, they will be in the thickest fighting if you follow this advice. Any character can help, but Librarians are slightly more situational, though if facing a lot of psykers, null zone is handy. Chaplains are my own choice, as you can tailor what buffs you get between games. Consider a combimelta on him for some emergency anti-tank. Karlaen isn't bad, the captain buffs are always handy, his weapon loading is flexible enough too, so you can throw him anywhere and get good use from him. My own captain has a relic blade and stormbolter, it helps to carve through two wound objective holders easier, but the thunder hammer is going to be better against DG and gravis marines. A sanguinary priest with a jump pack might be a good investment, but I haven't used one in a while.

 

Fury of the First is an excellent strat to pop if your guys all arrive at the same time, bringing a heaping helping of added power to that first crucial moment as your opponent realises his mid and backfield are under attack by very potent forces. When playing this aggressively, you'll have to keep the pressure on, and this helps.

 

Avoid hordes with most termies, though LC/bolter guys can make a good try of them, as they will simply absorb the casualties you can reliably dish out. Avoid tanks too, as even fists and hammers won't always see you through, though this is a bit more negotiable than the hordes thing.

 

Lastly, I would avoid the Land Raiders, they are alright, but both termies and raiders are expensive,and while putting them in an LR makes them fast, you shouldn't need to worry so much about movement for a couple of turns with an aggressive deepstrike.

 

Edit: I hate autocorrect.

Edited April 26, 2021 by BloodyB

[Matarno - Lord of Skyfall]

Contrary to popular belief, terminators are amazing. Primaris players don't want to believe any Firstborn can hang, but terminators are a premiere unit for Blood Angels. My army and strategy revolves around a unit of 9 terminators with TH&SS. I always run a Librarian in terminator armor with them, using Veil of Time and Might of Heroes. Getting those two buffs makes the unit a super tanky brawler unit. I use this unit to achieve the Oaths of Moment secondary, asking the enemy to come and challenge them in the midboard. I have yet to run into anything in the game that can remove them. A fun example most recently being Allarus terminators only killing two terminators with double shooting and charging, at which point my terminators obliterated them.

 

I wouldn't worry about running your terminators around in a Land Raider. That becomes too many eggs in one basket, and the number one target for your opponent. I deploy my terminators on the line of my DZ, in cover if I can, and can usually get them into the center of the table for Oaths in turn one with a move + advance. With Veil of Time, all combat terminators become super fast around the board. If you want your friends to really hate you, keep a Chief Apothecary in with the squad. That will basically guarantee that your opponent can't wipe out the squad.

 

As mentioned above, Fury of the First becomes a clutch strat. Getting TH terminators hitting on 3s, with their volume of attacks, becomes oppressive to anything that dares challenge them. I personally wouldn't recommend any kind of shooting terminators, unless your local meta or friend group runs armies that aren't marine or necron based. Storm bolters will do basically nothing against Death Guard, Necrons and all flavors of Marines. And without the storm shields, shooting terminators are extremely vulnerable to high rates of fire with low AP.

[Mordas]

I must say, over the weekend I played against DG, their bolters and storm bolter/combi bolters really didn't do any damage. AP 0 just isn't that great at the moment.

 

Our natural +1 to the charge makes things interesting for terminators, but yeah agree that your points are better spent elsewhere when it comes to the Land Raider.

[The Unseen]

Contrary to popular belief, terminators are amazing. Primaris players don't want to believe any Firstborn can hang, but terminators are a premiere unit for Blood Angels. My army and strategy revolves around a unit of 9 terminators with TH&SS. I always run a Librarian in terminator armor with them, using Veil of Time and Might of Heroes. Getting those two buffs makes the unit a super tanky brawler unit. I use this unit to achieve the Oaths of Moment secondary, asking the enemy to come and challenge them in the midboard. I have yet to run into anything in the game that can remove them. A fun example most recently being Allarus terminators only killing two terminators with double shooting and charging, at which point my terminators obliterated them.

 

I wouldn't worry about running your terminators around in a Land Raider. That becomes too many eggs in one basket, and the number one target for your opponent. I deploy my terminators on the line of my DZ, in cover if I can, and can usually get them into the center of the table for Oaths in turn one with a move + advance. With Veil of Time, all combat terminators become super fast around the board. If you want your friends to really hate you, keep a Chief Apothecary in with the squad. That will basically guarantee that your opponent can't wipe out the squad.

 

As mentioned above, Fury of the First becomes a clutch strat. Getting TH terminators hitting on 3s, with their volume of attacks, becomes oppressive to anything that dares challenge them. I personally wouldn't recommend any kind of shooting terminators, unless your local meta or friend group runs armies that aren't marine or necron based. Storm bolters will do basically nothing against Death Guard, Necrons and all flavors of Marines. And without the storm shields, shooting terminators are extremely vulnerable to high rates of fire with low AP.

You do realize might of heroes only effects a single model right?

[XeonDragon]

I've found terminators very competitive. TBH, I am constantly weighing up the merits of terminators vs aggressors vs BGV, which I have discussed at length in other posts. I think they are very flexible. They are more durable than Aggressors, with only slightly less shooting and melee output. Whilst slightly less durable than BGV, they have much better shooting output, better melee output and can be more flexible in terms of both delivery (they have native deepstrike) and ability to take heavy weapons to contribute to AT duties. Downside is they can't natively advance and shoot. Agree they are best used to reinforce a flank or teleport in and lock down an objective. I really like normal terminators with a cyclone missile launcher, and relic terminators with LCs. 

 

Edited to correct glaring errors due to sleep ad-induced-deprivation :(

Edited April 27, 2021 by XeonDragon

[Tokugawa]

9th assault terminators are good, and no reason for terminators in a melee enhanced chapter with charge modifications being not good.

[Xenith]

I've only used termies in a pure 1st company style force, and had great fun doing it. Bat Rep here.

 

I crammed 21 TDA bodies into 1k points. Small table so starting the THSS on the board was viable, but I'd consider deep striking them if on a larger table. 

 

Termies are hard to remove, THSS even more so. I'm a fan of the shooty terms, Fury of the First is a great strat to keep spamming. I went with the Chaplain with mantra of focus to give a +1 to hit bubble, I'd definitely try that again - 40 bolter shots hitting on 2's is decent. 

 

LC's also have damage output, with each model getting 6A in the first round from T3 onwards. 

 

Only thing is the BA trait is wasted on stuff that wounds on a 2+ or re-rolls. I'd go with maybe whirlwind of rage or duellists, then hungry for battle to ensure charges. 

 

The next things I'd add to the army would be a libby for veil of time and a Chief Apoc to bring termies back. I'll model that guy in TDA then equip with Artificer armour for the same in-game effect. 

[BloodyB]

I've found terminators very competitive. TBH, I am constantly weighing up the merits of terminators vs aggressors vs BGV, which I have discussed at length in other posts. I think they are very flexible. They are more durable than BGV, with better shooting output and slightly better melee output, but less output than Aggressors. They have native deepstrike. Downside is they can't natively advance and shoot. Agree they are best used to reinforce a flank or teleport in and lock down an objective. I really like normal terminators with a cyclone missile launcher, and relic terminators with LCs.

 

Got to agree on the CML, being able to put out 2 Dd6 shots is a big help, of course, it helps against hordes too, but BA has no shortage of anti-infantry fire it feels superfluous sometimes. The BGV are, for me, a Primaris answer to the Company Veterans, and do well in that role.

 

Relic termies with the autocannon are surprisingly capable of tackling dreadnought-level targets if they have a chainfist or two. Add the Sgt. plasma weapon as well for more high strength shot and it works rather well.

 

Does anyone have a preferred Warlord Trait for the guy leading the termies? I've actually spent CP to give my Chaplain Rites of War, while my captain had Storm of Fire. On a squad with bolters and assault cannon, it really helped thin out the crowds. Rites was actually really useful too, as there was an Obliterator letter the end of that turn in combat with them.

 

Edit: I still hate autocorrect.

Edited April 27, 2021 by BloodyB

[DistractionTacMarine]

I have used regular shooting terminators and assault terminators in several games, and overall I think they perform well.

 

Shooting terminators coming out of deepstrike in T2 when Tactical Doctrine is active are a dangerous shooting threat, especially if you decide to pop Fury of the First. They can shred a backfield screening/objective holding unit, especially if you also give them a heavy flamer or cyclone missile launcher. I will say, I don’t rate the assault cannon - it’s got decent strength, but the hit penalty means that I prefer the flexibility of the missile launcher or the auto-hit of the heavy flamer (especially if I think I might be charged).

 

Assault terminators are just an incredibly tough and high-damage unit. So far I have not had any opponent who was able to wipe them off the board. I typically start them on the board and advance into the midfield T1 and then see where to go from there. I always pay for the teleport homer.

 

The only problem with the terminators is that they have a hard time getting around the table. 5” move and no option to advance and charge means that you can struggle to make any headway with them at all, and if they don’t get into combat, that’s 300 points of wasted space in your army.

 

In my next game I am experimenting with Bladeguard instead of Terminators. My gut says I’ll prefer the terminators at the end of the day but I’m interested to see how Bladeguard stack up.

[Matarno - Lord of Skyfall]

 

Contrary to popular belief, terminators are amazing. Primaris players don't want to believe any Firstborn can hang, but terminators are a premiere unit for Blood Angels. My army and strategy revolves around a unit of 9 terminators with TH&SS. I always run a Librarian in terminator armor with them, using Veil of Time and Might of Heroes. Getting those two buffs makes the unit a super tanky brawler unit. I use this unit to achieve the Oaths of Moment secondary, asking the enemy to come and challenge them in the midboard. I have yet to run into anything in the game that can remove them. A fun example most recently being Allarus terminators only killing two terminators with double shooting and charging, at which point my terminators obliterated them.

 

I wouldn't worry about running your terminators around in a Land Raider. That becomes too many eggs in one basket, and the number one target for your opponent. I deploy my terminators on the line of my DZ, in cover if I can, and can usually get them into the center of the table for Oaths in turn one with a move + advance. With Veil of Time, all combat terminators become super fast around the board. If you want your friends to really hate you, keep a Chief Apothecary in with the squad. That will basically guarantee that your opponent can't wipe out the squad.

 

As mentioned above, Fury of the First becomes a clutch strat. Getting TH terminators hitting on 3s, with their volume of attacks, becomes oppressive to anything that dares challenge them. I personally wouldn't recommend any kind of shooting terminators, unless your local meta or friend group runs armies that aren't marine or necron based. Storm bolters will do basically nothing against Death Guard, Necrons and all flavors of Marines. And without the storm shields, shooting terminators are extremely vulnerable to high rates of fire with low AP.

You do realize might of heroes only effects a single model right?

 

 

I do! I throw it on them, and then as attacks come in to the unit I allocate appropriately. Usually just putting it on my sergeant to make him a the most survivable and the most killy.

[XeonDragon]

 

I've found terminators very competitive. TBH, I am constantly weighing up the merits of terminators vs aggressors vs BGV, which I have discussed at length in other posts. I think they are very flexible. They are more durable than BGV, with better shooting output and slightly better melee output, but less output than Aggressors. They have native deepstrike. Downside is they can't natively advance and shoot. Agree they are best used to reinforce a flank or teleport in and lock down an objective. I really like normal terminators with a cyclone missile launcher, and relic terminators with LCs.

Got to agree on the CML, being able to put out 2 Dd6 shots is a big help, of course, it helps against hordes too, but BA has no shortage of anti-infantry fire it feels superfluous sometimes. The BGV are, for me, a Primaris answer to the Company Veterans, and do well in that role.

 

Relic termies with the autocannon are surprisingly capable of tackling dreadnought-level targets if they have a chainfist or two. Add the Sgt. plasma weapon as well for more high strength shot and it works rather well.

 

Does anyone have a preferred Warlord Trait for the guy leading the termies? I've actually spent CP to give my Chaplain Rites of War, while my captain had Storm of Fire. On a squad with bolters and assault cannon, it really helped thin out the crowds. Rites was actually really useful too, as there was an Obliterator letter the end of that turn in combat with them.

 

Edit: I still hate autocorrect.

CML is so damn flexible, 2d6 bolter equivalent shots, or 2 krak missiles for pitching on on what your eradicators or plasma inceptors/hellblasters couldn't take down. In terms of warlord traits, I've found chaplains with MOS the best. Getting +1 to hit with ranged weapons, or re-rolling hits in melee, or a bonus to charge +3" to consolidation AND pile-in can really help make them more mobile :) I usually run a chaplain with jump pack, so they can start on the board and zoom up to assist the terminators if they come in from deepstrike, but I can see merit in a chaplain in terminator armour or a primaris chaplain on a bike. I like putting relic armour on to give a 5+ FNP on a jump chaplain. It means your warlord has a 2+, 4++ and a 5+++, which is a great combo with your terminators.

 

That said, recently I've been having great fun with a Chief Apothecary as warlord. Same deal, give funky armour, watch it keep that terminator squad alive all game long. Issue there is mobility. When I play my Angels Eradicant as RG successors, I give Master of Ambush + selfless healer as traits, and just move them where needed. For BA, I've tried storm of fire and rites of war, with rites of war being more effective. Terminators as obsec are insane! But you'd still need a way to get where you want with the apothecary fast (unless you use the bike one from legends). For me, I used a Rhino in one game (which can be used to block LOS, so they are not entirely useless), or just advance with an escort of intercessors or incursors and hope you get to where the terminators are/will be in time :)

Edited April 28, 2021 by Jolemai
Swear filter dodge

[Rhavien]

My current 2k list sports three squads. One regular with cyclone, one assault with TH/SS and one assault with LCs. While outshined by deathwing terminators in the resilience department we are more lethal and our +1 charge/advance helps to get them where they are needed.

[Karhedron]

TH/SS Terminators are a very durable unit having a 1+/4++ save (0++ if you get them in cover). They have 3 Wounds meaning even overcharged plasma will require 2 shots at minimum to kill.

 

Using their Teleport ability to drop them on an Objective will present your opponent with a very difficult nut to crack and is a good way of forcing your opponent's hand. Adding something like an Apothecary makes them even more durable although it runs the risk of diminishing returns as your opponent may simply decide to ignore them and focus on the rest of your army. Still, any tactic that forces your opponent to make a decision increases the chance they will make a mistake.

[Xenith]

Agree on that - THSS Termies are a great unit to stick in the middle of the table and get Oath of Moment with, but again you run the risk of your opponent just ignoring them - but you still get VP's. I guess you could combine a big THSS unit with While We Stand, We Fight, then stick them in the middle, they score all game, and score more if your opponent ignores them. Stoic + Warded would be fun traits to take with mass THSS Terms.