Terminators have been cracking xenos skulls for nearly 35 years. The new edition has put a mighty spring in their step, and now we’ve got the whole squad assembled, it’s time to find out how they actually perform under battlefield conditions.
In case you missed it, unit datasheets have had a major transformation. All armies will be getting a pack of datasheet cards* to revamp their units when the new edition launches, and it’s time to look at another of these datasheets: the Terminator Squad.
Yep. There’s a lot to unpack.
Characteristics
One of the core design goals of the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is to make notably tough units tougher, and allow them to withstand punishment befitting their reputation. Terminators, for instance, retain their iconic 2+ Save but get an increased Toughness of 5 and a 4+ Invulnerable Save right out of the gate, boosting their resistance to massed low-strength weapons and armour-piercing cannons alike.
Their Leadership score of 6+ is also excellent in the new edition – on par with most Characters – though with an Objective Control score of just 1, they’ll need some help from Intercessors to hold down the fort.
These vaunted 1st Company veterans are a tough nut to crack and, as we’re about to see, they will be dishing out the hurt to match.
Weapons
Storm bolters and power fists go together like cheese and wine. The former has a new-look Rapid Fire weapon ability that gives you extra shots within half range – so with Rapid Fire 2 on top of the weapons base Attacks value of 2, they can still fire four times within 12”.
Power fists are a little more spicy. They’re less unwieldy now, hitting on 3+, while chainfists shred armour with the new Anti-Vehicle 3+ ability.
Anti abilities – covering many different keywords like Infantry, Monster, and Vehicle – produce a Critical Wound** on any wound roll that matches or beats the specified score, regardless of the target’s Toughness. This makes for specialised weapons that excel in their field, but don’t stay equally deadly against other target types.
Several other Terminator weapons have their own abilities, like Devastating Wounds on the assault cannon, and we’ll be covering these at a later date.
Abilities
Almost every datasheet in the game has its own special ability – many of which used to be Stratagems. Teleport Homer makes use of the new Rapid Ingress core stratagem to Deep Strike*** in your opponent’s turn.
Fury of the First, meanwhile, makes Terminators especially effective at destroying the target of the Oath of Moment – the Space Marine faction ability. We’ll find out what this does later this week, when we take our first look at faction rules.
There’s much more to come from the new edition in the coming weeks on Warhammer Community, so sign up for our newsletter to be first in line for new reveals and head back to the hub page to find out what else we’ve shown off so far.
* As both a free download and a pack of physical cards.
** A guaranteed success, normally achieved by rolling an unmodified six.
*** It’s back!
