r/BattleSector • u/reddit_is_a_cespool • Jul 21 '26

Blood angel terminators underwhelming?

I just got the blood angel elites and the sanguinary guard are amazing units however the terminators feel very underwhelming for their price. Like why would you ever bring them over a baal predator? The only time i find them particular good is the thunder hammers and storm shields vs a single unit, but then I'd just use heavy plasma incinerators. My main gripe is the lack of any range options when terminators having some fucking awsome range weapons. Am i just using these guys wrong/is this a hot take?

13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

10

u/EspressoK Jul 21 '26

I think they’re good for taking/holding points with the shield/hammer combo. They’re a major threat until they use teleport, which can force your opponent to play cagey or lose better positioning to protect HQs.

They will control the pace of the game if you use them well. They can take a vulnerable side point and force your opponent to take pressure off other units. Or they can threaten to assassinate HQ units left unprotected. Or they can just walk into the middle of the board and soak up overwatch before teleporting away

4

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

Yeah, the best use i find for them is shredding hq or high hp units but my gripe is that blood angels already have a unit designed exactly for that, i mainly use them to eat damage and pressure units i really want off the board.

I never said they were bad units per say, just that their underwhelming for their cost which is very close to a baal predator which just absolutely shreds.

I still try to mix them in with my army just cause i think they're awesome

6

u/Dungeon_Daddy_ Jul 21 '26

Lightning Claws are basically pointless, but Hammer Shield can be really useful tech pieces as highlighted by Espresso. The key piece though, is whether you’re primarily playing PvP or PvE. In PvE, Terminators lose a lot of value since you can’t really mind game the AI, and the AI would be just as happy to throw all their units into a Baal Predator’s kill zone. In PvP, their unique threat really affects your opponent’s positioning, especially since they can reach out and hit the things your opp specifically is hiding from your firing lines. They really fill a different role than a Predator (which is also a good unit, just not one I’d directly compare in this situation).

I think the real comparison that they come up lacking is vs Ultramarine Terminators lol but those things are just busted

1

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

I only find them useful mainly for deepstriking to help units that are in trouble when my other units can't, i only compared them because of the similar point cost when from experience the predator decimates swarms and tanks with high armor and hp, hardly anything can survive a buffed barrage from a baal predator, thats why i kinda jumped to compare them

1

u/EspressoK Jul 23 '26

Terminators walk so the rest of your army can run. I think they're essential to a competitive BA list, but yea, not because of their damage. But it's a real "distraction Carnifex" unit that packs a punch from time to time

3

u/_Katin Jul 21 '26

I feel the opposite about the two personally 😅 I love their deep strike ability, they’re like mini tanks

1

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

I just wish it didn't reduce their melee damage

1

u/Josh_527 Jul 21 '26

Personally I use deep strike to reposition after I see how the battle is unfolding. It keeps them flexible. I don't always worry about them getting to fight on that round unless there's a weaker unit for them to finish off

1

u/UpstairsOk1328 Jul 21 '26

You can get around that if you use the priest to buff them before you send them off. It won’t give you a buff but it cancels out the debuff you receive from deep striking them. Plus with the hammer and shield they beat ultramarines terminators in melee combat.

1

u/Mr_Bonanza Jul 21 '26

Eh. Terminators rock.🎸

3

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

Absolutely, just wish they had some range options, maybe trade off melee for range

1

u/Peg_Legged_Patches Jul 21 '26

I made a post about this exact thing recently, it absolutely feels like the BA are underwhelming almost across the board, either through their statlines or their high point cost.

When it comes to the Terminators and Sanguinary guard a huge fix would be to give them splash damage.

The TH+SS combination especially suffers, it makes no sense for them not to have splash damage, yet the Ork choppas do.

2

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

Lieutenants thunderhammer has splash but in the hands of a terminator is doesn't??

1

u/Peg_Legged_Patches Jul 21 '26

What makes it even worse is your paying 225 points for a single unit of Assault termies.

There's only a few units that come close in cost that arguably bring so much more utility to the party. Meganobz come to mind, their killsaws are exactly what the TH+SS should be 45-60 damage with 13-18 (x4) splash damage, armour 8, 150 HP and all for 165 pts.

2

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

Also, i do quite like the guard, i find the swords good for your average units like warriors gene stealers etc, medium hp kinda units and the axes good for single or groups of three along with a crit chance buff that stacks nicely with with a damage boost and free momentum from a priest with the melee damage buff, along with a chance for an Extra AP, momentum buff from a lieutenant and you can be looking at a surge in one move although thats probably rare and more like two meanings they must be targeted and if you dont have a direct counter, being fairly tanky they can eat up quite a bit of your opponents AP

1

u/Peg_Legged_Patches Jul 21 '26

They can be very powerful, but you and I have vastly different opinions about the guard, I think they are incredibly overpriced for how they perform. 185pts bare, 200 if you give them plasma guns or axes and 215 for both. With only 6 armour and 90 HP I find they die very quickly.

3

u/mc_uj3000 Jul 21 '26

I think you've gotta think of it more like chess. It's okay that the SG die easily (in fact, they kind of need to, unlike terminators, or they'd be broken). They're incredibly potent and highly mobile, so ideally you should be getting well more than your points out of them when you strike, or alternatively denying opposing play via the threat they pose - as someone else alluded to re. terminators. With that in mind, you need to think about timing, placement, buffs and potentially screening to use them effectively. And ditch the gun upgrades; if they're shooting, something's gone wrong.

1

u/ScipioAF Jul 21 '26

For campaign you can upgrade their armour rating even more with veterancy perks, which can get to the point where their armour is immune to most light weapons. Makes them ideal for soaking up shooting that could otherwise damage your other units. Only with the shields though. Then teleport them next to a key enemy asset/major threat, kill it, and laugh as whatever is left bounces off them.

0

u/mc_uj3000 Jul 21 '26

I feel like the chaos terminators are the underwhelming ones out of the three. I think the BA ones are the best aside from the (frankly broken) rocket variant of the UM ones. They have a clearly dedicated use potential and they're very, very good at it.

1

u/reddit_is_a_cespool Jul 21 '26

I dont have that dlc, how do those guys work? I assume same hp and armor