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LOL my thunder hammers clocked up a tally of 4 rhinos and 3 squads of marines with PF sargants out of a battle company. The power fists took 3 rhinos and 1 squad down before dying to numbers. Both had about the same number of models and layout of units assaulting them.

Apoc game FTW. Also, Deathwing get TH+LC upgrades for free....so THERE. Not expensive, not worth worry.

SOFDC wrote:Giving an automatic shaken result to that plasmagun filled chimera, so even if you don't break the transport they can either skip shooting or disembark and get mulched? Also a big deal.
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For most purposes though, yeah. I would pay the extra (generally) 5 points to upgrade from a powerfist to a thunderhammer or chainfist. The latter options always offer advantages worth a lot more than 5 points.

Firstly for Salamanders its 5ps to MC a weapon = WIN

Second : please someone elaborate about shaking the vehicle and the dudes inside not being able to shoot/move? I thought the dudes inside could get out and still shoot if shaken - its just the vehicle that suffers the 'cannot shoot' next turn effect?

Depends on you're MEQ army. SM tend to be good with TH/SS fro a more hardened assault unit, SW are a toss up for what you want to do, and mix and match. Really, though, it depends on personal taste.

Phototoxin wrote:

SOFDC wrote:Giving an automatic shaken result to that plasmagun filled chimera, so even if you don't break the transport they can either skip shooting or disembark and get mulched? Also a big deal.
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For most purposes though, yeah. I would pay the extra (generally) 5 points to upgrade from a powerfist to a thunderhammer or chainfist. The latter options always offer advantages worth a lot more than 5 points.

Firstly for Salamanders its 5ps to MC a weapon = WIN

Second : please someone elaborate about shaking the vehicle and the dudes inside not being able to shoot/move? I thought the dudes inside could get out and still shoot if shaken - its just the vehicle that suffers the 'cannot shoot' next turn effect?

Yes but unless you're charging a LR, anything coming out of the transport will be squishier than assault termies and since assaulting non walker vehicles doesn't lock you in combat the termies are free to charge the transportees in their round.

Y'know, if you want to take down vehicles, chainfists are the things.

Second : please someone elaborate about shaking the vehicle and the dudes inside not being able to shoot/move? I thought the dudes inside could get out and still shoot if shaken - its just the vehicle that suffers the 'cannot shoot' next turn effect?

This is correct. The whole point is that the squad inside now has the choice of disembarking and shooting, and getting shot to pieces and/or charged next turn (They really better make that turn of shooting count, since most things are going to be squishier than marine units that get to take TH/Chainfists!) or they stay safe inside their metal box where they can't shoot me.

GeckoOBac wrote:A little derailing (but the thread kinda lacks content anyway...) But I have to agree with Melissia, it's kinda annoying, especially since int is normally used as abbreviation to intelligence in RPGs, which I am a player of.

That's probably where it's coming from. Int is used for Inteligence since D&D first edition.

We had a player that would say EPs instead of experience points. Not E-P, but EEPs as in jeeps without the j. We kicked him out of the group. Not for that. But that would have been reason enough in my book.


On the original post, Thunderhammers rock on terminators. I'll take a squad of Thunderhammer terminators (with a sprinkling of Lightning Claws) anytime.

I'd never put a thunderhammer or a power fist on my Chaplains or Marshals, though (despite how cool it looks). I like to keep my initiative 5, thanks (Black Templars).

Troll post?

Thunderhammers are power fists, except better. Better against vehicles, better against characters/monsters, and look way more awesome (the whole concept of a power fist is frankly slowed).

The fact that they cost you nothing on TH&SS terminators makes them even better.

Meh. Chainfists and powerfists look cool on the right models, though.

This is a non issue to my Salamanders. Thunder hammer's are just better.

Imagine the following:


Your TH/SS termi can replace the hammer for a p-fist for -3 Points.

I'd do it.

Your TH/ss termi can replace the hammer for a p-fist for -2 Points.

hm... I think I'd still do it

Your TH/ss termi can replace the hammer for a p-fist for -1 Points.

hm.. I still have to think about it. I think for -1 Point, I would not do it.



Against anything but Nidzilla, I doubt the hammer effect would be worth it.

And, seriously, if a single auto-shaken result impresses you, why in the first place do you send your Terminators against a tank??

kronk wrote:

On the original post, Thunderhammers rock on terminators. I'll take a squad of Thunderhammer terminators (with a sprinkling of Lightning Claws) anytime.

I'd never put a thunderhammer or a power fist on my Chaplains or Marshals, though (despite how cool it looks). I like to keep my initiative 5, thanks (Black Templars).

QFE as a fellow BT player. Rerolling hits on THs is awesome.

Movac wrote:
QFE as a fellow BT player. Rerolling hits on THs is awesome.

And your hits and wounds with lightning claws. Love those Black Templar assault marines...

And, seriously, if a single auto-shaken result impresses you, why in the first place do you send your Terminators against a tank??

Why? Well for example, lets assume that a pair of meltavet chimeras roll up to your land raider one day, while your ATs are inside talking about the economic situation in the helican sector, and having strawberry milk with sugar cookies minding their own business. Let's also assume that the lady average comes along, and six meltaguns under 6 inches go along with what probability says will happen and the land raider goes away. You are now within range of 6 meltaguns, a pair of multilasers and in my case a pair of heavy flamers. You have 5 bodies.

You're <censored> right i'm going to send my terminators at a tank. I'm going to send it at TWO tanks in fact, since they're right next to each other! Those two vehicles and their cargo either not shooting me, or them hopping out of the transport so the support units I am pulling in can slap them with a heavy flamer template, or rapid fire bolters at them and prevent my terminators going away entirely (on a bad dice day) or 2-3 popping off (on my average dice day)? Yeaaaa....I like thunderhammers. Even assuming that my support is out of range to immediately help (They mostly were, my bad.) or the dice gods decided they hated me AGAIN that day and the shooting from what was actually in range didn't pop the transport (I keep hearing autolas predators are great for taking out transport side armor....I think mine are defective..) then they go a long way to making the terminators last another turn.

The auto-shake and I reducing effect isn't great, by itself. What's great is it increases the survivability of an already pretty hard to wipe out unit, and helps turn a "less than optimal" situation around.

Okay, you get thunderhammers for free YOU TAKE THEM. They, in this case, are the same points as PF- but with benefits! If its your only choice, do it!

If I played BA, I would gladly pay the extra 5. If I were a space wolf, I would pay the extra 5. If I ran deathwing, I would pay the extra nothing. The only time I would not are situations where that 5 points is all I need to field some hideously awesome thing from <Insert codex here> and even then, I would try to keep as many as possible over powerfists.

I mean, honestly. We are talking about 200+ point units, and for the cost of upgrading one tactical sergeant to a powerfist you get to upgrade a 5 terminator squad from powerfists to THs. It's insurance, cheap insurance at that.

Thunder hammers are fun, useful and look good. Pairing it with a storm shield... yes, my friends hate my assault terminators.

Even on power armored guys, they can be good... and cheap to buy. Look at Lone Wolves, when thunder hammers come on space wolf sprues!

SOFDC wrote:That said, I take thunderhammers because if I don't, my ATs don't get stormshields. If I could take even one chainfist in an assault terminator squad though, just one....

Get this man some Deathwing, stat!

OR SW... but it wouldn't be free...

Even if I wanted to, I started GKs. So now I have DAEMON hammers! And force halberds!

Oh, and paladins and purifiers to carry them!

My ultras however, will still be played. They have just served too well over the years to be retired.

Uhm, GKTs are imho the worse bearers for thunder hammers (except a couple for dealing with some foes), since they lack storm shields, which means that going last in that first turn will hurt a lot... Either falchions or halberds are a better choice imho.

Yeah, GK werent meant for TH, but most other MEQ armies are.

They still want one here or there to smash vehicles.

I completely forgot they reduce the victim's initiative to 1. That makes them alot better than PFs as anything that survives a pounding will be on even grounds next turn (although this doesnt do much for units, since the models can onyl suffer one wound).

NagothDaCleaver wrote:This is a non issue to my Salamanders. Thunder hammer's are just better.

Is it? Assuming you mean the He'stan re-roll, that re-roll would need to be priced in at the cost of Vulkan himself.

Than, Salamander THs become more worthwhile the more you have (as well as the more Melta/Flamer) and the larger the overall game is.

If it pays off in, say, a 1000 pt or 1500 pt game is in now way a given IMO.

Hestan = captain + 3++ + relic blade + heavy flamer + re-roll on melta,flamer etc = 250 pts?

He's actually quite economical.

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:I completely forgot they reduce the victim's initiative to 1. That makes them alot better than PFs as anything that survives a pounding will be on even grounds next turn (although this doesnt do much for units, since the models can onyl suffer one wound).

And here I thought that the initiative reduction worked on the entire unit, not on a per-model basis... They're not that great then...

Asgeirr Darkwolf wrote:Y'know, if you want to take down vehicles, chainfists are the things.

And if you want to get to the vehicles, TH/SS are the thing.

I don't have assault termies yet, but I plan to fit half with TH/SS, the other half with Claws. The TH/SS to give them some more resilience to hostile fire and some advantage over monstruous/spacial enemies, and the Claws to make up a bit for their low number against hordes.

Given the amount of power weapons you can expect to have to face, letting the enemy have an advantage on initiative is a Bad Idea.