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I am considering a new Heresy army and really want to do one built around using all Terminators. Which legion do you think is best for this? I don't just want to use Legion Specific Terminators FYI, I would want the bulk of the troops to be based around big blocks of regular terminators.

My current armies are:

Ultra
IF
EC

But I don't feel like those three are built around Terminators. Yes, I know you can get deep strike, shields and assault cannons as fists but I am more interested in the assault and I've already built that army as a siege focused force with loads of Breachers.

Mechanically it'd be the Iron Hands, though Salamanders and Iron Warriors could be contenders

 BroodSpawn wrote:
Mechanically it'd be the Iron Hands, though Salamanders and Iron Warriors could be contenders

Why IW and IH?

I'm at work right now, but off the top of my head Iron Hands legion trait applies to vehicles (such as Dread's) so that's why I thought of them. That and unique Terminator unit in addition to the Cataphractii/Tartaros and multiple Dread. Patterns backed up by a Forge Lord.

Iron Warriors is a similar thing, but less about the legion trait and more because they're similar to Iron Hands in that both heavily rely on armoured units. Add in things like the Iron Circle as another kind of 'Dread' and visually it could be interesting.

Salamanders was because of Firedrakes + named Dread character mainly.

 BroodSpawn wrote:
I'm at work right now, but off the top of my head Iron Hands legion trait applies to vehicles (such as Dread's) so that's why I thought of them. That and unique Terminator unit in addition to the Cataphractii/Tartaros and multiple Dread. Patterns backed up by a Forge Lord.

Iron Warriors is a similar thing, but less about the legion trait and more because they're similar to Iron Hands in that both heavily rely on armoured units. Add in things like the Iron Circle as another kind of 'Dread' and visually it could be interesting.

Salamanders was because of Firedrakes + named Dread character mainly.

Yeah I forgot IH can get It Will not Die for their vehicles.

I think IW would be cool thematically but I don't really see anything Legion rule wise that would make their basic Terminators better.

The one I had considered were:

Sons of Horus - Justarian, bonus of +1 BS within 12'' and bonus attack in CC at initiative step 1. Horus is amazing and goes well with a Terminator blob.

World Eaters - Red butchers, a flow chart of bonuses on the charge, RoW that can give FNP to Terminators or Hatred. (Also as of MoM )

Night Lords - Deep Strike, if outnumber get bonus to hit and wound.

Space Wolves - Bonus WS on charge, Counter Attack, cool RoW that grant bonus attack. Russ. Do think the Varangyr are a tad meh.

Only WE and NL don't have a Primarch who belongs in a Terminator blob like Perturabo or Horus.

On the subject of IW Golg is a good choice for running a termie heavy army.

WE Terminators and crazed Dread's? Now that's an interesting concept.

Thousand Sons.
Sekhmet are amazing for what they do, and even normal legion terminators can be brutal. Toss in a few of the psychic dreads and you have a very interesting force.

D-D-D-Deathguard, two kinds of unique terminators in Deathshrouds and Grave Wardens, and Typhon!

The thing about terminator-oriented armies is you have to ask yourself two questions. What does my army do and how does it get to where it needs to be to do it?

If you want an armored assault oriented terminator army, Iron Hands are your best bet. They can get IWND land-raiders and spartans, with forgefathers inside of them keeping them alive while you pummel your opponent from a distance. Then your opponent gets close after being whittled away, and you disgorge your terminator horde. Honorable mention to the Alpha Legion for being able to infiltrate land-raider dedicated transports, as well as Emperor's Children out-flanking land raiders. Cool and hilarious, but otherwise not particularly useful.

If you want a deep-striking terminator army, your two best bets are Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors. Abaddon, Horus, Perturabo and I think maybe others, allow you to deep-strike your terminators. Combine that with a command rhino, and you've got some pin-point precision. Bonus points to Perturabo for being able to start deep-striking his terminators on turn 1 rather than waiting until turn 2 like most armies. Sons of Horus push ahead because of their ability to re-roll 1s for reserve rolls, as well as death-dealer synergizing very well with all of the terminator weapons except for the reaper autocannon. This combined with their danger-close deployment make Sons of Horus, IMHO, the best terminator army in the game.

If you want a footslogging terminator army, your two best bets are either Alpha Legion for an incredible deployment or Raven Guard. Infiltrating terminators are pretty scary. Combine that with Alpharius for some preferred enemy nonsense or Corax for the ability to guarantee a 6 for every run move, and your opponent will have a hard time keeping up with your super fast terminators. Not to mention giving a power dagger to your sergeant for an extra swing with his chainfist or powerfist is pretty awesome, as well as giving your combi-bolters pseudo-rending (ap3) with the Alpha Legion special ammo. Honorable mention goes to White Scars, who while moving 6" in the movement phase and using a praetor with the cyber-eagle can get pseudo preferred enemy, which is pretty cool.

If you want a long-range terminator army, your three best bets are either Iron Warriors, Imperial Fists or Ultramarines. Ultramarines push ahead because their synergy allows for units in your army other than just the legion-specific terminators to be really significant. A reaper autocannon painting a target for your Locutaris (sp? dudes with cyclone missile launchers) terminators is pretty cool thematically and effectively. The real issue, of course, is that this army depends almost uniquely on the Siege Tyrant and Locutaris terminators to do most if not all of the heavy lifting, meaning your focus on generic terminators is pretty foregone. Imperial Fists, on the other hand, have access to the prototype assault cannon. While not amazing, it is viable as a long-range weapon and allows for some fairly decent fire-fights when combined with the storm shields that Imperial Fists can take on their terminators. Honorable mention to Blood Angels, who also get access to the assault cannon.

IMHO a terminator-only army belongs in a Zone Mortalis setting. It's what I'm building my 2'000 point terminator-only army. In that setting, Alpha Legion are fairly keen, because they get to deploy super aggressively and dictate the pace of the battle. On the other hand, aggressive deep-strikes and death-dealer in close quarters makes the Sons of Horus a pretty scary army to deal with as well.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
D-D-D-Deathguard, two kinds of unique terminators in Deathshrouds and Grave Wardens, and Typhon!

Absolutely . Heavy Support C-Terminators, Elites bodyguard Deathshroud Terms, and 10 per C-terminator praetor without taking up a slot, Command Squad Terms, Typhon bulldozing through the china-shops of infantry,
While Dreads may be no more than other legions (or slightly higher), the terminator body count is higher than all.

Loyalist - either Imperial Fists or Salamanders... both have access to stormshields. Fists can deep strike and Fire Drakes are hard as nails.

Traitors - Sons of Horus... Justearins are some of the best all around.

I like the Death Guard for Legion-specific Terminators, but the Imperial Fists and the Thousand Sons are better places to go for generic Terminators. Both give you significant upgrades on the built-in Invulnerable save (Storm Shields from the Imperial Fists and Kine-Shields from the Thousand Sons) on top of ways of Deep Striking a bunch of them.

(Thousand Sons offer the cheesiest Invulnerable save shenanigans in the Heresy; if you land a unit of Raptora Cataphractii under Guard of the Crimson King they're packing a 3++ rerolling 1s the turn they land. Unfortunately for the Thousand Sons and fortunately for balance they're still Elites (that Rite makes Sekhmet Terminators Troops and they don't have Cult Arcana, so no Kine-Shields and they're stuck with their base 4++/5++, and the Rite doesn't let you bring a Deredeo in a pod to boost that further), though, so it's a chunk of your army rather than the entire thing.)

It is also worth noting that the wording around Brotherhood of Psykers and single-target Blessings is a bit fuzzy, so you may be able to Iron Arm a unit of Pavoni Terminators for S/T7 and Smash. It isn't what I'd call reliable (given that they're ML1 and would have to roll the power), but if it does work that way four of the six Biomancy powers are immensely helpful to a Terminator unit and the primaris gets you an extra AP2 gun.

AnomanderRake who told you that sekhmet dont have cult arcana? Im afraid that they do my friend, they have legion astartes (Thousand Sons) which gives you the following rules: legion astartes, covenant of sorcerors, prosperine lore, cult arcana and signs and portents.
Perhaps you were thinking of the osirion dreadnought which as a dreadnought does not have legion astartes (thousand sons) and therefore cannot gain a cult bonus?

 King Amroth wrote:
AnomanderRake who told you that sekhmet dont have cult arcana? Im afraid that they do my friend, they have legion astartes (Thousand Sons) which gives you the following rules: legion astartes, covenant of sorcerors, prosperine lore, cult arcana and signs and portents.
Perhaps you were thinking of the osirion dreadnought which as a dreadnought does not have legion astartes (thousand sons) and therefore cannot gain a cult bonus?

I may have been looking at the special rule list in their unit entry and not seeing it there jumped to a conclusion.

And having just double-checked the rules the other assumption I had made (that Cult Arcana restricts you to a specific discipline) is incorrect too (it actually gives you cast on 3+ for that discipline), which means that the Sekhmet's restriction to Telekinesis or Pyromancy doesn't actually limit their Cult choice (though given that you're probably taking Raptora for Kine-Shields most of the time it isn't much of an issue) and you can totally have Kine-Shields on the aforementioned Biomancy squad fishing for Ironarm.

So yes, you can have an army with a 3++ rerolling ones the turn they land from Deep Strike in Guard of the Crimson King. It may be expensive, it may be heavily dice-dependent, but it may also be as tough as Terminators get when it works.

(Fortunately there's no way to drop a Deredeo with them (the Dreadclaw is limited to Contemptor and Castaferrum hulls and the Dreadnaught pod requires a different Rite of War), and the Atomantic Pavise and Kine-Shields both specify a maximum save of 3++, so you can't get a rerollable 2++ that way.)

About Sons of Horus Justarian: The extra attack they get is only if they have already attacked that round. It doesn't work for wargear that goes on initiative 1, like Power Fists and Thunder Hammers (or if the model has been concussed). It also means Justarian are just about the only Terminators you'll see that take a lot of Lightning Claws and Power Mauls. Bonus for Justarian: They can take a Multimelta.

To the OP: Are you looking for the best rules that will suit a Terminator and Dreadnought army, or are you looking for a fluffy reason? With access to three different types of Terminators (Adominus, Tarturus, Cataphracti) and whatever special Terminator unit the Legion has (most of the Legions have some kind of special Terminator unit), you should be able to make just about whatever Terminator/Dreadnaught force you want. I think the Thousand Sons have the most visually striking looking special Terminator unit and a very unique appearing Contemptor Dread.

 Tamwulf wrote:
About Sons of Horus Justarian: The extra attack they get is only if they have already attacked that round. It doesn't work for wargear that goes on initiative 1, like Power Fists and Thunder Hammers (or if the model has been concussed). It also means Justarian are just about the only Terminators you'll see that take a lot of Lightning Claws and Power Mauls. Bonus for Justarian: They can take a Multimelta.

To the OP: Are you looking for the best rules that will suit a Terminator and Dreadnought army, or are you looking for a fluffy reason? With access to three different types of Terminators (Adominus, Tarturus, Cataphracti) and whatever special Terminator unit the Legion has (most of the Legions have some kind of special Terminator unit), you should be able to make just about whatever Terminator/Dreadnaught force you want. I think the Thousand Sons have the most visually striking looking special Terminator unit and a very unique appearing Contemptor Dread.

(Quick count, for the curious, I through to XX:

I: Dark Angels. No unique units yet. Legion rule provides minor buff to the basic Terminator unit if modeled with power swords (hit on 3+ v. WS4 units), the unique Calibanite War Blade is a free +1S to the Sergeant. Few/minor benefits.
II: (RECORDS EXPUNGED)
III: Emperor's Children. Legion rule makes you slightly faster and gives an Initiative edge when charging, avoid powerfists to take full advantage. Sonic Shriekers nets you a WS edge (normal Terminators will hit WS4 folks on a 3+ and Phoenix Terminators will hit WS5 folks on a 3+), the Maku Skara lets you Outflank some Terminators that hit the table on a defined turn. Phoenix Terminators hit at S5/AP2/I6 on the charge and S4/AP3/I4 any other time, they're weak/overpriced unless you can get that charge. Bring Eidolon along too for +1" charge moves and an I6 thunderhammer.
IV: Iron Warriors. Legion rule and unique Rites don't offer Terminators much, their unique squad packs a Cyclone launcher on every model at a relatively reasonable price. Not a great place for an all-Terminator army, a fun place to drop a few Terminators to see what happens.
V: White Scars. Ninja Terminators of doom. If you go 6"+ you get +1 to cover saves and reroll failed to-wound rolls of 1, and Skilled Rider gives you Move Through Cover, so dust off your Tartaros suits and go sprinting. Not good, but definitely funny.
VI: Space Wolves. Minor edges, most of their buffs focus on melee power-armoured troops and explicitly don't help Terminators. Frost weapons and the Varagyr can do work but are also kind of overpriced.
VII: Imperial Fists. Now we're talking. The Legion rules may not give Terminators much and you may not have any unique Terminators, but you've got access to Storm Shields, making you one of three Legions that can get a 3++ without the Atomantic Pavise, and since your Storm Shields are a flat 3++ rather than +1-to-Inv-saves the way the Salamander and Thousand Son versions are you can put them on Tartaros or Indomitus models and get the same effect. You also have access to assault cannons, Deep Strike outside of the Orbital Assault Rite, and Stone Gauntlet to let your Terminators run around at T5, which means the Imperial Fists may have no unique Terminators but their generic Terminators are among the best around.
VIII: Night Lords. Avoid. Almost all the advantages of the Legion are incredibly good on Assault Marines and a waste of time on Terminators. You get teleportation transponders, one special character who acts as a teleport homer, and that's about it.
IX: Blood Angels. No unique units yet; assault cannons are nice to have and Encarmine Fury elevates stock power weapons to scary levels (take power axes and you're wounding T4 models on a 2+). The Rites don't really help, Day of Revelation is pretty much entirely geared towards jump infantry, and Day of Sorrows gives more to bigger units that are capable of sweeping.
X: Iron Hands. The Legion benefit is almost worth building a Terminator army just for the effective +1T; the unique Terminators take this a step further by adding FNP5+ and access to graviton guns to a special suit of Indomitus armour for 25pts (for the entire squad, the per-model cost is the same as normal Terminators).
XI: (RECORDS EXPUNGED)
XII: World Eaters. The Legion rules encourage getting charges off, the unique Rite pushes this a step further. The unique Terminators are just wild balls of doom; 2W and FNP6+ help them get into combat, two power axes lets you clean up when you get there. Not ideal given how little durability/ranged support they give normal Terminators, however.
XIII: Ultramarines. Weird. The Legion rules encourage a flexible MSU game plan and they offer guns more than they offer melee units; generally their buffs are weaker and broader than most Legions', so focused army builds don't get much out of it. Always remember that Fulmentarii are a trap; you can spend 700pts on ten BS5 Cyclone launchers that impose a -1 to enemy cover saves, and have Night Vision and Tank Hunters, but then you will find out that you spent 700pts on ten single-Wound T4 Indomitus models and they can and will vanish the instant your opponent sees them.
XIV: Death Guard. The Legion benefit doesn't help generic Terminators much, where the Death Guard excel on the Terminator front is in their unique units. Grave Wardens are the cost of normal Terminators (+25pts to base squad cost), but they have powerfists baked into their unit cost and massively superior guns (they trade their combi-bolters for two-shot grenade launchers), and the Deathshrouds are roughly 5pts/model more than normal Terminators for two Wounds and AP2 attacks at I3. Neither one is subtle or flexible but they will chew up most things you park in front of them.
XV: Thousand Sons. Covered in detail in an earlier post. Verdict: Yes.
XVI: Sons of Horus. Legion rule is moderately useful for a Terminator force, Justaerin had their price updated in the red book to where they're actually a useful Terminators-+1 unit (they were horribly overpriced at launch). Teleport strikes aren't as easy for you as they are for the Imperial Fists with their Teleportation Transponders; Horus helps a lot with army flexibility by giving reliable arrival to one unit, Outflank to the rest, and Justaerin as Troops independent of your Rite.
XVII: Word Bearers. No wargear that helps Terminators much and the Legion rule only helps Tartaros (reroll 1s to sweep on units that can't sweep...). No unique Terminator unit, their 40mm-based choppy melee fancy unit is the Gal Vorbak, who are proto-Possessed and do roughly the same thing Terminators do most of the time.
XVIII: Salamanders. Legion rules aren't massively helpful, though S6 heavy flamers are always a good thing to have; the big things the Sallies provide are Dragonscale (+1 to existing Inv (so a 3++ on Cataphractii)), which isn't as flexible as the Vigil shields on the Imperial Fists but is a good bit cheaper (5pts on any model rather than 10pts on Cataphractii and 15pts on other models). The unique unit (Firedrakes) make for a ridiculously expensive deathstar (625pts for ten models with hammers/shields and no built-in way of delivering them to a fight), but unlike the Fulmentarii (above) they'll take an endless stream of firepower and come out the other side swinging, so it might actually be worth taking that many. Bring along a Primus Medicae for FNP5+ and the best duelist Praetor around with a 3++, Eternal Warrior, and a thunderhammer (or Vulkan; a Firedrake deathstar is very much a 'go big or go home' place to be) to eat challenges. Less interesting once you get past the first Terminator unit and ask what's happening with the second, though; two units of Firedrakes is almost certainly overkill and they don't give generic Terminators much past the storm shields.
XIX: Raven Guard. Resolutely 'eh?'. The only thing their unique rules offer Terminators is getting to run around with Raven's Talons, and instead of spending 55pts/model on Terminators you could grab Dark Furies at 30pts/model (25pt squad tax) for the same loadout and a jump pack.
XX: Alpha Legion. Fun personified, mostly because the notoriously short-ranged and hard to deliver Terminators love getting to Infiltrate. Add in Rewards of Treason from the Rite to steal unique Terminators from someone else (can you say "Infiltrating Firedrakes"?) and Insidious Mastermind to do bizarre and funny things (get a unit of your regular opponent's unique Terminators without telling him about it just so you can shenanigans them into play on their turn!). The unique Lernean Terminators are basically a normal Terminator squad +1, you're forced to take the volkite chargers on everyone, so in practice you're really just getting Stubborn and WS5 for an extra 25pt squad tax.

In summary: Emperor's Children, Imperial Fists, Iron Hands, and Thousand Sons are good at Terminator armies, most of the rest can make it work, Raven Guard, Night Lords, and Dark Angels are actually just bad at it.)

 AnomanderRake wrote:
VII: Imperial Fists. Now we're talking. The Legion rules may not give Terminators much and you may not have any unique Terminators, but you've got access to Storm Shields, making you one of three Legions that can get a 3++ without the Atomantic Pavise, and since your Storm Shields are a flat 3++ rather than +1-to-Inv-saves the way the Salamander and Thousand Son versions are you can put them on Tartaros or Indomitus models and get the same effect.

Mind you this requires you to house rule seeing storm shields aren't allowed on tartaros. Just cataphracti and standard terminators. There's 3 types of terminator armour. Terminator, terminator cataphractii, terminator tartaros. Only 2 is covered by storm shield rule.