Editing Terminator (section)

==Moar Mechanicus Fail==
Originally (as in [[Great Crusade]] originally) the Mechanicus could actually make Terminator armor. It was called Cataphractii-pattern armor (though there were many patterns of terminator armor at that time) and it was MADE of WIN. It had the freakiest [[pauldrons]] ever but was pretty much unbreakable. Wait, you thought that Terminator armor got its toughness from it being STRONG? Of course not, it's from the Marine itself!, the only protection the armor provides is the +2 armor save and 4++ invulnerable save. After the Horus Heresy, the Mechanicus forgot how to make the good armor, so they decided to test whether or not the Emperor's armor would blend. It did, so they took all of the tiny fragments, and stuck one piece in the shoulder of each new suit of Terminator armor, underneath the fancy Crux Terminatus.

So all of the new fancy-looking armor you see today is actually crappier than the goofy old armor. That's mostly how stuff works in 40K: technology actually gets worse as time moves on so we won't be surprised if by the 51st millennium, everything reverts back/progresses to [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]. Considering the apocalyptic devastation happening on every battlefield to every faction... hey wait a minute! Does this mean 40K might actually be a ''prequel'' to Fantasy Battle!? It all makes sense! The last battlefield (world) in the galaxy (probably last freakin' ''planet'' in the galaxy by then)... and then, [[Age of Sigmar]].

Rant aside, Terminator armor is still in limited production in 41st millennium. While not as protective as the original Cataphractii armor it is more maneuverable and thus inherently more practical. The suits are effectively hand made by a team of master-skilled artisans who would regard any defects or mistakes in their product as an inexcusable blasphemy. The end result is an armor that is the standard-to-which-all-others-are-judged in terms of personal protection that can and will last millennia on nightmarish battlefields while toting weapon systems (if oddly few) that can fuck up main battle tanks. But it takes that single team of artisans years at a minimum to make a single complete suit. Is it worth it? Some Space Marine Chapters say no, but most say yes. The quality cannot be denied, and apparently the craftsmanship of this armor is so perfect that even [[Belisarius Cawl]], the asshole archmagos who's known for just inventing shit by stealing from others, couldn't find a way to improve it.

On the note of limited production, at least somebody in the Mechanicus has not forgotten how to make them as the Grey Knights actually get '''new''' power and terminator armor to replace losses, ''freshly made for the individual Astartes by the Mechanicus''. Having your own personal forgeworld does have its advantages. The Custodes also get new suits (big surprise) including one that was created well after the Horus Heresy (according to the Warhammer Community page, possibly as recent as the 41st millennium) that combines the best protection Terminator Armour offers with none of the downsides. Each suit is apparently worth as much as an entire planet. Presumably after another 10k years they might be able to make variants for the Astartes...

Even rarer are suits of Terminator Armour that can be worn by baseline humans, let alone acquired by any. Usually the reserve of especially crusty Inquisitors, human adapted Terminator suits need extensive modification to be wearable, let alone compensating for all the features that not being an Astartes leaves hanging.

===Storm Shields===
[[image:TerminatorStormShield.png|200px|right|thumb| My shield may be small, but my faith is HUGE.]]
As of 5th all the way through the end of 8th edition, Storm Shields were given a 3+ invulnerable save against EVERYTHING (including [[Rage|yo momma]]) to ensure that players started using Storm Shield + hammer terminators (and possibly to increase GW's profit margins, who knows?). This of course has lead a number of players to vent their [[Rage|rage]] at the new [[Cheese|cheddar-infused]] protection that termies have been given. Combined with the 2+ save they already get, assault terminators are arguably the most resilient squad in the game, and are nigh unkillable by several high-powered weapons including:

* [[Exterminatus#Ways of Exterminatus|Weapons that are used to tear apart planets]]
* [[Warp Weapons|Weapons designed to tear through the fabric of reality and cast their targets into the abyss of the Warp]]
* [[Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Necrons#Superheavy|turrets specifically used to destroy titans and spaceships]]
* [[Ulkair|HIV/AIDS]]
* The first few searches retrieved after entering "Client/Server database" into Google (June 2013)

Marine players can of course take 3 10-man squads of these things, and whilst each dude costs 45 points each, their inability to die even with Nurgle fondling them whilst teleporting right next to the enemy army would make most players prefer to flip the gaming table over and claim insanity in the aim of destroying as many of the blighters as possible. Mind you, Wraithblades ain't much less overpowered.

Sadly or fortunately (depending on who you ask), in 9th Edition, the Storm Shield was greatly reduced in power, reducing it to a mere 4+ invulnerable save with a +1 boost to armor save rolls. However, with a new rule, Armor Of Contempt, which reduces all AP by 1 on incoming attacks, in order to get a storm shield terminator down to a save that triggers its Invuln you need a goddamn Meltagun.