Chaos Terminator
Chaos Terminators are the MORE EVIL AND SPIKIER counterparts of the trusty Terminators of the Imperium of Man. They're sometimes known as Tuskies or Elephants, due to their odd but pretty cool placement of tusks on their helmets; whether they got them from hunting down space elephants or grew them naturally from the Warp is unknown). They are grizzled veterans who fight wearing the widespread Tactical Dreadnought Armour of the Chaos Space Marines.
Overview
Due to either expenses, lack of salvageable tech, or just doctrinal preference, Chaos Terminators surprisingly wield standard power weapons far more often than Power Fists and Chain Fists, which are THE standard weapon of Loyalist Terminators. In addition, due to corrosive effects of the warp, choleric temperament of their machine spirits, and bastardization with other suits for repairs, Chaos Terminator Armor is incredibly rugged and individualistic; a disturbed reflection of the engineered killer who dons it. The Armor also overwhelmingly dates back to the Horus Heresy, since producing new suits is stupidly expensive and time-consuming given the Logistic nightmare that is the Eye of Terror. Even then, the new suits are often worse than their old beat up suits, as many of their more complex components cannot be replicated anymore. While not the swiftest of troops as they are motherfucking Terminators, they can (Like their loyalist counterparts] use a Land Raider to travel across the battlefield to positions which their weaponry will make the best impact. Otherwise they can teleport through the use of arcane technology or sorcerous powers. They often wait for the perfect moment to strike, poised to eliminate the target when at his most vulnerable.
Chaos Terminators stand in high respect to the Chaos gods. Many of them are Aspiring Champions, although often the only way to acquire Terminator armor is to kill the previous owner. They usually form the bodyguard of the highest ranking leader or Champion and are often seen enforcing the will of the Champion. Often they abuse their position, intimidating other members of the warband, while many simply see them as a vision to strive towards, one day assuming the mantle of Terminator themselves.
Sometimes, these Terminators may even be a Chaos Lord all by themselves. Seeing as how protective Terminator armor really is, it would be of no surprise that a good majority of Chaos Lords adorn themselves in Tactical Dreadnought armor since it offer the best protection available next to the immortality given towards Daemon Princes.
The standard Chaos Terminator armament is a Combi-Bolter and a Chainaxe which can be upgraded to either a Power Axe, Power Maul, Power Sword, Power Fist or Chainfist. In addition, Terminators may also take a Reaper Autocannon or Heavy Flamer in place of their Combi-Bolter. The Combi-bolter itself can be configured to function as either a Combi-Meltagun, Combi-Plasma Gun or Combi-Flamer.
They can also be equipped with a pair of Lightning Claws for close combat.
Types of Chaos Terminators
Chaos Terminators comes in a variety of colors and flavors just like their loyalist counterparts. This is seen in the following:
Chaos Indomitus Terminators
The most common and widespread Chaos Terminators and the most obvious. Similar to their loyalist counterparts, they are the most adaptable of the Terminators and are by far the most twisted looking due to the majority of Chaos Terminators wearing this particular piece of armor. Chaos Indomitus are known for their notable tusks which has become an icon for Chaos Terminators. This is where the nicknames come from.
Now that the Horus Heresy fluff has been expanded, it is rather bizarre that these are the most common Chaos Terminators, as Indomitus Armor only became widespread after the Heresy, so most Chaos Legion Terminators should be wearing Cataphractii or Tartaros. Then again millennia of warfare and degradation has probably resulted in Cataphractii and Tartaros armour becoming quite rare due to the increasing difficulty in repairing it.
Chaos Cataphractii Terminators
During the Horus Heresy the Traitor Legions fielded units clad in Cataphractii armour just like their loyal brothers. They offer the most protection and are thus the toughest of the Terminator suits and are able to take immense punishment before suffering mass systems failure. They were armed with Combi-Bolters, power fists and grenade harnesses, but also had access to Chainfists, Lightning Claws, heavy flamers and power swords. Like their Tartaros cousins, they aren't as twisted as the Indomitus due to their rarity and lack of exposure from the Warp.
Chaos Tartaros Terminators
During the Horus Heresy the Traitor Legions fielded units clad in Tartaros pattern Terminator Armour, just like their loyal brothers. The most advanced and most mobile of Terminator suits, the Tartaros are surprisingly fast and can initiate a brief but surprising burst of speed to catch their enemies off guard. They are armed with combi-bolters and power fists, but have also access to Lightning claws, Chainfists, Reaper Autocannons, Plasma Blasters, heavy flamers, grenade harnesses and Volkite Chargers. Like their Cataphractii cousins, they aren't as twisted as the Indomitus due to their rarity and lack of exposure from the Warp.
Scarab Occult Terminators
See Main Page: Rubric Terminators
AKA Rubric Terminators or the Sekhmet. Scarab Occult Terminators were once the finest psykers in the Thousand Sons, bodyguards to Magnus the Red himself. Like their brothers, they were affected by the Rubric of Ahriman spell and turned into dust. Now they stride into battle at side of their sorcerous masters. Clad in ornate armor, they are armed with Khopesh blades and Inferno Combi-Bolters. The unit has also access to Heavy Warpflamers, Soulreaper Cannons and Hellfyre Missile Racks. The Sorcerer leading his unit also wields a Force staff.
Strangely, the Sekhmet were the finest psykers of the Sons, so it is strange that they were rubric'd. However, the Sekhmet were rather emotionless and lacking in ambition, which doesn't fit well with Tzeentch's ideal sorcerers. Thus, rubric.
Blightlord Terminators
See Main Page: Blightlord Terminators
Blightlord Terminators serve as the disease-ridden elite of the Death Guard. They are bloated with disease and a myriad of parasitic organisms that spread a miasma of death and decay around them. They are so bloated with filth that their mobility has crawled to a snails pace; even regular Plague Marines can outwalk them. Despite this, they are orders of magnitude more tougher then even regular Chaos Terminators and their status of being below a Deathshroud in rank is not to be underestimated.
Tabletop
Two general facts about Chaos Terminators: they have always been there since the beginning and they have also always been the premier elites (or equivalent) choice for the Chaos Space Marines. Of note, they are tough, they pack a lot of dakka and they hit hard in close combat. What has always set them apart from their loyalist counterparts is the weaponry loadout and availability with a little help from the dark gods, even back in the Rogue Trader days. There are no assault terminator variants so chaos termies are known for mixing up CC weapon and shooting weapon loadouts, their preferred ranged weapons being the combi-bolter, other combi-weapons and either a heavy flamer or the well-known reaper-autocannon for special weapons. They're also known for being cheaper than loyalist termies as they pack power weapons default instead of power fists. Second Edition termies were basically the same, sporting higher weapon skills, attacks, wounds and their namesake terminator armour, which back in the day was 3+ on 2d6 back then (no invulnerable). With some deity goodies, they were the go-to support choice albeit on the expensive side and even more so if riding in a Land Raider, their other preferred transport option next to Teleport Attack (aka Deep Striking).
Third Edition Roller-Coaster
Terminators in general took a battering in third edition, especially for chaos. Reason being, deep-striking units could only fire assault weapons when deep-striking, meaning combi-bolters were unusable for striking termies. Also was the introduction of the 5++ and the reduction of termie statlines down to PAMs with another attack, a better save, deep-striking, the total loss of grenades, no pistols and the ability to move and shoot heavy weapons (unless deep-striking). Termies had to compete hard against Veterans, Berserkers, Thousand Sons, Plague Marines and chaos dreadnoughts in the elites slot, though the first four of these could be shuffled to troops with a choice of HQ. There are also options for cult terminators which were fleshed out more fully in a FAQ, but they pail in comparison to 3.5. Speaking of, that book merged Chosen and Terminators together with terminators being an upgrade to chosen. There's a lot to say about how awesome and skubtastic this was, but suffice to say that these were some of the earliest roots of what will eventually become Death Guard and Thousand Sons special terminators (and hopefully more to follow). Unfortunately, Terminators had to compete with the original, uniquely chaos TEQ in 3.5 - the Obliterators, which GW thought would be great to move into the Elites slot this time around. FWIW, oblits were just flat out better terminators in 3.5 if they could be afforded, though most armies could only take one squad of oblits.
The Age of Termicide: Fourth through Seventh Editions
Basically, 4th edition either nerfed everything in the elites slot for CSM or they were moved out into other slots, leaving them largely as the only viable elites option. This state of affairs persisted for 3 (possibly 4) editions, but 8th is somewhat special. Weirdly enough, termies didn't change at all (aside from being split off from Chosen, who were arguably the only other serviceable elites choice for CSM) - everything else around them did! Along with the nerfing of CSM units, the rules changed granting termies the ability to shoot their weapons, without penalty, after deep-striking. Which was great - you loaded up your boys with guns, plopped them down (with ease with icons guiding deep strikes) and blast what needs blasting! Combi-plasma was also introduced as a weapon option for termies increasing the punch for a turn of shooting against the Space Marine Meta. Or you could take Combi-meltas if there's a tank that needs opening or Combi-flamers, but they would need 6th-edition and overwatch to truly make them useful.
Eighth Edition: Enhanced Termicide
Termies just got buffed - 2 wounds per model, combi bolters are rapid fire 2, other combi weapons are no longer one shot and both profiles can be fired simultaneously. Oh, and they can charge after deep-striking (tricky needing to make 9" on 2d6, but still). Truly, everything got a buff in this edition eventually, but termies are still better than most other choices due to their versatility. They don't really need any stratagems to make them playable and their pretty scary when they are used on them; they don't require synergy with the rest of the army but can synergize rather well with them, especially with Termie Lords or Sorcerers.