Bolter Terminator

The warhammer wiki site has a description of the bolter shells. It does state that the rounds have a soft charge for an initial boost, but that doesn't mean that they have a bullet casing. That's why I was wondering why they call it case-less ammo, and why the bolters would need ejection ports. source

I see it as a two stage process where the first one just has it clear the barrel upon which the second kicks in. To be honest we are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole here. All they really designed was exploding uber-bullets and sort of had to roll with it. source

I think they are viable, but you have to have them for a particular purpose. You can't just slap down a unit of termies and think they are going to change the game just because they're termies. Any number of enemies can put the hurting on them, perhaps even just wipe them off the board in one go, if you don't use them smartly. Don't forget that terminators can drop pod in as well. This takes care of the risk of DSing as well as gives them a little bit of cover once they hit. I'm not in the least be an expert on termies, but I'll reiterate what I do know. If you have a particular purpose for them that they are kitted for, they'll do great. If you just think they're uber so you slap them down, you'll be sorely disappointed in their effectiveness. source

I agree about needing some close quarters support - 5th edition nearly guarantees that someone will reach your lines, so you need to have something ready to greet them. A few extra Terminators to go with your lone one should fit that perfectly, as well as being able to shoot the enemy on the way in. source

Your friend thinks Thousand Sons are powergaming? Although I honestly don't like the theme very much personally, a pure 1k Sons list is almost unplayably weak. Your units are all very expensive, you have no assault or heavy weapons, and your best range is within 12 inches but not in CC which is about the most difficult thing to pull off. source