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INTRODUCTION Hello everyone. I am embarking on a long-standing project close to my heart. I hear a lot of criticism about Imperial Agents, especially the Veiled Blade detachment. If you listen to influencers, the consensus is clear: it's a "trash" detachment, only fit for narrative or casual games. I have played this detachment extensively, and I strongly disagree. When I first defended it on French forums, the reaction was skeptical. But extensive testing and competitive play have convinced me of the opposite: this detachment is NOT for casual players. On the contrary, its strength lies in advanced competitive mechanics that punish mistakes. The gameplay of the Veiled Blade is a devious game of traps—not just for the miniatures, but for the human opponent across the table. It embodies a form of psychological warfare that fits the lore perfectly: no raw stat-checks, but precise strikes and tactical setups that disrupt your opponent's game plan. I'm not claiming it's "Top Meta," but to appreciate its true value, you must master the core mechanics of 40k. This guide will explore how to wield these tools. I wouldn't write this tactic all at once; it's too big and there's a lot to cover. I'd like it to be as comprehensive as possible, so I'll add articles as I go along. Note: I apologize in advance for any grammar and spelling mistakes; not being bilingual, I rely mainly on Google Translate to write this post. Chapter 1: Techniques, tips and tricks to know To understand what I'm going to talk about next, it's essential to understand some fundamental mechanics commonly used in competitive gaming. In this chapter, I'll try to provide a brief, illustrated overview so you know what we're talking about. This is only a summary; by searching the internet, you'll most likely find better, more in-depth explanations. 1) Staging (shooting and close combat): "Staging" is a secure position that threatens a strategic position (objective, firing lane, etc.). "Staging" can be threatening in shooting (unit with long-range weapons) or in close combat (unit strong in melee and within charging range). In this example, the CK player takes advantage of his towering rule by positioning himself behind the ruin. During the opponent's turn, he is not visible because he is not in the ruin. On his turn, the CK player only has to place one foot in the ruin to have a line of sight on all the firing lanes beyond the ruin, as well as on the two nearby objectives. He thus forces his opponent to move hidden from ruin to ruin and complicates his objective capture. In this example we have essentially the same thing but with a melee unit: the impulsor is hidden in a ruin on the opponent's turn, which prevents it from being shot at. On the SW player's turn, the latter can land at 3 inches, move 6 and charge behind. That is a threat range of 15 (9 + 6) inches, if we consider a charge at 6 as highly probable. The opponent does not take the risk of placing his units in this 15 bubble. (Staging is a critical point for our veteran deathwatch units, who are too valuable to be exposed and whose power acts as a deterrent.) 2) Charge phase and combat phase: the subtleties. Mastering your charges and the combat phase means anticipating: - The path of the charge, through a wall to avoid the ow or not declaring a nearby unit in charge to "force" the positioning of your models by preventing them from putting them in their engagement zone. -The activation at pile-in; knowing how to put your most lethal models within engagement range (example the hammers of the Dw), "blocking" the engagement of non-lethal figurines in combat (example the frag cannon/shotguns/infernus dw) to allow them to pile/consolidate on an objective or another nearby unit. -The opposing interruption; sometimes it can be a good thing for you if the opponent activates first and pile- in towards you. - Anticipate the opponent's response (especially in the case of several units engaged), know which models will be able to hit what (rule of the figurine in contact with a model of the same unit), know which models to withdraw in loss to limit the opponent's response. In this well-known example of a technique, the first three subductors "lock" each other in close combat, preventing the fourth from reaching base-to-base contact; he therefore has the "right" to get closer to the scouts as long as he finishes his movement closer to the reivers than he was at the start. He puts himself 1.4 inches from the scouts, which will allow him to engage them in pile-in his activation and come and threaten the second objective. (This point will allow our low-cost units to engage multiple melee ranged units. But it also allows our Deathwatch units to destroy more than one unit in a single combat phase.) Heroic Intervention is not just about engaging the enemy to have a melee phase or gain movement distance during the opponent's turn. Heroic intervention can be defensive and block the enemy's pile-in by putting its models in base-to-base contact with the enemy's models. The enemy charged by the intervention can no longer pile-in with all of its models, Because they are engaged with a new unit, they must pile-in towards the nearest unit while remaining cohesive; A large part of the unit will have to fight the Terminators and they will fight back. This can save the charging unit, but also prevent the capture of an objective. (This mechanic constitutes a central point of the detachment which potentially has 3 sources of heroic intervention usable per turn: the generic stratagem, the detachment's ensnaring trap and the intraneural biotech augmentation of the Eversor.) 4) The Ruins: WTC (2 inch) and GW (1 inch) competitive rules: Mastering the engagement rule of the ruins in competitive play allows: - To protect yourself from charges through the ruins by placing yourself 2, 1 (WTC) or 1 (GW) inch from the walls; -To only be hit on one row by placing yourself 1 inch (WTC) or stuck to the walls (GW); -To take advantage of the absence of base-to-base contact to be able to "slide" along the wall upon activation and gain ground with the pile-in movement. In this example, the CK cannot pass through the wall: the "super heavy walker" rule allows them to move over models and walls but prohibits them from finishing a move within engagement range; because there is not enough space to complete the movement without the base being in the wall, the movement is not valid. It also cannot charge the unit because it does not pass through walls during the charge phase and therefore cannot end up in engagement range even if it sticks to the wall. By going around it, it is out of charge range. (This point is crucial for controlling the battlefield with our cheap units like breachers, voidsmans, sanctifiers, subductors, and other Arbites variants.) 5) The "lone operative" abilitie: Mastering and anticipating the range of enemy units after their movement to position their lone op units allows them to counter fire staging, but also to move block or to staging themselves in exposed areas of no man's land. Since lone op works figure by figure, it is also possible to protect yourself from only a portion of the enemy squad's fire (if you only want to kill a few figures with fire to make future charges impossible or eliminate lines of sight). (This is critical for us, as your assassins and Draxus rely entirely on this to survive turn 1.) 6) The "Move block": Knowing how to anticipate the enemy movement phase and movement restriction rules (terrain for motorcycles/vehicles, prohibition of entry into the unit engagement zone, unit consistency, etc.) to be able to block all or part of a future enemy movement. In this example, the CK cannot finish his move in the subductors' engagement zone. Even if he has the right to pass over them thanks to his super heavy walker rule, the split placement of the subductors with their 1 ps engagement bubble prevents him from passing. (This is yet another important point in the use of our low-cost units, Which becomes vital against CK and IK.) 7) The wall of 25: I call the "wall of 25" the defensive or offensive positioning with 25mm bases in the front row. The 25mm base is the only one measuring less than 1 inch. Any model in base-to-base contact with a 25mm model, itself within engagement range of an enemy model, is therefore itself within engagement range of that model. In this example, the first rank of intercessors can hit either the voidsmen or the veterans; but the presence of the voidsmen prevents the second rank from hitting the veterans because the first is not in base-to-base contact with the veterans. They are therefore forced to hit the voidsmen. In return, the veterans of the first rank with the hammers can hit because they are in fact within engagement range through the 25mm bases of the voidsmen. (One point that gives incredible value to our breachers, voidsmans and sanctifiers... but also to the DOGS of our arbiters who are also mounted on 25mm bases.) 8) Extremis Sanction & Shadow Assignment: There's a rather strange interaction between the Veiled Blade detachment rule ("Extremis sanction") and the special "Shadow Assignment" rule. The detachment rule specifies that during army creation (the "MUSTER ARMY" phase), assassins MUST pay for their upgrades. The "Shadow Assignment" rule specifies that during the "DECLARE BATTLE FORMATION" phase, you can exchange an assassin for another assassin model of EQUAL or CHEAPER COST. Since "DECLARE BATTLE FORMATION" (phase 5) comes AFTER "MUSTER ARMY" (phase 1), it's therefore not possible to exchange it for an assassin with an upgrade: The assassin model must be an unupgraded model. In practical terms: As long as you've paid for an assassin with an upgrade, you can replace it via Shadow Assignment with any other "basic" unupgraded assassin (since they will all be cheaper). However, even without their upgrade, they retain the second part of the detachment rule, which allows them to use their ability twice per game instead of once (Overkill, Soulless Horror, and Shieldbreaker). It might seem insignificant, but it partially compensates for a problem with the detachment system, which made the point cost of assassins very (too) high for abilities we didn't really want. So, since the upgraded Culexus costs 125 points, we can exchange it for a basic Eversor or Vindicare that would have cost us 110 points in another detachment. This is still an additional cost of 15 points, to be able to use Shieldbreaker or Overkill twice. It's debatable in terms of cost-effectiveness, but it's still better than having to pay 145 points for assassins to be able to exchange them for the ones we need at the start of the game. The detachment revolves around assassins, with stratagems linked to the assassin types. It's important to keep this in mind because it can influence your playstyle and determine your deployment, as we'll see later... For example: swapping your upgraded Culexus assassin for a Vindicare against an army without Psycher, but with a lot of projection, like the World Eaters.

Can someone explain to me, what the problem with Seekers is supposed to be? Apparently part of the Internet (and the people at goonhammer) seem to think they're somehow busted and I cannot put my mind around what about this 18-Point, single wound unit with no scoring modification is supposed to be the issue.

CSM 10th edition Chaos Terminator Squad This is a topic about Chaos Terminator Squad in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

+++Unit of the week+++ Fiends How do you use Fiends? Marks Armament Equipment Role This is a discussion about Fiends, both Forgefiends and Maulerfiends in the 10th edition index. Tell us your tactics, fun facts, your experience with them, and other things that are interesting with Fiends. I combined the both fiends together, even though they have different roles and tactics, as they come in the same box, plus if we are going to manage to get through all the units before the codex drops some units must be combined. Cpt. Danjou

+++Unit of the week+++ Helbrutes How do you use Helbrutes? Mark Armament Role This is a discussion about Helbrutes in the 10th edition index. Tell us your tactics, fun facts, your experience with them, and other things that are interesting with Helbrutes. Cpt. Danjou

+++Unit of the week+++ Chosen How do you use Chosen? Marks Attached Character Equipment Role This is a discussion about Chosen in the 10th edition index. Tell us your tactics, fun facts, your experience with them, and other things that are interesting with Chosen. Cpt. Danjou

GSC units with Cult Ambush aren't gone when their Ambush markers are removed by enemy movement; those units are simply added to the roster of units that are sitting in Cult Ambush. Subsequently-activated Ambush markers can still allow any one of the units still in Ambush to respawn (you don't have to pair an Ambush marker with the unit that spawned it). And of course such units are considered destroyed at the end of the game if they don't come back. This means that a canny enemy (or an unlucky GSC player) can wind up creating a situation where no markers leaves a lot of units sitting around in Ambush with no way to come back. Sucks for the cult player, right? Well, maybe not as much as it could. What about the Rapid Ingress stratagem? It looks like what units are considered to be "in Reserves" are PROBABLY also our cult units sitting in Ambush limbo, but the RAW aren't too clear. I argued with myself about it back and forth for a while as I poured through the core rules, the GSC index, and the rules commentary document. Let me know if you find out otherwise. Given that destroyed units with Cult Ambush are "in Reserves" after they are removed from the battlefield (even thought it is a specific form of reserves unique to GSC; see p. 16 of the core rules document), they are targetable by the Rapid Ingress stratagem, no? Why the heck would you waste 1 CP to bring an Ambush unit back when you can use Cult Ambush at the same exact time to bring them back for free instead? Well, because you don't need an Ambush token to pull the unit out of Ambush with the stratagem. It is my very novice opinion (and please let me know if you find anything solid that contradicts this interpretation) that Rapid Ingress can be a once-per-enemy-turn way to put lost units in Ambush back onto the board, without needing a Cult Ambush marker to do so. What do you think?

+++Unit of the week+++ Chaos Bikers How do you use Chaos bikers? Mark Role Equipment This is a discussion about Chaos Bikers in the 10th edition index. Tell us your tactics, fun facts, your experience with them, and other things that are interesting with Chaos Bikers. Cpt. Danjou

+++Unit of the week+++ Chaos Legionaries How do you use legionaries? Marks Attached Character Equipment Role This is a discussion about Legionaries in the 10th edition index. Tell us your tactics, fun facts, your experience with them, and other things that are interesting with Legionaries. Cpt. Danjou

CSM 10th edition Raptors This is a topic about Raptors in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Dark Apostle This is a topic about Dark Apostle in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Maulerfiend This is a topic about Chaos Space Marine Maulerfiend in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well How do you equip them? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Chosen This is a topic about Chaos Space Marine Chosen in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well How do you equip them? Do you use any transports with them? Do you attach any characters? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Legionaries This is a topic about Chaos Space Marine Legionaries in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well How do you equip them? Do you use any transports with them? Do you attach any characters? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial?

CSM 10th edition Chaos Lord This is a topic about Chaos Lords in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them?

CSM 10th edition Hellbrute This is a topic about Hellbrute in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Vashtorr the Arkifane This is a topic about Vashtorr the Arkifane in the 10th edition. Do you use him? How are you using him? Do you think he performs well? Do you attach him to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that he is extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Obliterators This is a topic about Obliterators in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Warp Talons This is a topic about Warp Talons in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Master of Execution This is a topic about Master of Executions in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Chaos Space Marine unit of the week links

CSM 10th edition Fabius Bile This is a topic about Fabius Bile in the 10th edition. Do you use him? How are you using him? Do you think he performs well? Do you attach him to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that he is extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Traitor Guardsmen Squad This is a topic about Traitor Guardsmen Squad in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Traitor Enforcer This is a topic about Traitor Enforcer in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Any Enhancements that you like to use with them? Chaos Space Marine unit of the week links

CSM 10th edition Accursed Cultists This is a topic about Accursed Cultists in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links

CSM 10th edition Havocs This is a topic about Havocs in the 10th edition. Do you use them? How are you using them? Do you think they perform well? How do you equip them? Do you attach them to any specific unit? Is there a detachment that they are extra crucial? Other Unit of the Week for Chaos Space Marines can be found in the link below. Chaos Space Marine Unit of the Week Links