Thousand Sons Unit Roles in Competitive games

[Xenith]

Hi all,

 

My local group is starting to think about having a tournament this winter, I won the last one with my Blood Angels and was thinking of challenging myself with using Thousand Sons for this one.

 

My Thousand Sons army is from 3rd ed and really out of date. With limited time to make and paint models before a tournament, I dont want to paint stuff that wont be used, so I'd like to try and iron out an army list at this stage so I can focus on what to make and paint. 

 

With that in mind, I think there are a few key roles for units necessary to win games, and some of which Thousand Sons don't have, so I'd like to know what you're using to fulfil these roles, eventually working to fill out a 1500pt army list. 

 

Engage/ROD objective grabbers.

This is the key one for me, and the way to win games. Generally something nippy to move into table quarters and steal them. Not necessarily has to be survivable if it has a small footprint and can hide. In my BA I'd use incursors or scouts, my Tyranids have Lictors and Rippers. For Thousand Sons what do we have? Slow rubrics? Possibly Enlightened, maybe a Tzaangor shaman? Single spawn that's not worth shooting? Risen Rubricae could put a tough unit in a table quarter to stay there all game if I'm not using it to flame things. 

 

Home objective holders

Unit of Rubrics with the +6" range power? Cultists (non-obsec but cheap). Tzaangor (ObSec, T4, 5++)

 

Screening Units to block deepstrikes

I was using infiltrators for this with their 12" no chance bubble Cultists (20 models for the price of 5 rubrics), spawn?

 

Damage dealers.

In my BA this is the vanguard vets and Sanguard, in my nids it's genestealers and Hive Guard. For TS we have Exalted Sorcs spamming witchfires, Scarabs in both shooting and melee. Daemon Princes? Maybe a triple ecto forgefiend? I normally dislike spending a lot on characters, but I think with TS they're such a crucial part of the army. 

 

Anti vehicle (>18" range).

This is where I struggle. My BA had attack bikes, nids have hive guard, spore mines, and fast stuff to just bog them down, but BA have predators? They seem weak/swingy. Ecto fiend might be the best option, or a MM hellbrute?

 

What are you using in these roles in games, and have I missed anything?

Edited October 7, 2021 by Xenith

[Mushkilla]

In my experience so far I've found Thousand Sons don't fit so easily into these roles at least in the context of any list that has 4+ characters and 25+ rubrics (seems to be a common core). We kill things with MW and volumes of AP-2 shooting, we have lots of movement tricks, super auspex and obsec. So the normal roles don't really apply as much, almost everything can do everything (at least when it comes to rubrics and scarabs). In some ways we are the ultimate "tactical squad" army. 

 

As for secondaries ROD isn't great for us as most of our mobility is in the psychic phase and it deprives us of casting/shooting. Engage on all fronts pulls our army apart which makes it harder to protect our characters. More importantly our abundance of obsec means we like to play the primary which makes stranglehold a natural choice on almost every mission. 

 

Hope that helps. 

Edited October 8, 2021 by Mushkilla

[Xenith]

Absolutely! I still haven't played any games with the 2021 secondaries, so I'm a bit out of date. Super insights as ever, Mush - I need to get more games in with the Dusty ones. 

 

From the above, I'm definitely approaching TS from the viewpoint of playing my other armies (i.e., specific units to hit specific objectives), but from what you indicate this is maybe wrong.

 

Conversely, what you suggest seems to lock me into Duplicity? They're the most movey/flexible?

[Cleon]

I've not played Thousand sons, but I grabbed a small force (yet to be built) so have been watching a few Battle report vids on a similar 'figure out how to build what I have, figure out what I need to add' approach and I've come to the following thoughts, which may or may not fit with how you like to play.

 

1. Thousand sons want to throw some units forward early - either with risen or with psychic moves, it allows the disc sorcerers to get into spell range without being isolated and exposed up front.
2. A single Rhino is well worth considering with the 5++ it's surprisingly durable and it helps a chunky squad of rubrics geared get to the cover/objective they want to sit in to score
3. Individual spawn make the opponent make choices, when you make them make choices they can make bad choices...
4. Similarly having a squad of Tzaangors or cultists in reserve who can pop out in a place that makes your opponent have to turn round and stop them scoring can either net you vp or ease the pressure from your centre on critical turns.
5. Long range high strength firepower - The Thousand sons don't seem to do it well... I'm leaning towards a forgefiend to give me that shooting comfort blannket, but haven't been fully convinced yet.

[Mushkilla]

Conversely, what you suggest seems to lock me into Duplicity? They're the most movey/flexible?

Duplicity is good. Last game I didn't use it that much. But the threat of it is so strong. My opponent had to plan for it all game. Turns 4-5 it limited his options as any play he did that gave me space I could punish/use to score. They just can't leave things unattended in the backfield. The other big use is teleporting a rubric squad around your disk sorcerers to protect them when they push out.

 

We can definitely do builds without duplicity, but it's a solid/forgiving starting point for when you are getting into this thousand sons (helps recover positional mistakes too, same with the cult's warlord trait that gives you redeploys).

 

 

• Thousand sons want to throw some units forward early - either with risen or with psychic moves, it allows the disc sorcerers to get into spell range without being isolated and exposed up front.
• A single Rhino is well worth considering with the 5++ it's surprisingly durable and it helps a chunky squad of rubrics geared get to the cover/objective they want to sit in to score
• Individual spawn make the opponent make choices, when you make them make choices they can make bad choices...
• Similarly having a squad of Tzaangors or cultists in reserve who can pop out in a place that makes your opponent have to turn round and stop them scoring can either net you vp or ease the pressure from your centre on critical turns.
• Long range high strength firepower - The Thousand sons don't seem to do it well... I'm leaning towards a forgefiend to give me that shooting comfort blannket, but haven't been fully convinced yet.

1, 2 and 3 are spot on in my experience. Expendable spawn fill a very important roll in the army even if it's just scoring strangle hold on turn 1 without exposing anything else more valuable to shooting when you go first. 4 I haven't played around too much with this but tend to use MSU rubrics in a similar role. 5 I don't run any long range shooting and it's been fine so far, but I've been playing with the GW terrain set up (heavy on obscuring). Edited October 8, 2021 by Mushkilla