Unit of the Week: Mutalith Vortex Beast

[Xenith]

++Thousand Sons Unit of the Week++

++Mutalith Vortex Beast++

New codex, new discussions about units! As we already have in other faction sections, this is the Thousand Sons Unit of the Week series, where each week we select and dissect a datasheet found in the book, and discuss how we use the unit in-game, favoured loadouts and combos, essentially how to use these units best. What have you found that works, and what doesnt? Please try to stick to the idea of making the unit in question work, as opposed to pointing out other units that might do a better job - we'll get to those in time!

This week, we will be discussing the bloody big betentacled behemoth, the Mutalith Vortex Beast. Getting a seeming upgrade since the last codex, the beast I personally don't see on tables. Are they any good this edition?

What are you thoughts, and how best would you use the unit?

• To compliment a list, or to build a list around?
  
• Will you be running multiples?
  
• What <GREAT CULT>, loadouts, spell relic and Stratagem support do you prefer and how much does it depend on the above choices?
  
• Are you buffing this unit, and if so, how?
  
• Are you building as a damage dealer or buff-provider?
  
• Uses in Matched, Narrative and Open Play
  
• How have they fared for you in-game?
  

Over to you.

++Thousand Sons Unit of the Week Index Link++

Edited November 15, 2021 by Xenith

[Naryn]

I still struggle to see a usecase for these guys. How do people run them? I can't even conceptualize what I would do with them.

[Xenith]

I think they're maybe the best chaff-clearance we have access to, albeit in the assault phase. 3 rolls to hit per attack with the maw is 15A at S7 AP-1, which is perfect for guard, conscript blobs, and ork boyz. 

 

S8 D3 on the claws is also great for anti-meq duties, though it'll have much fewer attacks, naturally. The shooting phase antics - you'll probably deal 4MW to something on average. It might be a great way to pick off something that's been weakened by psychics in your psychic phase, without having to waste a unit shooting on it, or split fire and risk not kiling the target. 

 

Other things, I think it can be respositioned with Sorcerous Facade. At 145 pts, maybe it has use as a distraction carnifex that the opponent cannot ignore due to regeneration? 

[WarriorFish]

I was thinking about these last week when perusing the codex for list building. My thinking was it'd be a useful combat unit that can do a decent job as Xen outlines, especially where you'd rather not assign Marines, but also have a degree of durability so it should be a good distraction carnifex? Plus it should be interesting to build and paint :P

[Irate Khornate]

Where the Maulerfiend is a bit more killy the Mutalith is a bit more tanky and throws out a decent bit of mortal wounds.

 

It's an amazing distraction carnifex that serves a purpose if targeted or left alone and works best with a twin.

 

Great escorts/ prized pets for a Daemon prince as well

[dice4thedicegod]

I think these are great for their points.

 

Extra mortals. Good resilience. And a decent melee (against either chaff or terminators).

 

The only downside is that obly a couple of their powers may be particularly useful on any turn, so multiple vortexes might be sub optimal.

[Xenith]

Yea, the limit of 4 powers, 2 powers each, and only unused powers limits you to 2 of them in an army, realistically, otherwise you lose a lot of their benefit.