Wh40k 10th Edition Faction Focus: Thousand Sons

[Lord Marshal]

Magnus did nothing / something wrong

(Delete as appropriate)

 

 

 

Grey Knights tomorrow.

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Lord Marshal

[WrathOfTheLion]

The Cabal of Sorcerers looks quite flexible, giving some nice options. Since it says on a Psyker model and as they mention later in the article, it means you can use them on an Aspiring Sorcerer.

 

The Cult of Magic looks fairly flexible, being able to pick that bonus in the command phase.

 

All in all, I'm quite liking what I see so far. This one is a lot more in depth than many of the others, so I think I'm going to have to go over it again.

[TrawlingCleaner]

Wow! Thousand Sons look like a blast to play!

Doombolt can target Lone Operatives too which is rad. Twist of fate at 9 Cabal points shouldn't be too hard to do either

[DemonGSides]

Everyone complaining about Psychic phase going away was going to hurt psychic armies should be pleasantly surprised.  Basically gave them their own psychic phase, and lets you use the psykers how you want to use them; much better than rolling on a table.

I like how the Aspiring Sorceror doesn't get separate specialties, but can be the focus for ritual powers, letting them use psychic powers without giving every Rubric brick a bunch of abilities.  And their psychic attack is pretty gnarly.

[Indy Techwisp]

Is it me, or does it look like that Ahriman doesn't have a Disk?

 

I wonder if that means there's a separate Ahriman on Disk profile...

[WrathOfTheLion]

Just now, Indy Techwisp said:

Is it me, or does it look like that Ahriman doesn't have a Disk?

 

I wonder if that means there's a separate Ahriman on Disk profile...

I think it's simply so he can join a rubric squad.

[Indy Techwisp]

Just now, WrathOfTheLion said:

I think it's simply so he can join a rubric squad.

 

He has a Disk on the model, so it'd be a bit weird of he couldn't use the disk at all in 10th

[sitnam]

2 minutes ago, Indy Techwisp said:

Is it me, or does it look like that Ahriman doesn't have a Disk?

 

I wonder if that means there's a separate Ahriman on Disk profile...

I'm assuming it's a wargear upgrade like it is now, presumably it'll change his keywords too. I wonder if he'll gain lone operatives or be allowed to join a unit of Tzaangor Enlightened.

 

The Mutalith looks tasty, I love it

[Malakithe]

2 minutes ago, Indy Techwisp said:

 

He has a Disk on the model, so it'd be a bit weird of he couldn't use the disk at all in 10th

I thought it was optional?

[Tokugawa]

1 minute ago, Indy Techwisp said:

 

He has a Disk on the model, so it'd be a bit weird of he couldn't use the disk at all in 10th

Wargear options(and special abilities) are on back side of datacard. 

[Redcomet]

I really like those army rules

[Tokugawa]

9 minutes ago, TrawlingCleaner said:

Wow! Thousand Sons look like a blast to play!

Doombolt can target Lone Operatives too which is rad. Twist of fate at 9 Cabal points shouldn't be too hard to do either

D3+3 MW is enough to remove a common solo unit immediately.

[Malakithe]

5 minutes ago, Tokugawa said:

D3+3 MW is enough to remove a common solo unit immediately.

And the Vortex Beast can double the range to really snipe stuff

[happyslugger]

I think this looks pretty cool and I have not long finished 2.5k of TS to play with.  I haven't had a battle with them in 9th, so 10th will be a first for me.  I don't think they look too bad at all and so glad I picked up a MVB :-)

[sairence]

Looks like some tasty rules. Definitely some stuff that has me worried to face it. 

 

I mainly play Guard and the thought of someone just being able to turn off the armour save on my Russ/Dorn/Baneblade is, quite frankly, horrifying. In a potentially feels bad way. Guess it will depend how easy or hard it is to get to those 9+ Cabal points consistently.

 

Also, maybe this is just me, but...what exactly is the way something like Sisters of Silence counters psychic armies now? After the FNP preview in the Talons article I expected Thousand Sons to get the psychic KW slapped on their basic weapons, or something along those lines. 

[WrathOfTheLion]

7 minutes ago, happyslugger said:

I think this looks pretty cool and I have not long finished 2.5k of TS to play with.  I haven't had a battle with them in 9th, so 10th will be a first for me.  I don't think they look too bad at all and so glad I picked up a MVB :-)

I'll probably grab a Mutalith, and I have an extra Forgefiend I might commandeer for my TS project as well. I've got quite a bit of TS I'm trying to get ready right now, it's looking like they are going to be quite fun. Just need to finish painting them.

Edited May 25, 2023 by WrathOfTheLion

[Shinespider]

Overall, neat rules. Repurposing Cabal points into a mechanism to cast powers otherwise cut was a good move. 

[Khornestar]

9 cabal points seems like a lot (or 0, with Ahriman!) but yikes, no armor saves for the enemy unit is nasty. 36” if next to a mutalith.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Khornestar

[Bradeh]

Still interesting to work out where the anti-hightoughness comes from because Rubrics and Scarabs don't have physic weapons, you'll have Doombolt and a few other smite type attacks. Need to see other datasheets really. 

[sitnam]

4 minutes ago, Bradeh said:

Still interesting to work out where the anti-hightoughness comes from because Rubrics and Scarabs don't have physic weapons, you'll have Doombolt and a few other smite type attacks. Need to see other datasheets really. 

The Mutalith has a pretty decent looking anti-tank profile, alongside a flamer and blast profile. Might not be the best AT in the game but it is something

[Malakithe]

2 minutes ago, Khornestar said:

9 cabal points seems like a lot (or 0, with Ahriman!) but yikes, no armor saves for the enemy unit is nasty. 36” if next to a mutalith.

Probably not. Looking at 4-6 via Rubrics alone. Ahriman is 3 which means Magnus is 4. Sorcs are probably 2. Scarabs probably 1. Those are the only real units that will be used. Stuff that doesnt give Cabal points will  very likely be dropped 

[sitnam]

Just now, Malakithe said:

Probably not. Looking at 4-6 via Rubrics alone. Ahriman is 3 which means Magnus is 4. Sorcs are probably 2. Scarabs probably 1. Those are the only real units that will be used. Stuff that doesnt give Cabal points will  very likely be dropped 

I'm hoping the Tzaangors have some utility that makes them viable without overshadowing Rubrics. Given their lore of being lore hunters, I could see them generating cabal points from claiming objectives 

[WrathOfTheLion]

10 minutes ago, Bradeh said:

Still interesting to work out where the anti-hightoughness comes from because Rubrics and Scarabs don't have physic weapons, you'll have Doombolt and a few other smite type attacks. Need to see other datasheets really. 

Ahriman can get you +1 to wound for the whole unit he's in, which can be pretty good. If he's attached to some Rubricae, with the Aspiring Sorcerer, you're getting reroll ones (or all if the target is on the objective), with +1 to wound. Could stack that with the Icon of Flame to get AP -2 flamers on a crit wound, then just fish for 5s and 6s with mass warpflamer shots. Might not be good, haven't worked out the math, but it could be fun against the right target.

 

Other than that, the Mutalith has a pretty strong shot with a S18 beam.

Edited May 25, 2023 by WrathOfTheLion

[Commissar Yossarian]

I get the sense that TS may end up being very swingy.

They seem to have good production on their turn, but if you can only shield with 10 bodies for your leaders then it will be possible to focus down 3-4 Cabal points in a round by going through ~25 wounds. The invul saves are nice, but it just makes Ap-2 D2 weapons all the more appealing. Camping in transports will be a no-go too since the models need to be on the board to generate Cabal Points.

Then it just comes down to breakpoints on the rituals (9+, 7+, Massive reduction in potential). 

 

I really do like the rules though for a psychic heavy playstyle. It will be interesting to check back when some lists can be built to compare chances of an opponent getting the TS army below a given breakpoint in a turn, especially if the Epic Hero tag does prevent Magnus and Ahriman being in the same list.

[9x19 Parabellum]

Twist of Fate looks bonkers OP to me.  No armor saves for a unit for the whole phase?  And the ritual is 'any phase' meaning you can use it in shooting as well as close combat.   This ritual is going to pick up units.  It's also conceivable to me that it's possible to get 18 cabal points per turn, meaning this will be used TWICE per turn, and certainly with Ahriman's ability it will be used twice per turn at least 1x per game.  And despite the actual efficacy of it, just switching off the primary defensive 'thing' for every power armored unit in the game = feels bad.