Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Thousand Sons
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This is the current 10th Edition's Thousand Sons tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Thousand Sons
Pros
Cons
- The trimming of psychic powers hurts you pretty bad.
- Your psykers leading your forces aren't just targets for being leaders, they're also your only source for Cabal Points. If they die, you'll potentially lose access to entire rituals.
Faction Rules
- Cabal of Sorcerers X: At the end of your Command phase, each unit that isn't battleshocked gives you X Cabal Points for you to spend on various rituals during the round. Each one can be applied to a specific Psyker model in your army. These can't be saved for anything big, as the Cabal Points reset to zero at the beginning of your next command phase, so you'll need to really pick out how you're going to blow these. Each Ritual can only be used up to once per phase.
- Weaver of Fates (2 Cabal Points): Start of any phase. Until the phase ends, one friendly faction model whose unit is within 18" of the psyker can re-roll a failed save.
- Temporal Surge (5 Cabal Points): Start of your shooting. One friendly unit within 18" of the psyker that isn't engaged can immediately move normally, but they can't charge afterward.
- Echoes from the Warp (6 Cabal Points): Start of any phase. One stratagem targeting the psyker's unit will cost 0 CP and can be used even if already used. Expect to use this a lot, since it allows absolute bullshit like firing Overwatch twice with the same unit.
- Doombolt (7 Cabal Points): Start of your shooting. Target one visible enemy unit within 18" of the psyker and roll a d6. On a 1, the enemy takes d3 MW, on a 2-5 they suffer d3+3 MW, and on a 6 they take d3+6 MW, so 1-9 MW, average 5.
- Twist of Fate (9 Cabal Points): Start of any phase. One visible enemy unit within 18" of the psyker cannot make any armour saves. They better hope they have a good invuln to rely on...
The most Cabal Points you can plausibly need for the above rules per round is, therefore, 12 for Temporal Surge and Doombolt (as you'll only get 1 shooting phase), 27 for Twist of Fate (your shooting and both fights), 6 for Weaver of Fates (enemy shooting and both fights - you can need to make saves during other phases, but it's so rare there's no sense worrying about it), and 60 if you really wanted to just spam stratagems every single phase, for a total of 105. Practically speaking, you won't need anywhere near that number.
Detachments
Cult of Magic
Special Rules
- Kindred Sorcery: During each Command phase, you can pick one of the following rules for your psychic weapons.
- Malevolent Charge: Gain Lethal Hits. Good for pushing high AP weapons through, garbage on powers that need to roll to wound to shine, like Warpsmite. Better than Sustained Hits 1 only when you wound on 5s and 6s. Does not work at all on Torrent weapons.
- Psychic Maelstrom: Gain Sustained Hits 1. Better than Lethal Hits only when you wound on 2s and 3s. Does not work at all on Torrent weapons.
- Wrath of the Immaterium: Gain Devastating Wounds. Necessary when your target has a good invuln save, and the only one of these three buffs that works on Torrent weapons.
Stratagems
- Psychic Dominion (1 CP): One of your units caught in a psychic blast? Grey Knights Grand Master about to tear your wizard a new one? Pull this on and now not only will their psychic weapons suffer Hazardous for the entire phase, but your guys will also get a 4+ FNP against all psychic weapons.
- Devastating Sorcerey (1 CP): One of your psykers who's not shot yet gets the following: Until the end of the phase, each time a model in your unit makes a Psychic Attack, you can re-roll the Hit roll and you can re-roll the Wound roll.
- Destined by Fate (1 CP): when one of your psykers fails a save, that attack's damage becomes 0.
- Ensorcelled Infusion (1 CP): Before one of your psyker units shoots, all of said unit's inferno bolters, inferno combi-bolters, inferno bolt pistols, inferno combi-weapons become S5 and gain [PSYCHIC]. See Kindred Sorcery? Now it applies to the unit's inferno guns.
- Sorcerous Might (1 CP): Before a psyker shoots, all of his ranged psychic weapons range is increased by 9"
- Warp Sight (2 CP): as long as one of your psykers can draw line of sight to a single unit, all of your other psykers psychic weapons gain [INDIRECT FIRE, IGNORES COVER] against said unit.
Enchancements
- Lord of Forbidden Lore: [Thousand Sons Psyker] model only. The bearer can be selected to use a Ritual even if another Psyker from your army has already been selected to use that Ritual this phase.
- Athenaean Scrolls: [Thousand Sons Psyker] model only. In your Command phase, if the bearer is on the battlefield and is not Battle-shocked, it generates you 1 additional Cabal point this phase.
- Umbarlefic Crystal: [Thousand Sons] model only. Once per battle, in your Command phase, you can remove the bearer’s unit from the battlefield. If you do, in the Reinforcementsstep of your next Movement phase, set that unit back up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" horizontally away from all enemy models
- Arcane Vortex: [Thousand Sons] model only. Add 1 to the Strength and Damage characteristics of Psychic weapons equipped by the bearer.
Equipment
Ranged Weapons:
- Inferno Boltgun: 2 shots at 24" with S4 AP-1 1 damage.
- Inferno Bolt Pistol: Same as above but 1 shot and 12" and gains [PISTOL] rule.
- Plasma Pistol: 1 shot at 12" S7 AP-2 1 damage with [PISTOL] or supercharge it for S8 AP-3 2 damage with [PISTOL, HAZARDOUS]
- Warpflamer: D6 shots at 12" S4 AP-1 1 damage with [IGNORE COVER, TORRENT]
- Warpflame Pistol: same as above but S3 and gains [PISTOL] rule
- Soulreaper Cannon: 6 shots at 24" S6 AP-1 1 damage with [DEVASTATING WOUNDS]
- Warp Vortex: The MVB's special. Pick one of the following:
- Blast: D6+3 shots at 24" S9 AP-2 2 Damage with [BLAST]
- Beam: 1 shot at 24" S18 AP-4 D6+6 damage with [DEVASTATING WOUNDS]
- Torrent: 2D6 shots at 12" S6 AP-1 1 damage with [TORRENT, IGNORES COVER]
Melee Weapons:
- Close Combat Weapon: Your unarmed rubrics slap enemies twice at S4 AP0 1 damage.
Psychic Weapons:
All of the following weapons have the [PSYCHIC] rule as expected
Ranged:
- Warpsmite: The standard Aspiring Sorcerer spell doing 2 shots (3 if scarab occult sorcerer) at 18" S4 AP-3 D1 and [ANTI-INFANTRY 4+, DEVASTATING WOUNDS, PISTOL].
- Psychic Stalk: Ahriman's only spell. One shot at 18" S6 AP-1 D6 damage with [PRECISION] rule letting him target characters.
- Astral Blast: 18" D6 shots S6 AP-2 D3 damage with [BLAST, DEVASTATING WOUNDS]
- Arcane Fire: 18" D6 shots S6 AP-2 D3 damage with [IGNORES COVER, TORRENT]
- Coruscating Fire: 18" 3 shots S4 AP-3 2 damage [ANTI-MONSTER 4+, ANTI-VEHICLE 4+, DEVASTATING WOUNDS]
- Fires of the Abyss: 12" 2D6 shots S5 AP-1 1 damage [PISTOL, SUSTAINED HITS 3]
- Screamer Invocation: 18" 2D3 shots S6 AP-2 1 damage [TORRENT] or supercharge it for 2D6 shots and [HAZARDOUS]
- Gaze of Magnus: 24" 3D3 shots S9 AP-2 3 damage [DEVASTATING WOUNDS]
- Tzeentch Firestorm: 24" D6+3 shots S5 AP-1 2 damage [BLAST]
Melee
- Force Weapon: swings at S6 AP-1 D3 damage. Number of attacks varies per user.
- Black Staff of Ahriman 5 swings at S7 AP-1 3 damage.
- Blade of Magnus: has two modes, strike: 7 swings S16 AP-3 3 damage with [DEVASTATING WOUNDS] or sweep: 14 swings S8 AP-1 1 damage.
Unit Analysis
As per the Daemon index, you can have 1/4 of your army in points be Chaos Daemons but only Tzeentch Deamons. As per the Adeptus Titanicus index, you can have up to 1 Chaos Titan model. As per the Chaos Knights index, you can have up to 1 titanic or 3 war dog Chaos Knights models in your army. See those tactica pages for an in-depth analysis, but remember, in both cases anything you field will lose its Faction rules (what happens in terms of Detachment rules will still be Detachment-specific, but you'll have to pick a CSM Detachment).
Characters
- Daemon Prince: 2 cabal points. A big beatstick of a daemon wizard with a solid combat loadout. Gives you 2 cabal points and can give your dustbots [PRECISION] once per battle to snipe someone's characters out of their bodyguard unit. also gives a -1 to hit aura to all thousand sons units within 6". This one's for buffing and marching with your dudes
- Daemon Prince with Wings: 2 cabal points. T9 instead of T10 version that can fly around and teleport around the battlefield. This one's for murdering anything in your path.
- Exalted Sorcerer: Your main wizard lord, 2 cabal points. Gives your rubrics 4++ and can resurrect one on a 2+ or 2 if you roll a 6 or takes D3 MW on a 1. His main spell is Astral Blast spell.
- Exalted Sorcerer on Disc of Tzeentch: 6W and M12" Version. 2 Cabal points. Also gives rubrics 4++ but rather than reviving them he cripples an enemy unit within 18" to halve their movement, charge and advance speed on a 2+, or he can slap himself in the face on a 1 and take D3 MW. Equipped with Arcane Fire spell.
- Sorcerer: 1 cabal point. Gives your rubrics [LETHAL HITS] to auto-wound anything on a 6 to hit. His unit cannot be attacked by anything more than 18" away. Has Fires of the Abyss spell
- Compared the the ES, this guy is your chaff clearing leader; with SUSTAINED HITS 3, his fire spell pairs well with Twist of Fate or Wrath of the Immaterium
- Sorcerer in Terminator Armor: 2 cabal points. Can only join Scarab Occult Terminators gives your Scarab Occult [LETHAL HITS] and marks a unit within 18" for death by giving any THOUSAND SONS unit that attack it reroll 1s to hit for the turn. Has Coruscating Flames spell.
- This guy is the only Sorcerer with anti-heavy abilities without taking Magnus or an MVB, but with only 3 shots, it's only good for plinking some wounds off.
- Infernal Master: 2 cabal points. Gives your rubrics [SUSTAINED HITS 1] on all their weapons and once per turn can make a single hit, wound, damage or saving roll you make for him into an unmodified 6, which wouldve been a lot better on anyone other than him. Has Screamer Invocation spell, quite literally making him an actual Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Master nkw
- Tzaangor Shaman:
Epic Heroes
- Ahriman: The great psychic culling has affected many psykers, and Ahriman shows just how painful that feels. His powers got gutted and now all he does is let the unit he leads add 1 to wound rolls as well as a single-use ability to use a single ritual on him for free. The only real weapon he has aside from his Black Staff (not shabby at A5 WS2+ S7 AP-1 D3, but not something you'd want to throw into all fights) is his Psychic Stalk, a Precision 18" A1 BS2+ S6 AP-1 D1d6 power that lets him snipe out enemy characters. That said, he does provide 3 Cabal Points.
- Ahriman on Disc of Tzeentch: See above? Same except moves 10" and has 6 wounds and FLY. He can still join a rubric squad for protection.
- Magnus the Red:
Battleline
- Rubric Marines: While they lost their AP reduction, they keep their 5++ as compensation. They remain a pretty decent shooting force with their basic Inferno Bolters going down to AP-1, but at least keeping its AP, shooting twice at 24" without the need to stand still and the Soulreaper Cannon getting made into effectively an assault cannon with Devastating Wounds. Bringers of Change also lets them re-roll 1s to wound when shooting, which upgrades to re-rolling all wounds if the target is near an objective that you don't control. Stacking an Icon of Flame gives another improvement by making critical wounds improve the AP of the hit, although of course an Icon of Flame won't buff a Soulreaper Cannon (or anything else with DW, like Warpsmite).
- The Aspiring Sorcerer's got their own pistols between the bolt, plasma and warpflame pistols, but they also get Warpsmite as a psychic pistol, a S4 AP-3 shot with Devastating Wounds and Anti-Infantry 4+ so they can contribute alongside their rubricae in shootng.
- Tzaangor:
Infantry
- Scarab Occult Terminators: As with the Rubrics, the Scarabs have been sidegraded, with All Is Dust being replaced with a 4++ invuln and the Implacable Guardians ability, which reduces the WR of all attacks whose S beats their T (5). Yes, this is a streamlined version of 9th's CSM Mark of Nurgle, and luckily can kick in when you're in the Death Guard's Contagion range.
- Cultists:
- Tzaangor Enlightened:
Vehicles
- Helbrute:
- Chaos Rhino:
- Chaos Predator:
- Chaos Land Raider:
- Maulerfiend:
- Forgefiend:
Dedicated Transports
- Chaos Rhino:
Monsters
- Mutalith Vortex Beast: Stats uncertain, but their Warp Vortex has gained a lot of utility with multiple firing modes between a dangerous S9 AP-2 D2 Blast, a devastating S18 AP-4 D6+d6 beam with Devastating Wounds, and an S6 AP-1 super-flamer with Torrent. As an added plus, any psykers within 6" of the Mutalith actually gets double the range when using rituals.
Aircraft
- Heldrake:
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