Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Thousand Sons (section)

==Special Rules==
===Unit Rules===
*'''Malicious Volleys:''' {{W40kKeyword|ARCANA ASTARTES}} models using a Rapid Fire bolt weapon can take double the normal attacks (2 for bolters, 4 for combi-bolters, etc) if at least one of the following is true:
** Target is in half range, like with any rapid fire weapon wielded by anyone.
** If the firing model is {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} and didn't move during the previous Movement Phase.
** If the firing model is a {{W40kKeyword|TERMINATOR}}.
***GW has removed the ability from the Helbrute via FAQ.
***While useful for nearly every other Marine army, do remember that your infantry bolters are AP-2 by default, making you better than Fire Warriors but at worse Strength.
*'''Sorcerous Master:''' A basic technicality that means that any powers the Sorcerer leading a unit of Rubric Marines or Scarab Terminators casts must always measure distance starting from his base rather than letting him hide behind his tin cans and cast through them.
**This also works in reverse - any enemy ability requiring measuring distance or determining line of sight to a Psyker has to be done to the Sorcerer, not to the Rubricae.  That can get tricky to police, as your opponent will be assuming you follow the normal rules for psyker units, so make sure you stay on top of it.
*'''Teleport Strike:''' Deep Strike.
*'''Thrall:''' This is listed on specific datasheets in the codex, even though the rule is ''really'' a detachment rule.  For each {{W40kKeyword|<GREAT CULT> EXALTED SORCERER}} unit in a Detachment, one {{W40kKeyword|<GREAT CULT> SORCERER}} unit can be included in that Detachment without taking up a Battlefield Role slot.

===Detachment Rules===
In order to be Battle-forged, you can't mix two different {{W40Kkeyword|<Great Cult>}}s in the same detachment (models without the keyword at all can't mess this up, naturally).  A Battle-forged {{W40Kkeyword|Thousand Sons}} detachment gains these:

*'''Brotherhood of Sorcerers:'''
** All of your units gain +1 to their psychic tests.
** All of your {{W40kKeyword|ARCANA ASTARTES}} and {{W40kKeyword|TZAANGOR}} units gain a 5++ invulnerable save.
*** Note that {{W40kKeyword|ARCANA ASTARTES}} extends to all of your legion units, such as Rhinos, Vindicators, Helbrutes, and even the FW units. This basically means all of your units have 5++ or better, with the exception of Cultists and Chaos Spawn.
*'''Cults of the Legion:''' Every {{W40kKeyword|THOUSAND SONS}} detachment can be assigned a cult. Every unit with the {{W40kKeyword|<GREAT CULT>}} keyword changes it to the appropriate Cult name, which in practice is your non-{{W40kKeyword|TZAANGOR}} non-{{W40kKeyword|CULTISTS}} units (yep, your mindless Chaos Spawns are cultists in the Cult, but your human Cultists AREN'T cultists in the Cult, nor are your anthropomorphic bird cultists! Tzeentch loves mind fucks.), and are not a named character. Every {{W40kKeyword|thousand sons <GREAT CULT> PSYKER}} automatically knows the cult's psychic power, in addition to the other powers they know, and every {{W40kKeyword|Thousand Sons <GREAT CULT> character}} can gain the cult's warlord trait when they would gain a warlord trait.  The relics are a bit different: if your warlord is either Magnus or from a given cult, {{W40kKeyword|thousand sons <GREAT CULT> character}}s gain access to their relics, which means if you e.g. take a Cult of Magic detachment and a Cult of Duplicity detachment, a Cult of Magic warlord only enables the Cult of Magic relic; throwing in Magnus in a third detachment as your warlord would unlock both cult's relics, while making Ahriman the warlord would unlock ''neither'', making him the worst warlord you can field.
** That said, it's not like you can't take Magnus or Ahriman in any cult, as they have rules circumventing the restrictions of taking a cult. It's just that they gain nothing from using them, and Ahriman blocks relic access.
*'''Jealous Tyrant''': Restriction that stops you from spamming Daemon Princes. You may only include one daemon prince per Thousand Sons detachment.
*'''Legion Command:''' So all your unnamed sorcerers of any stripe (Sorcerers in power and termie armour, Exalted Sorcerers, Aspiring Sorcerers, and Scarab Occult Sorcerers) can all buy up to one of the upgrades available to them (listed in their descriptions). You can only take each one of these upgrades once per army and they cost points/power level in order to grab them.  This works like relics: having a single {{W40Kkeyword|Thousand Sons}} detachment legalises these upgrades for all valid recipients in your army, not just in the qualifying detachment.
*'''Mere Servants:''' Restrictions on the units that you can bring in your army list, same as Nurgle's lot.
** You're not allowed to take more {{W40kKeyword|THOUSAND SONS CULTISTS}} units than {{W40kKeyword|RUBRIC MARINES}} and {{W40kKeyword|SCARAB OCCULT TERMINATORS}} in each of your {{W40kKeyword|THOUSAND SONS}} detachments. 
** You're not allowed to take more {{W40kKeyword|BRAY}} units than {{W40kKeyword|RUBRIC MARINES}} and {{W40kKeyword|SCARAB OCCULT TERMINATORS}} in each of your {{W40kKeyword|THOUSAND SONS}} detachments. Which is hilarious when you realise that the new combat patrol box will come with one scarab occult terminator unit and 20!!! Tzaangors. Guess you've gotta buy another box of rubrics, if you wanna use 2 squads of 10 tzaangors. [[Games Workshop|Just as planned...]] 
*'''Objective Secured:''' Given to Tzaangors, Rubrics, and Scarab Occult Terminators, even though they're Elites.

===Cabalistic Rituals===
Each turn during your psychic phase, you gain a number of Cabal Points for each psyker (4 for Magnus, 3 for Ahriman, daemon princes, and exalted sorcerers, 2 for base sorcerers and infernal magisters, and 1 for tzaangor shamans and the sorcerers stacked with the rubricae). These are use it or lose it, so try to always use all of them.  Each unit can only benefit from 1 ritual per phase, and each ritual can only be used once per phase, unless a special rule changes it.  The sum of the cost of every ritual is 52, although usually you won't find a use for every ritual every turn.

*'''Warp Sight:''' Costs 3 points after manifesting. Allows you to use the LOS of another Cabbalistic Ritual unit when targeting the manifested power. The power still originates from the psyker, so the range is unaffected. Useful for bypassing obscuring terrain and LOS blockers. 
*'''Echoes from the Warp:''' Costs 4 points before manifesting. Allows you to convert Cabal Points into Command Points. Select one psyker unit in your army, and they can take a Warp Charge 3 psychic action to gain 1 command point. Not your first choice, but if you have the extra Cabal Points and a psyker with nothing left to cast, at least you get something.
**Bear in mind you can immediately spend the CP on a stratagem in the same phase, so you can use this on a psyker who's out of position to cast anything useful and have them do this to buy the Malefic Scroll strat for setting Smite's output to 3 wounds on someone else.  Do this early if you're going to, because the strat becomes less and less useful as Smite's WC rises.
*'''Imbued Manifestations:''' Costs 4 points after manifesting to add +6" to one power's range.  If a power lists multiple ranges, this adds +6" to whichever range is mentioned first, which for the powers you have access to always means the distance from the caster to the power's target.
**Do you miss having 24" smites? Well at least with this you can Doombolt from a safe position. TSons are kinda gimped by  Abhor the Witch, so you'll always want to keep a nice healthy distance. It's not like you can [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Tyranids (9E)|relay psychic powers like some hive minded insects]], thatd be weird.
*'''Malevolent Charge:''' Costs 4 points after manifesting. If a power "inflicts" mortal wounds on enemy units, you can use this to deal an additional d3 mortal wounds to any one of those units after inflicting.
**Note that Gaze of Hate, Dark Blessing, Tzeentch's Firestorm, and Baleful Devolution all roll for number of mortal wounds inflicted, and that number can be 0. Consider using in conjunction with smite unless you feel like wasting Cabal points.  
**This right here comes into its own big time when using Astral Blast, see that Character your opponent thought he had cozied up behind a screening unit? Astral Blast the screen then use this to smack the character for d3+1 MW. If he's close enough for Look out, Sir! He's close enough to get caught in the blast.
*'''Kindred Sorcerers:''' Costs 5 points while manifesting, after the psychic test, to add +1 to the test.  Works on powers and actions.
**'''Wrath of the Immaterium:''' Costs 9 points while manifesting, after the psychic test, to add +2 to the test.  Works on powers and actions.
*'''Pact from Beyond:''' Costs 7 points while manifesting, before the psychic test. Auto-cast a power at the minimum required warp charge value. Crucial for those clutch moments when you need to turn off an enemy's invulnerable save. ''Only works on powers, not actions.''
**Could also have some value if you've been going heavy on smites: if the minimum required is 10+, it's a guaranteed super smite with no possibility of perils.
***Note that because it's possible to use 2 rituals at once via the Arrogance of Aeons Warlord Trait, Pact from Beyond only makes sense if it happens before any additive bonuses (to prevent PfB from causing a rules paradox with Kindred Sorcerers or Wrath of the Immaterium).  That's why PfB on 10+ Smite is enough for 1d6 mortals - your native +1 happens afterward.  Likewise, Magnus can use this when Smite is at WC 8 to force an 11.
*'''Cabbalistic Focus:''' Costs 8 points while manifesting, after the psychic test, to make the power or action undeniable.  Use this when you're casting a vitally important power that has a low wc and your roll was bad, like if you need Temporal Surge to happen right now and you rolled the minimum possible.
*'''Psychic Maelstrom:''' Costs 8 points, before manifesting. Allows a psyker to attempt to manifest a Witchfire that has already been attempted this phase, successfully or otherwise. In addition, the unit can try and cast the power even if it does not normally know it. Need to double up on Doombolt, there you go - it's the only Witchfire remotely worth paying this many points for.

====Ways to get Cabal Points====
Here's all the ways you can get Cabal Points:
*The Seeker After Shadows Warlord Trait generates an additional cabal point from the user; remember, you can assign this using the High Acolytes strat to a non-Warlord character, or you can use the Chronus Tutorum relic for it (which can be forced onto your Warlord via the Dilettante upgrade on an Exalted Sorcerer, or you can use the Sorcerous Arcana strat in conjunction with High Acolytes or Dilettante to get it onto a non-Warlord as a second WT).
*The Cult of Magic's relic, the Arcane Focus, discounts all rituals used on a target by 1, which is as good as +1 point normally, or +2 points if combined with the Arrogance of Aeons Warlord Trait, which as a reminder is one of Magnus'.
*Magnus generates 4.
*Ahriman, Exalted Sorcerers, and Thousand Sons Daemon Princes generate 3.
*Infernal Masters generate 2 automatically, and the Diabolic Savant pact generates an additional 1 point 2/3 of the time, for an average of 2.67 points from such a Master.
*Sorcerers (the basic HQ kind), Sorcerers in Terminator Armour, and Aspiring Sorcerers (the Rubric kind) with an Icon of Flame alive in their unit all generate 2.
*Scarab Occult Sorcerers, Tzaangor Shamans, and Aspiring Sorcerers without an Icon of Flame in their unit all generate 1.
*The Empyric Reservoir strat lets you pay 1 CP for +1d3 Cabal Points provided you have a Cabal Point generator within 6" of a Mutalith.
**An Infernal Master's Glimpse of Eternity pact re-roll works on this, on average increasing your Cabal Points generated this way from 2 to 2.33 after the pact goes off, which after the 2/3 success chance comes to 2.22 net.

In ascending order of points efficiency, ''ignoring'' relics and warlord traits, using current points costs and no upgrades, in points per Cabal Point (so higher is less efficient):

#Exalted Sorcerer: 33.33
#1 Infernal Master with Diabolic Savant: 33.75
#Sorcerer/Infernal Master without Diabolic Savant: 45
#*Exalted Sorcerer + Sorcerer consumes 1 HQ slot; the net efficiency is 38.
#Daemon Prince: 50
#Sorcerer in Terminator Armour: 52.5
#*Exalted Sorcerer + Sorcerer in Terminator Armour consumes 1 HQ slot; the net efficiency is 41.
#Ahriman: 53.33
#MSU Rubricae with Icon of Flame: 57.5
#Tzaangor Shaman: 70
#MSU Rubricae: 105
#Magnus: 112.5
#MSU Scarab Occult: 200
#Special Mention: provided you already have something in this list and it's near a Mutalith, a Mutalith is 72.5, but that ignores the cost of the CP to fuel it.  Since this is stratagem-based, additional Mutaliths don't generate more Cabal Points.

Given current point costs, that means the most efficient way to generate Cabal Points is an Exalted Sorcerer from the Cult of Magic with the Arrogance of Aeons Warlord Trait and the Arcane Focus relic, along with a second Exalted Sorcerer (which is slightly more efficient than paying for Dilettante) with the Seeker After Shadows Warlord Trait.  That'll cost you 1 CP for the High Acolytes strat and 200 points for the models, generate 7 cabal points per turn, and give a 1 point discount twice per turn, which amounts to 9 points per turn (assuming the Arrogance Sorcerer consumes points twice).  If you want to do it without paying any CP at all, an Exalted Sorcerer with Arrogance of Aeons + Seeker After Shadows with the relics Arcane Focus and Chronus Tutorum (used to provide a second Warlord Trait, and acquired with Dilettante) costs 135 points for generating 4 points and, if allowed to consume twice, acting as if generating 6 points.

If you really want to keep going, assuming we're filling a 2000 point Battalion detachment (and using the first strategy above), a third Exalted Sorcerer will take you to 300 points and functionally 12 Cabal Points.  Since you're now out of HQ slots, the next most efficient source is Sorcerers (if you had more slots, 1 Infernal Master is more efficient thanks to his Cabal Point pact), so 3 of those takes you to 570 points and 18 Cabal Points.  Now you have room for 6 MSU Rubricae with Icons of Flame, so 1260 points and 30 Cabal Points.  3 Tzaangor Shamans will take you to 1470 points and 33 Cabal Points, at which point you ''can'' add Scarabs, but they're so inefficient frankly you're better off throwing in a Supreme Command detachment with Magnus in it, which won't cost you any CP.  That'll take you to 1920 points and 36 Cabal Points (adding Magnus means you can't have Arrogance of Aeons on a Cult of Magic warlord, which means you lose the Cabal Point the combo provides - still more efficient than Scarabs).  The other options if you backtrack to the 1470 point are adding a Mutalith - if you ignore the CP cost of the strat and assume it's always on, that takes you to 1615/35 - and/or Scarabs, which are 1870/35 with just Scarabs and 1815/36 with a Mutalith and a Scarab.  You can help address CP concerns with the Helm of the Daemon's Eye to generate 1/3 of a CP whenever your opponent uses a strat, subject to the usual max of +1 per turn.  If you were trying to maximise your mortal wounds dealt, you can afford the base 33 needed for the +1 ritual (5), the +2 ritual (9), the auto-cast ritual (7), the ritual that adds mortal wounds to a power (4), and either the ritual that lets you cast Doombolt a second time or the one that renders a cast undeniable (both 8), with wiggle room left over.