Come see the new Thousand Sons Army, Rules, Artifacts, and Traits right out of the upcoming Wrath of Magnus book, and some thoughts on how good they are!
Our friends at Frontline Gaming got to read the new Wrath of Magnus book, and here’s what Reece had to say about it in his post:
Chaos Space Marines
- Any Chaos Space Marines detachment may be from the Thousand Sons. If they are, they have the following modifications:
- Only may include Ahriman and/or Magnus the Red as unique special characters. So, no other chaos special characters in your army unless you include them in another detachment. I dig it, it is true to the fluff that way.
- Units that can take the Mark of Tzeentch must do so. Pricey, but read on to see more of the cool special rules.
- You can’t take models with any other mark. Restrictive but cool, IMO. This is a 1k Sons army, after all.
- All units that can take Veterans of the Long War (VotLW) must do so….for free! Nice! That is actually pretty bad ass.
- Daemon Princes must be Daemons of Tzeentch.
- Psykers from the Detachment can choose to generate all of their powers from the Discipline of Tzeentch.
- Blessing of Tzeentch: any unit with VotLW that is affected by a blessing has their invul save improved by 1….WOW. Basically you get an extra (and awesome) buff layered on top of every blessing for free. That is incredible and really helps to offset the high cost per model of the Thousand Sons by increasing all of their durability.
- Perhaps you just might, maybe see some Chaos Space Marines with this…maybe?! Haha, throw an Exalted Sorcerer into a unit of 20 CSM with the Mark of Tzeentch and they all rock a 5++ and are Fearless! Eh, probably not, but a man can dream, right?!
A combo that will really resonate with some players will be to use this on a Lord of Tzeentch on a Disc with the Sigil of Corruption to get that sweet 2++. Edit: MoT limits you to a 3++ maximum, sorry. -Ed- Blood Feud: Space Wolves and Thousand Sons don’t like one another…any unit with VotLW reroll failed to hit rolls when attacking Space Wolves, but Wolves in return get Hatred (Thousand Sons). Pretty brutal but probably benefits Wolves more as even though they only get it for one round, they tend to be much better in melee. Characterful rule, though.
- Legacy of the Rubricae: Rubric Marines are troops.
Warlord Traits
- Arrogance of Aeons: Warlord gains Adamantium Will and can reroll a single dice with they Deny the Witch.
- Undying Form: Warlord gains Eternal Warrior.
- Aetherstride: Warlord and his unit are not slowed by difficult terrain and do not suffer the initiative penalty for charging through difficult terrain.
- Lord of Forbidden Lore: Warlord knows an additional psychic power.
- Walker of the Webway: Warlord and his unit gain Deep Strike. If they already had Deep Strike, they do not scatter when Deep Striking.
- Lord of Flux: Enemy units within 12″ of your Warlord treat all terrain, even open ground, as difficult terrain. Additionally, any enemy units that run, trubo-boost, move flat out or charge within that radius must take dangerous terrain tests.
Some really solid Warlord Traits in there! I think this really gives the Strategic table a run for its money. I especially like Lord of Flux for the chance to deal incidental damage and slow units down. Eternal Warrior is always hot, and the ability to Deep Strike with a unit–potentially without scattering–is excellent.
Artefacts
- Astral Grimoire: In the movement phase, the bearer of a friendly infantry unit within 12″ and that unit gains the Jump unit type.
- Seer’s Bane: A Daemon Weapon with the following profile: Strength as user, AP 2, Force and Daemon Weapon with the Bane of Wisdom rule: the strength of the weapon is equal to the bearer’s Leadership characteristic (except against vehicles) as strength and the target’s Leadership characteristic as their Toughness. Use the targets normal Toughness for the purposes of Instant Death.
- Helm of the Third Eye: Gives the bearer and their unit Overwatch even if they have Slow and Purposeful, and gives them BS2 Overwatch if they do not have S&P.
- Staff of Arcane Compulsion: Melee weapon, Strength +2, AP 4, Concussive, Force, Repelling Sweep: enemy units charging the bearer or his unit suffer a -2 penalty to their charge roll.
- Coruscator: Ranged weapon: 12: range, Strength 4, AP 3, Pistol, Blast, Soul Blaze
- Athenaean Scrolls: If the bearer passes a psychic check with two or more of the same number on the dice, the power can’t be stopped by a Deny the Witch roll.
Let’s start with the Psyhics here. First off the Scrolls are cool for sure, and reminds me of the old Irresistible Force rule. Depending on points cost this may be an auto include in some lists. The Daemon weapon also is pretty dope, as AP2 and force is a great combo on non monstrous creatures for sure. No sure if its worth it on princes, points withstanding.
For the traits, I like the majority of them. The non scatter one is great, and like we said these may be on par with how the Deathwatch rules are on some levels, so if you can drop the Termies in on your terms with all that hot fire, that can be a boon for the Chaos player for sure.
I love Eternal warrior as well. There surely isn’t enough of it in the Chaos Dex currently, and having not see the Character rules yet (or the new legion rules) this may be a very rules precedent for Chaos.
Now for their army wide rules, pretty cool stuff for sure there. I love the blessing to just give you a +1 if you are eligible of course for basically free right? The cult troops actually being troops is another great precedent as well. If they do turn out to be cheaper that they currently are, like we saw earlier, then I think this book may have some serious staying power for sure.
Free Veterans is just icing on the cake actually, it’s literally what Chaos players have been clamoring for in droves.
That’s it for this one, we’ll break down more of the book from Frontline’s teaser post in the morning!
After seeing just these rules, I am super stoked for the other eight legion specific rules that will be in Traitor Legions book that’s coming in just mere weeks!
Latest on the new Thousand Sons Model Releases & Rules
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
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About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
