Games Workshop just gave us our first rules preview for the Thousand Sons. Come check out the new Stratagems and rules previews.
The new Thousand Sons codex is on its way, and this week Games Workshop is giving us previews of what we’ll be seeing inside the covers. Let’s take a look at what they had to say about it, some of the new Stratagems, psychic powers, and a new relic.
After decades of waiting, the Thousand Sons are finally receiving their own codex. It’s been a long journey for the Thousand Sons. From a passing mention in the early editions of Warhammer 40,000, they’ve evolved into a fan-favourite faction, seeing a growing number of unique units, a distinct and unusual range from Forge World representing their forces in the Horus Heresy and, of course, being the first Traitor Legion to receive their Daemon Primarch in plastic.
Now, the Thousand Sons are receiving a codex of their own, designed to represent how this brotherhood of sorcerers, automata and beasts masters the battlefields of the 41st Millennium.
Glamour of Tzeentch is a new psychic power with a warp charge value of 7. If successful you’ll select a friendly Thousand Sons unit within 12″ of your psyker, and your opponent must subtract 1 from any hit rolls made for models that target that unit until the start of your next psychic phase.
Doombolt is also another new psychic power, and it looks like it’s going to be devastating if you’re able to successfully cast it with a warp charge value of 9. You’ll select a visible enemy unit with 18″ of the psyker, that unit will then suffer D3 mortal wounds and they will be forced to halve their Move characteristic and cannot Advance in their next Movement phase. This is going to put wounds on a unit and slow them down, hopefully, long enough that you’ll be able to get it off again next Psychic phase.
This will be super nice to sling in addition to Bolt of Tzeentch (if it made the cut), and of course, smite itself.
Webway Infiltration is a Stratagem that can only be used once per battle, and it’s used during your deployment. For 1 CP you can set up one Thousand Sons Infantry unit, or two for 3 CPs, in the webway instead of placing it on the battlefield. This unit, or units, will then be able to emerge from the webway at the end of any of your Movement phases. They can be set up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9″ from enemy models.
The new relic Dark Matter Crystal is going to allow you to select the bearer or a friendly Thousand Sons Infantry unit within 12″ of him. You’ll then remove the unit from the battlefield and immediately set it up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9″ from any enemy models. This is not considered Falling Back if you’re within 1″ of an enemy model, and it can only be used once per battle, at the end of your Movement phase.
For 1 CP you can use the Warpflame Gargoyles Stratagem at the start of any Fight phase. This is going to allow you to pick a Thousand Sons Vehicle from your army, excluding the Helbrute and Heldrake, roll a D6 for each unit within 3″ (friend or foe), subtracting 2 from the roll if the unit being rolled for is a Character or Vehicle model. That unit will suffer D3 mortal wounds on a 4+.
You’ll be generating more attacks before you know it with the Cycle of Slaughter Stratagem. For 2 CPs, at the end of the Fight phase, you’ll select a Tzaangor unit from your army that you can immediately fight an additional time with. Talk about a double tap, no one tell Khorne…
Fated Mutation is 1 CP and it’s used in the Fight phase just before a unit of Tzeentch Chaos Spawn from your army fights. Instead of rolling a D3 on the Mutated Beyond Reason table you will instead be able to choose the result you want. Additionally, you can re-roll the number of attacks each Chaos spawn in the unit will make until the end of the phase.
Last but not least, The Flesh-Change. This Stratagem is used at the start of any phase and it’s going to cost you 1 CP. You’ll pick a Thousand Sons Infantry Character from your army, that character is then slain, and you can add a Chaos Spawn to your army. If you do so that Chaos Spawn is set up within 6″ of the Character before you remove it from the table as a casualty. Any Chaos Spawn created in this manner must have the Tzeentch keyword and doesn’t cost any reinforcement point in a matched play game. Do you have an Infantry Character that’s going to die soon? Spend the1 CP and bring in a Chaos Spawn with full health! Sounds like a great deal to us.
Thousand Sons players will also be getting three new Psychic Disciplines they’ll be able to use. You’ll have access to the Dark Hereticus discipline (which has been reprinted in the new codex), the Discipline of Tzeentch (also reprinted in the new codex), and the new Discipline of Change.
All in all this preview is making the Thousand Sons look like an extremely intimidating, psychic heavy army, on the tabletop. Make sure you check back in with us later this week when GW previews some new units in the book and what they mean for your army.
What are your thoughts on the latest Thousand Sons preview? Are you going to be playing this army when the new Codex comes out? Let us know in the comments below.
