Over the last week, we’ve seen a lot of Grey Knights and Thousand Sons 40k Rules, here’s a roundup of out there so far!
The new 40k armies are here – from Stratagems, Traits, Datasheets, and army-wide rules, check out our review on what they can do!
Grey Knights & Thousand Sons 40k Rules Roundup
The two new minis and a bunch of minis for both armies are being released in the Hexfire box alongside both new codexes. The box contains a total of 29 minis with 2 new characters for each faction. Let’s start with the Grey Knights value then go to the Thousand Sons. Now let’s jump into the rules.
New Grey Knights 40k Rules CONFIRMED!
If you’ve bought a 40k kit in the last few years, you know how the datasheets inside look. So, no real abilities, but plenty to talk about still. This image of what appears to be the Strike squad stats from an instructions pamphlet was spotted on Imgur.
Here is a quick rundown of the rules that look extra spicy!
Stat Line Changes: CONFIRMED
- 2 wounds, 3 Attacks (4 for the Justicar). This goes for all the regular power armor guys, meaning they all grab an extra wound and 2 extra attacks. Which is just insane! This also means Termies will probably have 4 attacks base, but that’s just a guess for now.
Shooting Weapon Changes: CONFIRMED
- Storm Bolter – 24”, Rapid Fire 2, S4, AP0, D1
- Incinerator – 12”, Heavy D6, S6, AP-1, D1
- Psilencer – 24” Heavy 6, S4, AP-1, D1
- Psycannon – 24” heavy 3, S7, AP-1, D2
The Psilencer losing some power is a bit of a bummer but does have a lot of shots. But again, we haven’t seen the abilities or powers yet. So you might be able to buff all your weapons? So don’t get too worried yet. The Psycannon still looks pretty strong, so no worries there.
Melee Weapon Changes: CONFIRMED
- Force Sword – S+1, AP-3, D2
- Force Falchion – S User, AP-2, D1
- Daemonhammer – Sx2, AP-2, D3
- Force Halberd – S+2, AP-2, D2
- Warding Stave – S+3, AP-1, D2
Force Halberds are now essentially going to be S6, which can really come in handy whether you’re fighting T3 or T5. Against T4 it doesn’t change much. The Force Sword basically becomes a Master Crafted Power Sword, which is nice and could actually be a viable choice. So overall, this looks like big buffs all around if you ask us!
Grey Knights Psychic Powers
The Grey Knights have access to eight new Brotherhoods, with signature Stratagems, psychic powers, and Warlord Traits. These subfaction psychic powers are taken in addition to the powers they already know, empowering your Psykers without taking anything away. This Brotherhood spends as much time honing their ritual discipline as their battle skills. They’re able to strip elite soldiers and fodder-like cultists of their sorcerous protection, leaving them vulnerable to massed storm bolter fire or heavy weapons fire.
Denying Auras is always really nice and can help you destroy those high-priority targets. They also say there will be 8 sub factions, but they only showed us 3 of them so far.
If the Grey Knights want to make sure they inflict more casualties than the Thousand Sons can undo, they’ll call in the Swordbearers’ contingent of tanks and gunships. Few units can withstand concentrated heavy fire from this Brotherhood.
This is really strong because you’re selecting an enemy unit, not one of your own vehicles. Meaning if you need more than one vehicle to take out the unit, they all get the plus 1.
The 4th Brotherhood has weaponised a similar sort of mental manipulation, amplifying and returning the enemy’s fear in the form of excruciating psychic feedback.
If you can cast this on a unit that wants to move and do another action, you could realistically do 2D3 Mortal Wounds. Which is just a fun additional power to deal damage.
Thousand Sons Psychic Powers
The sorcerers of Tzeentch, for their part, can simply hit the rewind button if one of their own has their time cut short. Imagine the look on your opponent’s face when you return a Scarab Occult Terminator, simply erasing the hard work they put in to take it down.
Returning the model on only a 6 with all wounds is pretty strong. While the Psyker has to be within 6″, bringing something back like a Terminator can be really annoying for your opponent.
The Thousand Sons are jealous of all power, and their answer to the Empyric Lodestone is Empyric Trespass. It works in a twisted way, of course, but it’s extremely effective in softening up a juicy target.
Re-rolling dice is always strong, and just like the Grey Knights power, this can be used by as many units as you need to kill them.
When all else fails, the arrogant and headstrong Sorcerers of Tzeentch will resort to simply trying to force their will upon other Psykers in a psychic wrestling match. What a power move.
Against enemy Psykers, this is quite nasty. Subtracting two after taking a Mortal is just annoying.
New Grey Knights Codex Tides, Relics & Gift Rules Preview
Take the Omen of Incursion, from the Visions of the Augurim list. Use it to punish anyone foolish enough to think that they can get the drop on you by arriving as Reinforcements.
This ability seems super strong for listing that want to deep strike and get some damage in right away. These “Visions of the Augurim” seem to be pretty similar to one time relics or traits and this one seems especially strong against a list that might want to abuse deep striking in.
The Gifts of the Prescient are ancient artefacts created to help the bearer in their hour of need. Do you have a psychic power that you just have to manifest? It becomes a lot easier if the Prognosticars have gifted you the Gem of Inoktu.
This Gem of Inoktu could be very strong in some cases. If you can give this to a character with 2-3 casts, you essentially guarantee the three powers to go off which is a massive boost that turn. It can still be denied, but maybe there will be some other cast-related abilities to combo with this one-time bonus to make it harder for your opponents to do anything about.
Grey Knights receive an extra Wound, making them hardier than ever before, and their Masters of the Warp rule has been improved too. You choose from one of five Tides of the Warp at the start of the game, and all of the Grey Knight Psykers in your army benefit from that Tides’ abilities. Want to get to grips with your enemies faster? Choose the Tide of Celerity.
This celerity seems decently strong, especially with any melee focused units, which the grey knights have plenty of.
These seem even better thanks to a Warp Shaping psychic power GW mentioned is coming, that lets players switch tides on command! Once we see the remaining 5 tides, these might be a game-changing aspect of Grey Knights.
GW Reveals New Grey Knights Unit Rules
Now even the most basic Infantry start with three. Combined with their potent force weapons, they’re set to absolutely shred most opponents. Give them paired Nemesis falchions for yet another attack and even the smallest-sized units will be mowing down hordes.
A 5+ against mortal wounds is really nice and makes sense as so many psychic powers deal mortals. On top of that, adding to Deny the Witch tests is always something sweet.
Purgation Squads
Purgation Squads wield a wide variety of rare and destructive weapons that you’ll only find in a Grey Knights army. With a couple of choice Stratagems, their heavy weapons will be effective in every turn of the game, even as they move into position.
Counting as stationary is pretty nice, but for 2 CP we’ll have to see how it shapes up with the rest of the stratagems and how often you’ll want to use this.
If the action is getting a bit too close for comfort, they can buckle down to unleash hell.
This can be really powerful because with how many shots they get now, this will really help you get those wounds through.
As Psykers, the Purgation Squad is able to take advantage of several powers to further enhance their effectiveness. They know Smite, of course, plus Astral Aim, and whichever power their Brotherhood grants them.
Re-rolling hits are always super strong, considering it’s all the dice, not just ones. Getting rid of light cover will also help punch the wounds through.
Brotherhood Terminator Squads
Their base 3 Attacks in melee make them a versatile and reliable unit that always deserves a place in your battle plans. For just one Command point, you can ensure they land as many hits as possible.
Well, we thought they would be moving to 4 attacks, so that’s a little disappointing. Still, this will put them on 2’s to hit for only one CP, which will get almost all your attacks through. If they end up being core with Re rolls to 1’s that will be spicy indeed!
If you cast this, while using the Stratagem above, you should be getting almost every single attack through.
Nemesis Dreadknights
They got another Attack like most things in the book, plus another Wound, and even an improved invulnerable save, bringing it to 4+. A Sweeping Blow generates 10 attacks from a fully operational Dreadknight, all with -2 AP and dealing 2 Damage. That will make light work of even the heaviest Infantry. Or you can opt for the Mighty Strike if you’re taking on something like a Greater Daemon
Going up in attacks, wounds, and invuln save will make them better than ever. The sweeping blow will just melt most infantry, while the mighty strike will let you take down any big guys with ease.
Dealing mortals for a single CP is never too bad, but just don’t roll a one when you charge in!
New Cabbalistic Psychic Rules for the Thousand Sons
At the start of your Psychic phase, you generate a pool of Cabal points depending on the number and type of Psykers in your army. You can spend these Cabal points to augment the capabilities of your psykers – and you’d be mad not to, as you’ll lose any left unspent at the end of the phase. As with many Tzeentchian abilities, there are nine Cabbalistic Rituals to choose from, each of which costs between 3 and 9 Cabal points to use.
This is an interesting mechanic, but it might get annoying to count and track every turn as your models die off. Still, it’s a pretty thematic addition to the army.
Imagine you’ve just manifested Twist of Fate with the fiendish intention of robbing Roboute Guilliman of his hefty invulnerable save before charging him with Magnus the Red for a game-changing (and now likely to be very one-sided) Primarch fight. But just as you’re about to indulge in a suitably evil chuckle, up steps Chief Librarian Tigurius, intent on thwarting your dastardly plans by denying the psychic power… Not today, Tigurius!
This is obviously strong when you really need a certain power to go off. This is the second-highest value power, so expect the 9 points one to be even better.
Maybe you’re in the same situation, but you failed Twist of Fate’s casting value by a single point – not unlikely, considering its premium warp charge value of 8. No big deal. Get by with a little help from your friends.
The power of this one comes in after you’ve cast, so whether you want to push it further for a harder denial, or if you failed by one, this will make you pass the test. Pretty cool mechanic.
New Cult Rules
First up, there will be 9 to choose from and each looks to have its own traits, relics, and powers. That’s going to be a lot to choose from, and we’re sure there will be some wild combos.
With this ability at their disposal, your Warlord will be better able to blast, melt, and sear the souls of your enemies with a psychic onslaught of the most destructive powers available to the Thousand Sons. What’s more, there are 18 psychic powers available to the sons of Magnus – 9 each from the expanded Discipline of Change and the all-new Discipline of Vengeance – so you’ll have plenty to choose from.
Re-rolling is always a good thing without having to use CP. So, if you really are rolling bad, with this and a CP, you’ll be able to re-roll two tests a turn.
They’ve been doing this with most armies lately, and it’s a fun way to upgrade your unnamed characters to have a little more power. They also say any model with Sorcerer in the name can use this.
New 40k Thousand Sons Marines & Terminator Rules
The Mere Servants Detachment ability encourages a more flavourful ratio of Thousand Sons to their slaves, so we’ll be seeing a lot more Scarab Occult Terminators and Rubric Marines serving at the heart of many armies.
Looks like you’ll have to load up on the Rubric Marines and Terminators as your main forces.
Both units now have an additional Wound. When combined with their classic All Is Dust ability, this update leaves them all but impervious to small-arms fire.
They both go up a wound as well as adding to their save from small arms fire. Looks like everything in the new box is getting an extra wound and more attacks.
To make things even more challenging for your opponent, these core units never flee from the battlefield – they’ll fight on until every speck of dust has trickled from their baroque armour.
No surprise with this one, but it’s still super strong.
Weapon Profiles
Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators also have an additional Attack – that’s three apiece for the Terminators. Considering the nasty new profile for the Prosperine khopeshes they now carry, they’re definitely not to be taken lightly in melee.
This will put the Termies with 3 attacks at S5, -3 AP, and D2 apiece. Against 2 wound models (which is like a million things now) they will be really effective.
Meanwhile, soulreaper cannons have received increases to both their Strength and rate of fire, so they make an excellent weapon upgrade option.
With 5 shots, that never count as moving, and Strength 6 these can dish out some damage. Even though they are D1, they still have -3AP so should be a good choice.
New Stratagems
There’s much more in this codex than a few upgraded profiles, and the combos that the new Stratagems unlock are nothing short of diabolical. For example, you can use Unwavering Phalanx to drop enemy weapon Damage down to 1, kicking in your Rubric Marines’ All Is Dust ability to blunt their firepower.
If you’re getting shot at by D2 weapons, this is super strong because not only does this make the shots hurt less, but also kicks in your extra +1 to your save.
Another effective tactic is to burn your enemy to cinders with warpflamers using Wrath of the Wronged.
Adding to your wound rolls is always amazing. This is nice with Warpflamers but also can make your units wound on 2’s against lots of minis in CC.
New Infernal Pact
For more formidable foes, an Infernal Master can augment your firepower by striking a Malefic Maelstrom Infernal Pact.
Boosting strength will make your attacks that much more impactful and when you can use this to make your rolls go up one, it will really increase the efficiency.
What do you think about the new rules Grey Knights & Thousand Sons 40k Rules previews so far? Will you be picking Hexfire up?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
