The new Thousand Sons can pool their resources for even more psychic devastation with the new Cabbalistic Psychic rules- check it out!
Over the weekend we saw some IKEA-style datasheets for the new Strike Squad box, so we already know the Grey Knights are getting a serious buff. The real question is though, how will the other side of the box shape up?
Warhammer Community just unveiled a bunch of the new rules for your Psykers in addition to some Warlord Traits and how to upgrade your Sorcerers. Plus, they also showed off the nine different Cults you’ll be able to choose from but didn’t give too much in the way of rules for them yet.
Let’s first check out the powers from yesterday, then hop into the new rules.
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 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!
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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.
What do you think about the new rules? Will you be picking the new box 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!
