Getting Better, Getting Games In

Been meaning to work out some designs on how to better play my Thousand Sons. I had a great match against a friend's primaris marines this week, and it was really only my second match in 8th edition with this army I desperately want to play competitively. There were some great point reductions in the last Chapter Approved, so I feel they are more in line with where they should be. First let me cover my problem from the match this week.

Jason did a good job of playing the objectives of the game and was fielding an army with a lot of synergy. Chapter Master and a pair of Lieutenants, so lots of re-rolls all around.. and by playing Raptors he used the Chapter Tactic from the Raven Guard which gives a -1 to be hit at ranges greater than 12". So his army was completely comfortable hanging back and firing into my lines.

I guess I was just expecting more of a melee focused army from him because our previous match (which I ran my Craftworld Aeldari), he was running Night Lords. They play very similar to my brother's Orks in terms of they are going to close on you and beat you in close combat. Which to some degree I was more prepared for. I have an average amount of Warpflamers and Heavy Flamers in my army for dealing with chargers, hordes, etc. But so far as long-range fighting I don't think I was adequately prepared. The ranges on my Inferno Bolters are only 24". Rapid fire would have helped, but I was too far off. The Soulreaper cannon was not really in range for much either. My standout in the ranged phase were obviously my Exalted Flamers. I think I had three. But I was taking a -1 to hit for moving, and I was getting dinged with a -1 for his Chapter Tactic. Even with Prescience I was still only hitting on a 4+.

Another convention I am firmly entrenched with is using my Maulerfiend and twin fist Helbrutes. They are my best high strength options, but need to cross the board for a successful attack. Which is much easier when the enemy is trying to close on you. I could have set aside the points for the heavy flamers since the Brutes never made it close enough to the enemy. In the first two turns they were all brought down. They did take down the Primaris Dreadnought, and that is what they are for in my list.. taken out high toughness models and drawing fire away from my infantry.

What I really messed up on was positioning and movement. I had a pile of command points left after my army was wiped off the board. So maybe it is a better strategy to use some very early in the game to create more of an alpha strike. The Thousand Sons have an ability called Webway Infiltration. Just like my glorious Craftworld army the secrets of deepstriking infantry into the game are known by the army of Ahriman. So for 1CP, I can put any infantry squad into the webway or 3CP gets me two units aside. We may have made a mistake in our game, but it wasn't something I was stressed over. Jason was misreading the Tactical Reserve rule and brought in a unit of Devastators in turn one. He said it was allowed as long as you are coming into your own deployment zone, but that is no longer the case per the latest Big FAQ.

I wasn't really sure if he was using the Raven Guard stratagem "Strike from the Shadows" which I had not read, or the special ability "Master of Ambush" which is used by Lias Issodon. Whatever we did it was wrong. The Raven Guard tactic costs 1CP and let's you hold back a single INFANTRY unit from deploying normally, then deploy them anywhere up to 9" of an opponent just before the game begins. While the ForgeWorld character's rule looks like this:

Either way it had zero effect on the game, but it definitely got me thinking about tactics and movement. I need to rethink some of my options when it comes to playing. If I want to use the Sorcerer in Terminator armor, he is always a good choice - but I need to set him up in the teleportarium chamber and bring him in on turn 2. He is a good candidate for using the Chaos Familiar stratagem to swap a power when he arrives. The Tzeentch Discipline Infernal Gateway is one he isn't normally allowed to take. His ability to pop up 9" away from the closest model though would be very nice with this power. Every unit within 3" of this model takes D3 mortal wounds or D6 on a 12+. He could still drop in a second psychic power like an attack, buff, or debuff. It all depends on how he is built out. Since he is coming in on turn two, he probably needs some other support.

Another really good tactic is place the Maulerfiend as close as possible to the enemy. With a 10" move and Warptime, he has a 22-32" threat range if I go first. It might be better on a Helbrute, if I fail to get the first turn because their movement isn't affected by losing wounds. They always have a 16" move on Warptime, so 24" to be in range for the Heavy Flamers and an 18-28" range on a charge. We are really fortunate being Thousand Sons with our 9" range on Warptime, so I should be casting it once a round.

My biggest issue is going to be get something deep into my opponents territory if they don't move up on me. Even if it just coming in waves, sending one big critter up round after round into heavy fire it is better than being back too far to be able to be able to do anything. On turn two I can start deepstiking if I use Webway Infiltration or Denziens of the Warp. The Chaos Daemon stratagem is very cool. PL8 or below only costs 1CP. The list of TZEENTCH DAEMON units I can deep strike are:

• HQ:Changecaster
• HQ:Daemon Prince
• HQ:Fateskimmer
• HQ:Fluxmaster
• HQ: Blue Scribes
• HQ:The Changeling

All of the Horror heroes add +1S aura to daemons near them. Which is very effective when for other units.

• Troops: 20 Pink Horrors
• Elite: Exalted Flamer
• Elite: 6 Flamers
• Fast Attack: 10 Furies
• Fast Attack: 6 Screamers
• Heavy Support:Burning Chariot

Everything I listed is rocking a 4++ save so should stick around. Best case scenario is being close enough to a Thousand Sons Daemon Prince to snag reroll 1's in the shooting phase and a herald hero for the +1S. That means Pink Horrors drop in with 60 shots, BS4+ rerolling 1's. S4 and +1 to wound with Flickering Flames (WC5) or Flamers 12" D6 autohits, S5, and wounding most infantry on a 2+. Being within 12" of a unit with the Raven Guard chapter tactic is definitely a bonus because we'd be back to our normal to hit rolls. There are also powers like Death Hex which strips away Invulnerable saves I can supplement my shooting with from the Thousand Sons. The biggest issue is it is a complicated army to see all the synergies and execute them properly.

For the Thousand Sons, if I use the Webway Infiltration stratagem to drop in an INFANTRY squad, I have a different task entirely. Warpflamers will be out of range at 9", but I could once again use Warp Time to close that gap but it is a resource I can only use once a turn. So it might be more useful to just plop some Rubrics up front with their bolters. A Soulreaper Cannon unit is BS3, 16 S4, AP-2 shots, plus 4 S5, AP-3 shots. That isn't bad at all on turn two. On turn 1, I can push them up the board using the Dark Matter Crystal artefact. Possibly ahead of the Daemon Prince of Tzeentch or another character that grants rerolls within 6" and has a good movement.

So for example, my winged Daemon Prince of Tzeentch can advance 13-19" turn one, Dark Matter Crystal a unit of Rubrics who follow him and place them within 6" of him and within 12" of the enemy to get a first round of shooting. If my Maulerfiend isn't dead it is charging after Warptime lands. Diabolic Strength on the Maulerfiend will make it a killing machine. I just need to keep it up long enough to make it into combat. But if it dies I still want Helbrutes roaming the board and Exalted Flamers for some deadly shooting attacks.

One of my latest additions to my army came from my opponent this week. When he decided to sell his Night Lords, he was able to give me a great deal on a pair of Heldrakes. With a 30" move and 18" Baleflamers that cause D6 S6 DMG 2 attacks, they will give me a new option for showing up quickly and dealing some damage. They might become fire magnets, but that saves me from dealing with too many shots falling into my Maulerfiend and Helbrutes. One thing I really need to check on is the Horror hero ability that grants +1S to TZEENTCH DAEMONS and make sure it affects my Thousand Sons Daemon Engines. Diabolic Strength is terrifying enough on them, adding in a +2S and +1A, but if they stack you are up to a S9 base on both the Helbrutes and the Maulerfiend.

I am definitely going to have to keep tweaking my list to emphasize more movement. I need to see if I can cut down on the number of drops in the beginning of the game as well in an effort to grab the first turn. I suppose daemonic ritual is another interesting way to work this out in the game. Just summon, summon, summon and put together the right combos for my army while capitalizing on the correct units for the scenario.