Goatboy 40k: The Sound of My Wallet Weeping
Goatboy here and boy – Tzeentch has decreed the we’re all going to be broke this December. Let’s talk new Thousand Sons.
Goatboy here again and as I was about to come up with something new for my Monday thoughts – the accidental release gods have shined down upon me. The Thousand Sons are officially here with pics galore. Of course – as it is a Chaos release my cruel heart beats anew as the thought of some kind of psychic monstrosity is going to come to bear. The pics didn’t have any rules – but maybe I can guess a few things based on the models present. With that – lets bring out my crystal ball, pop open a nice beer, and see if my fiendish mind actually guesses some of the rules.
Tzaangors & Rubrics
First off – let’s get to what looks like the troop section. The Thousand Son marines as well as the Tzaangors from the Silver tower both look like the default troop options for the Thousand Sons. First of all – I actually spelled their name correctly. Amazingly enough – or it just means I am now conditioned to spell things in the Chaos/Daemon/Warhammer way. Either way – let’s break down what I see here.
First of all – they look to have Las Pistols and some kind of Close Combat Chainsword. Knowing how the Chaos Space Marines work – this makes me think they are just a reworked cultist option for the army. They might end up being fearless or generate whatever extra special rule the Tzeentch guys get. I don’t see any special weapons shown as well so just except them to be cheap and most likely take up that ever special troop slot no one cares about. I don’t even see a Special weapon shown so they are hopefully a cheap box to buy. We might get lucky and let them be Daemons too – so they are fearless, 5+ inv save, and let Grey Knights reroll 1’s against them. Hopefully all still for just 50 points 🙂 since everything has gotten better and stayed the same price lately (Genestealers in the Cult).
Next up we have the Thousand Sons themselves. First – they look pretty dang awesome. I love the Chosen design influences in they leg work and how they just really look like the true evolution in how a Chaos Space Marine should look. So bravo GW in making a replacement model that will make older players really think about swapping over to massed plastic armies. Second – it looks like we finally have some options for this army too. Looking at the picture I see 2 new weapons in the Flamer option (Warpflame? – old school always does x on a 4+ maybe? Mutation? Disco lights?) and of course the big gatling barrel. I bet the Gatling gun is some sort of assault cannon that has flaming ammunition. Or maybe it is a better “reaper” auto cannon. Either way it is something they are probably going to push and I do hope it is unique, different, and good. The flamer option is another interesting one in that if the Thousand Sons stay Slow and Purposeful it means it just isn’t nearly as good as it should be. Of course if it does insane damage or something else we can talk. Finally we have a nice Sorcerer upgrade as well with the add ons of a really sweet scarf to keep their neck/soul warm during the long chaos winter nights. Overall this kit looks rad – it is finally a 10 model box and looks to jump start the desire to have a sorcerer supreme army.
Exalted Sorcerors
After that I am guessing we have some Elite choices. I do hope the Exalted Sorcerers are some kind of Elite choice as I feel it is an under utilized force org option that is either looked at as a tax or some place to stash all those damned Terminators they keep producing. Will see how they work on the table top as I am guessing they will be designed with 8th in mind. They might not “cast” spells per se and instead just do X things on a set of dice rolls. If that is the case then welcome to the new “psychic” phase for 40k. If they get a set of spells though then most likely will still be doing some kind of casting system based on Warp Charge Levels, dice, and making your opponent mad. I hope each one gets a chance to ride a disc as it feels like something that would be a good set up for the group. Heck they might be two options in the kit with everyone have discs and they become a Fast Attack option. I have high hopes for this unit as it has all the makings of a cornerstone unit for the army.
Scarab Occult Terminators
Finally we have the often rumored Rubric Terminators. Look I love Terminators but man do they really just suck. I don’t know how to fix them beyond completely changing the way armies get to shoot and deal damage. 2+ saves are great – but we all know math wrecks just about anything in this game so investing some points in a 5 man unit of Slow Pokes just doesn’t always work. Still the models look really rad. The leader looks like a Spell Caster too – so the thought that every unit generates some kind of psychic ability is something that feels to obvious to not be true. Weapons wise expect everyone to have Soul Blaze and maybe they will have a chain reaction thing to utilize force from the leader or somehow add force to a shooting profile. I know that is a Grey Knight thing but it really feels like it can be used here and make for a really bad ass unit choice. Heck I am sure all of these guys will have a 4+ invulnerable save too so maybe they will be good?
Ahriman & Magnus
Finally we have the 2 HQ choices shown. We get a reworked Ahriman and the already seen Magnus. Will go with the new release first in the insanely rad looking Ahriman. Holy cow did they amp up the old model, add in some amazing flair, and just set the cool factor to 120%. I love how it is a tweak on the old model just like the reworked Kharn was. I don’t know what else to say – but man it will suck if his rules just stay the same. Well maybe not if the idea of their own Psychic chart is true and we get a monster HQ choice that gets all the spells, can cast Witchfires 4 times, and has a bad ass staff to slap the silly out of you. We also have Magnus – which I’ve talked about before so no need to rehash again.
What Else?
Right now this release looks pretty rad and I suspect the Fast Attack options to be filled out with Rhinos, Warp Talons, Raptors, and Bikes. I don’t know if we see Chaos Spawn in there as well as Ahriman did the spell to try and stop the crazy Mutation. I am sure their will be Heldrake or two as GW always likes selling kits that make me cry inside when I think about painting them. From there we always have some Dreadnoughts and maybe some Havocs. Here is hoping we see actual point updates for the units or at the very least a thought on making them better for their inflated cost profile. Beyond that we should get some sweet relics, a bad ass 7 spell chart, and maybe a reason to field Chaos Space Marines on the table top.
Who would have thought I would be excited about Thanksgiving weekend for more then stuffing myself with turkey, stuffing, pie, and other delicious options. It is one of my favorite holidays due to the fact you don’t have to buy nothing for no one, get to eat a ton of awesome food, and now get to think about how the Thousand Sons are gonna bop those piddling Space Puppies in their poor widdle noses.
~ All Is Dust
