The Codex dropped a few months ago, and in that time I've had a chance to try out a few combinations and units from every section. In today's update I'll be looking at the troops available to the favoured of Tzeentch.
What Thousand Sons army would go without Rubrics? The long established chaos space marine variant is an iconic model and unit in the lore, and is a solid if still pricey troops option. They maintain the All is Dust rule, making them incredibly resilient against standard infantry weapons.
The main bonus is that we don't have to be stuck with the Smite-lite power. With access to the new disciplines, aspiring sorcerers are much more flexible. Also, with a few more pistol options they can pack a bit more punch.
Another nice bonus is that the basic aspiring sorcerer's cost is covered by the base model price, shaving a few precious points off the cost of a squad.
Tzaangor are probably the best budget unit in this codex. Pretty much identical to the index rules, they offer you a decent combat unit for under 100 pts for 10 fully kitted out. You will either need a Rhino or use of the Webway strategem to get the most out of them, since auto pistols are their only ranged option, making them a poor ranged option. They get rerolls against characters in combat, but I've rarely been in a situation where the unit charges a character.
Cultists are still an OK choice if you need a cheap unit, but they're nothing special. Guard without a 5+ save, they're fine if you need bodies but only have a few points spare.
Finally we have the Daemons. The Codex doesn't offer the full list of Daemons of Tzeentch and none of the characters, but we do get all three variants of horror: pink, blue and brimstone. They have the split rule, but in matched play you need to pay for the blue and brimstones on top of the pink horrors.
Pink horrors are a nice unit on the cheaper end, and whilst short range can throw out a fair few shots.
Blue and brimstones are good if you need an even cheaper unit. Brimstones top the chart at 30 pts for ten. Sure they're quite weak, but if you need a cheap objective holder they're great. Also, because they're so small, you can be really clever in hiding them from line of sight.
So with a wide range of options available to you aspiring sorcerers out there, this editions is fantastic time to be the bad guy (or misunderstood mavericks depending on who you believe).
What Thousand Sons army would go without Rubrics? The long established chaos space marine variant is an iconic model and unit in the lore, and is a solid if still pricey troops option. They maintain the All is Dust rule, making them incredibly resilient against standard infantry weapons.
The main bonus is that we don't have to be stuck with the Smite-lite power. With access to the new disciplines, aspiring sorcerers are much more flexible. Also, with a few more pistol options they can pack a bit more punch.
Another nice bonus is that the basic aspiring sorcerer's cost is covered by the base model price, shaving a few precious points off the cost of a squad.
Tzaangor are probably the best budget unit in this codex. Pretty much identical to the index rules, they offer you a decent combat unit for under 100 pts for 10 fully kitted out. You will either need a Rhino or use of the Webway strategem to get the most out of them, since auto pistols are their only ranged option, making them a poor ranged option. They get rerolls against characters in combat, but I've rarely been in a situation where the unit charges a character.
Cultists are still an OK choice if you need a cheap unit, but they're nothing special. Guard without a 5+ save, they're fine if you need bodies but only have a few points spare.
Finally we have the Daemons. The Codex doesn't offer the full list of Daemons of Tzeentch and none of the characters, but we do get all three variants of horror: pink, blue and brimstone. They have the split rule, but in matched play you need to pay for the blue and brimstones on top of the pink horrors.
Pink horrors are a nice unit on the cheaper end, and whilst short range can throw out a fair few shots.
Blue and brimstones are good if you need an even cheaper unit. Brimstones top the chart at 30 pts for ten. Sure they're quite weak, but if you need a cheap objective holder they're great. Also, because they're so small, you can be really clever in hiding them from line of sight.
So with a wide range of options available to you aspiring sorcerers out there, this editions is fantastic time to be the bad guy (or misunderstood mavericks depending on who you believe).