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SonoftheRubric:

 

This is excellent info and mathematically confirms what I've been witnessing but am personally too ignorant of statistical math to figure out for myself.

 

But part of what your saying actually reinforces Scarab Occult purely on the basis of the sorcerer and easy access to the Hellfyre which I try to include as much as possible. Also the negative of slow and purposeful is worth considering.

 

So what positives are there to Dust Bunnies.... the soul reaper is modestly cheaper for some reason. And the sqaud fits in a rhino.

 

I do relate to the math though as I play in an environment that is very often robbing me of armour saves and this is where the Rubrics might seem like a good idea.

 

I have to say I think they messed up rubes but those flamers....darn. If they were only more moderately priced and didn't empower the opponent I'd actually love them since they fill a void. Even a free icon in the squad would have been a small but welcome idea.

 

On a side note I've used icons to no effect. But I intend to model them to differentiate the squads because they just look cool.

 

Gotta remember though that we are taking 450 points of Rubrics anyway, and they are a fraction per model of the cost of the Scarab Occult (can only cram in so many. i usually stop at 15-18 depending on list for the Occult) 

 

So what I try to do is instead of us having 3 borderline useless units (really just for scoring/warp charge gen), and 3 GREAT units, I try to make it 1-3 "pretty good" units, of Rubrics with 3 Great units of Scarab Occult. (I usually leave 1 unit min size in the backfield, or wandering around in support of one of the bigger squads) 

 

As a statistical example; I played against one of my friends who's a necron player, he marched up 20 Warriors, a transport-ark (whatever they are called) with 10 more warriors in it.  The ark fired, the warriors IN the ark fired, and the 20 warriors all double tapped into my 10 man Rubric squad.......they killed 2 whole rubrics.... They certainly do soak up FAR more then their worth from shooting and melee. Something to be said for 20-30 tarpit marines + another 15 scarab occult backed by some powerful sorcerers......quite nice :wink: 

 

Something I use as a base line is one of 2 ways, I usually move units in tandem, one unit of Occult, with one unit of Rubricae. Use the rubrics to double tap something and then either charge or receive if applicable, then the Scarab Occult dig them out with a follow up charge (They aint slouches)  Hell; id go so far as to say scarab occult receive and then the Rubricae charge and help dig out the Scarab Occult, I admit having "double tap and charge" is nice! though S+P is a HUGE bummer regarding overwatch without one squad having a Third-eye Helm. 

 

And there is 1 more thing to keep in mind; if you are fighting Ap 2 and Ap 1 weaponry the Rubricae sport the EXACT same statistical chance of survival as the Scarab Occult assuming a 4++ or 3++ under the Maxed War Cabal as you are negating the 2+ amor re-roll at that point, therefore every time an opponent attempts to remove models through firing expensive AP guns (usually quality guns that are high in cost, low in volume).....its a total waste to fire at the Rubricae as at that point they sport the same statistically probable chance of surviving as a Terminator! (same 78% chance *assuming* force is active) 

 

There can be arguments made that in most games basic rubrics are underwhelming, and I tend to agree (sadly, id own SO many if GW made them just a little better) But within the Max war cabal those expensive marines really do pull their weight.

 

Compare it to a unit of around the same price; most wont live anywhere near half as long as we can within a Max cabal. Even if you completely flubb force roll after force roll it wont particularly matter as a 4++ with re-rolling 1's is still impressive and solid in math-hammer and on the table! 

 

Also; I 100% agree with you on hellfyre, ALWAYS include if possible!  2 extra shots at str 8 is nothing to scoff at, and in war cabal they hit (funny enough) 78% of the time....and as for warp flamers....out of the 40 rubricae I own...I built 6 with warp flamers...and have yet to use them. 

 

If they were the same stats as now and FREE I would take them. but being that they are almost 30 points a figure for something you can get from a dang Daemon of Tzeentch Flamer unit for cheaper......it feels like a waste. 

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Prot,

 

I'm nearly certain that 8th edition will do some of the following:

 

A ) Reduce point costs of Rubric Marines

B ) Allow access to Tzeentch Daemons and IC attaching to said units

C ) More/Reduced cost of options

 

I suspect options A and B more than C as TSons issues are mostly solved through Tzeentch Daemon allies. Additionally, I'm confident that soul blaze and warp flame will have rules adjustments to justify the costs of those equipment choices.

 

KDK feels like a test for combining CSM and Daemons within a balanced rule set. Traitor legion rules feel like a foundation for CSM to build on in their relarion to each deity, or in the case of some as Chaos undivided.

 

The recent Tzeentch AoS releases language reflects this. For example: GW attached keywords such as Tzangor, Tzeentch, and Chaos. This will likely reflect some modifications to Daemonic instability IMO. Example wording would be:

 

Daemonic Instability (Tzeentch): A unit with this USR cannot join (or be joined by) any model without this special rule or models without the keyword Tzeentch.

 

KDK will effectively remain in existence but rolled in under MoK, and related formations roll into standard CSM but require the MoK on units.

 

Two gods down, two to go. Well 1.5, Tzeentch need some more formations.

 

Alternatively I'd like to see other interesting use of keywords to make Tzeentch units work in other formations. Noise, Plague, and Rubric are all upgrades to your regular CSM at a point cost. For Chaos Undivided the upgrade adds keyword Elite and takes up a slot on FOC. If your legion patron matches the upgrade for CSM they remain as a troop choice.

 

I think something like this is what 8th has in store for CSM. Not quite sure how it'll woek yet but we'll see soon!

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Prot,

 

I'm nearly certain that 8th edition will do some of the following:

 

A ) Reduce point costs of Rubric Marines

B ) Allow access to Tzeentch Daemons and IC attaching to said units

C ) More/Reduced cost of options

 

I suspect options A and B more than C as TSons issues are mostly solved through Tzeentch Daemon allies. Additionally, I'm confident that soul blaze and warp flame will have rules adjustments to justify the costs of those equipment choices.

 

KDK feels like a test for combining CSM and Daemons within a balanced rule set. Traitor legion rules feel like a foundation for CSM to build on in their relarion to each deity, or in the case of some as Chaos undivided.

 

The recent Tzeentch AoS releases language reflects this. For example: GW attached keywords such as Tzangor, Tzeentch, and Chaos. This will likely reflect some modifications to Daemonic instability IMO. Example wording would be:

 

Daemonic Instability (Tzeentch): A unit with this USR cannot join (or be joined by) any model without this special rule or models without the keyword Tzeentch.

 

KDK will effectively remain in existence but rolled in under MoK, and related formations roll into standard CSM but require the MoK on units.

 

Two gods down, two to go. Well 1.5, Tzeentch need some more formations.

 

Alternatively I'd like to see other interesting use of keywords to make Tzeentch units work in other formations. Noise, Plague, and Rubric are all upgrades to your regular CSM at a point cost. For Chaos Undivided the upgrade adds keyword Elite and takes up a slot on FOC. If your legion patron matches the upgrade for CSM they remain as a troop choice.

 

I think something like this is what 8th has in store for CSM. Not quite sure how it'll woek yet but we'll see soon!

 

Its a very interesting theory, Especially considering the "Favoured of tzeentch" rule basically IS "Daemon of tzeentch" for space marines. 

 

I am hoping that the lack of changes in Rubricae is reflective of a future change in chaos as a whole (minus formations NO ONE got changes to base stats, not even ahriman/Khârn) so hope any future Codex/release that changes the base ruleset of chaos reflects points-adjustments for current Meta. 

 

I actually tend to think that the newer releases are about right for points, its only the old stuff that has issues. 

 

I was shocked to find that, given the precedent set for Genestealers in the stealer cult, that the Rubrics were not changed, or at least buffed to be worth the points cost (though to be ENTIRELY fair they are far more usable know then previously given War Cabal and even in a cad abusing Blessing of Tzeentch.....though the change wasnt huge, it still certainly helps) 

 

I am hoping as you have laid down a good theory, that this is the actual long term plan by GW. Its very clear they finally figured out Chaos is an incredibly popular faction for them, I can only imagine the sales numbers regarding Traitor legions and Wrath of Magnus and the models included.  (Note; Scarab Occult AND Exalted Sorcerers are still sold out on the GW website! incredible.) 

 

Heres hoping they give us the slight boost we need through the faction wide update in the future. But for now....we aren't in a terrible spot to be fair. 

 

If we were to assign an arbitrary percentage for the WOM and Traitor legions release; Id say I am about 75%-80% happy as a Thousand Sons player, there are some glaring issues...but every army thats balanced has those, so you take it in stride! 

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I agree it's an 'interesting theory'. But to be honest I can't give it any credibility....

 

 

 

I was shocked to find that, given the precedent set for Genestealers in the stealer cult, that the Rubrics were not changed, or at least buffed to be worth the points cost 

 

And I was going to use this example as the reason why! I play Deathwatch and it is in my opinion the worst  codex of 7th edition on every level. Then Genestealer Cult comes out and makes an existing, nearly useless unit a complete meta buster in some of the most competitive tournaments in the game.

 

So my opinion isn't from negativity, it's from inconsistency like I illustrate above. I have no confidence in the theory of stuff like Rubrics getting logical changes for this reason.

 

Bringing this back on point, thanks to some of the great paint jobs I'm seeing on the forum I started putting my Rubrics (first box) together and had a few thoughts (model wise):

 

1. The Rubrics have become probably my favorite "Astartes" style model. The detail is incredible. The ornate armour, weapons, design work, headdresses, etc, are top notch.

 

2. Interestingly enough they used the same hand positioning for bolters, flamers AND the Soulreaper Cannon. Originally I thought I'd have to glue this stuff in place, but all hands weapons were sprayed base colours just 'in place' but not glued in place. This means perhaps I can get away with fielding the less economic builds for fun, and retain the ability to swap out the flamers/cannons for bolters without too much work. 

 

3. I airbrush all my base coats. Then revisit with brush paint/washes, and then usually go back and forth with airbrush/paint brush to completion. But I've seen so many great paint jobs using Duncan's method of Retrirbutor Spray (on black primer) that I decided to try this myself... it's really a nice way to do the golds, but wow these guys better work in game better than my proxies because this is a real time heavy army to paint!

 

At the end of the day I think Rubrics will have to replace my Tzaangor Warherd which would stick around 400 pts with the Exalted. Using Rubrics in 1850 I think makes the Auxiliary formation limited to very low level stuff.... a Maulerfiend perhaps?

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I agree it's an 'interesting theory'. But to be honest I can't give it any credibility....

 

 

 

I was shocked to find that, given the precedent set for Genestealers in the stealer cult, that the Rubrics were not changed, or at least buffed to be worth the points cost 

 

And I was going to use this example as the reason why! I play Deathwatch and it is in my opinion the worst  codex of 7th edition on every level. Then Genestealer Cult comes out and makes an existing, nearly useless unit a complete meta buster in some of the most competitive tournaments in the game.

 

So my opinion isn't from negativity, it's from inconsistency like I illustrate above. I have no confidence in the theory of stuff like Rubrics getting logical changes for this reason.

 

Bringing this back on point, thanks to some of the great paint jobs I'm seeing on the forum I started putting my Rubrics (first box) together and had a few thoughts (model wise):

 

1. The Rubrics have become probably my favorite "Astartes" style model. The detail is incredible. The ornate armour, weapons, design work, headdresses, etc, are top notch.

 

2. Interestingly enough they used the same hand positioning for bolters, flamers AND the Soulreaper Cannon. Originally I thought I'd have to glue this stuff in place, but all hands weapons were sprayed base colours just 'in place' but not glued in place. This means perhaps I can get away with fielding the less economic builds for fun, and retain the ability to swap out the flamers/cannons for bolters without too much work. 

 

3. I airbrush all my base coats. Then revisit with brush paint/washes, and then usually go back and forth with airbrush/paint brush to completion. But I've seen so many great paint jobs using Duncan's method of Retrirbutor Spray (on black primer) that I decided to try this myself... it's really a nice way to do the golds, but wow these guys better work in game better than my proxies because this is a real time heavy army to paint!

 

At the end of the day I think Rubrics will have to replace my Tzaangor Warherd which would stick around 400 pts with the Exalted. Using Rubrics in 1850 I think makes the Auxiliary formation limited to very low level stuff.... a Maulerfiend perhaps?

 

*Sigh* I concede this one.....and agree. GW's inconsistency is always so strange. For example; Assault cannons for loyalists? 20 points in most termie squads. For our scarab occult? 30 point soul reaper for an "arguably" worse gun, along with soul reapers in the Rubrics being 25 (im actually okay with that for what it brings to a power-armored unit with S+P) but for the termies; Why? 

 

Just a mind-boggling design choice honestly. Although we have something decent in that we can give OUR termies 2 heavy weapons and they come with a level 2 sorcerer. so thats not to be scoffed at, but there are just some very strange things and that the Warp flamers.......Really GW? really? does NO ONE on the design team playtest this game?  7 points, for an ap4 flamer, that has a chance to give any viable target a FNP save?  Why not free? or 2 points a model? It would bring them in line with ACTUAL Tzeentch Flamers which are better in...almost every conceivable way for the job, cheaper, mobile (jump), and can Overwatch if they happen to get charged. 

 

I understand that "most" of the time that the FNP save wont truly be a game changer / game winner as the things you are hitting with the flamer are things such as hordes but then comes another design issue, S+P on the Rubricae makes for the already expensive unit getting flamers kinda ridiculous at 30ppm. What the hell, that rubric is hard pressed to make back his points at that level.   I mean in my local Meta I see a fair amount of terminators/mega nobz, necrons, and plenty of regular space marines, and my most frequent regular opponents are a nob spamming ork player, and a 30k Salamanders player........... Translation; Warpflame is useless to me and a huge risk at best requiring to much investment. So I rarely ever use them. 

 

/end rant. :p 

 

That being said; I can make them rock on the table but it is hard at times. Ain't an easy army. 

 

The only hope I have in the regard to them changing is in the distant future id bet that someone at GW whos part of the design process heard the complaints from the general community regarding the thousand sons release.  Will it make a difference? time will tell. 

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*Sigh* I concede this one.....and agree. GW's inconsistency is always so strange. For example; Assault cannons for loyalists? 20 points in most termie squads. For our scarab occult? 30 point soul reaper for an "arguably" worse gun, along with soul reapers in the Rubrics being 25 (im actually okay with that for what it brings to a power-armored unit with S+P) but for the termies; Why? 

 

Just a mind-boggling design choice honestly. Although we have something decent in that we can give OUR termies 2 heavy weapons and they come with a level 2 sorcerer. so thats not to be scoffed at, but there are just some very strange things and that the Warp flamers.......Really GW? really? does NO ONE on the design team playtest this game?  7 points, for an ap4 flamer, that has a chance to give any viable target a FNP save?  Why not free? or 2 points a model? It would bring them in line with ACTUAL Tzeentch Flamers which are better in...almost every conceivable way for the job, cheaper, mobile (jump), and can Overwatch if they happen to get charged. 

 

Because they do not factor the cost of the weapon you lose into the upgrade cost.

 

The soulreaper is on paper better than the assault cannon. S5 AP3. It kills more marines dead than the cannon does, therefore it should be more points.

 

Problem is that the scarab pays for the ap3 combi bolter, and a marine terminator pays for a 5pt storm bolter in the cost of the upgraded marine.  The loss of the ap3 combi is much greater is greater than the cost of the storm bolter.

 

Same reason an assault weapon costs the same on a stern guard and a tactical marine. the tac loses a bolter, the sternguard loses his special ammo, therefore pays relatifvely more for the 'upgrade'.

 

On paper, the soulflamer is better than a regular flamer as it's ap4. Therefore it should costs more points. It doesnt factor in that a thousand son loses their inferno bolter for it. 

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While I agree that GW haven't taken the cost of the Inferno Weapons already wielded by model's into account;
 

 

 

The soulreaper is on paper better than the assault cannon. S5 AP3. It kills more marines dead than the cannon does, therefore it should be more points.

 

 

I'd say this is highly debatable.

It's better against 3+ saves only.

The Assault Cannons is better against everything else (saves, thoughness and armour).

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While I agree that GW haven't taken the cost of the Inferno Weapons already wielded by model's into account;

 

 

 

The soulreaper is on paper better than the assault cannon. S5 AP3. It kills more marines dead than the cannon does, therefore it should be more points.

 

 

I'd say this is highly debatable.

It's better against 3+ saves only.

The Assault Cannons is better against everything else (saves, thoughness and armour).

Doesn't it also have an extra shot as well?

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While I agree that GW haven't taken the cost of the Inferno Weapons already wielded by model's into account;

 

 

 

The soulreaper is on paper better than the assault cannon. S5 AP3. It kills more marines dead than the cannon does, therefore it should be more points.

 

 

I'd say this is highly debatable.

It's better against 3+ saves only.

The Assault Cannons is better against everything else (saves, thoughness and armour).

Doesn't it also have an extra shot as well?

 

I agree tho. AP3 is nothing too hard to come by and is easy enough to get through by weight of fire....especially for TSons with all their AP3 bolter. S6-7 is the golden number tho to threaten all kind of vehicle, MCs and infantry even with only AP4 or worse.

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*Sigh* I concede this one.....and agree. GW's inconsistency is always so strange. For example; Assault cannons for loyalists? 20 points in most termie squads. For our scarab occult? 30 point soul reaper for an "arguably" worse gun, along with soul reapers in the Rubrics being 25 (im actually okay with that for what it brings to a power-armored unit with S+P) but for the termies; Why? 

 

Just a mind-boggling design choice honestly. Although we have something decent in that we can give OUR termies 2 heavy weapons and they come with a level 2 sorcerer. so thats not to be scoffed at, but there are just some very strange things and that the Warp flamers.......Really GW? really? does NO ONE on the design team playtest this game?  7 points, for an ap4 flamer, that has a chance to give any viable target a FNP save?  Why not free? or 2 points a model? It would bring them in line with ACTUAL Tzeentch Flamers which are better in...almost every conceivable way for the job, cheaper, mobile (jump), and can Overwatch if they happen to get charged. 

 

Because they do not factor the cost of the weapon you lose into the upgrade cost.

 

The soulreaper is on paper better than the assault cannon. S5 AP3. It kills more marines dead than the cannon does, therefore it should be more points.

 

Problem is that the scarab pays for the ap3 combi bolter, and a marine terminator pays for a 5pt storm bolter in the cost of the upgraded marine.  The loss of the ap3 combi is much greater is greater than the cost of the storm bolter.

 

Same reason an assault weapon costs the same on a stern guard and a tactical marine. the tac loses a bolter, the sternguard loses his special ammo, therefore pays relatifvely more for the 'upgrade'.

 

On paper, the soulflamer is better than a regular flamer as it's ap4. Therefore it should costs more points. It doesnt factor in that a thousand son loses their inferno bolter for it. 

 

 

But even within the design studio you have to think "Did someone look at a 30 point marine marine with a flamethrower and think "Yup; totes reasonable" if you take the rest of the unit into account its kind of ridiculous. 

 

As for the soul reaper; I am thankful for a rending weapon in a 1k sons unit (or a heavy weapon at all TBH) and it is a good gun, but is it "better" then the assault cannon? str 6 is FAR more multi-purpose then AP 3, id take the assault cannon over the reaper, but just barely. 

 

Luckily the gun they give us DOES synergize incredibly well with our units we can take it with so my complaints regarding that are minimal at worst :wink:

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I've heard good things about the Tzaangor formation, but do you think they're worth it in a Thousand Sons CAD? They seem much better than Cultists with the required Mark of Tzeentch, and I really like the models.

Also, since I've never seen the model in person, is the Ogroid Thaumaturge from AOS big enough to use as a demon prince? If I had it stand on some kind of Disc of Tzeentch-looking object would that be acceptable as 'wings?' I really like that model.

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I've heard good things about the Tzaangor formation, but do you think they're worth it in a Thousand Sons CAD? They seem much better than Cultists with the required Mark of Tzeentch, and I really like the models.

 

Also, since I've never seen the model in person, is the Ogroid Thaumaturge from AOS big enough to use as a demon prince? If I had it stand on some kind of Disc of Tzeentch-looking object would that be acceptable as 'wings?' I really like that model.

 

The Ogroid would work, its on a 50mm base so you "may" have to upsize the base but I dont know anyone personally that would object. 

 

As for the Tzaangor; are they worth it in a cad? I think so. they are 1 point more then their cultist equivalent and far more survivable but their LD is a problem, so twist-bray is a good idea, Ld8 and all. 

 

in a CAD they are either OB Sec, OR a 20-30 man blob for Astral Grimoire float over, charge something to tie down for a while. 

 

The formation puts them from "decent" on the table to "fantastic" on the table, that just above 50% chance to hit like an assault marine on the charge is great. and the ludicrous speed involved for a reasonable cost and fixing the 1k sons numbers issues with in a Grand Coven. 

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Thank you. I had considered getting some at some point to add more melee to a Tzeentch Demon army. Is the Tzaangor Warherd a standalone formation as well, or only available if you take a Grand Coven?

 

I actually think in a CAD I prefer the ObSec, shooting, free Champion aspect of the Cultists. I think the difference is extremely small though so it's more preference. Once you get into the Warherd I would not put pistols on them, and in this case the Tzaangors become a lot more attractive just based on the ability to whip around the board, leapfrogging units in close combat via the formation. The downside is you really might not have room for or want another Sorc but it is a tax in the Warherd.

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Okay guys I have a basic question for you.

 

I'm struggling to make a 1500 Pt list in a "highlander" format. (so everything's unique except troop transports and troops are repeatable if you field both types you have at least once - so a one troop type army could spam them because they don't have a choice).

 

The problem I'm having is it's locked to 2 formations max. So I really want to play a Cabal, but not get my dusty butt handed to me. It's looking grim for a potential list because this takes Sekhmet Core right off the table (duplicates Scarab Occult).

 

So I figured out a base Cabal, and a vanilla auxiliary... something like Tzaangor Warherd. 

 

I guess a flat out question I have is this (But assume for the sake of argument I want Ahriman in the army period):

 

- Would you still try for the Cabal (War Coven)? And an Aux? (equals 2 formations)

 

- OR Would you just do a CAD and an ally? (or no ally... could be just a CAD).

 

My feeling is 1K sons may have fun in Highlander because they're a little hampered in competitve scene, but with Highlander I don't have to worry about super friends/Decurions/Battle Co's/Super Heavies/Surges/Magnus/etc.

 

Otherwise I have other armies to take. I just wanted to get your take on this as I'm considering doing it with Thousand Sons!

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Okay guys I have a basic question for you.

 

I'm struggling to make a 1500 Pt list in a "highlander" format. (so everything's unique except troop transports and troops are repeatable if you field both types you have at least once - so a one troop type army could spam them because they don't have a choice).

 

The problem I'm having is it's locked to 2 formations max. So I really want to play a Cabal, but not get my dusty butt handed to me. It's looking grim for a potential list because this takes Sekhmet Core right off the table (duplicates Scarab Occult).

 

So I figured out a base Cabal, and a vanilla auxiliary... something like Tzaangor Warherd. 

 

I guess a flat out question I have is this (But assume for the sake of argument I want Ahriman in the army period):

 

- Would you still try for the Cabal (War Coven)? And an Aux? (equals 2 formations)

 

- OR Would you just do a CAD and an ally? (or no ally... could be just a CAD).

 

My feeling is 1K sons may have fun in Highlander because they're a little hampered in competitve scene, but with Highlander I don't have to worry about super friends/Decurions/Battle Co's/Super Heavies/Surges/Magnus/etc.

 

Otherwise I have other armies to take. I just wanted to get your take on this as I'm considering doing it with Thousand Sons!

 

 

I would think the War Cabal would be a good choice - instead of having to take like Tzaangors or Cultist or regular CSM for a second troop choice, you get to take Scarab Occult, which will be pretty nice in the format I think.  Then you've got to fill out the "HQ" choices of the requirement - so would you take an exalted sorc, regular sorc and daemon prince?

 

I mean, honestly, you're going friendly anyway I feel like if you're taking actual 1ksons anyway...especially in a format that limits their one main power piece in Magnus.

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