Hey Folks. Today I'd like to talk a little about my favorite Chaos God, Tzeentch. I've played Thousand Sons for many years and have experienced Tzeentch's balls kicked with each new codex and 40K rule edition. Truly they are the masters of change. With the rise of recent MEQ armies like Space Wolves and Blood Angels, my T-sons are getting dusted off. (Not too much... they need dust too.)
Let's look at the basic cost. 8 Thousand Sons and the mandatory Sorcerer is 244 points if you still like sacred numbers. Expensive yes, but you get a lot of punch. Aside from the AP3 bolters, it's the force weapon that really adds value to the unit in my opinion and is really the "sleeper" ability. The option to field multiple force weapons in an army is really an amazing thing. On top of that, it's held by non independent characters and can further be boosted with Warp Time. Tyranids fear it and with the creep of Hero Hammer, this underrated weapon has become much more useful.
Of course there is the endless debate of Bolt of Change vs Warp Time on Aspiring Sorcerers. Both have their ways on the battlefield. Looking at armies that are either wholly or heavily Tzeentch based, there's a lack of anti-tank. Bolt of Change works pretty good and can be shot from a rhino hatch. At the same time, T-sons lack a little on the combat side and warp time is very useful against MEQ and MCEQ. I think it really comes down to your local meta game.
What about their save? Their 4++ save really could start to shine with the upcoming Blood Angels. With so many power weapons and the like, T-sons may be able to tarpit Angels and widdle them down with warp timed sorcerers. For the first time, I believe Nurgle will be outmatched as the "best" CSM troop when it comes to fighting Blood Angels.
There are a lot of support options available to T-son armies. Even more so than some actually think. At 1850, 3 solid units is usually your core. Probably backed up by some smaller packs of lesser daemons. Obliterators are the obvious heavy choice. (I prefer to mix them with defilers). But again with the sleeping side of Tzeentch, I feel that dreadnoughts are wonderful support to T-Sons. I usually field two. One with a lascannon and the other with dual CCWs. Fire Frenzy can be annoying but it's only a 1/6 chance. Through personal experience, my dreads have done more good than harm by providing wonderful combat support.
HQs are really a flavor thing. The most common choice would be a winged Prince with MoT, Warp Time and Wind of Chaos/Bolt of Change. For about 200 points, you get a really mean MC that has good survivability and close combat prowess. My personal favorite is a Sorcerer on Disc with Warp time and Bolt of Change. There are a few reasons. One is having another force weapon with 6 attacks on the charge. (3+Disc+CCW/Pistol+charge). One thing I think most players don’t even realize is that independent characters can join Obliterator units. I've used these sorcerers along with obliterator units on foot to provide a little extra anti-tank and 4++ save support. Once I'm close enough, he flies away and takes on MCs and ICs with his force weapon.
At the end of the day I will actually be fielding more T-sons due to the growth of Blood Angels. We will also have to wait and see what sort of silly pants Dark Eldar bring to the table. As for Grey Knights, I say bring it. It's an immeasurable feud with the Lord of Change. I’ve also included a sample 1850 list of a dedicated T-son army that I would probably field.
Daemon Prince
Wnigs
Mark of Tzeentch
Warptime
Winds of Chaos
8 Thousand Sons
Personal Icon
Aspiring Sorcerer
Bolt of Change
Rhino
8 Thousand Sons
Personal Icon
Aspiring Sorcerer
Warptime
Rhino
Combi-Melta
8 Thousand Sons
Personal Icon
Aspiring Sorcerer
Warptime
Rhino
Combi-Melta
6 Lesser Daemons
6 Lesser Daemons
2 Obliterators
2 Obliterators
Dreadnought
Extra CCW
Extra Armor
Dreadnought
Lascannon
