[The Son of Horus]

This is what I use for my Thousand Sons. I never really intended for them to be an ultra-competitive army, although they turned out to just be utterly brutal. I've got something crazy like a 10-0-1 record with them. They're kind of my weekend warriors, since I like my Sons of Horus and my Space Marines better since I've got more models on the table, but there's no denying how effective these guys have been. I tabled an opposing Space Marine player just the other day and only lost five rubric Marines, and nothing else. This is proof that the Thousand Sons can be an extremely potent army at about 18'' out and have the means to deliver the infantry to that range with the basic options they are given in the codex. No silly Chosen of Ahriman for me.

Anyway, here it is.

HQ/
-Sentret, Black Mage of Prospero
---Mark of Tzeentch, Terminator Armour, Daemonic Mutation, Resilience, Rune, Eye of Tzeentch, Wind of Chaos
----Khamenawi's Cabal, Sentret's Bodyguard
------Khamenawi, Ao, Ra, and Jahmeni. All are in Terminator Armour. Khamenawi is armed with a power fist and combi-bolter, and can cast Twisting Path. Ao and Ra both are armed with combi-bolters and great scimitars (power weapons) and can cast doombolt. Jahmeni is armed with a runic blade (power weapon) and combi-bolter, and can cast Twisting Path.

Elites/
-Khamenawi's Cabal (Chosen slot)

Troops/
-P'Tah's Cabal
9 Thousand Sons. P'Tah is armed with a power fist and bolt pistol, and has spiky bits and a teleport homer. P'Tah can cast Wind of Chaos, and is accompanied by a single Thrall Wizard. The squad is mounted in a Rhino APC with extra armour and smoke launchers.

-Hathor's Cabal
9 Thousand Sons. Hathor is armed with a power fist and bolt pistol, and has spiky bits and a teleport homer. Hathor can cast Wind of Chaos, and is accompanied by a single Thrall Wizard. The squad is mounted in a Rhino APC with extra armour and smoke launchers.

-Rasui's Cabal
9 Thousand Sons. Rasui is armed with a power fist and bolt pistol, and has spiky bits and a teleport homer. Rasui can cast Wind of Chaos, and is accompanied by a single Thrall Wizard. The squad is mounted in a Rhino APC with extra armour and smoke launchers.

Fast Attack/
10 Screamers of Tzeentch (every squad aforementioned has an icon bearer; Khamenawi bears the icon for Sentret's bodyguard)

Heavy Support/

-Ialu, Rubric Dreadnought. Ialu is armed with a double-bladed axe (dreadnought close combat weapon) and twin-linked lascannon. Ialu bears the Rubric Sign (daemonic possession.)

-Sobek, Rubric Dreadnought. Sobek is armed with a runesword (dreadnought close combat weapon) and twin-linked lascannon. Sobek bears the Rubric Sign.

-Amaris, Rubric Dreadnought. Amaris is armed with an eviscerator claw (dreadnought close combat weapon) and twin-linked lascannon. Amaris bears the Rubric Sign.[/b]

 

[jigplums]

how many points is the list. It looks pretty solid, but i am used to 1500 point games so if its more it would explain why

 

[FrozenOrb]

Looks to be 1500 points worth. Like you say it looks like a solid, good mix.

 

[The Son of Horus]

It's 2000 points.

 

[Hespithe]

A tough lot, no doubt. I really like the thought put into the list.

If you have one available, could you post a pic of the army, as it would be in-game?

I'm beginning a Dustwing themed display army, but still plan on playing the odd game with it, and am curious to see just how it might look when it is completed.

Do you really get your points' worth for the Screamers? Wouldn't a couple units of Flamers fare better? Or, are the Screamers there for a particular reason? I was under the impression that the mandatory 'hit & run' could actually cause problems for the army.

And, do the dreadnoughts suffer the rage very often? I'd worry about rolling three times per turn, especially with such expensive models of my own nearby. Wouldn't a defiler or two be better options? I imagine they may not mesh well with the theme of your army.

I've been in the hobby since '95, but this is my first foray into the warp. Thanks for the post, and for reading this reply.

 

[The Son of Horus]

I don't get the screamers' points back. However, they're the fastest thing I can have in the army, and for the points, they're also the cheapest models I can put on the table. Where I have to jump on an objective, they're actually quite reliable. They can divert a surprising number of enemy units away from other important areas of the table to deal with them, since a lot of people view them as a major threat due to their speed. They're quite soft though, so don't rely on them to actually hold their weight if they don't cut clean through on their charge. They're an excellent distraction, and are enough to break up a stalemate close combat. As for Hit and Run... the screamers have to either win or draw combat to be forced to Hit and Run, since the rule reads that "if they or at least some of their opponents do not have to fall back." Because they're daemons, they take casualties when they fall back instead of moving-- the wording is very technical, but I've confirmed that with GW.

Dreadnoughts tend to misbehave once or twice in a six-turn game. It's a negligable risk, since they've almost always got an enemy in line of sight, and certainly in range due to their lascannon armament. I considered at least one defiler when I built the army, but the Thousand Sons can muster such an impressive amount of anti-infantry fire that it's just not really needed. The Dreadnoughts, on the other hand, can provide the anti-tank support that the army pretty desperately needs.

 

[The Wraithlord]

I have actually stopped using my Thousand Sons for quite awhile now due to incredibly poor performance across the board with them, especially considering how easy it is to crack a Rhino now. I am curious however how you would use this list to deal with a Tyranid army with 5 monstrous creatures in it, alongside all the usual Genestealers and Hormaguants.

 

[The Son of Horus]

That hasn't come up yet. I'd most likely try to fortify myself in whatever cover there was available, and use the Rhinos to try to control the flow of the little 'uns to the corner of the board I'd deployed into. Power fists across the table can handle the monstrous creatures that aren't of the Carnifex variety in close combat, though the casualties will be high. The dreadnoughts can shoot the slower carnifex though. They'll have plenty of time to deal with them. Don't get me wrong-- it'd be a tough game-- but I think it's very possible to come out on top.

It may be easy to crack a Rhino, but that just means you have to be careful with them. Effective use of cover, smoke launchers, and only staying inside for one or two turns at the most means that they tend to be okay. I buy them more for the 12'' move on the first turn than anything else-- that tends to put me within 24'' of the enemy. At that point, I can advance and fire into the enemy infantry.