BREAKING NEWS: 8th Edition 40K Thousand Sons Datasheet Revealed!!
By Magnus this is a good reveal!
Well... a massive information dump here. Let's get started!
The dataslate in general looks like it has everything you need to play the unit, including a new points system for less formal games. Stats are there for the models, and the weapon stats are there. Just like in Age of Sigmar, there are no granular points for wargear options, meaning you'll actually be able to use all the upgrades your unit comes with.
The abilities, as promised are all there on the dataslate... but my heart sinks as I see what appears to be a Universal Standard Rule, or at least a Faction rule. I'm disappointed with this, as I would have liked to have everything on one page, with no other looking up that needs to be done. I can't really put a positive spin on that beyond it only being a few rules... but it does keep the door open for the same kind of rules bloat we saw in 7th Edition.
Invulnerable saves appear to still be there, and I heard a rumour that all they are is a save that ignores rends. I don't know how useful a 5+ invulnerable save is going to be really, but I'll do Ruric Marine specific analysis later.
Then the key words for messing around with synergies and army composition.
A good, concise layout for all information, and heaps better than the back and forth looking up we had to deal with in the 7th Edition dataslate.
Sorry I'm going to geek out over the Thousand Sons now!
First up, the biggest bugbear people have with Thousand Sons Rubric Marines is gone. No damned Slow and Purposeful!! Instead all we have is a minus 1 to movement compared to other Marines, and what effectively amounts to Relentless on Heavy Weapons. Huzzah!
The Warpflamer has also lost it's ridiculous Feel No Pain granting rule, now turning it into a high rending standard flamer. As the Sons no longer pay for this upgrade, this turns them into a really nasty adversary for elite units, potentially pumping out 24 Auto-hitting shots!
The Inferno Bolter has become... OK. It's essentially an old AP5 bolter now, but the rend applies to everything, as opposed to just scaring Guardsmen. It's not quite as nasty as the old Marine killing AP3, but certainly more flexible.
The Reaper Canon continues to be awesome, only now you can fire the damn thing in Overwatch. It's still restricted to one per 10 models, but perhaps the points cost of the Rubrics is low enough to mean they field more than 5 models in 8th...
Now onto defences. They are reasonably tough cookies, getting a bonus to armour saves against any damage 1 weapons. They're effectively semi-terminators now, but maybe with a better Invulnerable save. The issue with them will be the same as with old Terminators... buckets of lasguns. But on the other hand, this is meant to be a basic troop choice, so you can't expect the utterly amazing!
Think of the implications for the All is Dust Rule on Scarab Terminators though. A 2+ armour save gets improved by 1 for Damage 1 weapons?? That can't be right... They'd be immune to small arms fire, right after Games Workshop has decreed nothing will be immune to small arms fire!
Onto the Aspiring Sorcerer, who's been buffed, but nerfed in equal measure. He's not a full psyker, casting only a lesser version of Smite. Dealing 1 Mortal Wound per turn seems a bit lacklustre for any psyker, but has the chance of dealing 3. I wouldn't count on that, as the odds get fairly long. I wonder if the same kind of nerf will be applied to Eldar Warlocks, but then I remember they're Eldar, and it probably won't happen.
The good bits have to do with the Force Weapons, giving us our new power weapon spectrum. First up; unwieldly axes appears to be gone! Begin hyperventilating over power fists and Thunder Hammers now. The rest of the flavours of charged weapons are as follows:
There are a lot of Space Wolf players out there salivating over a chance to use axes on their cosmic Vikings, and even World Eater Beserkers are probably grinning about their new chain-axes!
Staves have had a bit of a nerf in this edition though. if you look at the To Wound table, having a higher Strength than your opponents Toughness is only going to get you a 3+ to Wound roll, whereas staves enjoyed a 2+ on most targets.
We can reasonably expect Force to just mean D3 wounds now, instead of 1. The Psyker doesn't have to juggle warp charges anymore to get that extra Instant Death style bonus.
Overall? Kind of meh. Some good, some bad. It will all come down to the points comparison with vanilla marines and terminators. Also Guardsmen. No point in fielding 5 of these guys if they'll have to face 20 Guardsmen firing back with potentially 4 shots each.
Until next time!
- Power Sword: No Strength change but -3 Rend.
- Power Axe: +1 Strength and -2 Rend
- Power Stave (Possibly Mauls?): +2 Strength -1 Rend.
Staves have had a bit of a nerf in this edition though. if you look at the To Wound table, having a higher Strength than your opponents Toughness is only going to get you a 3+ to Wound roll, whereas staves enjoyed a 2+ on most targets.
We can reasonably expect Force to just mean D3 wounds now, instead of 1. The Psyker doesn't have to juggle warp charges anymore to get that extra Instant Death style bonus.
Overall? Kind of meh. Some good, some bad. It will all come down to the points comparison with vanilla marines and terminators. Also Guardsmen. No point in fielding 5 of these guys if they'll have to face 20 Guardsmen firing back with potentially 4 shots each.
Until next time!
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