Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Thousand Sons (section)

==Wargear==
===Weapons===
The Armoury of the Thousand Sons shares a lot in common with the Chaos Space Marine and Loyalist armouries, with the Iconic Inferno Bolters and Soulreaper Cannons the stand-out exceptions.

====Ranged====

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A large, but not exhaustive, list of the various types of weaponry used by the the forces of the Thousand Sons:

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*'''Autogun''' - Now comes standard on Cultists, 24" Rapid Fire 1 S3 D1.
*'''Autopistol''' - The other cultist option, 12" Pistol 1 S3 D1.  Everything that can take this also has a chainsword or equivalent.
*'''Baleflamer''' - 18" Assault 2D3 S6 AP-2 2D auto-hits, so roughly the same as Torrent range.
*'''Bolt pistol <sup>Legends</sup>''' - Your standard sidearm for most troops. Boltgun profile with halved range and Pistol 1 instead of Rapid Fire.
*'''Boltgun:''' The standard 40k infantry weapon, 24" Rapid Fire 1 S4 AP0 D1.  Almost nothing you can field can actually wield one of these, outside of some forge world models (like a Chaos Rapier Carrier).
*'''Combi-weapons:''' Many, if not all, of your Forge World vehicles can/must take these.
**'''Combi-bolter''' - Literally 2 bolters in one, gaining Rapid Fire 2 rather than 1.
**'''Combi-flamer''' - Being a combi-weapon means it can fire both modes in the same phase, but at -1 to hit. The flamer automatically hits. You work it out. Fantastic because you lose nothing over the Bolter but simply gain a lot of shots once you're in flamer range.
**'''Combi-melta''' - The combi with the most different weapons. The melta is the star of the show, so just think it as that plus some anti-light ability. It's worth firing both parts against MEQ out of cover and lighter, but hit some big targets with it or it's a waste.
**'''Combi-plasma''' - Can be fired safely, or overcharge,; the latter of which should never be done on most units without the ability to reroll 1s somehow. The bolter part actually does less work than on a combi-melta, it doesn't do anything the plasma gun can't. A plasma gun that hits light infantry harder.
*'''Defiler Cannon''' - The Defiler's old battle cannon gets an upgrade. a 72" Heavy D6 S8 AP-2 D3 Blast profile. Since you will likely only have one of these, namely on your centerpiece Defiler, consider focusing your command rerolls onto its D6 shots.
*'''Demolisher cannon''' - Your big-boom tank weaponry, sadly finds itself in a bit of a bad spot: Offering d6 shots and a very random d6 damage, this gun might be able to go after heavy infantry thanks to the Blast rule, but can also be good enough to hunt vehicles with a good roll.
*'''Ectoplasma cannon''' - 36" Heavy 1d3 S7 AP-3 AP D3, Blast. Considering Forgefiends have three of these babies and don't immediately kill themselves on a single 1 to hit, these are plenty scary. Arguably another way to bring Plasma into your army. However the Heavy Hades Autocannons are mathematically equal or superior (i.e. score more unsaved wounds) against every combination of toughness/save up to 8/2+.  On top of that they have more range. Take this in place of the daemon jaws where it's your only ranged option. It should be mentioned that three of these are cheaper (though only by 5pts) than jaws and two Hades autocannon and they have a solid range of 36",  not to mention blast, which actually enables it to fire a full 9 shots at any unit that has 6+ models.
*'''Fatecaster Greatbow''' - “Bows? In my 40k?” It’s more likely than you think. 30" Assault 1 S5 AP-1 D1 but ignores Look Out Sir! and always hits on an unmodified 2+.
*'''Flamer:''' D6 autohits at S4 for your cultists.
*'''Hades autocannon''' - 36" Heavy 4 S8 AP-2 D2, competes for the ranged weapon option on the Heldrake with the Baleflamer. It's had a hard time proving itself useful in comparison.
**'''Heavy Hades autocannon''' - 48" Heavy 4 S8 AP-2 D2, higher range, strength, and average damage than the Ectoplasma cannons at the cost of slightly lower AP. A slightly better choice than the ectoplasma cannons, as they equal or outperform the ectoplasma cannons vs every combination of toughness/save up to 8/2+ except in fairly few scenarios when targeting units with 6+ models due to the Blast rule on the Ectoplasma Cannons.
*'''Havoc launcher''' - It's a frag only missile launcher at +1S. A bit unreliable, but it makes your Rhinos into something resembling a battle tank.
*'''Heavy bolter''' - 36" Heavy 3 S5 AP-1 D2. Will now finally be worth taking. Plus, they're good for one-shotting all those 2W marines.
*'''Heavy flamer''' - It's a flamer with +1S and -1AP. See Flamer.
*'''Heavy stubber''' - Marginally useful for an objective-camping or deepstrike meatshield cultist squad. 
*'''Heavy warpflamer''' - AP-2 heavy flamer. Carried by Scarab Occult Terminators. Mutually exclusive with the superior soulreaper cannon, so you'll never actually use this.
*'''Helbrute plasma cannon''' - 36" Heavy D3 S8 AP-3 D2, each hit roll of 1 causes a mortal wound after all other shots have been resolved; you're generally better off taking the twin lascannon for the Helbrute, as it has longer range, consistent shots, higher strength, and much higher potential damage output.
*'''Hellfyre missile rack''' -  Only available to Scarab Occult Terminators, 36" Heavy 2 S8 AP-2 D1d3, solid addition for 10pts.
*'''Inferno bolt pistol''' - An AP-2 bolt pistol that is for Exalted Sorcerers and Aspiring Sorcerers.
*'''Inferno boltgun:''' The Rubrics' standard gun, an AP-2 bolter. Cost is baked into the unit and is exclusive to them. AP-2 is surprisingly  effective.
**'''Inferno combi-bolter:''' An AP-2 combi-bolter, popular on many of your vehicles, sorcerers in terminator armour, and scarab occult terminators.  Literally twice as nice as an AP-2 bolter.  Commonly found on Scarab Occult Terminators, Sorcerers in Terminator Armor, Helbrutes, Rhinos, Defilers, Predators, Vindicators, and Land Raiders.
**'''Inferno combi-flamer:''' A flamer (''not'' a warpflamer, because GW hates you) strapped to an inferno bolter, where you can (and literally always will) fire both at -1 to hit, meaning the flamer profile won't notice (and on overwatch, neither will the bolter).  Your Rhinos, Defilers, Predators, Vindicators, and Land Raiders can all take this, although be aware Forge World variants typically can't.
**'''Inferno combi-melta:''' A meltagun strapped to an inferno bolter, where you can fire both at -1 to hit.  Because the bolter profile has such an excellent AP, you'll usually find yourself firing both at lighter targets - both together is optimal against GEQ, MEQ, and TEQ, for example - but the melta alone at anything with the wounds to absorb the melta's damage.  Found on sorcerers in terminator armor, as well as the same vehicles that can take inferno combi-flamers.
*'''Lascannon''' - 48" Heavy 1 S9 AP-3 D1d6. It has the chance to output a redonkulous amount of damage with really high AP. That said, you'll fume for every damage roll of 1 you make. But that's what all the Glimpse of Eternity is for, isn't it?
*'''Magma cutter''' - Interestingly Magma cutters have now become a 6" Assault 2 at S8 AP-4 D1d6+2, meaning they have a tiny bit of range and can be used while your Maulerfiends are munching on tasty vehicles.
*'''Missile launcher''' - Your Helbrute's only off-arm ranged option. Choose between Heavy D6 S4 AP0 D1 and Heavy 1 S8 AP-2 D1d6, both at 48" range.
*'''Multi-melta:''' It's a Heavy Meltagun with double the shots and range at 24", same profile as above.  Anything that can take this (which is rare - usually the only models you actually stand a chance of fielding with these are Helbrutes and Contemptors) usually should, unless it has another absolutely incredible gun (which Contemptors do and Helbrutes don't), as they're criminally undercosted in every faction in 9E.
*'''Plasma pistol''' - Same as the Plasma gun except 12" pistol 1 instead of 24" rapid fire 1. Also has the ability to '''OVERCHARGE''' for +1 S and D but with the same risk of instant death. Since you can use them in melee and they're only 5 points, they might finally be worth taking now.
**When deciding whether or not you want to up-gun your sorcerer, you'll be choosing between this and the warpflame pistol. What it really comes down to is if you value the overcharge shot or not. But on average the warpflame pistol does way more damage unless the plasma pistol is being fired at a 2+ wound model, so keep that in mind.
*'''Predator autocannon''' - Thankfully much improved. Similar to the Autocannon except Heavy'''2D3''' ''and'' an extra 1 Damage. That means on average double the fire rate and triple the total damage. Comes stock on the Predator Destructor.
*'''Reaper autocannon''' - 36" heavy 4 S7 AP-2'''D1''', Deffy comes stock with one of these, usually used after the Battle cannon to try and pick off any survivors. Note the reaper version of the autocannon only does 1 damage per wound and is really just a glorified 4 shot Hv-Bolter without the extra damage given how the strength and toughness chart works in this edition. it's also free on the units that can take it.
*'''Shotgun:''' 12" assault 2 S3 AP0 D1, carried only by cultist champions.
*'''Soulreaper cannon''' - Exclusive to Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators, this bad boy is a 24" Heavy 5 S6 AP-3 D1 dakka cannon. Since the only two units that can bring it ignore the penalties to moving and shooting with heavy weapons, it's essentially an assault cannon with one less shot but two more AP that you can walk (not run, since you can't advance and shoot it) up the field to your heart's content with. It's cheaper by five points for Scarab Occults, it's also a steal.
*'''Twin heavy bolter''' - 36" Heavy 6 S5 AP-1 D2. Mathematically, twice as good as a regular heavy bolter for less than twice the price.
*'''Twin heavy flamer''' - Still has some of the issues of the standard flamer, but the extra dakka (2d6 hits) does come a long way to upping the hoard mulching potential for these.
*'''Twin lascannon''' - Take 1 Lascannon and double-up on them, Heavy 2 instead of Heavy 1 but otherwise identical to regular lascannons.
*'''Warpflame pistol''' - Flamer Pistol with massive AP, meaning you can inflict a bunch of auto-hits even in melee. Costs as much as the plasma pistol. Always take one when taking a squad of warpflamer rubrics, Pyric Flux will push this pistol from S3 to S4.
*'''Warpflamer''' - An AP-2 Flamer exclusive to Rubric Marines. The last word in overwatch scenarios. Costs 6pts, and you'll always either give the entire unit (minus the sorcerer and Soulreaper carrier, if you have one) these or none at all. Murderous in Narrative play, though, where wargear has no cost.
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====Melee====
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A large, but not exhaustive, list of the various types of melee weaponry used by the the Thousand Sons:

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*'''Blade of Magnus''' - Magnus's big beatstick. Gives big red X2 strength, AP-4 and 3 damage, as well as dealing d3 MW if your target doesn't die, just in case.
*'''Brutal assault weapon''' - Cultist melee weapon that gives them an additional close combat attack; free sidegrade to make classic choppy cultists.
*'''Chainsword''' - Now a bit more than just a close combat weapon, gives an additional attack using its profile if you have one on you. Not bad for dual wielding. If you have two, you do indeed get two extra attacks.
*'''Daemon jaws''' - The dino-head of the Forgefiend if you don't have the Plasma-Head. AP-1, D2.
*'''Daemon Prince Weapons''' - Malefic Talons are stock, You can trade out a set of claws for either option for 10pts.
**'''Daemonic axe''' - S+2 AP-2 D3.
**'''Hellforged sword''' - S+1 AP-3 D3.
**'''Malefic talons''' - SUser AP-1 D2, makes 1 additional attack; your Daemon Prince comes with one stock for free.
***Thousand Sons 9e has shaken up the Daemon Prince weapons considerably. The nerf to the Talons and buffs on the other two options push each into a niche. That said, the Hellforged Sword likely takes the spot as the best TAC option.
*'''Defiler claws''' - Deffy doesn't suffer -1 to hit when he give you 6 wounds to the face.
*'''Defiler scourge''' - Deffy DOES get 3 extra attacks with this if he's got one. This will get you 3x S12 AP-2 3Dam on top of his 3 claw attacks. 
*'''Disc of Tzeentch's blades''' - 1 additional S4 attack. 
*'''Divining Spear''' - S+1 AP-1 D2. Maybe not impressive with the low number of attacks that enlightened birdgoats get but it makes them a perfectly good harassment unit for the price. 
*'''Force weapons''' - Effectively the same as a power weapon but with D3 damage. And all that without having to forego using other powers.
**'''Force Staff''' - S+3 AP-1. Packs a punch in general, but is especially effective against GEQs, these also do well against armies like Harlequins who have an army-wide invulnerable save yet are still terribly squishy.
**'''Force Axe''' - S+2, AP-2. Lost the unwieldy rule and is all the better for it, even if these are slightly more expensive than the other 2. These are now a jack of all trades and make a good fit for "take all comers" armies.
**'''Force Sword''' - S+1, AP-3. Focused mostly on armour penetration, these are good at facing MEQs and completely strip armour from GEQs, however these become a terrible choice against invulnerable saves. Sadly, the fact it's d3 damage and not a flat 2 makes it [[Fail|worse than the Khopesh]].
*'''Helbrute fist''' - S:x2 AP:-3 D:3 just like a Thunder Hammer, but you don't have -1 to the attack roll.
*'''Helbrute hammer''' - The other Helbrute option, Sx2 AP-4 and d6 damage, but imposes a -1 to hit penalty. Overall, the fist is much more reliable.
*'''Heldrake claws''' - S:User with AP-1 and d3 damage and +1 to hit against flyers. You have to take them on your 'drakes. Use them to shred through some hapless character in the enemy backline. 
*'''Hideous mutations''' - The Spawn's claws and tentacles. Very respectable at AP-2 and 2 damage.
*'''Lasher tendrils''' - The Maulerfiend's other option. Gives 6 extra attacks at AP-2 D1 to shred your way through any infantry you encounter. 
*'''Maulerfiend fists''' - Powerfist without the -1 to hit and with a d3+3 damage. Nasty.
*'''Power scourge''' - Grants 3 additional attacks with this weapon, which hits at AP-2 and 2 damage. Helbrute with a Power Fist + Power Scourge? 5 Fist attacks, 3 Scourge attacks.
*'''Power weapons<sup>Legends</sup>''' - Now all legends, no loss because they're just D1 Force Weapons sans the Fist:
**'''Power fist''' - Sx2, AP-3, D3 damage. Lost the unwieldy rule like the axe, however it has a -1 to hit now. However it still packs a solid punch of d3 damage. Helbrute Power Fist ignores the -1 to hit and does a flat 3 damage per swing.
*'''Prosperine Khopesh''' - A fancy master-crafted Egyptian sword that your Terminators come with by default and your Exalted Sorcerers can take for a mere 5 points. It's +1S AP-3 D2, so a [[Derp|better/more reliable Force Sword]]. Carve through marines to your hearts content.
*'''Tzaangor blades''' - Chainswords with AP-1. Amazing.
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===Relics===

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Despite ten millennia of conflict the Thousand Sons aren't keen to let loose their entire armouries of rare and powerful artifacts onto the battle field. Those relics that do get to leave the halls of Tizca can be found here:

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<tab name="Sorcerous Arcana">

*'''Athenaean Scrolls:''' Exalted Sorcerer only. Once per game you can trigger this and select one power the bearer knows that isn't Smite or a Cult power. For the rest of the game, the bearer can cast this spell by rolling an additional d6 and dropping one of them.
** Note the wording here, it says you can drop ONE of the dice, not the lowest. Could help you potentially avoid perils should you roll double sixes.
**3d6 drop lowest ''radically'' spikes your casting reliability.  WC 5 goes from 83.33% to 94.91% and WC 9 goes from 27.78% to 52.31%.  Combine with other buffs like Witch-Warrior and/or the Cult of Time's Warlord Trait that lets you cast another power if you cast on a 9+ for major shenanigans.
*'''Change-Wrought Chalice:''' Tzaangor Shamans only. This allows the beastman to learn an additional power from either the Vengeance or Change discipline.
**Still can only cast one without a stratagem, so dubiously useful.
*'''Chronos Tutorum:''' Model with a Warlord Trait only. Once per game in the command phase you can use this and gain an additional Warlord Trait, so long as nobody else is using it.
*'''Conniving Plate:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Arcana Astartes}} only. Grants the bearer a Termie-tough 2+ save as well as a debuff that forces enemies to allocate only half of their total attacks (rounding up as per FAQ) on the bearer - which can infuriate beatsticks who rely on chainswords or other extra-attack shenanigans in order to try and overwhelm you.  As spelled out in the FAQ, excess attacks are lost if they can't be allocated to another model.
*'''Egleighen's Orrery:''' Each command phase, you can mark an enemy unit that the bearer can see. Until your next command phase, the bearer gains an aura that lets {{W40Kkeyword|Thousand Sons Core}} units within 6" of them ignore any modifiers to hit or wound the targeted unit as well as punch past any damage-mitigation abilities like the Death Guard's. Very good if you can stack up on a {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}} unit and mark a hard target.
*'''Helm of the <s>Third</s> Daemon's Eye:''' Whenever the enemy uses a stratagem and the bearer is on the field, you gain a CP on a 5+. This has the potential to be extremely useful, but also has the chance to do absolutely nothing. As long as you manage to keep the bearer alive, chances are high you will get at least 1 free CP from it. Also very useful against armies like Imperial Guard who love to throw out stratagem after stratagem.
*'''Paradoxical Chatterfowl:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} only. Each fight phase, roll a d3 for one enemy model within 3" of the bearer. This enemy suffers a penalty to WS, BS, and Psychic tests equal to that number. Another useful setback for your enemies, especially for Grey Knights spamming Hammerhand or other elite beatsticks. That said, it only works when they're right next to you, so you'd best have something to kill them with or else waste the relic.
*'''Pentakairic Armour:''' Infernal Masters only. The bearer learns an additional pact and can negate the damage done by the first attack made on them each turn. The pact is plenty handy, as these guys are the only ones who can use them, and the damage-nullification can help you shut down the potential las-fusil eliminator or lascannon from across the board.
*'''Prism of Echoes:''' The bearer doubles the first range (as per FAQ) of all Blessing powers they cast.
*'''Seer's Bane:''' Replaces a force sword or khopesh with an S+2 AP-4 Dd3 super force weapon. What makes it even deadlier is when you swing this beast on an enemy psyker, where that Strength becomes x2 instead of +2 and the damage increases to Dd6 - enough to probably make those grey knights eat constantly-mutating shit. Against anyone else, though, it's at best saved for a stratagem.
**Deceptively powerful, even against non-psykers this will comfortably out-damage any other weapon you have against hard targets (3+/2+).
*'''Thrydderghyre:''' Replaces a Disc of Tzeentch (so Exalted Sorcerers, Tzaangor Shamans, and Legendary Sorcerers). This steadfast steed allows its rider to cast after falling back and charge after advancing, allowing a bit of flexibility. On top of this, the rider can consolidate 6" and isn't forced to jump to the nearest foe, which can make you a massive nuisance if you want to ignore their big heroes or DISTRACTION CARNIFEXES.
*'''Umbralefic Crystal:''' Once ever in your command phase, you can re-deploy the bearer or one friendly {{W40Kkeyword|thousand sons infantry}} unit within 6" of the bearer and drop them anywhere on the field as long as they're 9" away from an enemy unit. Of course, the Cult of Duplicity won't see much need in such a thing, but it's at least a guaranteed drop. Note that a Daemon Prince can use this on himself - the bearer doesn't need to satisfy any keywords to use it on themselves, only on others.
*'''Warpweave Mantle:''' A psychic booster and overall delayer. While this model is wounded, they gain +1 to their psychic tests. Also, any enemies that roll an unmodified 9 or higher when trying to charge the bearer will ''always fail'', meaning that your opponent's charge range is now shrunk to a minuscule 9" (and even within that range, if they roll too high, they bounce off).
** This can and will stop most enemies from charging you when they arrive via reinforcements. It won't protect units around your sorcerer, though.
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<tab name="Aspiring Magister">
These relics can be assigned using the Aspiring Magister stratagem (1CP; Requisition) to an Aspiring Sorcerer or Scarab Occult Sorcerer.  They are otherwise just like all other relics.

*'''Coruscator:''' Replaces an inferno bolt pistol, meaning it can only be taken by a Sorcerer, Exalted Sorcerer, Aspiring Sorcerer, or Infernal Master.  The pistol triples its rate of fire and improves its strength and damage by 1 and its range by 6: Pistol 3 18" S5 AP-2 D2; as with most pistol relics, it's seldom worth it, ''but'' it's notably the best weapon you can get with Aspiring Magister for an Aspiring Sorcerer(more on this below).  It's unquestionably strictly better than the stock weapon because of the tripled rate of fire, but that's three times better than a weapon that started out pretty worthless, so it faces pretty strong competition; the Helm of the Third Eye and the Umbralefic Crystal are both usually better, so for almost any army and almost any matchup, this is worth neither your free relic slot nor the CP it would cost to bring it as an additional.  Still, it's easier to find a spot for it than the Seer's Bane.
** Give it to an Aspiring Sorcerer if you somehow feel like you have CP to spare. It does scale with Infernal Fusillade after all.
**For an Aspiring Sorcerer, your gun choices are an inferno bolt pistol, a warpflame pistol, the Incandaeum plus a pistol, or this.  As discussed above, it's legitimately radically better than an inferno bolt pistol.  A warpflame pistol will land 3.5 A*D at S3.  The Incandaeum will land 3.5 A*D at S5, and you should slap yourself if you think it's worth a CP to save 5 points and go from S3 to S5.  The Coruscator will land 4 A*D after accounting for accuracy, ''more than any other gun the Aspiring Sorcerer can take''.  And it does it at the same S5 as the Incandaeum and the same AP-2 as all the gun options being discussed here.  
***The Stave Abominus doesn't upgrade you at all against any target with 3 or more Wounds, and Skaeloch's Talon is only, under even very optimal conditions, like fighting a Dark Eldar Haemonculus (T4 W6 Sv6+/6++/5+++, so the improved S and D both help to their full extent and the loss of AP is meaningless), around 2.5 times as good as the staff it replaces, and most of the time it will be worse than that.  The Coruscator is always ''at least'' 3 times better than the pistol it replaces.  That's what makes this the only relic remotely worth considering if you're going to use the Aspiring Magister stratagem on an Aspiring Sorcerer.
*'''Incaendeum:''' Replaces a force stave with a multi-purpose tool. As a melee weapon, it's no different, but as a gun it's a heavy warpflamer that's been changed to Assault: 12" Assault d6 S5 AP-2 D1 that auto-hits. While overwatch was never going to be a thing with a loner hero, it does give you the means to handle a herd without wasting a valuable power on them and risking Perils for it.
**This is the best option here for using Aspiring Magister on a Scarab Occult Sorcerer, because the Assault profile means it can be fired simultaneously with your combi-bolter, giving you purely additional damage.  For similar reasons it's ok on a Tzaangor Shaman or Sorcerer in Terminator Armor (in both cases it will be purely additional damage, as opposed to anyone else who can take it, where it overlaps a gun they already have, reducing the benefit of taking it), but they can just access the rest of the relic list, and there are better choices on there. It can be funny on a Warpflamer Rubric squad, especially if you're already giving them Pyric Flux.
*'''Skaeloch's Talon:''' Replaces a force stave with Sx2 AP0 D2d3, i.e. +1S, +1AP, x2D. While this sounds absolutely devilish, that lack of AP will hobble you severely against anything wearing power armor. Hell, it might screw you over even with anything that has a 4+ save. The only blessing is that you'll usually be able to wound things on a 4+ or better.  Will genuinely hurt the vast majority of targets more effectively than the stave it replaces, but this is a relic, not a mere weapon to be bought with points.
**Remember, trading a point of AP for a point of S is a ''nerf'' against most targets - treat this as a double-damage force stave but worse.
*'''The Stave Abominus:''' Replaces a force stave. It is stuck at D1 rather than Dd3, but it lets the sorcerer double the number of attacks he can make, meaning his output goes up against W2 and W1 targets and otherwise remains the same. Would be absolutely horrific if Sorcerous Might applied to relics, but alas. Has some value on a Paradigm of Change or a Battle-Psyker but those are rarely the best upgrades in general.
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