40k Army List

Army-list sketches for Warhammer 40,000 (11th Edition), Thousand Sons. Model roster, painted status, and per-unit points live on the Roster page — this page is just about building playable lists.

Reference: Wahapedia — Thousand Sons (11th Edition) · Munitorum Field Manual — Thousand Sons (official points)

Notes / Ideas

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• The owned + assembled pool (Ahriman, Infernal Master, 5 Scarab Occult Terminators, 2 Chaos Spawn, 20 Tzaangors, 40 Rubric Marines) tops out around 1,355p (cheapest per-model split) — roughly the 1,250p bracket. 1,500p and up need new purchases.
• Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx. Rule “All is Dust”: +1 to save rolls for RUBRICAE units (Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators) against attacks with an unmodified Damage characteristic of 1. Covers both core owned units directly, always-on (no psychic-test dependency) — picked over the earlier Ritual of Regeneration suggestion, which only touched the Rubric Marines’ healing.
• Ahriman and Infernal Master both lead Rubric Marines — pick one as Warlord per bracket, the other rides with a second squad once there are enough bodies to field two.
• Scarab Occult Terminators are the hard-hitting elite unit — Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (Wishlist) is their dedicated Leader once there’s room.
• Tzaangors are the cheap screening/objective body — Tzaangor Shaman (Wishlist) leads them and the Enlightened variants.
• 1,500p+ pulls from the Wishlist — suggestions below are one plausible shopping list, not the only one.

Army Ideas by Points Level

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Sketches to plug into NewRecruit and tune from there — not locked lists yet. Each bracket builds on the previous one. Points are approximate (no Enhancements costed in); expect drift once built for real.

500p — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Assassination (1 Character). 3 units, 480p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 9 with Close combat weapon, Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer with Force weapon, Malefic Curse, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — same loadout

Total: 480p — 20p under cap.

750p — September — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Assassination (2 Characters). 6 units, 740p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Close combat weapon/Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer with Force weapon, Malefic Curse, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Close combat weapon/Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer with Force weapon, Malefic Curse, Inferno bolt pistol
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p — 2 with Inferno combi-bolter/Prosperine khopesh, 1 with Hellfyre missile rack, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Scarab Occult Sorcerer with Force weapon, Malefic Curse, Inferno combi-bolter
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p — 7 with Tzaangor blades, 1 with Herd banner, 1 with Brayhorn; Twistbray with Tzaangor blades

Total: 740p — 10p under cap. (First pass at this bracket came in 5p over at 755p with two 10-strong Rubric Marines units — traded one down to 5-strong and brought in the Tzaangors instead.)

1000p — October — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Bring It Down (2×2), Assassination (2 Characters). 9 units, exactly 1000p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Chaos Rhino (new) — 80p — Armoured tracks, Inferno combi-bolter
• Chaos Rhino (new) — 80p — Armoured tracks, Inferno combi-bolter
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p — 2 with Inferno combi-bolter/Prosperine khopesh, 1 with Hellfyre missile rack, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Scarab Occult Sorcerer
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p — 7 with Tzaangor blades, 1 with Herd banner, 1 with Brayhorn; Twistbray
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p — same loadout

Total: 1,000p, exact. Uses all 40 owned Rubric Marines (as 5+10+5), all 5 owned Scarab Occult Terminators, and 10 of the 20 owned Tzaangors. Traded the 2nd Tzaangors unit for a 2nd Rhino so both small Rubric Marines squads ride — fewer aura/special-rule bodies to track turn-to-turn than the all-Tzaangors version, at the cost of some objective-control bodies. New kits needed: 2× Chaos Rhino.

1250p — November — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Bring It Down (2×2), Assassination (2 Characters), Cull the Horde (1×5, before leaders attached). 11 units, 1245p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — same loadout
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 110p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer (4th unit, 4th-tier pricing)
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Spawn ×2 — 65p — Hideous Mutations
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p
• Tzaangors ×20 — 145p — 17 with Tzaangor blades, 1 with Herd banner, 1 with Brayhorn; Twistbray

Total: 1,245p — 5p under cap. Uses the entire owned/assembled pool: all 40 Rubric Marines (5+5+10+5), both Rhinos, both Chaos Spawn, all 5 Scarab Occult Terminators, all 20 Tzaangors. First pass at this bracket came in 85p over at 1335p with the 4th Rubric Marines unit at full 10-strong — downsized it to 5 (4th-tier pricing, 200p→110p) to fit. Everything owned is now in the list — no purchases needed through here, and 1,500p+ is where new kits become unavoidable.

1500p — December — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Bring It Down (3×2), Assassination (3 Characters), Cull the Horde (1×5, before leaders attached). 14 units, 1495p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Exalted Sorcerer — 90p — Astral Blast, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — same loadout
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 110p — same loadout, 4th unit
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Spawn ×2 — 65p — Hideous Mutations
• Helbrute (new) — 110p — Close combat weapon, Missile launcher, Multi-melta
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p
• Tzaangor Enlightened ×3 (new) — 50p — Aviarch with Divining spear, 2 with Divining spear
• Tzaangors ×20 — 145p

Total: 1,495p — 5p under cap. New kits needed: Exalted Sorcerer, Helbrute, Tzaangor Enlightened box.

2000p — January — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Ahriman. Secondary: Bring It Down (4×2), Assassination (4 Characters). 19 units, exactly 2000p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman, Warlord — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Exalted Sorcerer — 90p — Astral Blast, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Sorcerer in Terminator Armour — 95p — Force weapon, Gaze of Hate, Inferno combi-bolter
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — same loadout
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 110p — same loadout, 4th unit
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Spawn ×2 — 65p — Hideous Mutations
• Helbrute — 110p — Close combat weapon, Missile launcher, Multi-melta
• Heldrake (new) — 175p — Heldrake claws, Hades autocannon
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 more (new, 2nd unit) — 180p
• Tzaangor Enlightened ×3 — 50p — Aviarch with Divining spear, 2 with Divining spear
• Tzaangor Enlightened ×3 more (new, 2nd unit) — 50p — same loadout
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p

Total: 2,000p, exact. Split the 20 Tzaangors into two 10-strong units instead of one 20-strong (+5p, no new models) to help close the gap. New kits needed: Sorcerer in Terminator Armour, 5 more Scarab Occult Terminators, one Heldrake, one more Tzaangor Enlightened box.

3000p — stretch (aspirational) — built

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Detachment: Rubricae Phalanx (All is Dust). Force disposition: Take and Hold. Warlord: Magnus the Red. Enhancement: Stave Abominus on the Sorcerer in Terminator Armour. Secondary: Bring It Down (6×2 + 2×4), Assassination (5 Characters). 23 units, exactly 3000p — NewRecruit link.

• Ahriman — 100p — Black Staff of Ahriman, Inferno bolt pistol, Transmogrifying Blast
• Exalted Sorcerer — 90p — Astral Blast, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Infernal Master — 95p — Fires of the Abyss, Force weapon, Inferno bolt pistol
• Magnus the Red, Warlord — 455p — Blade of Magnus, Gaze of Magnus, Tzeentch’s Firestorm
• Sorcerer in Terminator Armour — 115p — Force weapon, Gaze of Hate, Inferno combi-bolter, Stave Abominus (+20p)
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — 2 with Inferno boltgun, 1 with Icon of Flame, 1 with Soulreaper cannon; Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 100p — same loadout
• Rubric Marines ×10 — 190p — 8 with Warpflamer (1 with Icon of Flame); Aspiring Sorcerer
• Rubric Marines ×5 — 110p — same loadout, 4th unit
• Chaos Predator Destructor (new) — 140p — Armoured tracks, Predator autocannon
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Rhino — 80p
• Chaos Spawn ×2 — 65p — Hideous Mutations
• Defiler (new) — 300p — Hades battle cannon, 2× Excruciator cannon, Heavy baleflamer, Heavy missile launcher, Shearing claws
• Helbrute — 110p
• Heldrake — 175p
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p
• Scarab Occult Terminators ×5 — 180p
• Sekhetar Robots ×2 (new) — 85p — Close combat weapon, Heavy warpflamer, Hellfyre missile rack, Pyreflux meltagun
• Tzaangor Enlightened ×3 — 50p
• Tzaangor Enlightened ×3 — 50p
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p
• Tzaangors ×10 — 75p

Total: 3,000p, exact — the top of the escalation league’s stretch range. New kits beyond the 2,000p list: Magnus the Red, a Defiler, a Chaos Predator Destructor, and Sekhetar Robots.

(500p–1,250p use only what’s already owned/assembled; 1,500p and up are sketches pending NewRecruit and purchases — nothing here is locked.)