December Detachment Review: Scintillating Legion

Its Daemon day! And I’ve written 3 detachment reviews in an hour! So to say that leaving the most complicated one for last was a mistake is an understatement.

Which one is that? Why it’s Tzeentch of course!

Are you looking for a different one? Click here!

Let’s get into it before my brain explodes.

The detachment rule is Fates in Flux which gives you 3 Flux tokens. You can spend these on advance, hit, wound, damage saving throw, or hazardous test rolls to re-roll them after you see the roll. When you spend one, your opponent gets one and they can spend them on mostly the same things, those being: Advance, hit, wound and saving throw rolls. When they use a flux token you get one back.

In your command phase, you get a Flux token if the opponent has one. This says to your opponent, “You might as well use them, because I’m getting more anyways.”

This makes my head hurt, but it’s really fun original design.

Enhancements

While not the most exciting enhancements, they’re all usable and have the flavor you’ve come to expect from Tzeentch. Neverblade in particular is a little goofy.

Inescapable Eye is 10 points and gives you an addition flux token in the command phase if you receive one already via your opponent having any. This really helps push the opponent to just spend them, which is a win/win for you. And at 10 points, it’s an auto include. A+

Infernal Puppeteer is 10 points and goes on a Tzeentch Monster. It lets pick a Tzeentch unit within 9″ and pretend it’s an Aeldari Fire Prism, allowing you to use the target at the point of range and visibility. Lord of Change shooting isn’t nothing, but it’s also not Fire Prism levels. This is just good. A

Neverblade is 20 points and goes on a monster. Adding 2 to the strength characteristic of melee weapons and +1 attacks and AP as well. You also add 1 to the hit roll, because why not. This makes a Daemon Prince low-key half-Khrone. Pretty cool, and a good point cost. A

Improbable Shield is a 30 point Aura which gives a 4+ Feel No Pain to Psychic attacks and mortal wounds within 6″ to Tzeentch units. Pretty meh for 30 points, low-key bad. C

Stratagems

The Stratagems are really cool and we’re seeing a lot of fun design with them, as is proper with Tzeentch. The ability to spend flux tokens is everywhere here and surprisingly do add meaningful choice. Reminder that your opponent gets them when you spend them.

Impossible Eclipse lets you turn either the No Mans Land or Opponents Deployment Zone sections of the board and turn them into the Shadow of Chaos until the end of the phase. Or, you can pick both with a Flux Token. This is super versatile and leads to a lot of cute shenanigans. You’ll feel big brain at least using it. TBD if it actually was that smart. A

Pyrogenesis is a huge 2 CP and lets you add +2 to the strength characteristic of a shooting or melee attack. Or +3 and +1 AP if you spend a flux token. I hate this. Flamers are about to get a points hit like you wouldn’t believe. Or just use it on your Beef-cake Daemon prince. A

Flickering Reality should be called “I don’t like making friends.” You roll a dice when an opponent selects you for the target of an attack in the fight phase. You may spend a flux token to re-roll the result. Whatever the result is, your opponent attack fails on that roll. So if you roll a 6, all their 6’s to hit fail, and they get no critical hit effects. It’s too swingy to be S tier, but man is it close. This could swing the game in your favor very quick. Bonus points for neat new design, but please don’t make another like this ever again GW. A+

Fateborne Nightmares lets you move through walls with things that can’t move through walls normal. This includes charging. I don’t know if this good in Tzeentch. But what is it goon on? That crazy Daemon Prince who keeps showing up. B+

Ficklefire lets you pretend you’re not in engagement range for shooting with the downside that if you slay any models in engagement range of you with these shooting attack’s, you take mortals on a 5+. This is clearly good, but it relies on you surviving a round in combat to use. I don’t know if Flamers can do that. B

Delirium Unmade lets you put a Tzeentch unit not in engagement range of any enemy units and put them into reserves. You can spend a flux token to pick 2 instead. This is really good for a few reasons but namely it makes you way harder to pin down and allows easier secondary scoring, The Changeling has become untouchable basically. S+

Lists

For Tzeentch we have J.R. and Brendan Bartok submitting lists and thoughts. Thanks for the hand guys.

J.R. (The R stands for Really Good Lists) List and Thoughts

CHARACTERS
Kairos Fateweaver (270 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Infernal Gateway
1x Staff of Tomorrow
Lord of Change (260 points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
1x Rod of sorcery
1x Staff of Tzeentch
Lord of Change (270 points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
1x Rod of sorcery
1x Staff of Tzeentch
Enhancement: Infernal puppeteer.
Lord of Change (280 points)
• 1x Baleful sword
1x Bolt of Change
1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancement: NeverBlade
The Blue Scribes (75 points)
• 1x Sharp quills
The Changeling (90 points)
• 1x Infernal Flames
1x The Trickster’s Staff
BATTLELINE
Blue Horrors (125 points)
• 10x Blue Horror
• 10x Blue claws
10x Coruscating Blue Flames
Blue Horrors (125 points)
• 10x Blue Horror
• 10x Blue claws
10x Coruscating Blue Flames
OTHER DATASHEETS
Burning Chariot (115 points)
• 1x Fire of Tzeentch
1x Flamer mouths
1x Screamer bites
Flamers (150 points)
• 1x Pyrocaster
• 1x Flamer mouths
1x Flickering Flames
• 5x Flamer
• 5x Flamer mouths
5x Flickering Flames
Flamers (150 points)
• 1x Pyrocaster
• 1x Flamer mouths
1x Flickering Flames
• 5x Flamer
• 5x Flamer mouths
5x Flickering Flames
Screamers (85 points)
• 3x Screamer
• 3x Lamprey bite

“Shooting army with a touch of Eldar with a pseudo fate dice mechanic and an Enhancement that turns a chicken into a fire prism. Weakest of the daemon detachments with a strange melee relic”

Brendan “Not the bat from Anastasia” Bartok’s List and Thoughts

Scintillating Legion (1980 points)

CHARACTERS

Exalted Flamer (65 points)
• 1x Fire of Tzeentch
1x Flamer mouths

Kairos Fateweaver (270 points)
• 1x Infernal Gateway
1x Staff of Tomorrow

Lord of Change (270 points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancement: The Everstave

Lord of Change (270 points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancement: Infernal Puppeteer

Lord of Change (290 points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancement: Improbable Shield

The Blue Scribes (75 points)
• 1x Sharp quills

The Changeling (90 points)
• 1x Infernal Flames
1x The Trickster’s Staff

OTHER DATASHEETS

Flamers (150 points)
• 1x Pyrocaster
• 1x Flamer mouths
1x Flickering Flames
• 5x Flamer
• 5x Flamer mouths
5x Flickering Flames

Flamers (75 points)
• 1x Pyrocaster
• 1x Flamer mouths
1x Flickering Flames
• 2x Flamer
• 2x Flamer mouths
2x Flickering Flames

Screamers (170 points)
• 6x Screamer
• 6x Lamprey bite

Soul Grinder (180 points)
• Daemonic Allegiance: Tzeentch
• 1x Harvester cannon
1x Iron claw
1x Warp gaze
1x Warpsword

“Tzeentch Army Rule thoughts:

All around strong. Giving your opponent essentially free CP re-rolls each turn could impact the game quite a bit, especially since the pool of tokens isn’t capped to once a phase. Kinda funny you can make big game changing weapons (Knights thermal Spears, Tyrannofex Rupture Cannons) free re-rolls. Also slight problem with the Army rule that your opponent could just use up your re-roll before your next turn, so you only get 3 a game. So flux tokens really should only be use to upgrade strats.

Enhancement thought:

Inescapable Eye: A tier, great way to get more Flux tokens, and just cheap enough that if your opponent does use all their flux tokens before your command phase, for 10 pts its not too big of a deal

Infernal Puppeteer: A+ Tier. Wicked strat to not only use another friendly Tzeentch unit within 9″ (not visable) Line of sight, but also their model for calculating distances , is insanely powerful to allow your Lord of Change to obliterate units your opponents attempt to hide, or allows you to hide your lord of change and only risk a much cheaper unit in order to shoot at critical targets. ‘

Neverblade: B+ tier. If you want to make Deamon Monster beatstick, I think you have the wrong army. Otherwise, pretty decent on a Daemon Prince with wings.

Improbably Shield: B tier. I feel this is way to expensive (30 pts) and way to situational to see a lot of play. I can see this maybe being used if you want to spam a bunch of pink horrors up the board to bubble wrap a character, but you can go into an army that isnt psychic, or fail a save on an attach that doesn’t deal dev wounds and essentially not benefit from this at all in a game.

Ficklefire: A tier. I was considering putting this in B tier which is definitely a hot take, but i dont think this does as much as people want from Tzeentch Deamons. Most of your stuff is either dying when your opponent claps back at you, or is a monster. Pretty good if you are not certain your lord of change can kill the unit tagged into them alone. the one situation I can see this being used would be for flamers, getting charged and surviving with their 3 wound 4++ invulns, but they have fallback and shoot, which does the same thing in the end.

Delirium unmade: A++ tier. Incredible strat that lets you pick up models essentially at the end of your opponents turn and Deep Strike them back down the next turn. And for 1 flux token, you can pick up 2 units, that are within engagement range and do the same. Not only is this a super hot strat, but pair it with inescapable eye, you are always wanting to use the flux token on this, even on turns where the units may not even need to be picked up. This gives your opponent a flux token, that they have no chance to use before your command phase, and then in your command phase, Inescapable eye triggers and you are doubling the Flux token you just used . This strat is a crypto scheme.”

Final Thoughts

This is likely the best one in the hands of a skilled player. It has a lot of cool moments to gamble with your flux tokens hoping your opponent spends them worse than you undoubtable will.

It rocks and doesn’t miss out on too much from the Index detachment. I expect to see it in a lot of events and hate it every time I do.

Want to check out the other Daemon detachment reviews we did? Click here!

That’s all from us today! Be safe.

Drink lots of water.