Sekhetar Robots are the stealthiest killer automata you’ve never seen

The Thousand Sons are known for being a bit, well, robotic, largely owing to their armour containing a smattering of ensorcelled dust and not much else. Thanks Ahriman. You’d think they’d try to beat those allegations with some bright and vivacious brothers like their concerningly exuberant comrades, but no – Magnus always doubles down, and if they all say he brings robots to a fight, he’ll bring real robots to the fight.

So, where do the Sekhetar Robots come from? Back during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, the Thousand Sons already had a knack for empowering machines with sorcery, creating such curious constructs as the Castellax-Achea Battle Automata. After the Heresy, they sought to create many more servants immune to the mutation that haunted the Legion. The Sekhetar – crafted in the image of ancient Prosperine spirits – are amongst the most widespread results, though the origins of their design and construction is twisted in typical Tzeentchian deception.

Despite their impressive size and intricate construction, they were designed for stealth and had complex magical shrouds woven into their bodies to hide their true nature from all but the most advanced of augurs. Many were left to stand sentinel over places of great power and fate, staring unblinkingly ahead for millennia while the world around them marveled at the incredible artistry of these totally, one hundred percent, not at all secretly murderous statues.

When activated by a secret hexagrammic command, Sekhetar Robots come online, complex logic routines formed over their long vigils quickly singling out priority targets and gunning down threats before their prey can say “Did that sculpture just move?”. Such are the trusted roles of guardianship that the Thousand Sons give to these constructs that they won’t let a daemon get within 10 feet of possessing one, knowing that replacing the servile purity of their protectors with the capricious whims of a warp entity would be an exceptionally bad idea.

Their full battlefield loadout consists of both short- and long-ranged weapons, with a pair of hellfyre missile racks chucking powerful anti-armour projectiles over an impressive distance while anything foolish enough to get close finds their flesh roasted by the vibrant spray of a heavy warpflamer. Some supplement their arsenal with a pyreflux meltagun, while others supplement their melee strength with a power claw. Whatever their armament, these Prophetic Sentinels are laced with spells of auto-divination and oracular logic which grant them a reputation for pre-empting nearby foes to eliminate future threats.

Having the Infiltrators and Stealth rules makes them a great choice for keeping a careful watch over objectives, with a respectable defensive profile – Toughness 6, 4 Wounds each, and both a 3+ Save and 5+ Invulnerable Save – keeping them there long enough to get a few volleys off. For best results, tell your opponent there’s nothing to worry about when they ask why you’ve got a few more terrain statues in the midfield than usual, and cackle evilly at your ruse.

You can get your first taste of the Sekhetar Robots* in the Warpflame Thrallbound Battleforce going up on pre-order this Saturday, and the rest will spring into view for their standalone release soon after. For all you know, they could already be in your collection… waiting…

* We don’t recommend actually licking them. Some of them have been out in the rain for years.