Warhammer 40k - Start Collecting! Genestealer Cults

Product Information

In the dark and treacherous world of Warhammer 40k, Genestealer Cults stand as a unique and enigmatic faction. Their gameplay is a delicate balance of power and fragility, making them a compelling choice for those who seek to master the art of strategy. There are two key components here – the max number of Ridgerunners, and the absolute horde of Rusted Claw bikers. I really, really try and see the best in everything we look at, but writing about these is a real challenge to that principle – they’re atrocious. Nothing here gets even into a B, and we’re talking about a faction where a B is about the lowest you’d rate any of the named factions, with most getting an easy A. All units have the BROOD BROTHERS tag instead of a regiment keyword (or MILITARUM TEMPESTUS). This gives them +1Ld and the Unquestioning Loyalty ability as their regimental trait. Acolyte Hybrids – Ideal for Secondary Objectives and All-Out Offense: To secure victory, it’s crucial to focus on secondary objectives, which can make all the difference in a game. Acolyte Hybrids are perfect for this role. Multiple basic units of them in reserves ensure your presence across the battlefield. Along with their “Objective Secured” ability, Acolyte Hybrids are excellent for completing missions like “Behind Enemy Lines,”“Engage on All Fronts,”“Retrieve Nachmund Data,” and “Deploy Scramblers.” Choose the ones that suit your opponent, and you’ll secure numerous victory points.

The TGG power is also the best of the bunch, and combos extremely well with bike spam, helping them blow tougher targets to bits with their shotguns. It’s also great in soup builds, being a big help to Hive Guard when comboed with Tyranids. Munitions Experts: +1S to grenades. Absurdly narrow, needing a stratagem to get any real benefit from it. D Combined boxes, like the “Star Collecting!” or “Patrol Box,” are the best options to start a Genestealer Cult army. They provide a solid foundation of Acolyte Hybrids and Neophyte Hybrids, which are crucial for objectives. Lastly, having one of each character is enough if you’re not planning to play competitively. You can find all the reinforcements you need for the day of Ascension in the GoblinTrader Genestealer Cult catalog. FAQs – Genestealer Cult Strategy How do Genestealer Cults differ from other Warhammer 40k factions?We’re getting ahead of ourselves there – for newcomers, what does this ability do? Well, Genestealer Cultists are incredibly sneaky insurgents, and also pretty squishy, so just setting up on the battlefield like anyone else would be a foolish move. Instead, every Genestealer Cult unit has the Conceal ability, which gives them two choices when setting up: Biophagus: The only thing this guy does is help Aberrants. They don’t really need the help, and definitely don’t need it enough to spend points to drop a free kill point near your opponent’s army. If you could guarantee they got the Toughness boost every time he might see play.

Relic – Metallophagic staff: Replaces a force stave. Gives S+2 and AP-5, damage D3, and the haywire effect (mortal on 4+, d3 mortals on 6+) against vehicles.

Starting Your Army

Outside Bladed Cog there isn’t a massive argument for taking these over Brood Brothers. They used to be pretty good in Rusted Claw, as the creed gave them a 4+ against anti-horde weapons a lot of the time, but Marine doctrines make that much less likely to work – you now want the 6++ Bladed Cog gives you more. Brood Brother Infantry Squads You can use the Scanner Decoys stratagem to place up to three additional ambush markers during deployment for 1CP (and can only do so once). This often isn’t needed, but can be good against a combat army that might try and rush you like Orks – combined with They Came from Below and a Nexos you can essentially afford to put a line of 7 markers across the front of your deployment zone that will all disappear, likely leaving your opponent with nothing to charge. Any unit can set up underground, going into standard “Deep Strike”. This is capped by the Tactical Reserves rule as normal, so no more than half your units or points value can use it, though as we’ll see there’s a way around that. Relic – Mark of the Clawed Omnissiah: Gain a 4+ invulnerable save and deal a mortal wound to an enemy within 1″ on a 2+ after finishing a charge move. If your army contains any Patriarchs, and a GSC character is your warlord, it has to be one of the Patriarchs. This is absolutely fine because this is pretty much always the right choice anyway – if a Patriarch is your warlord you can use the Broodcoven stratagem to hand a warlord trait to a Primus and a Magus as well. More warlord traits is good, and they don’t even have to be the same ! Specialist Detachments

Cult Creed – Nomadic Survivalists: Add one to your non-invulnerable saves against AP-0 or -1 weapons. In addition, BIKERS can move/shoot heavy weapons or advance/shoot assault weapons without penalty. That strat is used by almost every GSC army in the majority of their games, but there are some ways to mess with this.While Genestealers are the core of the cult, it’s the Genestealer Patriarch that rules over each cell. These Patriarchs direct the cult’s actions through a psychic link known as the Broodmind as they build their numbers – before finally unveiling themselves in armed insurrection. Underground Deployment: Some units can be deployed underground, remaining hidden until turns 2 and 3. At that point, they can emerge and potentially make charges from 8″ away. While the old Crossfire ability is no longer an army rule, there are still benefits to doubling up your units and catching unfortunate enemies in a Coordinated Trap . Underground, however, is where things get really interesting for the Genestealer Cults. This ability lets your unit be set up anywhere as long as it’s more than eight inches away from an enemy model, or outside of six inches, at the cost of being unable to charge that turn. This lets your army tunnel under the battlefield, popping up where they’re least expected – and least wanted.