I think I officially have con crud. So it's nice that today I get to cover my secondary faction. But it also means I'm not gonna cover the Silent Hill news today. I already Live Blogged my reaction to it, so it will still be genuine when I post it. But that news is nowhere near as excitement building unfortunately.
Genestealer Cults have proven to be an absolute menace. They were considered the third most powerful faction before the balance pass, and they might genuinely be the strongest faction now. Like Aeldari, they have a bit of a rules problem. Their Army Rule is just crazy! It's actually the kind of rule Tyranids should have, but its implementation is just off the charts. If a Genestealer Cults player is doing their job right, they effectively never lose board control. Their opponent faces an unending war of attrition they seem destined to lose. While this is incredibly thematic, it's not a lot of fun to play against. I wouldn't be surprised if GW ends up forced to make another balance patch before their intended goal.
STRATAGEMS
Unquestioning Loyalty - 1CP
The key bodyguard rule of GSC fame is now a Stratagem. This is actually going to be important, as eventually Characters are going to end up without their Bodyguards. It also uses old fashioned Bodyguard rules, meaning that a unit can protect a Character while hiding out of line of sight. Very potent.
Coordinated Trap - 2CP
A nod to the 9th Ed Crossfire mechanic, this will help get more damage out of your units. I expect you'll use this a lot.
Tunnel Crawlers - 1CP
We saw this one in the Faction Focus, and it's absolutely fantastic. Your opponent is going to be trying to screen as best they can, and this will help you get around it.
A Perfect Ambush - 1CP
Improved BS and AP! And it works on any arrival from reserves, which you'll be doing a lot. Another critical strat.
One With The Darkness - 1CP
1CP for Stealth and Lone Operative. Yes please!
Return to the Shadows - 1CP
Pop a unit back into Strategic Reserves. Nice!
Wow, this faction just has some incredible rules! These are all great strats, and figuring out how to spend your CP will be a challenge. There's definitely a lot of room to play this army at a higher level here.
ENHANCEMENTS
Prowling Agitant - 15 pts
Skulking Horrors for 15 pts sounds pretty good. Your goal is to maintain board control, and anything that gives you some extra movement is fantastic.
Meticulous Planner - 40 pts
40 pts for a Vect? This is a very good ability but it ain't that good!
Inscrutable Cunning - 30 pts
CP regen and Infiltrators is much more like it. This is probably auto-include.
Focus of Adoration - 10 pts
Huh. 10 pts for free Heroic Interventions is interesting. You'll probably use this if you've got a few points to spare.
Finally we get some misses. Two of these are almost auto-include, and two of them can easily stay home. Genestealer Cults has a lot of Characters and no Epic Heroes (save maybe the Patriarch), so Enhancements are important. The fact they have only two good ones is at least one chink in their armour.
DATASHEETS
Alright, let's start with a little honest disclosure. I'm going to have a difficult time determining how good these are. Genestealer Cult datasheets are supposed to look unimpressive. Most of the time I'm going by gut feel with some napkin math when trying to judge these. But things are really going to get tricky here. In any other army, I always feel you're paying way too much for the Battleline keyword. Here, it's going to be worth way more than any other faction. Still, lets see how I do.
Aberrants - 5 models for 165 pts (33 pts per model)
And already I'm struggling! While they're not going to do well as an assault unit, they may work for tying up your opponents heavy hitters. Cost wise they're tough, but they're not that tough. But when you add in Cult Ambush they start to look meaner. I think they're probably fine.
Abominant - 75 pts
This feels like a steal though! I think Aberrants and an Abominant might be a good brick to hold up your opponent's advance.
Achilles Ridgerunners - 75 pts per model
Wait, what? How is this only 75 pts? This is so good! Buy!
Acolyte Hybrids - 75 pts for 5 models (15 pts per model)
I think these might be pretty good! There's a couple of different loadouts that might work too. You could grab a bunch of mining tools and try to use them to take objectives, or you could do the old hand flamer thing and make them annoying to shift off an objective. They'd definitely be trash in any other faction, though.
Acolyte Iconward - 50 pts
Here's a tough one. The 5+ FNP is definitely nice, but I don't think that makes them worth 50 pts. But the ability to potentially save one of your Ambush markers could be useful. I think they might be fine.
Atalan Jackals - 80 pts for 5 models (16 pts per model)
Okay, I really like these. I've always liked Jackals though, so I might have a bit of a bias here. The only thing that sucks is they don't synergize very well with Cult Ambush, needing to be setup within 6" of a board edge to come back on. But I still think they'll be fun to play with.
Biophagus - 50 pts
This will definitely help your units punch above their weight. If you're trying to setup a unit to push into the mid board, you might want to bring one of these along.
Clamavus - 40 pts
One of the potential weaknesses of GSC is the ability to Deep Strike past their screens to prevent them from placing Ambush markers. But the Clamavus stops this, helping you maintain your board control. This might be auto-include.
Goliath Rockgrinder - 155 pts
I think they actually turned this into a pretty good assault vehicle. Again, I like it.
Goliath Truck - 110 pts
This feels over-costed though. While I like the Firing Deck 12 and the Fire Support ability, I don't think this replaces the innate ability of most of your units to Deep Strike.
Hybrid Metamorphs - 80 pts for 5 models (16 pts per model)
Hmm, I'm going to put a pass on these. While the idea of having a 3+ Fight on Death combined with Cult Ambush seems pretty vicious, I don't think it's worth more than Acolytes are.
Jackal Alphus - 60 pts
Oh I really like the Alphus now! That sniper rifle might actually be able to pick off some of the weaker characters out there, but the big draw is the ability to mark targets while getting a Move Shoot Move. Really good tech!
Kelermorph - 55 pts
The GSC lone gunslinger has lost quite a lot of striking power. And while their abilities are cool, they're not why you're going to take them. You're going to take them because they're a 55 point Lone Operative with Deep Strike that will be great at objective scoring. If you really want to use their abilities, make sure you keep a CP for Unquestioning Loyalty.
Locus - 40 pts
If you're trying to make a close combat unit, this is your go to Leader. Fights First is great and they have a decent combat profile to go with it. The bodyguard ability is gravy.
Magus - 50 pts
Not sure about this one. The ability to potentially disrupt enemy shooting is nice, and with the Psychic Familiar you can get some pretty decent range on it. But I think you have better uses for the points.
Neophyte Hybrids - 80 pts for 10 models (8 pts per model)
That's honestly not bad. I think when you include Cult Ambush and Deep Strike this actually quite the bargain. You'll want these camping objectives for you so you can get the CP you need to fuel your units, too. Honestly fantastic!
Nexos - 50 pts
This is auto-include. Not only do they grant you the Captain ability, but the fact you can move your blips is so good.
Patriarch - 85 pts
How does the better version of the Broodlord cost 15 pts less? Seriously, someone explain this to me! You're obviously only taking one of these, but you're still taking it.
Primus - 70 pts
While redeploy isn't as good as we wanted, I still think this is good. Being able to put more GSC units into reserves is something you want. Just make sure you've got enough units on the board to set up your screens. The re-roll Hits is very nice too, considering how bad GSC shooting is.
Purestrain Genestealers - 90 pts for 5 models
Darnit! GSC still gets better Genestealers than we do! At least the statlines are the same again. These are great, especially when lead by a Patriarch.
Reductus Saboteur - 55 pts
The new GSC model has finally come into its own. Lone Operative combined with Indirect Fire is evil. And if your opponent tries to close with them, or an area they're screening, they're getting punished. I can easily see running three of these.
Sanctus - 50 pts
The premiere GSC assassin is stupid good. If your opponent brings a Psyker, it's as good as dead. Any other Character targets are going to be in trouble too. And, of course, as a Lone Operative they can easily play mission games too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Yeah, GSC are a menace! The only weakness they really have is a general lack of synergy between their units. You definitely have to use their Stratagems to get the most out of them. But Cult Ambush and They Came From Below are just so good. Cult Ambush will need to take a nerf at some point, I'm sure of it. But providing they don't nuke it from orbit, there will still be plenty of play in this army when they do.
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