Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Genestealer Cults
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This is the current 10th Edition's Genestealer Cults tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Genestealer Cults
Pros
- Your forces have a lot of ways of not staying down between Cult Ambush resurrecting your troops and Icons resurrecting models.
- Deep Strikes everywhere.
Cons
Faction Rules
- Cult Ambush: Any time a unit dies, roll a d6, adding +3 if the unit is Battleline. On a 4+, the unit gets thrown back into reserves with a special marker being placed anywhere on the board at least 9" away from an enemy. On your opponent's next reiforcements step, the unit comes back.
- This comes with two major caveats. The first is the fact that any attached characters won't return with any attached units, meaning a dead hero is truly dead. The second is the fact that if any enemies end their movement within 9" of a marker, that marker will go away - In these cases, you really need to be careful where you deploy your reinforcements.
- Brood Brothers: The anticipated rule that lets you ally in the Imperial Guard. You can ally in a fixed amount of Guard units (250/500/750 points depending on size). Though allied, these units can't be used for a Warlord and can't accept Enhancements.
- There are restrictions to what you can take, but none too shocking. No Epic Heroes, no Tempestus, no Commissars, no Preachers, no Ogryns or Ratlings, no Techpriests or Servitors. The one surprise here is the lack of aircraft, which can be very crippling since the army has absolutely no aircraft to consider.
- Because your Imperial Guard allies won't have their Army rule of Orders (or your Army rule of Cult Ambush, of course), if you stick to units that can't be ordered anyway, you lose nothing in the transition. Similar logic applies to Detachment rules. An excellent example is Inferno Cannon Hellhounds.
Detachments
Ascension Day
Special Rules
- They Came From Below: Any units that emerge from reserves gain Sustained Hits 1 and Ignores Cover until the end of the Fight phase. Both of these are excellent for your gunlines as well as for any ambushing Purestrains and Aberrants.
Stratagems
- Coordinated Assault (1CP): Get two units to shoot or fight the same enemy. All attacks either unit makes against this enemy get to re-roll 1s to wound, which you'll definitely need with how flimsy they are.
- Tunnel Crawlers (1 CP): When a unit deep-strikes, you can have them arrive much closer, making them only need to stay at least 3" away from an enemy. Sadly, they can't charge after arriving, but they can still open fire with anything Rapid Fire.
Equipment & Weapons
Ranged
- Autopistol: [PISTOL] 12" A1 BS4+ S3 AP0 D1
- Hybrid firearm: [RAPID FIRE 1] 24" A1 BS4+ AP0 D1
- Leader pistol: [PISTOL] 12" A1 BS4+ S4 AP0 D1
- Flamer: [IGNORES COVER, TORRENT] 12" Ad6 BS(NA) S4 AP0 D1
- Grenade launcher:
- Frag: [BLAST] 24" Ad3 BS4+ S4 AP0 D1
- Krak: 24" A1 BS4+ S9 AP-2 Dd3
- Heavy stubber: [RAPID FIRE 3] 36" A3 BS4+ S4 AP0 D1
- Mining laser: [HEAVY] 24" A1 BS5+ S12 AP-3 Dd6+1
- Seismic cannon: [HEAVY, RAPID FIRE 2] 24" A4 BS5+ S6 AP-1 Dd3
- Webber: [DEVASTATING WOUNDS, TORRENT] 12" Ad6 BS(NA) S2 AP0 D1
Melee
- Patriarch's claws: [DEVASTATING WOUNDS, TWIN-LINKED] A5 WS2+ S6 AP-2 D2
- Close combat weapon: A1 WS4+ S3 AP0 D1
- Chainsword: A2 WS4+ S3 AP0 D1
- Power weapon: A1 WS4+ S4 AP-2 D1
Unit Analysis
Being that the Imperial Guard index (and eventual codex) is essentially the second half of the GSC index/codex, the Imperial Guard units that you can take will be listed along side the Genestealer cult unit but with the Brood Brothers tag attached for your convenience.
Characters
- Platoon Command SquadBrood Brothers: Shockingly able to attach to regular platoons (though Cadians seem too stubborn to let non-Cadian command squads join) so you can make a giant bubblewrap of warm bodies, especially when joined by another character. As expected, this squad can carry an alarming variety of guns, so many that you need a separate armoury card just to see all the stats - this is a necessity if you're planning on taking a heavy weapons team. They also have a 6" bubble that lets them issue orders to battle-shocked units so they can still be of use in sacrificing themselves to the enemy.
- Master Vox lets the squad double the range of their orders, which is very handy if you're keeping them away from the front lines. The medi-pack gives a basic 6+ FNP and the Regimental Standard allows for the squad to improve their OC by 1, though it's uncertain if this boost is also shared to any attached units.
Epic Heroes
- Patriarch: The absolute unit, maintaining their small-monster tier T5 W6 and 4+/4++. His lone weapon is their set of talons, a devastating S6 AP-2 D2 claws with Devastating Wounds and Twin-Linked so you can guarantee their effectiveness. They can also share Devastating Wounds with any units (presumably Purestrains) they lead.
- Sadly one of the more serious losers in the psychic culling, as they only get Cosmic Horror as a power, which forces one unit within 6" to take a Battleshock test. Their familiar similarly has lost a lot of value, only being a single-use item to double the range of their single power.
Battleline
- Acolyte Hybrids:
- Neophyte Hybrids: Your basic gunline remains as piddly as you'd imagine, with their
AutogunsHybrid Firearms (which also accounts for things like lasguns) remaining an unimpressive 24" A1 BS4+ S3 AP0 D1 with Rapid Fire 1. Melee for your forces is similarly lacking, with your leader's only options being either a Chainsword for more attacks or a Power Weapon if you're looking for punch.- Alongside Cult Ambush, these hybrids have the Cult Icon to let them resurrect 3 models or 3+d3 if you have them on an objective, the latter hooking neatly onto A Plan Generations in the Making, which gives you a chance to generate free CP for each unit on an objective. Simply put, these bastards refuse to go away unless you throw artillery at them. That said, this protection isn't extended to any attached characters.
- Gun choices: Flamers are useless (Webbers are better in virtually every circumstance), and the tl;dr here is that if you take special weapons, you want Webbers and Seismic Cannons.
Infantry
- Purestrain Genestealers:
- Cadian Shock TroopsBrood Brothers: Cadia's finest can now be inducted into the cult, guess they spread out onto so may worlds after Cadia fell that some of them were bound to find a Genestealer or two, unable to carry heavy weapons but capable of carrying two special weapons (plus the drum-fed autogun you'll always put on the sergeant), but you can't pick the same one twice without doubling up on the unit's size. This doubling-up confirms the fears that unit sizes will now be fixed like in AOS, but unlike that game, you're not stuck in a specific budget for making bigger units.
- Shock Troops make the Cadians valuable, as they can cap any objective they touch and keep it capped until an enemy threatens it. With how much more emphasis there is on claiming objectives, you'll be needing that bit of security as you press on the offense.
- Unlike the Neophytes, these guys can't respawn after death, making Cadians much less tempting to take instead of said neophytes. Not helping things is the unclear nature in which they fit with characters - If they can't even be bodyguards, their only use will be as weapons specialists.
- Death Korps of KriegBrood Brothers: alternate troopers. Masicists, by nature, They get more acreate the more they are decimated, and medic revies D3 troopers.
- Heavy Weapons SquadBrood Brothers: Don't seem to have improved any durability-wise compared to 9th and their Lasguns got nerfed to Las Small Arms (Lascarbines?). While their BS remains questionable for the guns they have, that 5+ S is the same they'll be firing for overwatch (4+ if they're on an objective) and the Heavy keyword lets them fire on the move while sitting still lets them hit on a 4+.
Vehicles
- Leman RussBrood Brothers: Good ol' reliable. While not the damage dealer it once was in previous editions, lacking the strength and AP to go after what you really want to hit it with, it's mediocre BS gets a bit a help with reroll 1's which spikes to full rerolls if what you're attacking is on an objective you're not controlling.
- BanebladeBrood Brothers: The big boss clearly benefited from the edition change, as it's now at a monstrous T13 W24. Hell, now it's big enough that it can count as cover for any models hiding behind it.
Dedicated Transports
- ChimeraBrood Brothers: Probably the premier budget fighting transport you'll be using, as that Firing Deck will absolutely see a use for your Neophyte Hybrids.
- TauroxBrood Brothers: Lets its passengers disembark after having advanced, giving the squad an extra bit of mobility - while this makes the unit count as if they moved and unable to charge, this won't matter much since Neophyte Hybrids aren't usually keen on actually fighting up close.
Tactics
General Tactics
Specific Tactics
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