Genestealer Cult models revealed!

I'm sure all of you must have read on Natfka's blog by now, but the images for the Genestealer Cult have been leaked!

To summarize for those who have not been following, there is a new board game for Warhammer 40K being released by Games Workshop, and it's Deathwatch: Overkill. It probably pits a Deathwatch squad of 11 Space Marines against a Genestealer Cult on some miner's world. The format probably plays similarly to Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth, and Execution Assasination Force, where you set up your respective forces on a board, and roll dice and stuff to see them have a go at each other.

For me, I personally hope for a Genestealer Cult army, likely in the vein of a small codex like the Harlequins, Skitarii, Militarum Tempestus and Cult Mechanicus. It will be cool to field a Genestealer cult army, as allies to Tyranids or something. I would love to pit my Imperial Guard against the Genestealers. Maybe it's because I've been reading too many Ciaphas Cain novels, but the legendary commissar and his Valhallan Ice Warriors are always fighting against Genestealers and sometimes Genestealer Cults. It would be great to have a similar, fluffy game that depicts that!

Anyway, without further ado, let's compile the models rumored to be in Deathwatch: Overkill. I will not go over the Space Marines, I'm sure there are plenty of sites eagerly covering them and listing the various characters such as Chaplain Ortan Cassius (and they just have to make the Ultrasmurf, I mean Ultramarine the leader of Deathwatch. Argh) and providing their background story and info. Instead, I will focus on the cool and new models of the Genestealer Cult! If you want images, visit Natfka's blog and click on the links he provides. Yay.

Anyway, the first up is the Genestealer Patriarch, the patriarch of the Ghosar Quintus Broodkin. Ghosar Quintus, as I said earlier, is some mining world that has been invaded by the Genestealers. The Genestealer Patriarch is basically the idol and leader of the group, with awesome psychic powers. He's the dude that the Genestealer cultists worship, and his psychic prowess allows him to control thousands of minions. He's also cunning, deadly and more dangerous than any of the Deathwatch Space Marines. Too bad he can't stand in the face of good old Imperial Guard firepower. But still pretty cool. Oh, and he used to be a purestrain Genestealer, but he evolved like good old Pokemon and reached his final form. Nifty.

Next up is the Genestealer Magus, not to be confused with the Adeptus Mechanicus Magos. It's a u, not an o. So don't desecrate the servants of the Omnissiah by calling him the Genestealer Magos. Anyway, the Genestealer Magus is a fourth generation Genestealer hybrid who has cool psychic powers and acts as the high priest for the cult, leading it in the Patriarch's absence when he has better things to do (like nomnom some poor miners).

Then you have the Genestealer Primus, who's like the general or military leader of the Genestealer Cult, wielding the best weapons and donning the best armor the Cult can provide. It makes him able to stand up to the Space Marines in a fair fight, but I doubt that needler pistol of his can break through power armor. And make no bones about his bonesword, it looks like it can cut through...well, bones.

The Genestealer Familiars are tiny Genestealer hybrids not made up of flesh and blood but psychic manifestations conjured by the Genestealer Magus. Uh...well, can't say I have heard of that before.

Purestrain Genestealers are back, and are the same Genestealers that everyone knows and loves. Rending claws that can tear apart a Terminator, as in Space Hulk and The Emperor's Finest where Ciaphas Cain watches a Terminator brought down by them. Actually, read enough of Ciaphas Cain novels and you'll be able to see plenty of Purestrain Genestealers. Fortunately, the heroics of Cain and the 597th Valhallan Ice Warriors ensured that these monstrous abdominations are eradicated. The Kill Team of Deathwatch, however, is not as tenacious and lucky as the 597th Valhallan Ice Warriors, nor as skilled as the legendary Ciaphas Cain, so I doubt they'll survive an onslaught. Fortunately, there seems to be only 2 Purestrain Genestealers in Deathwatch: Overkill.

Then you have 2 Genestealer hybrids with mining lasers, and another few Genestealer Aberrants with power hammers and power picks. 4 of them, to be exact. Apparently Ghosar Quintus is a Delverworld, a mine scoured for precious minerals, so these dudes have access to industrial tools and use them as weapons. Er...okay. I guess it fits the particular fluff for the board game, but it'll be funny if the Genestealer Cults only invade mining worlds (they invade a larger variety of worlds in Ciphas Cain's novels) whenever we field them as an army. Well, whatever.

We have 12 first and second generation Genestealer hybrids, who are monstrous-looking creatures that sport claws, three hands, and grotesque heads. Argh, they are not pretty to look at, that's for sure. They are also known as acolyte hybrids, because well...it's a cult and they need cool-sounding names.

In addition to the acolyte hybrids, we have 14 third and fourth generation Genestealer hybrids, who have progressed so far down the family tree that they are often indistinguishable from normal humans. In fact, by wearing the proper clothes, they can pass off as a loyal servant of the Emperor. They are known as Neophytes, and they infiltrate, sabotage and sneak into the human society to do Genestealer stuff. They embrace both human and Genestealer characteristics (I was about to say worlds, but it's Warhammer 40K, so there are millions of worlds). Cool stuff. 4 third generation Genestealer hybrids have autoguns, 2 of them carry grenade launchers and 8 fourth generation Genestealer hybrids are armed with autoguns. Cool. Yay. They can make good conversions for Chaos Cultists too. Heh.

Anyway, here we go. Let's tally up the number of models we have so far.

1 Genestealer Patriarch
1 Genestealer Magus
1 Genestealer Primus
2 Genestealer Familiars
2 Purestrain Genestealers
2 Genestealer hybrids with mining lasers
4 Genestealer Aberrants with power hammers and power picks
12 first and second generation Genestealer hybrids
14 third and fourth generation Genestealer hybrids

That's a whooping 39 models! Awesome! Add the 11 Space Marines and you'll get a total of 50 models in Deathwatch: Overkill.

Now all we have to do is wait for a supplement or codex to use a Genestealer Cult detachment or formation for regular Warhammer 40K games!

Update: Apparently there will be Warhammer 40K rules released for these models in the next White Dwarf, so look forward to it!