Genestealer cult rules and in-depth look!

The Genestealer Cult rules are out! Please check them out at the Games Workshop Deathwatch rules page. Have fun!

What I'll do is go through the Genestealer Cult rules and analyze them. I won't go over the Space Marines and Deathwatch Kill Team because...well, Space Marines. Everyone knows them, and you'll find better stuff than mine out there. The same for Genestealer Cult, but I'm more interested in them so I'll write about them. Sorry, but you'll have to put up with my bias here. >____<

Now let's check out the first unit. We have our lovable and awesome Patriarch Ghosar: The Ghastly Truth. True to Lovecraftian Mythos fashion, this dude is worshipped as a god. He's also a great psyker, capable of hypnotizing dudes, and the thralls who fall under his spell become cultists of his new, deadly cult. Cool. He's a bit on the expensive side, costing 115 points...but I guess that's standard for HQ units. I mean, my Tech-priest Dominus costs about 105 points, 135 if I give him relics from Mars, so nothing too outrageously expensive and not overly cheap either. He generates psychic powers from Teleptahy, so you can get invisibility? I think? On the other hand, with his BS0, I don't know if he can use Psychic Shriek. Uh...what? Weird. On the other hand, his WS7 makes him an absolute beast in close combat, his Patriarch claws taking his S5 and giving him both AP3 and Rending, plus Shred! So re-roll your wounds, as you have 4 attacks at Initiative 7 (5 on the charge). Stealth gives him +1 cover save, I think, and he has Hit and Run to escape from combat if you want him to. He's a Mastery Level 2 Psyker, so roll on those tables, dude!

Next is the Magus Orthan Trysst, the Prophet of the Great Patriarch. A budget HQ at 65 points, he's also a psyker and with BS4 he can finally use Psychic Shriek because he generates psychic powers from the same Telepathy table as his Patriarch. The BS4 also helps with the pathetic autopistol he has. Uh...okay. He's not bad in close combat as he has a force stave to Instant Death things with Force if you want to. That's something you need because his strength is otherwise a miserable 3 and he only has 2 attacks. Like his Patriarch, he's also a Mastery Level 2 Psyker, so you'll probably be using him more for support (Invisibility if you're lucky!), and unless you don't mind the risk of losing him, throw him into combat for an Instant Death hit from his force weapon. He does have a Genestealer Familiar, though, which gives him 2 extra S4 AP- hits with Rending. Not exactly reliable, but can be fun if you roll a couple of sixes!

Then you have the Primus Vorgan Trysst, the Right Hand of the Patriarch. The warrior dude, he has a needle pistol. Poison on a 2+? Yes, sir. AP6 and 12" range will be his undoing, so don't rely on him for shooting even with his decent BS4. Bone sword seems something taken out of the Tyranid codex (I'm not familiar with it so I could be mistaken). It's a cool weapon with AP3 that strikes with his S4 and has Life Drain, which allows him to Instant Death an opponent with a roll of 6. With 3 attacks (4 on the charge) and WS4, that might be possible. Cool. A bit more expensive than Magus Orthan Trysst at 75 points, he's another decent HQ that works if you're on a budget on points. This guy also has Zealot to make him Fearless and improve his first-turn close combat, so attach him to a unit to make them Fearless! He's an Independent Character like the other HQs.

The troops are here! First off are the Favored Disciples, Acolyte Hybrids of the First and Second Circles, 12 of them costing 85 points! Not bad! They cost a bit more expensive than Guardsmen platoons and Veteran squads, but cheaper than a 10-men Space Marine tactical or scout squad. Funnily enough they have blasting charges that serve as assault grenades, and autopistols, so their mediocre BS3 sees some use. But what you want is to get them close in combat with their WS4, S4 AP5 rending claws with Rending that, coupled with a close combat weapon, attack thrice (four times on the charge) at Initiative 4. Don't forget two close combat weapons (one close combat weapon, and the other rending claws) gives an extra attack! Plus they are Fearless!

The alternative Troops slot is the Faithful Throng. 16 Neophyte Hybrids at 110 points? They cost the same as a 10-men Scout squad, but unlike the Favored Disciples, they suck at close combat with only 1 attack, 1 close combat weapon and WS3. They're more for shooting with their BS3, with 12 autoguns packed in there. Fortunately, that's not all - they have 2 grenade launchers and 2 mining lasers! The grenade launchers are standard - if you ever play Imperial Guard, you should be familiar with them. They fire the same krak and frak grenades at 24", so no changes there. The mining lasers, on the other hand, are the new stuff. They're basically half-range lascannons that fire at 24" instead of the usual 48", but preserves the awesome S9 AP2 goodness. Tasty. Keep in mind that mining lasers are still heavy, and these guys don't have relentless, so if you move, run or whatever, they have to snap-fire the stuff. Not bad for a troops choice, they are versatile, but their mediocre BS3 means they will be missing half their shots. Oh well.

The Elites slot has the Purestrain Princelings. 2 Purestrain Genestealers at the cost of 30 points, they're the normal Genestealers in our standard Tyranid armies that we know and love. WS6, BS0, no psychic powers, can Infiltrate, Hit and Run and has Stealth. Like the Favored Disciples, they have S4 AP5 rending claws with Rending. 2 attacks at Initiative 6, 3 on the charge, well...hmm...not as scary as a full brood of Purestrain Genestealers that absolutely tore apart my Sicarian Infiltrators a long time ago. But these guys have Leadership 10, so it'll be hard for them to fail morale. Whee. Too bad you don't have the option to add more to these guys. Oh well.

The 2nd Elites are the Brothers Aberrant, who at 120 points for 4 of them, have a poor BS1 but a decent WS4, so they're obviously meant for close combat. Yay. 2 of them have power hammers and the other 2 have power picks. These are all unwieldy weapons, so their poor Initiative 2 isn't affected that much and they strike last in close combat. However, these are powerful melee weapons, with the power pick adding +2 strength to their S5 and giving them AP3. Awesome! The power hammers are even more powerful, giving +3 strength and AP2, plus Concussive! They all have rending claws, which gives them an additional attack in melee, I think? So instead of 2, they have 3, but I don't know how the two-handed rule for the power hammers work, so maybe the hammer guys only have 2 instead of 3 (4 and 3 on the charge then). They are also Stubborn, and they have Feel No Pain, which makes them more survivable with their Toughness 4 and 2 Wounds (beware of high strength weapons that will Instant Death them, though, like S8 AP3 large blast battle cannons from my Leman Russ Battle tanks and Knight Paladin). Not bad at all, a pretty cool and small but scary melee squad with high strength weapons!

That's all! So what do you have if you put all these units together? You get an awesome formation, of course!

The Ghosar Quintus Broodkin, at 600 points in total, contains all 7 units and grant all of them Stealth and Infilitrate (if they haven't gotten them already), which means you can Infiltrate your Faithful Throng 18" away from that tank and start pinging away with your 24" lascannons for the rest of the game. Cool! They also have pretty awesome bonuses, like the Ambush the Unhallowed. This allows all Ghosar Quintus Broodkin units who Infilitrate to gain Shrouded until the start of the 2nd turn, allowing them to survive longer with better cover saves! Even better, all units that Infiltrate can charge on the first turn! That makes your Favored Disciples and Purestrain Princelings as well as the Ghosar Patriarch and the Primus all the more deadly right from the start of the game! I can't imagine the chaos this will ensue when you Infiltrate them right in front of your enemy, move them closer, and charge them immediately! Furthermore, this augments the Ghosar Patriarch and Purestrain Princelings further, allowing them to Infiltrate within 1" away from enemy units. Yes, you read that right. Infiltrating 1" away from enemy units. AWESOME! Obviously, Ghosar Patriarch must be joined to the Purestrain Princeling unit for that because this rule doesn't work if he's joined to other units like the Favored Disciples. Well, why would you want him to join them? The Ghosar Patriarch works better in tandem with the Purestrain Princelings in my opinion. And charging on the first turn? Yes, this is pretty much guaranteed. Just pray your opponent doesn't seize the initiative and shoot your elite melee unit off the table before you get to charge in and rip him apart.

Even better, the Ghosar Quintus Broodkin also has Broodmind Telepathy, which grants all units in this Formation Fearless and Adamantium Will! This enhances your army's defense against psykers and psychic powers, and you don't have to worry about your units breaking morale and fleeing from battle no matter how many losses they sustain. Keep in mind, the Ghosar Patriarch must be alive for this rule to remain in place, so make sure he survives as long as possible!

And that's the wrap-up and in-depth look at the new Genestealer Cult army! It looks pretty cool and fun to play with. Is it a top-tiered army? I'm not sure, I don't think so. But it's a pretty fun and fluffy army that can spring some nasty surprises. Infilitrating 1", then charging right in immediately? Count me in! It makes for a great ally, especially to Imperial Guard, who lacks dedicated close combat units. Imagine parking an Emperor's Fist Armored Company at the back, in your deployment zone, and then Infiltrating your Genestealer Cult close to your opponents' deployment zone. Chaos will ensue! Even if you lose, it'll be a mighty fun game, and you don't have to worry about the One Eye Open rule since they will be deployed so far from each other!

For the Emperor! We shall control the Hive Mind and bend these Genestealers to the Will of the Emperor and have them serve the Imperium by slaying the enemies of Mankind!