We already know that Genestealer Cults belong to the Tyranids, but they're different in that they are specifically Genestealer Cults while the other "Faction" is specifically Hive Fleet.
So what's the difference between Hive Fleet and Genestealer Cults, and why would you choose the latter over the former, especially after seeing all the awesome new rules for Hive Fleet Tyranids in last week's article?
For starters, they still have Cult Ambush, which allows you to move them onto the table from reserves in a few different ways. They can Move, Shoot and Charge even when you put them onto the table from reserves, which is a very powerful ability.
That's one example of a Genestealer Cultist up there. Looks pretty strong, eh? With S5 and AP -2 for his power pick. That's powerful.
Taking Genestealers in Genestealer Cult would give them a different way to play and make them more flexible, not just because of Cult Ambush but because if you take a Patriarch with them, they basically become Fearless. Oh, and also grants them melee and other bonuses. He also has Unquestioning Loyalty, which is basically a Look Out, Sir! on a 4+ where a minion jumps in to take a bullet meant for him. Heh.
That's not all. They also have the Mass Hynopsis psychic power, which renders them unable to fire Overwatch, makes them strike last even if they charged and gives them -1 to hit (I'm assuming for melee). This makes Genestealer Cultists and Genestealers even more deadly in combat. Woohoo! Ouch, doesnt that make my flamers and wall of deaths useless?
Oh, and you can apparently take one Imperial Guard Detachment for each Genestealer Cults Detachment in your Battle-forged army. Wait, what? How is that fair?!
But if you don't want to steal our Leman Russ tanks, you have your own awesome vehicles like the Goliath Rockgrinder.
It gets a Clearance Incinerator which is...I think torrent? And a Cache of Demolition Charges which is 6" range and can only be hurled by an embarked unit to deal D6 shots at Strength 8, AP -3 and D3 Damage per hit. And then you have the Drilldozer for melee for 6+ D3 Strength 8 attacks with AP -2 and D3 Damage per hit. That sounds nasty, all right.
Well, I'll let you guys know when we have more news!
Not as juicy as the Tyranid reveal, this didn't tell us as much as I would have liked. Still, I like what I see.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Cult Ambush still exists, it was a very fun and fluffy mechanic. Can't say too much else about it considering they gave us so little information. The Goliath Rockgrinder was already one of my favourite units so seeing it get such a fun attack in close conbat makes me really happy. I'm assuming it will hit on something terrible like a 5+ but with that many attacks I'm ok with it!
The Clearance Incinerator is weaker (used to be torrent so 20" range instead of 12") but the rules allowing you to fire your weapons at separate targets (making the Heavy Stubber actually useful) more than makes up for it.
Those Aberrants are our version of an Ogryn so not representative of the rest of our models. Still, that 6" Move surprised me (in a good way). That's as fast as a Space Marine, and faster than I think Imperial Guard will be (my bet is that the standard "human" Move value will be 5").
Did you se the massive leak of core rules? So good stuff in there. My highlights are:
1.) Models with multiple ranged weapons can fire all of them in the same turn (with two exceptions I'll list after), and at separate targets. So that's confirmation to what I was hoping - monstrous creatures (like vehicles) can split fire their own guns. That is such a big boost! Infantry can do it too if they have multiple guns, but Tau Battlesuits are the only ones I can think of that do outside of Tyranid Warriors.
1.a.) A model cannot fire it's Pistol(s) in the same turn as they fire their other ranged weapons. They can fire all of their pistols, or aall of their other weapons, not both.
1.b.) Grenades are still a 1 per unit per shooting attack thing.
2.) Heavy weapons no longer prevent you from charging! Not a big deal for Tyranids, as all of our guns are Assault, but big for other armies.
3.) Assault weapons can be fired even after Advancing (running), albeit at a -1 penalty! This is HUGE for mobile armies, and I'm hoping that many formerly heavy weapons on vehicles will become Assault instead (assault cannons come to mind haha, but also flamer weapons).
Heh, glad you like what you see. I'm kind of bummed over the Astra Militarum article now. I mean, if you can take an Imperial Guard Detachment in addition to a Genestealer Cult Detachment, then what benefits do I have for taking an Imperial Guard Detachment on its own?
DeleteYeah, I saw. On Natfka's blog. I don't know if I should talk about them, but they look really good! I even saw the Detachment that allows me to take 3-6 Heavy Support slots, which is great for my Leman Russ army!
Haha, that is the penalty for being up first out the gate (well, second but the idea still stands).
DeleteYour benefit is you can take every Imperium faction army. That is a HUGE benefit haha. Especially with that one-and-done formation. Sure it costs a CO to take but if you really need a unit from another Imperial book to plug a hole it's yours.
I guess that's true. One and done formation? CO? Is that the Commanding Officer?
DeleteI meant CP - Command Point. There is a Detachment that is 1 of any slot (just one). It costs you -1 CP (instead of the other detachments that give you extra CP) but you could use it to take a single unit from any Imperium facrion. So 1 Grey Knights Dreadknight, or 1 unit of Sisters of Battle Repentia, or something. A single Landraider or Stormraven.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a potentially powerful option.
Oh, the allied Auxilliary Detachment! Yeah. I don't know about that, but I suppose you're right. I would much rather just take an Imperial Knight.
DeleteI'm looking at a Brigade detachment of Genestealer Cult with an attached Air Wing/Outrider detachment (depending on if my Tyranid flyers are still Fast Attack or move to Flyer) for air cover in an 1850pt list. Should be pretty violent haha.
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