Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Genestealer Cults (section)

==Formations==
===Cult Insurrection Detachment:===
<u>If a Patriarch is the Warlord</u> (no other type of character mentioned), he may reroll his Warlord Trait; you may also not include more than one each of a Patriarch, Magus, and Primus in the detachment. [[Awesome|ALL non-vehicle units gain ''Infiltrate'']]. If the unit already has Infiltrate, they gain ''Shrouded'' for the first turn of the game. Also, they get to add +1 to reserve rolls and apply -1 to enemy reserve rolls. This detachment will really mess with your opponent's head.

Oh, and another thing: each time a unit returns to the battlefield from ''ongoing reserves'' they get reinforced with D6 models that have been previously slain. This works best with larger units, as you have to have at least one model left in the unit for this to work. Don't expect to roll a 6 every time.
*The real advantage of the "Returning models" is there is no restriction on the order in which the models must be brought back. Say you lost several Mining Lasers or your Cult Icon from focused fire but the rest of the unit is relatively intact? Return to the Shadows lets you revive key models in a unit. 

So perfect for hopping around with your cult ambush then.

====Command (0-3)====
*'''Lord of the Cult:''' Just a Patriarch, Magus, Primus or Cult Iconward. No rules.
*'''The First Curse:''' Patriarch, plus a unit of Genestealers, must total 20 models though, so it's your boss man with a great big bodyguard of teeth and claws. The formation bonus is a randomly determined buff for your unit of Genestealers that lasts for the game.
*#'''Fleshhooks:''' Grenades for your Genestealers.
*#'''Hardened Carapace:''' 4+ saves.
*#'''Toxin Glands:''' Attacks are ''Poisoned''.
*#'''Adrenal Sacs:''' ''Rage''.
*#'''Feeder Tendrils:''' ''Preferred Enemy''.
*#'''Perfect Killing Machine:''' choose your result.
**The thing is that each of these upgrades has its own bits for modelling, but because it's randomly determined you've got no way of guaranteeing if your feeder tendril squad that you built will accurately represent your actual rules. Which can be a bad thing if it annoys you you can't match the models with the rules they have or a good thing if you don't want to have to have 20 guys all with tendrils and want some visual differences among the squad.
** This is one of the better random buff charts. Rage, PE, and Grenades are often going to be very handy, as is a 4+. More importantly, even if there is only one option that you want, you have a 1 in 3 chance of getting it thanks to the choose on a 6.
**Since you can run this as a standalone formation, you could theoretically run '''two''' First Curses if you really wanted to! The trick is to build the Cult Insurrection army as normal, take your First Curse as a Command Choice, take a second First Curse as a standalone Formation...and then switch the Broodlords around: Broodlord A from First Curse A joins Genestealer unit B from First Curse B, and vice-versa. This works since Genestealers get innate Infiltration, and Shrouded is a conferred USR; although it would eat up a third of your points in a standard 1850-pt match, having two Fearless Infiltrating T4 Move Through Cover mobs with Shrouded and a 5++ can give a lot of enemies pause for thought.
*'''Broodcoven:''' 1 Patriarch, 1 Magus, 1 Primus. Deploy as a single unit, but may still join squads. Rules gained dependent on models left in the unit: Patriarch confers ''Fleet'', Magus confers ''Counter-Attack'', Primus confers ''Preferred Enemy ''
**If you're aiming to build a Death Star, Broodcoven works well with just about any of the formations with optional HQ model requirements, especially Doting Throng Acolytes or Uprising Metamorphs, for maximum assault power, while DT Neophytes will potentially start you off tarpitting from turn 1, providing you don't face someone who's starting with better than chaff on the board. Demo Claw Acolytes net you a bit more mileage out of your Patriarch's attacks, but is a bit situational.

====Core (1-6)====
*'''Brood cycle:''' 1 Cult Iconward, 3 units of Acolyte Hybrids, 2 units of Neophyte Hybrids, 1 unit of Metamorph Hybrids, 1 unit of Purestrain Genestealers, 0-1 unit of Aberrants, 0-1 Goliath Rockgrinder unit and a partridge in a pear tree. Any unit within 6" of another unit in the formation gains +1 WS & Ld and gains ''Furious Charge'' while within 24" of the Cult Iconward and increases his ''Feel No Pain'' bubble to 24" as well.
**This is a very £xp€n$ive and time-consuming formation to put together; considering that it involves pretty much every Genestealer unit in the codex, you're starting at 46 models before you even consider increasing squad sizes and/or dedicated transports. Also, using that many models in this formation stops you using them in Auxiliary formations, so you'd need ''even more'' of the same types of units afterwards.
*** If not going for a mechanized core formation (see below), this formation is your go-to with an Insurrection detachment. Base 400pnts for 7 units and 1 Iconward for buffing. This is meant for MSU style all the way.
*'''Neophyte Cavalcade:''' Genestealer Mechanised Company! 2 units of Neophyte Hybrids that <u>must</u> take a Chimera Transport and must start the game embarked in them, you also get a Leman Russ Squadron and 1-2 units of Sentinels (either type). All vehicles here get the ''Outflank'' special rule. So your Leman Russes can ruin the day of some guys artillery line, while Scout Sentinels share the Cult Ambush rule, being able to pop out of reserves and mess with your enemy's unprotected rear. In addition, all vehicles ignore stunned and shaken results on a 4+.
**''Summary:'' The bonuses are minor, but the tax is easy to fill in. The problem is that if you're taking this formation as part of a Cult Insurrection, the Chimeras would already be able to Outflank (because units with Infiltrate confer Infiltrate onto their Dedicated Transport, and Infiltrators can Outflank unless otherwise noted) and you don't particularly care about Outflanking a Russ or taking Armored Sentinels. What may be the saving grace for the formation is the fact that regular Scout Sentinels get Cult Ambush. As long as you don't roll a "1" on the Ambush table, you can use them as a "Land Speeder" equivalent, where rather than "Turbo-Jinking" to move-block trouble units or Deep-Striking for better shots, you instead Cult Ambush and deliver a stream of Autocannons to a vulnerable point. 
**''Alternate Take:'' This formation is fantastic. Outflanking Russ' are absolutely terrifying when used well. Very few armies can brag about being able to outflank a 14/13/10 armored brick that can fire 5 weapons at full BS the turn it comes on. The Vanquisher and Exterminator especially benefit from being able to hit that delicious side and rear armor on enemy vehicles. The same goes for Armored Sentinels with almost any loadout but the Heavy Flamer. Being able to avoid front armor when shooting does a lot to make your shots count. About the only thing that doesn't benefit from outflanking is the Battle Cannon variant, simply because it can't make good use of its sponsons and the main gun can already shoot from corner to corner. Plus, the whole force ignoring shaken and stunned on a 4+ is a pretty significant boon to vehicles that were already pretty good. This means your armor is going to spend half as much time being useless as they would otherwise. Considering how lean the formation is and how useful all the options are, you really can't go wrong with the Cavalcade.
**Much cheaper [only 15pts so not really] than the Brood Cycle, and easily filled by players who already have guard collections. That means you can add other Hybrid units piecemeal in Auxillary formations at your leisure.
**Outflanking or infiltrating Chimeras with <s>two</s> one Heavy Flamer<s>s</s> (the Chimera isn't a fast vehicle, so it can't move and fire two template weapons. Stick with a Multilaser or Heavy Bolter so you can at least snap shoot it) can be a nasty surprise and with the Cult Insurrection detachment's +1 bonus on reserve rolls, you are much more likely to get your Leman Russ tanks to come in on the 2nd turn.
**When picking between the two most obvious sentinel variants (armored plasma and scout heavy flamer), remember that the Outflank on the Armored is far more consistent than the scout, as you have a 2/3 chance of getting what you want and the range to still do damage regardless. Rolling a 1 on the ambush table with scout sentinels with heavy flamers will make you fucking fuming. You can still Outflank with the scout but that will hamper the effectiveness of your templates somewhat.

====Auxiliary (1+)====
*'''Subterranean Uprising:''' 0-1 Primus, 1-3 Hybrid Metamorph units, 2-4 Acolyte Hybrids units, 0-3 Aberrant units. All units gain ''Infiltrate'' and have to deploy by Ambush at the start of the game they roll 2 dice on the table to choose how they arrive, or 3 dice if  the Primus is attached. Note that when this is coupled with Cult Insurrection, everyone gets ''Shrouded'' on the first turn.
*'''Deliverance Broodsurge:''' 2-6 units of Neophyte Hybrids, each <u>must</u> take a Goliath Truck transport and start the game embarked upon it. During the game, they may dismount their vehicle even if it moves at Cruising Speed. But have to take a dangerous terrain check, because they've just leapt off at full speed. Also, the Goliaths just ignore Crew Shaken/Stunned results. So basically this formation is a good way to deliver your Neophyte squads around the battlefield, and as open topped vehicles it means they have quite a considerable charge radius, if a bit risky to undertake.
**'''WITNESS ME!''' This formation is a great way to spam fast, cheap transports in a way that would make Orks and their trukks green(er) with envy. First off, all the Neophytes gain Infiltrate/Outflank if you bring them as part of a Cult Insurrection detachment, meaning the Goliaths also gain it as they are dedicated transports for the Neophytes. This lets you close the distance between you and your opponent insanely fast compared to some other armies, as you can Infiltrate, drive forward 6", and be within rapid fire range (or shotgun range) in a lot of cases, especially if you can get the truck behind LOS blocking terrain. In addition, the Goliaths are open topped so your Neophytes can all fire out of the top, giving you a cheap, mobile anti-infantry firebase. If you give all the Neophytes shotguns, they can take the most advantage of the Goliath's open topped status as they can fire 20 shots out the top at close range, or leap out, fire a volley of shotgun fire, and charge into melee. Just remember that if the Goliath moves 12" your dudes will all be snap firing. Because of this, it's best to avoid webbers, grenade launchers, and flamers, as they won't be able to fire if you take advantage of the formation's special abilities. It's generally best to keep these suicide squads cheap. Give them a Cult Icon so they're WS4, and maybe a sergeant with a power weapon. Load up your cheap goons and seek to die historic on the fury road. Bonus points if you paint chrome around the mouths of all your Neophytes.
*'''Demolition Claw:''' 2-3 units of Acolyte Hybrids (and each unit must take at least one Demolition Charge) team up with 2-3 Goliath Rockgrinder units (which must take the "Cache of Demolition Charges" upgrade for free). They all get ''Tank Hunter'' and may reroll scatter on their Demolitions charges. What's more, if they throw the charge while within 6" of one of the Goliath's, they replenish it on a D6 roll of 4+.
**''Summary:'' This formation looks meant to team up with the Neophyte Calvacade for players wanting to do a mechanized Cult. The formation's implementation is somewhat Skornergystic at first. The Acolytes receive assorted bonuses to throwing Demolition Charges...while they're embarked on a Goliath Rockgrinder from the formation itself. The problem is that the Acolytes have Infiltrate and want to get up-close to the fight, while the Rockgrinders must deploy conventionally. Add to the fact that the Rockgrinders have abysmal side armor and their only "firing point" is from the rear of the vehicle, and using the Claw for its intended role of chucking lots of Demolition Charges will fall flat the moment you come across any army that can bring flanking S6 shots. Rather, consider the fact that the entire formation gets Tank Hunter, and there remains no restriction on the Acolytes taking their own Goliaths as dedicated transports. You have the potential to bring 2-3 Infiltrating twin-linked Tank-Hunting autocannons to the fray in a lightly-mechanized alphastrike that would give old-school Dark Lance DE players fits of envy. The Goliaths, in turn, have the option to more comfortably run Clearance Flamers for anti-infantry duality since their Drilldozers would also benefit from Tank Hunters.
**''Alternative Take:'' This formation makes a bloody fantastic [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]]. The Acolytes/Rockgrinders are damn cheap, coming in at 135 all told. The Rockgrinder ignores dangerous terrain, so you can plow straight through ruins to maximize your usage of block line of sight cover and cover saves. Played smartly, one of two things will happen. Your opponent will waste time shooting at them, and with good positioning your cover saves will force them to dump a lot of fire into you. Alternatively, they'll ignore the cheap little truck full of bombs, and you'll be able to hit them with 2 Twin-Linked S8 AP2 pieplates. If you get lucky and wipe a squad of Crisis Suits or Terminators, the unit pays for itself. If the enemy blows it up immediately, you aren't out that many points. The formation also makes an exceptional unit to keep in reserves against drop pod or deep strike heavy armies. Let them all land and pile out, then drive out of reserves, tank shock the unlucky saps, then hit them or their drop pod with a fuckload of demo charges and the guns on the Rockgrinder. It'll clean up your backfield pretty damn quick.
*'''The Doting Throng:''' 0-1 Magus, 3-6 units of Acolyte or Neophyte Hybrids ''(in any combination)''. They all get ''Zealot'' while within 12" of a Magus (note: <u>any</u> Magus and not just the one from this formation) and any unit joined by a Magus rerolls fails to hit in every round of close combat, not just the first. Also, any blessings that fail to get cast on the Doting Throng may be rerolled. Seeing as this formation is so heavily invested in having a Magus, you'd wonder why the guy is optional. But remember: your Cult Insurrection can only ever have one in the entire detachment, so this formation loses effectiveness the larger it becomes or if you have more than one ''(in a cult detachment)''.
**This is the evil, mustache twirling doppelganger of an Imperial Guard Platoon. You can nearly match their numbers, and your dudes are noticeably better than your standard loyalist Guardsmen with +1 Initiative and Leadership over the poor unenlightened dogs. Neophytes benefit tremendously from both Zealot and the Psychic buffs. Your little half-alien Guardsmen are surprisingly adept in melee with I4 and an easily attained WS4, so giving them Zealot and Might from Beyond or Psychic Stimulus can really push them over the top into being a nasty CQC force in significant numbers. This formation helps you do that without bringing in Psychic allies or a CAD to squeeze in an extra Magus or Patriarch. Neophytes don't really need the same buff to the Cult Ambush table Acolytes do, as they're a lot more tactically flexible with their shooting and can make good use out of every option but the first if they don't have heavy weapons. You can really load this formation up with dudes on the cheap, with 20 bodies costing a bit less than a 5 man squad of Tactical Marines in a Drop Pod. For a little over 600 points, some careful positioning can put 120 fearless bodies and a Magus on the field. Just remember to shout "SEIZE THEM!" every time you declare a charge.
*'''Shadow Skulkers:''' 1 unit of Purestrain Genestealers. No rules, but a good way to squeeze in more squads without paying the huge brood cycle taxes.
*'''Cult Mutants:''' either 1 unit of Aberrants or 1 unit of Hybrid Metamorphs. Again, no rules but another way to get these units while avoiding taxes you've already paid.
*'''Brood Brothers:''' here, have a Leman Russ Squadron, or some Sentinels. After filling your Core requirement you can have as many of these as you like, so Genestealers can spam tanks if they wanted.

===Ghosar Quintus Broodkin===

Exactly 1 of every Ghosar Quintus Broodkin unit, and nothing else.

====Command Benefits====
*Everyone gains Infiltrate and Stealth if they didn't already have it.
*While Patriarch Ghosar is alive, everyone has Fearless and Adamantium Will.
*Everyone who Infiltrates gets Shrouded until the start of the second game turn, and can attempt to charge on their first turn.
*Patriarch Ghosar and the Purestrain Princelings can Infiltrate anywhere on the table that is more than 1" from any enemy unit, whether deployed units can draw a line of sight to them or not (Patriarch Ghosar cannot do this if joined to a unit, unless that unit is the Purestrain Princelings).
**Note that the Princelings do ''not'' lose this when joined by Orthan or Vorgan; neither of those two can also be that close, so this is of dubious utility, but it does mean that if you do that, only the ICs need to worry about LOS, and the Princelings themselves can legally be closer than 12" when you do this.