Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Genestealer Cults (section)

===Elites===

*'''Aberrants''': Big, tough, absolutely chonky lads. Aberrants are A2 WS3+ S5 T5 W3 with a permanent -1 to incoming damage. Each model is equipped with a Heavy Power Weapon that gives them S+3(8) AP-2 D3, and the leader (who's A3) has a tail that lets it swing one more time at SU(5) AP-1 D1. These guys are your dedicated terminator-killers, and they pay for the privilege at 30 ppm. The leader can swap his hammer for a "Heavy Improvised Weapon" that spreads its D2 from model to model, so it will behave in every meaningful way like it's A6 S+1(6) AP-1 D1, but this is generally a bad idea because you're sending these boys against tanks and terminators, not infantry. 
**Aberrants' biggest weakness is their low volume of attacks - they're worse than Purestrains against almost everything in the game due to costing more than twice as much for half the attacks (but less than twice the damage) at a worse WS and AP. Look into ways to boost this, such as the Our Time Is Nigh proficient planning ability or the Might From Beyond psychic power. Either of these boost Aberrants' damage output by 50%.
*'''Hybrid Metamorphs<sup>{{W40kKeywords|Core|Crossfire}}</sup>''': The midpoint between Acolyte Hybrids and Purestrains, Metamorphs are defined by their Metamorph Weapons. S+1(5) and AP-3 makes them decent at handling medium and heavy infantry, and 3 attacks base gives Metamorphs the volume of attacks to make up for their pitiful D1. Like Acolytes, Metamorphs can take hand flamers. Since you'll probably be sending these guys against MEQ, consider giving the leader the Bonesword for some D2. But the primary feature of Metamorphs is their Savage Amalgam ability - in the fight phase, they still get to fight even if they die. That means these models never need to worry about being outbid in initiative or interrupted, so activate your other units first.
*'''Purestrain Genestealers''': The namesake of the entire faction. Purestrains have received some minor changes compared to their pre-codex versions. Notably, they gained better AP, WS and invuls, and they're a touch less expensive at 14 ppm. With they're stat line - M8 A4 WS2+ S4 AP-3 D1 T4 W1 Sv5+/4++ Ld9 - they're no joke at their (cheap) price, and they retain the ability to advance and charge. All this makes Purestrains surprisingly good hunters of light and medium targets (including medium vehicles and monsters - anything T7- is going to sit up and notice them). Like all your units, they benefit from Conceal and Unquestioning Loyalty.  Since you don't have easy access to morale immunity for them like a hive fleet would, best fielded MSU - a unit of 5 of them only needs to make morale checks when exactly 4 of them die, and it won't ever make a Combat Attrition check.
**A note for Genestealer Cult players of editions past - unlike 8E, Purestrains benefit from your Cult keyword, so they get your subfaction bonus and are eligible for every buff that doesn't need Crossfire, so you can do stuff like make them Mv9 and S5 by running them in Twisted Helix.
**Purestrains are pretty much always better than Hive Tendrils Genestealers. From WS2+, to 4++ against ''both'' melee and range, and even retaining advance and charge (I guess when 'Stears know that they'll be alive for more than a few hours, they spend their free time practicing hitting, dodging and running), these guys provide a better performance over the default genestealers. Also, as of writing this, purestrains are actually cheaper than normal genestealers (How did this happen? Who decided this?). Even the pre-game move that Hive Fleet genestealers have to set them apart from other options in the Tyranid Codex can be done by (albeit, only one) purestrain unit via the Proficient Planning: They came from below. '''TL;DR''' if you're taking both Tyranids and Genestealer Cult, you should never take the codex Tyranid version of genestealers; take these guys instead.

====Characters====
*'''Abominant''': The first of two characters that are designed to work with Aberrants, the Abominant is a lot like taking half a [[Carnifex]]. With 6 wounds on top of an Aberrant statline, their same -1 damage, and a 5+++, plus the ability to re-roll one hit roll or wound roll per fight thanks to his little buddy, the Abominant's mostly notable for his hammer, which hits like a truck (A3 S10 AP-3 Dd3+3). With only three attacks, though, he basically has the same problem as Aberrants. The main reason you take the Abominant is that he gives Aberrants within 6" full re-rolls to hit on their attacks, which means he's barely ever worth it - giving WS3+ models re-rolls to hit is exactly equivalent to making them hit a third again as hard. Since they're 30 points each he's "worth" 10 points per buffed model, and he's 95 points, so you need to buff 10 models to get ahead of the game - and the whole time you've spent enough points to buy a Primus instead with room to spare.
*'''Biophagus''': A mad scientist on the battlefield, the Biophagus is able to give your units a "Genomic Enhancement", essentially a permanent buff that sticks around for the game's duration. He's got a weapon that wounds on 2s via poison, but his buffs are the real reason to run him. By using an action that essentially takes up his shooting phase, the Biophagus can give a {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} or {{W40kKeyword|ABERRANT}} unit within 3" (or farther 1/game, if you spring for the Alchemicus Familiar) one of the following buffs. You roll a D3 and apply the result, unless you're doing this to Aberrants, in which case you pick. Each unit can only have one Genomic Enhancement.
*# Enhanced Musculature: Extra -1 AP on all melee attacks.
*# Enhanced Aggression: Hit rolls of 6 in melee score 1 additional hit (equivalent to +1 to hit).
*# Enhanced Resilience: Unit gets a 5+++.
**The Biophagus has a unique Proficient Planning upgrade called Alchemist Supreme. For 1 PL and 15 points, the Biophagus gives a {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} or {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> ABERRANT}} unit from your army a Genomic Enhancement before the battle begins - no need for them to be near each other, and you pick which it is. This is probably best used to buff a big melee unit of Acolyte Hybrids or Hybrid Metamorphs that plan to tunnel in and then get stuck in.  Note that if you do this, Enhanced Aggression is almost always a better choice than Enhances Musculature, since it works against anything.
*'''Clamavus''': Another support character, the Clamavus packs a pistol, but his main weapons are his sick beats and/or inspiring shouts on the loudspeaker. The Clamavus has three abilities. The first is Scrambler Array, which simply keeps enemy units from being set up as reinforcements within 12" of him. Great if you run into another GSC player. The second is Proclamation Hailer. In your command phase, you can select a {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} unit within 12". That unit can shoot without their actions failing and ignore modifiers to Combat Attrition. The third is Voice of New Truths. In your Morale phase, you can pick an enemy unit within 12" and roll 3d6. If the roll is higher than the unit's leadership, choose one: that unit can't perform actions until your next morale phase and any action it's doing automatically fails ''or'' that unit loses Objective Secured until your next Morale phase. Both of these have the potential to be a huge deal, even game winners in the right situation. Each unit can only be selected for this ability once per phase, though, so no doubling up by taking two Clamavuses.
**The Clamavus has a unique relic, the Voice Of The Liberator, which adds 1 to the leadership of friendly {{W40kKeyword|CULT}} units in 12" and adds 6" to the range of the Proclamation Hailer and Voice Of New Truths abilities. 
*'''Nexos''': A support character with a fancy holographic map, the Nexos is best at sitting in the backfield and using his support abilities. His first ability is simple and incredibly useful. Every command phase, as long as the Nexos is somewhere on the battlefield (so not inside a transport or in reserves), he can assign one Crossfire marker to any enemy unit on the battlefield. The Nexos's second ability, Strategic Coordination, is possibly even more useful. First, in the command phase, you pick any {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} unit on the battlefield. Then you pick one {{W40kKeyword|CULT}} Primus, Jackal Alphus, or Clamavus within 6" of the Nexos. The {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} model you picked counts as being in range of the character's Aura abilities and can be targeted by their abilities that pick a unit regardless of range restrictions. 
**The Nexos has a unique relic, the Cranial Inlay. If a Nexos has a Cranial Inlay, it can use Strategic Coordination an extra time each turn (no need to pick different units, so you could give one unit two characters' buffs or give one character's buffs to two units) and every time you spend a command point on a stratagem, roll a d6 and you get that CP back on a 5+. If you're already taking a Nexos, this is almost an auto-pick, even if you need to pick up an extra relic as the cp regen will pay for itself.
*'''Kelermorph<sup>{{W40Kkeyword|Crossfire}}</sup>''': A support character with a very decent statline of M6 BS2+ A4 WS3+ S3 T3 W4 Sv5+/5++ Ld8, the Kelermorph has a big iron on its hip - three of them, actually. It's got three Liberator Autostubs, each of which is 18" Pistol 2 S5 AP-1 D1, for a total of 6 shots that ignore Look Out, Sir and generate +1 mortal wound on unmodified 6 to wound. For every hit, the Kelermorph gets to make a bonus attack, though sadly bonus attacks can't generate extra attacks. On average, that comes to 9 and 1/6 (9.17) hits and 1.53 mortal wounds (plus any normal damage that gets through). If it kills at least one model, the Kelermorph gains an aura ability that lets {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CORE}} units within 6" re-roll hit rolls of 1. After shooting, the Kelermorph can make a Normal Move or Fall Back as if it were your movement phase, even if it arrived as reinforcements. All of this combines to make the Kelermorph a decent support platform - it has {{W40Kkeyword|Crossfire}}, so it can lay down a hail of shots (almost certainly - a 98.72% chance - applying a Crossfire token), then use its move after shooting to get into position to make the target Exposed, duck to safety behind a wall, or use its aura to give a shooting buff to a convenient squad of neophytes. Whether it's worth the 80 point price tag, however, is an open question. At the same time, don't let the sniper ability on its pistols fool you - it won't kill any but the most fragile characters unless they're already injured.  
**So bear in mind the Kelermorph's aura is a Primus's but worse because it has an incredibly slim chance of not turning on when the Kelermorph shoots and is always off if the Kelermorph doesn't shoot anything (likely due to being out of range), and its ability to apply a Crossfire token is similarly worse than a Nexos's because the Nexos can't fail and is infinite range - plus, if you have a Nexos and a Primus, the Nexos can just pick a unit to be within range of the Primus's buffs.  What it's ''incredibly'' good at is getting out of a Goliath Truck and then being in position to apply Exposed due to its Move-Shoot-Move (in this case Disembark-Shoot-Move) mechanic, but that's not exactly invaluable given how mobile your entire army is to begin with.
*'''Locus''': A bodyguard character; with A5 WS2+ S4 T4 Sv5+/5++, he's not a slouch in melee, thanks to an S+1 AP-1 D2 weapon. The most important feature of the Locus is his Ward ability - during deployment, you pick one other {{W40kKeyword|<CULT> CHARACTER}} that isn't a Locus to be the Ward. As long as the Locus is within 3" of the Ward, the Ward <s>can't be targeted with ranged attacks (even sniper weapons)</s> gains the benefit of "look out sir" (so, can be targeted by snipers (in fairness, unquestioning loyalty is decent enough protection against that)), and as long as the Locus is a viable target in melee, models have to target the Locus before the Ward. The Locus also fights first in combat and can do heroic interventions at up to 6".
**If you heavily invest in any character, the Locus is probably worth buying, especially for a Patriarch. If nothing else, it'll keep that character safe from ranged attacks a decent chunk longer than you'd expect.
***If you are taking a Locus for your Patriarch, you'll have you work around His mobility, as He can move 8" and advance and charge while the Locus only moves 6" and has to pick between advancing and charging.
*'''Reductus Saboteur''': What makes me a good demoman? Well, for starters, the Reductus Saboteur's weapon, Remote Explosives, is Assault 2d3 S8 AP-3 D1, D3 against {{WH40Kkeyword|Vehicle}}s and {{WH40Kkeyword|Monster}}s, can't target {{WH40Kkeyword|Aircraft}}. Her BS2+ means she'll consistently hit, and as long as she's inside a terrain feature she can't be targeted by ranged attacks unless the attacker is within 12" of her. She's got a demo charge she can throw for good measure (in case she finds herself super close to a W2+ enemy her Remote Explosives don't work on), and she can perform the Plant Explosive action (which bridges the Command and Move phases), which lets her plant a bomb marker within 1" of her once per game. At the end of any Move phase (including the one where she ended the action) or the enemy Charge phase, provided at least 1 enemy unit is within 3" of the bomb, she can detonate it to inflict mortal wounds on all non-{{WH40Kkeyword|Aircraft}} units, friend and foe, within 3" of it: average 0.50 mortals per unit base, 0.83 per {{WH40Kkeyword|biker}} unit, and 3.33 mortals per {{WH40Kkeyword|Vehicle}}/{{WH40Kkeyword|monster}} unit.
**Overall, the Reductus is fairly useless unless you take her relic, Oppressor's Bane, which grants her {{WH40Kkeyword|crossfire}}, allowing her explosives (and grenades) to apply Crossfire tokens and benefit from Exposed.  If you ''also'' give her the '''Lying in Wait''' Proficient Planning upgrade, she can use her planted bomb the turn she shows up and/or throw a crossfire-enabled demo charge, although mixing these is tough, since all the best targets for her bomb are better targets for her remote explosives than her demo charge; it can come up, though, e.g. if you find yourself fighting a foe with neither vehicles nor monsters on the table.
*'''Sanctus''': Do you want a sniper or a melee skirmisher? The Sanctus can be either one. Either way, enemy models can't target the Sanctus with ranged attacks unless they're within 12", and he gets +2 to his save from cover rather than +1. He ignores cover, and all of his attacks '''automatically hit'''. He also has a 5++ and -1 to be hit.
**If you want to build the Sanctus for melee, you take him with the Dagger of Swift Sacrifice relic on top of the Sanctus Bio Dagger. The Bio Dagger always inflicts mortal wounds on a 3+ to wound, and the Dagger of Swift Sacrifice lets you re-roll one wound roll per activation, and if the target model survives, roll a D6 - on a 3+, it suffers an additional D3 mortal wounds.
**If you want to build the Sanctus as a sniper, you can equip him with his standard Cult Sniper Rifle, which is S5 AP-3 D2, and inflicts mortal wounds on unmodified 4+ to wound. You can also give him the Gift From Beyond relic to up the damage to 3.
**A Sanctus with a sniper should be used in a similar way as the Jackal Alphus, shooting a enemy to give that unit a crossfire marker for the rest of your army, and since he auto hits he's better at this jobs then the Alphus, especially against units with -1 to hit.