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

==Wargear==
===Melee===
*'''Rending Claws:''' Start here, most of your units get them. S:user, AP5, ''Rending.'' They only count as one weapon no matter how many arms your model has. But thankfully in most cases you can fill those extra hands with other weapons to gain your bonus +1 attack.
*'''Scything Talons:''' These are mostly just to give your Purestrain Genestealers an extra Attack. Upgrade half the unit and let the cheaper models take the brunt of the enemy shooting, while the heavy hitters bring up the rear.
*'''Bonesword:''' Str User, AP3, rolls of 6 to wound are instant death. Good against MEQ Multiwound models.
**'''Lashwhip & Bonesword:''' Same as above, but also add +3 to Initiative for the added whip. Still counts as one weapon despite being a pair.
*'''Metamorph Weapons:''' Available to your Metamorph Hybrids. All are S:user, AP5, but each version comes with specific rules. Note that the rules say "A model equipped with...", so you can still use your Rending Claws to Attack with these benefits.
**'''Claw:''' Gain +2 Strength. The most utilitarian option. Higher strength lets them threaten tougher vehicles and makes wounding easier. A solid all-rounder choice.
**'''Talon:''' Gain +1 WS, but increases to +2 WS if you have a pair. You sacrifice your Rending Claws for the second talon, so it's not usually a good idea. That said, with an Icon and a pair of talons you can push the squad's WS up to the crucial WS7. That will make any WS3 unit hit them on a 5+, so it can be situationally worth it against armies with bad armor saves and average weapon skill like the Imperial Guard or Daemons of Nurgle.
**'''Whip:''' A lash whip without the Bonesword. Gives you +3 Initiative. Great for dealing with high initiative armies like Eldar or the followers of Slaanesh. They can also be really useful against other I4 armies, as your gribblies are not very tough and getting their hits in before the enemy hits back can do a lot to keep them alive in melee.
*'''Power Maul:''' S+2 AP4 and Concussive. Useful against Imperial Guard, Eldar of all kinds, Orks, Necrons, and Daemons since all Daemons have are invulns and S5 can even harm the tough MCs if you can survive against them.
*'''Power Pick:''' +2 Str, AP3, and unwieldy. This is not a specialist weapon, so it grants +1 attack when stacked with the Aberrant's rending claws. Don't think too hard about a pick doing more damage with less penetration than an axe instead of the other way around, because gameplay reasons?
*'''Power Hammer:''' ''Almost'' a Thunder Hammer, but not quite. It still strikes last, but it's still Concussive. It doesn't double the users strength but adds +3, which on Aberrants is still S8, so it might as well be a Thunder Hammer. Unfortunately, it's a ''Two-Handed'' weapon, so there is no way to ensure you get the extra close combat attack.
*'''Heavy Rock Saw:''' Str x2, AP2, Two-handed, Unwieldy, ''Armourbane''. A discount, two-handed Chainfist. This is your primary way of dealing with Imperial Knights, Soul Grinders, and Land Raiders.
*'''Heavy Rock Cutter:''' Str x2, AP2, Two-handed, Unwieldy, ''Snip''. If you take a wound and somehow the model survives it, then pass a toughness test or be removed from play. Gives you a lucky chance to get rid of those Eternal Warriors or T5 multi-wound roadblocks. Bear in mind harder opponents are more likely to pass the test.
*'''Heavy Rock Drill:''' Str x2, AP2, Two-handed, Unwieldy, ''Pulverise''. Instead of attacking normally, you can instead make a single attack at S10 AP1. Good if you don't get the charge or against those wraithknights or Land Raiders where S8 might not cut it, though if you're targeting vehicles with an AV of 12 or less, the extra attacks will serve you better. They're also a bit more reliable at dealing with T5 toughies. If you find yourself using these, it's recommended you keep a Primus nearby. Hatred can mean the difference between annihilating a squad of Ogryn in a single assault phase or getting pummeled into the ground because your one attack missed. They're also 5 points cheaper than the other options, so they're a bit easier to bring in larger numbers.

===Ranged===
*'''Autoguns:''' Crappy on their own, bog standard weapon. S3 AP- weapons.
*'''Lasguns:''' Autoguns for those Hybrids who feel a little bit more like Guardsmen. S3 AP- as well.
*'''Shotgun:''' S3 AP- Assault 2 12". This is my boomstick. 
*'''Hand Flamer:''' Interesting tool from the Sisters of Battle and Blood Angels Codices. Gives +1 attack and is a shittier flamer, but it still makes hordes cry. 
*'''Flamer:''' You know it. You love it. Ubiquitous among the forces of the Imperium and fantastic for assault-focused squads of Neophytes. Pairs well with shotguns for thinning out light and medium infantry in cover before a charge.
*'''Grenade Launcher:''' A cheap, versatile tool that should be considered on any squad planning to sit back and shoot. Projects a Frag or Krak grenade out to 24". Pairs very well with Autoguns, Mining Lasers, or Seismic Cannons. 
*'''Web Weapons:''' Interesting <s>new</s> not-seen-since-2nd-edition weapons that have AP values equal to the target's strength. Meaning that bigger, meaner victims can comfortably ignore it but weaker targets get taken out. Compare to a grenade launcher: They are preferable to frag grenades against the things you'd normally use a frag grenade against ''(GEQs)'', but are inferior to Krak grenades against things you'd use Krak against ''(MEQs & TEQs)''. Also makes Eldar cry. Note: If you're running a Biomancy Patriarch (or even a Biomancy Magus, as getting a Smash Force Staff can be scary) and manage to roll Enfeeble, the Webber can conditionally threaten Marines too, which is cute. It's best to use these if you are up against an assault based army. [[Imperial Guard|Any]] [[Orcs|Dakka]] [[Tau|based]] [[Dark Angels|army]] will just use their wielders for target practice. Blast templates at a maximum of sixteen inches is hardly intimidating to those with [[Bolter|twenty four inch range]] and [[Lasgun|rapid fire]].
**'''Webber''': Special weapon for Neophyte squads, you get an Assault 1, S4 blast.
**'''Web Pistol:''' S3 and uniquely a pistol with a blast marker.
*'''Demolition Charge:''' Oh boy, S8 AP2 Assault 1 Large Blast, One Use Only with 6" range. Often used as a last ditch attempt to finish off vehicles or go Jihadi-Genestealers on a unit of Terminators since you're likely to blow your own squad up using this too. As risky as it is in the Astra Militarum codex; one unlucky roll and you could see your own squad removed from the table.

====Mining Weapons====
Considering the sheer volume of firepower a Neophyte squad can put out with two specials, a weapon team or two of these; it is tempting to make yourself a micro-Devastator squad. Just remember that Cult Ambushing forces your guys to snap shoot. 

*'''Mining Laser:''' A lascannon with half the range for ten points less than a lascannon. Your "safe" option as you can use it with regular Infiltration instead of gambling on Cult Ambush. A good option for keeping your tank-hunting Neophytes safe, as two of these and two grenade launchers can deal with medium vehicles up to 24" away, meaning more room for you to Return to the Shadows and less need for you to deploy a squad in a near-suicidal position to threaten vehicles. Less risk, but less reward than the Seismic Cannon.

*'''Seismic Cannon''' Up to 12 inches its a 2 shot missile launcher, at 12-24, its a 4 shot heavy bolter. Its also can have rending resolved at AP1 on a roll of six. Fucking ACE. This is your go to weapon for [[Dakka]]. It's also the most expensive option at five points less than a Lascannon each. Just remember that you're snap shooting after Ambushing, so its short range is a problem.

*'''Heavy Stubber:''' S4 AP6 Heavy 3 36", what this has to do with mining, nobody knows (Probably protection. In the grim darkness of the future you aren't the only monstrosity underground). Maybe the Imperium has so many bullets they just shoot rocks out of the ground? Regardless, these are cheap enough to be useful for objective holding squads in the backfield and they have a high enough rate of fire to be useful if you run around snap shooting. A decent way to add some more anti-infantry punch to a big blob of autoguns.

====Heavy Weapons====
*'''Mortar:''' Shoot a small blast over a hill and maybe hurt something if you're lucky. The worst weapon in this list because you can't even snap fire it. Better in other armies when you can take them in multiples.
*'''Heavy Bolter:''' an acceptable compromise of rate of fire vs damage output. Since your Neophytes only have BS3 you are going to hit half the time, taking this means you can hit and hurt most infantry. Higher rate of fire also means you have better odds when snap firing if you spring from reserves or like to move around a lot.
*'''Autocannon:''' Lots of people swear by Autocannons: strong enough to hurt anything except land raiders and two shots with BS3 means you can expect to hit something every turn. Probably suffers when measured against the mobility and range of the army though, since in many cases you'll want to keep moving and the rest of your guys are armed with 12" shotguns.
*'''Missile Launcher:''' Good old faithful, particularly if you don't know what you're fighting against. Also with Flakk missiles will be your army's primary source of Anti-Air defense short of using fortifications.
*'''Lascannon:''' One lascannon? For 5 points more you can get two shorter ranged ones. Of course range becomes relevant if you have no intention of hopping in and out of reserves, so you can set it up and hopefully leave it where it is. But perhaps best to leave this attached to vehicles for now.

===Special Issue===
*'''Genestealer Familiar:''' Gain 2 attacks rolled separately at S4 with ''Rending''. Fucking. Tasty.
*'''Cult Icon:''' A unit with one of these adds +1 to their WS, availably on Neophyte, Acolyte Hybrids and Hybrid Metamorphs. The Iconward also comes with one to attach to squads that can't get it themselves.

===Sacred Relics of the Cult===
Most of the relics are fairly underwhelming, but some are useful.
*'''Icon of the Cult Ascendant:''' Friendly Genestealer Cult units within 12" get ''Furious Charge'' and can re-roll failed Morale, Pinning and Fear tests. In addition, all models in the same unit gain +1 attack. If you're running your Iconward in a Brood Cycle, this probably won't be worth it since he'll grant the FC to his formation within 24" instead, while the Patriarch/Devoted Throng Magus can grant Fearless bubbles anyway! If you're not running a Brood Cycle though, this will give the FC bonus to everything regardless of formation.
**This is particularly useful if you want your Iconward to roll around with an Aberrant bodyguard. Not only does he make them 4+ FNP, but the +1 attack from the banner helps deal with their low number of attacks. When combined with the Furious Charge and Might from beyond, you can be looking at [[Awesome|5 S10 AP2 attacks per hammer, or 6 S9 AP3 attacks per pick]]. If the Aberrants can survive going last, very few things can withstand that kind of hate.
*'''Dagger of Swift Sacrifice:'''  trade in all attacks for one S:User, AP-, [[Rape|''Instant Death'', ''Poisoned (2+)'']]. Get this off in a challenge against the enemy warlord? Heck, its worth it for those who aren't playing for competitive. Otherwise... Its probably best to ignore this unless you know you're gonna be seeing da orkz in which case it will in most cases be enough to finish off the nob(or if your lucky the warboss)before he can oneshot your champion with that power klaw.
*'''Scourge of Distant Stars:''' The bearer of this relic can force his opponent in a challenge to take a toughness test. If the opponent fails, he takes a Wound with no saves allowed and gets his Attacks and Initiative characteristics reduced by 1 until the end of the Fight subphase. 
*'''Staff of the Subterranean Master:''' Range 18", S2 AP-, Assault 10, Ignores Cover, Rending. Don't get too hung up on the low strength, since Rending will allow you to autowound on 6s anyway. While this could be useful for "Finishing off" monsters without good Invulnerable Saves (ironically, this staff makes it easier for Cultists to eat Tyranids than the other way around), the Staff competes with the Crouchling; both are "Magus Only", the Magus can only take one Relic anyway, and the Crouchling is far more important. 
*'''Sword of the Void's Eye:''' S+1, AP3 melee weapon that rerolls failed To-Hit and To-Wound rolls of 1, also causes instant death on a wound roll of 6. Your Primus starts off with Strength 4, so the extra strength gives him some additional leverage, while allowing him to threaten to punk Wraithknights or other heavies (don't forget that Unquestioning Loyalty protects him from Stomps too). If you can buff him with either Might From Beyond or Furious Charge, he's basically able to blender most infantry units. Not an auto-take but it has its uses.
*'''The Crouchling''' a unique Genestealer familiar that allows your Magus to generate you an additional psychic power without increasing your mastery level. It also has teeth and claws like a regular familiar. Considering its low cost and how useful the Broodmind discipline is, this is a near-autotake.

===Vehicle Equipment===
*'''Drilldozer Blade:''' Your army of deathblenders have blenders on their vehicles. This adds D6 to the strength of a ramming attack and adds +1 to the vehicle damage table. If you tank shock, the target has to take an initiative test or suffer D3 S10 AP2 hits as guys get pulled in to the whirling blades. If they attempt death or glory and fail, they immediately take another D3 S10 AP 2 hits. Nasty. Has the bonus effect of making your ork playing friends weep sweet tears over how incompetent deffrollas are in comparison.

*'''Cache of Demolition Charges:''' Basically lets the vehicle throw Demo Charges that aren't One Use Only. It does also give the truck a chance of taking a Demo Charge to the face if Penned but it's only on a 1 roll after penning and with the vehicles that can take it if you're getting penned you're already dead.