Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Genestealer Cults
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This is the current 10th Edition's Genestealer Cults tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Genestealer Cults
Pros
- Your forces have a lot of ways of not staying down between Cult Ambush resurrecting your troops and Icons resurrecting models.
Cons
Faction Rules
- Cult Ambush: Any time a unit dies, roll a d6, adding +3 if the unit is Battleline. On a 4+, the unit gets thrown back into reserves with a special marker being placed anywhere on the board at least 9" away from an enemy. On the next reiforcements step, the unit comes back.
- This comes with two major caveats. The first is the fact that any attached characters won't return with any attached units, meaning a dead hero is truly dead. The second is the fact that if any enemies end their movement within 9" of a marker, that marker will go away - In these cases, you really need to be careful where you deploy your reinforcements.
- Brood Brothers: The anticipated rule that lets you ally in the Guard. You can ally in a fixed amount of Guard units (250/500/750 points depending on size). Though allied, these units can't be used for a Warlord and can't accept Enhancements.
- There are restrictions to what you can take, but none too shocking. No Epic Heroes, no Tempestus, no Commissars, no Preachers, no Ogryns or Ratlings, no Techpriests or Servitors. The one surprise here is the lack of aircraft, which can be very crippling since the army has absolutely no aircraft to consider.
Detachments
Ascension Day
Special Rules
- They Came From Below: Any units that emerge from reserves gain Sustained Hits 1 and Ignores Cover until the end of the Fight phase. Both of these are excellent for your gunlines as well as for any ambushing Purestrains and Aberrants.
Stratagems
- Coordinated Assault (1CP): Get two units to shoot or fight the same enemy. All attacks either unit makes against this enemy get to re-roll 1s to wound, which you'll definitely need with how flimsy they are.
Equipment & Weapons
Unit Analysis
Characters
- Patriarch: The absolute unit, maintaining their small-monster tier T5 W6 and 4+/4++. Their lone weapon is their set of talons, a devastating S6 AP-2 D2 claws with Devastating Wounds and Twin-Linked so you can guarantee their effectiveness. They can also share Devastating Wounds with any units (presumably Purestrains) they lead.
- Sadly one of the more serious losers in the psychic culling, as they only get Cosmic Horror as a power, which forces one unit within 8" to take a Battleshock test. Their familiar similarly has lost a lot of value, only being a single-use item to double the range of their single power.
Battleline
- Neophyte Hybrids: Your basic gunline remains as piddly as you'd imagine, with their
AutogunsHybrid Firearms (which also accounts for things like lasguns) remaining an unimpressive S3 AP-. Melee for your forces is similarly lacking, with your leader's only options being either a Chainsword for more attacks or a Power Weapon if you're looking for punch.- Alongside Cult Ambush, these hybrids have the Cult Icon to let them resurrect 3 models or 3+d3 if you have them on an objective, the latter hooking neatly onto A Plan Generations in the Making, which gives you a chance to generate free CP for each unit on an objective. Simply put, these bastards refuse to go away unless you throw artillery at them. That said, this protection isn't extended to any attached characters.
Infantry
- Barbgaunts: Another new gaunt variant providing heavy firepower. Their stock Bio-Cannon gives them a 24" Ad6 BS4+ S5 AP0 D1 shot with Heavy and Blast to at least handle most mobs. Fortunately, any hits trigger Disruption Bombardment against 1 infantry unit, inflicting -2" Movement and -2 to advance and charge rolls, making it good covering fire for your choppy gaunts and Genestealers.
- Neurogaunts: One of the two new infantry units. While slower than the Termagants, their value isn't going to be much anyway. Their Neurocytes make them more of a Synapse amplifier, giving them the Synapse keyword while they're within Synapse range of another Synapse creature. While this does force these guys to hide at the edges of the other unit's Synapse Range, it can prove to be a vital extension for otherwise unsupported units.
- Genestealers: Got a bit of a buff by gaining an extra wound in exchange for making its Invuln save a fixed 5+. Offensively, they're A4 WS2+ S4 AP-2 D1, re-rolling 1s to wound, with full re-rolls to wound if the target is within ranger of an objective and Scouts 8" to help them rush onto an objective - but they're only OC1 and have precious little ability to chew through a tanky target. Has Synapse, which is something.
Monsters
- Screamer-Killer: Now has its own unique model, gaining a significant buff from T7 W9 to T9 Sv2+ W10 as well as an OC of 3, making it far tankier than it once was. Its talons got a stupid-ridiculous buff with each of its 10 WS3+ attacks getting S10 AP-2 D3, enough to offset the loss in AP. In exchange, though, the Bio-plasmic scream got a debuff, being A3+d6 BS4+ S8 AP-2 D1 with Assault to at least make it usable on the move and Blast to make it worthwhile on mobs. That blast is also the vehicle with which it can deliver the Death Scream ability, forcing the unit you hit with that blast to take a Battleshock test at a -1 penalty.
- Psychovore:
Dedicated Transports
- Tyrannocyte:
Tactics
General Tactics
Specific Tactics
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