Tabletop Spotlight: Codex: Genestealer Cults
The Tabletop Spotlight is on Codex: Genestealer Cults. The Insurrection has begun!
Games Workshop has started shipping Codex: Genestealer Cults and by now, I’m sure you’ve probably gotten a look at it – Well our friends at Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy brought it over and this army is going to be GOOD:
Now that the book is finally in stores I can really open up about what I think about this Codex and I really like what I see. The lore in the book is some of my favorite to date. The Artwork is (mostly) brand new as well – it does have a couple of shout outs to the old school art. I’ve even talked about how much of a fan I am of the insidious nature of the Genestealer Cults. However, I’ve been avoiding talking about this Army from a game play perspective. Well not any more.
This army is going to be one of the hardest armies to pin down. While none of the units are particularly devastating looking on paper, as a whole force, you should be at least a little concerned when facing them (and by a little, I mean a whole lot). The Cult Ambush table should frighten you because of their ability to make pin-point re-deployments. They have units that work together so well you’d swear they were sharing a brain or something.
On a 3+ you just PLACE the unit. No scatter needed!
This army will have a major impact on the meta. No where on the board is going to be safe from these guys. They have some really scary assault units and they also have the ability to call in exactly the “tools for the job” they need. On top of that, they can focus some serious short range fire power on units, too. If you think you’re safe in your high armored tanks you’re wrong. If you think you’re just going to use you’re walkers to stomp all over them, they have answers to those also (it’s called Rending and they have LOTS of it).
Their psychic powers are all solid options and if you can’t find a use for them you might not be trying very hard. On top of that, does the thought of invisible Genestealers worry you? Because they can do that now…They also have access to Biomancy and that also has some potential to be very nasty.
Units can also “Regen” lost models using their “Decurion” style detachment as well – so if you think you’re just going to be able to shoot them off the board, they can just leave and come back the following turn and get d6 models back. Really, I think shooting them is going to be your best bet initially. They have pretty terrible armor saves so you’ll kill them in droves. But, just like roaches, if you don’t wipe them out they will be back.
The Genestealer Cult armies will be like trying to grab water – just when you think you’ve got them they slip through your fingers only to reform somewhere else. In the hands of a skilled player they will be deadly scalpel that will simply cut away parts of your army that you thought were safe.
One of the really interesting things I really like about this list is that they can also be played different ways. If you want to have Genestealer heavy force that make Tyranids jealous they have you covered. Do you want to run a hyper-reactive infantry swarm with pinpoint r-edeployments and withering small-arms fire? You can do that. Or maybe you want to do a mech-heavy force in tons of surprising resilient light vehicles – well “zoom-zoom” because the Genestealer Cults can do all of that.
This army runs a gambit of play styles and still manages to feel unique – I’m still wrapping my head around the possibilities in this book. As a Tyranid player at heart, I’m glad to finally have “something” in the allies column – even if they are still Allies of Convenience. As a supplemental force I think they are neat but as a full army they should have a lot of folks worried. I’m not saying they are going to be the greatest army ever, but they should give all of the “Big Meta” lists pause for a moment. Fundamentally they approach the board differently than any other army out there and players will have to account for that or they will fall prey to the insidious Genestealer Cult!
Codex: Genestealer Cults $50
Vile chanting fills the air, marked by blood-chilling shrieks of alien beasts – the xenos creed shall rise! Thousands of cultist voices are raised in prayer to their Patriarch, a living god from beyond the stars. Shadows in the distance become a seething tide, a living wave of hybrid creatures that boils out from dank and slimy lairs. Vehicles modified with whatever weapons can be cobbled together careen around the horde’s flanks, delivering yet more terror. Sinister, charismatic leaders cast dominion over their enemies as well as their underlings. The Cult has long-prepared for this day of reckoning, and its swollen ranks will surely conquer the world.
This 104-page, full-colour hardback Codex features a wealth of gaming content:
Subscribe to our newsletter!Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.– comprehensive information on the Genestealer Cults, the gruesome and frankly unsettling story of their rise from a single organism to unstoppable, planet-devouring insurrection;
– rules for Genestealer Cults miniatures, the scavenged weapons they use to slaughter their victims, and army-building lists allowing for Hybrid and Brood Brother cultists drawn from the Astra Militarum;
– formations that make use of both the Genestealer Cults and Astra Militarum ranges, with notes on the wargear that Genestealer Cults scavenge and use for their own sinister ends;
– 6 new Tactical Objectives and the complete Broodmind Discipline: new Psychic Powers used by Magi and Patriarchs;
– the Cult Ambush rule: dependent on a dice roll, Genestealer Cults units can set up anywhere on the table, deploy and charge in the same turn, and burst from their hidden lairs to surprise and engulf the enemies of the Cult;
– a showcase of beautifully-painted Citadel miniatures, presenting the colours and icons of the Cults that lurk below.
The revolt has begun! Genestealer Cults strike from the shadows!
