Warhammer 40K: About Those Custodes & GSC New Rules
Adam here to talk about all the new Codex Adeptus Custodes & GSC rules headed to a tabletop near you!
As we are coming to the end of the year we are getting more and more information about the two new codexes coming out, Adeptus Custodes and Genestealer Cult. I’m sure everyone is excited about these armies finally getting their 9th Edition codex and look forward to using their new rules on the tabletop. As I just mentioned, we have been shown a few of the rules so we have some idea of what to expect so this week we will take a quick look at them and see how they will affect the armies and the competitive scene as a whole.
Sisters of Silence
I have to admit, I rarely see any Sisters of Silence models, let alone whole units. They are rarely seen and when you do see them, they are gone in a flash as the unit is destroyed. Now they get a headquarters unit, relics and probably warlord traits and a stratagem or two just for them. The big questions here is how effective will they be in a tournament setting. They will probably be a strong counter to the psychic shenanigans of the Grey Knights and Thousand Sons, but they do not have a lot of units to choose from and may actually still have to use units that are associated with Custodes.
They are also still just toughness three so they are easier to wound compared to their Custodes counterparts. The best way to use them may be as part of a combined force with the Custodes as their troops will probably still be cheaper than the Custodes troop choices. I don’t think you will see too many all Sisters of Silence armies except for the eccentric player that does it because he can.
Shield Host Rules
As both a judge and player I have mixed feelings about the new Shield Host rules. This includes the new Battle Stances rules and basically assigns certain Battle Stances to certain Shield Hosts. The issue I am having is the seemingly complex way that you determine what Battle Stance you are taking and when. I can easily see Custodes players and their opponents being easily confused on how it works and having differing opinions on that. Even with that said, I think the stances are good and flavorful.
If you get the right Stance at the right time it can really turn the tide of battle for the Custodes player and give them the victory from the jaws of defeat. I think that in the beginning there will be a lot of conversations on how the selection process works, if it is not going on right now already. Although we only saw a couple of them I am sure the better battle Stances will be figured out once we see the full list of them.
Crossfire
The jokes have already been made but I’ll make it here. Custodes have apparently taken T’au’s apostrophes and it seems like the Genestealer Cult is taking the T’au’s markerlights. the new crossfire rule is interesting. Being able to get a plus one to hit and wound is really good and helps mitigate the 4+ ballistic skill the army has and helps it to wound models better with it lower strength weaponry. Add in the ability to ignore cover under certain circumstances and it seems like this rule is really good, maybe too good. There are a few issues though. One is that to get the full benefit you need to be pretty close to the target. If you are close enough to ignore the benefit of cover than you are close enough to be charges or shot at to full effect.
Hopefully you destroy the unit when using the Crossfire rule otherwise kiss that unit, or units, goodbye. The other issue is being able to pull the Crossfire off. Early game it may be tough due to the fact of the deepstrike and reserve rules. Opposing players will, well should, already have their armies deployed in such a way to deny anywhere to pop up. It should be doable mid and late game but depending how the game is going, it may b a case of too little too late. I think we will get a true measure of the special rule once we see the full slate of stratagems, warlord traits and relics for the army. I am sure Games Workshop will provide ways to better get in a position to Crossfire units.
~That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the article. Let me know what you think, and if you think these previewed views are as good as some people think, in the comments section below.
