Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Top 5 Changes in Codex Genestealer Cult
Goatboy here with the biggest changes headed your way with the all-new Codex Genestealer Cult! Let’s dive in.
It is a grand day as we get 2 new codexes for the 40k game. While the Custodes are an army I have, parts of the Genestealer Cult have a sour spot in my dark heart. I painted a large amount for a buddy a while ago. I still can’t stop the dreams of waves of 4 armed plastic grey monsters demanding they are painted orange and blue. But enough of that – just like the Custodes review I want to go over the top 5 things I love about the book. They are not in any real order just things I found interesting.
Overall I think the book is pretty neat. It doesn’t feel like it is going to be an oppressive Dark Eldar/Ad Mech book which is a good thing. It feels like a real finesse army. So those players who want to learn a powerful but difficult army to control – joining the cult might be for you. I always list that as an army a better player will beat the crap out of me. But the new Genestealer Cult codex won’t be throwing a ton of people in the top 8’s. This isn’t a push big fat monsters to the middle and throw a middle finger in the air army. You’ve got to plan your paths to victory and make sure you Crossfire your way to freedom. But enough of that – let’s get to the 5 little things I like about the book.
Characters Getting Buffed
Holy crap did a lot of the characters get good. The Patriarch is a beast of a monster – ready to crush you in its creepy claws. It feels like the crazy monster from the Warhammer+ animation. But I don’t think it would die as easily to a Blood Angel as the animation showed. Beyond that all the other characters got nice bumps. While the army is bleeding points in Assassination they can easily hide amongst their masses. Thankfully GSC got a rule that limits each detachment to one type of character in it. But you get a non-slot taking one with every HQ purchase.
A lot of their Characters live in the Elite slot too. So it isn’t hard to get all your “bad” guys on the tabletop telling the masses what to do. The sniper seems good, with an auto-hit ability on both versions – sniper and sword bro. Mix that with the dirt bike jump master and you start to have a nice little sniper death machine. It could be really good versus other character heavy armies. That poor Succubus is going to get a few between the eyes. The add extra Warlord Traits strat is even fluffy too as you need to have a Patriarch as your warlord. Now you can throw 2 Warlord traits on different characters for 1 CP.
Crossfire is Neat
The all-new Crossfire rule is one of the most distinguishing mechanics in the new Genestealer Cult codex. It seems very neat as a simplified Marker light type of system. If you hit a unit with 5 Damage 1 shooting attacks or with at least 1 more than D1 attack they get a Crossfire token placed by them. This means any other Crossfire units get a +1 to hit when they are shooting at that unit from now on. If the unit is Exposed (draw a line between two Crossfire units that goes over the unit in question and they have a Crossfire marker) units get a +1 to wound. We all know that Crossfire tokens are going to be everywhere but the Exposed option will be harder. There are a lot of others ways to throw Crossfire tokens on stuff so it’s going to be something that will be happening all the time. I sort of hope they simplify Marker Lights like this but will see. We all know how powerful a massed +1 to hit can be for an army (cough cough – Freebootaz) so this will be something that will define the GSC.
“Sarge, They’re All Over the Place!”
There are a ton of tricks for Ambushing, Deepstriking, and just being all over the board for the army. This is great as it is supposed to feel like you are walking into a trap everywhere you go. I do expect some of the “anti” deep strike options to become standard like the Marine abilities so will see. There are just going to be some armies that are caught with their pants down against the GSC. On top of all of this they get a bunch of cool “unit/character” upgrades called Proficient Planning. This is the first time we really saw true “upgrades” that hit units and not characters. I like this as it isn’t just an “elite” upgrade. It instead pushes the idea that your Patriarch and Primus planned this.
Solid Cult Options
The Cults all feel pretty interesting and no real have to take options. They throw in a weird “Successor” Cult-like build but I expect most players to build around the cult that pushes the units they like the most. You want to run a lot of Dirtbikes – well you should probably play the Bladed Clog or the Rusted Claw. There are the cults that push your monsters to be awesome too like the Twisted Helix. The Four Armored Emperor Cult feels pretty good and gives you enough to cover all the styles of play with discounted options for CP, a way to gain CP, and adding a tax to opponents’ strats like Vect.
Fear the Goliath
Beware the Goliath Rock Grinder. Its newest incarnation in the Genestealer Cult codex has decent shooting and decent close combat. It also has damage reduction which we all know is pretty amazing. You can Overload its power cells to get +1 damage to its shooting attacks and watch as it grinds in. Oh did you end up killing it? Well, I will just have it rigged to explode like the cult boss I am. This thing is going to show up and be mean. The combat patrol looks to have one as part of its set up so be prepared.
Codex Genestealer Cult Verdict
I think the book looks good. It isn’t my personal cup of tea, but those GSC players should rejoice as they get to move into 9th Edition with a decent book. Hopefully everything is set up right so we don’t see a swift nerf bat that should be aimed at DE and GK. The Combat Patrol box shown looks good too with what looks like 20 Neophytes, 5 Acolytes, 5 Abberants, a Rock Grinder, and a new Magos. You mix this with what you got out of Shadowthrone and are you pretty good to go with only needing a few pieces. I am hoping the upcoming Codex T’au Empire and other releases go along this line of a book with a lot of cool options and play styles. We will just have to wait and see.
For the four-armed Emperor!
