Warhammer 40K: Genestealer Cult Combat Patrol Next Steps
So you’ve joined the Genestealer Cult with a new Combat Patrol. Now what? We’re here to help you with your next steps.
Congratulations on your purchase of the Genestealer Cult Combat Patrol box. It’s actually a really good deal! That said I feel like I need to be blunt with you — Genestealer Cults is a difficult army to play. We’ve got some tips on how to do it but there’s somethings you just need to know going in. This army is “A difficult to play army and low margin for error.” If this is your first army you’re going to take some lumps getting the hang of it. I’m sorry. But if you can come out the other side, winning with the Genestealer Cults tastes so much sweeter.
Genestealer Cult Combat Patrol Next Steps
So now that you’ve got a box of them let’s talk about where to go next. But before you do that, we need to know what we’re starting with in terms of points. Hopefully by the end of this you’ll have a direction you want to build towards to hit 2000 points for your army.
Magus – 80
Goliath Rockgrinder – 110
5 Aberrants – 150
5 Acolyte Hybrids – 45 + wargear
20 Neophyte Hybrids – 120 + wargear
For the points, we’re looking at the new Points Update from Games Workshop. We’re also going to stick with the base points + wargear as you’ll have to choose which wargear you want to use later on. We’ll get you in the ballpark of 2000 points by the end though.
The Combat Patrol clocks in at 505 points before any wargear. Unit wise it’s netting you an HQ, 2 Troops (or 3 if you run the Neophytes in two squads of 10), an Elite, and a Heavy Support (or Dedicated Transport if you run the Rockgrinder as a Goliath Truck instead).
Here’s where we need to make our first real decision. Should you just get two boxes of the Combat Patrol? Personally, I’d say yes. One of the GSC’s biggest strengths is just the sheer number of bodies they can have. So have a core of basically double everything in the box is a good start. That also pushes us over the 1000 points mark with roughly 990 points left over — but we’ve still got to budget for Wargear, too.
Now, another strength of the army is the fact that you can build it into a few different things. You could start recruiting Astra Militarum units in the form of Blood Brothers. You could lean harder into the Hybrids or Aberrants. Or you could even go into their unique vehicle options like more Goliath Trucks/Rockgrinders or other units like the Jackals.
Oh…and there’s also the classic Genestealer option, too. It’s in the name afterall.
Another factor to consider is the deep roster of GSC Characters to choose from. Each one has a speciality that can really bolster your ranks — provided you position everything correctly. From the Clamavus to the Nexos, the Biophagus to the Kelermorph, or the Abominant to the Sanctus, you’ve got options. You could just go with a Broodcoven to keep it simple and I think we’re going to do that, too.
The whole Broodcoven clocks in at 300 points. Unfortunately, that is going to give us 3 Magus models…not that we can’t use all 3 but we might consider dropping one out for one of the other characters later.
Anyhow, with a Patriarch running around I almost feel obligated to include at least one unit of Purestrain Genestealers. They are kind of terrifying in close combat provided they make it there. Plus that’s another 140 points of pain to add to the list now. At this point we’re just shy of 1500 points with no upgrades. Personally, I want to stick to our theme of “more bodies than you” so I’d go with another 10 Neophyte Hybrids for 60 points + wargear. And why not give them another Goliath Truck to roam around in for 90 points.
We’re getting down to the last 400 points-ish. And we still need to budget for Wargear. I’m going with a curveball and I’m going to suggest 3 Achilles Ridgerunners. First off, I just like the model. Secondly, that’s 240 points for 3 of them which can be run as a unit of 3, or 3 different units taking up your underused Fast Attack slot. They are quick and can pack a punch. The last unit I’d look into is an Acolyte Iconward. You might want to swap a magus for one — it will save you 5 points and their buffs are great for an army with a lot of bodies.
At this point we’ve got a barebones list with a lot of bodies. We’re still under 2k and but haven’t spent any points on wargear. You could add in more bodies or more characters or more vehicles. But I think this is a good core for a new army/collection.
If you’ve skipped the rest of the our suggestions please don’t pass over this one: Buy and read the codex. It’s important you do this above all else because this army is complicated. As you read through you’re going to find things about the army you like and those choices could take you in a completely different direction that what we’ve suggested above. That’s okay. In fact, that’s kind of the point!
The Genestealer Cult army is a tough one to master. Get the book and read it. Pick a theme and stick with it. Learning this army is like running a marathon — it’s going to take some dedication and training to be able to score a win with it. Are you up to the challenge?
They don’t call it ascension day for nothing — that’s the day you start winning with the Genestealer Cults!
