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2018/01/20 09:14:29
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Arachnofiend wrote: You can use the "get an extra relic" stratagem to get relics from codexes that are not your warlord's.
Question, In the Codex's it states you can take relics if your HQ is the Warlord of the detachment e.g. I am using a GSC/AM/Nids army and have my AM Tank Commander as my Warlord w/ Grand Strategist to gain a CP and Kurovs Aquila to regain CPs.
Would I be able to spend the Extra 1 - 3 CPs to take relics from GSC and Tyranids or are we only able to take extra relics from the Warlords Detachment?
Tyranids yes, GSC no. It's a no on GSC because even though we know it WILL exist the "extra relics" stratagem doesn't technically exist for GSC yet.
So, As long as the army is battle-forged and the Codex's you use has the stratagem to allow extra relics it is perfectly leagal to have a relic in an AM detachment and an extra in the Tyranids Detachment? Or vice-a-versa.
What do people reckon to hand flamers on Acolytes? Given how short the range is, are you running the risk of just making your charges more difficult if you take them? Wonder if they're maybe best on a demo charge unit if so.
2018/01/22 15:14:31
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
I've toyed around with having hand flamers on the rock saw guys in my primus ambush sqaud. Fishing for 5/6 on the cult ambush lets you get in range and only giving them to the rocksaw guys gives you plenty of ablative wounds before you start losing important points. On a related note, is anything stopping me from giving a banner to an acolyte with a heavy weapon? It'd require converting but it'd give me one more wound before the squad starts losing combat effectiveness
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/22 15:15:51
2018/01/22 15:27:02
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
I just wonder if you’re putting out hand flamer wounds, you’re potentially just setting yourself up for more difficult charges (because why would you be within 6” of something you're not planning to charge)? I suppose it’s nice to have the auto hits if a combat drags on though…
2018/01/22 16:00:32
Subject: Re:Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Q: When a Stratagem from Codex: Chaos Daemons
uses the Daemon keyword, can it be used to affect any unit
with the Daemon keyword, or only units with the Daemon
Faction keyword?
A: These Stratagems can only affect units with the
Daemon Faction keyword
watching the faq about stratagems, it said that can only AFFECT units with the Daemon Faction keyword.
The faq about cult genestealer said that they cant USE the tyranids stratagems.
maybe this means that cult genestealer can be affected by tyranids stratagems?
2018/01/22 16:02:46
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Niiai wrote: What are your experiences with sentinels? I would think the armored wariant is outplatformed by a platon of infatery for heavy weapons. But is the scout any interestng?
I painted two heavy flamer scout ones thinking they'd be really cool, but mostly I just get disappointed when I roll a 2 or 1 for their heavy flamer hits and miss the wound, then they die to bolters / cc.
2018/01/22 17:22:06
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Niiai wrote: What are your experiences with sentinels? I would think the armored wariant is outplatformed by a platon of infatery for heavy weapons. But is the scout any interestng?
I painted two heavy flamer scout ones thinking they'd be really cool, but mostly I just get disappointed when I roll a 2 or 1 for their heavy flamer hits and miss the wound, then they die to bolters / cc.
Yeah, but that is 100 point to deny deep srtikers first and foremost, is it not?
Niiai wrote: What are your experiences with sentinels? I would think the armored wariant is outplatformed by a platon of infatery for heavy weapons. But is the scout any interestng?
I painted two heavy flamer scout ones thinking they'd be really cool, but mostly I just get disappointed when I roll a 2 or 1 for their heavy flamer hits and miss the wound, then they die to bolters / cc.
Yeah, but that is 100 point to deny deep srtikers first and foremost, is it not?
It definitely helps. I love the models, too, so there is that. They are also 'cover' for my cyclops demolition vehicles that are gonna move up behind - cover in that they're distractions so the cyclopses don't get shot.
2018/01/22 18:25:30
Subject: Re:Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
What are peoples thoughts on the Rock Grinder so far? I can't really see a use for it, hitting on 5+ only seems pretty weak. Granted, you can take a primus to help with those hit rolls, but for that many points and access to ambushing melee units, I feel like it's not that great a choice.
Thoughts?
2018/01/23 22:45:54
Subject: Re:Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Acolyte Iconward [3 PL, 53pts]: Icon of the Cult Ascendant
Magus [4 PL, 73pts]: Power: Mass Hypnosis
++ Total: [121 PL, 1988pts] ++
...Aren't heavy weapons acolytes two for every 5 acolytes? Need some non-rock saw acolytes to make that a legal unit.
It is 2 per 5. That is 11 dudes, 1 leade (12) and 8 rock saw (20). I apreciate the atempted reach around but I was hoping for a post about tactics and not semantics. Thanks though.
His load out looks pretty leagal to me. For every 5 Acolytes you get to make 2 Heavy weapons e.g. Acolyte leader+ 2 Acolytes + 2 Heavy Acolytes. For the next "upgrade" he would just need to add 3 normal Acolytes to get 2 more Heavy Ones. E.g. Leader, 5 Acolytes, 4 Heavies = 10, leader, 8 Acolytes, 6 Heavies = 15 and Leader, 11 Acolytes , 8 Heavies = 20.
So, while the Leader + 11 Acolytes + 8 Heavies looks illegal it is actually quite legal unless there is a restriction on the no. of models per unit.
Niiai wrote: Can I get an opinion on the following army? Would it be viable, or just bad?
My main point of concern with the list is that it might be a touch static outside of the ambushers. Both melee blobs are fairly strong but there isn't much immediate threat saturation to help with their survivability, so odds are they will get a good turn in and be eliminated. That in and of itself isn't entirely bad, just a matter of how well you can capitalize on the damage done.
Also I'd probably drop the mortar from the shotgun squad and have them just act as a screen for the other Neophyte units or ambushers. Shotguns will generally want to be moving constantly so heavy weapons don't have as much usefulness with them as they do with autogun/lasgun squads.
...Aren't heavy weapons acolytes two for every 5 acolytes? Need some non-rock saw acolytes to make that a legal unit.
It's just the unusual formatting. He has 12 regular Acolytes (including Leader) + 8 Rock Saws for a total of 20 (5x4, so 8 heavy weapon allowances), but the formatting makes it look like 11 with 8 Saws and a Leader if you are used to seeing the total body count followed by upgrades.
C4790M wrote:On a related note, is anything stopping me from giving a banner to an acolyte with a heavy weapon? It'd require converting but it'd give me one more wound before the squad starts losing combat effectiveness
Currently there doesn't appear to be anything that would prevent it. Would be a fairly easy conversion to do as well, just take one of the backpacks and attach a banner to it or strap one of the Icons from the upgrade sprue to the icon bearer's back..
zamerion wrote: watching the faq about stratagems, it said that can only AFFECT units with the Daemon Faction keyword.
The faq about cult genestealer said that they cant USE the tyranids stratagems.
maybe this means that cult genestealer can be affected by tyranids stratagems?
Unfortunately the Tyranid FAQ also added that in every instance where a stratagem or other effect has the "Tyranids" keyword it means "Tyranids unit with <Hive Fleet>", so GSC unit can be a legal target.
ajax_xaja wrote:What are peoples thoughts on the Rock Grinder so far? I can't really see a use for it, hitting on 5+ only seems pretty weak. Granted, you can take a primus to help with those hit rolls, but for that many points and access to ambushing melee units, I feel like it's not that great a choice. Thoughts?
Rock Grinders have generally performed well for me in my mechanized lists. They make for a good place to hide HQ models that otherwise have no transport and provide a good overwatch sponge that can contribute a bit on its own (on average adds the same amount of S8 hits as 4 Rock Saws). I tend to have Rock Grinders working in support of my assault infantry, so a Primus is usually around anyway to lend their to-hit boon. Rockgrinders are also fairly fast until they drop to their final bracket so they make a good rapid-response unit as well.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/01/24 14:13:13
2018/01/24 22:14:08
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Nazrak wrote: What do people reckon to hand flamers on Acolytes? Given how short the range is, are you running the risk of just making your charges more difficult if you take them? Wonder if they're maybe best on a demo charge unit if so.
I don't think I'll ever take hand flamers on Acolytes. If I take them they have Heavy weapons every time already, they're a big threat and they're usually going after / getting close to high toughness units to charge, so a S3 weapon is kinda useless when short range. I doubt I'd ever get my points back on a hand flamer.
They come with a autopistol already, I mean come on... If the hand flamers were 2-4 points I may consider them. Why take a hand flamer when you could almost get another Acolyte or 2 Neophytes for that!? GSC don't have the armor saves to pay for weapons that are only good if used each turn, and acolytes are usually threat #1 or #2.
Niiai's 20 man Acolytes unit is legal, but I don't think I'd take that many Acolytes in one unit. There is a lot of risk there, if they somehow get badly positioned or are unlucky, it wouldn't take much firepower to wipe nearly 1/4 of your list. Also managing to fit 20 guys 9" inches away from enemies could be a pain in the ! Especially when they want to go after tanks and high Toughness (genestealers don't mind as much + advance and charge).
Currently GSC have so few stratagems to use their CP on. It's not a bad idea to plan on using a primus and the ambush stratagem on turn 1 and turn 2 for 2 big nasty units to come out each time. If 8th edition wasn't so Alpha Strike orientated it would be worth using every turn possible. The turn 2 ambush gives you that chance to try and create a hole or opening to come in from, and can also keep your opponent warry. So I usually save the nastiest unit for turn 2 (usually 6-8 abberants), in the end it just gives you more options.
I haven't used a rockgrinder yet, they're kinda cool in concept but GSC strength is hording infantry that have lots of options. I usually ally guard or Nids and ambush nearly all the GSC. If you take a rockgrinder you kind of want to take a few transports to spread the incoming fire out a bit.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/01/24 23:06:00
Life before death, Strength before weakness, Journey before destination.
2018/01/24 22:34:53
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Niiai's 20 man Acolytes unit is legal, but I don't think I'd take that many Acolytes in one unit. There is a lot of risk there, if they somehow get badly positioned or are unlucky, it wouldn't take much firepower to wipe nearly 1/4 of your list. Also managing to fit 20 guys 9" inches away from enemies could be a pain in the ! Especially when they want to go after tanks and high Toughness (genestealers don't mind as much + advance and charge).
Morale is also an issue with so many Acolytes. Having a blob of 20 is definitely going to attract a lot of attention. Even if you kill off the normal ones you could still lose all your Heavies to Morale if you don't use 2cp to auto pass or if you don't have a unit that allows re-rolls or auto passes.
If I was Niiai I would just use 2 units of 10 and split them accordingly. More situational and he could keep one in CA deployment.
Niiai's 20 man Acolytes unit is legal, but I don't think I'd take that many Acolytes in one unit. There is a lot of risk there, if they somehow get badly positioned or are unlucky, it wouldn't take much firepower to wipe nearly 1/4 of your list. Also managing to fit 20 guys 9" inches away from enemies could be a pain in the ! Especially when they want to go after tanks and high Toughness (genestealers don't mind as much + advance and charge).
Currently GSC have so few stratagems to use their CP on. It's not a bad idea to plan on using a primus and the ambush stratagem on turn 1 and turn 2 for 2 big nasty units to come out each time. If 8th edition wasn't so Alpha Strike orientated it would be worth using every turn possible. The turn 2 ambush gives you that chance to try and create a hole or opening to come in from, and can also keep your opponent warry. So I usually save the nastiest unit for turn 2 (usually 6-8 abberants), in the end it just gives you more options.
The unit with a primus clock in at 428. With the stratagem there is 91% chance of it getting a 5 or 6 on the ambush. After that the chances of getting a charge is very big.
That unit will melt anything it hits, it might also be able to kill 2 units if I can pull of a multi charge. I do belive both eldar and SM has the abilaty to shoot units that deep strike.I have not taken that into account, I would like to know more about it.
Also it is the question of what to use for the ambush. The usual suspects is that rocksaw unit, genstealers and abberamts.
I was a huge advocate of abberants, but somebody ran the numbers and the rocksaw unit just came out better vs a lot of targets. Abberants are overkill vs non T8. And genstealers are a sort of all around unit. Genstealers would be better vs the shooting startagems thanks to the 5++.
Asuming I find a way to remove chaff in allies. (Trygon tunnel or mortals in nids and IG.) What is the best unit to bring in turn 2, or 3?
The t2/3 ambush depends on the situation really. Genestealers will shred the infantry and the aberrants mince the armour, with neophytes filling the mid point. Ambush the unit depending on what is exposed
2018/01/28 18:19:05
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Rattlings we're kinda meh to be honest. They only killed one character all game and I mostly used them to get on objectives and/or line breaker plus scoring cards and what not. I am going to drop them for more Devigaunts because they prefromed pretty well.
Acolytes w/ Primus were good in some situations and meh in others e.g. they knocked 13 wounds off a Wraith Knights, 10 wounds on a Leman Russ and killed another completely. However, when against stuff with 4 toughness they kind of under-preformed and I charged them against Girlyman and only did 3 wounds via the drill and 2 mortal wounds going through.
I will probably drop the drill for another Saw and put the points into another Magus for Mind Control.
Just so people know, I used the Neophytes for anti-deepstriking and then used a CP per turn to re-deploy them onto objectives and line breaker. This tactic really pissed my opponentd off and won me 2 of those Eldar games. It was also the reason I lost the other Eldar game by not rolling a good Cult Ambush.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/28 23:23:24
I'd love to hear more if you are willing. I think that is the first "Genesoup" list I've seen so far with elements of all three together. How did the Hive Tyrants fare? I've not been very impressed with them so far as allies due to how expensive they are relative to just adding more bodies.
2018/01/29 13:19:38
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
I'd love to hear more if you are willing. I think that is the first "Genesoup" list I've seen so far with elements of all three together. How did the Hive Tyrants fare? I've not been very impressed with them so far as allies due to how expensive they are relative to just adding more bodies.
One battle report I saw had a 3 landspeeders with maguses in them as count as hive tyrants. Looked a bit dumb and cool at the same time.
I'd love to hear more if you are willing. I think that is the first "Genesoup" list I've seen so far with elements of all three together. How did the Hive Tyrants fare? I've not been very impressed with them so far as allies due to how expensive they are relative to just adding more bodies.
No problem my friend. This post will be a tad long so everything will be in spoiler tags.
Flyrants
Spoiler:
They preformed pretty well to be honest. I was only bringing them so that I could charge units with Fly Keyword and/or Supersonic rule. The Flyrant with the Chameleonic Mutation Tanked nearly everything that hit it. Having a 4+ invul w/ -1 to hit is pretty good. I mostly casted Catalyst on this Flyrant as well to make it's durability at least 3 times better. It is hard to wound a model with 4+ invul, -1 to hit and a 5+ FnP. I also used a combo of The Horror and Magus's Mass Hypnosis to make units it was charging or mostly likely to be attacked with to have a -3 for shooting and -2 in CC. it never died in any of my games.
The other Flyrant was more Situational. I kind of kept him closer to the Devigaunts to help them Move and advance without taking a -1 to its hit rolls by casting Onslaught and used Paroxysm to buff the other Flyrant in CC scerinos. all of my opponents thought this was a nice Combo of 2 Flyrants but also hated how durable I was able to make one of them.
In fear of going second (which I did in all my games) I usually had the Mutated Flyrant in reserves and fielded the other one so that it could buff the Devigaunts if I was to go 1st. They weren't the best in CC but they held up things with great durability. I was using the Mutated Flyrant to multi-charge 3-5 models a turn so that crippled my Gunline opponents and used the other for scoring objectives or going on random objectives in the hope that my opponent needs it and then has to target this one instead of the Mutated one.
Overall, The Mutated Flyrant would get a 9 out of 10 and the other Flyrant would get an 8 due to it not having as much durability besides healing D3 wounds via Stratagems. I thought of them as durable CC holders rather then CC killers which I think worked out as a better state of mind.
Genestealers
Spoiler:
They preformed better then I expected. I felt like the 5+ invul made them quite durable as I usually lost 3-4 a turn wheres the Devigaunts where losing 7-9 a turn due to a worse save and toughness. I was using them as anti-deepstrike and for maximum board control e.g. I had them set up 8' away from my deployment lines in all games to stop DS in my side of the board and them moved, advanced them in this same formation to gather 1-3 Objectives to halt my opponent from gathering points and getting into my lines. I then charged them into units to hold things up and gather more board control. Gstealers moving 14-20" a turn plus charging another 12 or so inches is mind blowingly fast and dangerous. Obviously they weren't as affective against units with Fly keyword but they usually destroyed everything they charged besides Stuff with T8 or better. I reserved them for my 1st game but where destroyed 1st turn by having my opponent land within the nodes range. This was the reason I lost the 1st game so I promised my self it is better to deploy them naturally rather then in reserves. Unless, its GSC Genestealers and using the Cult Ambush reserve.
Overall, I would give them a 9 out of 10. The only faults they made were because of me. They would be a 10 if I could cult ambush them. But then its 15pts a model vs 12pts a model.
Devigaunts
Spoiler:
These guys were good but definitely have their faults. 26 doing 78 shoots is quite the lump-some of shots to be shot but I never got 1st turn and I usually only started my 1st turn with 15-18 Models so they didnt preform like I wanted. If I had 1st turn and deployed the Mutated Flyrant I would have given them Catalyst but the situation never arose. I think if I brought another unit of them it would made them better because even though one will get depleted I will still have another unit to do the damage. Unless my opponent has enough shots to deal with 60 Devigaunts. They were mostly used as a Screen that went behind the Genestealers during deployment to definitely make sure nothing was deepstriking and to prevent my Platoon Commander and Magus from being charged.
Overall, I would give them 7.5-8 out of 10. They did the damage but didnt do the damage I wanted due to never having them at full strength. I imagine with 2 units they would easily be a 9 but I need more testing to confirm my thoughts.
Biovores
Spoiler:
These guys pack a punch but they need numbers to reliably do it. While having the Spore set up even if you miss is quite the rule it isnt ass effective as it wounds on paper. I mostly wanted them for MW spam so that I didnt have to rely on Smite but most of the time they missed and I had to set up the spore away from the enemy I was targeted and have them get destroyed before they were able to pop. They did stop my opponents from moving into critical places but 3 spores is nothing to worry about if they didnt pop when being shot.
Overall, 3 Biovores in separate FA would only be a 6 out of 10. Having the ability to produce MW is good but when your hitting on 5 or 6s due to moving or Natural -1 and 2s it makes them only okay in what I wanted them to do. If people are to bring Biovores I would recommend people bring them in full size squads to to make sure your getting the most out of them and their MW ability.
Primus w/ Acolythes
Spoiler:
Probably the most swingy unit in that they had the ability to destroy models with T8 or lower but never excelled at their job. Against Models with invul saves , FnP's or whatever some form of -1/2 to hit rolls they just didnt do any solid damage. 6 S8 -4 D 2 attacks hitting on 2s re-rolling 1s was good on paper and preformed well in that form but when agaisnt units with 3+ invuls or 5/6 FnPs they jsut never did the damage they were suppost to which meant they just kinda tied things up for a turn then got smacked off the table. Also, wasting S8 attacks on units with T4-5 felt like a waste of points. The drill was only good in 1 game in that it did 2 MW's on Gulliman. other then that all its damage was saved because my opponents knew they produced MWs on 2+, 3+, 4+ etc. I then though about how the points for the Primus and Acolythes is enough to fund another Tank Commander or Flyrant which made them kind of meh in my eyes.
Overall, I would give this combo a 3-4 out of 10. I think they would preform better if we were able to make every model take Heavy weapons rather then having some do High Strength attacks while some are still only good against T4 or lower models. Would make them better at doing specific jobs rather then being situational at best. I think, for the future, I will stay away from this combo unit the codex is released just to see if it is more reliable. A unit of 10 Normal Acolytes w/ a Primus would have probably preformed better then this mixture of half Heavy Weapons and half normal dudes.
If you guys want this combo to work then bring them as standard Acolythes and leave the S8 weapons to Leman Russes. Primus on his own is pretty decent at making Cult ambush reliable but he isnt all that good at anything else. on his own he would be a 6 out of 10. Very situational but not needed unless using Hammerants.
Neophytes
Spoiler:
Hands down the most underrated unit I brought. 50pts for a unit with Objective Securing that can Deepstrike 6 different ways is a fuqqing Steal. Seriously, everyone should take these guys in tournaments. while I kept 1 unit in CA I used the 2nd unit as my back up screen for my Plat Commander and Magus. I also figured out that most tournament games only last 2-4 turns at most unless using Elite armies. With this in my mind I always had a strategy for my games. Because the Devigaunts and Gstealers look more dangerous no one paid attention to the Neos which let me move my Devigaunts around the board while still having a Screen no one cared for. Also, going 2nd was actually a good thing in most scenarios. Because the game would officially end on my turn I never felt afraid to have these guys on risky objectives or situations like charging units without objective secured because the game would never go past my turn if the game had to end so I had nothing to lose but a lot to gain.
Overall, 10 out of 10. These guys out preformed my expectations which was a really nice surprise and made for some hilarious moments during my games.
Magus
Spoiler:
Mass Hypnosis is the bomb. The fact it was denying Overwatch, granting a -1 to hit and making my enemy hit last in the fight phase made me fall in love with this model. His destruction made all my opponents focus fire him with Snipers units which let my Plat Commander Warlord survive all my games bar 1 which never gave my opponents Warlord killer or StW besides that one guy.
Overall, 9 out of 10. The only issue is that he is rather squishy so if he had a 5+ invul he would be a 10 right away but I guess we have the Patriarch for that extra durability.
Tank Commander
Spoiler:
2D6 plus 2d3 Strength 8 shots is outstanding. While wounding T8 models on 4+ is only okay the a mount of shots you get makes up for this. T8 was also amazing as I only lost them in 1 game (Deployment mistake, I learned that the hard way). The ability to hit on 3s re-rolling 1s or popping smoke to grant them a -1 for the turn is an amazing ability to have at our disposal. Never take a GSC Leman Russ if you can Afford Tank Commanders.
Overall, 10 out of 10, ,y next list has these guys w/ Lascannons so I can only imagine how much better they will get.
Rattlings
Spoiler:
These guys were only okay tbh. They were just basically Neophytes with Heavy Snipers. While having the ability to deepstrike is nice I would of rathered more Neos then these guys as of the weekend. They are probably good in actual AM Regiments but I dont think they preform well with GSC soup lists.
Overall, 4 out of 10. Not much I can say to make them better.
Platoon Commander
Spoiler:
For 20pts you can got wrong with him as a Warlord. Hid behind an anti-deepstriking army with lots of bodies is fun to play. I mostly set him up at the very back of my table edge just so I can make sure no Snipers could target him. I only wished I had given him the 4+ invul relic rather then the 5+ CP if my opponent uses a stratagem. I was getting D3 CPs via the Gstealers on most turns plus re-rolling the CP I spent. While he did die only once It was the reason I placed 14th instead of 11th due to it literally going down to the small details.
Overall, 9 out of 10. The only thing it is missing is a natural Invul save but it is not that hard to get access to one.
I hope this breakdown was helpful and can pass on more information if needed e.g. the games I played and the armies.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/01/29 23:22:10
The Orlock gang box for Necromunda is out on the 17th of February and it's meant to be compatible with the Genestealer Cult upgrade kit so depending on the weapons they come with that's a third style of Neophytes to add some additional variation. Not sure how likely it is but it could mean some of the more unique weapons in the box may see an appearance in the eventual codex such as the harpoon gun.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/01/29 23:16:01
2018/02/05 14:33:21
Subject: Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
Has anyone tried out a Neophyte Spam list with GSC?
Looking at it on paper it has the potential to be really powerful as it could emulate the old conscript spam lists. the general idea would be to spam neos with a couple of patriarchs to make them fearless, then back it up with as much IG arty as possible. Possible list could be:
Detachment 1: GSC Battalion
HQ Patriarch
Magus
Troops
20x neos
20x neos
20x neos
20x neos
Detachment 2: GSC Battalion
HQ Patriarch
Magus
Troops
20x neos
20x neos
20x neos
20x neos
Detachment 3: Astra Militarum Spearhead
Company Commander
Master of Ordinance
2x Manticore
2x Basilisk
2x Basilisk
Obviously this is a rough list. Some neos could be dropped to get some extra equipment on them etc. Also you could swap out the 2 Magus for 2 Primus and have a couple of blobs cult ambush to distract the enemy.
But overall what do you guys think of 160 fearless infantry backed up by 6 big guns? Useless or good?
6000 pts of Foot Guard
"I once gave the order to one of my platoons to fix bayonets and charge a squad of genestealers. If they believed in the emperor hard enough they could win... I don't think they believed enough..."
2018/02/06 14:55:54
Subject: Re:Genestealer Cult 8th Edition Tactics - The day of Ascension draws near.
I'm going to assume you are either are Mordian Glory or were inspired by his video. Love your/his videos FYI, they have been super helpful for in understanding how to use the Guard part of the GSC army.
This army list as posted is a bit one-note. It seems like all your eggs are in the artillery basket and you are counting on them to do all the work while the rest of the points are just there to screen and protect them. The Neophytes are pretty lackluster when it comes to shooting, even with special mining weapons and standing still. How much damage will those 6 artillery tanks really be doing in the first two turns? I don't think they will cripple the opposing army. It seems like too much chaff and not enough wheat. That said my experience with Neophytes is in squads of 10 and I generally accept that they will only do a wound or two with shooting per unit per game.
The Patriarch's are really great but I'm not sure their role is best used as counter-assault units, which is what they look to be doing here - presumably sitting back with your blobs to keep them fearless.
I would suggest not duplicating your 2nd battalion into the 'fighting group' style of thinking. Instead put those points (roughly 625pts) into an aggressive cult ambush detachment that can harass and do real damage up close to the enemy while you bombard them with your artillery. You'll still have 80 squishy fearless neophytes protecting your tanks. But your tactics are more diverse, not just rely on a meat-wall to try and hold off the enemy. Try 20 Genestealers and 6 Abberants (10 Acolytes with 2xRock Saws) with 2 Primus's. Now you've got your hammer and anvil. You may also want to split a few of those 20 man Neophyte Squads into 10's and spam Mortars or Heavy Bolters.
I would suggest dropping the Magus in the 1st detachment for the Iconward so you can re-roll morale saves for the units that get outside of the Patriarch's bubble. Also take the 'Icon of the cult Ascendant' and outfit one Neophyte unit with Shotguns, a Cult Icon for re-roll 1's in CC and take a power weapon for the squad leader for a light counter assault group.
I think splitting your groups of 20's into 10's is a better move because you get more special weapons...which is really the main tactical bonus the GSC infantry get over regular guard.
! Especially when they want to go after tanks and high Toughness (genestealers don't mind as much + advance and charge).
6000 pts of Foot Guard
