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So while I have never been a huge fan of Tyranids (great villain, just never wanted to own them) I somehow found myself fascinated with the rules from the new Genestealer book. I love the look of the goliath and I really hoped they would be something guard can take (they took all of our stuff, right?). Who wouldnt want to kill a Necron lord by hitting it with a giant truck/grinder? Originally I wanted to figure out how to get them to work via allies, when I realized I could just say its all guard to start with! The idea is to run it as an Ambush/Light infantry type specialist regiment along the lines of Tanith First and Only or even the Elysians (the infiltrate and dissapearing into shadows can be air drop and extraction)

The conversion will be relatively simple, use the Genestealer rules but use regular guardsman to represent the different genestealer options.

Neophytes= Guardsman
Acolytes= Sappers/Engineers
Metamorphs= Scions (ill be only equipping them with hand flamers)
Aberrants= Ogryns
Genestealers= CATACHAN JUNGLE FIGHTERS!!!
Magus= Primaris Psyker
Primus= Commander/Commisar
Iconward= Flag Guy/ Commisar

The only thing I havent figured a good switch so far is the Patriarch, Im thinking maybe some sort of juiced up Inquisitor or an Assassin.

What do you guys think?

I'd stick to the IG codex personally, but I do like your idea. As for the patriarch, if you're using Catachans for Genestealers, then surely it's got to be Marbo?

 General Kroll wrote:
I'd stick to the IG codex personally, but I do like your idea. As for the patriarch, if you're using Catachans for Genestealers, then surely it's got to be Marbo?

I think you have yourself a winner! who else would make his men fearless other than the king of 1d4 chan?

I would run the Patriarch as an Eccelsiarchy Priest on a floating podium (if you remember the old black gobbo Inquisitor Conversion Articles, you should have a rough idea of what I mean).

Genestealers can be Penal-legion pit fighters or cyber-gladiators. Alternatively, they could be feral beasts tamed by the regiment.

Genestealers as Catachans and Metamorphs as Scions make no sense whatsoever.

Why not just take Neophytes and Goliaths allied with Guard?

I had a similar idea of using Orks as counts as genestealers. I play blood axes so the whole sneaky thing is not too far off the mark.

Actually, I could see the case for running a GSC army as a Catachan army, as long as you didn't take Purestrains/Metamorphs. You could run the Aberrants as Ogryn "Counts as", Neophytes are your standard Jungle Fighters while Acolytes are your "Counts As" Deathworld Veterans, where the "Rending Claws" represent their infamously sharp Catachan Fang knives. And the Primus would be your Straken-like character. Add a few Sentinels, call "Cult Ambush" "Jungle Ambush", and you're mostly set.

 MagicJuggler wrote:
a dd a few Sentinels, call "Cult Ambush" "Jungle Ambush", and you're mostly set.

But what if you are not fighting in a jungle?

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:

 MagicJuggler wrote:
a dd a few Sentinels, call "Cult Ambush" "Jungle Ambush", and you're mostly set.

But what if you are not fighting in a jungle?

Good point, but im sure those sneaky catachans are just as adept at hiding in rubble and all kinds of terrain. I think the same idea can also be translated into Tallarn desert raiders who are well known for their hit and run tactics and ambushes (i.e burying themselves in sand or otherwise popping up from unengaged sectors of the battle)



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
I had a similar idea of using Orks as counts as genestealers. I play blood axes so the whole sneaky thing is not too far off the mark.

Love that idea btw. I think you can even use humans for your Neophytes since they don't take too much issue with using those squishy 'umies as shields.

I couldn't be bothered to remember that many 'counts-as' equivalents, if I'm honest.

If the whole army is one model range and I have to remember one maps to another different model range, it'd just be confusing and not fun. You go shoot some guys and find out "oh no, they were ordinary dudes, now these dudes who look almost the same are actually GENESTEALERS! SURPRISE!"

Yeah, but no.

 JohnnyHell wrote:
I couldn't be bothered to remember that many 'counts-as' equivalents, if I'm honest.

If the whole army is one model range and I have to remember one maps to another different model range, it'd just be confusing and not fun. You go shoot some guys and find out "oh no, they were ordinary dudes, now these dudes who look almost the same are actually GENESTEALERS! SURPRISE!"

Yeah, but no.

Before you think my idea awful, I am the type that I would make little signs on stands for the units so as to not confuse my opponents. Also I typically play friendly games with people I know and less pick ups than I did back in "the day"

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
I had a similar idea of using Orks as counts as genestealers. I play blood axes so the whole sneaky thing is not too far off the mark.

There's already an actual Ork unit of sneaky Orks which have Ork stats, Ork rules, and Ork weapons...

 JohnnyHell wrote:
I couldn't be bothered to remember that many 'counts-as' equivalents, if I'm honest.

If the whole army is one model range and I have to remember one maps to another different model range, it'd just be confusing and not fun. You go shoot some guys and find out "oh no, they were ordinary dudes, now these dudes who look almost the same are actually GENESTEALERS! SURPRISE!"

Yeah, but no.

I had a similar idea to the OP. Considering that most people can't easily figure out what the cult figures do, I don't think it's outrageous to do counts as in this case. I would use catachans as well. The trick is to make the models on appropriate bases and of appropriate size. So the metamorphs need to be on 32 mm bases and look sufficiently different from the neophytes. No need to worry about confusing pure strains with other models. Their rules are still garbage and the metamorphs are way better.