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Hey guys I haven't played seriously since 5th edition. I've decided to make a go at coming back and was wondering should I wait till after 9th edition is released to get a genestealer cult codex or is it ok to get it now? Thanks in advance!

Wait for all the rules to drop so you can be informed.

Are you competitive and want to compete in tournaments?

If the answer is yes then definitely wait, because you have no idea what they are going to do to that army or how good or bad it will be.

If the answer is no then sure go for it.

Given how close we are to 9th, I think it's best to wait for that. No sense in learning rules that will be invalidated halfway through July.

I don't often endorse the Dakka mentality of "Wait". But in this case it really is the right answer.

In a few weeks the new Rule Book will be available (sorry, don't know the exact date, but very soon)
You should definitely wait until that happens.

After that?
Wait until the FAQs etc are posted for 1) the new rules, 2) how to use existing Codex books in general, & 3) the GSC Codex in particular.

Then get the Codex.
They've indicated that all of the existing Codex books etc will work with 9th. And that the Psychic Awakening books were specifically written with 9th in mind. Of course we all know that all the old codex books will (likely) be replaced with shiny new 9e versions. We just don't know the when or the speed this'll happen. Or the order past Space Marines & Necrons.
So if you take Martel's advice completely & hold off until that new 9e GSC codex arrives you could be waiting months-years.

In any event, welcome back to the fight.

I'm going to go against the grain and say you should get stuck in. I'm in a similar situation: I played in 5th and started building a Mechanicus army in April. Setting aside learning the rules and practicing with an army, it takes a long time just to start a collection from scratch and get an army painted. You're better off using these intervening weeks to get started, especially if you're motivated now.

The 9th rules are going to be very similar to 8th, and the codex isn't going to get replaced outright. You're not really a new player, you can make sense of a data-sheet. If you just focus on building basic troops and HQs, you're very unlikely to waste effort. I very much recommend the Start Collecting box in general, and GSC has a good one.

Genestealer Cults got one of the last 8th edition codex and a big load of models at the same time. Thus its likely that they will be closer to the end of the 9th edition updates and that the core of their army is more likely to remain the same (ergo no massive model additions). The 8th edition codex carry over into 9th edition.

So I'd say picking up a codex and some models now would be perfectly fine and safe. Sure the army building is going to change, but at its core the infantry and leaders won't be changing roles. So unless you're an industrial style builder and painter with a vast budget, its unlikely that you'll build any waste between now and 9th edition launching (early estimations seem that it will launch sometime in July).


As noted above, if you're highly competitive I'd wait, but otherwise jump right in with the Cult!

I meant base rules.

I ended up picking up a couple boxes of the Atalan Jackal boxes. I'll take the start buying/building stuff approach until the new rules drop and then go from there. I do like playing competitively but I also like to play an army I love the style of. I just had flashbacks to playing my Dark Eldar against leafblower IG lists at the first BAO lol.

One under reported bit is that 9th will have... an app.

Now that can mean many things, it can mean nothing but an icon on your phone that deducts $25/month and does nothing else.

But it COULD mean the long awaited army builder program that acutually works and is updated. Only time will tell.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
One under reported bit is that 9th will have... an app.

Now that can mean many things, it can mean nothing but an icon on your phone that deducts $25/month and does nothing else.

But it COULD mean the long awaited army builder program that acutually works and is updated. Only time will tell.

From Warhammer Community:

On the same day that the Warhammer 40,000 pre-orders go live, a new app will be launched alongside it, providing several cool features to help you, including a full matched play army builder. The new app will do a number of things to assist players with their games, but one of the most useful will be the ability to build army lists using the updated points values and Detachments. We’ll have more on the Warhammer 40,000 app soon, so watch this space!

It sounds like the 8th Codices are going to be "required" until a faction's 9th ed. codex is out. That's where you'll find the datasheets ect. So if you're certain you want to play GSC why not buy it?

Of course, it's easy enough to buy it when you end up needing it, or "acquiring" it someplace before you decide to buy.
So, I guess it depends on how much you want the physical object for the time being.

From The New Warhammer 40,000 Your Questions Answered!:

What happens to my codexes?

Good news! All your codexes still work! As do campaign expansions like the Vigilus series, Psychic Awakening and White Dwarf Supplements.

So like in most past editions, the codices will carry over to the new edition until they're redone for 9th edition.

8th edition was a big RESET button in many ways for the game and it was much needed. Our greatest hope is that even if GW has slowed back to their original style, that we still get all the armies updated and also that we don't end up like we were before; with some armies going edition after edition ignored which never did them nor the game nor the players any good.

There's some very safe choices. No matter what happens in the next edition, chances are you are going to want some measure of brood brothers/Neophytes to fill out some ob sec troops, a Patriarch to lead your force, a Magus for casting. By the time you finish painting that up, the new edition will have arrive, so if you wanna start now I'd just grab 3 units of Brood Brothers and the two characters.

Nexos, Clamavus, and Primus are all very unlikely to be bad either. But they may not be super useful until you have a larger collection.

Anything else I'd probably wait before buying.