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Unfortunately the 100 neophytes I placed around him were dead turn 2! And his use as a fearless bubble kind of diminished due to this. He rolled a 6 for number of wounds and I bounced half onto neophytes, then he had no one to tank for him

Though I totally forgot I could have bounced the first onto his familiar. Guess I'll chalk that up to experience...

Are Acolytes better used as anti-elite units or anti-vehicle? It seems like they can do both.

I have a rules question? Can Tyranid Psychic powers/buffs such as catalyst and onslaught still effect GSC units (as they have the Tyranid KW or has that been FAQ'd away?

Virtus wrote:Are Acolytes better used as anti-elite units or anti-vehicle? It seems like they can do both.

They can do both, though their choice of special weapons can cause them to lean towards one role or the other. A squad with a Heavy Rock Cutter or two will want to go after non-vehicle targets to take full advantage of the potential 1-hit kill effect while a squad with Heavy Rock Drills will probably instead want to go after larger multi-wound targets like vehicles over elite infantry to make the most of the sequential mortal wound generation. Rock Saws and Demolition Charges are fairly take all comers options, though the charges prefer targeting smaller units to maximize their damage potential while the Saws really want to pick on Heavy Infantry.

Timeshadow wrote:I have a rules question? Can Tyranid Psychic powers/buffs such as catalyst and onslaught still effect GSC units (as they have the Tyranid KW or has that been FAQ'd away?

No. The Tyranid FAQ changed all instances of "TYRANIDS" in ability targeting keywords to mean "TYRANIDS with the <Hive Fleet> keyword". There was a similar kerfuffle with the Chaos Daemons stratagems and powers interacting with the "Daemon" units found in the Chaos Space Marine books and similar errata.


Also for any who might not have seen them yet, looks like we are in for a bit of a treat: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/759589.page

Interesting to note that one of the new giant Aberrants with familiar buddy (Abomination?) is painted in the Pauper Prince color scheme (greenish chitin, red cloth, and white rubberized parts) while another one is done in the Cult of the Four Armed Emperor as well, suggesting it is a new unit proper rather than a unique model. Also a new Primus as well, but so far has only been seen in the Cult of the Four Armed Emperor scheme, so they might be a special character.

Hey.

I have Imperial Guard army and a small force of Tyranids and I was thinking of ways to expand my Imperial forces when a thought hit me. Genestealer cult is a thing. A beautiful thing. A thing to connect my collection and offer more ways to play.

I know they're not the most competitive of beautiful things, but codex (or CA next year) might change that. I like the cult ambush side of things a lot and was thinking I should start a small force.

So the question is what are some solid units to go with that are likely going to see use even after the codex drops? Guess Primus, Magus and Purestrains? Keep in mind I do have Guard and nids to ally for covering weaknesses.

 Fueli wrote:
Hey.

I have Imperial Guard army and a small force of Tyranids and I was thinking of ways to expand my Imperial forces when a thought hit me. Genestealer cult is a thing. A beautiful thing. A thing to connect my collection and offer more ways to play.

I know they're not the most competitive of beautiful things, but codex (or CA next year) might change that. I like the cult ambush side of things a lot and was thinking I should start a small force.

So the question is what are some solid units to go with that are likely going to see use even after the codex drops? Guess Primus, Magus and Purestrains? Keep in mind I do have Guard and nids to ally for covering weaknesses.

There's really no telling, but Purestrains are your safest bet as they have a grounded value to be compared to with the Nids Tyranids. On a similar tangent, even on the off chance that the GSC Stealers are bad, the Tyranid Stealers are still great AND can ally to AM through whatever is good in GSC, so you could still find a use for them.

I wouldn't bet too much on anything else. Primus and Magus are definitely the other 2 safest bets though, and Neophytes too, cheapest troops are always useful for detachments.

You can always just use the Purestrains in your Tyranid force as regular ‘stealers if things don’t work for your Genecult allies.

The Iconward is a safe bet. We know one relic, and it makes him into an absolute boss. The 3 characters and iconward will probably all still be useful, and Purestrains right now are amazing, I highly doubt the Codex raises their cost.

I have been looking at genestealer cults to start up in the near future, and looking at units, it seems like acolyte hybrids are absolutely amazing troops thanks to the the heavy weapons they can bring.

It seems like bringing a horde of them would not be a bad idea-obviously with some neophytes for a bit of dakka and objective holding and some purestrains.

Seems like you can kit out the acolytes to take down monsters and heavy inftantry pretty easily, as well as vehicles. Do you guys run yours any particular way?

Heafstaag wrote:
I have been looking at genestealer cults to start up in the near future, and looking at units, it seems like acolyte hybrids are absolutely amazing troops thanks to the the heavy weapons they can bring.

It seems like bringing a horde of them would not be a bad idea-obviously with some neophytes for a bit of dakka and objective holding and some purestrains.

Seems like you can kit out the acolytes to take down monsters and heavy inftantry pretty easily, as well as vehicles. Do you guys run yours any particular way?

Yeah, Acolytes does a lot of damage for being troops. They take down big targets a bit better than genestealers does. Unfortunately they are quite expensive pointsvise and only T3/6+ means they die way to easy.

I use them sometimes anyway because I like the models a lot. 10 model groups with plenty of rocksaws or demolition charges. Unfortunately such a unit costs more than a patriarch that does pretty much the same job and has many other benefits as well :-/

Fueli wrote:
So the question is what are some solid units to go with that are likely going to see use even after the codex drops? Guess Primus, Magus and Purestrains? Keep in mind I do have Guard and nids to ally for covering weaknesses.

Broadly speaking, the only unit that doesn't really have a role to fill currently is the Metamorphs. Everything else has at least one function it can do for the army that makes it worth considering (if perhaps wishing they were a tad cheaper whilst doing so). If you are just starting out and are mainly interested in creating an allied ambushing detachment, I'd probably look towards Neophytes and the characters, with a smattering of Acolytes to provide armor cracking support. Aberrants are good as well for armor cracking, but we're still waiting on their kit (hopefully soon!) so you can leave them alone for the time being.

I'd also consider some cult vehicles as well. All of them are fairly solid by vehicle standards and mechanized GSC is quite viable (if not major tournament winning).

Heafstaag wrote:I have been looking at genestealer cults to start up in the near future, and looking at units, it seems like acolyte hybrids are absolutely amazing troops thanks to the the heavy weapons they can bring.

It seems like bringing a horde of them would not be a bad idea-obviously with some neophytes for a bit of dakka and objective holding and some purestrains.

As a general rule of thumb I'd do no more than ~10 Acolytes per ~20 Neophytes. Acolytes are very flexible in their target capabilities, but are too expensive to use as cannon fodder. I tend to use mine as mechanized troops, since they are perfectly happy in smaller units (unlike Genestealers) and can cover both anti-armor and anti-infantry roles.

Mellon wrote:
Unfortunately they are quite expensive pointsvise and only T3/6+ means they die way to easy.

Minor nitpick, but they have a 5+ armor. Still fragile mind you, but it is just enough protection to make them somewhat annoying to remove while in cover.

Magus knows 2 powers, Smite and one chosen.
Do you have to choose it before the start of the game and declare it or can you choose the power depending on the situation (even cast different ones during the game).

Does Mass Hypnotised unit gets buffs from the opponents armies, like a sergeant giving rerolls of 1s.

Araablane wrote:
Magus knows 2 powers, Smite and one chosen.
Do you have to choose it before the start of the game and declare it or can you choose the power depending on the situation (even cast different ones during the game).

You pick powers before the game begins.

Araablane wrote:

Does Mass Hypnotised unit gets buffs from the opponents armies, like a sergeant giving rerolls of 1s.

Yes. Mass Hypnosis doesn't have any effect on nearby support elements, the target just suffers -1 to hit rolls, no overwatch, and always swings last.

 Strat_N8 wrote:

Fueli wrote:
So the question is what are some solid units to go with that are likely going to see use even after the codex drops? Guess Primus, Magus and Purestrains? Keep in mind I do have Guard and nids to ally for covering weaknesses.

Broadly speaking, the only unit that doesn't really have a role to fill currently is the Metamorphs. Everything else has at least one function it can do for the army that makes it worth considering (if perhaps wishing they were a tad cheaper whilst doing so). If you are just starting out and are mainly interested in creating an allied ambushing detachment, I'd probably look towards Neophytes and the characters, with a smattering of Acolytes to provide armor cracking support. Aberrants are good as well for armor cracking, but we're still waiting on their kit (hopefully soon!) so you can leave them alone for the time being.

I'd also consider some cult vehicles as well. All of them are fairly solid by vehicle standards and mechanized GSC is quite viable (if not major tournament winning).

Heafstaag wrote:I have been looking at genestealer cults to start up in the near future, and looking at units, it seems like acolyte hybrids are absolutely amazing troops thanks to the the heavy weapons they can bring.

It seems like bringing a horde of them would not be a bad idea-obviously with some neophytes for a bit of dakka and objective holding and some purestrains.

As a general rule of thumb I'd do no more than ~10 Acolytes per ~20 Neophytes. Acolytes are very flexible in their target capabilities, but are too expensive to use as cannon fodder. I tend to use mine as mechanized troops, since they are perfectly happy in smaller units (unlike Genestealers) and can cover both anti-armor and anti-infantry roles.

Mellon wrote:
Unfortunately they are quite expensive pointsvise and only T3/6+ means they die way to easy.

Minor nitpick, but they have a 5+ armor. Still fragile mind you, but it is just enough protection to make them somewhat annoying to remove while in cover.

Acolytes are a glass sledgehammer. You buff them with a primus, hypnosis, and/or might from beyond, then send them into what you want maimed. and by maimed I mean out meleeing Kharn escorted World eaters berserkers and wiping them despite losing half the unit to overwatch and interrupted melee. The issue with acolytes is that if the target has any opportunity to get a hit in you will all but guarentee lost models. I usually use 10-12 man squads and run 5-6 (leader is expendable) barebones as sacrificial wounds

Thanks for the responses! A glass sledgehammer, I like that. They seem like they should hit how I want nobz to hit in my head.

Forgive the ork reference, but in my head the non special weapon bearing acolytes seem to be just a rock saw or whathaveyou delivery device. Like boyz are klaw delivery devices (not so much anymore, but in the past).

Somewhat like boyz. Buffed they are pretty fierce. +1 Str and ATK. Cultist knife giving another attack for hordes, or RC for Marine types. Icon rerolls 1s and Primus gives +1 to hit rolls.

The biggest issue with acolytes is cost. for 20 purestrains it costs 300pts. For 20 Acolytes fully kitted with icon and 8 Rocksaws is 424pts. Both will need a Primus to deliver them and will need a magus or Paterarch to psybuff them and if an iconward is handy to get the FNP and extra Str. Genestealers though have more attacks and with just one Str buff will wound nearly everything in the game on a 5+ or better for 124 pts less. And I beleave Purestrains are costed nearly perfectly or maby 1 pt overcosted at most.

I am very interested to see what the codex brings.

Timeshadow wrote:
The biggest issue with acolytes is cost. for 20 purestrains it costs 300pts. For 20 Acolytes fully kitted with icon and 8 Rocksaws is 424pts.

Rock Saws were one of the items that had a cost drop in Chapter Approved, so that Acolyte unit with 8 Saws and Icon is actually 352 points.

How on earth do people manage to get 8 Rock Saws to fill a full unit anyway?

 dan2026 wrote:
How on earth do people manage to get 8 Rock Saws to fill a full unit anyway?

Bits sellers or conversions usually.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

 dan2026 wrote:
How on earth do people manage to get 8 Rock Saws to fill a full unit anyway?

Bits sellers or conversions usually.

Fair enough. I was looking at the Ork Mega Armour saws. They seem like they would be easy to mod on to Acolyte models.

I have a significant guard army but want to have a non Imperium army so I just ordered the battleforce. I just noticed this Deathwatch Kill team box set, that seems like it would really flesh out my growing cult, right? Is $145 a pretty standard price for that? It seems to be difficult to come by these days.

It's kinda weird GW haven't put out a Start Collecting box for Cults yet.

I have finished painting my first 2000 points of GSC! I've posted the imaged in my gallery. Check it out! Thanks for all the help provided by this forum in helping me create the list that I painted as the core of my force.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-115117-59266_The%20Animalz%20-%20Genestealer%20Cult%20Army.html

 Colonel Cross wrote:
I have a significant guard army but want to have a non Imperium army so I just ordered the battleforce. I just noticed this Deathwatch Kill team box set, that seems like it would really flesh out my growing cult, right? Is $145 a pretty standard price for that? It seems to be difficult to come by these days.

I don't remember what the original cost was, but a quick search through Ebay suggests that is a fairly good price (especially if you can make use of the Deathwatch half as well). Our shop still has a couple copies of Overkill left, so I'll check them as well.

dan2026 wrote:It's kinda weird GW haven't put out a Start Collecting box for Cults yet.

They haven't really had to between Deathwatch Overkill and the Battleforce box (and I suppose the AM start collecting box with a GSC upgrade sprue). With Overkill retiring they might repurpose the sprues for a start collecting box like how they put out Kill Team Cassius and the original AoS starter box as a separate releases.

I think part of the issue is that GSC has the bulk of their HQ options in a single box rather than as individual clampacks. Most of the current start collecting boxes have a fairly aggressive HQ in them (Tau being the main exception I can think of, but they can still build one Crisis suit as a Commander) while the only GSC HQ available separately is mostly oriented towards support rather than front-line fighting. The two new characters that were previewed (Pistol Primus and giant Aberrant with Familiar buddy) might offer additional options for a start collecting box and depending on how many Aberrants come to a box they might be a candidate for the "elite infantry/big thing" that most of the start collecting boxes have.

If they do make one that isn't repurposed Overkill sprues, I'd expect some combination of one of the new characters, Neophytes, Aberrants, and maybe a Goliath if they are feeling generous (not impossible, the Dark Eldar got a transport and Jetbikes in their current box).

Caspian89 wrote:I have finished painting my first 2000 points of GSC! I've posted the imaged in my gallery. Check it out! Thanks for all the help provided by this forum in helping me create the list that I painted as the core of my force.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-115117-59266_The%20Animalz%20-%20Genestealer%20Cult%20Army.html

Beautiful work Caspian! Love the pale flesh paired with purple chitin and all the weathering work. The Ork weapons to Rock Saw conversions turned out excellent as well.

What's the best thing in the army for fighting heavy armour of the T8, 3+ variety?

Abberants with hammers?

 dan2026 wrote:
What's the best thing in the army for fighting heavy armour of the T8, 3+ variety?

Abberants with hammers?

Purestrain genestealers with either might from beyond or the Icon of the Cult Ascendant are our best melee answers without using allies.

 jifel wrote:

 dan2026 wrote:
What's the best thing in the army for fighting heavy armour of the T8, 3+ variety?

Abberants with hammers?

Purestrain genestealers with either might from beyond or the Icon of the Cult Ascendant are our best melee answers without using allies.

I guess drowning them in dice works. Although you need to roll a lot of 5+ to wound.

Large Acolyte squads with Rocksaws will also do great work, but big purestrain blobs are the most TAC answer we have.