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It was in the Facebook reply thread. I don't have a link. But they were going to add it to our 2 week FAQ to be clear that blips don't equal reinforcments.

I'm starting to consider dropping my primus, to fit in a 2nd magus.

The primas was the most important unit i'd say in GSC of the past due to modifying the ambush roll, so i have him out of habit. But now that he no longer does that, how important do you think he is to include, especially if you have cult icons in all your acolyte squads? What do you guys think.

Do people feel that Purestrains are not worth taking at this point? Better just to stick with acolytes and aberrants?

Purestrains are still really good, they just aren’t autotakes. I’m going to be reserving some points to let me use telepathic summons which brings out 15 stealers on average.

Thanks. What do you see as the ideal unit sizes for acolytes and aberrants? Might from beyond makes me want to create fewer bigger units despite the leadership risk/loss of flexibility.

How necessary is it going to be to bring a Patriarch?

They are very strong and they do bring a nice set of buffs, but the point cost bears consideration: 56% more expensive then a Magus and 76% more expensive then a Primus. If you are playing a small game I think you could skip the Patriarch and save from points in the HQ slot to fill out the rest of your army.

Fun trick with sniper sanctus. The 0 cost strat t1 dbl tap for him also procs off blip reveal which means he can shoot on reveal 1st turn for free then shoot again during your normal shooting. He is also incredibly durable with a 3+ armor in cover and character rules.

This also frees up the strat for your assault bomb t2.

Rock saws, drills and cutters. Which is best?

I like the simplicity of the saws but the other two have some neat tricks (at a cost of course)

You don't really need saws or drills.

Naked Acolytes are so cheap and strong on their own (as Helix) that it's nearly a waste to give them any wargear.

Really? Would have thought they'd be a good way to beat down knights. Even a full unit of helix acolytes with the broodsurge +1 to wound strat is going to struggle to do enough to a knight before then inevitable reprisals.

Do you reckon aberrants are just better for that role then?

With the codex finally released I would be delighted if we could compile a comprehensive overview of our faction in the start post of this thread, just like we had in the old thread.

I'll do my part with some of my observations:

HQs

Patriarch

Hey, our four-armed bug Jesus dropped a bit in points. Pre codex I wasn't a fan of this (sweet looking) model at all. But now he seems quite solid. You might want to stack some LD buffs on him (Clamavus, generic LD WT etc.) to pull off Mental Onslaught shenanigans. Or you can turn him into an absolute blender by going all-in with Twisted Helix + MfB etc. Even as non-Twisted-Helix he can get +1 attack and strength from the WT + MfB, making him S8 with 8 attacks, without having to invest a ton into positioning him in such a way that he gets all the buffs from the support characters etc.

Magus

Solid caster. Does Psyker things. Give him -1 to getting hit with the Broodcoven stratagem (taking the appropriate WT) so that he may live a bit longer. Our psychic discipline is quite strong so consider taking 2 Maguses or more.

Primus

Doesn't buff our ambushing anymore. Still good for buffing melee units. Though his re-rolling 1s to-wound aura also works in the shooting phase, so he is a bit like a budget Lieutenant.

Jackal Alphus

Big fan of the mini and its rules! Makes our Neopytes and Trucks etc. hit on a 3+ if they are stationary. If you go for the Hivecult you can give this gal the re-roll 1s for shooting WT, as well as using their unique stratagem, making our units within 6" hit on 2s(!) if they remain stationary.

Troops

Neophytes

Essentially guardsmen without orders and a higher density of Special/Heavy Weapons per squad. These guys are our objective campers and screen. They are quite versatile in their loadout. For only 60 points you get ten bald Cultists with 2 GLs and 2 HSs. Plop 'em on an objective in your deploymentzone and take some potshots at enemy infantry. Or switch the Stubbers for Mining Lasers to lend some firesupport against enemy tanks and transports. Need to eradicate a screening unit? Take 20 of these with Shotguns and 2 Flamers and drop them down with the "Lying in wait" stratagem in front of the unfortunate enemy. Bring in a Kellermorph behind them. Open up with the Gunslinger first to get the re-roll 1s buff, then follow up with the Cultists. Will melt screening units.

Go for Rusted Claw with these to have a sweet 3+/4+ armour against AP-/AP-1 weapons when in cover. Makes them hard to shift for their points. If you want to play them as agressive forward-moving units that take boardcontrol you may want to go for the Bladed Cog, thus ignoring the penalty for moving and fireing your heavy weapons. Or go Hivecult to make an actually decent shooty army (see above).

Acolytes

Angry guardsmen on steroids (statwise). Yes, there is the obvious 20 man Handflamer blob that you can throw at your enemy. But most people will probably still take them for their heavy weapons. Ten gribblies, all with HFs, 4 saws and a banner only cost 130 points and will wreck face when they get their charge off. To make their charging odds better run them in an Four Armed Emperor detachment with a Clamavus nearby. When they come in from ambush they only have to roll a 7. To make it even more likely make it a Broodsurge detachment, give the Iconward the Augur of Insurgence WT via Field Commander stratagem and now you can even re-roll that charge (and have access to the +1 to-wound stratagem). Yikes!

Saws for all-purpose killing. Drills to kill tough targets with lots of wounds or invuls. Rock Cutters... because you like the model. Saws are cheaper, have no minus to-hit and do as much dmg on average.

Or take them naked in a blob of 10-20 with a banner. Buff 'em with Twisted Helix or MfB and shove them down your enemy's throat. They have enough attacks to tear most infantry appart and can threaten light vehicles.

Fast Attack

Ridgerunner

Essentially a Scout Sentinel with more wounds. The only good weapon it can take is the HML. The Missile Launcher is simply weaker and the heavy mortar is a bad joke. Take this rad looking buggy with a spotter and HML, park it in the backfield and enjoy ~2 Lascannon shots on average. Swap the spotter for a flare launcher if you want a 6+ FNP and the ability to make your bikes a bit faster.

Atalan Jackals

Neophytes on dirtbikes (and quads)!!! Rusted Claw is your Creed if you take these bad boys. -1 to-hit and the creed makes them a bit tougher against bolter fire and equivalents. Best loadout is probably Demo Charges + Shotguns and the Incinerator on the Quad. Drive them up the field, pop the "More Explosives" and "Drive-by Demolition" stratagems whilst in range of an Alphus and enjoy 5D6 S8 AP-3 D3 dmg shots flying towards the unfortunate foe, hitting (and most likely wounding) on 2s. Afterwards you can drive to safety.

Cheap and good harassing unit. But don't expect them to do wonders. They need to get in range to throw their Demo Charges. Otherwise they are just faster Neophytes with Shotguns.

 Cephalobeard wrote:
You don't really need saws or drills.

Naked Acolytes are so cheap and strong on their own (as Helix) that it's nearly a waste to give them any wargear.

You would be missing out then. Drills are amazing VS. things with invulns and saws are great for dropping armor. Rending claws are solid, but the unit becomes much worse once you start losing guys when they lack upgrades. You also can't ignore 32mm bases. They make life harder for horde assault, not easier, so again you want max damage from the smallest footprint. You also get more out of your stratagems since your only perfect ambushing one unit a turn.

I feel we really lack in the anti air department, how do you guys handle flyers? (Especially the ig mass Bolter one)

Gremmer wrote:
I feel we really lack in the anti air department, how do you guys handle flyers? (Especially the ig mass Bolter one)

I take a bastion with quad autocannons to deal with flyers. Works well so far.

 BlackLobster wrote:

Gremmer wrote:
I feel we really lack in the anti air department, how do you guys handle flyers? (Especially the ig mass Bolter one)

I take a bastion with quad autocannons to deal with flyers. Works well so far.

That or detachment. Otherwise GSC doesn't have any anti-air.

Gremmer wrote:
I feel we really lack in the anti air department, how do you guys handle flyers? (Especially the ig mass Bolter one)

One hilariously stupid way to hunt flyers is the hand flamer blob. 20 acolytes = 70 autohits = ~12 wounds = 6 through the save. Enough to bracket a flyer. If you spend 5 command points for both Lying In Wait and Perfect Ambush you get to down a flyer with hand flamers :-D

Seriously, we need allies to take down flyers reliably.

Well I have been toying around with idea of adding AM detachment of either Veterans or Tempestus (which I found shocking that you can do that) and some other stuff.

BS 3+ shooting with host of special weapons is just alluring idea for some reason.

Sotahullu wrote:
Well I have been toying around with idea of adding AM detachment of either Veterans or Tempestus (which I found shocking that you can do that) and some other stuff.

BS 3+ shooting with host of special weapons is just alluring idea for some reason.

I was thinking the exact same thing!

I think Tempetus Scions might synergise a bit better since they can deep strike. A 5 man squad with 2x Plasma Gun and a Plasma Pistol comes in at 74 points. Cheap plasma death for an army that is missing it!

 OEMoose wrote:

Sotahullu wrote:
Well I have been toying around with idea of adding AM detachment of either Veterans or Tempestus (which I found shocking that you can do that) and some other stuff.

BS 3+ shooting with host of special weapons is just alluring idea for some reason.

I was thinking the exact same thing!

I think Tempetus Scions might synergise a bit better since they can deep strike. A 5 man squad with 2x Plasma Gun and a Plasma Pistol comes in at 74 points. Cheap plasma death for an army that is missing it!

Nothing better then some molten slags of space marines.

I dunno, i mean tempestus aren’t very good in AM either. I would rather ally in some big guns via Tank Commanders of Basilisks

Gordoape wrote:
I dunno, i mean tempestus aren’t very good in AM either. I would rather ally in some big guns via Tank Commanders of Basilisks

Sure, but for GSC they do plug a hole by providing cheap plasma at BS 3+ AND have deep strike synergy.

I have little doubt that the meta will favor allying with AM for the tanks, but I don't see Scions being a BAD choice. Just a non optimal one. And that's fine!

Yeah totally, plus it does have the synergistic fit of being another mobile deep-striking infantry force.

How have I not thought of that? Scions will work SO MUCH BETTER with GSC. The only problem with Scions is they can't get through screens and die after they drop. But the GSC advance on the enemy. With lots of Infantry that want to get into CC. If you overload your opponent with deep striking infantry, they'll have to choose between the shooty scions or the punchy GSC units. I am excited to try this out.

C4790M wrote:
Purestrains are still really good, they just aren’t autotakes. I’m going to be reserving some points to let me use telepathic summons which brings out 15 stealers on average.

The problem with purestrains is if you're going to take them tyranid genestealers are better in every way. I'm not normally one to take soup, but it's such a huge difference it's pretty crazy not to take a nid detachment instead of you want genestelers.

 Colonel Cross wrote:
How have I not thought of that? Scions will work SO MUCH BETTER with GSC. The only problem with Scions is they can't get through screens and die after they drop. But the GSC advance on the enemy. With lots of Infantry that want to get into CC. If you overload your opponent with deep striking infantry, they'll have to choose between the shooty scions or the punchy GSC units. I am excited to try this out.

Pretty cheap way to fill out a battalion detachment too! Nothing in the GSC list is too expensive, leaving you plenty of points for you allies.

You could do something like:

HQ:
Tank Commander (tasty tasty BS 3+ tank action)
Tempestor Prime

Troops:
3x 5 Man Scion squads with your choice of special weapons

That seems like it would plug a lot of holes in your GSC list. You have a tough armor platform and a good saturation of special weapons all at BS 3+.

Juicy

The best part? I own all of that stuff already.

 Colonel Cross wrote:
The best part? I own all of that stuff already.

Score!

I'm just coming back to 40k and am restarting my collection lol. I was planning on starting with Blood Angels, but this GSC Codex has me super excited to embrace my Xenos overlords.

I think there is some really good synergies with the Pauper Princes. Specifically, look at their cult relic "Reliquary of the Saint Tenndarc." It isn't bound to any specific piece of weapon, so any character can take it. It gives you a 6" bubble of Pauper Prince auto morale. It works like a Space Marine banner, when you lose a model, on a 4+ you get 1 attack in melee or you get to shoot a weapon.

So you use this in conjunction with the stratagem "Cult Reinforcements" (return up to d6 slain models to a Troop unit). Using a group of Neophytes, take both Grenade Launchers and Mining Lasers as casualties first, on a 4+ you get to fire them in the enemies shooting phase. Then you use Cult Reinforcements to repopulate them back into the unit at the beginning of your movement phase.

This gets even crazier if you use it with a group of Acolytes using Demolition charges. You throw the charges, let the models get killed, then bring them back (with the charges) for another round of bomb chucking. You don't need to be Pauper Prince for that bit of in-game tech.

I don't have the codex yet but does that relic work for only cult models or also BB? Imagine having that character in the middle of 20 man units of BB or Neophytes and they all get the shoot on a 4+. Not bad when you'll be picking them up by the handful.

 Colonel Cross wrote:
I don't have the codex yet but does that relic work for only cult models or also BB? Imagine having that character in the middle of 20 man units of BB or Neophytes and they all get the shoot on a 4+. Not bad when you'll be picking them up by the handful.

The banner only works on Pauper Prince cult units, so no BBs. But you could give it to a warlord, who has the trait to increase auras by 3” (Alien Majesty,) so you would have an 18” diameter bubble of being able to shoot back in the opponents turn.