I actually fought the below battle some months ago, soon after another batrep I posted. Shameless plug here for a couple of other reports I have posted, in the same style as below:
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/787511.page
Last Stand at Vetala Redoubt - Recreation of Last Stand at Glazer's Creek, this time with Tyranids instead of Orks.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/797066.page
2,000 point battle between Tyranids and Imperial Guard
All these batreps take place on the planet of Cabeiri IV, where the Imperium are trying to fight off a Tyranid invasion. For the below I decided that the Imperium don't have enough to worry about with the Tyranids, a Genestealer Cult on the planet has also decided to strike to help their masters.
I actually forgot to post this some months ago, so am doing it now. I'm conscious as well that the new
GSC codex is imminent so figured I might as well post this now, while both armies still have their 8th edition codices.
Cabeiri IV
Following on from my previous battle report of Tyranids vs Imperial Guard I decided it was time for the Imperium to take on the insidious Genestealer Cult, which had made its presence known on the planet of Cabeiri IV once the Tyranid invasion had begun. As if the beleaguered defenders didn’t have enough to deal with already. At least it was less of a mystery now as to how the Tyranids had managed to find the planet.
In this report Inquisitor Abed is taking some of his force to an area of reported Genestealer Cult activity. The presence of the Patriarch for this particular Cult was still unknown, though by engaging the enemy forces Abed was hopeful he could find some evidence of where he might find their leader.
This report is 1,000 points a side. The mission is Divide & Conquer. Since all 4 objectives are placed outside of either deployment zone this promised to be a bloody fight.
The Imperium force:
1 Battalion Detachment – 6
CP
Astra Militarum Catachans
Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Abed – Digital Weapons, Force Sword, Needle Pistol, Psyker, Warlord.
2 x Company Commanders, both with a plasma pistol and a powerfist
5 x Infantry Squads, all with 1 bolter and 1 plasma gun
1 Militarum Tempestus squad, with 2 plasma guns
2 x Veteran Squads, shotguns and 3 meltaguns in each squad
Both squads are in Chimeras.
1 Hellhound
The Genestealer Cult force:
1 Batallion Detachment – 6
CP
Cult of the Four-Armed Emperor
1 Abominant
1 Magus
1 Primus
2 x 6 Acolytes, a heavy rock saw in each squad
1 x 7 Acolytes, a heavy rock saw in the squad
2 x 12 Neophytes, 1 mining laser and 1 grenade launcher in each squad
5 Aberrants, 2 Hammers and 3 Picks
2 x 6 Purestrain Genestealers
Turn 1
The Genestealer Cult took the first turn and immediately plodded forwards, taking the objective near their deployment zone and positioning themselves to get closer to the Imperial Guard, while at the same time trying to hug at least some cover. One of the units of Genestealers came out of reserves on the objective on their left flank. This left the Genestealers a bit exposed but if they could survive the Imperial Guard turn this would gain some vital Victory Points for their side.
The Genestealer Cult shooting phase was relatively uneventful, killing a grand total of 1 Guardsman.
The Guard repositioned in their turn, while at the same time advancing, knowing that if they wanted a chance of winning the game they would at least have to contest the middle of the board.
The Guard shooting phase was a bit more effective than the Genestealer Cult’s, killing 6 models. The Genestealers on one of the middle objectives lost two models, but the remaining four stood firm, claiming the objective.
Turn 1 ended without much fuss. However both armies were now practically breathing down each other’s neck, so future turns promised to produce much bloodshed.
At the end of Turn 1 the Victory Point total was 0 each. In the Divide & Conquer mission objectives don’t start counting until Turn 2. The Genestealer Cult was well positioned to take an early lead though.
Turn 2
The Genestealer Cult shuffled closer to the Imperial Guard. Their shooting phase again was relatively underwhelming, but the real imminent danger for the enemy was close combat.
The Genestealers charged the Infantry Squad in front of the Hellhound and made short work of it by the end of the Imperial Guard’s turn. The Aberrants and Abominant managed to pull off a charge on another Infantry Squad. They gleefully chewed through it in their turn, though in the Imperial Guard turn, 2 Company Commanders, Inquisitor Abed and a Veteran Squad charged in. This combined might managed to make short work of both the Aberrant squad and the Abominant. Looks like giving both company Commanders power firsts certainly paid off.
By the end of Turn 2 the Genestealer Cult certainly had some threats left, including 2 small Genestealer squads which were essentially free to charge whatever they wanted. However the Imperial Guard were starting to bring their numbers to bear, the loss of the Aberrants was perhaps a blow the Genestealer Cult wouldn’t recover from either.
At the end of Turn 2 the Genestealer Cult had 15 Victory Points to the Imperial Guard’s 5. Time would tell if the Imperial Guard could somehow close that gap in the remaining turns.
Turn 3
The largely intact Neophyte squad decided that the objective on their left flank was worth securing, so consolidated on it and opened fire on what was left of the Militarum Tempestus squad, killing all but one plasma gunner. The two man squad of Acolytes tried to charge the remaining man to finish him off, but he promptly fried them both in overwatch.
The Genestealers continued to munch their way through Infantry Squads. However it was clear that the Imperium had overwhelming forces on their side and managed to kill the Genestealers on the Genestealer Cult’s left flank, thanks to a timely charge from the Inquisitor and a Company Commander. On the right flank the Genestealers did moderately better, though by the end of the Guard Turn 3 there were only 3 Genestealers left facing a Company Commander and a relatively intact Veterans squad.
By the end of Turn 3 it was clear that the Imperial Guard were winning the numbers game. Only 9 Infantry Guardsmen were still standing (from a starting point of five 10 man squads) but the rest of the Guard army was still intact. The Genestealer Cult could still theoretically pull off a draw or even a win, though they would need to be careful not to get themselves tabled in the next two turns.
At the end of Turn 3 the Imperial Guard had 15 Victory Points to the Genestealer Cult’s 25.
Turn 4
What was left of the Neophytes, along with the Primus and the Magus, headed to the left in an attempt to shore up the objective. The Imperial Guard advanced anyway, killing one squad in close combat, cremating the Primus with the Hellhound and leaving nothing but the wounded Magus and one Neophyte to try to contest the objective. By the end of Turn 4 the Genestealer Cult had 2 models in range of the objective to the Guard’s 3, allowing the Guard some vital Victory Points.
On the Genestealer Cult’s right flank the Genestealers took out a few more Veterans but were eventually overwhelmed themselves.
Other than that all that was left was a 6 man Acolyte squad on the Cult’s backfield objective. The Guard managed to take out 3 of them, leaving 3 to contest the objective. The remaining Acolytes would have to think hard about what they would do to survive Turn 5.
By the end of Turn 4 the Victory Points were 25 to the Imperial Guard and 35 to the Genestealer Cult. As things stood the best the Guard could hope for at this point was a draw, unless they would be able to table their opponent. With only 5 models left on the Cult side this might not be such a hard feat to accomplish.
Turn 5
The remaining 3 Acolytes bravely decided to run as fast as they could behind a building, putting themselves out of line of sight of most of the Guard army, the few Guard models that could see them were out of range.
Predictably the wounded Magus and remaining Neophyte fell to the blows of the Guard, giving the battlefield squarely to the Imperial Guard.
However by the end of the game the Genestealer Cult had 40 Victory Points, as did the Guard. The Imperial Guard had clearly won the numbers game, but the Genestealer Cult had done enough earlier in the game capturing objectives, getting a draw overall.
Inquisitor Abed was not a happy man. He had committed a sizeable force to this engagement, with the purpose of finding some clues as to where the Genestealer Patriarch was located. By the end of it he had lost many of his best soldiers, and was still none the wiser as to where the Patriarch was.
The Genestealer Cult of course had lost many of its valuable troops too, Abed took solace in the fact that it would take time for them to regroup and recover their losses. All he could do was be thankful that his side’s losses hadn’t been greater and try again another day.
Summary
So there you have it. The Genestealer Cult pushed forward aggressively at the beginning, taking a lead in Victory Points and ensuring a draw at the end of the game, even though they only had 3 models left by the end. Of course if I had used Secondary Objectives things would have been very different, but I made a conscious decision at the start of the game to only use Primary Objectives.
The loss of the Abominant and Aberrant early on was a big blow for the Cult, one that they didn’t really recover from. Just goes to show that opponents shouldn’t underestimate the Guard characters, especially ones wielding power fists.
I think the Guard army was a bit unwieldy, too many Infantry Squads and not enough elite options to try to control the board better. The 2 Chimeras and 1 Hellhound especially didn’t do a great deal, the Infantry Squads kept getting in the way. The large amount of terrain was also a benefit for the Genestealer Cult army.
