The Locus is generally the second most useful Cult Agent after the Kelermorph. His first two abilities are what make him truly powerful as he can reliably incapacitate two enemy operatives in an activation, and minimize the damage he receives in return. The Locus’ primary weakness is the same one he shares with the Kelermorph in that he is often left exposed once he does make his move against the enemy, and requires support from neophytes or cover to ensure he survives. This is pretty much the conflict outlined in Deathwatch: Overkill and leads to Cassius’ personal crusade to wipe out the cult forces. It also marks the notion that rooting out and eliminating Genestealer Cults is a primary function of the Deathwatch, and they’ll be pitted against GSC on a regular basis in the lore. Final Thoughts and Notes If your kill team does not include any other LEADER operatives, instead of selecting one NEOPHYTE HYBRID TROOPER operative for one NEOPHYTE HYBRID fire team, you can select one NEOPHYTE HYBRID LEADER operative equipped with one of the following options: The Wyrmblade Kill Team has the Infiltration and Seek and Destroy archetypes for the purposes of determining which Tac Ops it can use from the Core Book. It also has access to the following Faction Tac Ops: Nowhere Unreachable

Adeptus Mechanicus and 10 Genestealer Cults datacards for reference during your games, with 10 blank datacards supplied for building your own custom kill teams. The Sanctus Talon also has the Creeping Shadow ability that lets it Charge while Concealed, and then Dash away each time it has fought in combat. At first glance an Indirect weapon that hits with the power a Mining Laser, but unfortunately is rendered near useless by the Unwieldy trait. F Heavy Weapon Bipod [2 EP] Ultimately the Sanctus Sniper is going to be ideal for taking out enemy leaders and other heavier targets, and makes a nice little 1-2 punch with the Kelermorph if you need to take on something big. Sanctus Talon

Note: this list was written for 8th edition and uses 8th edition points costs. We will update it shortly.

The Wyrmblade are the special forces of the Genestealer Cults, a mutant uprising on Imperial Worlds infected by Tyranid Genestealers for the purpose of making their world ripe for a Tyranid invasion. They look like humans (mostly), but they live with various stages of hybrid mutation and sneak around in the shadows to sabotage Imperial industry and incite unrest and riots. Dressed in civilian equipment, they blend into society until they strike, at which point they reveal terrifying claws, long tongues and mutant appendages armed with knives and firearms. The Kill Team Starter Set includes two Kill Teams and all the accessories you will need to run them: the Adeptus Mechanicus, made up of Skitarii warriors dedicated to the machine god, and the Genestealer Cults, Imperial citizens who have given over to an alien lifeform and worship them, along with baring the benefits of its mutation.Melee – Wyrmblade teams had to give something up from regular Genestealer Cult teams and what they gave up was mostly melee prowess, losing the ability to take metamorph hybrids. The Sanctus Talon is the best of your melee options, and you’re limited to one of those. This is a standard frag grenade with a circle/1 inch Blast radius like the ones carried by Imperial forces. Blasting Charge If running up and gunning someone down with pistols isn’t your thing, the Sanctus Sniper is your long ranged shooting option. The Sanctus Sniper comes with a sniper rifle that does four shots, which hit on a 2+ for 3/3 damage with the SIlent and Heavy rules, plus it does 3 mortal wounds on a critical hit. That’s pretty solid, and lets you stay in conceal the entire game if you need. You might find it odd then that the Sanctus Sniper comes with 3 APL since it’s only going to dash and shoot most turning points, but the Sanctus Sniper also has two unique actions it can perform with that extra AP: Two abilities define Wyrmblade kill teams: Cult Ambush, which every operative has, and Preternatural Assassin, which you’ll find on the CULT AGENTS. Cult Ambush

Heroes – Wyrmblades have 4 hero options (count as two operatives) and can select two for the team. These bring more durability and damage to the table, as well as higher APL. They give what’s otherwise a horde team an elite edge. This grants a 4+ invulnerable save with the added ability to either retain an additional success or upgrade a normal success to a critical success in cover when rolling saves. This means your CULT AGENTs can be exceptionally resistant to damage if they manage to stay in cover. In addition, it prevents them from taking equipment. Operatives The Kelermorph isn’t just a lone operator, however: It also has the Heroic Inspiration rule, which boosts all nearby Wyrmblade Neophyte operatives each time the Kelermorph incapacitates an enemy operative, giving visible operatives within ■ the ability to retain a single hit roll of 5+ as a critical hit whenever they shoot or fight. This pairs well with shotgun Neophytes.

The Generation Game

Bringing two Cult Agents means you can only bring 6 additional Neophytes, but those could be 2 Gunners, 2 Heavy Gunners, an Icon Bearer and one Brood-Adept, unless you want the Group Activation 2 of the Brood-Adepts so you can swarm the enemy. If you’re going for a horde of Brood-Adepts, the Kelermorph is the optimal Cult Agent to bring alongside them, since he can buff them.

Although the Genestealer Cults received a big upgrade to their kill team prospects through the White Dwarf update for Wyrmblade Kill Teams, their Compendium team – the Broodcoven – weren’t actually replaced. Indeed, players can still run Broodcoven teams if they want to give up many of the benefits of the newer team in favor of stronger melee prowess. Broodcoven Kill Teams

What’s Next

Harlequins remain at or near the top of the meta by all estimations and Genestealer Cults are one of the few armies that can match them blow for blow on scoring, while having the speed and output to catch boats. Mirror Architect’s return means that the central castle can be a little harder to assault but anything on the edges dies much faster, and it already died fast.