It’s no surprise that the heart of a Genestealer Cult is the many-limbed purestrain Genestealers– in many ways the poster child of the fearsome Tyranids, especially for veteran Warhammer 40k players. As smart as humans, but with an utterly alien outlook, they infiltrate the Hive Worlds of humanity, looking to foment discord by creating webs of cults. Agile Guerillas- As swift as the desert wind Rusted Claw, counting as Remaining Stationary for Shooting even after Moving or Advancing. Great for an army looking to leverage mobile arms, set up Crossfire or just have more maneuverability. Cannot be taken with Martial below.

First turn of combat’ means any rules that trigger when you Charge, are Charged, or Heroically Intervene. Finally, the fourth generation arrive – smooth, hairless creatures who appear almost entirely human and can meld invisibly with the populace, but who still contain alien genetic structures and a dominated will. The offspring of these almost-humans revert to being purestrain Genestealers, and so the cycle begins again.Fanatical Devotion- For a CP, a CORE unit can Heroically Intervene 6”, but only against one enemy unit that is within Engagement Range of a PATRIARCH , MAGUS , or PRIMUS , and only if they don’t get in Engagement Range of any other enemy units when they finish the move. There’s obviously a number of restrictions here, and whilst it can be useful to add in a big unit of ACOLYTES into a melee, oftentimes you won’t find yourself able to use this much, precisely due to the limitations. Good to have, but not something that will see much use outside of niche scenarios. Infiltrate’ or something on those lines means the unit can be deployed anywhere on the table over 9” away from enemy models and the enemy deployment zone, instead of deploying normally.

The first generation offspring of the Genestealer is always a terrifying sight: engorged craniums, too many limbs, and mauve skin make them unrecognisable as even half-human progeny. The second generation maintains an extra arm, but the march towards passing as human has begun. The third generation is more humanoid than those before, though still alien in appearance.Psychic Stimulus* (WC 6) (B)- A friendly visible unit within 18” can Shoot and Charge even if they Advanced, and ignores the penalty for Assault Weapons when doing so. A powerful, if somewhat risky Power, as you’ll need to commit to Advancing before you know whether you’ll get this off. Do so, and you can set yourself up for some nasty punch. Fail, and you could be out of position and wasting a turn. Better make sure you have a reroll handy…

The new Genestealer Cults Combat Patrol box contains a decent number of minis, but what kind of value is inside the box? When it comes to the actual units, there are several standouts. The Genestealer Patriarch is an obvious inclusion for many, given that it really is the father of your cult. The Patriarch is swift, deadly, and even comes with two psychic powers. For a true, thoroughbred psyker you may want to look at the Genestealer Magus, a pure psyker character that also comes with an aura letting nearby units ignore mortal wounds inflicted by psychic abilities on a 5+ roll. Underground, however, is where things get really interesting for the Genestealer Cults. This ability lets your unit be set up anywhere as long as it’s more than eight inches away from an enemy model, or outside of six inches, at the cost of being unable to charge that turn. This lets your army tunnel under the battlefield, popping up where they’re least expected – and least wanted. Patriarch [7 PL, 135pts]: Mark of the Clawed Omnissiah, Power: Mass Hypnosis, Power: Mind Control, Warlord, Warlord Trait: Alien MajestyChaos Daemons have – appropriately, given the arrival of Angron – manifested as a huffing and slavering crash of Khornate nightmares. 10 Bloodletters and 10 Flesh Hounds are led by Khorne’s favourite hunter – Karanak, the Hound of Vengeance. In the cramped confines of a space hulk, these frenzied killers will close the distance between enemy guns with warp-flushed speed and savagery. In addition, they don’t stop you from using Crossfire (again, see Special Rules), provided you have 25% or less of your total Points as Brood Brothers. Broodcoven- A PATRIARCH must be the WARLORD if it’s in your Army, otherwise it must be a PRIMUS or MAGUS. In addition, only HQ CHARACTERS can have Warlord Traits. A fluffy enough rule, and you’d probably want one of those as the Warlord anyways. No Traits on the Elite Characters is a bit of a blow, reducing some combo and power potential, but it’s not the end of the world. If your Detachment is Battle-Forged (which will be most armies) and only has GENESTEALER CULTS units in it.

It’s only in the final moments, when those so-called Star Children arrive around an infested world, that the Broodmind link is dropped. In that moment, the hapless cultists see their Star Children for what they truly are: an invading Tyranid force who only see humanity as genetic material to be consumed and digested – cultist or no. Mind Control* (WC 6) (M)- A visible enemy unit within 18” is -1 to Hit, and if the Psychic Test was equal or greater than their Ld, they are also -1 to Ld and Combat Attrition. The second part is generally neither here nor there, and shouldn’t be aimed for, rather consider it a useful bonus should it arise, the main selling point is an on tap minus to both Ranged and Melee, ideal for neutering a key unit in your foe’s army.

Genestealers

Deep Supplies- Reroll a Wound roll each time they Shoot or Fight, much like Bladed Cog. Reliable and will add up over the course of the game, be sure to prioritize heavier weapons so as not to inadvertently waste the reroll. There are several abilities which reflect the Genestealer Cults’ propensity to strike from unexpected directions. Conceal allows units to be set up in Ambush instead of on the battlefield during deployment. Ambush lets you place an ambush marker in your deployment zone instead of placing the actual unit – to be revealed later on (during your Command phase if you go first, or at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase if you go second). In addition, most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of targeted advertising. If you would like to find out more information, please visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/or http://www.youronlinechoices.com. The only problem? Everyone else wants in on the action, and now the whole galaxy is boarding the Arks of Omen in search of glory, treasure, or just a big punch-up. In fact, four more Boarding Patrol boxes are preparing for launch in the near future – and only one of them might be said to have the Emperor’s best interests at heart… If you need the models then it does save you a decent amount of cash and will get you a lot of minis for fairly cheap.