Gene Cult as a Proxy Faction

[CoffeeGrunt]

Good evening my fellow adherents of the God-Emperor, how about them filthy Xenos, eh? Can't stand 'em myself!

 

*Cough, cough.*

 

Anyway, I was reading the shiny, new Genestealer Cult book, and my friends and I down the local were discussing how, much like our own Codex:AM, it's a rulebook rife for some excellent, fluffy Counts-As. Given their core mechanics of ambushing, slinking into the shadows and sabotage, they're a pretty, darn cool faction, IMO. Here's some examples of factions I think would be great counts-as:

 

- Tanith First and Only. Sneaky, popping up to throw Demo Charges up your bum, popping up behind tanks to whack them with a det pack then slink away as the enemy rallies to fight you. Leave them in confusion, constantly. Heavy weapons pound them from the off, then disappear only to reappear behind them, or on the flank.

 

- Catachan. Play a board with plenty of jungle, and get yourself some Vietnam-era APCs. Play them as having plenty of Goliath Rockgrinders with the Heavy Incincerator - a Torrent Heavy Flamer. Now you're engaging in the grittiest jungle warfare. Squads appear from the undergrowth to blitz the enemy with flamer and autogun, your APCs advancing, seeming vulnerable until the enemy finds themselves stumbling into a trap set by some Catachan Devils with a whole lot of dakka. Add CC units with big bowie knives and the odd Det Pack trap for flavour.

 

- Tallarn. Similar to the above, but deserty. 

 

- Hive Gangers/Proletariat soldiers - they also really suit a scrappy underdog. Perhaps a woefully-equipped PDF, perhaps a Skitarii conscript legion of menials thrown to the wolves to defend their masters? The actual models with a few headswaps would suffice for this.

 

Just throwing this out there. Anyone else read the dirty, sneaky playstyle of the Gene Cult and thought, "oh boy I want me some of that?!"

[Centurio]

Report to your regimental commissar for supplemental education on the genestealer cult codex.

[CoffeeGrunt]

http://i.imgur.com/0wZnXWA.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/lX3qXaS.png

[WarriorFish]

You're mistaken Coffee, there's no comma so he's clearly a member of the Dark Angels Black Legion. Probably a formation related to the Black Knights or something but as we know the Dark Angels are completely loyal.

 

Discussion of xenos is forbidden on the B&C, so let's make sure to keep this focused on the Guard and how they may fit rather than the GSC. That said I know little of the GSC rules and there probably isn't much more to say but with the limitations on units means you'd be making a pretty niche Guard force as you wouldn't be able to use the more xenos elements. You'd probably be better off working with a proper Guard codex?

[Canadian_F_H]

Except the proper guard codex doesn't remotely adequately allow for a sapper infiltrator, saboteur, insurgency, guerrilla etc type army.

 

It used to... back in 3rd when you could take a guerrilla fighter doctrine whose name I forgot that in today's equivelent terms gave your entire army, scout, infiltrate, cammo cloaks, and we're prohibited from bringing tanks and carapace armour. You can sort of do this by just bringing nothing but cammo vets with some units with demo charges, but if I remember correctly they still don't have scout or infiltrate...

 

PS. The few games I played with my meager IG army back then I infact ran a force of a ccs, and 2 min sized platoons all infiltrating. It annoyed a few people at least when in such a small game I had so many bodies in cover ready to fire them up first turn.

[WarriorFish]

Yes, that's what I meant by niche and nor did I say the Guard codex could do these things. For what will mostly be a one trick pony it could be fun for a few games but after that you'd probably start hitting some walls.

[Canadian_F_H]

Absolutely. I see it as a guard suppliment in that sence. Build a guard army but pull a few models out and run a GSC list every now and then...

 

Personally it could be handy as a rule template for fluff games.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Here's what the Codex gives you:

 

- Allies of Convenience with Codex:AM, for gap-filling,

- Army-wide Infiltrate on non-vehicles,

- Army-wide rule allowing any unit that deploys to deploy via Ambush. This allows you to roll a dice for each unit deployed in this manner, allowing you to:

 

1 - Come on from your board edge,

2 - Outflank,

3 - Set up 9/6" away, based on whether an enemy unit has LoS or not,

4 - Set up 6" away, visible or not,

5 - As above, with a free Shooting Attack in your movement phase, with Pinning, that allows you to then shoot again in your Shooting Phase,

6 - May set up 3" away and charge in that turn,

 

- Army-wide rule combo-ing with that which allows you to remove any unit more than 6" away from an enemy unit from the table, and place them in Ongoing Reserves, to be redeployed via the above rule.

- Has Sentinels, Russes, Guardsman Squads and Chimeras, pretty much the same as our's. (No Punisher or Executioner,)

- Cheap units analogous to Guardsmen,

 

In essence it seems pretty perfect for representing a lot of factions that, IMO, Codex: AM just doesn't do very well. Infiltrating and Saboteur armies just don't work in AM, as everything's nailed to the Cadian way of fighting. Was throwing this out as an idea for a really fun and fluffy foundation for other army lists.

[WarriorFish]

Those infiltrating rules are pretty crazy! There's a lot the current Guard codex doesn't do, but that's not news by a long shot sadly :P I'm still holding out hope for a substantial traits system but we'll see. The Guard options available would lend to the theme too, Sentinels in particular.

 

Without the hard hitting nid elements you'd be looking at an army focuses heavily on alpha strike it looks, as once you're that close it's usually not good for Guard so you'll need to hit as hard as you can quickly. With things altering deployment and reserves common enough now it feels like it's too easy for an opponent to negate these advantages, so I'm not convinced as to effectiveness yet.

[CoffeeGrunt]

It depends. The two generic leaders are a potent Psyker and a pretty decent militant leader. I could see this definitely being a hit first and hit hard playstyle though, but I think it'd be a fun one for the right force. I just love the idea of some Black Legion guys getting drawn into a jungle, and everywhere they turn there's a squad of Catachan raining fire on them before slinking into the undergrowth.

 

One of the formations allows you to return D6 models to a squad when you redeploy via the Cult Ambush rule btw. 

 

I'm considering using this as the basis for my Chem Dogs now, as it nails the "scrappy, untrained humies with improvised weaponry" feel I wanted. Think Red Faction: Guerrilla.

[Inso]

Just looking at those rules and thinking along the lines of my own counts as army (Squats based on Astra Militarum), the ambush rules could be very characterful for Squat miners... emerging from tunnels, carrying out guerilla tactics and disappearing back into the tunnels again.

 

If you put together a relatively small detachment of them (maybe just troops, a couple of platoons) you have a Recon detachment that would work very nicely. The whole point of them would be to cause chaos in the enemy lines, possibly die horribly but in the meantime the rest of the army is in a position to exploit the weakness of the enemy lines.

 

With the miniatures being pretty cool as well (replace the heads and they could be straight out of Dune), there is merit in using the GSC rules/miniatures but for purely Imperial reasons.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Oooh, that's a pragmatic idea actually! I like the idea of a small recon force attached to the main force. The thing I always missed in Guard was the lack of deployment flexibility.

 

Also, a lot of squads in this 'dex get access to Demolitions Charges, same as the Guard get. They're nasty!

[Canadian_F_H]

The whole Aoc thing isn't so bad either. Not all armies get along. The idea of a fringe imperial group not letting mainstream imperial ICs join their units isn't unfeasible at all...

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

You could easily do an infiltration army. Take master of ambush from the BRB strategic warlord traits. Warlord and 3 non vehicle units gain infiltrate. Use that to infiltrate some camo demo melta vets, or some stormies to wreck your opponent's day.

[Akrim]

Lmao @ Coffeegrunt

 

Ill try to stay on the acceptable line here, I started a GSC when the Deathwatch Overkill set came out. Very powerful rules set with their uber infiltration and removing/reinforcing units. Its reminicent of the old days of the Catachan codex (though that was a more static mechanic)... it would be awesome if they did a new codex in a similar fashion.

[Centurio]

Ravenwing Black Legion

[CoffeeGrunt]

You could easily do an infiltration army. Take master of ambush from the BRB strategic warlord traits. Warlord and 3 non vehicle units gain infiltrate. Use that to infiltrate some camo demo melta vets, or some stormies to wreck your opponent's day.

 

Except you don't "take" Warlord Traits, most places go by the BRB, where you roll for them. :/

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

You could easily do an infiltration army. Take master of ambush from the BRB strategic warlord traits. Warlord and 3 non vehicle units gain infiltrate. Use that to infiltrate some camo demo melta vets, or some stormies to wreck your opponent's day.

Except you don't "take" Warlord Traits, most places go by the BRB, where you roll for them. :/

Granted. I suppose I should have elaborated. Some Characters can choose warlord traits (I've been digging around in Solar Auxilia too much , also my group has house rules that let you choose warlord traits, my apologies).