Cult of the Queen of Blades - Starcraft themed GSC/Tyranids

[Marshal van Trapp]

Hello fellow hive mind, MvT here with my latest project. With the release of the new Codex Genestealer Cults I decided to finally get around to building and eventually painting my Zerg themed army. So far I have a single painted model (my tyranid zerg test scheme) and a bunch of modeling ahead of me! This will be a Plog of sorts to show off my fancy new models and (hopefully) some cool conversions I'm working on! Without further ado I present my army!

 

First up a group shot of my GSC Characters!

 

Next, my first official conversion, Alexi Stukov, infested primus of the Cult of the Queen of Blades:

Converted this bad boy out of the commisar from my start collecting AM box, a warrior rending claw (just looked fitting) and adrenal gland, and I grabbed some weird pistol of a skitarii ranger sprue and cut the boxy bit off the top for his "needle pistol" Overall I think it works and once painted will bring my version of Alexi Stukov to life on the tabletop!

 

Finally I have my test scheme model

It's a gaunt but the principles of the scheme will be carried over to my GSC (purple skin, brown chitin, grey claws, yellow eyes)

 

C&C welcome, and further modeling pictures to come (once I finish building them heh)

[Marshal van Trapp]

Had my first official game against an imperial soup Ultramarines player. Took a detachment of Tyranids just to fill out my points. Honestly had a lot of fun but ended up losing. Some things to note for my next game:

 

We were playing ITC rules and I picked old school (basic secondaries from old missions), recon (one unit in each quadrant), and linebreaker as my secondary objectives. This was a mistake as it MADE me have to go to him, which honestly I dont think GSC is great at doing.

 

90% of my nids died turn 1 to his weight of fire and as he liked to put it he runs an "anti horde" list.

 

After all my units dropped in turn 2 they did a lot of damage, but because everything was is his side of the board he shot everything and it ended up costing me.

 

If I had picked easier objectives and just sat on the primary objectives I could have forced him to come to me which would have put all his models out of formation.

 

Overall it is spurring me on to try out some new stuff and I want to get better with my new army. Hopefully I can get some more games behind me and figure everything out for good

[Marshal van Trapp]

Finally finished up the preliminary fluff for my cult for your reading pleasure. Part one is through the eyes (or specifically the investigation report) of an ordo xenos inquisitor who was dispatched to investigate the Planet Hephestus IV (the planet my Black Templar army purged of xenos in their fluff) and the cults' activities there:

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, entry 1-26+++

 

Upon arriving in the Hephaestus system, it was made evident the broad reach of my investigation had drawn me to an important milestone in understanding the threat that the xenos lifeforms know as Tyranids posed to the Imperium of man. One standard cycle ago the hiveworld know as Hephaestus IV was assaulted from within by a deranged cult known as a Genestealer Cult. A parasitic vanguard organism infiltrated the world and sowed the seeds of rebellion amongst its population. By the time any Imperial forces made planet fall, there were no remaining loyal servants of the Emperor. As dictated by Imperial law, after the rebellion and subsequent invasion was quelled by the Adeptus Astartes of the Black Templars, led by Marshal Vann Trapp, the planet was deemed exterminatus and all the xenos filth was purged from the system.

 

I arrived upon the surface of the hive world Hephaestus IV to discover a world desolate and devoid of any form of life. My investigation into the archives of the world however proved quite fruitful, for in their record i found research concerning a device to repel warp influence. This device, though experimental in origin, seems to be able to replicate the strange phenomenon that comes with tyranid invasions known as the so called Shadow in the Warp with blocks astropathic communications and disrupts psykers and their ability to manifest their psychic abilities. It is my belief that this device, which the engineers had named the Psionic Disruptor, was capable of generating a false warp shadow, and had in fact lured the tyranid vanguard organisms to this location, thus dooming their world.

These archives are massive and it will take some time to sort through them all but in time i may be able to find use in these records for our own benefit.

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

 

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, entry 8-31+++

 

I have made yet another discovery concerning the Hephestus system, a dark, perverse discovery that a dare say is grand heresy almost akin to the great Heresy. In the archives of Hephestus IV, I have discovered a turning point in research concerning the Psionic Disruptor. This change most likely concerns the arrival and subsequent invasion of the populace by the so called Genestealer Curse. It would appear that the device was not simply capable of generating a shadow in the warp, but of creating a connection to the greater tyranid hive mind. The insidious organisms that infiltrated the populace were able it use the device as a beacon to direct the hive fleet to their very location. But after the total take-over of the populace at large, their research turned more toward the tyranid bioforms.

One specific entry is particularly concerning and i have transcribed it below:

Test subject: 34

Status: Stable

Subject’s anatomy appears to be accepting the experimental splice. The host organism has ceased any attempts to remove the subject and it appears subject 34 not only has total control of the host organism, but is capable of utilizing the host organism as a means of growth and movement. The experiment is thus deemed a success and further tests can begin.

 

The monstrosity the cult was developing and creating is an affront to the Emperor and humanity, but these creatures do in fact appear to be the mutants the Black Templar described as having been guarding the Lord Governor’s palace. It is my belief that this were some form of hybrid human-tyranid organism, an experiment by the hive mind to pacify a populace before invasion, thus making the devouring of the planet that much easier. These hybrid monsters were created by exposing unsuspecting humans to unique tyranid bio-spores, these spores entered the host organism and multiplied, sprouting terrifying mutations and bringing the new hybrid organism under the thrall of the Hive Mind.

 

There is clearly more here that i must uncover, the safety of the imperium is at stake.

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

 

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, entry 12-2+++

 

I have discovered a signal emanating from the furthest planet in the Hephestus system that appears to be a final distress beacon. The signal is encrypted in a strange code and has thus far been indecipherable. The signal is not imperial in origin and it appears to have a strange effect on the astropath aboard my craft, leading me to believe that the signal is an iteration of the Psionic Disruptor designed to lure further tyranid bio-oranisms to the system. I have ordered the planet destroyed but i believe the signal is reaching out further, i have thus downloaded it wave-frequency and will attempt to find the origin point of this signal.

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

 

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, entry 12-14+++

 

I have found a new origin point from a previously discovered world known as Ulnar. Upon arriving in the system our sensors immediately detected the presence of an eldar fleet in orbit about the planet but as soon as my escort moved to engage they were gone, a though they had never been their in the first place, like phantoms slipping out of reality when noticed.

 

Upon the surface of Ulnar we found nothing, an empty abandoned world with no sentient life. Ruins of cities littered the landscape as well as the telltale evidence of war. Broken warmachines rust in the streets as old dead carcasses rot within them. This world was engaged in a war, recently enough for evidence to still remain, but i cannot find with whom they waged their war. It almost appears that their attackers left with no evidence of their passing, perhaps it was the eldar in orbit, or perhaps something more insidious.

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

 

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, entry 14-5+++

 

I have traced the origin of the signal, it has lead to a system known as Zerus on the edge on Imperial space. The system in question contains three worlds, Zerus Prime, Zerus II, and Char and is a binary star system according to the Imperium database. However our scanners have detected a fourth planetoid within the system. All four planets seem to have functioning atmospheres and ample life but we cannot get close enough to the planets to investigate them. As soon as my fleet escort entered the system they were attacked by Tyranid hive ships, barely making it out of the system with our lives.

 

It would appear that the tyranids in this system are actively defending their worlds in a way only seen in one other know point in space, the Tiamet system. Could this hive fleet be another tendril of the Tiamet hive fleet? I now have more questions than answers. I have put in a requisition order to Watch Fortress Crimson Guard for assistance in finding the truth behind this new tyranid threat.

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

 

 

+++INQUISITORIAL REPORT+++

+++Identification confirmed+++

+++Inquisitor Greymark, ordos xenos investigation report, final entry+++

 

The horrors i have witnessed within the Zerus system are worse than i had ever dreamed. Where the Tiamet system had been building a giant psychic resonator upon its surface, it would appear the tyranids of this region have another plan in mind. Upon the surface of Zerus Prime the Deathwatch team of watch fortress Crimson Guard accompanied my research mission, there we discovered what used to be an imperial settlement, but it had been corrupted in the same means as what i had seen in the research station on Hephestus IV. The citizens of Zerus Prime were enslaved by the Genecults of the Hive Fleets, forced to create more specimens to further implant with their mutinigetic spores, creating an army of human-tyranid slaves. The way these spores invade the systems of their victims creates an infestation of tyranid leading me to call them simply The Infested.

 

But the true horrors are what we have ultimately found on the mysterious fourth planet, it is simply not a planet at all, but a giant tyranid organism. This organism serves as a factory of sorts, manufacturing the mutagen that is being used to create these horrifying monsters. Upon this organism is a creature beyond anything else we have ever encountered, a perfect Hybrid organism, part tyranid, part human. This monster bares the visage of a woman but she is an alien monstrosity and must be purged. To that end we have sent this final communication to the imperium to warn of the dangers of this system, should we fail, we pray this communication finds the imperium before...

 

+++TRANSMISSION INTERUPTED+++

 

WE SHALL BE YOUR DOOM, THE QUEEN OF BLADES SHALL FEAST ON YOUR FLESH. ALL CAN BE BROKEN. ALL WILL BE REMADE IN HER IMAGE. WE ARE YOUR DOOM!

 

+++END REPORT+++

 

tell me what you guys think.

[Dosjetka]

Solid start, MvT. :tu: I'm not entirely sure chocolate brown goes all that well with the pink but I'm assuming there's a reason why you picked those colours?

[Marshal van Trapp]

It's supposed to be a light purple, I've since done another shade of druchii violet and think I'll do yet one more just to darken the pink down to more of a purple color:

 

 

The scheme itself is loosely based on a zergling from Starcraft 2 (although I've inverted the purple and brown as the majority of zerglings are brown with purple scales

[Dosjetka]

I think a second wash is sufficient. :tu:

 

I've never played Starcraft so would never have guessed! Cheers for the explanation.

[Marshal van Trapp]

Been doing lots of build prep for ETL (still not sure which of my 6 factions I'll be backing this year) but finally back to working on my GSC. I have for your viewing pleasure, my 3 sanctus conversions:

 

This guy is a fairly simple conversion, SM scout sniper rifle, guard arms and body, old High Elf legs, spare dagger from a easy-to-build bloodreaver, and the extra head from the clamivus. Will probably model a cloak for this guy either from GS or likely those fancy tissue paper cloaks I've seen in the tutorial forum.

 

Now this guy is a little more complicated. Hes got the crouching scout legs, an acolyte hybrid torso, arms/rifle and head from the Skitarii Ranger box, and the spare dagger from the new Cult Magus. I like the look of the ranger rifles, I'm going to search through my bits box to see if I can find a scope for it and he too will likely get a cloak.

 

Now THIS one is a sniper! Head and transuranic arquebus from the skitarii rangers, body and legs of a guardsman, and the skull of his fallen enemy from the acolyte/metamorphs sprue. Overall I like the over the top look of this one MUCH more than the other two but all 3 are my precious babies.

 

Lemme know what you guys think!