Making the most of what I've got...

[Rogue]

Hello. 

 

I'm currently (and slowly) building up a Cult army. Until it gets to tabletop size I'm supplementing it with some older models, which brings it up to 2000 across three battalions - one each of Cult, Guard and Tyranid. 

 

if anyone can make any suggestions as to how to get the best out of it, I'd appreciate it. Things like tactics, stratagems, synergies, cunning ideas, psychic powers, cult creeds, that sort of thing. There's no point in suggesting new models at this stage, as I have what I have, although re-configuring the models into different squads is fair game.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Here's the list:

 

Cult Battalion

Abominant

Iconward

Magus

5 acolytes (mining weapons)

5 acolytes (flamers)

10 neophytes (all the weapons in the kit except stubbers)

5 aberrants (picks, hammers, hypermorph)

Clamavus

 

Guard (Brood Brothers) Battalion

Company Commander

Tank Commander (battlecannon, lascannon, heavy bolters)

Tank Commander (battlecannon, flamer, plasma - but with magnets, so can be flexible)

10 guard (grenade launcher and lascannon)

​10 guard (grenade launcher and lascannon)

​10 guard (grenade launcher and lascannon)

Astropath

Commissar

Commissar

 

Tyranid Battalion

Broodlord

Tyranid Prime

16 genestealers (4 acid maws)

16 genestealers (4 acid maws)

3 warriors  (venom cannons)

[Marshlands]

Seems like what you have pretty much is what it is without new options but a few points.

 

I'd drop the commissars for basically anything else, they're not worth it.

 

Go kraken on the stealers and use the kraken strategem to get them moving. Catalyst for the broodlord.

 

Astropath can use either defensive spell on a leman

 

5 acolytes is terrible at anything but objective grabbing and the weapons aren't worth it, problem being their powerful but need lots of cp which demands big squads (e.g. 20 hand Flamers with lying in wait is very good but LiW isn't worth it on 5)

 

The aberrants are good and would suggest Cult of the four armed Emperor or twisted helix.

 

The anointed throng or deliverence broodsurge specialist detachments are both worth consideration too (although both would work better with more models)

 

If you have a familiar I'd recommend and might from beyond and mass hypnosis are you're go to spells. Mass hypnosis in particular might allow youre units of 5 to make it into combat

 

Personally i really like webbers for acolytes

[Spacecow]

Cult of the four armed emperor does seem to be the more popular choice. Their trait Subterranean Ambushers is quite nice. it improves your Advance and Charge rolls by 1. (only active however on your first turn, and on any unit during the turn it is set up on the table). But a first turn is crucial so very nice to have. ( same goes for the nids, kraken is ideal to get those stealers flying across and causing some havoc)

 

They also have a really cool stratagem to basically block someone else’s stratagem ( I forgot how it is called) think it’s 3cp and you can only do it once a game. But that is really fun to pull off at the right time.

 

They also got a pretty nifty warlord trait Inscurtable Cunning. it gives you extra D3 CP at the beginning of the game and also a once per game free re-roll for any hit, wound, or saving throw.

 

It basically gives you options.

 

Don’t know if you are allowed tournament wise to use a broodlord as a patriarch instead to put with your guardsman and the Clamavus. Neatly ups their LD. ( if you ever want to go full blown gsc)

[Closet Skeleton]

Ditch the commissars and company commander. Use the astropath as a primaris psyker in a supreme command with the two tank commanders. Change the guardsmen into brood brothers out of the cult book. Put the two 5 man units of acolytes into a ten man unit. You should ditch the Tyranid Prime as quickly as you can get hold of a different HQ choice for the tyranids. I'd probably ditch the abominant as well, they're only good at buffing Aberrants and you don't have enough but the iconward is also pretty bad and you need two HQs so might as well keep the abominant.

 

Then play at 1500. Cramming in junk to up the game size is a bad idea unless your opponent is also doing so in which case you should both be playing 1500.

 

You're also better off ditching the lascannons and the neophyte's heavy weapons but that would be changing your models. I'd convert one of those commissars into a Primus using spare parts from the acolyte sprue. If you have the heavy weapon team sprues still I'd hack apart the lascannon teams and build mortars instead.

[Rogue]

Thanks, chaps. Lots to mull over. In no particular order:

 

I agree that the neophytes and brood brothers are over gunned. But with what I have, I can't juggle them down. Longer-term, I'd like to get more neophytes which will help with this, and also plan to replace a few limbs, heads and weapons on the guardsmen to make them look more cult-like - this should allow me to run them as more basic squads. And the lascannons aren't weapon teams - they're original plastic guardsmen, from the Rogue Trader era, when they were able to carry a heavy weapon all on their own. But yes, mortars is also an ambition.

 

The guys I play with are all in the process of building up new armies, and 2000 points will allow them to put all their new stuff down on the table. But fair point on playing smaller to optimise the force.

 

Cult of the Four-Armed Emperor does seem to be the way to go with the Cultists. If I couple it with the Anointed Throng, then the aberrants and abominant are potentially gaining a +3" charge (with the clamavus, and a field commander with insidious mindwyrm). Give the abominant the relic hammer and drop everything in en masse tun two. I'm also thinking I'd give the iconward the relic banner, coupled with the warlord trait that would push the aura out to 9".

 

Likewise, Kraken looks good for the tyranid contingent, as does catalyst.

 

Ultimately, I'd like to get to 10 aberrants, and squads of 20 acolytes (at the cost of the brood brothers, probably). The tyranid warriors are probably expendable too, unless they really do well with their venom cannons (being Advanced Space Crusade era models doesn't help their cause either). 

 

My other thought at the moment is that the genestealers could come back into the Cult fold - it makes them more expensive (although dropping the tyranid battalion HQs would alleviate that), but give them access to deep-strike. Potentially, I could have the acolytes and aberrants coming in turn 2 and making use of the 4AE, clamavus and mindworm tricks to land charges, whilst one set of 'stealers makes use of the perfect ambush stratagem in each of turns 2 and 3 to bypass their lack of cult creeds. I'd lose the CPs from the tyranid battalion, but could make one back with a vanguard detachment instead. 

[Marshlands]

GSC Genestealers are badly strictly worse than tyranids. I mean there's some unique they have access to, like deep strike, but that's generally better if you put your other stuff in reserve. What GSC lack is good stuff to start on the table and that's where kraken suits GSC very well

[Rogue]

Yes, although deep strike is a useful weapon for genestealers.

 

I've generally been starting my 'stealers on the table. But it's rare that they make a first turn charge (even with Kraken, 24" is a long way), which means that they're often exposed to a turn of shooting before they can get into combat.

 

I don't need perfect ambush for my Cult units (who are on +2 or +3 to charge out of deep strike already), so I can use it to land a turn 2 'stealer charge without giving the enemy a chance to thin their numbers first.

 

Plus, in the set up we're talking about here, I have the brood brothers and Russ tanks to set up on the table.

[Spacecow]

I know you don’t want to invest into new units but as in response to the crossing 24” crossing :

 

I love using a swarmlord + kraken. ( +onslaught depending on the units you’re using )

 

Hive commander is quite nice to get you accross and with stealers being able to charge after advance anyway, pretty lethal.

[Rogue]

It's not so much that I don't want to invest in new units, and more that I'm on a budget and a fairly slow painter, so new units take a while to reach the table top.

 

Hive Commander does look useful, although 250 points is a lot. Serious distraction carnifex time, though.

[Marshlands]

If you can roll a 6 on 1 of 3 dice for an advance then with strat kraken stealersate going 20" before they charge, double that with swarmy

[Spacecow]

Total respect for that rogue. I put myself on a buyban now. Think with all the backlog I got it’ll be more than enough to sustain me for quite some time! :)

 

And I’m biased when it comes to my swarmlord. He’s my token Commander Dante killer :’). Much to the annoyance of my partner.