Newbie, looking for advice starting a Cult

[ArcMek]

Hi everyone. I haven't played 40k in a great many years, but returning the Genestealer Cults have really caught my eye.....even if they don't have limos anymore :P I was hoping to grab some advice on starting them and had a few questions if you'll indulge me:

1. They don't appear to have a Star Collecting box, unless I'm missing it. Is there anything you'd recommend grabbing first to start them, besides of course the Codex?

2. How do you like to equip Brood Brother squads? I don't really know what weapons work well with them and what number to take. Are Chimeras worth it?

3. I noticed that you can take a different Creed in each detachment. I like the idea of Bladed Cog Neophytes with mining lasers wandering around. If I wanted a melee detachment that's going to use underground ambushing (Acolytes, Aberrants, etc) to try to get stuck in, do you think Twisted Helix or Cult of the Four Armed Emperor works better? If you use multiple creeds in different detachments, do you generally paint them slightly differently to make it less confusing?

4. I see that the Acolyte kit is a multikit with the Metamorphs....and expensive. Are there any common kitbashing methods people use to get more Acolytes?

Beyond that any general advice you think I should know is most welcome. I may have played many years ago but for all practical purposes I'm a complete...errr....neophyte :P

[Fajita Fan]

You missed the Apocalypse box and the chance to get cheap easy-to-build neophytes and acolytes on eBay from the Deathwatch Overkill box set (I got like 4 sets and they were cheeeeap).  

 

GW does army bundles during the holidays, you might see GSC or Imperial guard return for an army deal.  If you're trying to do this cheap you could just get a ton of IG and either use them as brood brother units or just cut the lasgun tips off and count them as neophytes with shotguns.  Kitbashing acolytes?  Again if you want to go cheap you could buy some Genestealers (you'll want a unit of purestrains anyway) and save their rending claws to glue onto infantry to make 3 arm guys.  

 

I thought getting a second hand Fantasy Empire army would make a fun GSC from a feudal world, the idea makes me smile.  I can't speak to how good the stuff is as I'm still painting my cult.  This is a big bloody army with a lot of infantry.  

 

Oh and you can 3d print a limo, this is mine.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B24QdmEFOyh/

[Hannibal]

You'll have to swallow the pill. GSC is a pretty expensive army, maybe the most expensive out there.

 

- You like to run Neophytes with mining lasers? You'll be surprised that there are only 1 mining laser in a box of 10 models while you want to run 2 mining lasers per squad.

 

- This can be used as a slight advantage, though. Buying 2 boxes of Neophytes will give your 10 men squad of Neophytes with 2 mining lasers as well as 10 bodies for conversions.

 

- The Acolythes boxed set looks expensive, but on the other hand you'll get a whole second set of arms and heads as well as some torsos. This can be used to build Hybrid Metamorphs out of your spare Neophytes (Metamorphs and Acolythes look almost the same. Only difference is that Acolythes bear "knifes" while Metamorphs bear "talons". If you mix them up, nobody will care.

 

- The Neophytes boxed set offer at least 3 spare torsos and lots of spare heads as well as a complete second set of weaponry (left arms missing, though). With a bit of cutting and greenstuffing you should be able to get more "GSC" models out of some Astra Militarum guys.

 

- The Acolythes boxed set allows for some easy character conversions. I've not done it yet, but the Iconward and Kelermorph aren't really a problem.

 

- As noted above, your army could be based on an infected Astra Militarum force which heavily lowers the price, but you'll miss some of the generic and powerful underground options (ie Acolythes).

 

- Aberrants are rather cheap compared to the rest of the army (around 120 points per boxed set of 5). Just use them as your deepstriking (ie "underground") units.

 

- An Astra Militarum Supreme Command Detachment consisting of tank commanders and turned into Beood Brothers might be one of the least expensive yet powerful ways to grow your force.

 

Conclusion:

Running a Brood Brothers Detachment out of Codex Astra Militarum as well as a Brood Brothers centric Detachment out of Codex GSC might be the least expensive way. Just use Abberrants as your deepstriking units and buy a box of Acolytes for some characters conversions and you're good to go.

At least all GSC members were "created" out of human inhabitants of one of the nameless worlds anywhere in the galaxis.

 

One note though: experience tells me that "good" conversion projects tend to be more expensive than just getting the originals. Good luck!

[Exilyth]

Welcome to the cults.

1. They don't appear to have a Star Collecting box, unless I'm missing it. Is there anything you'd recommend grabbing first to start them, besides of course the Codex?

The codex mentions a start collecting box, which has not been released so far. It should have contained an iconward, goliath, neophytes and acolytes.
 
There are some out of production boxes to be aware of, which can be a good deal if you can find them for less than MSRP:

• Deathwatch:Overkill is a box of GSC vs Deathwatch (also a game)
• Tooth and Claw is a box of GSC vs. space wolfs
• battleforce 'cult insurrection' is an GSC army box

They are, unfortunably, getting harder to find nowadays.
 
Other than that, the brood coven kit contains a patriarch, magus and primus (and 2 familiars) - models which go in almost every list.
That and a box of neophytes and a box of acolytes should give you a nice little army to start out with the faction.
 
 
Some staple units of GSC are

• Sawcolytes: a big blob of acolytes with 6-8 rocksaws
• Flamer bomb: a big blob of acolytes with hand flamers
• Laserphytes: a unit of neophytes with mining lasers
• Demo bomb: a unit of <rusted claw> Atalan Jackals w/demo kits (using the creed stratagem)
• Aberrant bomb: a unit of aberrants (usually with picks and hypermorphs w/improvised weapons)

While GSC are really versatile when it comes to building army lists, the above are some units you may want to consider later on.
 

2. How do you like to equip Brood Brother squads? I don't really know what weapons work well with them and what number to take. Are Chimeras worth it?

Either as cheap as possible, e.g. barebones, as points filler and/or objective holder, or with a heavy weapon of choice.
The chimera is a platform bringing heavy firepower, e.g. multilaser/heavy bolter and can transport brood brothers. Then again, it competes with brood brother weapon teams and brood brother cult scout/armoured sentinels for points.
 
Something to be aware of:
You can include up to one astra militarum detachment in your GSC army - which then uses <brood brothers> as a regiment keyword. All brood brother units perform better as Astra Militarum units unfortunably. F.e. a cult leman russ has worse BS than an Astra Militarum <brood brother> Tank Commander. Also access to hydra/wyvern/manticore/basilisk and the other lamen russ variants.

3. I noticed that you can take a different Creed in each detachment. I like the idea of Bladed Cog Neophytes with mining lasers wandering around. If I wanted a melee detachment that's going to use underground ambushing (Acolytes, Aberrants, etc) to try to get stuck in, do you think Twisted Helix or Cult of the Four Armed Emperor works better? If you use multiple creeds in different detachments, do you generally paint them slightly differently to make it less confusing?

At 2k points, you can use 3 detachments, so you could either bring 3 creeds or 2 creeds and <brood brothers>. Just something to be aware of for later.
 
As for cult creeds - many people like the stratagems provided by the <cult of the four armed emperor> since it allows you to cancel your opponents stratagems.
<twisted helix> is great too since the buff to strength and charging is always active and makes the 9" ambush charge easier.
Which one would benefit you more depends on your army build, e.g. aberrants benefit a lot from <twisted helix> - on the other hand, +1S could be had by bringing an ixonweard with relic banner. Or combine them: banner + <twisted helix> = S5 acolytes.
 
You can paint your army however you want. While certain events enforce a "you must play as what you're painted as" (e.g. blue marines with white toilet seats -> ultramarines) policy, no one will stop you from rolling your own paint scheme. It is considered good sportsmanship to paint different <subfactions> of an army in different colors though.

4. I see that the Acolyte kit is a multikit with the Metamorphs....and expensive. Are there any common kitbashing methods people use to get more Acolytes?

I'd use the leftover arms with neophyte or genestealer bodies.

Beyond that any general advice you think I should know is most welcome.

We had a how to get started thread some time ago, that may still be usefull:
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354212-how-to-build-a-gsc-army-crafting-a-beginners-guide/
 
For a TL;DR: on the characters, see:
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359081-which-characters-do-i-really-need/
 
You can find errata for the rulebook and codex at:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/downloads/
https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/
 
Other guides to starting GSC:
https://www.reddit.com/r/genestealercult/comments/btqc21/casualcryptics_guide_to_playing_the_cults_of_the/
https://www.goonhammer.com/start-competing-genestealer-cults-tactics/
 
 
And above all: take all advice with a grain of salt.

 

 

edit: fixed faq/errata link

[ArcMek]

Thank you :) On the Acolytes I know I'm getting into Warhammer so it's not going to be cheap, I was just curious with all the extra bits if people did any conversions frequently. I hate wasting pieces :p

 

Are the saws for acolytes considered flat out the best weapon? Looking at army lists it's the only thing I ever see.

 

Also, I notice Aberants the prefered loadout is picks and the street sign. Do hammers have a use, mixed in with picks or on their own?

[Fajita Fan]

 

 

(e.g. blue marines with white toilet seats -> ultramarines) 

 

[Hannibal]

Thank you On the Acolytes I know I'm getting into Warhammer so it's not going to be cheap, I was just curious with all the extra bits if people did any conversions frequently. I hate wasting pieces

 

Are the saws for acolytes considered flat out the best weapon? Looking at army lists it's the only thing I ever see.

 

Also, I notice Aberants the prefered loadout is picks and the street sign. Do hammers have a use, mixed in with picks or on their own?

 

regarding the special melee weapons: other options either offer lower strenghts or give you a -1 to hit penalty. You can buff Acolytes to be 2+ hit / reroling ones which is outstanding if compared to their points.

[Exilyth]

Are the saws for acolytes considered flat out the best weapon?

They have the best points cost for what they do resp. are more versatile.

 

The drills with their additional mortal wounds would be good vs. multiwound infantry.

The cutters would be good vs. any character model with less than 6 hp, but if the cutters can kill it, so can the saws.

 

Also, I notice Aberants the prefered loadout is picks and the street sign. Do hammers have a use, mixed in with picks or on their own?

The picks give additional attacks and the street sign goes twice per attack.

The hammers would be good vs. tanks due to high strength, but we have other (cheaper) ways to deal with tanks, e.g. neophytes w/lasers or a cult leman russ.

[Fajita Fan]

I 3D printed more rocksaws today. 

[brother_b]

Check eBay there are lots of GSC available and you can get some units like aberrants for super cheap.