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Warhammer 40000 8th Edition Tactics

Warhammer 40000 8th edition Dark Imperium Rookbook

The new release of WH40k is apon us! These tactics are written for the new Warhammer 40000 8th edition of the WH40k rules!

What is Warhammer 40k?

Warhammer 40000 is a table top wargame played with models, dice and rulers. It is set in a dark gothic version of the far future. In this future the human race has expanded to fill the galaxy, meeting several different races, most of whom want to kill them! However after this glorious expansion the human civilisation collapsed. In this game you join either the human race or one of the various alien races as humans try to rebuild society, mainly by beating everyone one else up!

What is Warhammer 40000 8th edition?

Game of Warhammer 40000 in playThe first release of Warhammer 40000 in 1987 was called ‘Rouge Trader’ and this was a role playing game with a bit of skirmish table top fighting thrown in. In 1993 Games Workshop took the game and re-wrote it to be a fully fledged tabletop battle game called Warhammer 40000 2nd edition (WH40k 2nd edition), and when I started playing WH40k. This became an instant hit. On the back of this game Games Workshop sold masses of models and rule books. Over the next years these rules where expanded and improved through the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th editions. Now in 2017, twenty four years later, Games Workshop have seen that the game needs a full overhaul. Much like the leap from Rouge Trader to 2nd edition, all the rule books have been thrown out and rewritten from scratch. This is the new Warhammer 40000 8th edition.

General Warhammer 40k Tactics

In  Warhammer 40k there are some tactics that are very useful no matter which army you use. In this section I will cover some of these generic tactics.  I will be presuming that you are playing Matched Play games and using the Advanced Rules. If you are playing power level matched games some of these tactics may not apply.

  • Learn The Rules. This must be the number one must do. You need to know the core rules, your armies rules,the advanced rules, the mission rules, and if possible the opponents rules too. That can be a daunting list if you are starting out. Don’t worry! You can split the task in to small, easy to do steps. Start by learning the basic rules first. Get some models on a table, roll some dice and see what happens. The model’s datasheet will give you most of what you need. When you are familiar with the core rules get gaming! There is nothing like playing a game with an opponent to have everything drop in to place quickly. As you come more proficient you will be able to mix in more advanced rules.
  • Use all Your Points! In Matched Play games you will agree on a maximum points limit for your army. There are no benefits from not using your full allocation of points. There have been many a game that has been won because an extra bit of wargear has swung the battle.
  • Get the Free Warlord Traits. When you look through the rule book and army codexes you may notice some free upgrades and abilities. The first is Warlord Traits on page 186 of the rule book. Extra Warlord traits are added in the army codexes too. You can only get Warlord Traits if you have a Character in your army, however this is recommended anyway.
  • Max out on Command Points. On Page 242 we are introduced to Command Points. Each army gets one command point just for showing up however if you organise your army in to a battle forged army formation then you can pick up loads more command points. The easiest option here is to go for Battalion Detachments. You can pick up 3 extra command points by having 5 units (two HQ and three troop units). For larger games you can have several Battalion Detachments.
  • Arcane Artefacts. These are yet more freebies hidden in the armies codexes. These are items that add even more abilities to your general. You usually only get one per army. However they are a free upgrade, so why not?
  • Any other freebies? With the army codex’e being released we can see that by opting for a faction or allegiance you can have access to aditional Stratagems, Warlord Traits and faction abilities. Generally there are no points cost to nominating a faction, so do it and get the freebies!

Armies of Warhammer 40k 8th Edition

As you may expect, after 30 years of development since the release of the original Rouge Trader version of Warhammer 40k the universe of WH40k is very developed with a number of races each with their own backgrounds and play styles. If you are new to the game you may want to browse through the different army types and discover which one is more suited to your play style and temperament.

One of the great advantages of the 8th edition reset is that no one army will have a dominance over any other. This means that you should have an equal chance of winning regardless of the army you select, and winning or losing will be dependent on your skills and not on the armies rules.

What are WH40k Imperial, Chaos, and Xenos armies?

Warhammer 40k armies fall in to 3 broad categories, Imperial – which is the human forces that follow the Imperial Emperor ( who is currently mostly dead and has been on a high tech life support machine for the last thousand years), the Chaos – human and daemons corrupted by another dimension called the realm of Chaos ( these are the basic bad guys), and Xenos – all the other races that just want to live peacefully and gorge themselves on human flesh!

Space Marines

Pre-heresy Dark Angel Space Marine

Warhammer 40k Dark Angel in pre-heresy colours

Space Marines are genetically enhanced humans developed to fight the enemies of the human race and bring order to the universe.

In game terms Space Marines are big, tough and well armed! The downside of the Space Marines are that they are few in number. When you are playing Marines you are saying that quality is better than quantity!

Space Marines are an excellent starter army for beginners. This is because you need fewer Space Marines models to play a game and they are good all round troops. Space Marines always included in the Warhammer 40000 starter box sets that Games Workshop release.

Space Marines come in different factions called Chapters. Each Chapter has it’s own colours and markings. Most of the Space Marines use the same rules, but there are a few exception to these rules.

You can find the rules for the Space Marines in the Index: Imperium 1 rule book.

Imperial Guard ( Astra Militarum ) and friends

Warhammer 40000 Astra Millarum Imperial Guard SquadWaging a galactic war need more troops than just a handful of super solders. This is where the massed ranks of the Astra Militarum, or Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard depend on large number and big guns over the skill of individual infantry men. This stand back and shoot does lead to difficulties if the enemy gets close, or if you have to go over the top of the barricades to claim objectives. To fill this gap the Imperial Guard have a number of friends to call on. These vary from Assassins, Nuns with guns, and Giant walking robots!

You can find the rules for the Astra Militarum, in the Astra Militarum Codex

Chaos Space Marines

Warhammer 40k Khorne Berzerker Chaos Space Marine

A Chaos Marine Khorne Berzerker.

In the Warhammer 40000 universe psychic powers are drawn from another dimension where evil spirits and the pure energy of chaos reside. The use of psychic powers and warp space travel has created rips in reality where this force of chaos can spill in to our reality, twisting, warping and corrupting all that it touches.

Chaos Space Marines are Space Marines that have been touched by, and succumbed to the seductive chaotic powers. These powers then warped their body and minds in to being crazed psychopaths with super human bodies and big guns!

Chaos Space Marines are basically 75% close combat specialists and 25% heavy support and support units. This means that you should be formulating plans where you can get in to combat quickly. Fast transport and loads of cover are your friends here.

You can find the rules for Chaos Space Marines in the Codex Chaos Space Marines rule book.

Chaos Daemons

Warhammer Chaos Lord with WingsWhere the Chaos Space Marines are humans that have been corrupted, Chaos Daemons are the raw stuff of chaos in corporeal form.

In game terms, the forces of Chaos Daemons are a very diverse army. All this corruption and mutation means that there is a massive variation in skills and abilities between units. The up side of this is that you are never short of interesting and wickedly devious models to play with. The downside is that you have to form this chaotic maelstrom in to a game winning army!

Summoning Chaos Daemons

Because the Chaos Daemons are made up of this ethereal energy many of them can be summoned by Chaos Characters (Daemons or Chaos Space Marines) in the middle of the battle. This makes them great re-enforcement units. Used correctly they can pop up unexpectedly catching the enemy completely off guard!

The Daemonic Ritual

To summon Daemons the Chaos Character needs to perform a ‘Daemonic Ritual’. To do this the Character needs to be on the table at the beginning of the movement phase (so not coming in via deep striking or reserves, or summoned this turn). If the Character does not move they can roll 3d6 at the end of the movement phase and bring in a Daemon Unit with a power level less than or equal to the 3d6 result. The Daemonic unit must be placed near the Character and more than 9″ away from enemy units.  This means that they may be able to assault in the assault phase!

Don’t expect summoning Daemons to be easy! first off, a Character can can only summon Daemons with the ‘Daemonic Ritual’ ability (most of them do) and the daemon needs to have the same Chaos Alliance as the character. This means that Khorne Characters can only summon Khorne Daemons and etc. The last issue is that the ritual may kill your character! When you roll the 3d6, if you roll a double then the Character suffers a mortal wound, and if you roll a triple then they suffer d3 mortal wounds! A double will happen 1 in 6 times, and a triple once in 36 times! So don’t worry about it.

You can find the rules for Chaos Daemons in the Index: Chaos rule book.

Eldar Craft Worlds

Warhammer 40k Eldar Guardians Defender SquadHere come the Space Elves!! Yes, your favourite pointy eared, hi-tech, aliens are here in Warhammer 40k too.

Eldar are mostly human friendly, but there is a good degree of mistrust and battles between humans and Eldar are as frequent as battles where they fight side by side.

In game terms Eldar are fast, nimble but fragile. With this army you will need to get various specialists working together hitting the right place at the right time, and at the same time avoiding the big guns of your enemy.

You can find the rules for the Craft World Eldar in the Codex Craftworlds rule book.

Necrons

Metal Skeletons from the far past, or is that the far future? Either way they have the unnerving ability to re-animate. Will these dead things just lie down and die!

On the table Necrons are considered slower than most armies, however there are Necron units that move really, really fast. This can catch your opposition off guard. With Necrons it is essential that you know your army and all the special rules they have.

The rules for the Necrons can be found in the Index: Xenos 1 rule book.

Orks

Orks are savage green Orcs of fantasy. Armed with guns and war machines that seem to be built from scrap. These machines seem to work purely because the Orks have an absolute conviction that they should!

On the gaming table Orks are masters of close up hand to hand combat. Some are on foot, but there are post-apocalyptic trucks, and easy rider motorbikes. They are also backed up with some awesome, crazy war machines.

Orks have really benefited from 8th edition rules. In this version massed small arms fire really hurt. Big Shooters that have loads of shots, and Burners that don’t miss are great! Ork Dreadnoughts and Killa Kans have toughened up too!

The rules for the Orks can be found in the Index: Xenos 2 rule book.

T’au Empire

The Tau are an Anime themed army. Their high-tech weapons give them speed and unprecedented fire power. And missiles that fire around corners!

The Tau where one of the top performing armies in the 7th edition. They may be toned down for the 8th edition but they will still be a force to be reckoned with. Speed and firepower is their stock in trade, but they do have a weakness in close combat.

You can find the rules for the Tau empire in the Index: Xenos 2 rule book.

Tyranids

Forge World Tyranid HiraduleIs that a monster lurking in the darkness? Oh yes! Tyranids are aliens from another galaxy, totally unlike anything seen before ( unless you have seen any of the Alien’ films ), they have come to gorge on all living material, plant and animal, who’s genetic material is used to create new Tyranids and repeat the process. Tyranids are sometimes called the Great Devourer. Tyranid monsters come in all sizes from those the size of large dogs to some the size of four story buildings!

Tyranids have a very specific play style. They are mainly close assault creatures however they are brood creatures and controlled ‘node’ Tyranid creatures. Without these node creatures the lesser creatures start reverting to instinctive behaviour – and not doing what you want then to! So you need to protect your node creatures and get the the other creatures  in to close combat with the enemy without loosing too many to gun fire!

You can find the rules for Tyranids in the Index: Xenos 2 rule book.

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Warhammer 40000 8th Edition nearly here!

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Warhammer 40000 8th edition Dark Imperium Rookbook

The much anticipated new 8th edition of Warhammer 40000 rules are about to be released. some have managed to get copies early and there are videos on YouTube showing the box set, main rules, and additional Index Books (army codexes).

At is stands, the new rules look to be everything that Games Workshop have promised. The basic rules are going to be free. This will help new players get in to the game with the fewest obstacles. For more advanced players there will be an advanced rule book and ‘index’ books with the unit by unit rules for existing models.

As I write the new box set ( which includes the advanced rules), the Advanced Rule Book and the Index books have been made available for pre-order. Following a moth or two of solid marketing I expect that early orders for these items will be strong and if you want to ensure that you get them on release day, or soon after ( if you are mail ordering), then I highly recommend that you place an advanced order. You can order the new box set and rule books through your local Games Workshop store, or through the Games Workshop website, however if you want to buy them with a discount I would recommend buying them through a reputable online Games workshop stockiest like Element Games.

As you may expect, I will be getting my hands on the rules as soon as possible and update these pages with new tactics for the new game!

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Loads More WH40k Pre-release Updates

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Games Workshop Community Pages have not been holding back with Pre-release drip feed updates on the new Warhammer 40k version. In the last few weeks we have had updates about all the different turn phases, and so far, I like what I see!

Since my last article on the new Warhammer 40k release we have had articles on the shooting phase; assault phase, vehicles and monsters, moral and break tests, amongst others.  Now we are getting updates about how GW see the new rules affecting the different existing armies starting with the armies that are seen to benefit most from the new rules.

Shooting Phase

After the Movement and Psychic phase article was released the next article covered shooting. On the expectation that these articles are released in some semblance of order, I expect that there will be a separate psychic phase after themovement phase and it will not be handled in a command phase like Age of Sigma (boo!).

Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Chimera troop transpoter

Vehicles with several different weapons will be able to pick multiple targets too!

The shooting phase has changed a bit moving closer to what we see in Age of Sigma. The main feature is that the members of a unit can choose different targets.  This means that heavy weapons will be more useful in a tactical squad, but also squad members with basic weapons can take on different targets too. If you take out all the members of one unit and some squad members have not shot yet then the remaining squad members can take a different target.

Unit profile will have a ‘to hit’ ballistic skill. This will give you a score that you will have to beat to hit your target. This score looks like it will be modified by terrain, night fighting, or smoke.

Cover saves look like they are charging too. At the moment it is often not worth placing your Space Marines in buildings as their 3+ armour save is better than the 4+ building cover save. It looks like in future cover saves will be a modifier that improves your save roll in the opposite way to weapon rend scores reduce the save roll target.

Assault / Fight Phase

The talk of unit activation makes me think that the fight phase will be more like the AoS combat phase. The note that charging units will go first is ambiguous though. In AoS units only charge in the controlling players turn, so only one unit is guaranteed to hit first in the combat phase. I suspect more details about this will be released eventually!

I will be keeping an eye on the release news and report back here with any insights gleaned from the community pages!

 

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Wh40k Update News – Phychic Powers!

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Soul Steal Spell

Games Workshop have released details of the new Warhammer 40k psychic phase, and as expected they are looking a lot like Age of Sigmar psychic rules :

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/04/28/new-warhammer-40000-psychic-phase/

The similarities to Age of Sigmar magic are:

  • A set number of psychic castings per model
  • 2D6 to cast
  • Everyone knows one or two basic psychic powers, probably plus a signature psychic power.

What we don’t know is if there will be a psychic phase, or if the psychic phase will be rolled in to  a command phase like Age of Sigmar. Personally I think that the Age of Sigmar combined command and psychic phase is working very well and I hope that this has been brought over to the new WH40k!

Smite is Right!

Smite is the power that all the psykers will know, and it does look like Arcane Bolt with 18″ range and an extra kick if you roll 10+. It is probable that 18″ will be the standard distance for psychic powers and dispels / deny the witch. If 18″ is the standard distance then it will be awfully close. Standard weapons range is 24″ and I don’t see that changing. Also 18″ is on the edge of assault range. I suspect a 24″ range on psychic powers would work better.

There is mention of perils of the warp, but no mention of how you peril. I am thinking of a double 1 roll, but we will have to wait and see!

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WH40k Update Official News Released

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Warhammer 40k Dark Vengeance Box set

We all know that it is time for Warhammer 40000 to be updated. It has been 3 years since the 7th edition came out and that was a fix release from the 6th edition that came out a year earlier!

Don’t get me wrong, the 7th edition of 40k has been very popular. The addition of objectives forced gun-line armies out from their barricades and give assault based armies an even chance. The move away from Standard formation armies to factions and themed armies has added co;our to the game too.

However to keep the game fresh the rules need to change and grow from time to time, and basically the time is right!

Here is the latest post on the changes due in the next version:

Warhammer 40,000 News from AdeptiCon

From the post I suspect / expect that Games Workshop will be taking some of the best bits of Age of Sigmar and bringing them back in to Warhammer 40,000.

The first on the list was the recognition that the Generals Handbook and the ‘3 ways to play’ have been a great success in Age of Sigmar. I do have to echo this recognition too. The simple free play version of Age of Sigmar makes it very easy for new players or occasional players who have a handful of nice looking models to get in to gaming with little effort and no extra cash expenditure. This has had the effect of drawing new players in to the game. Some of these new gamers will stick with the game and become more competition later. Warhammer 40000 has had less difficulty drawing new players, however a lower entry point will be a bonus to adding new blood to the game.

Another success from Age of Sigmar that seems to be coming to 40k is the war scroll idea, where all the points and rules for a unit can be found on one page (weapon special abilities, movement rates, etc). This is not massively new to 40k, the newest codexes have been redesigned so that upgrade points costs are on the fact sheets instead of having to search two section at the same time while building your army lists (upgrade options in one section, points costs for the upgrades elsewhere). From the GW post it looks like any unit special rules will be joining them on the unit fact sheet. This should slim down or remove the Special Rules section of the rule book, and thereby halving the rulebook size!

Moral check changes where mentioned in the Games Workshop post too. These proposed rules look exactly like the Age of Sigmar Moral tests. I didn’t think that there was anything up with the current Moral tests, but one system that covers both games will make it easier if you are swapping from one genre to the other!

All told, I suspect that the new rules are being heavily play tested in GW towers, and any rumoured changes still have time to change again, however this is one player who is waiting for the new release with expectation!

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Imperial Agents Tactics  for WH40k 7th Ed

Over the years Games Workshop have created a number of auxiliary Imperial Forces that are not quite big enough to warrant their own Codex, but are too fun to play to drop completely. These include The Sisters of Battle, Assassins, The Legion of the Dammed, and Inquisition, amongst others. Recently Games Workshop have done the right thing by bringing all these factions in to one Codex, Codex: Imperial Agents.

If you have been collecting Warhammer models for a while, or you have one of the boxed games that have these units in, you will want this updated Codex with the latest rules and updates.

Imperial Agents General Tactics

The Imperial Agents are not designed as a stand alone army. This does not mean that you cannot use them on their own. It’s just how they are designed, so let’s have a look at this first.

Imperial Agent Factions

  • Cult Mechanicus: Mechanics with optional labotomised heavy weapons.
  • Aeronautical Imperialis: Fire power on the wing and good for fast troop transportation too.
  • Adeptus Astra Telepathica: Imperial Psykers that come singularly or as brotherhood of psychers.
  • Adepta Sororitas: Guard in Power Armour, or low point Marines? Make of them what you will. They do come with a lot of framers, so they are always hot stuff!
  • The Deathwatch: Elite Space Marines on a mission.
  • Grey Knights: Got a Daemon problem? Rent a Marine has the solution for you!
  • Legion of the Dammed: Veteran Marines with firery shells and a reputation for warping out when the going gets though!
  • Officio Assassinorum: Nope, no one here!
  • The Inquisition: Oh no, not the comfy chair!

What Imperial Agents can add to a Space Marine army

WH40k Space Marines have a very developed army list, and you can find a solution to any situation within that list if you wanted to. However there are units found within the Imperial Agents Codex that are useful in specific situations. This is another case of being prepared if you have advanced knowledge of the opposition, territory, and mission.

3 of the Imperial Agent factions are special types of Space Marines. The Deathwatch, Grey Knights, and Legion of the Dammed, are elite Space Marine units. If you want to add more elite units then you can look at these units in addition to the ones found in the Codex: Space Marines.

The Officio Assassinorum is a popular addition to a Space Marine army. Their assassin skills can be very useful in certain situations. I would not recommend having more than one in a game.

Tech-priests Enginseers of the Cult Mechanicus are useful for repairing tank and other armoured vehicles. Space Marine have Techmarines covering this role, and although the Techmarines are 10 points more you do get a lot for the extra points.

The Sisters of Battle (Adeptus Sororitas), and Inquisition may be useful if you want to add cheaper gun fodder. They have a bit more bite than an Imperial Guard detachment which is the usual go to for gun fodder.

What Imperial Agents can add to an Imperial Guard Army

With the Imperial Guard the Imperial Agents really come into their own. Any of the Imperial Agents can act as Elite units for the Guard.

As usual, I highly recommend that you limit the amount of points spent on Elite units. If you over do it you will find yourself short of boots on the ground to achieve your objectives!

Cult Machanicus and Tech-Preist Enginseers give the Imperial Guard a chance to repair tank and vehicles like Techmarines do for the Space Marines. This is great if you are fielding Leman Russ Tanks and Chimera. The trick here is to keep the Tech-Preist and the armour together. Servitors will aid the Tech-Preist too.

The Aeronotica Imperialis can be useful for the Guard too. Their Valerie aircraft can ferry Guard units around the board quickly. This can be very useful to steal objects.

A Tyranid Lictor sneeks up on Sisters of Battle

A Tyranid Lictor sneeks up on Sisters of Battle

Where the Adaptation Sororitas or the Sisters of Battle as cut price Marines, the Guard see them as armoured Veteran units. The power armour and flames are just the tool for cleaning out buildings where poorly armoured Guardsman would just get shredded in close combat.

 

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WH40k Chaos Space Marine Black Legion Tactics for WH40k 7th Ed

If you have been playing Chaos Space Marines for a while and you are looking to add a bit more character to your army then you may be interested in the Black Legion Black Legion Codex Supplement that adds extra rules for the Chaos Space Marines that follow Abaddon the Despoiler and the Sons of Horus (a Chaos Space Marine army and not some Heavy Metal pop group!).

The rule for the Black Legion come from the Codex Supplement: Black Legion. You can buy this from the Black Libaray to download, or from online stores like Element Games. You will need the full Codex Space Marines to use this supplement, so make sure you have a copy of that first, or easy access to a copy!

What’s in the Codex Supplement?

In the Black Legion supplement you get :

  • Black Legion special rules.
  • Chaos Space Marine Artifacts for the Black Legion.
  • Black Legion Warlord Traits
  • 7 Black Legion formations
  • 8 Black Legion themed Missions
  • Black Legion Tactical Objectives

Chaos Artifacts of the Black Legion

The Black Legion supplement comes with rules and points for 6 Black Legion artifacts. You do not need to limit yourself to these artifacts if you are playing a Black Legion army, you can still choose artifacts from the Chaos Space Marine Codex, or from the mission special artifacts, if the mission has them.

Be careful when adding artifacts to your heroes. Their points can add up quickly. You may find that the points would be better used by adding more models to the force However if you have no models to add and you want to use the points up then they could be worth considering!

Black Legion Formations

The main reason a Chaos Space Marine player will want the Codex Supplement is the army formations that are detailed in the supplement.

  • The Bringer of Despair
  • The Chosen of Abaddon
  • The Hounds of Abaddon
  • Daemon Engine Pack
  • Cyclopia Cabal
  • The Tormented
  • Black Legion Warband

Black Legion Missions

There are 8 Black Legion themed missions included in the Codex Supplement.

  • Altar of War: Speartip Strike
  • Altar of War: Kill Them All
  • Echoes of War: Slaughter at Jason Lutein
  • Echoes of War: Spilling the Blood of Angels
  • Echoes of War: Death Comes to Relorria
  • Echoes of War: Defiance on Ildanira
  • Echoes of War: The Blood-trial of Khorne

 

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Great 4 Handed game highlights armies strengths and weaknesess

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On Saturday we had a great game of Warhammer with 2 Chaos forces ( Chaos Space Marine and Daemons of Tzeentch) face 2 forces of Order (Using AoS) armies of Space Marines and Tau.

Richard and I had a quick pre-game match to get use to our new armies. Ghks was the first time I have played Chaos Daemons in 40k so I was flipping back and forth through the Codex getting use to the Daemon Special Rules. Richard also got to grips with the raft of new weapons availible to the Tau since the last Codex.

In the afternoon Lee and Mark arrived for the main battle royal. Lee brought Space Marines with him and Mark had Chaos Space Marines. This is what Richard had suggested would be the case so no big surprises there.

As Richard and Lee where long time 40k comrades and because it made a better match to the background fluff Richard and Lee teamed up as the forces of order against Mark and I who where the new comers championing  the forces of Chaos.

My first surprise was when I saw the army that Mark brought. As we where playing 1000 points per player I was surprised my how HQ heavy and troop unit light his force was. It did not bode well as my force was fast and light but a bit short of solid troop and heavy support units. This brought up the first learning point, where possible, in a two handed game, check with your team mates what they are bringing to the battle or you could end up with a mismatched force.

 

It was great fun testing out my Chaos Tzeentch Daemons in a WH40k game, even though it was not a winning outcome! Many thanks to Richard, Lee and Mark for the battle.

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WH40k Genestealer Cults are Back!

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Genestealer Cult Acolytes

Yes the original Tyranid army ‘Genetealer Cults’ are back and they are bigger and sneakier than ever.

As the vanguard of the Tyranid collective, Genestealers hide on floating space hulks and stowing away on unsuspecting commercial scavenging space craft. When these salvage ships land on a populated planet the Genestealers slip off the space craft and slip in to the dark recesses of the spaceport. From these dark recesses the Genestealers hypnotize those at the lower edges of society, infecting them with the Genestealer DNA. The of spring of these thralls are the Hybrids that become the core of the insurgent army that will disrupt the defence forces just as the Tyranid main force arrives.

I have added a new Genestealer Cults Tactic page with loads of hints and tips.

 

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Tyranid Genestealer Cults Tactics for WH40k 7th Edition

Warhammer 40k Genestealer Magus Psyker

The Boys are back in town! Tyranid Genestealer Cults are back!

If you know me you may know that I started playing Warhammer 40k with the original Space Hulk boxed game in the mists of history so the re-appearance of Genestealer Cults brings a sense of joy. Anyway, on with the important bit, the Genestealer Cult Tactics!

As always, these notes are written with the expectation that you have access to the Codex: Genestealer Cults book and the main WH40k rules.

What are Genestealer Cults?

Before the Tyranids existed as a WH40k army Games Workshop released a board game based on 40k ( as they do from time to time ) called ‘Space Hulk’. The first variant of Space Hulk had two expansion sets. One called ‘Deathwing’ ( introducing the Dark Angel first company ) and one called ‘ Genestealer ‘ that introduced Genestealer Cults to the 40k universe. Warhammer.Wikia has a detailed page on the history the of Space Hulk game. Over time this army sported off the Tyranid army that has mainly superseded them. Now with a new boxed game ‘Over Kill’ featuring Genestealer Cultists we have a new Genestealer Cults Codex and some new models too!

In Warhammer 40K terms Genestealers Hybrids are part human and part Genestealer. As such they have close combat skills inherited from thier Genestealer parents and ballistic skills inherited from thier human parents.

Genestealer Hybrids go through several generations. With each generation the Hybrids close combat skills become weaker and thier ballistic skill improves.

General Genestealer Cult Tactics

Genestealer-AcolytesBy their nature Genestealer Cult armies are a rag tag army of gutter trash and army deserters. By the time they grow in to a force large enough to conquer planets they get observed in to the Tyranid main force. This means that the Genestealer Cultists are far better at smaller skirmish games than full Apocalypse games.

The Genestealer Cults army has a number of specCult Ambushial rules that help the Cult army in areas with lots of cover. City Fights and Jungle warfare spring to mind. If you have a chance to effect the amount of cover go for as much as possible!

Most of the Genestealer Cult units have the ability to infiltrate and the drop back in to reserves. This means that you have the ability to keep your enemy chasing shadows. The same abilities allow you to ‘steal’ objectives. Popping up to take objectives. then slipping away again. Remember that you do not have to destroy the enemy to win games.

The main weakness in the Genestealer Cult army is lack of air support and anti-aircraft weapons. The best option if you are facing air attacks is to dive for cover and hide! Option 2 is to get some missile wielding Neophytes.  These can be upgraded to have sky-fire missiles. 

Genestealer Cults Special Rules

Genestealer Cults have a number of sneaky special rules. These will help you in built up City Fight scenarios.

Cult Ambush

The Genestealer Cult Codex has a new table that you can use instead of Infiltrating or arriving from reserves in the usual fashion if you wish.  You do not have to use the new table (p97), you can choose when you return the unit to the table, and you can have some units returning normally and some returning using the new table. Note that if the unit is in a Goliath or Chimera then you have to return using the normal reserves rules.

The benefit of using the standard rules is that they are less open to risk. You know that the unit will be coming in on the left or right table edge and you have a 1 in 3 chance of choosing which edge they come in on too. With the new table there are 6 possibilities. As I have said elsewhere, randomness is the enemy of solid tactics.

So why use the new table? The main reason is that you can arrive much closer to your pray. There is a 2 in 6 chance that you can arrive within 9″ ( easy assault range next turn) and only 1 in 6 chance that you may arrive further away on your table edge. The best of all though is if you roll a 6 then you can return within 3″ of your pray and assault in the same turn. Do this with a large unit of Purestrain Genestealers and you can wipe out whole units before returning to the shadows (see the next special rule)

Return to the Shadows

This sneaky special rule will have your opponents chasing shadows! Not only can the Genestealer Cult units infiltrate in, but they can drop back in to reserves ready to pop up elsewhere on the table later.

To use this rule the unit must have the ‘Return to the Shadows’ special rule, not be in a vehicle and be more than 6″ away from the enemy at the start of the movement phase. This means that you will need to make sure that you are not encircled. When arriving from reserves choose targets that are on the edge of the main force, or better still, stranded from their comrades. Also watch out for traps like enemy units deep-striking behind you! 

Notice that you can not return to the shadows and reappear on the same turn. This would be too much like teleporting! As you return to the shadows in the movement phase you will not get to shoot or assault in that turn. Make sure that you use your units effectively.

Genestealer Cult HQ Tactics

The Codex: Genestealer Cults gives us four HQ options. The first is the Genestealer Patriarch, then there is the Magus. Both of these are familiar from earlier Codexes. In addition there are two new HQ tactics to this codex.

Genestealer Patriarch Tactics

Warhammer 40k Tyranid Genestealer Broodlord and Genestealer Brood

A Tyranid Genestealer Patriarch ( Brood Lord ) and Genestealers

The Genestealer Patriarch is the head of the Genestealer insurgence on a planet. As such there should only be one Patriarch in a game. However if you want to fly in the face of the background story, or if you want to create a new storyline, the rules do let you field a number of Patriarchs in a game. Be warned, there may be an amount of shouts of ‘Cheese!’ from opponents and onlookers!

Genestealer Magus Tactics

Warhammer 40k Genestealer Magus PsykerWith each generation the Genestealers pick the most psychic offspring to mate and create the next generation. By the forth generation a leader with full psychic powers is developed. These are the Genestealer Magus’s. They are the psychics of the Genestealer army. You may note that the Patriarch has limited psychic powers, but the Neophyte and Acolyte psykers are missing from this codex.

Genestealer Primus Tactics

The Genestealer Primus is a new addition to the Genestealer Colt army. As an army General he is cheaper than a Patriarch and a better fighter than the Magus. If you are fighting small games or you need the points elsewhere then the Primus is worth considering.

Genestealer Acolyte Iconward Tactics

The Genestealer Acolyte Iconward is an Acolyte that has proved himself worthy of the honour of carrying the cults Icon. The Iconward has stats comparable with a Space Marine Captain and has access to the Genestealer Sacred Relics if you want to spice your Iconward a bit.

Genestealer Cult Elite Tactics

Elite troops are usually more expensive in points costs than troop units. In a standard formation you are limited to 3 elite units in an army. This is so you have enough space for plenty of troop choices. In a unformed army you can have as many of whichever units you want. However having too many elite units will mean that you will be out numbered during the game. Add elite units to your army list, but I highly recommend not over doing it!

Purestrain Genestealer Tactics

40k-Tyranid-Genestealer-150Purestrain Genestealers are the original Genestealers from the Space Hulk Games. The stats in the Codex Genestealer Cults are different from the Codex Tyranids. If you are playing both army lists in the same game you will have to make sure that the different units can be visually told apart.

Purestrain Genestealers only have a 5+ save. This means that the will be ripped apart by most weapons, and the ones that do give you a save will mean that yo are saving 1 in 3 times. This means that you need to keep out of line of fire as much as possible. Hug all the cover you can. The Cult Genestealers get the Stealth special rule. This will help against most weapons.

One way  to keep out of line of fire is to get to your pray quickly. Genestealers get Infiltrate and the special Genestealer Cult special rule ‘Cult Ambush’ to start closer to the enemy, the Fleet and Move Through Cover rules should help them cover intervening ground.

Warhammer 40k Tyranid Genestealer Broodlord and Genestealer Brood

A Tyranid Genestealer Patriarch ( Brood Lord ) and Genestealers

You can have up to 20 Purestrain Genestealers in a unit. This would be expensive, but add survivability to the unit. Note that a squad of 20 stealers is difficult to hide. Have a play with squad sizes and see what works best for you.

Genestealers do not get a dedicated transport option. This does not mean tat they can not hop in to a passing empty Chimera or Truck. Hitching a ride can be a way of moving around the table faster and giving the Genestealers some much needed protection.

Genestealer Hybrid Metamorphs Tactics

Genestealer Cult Hybrid Metamorphs are a new addition to the Codex Genestealer Cults. The Metamorphs are Genestealer Acolytes with extra biomorph mutations. This does push up the points cost per model by one point. As the biomorphs are close combat based you will need to see how often you get in to assault to see if the upgrades are worth it.

Genestealer Aberrants Tactics

Genestealer Aberrant are new to the 2016 Codex Genestealer Cults too.

Genestealer are beefed up infantry units. Armed with Power Axes and Power Hammers, Aberrants they have the clout to make a dint in the toughest tank or walker. Remember that you have to get close to get the hits in.

Genestealer Cult Troop Tactics

The Genestealer Cult Codex provides a couple of troop choices. One option is a close assault focused option and one is more like a Imperial Guard squad. Both options are cheap which means that you can crate a horde army allowing you to out number the opposition.

Genestealer Acolyte Hybrids Tactics

Genestealer Hybrid NeophytesGenestealer Cult Acolyte Hybrids are second and third generation Genestealers. Second Generation Genestealers are half purestrain and half human. These creatures almost look like purestrain Genestealers but can carry weapons. Third generation hybrids look more human but may have 2 to 4 arms and a purplish tone to their skin.

With their Genestealer heritage Genestealer Acolytes are good close combat units for the points cost. their ballistic skill is 3 ( better that the BS2 that they use to be) so you do have half a chance of hitting with your autopistols, however you may want to upgrade as many Acolytes as possible with hand flamers as these hit automatically and ignore cover!

Acolytes with hand weapons get an extra attack on top of the 2 ( or 3 with Acolyte Leader). If you get the charge bonus you can get 4 ( or 5 ) rendering attacks. This means that you have a good chance of winning an assault even against more armoured foe.

So what are the best tactics for Acolyte Genestealers? As with most of the cult army, choose small units as your targets, sneak up close, wipe out the target if you can, and then run away to fight elsewhere on the battlefield later in the game.

Genestealer Neophyte Hybrids Tactics

WH40k Tyranid Genestealer Brood BrothersNeophyte Hybrids are more human than Genestealer. They have access to a wider range of weapons. The downside is that they have far more human stats. In fact the stat line is so close to an Imperial Guardsman that many use Guard models as Neophytes.

The Genestealer Cult Codex allows very flexible formation for Neophyte units. For example you can have two miner heavy weapons or one Imperial Guard Heavy Weapon. Also you can have two special weapons.

Genestealer Cult Fast Attack Tactics

Most Genestealer Cults are fast because they can disappear one turn and reappear somewhere completely different in the next turn. However this disappearing and reappearing act means that you miss some phases and opportunities to cause havoc. With fast units you can usually get around the table quickly and stay on the table the whole turn.

Think about your tactics before you draw up an army list. The less cover on the table, the more fast and heavy units you will need.

Chimera Tactics

Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Chimera troop transpoterThe Genestealer Cult army is often joined by renegade Imperial Guard Units. Some of these units bring basic Guard equipment with them. For this reason it is no surprise that the Genestealer Cult army has access to a number of basic Chimera.

Chimera can move units around the table quicker than running and give some protection and offer some fire support too.

As the Genestealer Cult Chimera is like the Imperial Guard one you can deploy all the same tricks. A favourite is the ‘Mobile Pillbox’ where special weapon or heavy weapon squad members can pop the top hatch and fire their weapons on the move.

Armoured Sentinel Squad Tactics

Armoured Sentinels give the Genestealer Cult some much needed heavy weapon support. It does not have the return to the shadows special rule, so you have to be careful that you are not backed in to a corner.

As infantry units in the Genestealer Cult army are very capable at taking on softer infantry targets, I recommend tooling up your Sentinels with Lascannons, Plasma Cannons and Missile Launchers to take out larger, more armoured targets.

Scout Sentinel Squad Tactics

Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Sentinel SquadronScout Sentinels are like the Armoured Sentinel Squads but with less armour (Douh!). The upside, apart from being 5 points cheaper, is that they gain ‘Scout’ and ‘Move Through Cover’ special rules. I feel that the sneaky nature of these walkers make for a better fit with the nature of the Genestealer Cult army, so they are my preferred choice.

Like the Armoured Sentinels I recommend upgrading the weapons to take on more armoured targets.

Genestealer Cults Goliath Trucks

Out goes the limousine (do you remember them?) and in comes the Goliath Truck as transport for your Genestealers and hybrids.

Genestealer Cult Heavy Support Tactics

Some times you just need big guns! The Genestealer Cults has two heavy support options. The first is the Goliath Rock grinder, the second is the Leman Russ battle tank with a variety of weapons.

Leman Russ Battle Tank Tactics

Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Leman Russ Battle TankThe Leman Russ Battle tank is a core element of the Imperial Guard army. As such it is no wonder that they are available to renegade units that defect to the Genestealer Cult. The challenge though will be to work big slow noisy behemoth in to the sneaky hit and run tactics.

Goliath Rockgrinder Tactics

In addition to the Goliath Truck the Genestealers get a Heavy Support version with extra heavy weapons and extra grinding dozer blade called the Goliath Rockgrinder.

Genestealer Cult Formations

One thing that we do have with the Genestealer Cult Codex is a good number of formations. Many of these match the boxed sets that Games Workshop sell like the formation found in the Overwatch boxed game.

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