Genestealer Cults Part 2 - Army Dynamic (Warhammer 40,000 Codex Review, 8th Edition)

The overall structure and design of the Genestealer Cults on the tabletop is simple - They are guerrilla fighters. These are not the organised scouts and assault specialists of other factions, these are the groups who make do with whatever they can, however they can, and avoid being hit in return. The rule reflects this, as they are not the mob cannon fodder units of the Tyranids themselves or tangentially related factions like the Skaven, but semi-numerically superior units who use the terrain to their advantage. Their capacity to hide about the terrain, disguise their numbers and move between key positions.

The structure of this part is going to be more informal for two reasons - The first is that this review has already been delayed thanks to my job being laughably understaffed and horribly overworked of late. The second is that I don't think our normal format when it comes to the units would work properly. They operate best in synchronized attacks, building upon one another in key strikes and offering a degree of ranged support to one another, or bumping off key targets in sudden strikes. 

The army's overall dynamic would normally make them seem like an easy rehash of the Craftworld Eldar (or Eldar in general) but the divide isn't quite so clear here. In that case you know what unit does which role and they adamantly stick to that - Fire Dragons flash melta guns, Dire Avengers die, and Guardians show up to be killed in place of the important blokes. In the case of this codex, you have a surprisingly large amount of leeway with certain units. Acolyte Hybrids might be your basic infantry choice and cannon fodder, but they are surprisingly adept in melee and their Demo Charges make them useful (and cheap) anti-tank infantry options. Equally, the Goliath Truck might seem like a general purpose armoured car (if you're willing to be charitable) but it has the added benefit of being a surprisingly effective crowd control unit when paired up with the right mob of Neophytes.

While Cult armies certainly have significant tactical blind-spots and adhere to the hit-and-run dynamic of combat, they fit into a means which makes it easier for new players to adjust to this gaming format. With the Eldar, Scions or a few others, certain units are viable only for a single role and if you botch that then those units are dead. It's one more contributing factor as to why armies of Space Marines tend to be so popular overall. With this approach of having overlap between certain roles and tactical standings, you can afford to keep experimenting and make mistakes without instantly losing the battle. In the smaller scale (100-500 point) games most people tend to learn on, that just isn't the case, and it can be offputting. Mistakes are going to hurt, but they won't result in you losing a key piece of your army in one second.

Another definite bonus in the Cults' favour is the decision to use Imperial Guard units to cover basic blind spots. This was done in the previous book, and nine times out of ten any review would be railing against such a move due to laziness. However, this is a very rare case where it works thanks to infiltration efforts from the Tyranids themselves. They would want someone to take over more powerful units among the human population, and to weaken any effort to oppose them. So, infesting a multitude of Guard forces makes general sense. What we have here isn't so much a cut-and-paste job as a few key choices, which could reflect how the Cults only have enough numbers to take over specific parts. Basic Guard squads, Sentinels and Leman Russ tanks are chief among these, and they help to provide a bit of extra fire support where it is lacking here and there. It doesn't QUITE make up for a shortcoming in ranged anti-tank weaponry, but every army needs its Achilles Heel.

With all this said, the main update on the previous codex seemed to focus far more on improving and diversifying what already existed. Naturally, that should go without saying, but we have seen the odd writer attempting to completely reinvent the wheel on occasion. Usually with disastrous consequences. So, in this case, you have bits like Hybrid Metamorphs having substantially more equipment options than in the prior rules, allowing them to serve as something of a Swiss army knife. While they are ultimately anti-elite infantry glass cannons, you have three mutations to select from, each of which offers a new benefit, like Metamorph Claws now serving as stand-in power mauls. The same goes for Abberants, as they have more options to combine their efforts with other units, and now serve in a role closer to Terminators than before.

A fair few of the new models themselves focus largely upon either serving as enhancements to your basic troops or decapitating major threats. This is most obvious with the likes of the Jackal Alphus, which serves in a role not dissimilar to T'au markerlight units in enhancing shooting capability. Others like the Primus serve as more of a means of enhancing ambush capabilities for the overall army, and to buff nearby units over serving as a powerhouse. Others, such as the Kelermorph acts almost as a Cypher-lite in his general role, and his capacity to quickly single out targets with a fair amount of sniping firepower. This is a trend throughout all of the new units, as each is a single model intended either to buff existing mob units or serves in a role similar to that as an assassin. The only exceptions to these are the (very welcome) Atalan Jackals and Achilles Ridgerunners, both of who fill out a much needed fast attack role within the army. While both serve best in the role of harassing and disrupting the approach of an army, it does mean that they are not so tightly tied down to transports for fast movement.

If there is an inherent weakness to the new structure it is simply this - A substantial portion of the focus has now been placed on the HQ and Elites options. While not nearly so bad as during the Fifth and Sixth Editions, and the role of "enhancers" means that you are constantly supporting existing troops choices, it is an issue within the overall structure. You can easily find yourself relying more on singular individuals than more commonplace squads, and this is a rabbit hole that the game just climbed out of. The last thing we need is for it to dive head-first back down it. Plus, combined with the inherent fragility of Cult units, it does mean that you can lose an element you're relying on far more easily to support another squad by an unfortunate roll of the dice. Both, however, are easily acceptable thanks to the army's dynamic, so long as neither is taken any further with the next release. Well, that or if something is taken to more easily offset them in a tactical sense.