Genestealer Cults 9th Edition 40k Stratagems & Army-Wide Rules

By Andrew Schrank | January 17th, 2022 | Categories: 40k News & Articles, Genestealer Cults, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tabletop Gaming Products, Warhammer Community

Don’t miss all the new Genestealer Cults 40k Stratagems & Army-Wide Rules rules for their updated 9th Edition Warhammer 40k codex.

With the Genestealer Cults Codex in hobbyists’ hands and rules previews aplenty from Games Workshop, we can get a better picture of what all the new rules are looking like for the devotees of the four-armed Emperor.

These unique faction rules are collected from all the following reviews on YouTube, and Warhammer Community alike, so be sure to watch your favorite presenters talk about their take on the book at the links below!

If you are curious about the recent Custodes vs GSC Army box itself, you can check the contents and values here.

Genestealer Cults 9th Edition 40k Stratagem Rules

On the first page of stratagems, we’ve got a pretty good 1-2 combo in Dig Them Out and Overload Fuel Cells. The first part, Dig Them Out for 1CP Industrial Weapons in a selected unit targets an enemy within 12″, they are treated as being exposed, meaning they ignore cover and gain +1 to wound if they have a crossfire marker on them.

Overload Fuel Cells is also 1CP and gives a variety of effects. If ranged, get +1 damage, if melee, get +1 Strength, and if any 1s to hit are rolled, then the attacking model recieves 1 mortal wound.

Massed Firearms on the second page is also a decent option, for 1CP, if a unit fires all shots at a unit with a crossfire marker, 6s to hit auto wound!

Leaders Of The Cult is also a great option, for 1CP. If your list has a Patriarch as the warlord, you can select TWO other HQs to receive different traits! 1CP for two extra traits is a fantastic rate, but you do have to commit a Patriarch as the OG warlord in your list composition.

On the third page, Lurk in the Shadows and Return to the Shadows are another good pair of stratagems, this time helping protect your units. Lurk in the Shadows is 2CP and prevents the opponent from targeting an infantry unit unless it is the closest target OR within 12″.

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Obviously, that can be pretty powerful, especially if you have, for example, a fully kitted melee unit that just needs to survive one more volley to make that all-important charge the following turn. Return to the Shadows is 1CP and if no enemy are within 6″ after movement or attacks (before consolidation) the infantry unit can go into reserves and deepstrike in the next movement phase.

The last page has two options, that were covered by GW and are actually very good!

If that sounds powerful already, you’d be right, and that’s far from all the Genestealer Cults can do with their Crossfire units. Coming under such heavy fire often renders enemies completely unable to defend against an incoming charge and gives their attackers plenty of time to hack away before risking retaliation.

Speaking of crossfire as a mechanic, let’s check out the army-wide rules.

Genestealer Cults 9th Edition 40k Army-Wide Rules

You can include an entire Detachment from Codex: Astra Militarum in your Genestealer Cults army. Not only does this give you access to lots of additional units but, even better, it doesn’t prevent the Genestealer Cult units from using the awesome new Crossfire rule to gun down anyone standing in the way of your rebellion.

Brood brothers is a GSC classic and we like to see how they are handling it this time around. Just remember to not let the amount go over 25% of your Power Rating , not points. While they are generally similar, just pay attention or you’ll lose your Crossfire rules.

Previously, Infantry units would get a boost to their Leadership thanks to the Cult’s shared consciousness. Now, that boon is stronger than ever and spreads to all Brood Brothers forces. While they may not gain the Crossfire keyword, it’s hard for the massive firepower offered by a Heavy Weapons Squad or some Valkyrie air support to go unappreciated by Acolyte and Primus alike.

Getting this for everything is really nice and of course, Infantry gaining the Unquestioning Loyalty is going to help them stay on the field longer.

Out of all the models in the codex, some have keyworded abilities. Conceal involves categorizing units for two following abilities. In deployment units with Conceal can be set in “ambush” instead of on the board, if they are Infantry or bikers they go “underground”. Ambush allows you to set up a marker in your deployment zone, then pick an ambush marker on the field to effectively have that unit deepstrike onto. Additionaly no enemy units can move within 9″ of markers.

Underground is essentially a way to deepstrike in as normal instead of at an ambush marker. Unquestioning Loyalty is more or less a “Lookout sir” rule. If a Cult Character fails a saving throw, a Brood Brother or Cult model may roll a D6, on a 4+ the model rolling the dice takes the damage instead (the roll also gets +1 if the character was a Patriarch).

Another important rule for GSC are Crossfire rules, which are essentially the battleforged rules. Crossfire Markers are placed by landing 5 or more hits from a Crossfire unit or hitting with a weapon that has greater than 1 Damage. These markers last until the end of the turn. When shooting at a model with a Crossfire Marker, that unit gets +1 to hit that unit. There are also benefits if they are EXPOSED, which are explained below.

Whenever a unit with the Crossfire keyword shoots and scores at least five hits (or a hit with a Damage characteristic other than 1) their target gains a crossfire marker. Once an enemy unit has a crossfire marker, it becomes especially vulnerable to attack. First, any further Crossfire units shooting at them add 1 to their hit rolls. Then, if the target is Exposed, they’re in for a world of hurt.

How does a target become Exposed? If you draw a line from the attacking unit’s base to another friendly Crossfire model within sight, and that line passes over the targeted unit, that targeted unit is Exposed (like the picture above).

Attackers add 1 to their wound rolls against the Exposed unit, and if the attackers are within 12” of their target, they ignore enemy cover too. Enemies taking cover in Obscuring terrain have some protection, but unsuspecting foes will fall victim to the Cult’s diabolic pincer attacks.

This is a pretty cool rule and basically turns your units into marker lights that also do damage! If you get both the five hits on a unit and have them exposed, you will have all kinds of buffs. So be sure to order your shots correctly so your better units get the bonuses.

Here’s all the latest on the Genestealer Cults 9th Edition rules updates and points changes for Warhammer 40k

Click Here for all the Newest GW Model Previews

What do you think about the new stratagems and army-wide rules for the Genestealer Cults that have been revealed so far?

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