You might think that with all the recent support in 40k, the Genestealer Cults are a newer faction. They’ve actually been around for ages.
Genestealer Cult players that can pilot the army competitively can finish high at tournaments fairly comfortably. With all the recent GSC support, we’ve decided to go back to Codex Tyranids to trace the origins of the Genestealers. Of course, the Genestealers were their own entity in “Rogue Trader”. Plus, they had some rules in an earlier White Dwarf, but this was their first fully published rules set.
The First-Ever GSC 40k Rules: 2nd Edition Tyranid Codex
This book was written by fan favorite Andy Chambers. He was THE hive mind and did a lot of work to keep these guys relevant throughout 3rd edition.
You’ll notice in the text that army composition was a big deal. Only 25% of your army could consist of support and up to 50% on Characters. That might sound like a lot but it was an era of “HeroHammer” (People really loaded up on the badass characters to do the work). Further, at least 25% of your army had to be Broods.
Now back in the day, Genestealer Cults actually weren’t able to ally with Tyranids on the Tabletop. This is because fluff-wise, the only time you would see Genestealer Cults and Tyranids in the same place at once was at the moment that the Tyranids began to eat the Cults and their world for their delicious Biomass. Looking at 40k now, people are souping up as much as they can and it’s not uncommon to see some GSC players run a couple of Hive Tyrants or even Tyrant Guard.
Moving along deeper into the book, it goes into the wargear and the tactics. It also included the whole catalog so you could buy just the bits. This helped them sell models back in the day but we all know the internet has changed all that.
If you want to take an even deeper look into the first full GSC book, check out our video below! Throw this on while you paint some of your Cults and enjoy.
What do you think about the Genestealer Cults in 40k now? Did you ever expect them to be a standalone army again? What does your list look like? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
