With the codex delay, there have been a ton of new 40k Genestealer Cults rules and Datasheets revealed- check them out!
Since the codex was delayed until early 2022, there were plenty of rules leaks from GW are all over the internet. We’ve compiled everything we’ve seen so far here to make it easy!
On another note, the Shadow Throne box has already dropped but you can still find them out in the wild and even on GW’s site. So we’ll also cover the value here so you can see if it’s worth it for you to grab as the individual new characters are not releasing separately with the Genestealer Cults and Adeptus Custodes codex books.
Let’s get into it.
Shadow Throne 40k Box
The Genestealer Cults have found their way to the heart of the Imperium, and when such a threat to the Emperor rears its head the elite Adeptus Custodes will stop at nothing to stamp it out.
Now onto the Shadow Throne box set, which contains a total of 25 minis with 2 new characters for each 40k faction. Let’s start with the Genestealer Cults value then go to the Adeptus Custodes.
- Broodcoven $60
- Neophyte Hybrids $44
- Reductus Saboteur $35 (Based on recent characters, might be as high as $40)
Genestealer Cults MSRP: $139-$144
- Allarus Custodians $50
- Witchseeker Squad $49
- Blade Champion $35 (Based on recent characters, might be as high as $40)
Adeptus Custodes MSRP: $134-$139
Overall MSRP: $273-283
Cost of Box: $170
Total Estimated Value: $103-113
So, if you break it down with a friend, you’ll be paying right around $85 a person and getting about $55 in value each. So, honestly, there is solid value inside (but still less than Hexfire, which got $80 in value per person) and the units included are pretty decent judging from their new rules.
If the retail price does go up, it could be a reflection of increasing prices as we have seen with the Warcry Red Harvest and Harrowdeep starter prices creeping up as its rumored raw components like paper and pulp may be affected by supply chain issues now as well.
Is Shadow Throne Worth It?
Assuming the retail price ends up being $170 as we saw above, Shadow Throne is a solid value at release and probably worth it for anyone looking to start either of these armies or bolster existing ones. While the Genestealer Cults side gets a bit more value, the total overall is a little less than both the recent Hexfire and Piety & Pain battlebox sets.
Plus you can always sell off the side you may not want if you can’t find someone to split it with on Shadow Throne release weekend (that we assume will be early to mid-December now).
Let’s check out the rules in more detail!
9th Edition Genestealer Cults Codex Rules Rumors
Offer praise to the Many-armed Emperor, dear child, for he has delivered a tome full of new and updated rules for the Genestealer Cults. Infiltrate a planet’s key institutions and ready your cult for the Day of Ascension with thematic Crusade rules, and ambush your prey with updated units and new abilities.
Of course, it couldn’t just be Custodes getting their update, so Genestealer Cult is also receiving their full 9th Edition codex this year! They were sure to mention a new point system to help prevent Genestealers from using up all of their CP on turn 2 as they are famous for their CP use, and in turn, running out of them quickly.
Overall, the changes to the deployment side of things just seem like something they needed, so let’s hope that all comes true. Gaining cult creeds would be super strong for everything and adding some strength to Rending Claws would give the army a nice boost.
New Genestealer Cults 40k Rules
There are also some confirmed 40k rules updates for the Genestealer Cults now too!
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.
They also mention taking heavy hitters like the Leman Russ tank (now with a 2+) save along with Heavy Weapon squads etc.
Acolytes are getting a bit of a bump now too:
Thankfully, Acolyte Hybrids get a well-deserved buff to their Toughness in the new codex, offering them greater protection against Strength 4 weapons (boltguns, we’re looking at you) and from the multi-shot Strength 6 guns that are their current nemesis.
Hey, can’t complain about a better statline with extra toughness. Plus, with the Cult icon, they will be more survivable than ever.
This calls upon reinforcements lurking in the shadows to restore them to fighting strength – in the case of Acolyte Hybrids, that’s D3 destroyed models from the unit.
This is pretty sweet and while it might not be broken, over time it can bring back a decent amount of models if you can use it for a few turns.
Genestealer Cults Crossfire 40k Rules
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.
Crossfire Stratagems
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.
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Covering Fire for 1CP is pretty nice to get your units where you want them without the enemy being able to do anything about it. Coordinated Assault is also a great way to get all of your attacks in before the enemy even has a chance.
A Perfect Ambush
You can even upgrade one of your units to be able to use the Crossfire rule as soon as they arrive from Reinforcements, meaning that your enemies are never safe from the Genestealer Cults.
For 15 points this can be insanely strong. While it will only be for one turn, you’ll be getting +1 to hit, adding 1 to your Wound rolls, and ignoring cover!
New Abilities
These were all spotted on Imgur from the Shadow Throne booklet. Let’s compare them to the old Genestealer Cults 40k rules Datasheets and see what’s changed. But first a quick glance at the army page…
Unfortunately for Custodes players, there isn’t really anything in the army-wide ability category, GSC on the other hand does have a few abilities mentioned.
Primus
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- Needle Pistol (now called the Scoped needle pistol) got +6″ range (was 12″ now 18″)
- Bonesword (now called Cult bonesword) got +1S and +1 Damage (was user S and 1 Damage, now +1S and 2 Damage)
- Lost Blasting Charge
- Cult Demagogue now only works for Core units
- Meticulous Planner now is in command phase instead of the first time after being set up
What we don’t know:
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, Primus looks to have gotten better, assuming the points don’t go up after the full book drops in 2022. The new Meticulous Planner also just looks like a pure upgrade.
Magus
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- Leadership now 9 (was 8)
- Familiars changed to wargear, no longer counts as a model.
- Spiritual Leader changed to a defensive aura, giving 5+ FNP (instead of deny the witch to non-psyker units)
What we don’t know:
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, Magus looks to have gotten better, assuming the points don’t go up after the full book drops in 2022. The new Spiritual Leader is probably an upgrade in most situations.
Patriarch
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- BS now 4+ (was 5+)
- Strength now 5 (was 6)
- Wounds now 7 (was 6)
- Familiars changed to wargear, no longer counts as a model.
- Monstrous rending claws (now called Patriarch’s claws) now has flat 2 damage (was D3)
- Lost Blood Telepathy
- Lightning Reflexes (now Preternatural Reflexes) now gives 4+ Invulnerable save (was 5+)
- +1 Psychic Power manifests per turn (was 1, now 2)
What we don’t know:
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, Patriarch looks to have gotten neutral changes, assuming the points don’t go up after the full book drops in 2022. Losing the hit roll bonus aura hurts, but gaining an extra manifest per turn is great.
Neophyte Hybrids
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- All Wargear now listed on the sheet, look above for details
- Shotgun lost the unique ability
What we don’t know:
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, the Neophyte Hybrids look to have gotten slightly worse, assuming the points don’t go down after the full book drops in 2022. Cult Icon looks super helpful now. Other than that the troop’s choice seems similar to previous iterations.
New Reductus Saboteur 40k Rules
This new weapon Remote Explosives looks fantastic. Getting a decent amount of shots with Blast and a triple base-damage modifier against vehicles and monsters built-in, make this thing an absolute powerhouse of damage.
Because the damage bonus is so high, you’ll probably want this character to chip away at vehicles and monsters any time it can, as a damage potential of 18 is pretty dang high for a solo unit with a ranged attack…
Reductus Explosives is a unique rule because your opponent can choose to ignore it or avoid it. If they ignore it, you get to control the field and affect your opponent’s decision-making, which is powerful in a competitive scenario. If they don’t ignore it, you get a decent amount of mortal wounds for free!
Cloaked giving another +1 to saves while in cover is pretty big, making the Reductus Saboteur even harder to take down if you place them correctly and thanks to their decent range, it shouldn’t be too hard to do and still be effective. Additionally, Clandestine making the Saboteur un-targetable within 12″ makes abusing its own 24″ range much easier!
It seems like it always gets -1 to hit regardless of being in cover, which could also make this unit an absolute menace to deal with for your opponents to deal with.
Points for Reductus Saboteur
We’ve even included the points value of the Reductus Saboteur so you can start using this demolitions expert in your matched play games right away.
Without seeing the full book, it’s hard to determine how good something actually is for the points. So whether you think this is way too much or little, wait for the full book before you make the final decision on that.
New Genestealer Cults Goliath, Metamorphs, Hybrids 40k Rules
This was spotted on Reddit as the new IKEA simplified rules are appearing in box sets with the new art inside. Let’s compare it to the old Genestealers Cults 40k rules Datasheet and see what’s changed.
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- +1 to Toughness (was 3 now 4)
- Blasting Charge changed to D3 shots, S5, AP -1, 1 Damage (was D6 shots, S3, AP 0, 1 Damage)
- Bonesword now +1 S, -2 AP, 2 Damage (was user S, -2 AP, 1 Damage)
- Claw and Talon now combined into one profile: +1 S, -3 AP, 1 Damage
What we don’t know:
- Unique abilities? (Hand Flamer auto hits)
- Cult Icon
- New Claw and Talon combination keep extra attack and hit bonus?
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, Metamorphs only got better! Assuming they don’t get obliterated and made obsolete by point increases, these are looking to be great new options for GSC players! All we have to do now is wait and pray GW doesn’t touch their point values too much.
Genestealer Cults Acolyte Hybrids Rules
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- +1 to Toughness (was 3 now 4)
- Blasting Charge changed to D3 shots, S5, AP -1, 1 Damage (was D6 shots, S3, AP 0, 1 Damage)
- Demolition Charge Flat 2 Damage (was D3 Damage)
- Bonesword now +1 S, -2 AP, 2 Damage (was user S, -2 AP, 1 Damage)
- Claw and Talon now combined into one profile: +1 S, -3 AP, 1 Damage
- Heavy Rock Cutter now flat 3 Damage (Was D3)
- Heavy Rock Drill Moved to -4 AP (was-3)
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What we don’t know:
- Unique abilities? (Hand Flamer auto hits)
- Cult Icon
- all the Heavy Rock Weapons special rules. Will they still have instakill, extra mortals, and hit rolls?
- New Claw and Talon combination keep extra attack and hit bonus?
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall Genestealer Cults Hybrids are getting some buffs and if the special rules stay the same, the Heavy Rock Cutter might be the biggest winner. With flat 3 Damage (the highest you could have rolled before), they are coming out on top. But… we haven’t seen points yet, so hopefully, they don’t skyrocket and make it not viable.
New Genestealer Cults Goliath Truck 40k Rules SPOTTED!
This was spotted on Reddit as the new IKEA simplified rules have gotten spotted online. Let’s compare it to the old Genestealer rules Datasheet and see what’s changed.
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- +1 to Leadership and Armor Save (was 7 and 4+, now 8 and 3+ respectively)
- +1 to Movement on 3-5 wound profile (was 8, now 9)
- Demolition Charges changed to flat 2 Damage (was D3)
What we don’t know:
- Unique abilities? (Blast traits)
- 6+ FNP?
- Transport capacity?
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, just like Metamorphs, Trucks only got better! Assuming they don’t get obliterated and made obsolete by point increases, these are looking to be great new options for GSC players! All we have to do now is wait and pray GW doesn’t touch their point values too much.
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- +1 to Hit in Melee, Leadership, and Save(was 4+, 7, 4+, now 3+,8, 3+ respectively)
- +2 to Movement on full wound profile (was 10, now 12)
- +1 to Movement on 3-5 wound profile (was 8, now 9)
- +1 to Movement on 1-2 wound profile (was 6, now 4)
- Demolition Charges changed to flat 2 Damage (was D3)
- Clearance Incinerator now 15″ Range and 6 S (was 12″ and 5 S)
- Heavy Seismic Cannon [Long-Wave] now 6 S and -2 AP (was 4 S and -1 AP)
- Heavy Seismic Cannon [Short-Wave] now 24″ range and -3 AP (was 12″ and -2 AP)
- Drilldozer Blade now +2 S and flat 2 damage (was +3 S and d3 damage)
What we don’t know:
- Unique abilities? (Blast traits, Seismic Cannon 6+ Wound-roll rule)
- 6+ FNP?
- Transport capacity?
- Faction-wide rules and impact on the unit?
- Synergy with other GSC?
Overall, Goliath Trucks seem to have gotten fairly better! Unfortunately, their iconic melee weapon got a slight reduction in power in favor of consistent damage, which isn’t necessarily a straight nerf. But thanks to most of the ranged options getting better, the Goliath Truck looks to be coming out on top!
Look for the Genestealer Cults codex to hit store shelves alongside the Adeptus Custodes in early 2022!
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What do you think about all the new 40k rules update for Genestealer Cults? Do you think the changes are fair?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
