The final part of my 8th Edition Genestealer Cults codex review will take a look at the Heavy Support, Dedicated Transport and Fortifications sections of the book.
Heavy Support
Cult Leman Russ
The Cult Leman Russ got a 10 pts reduction over the index version, making it slightly cheaper to take it.
The Leman Russ provides a nice weapons platform for the Cult. It also benefits from the Cult Ambush rule, which is great for it. This allows you to deploy it in optimal position after seeing your opponent's deployment, either to go after the best targets or to stay safe from enemy guns or attacks. This gives it a nice bonus to help it stay alive for longer.
It comes with the Battle Cannon, Eradicator Nova Cannon, Exterminator Autocannon or Vanquisher Battle Cannon. With Grinding Advance, this gives you some decent firepower on a fairly durable tank platform.
Another nice bonus is that you can purchase an Augur Array for only 5 pts. This gives you a single re-roll to hit once per game. This is a nice bonus for the Vanquisher Battle Cannon, allowing you to save your CP re-roll on a to wound roll or damage roll.
I like the Russ, it gives some much needed heavy firepower to the Cult, at a pretty reasonable cost. However, one of the problems is that it is a Brood Brothers vehicle, meaning it gains no benefit from Cult Creeds or some of the useful special abilities and stratagems in the codex. It does benefit from the Devoted Crew stratagem, allowing the vehicle to act as if it was in its top wounds bracket, so you can get a turn or two of strong firepower from it if you have the CP to spare.
Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad
This is essentially a Heavy Weapons squad for the Genestealer Cults. It consists of three teams armed with either an Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher or Mortar.
This not only gives you some strong firepower in the squad, but it is also a nice way to get a cheap heavy support choice in the army. This is useful if you are trying to build a cheap Brigade for your army to get more useful command points.
The squad is Brood Brothers, so doesn't benefit from many of the special rules and abilities in the army, but they do get Cult Ambush. Once more, this allows you to deploy in an optimal position based on your opponent's deployment or movements in their first turn.
As said above, this unit will not benefit from many of the BS bonus abilities in the codex. A shame, as getting +1 to hit or re-rolls of 1's to hit on this squad would be very powerful.
Goliath Rockgrinder
The Cult vehicle actually got a number of good buffs in the codex over the index version.
First off, it got cheaper, going down to 78 pts for the chassis. Another big bonus was that its WS has gone up to 4+ (as opposed to 5+ in the index) and 6 attacks at the top damage profile. This is a big boost, as the Rockgrinder has some pretty good combat attacks. Armed with a Drilldozer Blade, it is S9, AP-2 and D3 damage, as well as getting D3 additional attacks when it charges.
This gives you the ability to get up to nine S9 attacks in combat that hit on a 4+. This will make it pretty potent against a number of threats in the enemy army.
Its ranged weaponry also got a big boost in the codex. The Clearance Incinerator a is now 12", Heavy 2D6 heavy flamer. An extra D6 shots over the index, but it is no longer Assault, meaning it cannot advance and fire. A fair trade off for me.
The Heavy Mining Laser has gone up to D3 shots, which is nice as you will be hitting on a 5+ if you move. The Heavy Seizmic Cannon has also gone up to Heavy 6 for long wave and Heavy 3 for short wave. At short range, it is now Heavy 3, S8, -2 AP and 3 damage per wound. Quite a powerful weapon if you can get close enough to use it and can hit.
The vehicle still has a transport capacity of 6, but a Patriarch now takes up 5 places. This is a great vehicle for getting close to the enemy army and getting into combat. It's improved firepower on the Clearance Incinerator and the bonus to its combat abilities makes it a great vehicle for getting close to the enemy army.
Once more, the cult ambush ability allows you to deploy it in the optimal position based on how your opponent deploys.
At 110 pts with the clearance incinerator, this is not too expensive to take a couple in your army for some strong combat ability on a vehicle.
Dedicated Transports
Goliath Truck
The Goliath Truck also got a points reduction, going down to 72 pts from 107 pts in the index, so a substantial reduction!
It is a lighter transport truck than most vehicles, only being T6 and a 4+ save, though it does get a 6+ save against any wounds caused. It is also open topped, allowing you to fire out of it with a squad embarked.
The Truck can also be armed with a Cache of Demolition charges, allowing a squad inside to fire up to 6" with Assault D6, S8, AP-3 and D3 damage. This is a pretty potent grenade pack to use, but you do need to be close to the enemy and have a squad inside that can use it.
It has a transport capacity of 10, so great for carrying combat units, such as Genestealers, Acolyte Hybrids or Aberrants.
It has some decent firepower with the Heavy Stubber and Twin Autocannon, but you will only be hitting on a 5+ if you move with the vehicle.
A decent transport option for the Genestealer Cults, and has got a significant points reduction in the codex. I think it was probably a bit too expensive for what it could do in the Index, but at roughly the same cost as a Rhino, it is a solid choice for transporting your units.
Cult Chimera
The Genestealer Cult can take their own Chimera. This is pretty much the same as the Astra Militarum version, but can only transport Brood Brothers infantry.
It gives a more durable transport vehicle over the Goliath Truck, but is limited in who it can carry. For me, the only benefits of the Brood Brothers squad over the Neophyte Hybrids or Acolyte Hybrids is the access to a larger range of Heavy Weapons. In this case, you probably don't want the squad moving or being transported much.
You can arm the Chimera with two Heavy Flamers, so this could be useful for a close ranged support vehicle with some decent firepower.
Fortifications
Tectonic Fragdrill
The Genestealer Cults get their own fortification drill to deploy in the battlefield. It is only 75 pts, so is not going to cost too much if you want to take one in your army.
It follows the standard Sector Mechanicus rules, so can't be moved when it is set up and has limits on what models can move up to the platform or benefit from cover saves.
The drill gives you some benefits to your reserves, as well as the potential to harm or hinder units.
Once per turn, in the movement phase, any Infantry or Biker unit with the Cult Ambush ability can move within 1" of the drill and be removed from the battlefield. They can then deploy at the end of your next movement phase, anywhere on the board at least 9" from an enemy unit.
This gives you the same ability as the "Return to the Shadows" stratagem, albeit more limited to a single location on the board to use it. It may save you a command point a few times, so could be worth it.
The other ability is to activate the drill. You can do this if you have a model on the drill at the end of your movement phase, and no enemy models on it.
When activated, roll a D6 for every unit within 3" of the tip of the drill on the ground floor. On a roll of a 6, the unit immediately suffers D6 mortal wounds. This has the potential to damage nearby enemy units, as well as your own, so deployment of the drill will be key.
If activated, roll a D6, add 1 for each time the drill has been activated so far in the game. On a 1-5, the Seismic Tremors ability activates. On a 6+, the Seismic Tremors and Seismic Quake abilities activate.
Seismic tremors subtracts 2 from charge rolls made within 12" of the drill, unless the model can Fly. This is useful for disrupting enemy charges made near the drill and could result in some failed charges, which can be useful for turning the tide of the battle.
For the Seismic Quake, you draw an imaginary line (1 mm thick) from one edge of the battlefield to the other, so that it passes over the drill. Roll a D6 for each unit that is under the line on the ground level of the battlefield. On a 4+, the unit suffers D3 mortal wounds and halves its movement value until the end of its next movement phase. Units with Fly are unaffected.
I'm not sure the Tectonic Fragdrill is worth taking in most situations. The abilities can be quite powerful, but they can affect your own units as well, so drawing the imaginary line could be tricky without hindering or harming your own units as well. The ability to halve the movement of enemy units is pretty powerful, so it may be worth it in some situations, but I think this will be a rarity.
It's a nice looking model, but I think I would save it for scenery, rather than fielding it in my army.
Overall
The Cult vehicles got some nice bonuses to their stats and points drops in the codex, making fielding them more appealing in the army. Genestealer Cults don't tend to have a problem with mobility thanks to the Cult Ambush rules, but the added durability of a transport vehicle is pretty good for them.
The Heavy Weapons Squad is also a nice addition, giving you a cheap heavy support unit, as well as giving you access to some strong Heavy Weapon firepower.
Genestealer Cults Codex Review
Part 1- Special Rules, Cult Creeds
Part 2- Stratagems
Part 3- Warlord Traits, Relics, Psychic Powers
Part 4- HQ Units
Part 5- Troops
Part 6- Elites
Part 7- Fast Attack
Part 8- Heavy Support and Dedicated Vehicles
The Leman Russ provides a nice weapons platform for the Cult. It also benefits from the Cult Ambush rule, which is great for it. This allows you to deploy it in optimal position after seeing your opponent's deployment, either to go after the best targets or to stay safe from enemy guns or attacks. This gives it a nice bonus to help it stay alive for longer.
It comes with the Battle Cannon, Eradicator Nova Cannon, Exterminator Autocannon or Vanquisher Battle Cannon. With Grinding Advance, this gives you some decent firepower on a fairly durable tank platform.
Another nice bonus is that you can purchase an Augur Array for only 5 pts. This gives you a single re-roll to hit once per game. This is a nice bonus for the Vanquisher Battle Cannon, allowing you to save your CP re-roll on a to wound roll or damage roll.
I like the Russ, it gives some much needed heavy firepower to the Cult, at a pretty reasonable cost. However, one of the problems is that it is a Brood Brothers vehicle, meaning it gains no benefit from Cult Creeds or some of the useful special abilities and stratagems in the codex. It does benefit from the Devoted Crew stratagem, allowing the vehicle to act as if it was in its top wounds bracket, so you can get a turn or two of strong firepower from it if you have the CP to spare.
Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad
This is essentially a Heavy Weapons squad for the Genestealer Cults. It consists of three teams armed with either an Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher or Mortar.
This not only gives you some strong firepower in the squad, but it is also a nice way to get a cheap heavy support choice in the army. This is useful if you are trying to build a cheap Brigade for your army to get more useful command points.
The squad is Brood Brothers, so doesn't benefit from many of the special rules and abilities in the army, but they do get Cult Ambush. Once more, this allows you to deploy in an optimal position based on your opponent's deployment or movements in their first turn.
As said above, this unit will not benefit from many of the BS bonus abilities in the codex. A shame, as getting +1 to hit or re-rolls of 1's to hit on this squad would be very powerful.
Goliath Rockgrinder
The Cult vehicle actually got a number of good buffs in the codex over the index version.
First off, it got cheaper, going down to 78 pts for the chassis. Another big bonus was that its WS has gone up to 4+ (as opposed to 5+ in the index) and 6 attacks at the top damage profile. This is a big boost, as the Rockgrinder has some pretty good combat attacks. Armed with a Drilldozer Blade, it is S9, AP-2 and D3 damage, as well as getting D3 additional attacks when it charges.
This gives you the ability to get up to nine S9 attacks in combat that hit on a 4+. This will make it pretty potent against a number of threats in the enemy army.
Its ranged weaponry also got a big boost in the codex. The Clearance Incinerator a is now 12", Heavy 2D6 heavy flamer. An extra D6 shots over the index, but it is no longer Assault, meaning it cannot advance and fire. A fair trade off for me.
The Heavy Mining Laser has gone up to D3 shots, which is nice as you will be hitting on a 5+ if you move. The Heavy Seizmic Cannon has also gone up to Heavy 6 for long wave and Heavy 3 for short wave. At short range, it is now Heavy 3, S8, -2 AP and 3 damage per wound. Quite a powerful weapon if you can get close enough to use it and can hit.
The vehicle still has a transport capacity of 6, but a Patriarch now takes up 5 places. This is a great vehicle for getting close to the enemy army and getting into combat. It's improved firepower on the Clearance Incinerator and the bonus to its combat abilities makes it a great vehicle for getting close to the enemy army.
Once more, the cult ambush ability allows you to deploy it in the optimal position based on how your opponent deploys.
At 110 pts with the clearance incinerator, this is not too expensive to take a couple in your army for some strong combat ability on a vehicle.
Dedicated Transports
Goliath Truck
The Goliath Truck also got a points reduction, going down to 72 pts from 107 pts in the index, so a substantial reduction!
It is a lighter transport truck than most vehicles, only being T6 and a 4+ save, though it does get a 6+ save against any wounds caused. It is also open topped, allowing you to fire out of it with a squad embarked.
The Truck can also be armed with a Cache of Demolition charges, allowing a squad inside to fire up to 6" with Assault D6, S8, AP-3 and D3 damage. This is a pretty potent grenade pack to use, but you do need to be close to the enemy and have a squad inside that can use it.
It has a transport capacity of 10, so great for carrying combat units, such as Genestealers, Acolyte Hybrids or Aberrants.
It has some decent firepower with the Heavy Stubber and Twin Autocannon, but you will only be hitting on a 5+ if you move with the vehicle.
A decent transport option for the Genestealer Cults, and has got a significant points reduction in the codex. I think it was probably a bit too expensive for what it could do in the Index, but at roughly the same cost as a Rhino, it is a solid choice for transporting your units.
Cult Chimera
The Genestealer Cult can take their own Chimera. This is pretty much the same as the Astra Militarum version, but can only transport Brood Brothers infantry.
It gives a more durable transport vehicle over the Goliath Truck, but is limited in who it can carry. For me, the only benefits of the Brood Brothers squad over the Neophyte Hybrids or Acolyte Hybrids is the access to a larger range of Heavy Weapons. In this case, you probably don't want the squad moving or being transported much.
You can arm the Chimera with two Heavy Flamers, so this could be useful for a close ranged support vehicle with some decent firepower.
Fortifications
Tectonic Fragdrill
The Genestealer Cults get their own fortification drill to deploy in the battlefield. It is only 75 pts, so is not going to cost too much if you want to take one in your army.
It follows the standard Sector Mechanicus rules, so can't be moved when it is set up and has limits on what models can move up to the platform or benefit from cover saves.
The drill gives you some benefits to your reserves, as well as the potential to harm or hinder units.
Once per turn, in the movement phase, any Infantry or Biker unit with the Cult Ambush ability can move within 1" of the drill and be removed from the battlefield. They can then deploy at the end of your next movement phase, anywhere on the board at least 9" from an enemy unit.
This gives you the same ability as the "Return to the Shadows" stratagem, albeit more limited to a single location on the board to use it. It may save you a command point a few times, so could be worth it.
The other ability is to activate the drill. You can do this if you have a model on the drill at the end of your movement phase, and no enemy models on it.
When activated, roll a D6 for every unit within 3" of the tip of the drill on the ground floor. On a roll of a 6, the unit immediately suffers D6 mortal wounds. This has the potential to damage nearby enemy units, as well as your own, so deployment of the drill will be key.
If activated, roll a D6, add 1 for each time the drill has been activated so far in the game. On a 1-5, the Seismic Tremors ability activates. On a 6+, the Seismic Tremors and Seismic Quake abilities activate.
Seismic tremors subtracts 2 from charge rolls made within 12" of the drill, unless the model can Fly. This is useful for disrupting enemy charges made near the drill and could result in some failed charges, which can be useful for turning the tide of the battle.
For the Seismic Quake, you draw an imaginary line (1 mm thick) from one edge of the battlefield to the other, so that it passes over the drill. Roll a D6 for each unit that is under the line on the ground level of the battlefield. On a 4+, the unit suffers D3 mortal wounds and halves its movement value until the end of its next movement phase. Units with Fly are unaffected.
I'm not sure the Tectonic Fragdrill is worth taking in most situations. The abilities can be quite powerful, but they can affect your own units as well, so drawing the imaginary line could be tricky without hindering or harming your own units as well. The ability to halve the movement of enemy units is pretty powerful, so it may be worth it in some situations, but I think this will be a rarity.
It's a nice looking model, but I think I would save it for scenery, rather than fielding it in my army.
Overall
The Cult vehicles got some nice bonuses to their stats and points drops in the codex, making fielding them more appealing in the army. Genestealer Cults don't tend to have a problem with mobility thanks to the Cult Ambush rules, but the added durability of a transport vehicle is pretty good for them.
The Heavy Weapons Squad is also a nice addition, giving you a cheap heavy support unit, as well as giving you access to some strong Heavy Weapon firepower.
Genestealer Cults Codex Review
Part 1- Special Rules, Cult Creeds
Part 2- Stratagems
Part 3- Warlord Traits, Relics, Psychic Powers
Part 4- HQ Units
Part 5- Troops
Part 6- Elites
Part 7- Fast Attack
Part 8- Heavy Support and Dedicated Vehicles
As I've mentioned in my own posts, the Goliaths and the HWS with Mortars are my strong picks here. I am definitely interested to see if others get better use from some of the remaining options than I expect, tho.
ReplyDeleteThe Fragdrill is really hard to evaluate. I'd be a lot more inclined to it if there were a Fortification slot in Battalions and/or Brigades, but taking up an entire Detachment on top of the Points cost is a pretty hefty price to pay. I do feel the Points cost is probably a bit high too, tho. But on the other hand, getting to place a substantial piece of Terrain toward the end of Deployment could be a pretty big deal, it can't be destroyed, and it is pretty solid for hiding behind, especially in combination with some preexisting Terrain or something. And a free Return to the Shadows every Turn seems like it really has some strong potential. IDK.
I think the Rockgrinder improved significantly, even with just the 4+ to hit in combat. It is now an acutal threat to most units in combat, rather than just the occasional annoyance.
DeleteI need to add another mortar to my team so that I can now field them.
Just to say I have really enjoyed this series and look forward to starting my cult off soon once tournament army painting is out of the way.. The only thing I dont like is some of the cool new models not having great rules like the ridgerunner but things change with GW and a points reduction or something else may change their effectiveness. With regards heavy support I cant see past the Leman Russ and mortar teams either.
ReplyDeleteCheers Doc, glad people are finding them useful. I've still to get a game in with them, looking forward to trying them out.
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