8th Edition Genestealer Cults Codex Review: Part 1- Special Rules, Cult Creeds

Welcome to my 8th edition Codex Review for the new Genestealer Cults army. This first part will take a look at some of the various special rules in the new book. 

Genestealer Cults, for me, are one of the best looking armies in the current 40k range. I picked them up in 7th edition, and they have been a favourite of mine. It doesn't hurt that there is a great new range of models coming out for the army as well. 

Cult Ambush

The Genestealer Cults' defining special rule has seen a big change in the release of the codex. Previously, any units in reserve rolled a D6 on the Cult Ambush table and deployed according to the result. This meant you could either have to deploy from reserve normally (9" away from enemy unit), deploy on a random table edge, or be able to move or shoot after coming out of reserve. 

Obviously, this was entirely variable and games were either won or lost on the Cult Ambush roll. In some situations, your giant Genestealer unit would come out of reserve and get to move and charge, pretty much guaranteeing a charge. However, at other times you could struggle to roll high on the table or roll well for the wrong units, making the game a real uphill struggle to do well in the later turns. 

The new Cult Ambush rules don't have the potential for sheer raw power of the old version, but it seems to be a lot more reliable than the previous version, allowing you to substitute random rolling for tactical ploys. 

40k Battle Report 173- Deathwatch vs Chaos Space Marines

This week's battle report features my Deathwatch army taking on Alex's Chaos Space Marines in a Chapter Approved 2018 maelstrom of war mission. 

We were playing the Scars of Battle maelstrom mission. This is the mission where you roll a D6 on the first battle round. If you roll a 1, you remove cards 11-16, if you roll a 2 you remove cards 21-26, etc. This limits the cards you can score and can really hurt your game depending on what cards you need to remove. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Bolt Pistol, Storm Shield

9 Deathwatch Veterans- 9 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, Chainswords, Vanguard Veteran- Bolt Pistol, Storm Shield

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Terminator- Power Fist, Storm Bolter, Cyclone Missile Launcher

5 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, 3 Shotguns, Storm Shield 

5 Veterans- Missile Launcher, 2 Heavy Bolters, Bolters, Terminator, Power Fist, Assault Cannon

10 Veterans- 6 Bolters, Meltagun, 3 Combi-Meltas, chainswords

Rhino- Two Storm Bolters

Rhino- Two Storm Bolters 

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

Outrider Detachment

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, Bolt Pistol, Lord of Hidden Knowledge (warlord trait), The Tome of Ectoclades (Relic)

4 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Chainswords

4 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Chainswords

4 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Chainswords

This was my first game with the new Beta Bolter rules. Due to this, I wanted to try out some Biker units, given the additional shots at long range they now get. I took three units to allow me to fill an Outrider detachment. 

I didn't take a double Battalion, as I wanted to practice the list for an upcoming tournament, the North East Open. They don't allow double detachments, so I wanted the extra command point in the army. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 55- The WoffBoot Chronicles

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Stylus and Kraken from the WoofBoot Chronicles.

This is an unusual one this week, as the questions feature answers from both writers of the blog. The WoofBoot Chronicles features writers from Wales and Sweden, a very international blog with two great points of view.

I was first drawn to the WoofBoot chronicles for the fantastic written battle reports that you can find there. Their battle reports feature plenty of written details, great photos of the action and turn overview maps. If you are a fan of the battle reports on St Andrews Wargaming, you will most likely enjoy these battle reports too!

On top of that, you will find some great hobby content, dioramas and reviews.

Here are the answers to my questions:

The WoffBoot Chronicles is a gestalt entity that simultaneously exists in Wales and Sweden. So you’ll be getting two different sets of answers, much in the way we write out battle reports. 

I, Stylus, will be writing in text as plain as stale BelVita 

Whereas I, Kraken, I’ll just go with plain Bold. 

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I was ten years old when HeroQuest came out. Space Crusade followed the next year, and shortly after that, my first copy of White Dwarf. The rest is history. 

I was eleven when HeroQuest hit, but it was too late for me by then – I’d already played Space Hulk at a friend’s house. Much to my parents’ dismay, it was downhill after that. 

Battle Report 172- New Chapter Approved Deathwatch vs Sisters of Battle/Astra Militarum

This week's battle report features my Deathwatch taking on the new Sisters of Battle Beta Codex in one of the new Maelstrom missions from Chapter Approved. 

Chapter Approved 2018 saw many of the Deathwatch units get a reduction in points. I was keen to see how the army would perform with the addition of some new units to my force. The mission we were playing was Decapitation Strike, with Angus taking his Sisters of Battle to the field against my Deathwatch. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master- Guardian Spear, Castellan of the Black Vault warlord trait (D)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC1)

Kill Team 1- 9 Veterans with Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, Chainswords, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol. (FT1)

Kill Team 2- 10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Rifles (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with Meltagun, 3 Combi-Meltas, Storm Shield, Chainswords (KT3)

5 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield (B)

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment 

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, Bolt Pistol, The Tome of Ectoclades. (WC2)

Watch Captain- Combi-Melta, Xenophase Blade, Bolt Pistol (WC3)

Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with 2 Frag Cannons, 3 Shotguns, Storm Shield (KT4)

Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Power Fist and Storm Bolter (KT5)

Kill Team 6- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Storm Shield (KT6)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R1)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R2)

Venerable Dreadnought- Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher (VD)

Primaris Apothecary (A)

I decided to mix things up a bit with my Kill Teams, adding some mixed squads to the force. The first one was to add a Vanguard Veteran to my Storm Bolter Kill Team. I would lose some Storm Bolter shots, but the ability to fall back and shoot would be a big boost for the unit. 

I also added a Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher to one of my Missile Launcher Kill Teams. This would give me two extra missile shots, as well as make the unit immune to morale. 

With the points drops, I also decided to try out a Venerable Dreadnought to add more anti-tank firepower, as well as a unit of Bikers to see if the points reductions made them more worthwhile. 

I kept with my standard characters, but decided to change up the warlord trait for the Castellan of the Black Vault on the Watch Master. This would make his Guardian Spear 3 damage from shooting and D3+1 from combat. This should allow him to cause a lot of damage with his attacks. 

40k Grand Slam Tournament Game 4- Dark Angels/Deathwatch vs Aeldari/Drukhari

Game 4 of the Grand Slam Tournament saw my Dark Angels and Deathwatch force take on a mixed Aeldari and Drukhari army, commanded by Ben. 

This mission was a mixed Maelstrom and Eternal war ETC mission. The Eternal War mission was Resupply Drop, while the maelstrom mission was Tactical Escalation, using Hammer and Anvil deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment (Dark Angels)

Azrael (Az)

Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle, Eye of the Unseen (Relic) (L)

Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles (I)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (S2)

5 Devastators- Heavy Bolter, Armorium Cherub (D)

10 Hellblasters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter (DS)

Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC)

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (DI)

10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)

6 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 4 Stalker Bolters (DV2)

Auxiliary Detachment

Culexus Assassin (CA)

Chapter Approved 2018: Part 2- Eternal War Missions

Part 2 of my Chapter Approved review will take a look at the new Eternal War missions. The book features 6 new missions to use in your games of 40k. 

Eternal War Missions

Acceptable Casualties

Sudden Death no longer applies in the new Eternal war missions. What this means is that tabling your opponent does not automatically win you the game. 

You can check out my thoughts on this for the maelstrom of war mission in yesterday's post. I think this rule would have a much greater effect in Maelstrom of War missions than in most Eternal War missions, if we were using the standard ones. You could simply table your opponent, then hopefully use the remaining turns to grab the objectives and win the game.

However, the new Eternal War missions feature a lot of progressive scoring (scoring as the game goes on, rather than at the end game), so it could be possible to gain a good lead as the game goes on to prevent your opponent from snatching victory on the final turn.

I prefer progressive scoring in most games. End of game scoring can tend to turn into a bloodbath, with the objectives being a consideration for the final turn, pouncing on them in the end game, rather than a focus from the start of the game.

Chapter Approved 2018 Review: Part 1- Maelstrom Missions

Chapter Approved 2018 is now upon us, with a whole host of new missions to try out in our games of 40k. The first part of my review will take a look at the new Maelstrom of War missions. These are my favourite way to play 40k, so I was keen to see what was in store. 

Maelstrom of War Missions

As well as 6 new missions, there are a number of special rules added to the maelstrom games that are a big improvement over how the game will be played. 

Acceptable Casualties

Sudden Death no longer applies in the new maelstrom of war missions. What this means is that tabling your opponent does not automatically win you the game. 

Finally! In my opinion, this is how the game should have been played from the start. In so many casual games and tournament games, I have had opponents go for wiping out my army, as opposed to actually even attempting to play the mission. This will now hopefully force players to actually consider going after the maelstrom cards/objectives for a hope of winning the game. 

A gunline army can still sit back and pound the enemy force with their superior firepower, but this will probably punish them in the long run, as they are not collecting maelstrom points. This new rule change will probably not affect me at all, as in all maelstrom missions, the cards were always deciding how I was playing. Hopefully, we'll see a lot more players making greater tactical decisions in games; sacrificing a units' shooting to advance onto an objective, thinking about unit placement to best go after objectives in later turns. 

If one opponent gets tabled, I think the game still continues, giving your opponent the chance to score more maelstrom points in their turn. This is one way they can try and win the game after tabling their opponent, but does not guarantee victory if your opponent has been focusing on scoring big in the maelstrom mission and has a significant lead. 

I would hope more tournaments would adopt maelstrom only missions and get rid of kill points in an effort to encourage better playing of the mission, rather than just crushing your opponent. 

40k Grand Slam Tournament Game 3- Dark Angels/Deathwatch vs Imperial Knights/Astra Militarum

My third game of the Element Games Grand Slam 40k tournament saw my Dark Angels and Deathwatch force take on Matt and his army of Imperial Knights and Astra Militarum. 

The ETC mission was Dominate and Destroy for the Eternal War mission and Contact Lost for the maelstrom of war mission. This would be tough, as this game gave double kill points for the Eternal War mission on top of the ETC mission. We would be using Dawn of War deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment (Dark Angels)

Azrael (Az)

Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle, Eye of the Unseen (Relic) (L)

Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles (I)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (S2)

5 Devastators- Heavy Bolter, Armorium Cherub (D)

10 Hellblasters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter (DS)

Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC)

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (DI)

10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)

6 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 4 Stalker Bolters (DV2)

Auxiliary Detachment

Culexus Assassin (CA)

40k Grand Slam Tournament Game 2- Dark Angels/Deathwatch vs Ynnari

After a big win on game 1, my second game of the tournament saw me taking to one of the top tables to face Mikey from Hellstorm Wargaming and his Ynnari force. 

The joint missions were Big Guns Never Tire for the Eternal War and Deadlock for the maelstrom of war mission, with Search and Destroy deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment (Dark Angels)

Azrael (Az)

Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle, Eye of the Unseen (Relic) (L)

Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles (I)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (S2)

5 Devastators- Heavy Bolter, Armorium Cherub (D)

10 Hellblasters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter (DS)

Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC)

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (DI)

10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)

6 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 4 Stalker Bolters (DV2)

Auxiliary Detachment

Culexus Assassin (CA)

40k Grand Slam Tournament Battle Report 1- Dark Angels/Deathwatch vs Adeptus Mechanicus/Blood Angels/Astra Militarum

Here is my first 40k tournament battle report form the recent Grand Slam event held at Element Games. 

The first game was against Wayne and his mixed Imperial force, featuring a lot of firepower and some hard-hitting combat units. The first mission was a mixture of The Scouring Eternal War and Tactical Gambit for the maelstrom of war, using Spearhead Assault deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment (Dark Angels)

Azrael (Az)

Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle, Eye of the Unseen (Relic) (L)

Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles (I)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (S2)

5 Devastators- Heavy Bolter, Armorium Cherub (D)

10 Hellblasters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter (DS)

Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC)

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (DI)

10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)

6 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 4 Stalker Bolters (DV2)

Auxiliary Detachment

Culexus Assassin (CA)