A plan generations in the making, the Genestealer Cults have long seeded their aims of welcoming their Star Children and take their rightful place in the promised ascension, though the form of the promised day may not exactly play out the way they thought it would. Spreading over the entire population of a world, and with genetically touched members in places of power and authority, the cult waits for the opportune time to reveal itself, and for the Imperium things are already too late when that happens.

In Codex Genestealer Cults, up for pre order today, we gain the rules and detachments for this shadowy faction, along with lore, Combat Patrol and Crusade content.

In this review we’ll be checking out what has changed from the Index, putting the new detachments through their paces and seeing if the new Benefictus can put up a fight in the new book.

Massive thanks to Games Workshop for sending us a free review copy, if you would like to support the site then why not order your Genestealer Cult goodies through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself money too?

We also have reviews up today for the new Sisters of Battle Codex and Pariah Nexus Objectives too, so make sure to check those out!

But without further ado, let’s dive straight into the secrets of the Genestealer Cults

Codex Genestealer Cults (2024) Review

The 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k has been around for a year now, and we’ve starting to see the Codex results with this wave coming thick and fast. I think it’s safe to say that some have felt a little deflated by recent Codexes that have set to re-balance things a little by altering profiles and making large changes to detachments and how the armies work. While not massive mechanical changes, we have seen a trend of taking particularly powerful areas and toning them down, and shifting some specific builds and playstyles to the detachments – And this is something that we do see in the new Genestealer Cults Codex.

Another thing that we have seen over the last few releases is putting the new models that are getting released alongside a codex into a Battleforce Box.

For the Genestealer Cults we get the new Benefictus put in one such of these boxes. These do tend to offer amazing discounts on buying the contents separately (This box in particular would cost around £210 if you bought the individual kits), though some will be disappointed at not being able to pick up the Benefictus by himself at launch.

So what do we get in the new Codex itself? Well as with the other 10th edition books we get a sizeable lore section detailing the Genestealer Cults and the units that make them up – if you have never read any previous codexes then you will hungrily eat up all this lore about the faction, and even for returning players there’s new things here such as the lore behind the living weapons of the Benefictus, able to channel the power of the hive mind into a psychic weapon to crack open tanks.

The Rules

So what’s changed in the core faction rules? Well for a start, Brood Brothers are out – they not only exist in a specific Detachment (Though that detachment can take up to 50% of points of Brood Brothers, so that’s a big improvement) so if you are wanting to lean into the corrupted Astra Militarium side of things you’re going to want to build and army around it rather than being able to just drop in a unit here and there.

Cult Ambush still exists as our primary mechanic, though this too has had some changes. You still roll a dice whenever a Cult Ambush unit is destroyed, with a new unit being created and placed into reserves on a roll of 5+, and you still get +1 to the roll if it is the first or second Battle Round, however now you no longer also get +1 to the roll if the unit is Battleline, making it far less likely that those units come back. Early game you still have a 50/50 chance of units coming back, it’s just a lot less reliable than when your basic squads came back on a 3+

All the usual rules about enemy models getting within 9″ removing an ambush token still exist, and you still get to place your ambushing reserves with at least one model touching your ambush token at the end of the enemy movement phase. As I’ve only reviewed a digital copy I’m not sure if any card ambush tokens come with the book like they did for the previous edition, though sadly I don’t think this is the case.

Detachments

The original detachment from the Index has now been expanded into 5 detachments – let’s take a look at each in turn!

Host of Ascension

Host of Ascension is the original Ascension Day detachment with a brand new name. The detachment rule for this one remains the same with models set up from reserves gaining Sustained Hits 1 and Ignores Cover.

Enhancements have been changed up here. Prowling Agitant still exists allowing the model to make a move of D6 inches in reaction to enemy movement, but we also get 3 new ones that replace the old ones. A Chink in their Armour gives models in the unit Lethal Hits when they come in from reserves, Our Time is Nigh gives the unit +2 to charge rolls and Assassination Edict gives the unit +1 to hit when targeting Characters.

Stratagems have also been adjusted here – Things like Tunnel Crawlers still exist, but they are joined with some new options such as Lying in Wait, which allows you to place your ambushers within 6″ of a token in order to get them a little close, and A Deadly Snare which inflicts Mortal Wounds on units that charge your units. primed and Ready comboes quite nicely with the detachment rules in that it allows a unit to get critical hits on a 5+

Xenocreed Congregation

If you want to field all the characters (And you have a lot of them to play with in the Genestealer Cults) then the Xenocreed Congregation may be the one for you! This is all about characters leading units, and the detachment rules allow units that have a character attached to re-roll advance and charge rolls, and Magus, Primus and Iconwards gain Feel No Pain 3+ while attached to units,

The enhancements as your would expect further boost these – so theres one that allows attached units to charge after advancing and another that allows your units to add 1 to hits and wounds when targeting characters. My Favourite however is Deeds That Speak To The Masses, which allows you to reroll your Cult Ambush rolls for Battleline units, making it more likely that they come back.

There’s some pretty good strats too – Frenzied Devotion gives a unit +1 attach and weapon skill in melee, but makes their attach hazardous. The Downtrodden Rise allows you to place a Cult Uprising unit anywhere on the board outside of 9 of enemies, and not just on a token. Very thematically, Vengence For The Martyr gives your units +1 to hit against a unit that has killed a friendly unit, and reroll hits if they killed a character.

All of these abilities are based around Acolytes, Metamorphs and Neophytes, so this is a perfect one to go for if you like massed armies with loads of characters.

Biosanctic Broodsurge

If you’d rather go heavy with Aberrants and Genestealers then this is a great pick! You get to add 1 to charge rolls for Genestealers, Aberrants and Biophagus units, and if they complete a charge they get to increase their attacks by 1.

Your combat characters get some ace boosts from the enhancements in this detachment with Biomorph Adaptation increasing their Damage and AP by 1, and Mutagenic Regeneration giving your character a wound back each command phase (note that this isnt just in your command phase)

There’s some fun stratagems on offer here – want to recreate the moving blips from Space Hulk? Evasive Vanguard allows you to move your ambush marker 6″ when an enemy gets close to it, setting up your Genestealers to charge at the juicy target trying to clear their token off the board. Helping in those long ball charges from tokens, Stimulated Bio-Surge gives your unit an additional +1 to charge, making an average roll of 7 a success when charging from ambush.

Outlander Claw

For players who want to go Mad Max and take loads of vehicles, the Outlander Claw is for you! This doubles the OC of all mounted and vehicle models, and also allows Atalan Jackals to “tag” objectives in the command phase and still retain control of then them they move away. I really like this detachment and think it would lend itself really well to objective play.

The enhancements for this detachment are also very nice – Serpentine Tactics allows your unit to shoot after falling back, Cartographic Data Leech is a nice one that improves the BS of models shooting out of a transport and Starfall Shells allows your snipers to give friendly models that shoot the same target +1 to hit, which just feels really thematic with your various weapons following the tracer fire on the target.

The strats lean into the vehicle and mounted army too, with Rapid Feint allowing your Rigerunners and Bikes to make a 6″ move in the enemy movement phase, Deft maneuvering giving them a 4+ ward save, and Encircling the Prey allowing you to pop vehicles and mounted units into reserves at the end of the enemy fight phase

I really like this detachment and most times would probably gun this, unless I wanted to bring a Shadowsword and run the next one…

Brood Brothers Auxilia

So this is the new way of taking Imperial Guard alongside your Genestealer Cults, and it’s a pretty good one! Half of your army can be drawn from the Astra Militarum list, with a few restrictions – you can’t take Aircraft, Commissars, Epic Heroes, Tempestus, Ogryns, Ratlings, Enginseers or Priests, but that still gives you a massive pool of units (And leaves the door open for any units that will be added in the upcoming codex too)

In addition to this Integrated Tactics gives you the effect of the old crossfire rule – If a Astra Militarum unit shoots at a single target (so no splitting fire) within 18″ then all Genestealer Cults units get +1 to hit – there’s no limit to how many times you can do this across the army, and each different unit can grant this bonus, allowing you to use big Brood Brother squads to light up targets for the rest of your army.

Enhancements also reflect your unusual mixed army with things such as Martial Espionage giving nearby Astra Militarum infantry and mounted units increased AP or The Hero Returned increasing the OC and Leadership of your unit to represent your Character being a celebrated military hero who has returned to lead the cult.

This mixed force vibe also applies to the strats too with some really nice thematic ones – Suppress and Overwhelm is used on an Astra Militarum unit, and it makes it so that any unit they shoot is then unable to fire overwatch at a Genestealer Cults unit – I can imagine a Cadian squad opening up at some Space Marines to distract them from the Purestrains that are creeping up behind them! In the Shadow of Iron also leans into this too, allowing a Cult Ambush token that is about to be removed instead to be placed next to one of your Astra Militarum tanks.

What’s really cool is that the book also has a nice conversion and modelling section showing you how best to theme your army so that it works as a Brood Brothers force.

Datasheets

So let’s dive into the profiles themselves. I’m going to be focusing on the new and changed ones here, but keep in mind some minor changes sometimes slip through the net when comparing old to new! Brood Brothers do not get a profile, as above you only unlock them in the detachment. Also, there’s still no sign of the old mining drill, which is a shame as its an ace scenery piece.

Magus – Now gains a 5+ inv against all attacks, not just psychic, and the Spiritual Leader rule now allows you to make a Battle Shocked unit no longer Battle Shocked once per battle

Benefictus – The new model released in the Battleforce Box, and is actually more of a dedicated anti tank weapon than a psyker. It’s very close ranged at 18″ but hits on a 3 at S12, AP -3 and D6+1 damage, and can risk Hazardous to get 2 shots. It can join Neophytes, Acolytes and Metamorphs and gives ranged weapons in the unit it joins Lethal Hits – stick this in a big blob of Neophytes and open up on tanks!

Sanctus – The Sniper armed version has had a big improvement, it now can move 6″ when anyone gets within 9″ of it, it gets to pick a target tun 1 and reroll all hits and wounds against it, and the gun itself is now strength 7! If you take it with the knife it still gets to reroll hits and wounds against a target unit, but in addition enemy units cannot fire overwatch at it. No longer has the ignore cover or devastating wounds however.

Nexos – Sees a small tweak, can now use a strat for 0 cp once per turn rather than -1 cp

Clamavus – This used to modify nearby battleshock tests, now instead it picks an enemy unit in the command phase and forces them to take a battleshock test

Reductus Saboteur – The Saboteur has their demo charge downgraded considerably, now only hitting on 3s with D6 attacks at S9. Feel this is a little harsh as there’s not much high strength weaponry in the book, though the new Benefictus now owns that role

Biophagus – Another victim of stripping out some powerful abilities, the Familiar now only gives units +1 to wound rather than Anti-Infantry 2+

Kellermorph – Another heavily changed profile – the guns lose sustained hits, and precision, but they are AP -2 now. After he’s shot a unit he can force them to take a battleshock test, and once per turn when an enemy gets within 12″ he can shoot them and then make a D6 inch move. All his other rules are gone! So no longer pops up close to the enemy and doesnt shoot back when the enemy shoots a nearby unit.

Acolyte Iconward – Now gives Metamorphs a 4+ ward if he leads them (Other units still get 5+)

Acolyte Hybrids with Flamers – These have now split into two different units, the Flamer version can reroll wounds of 1, and if the target is within range of an objective they can reroll all wounds. Flamer units can take up to 2 demo charges, but do not have access to any of the other weapons (And those demo charges are the same reduced profile the Saboteur has) It is worth pointing out that one use weapons are still counted as being used if they are returned using the cult icon too

Acolyte Hybrids with Pistols – These now give you a command point on a roll of 4+ if you are near an objective but don’t get the wound rerolls the flamer version does. Can take heavy mining rolls which are now only Strength 5, but have Anti-vehicle 4+. These two units are now very specialised into going after infantry with flamers, or hitting tanks with mining tools.

Neophyte Hybrids see some changes too, they now are able to control and objective after they move off it, and weapon options are limited to box contents, so you can’t take 2 mining lasers for example. Speaking of Mining Lasers, they have also had a downgrade only hitting at S10 rather than 12

Hybrid Metamorphs see some changes for the better, they now come base with a 5+ inv save (Which can be improved to 4+ with an Iconward, making them a nice tanky unit) and now whenever they are shot the unit moves D6 inches towards the closest enemy unit (or 6 inches if they are armed with flamers). They no longer fight on death.

Abominant – The Hive mind takes with one hand and takes away with the other, he now has 4 attacks but only has 5+ feel no pain. He also no longer gives units sustained hits but instead allows them to fight on death.

Aberrants – These guys have been hit very hard, losing their tail attack and the heavy improvised weapon – their basic weapon has also dropped to S7 and damage 2. Also only get a 5+ ward now. Love these models but feel this is a little harsh (Though they still do work well in the Biosantic detachment as in that they will be AP-3 and damage 3)

Jackal Alphus – Has learned to be sneaky with a bike and now has Stealth. Interestingly doesnt get the same improved sniper the Sactus got

Atalan Jackals – Like the Alphus now have Stealth

Goliath Rockgrinder – Has lost the mortal wounds it causes on the charge and no longer has sustained hits in combat, but instead has 8 attacks.

Any other units not mentioned may have tiny changes, but these are the main ones. bit of a mix of units hit and improved, with the Aberrants being the biggest victim here of downgrades.

Combat Patrol

As with all the other 10th Edition books we also get full Combat Patrol rules, allowing players to play with just that box. We have a new set released alongside the Codex, this time containing an Alphus, a unit of Jackals, 2 units of Metamorphs and a Ridgerunner which would cost £155 individually. I know some people liked the old one more – I love all the gribbly stuff like Metamorphs and the bikes, so it’s a decent one for me!

The Combat Patrol rules themselves look fun, with them still having the Cult Ambush rule and objectives revolving around getting your units into the enemy deployment zone should prove fun to play with!

Crusade

Finally, we also get a dedicated Crusade section to the book. We’re big fans of Crusade, and especially like Codexes that have some really thematic content that leans into the “feeling” of the army. The new Crusade section is very similar to the one in the 9th edition book with players having a world that they have to slowly take over, with various layers of institution you have to infiltrate. So for example on a Forge World you might have to infiltrate Industry, Military and Religion in order to complete your task. Each of these different institutions give you different bonuses once you have taken them – so for example “Community” will allow you to use the Fresh Recruits requisition without spending requisition points, or the Politics one allow you to mitigate the negative effects of your uprising not going to plan.

Depending on what happens over the course of the campaign there’s 4 different paths that play out the after effects, you could end up claiming the world for yourself, have your cult spread to different worlds, fail to infiltrate the world and start again fresh, or perhaps reveal the cult too early and have to play a final cinematic battle where the cult tries to fight off the imperial defenders until the Star Children arrive to devour the planet! These are all things that you can easily build into a campaign with some narrative flavour to give your gaming group some fun memories.

Summary

So what do I think of the new Genestealer Cults Codex? I’ve been a fan of the Cults since 2nd edition 40k, and have played with my cult through multiple changes of rules, and while I do miss the more complex stuff seen in the 9th edition book, this is still a great Codex. Yes, some units have been hit hard, and some I think a little too hard, but the book retains the flavour and the detachments work to encourage some fun builds that are dedicated around a specific play style, something the new detachment system does very well. Players who only have a couple of Brood Brothers units and who do not want to lean into that detachment may be disappointed, but I personally love the build – especially that you can take half of your points from the guard (Something I really wanted to see in the Chaos book)

Something we’ve seen over the release of 10th edition Codexes is all of the rough edges sanded off and powerful units brought down a little – And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though I do understand it’s a little painful sometimes to see your powerful units get weaker (And in some cases average units brought down a peg to stop any potential broken builds with detachments)

I’m excited to get my units back on the battlefield and ready my cult for the coming of the Star Children!

Codex Genestealer Cults is up for pre order today and is released Saturday 22nd June

Games Workshop provided Sprues & Brews with a free copy for review purposes.

Published by Matt Crowther

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