The Cult Ascendant! - A Genestealer Cult log

[Ambience 327]

To accompany the development of my new Genestealer Cult Codex, I am working up a Genestealer Cult army. The army is designed to work using either my home-brew rules, or as an Imperial Guard force (with Tyranid allies with my opponent's permission).

As the impetus to get the project rolling, I am planning to take a 200 point Kill Team using Imperial Guard rules to an upcoming tournament at my local game store, but the army is intended to grow well beyond that as I have time.

The army list I am working up is as follows:


Brood Brother Comrade Squad (IG Veteran Squad)
- Hybrid Overseer w/ Power Sword & Shotgun (Veteran Sergeant)
- 1 Comrade w/ Grenade Launcher
- 1 Comrade w/ Flamer
- 7 Comrades w/ Autoguns

90 pts


Genestealer Hybrid Brood
- 1 Genestealer Hybrid Neophyte (Penal Custodian)
- 9 Genestealer Hybrid Acolytes (Penal Legionnaires)

80 pts


Genestealer Hybrid Snipers (Ratling Squad)

30 pts


Below are the models as they stand right now. Most of them are the new Chaos Cult models, with a few heads taken from the Catachan command sprue, and a few other bits here and there. The Neophyte uses a WHFB Crypt Ghoul as the base, while the snipers are multi-part Night Goblins with scoped lasguns. The models are all assembled, and most of the green stuff work is done. I plan to paint them up in a style that will hit strongly at the classic blue & purple Genestealer color scheme, but I think I might go a bit darker to make them more sinister. Not 100% sure on that yet. (I plan to paint a standard Genestealer up as the basis of the scheme, and build the rest around that.) I still need to do a bit of filing, cleanup and more green stuff work, but I wanted to get them up and see what people thought at this stage.


Brood Brother Comrade Squad:



Comrades w/ Autoguns



Hybrid Overseer w/ Shotgun & Power Sword





Comrade w/ Grenade Launcher (converted from an Autogun and a Cadian Grenade Launcher)



Comrade w/ Flamer (shortened the barrel)

[Ambience 327]

Hybrid Acolyte Brood



Hybrid Neophyte w/ Autopistol & Close Combat Weapon





Hybrid Acolytes w/ Autoguns





Closeup on the sculpted sleeve.



Hybrid Snipers

[EvilMonkee]

Nice work, especially love the use of the ghouls. Not sure about the goblins though

[Ambience 327]

Thank you. I swear that the current Crypt Ghouls were made with Genestealer Hybrids in mind. Their hunched-over look, spindly arms and clawed hands just work. The hair and fur they have in places is the only thing about them I dislike. Fortunately, most of it can be removed fairly easily.

The goblins were really more of an afterthought when I went to write a list for the Kill Team tournament - I needed to fill 30 points, and I wanted something that would actually help my army rather than just fill points, so I figured I could cobble together some Ratling proxies. They aren't as cool looking as the rest, but I think when I get them painted up properly, they will actually look a bit better and more appropriate than you might think.

[EvilMonkee]

For me the heads are out of context with the other models, are they separate. If they are you could try a head swap maybe with the ghouls?

[Ambience 327]

They are separate, but the ghoul heads are WAY too small for these bodies. Because of the way the heads attach on the Goblins, I don't think any other heads I have access to would work very well anyway. I'm not too concerned about these three guys - like I said they are point fillers for the Kill Team army, and probably won't see all that much use otherwise. If they do end up looking decent with paint, I do have more of these Goblin models though, so if I like them, I may make more. Only time will tell...

[5Pointer]

I'd shave down those Mohicans - nothing says genestealer cult to me as strongly as slapheads lol

[Ambience 327]

Hybrids are all bald, but Brood Brothers can still have hair. It is one of the ways I am trying to make it easy to tell them apart. You will note that the Hybrid Overseer for the unit is a cueball.

[5Pointer]

I'd still imagine them to shave their heads in emulation of their hybrid betters. But to each their own.

[Ambience 327]

I figure the Brood Brothers and latter-generation Cultists do anything possible to "fit in" with the normal folk and avoid drawing attention to themselves. Thus they would probably try to go with hairstyles that work with their society.

[kiwichild]

I figure the Brood Brothers and latter-generation Cultists do anything possible to "fit in" with the normal folk and avoid drawing attention to themselves. Thus they would probably try to go with hairstyles that work with their society.

The hairstyles work for brood brothers as they are just GSC alligned everyday joes, not too sure with hybrids though. Excellent start! I've been eyeing the new 40k box set to use the cultists for genestealer brood brothers. How difficult are they for headswaps? I'm working on some Warmachine miniatures and a kroot kill team at the moment but the renewed interest in GSCs is starting to get me interesting in revisiting my cult project (check sig). Good luck and keep up the great work, I'm going to have a look through your codex when I get some more time. Otherwise subsribed and following.

[Ambience 327]

Some of the Cultists are pretty easy for headswaps - like the ones I did above - but some are much more difficult due to their hooded nature. Out of the 11 different body types, three of them are fairly easy to do headswaps on, a few more require a bit more work, and the rest all have areas where some minor or moderate resculpting would definitely be necessary. However, the good news is that most of the Chaos stars are easy to either shave off or fill in. The little star medallions they wear are a different story on some, though they come off easy on most of the autogun models. They are, however, much less "choasy" and easy to pass off as just a religious symbol to go with the Cult's other trappings.

[Zywus]

If you fill the hole in the medallions you could try to paint this old tyranid symbol on them:



It's even surrounded by a star-esque symbol.

[Ambience 327]

That would look great - but with my painting skills it would just end up a black blob in the middle of the tiny amulet.

[Aryllon]

I think the goblins are great! Will look more appropriate with paint too.

Can you take three IG vets in a single squad?? I thought you had to pick kill teams from standard codex lists (& just give certain models special rules)?

[Ambience 327]

Thanks - at last someone who appreciates my goblins!

At first I was confused about your "three IG vets" comment and thought you had mixed the Vets up with the Ratlings, then I realized I had forgotten to mention the "7 Comrades w/ Autoguns" in the list. That has been corrected. It is a 10-man Veteran Squad with two special weapons and a slightly tooled-up Veteran Sergeant. Hopefully the list is clear now.

[madd0ct0r]

looking good so far. - you going for the classic purple tinge?

[Ambience 327]

Thanks. I do plan to do purple, but not "classic" - the old school paint style was too cartoonish. I am aiming for something more akin to this image for the Purestrain Genestealers:



I plan to then match those colors on the Hybrids and Brood Brothers in the same way the old school stuff was done.

[Zywus]

I'm not sold on those goblins at all. But if you need some snipers done fast i suppose they could suffice.
Are you aware of the alien heads from Victoria Lamb:http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.c...od-alien-heads

Seems like you could find some use fore them unless you prefer sculpting your own.

[Ambience 327]

Yes, I am - but I have hated the "feeder tendril" look ever since I saw my first Lictor way back in 2nd Edition 40K. Add that to the fact that the original Ymgarl Genestealers had tooth-filled circular maws, NOT feeder tendrils, and my opinion is sealed. I wouldn't even want feeder tendrils on my Ymgarls - I would definitely never add those to Human/Genestealer Hybrids! (Of course, those who differ on their opinion are free to be wrong...)