BAM!

Another update!  I've actually been really busy with the project, throwing ideas around with my gaming group and the club I go to.  Have also been playing a heap of games with the list as well, trying out different configurations and setups.

What I've learnt so far:
Tervigons are boss! seriously, they kick so much butt I would never consider a list without at least too - being able to buff or de-buff with biomancy, plus spewing out babies has cemented them a place in the permanent line up.

Tau hate doom of malantai - apparently this guy is hit and miss, I've been versus a lot of tau lately and the doom has single handedly accounted for huge chunks of the army

I love zoanthropes!  another really useful unit - can go biomancy as the buffing unit - or direct assault with telepathy (particularly psychic shriek) also puppet master for giggles in shooting your opponents units.

I've tried out the flying HT (while probably not in "theme" for the genestealer cult) and he's a beast no doubt - especially with the twin-linked devourer options, HOWEVER  with the advent of some significant AA with the new marine dex, plus the stupid amount of AA that tau can field I'm a bit torn on his value.

Biovores are great fun - especially vs tau - but at 45 pts each they might have to go into the "a touch expensive" basket

I had some very cool ideas for list based around lots of spores (ambushing cult troops ;) ) led by tyranid primes - however following some forum discussions and reviewing the FAQ it seems that while spores appear to be dedicated transports and are "drop pods" for the way they carry things and arrive, they can't:

• have IC's join units in spores and
• can't deploy without their spores

this has slightly nerfed my plans, but the hive mind will adapt!

Ironically, the one unit I haven't been able to find a place for are genestealers!  for the points and the saves standard stealers don't seem worth it to me, plus playing a lot against tau with all their intercepting shooting, plus removing and/or ignoring cover, they die in droves.  Similarly their counter fire abilities against chargers means that even the surprise ymgarl genestealer assault may falter.  Finally with doom and zoan units in the elite choices I struggle with fitting ymgarl in


Anyway, on to the hobby side.  I've completed the modelling of my multi-wound units - 2 squads of hive guard, a squad of pyrovores and my biovores.  I've also begun painting up the stupid amount of little bugs coming from the tervigons.  I'm going with a black/purple color scheme for the basic troops with a little bit of dark blue for anything with chitin armour.


I've divided my troops up into "themed" modelling based on what generation of hybrid in the genestealer cult they represent:
first generation - biomorphs, tyranid limbs, little dwarf bodies
2nd generation - little bodies, short statured
3rd generation - human proportioned with the cthulu heads I got from victoria miniatures
4th generation - standard humans - using the catachan models as they look wild enough.

Reading a lot of the background the genestealer cults used to be in league with chaos cults, mutants and abhumans so I'm also planning on converting some imperial beastmen (perhaps to use as hormagaunts) and some ogryn hybrids (probably count-a warriors).

Hive guard units:

termagants

Zoanthropes

and finally - my tervigons.  As I mentioned in my intial posts I wanted to have my tervigons represented by stolen vehicles - ones that had been press-ganged into service.  The larger of the vehicles in the center is my HQ tervigon when I run one.  The minions all over the models are actually held in place by pins and represent the number of wounds the model has - when it looses a wound, off comes a crew member!

so that's where we're up to.  Our club is running a tournament in November which is where I plan to have these guys completed and on debut - still a ton of painting and modelling to to!

thanks for looking, feel free to post up any comments or feedback in the sections below!

Praise to the great father

FIRST PAINTING UPDATE

So I've dug out the models I had already pre-painted and plan to incorporate into the growing cult.  First off the bat a squad of genestealers led by a broodlord - standard space hulk models, as I've mentioned I'm a HUUUUGE fan of the sculpts.  The dark-blue and purple color scheme will be used for the standard genestealers.

Next up my squad of ymgraal genestealers - just normal stealers with a slightly different paint job.  I love these guys in game terms, while overwatch in 6th ed has serious hampered assault units with crap armour saves - the ability of ymgraal stealers to assault on the turn when they arrive from reserve (the only unit capable of doing so!) means they're gold.  Even the threat of them can make your opponent change their deployment.

Next up we have a fun little conversion pair - flying genestealer hive tyrants.  In my next post I'll discuss my feelings on lists to run the genestealer cult - if I was going the hard-core, win at all costs, face-smash list (which I very rarely do, seriously I'm just a big fluff bunny...no really....) I would definitely run 2 flying hive tyrants.  These are basic conversions based on the space hulk brood lord and the vargheist wings.  A little bit of left over greenstuff makes a good lashwip.

Also have a couple of genestealer magus/psykers sculpted by a friend of mine, these guys will stand in as zoanthropes until I can get my hands on some of the old school genestealer magi (and when I win the frigging lottery - cos WOW those guys are going for a fortune on ebay)

Last, but not least, probably my favorite model in the force, and actual the model that started the whole thing - inquisitor scale purestrain genestealer!  Really big model (that's a 60mm base), and stands in as the genestealer patriarch/ hive tyrant on foot in the army.

As always thanks for looking, feel free to leave a comment, and make sure you check back later in the week to see some updates.
still to come:
List build - matching fluff with effeciveness
More model construction! - working on "counts-as" hive guard, biovores and pyrovores

Peace.

If anyone is interested in the background of the genestealer cult, the write up on lexicanum is a good place to start.  The universe's kinkiest life cycle - a purestrain bites you, you give birth to a mutant hybrid, but as they hybrids breed they become more human, until the the 4th generation are powerful human hybrids with pychic powers.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Genestealer_cult#.UiBcqzbI0vc

Just need to find some pimped-out cult limosines

So I've just picked up 60 of these bad guys from Victoria miniatures link here:

http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/cthood-alien-heads

Bought them this morning, already been shipped - now that's service.  They match very nicely to the old school feeder tendrils heads of the standard GW genestealers.

I plan to put them on the catachan and squats to represent the hybrids.  My force will have mixtures of apparently unaugmented models, right through to the multi-limbed hybrids

Whooooo! First post.
This blog is going to be dedicated to my development of my genestealer cult army.  I've always been fascinated by the concept of the genestealer cult, the idea of a whole subversive force developing from the influence of once purestrain genestealer and his devoted children, hidden from prying eyes until the time to strike.

I've had a lot of time to think on this project, specifically what models to base my cult on and even more importantly, how to based them "rules-wise" to play on the table.

There have been a few, very good genestealer cult codecii that have come up, however their "approved" status has varied for tournaments, which makes me hesitant to base a force around them, as, ultimately I want to be able to take my army to competitions.

For me the stand-out codex to base the force around is the tyranid codex itself, tyranid primes or hive tyrants could make good genestealer patriarchs, genestealers as, well, genestealers, gaunts and hormagaunts as shooting and close combat cultists respectively.

I've even had the idea of converting chimera APC's as larger troop transports and using them as "count-as" tervigons, spewing our cultists like a crazy, military clown car!

I figure IG weapons teams would make good biovores/pyrovores (mortars/heavy flamers respecively), while lascannon, missile launcher teams would make good "counts-as" hive guard with their heavier weapons.

For models, I plan to utilize a heap of space-hulk genestealers, which have a lot more character than the standard models.  For cultists I plan to use a mixture or Cadian, Catachan and squat models to make the various stages of genestealer hybrids.

So stay tuned.  The sons of the great father are among you.