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
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
