Standard
leak disclaimer: this could be fake. This could be meaningless. As
real as the thing looks a fake like this is only a modicum of
photoshop skill away. Also, sorry about the poor quality of the
image, literally the best version I could find was on a Youtube
video.
Here's the
deal: instead of using allied detachments for some units and “Cult”
versions of others from now on Genestealer Cults will just use
selected datasheets from Codex: Astra Militarum and just replace the
REGIMENT keyword with the BROOD BROTHERS keywork. For those using
screen readers or unable to read the tiny, indistinct text the Astra
Militarum units you can take are as follows:
Company
Commander
Platoon
Commander
Command
Squad
Tank
Commander
Infantry
Squad
Conscripts
Veterans
Special
Weapons Squads
Scout
Sentinels
Armoured
Sentinels
Leman Russ
Battle Tanks
Chimera APCs
On the one
hand its not everything, which is effectively what you could take
before now (or, rather, anything with the ASTRA MILITARUM keyword).
Its also more than could be taken in a pure Genestealer Cults list.
Do I like
it? Hell yes. There's Company Commanders, Platoon Commanders and Tank
Commanders on that list which means Orders are now something
Genestealer Cults can use. I am heartily looking forward to giving
certain opponents a heavy dose of Front Rank, Fire! Back Rank,
Fire! We now have access to
Veteran Squads for some extra heavy fire power, as well.
Yes,
there are gaps. I'm a little surprised Heavy Weapons Squads aren't on
the list and I would have liked to see Hellhounds because I like
Hellhounds. However, I get why even some of the more basic stuff had
to be left out.
You
can't take Regimental benefits because BROOD BROTHERS replaces rhe
REGIMENT keyword, for instance, so as good as it is to have orders
and Veterans and Special Weapons Squads you can't buff them further
than their base statistics. Similarly, I get why the full spread of
tanks and the more elite infantry are out of bounds: Astra Militarum
needs to have things that make them superior to Genestealre Cults
just as Genestealer Cults have things that make them superior to
Astra Militarum.
At
the end of the day, if Genestealer Cults could take everything Astra
Militarum can take then there's no point in having Astra Militarum.
And
I like the humble Imperial Guard, I want them to keep having a point.
Am
I saying people shouldn't be annoyed about this? Not entirely. The
way this concept was introduced in the Index allowed you to use
anything with the ASTRA MILITARUM keyword so I imagine a lot of
players are looking at some units that are not quite game legal
anymore. I know I have two Hellhounds I can't use for my Cults
anymore and I'm just lucky that my Brood Brothers units also happen
to be my Savlar Chem-Dogs army.
On
its own, though, in the abstract I do like this rule and look forward
to the tactical opportunities it opens up.