More progress on the Codex cleanup, consolidation, and IP compliance! I have been working through each Codex that is published (which is almost all of them now!). They can be found on the Rulebook page of this website. They are free for public use!
If you have not been following along, the IP compliance from GW was updated to have the disclosure on the first page, not just in the document. An easy enough fix. As I have been doing this, I’ve been consolidating the format, spacing, and putting the common wargear in a table for ease of access mid game. This overall reduces the Codex length and makes mid game look up of rules easier. Originally the intent was to help you make informed decisions regarding upgrades during army creation without having to flip through tons of pages. This proved to be unnecessary with 99% of players.
For those who have never looking into the Alternate 40k Rules version of Genestealer Cults, I tried to bring the guerilla warfare, looted war machines, and brainwashed cultist feel to the table.
They have a large variety of characters that enhance their versatile methods of war. Some bring direct combat capabilities, others bring a mix that includes Emergence Tunnels. These are attached to Terrain features during Setup, and can either be destroyed by destruction of the Terrain or blocked by having an enemy Objective Scoring model within 3″ of it. This forces the enemy to constantly have to make decisions to redirect valuable fire power or man power to keep you at bay. Combined with the many character abilities, the GSC remains in high control of flow of battle during the game.
Their looted and traitor Guardsmen are an excellent edition to the army. If you would rather brute force your way through instead of subterfuge, take the guard (or a mix)! Their vehicles are starting to break down from Poor Maintenance, posing a small risk to tactics disruption. Their ammunition is limited outside of basic las weapons, removing Snap Shots (including Overwatch). And their mortal minds are completely dominated, resulting in a higher leadership. The penalty rules give a small discount to the impressive array of Imperial Guard gear (all included for your convenience). And the brain washed Imperial Guard are hard to route as a whole. Combined with their twisted leadership abilities and Vox Casters blaring Blasphemous messages, they can dominate the battle in a more brutal tactic!
Overall, they are a blast to play. I love the battlefield control they bring to the table and the amount of shenanigans they can get up to. If you want to play GSC the way it was meant to be played (including old datasheets like the Patriarch Throne upgrade), try out A4R! We have over 4100 man hours invested over the course of 3 years and are quite pleased with how its coming out!
As always, happy wargaming!
Alternate 40k Rules 