Zoat Army For 40k: Ideas And Aspirations

I've spent quite some time working out how to expand my Genestealer Cult so that I could use more of the rules from the Tyranid codex via proxies. It's a hard line to tread because using full on Tyranids with Imperial Guard would be just plain silly and narratively wonky beyond acceptability. It just wasn't going to happen. 

For what seems like days I've been 'meditating' on the idea, looking at available models, thinking about the fluff, annoying my brother with endless 'what if...' messages, and going back to the Rouge Trader book for inspiration. It was then that I realised the answer was staring me in the face the whole time. Zoats. 

Zoats have a really interesting place in the early background of the Tyranids. Back at the beginning, Tyranids were smallish aliens who bioengineered creatures to do their bidding and fight in their hive fleet armies. The Zoats were the most intelligent of these creatures and were even used in diplomatic missions ahead of a hive fleet to see what kinds of civilisations lay ahead and to estimate the level of resistance the vanguard would meet. Some Zoats rebelled and fled to set up as independent forces in their own right. 

All this comes before the Tyranids simply became this relentless meat-barrage of the hive mind. Contempory Tyranids - aside from a couple of special characters - have lost all the interesting narrative promise that they had in the early days. It's a pity because the idea of a highly alien race creating bioengineered creatures to do their bidding and fight their battles is very appealing - much better than the 'bio-Borg' antics of current 'Nids. 

Enter the Zoats as I see them. Originally created by the Tyranids, many escaped their rule when they realised they would just be absorbed back into the hive both organically and mentally. This was not the fate they aspired to, so they fled to set up their own colonies, as far away from the Tyranid menence as they could manage. They took with them much of the bioengineering knowledge that the early Tyranids had depended on and set about creating enhanced versions of their own kind - genetically enhanced Zoats - along with slave creatures designed specifically for servitude and war. 

These Zoat colonies defend their own territories and act as mercenaries; they will take money, but prefer to take payment of more dubious kinds, sometimes slaves, other times masses of cadavers... basically anything that can be salvaged as bio-mass for the development of their slave-organisms and foot soldiers. So the Zoats are pretty bad news even if they sometimes prove to be useful allies.

I imagine that I will field the Zoats as an independent force although I also intend to use them alongside my Genestealer Cult. They will have struck up this deal with the Cult in an effort to secure some prime Tyranid genetic material with which to fine tune some particularly nasty monsters for the battlefield. The Genestealers distance from the hive mind will give the Zoats some confidence that they won't be find out. Although whether this confidence is misguided remains to be seen...

With the basic background in place, I'll explain how I'm planning on modelling the army in my next post.

HR Giger And His Vast Influence On Gaming

Sad news today about the death of HR Giger. The Guardian rightly had an article about his influence on gaming - but they only mention game design for video games. 

There's no doubt that this is true: simply look at this screen grab from the classic R-Type.

But what they don't mention is his influence on one of the games we all love, Warhammer 40K. His influence was there right from the start in the posthuman terror of the dark millennium, and now all the more so when we consider the current Tyranid range (genestealers above all, of course) . His twisted imagination will be sorely missed, but his influence will live on in so much deviant art and, so closely to us, in the models we collect, paint and game with.

Further Progress With The Genestealer Cult Heavies In The Year Of Mech And Monsters

Some miniatures in an advanced work-in-progress state. As usual of course, plenty of tinkering is still likely here, as I never really finish painting anything - I just abandon and return to things on an ad hoc basis. 

Well, that's only partly true now as I aim to finish the year with two completely painted forces: my Genestealer Cult and my Realm of Chaos Slaanesh army. It is tempting to augment the Cult with more Tyranids given the ability to put together what I believe is called a 'Nidzilla' list of big nasties. 

Maybe I'll do that. 2014 is certainly turning into the year of 'mech and monsters'. I have another Leman Russ in front of me right now and a couple of other tanks that are looking rather cool as Cult Limos. Pictures and details on the weekend.

Climbing Model Mountain: Genestealer Cult

I have considered re-naming this series of posts something like "sea of green" because of my recent copious use of the primer that graces my undead, devotees of Nurgle and these, my Genestealer Cultists. The Cult consists of a primary detachment drawn from the Imperial Guard codex and an ally force of Tyranids. Not strictly 'legal' but where would be the fun in that?! So much painting work to do on these you wouldn't believe it, though oddly this is army that's seen the most tabletop action.

I've picked out the first photo to show my non-Cadian derived infantry units. From left to right: five 90s Ratlings, who will soon be boosted up to a full 10 'man' unit with a converted heavy weapon team - you've got to love the abhumans (current models will fill the sniper team role); then there's a Steel Legion unit, who can either be regular infantry or act as veterans; and finally a unit of Squats - all 80s metal with a tiny bit of tinkering to make them fit the current game (see a future post for details...).

We also have Zoats standing in for Ogryns (more 80s goodness) and two different sets of hybrids acting as penal squads. And I couldn't resist buying a Leman Russ tank for a little added beef - let's face it, tanks are cool. There's also a Psyker battle squad tucked in there next to six heavy weapons teams and three 'standard' infantry units.

Due to a lack of space I've resorted to keeping the Genestealers on a mini-shelf (another display cabinet is being hunted...). I'm using a Carnifex model as stand-in for a Hive Tyrant, which is a proxy for a Genestealer Patriarch. Most of the Genestealers are from Space Hulk for the obvious reason that they're better than the regular box models, although I have a few of those too.

The human (and abhuman) infantry are really flexible because not only could I play them as a straight Imperial or Planetary Defence force (they've taken on the Tau in this guise), I can also employ them as Traitor Guard to fight alongside my Nurgle gang - a role they've already fulfilled against Marines. This multiple personality trait is great in gaming terms and in the era of an ever-tightening budget. 

New Genestealer Art

Just a quick heads up to all the genestealer fans out there: there's some great new art by a guy called Jon Sullivan over at Faeit 212, here's some of the best of it (really captures the foulness I always imagine of the beasts!)...

Possible Genestealer Cult Limo From Antenocitis Workshop

I wasn't planning on have limos as part of my genestealer cult force. I like the humour behind the old fluff but that's about as far as it goes. That being said, Antenocitis Workshop produce this rather nifty looking "Dodge Matador" Air Car that might form the basis of an acceptable limo-style vehicle. Something to think about. These would also work well for gang-style street-by-street fighting in 40k.

Climbing Sprue Mountain #5 - Genestealer Cult

We've climbed sprue mountain as far as the penultimate army and it's the one that's taking up most of my time right now: the Genestealer Cult. This is a funny one, because as I gather everything together I realise quite how much groundwork remains to be done. There's plenty still to do on a basic level due to so many of the cultists and hybrids being conversions (well... kitbashes at least). This is where I'm employing all the GW Empire models - unlike Marienburg, I'm happy for this lot to have the 'epic' 28/30mm scale, and besides, when they're next to the purebred Genestealers they all look rather (and suitably) fragile! I'm going to be working on all these guys next week so will put up some better photos then, but for now, here's what I'm working on...

(L-R) A couple of proper freaky hybrids - perhaps second generation - next to one of the psykers from a seven strong battle squad

(L-R) The beginnings of a third generation hybrid; a storm trooper with what will be a hot shot lasgun; a basic hand gunner waiting for some futurist additions

The Magus - I'm going to de-clutter the base. 

Genestealer Cult - Full Cult-In-Progress

Well dear friends, here is the full cult-in-progress. So from left to right clockwise we have: Psyker Battle Squad with Overseer; Zoat mercenaries (used as Ogryns); Pure-bred Genestealers; two Broodlords; Genestealer Patriarch (Canifex model using Hive Tyrand rules); Genestealer Magus (Primaris Psyker); some Brood Brothers; three Cult Priests.

Plenty still to add, mostly full units of Brood Brothers, and I still need to figure out exactly how to model the hybrids. I also need to work on a basing scheme that builds from the 'industrial' poses that all the Space Hulk Genestealers have.

Recruiting Genestealer Cultists: A Patriarch's Guide

Are you an ambitious Genestealer Patriarch looking to build a cult following from scratch? Are you concerned that plastic Cadians are rather pricey, but equally concerned that models from other manufactures are a little bit too rubbish? Well, let me show you the answer to your prayers! Perhaps.

A while ago I picked up a box of the GW 'basics' range Cadians - the push-fit assembly models. At £5.50 from Hobbycraft (who haven't raised their prices yet) these chaps where a little over a quid per mini and I'm rather impressed with the quality. Of course, they don't have the pose-ability of the proper plastics, but that doesn't really matter, as these blokes will be used as the cannon-fodder-bulk of the cultist squads. As these WIP shots show, the colour scheme for the cultists will mimic the 'natural' tones of the genestealers.

Patriarch Genestealer For 6th Edition Cult

Mapping fluff lists onto actual codex lists can be fun and frustrating in equal measure. Prior to 6th edition - in the twilight of 5th - I was just beginning to get my ideas and models together for the genestealer cult. I looked at other people's attempts at using either the IG or Tyranid lists and nothing seemed to work in a way I liked. With the advent of the allies detachment in 6th all this changed, even if it needed a fluff-tweek of the rules (fluff-tweek sounds far more kinky than I intended ;-). Well anyway, happy days. I plumped for a Hive Tyrant to lead my 'stealers gang, but I didn't really fancy going for the actual model as it didn't seem quite right. Instead I went for the Carnifex - I would've loved the opportunity to work with the amazing Tyrannofex but the sizes were all wrong, sadly. This picture shows my current work in progress. Obviously I'm following the same colour scheme of my other 'stealers for this 'daddy' model, a Carnifex that will use the Hive Tyrant rules. I think I'm going to be very good friends with this fella... 

This is going to be one bad-ass patriarch 

6th Edition Genestealer Cult Army List (First Bash Anyway...)

Here's my first bash at a genestealer cult list for 6th edition. This has been designed with a 10-12 game narrative (non-competative) campaign against my brother's Blood Angels (and allies) in mind. A few early WIP photos to follow this week, before I have a week on holiday - with my paints thank goodness! - when I should be able to make some substantial progress. I imagine that this list will be added to in some way over the coming months, very possibly with the introduction of some Renegade Rough Riders led by a stand-in for Mogul Kamir - these guys would be seriously nasty on the charge. 

Genestealer cult army list - (around 1500 points)

Primary Detachment (Imperial Guard Codex)

HQ

Genestealer Magus (Primaris Psyker)

3 x Cult Priests (Ministorum) deployed with the Cultist Squads)

Elites

3 x Zoat Mercenaries (Ogryns)

Rogue Psyker Battle Squad (6 psykers plus overseer) 

Troops

1 x Cultist Command, 5 troops, heavy flamer, heavy bolter, flamer 

2 x Cultist Squads, 20 troops, lascannons, meltaguns, melta bombs

1 x Hybrid Squad (Penal Legion), 10 troops 

Allied Detachment (Tyranid Codex)

HQ

Patriarch Genestealer (Hive Tyrant), with armoured shell, old adversary, regeneration, implant attack, adrenal glands 

Troops

2 x Genestealer Broods, 22 stealers, adrenal glands, 2 broodlords with implant attack


Something like that anyway. Any ideas, comments, etc. would be most welcome...

How To Build A Genestealer Cult In 6th Edition?

So 6th edition 40k has arrived and I'm pondering what influences this will have over my genestealer cult. The allies rules in particular raise some interesting questions and opportunities for force organisation. If you overlook the fact that Tyranids can't officially ally with anyone and focus instead on the narrative of the genestealer cult, then it's possible to have the main part of the army drawn from the IG codex and the 'stealers themselves as a contingent of allies.

The first option I've come up with has the benefit of simplicity. Take a Primaris Psyker (the Magus) as HQ and 'Warlord', include a few Ministorum Priests (cult leaders) for added colour, then fill out the troops slots with normal grunt types. The 'stealers can then come in as allies, with some kind of Patriarch Genestealer as HQ (a nifty conversion from Hive Tyrant perhaps... ooh that sounds like fun, although a Tyranid Prime conversion would probably be a better fit) and then 'stealers in the troops slots.

But that would probably mean loosing hybrids and the great narrative colour they would lend the force. Or would it?  I suppose one option would be to model the first/second generation hybrids and simply include them with the purestrains, while dropping converted third/fourth generations hybrids in with the IG style grunts. Perhaps that's the most 'elegant' solution... one that doesn't depend on too much retro-cranking of the rules from Rogue Trader? Definitely something to ponder...

Genestealer Broodlord Stage One WIP

A little genestealer progress today as I managed to prime and base coat my first genestealer broodlord. I think I'll be getting another one of these for the cult, as I'm currently planning on having two units of twelve purestrains. I did a bit of a kitbash and convert on this one as I think the middle arms that come with the model are rather laughably puny. And I obviously reposed it from the odd 'maniacal laugh' pose that GW seemed fit to give it. 

A Month Of Over-Ambitious Conversions

I think I may have been overly ambitious in planning this, but fortune favours the brave. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about...  

I think I've worked myself into the perfect storm of conversions - here we have Daemonettes, Flagellants, and Ghouls, along with the spiders from the Goblin Spider Riders in a complex interchanging conversion diagram. From this lot I'm going to be making:

1. Genestealer second and third generation hybrids using flagellant bodies and ghoul arms (also Empire pistols from the militia set)

2. Genestealer first generation hybrids using ghoul bodies, Daemonette legs, arms from old purestrain 'stealers (not pictured) and heads from the current ones (also in the top bag).

3. Spider Centaurs for my Beastmen using the Daemonette bodies and arms together with the spiders. 

I feel a bit of an idiot for planning all this, but now I have all the pieces and sets I really have to complete them all. June will be a very interesting month...

Here Come The Zoats

These chaps have to be among the coolest of the Rogue Trader era Citadel miniatures. I think I'll give them a paint job this month along with the rest of the genestealer cult. I imagine that when it comes to game time I'll use a blend of the Tyranid and Imperial Guard lists, which seems to be a common casual (i.e. non-tourney) solution, and these can sub as heavy weapons teams. Either that or I may retro-fit the rules from 1987!

Genestealer Cult - The Plot Thickens...

Some progress on the cult over the weekend - below is a near-finished purestrain. Once I've finished this one I'll have to put up the paint recipe, mostly as an aide-memoire for myself. I also found some great anatomical study pictures from the book Xenology, a couple of which I've included below. The rather achievable task / pipe dream for June is to finish all the purestrains along with the ten hybrids and ten cultists. 

Genestealer First Generation Hybrid Conversion

Thanks to the smiling gods of weather, time and the bits box, I managed to put this together this afternoon:

I have enough of the original Space Hulk genestealers to do this with all the first generation hybrids. The only issue is the angle of the pose, which can be sorted out quite straightforwardly. I've added four arms and a tail as you can see - I'm going to keep the Ghoul legs and feet as they are sufficiently clawed as it is.

Genestealer Cult - First Generation Hybrids

Following a quick trip to GW today I now have most of the parts to put together what I think will turn out to be pretty good first generation hybrids. I'm going to use Crypt Ghouls in the main, mixed in with extra arms. Here's an early blu tacked experiment:

On a trawl for internet inspiration I came across this great old diagram showing the different generational stages:

I'm not going to follow this exactly but it does give a good indication of the levels of mutation at each stage. Thanks to the gods of eBay I have another genestealer sprue on the way with plenty of heads on, some of which may well make it onto first generation models.

Genestealers In The Garden

As the weather this afternoon was absolutely stunning I managed to batch-prime all 22 of my genestealers, so I'm a very happy brood lord indeed.

I also tested out one of my second/third generation hybrid kitbash conversions... more of these in the coming days...

Genestealer Cultists Test Models

Not much free time over the last few days, but I have been able to put together some genestealer cultists from the assortment that is my bits box together with the fruits of sprue mountain. Going for a steampunk look I've mixed Bret heads and bits with free company bodies and pistols from the Empire, then stuck in some extra cogs and such liberated (i.e. smashed) from an old watch. I'll now resist the urge to start painting them straight away and figure out a good colour scheme.