Hi everyone, Michael here with a review of the support weaponry for the Genestealer Cults, the Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad. For more reviews and analyses, check out the Tactics Corner.
Overview:
The Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad features some stolen Imperial weaponry to support the efforts of the Genestealer Cult. This squad is similar to the Astra Militarum Heavy Weapons squad, but does not benefit from many of the same buffs as the Imperial Guard unit, as well as not benefiting from the Cult Creeds. The unit costs 18 points for 3 models, plus the cost of the Heavy Weapons.
I would rate the Heavy Weapons Squad as Efficient if you arm them with Mortars, Situational for any other Heavy Weapon. They can provide some reasonable fire support for the army, but do suffer from not gaining the benefits that the Astra Militarum can with the same squad.
Wargear:
- Lasgun
- Frag Grenades
- Each model must take one item from the Heavy Weapons list; Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Mortar.
Abilities:
- Cult Ambush
- Unquestioning Loyalty
- Keywords- Tyranids, Genestealer Cults, Brood Brothers, Infantry, Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad.
Tactics:
The Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad is very similar to the Astra Militarum squad of the same name. It consists of three Heavy Weapons, each of which is useful to add firepower to your force.
Of the choices, I think the Mortar team is one of the better options. It is cheap (39 pts for the squad) and provides you with a decent level of firepower on a unit that you can keep out of line of sight of the enemy army to prevent them from being targeted in reply.
The Autocannon, Missile Launcher and Lascannon are useful options to give you some level of anti-tank firepower for the Cult. However, with fewer shots and only BS 4+, their damage output can be variable each turn for the points outlay.
One downside of the squad is that they do not benefit from the special rules of the Astra Militarum or Cult Creeds. You cannot use orders to aid the firepower of the unit, or gain the benefits of the Cult Creeds to improve their firepower or durability. The recent FAQ has specified that you cannot use orders on any unit with the Genestealer Cults keyword, which the Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad has. This can make them less efficient than the Astra Militarum version, so this may be a better option if you are looking for some Heavy Weapons Squads in the army.
The Squad also lacks the <Cult> keyword, meaning that you cannot use several key abilities that the Cult has access to, such as +1 to hit from the Jackal Alphus.
There are a few stratagems that are of use to the unit though. Lurk in the Shadows stops them from being targeted by enemy firepower unless they are the closest unit. This can help keep your heavy weapons squad safe from enemy firepower, especially if they are a key source of anti-tank firepower in your army.
The squad also benefits from the Cult Ambush rule. This is useful for deploying the Heavy Weapons Team in the optimal position to target enemy units with their firepower. You can also use a number of useful stratagems to re-deploy the unit to get into prime position during the game if you need to do so.
Overall
The Brood Brothers Heavy Weapons Squad can add some useful firepower to your army, but it is not the most efficient of choices. The Mortar teams could be useful for sitting on objectives if you can keep them out of line of sight to prevent the enemy from easily wiping them out.
I wouldn’t say they are the most competitive of options, but they could come in useful every once in a while if you can score the odd Lascannon or Missile Launcher shot.
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