My first event of 2022 is in the books. 40K is back in full swing, the Genestealer Cults have a new Codex and the meta is more balanced than it has been in weeks. Prior to this ITC season I knew I wanted to get back to my favorite army in the GSC, and it was good timing they had a new Codex release just in time for my first event. I managed four practice games with the new book, losing them all, before this 47 person RTT at Tables and Towers in Westminster, MD. The mix of losing all of my games leading up to this RTT, along with the release of the new Tau Codex, had me nervous for how I would do with the new GSC.
Game 1 Against Tau:
The one thing I knew from playing against one of the better Tau players in 40k during my practice games was that I wanted nothing to do with the new Tau Codex for this event. My plan was basically to pray to my Four Armed Emperor that I matched into anything other than Tau. Enter Tau, game 1. My opponent for this match up was extremely new to competitive 40k and to playing Tau (actually I played this same opponent in a tournament last year with his Dark Angels and he was a blast to play against then just like he was in this game), and that is the only thing that let me win this game. My opponent’s list was not optimized for competitive play, he barely had any indirect fire from SMS, he took no Crisis Suits, and he was not very familiar with the new Tau rules. None of these things seemed to matter as he did an excellent job of screening out his more important units who were performing Actions, or scoring Secondaries, while his Fire Warrior rush killed Acolytes at will. Unfortunately for my opponent his lack of practice with Tau led to the game timing out after the third Battle Round, and I had played just cagey enough to have more points when the round clock ended. If that game went to 5 turns and it turned out I was still the winner it would have been a miracle.
Now that the real talk of just how bad a match up Tau is for GSC is over, let’s look at some things that can be done to at least have a fighting chance. First off, the Pauper Princes relic of 5+ invulnerable saves for Core units around the bearer seemed like a must have throughout the entire tournament, but it was especially effective against Tau shooting. Sure, a 5++ isn’t going to keep a squad alive if it is out in the open while your opponent throws concentrated fire at it, but keeping all our units alive isn’t the game of the GSC. Using my Nexos throwing out the Auras from my Primus holding the 5++ relic it meant that my units out holding Objectives were Acolytes with a 5++ or Genestealers with a 4++. It only takes a bit of a dice spike to not get through quite as many invulnerable saves as your opponent plans for to completely mess up their shooting phase.
In addition to the 5++ using the GSC Stratagems to make one unit untargetable unless it is the closest is key. This is a tough Stratagem to use correctly, and there will be an entire article devoted to it next week, but successfully utilizing this single stratagem could be the key to winning the Tau match up.
The only other useful advice I can give for GSC into Tau is don’t try to play the trading game with them. Usually GSC are decent at trading our units to gain an advantage in board control, in Secondary scoring or trading up by killing an enemy unit. None of this is really true into Tau. They have Stratagems to blunt our Charge ranges, enough units to screen the board effectively and enough indirect fire to blunt the effectiveness of any units starting on the table. The game a GSC army can always play is scoring more Secondaries than your opponent while keeping the Primary as close as possible. Sure, my bugs are going to get tabled by Tau every single game, but I can score Teleport Homers, Behind Enemy Lines/Stranglehold or To The Last/Psychic Interrogation before I go. This is a dangerous game to play since all that is standing in the way of a Tau victory is one better than average Shooting Phase where their indirect fire swings the Primary in their favor.
Game 2 Against Custodes:
My reward for getting a low scoring win against Tau Round 1 was playing into Custodes. This was my first game into the new Custodes, and I thought going into this game that GSC don’t come out too badly against Custodes. GSC doesn’t really have any re-rolls worth turning off, the Nexos’ ability to put Crossfire Markers out can stop any Heroic Intervention shenanigans and our Rock Cutters have a chance to actually kill some Custodes on a charge. My plan for this game was to use my ability to score Secondaries to let me win while just keeping the Primary close. I knew the odds of me taking away any backfield Objectives was slim with Custodes having ObSec everywhere and counting as double models.
I really wish I could play this game again, and not just because my opponent was awesome. I learned a lot in this game about playing GSC into Custodes. My opponent got the first turn and moved into the middle of the table with his blob of characters, a sword and board Dreadnought and some Wardens. I responded by foolishly sending just one squad of my Genestealers into a wounded Dreadnought while the other Genestealers made a longer move up the board to hit a unit of bikes. I knocked the Dreadnought down to a single wound after some clutch 4+ saves from my opponent and killed a single bike. I really under estimated the resiliency of Custodes during my first turn.
Sending all 20 of my Genestealers into the center of the board ensures that even if I don’t kill the Wardens and Dreadnought my opponent needs to spend his entire second turn dealing with Genestealers instead of having free reign with his bikes to move into my side of the table and my home Objective. When playing Custodes remember to apply as much force as possible to a single point on the table when you decide to make your move. Anything short of all available units going into your target is not going to get the job done.
Also keep in mind GSC have some hilarious interactions with Custodes. Putting a Crossfire token onto Trajann each turn with my Nexos and telling my opponent his 6 inch Heroic wasn’t happening this game was extremely effective. Another thing to keep in mind is the Tanglefoot Stratagem requires line of sight and a Custodes infantry unit. Got some Obscuring Terrain to hide behind before your Acolytes make their 3d6 pick the highest charge? Hide behind it. Your opponent have a single unit of Sisters of Silence holding an Objective? They can’t Tanglefoot.
Oh, I also learned (after this game) Patriarchs pass their Unquestioning Loyalty on a 3+ unlike other Character’s 4+. Would have been clutch saving 2 Patriarchs from Custodes Bikes. Read your Codex folks. I sure would like to have lost 6 Neophytes instead of my 2 Patriarchs…
Game 3 Against Astra Militarum:
Going into Round 3 with a record of 1-1 I wasn’t too down on my performance. I was learning a ton, and my goal of 2-1 was still in sight.
Who brings a Wyvern to a tournament these days?! That would be the question I asked my opponent as I walked up to the table. He informed me he brought it for the GSC match up. Smart move dude. Joking aside, Guard is actually a tough one for GSC. They have the bodies to screen in layers, the ObSec to steal Primary (GSC’s weak spot) and the shooting to blast anything out in the open off the table. Actually, even things not out in the open with a Wyvern and two Full Payload Manticores.
This game I played extremely cagey sending out just one unit at a time in order to get Stranglehold each turn while piling my other units onto my two home Objectives to ensure I could not lose Primary points from getting shoot off Objectives. Luckily I went second in this matchup as going into the last turn I was down points, but going second allowed me to score Primaries at the end of my turn ensuring I got the full 12 Primary points as well as three more points to put my at 15 for Stranglehold.
I felt like this game was an excellent practice game for playing Tau again. My opponent had a ton of indirect fire (although not as effective as Tau), was able to screen me out of most of the important parts of the board and wouldn’t let me get to anything too important like his Leman Russ Tank Commanders. At the end of this game I felt really good about how I managed my units to maximize my points while keeping as many of my units safe behind Obscuring Terrain as possible.
Final Thoughts:
Finishing 2-1 for my first tournament with the new GSC feels good, but there is definitely room for improvement. I really wish I could have that Custodes matchup back, but I feel much more prepared to play them in future games. The Pauper Princes 5++ felt like a necessity in both my game against Tau and Guard. While it is not going to keep you from getting tabled in every game against Tau it sure will help your GSC stick on the table long enough to keep scoring the Primary while you throw units away to score Teleport Homers and other Secondaries. My next event is the Battle To End Alzheimer’s at Tables and Towers in Westminster, MD. This will be charity even with 100% of the proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research. If you are anywhere near Maryland sign up for this event that is taking place on April 9-10 and come support a great cause!