Hi everyone, Michael here to take a look at some of the key stratagems in the GSC book. For more reviews and analysis, check out the Tactics Corner.
With the changes in Nephilim making CP a precious resource, armies will need to manage them carefully to allow them to be used on key stratagems. Today, I’m going to look at some of the key stratagems in the GSC book that will help you overthrow the oppressors!
Stratagems
Rapid Advance (1CP)– Auto advance 6″ with a Genestealer, Biker or Vehicle model.
A great stratagem for getting into position to charge or steal an objective. Most useful on Purestrain Genestealers. Getting to move, auto advance 6″ and charge gives them an incredible threat range. I used this one in almost every game for my Purestrains, making it much more reliable for them to get into combat on turn 1. The ability to gain automatically known advances is very powerful, especially on units that can advance and charge.
Hyper-Metabolism (1CP)– Heals a GSC character D3 wounds in the command phase.
GSC have a number of methods for protecting characters, allowing them to keep buffing the army and denying your opponent Assassinate points. This stratagem is great for helping to heal any characters that get wounded, either through combat or by sniper-type weapons.
Gestalt Consciousness (1CP)– Allows a psyker to cast a Blessing psychic power anywhere on the board, does not have to be visible or in range of the power.
This is a favourite of mine that I use in a lot of games. It allows you to keep a Psyker hidden out of line of sight, but still have impact on the game. Great for powers such as Might From Beyond. A good combo with this is using on a Psyker with the Unwilling Orb, allowing you two Deny attempts that have unlimited range as well.
Genetic Lineage (1CP)– Use in the charge phase. One Acolyte Hybrid or Metamorph Hybrid unit can charge after advancing.
A great stratagem for ensuring that you can make a charge with an Acolyte or Metamorph squad, by giving them extra range with an advance roll. When deploying from a transport, this gives them a big threat range. Also, this stratagem is a nice back up with Psychic Stimulus, allowing a unit to advance and charge if you fail the psychic power or it is denied.
Return to the Shadows (1CP)– Use in the movement phase when a GSC Infantry unit is selected to move, or in the Fight phase once a GSC infantry unit from your army has resolved all its attacks, but has not consolidated. If the unit is more than 6″ away from enemy units, remove it from the battlefield. In the Reinforcements step of the next Movement phase, set the unit up on the battlefield that is more than 9″ from enemy units.
For me, this is one of the best stratagems in the book. The utility of this stratagem is amazing. The restriction for being 6″ from enemy units makes it more difficult to achieve, but it is a key stratagem for helping with a range of situations in the army.
I use this stratagem a lot to protect a Purestrain Genestealer unit that has been used to destroy enemy screens. Forward deploying screening units are the bane of GSC armies, as they can seriously restrict where your reserves come in. A useful tactic is to use a unit of Purestrains to eliminate the forward units in your first turn. Most of the time, these units will be ahead of the bulk of the enemy army, so will have no nearby units to block the use of the stratagem. Use this to destroy the enemy unit and go back into reserve, keeping them safe from enemy firepower. The downside is that you cannot come in using the Underground rules, so will need to stay over 9″ away. However, you could use this unit to get you RND, so put them behind cover to set up a charge for the following turn.
Another great use of this stratagem is for scoring secondary points. Use this on a squad to protect them in reserve and bring them in the following turn to help you score RND, Behind Enemy Lines or Engage on all Fronts. A key stratagem that you should always keep in mind in your games.
Covering Fire (1CP)- Use this stratagem in the charge phase. Select one enemy unit with a Crossfire marker. Until the end of the phase, the unit cannot fire Overwatch, Set to Defend or perform a Heroic Intervention.
Another great stratagem for ensuring that your forces can improve their odds in combat. I use this most often to shut down heroic interventions on characters or other units, either to give you the upper hand in a combat, or to steal an objective from your opponent without having to engage them. You need to have a crossfire marker on the unit to use this, which is why it pairs really well with a Nexos. This allows you to put a Crossfire marker on any unit on the table. This allows you to select characters, who might not normally be targetable by your firepower thanks to Look Out Sir, thereby allowing you to shut down their heroic interventions. Also great for shutting down overwatch from auto-hitting units that could shred your fragile GSC units on the charge.
Coordinated Assault (1CP)– Use at the start of the Fight Phase. Select one enemy unit with a Crossfire marker in Engagement range of a GSC unit. Until the end of the phase, this unit is not eligible to fight until after all eligible units from your army have done so.
GSC is primarily a combat army, and fight last abilities are absolutely crucial for the army to function properly. Again, this works well with a Nexos in the army, allowing you to put a Crossfire marker on a unit for free, without the risk of having to put one there with your firepower.
Overall
Those are some of the key GSC stratagems, in my opinion. There are a number of other great stratagems which are more situational, but I think these are the ones you are going to see in most of your games. The fact that they are all 1CP makes them much more suitable to a post-Nachmund world of Nephilim, where CP will likely be at a premium in most of your games.
Did I miss out any of your favourites? Comment below to add them in to the discussion.
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