The new Genestealer Cults book is complex. There are blips, Ambush, Underground and Crossfire all to wrap your head around. These are just the basic rules of the faction! Once a GSC player has a firm grasp on these game mechanics they can start to check out the datasheets for the units in the Codex to see how the actual units in the army can interact with all these amazing new rules. At first glance, one of the simpler units is the Primus. A buffing character who gives out re-roll 1 auras just like many other characters in the game can’t be too hard to put to good use on the table top right? In any other Codex this would probably be the case, but in the new GSC book even our seemingly simple characters have some interesting layers that a good player will be able to use in order to unlock the true potential of the Primus.
Buffing Abilities:
Starting out simple, the Primus’ Cult Demagogue ability is a 6 inch Aura that gives Core units re-roll 1s to hit. While the Meticulous Planner ability allows the Primus to pick one Core unit in the Command Phase to give re-roll 1s to wound. Both of these abilities are solid, but in an army where multiple units will be arriving on the table from Underground after the Command Phase, and the window to apply one of these buffs has passed, it can be surprisingly tricky to give the units you need those re-rolls from a Primus.
Thankfully, GW has written into the rules for Underground the ability for models to use any abilities that state “In the Command Phase” after they have been set up on the table. It is important to note that only applies to the Character being able to give the buff to a unit when the Character itself is deployed from Underground, so no using a Primus that was already on the table to use the Meticulous Planner ability on a squad just being set up from Underground.
Buffing the Buffs:
There are three main ways to buff the Primus’ buffing ability in the GSC Codex. One is the Alien Majesty Warlord Trait which extends all Aura abilities of the bears to a maximum of 9 inches. This is an excellent pick for a Trait for your Primus if the plan is to bring him up from the Underground alongside some Acolytes to ensure they are getting that re-roll 1s to hit aura buff after they charge into combat. Sometimes it can just be awkward on the tabletop to charge in with your Acolytes and keep them within 6 inches of their Primus, but Alien Majesty lets you arrive from Underground worry free.
The only Core units in the army are Neophtyes, Acolytes, Metamorphs, and Jackals, but there is a 15 point Proficient Planning upgrade available to the Primus that allows him to use his Meticulous Planner ability twice in a single Command Phase to effect any Cult unit and not just a Core unit. Once per game this can give some extra punch to a unit of Ridgerunners, but generally I find that this upgrade isn’t worth the cost. With Crossfire, Exposed, and Stratagems there are already so many ways to buff non-Core unit’s shooting.
The third buff comes in the form of ANOTHER Character’s ability provided by the Nexos. Not only can the Nexos give out a Crossfire token to any enemy unit on the battlefield in the Command Phase (this will be a future article as this ability is extremely powerful), but he can also pick on friendly Primus within 6 inches and broadcast that Primus’ buff to a unit anywhere on the table! This includes both Cult Demagouge and Meticulous Planner. Remember though, this takes place in the Command Phase so the unit wanting that buff needs to be on the table during the Command Phase. Something that is not always guaranteed and takes prior planning when playing GSC.
This Nexos’ ability applies to ALL aura abilities, so if you are playing Pauper Princes with the amazing 5+ invulnerable save relic the Nexos allows that aura buff to be broadcast across the entire table to a selected unit.
The Nexos also has a Relic himself that is worth taking in the Cranial Inlay. Not only does this thing let you farm CP on a 5+ each time you spend one on a Stratagem, but it allows the Nexos to choose another unit on the battlefield to broadcast the Primus’ abilities to. That’s TWO units who can get re-roll 1s to hit, wound, and a 5+ Invulnerable Save anywhere on the table!
Primus Over Patriarch:
The Primus provides some serious force multiplying buffs to your army in a nice 80 point package. The only thing the Patriarch has over the Primus is the ability to absolutely murder things in close combat, but a GSC army should be full of mining weapons, Acolyte claws, and Genestealers that can already perform the function of melee beater for your army. That’s not to say the Primus can’t slap in melee. With Biomorph Adaptation and the Hand of Abberence Relic a Primus can put out 6 AP2 D3 attacks hitting and wounding most things one 2s! Unfortunately, the days of a Patriarch being the first unit added to a GSC army list are over. The Primus has taken that honor.
The Primus is an auto-include no matter what kind of GSC army you are bringing to the table (isn’t it nice we have multiple army builds now?!). At first glance this Character is extremely simple to use by plopping him on the table and letting him buff his Cult members, but the good GSC players will be able to use those extra spicy options like the Nexos and the option to use Command Phase abilities when the Primus is set up on the table from Underground to get the most mileage out of all the Core GSC units.