Brood no longer, devotees of the Star Children, for the release of Codex: Genestealer Cults is near at hand. It's going to be a big start to the year in general, with Codex: Adeptus Custodes and Codex: T'au Empire due to launch sometime in early 2022. Today, those of you who reject the false Emperor and scorn the T'au's pathetic excuse for expansion can take an early look at some of the new Crusade rules you'll be using to teach them how it's done.
The growth of a Genestealer Cult requires precision, planning, and generations of careful scheming. To reflect this, the core of the new Crusade rules is built around a brand new mechanic, the Path to Ascension. This is an objective exclusive to the Genestealer Cults, which follows your nascent brood as it attempts to grow by infiltrating an entire planet. You get to choose when you begin walking this path, and you will need a Patriarch, Primus, or Magus to begin.
To take over a world, you will need to infiltrate each layer of its Institutions without being discovered. The Path to Ascension rules let you choose between six types of planet, such as forge worlds and agri worlds. These all have different Institutions, like politics, industry, and community.
To assume control of the world, you must earn Ascension points, which can be gained by winning battles or completing Agendas. Certain Agendas and Requisitions can boost your earnings further, rewarding careful planning before and after your games. The infiltration of a new Institution costs three of these points, and every time you infiltrate one, you can claim a special reward.
As your insidious plans creep ever forward, however, you run the risk of being discovered. After each Crusade battle, if you have infiltrated multiple Institutions, you must roll to see if your sinister agents have been caught out.
If you are discovered, your next battle will count as the Day of Ascension, when your burgeoning brood gives up its power creep in favour of rising up to overthrow their oppressors and take the world by force. This is an all-or-nothing gamble – if you win you will automatically assume control of the world and complete your mission. However, if you lose, you must abandon your current Path to Ascension.
Of course, it isn't so easy to wipe out Genestealer Cults once they take root – as soon as tainted worlds begin their fall to the Genestealer Curse, the cult will start shipping Purestrains off-world to ensure the brood will always spread and survive.This lore detail is reflected in the rules as well – sure, if you abandon your Path, you will lose one of your Ascension Rewards and your leaders will be punished, but any surviving units can get right back up and start again. Discovery is just a momentary setback for these malevolent mutants.
The Cults have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to make their big day go with a bang. Take Proficient Planning, which you can use to customise your units with special abilities that are acquired as you gradually take over each world.
These are bought with Requisition Points, and can allow your troops to add more attacks, excavate the battlefield to remove terrain rules, and other such shenanigans. Check out 'Trap Sprung', an ability which improves your charge roll.
Of course, like all Crusade rulesets, it's also bursting with unique Agendas and powerful Crusade Relics for your favourite Characters to help them carefully prepare for the promised day. Unlike other Crusading factions, however, you are using your wealth of new rules and relics to slowly improve society – not just landing in a Drop Pod and kicking the bins over.*
With three codexes due to launch in early 2022, it's never too early to start preparing your Crusade forces! Will you be incubating your brood this winter, or will you be burning out the infestation? Let us know your plans on Facebook and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates on the upcoming Codex releases.
* Definitions of 'improve' may vary.