The Biggest Winner of Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition Is Genestealer Cults

I’m so sick of Warhammer 40,000: Tenth Edition. Poor Adeptus Mechanicus, they’re dead, or at least they’re slowly bleeding out while lying face down in a pool of motor oil and blood. Though I’m happy that the Ad Mech player community is making the most of the harsh nerfs to embrace the cool models in the range, convert their own guys, and create entertaining narrative lists to suit their needs, I’m sad that we’re not even close to becoming a competitive force.

In 10th, Adeptus Mechanicus and Death Guard have many of the same problems. Players are more incensed that their armies have lost all flavor than that both armies have been nerfed to death. The story of the 41st Millennium has a major role in both the sheer number of participants and the armies they select. I enjoy playing Ad Mech because of the unusual technical advancements it produces and the freedom it gives me to transform even crazier models into representations of those futuristic advancements. The regulations used to account for this, but for some reason, we’re just sort of irradiating the battlefield now? It’s possible that this may be revealed in the upcoming novel Genefather, which pits Belisarius Cawl against Fabius Bile, but for now, it seems like an absurd set of rules from a narrative perspective and a subpar one from a competitive one.

Similarly, Death Guard have become far more squishy than they were previously. Players are penalized by the scoring system since models are purchased in seven-piece sets rather than ten-piece squads, and any pustulent decay included in the rules has, for some reason, been cleaned and sanitized. If nothing else, the Mechanicus ought to receive a Codex shortly that might address some of their issues.



In the event that the Ad Mech and Death Guard are eliminated from the 10th edition, Genestealer Cults emerges victorious, primarily due to the Nexos. The Tyranid-adjacent army has a mixed bag of models; I particularly like the mining aesthetics of Goliath and the drills, and the dirt bikers make excellent conversion targets for Inquisitorial or Kill Teams. The storyline tells you that these are simply average guys living their lives in the Hive Cities of the 41st Millennium until all of a sudden they get infected. By infecting and spreading through blue collar workforces like these, the Tyranids gain entry into the cities of the Imperium. They are part zombie epidemic, part religious fanaticism.

In their journey to become full-blooded xenos, some units are farther along than others. When the Patriarchs and Magi summon the aberrants from the sewers to launch their internal Trojan invasion, they hardly resemble their human selves. It’s a fantastic storytelling device for the army, and the tabletop representation of it is flawless.

Thanks to Space Hulk, Genestealer Cult players can place tokens, sometimes known as blips, on the battlefield during their deployment phase. As long as there are no enemy units within a set distance of the token, their units—as well as new ones that emerge when their units are destroyed—can be seen from these locations. These reinforcements stand in for the invading Tyranid troops, as more warriors emerge from the shadows to overwhelm the Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks defending the city.



Go into the Nexos. The first reason this figure is unique is that the hologram he examines is the least subtle Easter Egg in the game. This gruesome guy is obviously preparing an attack of Warhammer HQ, yet his role on the battlefield perfectly suits his sculpt. The 3D map depicts Warhammer World in Nottingham. He is able to move your blips so that they are out of the way of enemy fire, allowing your reinforcements to reach their target unhindered. It suits the Genestealer Cult army’s story wonderfully and is the ideal rule for a figure to have over a tactical map. Combining gameplay and narrative into a single, cohesive unit, the Nexos represents everything that Games Workshop did well with the army in 10th edition.

When Genestealer Cults first came out, I purchased a few of them. Even if a kunnin’ squad of Orks repurposed my Goliath, I can still envision myself entering 10th edition engagements with a small band of covert agents under the command of a Nexos and one of those sniper-bikers. It’s unfortunate that not every army received the same level of attention.