My Tactics pledge: I am not the greatest player, nor a seal pup. I will endeavor to speak from my experience and always be honest about what is theory and what is play tested. Never will I assume to know better than anyone else... unless I must call out ego or pretension.
--Cultist Unit Review--
After skipping an edition Cultists are back with a Vengeance! Vengeance...Get it...Dark Vengeance... When constructing a Chaos Space Marine list always find room for at least one squad of Cultists.
A successful Cultist unit is one that doesn't try to do too much.
MEQ players often get too accustomed to power armor; it is imperative to remember Cultists are squishy, hide and protect Cultists when need be.
There are typically two schools when it comes to a unit like Cultists.
- Go MSU and Reserve
- Go Blob and Hold
Both of these strategies do work, but is there another way?
Firstly, let us look at what Cultists have to offer.
Three things stand out when it comes to Cultists.
- Cheap only 4 pts
- Max unit size 35
- Can take Marks
--Cheap--
Cultists give Chaos Space Marines a cheap scoring unit they always lacked. Starting at 50 pts Cultists are only 10 pts more than Gretchin. This is a critical change from 5th edition where Chaos Space Marines only had expensive scoring units. This gives so much flexibility to creating lists. Comparing to a Plague Marine 5th ed list, just one replacement Cultist unit instantly frees up around 200 pts. That sort of freedom allows players to explore other unit options in the codex without being forced to have another expensive scoring unit.
--Mob Squad--
The ability to take 35 Cultists also opens up new opportunities. At only 150 that is one big scoring squad, add in 3 Flamers (165 pts) and you have something truly dangerous. The biggest problem with the Cultist blob is no Fearless (Icon of Vengeance). That means you have to wager the worth of attaching an expensive Fearless HQ with the unit.
--Mark my Bitch up--
Cultists can take Marks as well, but you run into the similar problem as Chaos Space Marines. If you take Mark of Khorne or Mark of Nurgle your cheap Cultists instantly becomes the same price as a Ork Boy. Can you say with a straight face, having either of those marks make Cultists better than a Ork Boy?
Then you have Mark of Tzeentch...nevermind.
That leaves you with Mark of Slaanesh which when you think about is the best choice. 5 pt Cultists go before Ork Boyz and the same time as Space Marines in assault. I rather have my Cultists at least get a few swings in before dying; unlike having Mark of Khorne where there is no guarantees. Add a little Hysterical Frenzy psychic power and watch out!
--What about the other options?--
The Autogun replacement should be free, so don't waste your points. Heavy Stubber would make sense at str 5, but a glorified Bolter is not worth 5 extra points. What about the Shotgun on the champion?!? That leaves us with the Flamer a MUST buy if you run large squads. Three Flamers can cut down a Ork Boyz squad and leave it small enough to run over. They also provide auto hits when being charged.
Let me make a special note about the Cultist Champion. He is really important. Large Cultist squads can break many units, but it requires your Champion to sacrifice (Challenge) itself to an Independent Character. They are the cheapest character in the game throw them to the wolves accordingly.
Memory Lane: Cultists
Cultists have been around since Rogue Trader along with Abhumans of old like Beastmen. It wasn't till 2003 that everything changed; with the release of Eye of Terror, bringing Cultists to the forefront. You got Traitors, Big Mutants, and the first glimpse of Plague Zombies. All wrapped up in the Lost and the Damned rules. The best part of that era was players creations as it become the most kit-bashed army of all time. Game Workshop even encouraged it, with pages like this... (Click to Enlarge)
The Lost and the Damned along with Chaos Space Marine codex 3.5 represented for many the golden age for the Gods of Chaos.
Here is the complete rules for the Lost and the Damned to remind you just how much the game has changed in 10 years.
--Brains...Brains...Brains...-- (as it has been pointed out it looks like according to RAW you cannot take more than 10 zombies per squad. I think this will be FAQ)
We all know that Phil Kelly has a soft spot for Zombies so it shouldn't be a surprise that we have Plague Zombies back! You can make any Cultist unit "free" of charge a zombie, the only thing you need to do is take Typhus as a HQ. Zombies get Fearless, Feel No Pain, and Slow and Purposeful. They only have a single Close Combat Weapon for wargear and cannot get any options.
Typhus is a great HQ so you don't feel like you wasted points just to have Zombies. Still are Zombies better than normal Cultist, at first glance it seems obvious: Zombies win! What if you take a closer look?
Zombies are all about survivability. Fearless is huge! Feel No Pain not as much, because many weapons will ignore when your unit is only toughness 3. Only in cover with Feel No Pain do Zombies really shine. That means Zombies should be doing just two things: sit in one place and charging things that dare get close.
You lose a little flexibility with Zombies with only one attack and no Flamers . Zombies really cannot deal much damage and will get ground to dust by a determined opponent. But consider this: 210 Zombies are only 900 points 😉
After skipping an edition Cultists are back with a Vengeance! Vengeance...Get it...Dark Vengeance...
--Ways to play Cultists--
Death Star Configuration: 200 pts 35-man Cultist unit with 3 Flamers, Mark of Slaanesh. Run with corresponding Chaos Lord for Fearless and consider a backup Sorcerer for Blessings.
Balanced Configuration: 145 pts 30-man Cultist unit with 3 Flamers. Takes losing 8 Cultists for a Leadership check. Good for protecting deployment from most out-flankers and great for dislodging lightly armored opponents.
MSU Configuration: 50 pts 10-man Cultist with no upgrades. Reserve and forget.
Horde Configuration: 150 pts 30-man Plague Zombies with no upgrades. Take Typhus and run wild. Sit behind an Aegis Defense Line and watch your opponent squirm.
Cultists are top-tier because of cost and giving so much list freedom for the rest of your Chaos Space Marine army. At least take one and consider two when ever making a list.
Warning
It's Like Tactics is rated theory hammer because these are general observations and assumptions based on only few tested games.
Email Me!
For tactical articles feel free to email me to continue the discussion or if you discover an inaccurate interpretation of the rules-- edits will be made accordingly.
Also check out other articles in this series...
- Getting Restarted
- Breaking Down the Codex
- Chaos Space Marine Unit Review
- Cultist Review
- Khorne Berzerkers Review
- Thousand Sons Review
- Noise Marine Review
- Plague Marine Review
- Chosen Review
- Mutilator Review
- Helbrute Review
- Possessed Review
- Chaos Terminator Review
- Chaos Bikes Review
- Chaos Spawn Review
- Raptors Review
- Warp Talons Review
- Heldrake Review
- Havocs Review
- Obliterator Review
- Defiler Review
- Forgefiend Review
- Maulerfiend Review
- Rhino, Vindicator, Predator, Land Raider Review
- Abbadon the Despiler Review
- Huron Blackheart Review
- Kharn the Betrayer Review
- Ahriman Review
- Typhus Review
- Lucius the Eternal Review
- Fabius Bile Review
- Chaos Lord Review
- Chaos Sorcerer Review
- Daemon Prince Review
- Warpsmith Review
- Dark Apostle Review
- Final Breakdown