Deathwatch vs Genestealer Cult Boxed Game

[eLCee]

I'm actually a little disappointed. His chapter badge appears to be a decal(though it's in the fancy style of the ones from Space Marine so that's cool) but the actual sculpted detail, like on his leg, looks more Blood Angels than Ravens. Maybe need better pictures, the reverse angle from behind it looks like the detail may be raised.

Overall looks like an awesome box. Here's the whole spread, found on Dakka, from twitter somewhere. Full contents is 50 total minis, plus all the game stuff.

Looking at the picture that smaller shot of him on the bottom right it seems its sculped and not a decal.

[Alex Knight]

Price is a bit hefty, at $165 USD. I am a little disappointed they didn't go the direction of making it a full stand-alone expansion for Space Hulk though. After all, they could have made the corridors tiles resemble mine tunnels... That would have been perfect. Oh well.

[Mr Mystery]

There is that, but the counterpoint would be potential confusion as to whether or not you need Space Hulk to play this.

[Patrick Boyle]

[URL="http://imgur.com/a/F4g8P"]Higher quality images here[/URL], shoulder badge for the Blood Raven is indeed sculpted, woo!

[Hybrid3rdGen]

I couldn't care less about grubby cultists myself, I just want the Blood Ravens model

I will take them... no questions asked. :P

[Gotthammer]

That's easy Gott, they're all in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. Got to keep those numbers up.
Yes, that is/sounds sexist, it is, but in the terms of the fluff it kinda makes cents. They are trying to take the planet over, and attract the hive mind, so numbers count.

So I've been pondering this for a bit...

So the stealer life-cycle is that a purestrain infects a human, that human reproduces and the first born is a 1st gen hybrid. Any children after that are brood brothers - normal humans but with an inbuilt dedication to their pure/hybrid kin.

1st gen infects second human, who produces one 2nd gen & more brood brothers etc.

However 'stealer cults need to avoid suspicion, so at least in the early stages they wouldn't be expanding massively. I mean there are groups that preach doctrines of maximum childbirth but they are quite notable as such (I'm not saying quiverful families are really stealer cults but i'm also not saying it ya feel me), so where that is a red flag for stealer cults seems unlikely to me.

But regardless, even with each family producing say 4 offspring (1 hybrid, three brood brothers), by the fourth generation that would be 16 broodbrethren per line of infection. This of course discounts a purestrain infecting multiple people also.
So after six or seven generations there would be a lot of a broodbrethren running around, potentially intermarrying (or bringing partners into the clan) and having more broodkin so to speak.

Going on from that I don't think the cult would go for overpopulation, after all biomass is biomass, more a consistent takeover of society (ymmv). And when the sh!t hits the fan and the time to rise up, either by the nids or Deathwatch or =I= showing up means that anyone who can fight will be fighting.

Not to mention no female hybrids exist?

[Kaptain Badrukk]

Gw, mixed gender unit in fluff, all male models, not shocked.
It's pretty much par for the course for 'humans', elves, tau, etc are fine.
I suppose I'm just going to have to decide that all the big mutated ones are ladies.
Just never humans.
Still, 39 cult members + 10 astartes, not bad at all!

[Mr Mystery]

I don't recall there being any mention about whether Hybrids are only male, or whether Purestrains even have genders.

But one thing that's always stuck in my mind - sure there must be a high mortality rate amongst mothers of the Cult? As a species we still have issues with childbirth where there's limited access to modern medicine. Add a third or fourth arm on the sprog, and I'd imagine that would only make matters worse?

[grimmas]

For everything up to 3rd generation hybrids genestealers are neither male or female that's not how they reproduce. That's what it says in the background anyhow (WDs 114-116). 4th generation do mate as humans though (the first time they produce a purestrain though). So a female 4th generation is possible within the fluff though given how the exchange of DNA would go I'm not sure it'd be entirely as effective for the Cult (they want both parties to be infected with Stealer DNA) Edit: on reflection it's not appropriate to think of 4th generation as male or female either that's not how it works. They're aliens and as such don't follow our concepts of gender. They use another spieces to breed.

Female Brood Brethren would be a thing though. However given how Genestealers operate its highly likely an female one will be spending most of their time pregnant or nursing. I think we are looking at bigger numbers than having 3-4 offspring. It is noted they humans that are impregnanted by Gnestealers have an unstoppable desire to mate. Unsurprisingly it's all very Grimdark.

This of course doesn't preclude all female Brood Brethren from the Battlefield however, especially if they were under attack from the Deathwatch and were fighting to survive. Yep if the Cult was on the offensive it might be prudent to keep the females back but not if they were fighting for their survival. Also what about the female Brethen who can't breed surely hey would be fighting? It's all getting a bit Imperial Guard there should be some but there isn't. I can't remember have we seen any Brood Brother models yet?

[Defenestratus]

For everything up to 3rd generation hybrids genestealers are neither male or female that's not how they reproduce. That's what it says in the background anyhow (WDs 114-116). 4th generation do mate as humans though (the first time they produce a purestrain though). So a female 4th generation is possible within the fluff though given how the exchange of DNA would go I'm not sure it'd be entirely as effective for the Cult (they want both parties to be infected with Stealer DNA) Edit: on reflection it's not appropriate to think of 4th generation as male or female either that's not how it works. They're aliens and as such don't follow our concepts of gender. They use another spieces to breed.

Female Brood Brethren would be a thing though. However given how Genestealers operate its highly likely an female one will be spending most of their time pregnant or nursing. I think we are looking at bigger numbers than having 3-4 offspring. It is noted they humans that are impregnanted by Gnestealers have an unstoppable desire to mate. Unsurprisingly it's all very Grimdark.

This of course doesn't preclude all female Brood Brethren from the Battlefield however, especially if they were under attack from the Deathwatch and were fighting to survive. Yep if the Cult was on the offensive it might be prudent to keep the females back but not if they were fighting for their survival. Also what about the female Brethen who can't breed surely hey would be fighting? It's all getting a bit Imperial Guard there should be some but there isn't. I can't remember have we seen any Brood Brother models yet?

I can't believe there's a serious conversion about this crap.