You can see my first article in this series here. I covered HQ selections, overall traits for the Genestealer Cult, relics, psychic powers, etc. The second in the series is about troops and dedicated transports and can be found here. The third in the series is about elites and can be found here.
The fast attack slot for Genestealer Cult is pretty thin, so this should be a quick read. It is thin but fierce!
Cult Scout Sentinels
Small, bipedal walker vehicles with an open top, scout sentinels are fast and cheap. They come stock with a multi-laser, but for 9 more points you can put a heavy flamer on it. 54 points for a T5 4+ armor save vehicle that can scout 9" before the game starts then move 9" and flame something 8" away.
It sounds really cool but I have had bad luck with it. The randomness between rolling a 1 or a 6 for the number of hits, the heavy flamer only having a -1 AP, and the 4+ save means you might get too close and get into combat after rolling poorly on your heavy flamer.
The heavy flamer does not take a hit penalty when the sentinel moves, so that is pretty nice - the other options like autocannon, lascannon, missile launcher, and multi-laser are only hitting on 5s when it moves. For that reason, and the lack of toughness of the platform, I likely still would take a heavy flamer almost every time on this model and use it to spread out my net of 'no deep strike'. With two of them you can push back your flanks or force an enemy to one flank. Consider adding a sentinel chainsaw with extra points leftover to give it a little more oomf in close combat.
The Astra Militarum version is a little cheaper on some options right now. Autocannons and hunter killer missiles are 3 points cheaper. For 53 points you can put out a decent amount of firepower each turn. Heavy flamers are 2 points cheaper which is basically negligible unless you need to fill out an AM detachment.
If you're using these models in an AM detachment, consider this stratagem for late game objective grabbing (if they're still alive).
Use this Stratagem at the start of your Shooting phase. Select a unit of Scout Sentinels from your army. This unit can immediately move 2D6" but cannot shoot or charge this turn.
Cult Armored Sentinel
I have used scout sentinels quite often already and have been disappointed mostly in the D6 flamer roll. I am going to try out armored sentinels - specifically with lascannons.
The armored sentinel gets +1 armor save and +1 toughness vs his little brother which really go a long way to helping it survive and remain a thorn in the side of your enemy. While T6 won't stop your enemy wounding it on 3 with most anti-tank weapons, light anti-tank weapons at S6 won't be wounding on 3s. Lots of the -3 AP stuff out there will still leave armored sentinels with a 6+ save, 5+ if they're in cover.
It is just a bit slower than the scout sentinel and doesn't get the scout move, but for five more points than a scout sentinel you get that tougher platform. I am thinking about taking two of these and putting them on flanks to engage and harass enemies. Lascannons will make them really annoying when they do hit, hopefully wounding with a high roll on that D6 damage.
With these I would consider moving once to get in position, popping smoke, then sitting still and shooting as much as I can. Even consider throwing a 6 point HK missile (in an AM detachment) to get a turn of 4+ and hope to spike the D6 damage roll.
120 points for two lascannon shots, 12 wounds that don't degrade, T6 and a 3+ armor save is pretty good. Plus the models look really sweet - maybe my favorite GW vehicles!
Overall I think you're going to use either scout or armored sentinels as ways to push back deep strikes, provide some weak threats to your enemy, and grab objectives if they're still alive.
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