The Great Devourer is upon us, and in part 2 of this review we dive into the Tyranid units to explore what they have to offer! Be sure to check out Part 1 of this review if you missed it.
Sorry I am a bit tardy on this but we’ve been slammed here at FLG, and I just couldn’t find time to write. But, we’re back, baby! As always, check the Tactics Corner for more great articles, reviews and lists.
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HQs
- Broodlord
- Hive Tyrant
- The Swarmlord
- Tyranid Prime
- Tervigon
- Neurothrope
- Old One Eye
- Malanthrope (Not in the Codex, but we reference them often).
The HQ section of the Tyranid book has had a turbulent past in recent editions. Previously, it was essentially the entire book when it came to competitive play, thus the term Codex: Flyrant. And while the Winged Hive Tyrant (Flyrant in gamer lingo) certainly fell from grace with the index, he (she? it?) is most assuredly a force to be reckoned with, again! Will it dominate the Nid meta? I don’t think so, but if you take multiples of them it certainly won’t be a bad thing. However, In my opinion a single Flyrant is all you need, two at the most but then I tend not to spam things anyway so take that with a grain of salt.
All that said, yeah, the Hive Tyrant is back, baby! What a great unit, so let’s start there. Now, point blank, the winged version is better than the foot version in my opinion and I will explain why. However, the foot version has a lot of tempting options to make it less unappealing by comparison than in years past which we will also get to. But, back to the star of the show: the Flyrant. Why is he so vastly improved? Well, for a number of reasons. For one, he can now Deep Strike thanks to the Swooping Assault rule. That by itself is just amazing. Any high priority unit that can stay off of the table until you want him, and go where needed has a tremendous advantage in this lethal 8th ed environment. Second, he now boasts T7, 12 wounds, a 3+ and a 4++, which is so dang good for keeping him alive. He also has an 18″ synapse bubble and with the very cool psychic powers available to Nids, is extremely versatile. The real strength now is that there is not a single, obvious option in dual Devourers. That said, that is still a very powerful option particularly when combined with the Pathogenic Slime stratagem to increase the damage of the weapon to 2. Oh, and did I forget to mention that that the Devourer with Brianleach Worms also packs 24 shots if you double up on them? That is potentially 24 damage from the Flyrant with the stratagem, 48 with quad Devourers! On top of this, with Smite and Psychic Scream, if you want to kit him out for pure damage output, you can seriously get your money’s worth out of him at only 170 points base. That means you’re only paying 198pts for a Flyrant with two sets of dual Devourers (which is how most folks have him kitted out). The Heightened Senses Warlord Trait on him is also awesome to avoid any penalties to your hit rolls which counters flyers, Alpha Legion/Raven Guard/Alaitoc shenanigans quite well.
But you have so many other options available to you. The Deathspitters are great for the 24″ range, strength 7 and AP-1 even with half the shots of the Devourers, and also only 7 pts per weapon or 14 pts a pair! Of course, the relic Slimer Maggot Infestation for Hyrda Hive Fleet players is excellent, giving you re-rolls to wound on that weapon. Hydra is also solid as they have one of my favorite Warlord Traits, allowing you to regenerate multiple wounds a turn. What is even cooler is that the other weapon options are viable. Heavy Venom Cannons now are 36″, strength 9, AP-2, 3 Damage, Assault D3. The Stranglethorn Cannon is strength 7, AP-1, 2 damage assault D6, 36″ and +1 to hit vs. units of 10+ models. The relic versions of these weapons are even better, as reviewed in Part 1 of this article. As you can give him multiple sets of weapons (but only a single Heavy Venom Cannon or Stranglethorn Cannon), you can create a truly scary, mobile gunboat that also provides synapse and has formidable psychic powers. A tactic I have found to be very effective for him is to deep strike in with a unit of Gargoyles who surround him (who can also deep strike, now!), protecting him from Smites and assaults. The pair of units then flies around together tearing up my opponent’s backfield and supporting my assault units. Catalyst is a solid power for him (as it is for every Bug unit) but I have had best results going max offense on him and just putting out blistering damage as stated above.
Conversely, if you go Kraken and take both a melee weapon and a shooting weapon, you can move into and out combat with essentially no penalties, shooting and still charging for an extremely versatile unit that also has the option of their amazing relic which gives you a -1 to be hit by enemy shooting attacks. You will catch your opponent off guard all the time when you pop out of a combat they thought they were safe in, only to shoot a unit and then charge another!
The melee/shooting hybrid also works very well with Kronos, taking their relic and then giving him the Kronos Warlord Trait causing enemy psykers to take D3 mortal wounds on a failed psychic check. Combo this with their stratagem forcing your opponent to take the psychic check on 1D6 which when combined with Shadows means you are highly likely to not only shut down a key power but hurt your opponent in the process. It’s awesome.
However, as the radio announcer says, that’s not all! The melee Flyrant is absolutely a thing now. As Monsters no longer automatically have good AP on their attacks, the shooty versions do not want to be in combat in most instances (but as they can fly, it is quite easy for them to bail out and go on to shoot more stuff!). The melee version though, wants to go chop-chop. The basic Monstrous Scything Talons are excellent. All in, you’re looking at 200pts for dual talons and wings, 209 with what I consider to be mandatory Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs. That gives you 5 attacks hitting on 2’s, re-rolling 1’s to hit each at AP-3, 3 damage a pop (4 on a 6+ to wound) on a fast, resilient unit with its own delivery mechanism built in. He also smacks you with his tail, too! Taken in a Behemoth hive fleet, you can drop down and re-roll your charge roll with +1″ thanks to Adrenal Glands which really boosts the odds of making that charge. You can use psychic powers to either buff yourself, or defbuff your opponent or just strip some wounds off with Smite. With the Hive Tyrant’s invul save, you now can tango with melee units that were a no-go previously, and now not only hang, but kick their ass. Plus, if you go Behemoth you can take the Scythes of Tyran relic for +1 strength and exploding 6’s in melee, generating more attacks. You can further enhance that offensive output with their Warlord trait for +1 damage on 6’s to wound, which with Toxin Sacs for 4pts and you get +2 damage on 6’s to wound! A great total package for an aggressive Tyranid army. And that is just one potential combo for the melee Flryant, there are so many more. I will quickly run out of room just listing them but in future articles we will explore more of the possible combos for the Flyrant!
I did want to take a moment to discuss the non flying Hive Tyrant as that is now a viable option. As stated, wings are strictly superior just for the ability to deep strike and avoid alpha strikes, but at a 27pt savings, it may be worth it. In a Kronos list for example, where you want to sit and shoot for that sweet re-roll of 1’s to hit, a walking Tyrant with shooting weapons of your choice is a decent option for your HQ slot in a Battalion or Brigade next to the essentially obligatory Malanthrope. I could see making this build work and saving some points in a Kronos list. Conversely, a shooty or hybrid melee/shooty walking Hive Tyrant in a Jormungandr list that moves up the field with a 2+ save shooting and then engaging in melee could be quite effective too, particularly when backed up with some Tyrant Guard who’d also have a 2+ (and who pack quite a punch themselves). Long story short, if you have a walking Hive Tyrant in your collection and want to use him, you can.
The Broodlord is another fantastic HQ choice. However, where the Hive Tyrant has so many different ways to be played it’s hard to cover it all, the Broodlord is pretty straightforward. He’s an almighty beat-stick in melee, and buffs Genestealers. You can either run him on his own, or with a few other Broodlords as a pseudo assassin team, or pair him with Genestealers to crank up their already prodigious damage output to an 11. Granting them +1 to hit if within 6″ (which also works on himself) means they hit on 2’s, and a unit of 10 or more of them goes up to 4 attacks a piece. Combined with the Adrenaline Surge Stratagem (allowing a unit to attack twice) means very few things in the game can withstand a full strength Genestealer+Broodlord assault. The Stealers alone in that combo will average roughly 66 hits, 133 if you pop the stratagem, lol. But, the Broodlord himself is an animal in melee. He’s a bit squishy at T5, 6 wounds, and a 5++, but not terribly so. With the Character keyword he can be easily screened and T5 means most sniper weapons will struggle to hurt him without buffs. He, like all Stealers is blisteringly fast, moving 8+D6″ and hits very hard with 6 strength 5 attacks which are AP-3 with D3 damage and re-rolls to wound. Additionally, on a 6 to wound his attacks become AP-6 and 3 damage. If all of that weren’t enough, at 162 pts he’s also a psyker. For my money, Behemoth benefits he and all Stealers the most but Kraken is a very close second. The Behemoth Warlord Trait compliments him well for fearsome 4 damage attacks on 6’s to wound and the Ymgarl Factor relic is a great option as well. All around a fantastic HQ choice for the Tyranid player.
Anyone who has been reading this blog for any length of time knows I am a huge fan of the Swarmlord in terms of lore, aesthetics and performance on the tabletop. He’s just such a cool bad guy! He’s also effective on the tabletop and a common site in Nid armies, now. Forget his impressive stat-line, just his Hive Commander ability alone is incredible. It allows a friendly <Hive Fleet> unit within 6″ to move in the shooting phase. For bugs that is simply incredible and there are more combos with it in than I can hope to cover in this brief review. And best of all, unlike other similar abilities such as Warp Time, there is no chance of failure here. The obvious application of it is to use it on himself, flying up the table at break-neck speed. This can be further enhanced if you also cast Onslaught on him to move+advance twice and retain the ability to charge. However, where it gets really amazing is to use it to catapult units from out of reserves into essentially assured charges. Hormagaunts are incredible with this ability due to their high speed and 6″ pile in and consolidation. They can worm their way into enemy formations and tag multiple units in combat, preventing them from shooting and move blocking them. Have Swarmy toss Catalyst on them or simply use the Leviathan Hive Fleet and they become significantly tougher. A common tactics is to deliver them in to combat with a Trygon or Trygon Prime who are also a powerful melee units in their own right.
Genestealers also love this ability as with their new Infestation special rule, they can start the game in hiding to avoid alpha strikes then pop up onto the table within 6″ of 1 of 4 markers in your deployment zone. Where normally this would be their movement, Swarmy allows them to then move+advance after that meaning you are highly likely to get into combat with them from a safe position. The list of uses here goes on and on. As I have said many times, the movement phase is where the master of the game wins games, and anything that gives you additional movement gives the top player more opportunities.
Beyond this though, Swarmy is also a powerful psyker with 2 casts and 2 denials as well. Additionally, he rocks 6 strength 8 attacks, at AP-3, 3 damage a pop and the same defense as a normal Tyrant but with a 3++ in melee! This with Catalyst makes him quite durable. Or again, Leviathan for a latent 6+ FnP (and yes, Swarmy can be taken in any Hive Fleet). While he is certainly not cheap at 300pts, he gives you a lot. The Flyrant certainly gives him a run for his money now, but in an aggressive Tyranid list, particularly one that wants to assault from reserves, you simply cannot beat Swarmy.
The Tyranid Prime is a fun HQ and as Tyranid Warriors are so affordable, will find his way into many lists. 100pts base, with T5, 6 wounds, a 3+ and the all important Character keyword, he’s reasonably tough, but is still not going to survive a sustained attack. He is quite versatile though, with a variety of options. The dual Boneswords option was very popular in test games for bonus attacks, but I was most fond of using the Tyranid Prime and Warriors with a Deathspitter and Boneswords. As the Deathspitter is essentially a 24″ range assault Heavy Bolter, and the Tyranid Prime buffs Tyranid Warriors within 6″ with a +1 to hit (for shooting and melee), he makes them very good. They all go to WS 2+ and BS 3+ (matching his profile), with a bonus melee attack at AP-2. With the above kit, Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands, he’s only 112pts, which is quite the steal. Essentially, if you plan on using Tyranid Warriors in your list, take a Prime as he makes them vastly better. In lists that don’t feature Tyranid Warriors, you’re better off taking another Malanthrope or Neurothrope.
The Tervigon is the source of much angst and frustration for the Tyranid player these days, lol. She is a bit expensive in the Index, I agree, although I still feel she has a place even there. However, in the Codex we get the following with the mama-bug: 225pts base, with Massive Scything Talons and Stinger Salvo comes out to 243 stock. Not as much of a points drop as many were hoping for, but with all of the various additional rules you put on her thanks to stratagems, hive fleet adaptations, etc. she is a lot better than she was. At toughness 8 with 14 wounds and a 3+, she’s tougher than a Leman Russ battle tank. However, she’s also a big beast and hard to hide so be mindful of high powered, long ranged firepower. Again–for the millionth time–LoS blocking terrain makes 8th ed 40k much more enjoyable! That aside, she also is a psyker with 1 power and 1 deny, and brings a decent melee profile with 3 attacks at strength 7, AP-3, 3 damage a pop and WS 4+, re-rolling 1’s to hit. She also allows Termagants within 6″ to re-roll 1’s to hit in the shooting phase and can add 10 of them to a unit that has taken casualties or create a new unit of 10 (which does cost points to do when creating a new unit). Lastly, when she dies, she deals D6 mortal wounds to nearby Termagants.
I have found several ways of playing the Tervigon to be effective. The first is on defense, holding the backfield with regenerating units of Termagants. This gives you excellent board control, denying your opponent anywhere to deep strike/outflank, etc. This also gives you very effective screens as she keeps them fearless and regenerates those that die so long as any are left standing. Kraken is a solid choice in this configuration for the amazing Chameleonic Mutation relic giving her -1 to hit in the shooting phase, which when combined with the Malanthrope who should be in pretty much every single Tyranid list, brings her to a -2 to be hit. This added to her latent beefiness means many opponents will simply not target her. Hydra is another good choice for their Warlord Trait allowing you to regenerate multiple wounds at a go which when combined with the Rapid Regeneration stratagem means she is going to be very tough to finish off. Hydra also works well with massed little bugs for the re-roll to hit in melee it grants if you outnumber your opponent. Jormungandr is also solid as she won’t be running around much and the jump up to a 2+ save is significant. In this configuration, she just presents an unappealing target that is relatively tough, and gives you the ability to protect your shooting units and backfield objectives. So long as you have assault forces going up-field demanding your opponent’s attention, they aren’t going to bother with the Tervigon and you can often wrack up quite a few mission points easily.
Alternatively, I have had a lot of fun playing her aggressively! For one, much like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects it. For two, if you are playing say, Jormungandr she can go up field with hordes of Termagants who jump up to a 5+ save (and assume ground bugs are going to be -1 to hit pretty much always vs. shooting) or similarly Leviathan for the 6+ FnP, and utilize the Scorch Bugs stratagem to put out solid damage. Additionally units of mixed Devouerer and standard Gants (to act as renewable meat shields) to pump out flakk fire as you advance and eventually assault enemy units to tie them up where the Caustic Blood stratagem helps wear down enemy attackers. I have found this works best when you have a lot of big nasties with her like Carnifxes, a Haurpsex, Tyrannofex (without a Rupture Cannon), etc. that want to move up field but aren’t super fast as she keeps the screens in place around them but presents a less scary target than the other big bugs and eventually helps to win combats with her OK melee abilities. While ultimately if you want to use her or not is up to you, I have had success with her and enjoyed playing her in conjunction with Termagants and the many stratagems available to you with those units.
The Neurothrope is a new offering in the HQ slot, and at only 70 pts is sure to be popular for unlocking detachments in Tyranid armies. It is also quite good, as a Character with the Fly keyword, T4, 5 wounds and a 3++. It also allows friendly Zoathropes to re-roll 1’s for their psychic tests (including for itself), and it heals a wound for each model it slays with the Smite power. Just float up blasting people with smite with a tough unit that has Character protection. All this in addition to 2 Psychic Powers, 1 deny, synapse and shadows and you have a great, affordable package.
Old One Eye is the final HQ to choose from and quite the little monster! Carnifexes are one of the most exciting changes to the codex for me, with multiple options and tons of fun ways to play them. We’ll dig into that more in a future article, but suffice it to say: if you want to run some Carfnixes in your army, consider Old One Eye as he gives them +1 hit in the fight phase (which again, works on him, too) which is a big boost for Fexes as they hit quite hard but are only WS 4+. He himself has gone down in wounds but as he also has the Character keyword which is a massive buff as he can now hide! At T7 with 9 wounds and a 3+ save, he’s right at that sweet spot where he has the most wounds you can have and still be able to hide form most attacks. Snipers pose very little threat to him in most instances. He hits hard, too, with 5 attacks that either deal strength 7, AP-3, 3 damage hits on a 2+, or strength 14, AP-3, 3 damage hits on a 3+. He also get’s an additional +1 to hit on a turn he charges and deals D3 mortal wounds to en enemy unit on a 4+ on the charge. His attacks generate additional attacks on rolls of 6+ to hit, meaning that on average he will generate 2-3 extra attacks on the turn he charges for 8 in most instances. And if that doesn’t finish you off, he smacks you with his tail for an additional D3, strength 4, AP-1 attacks. Finally, he regenerates 1 wound a turn and if you make him your warlord, he gets Adaptive Biology which reduces all damage he takes by 1 to a minimum of 1 after he gets wounded the first time. Wow, a lot of rules on this fella!
Old One Eye is a bit pricey at 200pts, but, as you can see from the wall of text above, he gives you a lot for that. He hits very hard, can be hidden, heals himself and buffs Carnifexes. Personally, I love using him and feel he is a fun and effective addition to the Tyranid range. His only drawback is his lack of an invul saves. He’s especially effective Behemoth lists, but Leviathon is also quite good as is Gorgon and Kraken. Jormungandr is not super effective for him directly, but if you run your fexes like I do with a mix of melee and shooting weapons on them, that is a great hive fleet to consider as they can walk forward with a 2+ save, increasing their odds of making it into melee where Old One Eye not only hits like a truck but makes them much punchier themselves. Slap the ubiquitous Malanthrope in there and it’s a solid combo. Plus, he enables the all Carnifex army to be a thing!
Well, 3,500 words in and we’ve only covered HQs! As I think you can see, the magic of the Tyranid codex is the pure variety if provides. There are SO MANY different ways to play them effectively, it’s crazy. The depth is tremendous and I have had a ton of fun playing it, and I hope you do to! Tomorrow we’ll dive in to some more units to get keep this review moving along. Read Part 3 of this series, covering the Tyranid Troops units, here.
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Great article as always Reecius.
I have to admit I am butthurt about the tervigon. I always try and find a way to use him in my tournament lists. Recently I would put him in a drop pod and spawn a new unit. Without the 9″ restriction on the spawned unit I could get a 3″ charge. That combined with a 30 strong unit in a Trygon tunnel it definitely had play.
I heard that they changed spawning a new unit to the start of the phase though 🙁 is that true?
Looking forward to using ht’s again. How would you rate them compared to demon prince’s?
It is at the beginning of the movement phase like other “transport” vehicles, yes.
Hive Tyrants are better and worse the Princes. The Prince can hide, which is huge, but the Tyrant is more powerful overall on offense but weaker on defense, IMO.
It’s kind of funny when *losing* a Wound makes a massive buff for a Unit. Definitely true, tho. OOE is a more appealing option than ever before. Looks like I know what I’m doing with that last Fex kit I’ve had sitting around for a while.
As I’m leaning toward Jormungandr, it looks like I’m really spoiled for choice here, with that Hive Trait substantially improving the viability of several options.
Jormungandr is my favorite for a TAC list, but Behemoth and Kraken are my favorite for aggressive play.
Honestly, as much as anything, I’m drawn to Jormungandr just because I love Norse mythology. And also, fluff-wise, they use a ton of Raveners, which are one of my favorite Nid Units.
Yeah, you really can’t go wrong with the Hive Fleets, lots of good options.
I’m not sold on Hydra, full stop, and not sure I’m interested in running Kronos (but they are awesome.) Literally I’m confused figuring out which other Hive Fleet to go with tho!
One interesting problem- I’ve been considering putting together a heavy zoanthrope army and it hit me this morning that every hive fleet adaption is really crap for them! (I guess Leviathan does OK actually).
All Zoanthropes aren’t winning any tournies too, but I bet it would ruin a few days!
6 for 7 ain’t bad! 5 legit HQ choices in competitive play (really 6 with Mal) is amazing
Regarding the comment in Tervigon section: “Hydra also works well with massed little bugs for the re-roll it grants if you outnumber your opponent.”
That seems a bit off, considering that the Tervigon only works on Termagants, not Hormagants. 90% of the time, your little shooty bugs are going to get zero benefit from Hydra, or else you’re playing them wrong. Unless the Tervigon was buffed to spawn hormagants as well, or Hydra was buffed to affect the shooting phase in addition to the fight phase.
Also, regarding Old One Eye: “His attacks generate additional attacks on successful hits, meaning that on average he will generate 4 additional attacks for 9 in most instances. ”
I’d heard that his Berserk Rampage ability was changed to only produce new attacks on 6s. Now, with his Alpha Leader and the charge bonus, this will effectively add attacks on 4+ rolls, but that’s still quite different from the 2+ he’s typically rolling. Was I misinformed?
Also, I’m still super bummed that the Prime wasn’t at least buffed to be able to use a Venom Canon or Barbed Strangler. He’d actually have a shot at contributing in lists that use fewer than 9+ warriors if he could actually shoot something worth shooting!
The Prime’s job is to babysit some backfield shooting units and protect them by being a decent melee beater for a low price. Admittedly, a Neurothrope or Malanthrope can do a similar job, but it’s not really fair to measure anything else against the Malanthrope’s standard (until it gets fixed, anyways.)
Tervi is still an issue, but the Hydra bonus on Termagants is fine. termagants often get used to tie up something big and hold it in place while other parts of the list do work, and in that regard the rerolls to hit will give them a significantly better chance of putting a couple wounds on their target.
Obviously, yes, the Malanthrope is amazing for supporting back rank units. However, you can’t make a reasonable claim that the prime also works to fill this role when the Neurothrope is around. Even then, 3x Zoanthropes would serve the job better, for a handful of points more, and they’d actually contribute with spells. If you’re using a prime for synapse and synapse alone, you know what would be useful? If he had a cannon that could actually reach enemies! The prime is good in one situation and one situation only: as an unnecessarily expensive buff for Warriors who, though on the cheap side, struggle to find a place in a codex filled with excellent options.
One way to improve the Prime would’ve been to give him a way of helping beyond spending 100+ pts. for a buff one exactly one sub-par unit. You can’t reasonably argue that this is a ‘fine’ position for an HQ to be in.
As for the Termagants, if they fight more than ‘the turn they got charged by enemy fliers/deep strikers,’ before falling back and letting the rest of your back line shoot/counter-charge, then you must surely be struggling with high-movement assault lists. There are plenty of great Adaptations for Termagants, but Hydra simply is not one.
The thing is, you don’t have to use him for _just_ Synapse. He also is a major discouragement to reserve units showing up in your backfield in a way that the Neurothrope (or a unit of Zoanthropes) are not- a Prime will chew apart a units of Space marines by himself, which makes dropping something in to try and take out your firepower a lot more risky.
Obviously having another option for a longer-range gun would be better- more options is always better. But very, very, very few characters get good shooting options, so it’s not as though Tyranids are particularly lacking in that regard.
Re-rolls to hit isn’t good for Termagants…..huh? Zero Benefit? How’s that? That makes no sense, friend.
My rules say any hit generates another attack for OOE. Don’t know what others are looking at.
Others are apparently reading the codex:
“each time you make a hit roll of 6+ for Old One Eye (except for thresher scythe attacks), you may immediately make 1 additional attack with the same weapon against the same unit. These additional attacks do not confer extra attacks.”
That’s the rule word for word, according to seeg who leaked the codex on TTH.
Good to hear about Old One Eye. I love that guy.
As for Termagants, they’re 4+ to hit, str 3, 0 AP.
Let’s assume you’re charging Marines with a full unit of 30. Normally, you’d get 15 hits, 5 wounds, and 1.67 damage through. With Rerolls, that goes up to 22.5 hits, 7.5 wounds, and 2.5 damage. And now your shooty unit is in melee and can’t shoot any more, under optimal conditions. In any real battle, you’re not going to have 30 full termagants, on your charge OR the enemy’s, so that +1 damage you get from this Hive Fleet Adaptation is even less than 1. That’s about as close to “zero benefit” as you can realistically get.
It should not be a difficult concept to understand: Do not charge your shooting troops into melee and if they ARE in melee, you should probably fall back and let combat troops relieve them. And, to my specific point: don’t advise people that Hydra rocks for Termagants when what you surely mean is Hormagants/Genestealers.
lol, you are actually making an argument that re-rolls to hit is not a benefit…..in an absolutely literal sense, objectively observed, it is a benefit, hahaha.
Dude, just give it up, lol. You may think it is not much of a benefit, or not enough of a benefit–which is fine–but there is no argument you can make that re-rolls to hit is zero benefit.
My goodness, that is funny. Hey, not trying to be rude or anything, but your argument is silly, friend. You can’t analyze a single scenario in a vacuum and then make a sweeping proclamation that it has zero benefit.
In your same scenario going into say, Cultists which are a lot more common, you kill 50% more. And I could go on and on in any number of scenarios that present it in a better light than you did. That isn’t the point. You never know who you will be facing in a tournament environment, you never know if you may need to assault with your Gants, etc. and re-rolls to hit is strictly superior than not, end of debate, haha.
I’m not sure why it’s good to hear that OOE damage has been nerfed (extra attacks only proccing on 6’s) while 60pts more expensive?
He’s probably better overall as he can now be hidden and work as a bubble buffer, but he’s less of a beatstick in combat. Personally I think it was the right way to go.
You are correct about Old One Eye, but if you put the Behemoth Relic on him, he gets +2 attacks for every 4+ (on the charge).
That would be awesome if you can give him the Relic but none of the named characters can take them.
Oops! I thought the Tyranids special characters didn’t have that limitation.
All though, I guess it would be better to have OOE and a Carnifex with the Relic, so you could have both of them charging in and getting bonus attacks on a 4+.
Oh wait…. You are saying that Old One Eye still generates a bonus attack on any hit? I have been watching Striking Scorpion’s YouTube on the book, and I swear he read off that the hits need to be on a 6+ (so I thought he had been nerfed).
Mine says any hit, not just a 6+ to hit.
Wow, I am not sure what is going on, but MiniWargaming’s YouTube also says the extra hits are on 6s only.
Swarmy going to 6 attacks and doing 3 damage is ok for me. I think it wasn’t mentioned but something like a wound roll of a 6 does a MW for him I think? Or another wound or something.. but his durability going up is the bigger factor for me that and the CP where he can attack a second time.. huge!
He got overall better, IMO, especially when you consider those strats and increased defense.
Weeell… Is true he got overall better, but stil 30 to 50 points overcosted. The Swarmlord brings a pretty good ability over a regular Tyrant, and is a lot more bashy, but in exchange he can’t take wings or shoot. IMO, it would be fair he costed around a 100 more, but double is too much.
The ability to auto get into close combat with almost any unit in the game and kill it is worth 400 points (spore + Swarmlord.)
Even if it doesn’t come up in the game, many armies have to deploy in a special manner and remain there just to counter.
Plus, if you surround him with tyrant guard, he’s either a shot magnet (meaning the rest of your army is doing what it needs to) or you are giving out a free movement round a game, which is awesome.
Not every list can use a Swarmlord, but I think at 300 he’s pretty fair
Swarmy brings so much utility to a list. He is expensive, but worth every point IMHO
Yeah, his offense is secondary to his ability to move you again….that is ridiculously good.
Great article! I am very happy with the codex so far.
I have just one question, does Broodlord really buff himself?
He has a GENESTEALER keyword, but his rule in the index doesn’t use the proper formatting for a keyword, just a unit name.
OOE had a similar problem and the word Carnifex in his aura rule was later changed in FAQ to a bolded CARNIFEX keyword. I thought that confirmed the keyword needs to be typed properly, otherwise, the FAQ change would be pointless.
Yeah, they have the keyword and get the buff.
Glad you liked the review!
Glad to see OOE being able to hide behind a fex wall. He adds a lot of synergy to fexen and I think it may be a viable option for a fun but still middle weight competitive list. I’m very excited for this release. Looks promising.
It’s fun and VERY strong.
My thoughts on the HQs:
– Hive Tyrant: pretty much what he needed. Lots of options to personalize, good HQ overall. Loocking forward to play them again. Great.
– Neurothrope: amazing new HQ. With Catalyst, Onslaught and Paroxism being amazing powers, having a cheap HQ casting 2 powers each turn is great. I will probably play at least one in any list. Great.
– Old One Eye: pretty different from the index, a big improve in rules. His cost is a little tight, but doesn’t look unfair. Good.
– Prime: still a bit overcosted, but with the upgrade in Warriors with deathspitter is almost fair. I like list with lots of Warriors, so I will still take one a lot of times. Decent.
– Broodlord: I was expecting a minor point cost reduction, as he is close to a demon prince, while being a bit worse. A little meh.
– The Swarmlord: good rules, horrible cost. I like the idea of an Uber-cc-Tyrant, and his ability is great, but he doesn’t bring enought to justify that fatty 300 points. Bad, but not terrible.
– Tervigon: disappointing. It needed big buffs, a big cost decrease or a total rework. Had none. I would rather field a Neurothrope and 4X more Termagants, even in Hydra or Jormungandr. Terrible.
Guy says Swarmlord is bad… WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
Hey is saying the cost is bad.
He’s still wrong. A double move for himself or any unit of your choosing is ridiculously good. The only issue I take with him is that I do believe that including him competitively means that you will need to pod him in, which takes up a lot of points. His warlord trait helps to mitigate this, but not enough IMO.
Maybe. Transport is a solid choice for anti horde shooting and can still grab objectives / is usually left alone etc. I have n’t played a game without Swarmy and love it a LOT.
I see potential in the Swarmlord, is just that I don’t think the cost justifies that potential.
If I’m not wrong with the costs, a Tyrant with double scything talons will cost 163 points, close to a half of the Swarmlord alone. For 26 points, you have twice the wounds, the powers and synapse, and 4 extra attacks (with less S, for sure). Add a mandatory Sporecyst or Tyrant Guard for Swarmlord delivery and you have more points for a 3rd one (or directly a 3rd one, instead of the Guards).
Now, the Swarmlord is a lot better than 1 regular Hive Tyrant, but not better than 2.
At least those are my personal thoughts. I can see why you think the Swarmlord is good, I just don’t agree with that statement. I find him too expensive.
Swarmy is amazing. He is worth every point and kicks butt. If your only measurement of a unit is his damage output in a vacuum on a points efficiency basis, sure, you may see other things you like, but in the reality of on the table tactics, he is incredibly useful.
It’s not just damage output. There’s also survavility and utilities.
I don’t think the extras he brings are worth the same as 12 more wounds, 2 more powers, 1 denny and a bigger sinaptic/shadow bubble. They’re not worth the 140 points of difference.
Then don’t use him? Haha, to each their own.
it’s not even so much what he does as what he can do. In games with unprepared or bad generals, he is killing key units and getting the army where it needs to be.
Against good generals, he is taking away optimum choices or making them take more risk than they normally would
I will probably use him in a couple friendly games, but sure is not an option for me to bring to a tournament.
Anyway, I was sharing my reasons on why I ranked him as bad. Not trying to convince anyone, just trying to make me understood.
All good, dude. If you don’t like him, don’t use him. The cool thing is there are lots of good options!
I don’t plan on using him most of the time, honestly. But he is a great piece and would fit in about half the lists I’m thinking of.
Swarmlord on average doesn’t even kill a rhino in assault. He’s not that great in combat. You take him for the double move, which other armies like eldar and can get via psychic powers on cheap and hideable characters. His cost plus the mandatory pod puts him over 400 pts which is crazy.
You don’t have to take the Pod. It certainly helps but is not mandatory.
Broodlord doesnt ‘need’ to buff himself as he already hits on a 2+ in melee..
Yeah, but if your opponent has a -1 to hit his +1 to hit cancels it out =)
Aw, so the rumor that said Nid named characters could take relics was bunk? Shame, I was looking forward to seeing what crazy shit OOE could do with the Behemoth relic.
Yeah, my book specifically restricts it.
I have to resist the urge to take a whole slew of “hq+the specific unit they synergize with” right now :p
broodlord + genestealers
tervigon + termagants
OOE + carnifexen
prime + warriors
neurothrope + zoans
That’s enough for a battalion and supreme command right there.
Still sad that the prime still can’t get wings and work with shrikes.
Yeah, in spite of a really solid codex with lots of options, there are a lot of strange duds like the Prime, Haruspex, Raveners, Lictors, Deathleaper, Tyrant Guards, our FMC’s (nerfed to Flyers without Hard to Hit), Zoanthropes and Venomthropes.
It would seem that there wasn’t time to play test everything so they just left a lot of units as they were in hope that the new Hive Fleet adaptations and Stratagems would carry them into ‘all units viable’ land.
Of course I’ve played zero games with the new codex, and real table top experience might change my opinions.
I can see a use for the Prime and think Lictors, Deathleaper, Tyrant Guards, and Zoanthropes are fieldable- especially Lictors for filling out a cheap Brigade or Battalion. Venomthropes would be in every list if FW didn’t make a cheap HQ that does it all better…
But I can’t find a way to get a Haruspex, Toxicrene, Tervigon, or either flyer into a competitive list (Hive Crone would be fine as fast attack.) Same for the flying ripper swarm, but that was always a crap unit.
Don’t most of the detachments come with 2 flyer slots? I don’t see why you’d have a hard time fitting in the crones as flyers.
It’s not fitting them in, it’s having to pay for additional Fast Attack anyway…
Then again, I guess spore mines are FSt attack, so it’s not a huge tax.
Venomthropes received a small buff, but I think they will be a rare sight, even were Forgeworld is banned. 90pts to have a small -1 to hit bubble that can be removed by inflicting 3 wounds to a T4 model? No thanks, I rather have more things that my opponent has to remove.
Great write up. It’s making me tempted to start a bug army. Awesome models and now rules to match!
It is a seriously fun army.
Hey Reecius,
I am loving your previews. We’re you going to do one on the other types of units before the codex is out? I would like to hear you opinions on the rest.
Also, can you please shed some light on the following:
A) is there a points cost to upgrade Genestealers to 4+ save, or is it a zero-point swap for “advance and charge”?
B) does the Haruspex still have the keyword “Infantry” or has it been changed to “Monster”?
Yeah, I mean to get them all done but I keep getting sidetracked with work stuff.
But, glad you’re enjoying them!
a: 2pts
b: Monster, as it should be.
Thanks! Keep up the good work!
Old one eye, 3 units of hormagants, kraken fleet. Hormagants are the screen fir alpha coupled with a malenthrope to make them survivable. Turn 1. Hors use kraken trait to move and run. Leave a gap for old one eye. He then moves 7″, run D6, uses kraken trait and stratagem to move double the roll. So potential 19″ move. Then cast onslaught, so he can now charge. (Swarmlord to definitely secure a charge) hes in. Now what wasnt covered above, he gives himself +1 to hit as hes a carnifex, then +1 to hit via battering ram. So he can use his double strength meele -3 ap, 3 damage hiting on 2’s. Then he adds attacks on 6+. Then his tail adds more hits. Then you can consolidate, then attack again with a stratagem. Or if nothing is close enough, use another stratagem to move and run again behind the horm screen. He can kill anything he charges. And opponent is forced to deal with him or loose, ignoring the rest of your army