Ron at From the Warp is doing his usual collaborative post on the release of the newest codex. I have not received my copy yet, but I have been following the discussions on the forums about the new codex. From what I have been able to gather, here are a couple of my thoughts on the new codex:
1) Zoanthropes are going to be big. A synapse creature that takes out tanks, for only 60+ points apiece? You're going to want to take at least a single full brood of these, or at least two broods of two. Their invulnerable save is a rarity in the tyranid codex, and their psychic power is a lance shooting attack at S10. That is too good to pass up if you are frequently going up against AV14.
2) This codex is more about synergy, less about spam. For example, after my previous point, spamming zoanthropes might sound good. Consider then, that psychic attacks require tests, and there is a prevalence of anti-psykers with the release of the Space Wolves codex and IG players using old =I= psychic hoods. You'll need a way to eliminate this character quickly in order to use those zoeys. That is where the Death Leaper comes in. He can infiltrate up to that guy, and hopefully assassinate him, before blending back into the shadows. If he can't outright kill it, then his Shadow of the Warp ability can cause some problems for enemy psykers like Rune Priests. The Hive Tyrant has an ability that can benefit the reserve roll, and thus make those new spore pods more reliable. The Lictor can pinpoint their deepstrike, allowing for accurate placement of troops.
3) Lots of new modeling options are abound in this new codex. No official models have yet been made for the tervigon, tyrranofex, harpy, alpha warrior, etc. This provides tyranid modellers a bit more customization than they had access to before. That doesn't even include the biomorphs like wings, which have been a pleasingly-challenging conversion for the tyranids for a while now.
These are just my initial impressions, and I am sure they will become more defined as I play with this codex in the coming year. Until then, just remember that synergy counts more than spamming, from the looks of it.
Until next time,
--FP135
I agree that synergy is the watch-word for the new Tyranids. I'm sure there's going to be a number of powerful builds that fully exploit these synergies coming out very soon!
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