Old Codex 'Nid Tactica Pt. 1: Hive Tyrant

Old Codex 'Nid Tactica




I've been getting in a fair number of games with my new Tyranid force lately, and I thought it might be of some benefit to jog down my thoughts on how the force currently plays before the new codex comes out. That way, we can directly compare the two later.

Let's start with a unit summary and my thoughts on using them:

HQ

Hive Tyrant
The Hive Tyrant is a useful addition to armies that utilize a high number of Monstrous Creatures to function effectively. He is a worthy combatant as it is, but you can tailor his Biomorphs to fulfill a certain role. I suggest picking a role and sticking with it, as general-purpose models tend to be A) more expensive and B) less effective at either given role than a purpose-built unit.

The Hive Tyrant is different from most Tyranids in that it has a decent Ballistic Skill, but also has access to the Enhanced Senses Biomorph, making him quite effective with ranged weaponry. The Tyrant also has a fairly decent Strength statistic, making him a good candidate for weaponry such as the Venom Cannon that boost the strength of the attack to the max. Taking weapons to complement the Venom Cannon, such as twin-linked Devourers, will ensure that you're Tyrant fills the gap in ranged weaponry that most Tyranid armies suffer from. With the Living Ammunition special rule, it should be able to make short work out of most infantry.

You can alternatively make your Tyrant a worthy assault combatant. Boosting his stats with Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs are a good start. Extra stat boosts like Extended Carapace are optional, but promote the survivability of the Tyrant. A popular Biomorph to add is a pair of Wings, allowing the Tyrant to close across the battlefield rapidly. This variant of Hive Tyrant is sometimes referred to as a "Flyrant". The additional mobility is especially useful to assault-oriented Tyrants, but at the cost of being unable to add the Extended Carapace biomorph.

Choosing weapons for the assault-oriented Tyrant isn't a difficult choice. You can opt for a combination of the following weapons: Scything Talons, Rending Claws, or a Lashwhip & Bonesword. Scything Talons should be your first choice. They add an extra attack in CC, and is the only way you ever will get extra attacks in CC. Rending Claws are useful on regular troops, but a bit redundant on Monstrous Creatures. Since MCs negate armor saves, and roll 2D6 for armor penetration, there isn't much use for the rending ability. The Lashwhip and Bonesword combo offers an interesting mix of assault buffs for your troops and negative attack modifiers for your enemies. The Bonesword makes the Tyrant permanently under the effects of the Catalyst psychic power, which allows the Tyrant to strike back in close combat even if killed before his turn in the initiative order. The Lashwhip is not like the Lash power for Chaos (unfortunately) but instead cuts the attacks of models in base contact with the Tyrant by 1, to a minimum of one. Both of these powers are primarily defensive, but useful when using the Tyrant to counter expensive CC-efficient Special Characters.

And finally, the Hive Tyrant has access to a few of the Tyranid psychic powers. Many of these are intuitive, and don't require psychic tests, and therefore cannot be stopped by wargear such as Psychic Hoods. This is a significant advantage.

He comes with the Synapse Creature power, which makes him and Broods within 12" of him immune to the Instant Death rule, and makes them Fearless. He also comes with the power, The Horror, which forces models that wish to assault him roll a morale test. If they fail, they cannot assault the Tyrant that turn.

Some of the powers the Tyrant has access to include Catalyst- which was described in the Bonesword description above but can apply to any brood within 24" of the Tyrant, and Psychic Scream- which provides a -1 modifier to all enemy Leadership tests for units within 18". It is notable to add that if multiple creatures have this power and are in range to the same unit being affected, the modifier is cumulative. Further powers include A Shadow in the Warp- which forces enemy psychic tests to be made on 3D6 and discount the lowest roll and nullifies all results of Perils of the Warp, Warp Blast- which is one of the few powers that may require a psychic test. It comes in two variances: focused and unfocused. The focused blast is much more powerful, and capable of destroying vehicles, but it is shorter ranged, has to make a psychic test, and also cannot be performed by a creature with the Enhanced Senses biomorph. Finally, there is the power Warp Field, which grants a +2 armor save and a 6 Invulnerable save to the bearer of the power. This sounds like a perfect way to boost the survivability of a "Flyrant", which cannot take the Extended Carapace biomorph.


In summary, remember to choose a role for your Tyrant, and equip him accordingly to that role. I suggest filling the gap as a "shooty" unit, due to his higher-than-average Ballistic skill.

In the next article, we will review the Broodlord. So until next time,
--FP135

Nid Update: 10/16

I got my reinforcements in the mail yesterday, and set about constructing them as I planned for in my army list. First up is the Warrior Brood, which I equipped with the Following:
Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands (WS), Extended Carapace, and Flesh Hooks

I also added the following weaponry to the Brood:
Scything Talons and Deathspitters.

Bringing the total for the Brood up to:
102 Points




For the Carnifexes (Heavy Support), I wanted emphasis in assault. So I equipped them to be absolute bruisers, with the following upgrades:
Adrenal Glands (Both I and WS), Bio Plasma (for the extra attack), Bonded Exoskeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Spine Banks, Mace Tail, Toxin Sacs, Toxic Miasma, and Flesh Hooks

The defensive stat-boosters like Bonded Exoskeleton and Reinforced Chitin will give my Carnifexes unrivaled survivability, so that they can make it across the table and into enemy lines. The offensive stat-boosters will ensure that whatever these monsters hit will stay down, as well as helping to get the first-strike over powerfists and the like (I intend on killing lots of terminators with these beasts). Abilities like the Bio-Plasma and Mace-tail ensure that the creature will not be overwhelmed by hordes if at all possible. The Bio-plasma also adds the benefit of giving a carnifex with the adrenal gland boost an extra attack at I4, which will further benefit terminator-killing.

For weapons, I equipped my monsters with:
Scything Talons and Barbed Stranglers
I chose talons over crushing claws for 2 reasons- cost and reliability. Crushing claws only more effective than talons about 50% of the time, and they even have a 33% chance of giving you LESS attacks than the talons do. I'm not about that kind of randomness. Therefore, the Talons made the obvious choice for the CC weapon.

For the ranged weapon, I chose the Barb for 2 reasons as well: It utilizes the strength of the Carnifex without needing to upgrade the BS, and it is cheaper than other similar options. How it utilizes the strength of the Fex without needing the BS upgrade is that it is a Large Blast weapon. Since my intended target for the weapon is infantry or light tanks, it is as likely to hit as any other blast weapon if not more so due to its size. The only other weapon that makes good use of the Fex's strength is a Venom cannon, which is not blast. The Venom Cannon additionally can only ever cause glancing hits to vehicles that are not open topped, so that one was right out. If I am going to take the time to shoot at a vehicle, I want to have the chance of destroying it.



So, that is the breakdown of why I chose the biomorphs and weapons like I did. My logic might be flawed or misinformed, but unlike most of my modelling projects, I actually tried to use gameplay as an influencing factor this time. Now I just need to get them painted.

So until next time,
--FP135

Playtesters Needed: Mission 13 for Space Hulk

"We had thought that we had cleansed the Sin of Damnation with the Emperor's light, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Even I didn't see that one coming."
- Lexicanium Calistarius after the "Lucky Lady Massacare"

The Space Marines of the Blood Angel's 1st Company were counting themselves lucky to be alive as they were picked up from the vacuum of space by the Light Cruiser "Lucky Lady was compromised. The Cargo Bay control sensorium was detecting multiple breaches in the cargo bay doors as Genestealers were able to somehow gain use of boarding torpedoes stolen from one of the many derelict vessels that comprised the Sin of Damnation.

To Calistarius, it was chilling to see just how intelligent the collective Brood could be. He gathered up surviving members of the 1st Company that had been rescued from space, and proceeded to the Cargo area to attempt to purge the xenos intrusion. Through his prescience, he was delivered a terrifying vision: Genestealers had already infested the engineering sector and killed all crew and servitors in the region, and as a result the light cruiser was losing power. Furthermore, a detachment of Genestealers led by the surviving BroodLord itself were attempting to reach the cargo sector's control room, to open all the airlocks for reasons unknown. This vision was dismaying news. Calistarius decided that if the cruiser's air locks were opened, the crew of the Lucky Lady would sustain too many casualties to operate. He and his collected Marines made utmost haste for the cargo sector...





Hey guys, just been playing around with some tools for making new scenarios for Space Hulk. This is the first one I have attempted to create. I plan on play-testing this with my wife in the near future, let me know if you like it. I also am taking suggestions on writing the fluff, since that is not my best skill.

For this scenario, I wanted to take a little bit of the mission objective's focus off of the Space Marines. This way, it would be more fun no matter which side you play in this scenario. Let me know what you think about it.

Just click the picture above for a full-size view, and enjoy!

Until next time,
--FP135

Hive Fleet Gargantuan

I got my first test model for my Tyranid color scheme (Hive Fleet Gargantuan) about %80 done today, just lacking some minor details. I think that I achieved a suitably macabre look, and I am pleased with the overall result (despite it not coming out quite like I planned).

For those interested, on this Hormagaunt I used Bleached Bone for the body, highlighted the black carapace with Scab Red, and used Ogryn Flesh Wash for the body as well. I finished the talons and eyes with Blood Red.

My weekend is over now, so we'll have to see how much I can get done the next few days. I would like to have all my 'Nids painted by Saturday, but with work that may be a bit hard to do.

Well, with that said-
Until next time,
--FP135

Playing "Spulk" - First Impressions

Playing Space hulk is definitely a learning curve, for those of us who have never played any of the original versions of the game. My wife and I have decided that it fit our time restraints well, on the plus side, with most of the games being played in an hour or less. It also had simpler rules than 40k. That is a big draw for my wife, who likes more traditional board games with simpler rule-sets.

Getting the rules right really is crucial for the games to be more balanced. We must have played the first mission 6 or 7 times because we kept getting rules mixed up. For instance, it can lend a considerable advantage to the Genestealer player if you play it so that the blips do not have to remain out of Space Marine LOS to move, giving them a movement with a voluntary reveal. That is a good idea for a special rule when creating your own scenarios if you want the Tyranid player to have the advantage.

The maps can take a lot of space, but no more than a regular 40k game. Unfortunately for me, I only have a 4x4 table (hence my infatuation with cityfight rules). This means that some of the maps can really push the limits of my playing surface. Make sure you have a pretty decent-sized table to use.

Don't rules lawyer. The game was designed for fun, not tournament settings (hmm... much like 40k now that I think about it). Don't play this game with somebody that is overly competitive, because that can detract from the experience of the game. This is the perfect Saturday Game Night system for you and a buddy. If a situation arises that is not covered in the rules, use the 40k solution: roll off for it.

So far, my wife and I are enjoying our Space Hulk games almost nightly. They are short enough to play nearly every night, and customizable enough that I foresee a lot of replay ability. Currently, if you google it, there is a program created by a fan that uses the board sections from the game to let you drag and drop them to create a picture of a map, allowing you to publish your own scenarios. I would download it quick though, before the ol' gee-dub drops the "cease and desist" order on him.

Get it HERE

Well, that's it on Space Hulk for now. Next post, I have the test model for the new Tyranid 40k army I have in the works. It is a little different than the concept picture was, but I think it's in a good way.

So until next time,
--FP135