Tyranid Preview Codex

Hi guys,

In no particular order. This stuff was posted in the comments yesterday, so lets take a look at the latest on the bugs, painfully collated for your ease of reading.

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The Shadow in the Warp is 12" range ability: roll psychic tests on 3d6 (all 3, don't discard the lowest), Perils of the Warp on double 1 or 6. Free for Hive Tyrant, Tyranid Warriors and Trygon Alpha.

Pyrovore: Template is S:6 AP:4.
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Synapse Creatures
Units within 12 inches are fearless. No more Eternal Warrior.

Instictive Behavior
Each Tyranid unit not in range of a Synapse creature has to pass a morale check or falls back to instinctive behaviour. Melee-creatures move as fast as possible to the next enemy, while shooting creatures go for the next cover and shoot at the nearest enemies. What they do is said in their entries.

Bio-Weapons
Weapon symbionts are no longer modified by the creature that wields it. There are heavy variants of most of them for the bigger creatures.

Venom Cannon: 3" blast now. They suffer a additional -1 penalty against vehicles. So, a glancing hit is - 3, a penetration - 1. So vehicles can now be wrecked with this weapon.

Heavy Venom Canon: S:9, same as above.

Scything Talons: One pair of tham grants rerolls on all 1's rolled to hit. Two pairs allow you to reroll all failed to hits.

Bonesword: Causes instant death, if the target fails a morale check after suffering a wound. If you bear two pairs, the morale check is made on 3d6.

Tentacle Whip: Reduce the initiative of all models attacking the user to 1.

Crushing Claws: D3 additional attacks.

Biomorphs
These grant USRs.

Examples: Toxic Glands grant poisoned attacks (4+). Adrenalin Glands grant furious charge. An Injector grants Instant Death on each to wound roll of 6. There are many more.

Units

Headquarters
Hive Tyrant, Alpha Warrior, Tervigon.
Named HQs: A special Hive Tyrant, A parasite-spreading winged horror.

Hive Tyrant: Initiative 6, WS:8. Starts of with a pair of Scything talons, a Tentacle whip and a Bonesword. May be given wings or heavy carapace (2+ armour save). May be given a Tyrant guard.

Hive Tyrant variant called the Swarmlord. Armed with 4 Boneswords (see rules above), and loaded up with special rules but costs more than a Land Raider.


May chose from 4 different psychic powers:

-Mental Scream: All enemy units within 18 " have to pass a morale check. if they fail it, they suffer the difference between the roll and their morale characteristic as casulties with no armour saves allowed.
-Lifeleech: One unit within 12 " suffers D3 S:3 AP:2 hits. For each casualty they suffer, the Hive Tyrant gains one wound, up to a maximum of 10.
-Power 3: Forces a unit to pass a morale check or to fall back.
-Power 4: A shooting attack.

Tyrant may be given special abilities, such as the bility to grant another unit outflank and +1 to reserve rolls.

Many weapon options available.

Special Hive Tyrant: WS:9. Invulnerable saves passed versus wounds inflicted by him must be re-rolled. He may give one unit within 18" Prerfered enemy, Furious charge or two other USRs.

Alpha Warrior: WS:6, granted to any unit of Warriors he joins.

Tervigon: Creates 3d6 Termagaunts with standard loadout each movement phase, even in close combat. If killed, gaunts nearby suffer heavy losses. It has its own psychic powers.

The Horror "The Parasite of Mortrex": Winged hit-and-run monster. Every enemy unit outflanking may suffer casualties. The outflanking unit picks one model, and must pass a toughness test. If failed the model is removed and the Tyranid player gets D6 Ripper swarms. The Horros does the same to victims he kills in assault.

Elites
Hive Guard: Unit size 1-3, BS:4 Weapons are 24" S:8 AP:4 Assault 2.

Lictors: 1-3 per FOC slot, acting together as one unit. Lictors deploy like Marbo. Grant +1 to reserve rolls. Deep striking units do not scatter if deployed within 6 inces of a Lictor, as long as it was on the table for at least one turn.

Ymgarl Genestealers: Biomorphable Genestealers. They may increase Attacks, Toughness, or Strength at the beginning of each assault phase. "Hibernation" rule: Pick a piece of terrain. When the Genestealers enter play, they are placed in the selected terrain. The unit may move, shoot and charge. Unit size: 5-10. No Broodlord option.

Zoanthropes: Unit size 1-3. Warp field grants 3+ invulnerable save.
Two psychic powers:
-Warp lightning: S:6 AP:3 3 blast
-Warp lance: 18" S:10 AP:2 Assault 1, lance

Special Zoanthrope "The Doom of Malantai": Leeches wounds with a powerful 5" blast shooting attack. S is equal to current number of Wounds, max of 10.

Death Leaper: WS:9, I:7. Deployed like a lictor, but may retreat and be replaced text turn. ~???

Troops
Hormagaunts: WS:3, S:3, I:5, A:2. Infantry. May be given poison and adrenalin glands. Unit size 10-30

Gaunts: Weapon is S:4 AP:5 Assault 1. For each 10 gaunts, one may be upgraded to a S:2 template that wounds against the target's Strength ~Sounds like tanglewebs return.

Warriors: WS:5, Many options. 4+ Armor save.

Genestealers: Mostly the same, but with less options. Cheaper than Grey Hunters, though. Armor save canot be increased. Infiltrate and Fleet.

Broodlord retains his statline, at a point cost of a Long Fang with a heavy bolter.
May have two psychic powers:
-Confusion: Both players roll a D6 and add the Ld of a model chosen by the Tyranid player. If the Tyranid total is the same or higher, the enemy targeted model may not attack in this close combat phase.
-Ability 2: Reduces the Ld of surrounding enemies by 1.

Fast Attack
Winged Warriors

Gargoyles:
Harpies: Flying, Trygon-sized creature that acts as a bomber. It drops Spore mines on a unit it flies over. Monstrous creature.

Raveners: Two pairs of scything talons. May have a thorax swarm: a special weapon, with ammo chosen at the start of the game. Three flamer variants.

Heavy Support
Carnifexes: Unit size: 1-3. Must have the same loadout. Cannot boost initiative, probably cannot improve armor past 3+. Gain +1 I when charging. Adrenaline glands give I:4 and S:10. Basic WS:3 S:9, W:4 2 pairs of scything talons, A:4.

Trygon: WS:6, S:6, W:6 A:6. Shooting attack: 12" S:6, AP:5 Assault 6. Deep Strike. Trygon cannot assault a unit he Deeps Strikes onto. Follows the same rules as Drop Pods, i.e. stopping within 1".
If upgraded to a Alpha Trygon, weapon becomes 18" Assault 12.

Tyrannofex: Walking weapon battery.
-Fleshborer swarm: S:4 AP:5 Assault 20
-Pyroacid spray: S:6 AP:4 template, used like the IG Hellhound.
-Capsule cannon: 48' S:10, AP:4, Assault 2
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Dedicated Transports

Spore Capsule: Many units may purchase a Spore Capsule. Occupancy:1 Monstrous Creature, or 20 Infantry. Deep Strike. Disembarking unit may not move or assault. It may shoot.

STATLINE: WS:2 BS:2. T:5-6 W:3 A:3 S:6.
Weapon: 6" S:6 Assault 6.

Looks like the only real nerf is going to be the removal of immunity to instant kill within synapse. That is pretty big, but while one Robin Cruddace hand taketh away - he giveth more!

I notice that you didn't list that the Hive Guard can attack without line of sight.

How will that work?

Tyranids are going to be da bomb for the early part of next year.

I think it may be too soon for gnashing of teeth. Some of the things do seem nasty (ymgarl genestealers assaulting out of terrain they appear from and drop pod carnifexes), but you tend to hear all the good stuff and none of the restrictions/point costs. I'm pretty excited about it all, but I will reserve judgment until I have the book in my hands.

Gnashing of teeth?

I like that coming from somebody who has a nasty Tyranid pic as an avatar....

Kinda.....prophetic if you ask me........

It looks interesting. I just picked up a 'new' battleforce on ebay for around half of MSRP, so i guess my dreams of starting a hive fleet are finally going to come to fruition.

As much as I like the classic units/army lists I really get the feeling from the rumor mill that GW is really pushing the new models by weakening the Fexs and pumping up the trygons/new MCs from that kit. I know this isn't some big revelation, they make new models and they want to sell them.

Just in case you missed something, I found this...

http://forum.warpshadow.com/viewtopic.php?t=12625&start=0

It is time for the denizens of the Imperium to fear the darkness of space once again.

The January 2010 issue of White Dwarf dedicates a lot of space to the new Tyranids. There is even a mission report that will give you a rough idea of how much units cost. It has a great preview for the new pieces. I am excited by the new set and might have to look at building it.

HQ

Hive Tyrant --220 pts.
with Heavy Venom Cannon, Old Adversary, Paroxysm, and Leech Essence

2 x Tyrant Guard -- 120 pts.

Elites

2 x Venomthropes -- 110 pts

2 x Hive Guard --100 pts

Deathleaper --140 pts

Troops

4 Tyranid Warriors -- 150 pts.
with 3 Deathspittres and a Venom Cannon

3 x Tyranid Warriors -- 90 pts

16 x Termagants --80 pts

16 x Termagants --80 pts

15 Hormagaunts -- 80 pts

15 Hormagaunts -- 80 pts

Fast Attack

10 Gargoyles -- 60 pts

3 Raveners -- 120 pts.

Heavy Support

Mawloc -- 170 pts.

Trygon -- 200 pts.

Carnifex -- 180 pts.
with Stranglethron Cannon.


Total: 1980

From BOLS

Going through the rumors by unit so far, it's looking like this (my opinion interjected)

Synapse - Now it's just "Fearless." No more immunity to instant death, and it's straight fearless instead of automatically passing LD tests.

Ranged Weapon Symbiotes - As a whole, these are all nerfed. Still a prevalence of mid-strength poor AP weaponry, but with overall far fewer shots per weapon, and all strength/attack characteristics are fixed now, instead of based on creature equipping them. The Venom Cannon is now S6AP4 blast, with -1 to vehicle damage chart rolls. The Heavy Venom Cannon is expensive, limited availability, and S9AP4 blast, with -1 to vehicle damage chart rolls. I would rather have a multi-shot S10 weapon that can't pen, honestly.

HQ
Tyrant - At a significant points cost increase, you get a de facto diresword, and you re-roll to hit rolls of "1." You get similar stats to present, but one higher iniative, and WS8 (which is kind of silly, WS7 makes more sense based on the math of the game itself). You have a ton of options, but most are highly expensive ... they range from psychic powers granting Feel No Pain to a unit for a turn (Catalyst) and other potent psy powers to tactical advantages giving TROOPS units outflank, or adding 1 to reserve rolls, etc. Wings are 60 points. They do not have an invulnerable save, are vulnerable to instant death, and barring expensive upgrades have access only to a 3+ armor save. Tyrant guard are roughly the same, but more expensive (~60 points each). No real reason given about why they're pricier.

Flying Horror - Expensive flying monster w/out a whole lot of durability. Interesting powers and what-not, most effective at shutting down outflankers. Outflanking models all have to take a T test or get turned into ripper swarms, and his victims in combat may get rendered down into rippers also. Again, like the other monsters for the most part in the dex, new cool tricks are heavily offset by high points costs and relatively low durability.

Tervigon - Probably one you'll see most often used. Rumored cost is only around 150 for a 2+ armor save, T6W4 monster with low attacks / ws / bs / I characteristics, but cool "tricks." For one, they are synaptic, for two they are an HQ but also an optional Troops choice. For every gaunt squad you take, you can take a Tervigon as a Troops choice, allowing 5 in an army for a minimum investment of 900 points (750 for the Tervigons, 150 for the minimum 3 gaunt squads at min size). Tervigons spawn 3d6 plain equipment termagants in the movement phase at will, although if they roll a double on any of the 3 dice they lose the power for the remainder of the game. Possible "gaunt farm" lists where you're spawning an average of 53 termagants per turn until your guys get ganked or burn out. Rare case of an affordable monster in the dex ... sort of. Not affordable compared to demon princes, or old nid dex costs, but at least not ridiculous (though his combat stats are lackluster at best).

Alpha Warrior - T5 and W4 with good equipment and options, WS6 and high BS that he confers to a unit of warriors if he joins them. Best use will probably be allocating single S8/9 weapon shots to him so that failed cover saves don't = dead warriors.

Swarmlord - 280 point super tyrant with 4+ invul in close combat but same durability issues at range. No higher toughness or wounds or anything, but WS9 and even higher initiative/etc. Forces 3d6 (or higher) LD test for unsuccessful saves or suffer instant death. Numerous capabilities and psychic powers, with the ability to use two psy powers per turn. At the price, again a big issue of durability with the prevalence of ranged ap3+ weaponry in the game right now.

Elite

Ymgarl Genestealers – Buffed super stealers who can add 1 to their Attacks, Strength, or Toughness at the beginning of every turn. They secretly deploy in a terrain feature and when they come in from reserves move / shoot / assault as if coming on from board edge. AWESOME, RIGHT? But wait, there’s a catch. If the enemy occupies that same terrain piece, they are destroyed.

Pyrovore – Weird choice. Most of the elite guys are sub 100 points, closer to 50 than not, and this includes the pyrovore. Walking, non-fleet heavy flamer toter with hellhound rules for shooting it. Ignores armor saves in close combat with S5, but has only 2-3 attacks and low WS. When he dies, he explodes on a 4+ for S3 AP- hits within d6”. Absurdly bad stats for a new model, kind of surprising. Doesn’t fill any new role not better filled by other Nids, and S3 AP- explosions are more likely to be harmful to nearby Tyranids than to nearby … anything else.

Lictor – Went far cheaper, but lost the key to its effectiveness. Still rending, good stats, and gains a wound, still adds +1 to reserves, and now apparently acts as a teleport homer for deep striking nids. Unfortunately, while it doesn’t scatter on deep strike and just pops up a la Marbo, it also (like Marbo) can’t assault out of deepstrike. Now an excellent unit for showing up as a teleport homer and +1 reserve roller that you get to shoot at for free for a turn, and that can’t jump out and actually do anything. May have a 6” range AP- S6 Assault 1 shot it can fire when it shows up …

Venomthrope – 3 attacks wounding on 2+ in combat; 3 wounds/T4; 5+ cover save for itself and any unit within 6”; defensive grenades for itself and any unit within 6” … no better than a 5+ cover save and vulnerable to krak missiles and anything else, and a giant fire magnet given its buff. Confusingly bad choice, not b/c its powers aren’t very good, but b/c it’s so incredibly fragile and eminently targetable.

Zoanthrope – S10AP1 18” Lance shot still only has at BS3 and requiring a psychic test around 10% chance to kill an AV12+ vehicle … 3+ invulnerable save in exchange for losing the 2+ armor save. 3 wounds but vulnerable to instant death from S8 and higher. Retains smaller warp blast “small blast” ap3 shot. Confusing selection.

Horror of Malanti (or something similar) – Variant Zoanthrope supposedly still under 100 points, though may be under 100 points as an UPGRADE to a Zoanthrope (meaning well over 100 points net). Has some pretty sick psy powers, and can “leach” itself up to 10 wounds; at least one of its powers has a strength = to the number of wounds it has. Like other Zoans, is vulnerable to instant death from S8+ weaponry, and has a 3+ invul (giving it space marine like vulnerability to small arms … in other words, high vulnerability to small arms).

Hive Guard – These guys actually look really good. About 50 points for a T6W2 BS4 2-shot S8AP4 24” range assault weapon that doesn’t require line of sight and can penetrate vehicles. This is the “obvious” transport killing selection for the nids. 150 points will net you 3 guys who can be kept in cover (their armor save is only 4+) and are pretty resilient to all forms of firepower, since they are not instant killable, and since they are high toughness vs. small arms. They’ll earn statistically reliable kills on AV12 and lower transport vehicles. Unfortunately you can only take 3 and they compete for spots with the more intriguing zoanthropes. 4+ armor save makes them far more vulnerable to combat against “tough” opponents.

Troops
Tervigon – see HQ

Gaunts – Nerfed extensively. Instead of a 5 point spinegaunt being S3AP5 twin-linked fleet move through cover and with the ability to get without number, it’s now a 5 point Termagant being S3AP6 not twin-linked not fleet not moving through cover and no without number. Lovely. Apparently other weapon upgrades (including spinefists, lol) are very expensive relative to the cost of the gaunt.

Hormagaunts – “Buffed” in the sense that they aren’t overcosted anymore, but it’s hard to say if they’re really in line with Orks in terms of combat troops. They gain a better / more reliable fleet (3d6 pick the highest), but lose the beast charge. They lose one weapon skill, gain one initiative, and retain same number of attacks. For a few points per upgrade, they can be given furious charge and/or 4+ envenomed attacks. You’ll see them used and spammed, but I don’t know if they’re really any good still. No ability to hide any kind of better weapons in the squad means they will of course be dreadnaught bait, and tougher troop bait. The removal of a fast charge has far reaching implications in terms of the ease with which an opponent can get a reliable rapid fire / flamer blast off at them.

Warriors – Another wound, better weapon skill, similar stats otherwise. 30 points base, with scything talons (a pair of which allows you to re-roll 1’s to hit) and a relatively average anti-infantry gun. While scoring, and spammable, they are now vulnerable to instant death from S8, and there are a lot of S8 guns in the game right now. Synaptic still but highly confusing changes. Continue as a demonstration of the fact that it is nearly impossible to appropriately cost multi-wound models that aren’t hide-able (transports, perma cover save bikes, different weapons for allocation, or independent characters) and that are vulnerable to instant death.

Rippers – By the sounds of it, these are actually worse. Still vulnerable to instant death, still vulnerable to blasts/templates due to being swarms, and if they get outside of synapse and fail their LD test they actually eat each other.

Genestealers – 2 points cheaper with not a lot of upgrade options. One stealer can be turned into a broodlord with similar stats to the old HQ broodlord. Their own “hidden pfist” just … you know … with only S5. Stealers all gain infiltrate, so they can all outflank by default. Probably a much more viable option in anyone’s eyes now, except they can’t get extended carapace, so they are at best a 5+ save. Oh …

Fast Attack
Harpy – Most hilarious ill-conceived entry in the dex. For around 150-160 points you get a flying monstrous creature that poops spore mines on enemies it flies over. Sound good? Think again. T5 W4, 4+ save, vulnerable to instant death. Ooops.

Gargoyles – Legitimate selection. Any to hit roll of 6 wounds automatically. 6 points supposedly. Flying, but no longer fleet. One might argue with their guns dropping to S3AP6, fleet going away, bio-plasma changing to just a wound on 6 to hit and a drop to 6 points = finally costing them properly, only to take away all the things that made them good … glance / immobilize threats to vehicles, high initiative s4 attacks, lots of speed with fleet, and s4 shots prior to charge. Ooops.

Flying Warriors – Warriors with less options for 5 more points.

Raveners – Extra wound, vulnerable to instant death, may be able to enter play via Trygon tunnels. Re-roll to hit, WS5, with rending, and cheap at only 30 points base. Still beast charge and fleet. May be given a cool flamer with 3 fire modes including a rending mode. May be a viable option in some builds. I personally hope so – have always loved ravs.

Heavy Support
Carnifex – As rumored, massive increase in base cost with relatively marginal increase in stats. Can be taken in broods. Base equipment gives them a 12” range plasma cannon shot at bs3, and 5 attacks on the charge that re-roll to hit and are still S9. Highly expensive upgrades to give them a ranged weapon or a better armor save, untenably so perhaps. Can be given furious charge, and by default add +2 I when charging due to being big nasty battering ram critters. So, can potentially have 5 re-roll to hit I4 s10 attacks on the charge. Cost is the big downside, and base durability of only 6/4/3+

Mawloc / Trygon / Trygon Prime – 170/200/? Points each, Mawloc is a “blast you when I show up” burrower/reburrower with average combat stats and t6/w6/sv3+ … Trygon has same stats but better ws/I/attacks and is more expensive, and has a 6 shot s6 weapon. Trygon Prime is synaptic trygon with 12 shot weapon. All 3 apparently protected a la drop pods from deep strike mishap.

Tyrannofex – 250 points of “lolwut?” Kitbash of fex and trygon. You’re paying for 6 wounds, 2+ save, low I, BS3, low attacks, 20 shot S4AP5 gun, S5AP4 hellhound flamer, Ravener flamer, and 2 shot S10 48” AP4 gun. It’s like Cruddace just chucked a bunch of guns and wounds and armor on a monstrous chassis and charged points to match. Inability to voluntarily select many of the crap it has renders it untenably expensive just to have 2 BS3 anti-tank shots, basically. Everything else in the army is better at killing infantry for the points, and all of its OTHER guns are only effective vs. infantry.

Biovores – 35 points each for a S4AP4 large blast that can turn into a spore mine. Spore mines also fast attack choices. Independently selected spore mines deep strike after sides selected but prior to deployment, making them useable as infiltration/dawn of war denial units if nothing else. S4AP4 and no other mine options is a big nerf to “expectations” but better than biovores used to be. May only be allowed to take 1 biovore squad, but can have 3 in it and they operate as a battery. Problematic in that the entire army is anti-infantry by default, and in such a way that it is all moving and operating together. A unit that sits at the back of the board not supporting the main thrust and chucking large blasts that later in the game threaten your own units … is still just as bad as it ever was. No anti-tank capability makes it just throwing 135 points into the hopes of bad scatters for the sake of spawning spore mines to piss people off. Spore mines don’t count as kill points but also don’t contest or capture objectives.

Again, I will reserve final judgment until I have the book in my hands, but after reading this I don't feel very excited. Increasing the number of multiwound models but giving them meh saves and able to be instakilled sounds like a tease. I am REALLY concerned by the prospect of losing fleet on some units. Not sure that makes sense to me, but we shall see. *sigh*

My take too. It looks like a lot is losing fleet. I think there are some neat entries.

Things I see and like:

Zoanthropes new blast (every competitive list) = wicked str 10 lance is bad news bears for leman russes and land raiders

hive guard guns and survivability(every competitive list) = you needed a way to deal with the mech, and this is their answer. plus it sells their new models.

Disappointments:

gaunts definately got the beat down with the nerf stick - either no fleet or beast move, but the ability to include tervigons as troops by taking them may be interesting.....

troops all look a bit... meh. Genestealers with brood lord will still be the most common choice.

Looks like you will still be seeing NIDZILLA as the competitive list.... (Zilla in the HQ, Zilla in troops by tervigon, Zilla in heavy and multiwound creatures in elites).