Since the original article was first posted, the codex has been released, I've watched the Tyranids in a few games and played a game against them myself, so I thought it's only fair to include some thoughts on the army and also some ways to react to this.
Termagaunts and Tervigons
One thing I really, really like about the new Tyranid codex is they've put the shift back on some of the lower rungs of the Tyranid Bio-Ladder. This is evident in the Gaunt / Tervigon combo that I came up against on Monday night.
Tervigons, with their ability to spawn more units (always a bad thing) and the fact they can give units within 6" certain special rules mean even a unit of lowly Gaunts can now give you grief. Then on top of that you deal with the Tervigon being a troop choice AND a Monstous Creature, stat line included.
These are nasty, I think in the next game they'll be a far higher priority target... Gaunts are still easy enough to kill, but they sure can pack a punch nowadays.
Zoanthropes
Zoanthropes are again vastly improved in the new codex and I really like that, more Psykers on the board to me is a good thing! Their Lance ability is extremely dangerous to the Trukks and Battlewagons, even more so if they show up in a Spore.
Doom of Malantai
This guy caused me so, so much grief on Monday night. Deepstriking in behind my Lootas, I attempted to counter him with a round of Grot shooting and assault. But his special ability soon took it's toll, ripping a few Lootas down per turn and my choice not to move them to retain their rate of fire was my inevitable downfall.
Trygon
He's big, he's bad and extremely scary. It's really easy to get Rabbit in the headlight syndrome with this guy. High toughness, lots of wounds and also regeneration. Also he packs a ton of shooting...
The best thing to do for this guy is focus on the rest of the force until he shows up, then either attempt to ignore him, or send a large chunk of your force towards him to finish him off - before he tears you apart.
Hive Tyrant
This guy is still super hard to deal with, but losing the old style Warp Scream helps Ork mobs like Burnas and Nobz, significantly.
The downside is, these guys are usually packing Bonesword / Lash Whip combos, meaning your Warboss getting on the wrong end of this chap can mean he goes Poof.
This guy is a good target for a tarpit mob of Ork Boyz, same way the Carnifexes were in the previous edition.
Conclusion
I'll try and keep this updated each time I play the Tyranids and facing some new units. I'm eager to face some of the other units, especially like the Harpy, Tyrannofex and Gargoyles - then dreading seeing the Swarmlord in action.
Next time I'll have to bring Warboss Nobrot onto the field of battle, as opposed to his Mek sidekicks!
the tervigon / gaunt combo is a match made in heaven (or the hive mind for the tyranid fleet commanders). the ability to spawn new units can help as an immediate charge block, a backup for objective grabbing / contesting and with the abilities a tervigon can grant the gaunts then these guys arenot a threat to be taken lightly. I'll always take a minimum of 2 in any list i take.
ReplyDeleteOnly problem with this is that on paper, you could be giving up a lot of cheap kill points in certain missions could lead to interesting battles. But I have to admit at least the range of units means that they have more than dimension and play style. I can see the Nids and Blood Angels doing well at Brit Con this year. This is mainly because due to difference in charater between all the codexes if you tool up to face one army you will struggle against others.
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