For those who might have been getting a bit depressed over the generally unenthusiastic reviews of Tyranid units so far take heart -- I feel far more positive about the Fast Attack choices.  They are also easier to review as two are just other units with wings and when it comes to Spore Mines how much can you really say about floating gas bags?

If I have any general criticism of these Fast Attack units is that you can't take them as part of a unique flying army.  It's another of those -- to my mind -- "obvious" rules that the codex does not have.

Tyranid Shrike Brood

Rundown:  Tyranid Warriors but with wings their stats are the same as their Earth bound brethren save that they have just 5+ saves and cost a base of 5 additional points.  You can also take them with Boneswords and Lash Whips, but in this case it does require dumping the ranged attack.

Opinion:  What can I say -- speedy, potentially power weapon wielding units (say that ten times fast) are definitely impressive.  They are the sort of units that will give opposing generals fits.  At 45 points for Shrike and paired boneswords they aren't cheap and are still subject to krak missile instant death, but since you probably won't be taking more than a single group anyway you should be able to protect them long enough to get into battle.

The one "weakness" of the unit is that it's hard to come up with a reason to use them any other way.  Leaving them with just regular attacks won't frighten anyone and Rending is a poor substitute for a power attack.  Likewise, don't bother with the upgrade to a heavy weapon -- you aren't picking flying Warriors to take potshots from afar.

Ravener Brood

Rundown:  This is a much improved unit from before.  Not only has the base cost gone from (effectively) 38 to 30, but you even get an extra Wound and Attack in the deal.  They are still Beasts and you can take as many as 9, three better than previously.  Otherwise, they have much the same options -- Rending and/or a built in infantry gun.  Finally, they are now made in (admittedly pricey) plastic, definitely a good thing compared to the old top heavy models.

Opinion:  In the old codex Raveners looked better than they were.  At usually 40 points (for Talons and Claws), a mere 5+ save, and just 2 Wounds they tended to be too fragile to be worth the points.  The new unit is definitely a step in the right direction even if the old weaknesses are basically intact.  With a 4 Toughness they are yet again prime targets for instant kills, but that was often true in the past anyway when you used Deep Strike to bring them in -- and away from Synapse.

Still, you will need to use them carefully.  A smart opponent will pick them out from a horde so just mixing them in with the other bugs isn't likely to prove good protection.  A better choice is to run them through terrain.  They have Move Through Cover and as Beasts are Fleet while having a 12" charge.  You should be able to move through the brush and trees without a problem, popping out when within range of a juicy target.    Since they will make their living slicing and dice in close-combat getting them Rending Claws (just 5 points) is a no-brainer.

In general I wouldn't bother with buying a ranged weapon, although something cheap like a Spine Fist isn't bad if you have a few extra points looking for something to do.  Just understand you'll only be using them right before charging in for the kill.

Sky-Slasher Swarm Brood

Rundown:  Rippers with little bat wings.  Oh, how cute!

Opinion:  For an extra 5 points Rippers become jump infantry.  Nifty I suppose, but I still don't care much about them.  They are otherwise exactly the same as regular Rippers with all the limitations that implies.  They can get into combat faster, but won't be any more effective when they do.

The one role I can see for Sky-Slasher Swarms is as speedy attackers who tie down an enemy unit for a turn or two until your heavy hitters arrive.  Unless going after cannon fodder they won't kill much.  You use them for tactical reasons, not to improve your body count.

Gargoyle Brood

Rundown:  Effectively Termigants with wings, Gargoyles are a good deal cheaper than before.  They aren't quite as effective -- Fleshborers are now wimpy and their Bio-Plasma is gone.  However, they do now automatically wound on hit rolls of 6.  You can buy them in groups as large as 30.  Their only two options are the ubiquitous Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacks.

The major change is their Leadership.  It dropped from 10 to just 6.  Given that they are Fast Attack and (if you aren't careful) prone to being out by themselves the chance that they will just stop and take in the sights is substantial.

The major bonus is that they are now in plastic.  From a point of price and practicality that's huge.  They were expensive metal monstrosities that were notoriously top-heavy.  Now you can actually afford to get a lot while not having them topple over the moment anyone within ten feet takes a breath.

Opinion:  I find it hard not to like these new Gargoyles if only for the new models.  They are tremendous improvement over before and make the unit actually affordable in terms of $$.

In practice I suspect they will act as fast Termigants meant to tie down enemy troops or grab objectives -- they aren't likely to survive to do both.  At Toughness 3 and a pathetic 6+ save they will die early and often, but at least their speed gives you some hope for getting them into cover between moves.  You certainly don't want to rely on them for firepower.

That there is the Gargoyles main weakness -- their low leadership and therefore tendency to just lurk if Synapse isn't around.  With the new Fleshborers which are as short ranged as before, but without Living Ammunition you don't want Gargoyles shooting any more often than necessary.  If this reason you'll want to be as clever as possible when it comes to keeping them within range of a Synapse Creature.  Since their advantage is being fast that may not always be possible, but don't run them off alone without good reason.

Normally I tend toward not giving schmuck units any bio-morphs to keep costs down and numbers up, but since Gargoyles will tend to be single purchases and you want them to be effective in close-combat getting Adrenal Glands and/or Toxin Sacks is a good option.  It will at least give your opponent a reason to not casual dismiss them.

Likewise, I suggest taking full sized units (top size is 30) whenever possible to give them lasting power and some resistance to moral checks from shooting.  While they may be numerous and cheap Gargoyles are also fragile and can fall apart faster than you think.

Harpy

Rundown:  Imagine a Trygon with wings and that's more or less a Harpy.  It's a flying monstrous creature with a bunch of special abilities and the power to once a game drop a d3 barrage of Spore Mines as it passes overhead.  It otherwise carries a twin-linked Stranglethorn Cannon, some Stinger Spines, and counts as having grenades when charging.  It has 4 Wounds and a 5 Toughness, but oddly only has 2 Attacks.

Opinion:  This is yet another unit that sounds better than it is, although not as badly as some previous examples.  If I had to make a single criticism it is that the Harpy doesn't do anything particularly well, yet costs 160 points.

With just a 5 Toughness it is susceptible to one-shot kills, although strength 10 weapons are far less common than strength 8 or 9.  Still, when facing some armies such as Tau (who tend to bring along big guns like Broadsides) a Harpy could easily be an embarrassing disappointment. 

I have a winged Hive Tyrant in my collection and even with T6 and Warp Field (which is no longer available for a Tyrant) I've learned the hard way that you can't just run it up the middle of the board.  Since a Harpy has only a 5 Toughness and a 4+ save it faces the same situation only worse.  You'll need to be moving it from cover to cover to keep it alive long enough to be successful.

Twin-Linked Stranglethorn Cannons are respectable, but actually a bit wimpy if you ask me when mounted on a Monstrous Creature.  You can upgrade these to dual Heavy Venom Cannons for anti-vehicle firepower, an option that I find appealing.  With the ability to move fast and gain good firing positions using it as an anti-tank sniper is a natural choice, better than having the Harpy pick off infantry.  For that you have your Spore Mines.  While you could end up dropping a lot of the exploding gas bags the limitation is that you actually have to fly over your target, a requirement that is apt to open the Harpy to a lot of fire.  Even if your opponent has no strength 10 cannons just a single turn of fire from a few heavy weapons is likely enough to ruin the Harpy's day.

In close combat it has the obvious advantage of being a Monstrous Creature, but its surprisingly low dual attacks mean it won't be able to use its ability to squish heads all that much.  Thus, you'll need to go after high value targets or objectives to make the charge worth the risk.  For these reasons giving it Adrenal Glands (it will almost always get the charge rather than be charged) is probably a good idea even if it does cost 10 points.  Anything to raise the kill total.

I wish the Harpy had 4 Attacks or was a Synapse Creature -- in that case I could enthusiastically recommend the unit.  As it is I find the monster a tad disappointing.  Cool idea and certainly with the potential to be effective in combat, I fear the Harpy will too often be a letdown, falling, say, to a strength 10 cannon or accomplishing little in close combat (it only takes a few bad rolls). 

Still, it does make for a great model (take a Trygon, just add wings and sculpt some egg sacks on the bottle side) so I plan on constructing at least one regardless.

Spore Mine

Rundown:  It is a floating bag of gas that meanders around and goes boom when a non-bug gets close.  'Nuff said.

Opinion:  Not that they were game winning units to begin with, but the new rules actually reduce their effectiveness even more.  You can now only take what amount to frag spores which in turn cost 2 points extra.  Otherwise, they are pretty much the same as the old codex.

Spore Mines strike me as too random to be particularly interesting.  If they don't hit the target the first time they float around in random directions while being easy targets to shoot.  I suppose you could use them for area denial -- drop them in front of an enemy in an attempt to close choke points or generally slow them down -- but I am not optimistic about their chances of doing so effectively. 

It's worth noting that the rules for Spore Mines (as a Fast Attack unit, not shot out by Biovores) say nothing about them being exceptions to the rules for Deep Strike (except for the worse).  That means you can't just drop them directly on to a target enemy unit without rolling on the Mishap table!  Instead, you have to place them by themselves and hope they end up within 2" of the enemy sometime during the game.

One Last Pet Peeve:  What are the rules for the Red Terror?  All the other old unique Tyranids have their own listing except for Red -- and of course that's the model I own.  Grumble.

Next Time:  Heavy Support

Posted on: 2/19/2010 at 9:25 PM
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It's time to take a look at the real meat of any codex:  Troops.  They often serve as the backbone of any force, especially nowadays given that you need them to capture objectives.  So, how do the bug troops do?

Tyranid Warriors

Rundown:  Now suddenly finding themselves counting as Troops, Tyranid Warriors have changed in many other ways as well.  Compared to before they have +1 WS, Attacks, +1 Wounds, and a base 4+ save!  They also get access to nifty new toys, none better than the ability for the entire squad to take power weapons (e.g. boneswords)!  Squad sizes are the same as previously and they are no faster than they were, but at least they can crash into battle in a Mycetic Spore.  The downside is, of course, that their prices have skyrocketed to a base of 30 points as compared to just 14 in the last codex.

They come with Devourers now, but if you want to stay shooty you can switch them out for Spine Fists or Deathspitters.  You can even give one per squad a Barbed Strangler or (lesser) Venom Cannon.  For those more hand-to-hand inclined you can give them Rending Claws, a pair of boneswords, or bonesword and lash whip.  Finally, they can receive Adrenal Glands and/or Toxin Sacks.  As always they are Synapse Creatures and have Shadow of the Warp.

Opinion:  With all these heightened abilities it's hard not to say things have improved for Warriors.  Likewise, being Troops is handy.  I always took at least 10 with my usual armies so that's a lot more points allocated to Troops. 

Of course, it is also a lot more points in general.  Here I am of two minds.  On the one hand Warriors are beefier to be sure, but at a substantial higher price.  I modeled my own Warriors with Scything Talons and Rending Claws plus Extended Carapace.  Keeping that in mind (and taking nothing else) my usual group of 5 warriors went from costing 23 each to 30 -- or a raise of ~23%.  For those extra 7 points I get one extra Wound and Weapon Skill.  At first that sounds reasonable, but in practice I suspect the change is not quite worth it.  After all, previously I knew that my Warriors had to be hit at least twice before going down.  Now even with that extra Wound they can be one-shot kills.  The WS bonus is nice as it will allow them to hit elite troops like Space Marines more often, but is that worth taking one less Warrior for the same points?  Maybe, but the improvement is debatable.

More subtly, for a force that is stereotypically a "horde" higher points totals for Warriors and having them as Troops will encourage people to take small(er) 'Nid armies.  On the positive side players of 'Nidzilla armies might encourage such players to avoid the tacky and common tactic of just taking a few token minimum size gaunt troop choices in order to load up on monstrous creatures.  It would make such forces more colorful and authentic, but given that Warriors still cost a fair bit I tend to suspect things won't change in that regard.

The big thing with Warriors is that you can now take them with power weapons.  That is potentially huge -- troops that can ignore armor!  Doing so means having a base 40 point cost and giving up an attack unless you dispense with any ranged attack.  Still, that sounds pretty nasty and no doubt can be in many cases.  However, Warriors still suffer from being one of the slowest units in the bug army and can't typically get across the field in less than 4 turns.  Taking Mycetic Spores is the obvious solution for this, but not only does that mean having them sit there for a turn as a target, but it also means possibly having your best source of Synapse across the board from the rest of your army.

Still, it's a possibility that makes Warriors truly scary and thus has to be respected.  In fact, I wonder if anyone will even take shooty Warriors from now on (not that they were so popular before) -- when you choice is between a few shots unlikely to kill anything serious or the power to slice and dice through power armor which would you choose?

Genestealers

Rundown:  On the surface not much has changed for 'Stealers except something good, namely that they are 2 points cheaper than before -- and that is with all the same base stats.  However, when you take a look at accessories things are quite different.

One is that the Broodlord has been demoted to just a leader figure for any and all Genestealer broods.  He loses his power attack, but gains some psychic abilities and retains his otherwise superior characteristics.  He does still cost almost as much as he did as a HQ choice, however.

The other big change is that you can no longer take Extended Carapace for your Genestealers.  That is huge. 

Opinion:  How huge is huge?  Let's put it this way -- against AP5 weapons without that 4+ save you take twice the amount of wounds. That's 50% more!  Thus, for example, a squad of double-firing Space Marines that used to kill an average of ~3 'Stealers now can count on killing ~7 (I rounded off).  Even if the remaining 3 of 10 then charge into combat they will only slice up 2 Marines as opposed to 4 the surviving 7 would kill.  Again, a drop of 50%.

The simple conclusion is that Genestealer armies are no longer viable.  The forces that were as-many-Stealers-as-I-can-take can't possibly hope to hide everyone in cover going in.  As a result when facing the ubiquitous AP5 infantry weapon your exposed Genestealers will melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in the rain.

So, at a stroke Genestealers have been reduced to support or commando roles, but even these are now more iffy than before.  A smart opponent knows that close-up 'Stealers are deadly and will go after them unless there is something else even worse like a Monstrous Creature nearby.  Thus, hiding your genestealers behind waves of gaunts just isn't going to work.  The alternative is to only use them as commando units that start off in cover and can leap out at vulnerable targets.

Things are even worse when you consider that the Broodlord has traded in his power attacks for a couple of mediocre psychic powers that can make his head explode.  Why-oh-why did GW think it made sense to not allow a premiere Tyranid unit to upgrade to a leader model who can ignore armor?  That's an obvious ability, especially given that Rending has been reduced already.  And, the Broodlord costs a base of 60 points!

I hate to say it, but Genestealers as they used to be (in 4th edition) have indeed been nerfed.  Yes, they do still have a role as commando units, but how you use them has changed greatly and at the same time been reduced to only a single worthwhile niche.  Two less points cost does not give you enough extra 'Stealers to make up for their vulnerability to bolter fire.

Termagants

Rundown:  Did you know that 'termagant' is Tyranid for 'cannon fodder'?  In this they haven't changed.  They are still Imperial Guardsmen with even worse armor and compressed air guns that can fire maybe as far as a toddler can throw a baseball.  Points totals have changed slightly and you can give them one extra sort-of special weapon now.  And, of course, you can team them up with Tervigons.

Opinion:  Believe it or not but on average the cost of Termigants has actually gone up.  Not if you loaded them out with Fleshborers -- they are now 1 point less, but at the cost of losing Living Ammunition.  However, if you equipped your models with Spine Fists (like I did) you are now spending 1 extra point a model and if you used Devourers it is now 3 points more.  Apparently, my disposable Spine Gaunts were over-priced.  Imagine my surprise.  For that extra point I get nothing extra.  Likewise, the new Devourers are perhaps slightly better, but hardly worth 3 extra base points.

This is important -- the only useful ability to gaunts was that they were cheap as dirt.  Now for many of us they are a little less cheap, enough so that now I get 16 where I used to have 20.  If I had used Devourers I would only get 14 for my previous 20.  That means my horde is no longer as big for the same points while my gaunts are otherwise as pathetic as before.

Take it from someone who regular plays 'Nids with 60+ gaunts -- they die in droves and often without doing much on their own.  That's okay as they were usually soaking up fire that might take down my real killer units, but with Genestealers now bolter fodder and much of my force vulnerable to one-shot kills it is harder to believe that role will still work.  Yet, on top of all that I now get less for my points.  Wonderful.

This might be okay if Termigants could take a leader unit with a power attack or some truly nasty weapon, but all they have is the Strangleweb which is just a poor bug's flamer.  Or, they could have benefited from a larger possible brood size so that you could take large amounts at a single time (and have them all benefit from powers from other bugs that affect whole units), but in fact the top size is 2 less than before.

There is one cure for all these problems -- the Tervigon.  Given that it is big, hard to kill, and bestows enough abilities on nearby Termigants to actually make them a threat you'd be insane not to combine Tervigons with your horde. 

Which is the problem -- any time you can say to yourself "you'd be insane not to take X" you are looking at something broken or just badly written, perhaps both.  By themselves Termigants are actually a bit less effective than before and can certainly not take over the role of hard-hitting troops from Genestealers.  With Tervigons they are respectable which is why I prophesize the two units types will now always go together.

Hormagaunts

Rundown:  Let's face it -- in the old codex the most worthless unit was Hormagaunts.  They were just faster Termigants with an extra attack that died just as quickly and cost a base of 10 points each!  Thankfully, their base cost is now down to just 6, although they lose being Beasts and a point of WS.  This at least makes them an option to fill out your horde quota as opposed to merely being expensive cannon fodder that can't kill anything meaningful.

Opinion:  However, they are nevertheless stuck with the fact they still won't be killing anything meaningful.  Faster Imperial Guardsmen with an extra attack aren't going to frighten anyone when all they can do is run across the field being shot up.  If they had retained being Beasts I'd be far more enthusiastic about them -- they might be fragile, but at least they could get into hand-to-hand as soon as the second turn and pin down the enemy.  But, they are only a bit faster than Termigants and they don't get to benefit from nearby Tervigons.  They also don't even get a leader figure at all, let alone one with a power attack.

So, Hormagaunts have gone from a never-take unit to a merely mediocre unit.  I guess that is an improvement, but there is nothing about them that excites me.  Then again, maybe Genestealers were nerfed in order to encourage you to take more Hormagaunts.  Yippee.

Rippers

Rundown:  Living garbage disposals, Rippers are much like they were before -- swarms with lots of teeth.  They cost as much as they used to and have much the same stats, although they can now fall apart when out of Synapse range.  You can give them the Deep Strike ability, but that only matters if you can use it in your scenario.

Opinion:  I've never been big on Rippers, in part because they couldn't take objectives and as swarms were vulnerable to templates.  At least they now count as Troops for scoring purposes, but are otherwise no better (or worse) than before.

As for recommendations I really have none.  If you played with them in the past or just want to have something for those extra bits you get with your gaunts to do then go right ahead, but I don't foresee a sudden increase in their frequency on the battlefield (in no small part thanks to the inability to buy them separately).  I don't see them as replacements for any other Troop choice, that's for sure.

Mycetic Spores

Yes, technically they aren't Troop choices, but now is as good a time as any to talk about them.

Rundown:  Bugs finally have real vehicles -- living drop pods!  They can carry as many as 20 infantry or one Monstrous Creature (although the only MC that can use them are Carnifexes) while being able to mount a wide range of guns.  They even count as Monstrous Creatures themselves and thus ignore armor in close-combat.  That's just cool!  And, at a base of 40 points they are nicely affordable.

Opinion:  At last I reach a unit in this article that actually excites me.  A bug vehicle was on my list of wanted changes and this one is even pretty good.  It comes with a triple 6 attack -- 6" range, 6 Strength, and Assault 6 -- and the ability to ignore armor in hand-to-hand.  Both are limited thanks to the fact that Spores can't actually run after prey, but you can buy them bigger (mostly anti-infantry) guns with greater range that vary in price from 10 to 20 points.  Their one limitation is a meager 4 Toughness thus making them yet again -- sing along if you like -- potential krak missile bait.  Still, all-in-all it's pretty damn good.

Of course, the primary allure of Mycetic Spores is having a drop pod bug army.  Unfortunately, you get no special rules for doing so ala Space Marines, but if you take certain units you can at least improve the odds of arrival.    Unless you are going to have an entire army use Spores I see them as best used to allow choice -- and slow -- units like Carnifexes get at the enemy more quickly than normal.  It gives the bug player more tactical options, always a good thing.

I would tend to pass on the larger gun options given it only has a 2 skill and even with 3 Wounds is unlikely to be around long enough to use it much. On-the-other-hand, one nice tactic would be to drop the Spore near your opponent's close-combat specialists and see if you can't goad them into attacking.  Being a Monstrous Creature with Lash Whips, 3 attacks, and a 6 strength it has the power to take on anything.  The trick is actually getting it into combat, not the easiest goal given Spores can't move.  At least make sure to use them as cover for your arriving units and then hope your enemy feels lucky and decides to do the tango with your living drop pods.

Next Time:  Fast Attack

Posted on: 2/16/2010 at 4:03 PM
Categories: Reviews
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We move on to the Elites in the new book and right off I want to offer one obvious criticism -- there are too many of them.  Likewise, while most are at least "pretty good" none really stand out.  In one sense that is a good thing as there might be more reason to take any particular one compared to another, but on the other hand you could easily end up just ignoring them for other things.

There are two clear changes that should have been made to the Elites -- One, offer Hive Guard as a variation of Tyrant Guard, and; two, keep Zoanthropes as Heavy Support.  More information on both below.

Hive Guard

Rundown:  Basically Tyrand Guard with guns Hive Guard seem to be a compromise between various ideas.  One, make them T-Guard like in appearance and Toughness.  Two, give them a big gun, but don't make it too big in order to retain the Tyranid inability to defeat Power Armor (or better) at range.  Finally, don't give them any particular close-combat heft save for pretty good stats.  The end result of all these compromises is a unit that is overall competent without really excelling at anything.

Opinion:  I really like the models, but overall I find it hard to come up with a compelling reason to take Hive Guard.  They do have a strength 8 ranged attack, but it is still only range 24" and, more importantly, merely AP4.  That means that against power armor it is really no better than strength 6 as 2/3 of your shots will just bounce off anyway.  Likewise, while they do have a strength of 5 they have no other hand-to-hand pluses.  That makes them more a nuisance than threat against any opponent of note.  They are sort of like miniature shooty Carnifexes, but without the Monstrous Creature ability of the later to make them scary in close-combat even without close-and-personal bio-morphs.

So, they really don't fulfill any role all that well.  They can be deadly to light vehicles, but useless against anything heavy.  They can wound anything at range, but with only AP4 that often won't mean much.  And, they only have a 4+ save themselves and thus are fodder for things like Heavy Bolters and Autocannons.

What should have been done is to make Hive Guard just another choice for Tyranid Guard.  Why not be able to mix and match the two as part of a Tyrant's entourage?  It would allow them to protect the Tyrant while providing some ranged punch.  Or, make the cannons AP3 and you suddenly have a unit that will summon the horror of the swarm in most any opponent.  As it is many armies can practically ignore them while those that cannot are likely better dealt with using more numerous and less expensive alternatives.

Lictors

Rundown:  Just like the old Lictors, but noticeably better GW has at least made an honest attempt to make them more appealing than before.  In the past they were just one-shot-wonders that would pop out of some trees, maybe kill a few models, and then get shot down.  This basic role hasn't changed, but now they clearly do it better.

They can now appear pretty much anywhere thus allowing you to get around the common enemy tactic of just avoiding deep brush.  With a new ranged attack while keeping Rending they can be expected to do more damage, although they still lack the punch to go up against anything substantial without quickly dying.  Hit and Run is nice as are the abilities to get through cover and use it to their advantage.  The most interesting new power, however, has to be the Pheromone Trail.  It not only adds one to your reserve rolls (only a single +1 is allowed), but a bug unit can Deep Strike without error within 6".  This finally makes the Lictor a true advance reconnaissance unit.

Opinion:  For Deep Striking or Flank Marching 'Nid armies Lictors become a must have.  They just make concentration of force easier than otherwise in such cases. 

That said, don't expect Lictors to accomplish much more than before on their own.  Yes, they aren't quite the pushovers of before, but they still suffer from 5+ armor and a mere 4 toughness.  They do have an extra wound, but on-the-other-hand will attract swarms of krak missiles that balance that out.  I suggest using them with finesse and resisting the temptation to just leap out at the first yummy target, at least until there is nothing else you need to bring in from reserve.

Deathleaper

Rundown:  It's baaaaack.  The Deathleaper is like he always was, a pumped up regular Lictor.  He is more than twice the cost of a regular one, but for that you get better stats and a number of extra abilities that if nothing else are big on drama.  He is a unique, but you wouldn't want to take more than one anyway.

Opinion:  I have no doubt that the Deathleaper would be fun to play, but he is definitely a unit to be used with great care.  That's because he is still as vulnerable to damage as his more average brethren.  Being that he is so many points you definitely can't afford to lose him casually.  That means having good cover becomes even more important -- and more of a problem if you are playing on a board without much (or which doesn't block line-of-sight).

In the end I think taking the Deathleaper is a judgment call.  If he works with your army design then go for it, but otherwise he is more fun than effective.

Venomthropes

Rundown:  This is yet another interesting unit with vulnerabilities that can seriously reduce its effectiveness. 

The good is that not only does it have poisoned attacks, but just getting near the thing can cause damage.  The even better is that it can grant any nearby unit an automatic 5+ cover save and defensive grenades.  It even forces the enemy to make a dangerous terrain test to charge any of your units benefiting from this power.

The bad is that it is another bug with a glass jaw.  With just a 4 toughness, 2 wounds, and 5+ save it will take damage fairly easily.  And, of course, it is meat for missile launchers.  For example, a single krak missile from a Space Marine has a 37% chance to one-shot the Venomthrope while an Imperial Guardsman has a 29% chance.  That's pretty high when we are talking about a base 55 point model.

Opinion:  So, just keep them under cover then, right?  Problem is that to get the most of their Spore Cloud ability you'll want them within 6" of as many of your units as possible.  It's hard to do that and always remain under cover.  Likewise, they are half decent in close-combat and you aren't going to find that while cowering behind a rock.  Finally, you can only join them with up to two more of their brethren, yet at 55 points that sounds less like a viable strategy to keep at least one Venomthrope alive and more like one to hand over extra victory points to your opponent.

Therefore, the problem is how to get the most out of their Spore Cloud ability while keeping them alive.  I see this as being possible, but tricky with things like the layout of terrain on your play board going a long way toward determining the effectiveness of your V-thropes.  The more you try to take advantage of the Cloud the more Krak missiles they attract, but the less they do so the more waste of points they become.

So, it's another judgment call.  If you think you can make it work give it a try, but don't be surprised if it fails more often than you'd think.

On a more positive note it turns out that the model itself is better balanced than I originally feared.  If you make sure to place its weight properly on the base it is surprisingly resistant to being tipped over.  The metal tentacles are still prone to popping off, but then again that's why god created super-glue.

Zoanthropes

Rundown:  The old floaty heads are back and more or less the same except that they now have fixed 3+ saves -- and, more importantly, they have fixed abilities also.  Unlike before when you have a choice of abilities to pick from you now get Synapse Creature, Warp Field/Blast, and Shadow in the Warp -- period.  It's all for 60 points.

Opinion:  The basic point to Zoanthropes has not changed.  Their job is to blast things and now that they can use a full 4 BS to do so they are better at htting the target.  On the flip side they now have to take Psychic Tests so they end up being about as effective in this regard as before.  Sure, you will hit more often during regular combat, but you also have to worry about them occasionally exploding.

The fact they come hardcoded with a certain load of psychic powers is disappointing, but not killer.  You were always going to take Warp Blast anyway and Synapse is not a bad choice for a second power.  It is also cheaper than before if you were going to take those two anyway.  Still, I am going to miss having a trio of Z-Thropes with Psychic Scream.

There are two downsides to this new floating brain which echo what I've said elsewhere:  One, with a Toughness of a mere 4 they are vulnerable to one-shot kills, but their 3+ invulnerable save gives them enough protection to balance things out -- at least they aren't Plasma Gun fodder any longer. 

Two, they are Elites.  This is unfortunate as there are already a bunch of Elite choices and there are not any good yet cheap Heavy Support choices (Biovores are no better than before -- which is to say bad).  A unit that would be a regular choice as Heavy Support is going to get less use now as Elite (or, more likely, other Elites will never appear since Zoanthropes are more tempting).  Again, I see this as a sign of a codex that wasn't really thought through properly. 

Nevertheless, Zoanthropes are still effective and I expect them to be a popular choice for Elites.

Doom of Malan'Tai

Rundown:  A monster version of a Zoanthrope, the Doom has one of the nastiest boom powers you'll ever see -- Cataclysm.  At its worst it is a 24" ranged large template attack at S10 AP1.  Yowza!  It does cause d3 automatic wounds to the Doom, but fortunately it has the Life Leach power which can suck wounds from anything within 6" and give it to itself -- up to a maximum of 10.  At first glance this seems rather damn nasty!

Opinion:  However, at second glance the Doom becomes far less appealing.  For one thing it might have a bigger bug brain and a base 4 wounds, but it is still Toughness 4.  Thus, whether it has 4, 10, or a thousand wounds it can still be a one-shot kill to anything as good as a krak missile or better.  Likewise, the Life Leach power only has a range of 6".  That means you have to open it up to fire to be most effective, but any opponent with two brain cells to rub together is going to put the Doom high on his hit list if he is facing having a couple of units potentially devastated.

As a result I don't see the Doom being all that effective in practice.  Yes, it could theoretically be and I am sure that if you use it you'll have the occasional game where it is truly amazing, but most of the time it will either be hiding behind a rock not doing much or making a short, if glorious Deep Strike attack where it does damage and is then immediately vaporized.  Either way that's more of a gimmick than a real unit if you ask me.

Pyrovores

Rundown:  A unit that looks nastier than it really is, you can think of the Pyrovore as a Space Marine scout with an extra wound, heavy flamer, and power weapon.  But, even this is not as good as it sounds as the creature has a whopping 1 attack and its flamespurt can potentially blow up when it dies.  It has no special movement abilities and can only be taken in groups of 1-3.

Opinion:  The Pyrovore is my hands-down choice for unit with the dumbest rules.  Honestly, if the designers spent more than five seconds thinking through this concept I'd be amazed.  In a codex where power attacks are rare why do you give one to a unit with a measly single attack?  Aren't there better and more consistent ways to have a Tyranid close-combat threat than a rule so painfully clunky?

The flamespurt isn't really any different from a heavy flamer besides that it can explode -- and it requires the Pyrovore to get close and personal with his targets.  You can use it even if the creature falls into instinctual behavior, which is good as his leadership is just 6.  Still, a 4 toughness, 2 wounds, and 4+ save does not usually make for an obvious hand-to-hand monster, yet to be effective at all the Pyrovore is going to need to be within a foot of the enemy at all times.  Then there is the fact that its two means of attack are an odd pairing.  One is clearly meant to kill a lot of little things while the other is meant to go after guys in good armor.

Bwah?  I just don't get this unit.  How could anyone have thought this was a good design?  Too bad as I do like the model, but at 45 points each I won't be fielding any.

Ymgarl Genestealers

Rundown:  The unit with the unpronounceable name (Isn't "Ymgarl" the sound you make when coughing up mucus?), these Genestealers are the only ones you can find nowadays with 4+ armor.  They can also pop up in terrain pieces in a convoluted sort of Deep Strike that carries a bigger risk of losing models on arrival.  They do get a +1 to their toughness, strength, or attacks that you have to rotate around from turn-to-turn.

Opinion:  These fellows are a mediocre substitute for not being able to take regular Genestealers with 4+ armor.  Yes, they get it naturally, but cost 23 points each, three more than having it cost before.  The do get that rotating +1 for those extra points, but I'm not sure if that makes the overall high price worth it.  Another limitation is that you can only take 10 per unit (but, at least they aren't unique).  If they were another Troop choice I could see taking them on a regular basis, but as yet another Elite option I don't see them making frequent appearances. 

If they do show up you'll of course want to use them as a sort of commando bug unit that pops up in the enemy backfield to pounce on a juicy target.  Not sure how well this will work.  These Genestealers are going to be hit-or-miss depending on the force you are facing and the scenario. 

Next time:  Troops

Posted on: 2/12/2010 at 10:04 PM
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Now that I've depressed all of you over the possible/apparent problems with the new Tyranid book let's start going through the individual units and see how well they work.

Hive Tyrant 

Rundown:  The first thing that any veteran will noticed here is that that the price tag for a Tyrant just went way up (newbees will just notice it costs a lot).  At a base of 170 and add-ons that can quickly raise the total above 200 we're talking about a unit that could easily be a full fifth of your force.  For that you better make sure you get a lot.

And, to a point, you do -- but it is clearly not the same bargain as before.  The Tyrant's WS climbed 3 points (which is good as before your leader was only as skilled as most secondary characters) while their Strength and Attacks improved by one.  However, that is in no way worth the extra 95 points you have to shell out even for the basic model.  The implication here is that GW believes the old Tyrant was massively under priced, a conclusion that does not jibe with my own experience.  Not that the old Tyrant wasn't nasty, but it was also slow.  The fact that the new version is just as slow makes me seriously wonder what GW was thinking.

Still, the Tyrant is nevertheless quite effective what with being a monstrous creature with a 6 toughness, 4 wounds, and a base 3+ save.  While it comes with no ranged attack standard (save if you take the right psychic powers), the two you can get -- Stranglethorn Cannon and Heavy Venom Cannon -- are better than anything you had before.  You can also take "skills" such as Old Adversary that gives every Tyranid unit within 6" the Preferred Enemy special rule and, of course, the usual collection of add-ons such as Acid Maw or Regeneration. 

One thing you can't take is an invulnerable save meaning you'll have to be careful getting the guy into hand-to-hand with power fists.  Do the tango with, say, a Space Marine Commander with one and your Tyrant is probably tofu (especially since your enemy will be able to ignore any attack on 4+).  You can raise your save to 2+ and/or take wings, but both cost a lot.

Opinion:  The new Hive Tyrant leaves me scratching my head over trying to fathom just what the GW "philosophy" was behind how it was changed or for that matter even how they view the creature in general.  Basically, it comes off as the same old guy just at a higher cost.  How is that supposed to generate any excitement for using it?  Did GW think the Tyrant was badly broken?  That's hard to believe since, well, it wasn't.  Did they want people to take it less often?  The sticker-shock the new price is likely to invoke will certainly encourage this, but -- again -- if there were swarms of Tyrants invading tournaments or whatnot I never noticed.  What then was the point of almost doubling the basic price?

All would be forgiven if something had been added to excite the imagination.  For example, what if taking a winged Tyrant allowed you to take gargoyles as troops?  Now that would be interesting (even if in the final analysis such an army may not be all that effective) if only because it would at least be something new!  Alas, all we get is a less affordable same-old same-old.  Mind you, I think the unit still "works" in the general sense, but certainly it is hard to see how it has been "improved".  We certainly aren't going to be seeing it fielded any more often than before.

Tyrant Guard

Rundown:  The Guard are just the same phenomenon as the Hive Tyrant, but just on a smaller scale -- higher cost, same basic unit.  The one nice change is that they can now take power weapons (e.g. boneswords), but this is balanced out by how they can't protect their master as well as before.  The old Shieldwall rule stated that the Tyrant could never be targeted individually while there were still Guard around.  Now he's just a de facto independent character susceptible to any effect that can target them normally, most notably being vulnerable in close combat.

Opinion:  It's more of the same -- just what was the thinking behind these changes?   If there was any unit less likely to make an appearance than a Tyrant it was his Guard.  Having to pay 15 more points for less of the same is hardly going to alter that.  I understand the appeal of reducing the Tyrant when with the Guard down to a mere independent character as it simplifies the rules (and eliminates arguments over just what "may not be picked out as a separate target" really meant).  However, it makes the Tyrant much more vulnerable to power fists in hand-to-hand, thus removing a prime reason to take Guard in the first place.

The only rationale that makes sense to me is that GW expects you to always take boneswords with Guard and thus produce a strength 5, toughness 6 trio with power weapons.  Nasty to be sure, but it completely inverts the supposed purpose of the unit.  Instead of the Guard being there to back-up their leader, now you buy the Tyrant to get access to his cadre of bug swordsmen (and at a 66% higher cost than before).

The Swarmlord

Rundown:  Simply put the Swarmlord is a regular Tyrant on massive alien steroids.  A unique character the 'Lord comes with quad boneswords, all the psychic powers, a 4+ invulnerable save, the ability to pump up the bugs around him, and even gives you a +1 to reserve roles.  Most of this can be duplicated in full or in part by a generic Tyrant, but the Swarmlord is optimized for what it does.  Not surprising then it is a massive 280 points, but considering all it does that price seems fair.

Opinion:  Finally, a Tyrant with some flair that warrants interest.  The 'Lord is clearly a unit around which to build an army given how much he costs and how truly frightening is his in close-combat.  Basically, he can put the fear of the swamp in any opponent.  Unlike regular Tyrants that should be afraid of power fisted characters with invulnerable saves such meat is the Swarmlord's preferred prey.  Match him up with some bonesword equipped Guard and there is nothing he and his crew cannot take on.  Of course, that would be a fifth of your army right there, but that's okay with the right design.  He's an obvious choice for a Nidzilla army if nothing else.

Tervigon

Rundown:  This unit is sort of like an alien demon cow that when it's not slicing up an enemy is giving birth to its next litter of termigant spawn.  As such it is clearly meant to be taken with termigants -- many of its abilities only work with them while the rest can work on most anything.  In fact, if you look under the termigant listing you see that for every 'gant brood you take you can bring along a Tervigon as a troops choice.  So, it's a hard-to-kill monstrous creature with cool abilities, psychic powers, and the power to turn the termigants around it from cannon fodder to a real threat -- and all for just 160 points!

Opinion:  I wonder if "Tervigon" is Tyranid for "An excuse to buy lots of Termigant models" since it might as well be.  Mind you, that's not a bad thing (especially for people like me who have 80 of the buggers painted), but I do think it makes for inelegant game design.  Take away the combo with the 'gants and the Tervigon is just a somewhat wimpy Carnifex for almost as much points.  Put it back in and you have what looks suspiciously like a "you're insane not to take them if you want to take a lot of Termigants" design for a horde army that will soon be the only such design you see.

Still, the Tervigon is awfully effective in that role, maybe even too much so.  Its ability to give any Termigant broods within 6" both Toxin Sacks and Adrenal Glands (if it takes them too) is killer.  Combine this with Synapse Creature and Catalyst and you make Termigants actually dangerous in close combat.  Best of all is the monster's ability to pump out 3d6 new basic Termigants a round (with a 31% chance of the ability being exhausted after each time it does so).  That's an average of 10.5 extra a round.  Since you can take as many Tervigons as troops as you have broods of Termigants (plus up to two as HQ) you could easily take four of the former and be producing 12d6 more of the latter each turn -- an average of 42!  Yikes!  The only real limit here (besides bad dice rolling) is that you have to paint up a boat load of new Termigants to get the most out of the ability.

Tyranid Prime

Rundown:  The HQ choice for those who don't want the pay the high price of a Tyrant (or who want a second-in-command), the Tyranid Prime basically fills the same niche as the Broodlord from last edition.  He's a pumped-up Tyranid warrior that can take a bonesword(s) -- that is, power weapons -- and boost the skills of his associated brood.  However, with only a 5 toughness he can be one-shotted (if only by strength 10 attacks) and he has nothing to protect himself than a 3+ save.  He is also an independent character and therefore a target in close-combat.

Opinion:  You take him if you want to save points for other things or want to fill out your HQ choices with something less expensive.  While reasonably tough he has the same basic vulnerabilities as a Hive Tyrant only worse, so make sure to take him with a 'honor-guard' of fellow Warriors.  Beyond that he is just another generic bug character who should always have a bonesword (or two).

The Parasite of Mortrex

Rundown:  The Parasite is a unique Tyranid Warrior who no doubt considers the Alien movies light-hearted comedy.  His main claim to fame is that he can cause his victims to burst into a swarm of rippers.  He can also fly and has Rending Claws back up with a 6 strength.  However, he has a measly 4 toughness and nothing better to repeal attacks than a 3+ save.  He does make Rippers easier to control, but he is a steep 160 points.

Opinion:  The Parasite is a cool concept that doesn't really work in practice.  His 4 toughness is really a show-stopper, especially without any invulnerable save to rescue him from power fists.  You'll need to send him along with a brood of shrikes as back-up, but even then make sure to stay away from anyone with power fists (or the equivalent).  Depending on the opponent that can be hard to do.  As a result against some enemies I'm not sure it can be trusted on to be effective -- certainly not enough to justify 160 points.  His Ripper producing ability sounds nifty, but requires good dice rolls to be a serious factor.  Basically, I wouldn't take him without a very good reason.

Next up:  Elites

Posted on: 1/29/2010 at 8:45 PM
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When I wrote my 'first impressions' post thinking that I would go on immediately to a unit-by-unit evaluation.  However, after more thought and reading the reactions and views of others it struck me that there is more to discuss at a higher meta-level before going on to the nitty-gritty.

In particular, I want to look at possible negatives in the new list, those aspects that might lead one to conclude things were better left unchanged.  However, at this point don't take such things as final judgments -- I'm pointing them out so that I can see if I can disprove them or show that what was gained makes up for it here or while going through the unit-by-unit survey later on.

#1 -- Units are Now More Expensive:  There are a couple of new unit costs that at first glance make you wonder what the designers were thinking.  However, how well does that work out overall?  Fortunately, there is an easy starting point for this -- comparing old and new prices.

Looking at this list one can make the argument that the models are overall more expensive, but there are certainly ways to mitigate if not reverse the trend.  Likewise, when it comes to points it doesn't matter if you are forced to spend more to get more -- the bang for your buck comes out the same.

More important to my mind is exactly what has been raised the most in price.  The best example is the Carnifex -- at a minimum of 160 gone are the old 115 (or less) point beasts.  For some army designs that's huge, especially given how you clearly got a lot more for less with the old codex.  Take my favorite Carny load out -- Twin-linked Devourers and Venom Cannon.  The base cost with that in the last book was 130.  Now it's 200!  Since I usually took two that's the equivalent of losing ~8 genestealers or ~24 termagants.  Not a huge amount, but certainly enough to possibly swing a game.

The end result is that what were once "standard" designs for a particular player are going to need a lot of revision (get used to hearing that).

#2 -- Where are the New Army Designs?  Yes, there are more units to pick from so technically there are more army designs out there, but I'm not talking about subtle distinctions between taking two units of Hive Guard as opposed to two units of Zoanthropes.  Basically, what are the fundamental designs that are available -- and, have the old ones that were already there been improved?

The one undeniable new design is the Drop Spore Tyranid army.  You certainly couldn't do that before.  Likewise, the Mycetic Spores themselves are fairly nifty what with their base cost being a reasonable 40 points and having access to an array of different weapons.  However, this new design isn't quite as nice as it first sounds.

When it comes to most "Deep Strike" armies (most notably Space Marines) you benefit from special assault rules which allow you to bring in your units faster and in unison more than what would otherwise be normal.  Not so with a Tyranid Spore force -- it uses just the plain old reserve rules.  Take a gander at this chart:

There is a gigantic difference early on when it comes to how fast your units will drop in.  It evens out by turn four, but that's not really the point -- the great limitation of any "deep strike" army is that your men will arrive piecemeal, thereby allowing the bad guys to destroy each in turn.  Special "Drop Pod Assault" like rules go a long way to mitigate the danger.  This is not just because you start coming in earlier, but also because you are guaranteed of showing up with a full half your army that first turn.  By comparison, the bug "Spore Pod Assault" is entirely up to chance -- the totals I give here are just averages.  That means that the possible results for Tyranids are going to be more variable toward the negative -- e.g. it can only be worse than the same roles if you played Space Marines.  While this doesn't somehow ruin the "Spore Pod" option it does give you pause as it's hard to be confident that a few bad die roles won't produce disaster.

Another new possibility is a flying force, but the absence of any way to have flying troop choices pretty much sours the design.  Without that the best you can do is a half-and-half force of flyers and runners who aren't going to be able to support each other very well unless the flyers hold back -- and in that case why spend the extra points when legging it to the enemy will do?  Why couldn't GW have come up with a way to take flyers as troops, their cost and fragility balancing their speed?  Is that really so hard to balance out?

Beyond those two you have the same old basic designs -- Nidzilla, horde, genestealer cadre, and shooty bugs.  I would argue that none of them have been clearly improved.

The Nidzilla army still faces the same main issue as before, namely that the army list doesn't really allow for it except by using cheesy ratios of big specials against puny troop choices.  The loss of protection from Instant Death for synapse now makes mid-range units -- those with 4 or 5 toughness -- you might otherwise use to flesh out the force more vulnerable to heavy weapons.  On the flip side being able to take Carnifexes in groups of threes is as much a problem as a benefit considering they must all be clones and all attack/charge the same targets.

Given the popularity of Nidzilla armies why O why didn't GW take this chance to allow them in a more elegant fashion -- say, with a special character that would allow Carnifexes to be taken as troops (while otherwise putting in new factors to preserve balance)?

The horde really hasn't changed much.  'Gaunts are still as much cannon fodder as before and therefore dependent on other, beefier units to get them real punch.  Yes, the Tervigon/termagant force is cool, but the higher cost of warriors and less effectiveness of 'stealers makes your old designs notably less attractive.

Speaking of which, Genestealer armies just don't work anymore.  Without the ability to take 4+ saves 'stealers will now melt in the face of the ubiquitous AP 5 infantry weapon and with wimpier Rending they won't do as much damage when they get into close-combat.  I won't go quite as far as to suggest this design has been "nerfed" but it is close.

As for the Shooty Bugs design...

#3 -- Where are the AP 3 (or Better) Weapons?  There are a grand total of two -- yes, just two -- weapons that are Power Armor killers.  The first is the 12" Carnifex Bio-Plasma (why is the 'Fex shooting with something like that anyway?) and the old standard Warp Blast.  Not even the new Hive Guard with their uber-weapons can beat AP 4.  Since 'Nids haven't been big on the big guns anyway I suppose this is to be expected, yet at the same time this oversight has some serious consequences.

Power Armor is the suit of choice in the 41st millennium.  Thus, the ability to credibly ignore it is fairly important when it comes to army design, if only because it forces your opponent to not take his saving throws for granted.  For example, a bunch of Necrons facing Imperial Guard with plasma guns will hesitate just to run down the middle of the board.  When facing Tyranids, however, that same player can do so with confidence -- and if you trot some Zoanthropes he knows where to concentrate his heavy firepower, especially since they can now be one-shot wonders when facing strength 8+ weapons.

Nothing is a better predictor of survival than a good armor save because when it works nothing mitigates it.  Unlike toughness whose effectiveness is on a sliding curve, 3+ armor will save you 66% of the time whether the strength of the weapon is 2 or 10.  This, for Tyranids that means that 2/3 of your shooting attacks (minus the two exceptions above) are guaranteed to fail when facing power armor.  The only way to overcome this is with mass fire, yet for bugs that means getting within 12" -- and won't you want to be charging into combat at those ranges anyway?  So much for the shooty force.

(Yes, you could always face Imperial Guards or Orks, but are you honestly going to design an army that plays in almost completely different ways depending on whether you are facing power armor?)

#4 -- Why is Everything Changed?  This is more a nitpick for veteran players than a direct criticism of the new book.  If you compare the old bio-morphs to the new ones you find that nearly all may have the same names, but their rules are quite different.  If you've gone to the trouble of modeling all those bugs with just this or that combination of bio-morphs it is quite likely you are going to find yourself wishing you could magically switch them out with something else.  Fortunately, most opponents won't be so crass as to stick you on this, so you can just "fake it" without facing changing all those models, but still it is annoying that often the new morphs are so different from the old ones.

#5 -- Why So Many Elites?  I mentioned this in previous posts -- the army list has way too many elite choices compared to the force as a whole.  Many are quite good and the rest of decent, but I suspect that some will seldom if ever be played just because it will make too much sense to spend those Elite points on the better unit.  At the very least Zoanthropes should have stayed Heavy Support.

I warned you this would be fairly negative in tone, but don't (yet, at least) think that means I am dismissing the new book as a whole.  Let's go through the units one-by-one as see what we can make work.

More to come...

Posted on: 1/25/2010 at 9:41 PM
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Just got my box kit for the amazingly impressive Trgygon/Mawloc.  I wanted to show them to you so you can see what bug parts you get (that can also be used for any number of possible conversions).  Posting them also gives me more time to get my Codex analsys finished.  :-)

It comes with a grand total of two sprues, a large oval base, and construction instructions.  Runs $49.50 here in the US.

(Click for larger versions)

Expect the bugs to keep on coming....

Posted on: 1/18/2010 at 11:59 PM
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The bugs are back!  New book, new models, new rules -- it's time to celebrate the gigantic eating machine that is the Tyranid horde.

Since there is so much to talk about and as I am a Tyranid player I plan on offering an entire series detailing each model and all the rules that come with them.  However, I have to start somewhere so here are my first impressions...

The Good

1)  New Models:  I'm sorry, but brand new toys are always a good thing.  It allows you to add to existing armies, inspire you to perhaps start a new one, and at least catches the imagination.  Even better, while of course they are all in the same classic "bug-ish" theme as always, I think all the new models range in quality from good to great.

2)  Lots of Special Characters:  Not only are the old special bug characters back, but with them come a bunch of new add-ons.  I like this as the unique stuff adds a lot of flavor and allows you to go wild with conversions.

3) Bug Transports:  Your Tyranid force can now ride in style to any battle in mycetic spores.  That's just cool.

The Bad

1)  Units that Make You Go, "Huh?":  Some of the new models/units just don't quite make sense to me.  Not that they might not be effective, but that the rules just don't seem polished.  A good example is the new Pyrovore.  It's a fine model, but is really just a space marine scout with a heavy flamer and power sword for 45 points.  If the potential problem isn't obvious let me describe in this way -- a big gun and light sabre wielded by a 98-pound weakling using a walker.  Okay, maybe not that bad, but it does combine good damage potential with a fragile unit that can't get places quickly.  It's hard to know if it will really work -- and just seems like a lazy way to design a unit, IMHO.

2)  Genestealers are Now Bolter Fodder:  Say goodbye to 4+ armored genestealers (with one unimpressive exception).  That means they will melt in the face of the common infantry weapons.  They do now all come with infiltrate and can all take Broodlords (which are more wimpy, admittedly), but gone is the pure genestealer force.  They are just too fragile to run them down the middle of the board as you must (at least some) with a heavy 'stealer army.

3)  More Units, Less Choice:  You might have more choices between models, but now you less ability to configure them than you did before.  For instance, Zoanthropes only come in one flavor now and the base cost of a Carnifex has been jacked way up although you don't really get anything extra.

4)  Same Units, Same Problems:  I am a bit perplexed in some cases as to why units with well-known issues weren't improved.  Take Hormaguants -- just as fragile and wimpy as before, but now they are even slower.  Yippee.

The Ugly

1)  The Middle Monster Hole:  I know those who fight Tyranids will be glad to see that synapse no longer makes you immune to instant death, but it makes for a serious issue for the bugs themselves.  Basically, it means that all those middle tier monsters -- things like warriors or zoanthropes -- can now be one-shot kills.  That all but guarantees you won't see them as the backbone of any force as otherwise you can effectively destroy the army through some clever cherry picking.

2)  Bug Heads Go Boom:  You now have to roll for all psychic powers to see if they work.  Wonderful -- another reason for me to not depend on warp blast.

3)  What New Army Designs?:  There are more unit choices, but I am not sure there are any new basic designs.  In fact, the designs might even be a bit worse.  Nidzilla armies have to deal with higher point prices, there was nothing really added overall to encourage horde armies, and you can't take specialty forces like an all airborne swarm.  Sure, the new monsters are cool, but do they add anything to the effectiveness of Tyranids as a group?

4)  Bug Inflation:  When in doubt assume that the basic cost of a unit has gone up, sometimes way up.

Overall First Impression:  I hate to say it, but for the first time in a long time I am not sure if a new codex is a good or bad thing.  There is a lot to like, but there is also -- especially for veteran bug generals -- a lot to dislike.

More to come...

Posted on: 1/15/2010 at 11:40 PM
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Back to something more upbeat -- here are pictires of the sprues from the new Fortess of Redemption.

The model looks great.  What is not clear is how easy it will be to combine this set with the bastion to create something new.

Posted on: 12/17/2009 at 3:00 PM
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