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