40K: Tyranids Tear up 8th Edition
Tyranids swarm onto the scene this week with the latest 40K Faction Focus.
That’s right, it looks like there are a few bugs left in 8th Edition. Where are the roughnecks when you need them? Well…I guess we didn’t wanna live forever anyway. Here’s the latest look at what the Tyranids are going to be like, courtesy of Reece and GW.
First of all, it sounds like with the new large model rules, Tyranids are going to have a lot more units see some play. It won’t just be Flyrants or nothing. Medium-sized ‘nids are due for a comeback, and with Synapse, it looks like you’ll be able to swarm your opponent with an unstoppable tide of chitinous plating and rending claws. Take a look:
via Warhammer Community
The Swarmlord is an absolute beast now, as he should be! With a Toughness value of 6, 12 Wounds, a 3+ save and a 5+ invulnerable save (increased to a 4+ invulnerable save in melee) he is not easily taken down. This can be further enhanced by casting Catalyst on him (and did I mention he’s a potent Psyker, too?) to give him a 5+ save vs Wounds suffered.
But it’s not just defence, oh no, Mr. Swarmlord brings the pain in combat as well. With a base of Strength of 8, 7 Attacks, hitting on a 2+, with an AP value of -3 and D6 damage a pop, the Swarmlord can lay low even Titanic units in a single round of combat. Truly a fearsome adversary.
However, his ability that I have found to be most useful is Hive Commander, which allows a friendly unit to move in the Shooting phase. This is incredibly powerful for the sudden added mobility. For Hormagants, with their blisteringly quick Movement of 8″, this means a potential 16″ move before attempting a charge. Or he could simply use it on himself and move up to 18″
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Oof. This guy is a beating for sure. And you’ll have to knock off six wounds to even start having an effect on him–and even then you’re only knocking off one attack and a single point of strength. Makes me wonder what the other big bugs are going to look like.
Genestealers, who are the iconic Tyranid unit in my eyes, are absolutely lethal. Not only are they incredibly fast with an 8″ Move themselves, they can also charge after advancing. With their shiny new 5+ invulnerable save, they’re also hardy, and I often cast Catalyst on them too, because I am a mean, mean man.
But to really crank the power up to 11 with Genestealers, take them in units of 10 or more to trigger their Flurry of Claws special rule, bumping them up to 4 Attacks each. Combo this with the Broodlord (who is also, utterly deadly in melee) to also give them a +1 to hit in the Fight phase. That means a full unit of 20 has 80 Attacks hitting on a 2+. With their Rending Claws – which bump up to AP -4 on a 6 to wound – very few units in the game can withstand a full strength Genestealer charge!
I mean, after all what’s the point of having a swarm lord if you don’t have things to swarm with. And with Synapse rendering friendly tyranids within range immune to morale, it might be a whole lot easier to overwhelm your opponent with a horrifying hormagaunt wave attack.
But Reece also talks about how much he’s been enjoying playing the medium-sized bugs. Which, frankly I’m glad to see. I know a lot of the “medium” models kind of fell by the wayside–but here’s Reece on Warriors:
A Tyranid Warrior with 3 Wounds and a Toughness value of 4 is so much more durable than he was, that it’s incredible. I’ve been using them as midfield Synapse providers who are both good with close range shooting and in melee
And that’s all just a taste of what Tyranids are going to be like. You can read the whole article over at Warhammer Community–but let me leave you with one last word: Pyrovores.
Read more about Tyranids in 8th Edition
What do you think Tyranids are going to play like in 8th? What changes are you hoping to see, what do you think needs to happen to make them competitive?
