Tervigon WIP

As part of my speed building last week for the Apocalypse game I wanted to get a Tervigon in the army. I had three unbuilt fex kits so I got to work. My goal was mainly just to get the basic body assembled and do the greenstuff and arms later.

My conversion is really simple. I essentially just extended the mid section of the fex kit with spure pieces. I then started to fill in the space with random curvy bits just to that there is less greenstuff required.

I used some of the hive node terrain bits from the stealer set to get the places where the termigants will appear.


Once I do the greenstuff I will add another armor plate to the back just facing the other direction to cover the unfinished spine part.

Warrior to Hive Guard Conversion

So Hive Guard are one of the winners in the new tyranid codex with their S8 Assault 2 weapon that does not need line of sight. This is your anti light mech unit with essential short range autocannons that have 1 higher strenght. People might want to compare them with missile launchers but those have higher AP and dual fire modes so it is better to think of them as Tank hunting autocannons.

GW has some neat metal models for them but I am in a no buying zone until I get a majority of my previous purchases assembled (no claim on painted though). I did have 6 unbuilt warriors and 3 venom cannons and 3 sets to rending claws lying about so I want to see what I could do with them instead.

Here is unit member 1 in the hunched over firing position so he can brace with his arms as per the fluff in the codex. Only way to get the claws close to the ground is to really lean him forward.



Pretty Straight forward just bent him over forward and clipped the opposible thumb off the venom cannon feed hand since it was in the way. I used the now useless fleshhooks at the tip of the impaler cannon to get the spikey bits.


I also added a few extra armor plates on tha back since they are supposed to be tougher than warriors. The other 2 members of the unit are waiting on their spikey bits and armor plates to be attached. They are more upright so that no one claims I intentionally modeled the unit to be short to hide behind cover.

Tyranid Speed Building

So I have my self signed up for an multiplayer Apoc game on Sunday. My first 40K game in a long time. I normally take my marines to these type of things since I have 9,000 points worth now so I can make our standard Apoc 3K list totally customized. Usually our battles are sort of mismatch to get the players and points to match. This time their were 2 nid players for the 6-7 player game so 1 more would make a single totally nid side. This ofcourse gives the game a better story so I said I would be the missing nid player.

Now I have a nid army but it only has about 1K of points built but there is a scratch built biotitan at 1250 points available so I just need to make up the ~750 point gap. Pretty large gap for a few days. So I am going to try and see where I get. Built up about 180 points last night but need to get in gear to make the goal. I am probably going to have to use some partially finished stuff where the arms are held on by putty since I need to magnetize them and there certainly will not be time.

I will get a picture of my rag tag force once it is ready to go.

Tyrannofex: Close only Counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.

So I am looking at the rules for one of the new super bugs trying to see what he is good for. He is a W6 Av2+ monstrous creature who with regenerate and choice of main weapon runs in at almost 300 points. Pretty hefty chuck of a 1500 point army. While they have some secondary armament that are like hull heavy bolters/flamers, these guys are all about their big guns. But this is really where they are lacking.

The basic choice is the Acid Spray which is essential the same in game terms to a hellhound's inferno cannon. The problem here is that the hellhound is a fast vehicle which means it can move 18 inches in a turn(twice the pace of a running tyrannofex) or move 12 and still fire the inferno cannon out to 12 more inches. So the tyrannofex is probably going to have a much harder time bringing this weapon to bear optimally than the hellhound. While you can use the Tervigon's Onslaught power to get it into range better this is another 160+ points invested and prevents that monstrous creature from shooting, running, or assaulting that turn. Sure the tyrannofex will be more survivable but you can probably get a squadron of 2 hellhounds for the cost of 1 tyrannofex. Here you are probably better off drop poding a unit of Pyrovores at lower cost.

Next Up is the Fleshboarer Hive with its 20 shots. This is the Leman Russ Punisher version except with S4 AP5 instead of S5 Ap -. The lower strength is fine if you are shooting at Av5+ troops but against Av4 or people with cover saves the punisher wins. The punisher also gets the advantage with twice the range meaning it can do its damage outside of meltagun, rapid fire plasma range, or non fleet assault range(powerfist in tac squad will keep this guy locked all game) . In the nid list, I think the newly out of favor dakkafex is better than this equipment since 12 Twinlinked Str 6 shots are probably similar in effectiveness.

Final Big gun choice is the Rupture Cannon. The name makes it sound like it will be deadly. S10 Assault 2 now that could put the hurt on something. Oh wait AP 4. So this is totally useless against MEQ infantry unlike any other S9-10 weapon in the game where if no good armor shows it self you can at least force a couple of marines to make coversaves if they have them. Since you are BS 3 your 2 shots get you 1 hit which has a good chance of penetrating most armor but then again you will be shooting at the front most likely so 13-14 is that standard armor you will be seeing that makes a worthwhile target. (Rhino's, Waveserpeants, and Chimera's are for Hive Guard putting out 6 times your shots on a per point basis). 1 Hit per turn, less than 50% penetration rate then 33% kill rate means you can expect to kill 1 tank a game with this guy. Maybe you will be lucky and get that landraider before it drops those thunderhammer terminators on you because they will own your monstrous butt in combat with 10 wounds to your less than 0.5.

Now you cannot compare this gun to the ordnance blast weapons of demolisher since they both anti-tank and anti-MEQ. The best comparison is with the Tau Railgun on a broadside. Both have solid stand off ranges, can be fired on the move(assuming upgrade to broadside suit never seen one without it), have 10 Strength, Twinlinked Heavy 1~Assault 2(not as good but close), but AP1 vs AP4 for that important +1 on the damage table. That +1 increase vehicle destroyed results by more than 50% (more vs those pesky holofield grav tanks). Plus while I do not know the cost of a Broadside I bet you can get at least 2 (canceling the shot advantage) plus some shield drones to increase survivability for 300 points. And you can hide in low level cover.

So the morale of the story appears to be that the nids big gun is really not big enough. Maybe you will find just the right situation for this guy once in a blue moon but most of the time you will probably wish you had something else like a 3 Hive Guard and 2 Zoans for about the same price for anti tank duty.

Termagants

Everyone facing the new Tyranids will probably be seeing more Termagants. Not because they are good or really cheap but since they allow you to take a Tervigon as a troop who in turn spawns more Termagants.

Now the basic Termagant with fleshborer is a point cheaper but he has lost fleet and the living ammunition rule while gaining a point of leadership. The living ammunition rule itself made him a 50% better shooter so the lose was probably not worth the point. He is pretty much now a guardsman with a bolt pistol and +1 initiative but worse save.

They have a couple of options for load out with complete changes to spinefists, spike rifles, or devourers.

Spinefist exchange a point of S for twinlinking. This is a wash vs T4 targets, and a 12% increase in wounds vs T3 but since the unit costs 20% more each now and they have no hope vs even the lightest vehicles it is a bad upgrade. The only time it is worth the points is against T6 opponents where the spines are 25% better(due to the repeat 6+ to wound on the tables). So spinefists are the way to go verses nidzilla. In general though, they should be costed the same as fleshborers such that you are tuning the unit for low or high toughness targets. If you see spinfists on the board it is because the opponent already had them modeled and did not want to change them.

Spike Rifles trade 1 point of strength for 6 inches more range. Also increase model cost by 20%. This is much more of a tactical based decision but against T4 that point of strength reduces your shooting quality by 33%. Might be worthwhile trade since 6 extra inches range could mean a whole extra turn of shooting. But even if you double your shooting for the whole game(not easy) you are essentially just get 33% more wounds compared to the same number of fleshborers factor in the model but you have 20% fewer shooters. Factoring that in I think this is another bad upgrade. Should be even cost.

Devourers give you both 6 more inches of range plus 2 additional shots at the loss of the AP value. This upgrade double the model cost so that significant increase in firepower is essentially mostly canceled by having half the models. So on a fixed cost basis you will be generating 50% more wounds but also have half the wounds to give for a unit with a very bad save. The 18 inch range helps with Lurking and if you could put the unit in cover that was not going to be flamed or assaulted it might work out. I think this upgrade would have been better costed about 3 points per model.

Now for every 10 termagants you can get a strangleweb. It is an interesting concept: Wound vs Strength instead of toughness with a assault 1 pinning template. Problem is obvious though in that is S2 weapon meaning 5's to wound the weakest normal opponents and 6's for standard opponents. It is also Ap - which means everyone gets their armor saves. I have a hard time expecting this to generate any unsaved wounds to force the pinning check. You need 18 marines under the template to expect a unsaved wound. Only need about 4 orks but they generally are not worried about pinning when the are together enough to get great template coverage. Had this weapon had a Strength of at least 3 it might have been worth while but I think to cover its listed cost of 2 termagants it probably would need to be S4.

There are also 2 biomorph options: Adrenal Glands which grant furious charge and Toxin Sacs which give a Poison 4+ to the close combat attacks. Each of these increase the cost of the termagants by 20%. Adrenal Glands might be worth it if you plan on charging with your termagants but since they are now not fleet you have to have them within rapid fire range the turn before to do it. Poison is good since your S3 unit now wounds every thing on a 4. Again strangley good for monstrous creature hunting. Are we getting the results of 2 hive fleets fighting it out right now. If you combine them both on the charge your Strength is 4 so you can reroll those failed to wounds on T4 or lower targets not to bad.

With both upgrades you can essentially go toe to toe with choppa Ork Boyz (Termagants generating .75 wounds each vs 1 wound each for boys) if you charge and they are not in cover since if they strike first they will clean your clock. These upgrades are not bad but the low weapon skill, toughness, and save mean the termagants will take heavy damage back. If they do not really hit the opponent hard and first you will lose the combat and then either be swept or no retreated to death.

Last Point to consider is the instinctive behavior: Lurk. So out of synapse you need to pass a leadership 6 test of go to Lurk mode. So you can pretty much assume you will be lurking a lot. Least you still count as scoring. Now Lurk requires you to shot at the nearest target if one is visible and in range or run to cover. No movement or assault. This is a place where the 18 inch range of the devourers/spikerifles might be useful since it might help you not run toward the nearest cover. I guess the thing to do is to make sure you put any objectives you plan on camping with Termagants in cover.

New Tyranid Codex: Where did it all go wrong?

So I finally managed to pick up my order of the new tyranid codex and while there are a lot of neat things in their especially in the unique characters I really have to say I do not like most of it. Seems like every change they made which made the units make more sense or better was counteracted by something else which just did the opposite leaving player with less choices. Here is my rundown of things I am not liking:

1. Synapse and Instinctive Behavior: Losing the immunity to instant death from double strength weapons is annoying for many of units (14 out of 34) but at least it forces opponents to try to balance very high strength(8-10) for multiwounds with high shots vs MC and swarms. Failing back toward board edge now vs toward synapse before is also fine. No big deal.

The two classes of Instinctive behavior is also a good concept if the leadership for so many units were not so low. Sure gaunts should be 6 but that seems to be the default level for many things meaning that when your synapse breaks down 58% of the time you no longer have meaningful control of the units. Several of the feed units are not really ones you want in combat or could have shooting weapons they will not be using. Some of the lurk units look like it is fine like Biovores or Hiveguard but then you note that the rule says visible targets so even though your weapons do not need line of sight you have to go running for terrain instead of shooting if you have tried to hide them behind solid cover. Especial annoying in the fast attack where your garagoyles will be at best not advancing and shooting their assault 1 S4 guns or running for cover. At least they are only running for cover so that you do not have to take dangerous terrain tests when you get there(you are not force to fly, it is an option). Sure you only move d6 but it will almost never be the direction you want if you have solid opponents.

2. Lichtor: Here is an unloved model from the last codex, too expensive and fragile especially once kill zones where removed. Maybe you could jump out and pop light armor, you got the pheromone bonus, and if he hung around other guys they could use his feeder tentacles, but lets not mention that stupid dangerous terrain issue for your required deepstrike deployment. Now he is a little tougher with the extra wound but his stealth save is worse with only a plus one (no longer 5+ cover and armor in the open), his pheromones require him to be on the board but he does act as a beacon, but the real kicker is that he cannot assault anymore the turn he arrives eventhough he is no longer deepstriking but placed. He can attack with his 6 inch range attack but it has about a 1 in 6 chance of doing anything with the rend after you account for the BS 3. Maybe you can damage a vehicle but since it is a Ap - weapon it is not likely to destroy it. He is an old marine cheaper but still not a great buy.

These are major changes for a unit that needed just a tweak. Take the old unit fix the deepstrike dangerous terrain problem clearly and add a 1 new special rule: Lightening Assault, Lichtor assaults are so fast that opponents do not get defender reacts move and only models engaged can be taken as casualties. This would make the lichtor slightly able to snipe hidden fists and such if they were exposed at the edge of unit near terrain. Would have made a nice unit maybe worth all 80 points without the feeder tendril buff and maybe no running after deepstriking.

3. Hive Tyrants. I will admit that Tyrants were probably undercosted in the last codex with very little competition for the HQ slots. The problem now is that it is hard to make a good shooty tyrant without wasting abilities that you are being forced to pay for like WS8 and 4 Attacks. You cannot take 2 of the heavy weapons to make a sniper tyrant plus the range on these is wasted since you have paid for 2 of 4 psychic powers all of which are 12 inch or less shooting attacks. You have to be in the thick of it. The dakka tryant has paid for the psychic powers that are probably of less use than his devourers. If you want to go close combat like they are pushing you, the classic problem of getting the slow monster into battle is left. No pod for the Tyrant so wings it has to be and now you are really really expensive without any additional upgrades.

4. Fexes. Fexes were also undercosted before also with limited competition for FOC spaces. But can anyone honestly say they think the pricing was off by like 65% especially since the general pricing for many things has gone down between the two books. So which book was play tested so poorly that the pricing for the fex gets an E grade. One of them must have been for a 65% point change to be required.

Now if you want a shooty fex you are at about the same cost for the trygon but the Instinctive behavior:feed gets in the way of shooting 41% of the time out of synapse. Throw in a pod to get up close and personal for short range dakka fexes and you are at the same cost as a Trygon prime who has just as many shots and is better at CC with higher weapon skill and more attacks plus more wounds. Sure he does not instant death things due to the lower strength but he has a lot going for him. A close combat fex with no upgrades and a pod to get there is again the cost of a trygon with fewer attacks, lower weapon skill, no shooty weapons, not fleet, and fewer wounds. Where do fexes fit in? Only thing going for them seems to be instant death in CC plus crunch AV 14 all side armor without needing the 2d6 penetration (Monolith). Throw in Jaws of the Wolf on the I1 model and what is the point.

5. Rules Questions. Lets not forget the stupid rules issues like if the Mawloc deepstriking directly on units with scattering since they are normally classified as impassible terrain(positions models cannot be placed) or whether the tryanid close combat weapons bonus stack or you have to pick 1 to use each turn if you have several. Sure you have a lash whip and bonesword as standard so what will it be negating opponents armor saves or reducing some of their initiatives to 1.

I am sure I will have more rants to follow. As a note I do not have a nidzilla army already just 1 tyrant and the 3 fexes from the assault brood box all waiting for me to decide what to do with them.

Splinter Fleet To Be Named Later

So I have had a small force of nids for a few years that I started collecting as my own opposition force but given how rarely I get games in I never really used since I still had some many possibilities with my marine collection. Once I heard there was a new codex in the pipe line, I had even more incentive to sit on them to see what was in store.

The assembled unpainted force currently stands at made up of metal blisters, Battle of Mac, and one 3ed battleforce:
Broodlord with Retinue of 6 Stealers
3 Warriors with deathspitters and talons
2 Tyrant Guard
2 Lichtors
12 Stealers
14 Termigants
12 Spineguants
16 Homogaunts
1 Zoan

As you can see this is not a nidzilla force but it is also probably not competitive in any metagame out there. First thing about this model selection is that I do not know if I can really even make a valid list. I used to have an HQ option with the broodlord or warriors but now neither of those are HQ. I can call the Warriors primes to fill this void but that takes away a whole unit.

To go with these models, I have unassembled 1 Hive Tyrant, 2 more Zoans, 1 more Tyrant Guard, 3 fexes, 16 homogaunts, 16 termigants, 16 Stealers, and 6 warriors(18 Month old assault brood box). Given that I have this much unassembled stuff there is no justification for a budget for new units for quite sometime(maybe in the summer I can swing a Trygon plus another new unit). So I am quite unhappy to hear that both the Tyrants and Fexes got their points jacked up so much that people think the new Trygon is the way to go on the monstrous creature side. I am currently sans codex which I expect to get this weekend so I will have to wait and see.

Once I get the codex I will sit down to see what my build options are and compare what I see to my prerumor predictions/rant for the codex.

New Tyranid Codex

So the scuttlebutt is that a new Tyranid codex is on the horizon. Now you might not know this from the blog, but Nids are my second army in theory. I say in theory since my nids have never taken the field. I have been trying to build up a nid army for about 3 years after getting a classic battleforce box(twice the gaunts, no fex, more old stealers). These are all assembled and going with my other small purchases make about a 1K force. I also have a ton of unassembled stuff which would get me to 2-2.5K with a Tyrant, couple of Zoans, and the Assault Brood Box(2 Current battleforces plus an extra fex). I just do not get to play enough to really need a second army. I will get to the stuff but probably not before a new codex with all the painting and modeling left on my marines and blood bowl teams.

My real question with this new codex and all new codexes is how much input the marketing people get to add to the game design. It seems like the new models always seem to have awesome rules while some of the old standbys are weakened. This requires list adjustments and thus new purchases. I am not saying that marketing data should not be used for aiding design. If your goal is to make all the unit choices just as desirable then looking at what units sell poorly might give you an idea of where to look for the first improvements. I am guessing that this data would point to Biovores and gargoyles. They redid the Biovore model a couple of years ago to make it somewhat better looking but I still think it is a poor seller compared to fexes in the heavy support class.

If the marketing suits were really starting to meddle, you could expect that Fexes would not be an elite choice anymore. Since the most common list in 4th edition was nidzilla, removing this as a legal list would drive new sales of other elite choices. Will they do such a thing, I do not know. It would of course anger many existing players, but we know that gw is more interesting in new players than old players so they might not mind. They could always claim that nidzilla was not fluffy enough since people essential eliminated the swarms of small nids that exist even during the highest stage of nid invasions.

Ofcourse, many armies have been getting cheaper. Are gaunts going to get cheaper? Probably more gaunts means more models purchased, more primer, more paint, etc. Do Nids need an update, sure, will it cost you money. Definately.