Tyranids in 6th: HQ

After a few weeks, I've finally gotten enough reading and playtime to actually start writing up the changes for my first and favorite army, the Tyranids. Eventually I'd like to use this as the basis for a full Tactica, but for now I'll be focusing on the unit changes for 6th edition.

HQ:

Tyranid Prime:

This guy didn't change too much, but he did get some new uses via wound allocation and challenges. The Prime is still a relatively cheap placeholder for the HQ slot, but offers some utility and decent combat stats. The ability to take a bonesword and toxin sacs make him a threat to any character without Eternal Warrior; this is an HQ that should be issuing challenges more often than not. The Prime also gained some utility through its ability to tank wounds via "Look out Sir!"


The Hive Tyrant:

The Tyrant is the big winner this edition in the HQ slot. The introduction of the new psychic powers, particularly Biomancy, give it multiple ways to support other units, weaken your opponent, or buff its own combat potential. The changes to power weapons also mean there are far fewer things that can hurt a Tyrant with Armored Shell once it hits melee. Precisions shots/strikes and the ability to challenge also give it a much better chance to remove models carrying weapons that could actually hurt it.

Its durability also got a significant boost from Tyrant Guard, which can now absorb wounds for it on a 2+.as opposed to the only wound allocation pattern. While not without risk, it's possible to toss AP 2 wounds on the Guard while using the 2+ save to absorb the rest of the incoming fire.

The biggest change is the return of the winged Hive Tyrant as something to be feared. Able to cycle between monstrous Jump Infantry and Swoop moves, one of these monsters can cover most of the battlefield, pick its fights, and absorb a fair amount of firepower between Jink saves and all shots against it being treated as snap fire.


The Swarmlord:

The basic Tyrant's gain was the Swarmlord's loss, although the avatar of the Hive Mind still has some tricks to play. With only a 3+ save, the Swarmlord is vulnerable to a wider array of heavy weapons and more susceptible to massed firepower, although Guard and the extra wound in its profile can mitigate that. The same applies in assault: the 4++ save is less impressive against power weapons, although it still gives much needed protection against AP 2 weapons that the basic Tyrant would be helpless against.

The support it can give the rest of the army has also been altered. With Warp Charge 2 and 4 psychic powers, it has a much better chance of getting a useful power. On the downside, the number of USRs it can choose to dole out has been reduced to Preferred Enemy and Furious Charge.


The Parasite of Mortrex:

Very little has changed here, although the Parasite can at least soak up some small arms fire for the brood it's leading. Even better, it now has a chance to hide from or kill the models armed with weapons that could inflict Instant Death. Neither of these really changes how the Parasite functions in a swarm, but at least makes it harder to kill.

Tyranids in 6th - the 1st List

So, after a few test games, here's what I'm thinking of running at 1500

HQ:

Hive Tyrant with Biomancy, Wings, Scything Talons, TL BL devourers, Hive Commander, Toxin Sacs
-280

Elites:

8 Ymgarl Genestealers -184
8 Ymgarl Genestealers - 184

2 Hive Guard - 100

Troops:

20 Termagants - 100

20 Termagants - 100

Tervigon w/ Dominion, Cluster Spines, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands, Catalyst - 195

Tervigon w/ 3 powers, subbed for Biomancy, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands, Crushing Claws -235

Fast Attack:

20 Gargoyles - 120

Rough idea is to use the Gargoyles to grant cover to the Termagants and Tyrant and as a speed bump. Tyrant and Ymgarl stealers hit targets of opportunity while the rest of the swarm closes in. I've equipped the Tervigons differently in the hopes of actually using the one with claws in assault. It seems like a long shot, but the idea's been floated on a few other blogs, and doesn't seem as crazy as it did last addition with some of the buffs available via Biomancy.

6th Edition, 2 Games In.

Thus far in 6th I'm 1-1, with a match against a mechanized Chaos Marines and foot Guard. Overall I'm liking this rule set. I'm still a long way from figuring this edition out, but here are some first impressions.

In no particular order:

1. Mech spam for mech spam's sake is dead. Vehicles still have a place in any list, but the introduction of Hull Points means they can be more reliably destroyed, while rapid fire and heavy weapons are significantly more useful. Mobile firepower can be had just about anywhere.

2. Winged Monstrous creatures are amazing. Paying 60 points for a Winged Tyrant or Daemon Prince almost looks like a bargain now.

3. Forget about assaulting into cover without some kind of bonus. Rolling 3d6 and dropping the highest makes actually reaching your target a real problem. 

4. Shredding vehicles in assault is once again viable.

Swarm Tyranids rushing an infantry gunline - the only vehicles are the two Basilisks in the center rear. Remember when most players thought of Guard orders as laughable...?

5. Torrent of fire is still perfectly viable, but the changes to rapid fire, cover, and introduction of snap fire mean heavier weapons like lascannons and plasmaguns are just as good given the right target.

6. Snap fire is not going to be trivial. Multiple special weapons can be potentially devastating even when needing 6s to help, while massed fire from most basic guns can ruin a horde's day, particularly if there are only a few models in charge range. Charging large mobs of Shoota Boyz is not going to be fun for anyone.

7. The first time you roll double 1s for charge distance is just as enraging as you'd think it would be.

Modified reserve list closing in on a Chaos Marine armor formation.

8. Disruption and misdirection are going to be key for assault armies. Simply closing in on foot and hoping to weather the incoming fire won't be enough.

9. Biomancy is a Tyranid Psyker's best friend.

10. The removal of No Retreat wounds makes large squads viable again - my Termagants can happily die under the boots of Space Marines all game, rather than in two assault phases.

Confession time.

So, fifth edition is almost over, and I can say this now. I was seriously considering fielding Pyrovores in a competitive Tyranid list.

Project Update

I picked up a Talos kit as a prize from the tournament yesterday; it should provide the last of the parts I need to finish the Subjugator. Here's a quick picture/mock up of how it's supposed to look. At the moment I've got the Hellslicers all set, but need to make some modifications for the Blastmaster - thinking of using the Soul Grinder's Harvester in the organic claw as the base. Both of the Tormenter cannons will probably be built into the Talos body and flank the head. I still need to work up something for the Doom Siren, though.

The plan right now is to mount the Keeper of Secrets head onto the front of the Talos torso, although this is going to take some reinforcement to get it to stick. In the center is a poster tack trial run of the sacrificial victim being restrained and slowly devoured as fuel.

Tournament Report

Just got back from a tournament over at http://www.yourhobbyplace.com/ .  I had a great day of gaming, and got to see the Slaaneshi Daemons really cut loose on the battlefield.

The format was modified Victory Points, with 14 possible from a win on the Primary mission objective and 6 additional points available through secondary objectives.  Victory points  served as a tiebreaker. Point total was 1750, which was a little tight considering only 15 minutes were allocated for setup and then 90 for play.

I brought my Chaos Daemons, with the following:

Great Unclean One w/ Cloud of Flies - 165

Herald of Tzeentch w/Daemonic Gaze, Chariot, Master of Sorcery, Bolt - 100, x2

6 Fiends of Slaanesh w/ Unholy Might -190

6 Bloodcrushers w/ Icon, Fury, Instrument - 280

10 Daemonettes -140, x2

5 Plaguebearers - 75, x2

5 Horrors w/ Bolt - 95

5 Horrors w/ Bolt, Changeling -100

Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt, Instrument - 145

Game 1 was against Tau, with Spearhead deployment and Kill Points as the primary objective.

My first opponent. 3 Broadsides, 2 Hammerheads, large Kroot Squad with Hounds, 2 Devilfish with max sized Fire Warriors, and 2 Crisis Suit teams of 3, each lead my an HQ.

I lost the roll to go first, but my opponent decided to pick his quarter and go first anyway.

Tau initial deployment. Unfortunately for me, the river is difficult terrain, and counts as a level. My opponent later claimed that a unit lining the bank couldn't be assaulted from below due to lack of room. I almost argued the point, but didn't seem worth it that late in the game.

There wasn't too much to this game. No objectives, and mercifully no Pathfinders to buff Tau shooting, so it came down to keeping my own units from being destroyed and bagging easy kill points. I got my preferred assault wave, and deployed it centrally, hoping to pen the Tau  gunline.

Daemon initial drop. There's another Daemonette squad to the left off screen. For the record, the GUO in the center of the river didn't get into assault until Turn 3. 

The plan mostly worked. My opponent also did me a favor in deepstriking his Crisis Teams and leaving the Kroot to outflank. Only one Crisis team came in on Turn 2, while the Kroot ended up in a far corner, and played no role in the game.

Daemon Turn 3. The Bloodcrushers managed to push through and take out a Hammerhead, while the GUO got into the Broadsides. In the right corner you can just barely make out the Fiends and a lone Plaguebearer mauling a Crisis team.

End of Daemon turn 4, and the game. The Bloodcrushers got the 2nd Hammerhead, but rolled snake eyes on the last turn to finish off the Devilfish and the few Firewarriors who weren't incinerated by Horrors.

The game ended with the Daemons up 5 KP to 3 on the primary, and with the secondary of wiping out the most non-troop KP. The Tau got one secondary for table quarter control, while no one could get an HQ close enough to the center to claim it again. 

Game two was against Imperial Guard, with Seize Ground and Dawn of War.

My opponent's list.  3 Chimerae with Multilasers and Heavy bolters, Command squad and two platoons with lascannons, 2 lascannon teams, 3 squads with assorted melta and plasmaguns riding in the Vendettas. He actually did have the models to go with those bases, but didn't attach them during the game. No idea why. Also, that's Pask in a Vanquisher on the left of the tank row.

Going into this one I was a bit concerned. My opponent's Company Command included an Officer of the Fleet, so my reserves would be at -1. Once again my opponent won the roll off, and chose to pick sides and take the first turn.

Daemon first wave after run moves. The large rock outcroppings are impassable, which made getting to the objective hidden in the upper left corner... dicey. One of the Daemonette squads mishapped, and was placed by my opponent just out of sight in the bottom left. That actually turned out to be fortunate.

I decided to take advantage of the forest in the center, and deployed around it as much as possible. Most of his heavy armor was clustered on the other side, and there were two objectives in it. The Vendettas all outflanked, ending up on the left flank.

The bottom of Daemon turn 2. The Daemonettes have reduced the Chimera on the left to a metal box, while the much reduced Bloodrushers got a lascannon team. The Fiends mulched the other on the right with a lucky fleet roll.

On the second turn I pressed forward and started to do some real damage. All the Vendettas came in on the left, allowing me to put some more pressure on the center and right. One reduced squad of Plaguebearers rushed a Veteran squad in the upper left, while the remnants of the Daemonettes who mishapped earlier  finish off a platoon command squad that had disembarked to hit them with a flamer.

The center and right are almost clear...

Turn 3 saw his armor line run out of room. Pask went down to a mob of Daemonettes, who finished off the Chimera in Guard turn 3. The Fiends got the disembarked squad. On the left, combined fire from a Daemon Prince and Horrors brought down a Vendetta. I've done more damage at this stage, but only have 1 objective, and there's a mobile Chimera and squad within 12"...

The final shot. Note the central objective by the Plaguebearers is contested - the Chimera is wrecked, but the squad survived and has already been pulled in cleanup.

Fortunately my run moves and reserves were exactly what I needed. The two surviving Horrors from the first group ran onto one, while the last group managed to deepstrike onto the other. The Fiends and Daemonettes managed to wreck the Chimera that tank shocked me off the objective, but couldn't dislodge the squad.  The Great Unclean One and another Herald moved onto the two remaining objectives, ensuring the Guard couldn't claim them.

Overall the game went pretty well; the center and right went according to plan, with the Guard unable to get out of the advancing wave of Daemons fast enough. I think my opponent made a major error in pursuing the Daemonettes after they mishapped. There was no way they would have been able to participate in the game without him providing targets. Granted they should have been destroyed with two squads and a pair of Vendettas unloading into them, but there was no reason not to just fly right over them and start strafing the center.

Overall I won the Primary 2 objectives to 0, tied for eliminating Heavy Support units, and won the KP secondary objective.

Game 3 saw me paired off with Imperial Guard again, in a Capture and Control/Pitched Battle Scenario. Once again my opponent won the the roll to go first/pick sides, and let me go second.

This list was a bit more intimdating: 3 Manticores, 3 Vendettas ( one carrying a flamer laden PCS), 4 meltavet squads, a Company Command loaded with plasmaguns ( all with tournament standard Multilaser/Heavy Flamer loadouts).

The bottom of Daemon turn 1. I didn't get my preferred wave this time, so instead of the heavy hitters, I got my shooting wave. 

The opening turn went badly. My opponent spread out, making it difficult to pick a landing zone without risking a mishap. To make matters worse, my entire round of shooting resulting in a stunned Manticore and a stunned Chimera.

Daemon turn 2. Note the lack of Chimera and Daemon Prince in the top left. Mr. immortal corrupter of souls got punched out by a Guardsman before he could swing...

Turn 2 went better. The Bloodcrushers arrived in the central wood, while the Daemonettes materialized in the center. One of the Vendettas went down, while several of the Chimerae were detonated by Bolts.
Offscreen, one of the Heralds continue to harass a pair of Manticores. At this point there's a flamer squad hiding on my objective, while his is clear but with a pair of Veteran squads easily in range to hold it next turn.

The final shot. The Fiends are positioned in the center to stop a Vendetta rush that never came.

And that set the tenor for most of the game. Most of his heavy firepower was concentrated in the Vendettas and Manticores, and they just couldn't do enough damage with all the invulnerable saves. In the last two turns the Daemon Prince and Daemonettes managed to stop the two Chimerae making for my objective, while the Bloodcrushers cleared off the flamer squad camping on it. Run moves got a Horror and full unit of Plaguebearers well within capture range.

My opponent got a pair of Veteran squads onto his objective on his last turn, but the GUO managed to yank one out of range with assault, while the other Plaguebearer squad ran into contest range.

Overall I took the primary, tied on fast attack elimination, and won on the killpoint and HQ elimination secondaries.

In the end I took second place out of twelve players. First was taken by a Grey Knights player who just about tabled every one of his opponents; I didn't come close to his victory point total.

1st Place Grey Knights. 3 of those Dreads were venerable.

Another Guard army - didn't get to see this one in action.

Mechanized Eldar.

Crash marker rigged up by my last opponent. It's not painted - that's grey and white cotton around a battery tea light. Loses something in the picture, but looked great on the tabletop.

I'm pretty happy with how the day turned out. My opponents were just about ideal - no Ork swarms, Grey Knights, or poison spamming Dark Eldar. I also had a great deal of luck - I made the saves I needed to make, and made more precise deepstrikes than I had any right to.

In turns of unit performance, the list did well. I almost took a Daemon Prince of Khorne with Blessing of the Blood God in place of the Horrors for tanking Grey Knights; the Horrors were definitely the right choice, as the extra Bolts and scoring units were key in the 2nd and 3rd games. The Fiends performed well as always, and while the Bloodcrushers didn't have any heavy assault units to fight, they performed their secondary role of fire magnet perfectly. Even the Daemonettes did well, mopping up multiple squads and claiming several armor kills via rending. The GUO didn't perform quite as well, simply because my opponents had the good sense not to shoot it, but still managed to carry out area denial and wreck what was in front of it.

In terms of gameplay, there was some room for improvement. Game 1 was a bit frustrating due to the way the canal running across the board center. In retrospect I probably should have concentrated on one flank rather than spreading out the way I did. It worked out in the end, but only due to some good luck.

Game 2 was almost a draw because I got too  aggressive and took the Daemonettes off an objective in favor of putting more pressure on the center. It worked in the end, but could have cost me the win.

Overall a great day for me and the Daemons.

Surprise Apocalypse

I went out yesterday looking for a pick up game at http://www.yourhobbyplace.com/, and walked in just in time to deploy with Team Evil for an Apocalypse Game! The store was running a custom scenario with a strike force of Imperial Fists, Black Templar, and Grey Knights trying to reach an area surrounded by Tyranids, Traitor Guard, Necrons, and Daemons. Team Evil was substantially outnumbered, but was allowed to recycle a portion of its fallen units every turn...

With the deployment clock ticking, I put half my Daemons on the tabletop per the scenario's rules. The Seekers and Great Unclean One took up position in the Center with the Necrons, while the Bloodcrushers and Fiends took the left flank with the Tyranids.

Above is the left flank where my Daemons spent most of their time fighting. The Imperial Fists alone brought 6 Land Raiders to the party. I spent most of my time fighting in the ruins on the top left, which housed 2 Dreadnoughts, a Command Squad, and full Assault and Devastator squads.

The Imperial Right flank. The Dreadknights were delayed by infiltrating Genestealers and Flayed Ones, but there are alot of Grey Knight Terminators and Templar Assault squads in there. Not pictured are the 3 Storm Ravens held in reserve for a late game objective grab. 

The center of the Imperial Fists formation. The sheer size of the armored column worked against Team Good, effectively bottlenecking them. Then again, Land Raiders aren't just transports...

Team Evil won the roll to go first. The Fiends got a decent fleet roll and went straight for the Assault Squad waiting to move out. Half the squad went down before they got a chance to swing, but the remaining 5 hung on and starting slowly grinding down the pack.

Panning out on Turn 1, the Scarabs assault one of the lead Land Raiders and wreck it, while Traitor Guard wreck another. Hormagaunts charge one of the Terminator squads, kill a few, and break. The Hive Tyrant and Bloodcrushers close in behind the Fiends.

The Bloodcrushers, thinned considerably by Imperial Fist fire, about to finish off the Assault Squad. The Dreads declined to save them, instead firing into the advancing Hive Tyrant last turn in a futile attempt to bring it down.

A broader view of Evil Turn 2. In the top right, a C'tan, the Great Unclean One, and the Seekers prepare to pile into the demeched Terminators. Daemon reinforcements piled in around the Icon. 

Good turn 2. On the right, the Black Templar and Imperial Fists roll out, tank shocking through the remnants of the first wave. In my little corner, the Vindicator pivots to start shelling the clustered Daemons, while the Command Squad and Razorback pivot and disembark to stop any potential assaults . In the background, a Scythed Hierodule begins its rampage through the Imperial Fists' rear.

On the last turn. The Imperium ended up short of the objective, with most of their armor wrecked midfield and their occupants bogged down in assault. In the center the Great Unclean One and a C'tan square off against Assault Terminators and the remnants of a Black Templar Assault Squad.

In retrospect the scenario could have used some tweaking. It was definitely winnable for the Imperium, but the time limit (4 hours) made it extremely unlikely. The objectives also forced them to move directly towards our guns and assault range.

Nevertheless, it was alot of fun and allowed me to meet some new gamers. Looking forward to dropping in next weekend.