Tyranid Review: Fast Attack Tactica

Here is the fifth installment of my Tyranid Review/Tactica article series. I cover the section that hosts some of my favourite Tyranid units; the Fast Attack. This is as much to sort my own thoughts on the new book as to review, so if you have any further comments or differing opinions, feel free to add them in the comments.

Tyranid Shrike Brood

The late Parasite of Mortrex, a unique Shrike-esque mutant

Winged Warriors, Shrikes trade a point of armour for some mobility and speed. If you want to run close combat Warriors these are probably the best choice. They come with the same options as Tyranid Warriors, but have the speed to make use of the melee upgrades. Going all out with Rending Claws with Bonesword & Lashwhip prepares you for every eventuality, but makes the models very expensive. As a result I would suggest going for just the Bonesword & Lashwhip with Scything Talons. You won’t be able to touch Terminators but you can hopefully use your speed to pick your fights carefully. As with regular Warriors, a few minimally upgraded Shrikes to serve as ablative wounds will help make the first casualties less of an issue. Adrenal Glands, Flesh Hooks, and Toxin Sacs are also available as upgrades. While relatively cheap, the costs add up. If I were to take Shrikes I reckon I’d use Toxin Sacs and Flesh Hooks. Flesh Hooks give the benefit of Assault Grenades (while providing a ranged attack which is nice), and Toxin Sacs allow you to damage anything and provide rerolls against T4 units. Adrenal Glands are great, but some of the benefit is already covered by the Jump Infantry type and Toxin Sacs is better than the extra Strength. I’d run them 5-6 strong with two to three minimally equipped to take wounds. Note that while a Tyranid Prime can give his WS to a unit of Shrikes, he cannot upgrade to Jump Infantry so that would be a terrible combination.

Honestly, I think they are alright. They aren’t amazing, but they aren’t terrible. They provide your army with mobile synapse and are a significant threat to many units commonly fielded. However they share many of the weaknesses possessed by Tyranid Warriors and have some of their own; only having a 5+ Save and not being a Troops choice. With the importance of Synapse in the new Codex there are worse choices you could take.

Ravener Brood

An extremely bottom heavy Ravener of Hive Fleet Kraken

A less psychically evolved Warrior strain, Raveners lose Synapse, some Leadership, most options, and a point of Armour, but gain a point of Initiative, Beasts type, and Deep Strike. You will definitely want to upgrade a pair of Scything Talons to Rending Claws as they make you more effective at killing light infantry as well as granting Rending. For whatever reason they still do not have access to Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands (while Hive Guard gained the option). One advantage Raveners have over Shrikes is the ability to take proper ranged weaponry with their two pairs of close combat weapons. These allow you to do something besides Run on the turn you Deep Strike, but I would usually deploy these on the board anyway as they can reliably achieve Turn 2 charges. Same weakness to Instant Death that Shrikes and Warriors suffer from.

I’d view these as inferior Shrikes in most situations. They have some advantages, but overall, the Shrikes come out on top due to their options and synapse..    

The Red Terror

A special upgrade character to a unit of Raveners, the Red Terror is a beefed up Ravener with the Swallow Whole rule. If at least 4 of his 5 attacks (6 on the charge) hit then he can remove an infantry sized model from play. They can make a single Invulnerable Save to try and prevent this but that’s it. If Scything Talons still provided rerolls to hit, that would be pretty sweet, but as it is, it’s little more than a gimmick that won’t come up much. He does give the unit Leadership 8 so adds some protection from Instinctive Behaviour tests.

Unless you really like the model, don’t bother with this guy.

Sky-Slasher Swarm Brood

My opinions on these are the exact same as my opinions on Rippers. They’re slightly faster, but more expensive. Give these a pass. If you want a tarpit unit then Gargoyles are far superior.

Gargoyle Brood

Hive Fleet Kraken Gargoyles terrorise members of the Steel Legion

Jump Infantry Termagants. For 2 points they gain mobility, Blinding Venom, and they Hunt rather than Lurk so are more aggressive. They lost some offensive power with the change to Blind Venom and their biomorph costs, but gained through the addition of Blind to their Blinding Venom. They were great last Codex though, so it is understandable and it also fits their fluff better. Even on the charge it is usually worth using Blind Venom on a few models to force Blind Tests. I’m not sure that I would bother with their biomorphs. Using one (Toxin Sacs most likely) might be fine, but I definitely wouldn’t pick up both.

Still a great unit. Their main issue is that they do not score, but they function fine as a harassment/tarpit unit.   

Harpy

A Hive Fleet Behemoth Harpy readying his Stranglethorn Cannons

Our bomber equivalent, the Harpy can put out a lot of anti-infantry firepower for a reasonable cost; with a Stranglethorn Cannon/Heavy Venom Cannon, Spore Cysts, Stinger Salvo/Cluster Spines, and Vector Strike to choose from. Main issues are that it’s extremely fragile and its role is filled by the majority of the units in the Codex. It has Leadership 10 and Fearless so will reliably pass any Instinctive Behaviour Tests it needs to roll, allowing it to operate outside synapse range if required. It also has the Sonic Screech rule which reduces enemy units Initiative by 5. This could be used to support your other units if you combo charge. Spore Cysts allow it to drop a large blast over an enemy it passes over. If it misses it can create multiple spore mines which are much improved. None of the biomorphs are worth taking here, but Cluster Spines has potential.

If I were using a Harpy, I’d upgrade to the Heavy Venom Cannon. This allows the Harpy to be a cheap versatile flyer that can affect most units. Vector Strike and Spore Cysts (potentially Cluster Spines too) provide some good anti-infantry, while Smash and the Heavy Venom Cannon give it respectable anti-vehicular capabilities. Sonic Screech also allows it to support any combats if that is favourable too. It makes it an unfocussed unit (traditionally bad), but when focussed its role is the same as the rest of the armies so I’m trying to give it a unique role.

Overall, it’s a mediocre choice. It does its job effectively, but its job is the same as most of the rest of the Codex. It can be upgraded to provide an anti-vehicle shot, but this dilutes its role. Defensively it is also extremely weak and won’t survive much attention. Jink combined with a Venomthrope offers some protection, but it won’t be able to use any of its Blasts in the following turn. If you like the Harpy make sure you take multiple, or at least Hive Tyrants.

Hive Crone

A Hive Crone soars high above the battlefield

Where the Harpy is designed for mulching infantry, the Hive Crone specialises in dealing with vehicles; particularly Flyers. Like the Harpy, there is some overlap, as the Crone comes with a Drool Cannon which is a S6 AP4 Flamer without Torrent (it’s no Heldrake). It has the same statline as the Harpy, so is similarly fragile and resistant to Instinctive Behaviour. What makes it great against vehicles is that it comes with 4 one-use only Haywire shots that reroll to hit against Flyers and Flying Monstrous Creatures. Its Vector Strike is also resolved at an impressive S8. It can take Stinger Salvo/Cluster Spines and/or biomorphs, but none are really worth taking.

The Hive Crone fills the anti-air niche that Tyranids are lacking in. It’s likely our best Fast Attack choice and I can definitely see me using multiple in any serious lists. It’s fragility means that you’ll need to take multiple in order for them to survive. Handily they’re fairly cheap and Hive Tyrants with Wings add some target saturation.

Spore Mine Cluster

A spore mine drifts alongside a Carnifex

Spore Mines are much improved. Extremely cheap and even controllable now, you could use these to fill up any spare points if you have the Fast Attack slots available. Instead of attacking in combat they explode at a Strength determined by the number of mines in the unit. I probably would never use them unless I have spare points, but them improving makes the Harpy Spore Cyst, and Biovores better too. I would look into these units if I wanted to take advantage of the new spore mines.

Summary

Home to some of my favourite units, I’m happy to say that the Fast Attack section has a reasonable selection of usable units. The Hive Crone and Gargoyles are the two that stand out, but the only useless options are Sky-slasher Swarms and maybe Raveners.

That is it for the Fast Attack choices. Took slightly longer than I expected. As always, your feedback and opinions are welcome, so feel free to leave a comment.