Now
its time to bring it altogether. I've reviewed each section of the
FOC, giving my thoughts on each unit and rating how useful they would
be. As you'd expect, what units I feel are best in each section aren't
always going to be the auto-includes in the lists we build. An example
is Hive Guard. I felt Hive Guard were our best unit in the Elites slot,
but I found myself taking them rarely in the lists I concocted. This is
not because they were a terrible unit, but because they didn't synergise
well with the lists. Zoanthropes were needed to provide extra Synapse
and Venomthropes were needed to protect the rest of the army, which
often left no more Elite slots open.
 |
| The Tau forces battle Hive Fleet Gorgon |
While writing lists I found that Synapse was a consistent
problem.
With Hive
Tyrants and Zoanthropes being the only reasonably costed Synapse
Creatures, I found that you
really needed to just suck it up and field some of the less cost
effective
options. As a result, I feel that I may have undersold the other Synapse
units.
Tervigons and Warriors are particularly useful as they are able to
capture
objectives. I found that I was taking a Hive Tyrant, Tervigon, 30
Termagants,
and at least one Zoanthrope Brood in literally every list, which I have
started
using as a core to the army before adding other units. Similarly, I feel
I
undervalued Genestealers, Lictors, Harpies, and Hive Crones as they are
not as dependent on synapse as the rest of the army. Hive Crones are
invaluable for dealing with Flyers. Outside of Fortifications, we don' t
have many other options, so two of them almost always found their way
into the lists. However, if you want to use Fortifications then a Firestorm Redoubt placed slightly ahead of your deployment should be quite effective. Putting a brood of Zoanthropes inside will help protect them, while extending the Synapse bubble a few extra inches. The attached guns also don't need to be fired manually, which will allow us to use them even if we go back to our 5th edition FAQ limitations.
Before
getting into the lists, I'd like to point out that these were built
largely with my meta in mind. There are a wide range of armies played in
my group, with various playstyles. There will obviously be more optimal
builds against specific opponents and I can't just assume that every
opponent is a Taudar player, etc. I've tried to make the lists as
balanced as possible, so they should work well as a base which can then
be altered to fit. On the other hand, I have not had as much experience
with playtesting any of these lists as I would have liked so
constructive criticism is more than welcome.
Here's the first list:
 | ||
| Hive Fleet Leviathan descends on Octarius |
HQ
Hive
Tyrant
230pts
Devourers
with Brainleech Worms, Devourers with Brainleech Worms, Wings
Troops
Tervigon 195pts
30
Termagants 160pts
20 Fleshborers, 10 Devourers
14
Termagants 56pts
14
Termagants 56pts
Elites
2
Zoanthropes 100pts
2
Zoanthropes 100pts
Venomthrope 45pts
Fast
Attack
Hive
Crone 155pts
Hive
Crone 155pts
Harpy 140pts
Twin-linked Heavy
Venom Cannon
Heavy
Support
Tyrannofex 205pts
Rupture Cannon
Exocrine 170pts
2 Biovores 80pts
TOTAL 1847pts
This list
feels light on Synapse with only four units providing it. These are reasonably
resilient units however, and the Fast Attack choices are Leadership 10 so it
shouldn’t be too bad. The Tervigon should hang back a bit with the Exocrine and Biovores, providing Synapse to these units and any Gaunts nearby, while the rest of the army pushes up.
If you get first turn, its safe enough to start the Flying Monstrous Creatures on the board, but if you're going second it is best to reserve them as they must start the board Gliding. Positioning them near the Venomthrope on the turn they come in greatly increases their survivability combined with Jink. Two Hive Crones and a Dakka Flyrant provide some good anti-air and are great choices in most lists because of this. Tyranids don't really have any other options for anti-air besides Fortifications, but I don't want to become too reliant on Fortifications until the first FAQ is out. As a result, I'm finding that the two Hive Crones and the Dakka Flyrant are practically always worth including in lists as even two or three good Flyers can become problematic without them.Taking them in that group of three FMCs also provides some target saturation in order to boost survivability.
4 Zoanthropes and the Tyrannofex provide enough firepower to tackle all but the most AV14 heavy lists, and the FMCs can deal with lighter vehicles effectively. The Biovores, Exocrine, and Harpy provide some Large Blasts to handle infantry, with the Exocrine doubling as a Monstrous Creature counter. Four Troops, with the ability to spawn at least one more unit, provides enough scoring units for most games.
The first thing I would drop to make any alterations would be the Harpy. I like the unit and love the model, but it could be argued that it's out of place in this list as there are no major assault units for it to support with its Sonic Screech. Dropping it and the 8 "extra" Termagants will give you 175pts to play with. That's enough to get a third Hive Crone and Thorax Biomorphs for the Tyrannofex and Tervigon, or to add a medium sized Warrior/Shrike unit for more Synapse/killing power, or to bolster the numbers of the Elites.
Most other lists I have created are variations on this theme such as this one:
 |
| The Battle for Iyanden rages through the Craftworld |
HQ
Hive
Tyrant
230pts
Devourers with Brainleech, Devourers with Brainleech,
Wings
Hive
Tyrant
230pts
Devourers with Brainleech, Devourers with Brainleech,
Wings
Troops
Tervigon 195pts
30
Termagants 160pts
20 Fleshborers, 10 Devourers
10
Termagants 40pts
30 Hormagaunts 150pts
Elites
2
Hive Guard 110pts
1
Zoanthrope 50pts
1
Zoanthrope 50pts
Fast
Attack
Hive
Crone 155pts
Hive
Crone 155pts
Heavy
Support
Tyrannofex 185pts
Acid Spray,
Shreddershard Beetles
Mawloc 140pts
TOTAL 1850pts
This list is more aggressive than the last list. Keeping largely the same base, this list drops the Harpy, Exocrine, Biovores, two Zoanthropes, eighteen Termagants, and a Venomthrope, but gains a second Hive Tyrant, a Mawloc, thirty Hormagaunts, two Hive Guard, and more effective use of the remaining Zoanthropes. The splitting of the Zoanthropes helps as they become separate units that must be destroyed, provides a larger Synapse web, and allows them to have an extra Psychic power than they would have had combined.
The loss of the Venomthrope could hurt, but realistically one Venomthrope is incredibly easy to kill unless there is a lot of Line of Sight blocking terrain for it to hide behind. It decreases the survivability of the FMCs, but they gain some back by upgrading the Harpy to a Hive Tyrant. The Mawloc serves much the same role as the Exocrine. It's less reliable, but has the potential to do more damage, is cheaper, and (unless it dies on a Mishap) tougher.
There was a loss of S10 shooting, but more S6-8 fire, so you'll have to rely on Smash for any AV14 on the other side of the board. Shouldn't be too much of an issue as even the Tyrannofex should be moving up into melee range.
Between the two, I plan to stick with the top one and playtest it further. It might not be perfect, but I think it should do alright against a variety of armies.
 |
| A fitting picture for the end of the review perhaps? |
Closing Thoughts
While the new Codex is undoubtedly terrible, I don't think it is as bad as people are making it out to be. The power level seems to be no worse than the last one at its release, and might even be slightly higher; although it definitely feels like a step backwards in places. Small consolation considering the last Codex had its fair share of issues (few of which were fixed), and only became accepted as a decent army once 6th brought us Biomancy. Two bland mediocre books in a row sucks, but this is what we have to work with for the next 4-5 years so we may as well make the most of it. I just hope that the Design Team actually take a moment to consider the issues people have had with the last two Codices and give us a proper update next time.
While I don't think they will be varied, I'm sure that competitive armies can be made from the book and feel that they will look something like the first list I proposed above. The "core" of the good armies will probably always be the same, with most of the variation in the Heavy Support section. If you want an army that will win you tournaments with a variety of army lists viable, then Tyranids is not for you. The Codex just isn't of the same caliber as Eldar, Tau, or Daemons. Against such lists, the Tyranid player will have to be smart with cover and objectives in order to pull a win.
Of course, non-competitive games are a completely different story. The Tyranids have a great model range, a large selection of units to choose from, and create a great atmosphere and narrative while playing. There are few armies more enjoyable to play against. If these things are important to you, you will have plenty of fun despite the relatively weak Codex.
This is the last post in my Tyranid Tactica/Review series. Writing it has really helped me figure out my thoughts on the new Tyranid Codex to enable me to write what I think will be a good list, and I hope it has been some help to you too.
On an unrelated note, a large box arrived today. It's got the Earth Caste symbol on it. I wonder what that could be...
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