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RAHSK!
They are here!
Let's go through them and see what new tools The Great Devourer is bringing to 40K!
ARMY RULES
We've seen both of these before, but now we can look at them with a bit more game knowledge.
Synapse
I wish Synapse was back to 12", though it does look like we'll potentially have many sources for it. Even with Imperatives and Link gone, it will still be important to keep as much of your army in Synapse Range as possible.
Battle-shock matters! As before, this game is about controlling objectives and scoring VP. Battle-shocked models can't do that. The Stratagems we've seen are all very potent, so you don't want to lose access to them. We're not returning any guants to be board if our broods are Battle-shocked. Finally, Desperate Escape is nasty! While most of the time we're probably going to want to get stuck in, you don't want to lose a model because you had to Fall Back for some reason.
Most Tyranids have Ld 8+. They will fail a Battle-shock test over 58% of the time. We don't want to play with those odds, especially since there are no limits to Leadership penalties you can experience. With Synapse, though, you get the following odds for Battleshock:
- Ld 6+ : 103/108 = 95.37%
- Ld 7+ : 49/54 = 90.74%
- Ld 8+ : 181/216 = 83.80%
- Ld 9+ : 20/27 = 74.07%
- Ld 10+ : 5/8 = 62.5%
As you can see, while the complete protection previously provided by Synapse is gone, we're far from vulnerable. So keep your big bugs safe!
Shadow in the Warp
As for Shadow in the Warp, we now know the timing on it. You will trigger shadow in the Command step of the Command phase. This is huge as it means your opponent might have to test twice for some of their units! We also know that Battle-shock ends at the beginning of your Command phase, so the worst case scenario is to be Battle-shocked during your own Command phase. Because of this, whenever possible, we will want to use Shadow in the Warp in our opponent's Command phase.
There will definitely be times when you will want to have an opponent's unit Battle-shocked during your turn. But if at all possible, you should try to do this using other rules, such as the Screamer-killer's Death Scream ability. You only get to use Shadow in the Warp once per battle, so we want to make it count.
Hyper-adaptations
Fluffy, flavorful, and potentially powerful, our primary Detachment lets us choose an army-wide buff at the start of each battle. While this is potentially powerful, it's also a bit of a no brainer rule. Every so often we'll need to weigh up which of our opponents units are the biggest threats. Just be careful not to try and take down one or two priority targets, only for your opponent to counter you by making sure you can't get your talons on them.
STRATAGEMS
Rapid Regeneration
While this returns from previous editions, this now gives the unit a FNP instead of healing damage. This makes this Stratagem all around more useful, since it'll be effective on both your little bugs and big bugs.
Death Frenzy
A 4+ Fight on Death for 1CP. Fight on Death is powerful, if only to make your opponent play around it.
Adrenal Surge
Oh wow! Critical Hits on a 5s! Considering our detachment rules all interact with Critical Hits, this is fantastic. It's 2CP, so you'll always want to use it on two units. Another reason to keep your Synapse up!
Overrun
It returns! This version isn't quite as potent, but if you can keep Synapse up it's even more flexible. This was fantastic in 9th, I'm betting it will be great in 10th too.
Synaptic Insight
Remember how I said to be careful about being baited into choosing your Hyper-adaptation for a few high profile targets? Now you can make the safe choice and still go after those targets! Best when combined with Adrenal Surge to get the most out of this.
Endless Swarm
This feels a little lack luster now that we've seen Guard and GSC. But for 1CP, this is still pretty good. Note you get to do this before testing Battle-shock in the Command Phase.
This seems like a great collection of Stratagems, all potent and useful with no meaningful restrictions, and all benefiting from our Army Rules. I'm honestly very happy so far!
ENHANCEMENTS
Alien Cunning
A complete improvement from our previous redeploy abilities. We get to pick 3 units and we can put any we want into Strategic Reserves, even if we're at the limit. A fantastic ability!
Perfectly Adapted
Returning mostly unchanged, this gives you a free re-roll every turn. It was pretty useful in 9th edition, it'll be pretty useful in 10th.
Synaptic Linchpin
While slightly less powerful than before, Synapse is important. I'd probably prefer to make sure I just have adequate coverage of Synapse units on the board. But in smaller games this might be an auto-include.
Adaptive Biology
Another upgrade from before. It still starts as a 5+ FNP, but improves to 4+ if your character is injured. This will be auto-include on whatever your primary synapse beast is.
Two of these are very good, one is useful, and the last is conditional. I really wish they'd given us more. Adaptability is our whole thing. I also really wish they'd done something a little extra for Synaptic Linchpin.
THE BIG UNIT BREAKDOWN
Alright! Tyranids have a lot of datasheets, and it looked like they split some of them up a little. On these I won't be giving each datasheet a full comparison, just my general impression of their capabilities and rules. That said, let's get started!
Winged Hive Tyrant
Winged Hive Tyrants were the bane of early 8th Edition and later 9th Edition. This Hive Tyrant can no longer join up with Tyrant Guard for protection (something they probably never should have been able to do), but as an offensive piece they'll absolutely destroy many monsters, light vehicles, and elite infantry. Will of the Hive Mind is fantastic, letting you give a free Stratagem to one of your units each turn. And Paroxysm may be risky, but there's no limit on reduced attacks.
Hive Tyrant
Walkrants gained more traction in 9th Edition as GW continued to increase the cost of their flying counterparts. It's still slightly tougher, but also all around more useful. Onlsaught provides a flat buff with no risks or penalties, though Advance and Charge has been traded for Assault on all weapons. Combined with an 8" move, this monster is still going to eat up the board. It shares Will with the Flyrant, so the two do overlap some.
The Swarmlord
We've already seen this Datasheet and it still looks good. Our chief leader beast generates us additional CP ever turn and makes our opponent's favorite Stratagem more expensive. I've already seen lots of candidates for this. If I were going to run two Tyrants, one of them would be The Swarmlord.
Broodlord
They've really reduced the differences between this and The Patriarch! This will be the perfect leader for our Genestealers, giving them DEVASTATING WOUNDS to go with their re-roll Wounds ability. Hypnotic Gaze is nowhere near as good as it used to be, but making sure our opponent is at -1 to Hit is a good idea.
Winged Tyranid Prime
A bit of an awkward leader for now, I might change my tune if Gargoyles look like they'll benefit from SUSTAINED HITS 1. Hopefully, Shrikes are coming.
Tervigon
Crushing claws look like they might be necessary on some of our monsters for dealing with bigger targets now. But, of course, the real point of interest on this model is Spawn Termagants. It's Endless Swarm for one unit of Termagants. I'm noting the exception is once per Termagants per phase, not just once per phase. So if you have multiple Tervigons, they can each bolter their own brood of Termagants. All the while, all Termagants in range will be getting Lethal Hits. There's no Leading them this time, though, so they'll be a priority target.
Old One Eye
My favorite Tyranid unique character looks like it will absolutely wreck most big targets. It also brings re-roll hits to the unit it leads, making the most out of Hyper-adaptations. It still regenerates too, and comes with a 5+ FNP baked in. So it's got some stay power! I'd also like to note that while Screamer-killers are a single model, Carnifexes appear to still be a unit.
Tyranid Warriors with Ranged Bio-weapons
Wow! That melee weapon profile has been consolidated! They've lost some armor but are still pretty tough. They come baked in with Fall Back and Shoot and Charge, meaning if your opponent charges and doesn't take them out, you'll be hitting back hard. The standard Tyranid Prime is now just a Sergeant for this unit.
Tyranid Warriors with Melee Bio-weapons
I thought we might see more flexibility here, but nope! However you've kitted these out, they're all just bio-weapons. When they get stuck in, you'll get to decide if you need to hit harder or if you need more reliable saving throws.
Termagants
Providing we can field these in mass, they'll be pretty great. All of their weapons seem useful in one situation or another too.
Hormagaunts
I want my new hormagaunts! But hey! At least these ones get -1 AP and Advance and Charge.
Gargoyles
Gargoyles have Fire and Fade? That's freaking epic! They'll still be pretty easy to pick off due to being nearly impossible to hide. Blinding venom is just a close-combat weapon now though.
Toxicrene
Model Impossible to Play is tough and shreds infantry. Instead of forcing Desperate Escape, they can potentially keep units trapped in melee. It can spit out a lot of mortals too. Unfortunately, it's still Model Impossible to Play.
Tyrant Guard
The ablative wounds for our Hive Tyrants come with a 5+ FNP! They're also pretty good in combat too. Please let these be reasonably costed.
Neurotyrant
We've seen this one too. It's honestly fantastic. Still feels like it should be able to lead Zoanthropes.
Lictor
If you're not taking The Swarmlord, this might be a way to get more command points. They genuinely look like they might kill some character now, but they'll likely die in the process. Strangely they have free Rapid Ingress but they don't have Deep Strike. If we ever get a way to recycle these, that'll be pretty cool.
Deathleaper
From a slightly better lictor to a wall of text nightmare for your opponent, it's now a Battle-shock threat. If you can keep it alive, it will reek havoc on your opponents formation. It's penalty will stack with the Neurotyrants during Shadow in the Warp too!
Maleceptor
This model looks like it can put in work, even before you note the debuff it gives your opponent.
Pyrovores
Pyrovores look like they might be properly balanced for once! They act as Marker Lights now, helping flush opponents out of cover.
Haruspex
Another model with some potential to trash bigger targets, though at a slightly worse AP than the other S14 weapons we've seen. If you can pick off a weakened unit with it, you force Battle-shock against the opponent.
Venomthropes
I'm worried there might be a little too much IGNORES COVER in this edition for this ability to be good. But at least it stacks with other debuffs we've seen. In melee you can do decent damage to light infantry.
Von Ryan's Leapers
I still think these will be great fun. I'll probably still take Deathleaper over the basic Lictor, but I might try these too.
Neuroguants
I was thinking the other night that if the models are small enough, you might be able to hide a clump of 11 in various spots around the battlefield. Still need to see if they're priced to move, though.
Zoanthropes
These rules feel very familiar to me, and I'm kinda glad to see them again. Spirit Leech now triggers off of Battle-shock, making it another unit that benefits from the mechanic. It also now spreads an Invuln to nearby units automatically. The Neurothrope is now just a Sergeant for this unit.
Genestealers
I like our new Genestealers, though I'd definitely take them with a Broodlord.
Raveners
They've made our speed 'Nids a hit and run model. This makes them a great target for Overrun.
Ripper Swarms
This is an interesting upgrade too them. They might be a genuinely good harassment unit now.
Parasite of Mortrex
They've given the ovipositor some love with a WS 2+ and ANTI-INFANTRY 3+. It still spawns rippers, but now only when you destroy a model. This will be brutal against some armies. It Itches! now force Battle-shock in the Fight Phase.
Mawloc
Although it's been an interesting piece, this model has never felt like the nightmare from below it's supposed to be. It's ability has much larger range now, and you can use Rapid Ingress to ping your enemy without them getting a chance to move. Plus this is another model that can force Battle-shock.
Trygon
You can now have your Trygons give up their charge to ping the enemy with their bio-electric pulse. This makes them much more reliable to place, though quite vulnerable. Another candidate for Rapid Ingress.
Mucolid Spores and Spore Mines
Where before they tried to have spores no longer move block, now they've decided to lean into it. Spores now prevent and block Advance moves within 6".
Exocrine
Our dedicated gun bug is now dedicated anti heavy infantry, absolutely shredding Marine equivalents. It also marks targets for re-roll 1s.
Biovores
Look at that derpy model! We definitely need a new biovore. Let's see if they're not broken this time. It can still automatically spawn Spore Mines, though now it's limited to 1 per model. However its Spore Mine Launcher is now a decent gun in its own right.
Carnifexes
My favorite big boys! They still look pretty tough and have a ton of weapon options. I'm noting the head and tail option are gone though. You can now only take them in pairs, making three with Old One Eye. They now get the World Eaters' assault move if they get shot at. Wow, though! All their attacks hit on 4s!
Screamer Killer
This unit is now, definitively, the premiere melee Carnifex. Crushing claws will still help against some harder targets though.
Hive Guard
These look like they'll be useful again. Without a doubt, they're the best unit for holding an objective.
Tyrannofex
The big guns! Where before I think most would pick the acid spray, I feel we'll need the rupture cannon now. If the meta goes vehicle heavy, we might have difficulty dealing with them. Strangely, it now has the old Dreadnought/Carnifex -1 damage.
Tyrannocyte
Considering I'm thinking Hive Guard might be a great companion for this, I'm hoping these won't be overpriced. They now just have flat bio-weapons and can't be given venom cannons. Also their melee is surprisingly good? They still keep the rule that allows them to Deep Strike on turn 1.
Hive Crone
Our main anti-aircraft, I'm curious if these will be important in this edition. The way aircraft move now, it might be legitimately hard to catch them. This could force us to deploy them in hover.
Harpy
Our bomber sill looks pretty good. If you're doing strafing runs, you'll actually do pretty well just bombing the targets instead of placing spore mines. I can easily see you bring this in on Turn 2, place some Spore Mines (since you count as having just made a normal move), strafe an enemy unit and leave on Turn 3, then repeat in Turn 4.
Sporocyst
One of only a few solid Fortifications in 9th Edition, Sporocysts now rain shots on anyone that dares come close. This means you'll likely rely on its passive shooting ability and drop a Mucolid every turn. Like its Tyrannocyte cousin, it's surprisingly mean in melee too.
Psychophage
Our new feeder bug is genuinely pretty cool. I can see this as part of a plan for stacking buffs on your army.
Barbguants
Its fitting these feel like part of an evolution to biovores, since their new weapon also debuffs movement. One well placed unit of these could do wonders.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It's going to take a while to parse all of that! But there are some obvious takeaways.
The first, and most obvious, is Battle-shock. We are going to be making our opponent take Battle-shock tests. While you don't need to lean into this if you don't want to, we can definitely benefit from it. Units lead by Neurotyrants and Zoanthropes will both benefit from inflicting it. Since these both look like they might be auto-includes, that gives us reasons to amp up the galactic horror angle. That being said, there are a lot of units that can trigger Battle-shock, so you don't need to go crazy here. I find options for improving it, like Deathleaper, more interesting.
Like many armies, we can buff our smaller units by giving them leaders. But we also have quite a bit of power to debuff our opponent's armies. We need to be careful here though, as many debuffs don't stack. The Broodlord's Hypnotic Gaze doesn't stack with the Maleceptor's Encephalic Diffusion, for example. Even still, while we don't have the rogues gallery of other armies, our ability to form a death star does exist.
Then there's board control. First, we have a lot of fast units. Second, we have plentiful access to Scouts, Infiltrators, and Deep Strike. But then we can combine those two things with Barb Guants and Mines to drastically slow down enemy movement. At the same time, Hive Guard and Sporocysts can lay down suppressing fire on anything that moves within range. Once we've moved out onto the board, it might be genuinely difficult to take it back from us.
Finally, let's poor out some biomass for our missing brood kin. The old Tyranid Primes and Neurothropes are no longer independent models, but sergeants for their units. Neural Parasyte, Catalyst, and many popular Relics are a no show. Worse, Trygon Primes and Thornbacks are just gone. In fact, with no head options, the Dakkafex is not looking good. Finally, let us lament the continued loss of a Toxicrene we can actually put on a board.
May your biomass be consumed by the hive fleet, and the Norn Queens at GW return you to us in shiny new plastic kits!
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