Originally, I'd intended today to be an update on my hiatus and the fact I was going to continue it to get my big project done. I was also going to include a preview of upcoming content.
But, of course, the wheels of Games Workshop's hype machine keep turning. With the lead up to NOVA Open, we got the announcement that preorders for Tyranids are THIS WEEKEND. This means I have under two weeks to get my Tyranid deep dive done, hence why I was going to continue the hiatus to focus on that. If I fail, I'll still be reviewing the codex before adapting the information I've collected into a post codex deep dive.
But before then, boy does GW want you to know that Tyranids are going to be a thing!
Smash or Sneak? You Decide in a First Look at New Detachments from Codex: Tyranids
Our first "reveal" has technically been covered already, but it has a potentially huge impact on how 10th Edition will play out so it bears repeating. When Codex: Tyranids comes out it will be replacing the Index, not supplement it. The free downloadable PDF for Index Tyranids will no longer be "legal" and may cease being available. Additionally, the rules on the new 40K App will be gone, replaced by an unlockable ruleset you need the Codex to access.
Now there's nothing stopping you, or even tournament organizers, from ignoring this and playing with Indexes alongside Codexes. But all fixes, balance changes, and FAQs will be applied to the Codex. And it should be noted that the current Tyranid Index has not been updated with the most recent changes from the last errata, so it's already behind.
This is important to how 10th will play out as Index Hammer has historically been a contentious time. Most avid players enjoyed the portion of 3rd and 8th where we had a whole new ruleset with whole new armies to figure out and explore. But as the Codexes came out and replaced those armies, the gap between Codexes and Indexes proved game changing. This left anyone playing with an Index plodding along with an underwhelming army as they waited for their turn.
The 10th Edition Indexes may be more fully featured than their prior counterparts, but that still doesn't mean that Codexes couldn't make playing with Indexes more painful. With five new detachments, if even one of them is significantly better than the Invasion Fleet that will not only increase the power of Tyranids as a faction but signal to the other factions how important their Codex will be.
Additionally there will be updated datasheets in addition to the new ones for the new models. If these come with significant improvements to certain units, then that will also increase the faction's power. It's even possible improvements could be made to the Invasion Fleet itself, or even Synapse and Shadow in the Warp. All and all, we could end up with a far more potent Tyranid faction.
This will leave players of factions like Votann, AdMech, and Death Guard chomping at the bit to get their hands on their new Codexes, while players for Aeldari, Imperial Knights, and GSC are left dreading potential nerfs. But even past them, players will be forced to keep their eye on the Codexes and wade through potential power creep as they try to enjoy the game.
In an ideal world, each Codex will only give the faction more tactical options that expand the way they play and creates more interesting play experiences across the game. A Codex will bring a meta shakeup, not because it means a power boost for the Faction, but because it means new armies and strategies for players to interact with. Codexes could potentially be exciting even if you don't play the Faction, as it brings new flavors of opponents to overcome.
Let's hope these Codexes will be more of the latter than the former.
BUT ENOUGH WORRY! LET'S GET TO THE REVEALS!
So right off the bat, we get the reveal that the Invasion Fleet will not be changed! So that's one sigh of relief we can breathe. The article does note that some Detachments will be changed "slightly." So there's another caught breath.
We then move onto our first hinted but now confirmed reveal: Crusher Stampede is back! In 9th Edition, the release of the Leviathan Supplement combined with Crusher Stampede shot Tyranids to the top of the meta. When the 9th Edition Codex came out, those rules became the first and, contrary to "I only read headlines" popular belief, only 9th Edition ruleset to be officially banned. Let's see how the new Crusher Stampede looks!
Enraged Behemoths
. . .
I've talked about these rules before.
Needless to say, I don't think this rule will be particularly impactful on the game. All this does is make your opponent focus your big monsters down . . . which they were already going to do. You're going to love playing against AdMech though.
Ominous Presence
I mean . . . if it's really cheap . . . Let's face it, you don't want your Hive Tyrants in the midboard holding objectives. So this will only matter when you're trying to take an objective from your opponent. It will definitely be helpful when you do, but it's one Enhancement on one Hive Tyrant or Tervigon, instead of a different Enhancement.
Questing Tendrils
While we don't get a list of what counts as a Vanguard Invader, we're told it includes "most flying creatures, as well as Broodlords and Genestealers." Advance and Charge is awesome, especially on these units. Fall Back and Charge is gravy.
The fact that Deathleaper can be your Warlord makes me wonder what characters we'll have access to. The article mentions the Winged Tyranid Prime and Broodlord, but I'm curious to see what all we can bring.
Chameleonic
Stealth is nice, but it's pretty easy to get cover. Again, I'm feeling a little underwhelmed.
Assassin Beasts
For 1CP you get to give an entire unit PRECISION. That's situational, but will definitely help you take down a Character when you need to. Combined with the fact that a Broodlord and Genestealers can Advance and Charge, and you will be able to pull off Assassinate pretty reliably.
Finally they tease us with the three remaining detachments, the Unending Swarm, Assimilation Swarm, and Synaptic nexus. We'll have to wait to see what these are capable of. In particular, I'd love to see how viable Gaunt carpets are now.
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