THE SHOWCASE
Although GW has been slowly trying to make the transition into a modern, IP-based corporation, miniatures and hobby supplies still make the bulk of its revenue. And not only does GW still make some of, if not the best miniatures in the world, but they have become masters of demonstrating that fact. The miniature showcases in the Codexes expertly display their work in stunning dioramas and centerpiece displays. If you love this hobby at all, it's hard to look through one of these and not be inspired by the work on display.
If I have one criticism here, it's that this section lacks any display of the various Hive Fleets and is too focused on the new models available. It would be nice to have the full Tyranid range on display. Still, the photos are stunning and give a fantastic vision of the army.
COMBAT PATROL
We start the Combat Patrol section with a new display diorama that points out all the units in the new box, giving a brief description of their role in the game. It's a nice touch, especially since this is now supposed to be the introductory game mode for each faction.
We then get a painting guide for a basic Leviathan color scheme. Unfortunately, this is the exact same painting guide WarCom released for free on their website. Additionally, despite displaying it prominently in this section, there are no tips for painting the neuro-connection between the Barbgaunts and their weapons. It would have been nice if this section included web addresses for where to find GW's many painting guides, then focused on some new and exclusive guides just for this Codex.
The rest of the section is nearly identical to the Combat Patrol rules we already have. The only change I found was that they removed the part about your Winged Prime being your Warlord. Barbgaunts remain unchanged in these rules, and no changes have been made to any of the documents on WarCom either.
It's nice to have this here, but this should have been a completely additive part of the Codex. Instead, it feels like parts of the Codex might have been removed to make room for it. Considering this is an otherwise free ruleset, it makes it feel like lost value instead of added value.
FORCES OF THE TYRANIDS
Finally we come to the meat of it and, unfortunately, the only thing with a chance to redeem this book.
We start off with our Army Rules, unchanged from the Index. Unfortunately these have proven to be a bit off a loss for us, as both of these rules revolve completely around Battle-shock.
Before getting sick, I'd meant to do a post on the state of Battle-shock as a mechanic. I might still do that, but for this review all you need to know is that Battle-shock is at best an interesting skill check, and at worst a nuisance mechanic. There are just too many ways around it, and the nerf to Insane Bravery doesn't really fix what's wrong with it. So unless your army can really play into it, Battle-shock just doesn't have the impact I feel it was intended to have.
With the exception of ally rules, Tyranids are the only faction in the game with two Army Rules. And we need them both, because taken separately they are, hands down, the worst Army Rules in the game. Combined they are still probably the worst rules in the game, though you could make a case for Chaos Knights.
That leaves it to our Detachments to make an impact on how our army plays. Fortunately, the Invasion Fleet is an A Tier Detachment. I really like it. In addition to a fantastic Detachment Rule, it has good Stratagems and Enhancements too. As far as I can tell, this Detachment remains completely unchanged. It will thus be the gold standard by which I judge the new Detachments.
Crusher Stampede
We've already had the Detachment Rule revealed, and it's not very good. Your opponent just isn't going to let you use it, so at best it forces them to overcommit to killing your big creatures. But this might end up discouraging some opportunistic shooting, lest you end up with a bonus in the following turn.
Ominous Presence is useful, but not very standout. I don't understand why Enraged Reserves isn't just Fight on Death, though 20 pts isn't bad. Null Nodules is completely inferior to Adaptive Physiology, but at least it's cheap. And Monstrous Nemesis is at best okay. I'd probably take Enraged Reserves and maybe Monstrous Nemesis, but I could happily drop one if I needed to. If I had the points, I'd go ahead and grab Ominous Presence.
We do get some good Strats though. Corrosive Viscera is one of those fun rules that allows you to automatically trigger Deadly Demise. Rules like that aren't very useful, but they're fun to trigger if you can get a decent benefit from them. Rampaging Monstrosities and Savage Roar are both Battle Tactics that improve your units effectiveness in melee. Use the first against more stoic units like Space Marines or the second against a unit that is Battle-shocked or that you might want Battle-shocked. Untrammelled Ferocity is situational, but can help get around move blocks when you need to. Swarm-Guided Salvos is a fantastic Battle Tactic letting you both ignore cover and BS and Hit modifiers. Finally Massive Impact brings back the fun of crashing your big monsters into enemy lines that they had in previous Editions.
Games Workshop has a bad habit of punishing things for past sins instead of balancing them around the game as it is. At one point Crusher Stampede was an unholy terror on the competitive scene. It remains one of the few armies to have been actually banned by the major tournament organizations. Unfortunately it looks like it's paying for that time in the spotlight. While it does have some fun strats, it's completely inferior to Invasion Swarm.
I am noting, however, that I'm not seeing anything actually restricting what you take in this detachment. Very interesting . . .
Unending Swarm
Insurmountable Odds on the other hand is a pretty good rule. While you have to move your units towards the closest enemy unit, free movement is always good. If you have big bricks of gaunts, there's a good chance they will survive at least one unit shooting at them and get to use this rule. Under the right circumstance, you might be able to make these moves in a way that protects the unit from further damage that Shooting Phase, though skilled opponents will make sure that doesn't happen. On rare occasions you might be able to use this to contest an objective, bait your opponent into charging out of position, or even get into combat. Because this rule is so easy to play around, though, I'd definitely say Hyper-Adaptations are superior. But this is still a fun rule that might create some engaging play.
For enhancements, Relentless Hunger is generically useful, as additional movement is always good. It also gives us potential point cost per inch of movement that GW might be using. Naturalized Camouflage let's you select three units to get Cover. But Cover is hardly difficult to come by, so 30 pts is just way too much. Piercing Talons is very good though. AP is already hard to come by, but Tyranids in particular have difficulty getting it. The additional movement from Adrenalised Onslaught is also nice. The only problem with these two enhancements is that Tyranids don't have a lot of options for Leader units to benefit from them. Probably the best recipients would be Broodlords or maybe a Prime leading some Warriors.
As for the Strats, Synaptic Goading lets you get a little bit more out Insurmountable Odds. It would be nice if you could use this on Termagants' Skulking Horrors too, as this is really situational. Still, you'll occasionally be able to use this to steal an objective. Unending Waves is 2CP but let's you return a destroyed unit in full. If Gargoyles still have Deep Strike their stonks just went up. We get three Battle Tactics in Teeming Masses, Swarming Masses, and Bounding Advance. The first is a defensive Strat that will help keep our big bricks alive. And we'll want to keep them alive to use Swarming Masses, as this gives us both SUSTAINED HITS 1 and potentially Crits on 5s. Bounding Advance helps us get those bricks into position to use these Strats by giving us an automatic 6" advance. All and all some good reasons to bring a Hive Tyrant with our gaunt carpets. Finally we get Preservation Imperative, which allows a unit to effectively ignore BLAST for a shooting phase.
There's good stuff in this Detachment, but I still think it's inferior to the Invasion Swarm. Still, I feel like there's some fun tech you can do with Gargoyles here. They probably get the most benefit from these rules, especially with a Prime leading them. Some big bricks of Gargoyles with their incredible mobility could be an absolute nightmare to deal with in this Detachment.
Assimilation Swarm
Wow! This one is big! Feed the Swarm is a slightly weaker Reanimation Protocols. You have to be on Objectives, but Tyranids don't have a lot of problems with board control. Once you're there, you start to regenerate your models every round. It'll probably take a lot of practice to get the most out of this rule, but if you like a more defensive playstyle it's really good.
Regenerating Monstrosity lets you target an important unit with this rule twice per round. Despite the name though, you can't use it on a Monster. This is still a great Enhancement to have on a Broodlord with Genestealers or a Prime leading some Warriors. Instinctive Defense, on the other hand, is hilariously good! Free Heroic Intervention and Fights First for 15 pts? Yes please! This might be the best Enhancement in the book. Biophagic Flow doesn't do anything on its own, but improves the Feed the Swarm abilities of your Harvesters. At 12" it's a huge aura, which then lets your Harvesters extend their ability out a further 3". You're taking this Enhancement. Finally, Parasitic Biomorphology is another fantastic Enhancement for Leader units. Again, I'm thinking a Broodlord and some Genestealers would love this.
For Strats, Broodguard Impulse seems situational. But the flavor text suggests Rippers might be Harvesters. Can you imagine getting +1 to Wound against you for killing a Ripper Swarm? Reclaim Biomass lets you regenerate another unit when your opponent destroys another one. A bit of a consolation prize, but possibly useful. Tyrannoformed seems like a bit of a waste though. This Detachment wants to be on Objectives, so being able to sticky them isn't very useful. You could potentially use it to hold your back field if your opponent doesn't have Deep Strikers, I guess. Ablative Carapace is a bit expensive for a FNP Strat, but if you're doing your job right you should always be getting the 4+ out of it. Secure Biomass is potentially amazing though! For 1CP, one of your harvesters gets LETHAL HITS and 5+ Crits. Fantastic value! Finally, the sole Battle Tactic for this Detachment is Rapacious Hunger. This lets you regenerate a unit after it successfully killed something in the Fight Phase.
This Detachment is a winner! Though it's got some misses in the Stratagem department, it's overall a fantastic defensive toolset. Tyranids currently have some amazing tools for board control. If they haven't lost them, then this detachment could be a potentially dominant playstyle. If you like taking the board and putting the pressure on your opponent to figure out what to do about it, this Detachment is for you.
Vanguard Onslaught
Questing Tendrils was revealed earlier, and it's a fantastic rule. Depending on how many units have the Vanguard Invader keyword, you can end up with a large number of units with Advance and Charge. While not covering your whole army, and not as flexible as Hyper-Adaptations, any amount of Advance and Charge is fantastic and army-wide Fallback and Charge is still good. Being able to field Deathleaper as your Warlord is pretty good too, since Lone Operative can make it tough to score Warlord kills on him.
Hunting Grounds is a pretty good enhancement for countering enemy Deep Strike. Bringing in a Deep Strike unit then immediately targeting it with a Stratagem is a common play. While this is far from reliable, interfering with this plan will occasionally save you some pain. I'd still only take this if you have other units that let you benefit from the Battle-shock like Neurolictors. We discussed Chameleonic before, and that this basically gives you Stealth. But 15 pts for -1 to Hit isn't bad. Stalker only works against a single unit, so it's pretty situational. Still we already know Assassin Beasts is a thing, so this might help you kill off an enemy Character you want to remove. Neuronode, however, is absolutely amazing! It may only affect Vanguard Invaders, but those will be the units that will benefit most from this. Even at 30 pts, you will always take this to take advantage of being able to aggressively deploy your units to your advantage.
We start Strats with our two Battle Tactics for this Detachment. One is the already revealed Assassin Beasts, the other is Surprise Assault. This Strat gives the Detachment another means of Battle-shock while also granting bonuses. It is honestly probably best used against units that are already Battle-shocked. Next we have Seeded Broods, an incredible Strat that gives this Detachment some serious alpha strike potential. This is an almost build around Stratagem. While pricey at 2CP, Hypersensory Scillia is another incredible Strat. It gives you the ability to make sure you'll always get to pick your combats with many of your units. Continuing this roll, Unseen Lurkers lets you either give Lone Operative to a Vanguard Invader unit, or improve Lone Operative on one. Combined with Hypersensory Scillia, this will make many of your units almost impossible to pin down. Finally, Invisible Hunter lets you put units in Strategic Reserves, giving you a huge amount of mission play.
This Detachment is incredible! While it's primary rule may not be as broadly good as Hyper-Adaptations, it's still fantastic. And with a fantastic Enhancement and some high level Stratagems, skilled players will have a field day with this one!
Synaptic Nexus
Synaptic Imperatives are back! While these buffs only affect your units in Synapse Range, you get to choose them at the start of each Battle Round. They're still only once per game, but you can use them at key moments to get ahead of your opponent and leave them trying to catch up. Honestly, I'm struggling to decide how this compares to Hyper-Adaptations. These are more generically useful, especially since you can trigger them when you need them. But Hyper-Adaptations last for the entire game and drastically improve you damage against the chosen threat. This is one I think we'll need to get some games in to decide.
You'd think that for a detachment based around Psykers you'd always take Power of the Hive Mind. But currently it's just the Neurotyrant that can benefit from it. Maybe this book will have more later. You are probably going to always take Psychostatic Disruption though. Deep Strike denial is always useful, and the chance to push a Reserve unit back to Turn 3 is good to have in your pocket. Synaptic Control is another auto-include, granting -1 Damage to one of your big bugs. Finally, if you're trying to build around Battle-shock, The Dirgeheart of Kharis gives you another way to impact enemy Leadership.
Speaking of which, The Smothering Shadow gives some additional bite to your Battle-shock tests. On average, it'll deal 4 Mortal Wounds each time you use it. For Battle Tactics we start with Synaptic Channeling. It's situational, but it will help fill any holes your opponents make in your Synapse network. Irresistible Will is interesting, granting re-roll 1s for Hits and Wounds to nearby units against a single target. While it requires the Synapse unit to have not shot or fought yet, there's nothing there requiring that unit to be eligible to shoot or fight or stopping it from doing so. I'm wondering if that's an oversight. Even if it is, it makes it situational but still good. The final Battle Tactic is Reinforced Hive Node, which gives a Synapse unit Armour of Contempt. Combined with Syanptic Control, this can make your big bugs really hard to take down. Next we have Imperative Dominance, which lets you give an Imperative to a unit in place of any active ones. You can use this on Imperatives you've already used, so it's most useful at making sure a beneficial Imperative stays active on key units throughout the game. Finally Override Instincts lets you give a unit in Synapse Range Fall Back and Shoot and Charge. These are all incredible Stratagems that will allow skilled players to really get a lot out of this Detachment.
Conclusions
If this is the level of Detachment abilities we'll get for all the Factions, this could be one hell of an Edition! Yeah, Crusher Stampede is really disappointing and Unending Swarm is probably underpowered too. But Invasion Fleet remains a potent detachment, and three of our new ones are really good. I think Vanguard Onslaught is probably the best, especially if you want a fast, offensive based playing style. Meanwhile the Assimilation Swarm supports players that like controlling the board and forcing their opponents to act. Finally, the Synaptic Nexus is another broad detachment like the Invasion Fleet, but it might play into the Tyranid bag of tricks more and reward more skilled players. I may have been disappointed by the Lore, but the rules are definitely making up for it.
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