40K: Tyranid Stratagems Unleashed
Games Workshop has a new preview of the Tyranid Stratagems – they come for your Bio-Mass!
The Tyranids forces are thought of as a mindless swarm but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The little creatures are just tools of the Hive Mind and each synapse creature relays the orders that come from a gestalt organism that has evolved to become the ultimate predator. Each Hive Tyrant has been imbued with untold eons of experiences from the Hive Mind with one goal in mind: Defeat and devour your prey.
Now, Games Workshop is sharing a preview of some of the stratagems the Tyranids will be using to wage war on the Galaxy.
“On the tabletop, this tactical mastery is finally represented thanks to a series of deadly new Stratagems.”
Feeder Tendrils is going to get a LOT of use. Anytime a Genestealer, Lictor, Toxicrene or Venomthrope kills a character in the Fight phase the Tyranid player should be using this stratagem. There is literally no reason to NOT spend the command point. If you roll a 1, you still get the point you spent BACK. Tyranid players – never forget to use Feeder Tendrils!
Psychic Barrage has a lot of text but basically you need 3 units of at least 3 Zoanthropes. Pick a point 18″ away from all three and line of sight of those units. Each unit within 3″ of that point takes 3d3 mortal wounds on a 4+. That could be pretty damaging if you can manage to pull this one off – especially if you can catch a bunch of units in the blast.
Clocking in at 2 CP, Pathogenic Slime is expensive. However, that could be potentially very deadly. Depending on the Tyranid Monster you’re using, you could turn bio-plasma attacks into SUPER deadly shots – or you could turn mass volume shooting into a hail of death. Are those pesky 2 wound primaris marines getting you down? Take the Tyrannofex as an example. Equipped with a Fleshborer Hive, it’s pumping out 20 shots. You could stay stationary and fire again. That’s 40 shots and each one would do double damage… And that’s just based off the INDEX – who knows what the rules in the codex will be.
Oh and then there is this tid-bit from GW:
“A Carnifex with four devourers with brainleech worms using this ability will be pumping out 24 Strength 6 shots, each dealing 2 damage…”
Yes. Yes please. I’d like to take a moment to thank GW for making me NOT regret my decision to keep all my Quad-Devour Dakka-fexes. I was considering swapping over to Deathspitters but I’m good now.
This one if Gorgon Specific but it’s going to help your Genestealers rip into things even harder. Oh and hormagaunts! Those little guys are looking pretty solid now in a Gorgon themed Army!
Pfft! Psychic Powers!? Shut-it DOWN! If you remember from the HQ teasers they did, Kronos is going to MURDER psykers. Combine this with the Warlord trait “Soul Hunger” and you’ll be causing headaches for your opponent. “Oh did you need to get that Warp Charge 7+ power off? Take D3 mortal wounds instead.” And yes, it stacks with Shadow of the Warp, too.
This one is pretty good if you can get a big block of gaunts into combat. GW had this to say as well:
“Finally, Caustic Blood is a great way to give a swarm of Termagants a devastating send-off, making a 40-strong block of these lesser bio-organisms an even less appealing prospect to fight.”
Wait a minute…a “40-strong block ” uh…in the index you can only go up to 30. Either that’s a misprint or Termagants are going to be able to bring ALL the bodies to the tabletop.
I sure hope the Tyranids will have a way to fill out the detachments to get enough Command Points. I wonder how much it’s going to cost to fill out a bare-minimum Battalion detachment:
“…taking only the most low-cost units in every slot, you can get a battalion in your army for only 699 points.”
Oh this is gonna be good. “AdamHarry, are you excited yet?” Yeah. You could say that.
I’ll be in my war-room finishing off the final touches on some unfinished big-bugs. I have a feeling I’m going to need them.
