Warhammer 40K: Here’s What We Want In A Tyranid Codex
There’s a Xenos codex coming in December. If it’s Tyranids, we have a few requests.
So last month we learned that an Imperial and Xenos codex were coming towards the end of the year. We made some predictions about what we think the books could be. They may be right or wrong but if we’re right, then the Tyranids are getting a new book. If that is the case, we have a few ideas.
A Plastic Lord of War
We’re going to keep chanting this until we get one. We need a new plastic Lord of War Kit for the Tyranids. There are many options. GW can take their pick or create an entirely new one – it’s their IP they can do what they want. Whatever they do, just PLEASE give us a new Lord of War in plastic.
New (Or Old) Unique “Characters”
Bring back the Doom of Malantai or at least some more unique “characters” for the Tyranids. I’m not asking for the return of the busted rules – just the character (but honestly, the game is so deadly I don’t even think the Old Doom would do much before it’s dead in the water). We all know that the Hive Mind is just that and it’s virtually impossible for there to be “characters” or individuals within the Tyranid Swarm – but we do have examples like the Swarmlord, Old One Eye, and the Red Terror so it’s not completely unheard of.
The point is the Hive Mind could whip-up some more characters for different species of Tyranids to add some literal character to the horde. If nothing else, it would give them the option to make some cool new kits for those characters, too.
New ‘Guants
It could be new Termagants or new Hormagaunts – whatever you want. Just update them somehow. It could be a new combo kit, it could be a redesign. It could just be a rework of their rules to make them deadlier. Termagants used to have more weapon options. Why not bring a few of those back to make them a more interesting unit? And Hormagaunts could use something to make them able to get into combat. I miss the old “Fleet of…” rules. They need some way to reliably get into combat to clog up those pesky guns.
Fix Their Durability
I’m throwing down the design gauntlet on this one. It’s a BIG ask and it’s going to be extremely tough to get right – but the challenge is there. Make the Tyranids survivable in the new edition. Look, 9th edition is possibly the most lethal edition of Warhammer ever. The Tyranids are in a weird spot in terms of durability. They don’t have the toughness of vehicles, they don’t have the wounds to survive anti-tank weapons, they don’t have the Invulnerable Saves to protect them, and you can’t put enough bodies on the tabletop due to points (and the amount of firepower coming their way these days). How to you “fix” that without just ripping off other army’s schtick?
Do you make them cheaper in points? Give the monsters more wounds? Make Shadow of the Warp/Synapse provide an ignore wounds mechanic (again)? Or do you mess with enemy targeting with modifiers to hit or wound? I don’t know. There’s probably some other options I’m not listing – but they need to be scary and right now they just aren’t.
Psychic Black Holes
The Shadow in the Warp is a thing. It’s the Hive Mind’s ability to essentially cut off psykers from the warp by overloading their minds and powers with the constant two-way psychic communication of the Tyranids. It needs to do more on the tabletop. Maybe it devours psychic powers or nullifies them within a range. Maybe Tyranids get a “Save” vs Psychic powers. Maybe it shuts off auras of characters. I don’t know what it does but it needs to mess with psykers a LOT more than it does now.
Here’s hoping that if we do get a new Tyranid book is makes them an opponent that will shake things up and not just be a punching bag for 9th edition.
