Warhammer 40K: Mastering Tyranids Adaptive Physiology
Let’s talk all about the ins and outs of using the brand new Tyranid Adaptive Physiology. Fear the Hive Mind!
Hey everyone, Danny from TFG Radio here. As I continue to pour and pour over the brand new 9th Edition codex, I realized that the new Adaptive Physiology is full of fun combinations for harvesting biomass. Let’s dive right in!
Adaptive Physiologies
So before I start, it is worth pointing out a conflict in the codex. In one section, Adaptive Physiologies are specified as only for non-Character, Non-Titanic Monsters while in another section, it specifies Named Characters and Titanic Monsters as restricted. With this in mind, the below is generally written from the perspective that like Adaptive Physiology from Warzone Octarius, these are meant for Monsters like Hive Tyrants and Trygon Primes, but not Named Characters like Swarmlord or Old One Eye. Should GW FAQ this to mean that yes, characters like Hive Tyrants and Tervigons are restricted, this will certainly be amended.
Dermic Symbiosis
This model has a 4++ Invulnerable save.
While not as strong as it once was, this is still a great upgrade that can radically increase survivability on a lot of Bugs. A 4++ means that (unless going against Rail Guns), you just ignore half of all the wounds your opponent manages against you, and when you stack that with T8 that makes a lot of weapons wound on 4s or worse, that is even extra juice. You really want to this on something worth the investment to protect it like Tervigons, Heirodules, or even a Dimachaeron (especially with how expensive they are now). Granted, 25 points is expensive, but if you are building around a very large, very important piece, this can be essential.
With Zoanthropes’ Synaptic Link, it maybe isn’t as auto-take as before, but it still has plays. Especially if you are doing something like the unstoppable Tank Tervigon, this is essential or even a Tyrannofex out of a Spore that gets right into the scrum and stands there blasting. If you are building around either an Anvil style Monster that is going to get into the fight and try to stay there for as long as possible or trying to keep a Tervigon (or Trygon Prime) alive, then this can certainly be worth the points. In Behemoth, the mortal wound engine Yo-Yo Trygon Prime definitely likes having an Invulnerable save to be able to survive long enough to burrow back to safety.
A solid choice but 25 points can be a bit hard to find in a list.
Enraged Reserves
This model counts as double wounds remaining for the purposes of tiers, and once per battle, it may use an Epic Deed Stratagem for free.
This is an interesting Adaptive Physiology that can be used to great effect in several ways. First, you can lean into the degrading profile ability, keeping some big bugs that like to scrum at full efficiency longer. Barbed Hierodules like this as they want to keep shooting, and having them have to suffer most of their wounds before losing any BS makes them pretty reliable, especially if you can park them in cover to get the most out of that 2+ armor save. You can also throw this on either a Trygon Prime or a Maleceptor, both bugs that really do work when at their top profile.
This is especially true if going to do a Maleceptor bomb where you are relying on their aura to pump out some serious Mortal Wounds. Making sure that they are doing the maximum number each time is key, and also, the free Epic Deed means that they can cast an extra spell without spending a CP. Another tactic with the Maleceptor as it is a Horned Chitin unit, you can use Trampling Charge to get the Maleceptor to do some big damage on the charge and also get it deeper into enemy lines, meaning if they don’t kill it (which can be hard with that T7 and 4++, especially if you threw Catalyst on it), it is going to catch a lot of choice targets in its range. On a Trygon Prime, this is really for a free Death Frenzy. It can also work on a Tryant as a Tyrant certainly can use an extra cast, has the Horned Chitin keyword for the charge, and wants to ride that BS/WS 2+ for as long as possible, so that is certainly an option as well.
This really is most optimal on a Maleceptor, but it can make a Trygon Prime an even bigger threat, and while it is 25 points, essentially getting a free CP with it can be worth it for that alone.
Hardened Biology
This models gains +1 to its armor save against Damage 1 weapons.
Now that Tyranids have a considerable amount of 2+ armor saves, this definitely can do work. For 15 points, it is also not as pricey an upgrade, and it can help keep Tyrannofexes, Walking Tyrants, Exocrines, and Haruspexes that much tougher to take down. Even on a 3+ save beast like a Flyant, this can help get you to a 2+ against small arms, but really, a fun choice is on a Carnifex or Thornback. With their native -1 damage, now a lot more weapons are going to be damage 1, meaning you get that +1 to save, meaning that your Carni is going to save on 2+ unless being hit with -2, but if that Carnifex is also in cover, now you need -3 AP. That is not too bad at all, and if you are doing an HVC Carnifex that wants to sit back and shoot, especially if getting Direct Guidance for that sweet +1 to hit, making it as tanky as possible for still inexpensive is fun.
That said, there isn’t that much D1 shooting out there, but, this can do work in certain matchups, but I wouldn’t jump to it either.
Precognitive Sensoria
This model fights first in melee.
While not overly complex, this is a great upgrade for melee monsters like Haruspexes that want to get in and fight but also are not exactly the fastest out there. Haruspexes can do some great work, but without Swarmlord’s old double move, it can be hard to get them to hit first, but with this upgrade, you can use them almost like a melee screen where they block key charge lanes, so your opponent has to go into them, but with fights first, it essentially means your opponent is only going to get one activation against the Haruspex before it gets to swing on the other chargers. Especially if you survive past the initial Fight Phase, getting to go first when there are no other charges is sweet.
You can also do this on a melee Walking Tyrant that has that sweet 2+/4++ profile, so taking it out in melee can be tricky either way, but with Always Strikes First, that can be a dangerous gamble depending on what is hitting it and when. If nothing else, it helps cancel out Always Strikes Last, so if need be, you can interrupt with it.
While solid, this is again not necessarily an auto-take as it really depends on what kind of list you are building, and in general, 20 points can be hard to dig out of a list.
Predator Instincts
This model can heroically intervene as if it was a character and can do so within 6″ (and move 6″) rather than 3″.
This is a fun one that can absolutely catch people off guard, especially again with slower melee threats like a Haruspex. This really is one of the best choices for a Haruspex as you can use it as a charge denial piece where it stays near your critical pieces, and if your opponent charges in, it can swoop in and start whompin. You can also do this with sort of a mixed formation where you can position a bunch of Gants around the Haruspex so if anyone tries to hit the little bugs, it has plenty of room to slide in and bop the offending target, and if they skew their charge to avoid this, then they are likely losing out an attacks due to positioning, and this can mean that the Gants don’t die.
As this 15 points, you can also throw it on say a Screamer Killer who can essentially be a spoiler, walking behind your frontline, trying to bait people into charges and then coming in hot with those attacks. Even though they can already heroically intervene, throwing this on a Walking Tyrant who can shoot and fight is interesting as the extended range means that it is walking up, if someone tries to drop down and get into some backfield, squishy targets near the Tyrant, it can HI over and put the smack down.
A fun Physiology, but you need to build to maximize it, and you may not really need it, but it can absolutely catch people off guard if you get savvy with it.
Synaptic Enhancement
This model gains Synapse and Shadow in the Warp.
This is easily the best Adaptive Physiology out there. One, it is the cheapest, only 10 simple points for a ton of value. Two, the Tyranid Codex is built on Synapse and Synaptic Link, so the more Synapse you bring, the better. This is custom made for a fast moving monster like Harpies as it helps you ensure that your forward elements stay within Synaptic Link range, and it allows you to spread that net wider, meaning easier to catch units in debuffs like Paroxysm or make sure that you can cast buffs on far flung units that have rushed forward.
Making sure that you have fast, forward Synapse beacons is key, so taking a Monster that you are already going to use and getting it to be Synapse? Yes, please. Especially on a Harpy who wants to shoot, making it Synapse means you get another vector to pop off Shard Lure. This also combos really well with say Kronos who wants to catch psykers close, so having a super fast threat that can get up there and get the Deepest Shadow ready is sweet. If doing a gunline or even a partial partial one, a Tyrannofex or Exocrine loves this as it can sit back with its big gat hunting armor while also being a pivotal backfield Synapse anchor, and with its 2+, T8 profile, it can certainly be hard to shift at range.
This can even work with Tyrannocytes as they can drop off a unit and then still be a little Synapse beacon deep in enemy territory. Spending 10 points to get another Synapse creature really is just about as clutch as you can get, so you should generally always have 10 points set aside just for this, especially if taking a Harpy or Crone.
Whipcoil Reflexes
Whenever an enemy Falls Back from Engagement Range of this model, they take d3 mortal wounds on a 2+.
This is one Adaptive that I really want to like, but it is not the easiest to actually achieve. Doing damage to units that Fall Back is great, but this means that you need to have a Monster that is going to get out there fast and catch some targets. This can do work on a Dimachaeron or Scythed Hierodule as they have the base movement to be able to jump out and get some charges off with Onslaught. A melee Flyrant can also do this well with its base move of 16″, so it can work, assuming the Monster is hitting units that it won’t kill flat out.
The thing is, the extra d3 wounds isn’t really that important as it is unlikely to do enough damage to where the unit Falling Back is now out of the game. It can maybe snipe out a Character that survived a charge, but this is a corner case. The problem with Whipcoils is that the damage is just not high enough to really matter, and again, most players are going to be fine taking d3 Mortal Wounds to make sure that they can shoot at whatever you sent forward.
A fun idea, but rarely practical.
Voracious Ammunition
One unit hit by this model’s ranged attacks takes an extra d3 Mortal Wounds on a 2+.
This is a solid upgrade that helps upgun just about any monster. Especially with so many multi-wound units out there, this can go great on on D2 or 3 weapons, making sure that you are maybe finishing off that partially wounded model in a big unit. Exocrines make great use of this as again, spending 15 points to generally get an extra 1.5 wounds through is not at all bad, but it can also be really useful on a Tyrannofex with either Fleshborer Hive or Acid Spray. Especially with Acid Spray at D2, against 3 Wound infantry, this can make sure that if there is one model on 1 wound left, if you have another multi-damage shooting to throw at the unit, you can take out that wounded one as to not waste a more powerful shot later (nothing like having a model with 1 wound left absorb a Damage 3 shot).
If you are taking some ranged bugs, this is just a solid upgrade, especially for only 15 points as again, it is adding about 1.5 wounds to any shooting activation, which is not at all bad.
This is likely my number 2 choice as it has a low cost and just helps provide that extra bit of throughput to a big shooting threat.
The Verdict
So there we have it, even more combinations and ideas to factor into list building. The 9th edition Codex is just a chonky tome with a ton to sift through, and as the weeks go on, I am sure we will find more and more exciting ways to wreak havoc on the table. It can be hard to come up with a list, not because there aren’t good options, but that there are simply too many options. With our new, interesting tek from Adaptive Physiology, the ability to customize a list beyond just what units you take is insane. I look forward to every game night to keep testing more and more combinations, but be sure to sound off with what you have found works.
As always, play games and be nice to each other.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
