Warhammer 40K: Having Mixed Feelings About The New ‘Norn’ Nids
The models are awesome. But I’m kind of wondering what’s the point of these new Norn creatures for the Tyranids.
Just to be clear I’m glad to see the Tyranids getting a bunch of updated kits and models. They all look fantastic and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. Especially the topic of this post: The Norn Emissary/Assimilator. It’s an awesome model and certainly a centerpiece for any Tyranid army and/or collection.
It’s big reveal was this past Saturday and I’ve had some time to stew on this miniature and some of the implied rules and I’m honestly having some mixed feelings. Let me breakdown why I think the Norn creatures are a mixed bag. Let’s start with the biggest let down of them all…
It’s Not A “Lord of War” …Probably?
Games Workshop was a little sneaky when they had this shot at this particular angle and used the Wraithlord as an example. The Norn creature are certainly larger than the Wraithlord…But Wraithlords are old models and don’t have the stature they once did. However, with a quick glance you might be forgiven for thinking of the Wraith Knight:
But on closer inspection it’s easy to see those are VERY different models. However at the right angle and a quick glance you could get them mixed up. The picture that compares the Norn to the Wraithlord is even sneaker because behind the Norn Assimilator you can see a Wraith Knight model that’s been converted into terrain. The Norn Assimilator is basically somewhere in the middle of the two.
On one hand I am pretty bummed that this new Big Bug isn’t bigger. On the other hand, I kind of agree with Goatboy in that Towering is a problem. So I don’t really want to see more of those Towering units added. But on the other-other hand, that genie is already out of the bottle. Almost every army has access to something that huge. So why NOT Tyranids?
It’s A Hive Tyrant…But Bigger
Even Games Workshop has made this comparison:
The Norn Emissary is perhaps the ultimate synapse creature, bigger and nastier than even a Hive Tyrant. They are evolved for the singular purpose of preying on gifted commanders or abducting knowledgeable prey from heavily defended strongholds.
That’s great and all but the Hive Tyrants already filled the role of the Battlefield Commander. Heck, we even have a unique Character with the Swarmlord for the Tyranids.
Tyranids didn’t need a bigger commander. That’s actually not a good thing because the bigger the commander the easier it will be to target and take out. Unless the Norn creatures have a crazy armor save and an invulnerable on top I can’t see a target that large leading the troops for very long. Hope it can take a bodyguard or something.
It’s An Assassin Creature
This is perhaps the most confusing thing that was revealed about the Norn Emissary and Assimilator.
“The latest of these are the Norn Emissary and the Norn Assimilator, creatures spawned when the Hive Mind has a crucial goal it simply must accomplish.”
So these creatures are spawned with specific goals in mind. We were told during the preview that they would even get bonuses for attacking their target. That’s great! I’m glad they are going to be better at taking out a specific unit. One question: How are they going to get there? They don’t have wings so maybe you drop the down in a Tyrannocyte? But unless you’ve got more back-up dumping them behind enemy lines seems pretty risky. Are you going to march them across the tabletop? Cover is going to be tough for these creatures. But they could make across the tabletop long ways, right? Yeah. Sure.
It’s just a weird job description for this size of a Tyranid. The Norn Emissary is character assassin. And the Norn Assimilator is a fortification breaker and also a prey-hunter. One’s got psychic punch while the other has Toxins! Again…that’s neat but I’m confused about the job description. This large Norn creature doesn’t look like an assassin. In fact, that’s kinda what the Deathleaper and the new Lictors are — at least for characters.
I could see the Norns as a fort breaker or vehicle destroyer. But their main weapons are their claws which implies melee. So again, good luck getting there.
Just to reiterate once again this model is really cool looking. I really want to get my hands on one as it IS a centerpiece model. But that doesn’t mean I’m not confused about what the heck this thing will do on the tabletop. I really hope we get a crack at the Norn creatures rules soon. Hopefully that will clear up some of the confusion.
So it’s a Big Bug but not Lord of War big. It’s a larger than a Hive Tyrant and also a synapse creature but it’s also an assassin. And it walks across the tabletop. Gotcha. I’m gonna need to see a datasheet ASAP.
