Question about the Hive Tyrant

[tanagra]

The codex says he's able to take "hive commander" "indescribable horror" and "old adversary", yet I don't think I've ever seen anyone post a list here where he took more than one of those powers.

Is there a rule change I'm unaware of or is taking more than one of those powers just counter-productive for the point cost?

[Inquisitor Stingray]

You are free to give your Hive Tyrant all three traits on the same Tyrant, however I strongly advise against taking Indescribable Horror. The fact that it doesn't affect Fearless units is just garbage. Especially since those who would dare assault a Tyrant, will usually be Fearless, id est Khorne Bezerkers, Death Company and so on.

Futhermore the upgrades are quite expensive, so as a rule of thumb, take Old Adversary to make Gaunts even more powerful or go with Hive Commander, allowing for some tactical shennigans.

[tanagra]

Jun 1, 2012 13:26:40 GMT Inquisitor Stingray said:

take Old Adversary to make Gaunts even more powerful

Now how does that work exactly? Do the gaunts within range automatically just benifit from the re-rolls against what ever they hit or do I need to designate specific targets before they get the bonus?

[Inquisitor Stingray]

Old Adversary grants Prefered Enemy to all friendly untis within 6 inches, himself included. A combination between an Old Adersary Tyrant and a Tervigon is extremely deadly, seeing as how they make free Gaunts, give them Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands, Feel No Pain and Counter-attack for no cost. If you start addign Venomthropes for cover saves, things get even more nasty.

[tanagra]

You've been very helpful. I'm picking up my first tyrant soon and am trying to familiarize myself with its abilities beforehand.

[nurglitch]

The best way to do that is to read the rulebook and Codex: Tyranid carefully. For example, to benefit from Brood Primogenitor from the Tervigon, and Old Adversary from the Hive Tyrant, you need to have the beneficiary brood within 6" of both Monstrous Creatures when those effects are relevant.

This isn't such a big issue when the unit of Termagants is charged, because at that point it's pretty easy to gain the Ld10 and Counter-Attack from the Tervigon, and the Defensive Grenades and Dangerous terrain tests from any nearby Spore Clouds.

Likewise Catalyst assigns Feel No Pain in your own turn, with a pretty decent range. And the Adrenal Glands won't confer the Furious Charge bonus when you're being charged; it doesn't stack with Counter-Attack.

However, the tricky part comes when resolving the effects of Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Old Adversary, and so on. When you're charging you have to maximize the number of engaged models, which means that either the unit had a nice long tail that its 6" assault move will leave within 6" of the Hive Tyrant or the Tervigon (or a Venomthropes). Likewise the defender reaction when your Termagants get charged may pull them out of those 6" ranges, as you have to move members outside of base contact into base contact.

Only once the charge ranges and reactions have been resolved do you get to measure to see if the benefits of stuff like Brood Primogenitor are still in range.