Post by The Hive Mind on Feb 2, 2014 14:16:57 GMT
Hi Hive
Read this article over on 3++ and wanted to share it with you, I did not write this article so full credit goes to Auretious Taak. But a great read and gives you something to think about.
Enjoy:
Read this article over on 3++ and wanted to share it with you, I did not write this article so full credit goes to Auretious Taak. But a great read and gives you something to think about.
Enjoy:
The Synapse Tax.
Three words that are holding the competitive community back in understanding the Tyranid codex and how to approach it from a list design and generalship perspective. This simple sentence right now is evoking all sorts of rage in people and many are just going to walk away and not read this article. That's okay, it's always pleasant to sit back and laugh at the nerd rage. For those of you still here, let's look at the Tyranid codex in a more…outside the conventional box sort of way.
When you play a game with the Tyranids, your opponents are labouring under the understanding that Synapse is central to the well being and control of the Tyranid army in your hands. And this is, for the most part true. But knowing this, you also recognise that your opponents are going to absolutely destroy all of your synapse as soon as possible so as your troops become almost uncontrollable and your ability to play the game in a competitive sense goes out the window. So what we need to do when it comes to designing and playing armies of Tyranids under this codex is to design with the assumption that synapse simply does not exist.
But surely I'm just pulling your leg here, how can we design lists which are competitive if the rule which is central to the design and playability of the Tyranid army doesn't exist? It's actually rather simple – we have to understand and appreciate Instinctive Behaviour as a whole. When does it come into play and is it really all negative as so many people believe? I'm of the firm opinion that it isn't, and indeed it can be quite a beneficial addition to a well crafted army list.
Before moving on, a Warning: This article is long. Like really long. With no real easy way to break it into smaller articles, so it's just one big long article. I suggest reading it in small parts or to get a giant mug of coffee and settle in for a solid read. I've added convenient sub-titles to make it easier.
Tyranids Deathwing_Stealer
Instinctive Behaviour - Examination In Depth.
Instinctive Behaviour is tested for each unit that is both outside of the synapse range of a friendly codex Tyranids synapse creature (no using an opponent's synapse creatures even if they are of the same swarm
) and with whom an Instinctive behaviour category (Lurk; Hunt; Feed) applies. This is every non-synapse creature, genestealer, broodlord and spore mine in the army. A leadership test is rolled, and for any that fail, a follow up roll on the applicable Instinctive Behaviour table is applied immediately. The effects of this roll apply until the beginning of the next turn unless otherwise specified. Additionally, Instinctive behaviour is not rolled for if the affected unit is engaged in combat, falling back, has gone to ground, or has arrived from reserve this turn.
Now whilst this article is looking at the Tyranid army in the context of a non-existent Synapse presence, units arriving from reserve act normally that turn with no need to test for Instinctive Behaviour. This works into an order of operations for when exactly you make the rolls for Instinctive Behaviour – after units have been deployed from reserve but before the movement phase of this turn. Thereby, units that would otherwise be affected by an Instinctive Behaviour this turn could have that requirement made void by the arrival from reserve of a Synapse Creature.
This needs to be clarified a bit as there was some confusion over this order of operations when I brought it up in the chat bawks.
Firefly - Mal and Zoe Clarifying When Instinctive Behaviour Is Tested For.
The FAQ has a question referring to when blessings are cast from units arriving from reserve:
“From the FAQ:
Q: Blessings are manifested ‘at the start of the Psyker’s Movement phase’ – does this mean they happen simultaneously with Reserves rolls, Outflanking rolls etc and if so which is resolved first? (p68)
A: They do occur simultaneously – as such, the player whose turn it is decides in what order these things occur as per page 9 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook”
Now, looking at the reserves section, we see that reserves arrive BEFORE any other units can move, they thus arrive before the movement phase as an exception (see page 9 of the rulebook 'Exceptions') to the normal turn phases ('turn summary' page 9 of the rulebook). It's movement but not in the movement phase, rather at the beginning of the turn before the movement phase. The above question doesn't reference the movement phase in the answer it states that the blessings occur simultaneously with the reserves. That's cool, that makes sense. But Instinctive Behaviour states “At the beginning of each of your turns, all Codex: Tyranids units with this special rule that are outside of the synapse range of any friendly Synapse Creatures (see below) must take a Leadership test unless they are: engaged in combat, falling back, have gone to ground or arrived from reserve this turn.” The key phrase is “arrived from reserve this turn”. Reserves thus come into play BEFORE Instinctive behaviour tests are made, all of these operations occur at the beginning of the turn but there is an order there which in itself is an exception to the exceptions rule on page 9 of the rulebook in that the player doesn't decide what happens in what order as far as reserves arriving and Instinctive Behaviour tests. To emphasise this: beginning of turn and beginning of movement phase is not the same. Instinctive Behaviour occurs at the beginning of the turn, but occurs AFTER reserves are deployed that turn but BEFORE the movement phase begins. This is important to understand.
*DEEP BREATH*
We have digressed slightly from the point. The Tyranid army can manipulate to an extent the placement of synapse from reserve to control instinctive behaviour at the start of a turn before Instinctive Behaviour is tested for. As a working example, in your previous turn, a unit of 30 Hormagaunts arrived via outflanking thanks to the Hive Commander ability of a Hive Tyrant. They arrived from reserve and so didn't have to test for the Feed Instinctive Behaviour being outside of Synapse range. They couldn't charge last turn but spread out enough to not get shot up too greatly and are ready to cause some havoc this turn. Being outside of synapse range, however, they have to test for Instinctive Behaviour. Hormagaunts have a low leadership and thus likely will fail and half the time will eat themselves and do nothing else this turn, which sucks…but as Instinctive Behaviour rolls occur after Reserves are deployed and before the movement phase begins, a Trygon Prime, for example, could arrive from reserve via deep strike and thanks to being a Synapse Creature, can come into range of the Hormagaunts before they need to test to feed, thus you can maintain control of the little critters this turn at least. Of note, this manipulation of latter game turn synapse arrival can be guided in with a Lictor or the Death Leaper and their Pheromone Trail and as a Trygon Prime has access to bio-artifacts, it could be equipped with the Norn Crown thus generating a natural 18″ Synapse radius around itself. It only takes one of those Hormagaunts to be in range to not have to test for Instinctive behaviour.
Incidentally, the FAQ run through above on Blessings cast by and on units arriving from reserve happening simultaneously, also adds an interesting spin to the order of operations of the turn with Instinctive Behaviour. Reserves arrive. Psykers arriving from reserve cast any blessings they have. Dominion is a Blessing. Instinctive Behaviour is then tested for if applicable. The normal movement phase then proceeds. Remaining Blessings from psykers on the board at the beginning of this turn occur at the beginning of the movement phase i.e. now after reserves have arrived and instinctive behaviour rolls have been made, then movement proceeds as normal. This is very useful when we look at Flying Hive Tyrants who are swooping into ongoing reserves each turn. Once interceptor weapons are removed from your opponents army you can run amok with a Flying Hive Tyrant specifically brought to keep synapse present as your advance moves up. You swoop in from ongoing reserves 12″ and up to 24″ forwards and towards a board edge.The aim is to have enough run movement (2D6″) in your shooting phase to fly off the table and into ongoing reserves again (Hive Mind note, unfortunately FAQ stops you from leaving the table) . Once this initial movement is done from reserves (first time reserve deployment or from ongoing reserves), attempt to cast Dominion. If successful you have an 18″ Synapse range radius. If the Norn Crown is taken this is extended to 24″,and if this Hive Tyrant is your warlord and somehow miraculously scored the Synaptic Lynchpin warlord trait that's a 30″ radius of synapse from a 60mm (2 and 23/64 inches diameter to be precise, we'll just say 2″ for simplicities sake) diameter base, so between an 19″ and 31″ Synapse radius from the centre of the Flyrants base. All before Instinctive Behaviour rolls are made. The foot print for units that were otherwise outside of Synapse Range and not engaged in combat/arrived from reserve this turn, is immense. Following this, in your shooting phase, you run 2D6″ towards the board edge and hope you make it to go back into ongoing reserve. But we're Tyranids so we can manipulate this by taking Adrenal Glands for 15pts and gaining Fleet so we can re-roll one or more of the dice for the run roll to really increase the distance rolled and ensure we can get into ongoing reserves to repeat the strategy next turn. At a base cost, Hive Tyrant, Wings, 2 Pairs of Scything Talons, The Norn Crown, and Adrenal Glands = 255pts base. Not that bad of an investment whilst Instinctive behaviour is an issue, especially as a Norn Crowned Trygon Prime is 270pts base.
So to sum up this rambling yet wholly relevant offshoot, Instinctive Behaviour is tested for after Reserves arrive for the turn including any Blessings such as Dominion that psyker reserves have to c ast, but also tested for before the movement phase occurs otherwise. Careful manipulation of ongoing reserves and synaptic movement on the field of battle allows for units that otherwise would suffer terribly from the effects of failed Instinctive Behaviour tests to avoid testing from turn to turn or in some cases like gargoyles (see below) to recover from a negative behaviour that turn.
tyranids space_crusade1
Instinctive Behaviour – The Dreaded Tables and You.
Instinctive Behaviour is not much liked by players in this codex. A lot of the results damage affected units within the Tyranid army significantly, up to and including whole units of 30 Hormagaunts wiping themselves out instantly through to vitally important Venomthropes falling back outside of the range of the units they are shrouding. This is cruddy, but it's not all bad. It may be because I've played with Tyranids since 2nd edition and remember the various incarnations of Instinctive behaviour including the far harsher 3rd edition table that many of todays' gamers (I've apparently been playing for 17 years now) haven't experienced. You had a 1/3 chance to fallback (towards the nearest Synapse Creature) and if none were alive instead be pinned; a 1/3 chance to sit still and only be allowed to shoot or defend yourself in combat if charged; and a 1/3 chance to rush and attack the nearest enemy even if you couldn't hurt it. It played havoc on you and Instinctive behaviour as it stands in the 6th Edition incarnation does likewise. But is it all bad? I don't feel it is. Too many people have glanced at the tables and just tossed the book out the window and shelved their armies already without sitting and really appreciating the Tables. Feed and Hunt are actually quite good in most cases whereas Lurk screws you. So let's look at each table and the creatures affected by them.
Tyranid lictor front on pic
Lurk.
Lurk Affects Four Units from the Army List:
1) HQ – Deathleaper (Ld 10);
2) Troops – Termagant Broods (Ld 6)
3) Elites – Lictors (Ld 10)
4) Elites – Venomthropes (Ld 6)
Lurk could be considered the most brutal of the Instinctive Behaviour Tables (yes even over Feed) because there is no way for any of the affected units to bypass the entirely negative roll of 1-3 (Survive) and the subsequent fall back. It's a simple D6 roll and take what you get. Generally, at first glance, Lurk is some version of run away and hide and maybe shoot. However, on closer examination, you have far more control over your models then most people make out.
D6 Roll 1-3 Survive! 'The unit is treated as having failed a morale test and must immediately fall back.'
Unlike some previous editions where you fell back towards the nearest surviving synapse creature, this is a simple fall back. It sucks for all your units as it pulls them out of position and if they aren't in range of a synapse creature at the beginning of the next turn then both the termagants and the Venomthrope are likely to continue falling back whereas the Lictors and their Leadership 10 will in most circumstances see them Rally. Whilst the fodder termagants aren't a huge loss in most cases and can still fire snap shots with their weaponry if in range, having your Ld 6 Venomthrope pull back out of shrouding range of your units it is protecting is a huge blow. Re-positioning further away from the enemy with said units to ensure you have shrouding still conferred can slow down your advancement towards a victory considerably. Survive is a roll you will wish your Venomthropes never to get. As the test to regroup from falling back is done in the movement phase just before the models move and you don't test for Instinctive Behaviour if you are falling back, Termagants and Venomthropes are unlikely to regroup and rejoin the game in a timely fashion unless they fall to within synapse range at which point they automatically regroup just before they move in the movement phase, following the rules for regrouping in the rulebook.
D6 Roll 4-5 Seek Cover: ' In the Movement phase, the unit is not slowed by difficult terrain, though its models must take Dangerous Terrain tests as normal. In the Shooting phase, the unit can Run, but it can only shoot if it is in a building or area terrain (if the unit is partially within area terrain, only those models within area terrain are allowed to shoot). The unit cannot charge in the Assault phase.'
Seek Cover is actually contradictory to its' name. Unless you actually want to shoot with the affected models, there are no directives stating you have to move in a particular way or towards a particular piece of terrain. Whilst you cannot charge in the assault phase you are free to move normally in the movement phase (and aren't slowed by difficult terrain in the movement phase only) and to run in the shooting phase if you so want. With maneuvering and mobility such key aspects of any game, being free to carry this out despite having failed an instinctive behaviour test is a serious advantage. Whilst you can only shoot if you are in a building or area terrain, the stipulation that only models within such terrain can shoot means that your units of termagants who can now mix and match weapons can still push forwards beyond the terrain in the movement phase and still be able to fire any weapons in range and in the terrain. As more people run a percentage of their termagants with Devourers and the rest with Fleshborers, making the best of the situation is actually fairly easy so long as area terrain or a building is within 6″ of models in the unit for the movement phase. If all of your synapse is dead, and the venomthrope rolls this (or 'Stalk' below) then the best bet would be to push it as far forwards as you can because as soon as it rolls a Survive it is doubtful it'll see use again as it runs away and fails to regroup time and again.
D6 Roll 6 Stalk: 'This follows all the rules for Seek Cover (above). In addition, the unit gains the Stealth special rule.'
See 'Seek Cover' above, except that now your termagants and Venomthrope benefit from stealth as well (Lictors already have Stealth). This encourages you to seek shelter in area terrain or a building, but again, there is no direct instruction you have to follow to do so. Termagants with a Venomthrope with both Stealth and Shrouded in the open is very nice let alone in cover.
So Lurk isn't all that bad. The models with it either have severely short ranged shooting anyways (Flesh Hooks have a 6″ range only) or are far more useful in a mobile fashion. The 50% chance to fall back is a big downer for an otherwise surprisingly useful table considering this is supposed to be a negative behavioural effect.
Tyranids_carved from wood 40k scale dominatrix back fo a white dwarf no other info
Hunt.
Hunt affects six units from the army list. In general these are fire support units. Three units bypass the 'Burrow and Hide' result due to being fearless and the other three have to suck it up. Hunt, like Feed, allows certain models a guaranteed good Instinctive Behaviour with a 5/6 and a 1/6 chance of decent and decent with a very useful USR respectively. However, the Burrow and Hide behaviour whilst debilitating can be eliminated as soon as a model from the unit comes within synapse range.
Creatures affected by Hunt:
1) Elites – Hive Guard (Ld 7)
2) Fast Attack – Gargoyle Brood (Ld 6)
3) Fast Attack – Harpy (Fearless) (Ld 10)
4) Heavy Support – Biovore Brood (Ld 6)
5) Heavy Support – Exocrine (Fearless) (Ld 7)
6) Heavy Support – Tyrannofex (Fearless) (Ld 8)
D6 Roll 1-3 Burrow and Hide: 'The unit immediately Goes to Ground. Units that contain at least one model with the Fearless special rule treat this result as Prowl (below), instead.'
Gargoyles, Biovores, and Hive Guard are affected by Burrow and Hide. The Harpy, exocrine and Tyrannofex are Fearless and so 'Prowl' instead. Going to ground is annoying, but you can still snap shot your weapons and fire overwatch and defend yourself in combat. The +1 to your cover saving throws is also handy if a venomthrope happens to be nearby or you are in cover already (or both), but otherwise not being able to move, run or charge until the end of your next turn is crippling. It's a minimum of 2 turns where you are unable to contribute as fully as you'd like with the units…until we bring a synapse creature into range and then the units who are gone to ground gain fearless and immediately get up and can act normally again.
This is where we revisit our order of operations in relation to the Instinctive Behaviour: Reserves arrive. Reserve units arriving capable of casting blessings cast them. Instinctive Behaviour is determined if applicable. Existing on the board units with Blessings cast them, then the movement phase occurs. We have 3 whole phases in which to bring synapse to bare to within range of these units. In the movement phase, by moving a synapse creature into range of at least one model in the unit, thus the unit becomes fearless hops up and acts as normal immediately, it being the movement phase in effect the instinctive behaviour has had no effect. In the shooting phase, if the unit is still gone to ground, a synapse creature may run within range of the unit, thus triggering the cancellation of the burrow and hide behaviour and the unit can shoot or run as normal (nifty for the biovore who otherwise was doing nothing useful this turn). Finally, as Charges are declared and moved on a unit by unit basis, it's possible to get a synapse creature into range during this charge sub-phase. When that happens, the unit immediately gets up, and can charge if in range too. It's a nifty trick to bring a swarm of blinding venom spitting gargoyles into the fray unexpectedly.
D6 Roll 4-5 Prowl: 'In the Shooting phase, the unit cannot Run and must instead shoot at the closest enemy unit that is within range and line of sight of at least one model in the Tyranid unit. If there is no viable target, the Tyranid unit can do nothing during the Shooting phase. The unit cannot charge in the Assault phase.'
You're free to move as normal in the movement phase with prowl. Use this to draw line of sight to something you can fire at. The wording is specific in that if you can't draw a line of sight to at least one model in an enemy unit, you can't shoot in the shooting phase. As you cannot run if you can't see a target at the beginning of the shooting phase (so no onslaughting to run then shoot) you need to try and guarantee to be able to draw a line of sight. The Impaler Cannon and the Biovore which don't need line of sight to target a unit normally have to still draw a line of sight to an enemy unit to shoot. It's quite clear in the Prowl description. Note that this doesn't mean the nearest enemy unit, but the nearest enemy unit you can draw a physical line of sight to. Clever use of larger models and monstrous creatures or terrain to block lines of sight to targets you can't hurt effectively, and leaving sight lines to units you can is a skill that will have to be refined by players to make the most of these restrictions. Whilst you can't charge in the assault phase, you've been able to shoot and that's what your unit is primarily built for (debatable with the gargoyles).
D6 Roll 6 Destroy: 'This follows all the rules for Prowl (above). In addition, the unit gains the Preferred Enemy special rule.'
See Prowl above except that the units also gain Preferred Enemy. This is brilliant. It is also the only way to gain Preferred Enemy on these six units without paying the Swarm Lord Tax (bring along the Swarm Lord he gives out a special rule to his unit and another unit inside 18″ this includes Preferred Enemy) to gain Preferred Enemy. Re-rolls of 1 to hit and to wound with both shooting and combat attacks makes all the units above incredibly powerful. Whilst you can't assault the enemy, Preferred Enemy won't wear off till next turn so if they assault you, you have Preferred Enemy in their turn. To the shooting, an Exocrine with a chance to unleashed either of its' firing modes with the re-rolls to hit and to wound mean that against anything less than the most resilient of opponents, you will be re-rolling all your to wound dice, with str 7 and ap 2, this is a brilliant addition. If a full unit of up to 30 Gargoyles were to get this as their Instinctive Behaviour, their fleshborers would sing, though if charged when combined with blinding venom, adds a lot of versatility indeed. In short though, Destroy is good.
The Harpy, Exocrine and Tyrannofex benefit the most from this table, with a 5/6 chance to Prowl and a 1/6 chance to Destroy. The Harpy has a lot of movement and as it is free to move as normal in the movement phase, it could drop a spore mine cluster and swoop off the table into ongoing reserves, but with its' movement, it should be able to maneuver into position to maximise it's damage output, especially if it gets a Destroy result. Burrow and Hide really isn't that bad, especially for the gargoyles who have so many chances to snap out of the behaviour and to act as normal, and with this in mind throwing gargoyles deliberately further ahead of your forces and out of synapse range in earlier turns such that when synapse creatures arrive in the area you are instantly back on your feet, could work with some clever shenanigans.
Tyranids true scale of a Haruspex
Feed.
Feed is the Instinctive Behaviour that is causing the most rage. Having a unit of 30 Hormagaunts wipe almost half the unit out and then taking a morale test to avoid fleeing, that's not pretty. Oft looked over is that broods of several Carnifii will half the time fail their Ld 7 test for Instinctive Behaviour, smack themselves with a str 9 AP – hit each, and whilst they will likely take little to no damage, they also can't do anything else that turn. The flip side is that the units affected by Feed generally like to get into combat and having to charge an enemy isn't that bad of a thing. With a 1/6 chance to gain the Rage USR this isn't a bad thing, especially considering how much of a benefit that rage is for the units affected by Feed.
Creatures Affected by Feed:
1) HQ – Tyrant Guard Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 7)
2) HQ – Old One Eye (Ld 8)
3) Troops – Hormagaunt Brood (Ld 6)
4) Troops – Ripper Swarm Brood (Ld 5)
5) Elites – Haruspex (Ld 7)
6) Elites – Pyrovore Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 6)
7) Fast Attack – Ravener Brood (Ld 6)
8) Fast Attack – Ravener Brood with The Red Terror (Ld 8 whilst The Red Terror is alive, Ld 6 otherwise)
9) Fast Attack – Sky-Slasher Swarm Brood (Ld 5)
10) Fast Attack – Hive Crone (Ld 10)
11) Heavy Support – Carnifex Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 7)
12) Heavy Support – Trygon (Ld 8)
13) Heavy Support – Mawloc (Ld 8)
D6 Roll 1-3 Cannibalistic Hunger: ' The unit immediately suffers a number of hits equal to the number of models in that unit. These hits are resolved using the unit’s majority Strength (if drawn, use the highest) and AP-. Wounds are allocated by the owning player and armour saves (but not cover saves) may be taken. After resolving casualties (if any) the unit can do nothing else until the end of its turn. Units consisting of only a single model treat this result as Devour (below), instead.'
Of the thirteen units affected by Feed, eight units (including solo Pyrovores, Carnifex and Tyrant Guard) ignore the Cannibalistic Hunger. The seven units (including multiple Pyrovores, carnifii and Tyrant Guard) remaining are variously affected to either do serious damage to their fighting strength (Hormagaunts, Ravenors, Rippers and Sky-Slashers – low armour save, wounded on 4′s) and do nothing else that turn (assuming they don't break and flee due to too many casualties caused from the cannibalistic hunger), or they do nothing till the end of this player turn. Broods of Dakka-fexes (Carnifexes with ranged weapons usually 2 twin-linked devourers each) that sit around and do nothing for a turn is a huge waste of their investment. It is in many ways more effective to take those Carnifexes in solo units to avoid this Cannibalistic Hunger negative and to at least be able to move and engage the enemy in combat and thus have an effect that turn. It's important to note that there aren't any other stipulations here and that your Hormagaunts which are scoring don't lose that scoring status whilst they sit on their haunches after behaving more like Orks then mindless Tyranids. Suffice to say, Cannibalistic Hunger could be worse. It has been pointed out that Ripper swarms went up in points but that they don't take damage whilst outside of synapse range. At Ld 5, they are going to be rolling on the Feed table more consistently than any other unit in the army and indeed taking damage whilst out of synapse range half the time. Rippers went up in points and became far weaker.
D6 Roll 4-5 Devour: 'In the Shooting phase, the unit cannot shoot or Run. In the Assault phase, if the unit is able to declare a charge, it must do so against the closest viable enemy unit. If the unit cannot declare a charge, it does nothing in the Assault phase.'
Ripper Swarms with Spinefists, Haruspex, Pyrovores, Raveners, Sky Slasher Swarms with Spinefists, Hive Crones, Carnifii, and Trygons – all have ranged attacks and all of them when affected by a Feed Instinctive Behaviour roll lose the ability to shoot. This will affect Carnifii Broods and Ravener Broods the most. The high Leadership of a Hive Crone (10) means that you are only failing the Instinctive Behaviour Test once in every 12 game turns (3 in 36 chance to fail a Ld 10 check = 1 in 12), so whilst it is unlikely, in the absence of synapse on the board, moving a Hive Crone in such a way that it is within charge range of something relatively squishy is something to consider if the Hive Crone has arrived from reserves this turn (and so moved before the instinctive behaviour test is made and making this sentence make sense!). Note that a Devour result for Feed allows you to move as normal in the movement phase. This sets up for the assault, but at the same time, if you can't assault you are not forced to assault. A canny player will choose to move away from a bad assault and thus gain a measure of control over the Devour Instinctive Behaviour. This behaviour still gives the Tyranid player a choice of what to do – set up to charge, or set up not to charge and plan for the following turn. This is something that broods of Carnifii with sets of twin-linked devourers are likely going to want to do a lot. Furthermore, if you have Adrenal Glands, you are able to manipulate the charge distance via Fleet to either push you into charge range or pull you out of it, because sometimes charging is bad and sometimes you want to manipulate the Overwatch fire so as it hits the Feeding MC instead of those Hormagaunts that are in range to charge also.
D6 Roll 6 Kill: 'This follows all the rules for Devour (above). In addition, the unit gains the Rage special rule.'
Kill is basically the same as Devour except you get another attack when you charge. Hormagaunts want this one. Carnifex Broods want this one. In fact everyone that Feeds wants this one. You have the ability to move freely in the movement phase still, you still can't run or shoot, and if in range you must charge the closest visible enemy, there's not much to it asides from making the call if that carnifex brood with devourers is going to do more damage if it rushes into combat or if it skulks away and hides for a turn hoping to pass the instinctive Behaviour test next turn.
A note on Mawlocs and Feed. Mawlocs arriving from reserve or ongoing reserve thanks to Burrow don't test for Instinctive Behaviour that turn. The following turn they have to test for Instinctive Behaviour if they are outside of synapse range or not engaged in combat. This harkens back to the order of operations of when Instinctive Behaviour is tested. If they fail, they bypass Cannibalistic Hunger and get either Devour or Kill. Both options allow for normal movement in the movement phase. the Burrow rule allows you at any point in your movement phase to Burrow and thus go back into ongoing reserves. It's straight forwards and means that Instinctive Behaviour doesn't hamper a Mawloc in the slightest.
Tyranids rt hive ship
Putting It All Together.
The question yet remains – How much Synapse is essential to a competitive Tyranid Army? Can you get away with no Synapse at all? Whilst you ideally are designing a list with the foreknowledge that you won't have synapse all game long, you need to recognise the usefulness of being able to manipulate it's appearance on the tabletop to maximise its longevity and effect upon your units. To this end, a Flying Hive Commander Hive Tyrant coupled with an outflanking Tervigon and bringing in the support of a Deep Striking Trygon Prime adds in 3 solid unit choices in of themselves, with the first two seeing almost a standard inclusion in most armies in one form or another. All three monstrous creatures can come in from reserve and gain advanced positions on their reserve deployment. As discussed a little above, this staggers the appearance of the synapse and gains considerable board coverage without breaking the bank. Utilitarian options such as the ever ubiquitous Zoanthropes bring a lot of versatility to the field but are less mobile then their compatriots listed above. Old One Eye, whilst not a Synapse Creature and still overpriced for what he does bring can convey his Leadership of 8 to any unit within range (they have the option of using it, they don't have to) and having a Hormagaunt brood with Ld 8 is not to be sniffed at. But in almost all cases, it is better to invest in a Synapse creature HQ instead. Randomly, if you do face an Old One Eye, don't forget to laugh as your Death Leaper targets him and cuts his Ld to between 5 and 7. It's a huge taunt to basically state the Old One Eye Leadership buff is all but worthless. But I doubt you'll be facing an Old One Eye in a competitive army.
With all of the above in mind, I have a list that I wrote which I was happy with. It's a first draft, don't take it as the be all and end all or look at it and walk away dismissing it, the codex has been out for a few weeks and as such it's all experimental for a while. Tau armies didn't look like they do now in the first month of release, Tyranids will be the same.
Taak's Tyranids 1500pts WIP 1:
HQ 1) Tervigon – 195pts
Troops 2) 30 Termagants (Fleshborers or Spike Rifles) – 120pts
Troops 3) Tervigon – 195pts
Elites 1) Haruspex – 160pts
Elites 2) 1 Pyrovore – 40pts
Fast Attack 1) Harpy w/Twin-linked Heavy Venom Cannons – 140pts
Fast Attack 2) Harpy w/Twin-linked Heavy Venom Cannons – 140pts
Fast Attack 3) 6 Spore Mines (Cluster) – 30pts
Heavy Support 1)Exocrine – 170pts
Heavy Support 2) Exocrine – 170pts
Heavy Support 3) Mawloc – 140pts
Total = 1500pts
8 Monstrous Creatures, none with less than 5 wounds a piece, at 1500pts. All the elements I wanted to explore initially are included with the 2 Tervigons and 30 Termagants perfectly filling the 510pts I had remaining. The whole army can in effect play in the absence of Synapse. Control for the first turn or two however is useful for the support elements. As a WIP list it's open to changes and modifications. Dropping the Pyrovore and a single Spore Mine gets me a Venomthrope, ditching the Tervigon HQ, the Spore Mines and the Pyrovore frees up 265pts, points I can use to work in a Winged Hive Tyrant or other elements. But what it does is it doesn't let a lack of synapse hold itself back. It is a Nidzilla army and it can be read fairly straight forwards but there are enough multiple threats with high damage outputs that it's not as black and white as all that. With Heavy Support being the central pillar that most players will be building their armies around, how a list plays is going to be dependent on those support elements. Will the above list stand the test of time? Probably not, but that's fine, it's part of list design.
Tyranids 2nd ed army 3
Programmed Cell Death: The Pyrovore in a Synnergistic New Light.
I know that many people saw the list above and seeing the Pyrovore just walked away. For those who didn't let's look at the Pyrovore for a moment. We'll assume that his volatile rule acts how we all know it's meant to (RAI not RAW) – that when he suffers an instant death, any unit friend or foe and not a Pyrovore inside of D6″ takes a str 3 ap – hit for each of its' models within that D6″ explosion. This is how I'll be playing the volatile rule, I'm not going to pretend that he hits every unit on the board when it is so obvious what the RAI is and that it'll get FAQ'ed right off the bat. If you want to rage about this point, go right ahead, but we'll all ignore your stupidity.
Now Pyrovores have a heavy flamer on a multi wound T4 4+ save body at 40pts. It's quite overpriced in that regard. But he can also act independently of Synapse and taken in a brood of one will be running towards the enemy and trying to get into combat. That's fine because I view the Pyrovore as a suicide bomber. 1/6 of the time when feeding they have the Rage USR and that's shiny but not a biggy really. Acid Blood is a nice trick and being able to get up to 3 str 5 ap 2 hits on targets that wound you before you die can be useful against say a devastator unit, but what you really want is to see that little fellow explode. This only occurs if killed by an instant death causing attack and opponents aren't going to hit you in combat or at range with such attacks, so what's the solution? Instant death the spore mine yourself.
You can't directly attack your own models, and this is where some subtle synergies in the Tyranid codex emerge – Spore Mine Clusters. At the Initiative 10 step of combat, the entire spore mine cluster explodes. Centre the large blast over any of the spore mines and all models under the blast take a hit (the strength is equal to 4 base plus one per additional mine in the cluster at that point, you can get a full cluster to strength 9, we only need 5 to get to strength 8), this hit is AP 4 and ignores cover saves. So you have a means to get an instant death wound on your own model who then spews out an acid blood strength 5 AP 2 attack and explodes unleashing it's volatile acid on the target unit. The spore mines are removed and so is the Pyrovore and the enemy only grabs a single victory Point (spore mines don't give them up). The interesting thing with the spore mine cluster is that you can centre the blast on any of the spore mines so this opens up the ability to hit models not engaged in combat with charging spore mines. Another synergy is a Mawloc lands and crushes a Spore mine, the cluster blows up and sets off the Pyrovore. This is a really expensive combination to trigger a d6″ ranged explosion of str 3 AP – hits, it may be possible to do it this way but it doesn't mean it's a good idea. In any case the point of the Pyrovore in the army list above is to experiment with it out on a flank with the spore mines 7″ away from it (outside of the explosion range) to lock up a flank and add a level of board control. You can instant death it at range and it blows up but it won't hurt any of my models so where's the point? It's cheap and adds a bit of random fun in a list which is still being fiddled with and allows me to experiment with not seen tactics with some spare points. I'll learn a thing or two from it and that's worth the investment.
tyranids 2nd ed schemes detailed
List Options.
Other ideas for building a Tyranid list around would be the Flyrant/Trygon Prime/Tervigon Triumvirate. Working in a horde of little bugs and gargoyles with some more heavy supporting elements and perhaps a biovore brood could certainly work out strongly. It's a list that centres around synapse only being available in limited amounts but scattered throughout the game. If intercepting models can be eliminated, your flyrant has a free reign on keeping units in the fight unaffected by instinctive behaviour for the whole game. It's an expensive approach for that Flyrant, but having guaranteed synapse is incredibly powerful and versatile. Another thought on lists would be that yes, biovores are superb. But due to the competitiveness of those three Heavy Support choices, biovores won't see play in every list. Harpies do however bring spore mine clusters into the fold as an option and so in effect you have a redundant system of spore mine creation available in another section of the Force Organisation Chart. People who go and spam 9 biovores and 3 harpies are falling into the gimmick list and whilst that's fun, good luck busting people from bunkers or transports and dealing with heavy hitters. It's the same with triple Mawlocs. The cheapest T6 per wound model in the army, but 3 of them is a whopping 420pts and limits what the rest of the army can do. I do believe 2 Mawlocs have a place in a competitive sense but a 3rd pushes you over that line.
tyranids scythes_scouts
Conclusion.
It's too early since the Tyranid Codex was released to definitely state that Tyranids are or are not going to stand the test of time. Large proportions of the competitive community are dismissing Tyranids outright and to me, this is because the majority of the player base – Tyranid and Non-Tyranid alike – do not fully understand the intricacies of the codex and how the army works. The above analysis of Instinctive Behaviour highlights in depth aspects and applications of the units within the codex and how synergies within the army whether acting under synapse, independently of synapse or under Instinctive Behaviours, can meld together into a complex yet simplistic whole. What remains to be seen is how people adapt a strengthened knowledge coupled with the skills of applying Instinctive Behaviour to their generalship and army list design abilities.
Written by Auretious Taak.
Click here for the original article
Three words that are holding the competitive community back in understanding the Tyranid codex and how to approach it from a list design and generalship perspective. This simple sentence right now is evoking all sorts of rage in people and many are just going to walk away and not read this article. That's okay, it's always pleasant to sit back and laugh at the nerd rage. For those of you still here, let's look at the Tyranid codex in a more…outside the conventional box sort of way.
When you play a game with the Tyranids, your opponents are labouring under the understanding that Synapse is central to the well being and control of the Tyranid army in your hands. And this is, for the most part true. But knowing this, you also recognise that your opponents are going to absolutely destroy all of your synapse as soon as possible so as your troops become almost uncontrollable and your ability to play the game in a competitive sense goes out the window. So what we need to do when it comes to designing and playing armies of Tyranids under this codex is to design with the assumption that synapse simply does not exist.
But surely I'm just pulling your leg here, how can we design lists which are competitive if the rule which is central to the design and playability of the Tyranid army doesn't exist? It's actually rather simple – we have to understand and appreciate Instinctive Behaviour as a whole. When does it come into play and is it really all negative as so many people believe? I'm of the firm opinion that it isn't, and indeed it can be quite a beneficial addition to a well crafted army list.
Before moving on, a Warning: This article is long. Like really long. With no real easy way to break it into smaller articles, so it's just one big long article. I suggest reading it in small parts or to get a giant mug of coffee and settle in for a solid read. I've added convenient sub-titles to make it easier.
Tyranids Deathwing_Stealer
Instinctive Behaviour - Examination In Depth.
Instinctive Behaviour is tested for each unit that is both outside of the synapse range of a friendly codex Tyranids synapse creature (no using an opponent's synapse creatures even if they are of the same swarm
) and with whom an Instinctive behaviour category (Lurk; Hunt; Feed) applies. This is every non-synapse creature, genestealer, broodlord and spore mine in the army. A leadership test is rolled, and for any that fail, a follow up roll on the applicable Instinctive Behaviour table is applied immediately. The effects of this roll apply until the beginning of the next turn unless otherwise specified. Additionally, Instinctive behaviour is not rolled for if the affected unit is engaged in combat, falling back, has gone to ground, or has arrived from reserve this turn.Now whilst this article is looking at the Tyranid army in the context of a non-existent Synapse presence, units arriving from reserve act normally that turn with no need to test for Instinctive Behaviour. This works into an order of operations for when exactly you make the rolls for Instinctive Behaviour – after units have been deployed from reserve but before the movement phase of this turn. Thereby, units that would otherwise be affected by an Instinctive Behaviour this turn could have that requirement made void by the arrival from reserve of a Synapse Creature.
This needs to be clarified a bit as there was some confusion over this order of operations when I brought it up in the chat bawks.
Firefly - Mal and Zoe Clarifying When Instinctive Behaviour Is Tested For.
The FAQ has a question referring to when blessings are cast from units arriving from reserve:
“From the FAQ:
Q: Blessings are manifested ‘at the start of the Psyker’s Movement phase’ – does this mean they happen simultaneously with Reserves rolls, Outflanking rolls etc and if so which is resolved first? (p68)
A: They do occur simultaneously – as such, the player whose turn it is decides in what order these things occur as per page 9 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook”
Now, looking at the reserves section, we see that reserves arrive BEFORE any other units can move, they thus arrive before the movement phase as an exception (see page 9 of the rulebook 'Exceptions') to the normal turn phases ('turn summary' page 9 of the rulebook). It's movement but not in the movement phase, rather at the beginning of the turn before the movement phase. The above question doesn't reference the movement phase in the answer it states that the blessings occur simultaneously with the reserves. That's cool, that makes sense. But Instinctive Behaviour states “At the beginning of each of your turns, all Codex: Tyranids units with this special rule that are outside of the synapse range of any friendly Synapse Creatures (see below) must take a Leadership test unless they are: engaged in combat, falling back, have gone to ground or arrived from reserve this turn.” The key phrase is “arrived from reserve this turn”. Reserves thus come into play BEFORE Instinctive behaviour tests are made, all of these operations occur at the beginning of the turn but there is an order there which in itself is an exception to the exceptions rule on page 9 of the rulebook in that the player doesn't decide what happens in what order as far as reserves arriving and Instinctive Behaviour tests. To emphasise this: beginning of turn and beginning of movement phase is not the same. Instinctive Behaviour occurs at the beginning of the turn, but occurs AFTER reserves are deployed that turn but BEFORE the movement phase begins. This is important to understand.
*DEEP BREATH*
We have digressed slightly from the point. The Tyranid army can manipulate to an extent the placement of synapse from reserve to control instinctive behaviour at the start of a turn before Instinctive Behaviour is tested for. As a working example, in your previous turn, a unit of 30 Hormagaunts arrived via outflanking thanks to the Hive Commander ability of a Hive Tyrant. They arrived from reserve and so didn't have to test for the Feed Instinctive Behaviour being outside of Synapse range. They couldn't charge last turn but spread out enough to not get shot up too greatly and are ready to cause some havoc this turn. Being outside of synapse range, however, they have to test for Instinctive Behaviour. Hormagaunts have a low leadership and thus likely will fail and half the time will eat themselves and do nothing else this turn, which sucks…but as Instinctive Behaviour rolls occur after Reserves are deployed and before the movement phase begins, a Trygon Prime, for example, could arrive from reserve via deep strike and thanks to being a Synapse Creature, can come into range of the Hormagaunts before they need to test to feed, thus you can maintain control of the little critters this turn at least. Of note, this manipulation of latter game turn synapse arrival can be guided in with a Lictor or the Death Leaper and their Pheromone Trail and as a Trygon Prime has access to bio-artifacts, it could be equipped with the Norn Crown thus generating a natural 18″ Synapse radius around itself. It only takes one of those Hormagaunts to be in range to not have to test for Instinctive behaviour.
Incidentally, the FAQ run through above on Blessings cast by and on units arriving from reserve happening simultaneously, also adds an interesting spin to the order of operations of the turn with Instinctive Behaviour. Reserves arrive. Psykers arriving from reserve cast any blessings they have. Dominion is a Blessing. Instinctive Behaviour is then tested for if applicable. The normal movement phase then proceeds. Remaining Blessings from psykers on the board at the beginning of this turn occur at the beginning of the movement phase i.e. now after reserves have arrived and instinctive behaviour rolls have been made, then movement proceeds as normal. This is very useful when we look at Flying Hive Tyrants who are swooping into ongoing reserves each turn. Once interceptor weapons are removed from your opponents army you can run amok with a Flying Hive Tyrant specifically brought to keep synapse present as your advance moves up. You swoop in from ongoing reserves 12″ and up to 24″ forwards and towards a board edge.
So to sum up this rambling yet wholly relevant offshoot, Instinctive Behaviour is tested for after Reserves arrive for the turn including any Blessings such as Dominion that psyker reserves have to c ast, but also tested for before the movement phase occurs otherwise. Careful manipulation of ongoing reserves and synaptic movement on the field of battle allows for units that otherwise would suffer terribly from the effects of failed Instinctive Behaviour tests to avoid testing from turn to turn or in some cases like gargoyles (see below) to recover from a negative behaviour that turn.
tyranids space_crusade1
Instinctive Behaviour – The Dreaded Tables and You.
Instinctive Behaviour is not much liked by players in this codex. A lot of the results damage affected units within the Tyranid army significantly, up to and including whole units of 30 Hormagaunts wiping themselves out instantly through to vitally important Venomthropes falling back outside of the range of the units they are shrouding. This is cruddy, but it's not all bad. It may be because I've played with Tyranids since 2nd edition and remember the various incarnations of Instinctive behaviour including the far harsher 3rd edition table that many of todays' gamers (I've apparently been playing for 17 years now) haven't experienced. You had a 1/3 chance to fallback (towards the nearest Synapse Creature) and if none were alive instead be pinned; a 1/3 chance to sit still and only be allowed to shoot or defend yourself in combat if charged; and a 1/3 chance to rush and attack the nearest enemy even if you couldn't hurt it. It played havoc on you and Instinctive behaviour as it stands in the 6th Edition incarnation does likewise. But is it all bad? I don't feel it is. Too many people have glanced at the tables and just tossed the book out the window and shelved their armies already without sitting and really appreciating the Tables. Feed and Hunt are actually quite good in most cases whereas Lurk screws you. So let's look at each table and the creatures affected by them.
Tyranid lictor front on pic
Lurk.
Lurk Affects Four Units from the Army List:
1) HQ – Deathleaper (Ld 10);
2) Troops – Termagant Broods (Ld 6)
3) Elites – Lictors (Ld 10)
4) Elites – Venomthropes (Ld 6)
Lurk could be considered the most brutal of the Instinctive Behaviour Tables (yes even over Feed) because there is no way for any of the affected units to bypass the entirely negative roll of 1-3 (Survive) and the subsequent fall back. It's a simple D6 roll and take what you get. Generally, at first glance, Lurk is some version of run away and hide and maybe shoot. However, on closer examination, you have far more control over your models then most people make out.
D6 Roll 1-3 Survive! 'The unit is treated as having failed a morale test and must immediately fall back.'
Unlike some previous editions where you fell back towards the nearest surviving synapse creature, this is a simple fall back. It sucks for all your units as it pulls them out of position and if they aren't in range of a synapse creature at the beginning of the next turn then both the termagants and the Venomthrope are likely to continue falling back whereas the Lictors and their Leadership 10 will in most circumstances see them Rally. Whilst the fodder termagants aren't a huge loss in most cases and can still fire snap shots with their weaponry if in range, having your Ld 6 Venomthrope pull back out of shrouding range of your units it is protecting is a huge blow. Re-positioning further away from the enemy with said units to ensure you have shrouding still conferred can slow down your advancement towards a victory considerably. Survive is a roll you will wish your Venomthropes never to get. As the test to regroup from falling back is done in the movement phase just before the models move and you don't test for Instinctive Behaviour if you are falling back, Termagants and Venomthropes are unlikely to regroup and rejoin the game in a timely fashion unless they fall to within synapse range at which point they automatically regroup just before they move in the movement phase, following the rules for regrouping in the rulebook.
D6 Roll 4-5 Seek Cover: ' In the Movement phase, the unit is not slowed by difficult terrain, though its models must take Dangerous Terrain tests as normal. In the Shooting phase, the unit can Run, but it can only shoot if it is in a building or area terrain (if the unit is partially within area terrain, only those models within area terrain are allowed to shoot). The unit cannot charge in the Assault phase.'
Seek Cover is actually contradictory to its' name. Unless you actually want to shoot with the affected models, there are no directives stating you have to move in a particular way or towards a particular piece of terrain. Whilst you cannot charge in the assault phase you are free to move normally in the movement phase (and aren't slowed by difficult terrain in the movement phase only) and to run in the shooting phase if you so want. With maneuvering and mobility such key aspects of any game, being free to carry this out despite having failed an instinctive behaviour test is a serious advantage. Whilst you can only shoot if you are in a building or area terrain, the stipulation that only models within such terrain can shoot means that your units of termagants who can now mix and match weapons can still push forwards beyond the terrain in the movement phase and still be able to fire any weapons in range and in the terrain. As more people run a percentage of their termagants with Devourers and the rest with Fleshborers, making the best of the situation is actually fairly easy so long as area terrain or a building is within 6″ of models in the unit for the movement phase. If all of your synapse is dead, and the venomthrope rolls this (or 'Stalk' below) then the best bet would be to push it as far forwards as you can because as soon as it rolls a Survive it is doubtful it'll see use again as it runs away and fails to regroup time and again.
D6 Roll 6 Stalk: 'This follows all the rules for Seek Cover (above). In addition, the unit gains the Stealth special rule.'
See 'Seek Cover' above, except that now your termagants and Venomthrope benefit from stealth as well (Lictors already have Stealth). This encourages you to seek shelter in area terrain or a building, but again, there is no direct instruction you have to follow to do so. Termagants with a Venomthrope with both Stealth and Shrouded in the open is very nice let alone in cover.
So Lurk isn't all that bad. The models with it either have severely short ranged shooting anyways (Flesh Hooks have a 6″ range only) or are far more useful in a mobile fashion. The 50% chance to fall back is a big downer for an otherwise surprisingly useful table considering this is supposed to be a negative behavioural effect.
Tyranids_carved from wood 40k scale dominatrix back fo a white dwarf no other info
Hunt.
Hunt affects six units from the army list. In general these are fire support units. Three units bypass the 'Burrow and Hide' result due to being fearless and the other three have to suck it up. Hunt, like Feed, allows certain models a guaranteed good Instinctive Behaviour with a 5/6 and a 1/6 chance of decent and decent with a very useful USR respectively. However, the Burrow and Hide behaviour whilst debilitating can be eliminated as soon as a model from the unit comes within synapse range.
Creatures affected by Hunt:
1) Elites – Hive Guard (Ld 7)
2) Fast Attack – Gargoyle Brood (Ld 6)
3) Fast Attack – Harpy (Fearless) (Ld 10)
4) Heavy Support – Biovore Brood (Ld 6)
5) Heavy Support – Exocrine (Fearless) (Ld 7)
6) Heavy Support – Tyrannofex (Fearless) (Ld 8)
D6 Roll 1-3 Burrow and Hide: 'The unit immediately Goes to Ground. Units that contain at least one model with the Fearless special rule treat this result as Prowl (below), instead.'
Gargoyles, Biovores, and Hive Guard are affected by Burrow and Hide. The Harpy, exocrine and Tyrannofex are Fearless and so 'Prowl' instead. Going to ground is annoying, but you can still snap shot your weapons and fire overwatch and defend yourself in combat. The +1 to your cover saving throws is also handy if a venomthrope happens to be nearby or you are in cover already (or both), but otherwise not being able to move, run or charge until the end of your next turn is crippling. It's a minimum of 2 turns where you are unable to contribute as fully as you'd like with the units…until we bring a synapse creature into range and then the units who are gone to ground gain fearless and immediately get up and can act normally again.
This is where we revisit our order of operations in relation to the Instinctive Behaviour: Reserves arrive. Reserve units arriving capable of casting blessings cast them. Instinctive Behaviour is determined if applicable. Existing on the board units with Blessings cast them, then the movement phase occurs. We have 3 whole phases in which to bring synapse to bare to within range of these units. In the movement phase, by moving a synapse creature into range of at least one model in the unit, thus the unit becomes fearless hops up and acts as normal immediately, it being the movement phase in effect the instinctive behaviour has had no effect. In the shooting phase, if the unit is still gone to ground, a synapse creature may run within range of the unit, thus triggering the cancellation of the burrow and hide behaviour and the unit can shoot or run as normal (nifty for the biovore who otherwise was doing nothing useful this turn). Finally, as Charges are declared and moved on a unit by unit basis, it's possible to get a synapse creature into range during this charge sub-phase. When that happens, the unit immediately gets up, and can charge if in range too. It's a nifty trick to bring a swarm of blinding venom spitting gargoyles into the fray unexpectedly.
D6 Roll 4-5 Prowl: 'In the Shooting phase, the unit cannot Run and must instead shoot at the closest enemy unit that is within range and line of sight of at least one model in the Tyranid unit. If there is no viable target, the Tyranid unit can do nothing during the Shooting phase. The unit cannot charge in the Assault phase.'
You're free to move as normal in the movement phase with prowl. Use this to draw line of sight to something you can fire at. The wording is specific in that if you can't draw a line of sight to at least one model in an enemy unit, you can't shoot in the shooting phase. As you cannot run if you can't see a target at the beginning of the shooting phase (so no onslaughting to run then shoot) you need to try and guarantee to be able to draw a line of sight. The Impaler Cannon and the Biovore which don't need line of sight to target a unit normally have to still draw a line of sight to an enemy unit to shoot. It's quite clear in the Prowl description. Note that this doesn't mean the nearest enemy unit, but the nearest enemy unit you can draw a physical line of sight to. Clever use of larger models and monstrous creatures or terrain to block lines of sight to targets you can't hurt effectively, and leaving sight lines to units you can is a skill that will have to be refined by players to make the most of these restrictions. Whilst you can't charge in the assault phase, you've been able to shoot and that's what your unit is primarily built for (debatable with the gargoyles).
D6 Roll 6 Destroy: 'This follows all the rules for Prowl (above). In addition, the unit gains the Preferred Enemy special rule.'
See Prowl above except that the units also gain Preferred Enemy. This is brilliant. It is also the only way to gain Preferred Enemy on these six units without paying the Swarm Lord Tax (bring along the Swarm Lord he gives out a special rule to his unit and another unit inside 18″ this includes Preferred Enemy) to gain Preferred Enemy. Re-rolls of 1 to hit and to wound with both shooting and combat attacks makes all the units above incredibly powerful. Whilst you can't assault the enemy, Preferred Enemy won't wear off till next turn so if they assault you, you have Preferred Enemy in their turn. To the shooting, an Exocrine with a chance to unleashed either of its' firing modes with the re-rolls to hit and to wound mean that against anything less than the most resilient of opponents, you will be re-rolling all your to wound dice, with str 7 and ap 2, this is a brilliant addition. If a full unit of up to 30 Gargoyles were to get this as their Instinctive Behaviour, their fleshborers would sing, though if charged when combined with blinding venom, adds a lot of versatility indeed. In short though, Destroy is good.
The Harpy, Exocrine and Tyrannofex benefit the most from this table, with a 5/6 chance to Prowl and a 1/6 chance to Destroy. The Harpy has a lot of movement and as it is free to move as normal in the movement phase, it could drop a spore mine cluster and swoop off the table into ongoing reserves, but with its' movement, it should be able to maneuver into position to maximise it's damage output, especially if it gets a Destroy result. Burrow and Hide really isn't that bad, especially for the gargoyles who have so many chances to snap out of the behaviour and to act as normal, and with this in mind throwing gargoyles deliberately further ahead of your forces and out of synapse range in earlier turns such that when synapse creatures arrive in the area you are instantly back on your feet, could work with some clever shenanigans.
Tyranids true scale of a Haruspex
Feed.
Feed is the Instinctive Behaviour that is causing the most rage. Having a unit of 30 Hormagaunts wipe almost half the unit out and then taking a morale test to avoid fleeing, that's not pretty. Oft looked over is that broods of several Carnifii will half the time fail their Ld 7 test for Instinctive Behaviour, smack themselves with a str 9 AP – hit each, and whilst they will likely take little to no damage, they also can't do anything else that turn. The flip side is that the units affected by Feed generally like to get into combat and having to charge an enemy isn't that bad of a thing. With a 1/6 chance to gain the Rage USR this isn't a bad thing, especially considering how much of a benefit that rage is for the units affected by Feed.
Creatures Affected by Feed:
1) HQ – Tyrant Guard Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 7)
2) HQ – Old One Eye (Ld 8)
3) Troops – Hormagaunt Brood (Ld 6)
4) Troops – Ripper Swarm Brood (Ld 5)
5) Elites – Haruspex (Ld 7)
6) Elites – Pyrovore Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 6)
7) Fast Attack – Ravener Brood (Ld 6)
8) Fast Attack – Ravener Brood with The Red Terror (Ld 8 whilst The Red Terror is alive, Ld 6 otherwise)
9) Fast Attack – Sky-Slasher Swarm Brood (Ld 5)
10) Fast Attack – Hive Crone (Ld 10)
11) Heavy Support – Carnifex Brood (Unit 1-3) (Ld 7)
12) Heavy Support – Trygon (Ld 8)
13) Heavy Support – Mawloc (Ld 8)
D6 Roll 1-3 Cannibalistic Hunger: ' The unit immediately suffers a number of hits equal to the number of models in that unit. These hits are resolved using the unit’s majority Strength (if drawn, use the highest) and AP-. Wounds are allocated by the owning player and armour saves (but not cover saves) may be taken. After resolving casualties (if any) the unit can do nothing else until the end of its turn. Units consisting of only a single model treat this result as Devour (below), instead.'
Of the thirteen units affected by Feed, eight units (including solo Pyrovores, Carnifex and Tyrant Guard) ignore the Cannibalistic Hunger. The seven units (including multiple Pyrovores, carnifii and Tyrant Guard) remaining are variously affected to either do serious damage to their fighting strength (Hormagaunts, Ravenors, Rippers and Sky-Slashers – low armour save, wounded on 4′s) and do nothing else that turn (assuming they don't break and flee due to too many casualties caused from the cannibalistic hunger), or they do nothing till the end of this player turn. Broods of Dakka-fexes (Carnifexes with ranged weapons usually 2 twin-linked devourers each) that sit around and do nothing for a turn is a huge waste of their investment. It is in many ways more effective to take those Carnifexes in solo units to avoid this Cannibalistic Hunger negative and to at least be able to move and engage the enemy in combat and thus have an effect that turn. It's important to note that there aren't any other stipulations here and that your Hormagaunts which are scoring don't lose that scoring status whilst they sit on their haunches after behaving more like Orks then mindless Tyranids. Suffice to say, Cannibalistic Hunger could be worse. It has been pointed out that Ripper swarms went up in points but that they don't take damage whilst outside of synapse range. At Ld 5, they are going to be rolling on the Feed table more consistently than any other unit in the army and indeed taking damage whilst out of synapse range half the time. Rippers went up in points and became far weaker.
D6 Roll 4-5 Devour: 'In the Shooting phase, the unit cannot shoot or Run. In the Assault phase, if the unit is able to declare a charge, it must do so against the closest viable enemy unit. If the unit cannot declare a charge, it does nothing in the Assault phase.'
Ripper Swarms with Spinefists, Haruspex, Pyrovores, Raveners, Sky Slasher Swarms with Spinefists, Hive Crones, Carnifii, and Trygons – all have ranged attacks and all of them when affected by a Feed Instinctive Behaviour roll lose the ability to shoot. This will affect Carnifii Broods and Ravener Broods the most. The high Leadership of a Hive Crone (10) means that you are only failing the Instinctive Behaviour Test once in every 12 game turns (3 in 36 chance to fail a Ld 10 check = 1 in 12), so whilst it is unlikely, in the absence of synapse on the board, moving a Hive Crone in such a way that it is within charge range of something relatively squishy is something to consider if the Hive Crone has arrived from reserves this turn (and so moved before the instinctive behaviour test is made and making this sentence make sense!). Note that a Devour result for Feed allows you to move as normal in the movement phase. This sets up for the assault, but at the same time, if you can't assault you are not forced to assault. A canny player will choose to move away from a bad assault and thus gain a measure of control over the Devour Instinctive Behaviour. This behaviour still gives the Tyranid player a choice of what to do – set up to charge, or set up not to charge and plan for the following turn. This is something that broods of Carnifii with sets of twin-linked devourers are likely going to want to do a lot. Furthermore, if you have Adrenal Glands, you are able to manipulate the charge distance via Fleet to either push you into charge range or pull you out of it, because sometimes charging is bad and sometimes you want to manipulate the Overwatch fire so as it hits the Feeding MC instead of those Hormagaunts that are in range to charge also.
D6 Roll 6 Kill: 'This follows all the rules for Devour (above). In addition, the unit gains the Rage special rule.'
Kill is basically the same as Devour except you get another attack when you charge. Hormagaunts want this one. Carnifex Broods want this one. In fact everyone that Feeds wants this one. You have the ability to move freely in the movement phase still, you still can't run or shoot, and if in range you must charge the closest visible enemy, there's not much to it asides from making the call if that carnifex brood with devourers is going to do more damage if it rushes into combat or if it skulks away and hides for a turn hoping to pass the instinctive Behaviour test next turn.
A note on Mawlocs and Feed. Mawlocs arriving from reserve or ongoing reserve thanks to Burrow don't test for Instinctive Behaviour that turn. The following turn they have to test for Instinctive Behaviour if they are outside of synapse range or not engaged in combat. This harkens back to the order of operations of when Instinctive Behaviour is tested. If they fail, they bypass Cannibalistic Hunger and get either Devour or Kill. Both options allow for normal movement in the movement phase. the Burrow rule allows you at any point in your movement phase to Burrow and thus go back into ongoing reserves. It's straight forwards and means that Instinctive Behaviour doesn't hamper a Mawloc in the slightest.
Tyranids rt hive ship
Putting It All Together.
The question yet remains – How much Synapse is essential to a competitive Tyranid Army? Can you get away with no Synapse at all? Whilst you ideally are designing a list with the foreknowledge that you won't have synapse all game long, you need to recognise the usefulness of being able to manipulate it's appearance on the tabletop to maximise its longevity and effect upon your units. To this end, a Flying Hive Commander Hive Tyrant coupled with an outflanking Tervigon and bringing in the support of a Deep Striking Trygon Prime adds in 3 solid unit choices in of themselves, with the first two seeing almost a standard inclusion in most armies in one form or another. All three monstrous creatures can come in from reserve and gain advanced positions on their reserve deployment. As discussed a little above, this staggers the appearance of the synapse and gains considerable board coverage without breaking the bank. Utilitarian options such as the ever ubiquitous Zoanthropes bring a lot of versatility to the field but are less mobile then their compatriots listed above. Old One Eye, whilst not a Synapse Creature and still overpriced for what he does bring can convey his Leadership of 8 to any unit within range (they have the option of using it, they don't have to) and having a Hormagaunt brood with Ld 8 is not to be sniffed at. But in almost all cases, it is better to invest in a Synapse creature HQ instead. Randomly, if you do face an Old One Eye, don't forget to laugh as your Death Leaper targets him and cuts his Ld to between 5 and 7. It's a huge taunt to basically state the Old One Eye Leadership buff is all but worthless. But I doubt you'll be facing an Old One Eye in a competitive army.
With all of the above in mind, I have a list that I wrote which I was happy with. It's a first draft, don't take it as the be all and end all or look at it and walk away dismissing it, the codex has been out for a few weeks and as such it's all experimental for a while. Tau armies didn't look like they do now in the first month of release, Tyranids will be the same.
Taak's Tyranids 1500pts WIP 1:
HQ 1) Tervigon – 195pts
Troops 2) 30 Termagants (Fleshborers or Spike Rifles) – 120pts
Troops 3) Tervigon – 195pts
Elites 1) Haruspex – 160pts
Elites 2) 1 Pyrovore – 40pts
Fast Attack 1) Harpy w/Twin-linked Heavy Venom Cannons – 140pts
Fast Attack 2) Harpy w/Twin-linked Heavy Venom Cannons – 140pts
Fast Attack 3) 6 Spore Mines (Cluster) – 30pts
Heavy Support 1)Exocrine – 170pts
Heavy Support 2) Exocrine – 170pts
Heavy Support 3) Mawloc – 140pts
Total = 1500pts
8 Monstrous Creatures, none with less than 5 wounds a piece, at 1500pts. All the elements I wanted to explore initially are included with the 2 Tervigons and 30 Termagants perfectly filling the 510pts I had remaining. The whole army can in effect play in the absence of Synapse. Control for the first turn or two however is useful for the support elements. As a WIP list it's open to changes and modifications. Dropping the Pyrovore and a single Spore Mine gets me a Venomthrope, ditching the Tervigon HQ, the Spore Mines and the Pyrovore frees up 265pts, points I can use to work in a Winged Hive Tyrant or other elements. But what it does is it doesn't let a lack of synapse hold itself back. It is a Nidzilla army and it can be read fairly straight forwards but there are enough multiple threats with high damage outputs that it's not as black and white as all that. With Heavy Support being the central pillar that most players will be building their armies around, how a list plays is going to be dependent on those support elements. Will the above list stand the test of time? Probably not, but that's fine, it's part of list design.
Tyranids 2nd ed army 3
Programmed Cell Death: The Pyrovore in a Synnergistic New Light.
I know that many people saw the list above and seeing the Pyrovore just walked away. For those who didn't let's look at the Pyrovore for a moment. We'll assume that his volatile rule acts how we all know it's meant to (RAI not RAW) – that when he suffers an instant death, any unit friend or foe and not a Pyrovore inside of D6″ takes a str 3 ap – hit for each of its' models within that D6″ explosion. This is how I'll be playing the volatile rule, I'm not going to pretend that he hits every unit on the board when it is so obvious what the RAI is and that it'll get FAQ'ed right off the bat. If you want to rage about this point, go right ahead, but we'll all ignore your stupidity.
Now Pyrovores have a heavy flamer on a multi wound T4 4+ save body at 40pts. It's quite overpriced in that regard. But he can also act independently of Synapse and taken in a brood of one will be running towards the enemy and trying to get into combat. That's fine because I view the Pyrovore as a suicide bomber. 1/6 of the time when feeding they have the Rage USR and that's shiny but not a biggy really. Acid Blood is a nice trick and being able to get up to 3 str 5 ap 2 hits on targets that wound you before you die can be useful against say a devastator unit, but what you really want is to see that little fellow explode. This only occurs if killed by an instant death causing attack and opponents aren't going to hit you in combat or at range with such attacks, so what's the solution? Instant death the spore mine yourself.
You can't directly attack your own models, and this is where some subtle synergies in the Tyranid codex emerge – Spore Mine Clusters. At the Initiative 10 step of combat, the entire spore mine cluster explodes. Centre the large blast over any of the spore mines and all models under the blast take a hit (the strength is equal to 4 base plus one per additional mine in the cluster at that point, you can get a full cluster to strength 9, we only need 5 to get to strength 8), this hit is AP 4 and ignores cover saves. So you have a means to get an instant death wound on your own model who then spews out an acid blood strength 5 AP 2 attack and explodes unleashing it's volatile acid on the target unit. The spore mines are removed and so is the Pyrovore and the enemy only grabs a single victory Point (spore mines don't give them up). The interesting thing with the spore mine cluster is that you can centre the blast on any of the spore mines so this opens up the ability to hit models not engaged in combat with charging spore mines. Another synergy is a Mawloc lands and crushes a Spore mine, the cluster blows up and sets off the Pyrovore. This is a really expensive combination to trigger a d6″ ranged explosion of str 3 AP – hits, it may be possible to do it this way but it doesn't mean it's a good idea. In any case the point of the Pyrovore in the army list above is to experiment with it out on a flank with the spore mines 7″ away from it (outside of the explosion range) to lock up a flank and add a level of board control. You can instant death it at range and it blows up but it won't hurt any of my models so where's the point? It's cheap and adds a bit of random fun in a list which is still being fiddled with and allows me to experiment with not seen tactics with some spare points. I'll learn a thing or two from it and that's worth the investment.
tyranids 2nd ed schemes detailed
List Options.
Other ideas for building a Tyranid list around would be the Flyrant/Trygon Prime/Tervigon Triumvirate. Working in a horde of little bugs and gargoyles with some more heavy supporting elements and perhaps a biovore brood could certainly work out strongly. It's a list that centres around synapse only being available in limited amounts but scattered throughout the game. If intercepting models can be eliminated, your flyrant has a free reign on keeping units in the fight unaffected by instinctive behaviour for the whole game. It's an expensive approach for that Flyrant, but having guaranteed synapse is incredibly powerful and versatile. Another thought on lists would be that yes, biovores are superb. But due to the competitiveness of those three Heavy Support choices, biovores won't see play in every list. Harpies do however bring spore mine clusters into the fold as an option and so in effect you have a redundant system of spore mine creation available in another section of the Force Organisation Chart. People who go and spam 9 biovores and 3 harpies are falling into the gimmick list and whilst that's fun, good luck busting people from bunkers or transports and dealing with heavy hitters. It's the same with triple Mawlocs. The cheapest T6 per wound model in the army, but 3 of them is a whopping 420pts and limits what the rest of the army can do. I do believe 2 Mawlocs have a place in a competitive sense but a 3rd pushes you over that line.
tyranids scythes_scouts
Conclusion.
It's too early since the Tyranid Codex was released to definitely state that Tyranids are or are not going to stand the test of time. Large proportions of the competitive community are dismissing Tyranids outright and to me, this is because the majority of the player base – Tyranid and Non-Tyranid alike – do not fully understand the intricacies of the codex and how the army works. The above analysis of Instinctive Behaviour highlights in depth aspects and applications of the units within the codex and how synergies within the army whether acting under synapse, independently of synapse or under Instinctive Behaviours, can meld together into a complex yet simplistic whole. What remains to be seen is how people adapt a strengthened knowledge coupled with the skills of applying Instinctive Behaviour to their generalship and army list design abilities.
Written by Auretious Taak.
Click here for the original article
