Shrike loadout

[harrybo]

Hello Hive,

I’m excited to assemble my team of 6 Shrikes. With the forgeworld wings no longer available and sporadically appearing on eBay for silly amounts I’ve resorted to the Vargheist wings method and was able to grab 6 sets fairly cheaply. I’ll be fitting said wings to the rear carapace so as to not clog up the weapon arm slots leaving me free to put two pairs of whatever on each of my new babies.

Which begs the question, what bio weapons do I give them? I’m pretty sold on each having a pair of bone swords as they seem like the best weapon for the points on a unit which should aim to be getting into lots of melee. Anyone have any better suggestions over the swords?

This still leaves me wondering if I go dual melee weapons for utility or do I give them some ranged options? My usual load out for the walking warriors is a deathspitter so far in 8th, but spinefists could also do some work if I choose my targets carefully, and they are pretty cheap to help keep the cost down.

Adrenals are obvious I think.

Lastly what hive fleet suits these guys best? I’m leaning towards fitting them into a Jormungandr beta strike brigade, which handily means not having to spend a cp to put them in a tunnel with the ravs. The +1 save will be most welcome until they charge. But is there a better suited hive fleet?

Thanks in advance guys!

[benlisted]

The Jorm trait won't work on them as they have fly! I think Kraken is far and away the best fleet for them, as they then be able to fall back and act completely normally, slipping over enemy units to tie up the backlines for instance. As such I do think you want the DS to make best use of the fact you can fall back and shoot, though if not Kraken I'd consider Spinefists if only since I would rather be in combat than falling back. Not sure that would edge out swords/scytals though, as pistols are not great.

Leviathan might be decent as you gain an obnoxious amount of durability VS damage 3 weapons that usually destroy them, and they facilitate the stratagem.

[Hive Fleet Ragnorok]

I've been cutting off guns from my Shrikes due to points (Swords & Talons, with Adrenals), but would love to throw on some cheap Spinefists if I could find the points...

The range is mitigated by speed, and you have a fair amount of shots to help mitigate S3. Plus as pistols you'll be able to fire in or out of combat. Pretty slick.

[harrybo]

Silly me, I had completely over looked the Jorm restriction on units that FLY! So that’s that idea out the widow.

Thanks for the suggestions for Leviathan, it’s a fleet I’ve not really looked into as of yet but might be worth a go. I think it would be difficult to pull off the stratagem though but not impossible. The 6++ would also be a bit situational, I very rarely roll a 6 when I need one (seize). Large blob of horms or stealers could work their way towards a flank unit while the shrikes drop in from behind. Could work...

Kraken is the standout fleet I’ve found so far. Stealers are nuts with the strat and could pair well with the flyboys causing threat overload which we do so well, and I love the relic on my flyrant. But I’m still torn between DS and Spinefists, guess like you say it will come down to points. But my gut says boneswords all day, every day.

The question is how to get a Prime in range to help support these guys, kind of a waste of a pod. I’d rather put swarmy in said pod to move the shrikes after they deep strike, but that’s stupid expensive and probably not the best use of his ability.

[gigasnail]

primes no longer buff shrikes.

[benlisted]

Feb 19, 2018 23:13:15 GMT harrybo said:

Silly me, I had completely over looked the Jorm restriction on units that FLY! So that’s that idea out the widow.

Thanks for the suggestions for Leviathan, it’s a fleet I’ve not really looked into as of yet but might be worth a go. I think it would be difficult to pull off the stratagem though but not impossible. The 6++ would also be a bit situational, I very rarely roll a 6 when I need one (seize). Large blob of horms or stealers could work their way towards a flank unit while the shrikes drop in from behind. Could work...

Kraken is the standout fleet I’ve found so far. Stealers are nuts with the strat and could pair well with the flyboys causing threat overload which we do so well, and I love the relic on my flyrant. But I’m still torn between DS and Spinefists, guess like you say it will come down to points. But my gut says boneswords all day, every day.

The question is how to get a Prime in range to help support these guys, kind of a waste of a pod. I’d rather put swarmy in said pod to move the shrikes after they deep strike, but that’s stupid expensive and probably not the best use of his ability.

A Prime actually can no longer support Shrikes, as they were removed from his wording in the Codex. So I guess at least you don't need to worry about that?

With Kraken definitely DS if you can afford - you can and want to fall back and charge every turn for the strike first, and in doing so you will get your DS shots every time. Falling back and shooting actually totally defeats the point of the Fists, shooting in combat (only in your turn). It's only 2pts different, so a mere 18pts for the lot above Fists.

[Hive Bahamut]

I've quickly learned to love the Whip and Sword. Not a full unit, but 1 in each squad of Warriors or Shrikes. This gives them a role of blocking, as the entire unit can be wasted and the opponent can't consolidate into further units if placed properly.

Totally screws up other melee armies and is dirt cheap for 1. Ì hated on the Whip at he start of 8th. Sleeper loadout.

[kazetanade]

^ deffo sleeper.

[gigasnail]

yeah sword/whip is definitely a lot better than it looked at first; the NO CONSOLIDATION thing makes it potentially ace.

provided, you know. they make combat without getting shot completely to death.

[harrybo]

Ah GW why do you have to spoil my fun with the no buffing Shrikes from the Prime!?!

I guess it’s a no to taking the index Prime which still buffs em if I have to go index for the Shrikes in the first place?

I don’t understand why the prime went up ten points in the codex if it lost the ability to buff half of the units it used to help.

Also in the index the Shrikes can’t take Spinefists so that leaves the DS, but am I paying index price of 8 points or the codex price of 5 points? Likewise a pair of Boneswords is 8 points in the index and only 2 in the codex.

I guess it won’t hurt to stick a lash whip in the unit, but if the unit is wiped anyway then how does this help? Sure it gets to make its 3 attacks but then is removed so units still get to consolidate, or do I have that wrong?

[benlisted]

Feb 20, 2018 16:54:25 GMT harrybo said:

Ah GW why do you have to spoil my fun with the no buffing Shrikes from the Prime!?!

I guess it’s a no to taking the index Prime which still buffs em if I have to go index for the Shrikes in the first place?

I don’t understand why the prime went up ten points in the codex if it lost the ability to buff half of the units it used to help.

Also in the index the Shrikes can’t take Spinefists so that leaves the DS, but am I paying index price of 8 points or the codex price of 5 points? Likewise a pair of Boneswords is 8 points in the index and only 2 in the codex.

I guess it won’t hurt to stick a lash whip in the unit, but if the unit is wiped anyway then how does this help? Sure it gets to make its 3 attacks but then is removed so units still get to consolidate, or do I have that wrong?

Whilst gw are somewhat inconsistent in applying it, in general and in this case the most recent datasheet is the one you use. So Primes no longer buff Shrikes, no.

There are two exceptions to this, per the flowchart they added to the end of the designer’s notes: a) if your unit is no longer in the codex(Shrikes), use the index entry but the codex costs where appropriate. That means Shrike DS are now 5pts (so a bit of a no brainer) and their melee weapons are all 2pts. The second exception is if a unit in the index had access to equipment it no longer does in the codex (i.e. index gargs could take adrenal glands) then you can still take it, but use the codex costs for the equipment unless there is none anymore.

The LWBS issue is down to sequencing. The fight phase is no longer “everyone piles in, everyone fights”, it’s one unit piles in, fights, then consolidates. This means that if an enemy kills a unit of warriors and wants to consolidate through where they were, they can’t, as the LWBS models are still there. So they are actually a very tricksy movement blocker and screening unit vs enemy melee.

[harrybo]

Thanks for enlightening me Benlisted, I’m sad that there’s no more buffing for the shrikes but that’s just how it is now.

Also kudos for the lwbs explanation, I’ll be sure to remember that and will defo be sticking a set on one of them.

Thanks also to everytone for all of your input, I’ll let you all know how they get on in my game tomorrow.

[Hive Bahamut]

The lane blocking doesn't always work but for 2 points to stop a melee unit in its tracks? Spore mines, meet your combat brethren.

I'm very tempted to make Tyranids: Traffic Cop list. Corrale the sheep to the slaughter.

[goldfireendymion]

Shrikes can indeed take spinefists. I believe they use the same points as Warriors. Probably gonna be addressed in an FAQ soon.

[broyston]

I had assumed the shrikes RAW have to use the index FAQ for the spinefist entry (which added shrikes and warriors to the index entry, as it had only originally listed raveners for spinefists), which may suggest the Shrikes have to use the 3 point spinefist entry from the index. The Battlescribe tyranid file has also interpreted it this way.