Everyone needs a 'hiero' list

[mattblowers]

I've owned a hierophant for years. For the past years it has been unplayable forever. Until the new FW book released last fall it was over 2,000 points so it never saw play. I've always wanted to play it. My son has been asking me to get back into 40K (I've been playing mainly Bolt Action since he moved out). With my wife finally beating cancer and her immune system getting back I've had the chance to start getting out more. I am playing an GT this weekend. Below is my list. It's actually pretty good. I've only had the chance to play it a handful of test games, but I only lost once and that was before the current iteration.

The rippers and raveners start in reserve always and the genestealers ride in Big Bertha. If I go first everything starts on the table. If I go second I redeploy the hierophant and hive guard or maleceptor into reserves. This list hits really hard. Big Bertha can one round nearly anything in the game with the buffs up.

Let me know your thoughts.


Patrol Detachment
Hive Fleet: Leviathan

HQ:

Broodlord: Catalyst, Smite, Relic: Resonance Barb, Stratagem: Alpha Leader-Beast, Synaptic Link, Warlord Trait: Strategic Adaptation, Warlord Trait: Swarm Leader

Troops:

Genestealers x20: 5 with Acid Maw

Ripper Swarm x3

Tyranid Warriors x3: Synaptic Link, venom cannon, lash whip/bones swords and scytals x2

Elites:

Hive Guard x6

Maleceptor: Catalyst, Smite, Synaptic Link

Fast Attack:

Raveners x3

Raveners x3

Heavy Support:

Biovore x1

Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment
Hierophant, Progeny of the Hive

[zimko]

What adaptation are you giving the hierophant? I'm always undecided between 'murderous size' for the lashwhip pods or 'dermic symbiosis' for doubling wounds while degrading.

[piersonsmuppet]

Maleceptor Link only has HG as a target, and +1 to-hit is generally better (+1 to-hit is on avg better even on d6 weapons). I would trade the biovore and Mal Link for another Warrior unit w/ Link, that way you can +1 two out of HG/GS/Hiero as needed.

Also, Ravs -> Gargs. Having some flying to trigger rr1’s hit/wound for Hiero or GS can be pretty money. Hiero hitting/wounding on 2’s rr all 1’s is no joke. I think that ER on the HG might be better served than the redeploy. Not a fan of Mal or Hiero going into reserves. Breaking the GS into 2x10 units may also be more beneficial than running the full 20, will allow for some great multi area threat projection from the Hiero.

[purestrain]

Dec 9, 2021 19:54:04 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

Maleceptor Link only has HG as a target, and +1 to-hit is generally better (+1 to-hit is on avg better even on d6 weapons). I would trade the biovore and Mal Link for another Warrior unit w/ Link, that way you can +1 two out of HG/GS/Hiero as needed.

Also, Ravs -> Gargs. Having some flying to trigger rr1’s hit/wound for Hiero or GS can be pretty money. Hiero hitting/wounding on 2’s rr all 1’s is no joke. I think that ER on the HG might be better served than the redeploy. Not a fan of Mal or Hiero going into reserves. Breaking the GS into 2x10 units may also be more beneficial than running the full 20, will allow for some great multi area threat projection from the Hiero.

Hierophant has FLY so the Ravs are actually needed to trigger that combo

[zimko]

Dec 9, 2021 19:54:04 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

Maleceptor Link only has HG as a target, and +1 to-hit is generally better (+1 to-hit is on avg better even on d6 weapons). I would trade the biovore and Mal Link for another Warrior unit w/ Link, that way you can +1 two out of HG/GS/Hiero as needed.

Also, Ravs -> Gargs. Having some flying to trigger rr1’s hit/wound for Hiero or GS can be pretty money. Hiero hitting/wounding on 2’s rr all 1’s is no joke. I think that ER on the HG might be better served than the redeploy. Not a fan of Mal or Hiero going into reserves. Breaking the GS into 2x10 units may also be more beneficial than running the full 20, will allow for some great multi area threat projection from the Hiero.

The Hive Guard are the only viable target for full rerolls to hit since the genestealers are starting inside the Hierophant. So with full rerolls to hit on Hive Guard, the Mal link is better than the Warrior link.

The Hierophant has the Fly keyword. So the Hierophant plus the Genestealers will trigger the Levi strat without needing gargoyles.

[mattblowers]

Dec 10, 2021 3:42:37 GMT zimko said:

The Hive Guard are the only viable target for full rerolls to hit since the genestealers are starting inside the Hierophant. So with full rerolls to hit on Hive Guard, the Mal link is better than the Warrior link.

The Hierophant has the Fly keyword. So the Hierophant plus the Genestealers will trigger the Levi strat without needing gargoyles.

Yeah, the HG get the full rerolls, the warriors give +1 to hiero. The Levi strat has never triggered for me. It's so situational.

Catlyst always goes on the hiero to mitigate the D3 damage to give +1 to wound rolls.

I also give 6s do double hits. With 2+ or 3+ to hit you get a lot of hits with 16 shots. Often it's overkill though unless against something like Morty. If it's really something hard to bring down, add pathogenic slime too to make sure you kill it.

[mattblowers]

Dec 9, 2021 19:00:39 GMT zimko said:

What adaptation are you giving the hierophant? I'm always undecided between 'murderous size' for the lashwhip pods or 'dermic symbiosis' for doubling wounds while degrading.

Double wounds. It's crucial.

[mattblowers]

Dec 9, 2021 19:54:04 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

Maleceptor Link only has HG as a target, and +1 to-hit is generally better (+1 to-hit is on avg better even on d6 weapons). I would trade the biovore and Mal Link for another Warrior unit w/ Link, that way you can +1 two out of HG/GS/Hiero as needed.

The broodlord gives full rerolls to HG. Full rerolls with rerolling the D3 damage is way better than +1 to hit. The damage is the bad thing about HG especially against anything with transhuman or similar power. Then I reroll anything that isn't a 5 or 6.

As for the biovore, I don't love it, but my slots outside of heavy are all I can afford. It always scores the opposite table quarter for retrieve octarius (?) on turn 1. A sporemine between two terrain features can really up opponents move phase to. And they can score having a model in a table quarter from time to time. They can't score an objective, but they can be in a table quarter.

On a bummer note, I had to drop from the event due to my wife having complications from surgery. But the practice has been fun and I still think the list good. I plan on taking it back to a GT in January.

[beetlejuice]

What do you mean biovore scores retrieve in opposite quarter turn 1?

Also for engage/behind enemy lines sporemines are not limited to not holding objectives, they are ”discounted for the purposes of any victory conditions” which would include any and all secondaries as well for both you and opponent (no prisoners/engage on all fronts etc)

[piersonsmuppet]

is there anything that the Ravs consistently give you over Lictors (since you always start them in reserve) that trading the Biovore and 2x Rav for a Neuro w/ Lobe and 2x Lictor won’t benefit you? Extra CP gen, Smite + Scream/Onslaught/Paroxysm, and access to niche Lictor strats look like a good trade for only 1 cp. Neuro does give another flyer for GS + WoAF as well.

[mattblowers]

Dec 12, 2021 21:54:58 GMT beetlejuice said:

What do you mean biovore scores retrieve in opposite quarter turn 1?

Also for engage/behind enemy lines sporemines are not limited to not holding objectives, they are ”discounted for the purposes of any victory conditions” which would include any and all secondaries as well for both you and opponent (no prisoners/engage on all fronts etc)

Well the TO has ruled that spore mines still count as a model in a table quarter. Since it's an 8th edition codex he states that it denotes how it never awards victory points:- their destruction never awards victory points (not a thing anymore), do not count their number towards an objective, and do not count when determining if a player has models on the battlefield. Your TO may differ, but that is the enviroment I play under.

As for turn of scoring retrieve data secondary: the biovore is the infantry that does it first, the one you don't score points on. Then the other 3 are scored according to how the board plays out. Since I sit the biovore on an island, it mostly likely will get killed with my opponent scoring his secondaries, so in order to get maximum on this one I score him first and then it doesn't matter if he dies.

[mattblowers]

Dec 12, 2021 22:30:16 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

is there anything that the Ravs consistently give you over Lictors (since you always start them in reserve) that trading the Biovore and 2x Rav for a Neuro w/ Lobe and 2x Lictor won’t benefit you? Extra CP gen, Smite + Scream/Onslaught/Paroxysm, and access to niche Lictor strats look like a good trade for only 1 cp. Neuro does give another flyer for GS + WoAF as well.

My other slots are all full. I'm running a patrol. I tried switching it to a battalion, but I felt the list was worse having to pay for two HQs. Otherwise I would have paid for lictors. However with the change in secondaries it looks like lictors won't be able to score them later so the raveners are quite good. Plus raveners are 9 wounds and move 12".

[piersonsmuppet]

That ruling for the Biovore is money, list probably shouldn’t drop it for that reason. Prob scores more than one of the Ravs I bet.

Ravs & Biovore are going to be pretty bad for GT2022 as well, so this iteration will prob become obsolete. I’d look to 2xGargs and a 5-man Warrior when GT2022 hits if you want to continue Data/Engage secondaries.

[mattblowers]

Dec 13, 2021 2:40:14 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

That ruling for the Biovore is money, list probably shouldn’t drop it for that reason. Prob scores more than one of the Ravs I bet.

Ravs & Biovore are going to be pretty bad for GT2022 as well, so this iteration will prob become obsolete. I’d look to 2xGargs and a 5-man Warrior when GT2022 hits if you want to continue Data/Engage secondaries.

Probably correct on Ravs and Biovores. Right now they only contribute secondary scoring for me, but they do that pretty well. When does CT 2022 drop?

[piersonsmuppet]

Mid-June, so plenty of time to try for some good results with the list as is.

Have you tried Paroxysm or Horror in place of one of the Catalysts? Both look like they could offer more consistent early game impact on the Mal than the redundancy of a second Catalyst.