When to use tyrant guard

[bugsy]

When would you use tyrant guards? I have always considered tyrant guards underwhelming. But now I think that maybe if you have let’s say two fully kitted hive tyrants and one hidden unit of three tyrant guards, that could very well protect your investment. They could also be meat shields, action monkeys and infantry blenders.

[puppylaser]

I think if you have a swarmlord, you should include a unit of 3. Makes him a more attractive TTL target. It also lets you position more aggressively with your tyrants for only 120 points.

[xtztxtxz]

Remember they have CORE, so Swarmlord can give them obsec. Handy if you're playing aggressively.

[yoritomo]

I don’t think there’s a reason to take tyrant guard when you can still take more tyrants.

I will say that they are good against low shot mega weapons like the new tau railgun or pulse blastcannon. If we see more of these (like in the new knight codices) then maybe they become a more attractive option.

[piersonsmuppet]

Auto include if you have 2 Tyrants imo, and a good choice with just Swarmlord. I don't think the usual logic of "take more Tyrants" necessarily applies, since it now costs CP in addition to the pts for more Tyrants.

[nameless]

They make a good "Fallback point" if you overrun (instead of encircle) for your flyrant.

[yoritomo]

Apr 6, 2022 23:15:20 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

Auto include if you have 2 Tyrants imo, and a good choice with just Swarmlord. I don't think the usual logic of "take more Tyrants" necessarily applies, since it now costs CP in addition to the pts for more Tyrants.

It’s only 2cp for an Aux or patrol detachment. With our new, low cost strats it’s not as bad to take an extra detachment for another tyrant. I think this is one of the best things about our new codex that people are overlooking.

That said, I recognize that we don’t want to spend all our command points on extra tyrants.

[Jbizzy]

Included them if you like the models and want to build/paint them. Otherwise use the points for something else you have and like to use. Many things in new codex are neat and are not a complete waste it seems.

[piersonsmuppet]

Apr 7, 2022 2:01:54 GMT yoritomo said:

It’s only 2cp for an Aux or patrol detachment. With our new, low cost strats it’s not as bad to take an extra detachment for another tyrant. I think this is one of the best things about our new codex that people are overlooking.

That said, I recognize that we don’t want to spend all our command points on extra tyrants.

An Auxiliary only works if you're okay with the Tyrant losing Hive Fleet Adaptations, which I think is a deal breaker for Leviathan or any fleet with Lurk.

Honestly, they are much better with Flyrants since they can use Encircle and Overrun more easily to return to safety. 1-2 Walkrants may not need them, but that heavily depends on terrain and how big of a priority they are in comparison to other units. A 3-man Tyrant Guard unit still looks like a cheap way to hedge your bets. The only time I see them being not worthwhile is in lists using a single Tyrant with Adaptive and plenty of other monsters that look easier to kill.

[yoritomo]

I think you are correct in that while walking tyrant can certainly use tyrant guard, they are much better for a flying tyrant. The synergy with overrun is very good.

I don’t think tyrant guard are as needed with encircle the prey though. While they are nice, I can hide my tyrant and minimize the number of effective shots he takes if I’m going to pull him off the table first thing.

The question I keep coming back to is what does my tyrant fear so much that he needs extra protection? It’s certainly not chip damage. The solution to chip damage on your tyrant has always been more tyrants. Nothing in this codex makes me think that has changed. In this case it’s more tyrants until you can’t take anymore and then you think about tyrant guard.

Now, if there was a “poof, you’re dead” weapon out there, then we would need to reconsider things. I’d much rather my opponent spend his super miracle weapons one shotting a tyrant guard than a hive tyrant. I think we’d all pay extra points to keep hand of god weapons away from out tyrants.

This begs the question, do those types of weapons exist? And the answer is yes. It’s called a railgun. Now, one or two weapons in 40K isn’t enough to make me change my army composition, but the knight codices are next and the imperial guard codex is in the pipeline. What do you think the odds that those codices will also have new super weapons in them?

The bottom line is that for now more tyrants are better than tyrant guard. But I believe that as 9th edition progresses we will see a shift towards tyrant guard if people continue to use hive tyrants.

[piersonsmuppet]

There are plenty more weapons that threaten Tyrants other than the Railgun, so I don't think the TG decision revolves around that really. The main points to consider are how often you want to take TTL and if you are okay with paying another 2 CP and 80+ pts to have the 3rd Tyrant. How much you are relying on relics also plays a part as well, another Tyrant w/o relic/WLT doesn't stand in for a Tyrant with Heightened Senses and Shardgullet (which is worth 1.5-2 Tyrants vs the right targets).

Don't take TG based on possible opposition shooting, take them based on what your list needs to affect victory the most.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

I think knights are also going to raise the number of weapons one or two shot a tyrant.

[purestrain]

Also behemoth TG with unstoppable onslaught wound t7 vehicles on 3s (with Glands), ideal if you take double cannon Tyrants. if you want them cheap the talons also do some chip along with the claws.

[v0iddrgn]

I'll be using Tyrant Guard so that I can get aggressive with Swarmlord, plus he buffs them a lot. I also like that they are perfectly suited to do actions given their Infantry keyword while still serving their main purpose of protecting SL.

[beetlejuice]

Or just use them to have an immortal HI character on an objective with tyrant guard behind los? Bodyguard rules are insanely good in forcing your opponent to behave in a certain way. Potentially enabling ttl and core buffs on top is just gravy