Direct Guidance

[dkng]

Hello fellow biomass devourers.

Do you find this WLT useful? What lists and what units do you use it most often on? The obvious 9-strong blob of Warriors come to mind as they get the boost to both shooting and melee but is there anything else worth spending a CP for the trait? 30 Termas maybe? if they were cheaper then a carpet of Horms would benefit a large bit with their number of attacks.

[trashcan01]

If find it very useful as I'm running Raveners, Warriors and Fexes in my lists.

Here is a list of all of our <CORE> units:

Troops

• Gargoyles
• Hormagaunts
• Termagants
• Tyranid Warriors

Elites

• Genestealers
• Pyrovores
• Tyrant Guard
• Venomthropes
• Zoanthropes

Fast Attack

• Ravener

Heavy Support

• Carnifexes
• Screamer-Killers
• Thornbacks

Warriors and Raveners are most commonly used being able to benefit from it during Shooting and Melee.
Cranial Feasting Venomthropes can do well with it, as well as Melee units such as Hormagaunts, Genestealers and Fexes.
If you're running 30x Termagants chances are you have a Tervigon giving them +1 hit.

I mean, you get to do it 5x times per game and the chances are you are not going to use it on action monkeys and low number of attack units. Turn 4-5 you might pop it on a Fex or something, but most of the cases it is Raveners or Warriors.

[turtletyrant]

I tried it with a 9-man unit of warriors. Gave a hive tyrant the trait and put both +1 to hit and re-roll hit roll of 1 on the warrior. Also had AG on the warriors (with dual boneswords) so they had S8 and well, they performed extremely well against pretty much everything that came up against them. 3 venom cannons, 6 deathspitters mowed down any infantry, and when they got up close, against 36 attacks wounding on 3's (or better) not much was able to stay up.

[piersonsmuppet]

I think it’s best used when playing heavily with Venomthropes, Raveners, Horms, and/or GS. Warriors can get +1 to-hit in melee with the FH strat, so they don’t need it. Probably best in Gorgon to combo with the fleet power, more hits means more MWs. Terrible in Hydra due to the fleet trait.

[dkng]

Oct 13, 2022 22:00:00 GMT piersonsmuppet said:

I think it’s best used when playing heavily with Venomthropes, Raveners, Horms, and/or GS. Warriors can get +1 to-hit in melee with the FH strat, so they don’t need it. Probably best in Gorgon to combo with the fleet power, more hits means more MWs. Terrible in Hydra due to the fleet trait.

That's why I was asking. Warriors true damage potential lies in melee, not shooting. Lets take a unit of 9 - 3 VCs and 6 DS. We have 6"average 6 VC shots and 18 DS shots. Normally 4 and 12 will connect. With DG the numbers go up to 5 and 15. Is this really worth taking a WLT for? Well... it is when you factor in the bonus in melee but just for shooting?
The calculation changes a lot for units that cannot normally get any to-hit bonuses. Ravs are a good example - a unit of 5 with their 25 attacks can go from 16,6 hits to 20,8 hits. I can also see it used on a Screamer - almost 2 additional hits. But still - is it worth taking really? I see it used quite often in top lists (on GoonH for example). Biggest surprise was a list with double HTs, one was "naked" but the list was sporting DG. Over a Shardgullet. That got me thinking as raw math doesn't really make it shine outside of Ravs and Warriors melee.

The list for all of you interested:

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Tyranids) [70 PL, 1,385pts] ++
+ Configuration +

Hive Fleet: Kraken

+ No Force Org Slot +

Tyrant Guard [8 PL, 120pts]
. 3x Tyrant Guard (Scything): 3x Two Rending Claws, 3x Two Scything Talons

Zoanthropes [7 PL, 150pts]: Power: Neuroparasite, Power: Synaptic Lure, 3x Zoanthrope

+ HQ +

Hive Tyrant [9 PL, 195pts]: Heavy Venom Cannon, Lash Whip and Monstrous Bonesword, Power: Catalyst, Power: Paroxysm, Power: Synaptic Lure, Warlord, Warlord Trait: Direct Guidance

Neurothrope [5 PL, 100pts]: Power: Catalyst, Power: Onslaught, Power: Synaptic Lure

+ Troops +

Gargoyles [4 PL, 80pts]
. 10x Gargoyles 10x Fleshborer

+ Elites +

Venomthropes [5 PL, 105pts]
. 3x Venomthrope: 3x Toxic Lashes

Zoanthropes [7 PL, 150pts]: Power: Neuroparasite, Power: Synaptic Lure, 3x Zoanthrope

+ Fast Attack +

Raveners [8 PL, 175pts]
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Rending Claws
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Rending Claws
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Rending Claws
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Rending Claws
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Rending Claws

Raveners [8 PL, 175pts]
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Scything Talons
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Scything Talons
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Scything Talons
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Scything Talons
. Ravener: Deathspitter, Two Scything Talons

+ Heavy Support +

Biovores [9 PL, 135pts]
. 3x Biovore: 3x Chitin-barbed Fists, 3x Spore Mine Launcher

++ Patrol Detachment -2CP (Tyranids) [25 PL, 520pts, -2CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Hive Fleet: Kraken

+ Stratagems +

Hive Predator [-1CP]: Extra Warlord Trait

Rarefied Enhancements [-1CP]: Extra Bio-artefact

+ HQ +

Winged Hive Tyrant [11 PL, 225pts]: Adrenal Glands, Lash Whip and Monstrous Bonesword, Power: Onslaught, Power: Psychic Scream, Power: Synaptic Lure, Relic: The Reaper of Obilterax

+ Troops +

Tyranid Warriors [4 PL, 95pts]
. Tyranid Warrior: Dual Boneswords, Venom Cannon
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Dual Boneswords
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Dual Boneswords

+ Elites +

Tyrant Guard [8 PL, 120pts]
. 3x Tyrant Guard (Scything): 3x Two Rending Claws, 3x Two Scything Talons

+ Fast Attack +

Parasite of Mortrex [4 PL, 80pts]: Warlord Trait: Alien Cunning

++ Fortification Network -1CP (Tyranids) [6 PL, 95pts] ++

+ Fortification +

Sporocyst [6 PL, 95pts]: 5x Deathspitter

++ Total: [101 PL, 1CP, 2,000pts] ++

P.S. Shame you cant give it to a Terma carpet with Tervi bonus at the same time - 30 shots hitting on 2s sounds nice doesnt it?

[piersonsmuppet]

Definitely there to give the Ravs +1 to hit T1 & T2. The 1 CP for buffing two units is worth it there since it’s a central part of the list.

[trashcan01]

I've never used just Direct Guidance.
Pardon the repetition from other threads, but I play my Warriors blob as tip of the spear and they come with layered buffs.
+1 hit from Guidance with re-roll 1 to hit and to wound (Tyrant + Warrior Prime), providing me with crazy consistency with the Warriors. Venom Cannons are able to cherry pick their targets because of their 36" range, and volume of shots from Deathspitter does decent damage as well. They have Adrenal Glands and if everything works okay (thanks to Neurothrope) the Catalyst + Onslaught.
The only (smart?) thing for the opponent to do is to stay away from them because they are craaaaazy good in melee as well.


What I like about the 9ed Codex are the synergies it offers and I think individual analysis of units, abilities and special rules may mislead on how good our armies work as a whole.

On its own Direct Guidance seems okay-ish. We don't have a lot of re-roll options so +1 helps. But add Imperatives, Command Phase buffs, Hive Fleet specifics, Psychic Powers and you got yourself a flexible mini death-star, right where you need it the most thanks to Synaptic Link + <CORE> rules.