10th Edition Tyranid Index Competitive Review
Jun 21, 2023 20:12:47 GMT
infornography, mattblowers, and 9 more like this
Post by stormcoil on Jun 21, 2023 20:12:47 GMT
Greetings Hive Mind!
As the new 10th edition launches I am very curious how our army does overall. It is still early, but I have managed to play 5 test games with the bugs since the points were released. My test games were against Eldar, Marines, Thousand Sons, Imperial Knights and Custodes. From those games I'm starting to see some patterns. I am putting out this initial review of the index in case some of my thoughts can help the rest of the hive mind.
Obvious caveats. We are one of the very first to get a codex, so we won't have to play with this index for long. Points are digital and could be changed at any time, changing analysis. My review is also my own opinion after experience with several games. If you have a different analysis than mine, great! Leave a comment and let me know.
Secondly, I play in a pretty competitive circle. So a lot of what I'm saying won't matter if you are on the casual end. If you just like taking hordes or monsters that look cool, great! This review is more about what we have available to cram the most efficiency out of the index. Also my meta has quickly evolved to feature a very strong shooting and towering/indirect fire game. Most armies are looking to shoot you to death, with perhaps 1 big combat blob of terminators, SOTs, Custodian Guard, whatever as a bully unit to challenge the middle. As a consequence, a lot of my analysis has to do with how good we are going into these style of lists.
Winged Hive Tyrant: This model is too expensive for what it brings to the table. It can't join a bodyguard unit, it gives up points as a monster and a character. It doesn't actually hit that hard when it makes combat. The best part about this model is the -1 attack ability, but even that has a chance to do mortal wounds to you. Easy deep strike synapse, but you are paying a premium for that ability.
Hive Tyrant: Probably the best of the bunch, but still pricey at 220 for what it brings to the table. The shooting it provides barely makes an impact. In combat it hits only OK. It is fairly tough, especially in a unit of Tyrant Guard. The free CP for a strat on ANY unity in 12" is nice. The 6" aura of turning weapons to assault I have very hard to get value of. 6" isn't that big of an aura, and Tyrant Guard without guns take up a lot of that space. I found that to use the Assault Aura I often had to position my Tyrant and bodyguard in a spot that was bad for them, just to buff some shooting units. I think this is decent and well rounded, but overpriced.
Swarmlord: The most expensive HQ at 250 points, and as an epic hero also can't take an enhancement. Has the best combat ability of the bunch, and the psychic attack is decent. The CP generation is nice, and the CP penalty to the opponent can be game changing. Still hard to include at this price point. With a bodyguard unit you are looking at 350-450 point investment. That is MORE expensive than say a Wraithknight or a Crusader or 6 wardens+Trajan, and this unit does not provide the level of impact to the game that those other choices do for less points.
Neurotyrant: The main advantage of the Neurotyrant is how cheap it is at only 105 points. It provides a buff to the shadow in the warp ability, but shadow in the warp is pretty bad as a competitive rule. It can join a unit of tyrant guard and buff their ability to hit and wound. However, if it is in combat it can't use it's psychic flamer which is its best weapon. Tyrant Guard are also not a high damage output choice, and including a Neurotyrant with them is only going to get you an extra 1-3 wounds on average into a target. Giving synapse to two units every turn is very good for a monster mash or deathstar style list. This ended up being the HQ I used the most just because it was the cheapest.
I cover some other character models in other sections below. I will just mention that if you don't want Tyrant Guard, probably the best generic leader choice is a parasite of mortrex to be your HQ and sit in the back. This gives you a very cheap character to be your HQ without needing a unit/bodyguard tax. The more I played with Nids the less and less points I wanted to spend on characters.
This includes all sorts of horde style units, including termagants, hormagaunts, neurogaunts, gargoyles and their leaders like the Tervigon. In my experience ALL of these units are not competitive and are just for fun picks. All the armies I played against had no problem (or would have no problem) picking these guys up by the hundreds, often out of line of sight. And they don't have the combat potential to hurt vehicles or terminators. We have better, cheaper objective holders. The endless multitude strat only matters if you have models left alive.
The hormagaunts are the best of the bunch. Gribiles pair well with Zoanthropes to give them all invuln saves and psychophages to give them all fnps.
Tyrant Guard: This unit is OK, and one unit will probably make it into most lists. The T8 is solid. As you would expect for a defensive unit, the offensive output is very low for the points spent.
Maleceptor: This is your big tanky monster. It wants to be very close to use its debuff, but its ranged weapon is blast which means it can't be used in hand to hand. And this model will be in hand to hand. You take this to tank a point while the rest of your army is doing something somewhere else. Not terrible just because it can hold something up in a pinch, but with little offensive output it is also susceptible to being tarpitted by a higher OC unit.
Venomthropes: I think these guys got a pretty big downgrade. They provide cover in an edition where everyone gets cover all the time already. The -1 to hit is for infantry only and I didn't find it made much impact when everyone is already rerolling everything. The offense output is non existent. Might be OK in a horde army, which is not competitive.
Psychophage - Good ol Jerry. I have actually had a lot of luck with this unit. This brings an aura of fnp to friendly units in 6" Its buff helps all kinds of builds, whether hordes or elites or monsters. Also, it brings very little offense, so you don't mind if an opponent targets them down first. Not an auto include, and I'm not sure I would ever take 2. But one can really save you cp on Rapid Regeneration and helps your otherwise squishy army stick around longer.
Winged Tyranid Prime - This is one of the worst options in the entire codex. Never take this unit. The WTP can buff a unit of warriors with sustained hits. Now this is already one of our army rules, where you can give the whole army sustained hits against infantry, and sustained hits does not stack. At 80 points the WTP is more expensive than just another unit of warriors. It can only join units of warriors, and warriors are bad. Even in the case where you took a WTP to combine say sustained hits with lethal hits against vehicles, you are always better just adding 3 more warriors to your army than including this guy.
Broodlord + Genestealers - so right up front, there is no point in looking at these units apart. You aren't going to run a broodlord without a bodyguard, and genestealers are terrible without the broodlord devastating wounds buff. The way almost everyone will run this is one unit with a broodlord with the synapse enhancement and 10 genestealers for 290 points. This unit, especially when pumped with strats, can put out an insane amount of mortal wounds. I'm here to tell you not to do it.
Fragile combat units don't work with the changes to overwatch, fight first and artillery. This almost 300 point combo has huge upside that will work only once every 10 games if you are lucky. Or you take your 300 points to mulch some weak 100 point unit and then die? No thank you. Don't take this.
Tyranid Warriors w/melee weapons - Don't take this unit. This is like genestealers with a broodlord without any of the upside. This unit is way too fragile to ever make it into hand to hand combat, and even when it does make it there it just doesn't hit hard enough compared to the premium units in the game. Winged Tyranid Prime is a worse leader than a broodlord, who lacks synergy with the built in army rule.
This blob will be lucky to put out damage before it gets shot off the table by any half way competent opponent. The only time to even consider this combo is AFTER you have already included 3 haruspex in the army. And that's because the actually dangerous haruspexes will draw all of the fire.
Screamer Killer - more expensive and worse than a haruspex. Run for fun only.
Haruspex - I seem to keep bringing this up. This is your go to punchy monster. It is tougher with more wounds, more attacks and deals more damage than other punchy monsters. If monsters in hand to hand is your thing, this is what you need. My only question here is can this last? Maybe don't go buy three. What if the points were supposed to be 225 instead of 125?
Toxicrene - the Toxicrene is good but pricey. It specializes in anti infantry close combat attacks, but can prevent ANY unit from falling back on a 3+. Given the stat line is so similar to a haruspex I wonder why the toxicrene is almost twice as expensive. Again, my suspicion is it is a typo, and the toxicrene was supposed to be 200 pts and the haruspex 225 pts. If a haruspex is 125, this needs to be cheaper to take in most lists.
Tyranid Warriors with ranged weapons - This is not a good unit, even at only 70/140 points. Their range, damage and bs is not good and they are quite fragile. I don't know what role they fill that something else doesn't do better.
Zoanthropes - This is our main antitank unit. They are good but flawed. They don't have a very long range, and are not able to deep strike. Their attacks are psychic, and there are some very good fnps against psychic damage out there. They are not very tough for their points, and will be a prime target for the opponent. Their invuln save bubble is good, but mostly only has an impact on our hordes, which are not good. Despite the drawbacks, this is the best we have. You probably want to include at least one unit.
Exocrine - An exocrine is good. It is relatively tanky and provides anti elite firepower that can also buff the shooting of the rest of your army. It has a reasonable price point of 135, so you don't break the bank including 1. They are not good anti tank, and they are vulnerable to being tied up in combat. I almost always include 1.
Tyrannofex - A Tyrannofex is playable, but not great. Even buffed with an exocrine it does less damage against most tanks than a unit of zoanthropes for more points. But it does real damage, not psychic damage which can be a big plus. And it is a lot tougher. The flamer version also can have some play, but in that role it is competing with the Maleceptor that is cheaper and usually tougher. This still is a playable unit, and including 1 or 2 is not terrible. These are not an auto include, however.
Barbgaunts - I just haven't been able to get these guys to work. They need direct line of sight to shoot and are very squishy, so even if they pose a threat to an enemy they are likely to be killed by artillery. Their debuff only effects infantry, but the best units like terminators or custodes can just ignore the debuff. They are cheap, but I struggle to make these guys have a meaningful impact.
Pyrovores - This unit is very good, only hampered by its mobility. They are relatively tough for their points. Flamers are great in this game in general due to their double utility with overwatch in the movement phase. Pyrovores have the all important ignores cover keyword, which means their ap actually matters. Twin linked means they ALSO reroll all wounds. This is a fantastic unit to support your other units in the middle. I wouldn't make them stand alone, as they can still be shot down with dedicated fire. Not auto include, but a solid entry into any list.
Biovores - This is an auto include unit. The biovore brings our best artillery fire by far, with a good spread of keywords including heavy and devastating wounds. In addition biovores can spawn spore mines which are outrageously good as they stop an opponent form start or ending an advance move within 6" of them. This effects everything, so you can slow down advancing Gallants or Valiants with good spore mine placement. I have been running anywhere from 1x3 to 3x3 in my games and these guys are rock stars.
Hive Guard - I am not a fan. The indirect fire gun is just worse per point than biovores. The direct fire anti vehicle gun is good for the task of taking out vehicles, but it is only 2 shots, short range and on a platform that is hard to deliver. More of a deterrent unit to stop dreadnaught charges. Didn't really help me in my fight against knights as the knights just targeted and killed them from range. Avoid.
Harpy/Hive Crone - I liked the Hive Crone more, but it is also more expensive of the two. In general these are too expensive for what they bring.
Lictor - The lictor continues to be one of our strongest picks for utility, and at least one should be in every list. The lictor gives you lone operative for the cheapest in the book at only 75 points. This makes it the very best cheap backfield objective holder in an indirect meta. The lictor also has infiltrate and the ability to generate cp if it sees combat. If you want to play lictors up to infiltrate the midboard I suggest the Alien Cunning enhancement somewhere in your army.
Deathleaper - for 5 points more than a lictor you get the character version who is an epic hero so can't take enhancements. For the extra 5 points you get more toughness and a useless leadership debuff, but the downside of being a character. It's OK, but in general I prefer just taking generic lictors as a backfield camper.
Parasite of Mortrex - for even more points, 90 now, you can get a generic character with lone operative. It can be a cheap caddy for an enhancement you need that doesn't have to have a unit tax added on. It's combat stats are not good enough and its special rule won't almost ever come into play. Only take if you really need that enhancement and there is just no where else to put it cause you are tight on points.
Von Ryan's Leapers - Almost a good unit. Von Ryan's leapers have a lot of rules you would want with fights first, stealth and infiltrate, as well as being able to use the heroic intervention strat for free. If you are going to go heavy on these guys the Alien Cunning enhancement is mandatory in your army. They are only 150 pts for 6. However, I've really struggled to make these guys work. There are very few ways to buff them up, and they are stuck at an AP of only 1. Even when I get a charge with these guys they usually bounce, and they are so squishy they are vulnerable to shooting or counter attacks. Almost useless against terminators, which is the most common infantry I face.
Raveners - For the same points costs as Von Ryans you can get a unit of Raveners which has almost the same stat block. They get 1 more close combat attack, they can deep strike, and they get a short range shooting attack. But they lose infiltrate, stealth, fights first and the invuln save. Not a great tradeoff unless you really want deepstrike or don't have the points for Alien Cunning. The biggest problem they have is the same as the Von Ryan's, they just don't do enough damage and are even more fragile. To get to combat requires a 9" charge with no way to buff that. You might take them as units to threaten a backfield late game, maybe. But don't.
Mawloc - Comes with a once per game aura that does mortal wounds when it arrives from deepstrike. 16 s8 attacks at ws 3 is also decent for wiping light infantry squads if you manage to make the charge. However it is more expensive than say a carnifex or a haruspex. It also can be screened out by standard screening or something like marine infiltrators. If you are screened out or don't make the charge, expect this to die quickly. This is a fun pick, but I don't see it ever turning a close game.
Trygon - This is one of our very best monsters and I would recommend every list include 1. A Trygon is expensive at 180 points, and has the same defensive profile as a mawloc. However, the Trygon can deep strike only 3" away from the enemy and has OC 4. This makes it great at grabbing backfield objectives in the middle turns. It's combat profile is also tailored for killing elite infantry at s9 and d3, but it has enough attacks that it will also hurt light infantry or put some wounds on a vehicle. You want to use a trygon when there are other, more pressing threats somewhere else on the battlefield.
Ripper Swarms - Ripper swams are cheap, but they are also not worth much. I sometimes include one unit if I have 35 points left over after building my list. They are fragile, with OC 0 and no combat ability with a special rule that will almost never come up. They do have native deep strike, so might be able to help you score secondaries. Maybe you take 1 unit with leftover points.
Final Thoughts:
Hope this review has helped you. For the Hive Mind. Good luck in your future games!
As the new 10th edition launches I am very curious how our army does overall. It is still early, but I have managed to play 5 test games with the bugs since the points were released. My test games were against Eldar, Marines, Thousand Sons, Imperial Knights and Custodes. From those games I'm starting to see some patterns. I am putting out this initial review of the index in case some of my thoughts can help the rest of the hive mind.
Obvious caveats. We are one of the very first to get a codex, so we won't have to play with this index for long. Points are digital and could be changed at any time, changing analysis. My review is also my own opinion after experience with several games. If you have a different analysis than mine, great! Leave a comment and let me know.
Secondly, I play in a pretty competitive circle. So a lot of what I'm saying won't matter if you are on the casual end. If you just like taking hordes or monsters that look cool, great! This review is more about what we have available to cram the most efficiency out of the index. Also my meta has quickly evolved to feature a very strong shooting and towering/indirect fire game. Most armies are looking to shoot you to death, with perhaps 1 big combat blob of terminators, SOTs, Custodian Guard, whatever as a bully unit to challenge the middle. As a consequence, a lot of my analysis has to do with how good we are going into these style of lists.
Leader Things:
Hive Tyrant: Probably the best of the bunch, but still pricey at 220 for what it brings to the table. The shooting it provides barely makes an impact. In combat it hits only OK. It is fairly tough, especially in a unit of Tyrant Guard. The free CP for a strat on ANY unity in 12" is nice. The 6" aura of turning weapons to assault I have very hard to get value of. 6" isn't that big of an aura, and Tyrant Guard without guns take up a lot of that space. I found that to use the Assault Aura I often had to position my Tyrant and bodyguard in a spot that was bad for them, just to buff some shooting units. I think this is decent and well rounded, but overpriced.
Swarmlord: The most expensive HQ at 250 points, and as an epic hero also can't take an enhancement. Has the best combat ability of the bunch, and the psychic attack is decent. The CP generation is nice, and the CP penalty to the opponent can be game changing. Still hard to include at this price point. With a bodyguard unit you are looking at 350-450 point investment. That is MORE expensive than say a Wraithknight or a Crusader or 6 wardens+Trajan, and this unit does not provide the level of impact to the game that those other choices do for less points.
Neurotyrant: The main advantage of the Neurotyrant is how cheap it is at only 105 points. It provides a buff to the shadow in the warp ability, but shadow in the warp is pretty bad as a competitive rule. It can join a unit of tyrant guard and buff their ability to hit and wound. However, if it is in combat it can't use it's psychic flamer which is its best weapon. Tyrant Guard are also not a high damage output choice, and including a Neurotyrant with them is only going to get you an extra 1-3 wounds on average into a target. Giving synapse to two units every turn is very good for a monster mash or deathstar style list. This ended up being the HQ I used the most just because it was the cheapest.
I cover some other character models in other sections below. I will just mention that if you don't want Tyrant Guard, probably the best generic leader choice is a parasite of mortrex to be your HQ and sit in the back. This gives you a very cheap character to be your HQ without needing a unit/bodyguard tax. The more I played with Nids the less and less points I wanted to spend on characters.
Gribblies:
The hormagaunts are the best of the bunch. Gribiles pair well with Zoanthropes to give them all invuln saves and psychophages to give them all fnps.
Tanky Things:
Maleceptor: This is your big tanky monster. It wants to be very close to use its debuff, but its ranged weapon is blast which means it can't be used in hand to hand. And this model will be in hand to hand. You take this to tank a point while the rest of your army is doing something somewhere else. Not terrible just because it can hold something up in a pinch, but with little offensive output it is also susceptible to being tarpitted by a higher OC unit.
Venomthropes: I think these guys got a pretty big downgrade. They provide cover in an edition where everyone gets cover all the time already. The -1 to hit is for infantry only and I didn't find it made much impact when everyone is already rerolling everything. The offense output is non existent. Might be OK in a horde army, which is not competitive.
Psychophage - Good ol Jerry. I have actually had a lot of luck with this unit. This brings an aura of fnp to friendly units in 6" Its buff helps all kinds of builds, whether hordes or elites or monsters. Also, it brings very little offense, so you don't mind if an opponent targets them down first. Not an auto include, and I'm not sure I would ever take 2. But one can really save you cp on Rapid Regeneration and helps your otherwise squishy army stick around longer.
Punchy Things:
Broodlord + Genestealers - so right up front, there is no point in looking at these units apart. You aren't going to run a broodlord without a bodyguard, and genestealers are terrible without the broodlord devastating wounds buff. The way almost everyone will run this is one unit with a broodlord with the synapse enhancement and 10 genestealers for 290 points. This unit, especially when pumped with strats, can put out an insane amount of mortal wounds. I'm here to tell you not to do it.
Unlike other tough mortal wound delivery combat options, the broodlord and genestealers are very squishy. They cannot deep strike or infiltrate, and their scout move means they are very unlikely to get a turn 1 charge. Putting them in a tyrannocite adds 105 points to the combo and you are still at the mercy of a 9" charge and screening. But 10th edition has really changed some things.
Because, unlike terminator or custodes hammer units genestealers are so fragile they will all be killed by artillery, or overwatched by flamers long before they see combat. Even in combat they don't have fights first, so probably get punched down by the common combat units in the game. Your best case is to hope the opponent doesn't shoot you with artillery, and doesn't kill you on overwatch, and then when they kill you on fights first to have some of the unit fight on death on a 4+ with a strat.
Tyranid Warriors w/melee weapons - Don't take this unit. This is like genestealers with a broodlord without any of the upside. This unit is way too fragile to ever make it into hand to hand combat, and even when it does make it there it just doesn't hit hard enough compared to the premium units in the game. Winged Tyranid Prime is a worse leader than a broodlord, who lacks synergy with the built in army rule.
Old One Eye + 2 Carnifex - So much fun, right? A unit of 3 monsters! Don't take this either.
First off, carnifexes are bad. The dedicated punchy ones are the same points but just worse than the haruspex that is tougher and hits harder. The shooty carnifex can't take enhanced senses, so even with the One Eye reroll buff put out a pitiful amount of firepower for their points. Carnifexes don't have any durability buffs or invuln saves.
Screamer Killer - more expensive and worse than a haruspex. Run for fun only.
Haruspex - I seem to keep bringing this up. This is your go to punchy monster. It is tougher with more wounds, more attacks and deals more damage than other punchy monsters. If monsters in hand to hand is your thing, this is what you need. My only question here is can this last? Maybe don't go buy three. What if the points were supposed to be 225 instead of 125?
Toxicrene - the Toxicrene is good but pricey. It specializes in anti infantry close combat attacks, but can prevent ANY unit from falling back on a 3+. Given the stat line is so similar to a haruspex I wonder why the toxicrene is almost twice as expensive. Again, my suspicion is it is a typo, and the toxicrene was supposed to be 200 pts and the haruspex 225 pts. If a haruspex is 125, this needs to be cheaper to take in most lists.
Shooty Things:
Zoanthropes - This is our main antitank unit. They are good but flawed. They don't have a very long range, and are not able to deep strike. Their attacks are psychic, and there are some very good fnps against psychic damage out there. They are not very tough for their points, and will be a prime target for the opponent. Their invuln save bubble is good, but mostly only has an impact on our hordes, which are not good. Despite the drawbacks, this is the best we have. You probably want to include at least one unit.
Exocrine - An exocrine is good. It is relatively tanky and provides anti elite firepower that can also buff the shooting of the rest of your army. It has a reasonable price point of 135, so you don't break the bank including 1. They are not good anti tank, and they are vulnerable to being tied up in combat. I almost always include 1.
Tyrannofex - A Tyrannofex is playable, but not great. Even buffed with an exocrine it does less damage against most tanks than a unit of zoanthropes for more points. But it does real damage, not psychic damage which can be a big plus. And it is a lot tougher. The flamer version also can have some play, but in that role it is competing with the Maleceptor that is cheaper and usually tougher. This still is a playable unit, and including 1 or 2 is not terrible. These are not an auto include, however.
Barbgaunts - I just haven't been able to get these guys to work. They need direct line of sight to shoot and are very squishy, so even if they pose a threat to an enemy they are likely to be killed by artillery. Their debuff only effects infantry, but the best units like terminators or custodes can just ignore the debuff. They are cheap, but I struggle to make these guys have a meaningful impact.
Pyrovores - This unit is very good, only hampered by its mobility. They are relatively tough for their points. Flamers are great in this game in general due to their double utility with overwatch in the movement phase. Pyrovores have the all important ignores cover keyword, which means their ap actually matters. Twin linked means they ALSO reroll all wounds. This is a fantastic unit to support your other units in the middle. I wouldn't make them stand alone, as they can still be shot down with dedicated fire. Not auto include, but a solid entry into any list.
Biovores - This is an auto include unit. The biovore brings our best artillery fire by far, with a good spread of keywords including heavy and devastating wounds. In addition biovores can spawn spore mines which are outrageously good as they stop an opponent form start or ending an advance move within 6" of them. This effects everything, so you can slow down advancing Gallants or Valiants with good spore mine placement. I have been running anywhere from 1x3 to 3x3 in my games and these guys are rock stars.
Hive Guard - I am not a fan. The indirect fire gun is just worse per point than biovores. The direct fire anti vehicle gun is good for the task of taking out vehicles, but it is only 2 shots, short range and on a platform that is hard to deliver. More of a deterrent unit to stop dreadnaught charges. Didn't really help me in my fight against knights as the knights just targeted and killed them from range. Avoid.
Harpy/Hive Crone - I liked the Hive Crone more, but it is also more expensive of the two. In general these are too expensive for what they bring.
Sneaky Things:
Deathleaper - for 5 points more than a lictor you get the character version who is an epic hero so can't take enhancements. For the extra 5 points you get more toughness and a useless leadership debuff, but the downside of being a character. It's OK, but in general I prefer just taking generic lictors as a backfield camper.
Parasite of Mortrex - for even more points, 90 now, you can get a generic character with lone operative. It can be a cheap caddy for an enhancement you need that doesn't have to have a unit tax added on. It's combat stats are not good enough and its special rule won't almost ever come into play. Only take if you really need that enhancement and there is just no where else to put it cause you are tight on points.
Von Ryan's Leapers - Almost a good unit. Von Ryan's leapers have a lot of rules you would want with fights first, stealth and infiltrate, as well as being able to use the heroic intervention strat for free. If you are going to go heavy on these guys the Alien Cunning enhancement is mandatory in your army. They are only 150 pts for 6. However, I've really struggled to make these guys work. There are very few ways to buff them up, and they are stuck at an AP of only 1. Even when I get a charge with these guys they usually bounce, and they are so squishy they are vulnerable to shooting or counter attacks. Almost useless against terminators, which is the most common infantry I face.
Raveners - For the same points costs as Von Ryans you can get a unit of Raveners which has almost the same stat block. They get 1 more close combat attack, they can deep strike, and they get a short range shooting attack. But they lose infiltrate, stealth, fights first and the invuln save. Not a great tradeoff unless you really want deepstrike or don't have the points for Alien Cunning. The biggest problem they have is the same as the Von Ryan's, they just don't do enough damage and are even more fragile. To get to combat requires a 9" charge with no way to buff that. You might take them as units to threaten a backfield late game, maybe. But don't.
Mawloc - Comes with a once per game aura that does mortal wounds when it arrives from deepstrike. 16 s8 attacks at ws 3 is also decent for wiping light infantry squads if you manage to make the charge. However it is more expensive than say a carnifex or a haruspex. It also can be screened out by standard screening or something like marine infiltrators. If you are screened out or don't make the charge, expect this to die quickly. This is a fun pick, but I don't see it ever turning a close game.
Trygon - This is one of our very best monsters and I would recommend every list include 1. A Trygon is expensive at 180 points, and has the same defensive profile as a mawloc. However, the Trygon can deep strike only 3" away from the enemy and has OC 4. This makes it great at grabbing backfield objectives in the middle turns. It's combat profile is also tailored for killing elite infantry at s9 and d3, but it has enough attacks that it will also hurt light infantry or put some wounds on a vehicle. You want to use a trygon when there are other, more pressing threats somewhere else on the battlefield.
Ripper Swarms - Ripper swams are cheap, but they are also not worth much. I sometimes include one unit if I have 35 points left over after building my list. They are fragile, with OC 0 and no combat ability with a special rule that will almost never come up. They do have native deep strike, so might be able to help you score secondaries. Maybe you take 1 unit with leftover points.
And that is almost every unit. At the end of the day most of the options in this massive index are not worth taking in my experience. The standouts are usually pretty tough or defensive in some way while still having enough offense. Haruspex, Trygon, Exocrine, Lictor, Zoanthrope, Biovore are some of your top choices that will put in work almost every game. And you can make a list with mostly just those units. And you can lean into more of a shooting list or more of a hand to hand list depending on your mix of those units.
Overall I've found taking one cheap(ish) character with Alien Cunning and then the rest of the points spent on units has worked best. In general I don't find our characters bring enough for the cost, so I would recommend getting as many wounds on the table as you can.
Hope this review has helped you. For the Hive Mind. Good luck in your future games!
). Other thoughts:
