Last minute Tyranid rumors?

[MM3791]

Here's a funny one from the guys at Frontline http://www.frontlinegaming.org/2014/01/09/incontrol-on-nid-rumors-and-staying-cool/

[Hageshii01]

I feel for whoever actually made a spore army from alternate (or homemade) models for the last codex...  I guess GW really taught those people a lesson.

Almost me.  I built my own spore for my Doom (so, double hit to my army there), and was planning on building another for some zoanthropes.  Well, guess I'll crack apart the spore and use it for a Carnifex (had a Carnifex body in there to represent the symbiotic organism).

[keithb]

Mike Brandt is a very level headed guy, and not usually prone to hyperbole or "God damn, GW!" moments.  The fact that he was this negative really is saying something.

It sounds like they really just killed off tyranids.  I have no idea why.

Well partly, they absolutely crushed his list.  Like it doesn't work at all anymore.

[andalucien]

I know Mike hated Hive Tyrants, but I guess I never got so good that Dakka Flyrants seemed anything other than awesome to me.  And it sounds like they made em cheaper and upped their BS?  I don't think that makes up for the loss of Biomancy but it sounds like they are treading water somewhat at least.

[keithb]

Mike just preferred the reliability of other choices.

flyrants are great some matchups and free points for your opponent in others.

Losing biomancy really, really sucks for nids.

[MM3791]

Tyranids & Daemons have virtually the exact same playstyle, except playing Tyranids is just playing Daemons on "Hard Mode"

[Sir_Prometheus]

Killing a flyrant is probably easier than killing a Bloodthirster, Matt.  More shooting, tho.

anyway:

[andalucien]

Yes, from a skyray pilot's point of view, I guess it just looks like a cheaper bloodthirster with only 4 wounds and no invul save. 

[MM3791]

Yea but I meant the whole army too, daemons already have fearless built in and nids rely on synapse for that. Daemonettes have better rules/stats then hormaguants, etc. I think Tyranids are less points per model, but they also rely on much greater synergy then daemons do.

[Chase]

Rumor has it that the new stuff is on sale at BG as of this second.

[keithb]

I am still going to buy the book and cards.... because I had you order them... but I am much less excited about it.

[andalucien]

I haven't heard anything really with the exception of the harpy/crone seems pretty good. That being said; I hope my current list just gets better because I hate all the new models with the exception of the harpy lol

Well Bill, let's see...

- Zoanthropes:  Nerfed.  They can no longer cast Biomancy and now have Brotherhood of psykers, so can only cast 1 spell per unit now.
- Swarmlord:  Nerfed medium-well.  No Biomancy, no forcing rerolls in CC, price went UP.
- Gargoyles:  Nerfed hard.  No longer auto-wound on a 6 to hit, which was what made them scary.
- Tervigons:  Words can not begin to describe how hard they were nerfed.  They were nerfed in like 6 different ways!
- Doom in a Pod:  Neither Doom nor Pods exist at all anymore.  So that's "the ultimate nerf"?
- Parasite of Mortrex:  Also doesn't exist anymore at all anymore.

Sooo what else was in your army?

[andalucien]

Sooo one of the best units is the new Exocrine.  How good is it?  Fortunately we have a very close comparison in another recent codex, the Riptide.  Both are about the same cost and are 5 wound shooty monstrous creatures with tougness 6.

Pros for Exocrine:
- In a few situations, 6 plasma gun shots will be better than the firepower that the Riptide can put out.
- Very slightly better if it finds itself in CC (WS and I 3 as apposed to W and I 2, everything else the same).

Pros for Riptide:
- In the vast majority of situations, its guns outclass the Exocrine.
- 2+ armour save (instead of 3+)
- 5++ invul save (can be upped to 3++ at owner's discretion)
- Can redeploy an extra 2d6" in the assault phase (4d6" at owner's discretion)
- Shots will usually ignore cover if the army has any markerlights in it
- Many more upgrade options for a cost, can get things like skyfire, interceptor, feel no pain
- Can be joined by a buff commander to go to god mode
- Won't involuntarily go to ground half the time if not near a Synapse creature

[Benjamin]

You have to believe the Doom of Malantai will just be part of a supplemental release.

[andalucien]

Yeah, after a first "read & think", I seriously think my Sisters of Battle might be in a better place right now than the nids.   

The troop situation is dire.  With Tervigons being what they are now...  I'm trying to think of how I'd want to run troops... You can't just put a few squads of Gaunts in reserves to claim objectives, because without synapse, they will just fail a morale test at Ld6 and either stay put or run right back off the board after they come on.  Without Tervigons, there aren't any synapse creatures that you'd want to just have hanging around in back... so you're going to put like a Hive Tyrant chilling out in the backfield just so your gaunts won't run off the board?

The best choice might actually be to just run some genestealers or some Tyranid warriors, which are both basically exactly the same as they were in the last codex.