GAMES WORKSHOP 99120106042" Tyranid Hive Tyrant/The Swarmlord Plastic Kit

Product Information

Adaptive traits can be exchanged for another trait from three trait tables: Feed, Hunt, or Lurk. Each Hive Fleet has two tables specified in their Hyper-adaptation rule, while custom fleets may select one trait from two different tables of their choice. The full list of available Adaptive traits will be discussed after the main Hive Fleets. Behemoth The Hive Mind is so staggeringly complex in its power and construction that it either drives most psykers insane or kills them. The only known agent of the Imperium of Man believed to have looked upon the Hive Mind and retained his sanity is Chief Librarian Tigurius of the Ultramarines. This could be due to his uncanny talent for making accurate predictions in general, but the accuracy and frequency of his knowledge concerning the intentions of the Great Devourer seem to show he has indeed tapped into the Hive Mind, a feat thought possible only by a psyker possessed of power equivalent to that of the Emperor of Mankind.

As mentioned above in the Warp Shielding entry, Zoanthropes are almost mandatory in every competitive Tyranid list. Come for the Synaptic Imperative , stay for the easily-achievable “super” Smites! The Warp Blast ability improves your Psychic test result for any Witchfire power or Smite , adding +1 for every Zoanthrope model in the unit ( up to +3). Better still, the mortal wounds inflicted by the unit are increased by one for every remaining model ( up to 3 again). As the magic number here is three you’re mostly going to see MSU here, extra models are only going to help you keep your bonus topped off if you start losing models. One unit is usually enough, but doubling up on them might be worthwhile if you want to put emphasis pushing mortal wounds ( if you do be sure you have a Neurothrope with Synaptic Tendrils around to grant Warp Siphon to both ). There are five ‘chunks’ of Tyranids rules in the book, to wit: new Bio-artefacts, Stratagems and Hive Fleet-specific Psychic Powers and two new additions – Adaptive Physiology and Hive Fleet Adaptations. Here’s what I’m using from the book to properly establish my own Hive Fleet, Eumenides… Long the butt of many jokes, the current codex has raised the Tyranid faction to a legitimate powerhouse. So much so that the faction has taken a few nerfs across both army rules and point values to reduce their overall power. Even post-nerf, the bugs are still sittin’ well toward the top of the win lists–feel free to take a gander over at 40K Stats if you’re interested in some of the hard numbers. Gorgon is a poisonous fleet and it really shows in their bonuses, as it can tear down monsters and tough infantry in a sea of toxic talons but is going to have trouble against mechanized opponents. This is another fleet that really benefits large numbers of infantry and where Devourers might actually find some use ( probably not). Competitively, Gorgon sits at sixth out of seven Hive Fleets. You cannot select the same psychic power more than once per battle round, unless that power is Smite.Post-nerf its limited to two possible Psychic tests to trigger the Psychic Overload ability but this is still a huge threat when applied properly. In a vacuum pushing 6+ mortals is amazing, but it can take some maneuvering and wise opponents will shove forward sacrificial units to avoid taking damage on priority targets. These are a known threat through the competitive world, so expect it will take some effort to really make these shine. Adaptive trait – Units may re-roll one hit roll in the shooting and fight phase. A solid general benefit that we see in many factions, this is best applied to units with a small number of very powerful shots ( i.e. heavy venom cannons). If you’re not fielding many of those, consider swapping this out for another option. B Onslaught (WC 6) – One unit within Synaptic Link range does not suffer the hit penalty from Advancing and is eligible to declare a charge if it Advanced. Fantastic utility power and critical to have in your Psychic arsenal if you plan on making charges at any time. A+ Unstoppable Swarm – Units ignore any modifiers to Move characteristic, Advance rolls, and charge rolls. Great for tables with a good spread of Difficult Ground cover but another situational trait whose utility also depends on the matchup. If you’re playing an event where you know there’s a decent amount of difficult terrain and your list struggles with Gheist Storm due to low leadership this may be worth your consideration. Smugly ignoring Photon Grenades , Tanglefoot Grenades and the like would be satisfying, but it’s not a critical trait for an all-comers list. C-

Leviathan offers incredible durability for SYNAPSE models that were already tough, and the natural re-roll can assist units that have a small number of high-powered shoots. While the Hive Fleet traits and power are great, the Warlord Trait, Relic, and Stratagem are pretty underwhelming. Regardless, the siren song of Synaptic Control/Hive Nexus makes Leviathan the clear leader in Hive Fleet competitive popularity. Gorgon Warlord Trait: Soul Hunger (Aura) – The WARLORD has an Aura that forces a Perils of the Warp on any doubles on enemy psychic tests within 18″. Given your the user is likely a SYNAPSE creature this pairs well with Shadow in the Warp , but it’s not especially great compared to generic traits and against non-Psyker armies it will be completely useful. Probably best to leave it. D Resonance Barb – If the bearer is a PSYKER it adds 1 to Psychic tests and knows one additional psychic power. Note this doesn’t allow you to manifest an extra power, just know another one. A solid buff on a Neurothrope for a +2 bonus to any Psychic test. BThrough its synaptic conduits, the Hive Mind reaches out to infuse the organisms under its control, invigorating their metabolisms with such unnatural vitality that they can ignore the most grievous of wounds. The Brood Mind also acts as a psychic beacon to draw a Hive Fleet towards the planet where its cult is located. Once the summoned Hive Fleet comes within range of a few hundred light years of the infected world, a subliminal reaction is triggered in the Brood Mind to goad the Genestealers into a frenzy of killing. This unleashes a violent uprising, which weakens the defences of the targeted world and makes it easy prey for the arriving Hive Fleet of the Great Devourer. FACTION KEYWORDS: HIVE TENDRIL, TYRANIDS, < HIVE FLEET> BEHEMOTH GORGON HYDRA JORMUNGANDR KRAKEN KRONOS LEVIATHAN HIVE FLEET units within 6″ of a model with this ability automatically pass Morale tests. This is a classic Tyranid rule, though its range has been reduced a bit this edition. Something to note, Synapse was updated post-codex publication to officially be an Aura. This is not in the printed book, but is reflected in the app as well as the FAQ where the change was made . This typically won’t matter, but it does mean that certain abilities that shut down Auras can spell big trouble. Shadow In The Warp (Aura) It’s pretty obvious that forcing a -1 hit modifier across a huge swathe of your army is a good thing, which is why Venomthropes are now a common sight in competitive lists. In 9th edition these are durable at T5 W4, meaning even if they’re out in the open your opponent is going to have to focus some of their stronger firepower into the unit to take it out entirely. You’re likely going to take best advantage of their spore cloud in the early rounds. As your army spreads in different directions as the battle goes on, if heavy firepower goes into these instead of your more dangerous models then they have served their purpose well.

Acidic Torrent (1CP) – Use this Stratagem in the Fight phase on an ACID MAW unit in Engagement Range with an enemy unit. For each ACID MAW INFANTRY model roll one d6, for each 3+ the enemy unit suffers 1 mortal wound. If this is an ACID MAW MONSTER , roll 3d6 instead. This is not worth your while. D- No Mercy, No Respite: Synaptic Insight – Each battle round, keep a tally of what models are destroyed by SYNAPSE models if your army. If the SYNAPSE models destroy a model with 3-5Ws tally 1 point, 6-9W tally 2 points, and 10+W tally 3 points. For each round you tally at least 4 points, score 3VP. The codex offers many powerful SYNAPSE models, but considering it doesn’t account for 1-2W models this ignores a TON of infantry that you’re going to see on the field. Canny players will also try to screen out/hide elite models from targeting just to deny you on it. Considering how difficult it might be score, it also weirdly caps at 12. C

Stratagems: The 16 new Stratagems often focus on specific units and monsters, so my Haruspex is definitely going to benefit from Feeding the Hunger (re-roll hits!) and my Exocrine is going to love Symbiotic Devastation – it counts as not having moved in the shooting phase, which means it can redeploy and still benefit from +1 to hit rolls and shooting twice! Use this Stratagem in any phase, when a < HIVE FLEET> BEHEMOTH GORGON HYDRA JORMUNGANDR KRAKEN KRONOS LEVIATHAN HIVE TYRANT model from your army is destroyed by an enemy unit. Until the end of the battle: Stratagem: Deepest Shadow – If an enemy psyker fails a psychic test within 18″ of a KRONOS PSYKER , inflict d3 mortal wounds and until the end of the phase any additional failed tests within that same range also inflict d3 mortal wounds. Against psyker-heavy armies this can potentially be very, very strong if dropped in right location, especially considering Shadow in the Warp and the Psychic Augmentation Synaptic Imperative can take tests to a -2 modifier. This is all well and good, but be mindful of matchups–this is worthless against an army without psykers and if they only have a few it’s not going to be all that impactful. B