IMPORTANT NOTE THAT THIS SERIES IS NOW OUTDATED AS THE CODEX HAS BEEN RELEASED. Read about our first impressions here: The Hive Fleet Cometh
Welcome back to Part 2 of the Tyranid Tactica (Part 1 can be found here). This part focuses on the other 3 types of units, Heavy Infantry (HI), Transports, and Heavy Vehicles, that you are likely to encounter during your games. I will also be touching on vehicles with the Fly keyword as the stormraven spam list has been going around the competitive circles these first few weeks. The most recent version of the super-messy spreadsheet used can be found here: Nid Spreadsheet
Edit: Had a mind-blowing revelation brought to my attention by C4790M and Liquirius on the Warhammer 40k sub-Reddit so shout out to them. Had totally glossed over Old One Eye and his +1 aura being applicable to himself in tandem with his Berserk Rampage rule which puts him at a whopping:
14.7 PPW vs Heavy Infantry (TEQ) with Monstrous scything talons (MST)
10.79 PPW vs Transports with MST and
16.653 PPW vs Heavy Vehicles with Monstrous crushing claws
That blows all the competition right out of the water when it comes to multi-wound targets. Thanks once again to the Redditors who helped me spot this omission.
Continuing from last week's bullet points of 1 and 2:
3. Heavy Infantry
T4, W2, 2+ armour save and 5+ Invulnerable save (5++) and their equivalents. Aka TEQ
a. GSC Genestealers: 16.88 to 22.5 PPW (Points per wound)
Hive Fleet 'stealers: 20-27 PPW and 18-24 PPW with Toxin Sacs
Surprisingly GSC stealers come up tops again even when I expected hive fleet stealers to do better with their option for taking toxin sacs. Seems like the 2 point discount allowing 6 GSC stealers for every 5 Hive fleet stealers makes all the difference when it comes to points per wound even though toxin sacs does close that gap somewhat. However, unit footprint should be a consideration as well and TEQs tend to have a small footprint per unit so a large unit of genestealers might not be able to bring all their attacks to bear compared to a 'stealer unit with Toxin Sacs. For pros and cons, please refer to Part 1 of this series.
b. Exocrine: 32 PPW
Assumptions: Standing still for double fire and +1 to hit. Not too difficult with the 36" range Bio-plasmic cannon.
+ve:
- T8 W12
- 36" weapon range. Fantastically long by Tyranid standards.
- Multi-role as it provides the one of best ranged options against transports and heavy vehicles as well
-ve:
- Needs to stand still for maximum effectiveness
- Able to be killed by 2 lucky missiles (compared to the Tyrannofex)
c. Hive Tyrant with 2 pairs of Monstrous scything talons (MST): 35.68 ppw
We finally see the Hive Tyrant in the top 3 solutions. Note however that this is the walking version and the flying tyrant costs a premium of 211 points (40.66 PPW) for its speed though at a base 9" speed, a walking Tyrant isn't too shabby if you are not in need for an anti-flyer Synapse.
+ve:
- Movement speed of 9"
- Can cast 2 psychic powers a turn
- Provides Synapse (which is also a negative in a sense)
-ve:
- HUGE target even if protected by Tyrant Guards
- Can be picked out at 10 wounds even though the Tyrant is a character
d. Carnifex with 2 pairs of MST: 36.26 PPW
+ve:
- Good against light tanks and transports as well
- Living Battering Ram rule provides another 0.5 mortal wounds every time it charges
- Does not degrade like most other monstrous creatures
- Drop efficiency as mentioned previously
-ve:
- Slow (only 7" movement compared to all other options)
Alternative ranged option vs TEQ:
e. Hive Guard Impaler Cannon: 51.84 PPW
+ve:
- Multi-role as it does well against other high toughness targets
- Does not need line-of-sight (thus able to be placed in safer spots)
- No cover bonus for enemy unit
- Long 36" range
-ve:
- Unable to use LOS-blocking to target characters
- Dismal melee capability (for a Tyranid organism)
4. Transports
T7, W8-10, 3+ armor save. Standard Rhino/Razorback/Dreadnought profile. Lighter transports can also include T6 4+ save models with negative modifiers to hit.
a. GSC Genestealers: 15 - 20 PPW
Yes I know, I'm getting quite tired of seeing them appear over and over again as well...
b. Trygon/Trygon Prime: 25.14 PPW (30.17 for Trygon Prime)
Includes the attack from Prehensile pincer tail.
+ve:
- Can burrow, appearing >9" from enemy target
- Can take Adrenal Glands, making the charge from deepstrike easier at 8"
- Decent 12 shots at S5 for Trygon prime
-ve:
- Surprisingly frail for a monstrous creature with only T6 and W12
c. GSC Patriarch: 23.14 PPW (25 PPW for Broodlord)
Accounts for AP-6 and flat 3 damage instead of d3 for Rend and re-roll to wound for Monstrous Rending Claws.
+ve:
- Can be protected due to Character keyword and less than 10 wounds
- Able to use Unquestioning Loyalty (for GSC Patriarch)
- Small footprint
- Fast (8" + advance and charge)
- Provides Synapse
-ve:
- Only 6 wounds for 150-162 points
Top ranged options:
d. Hive Guard with Shock cannons - 25 PPW vs Vehicle targets
- See entry below with regards to Pros and Cons
e. Exocrine - 34.23 PPW
f. Hive Guard with Impaler cannon - 40.5 PPW
g. Tyrannofex - 60.48 PPW (with Rupture cannon & stinger salvo)
- Assumption: Stationary.
4.1 Flying Vehicles with Hard-to-Hit
T7, W8+, 3+ armor save with Airborne
a. Hive Guard with Shock cannons - 33.42 PPW
+ve:
- Assault-class weapons (able to advance and still fire)
-ve:
- Short range and mobility against flyers (24" range + 5" movement)
- Efficiency only against units with Vehicle keyword
- Narrow application (see above point)
b. Flying hive Tyrant with Monstrous Rending Claws - 40.29 PPW
38.2 PPW with 1 pair of Deathspitter with slimer maggots if shooting before charge.
(See Hive Tyrant entry in vs Heavy Infantry section for pros and cons)
c. Flying Hive Tyrant with 2 pairs of MST - 43.41 PPW
41.28 PPW with 1 pair of Deathspitter with slimer maggots if shooting before charge.
d. Exocrine - 45.6 PPW
Assumption: Stationary & double firing with +1 to hit.
e. Hive Guard with Impaler cannon - 53.93 PPW
f. Shrikes with Boneswords & Devourers - 57.38 PPW
Surprising Omissions
Hive Crone - 90.4 PPW (Drool cannon, stinger salvo, Tentaclids)
50.9 PPW if counting melee of Scything talons + Wicked spur
Harpy - 128.99 PPW with Stranglethorn cannons (150.9 with Heavy Venom cannon) with stinger salvo
5. Heavy Vehicles
T8 W14 2+ armour save which roughly translate upwards to Imperial Knight stats
a. GSC Patriarch - 24.92 PPW (26.9 PPW for Broodlord)
b. GSC Genestealers - 27 to 36 PPW (Hive Fleet 'stealers: 32.43 to 42.86 PPW)
By now, I've come to realise (as I'm sure many of you have) that Genestealers, be it GSC or Hive Fleet, are the premier solution to dealing with any ground-based threat in the opposing army. Of course that doesn't mean we simply bring 100 Genestealers in a 2000 point list as there are other considerations like Synapse, the footprint of 100 models, Flyers, and a need for cheaper and/or ranged objective holders.
c. Hive Tyrant with MRC - 28.5 PPW
The 3 flat damage on Rends and re-roll to wound for Monstrous Rending Claws puts it above Monstrous scything talons (MST) for efficiency when dealing with heavy vehicles.
d. Hive Guard with Shock Cannons - 32.8 PPW
e. Swarmlord (Bone sabres) - 44.08 PPW
While we finally see the big daddy Tyranid character the Swarmlord as an entry in the efficiency calculations, we all know the main reasons to bring the Swarmlord as a tactical and strategic choice in terms of the options he provides rather than simple efficiency.
Other ranged options:
Exocrine - 64.125 PPW
Tyrannofex with Rupture cannon - 70.64 PPW (including stinger salvo shots)
Hive Guard with Impaler cannon - 72 PPW
Concluding remarks
I will be concluding this 3-part series with a list-building exercise on the next instalment of Tuesdays Tabletop Talk and here are some of the considerations to take into account for me:
1. While Genestealers (both GSC & Hive fleet variants) have come out tops in most of the efficiency calculations vs various unit types, does that mean we should spam 100 genestealers in a 2k list?
2. Are there units that don't show up consistently or at all in the efficiency calculations but which provide unique benefits that are sometimes difficult to quantify or take into account with regards to efficiency?
3. How difficult will it be to deliver the close combat units and how much do I prize shooting units vs more efficient close combat units?
That brings me to the end of Part 2. I hope the information's been useful and I look forward to sharing my list-building thoughts with you this coming Tuesday.
Cheers,
the BenCH
Bio: Benjamin Chia is an avid gamer and has been playing Warhammer 40k since its 3rd edition and collects Space Marines (of various chapters), Tyranids, Aeldari and Sisters of Battle. A trainer of Critical Thinking Skills, he buys more models than he should and is furiously trying to finish up his armies before more shiny models are released this 8th edition.