Tyranids are here! And with their arrival comes a set of powerful new abilities that have the ability to change the metagame as we know it. Synapse and instinctive behavior have the capability of being game changing swings in how we play the game. One could say that the Tyranids gained a combination of chapter tactics and powerful dodging skills! In this article we will examine the new and powerful skills added to the new Tyranids codex.
Lurk is an instinctive behavior table
that lends itself towards mobile shooting Tyranid armies. Moving a
squad of Lurkers out of synapse can immediately save the squad from
imminent assaults and back to key victory points and objectives.
Being capable of having better control over whether or not your
squads are assaultable or having the ability to make a made dash back
to objectives is amazing in order to place more fluid pressure on
your opponent whenever you wish. With luck the skill turns from a
modified version of God of War from our friend Marneus Calgar into a
superior movement skill that allows the unit to better reach
objectives or for the unit to reach a better strategic point for
assaulting or laying waste on the foe with massed shooting. Finally
if the unit in question is on the high end of rolling is not only
capable of placing themselves in a better position to lay waste to
the opponent, the unit is also able to bolster their defenses by
increasing cover save with the newly acquired Stealth rule. A wily
player will be able to fully abuse this new iteration of the
instinctive behavior in order to fully crush their foes. The Iron
Clad Smurf lord of McCrage only wishes that he was capable of giving
out this new mega form of God of War to his units!
Hunt, while not readily apparent as to
why it is so good, is a fabulous ability for not only its tactical
advantage over your foes but by also showing the depth of the codex
itself. The new Tyranids codex is so deep that it isn't just a set of
rules to be followed. This new codex is a partner to play with! With
the new hunt instinctive behavior, you are placing your trust in not
only your own strategic mind but the codex helps in its own ways by
making its own decisions! With the first half of hunt the unit falls
to the ground, making it possible for flying hunters to ground
themselves immediately in order to avoid pesky space marine stalker
cannons and hunter (no relation of course) missiles along with any
skyfire special rules units. This go to ground movement will also
increase the cover save of the unit, thus making it more defensible
and tougher than it normally would be. The next result forces the
unit in question to allocate its shooting toward the closest enemy
unit within line of site to the the hunters. This creates a
partnership between codex and player: two minds, one purpose. The
total destruction of their foes. This is especially noticeable in the
last port of instinctive behavior: hunt's skill set: giving the unit
preferred enemy. Now not only is the player united with their codex
to destroy their foe, but they are also able to destroy the foe even
more efficiently. Giving preferred enemy to a unit makes a decent
unit good and makes a good unit great. Giving preferred enemy to your
shooting hunters will cause total destruction to your foes from your
volley of unstoppable shots.
Feed is the assault version of Hunt,
causing a partnership between player and codex. However, unlike hunt
which makes it easier to survive and perform shooting abilities, feed
creates scenarios for assaulting and counter-assaulting. For the
first half of feeds effects a player can better control enemy
assaulting zones without giving up movement. By removing synapse zone
and rolling for the first half of feed's results the player is able
to remove the first layer of their own troops to better control the
flow of assaults. For example, if a unit of Hormagaunts is soon to be
set upon by enemy Assault Terminators then the Tyranid player is able
to effectively remove an inch or two from the Assault Terminators
effective charge distance by feeding his or her own gaunts to one
another, staying out of combat and allowing the gaunts to either
perform a counter-charge along with another unit or to run away and
secure an objective and let a heavier hitter to take out the
Terminators. The second portion of feed's rules allows the player to
allow the codex make a decision as to what to assault. This allows
the player to focus on more pressing matters on the field such as
strategic placement for the rest of their units and proper dice
rolling technique. The final roll of feed is very similar to the
results of the rolls of four and five. However, this roll also makes
assault more devastating for your opponent by conferring rage to the
unit, giving them far greater destructive power in assault and giving
up to a whopping 30 additional attacks in on the charge. That is an
amazing amount of extra attacks given to a unit for free. Space
Marine players would kill to get an additional 30 attacks on the
charge, Demons would pay extra points for that right, and Tau simply
are terrified of the prospect of being overrun by that many attacks.
The new Tyranids codex gives players
the opportunity to get three sets of special, extra rules for free.
An envy to any other codex in the game when you consider how good
these abilities are, even more desirable when you consider that all
of these rules are capable of being on the field at once! The Space
Marines are limited to their single Chapter Tactics, Dark Angels are
known for being stubborn, and the Eldar were blessed with Battle
Focus. However all of those pale in comparison to the new overlords
of the table when you consider that the Tyranids were given three
books worth of special rules for their army that are usable all at
the same time! The new Tyranids codex is looking to be the best codex
release of the 2014.
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