Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Tyranids (section)

==Unit Analysis==

Due to the 2018 C.A. update, most things got a significant point reduction (or a peripheral point reduction in the form of reduced cost for both types of Venom Cannon) which makes taking multiple battalions or a brigade detachment easy.

===HQ Units===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Broodlord</div>
[[Image:Broodlord.jpeg|thumb|left|Oi, ready to die, ]]












An old but well-remembered unit makes its reappearance. Way back in 4th edition, the broodlord was introduced as a cheap alternative to the expensive Hive Tyrant. However, the 5th and 6th edition codices said "screw that", and made it into the equivalent of a genestealer sergeant. Now, the Broodlord is back with a vengeance, and ready to get back to what he does best: ripping marines in half. And damn boi, he is good at it.










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*Like his smaller kin, he has a 5++ invulnerable save, and can both advance and charge in the same turn. With a base move of 8", that means this guy's average threat range is a staggering 19.5", and can be further boosted by taking the Kraken or Behemoth Hive Fleet Adaptations. Your opponent had better avoid setting up on the 24" line! 
*As a level 1 Psyker, he knows Smite and one other power from the Hive Mind Discipline. He can attempt to cast and deny one power a turn. In addition, the Broodlord has gained '''Synapse''' (no more needs casting ''Dominion'') and '''Shadow in the Warp'''.
*Any friendly Genestealer unit within 6" of this fellow gets to add 1 to hit in the Fight phase. That is, if he hasn't already murdered everything around him with his 6 monstrous rending claw attacks that also re-roll to wound.
*As a {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTER}} model with "just" 6 wounds, he can't be targeted by enemy shooting unless he's the closest target, so make sure he's with some buddies. (Except when you face a Deathwatch player, who will happily pay 2 CP for shooting through your genestealers to kill the Broodlord.)
*He's also {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}}, so take the opportunity to boost his 4+ save with some terrain.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Hive Tyrant</div>

[[Image:HiveTyrant.jpg|thumb|left|Classic 'nid poster boi]]










Hive Tyrant is the original Tyranid HQ unit and has remained through every incarnation of the codex. While the Tyrant's popularity has waxed and waned over the years, make no mistake that this unit can get shit done if used correctly. The current version is an extremely customizable unit that can excel in the shooting, psychic, and melee phases. Furthermore, his 18" synapse radius and access to psychic powers makes him an exceptional anchor for your army. However, any opponent with an ounce of experience knows to target the Tyrant first, so it '''will''' draw fire.










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* Defensively, the Tyrant is stacked with a toughness of 7, 12 wounds, a 3+ save and a minty fresh 4++. This can be further enhanced with Hive Fleet Adaptions, warlord traits, and wargear. However, it also has degrading scores for Movement, WS, and BS, and most critically, can be picked out by enemies even if it is not the closest unit.
* He's a Psyker and can cast two powers a turn and deny one as well as knowing Smite and 2 powers from the Hive Mind Discipline).
* ''Winged tyrants deserve a special mention'' for the options they bring to the table. With a movement speed of 16" while undamaged, they are extremely fast and can bring pressure exactly where it is needed. In addition, winged tyrants can execute a powerful alpha strike via a deep strike or Fall Back and still shoot thanks to the {{W40kKeyword|FLY}} keyword. ''(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)''
*'''Dakka'rant''': This venerable build is not quite what it used to be. The Deathspitters are a waste of your time - there's nothing they'll excel at killing for their points - and, unfortunately, so is the stranglethorn, which is better than Deathspitters, but not by enough to matter. Instead, you should be looking at either quadruple Devourers, which gets you a whopping 24 shots at S6, or a Heavy Venom Cannon to replace two of the Devourers, for hunting enemy heavies.
*'''Melee tyrant'''
**Ignore his "default" loadout; his free melee weapon choice is monstrous rending claws, ''not'' monstrous scything talons, which cost as much as lash whip and monstrous bonesword at 15, or you can take the really expensive option of a pair of monstrous boneswords for 20(don't). The claws are easily his best melee weapon available, not only due to their cost, but because they re-roll all failed wounds; if you want to spend points on upping his melee, buy him toxin sacs to with his claws, but his other weapon should ''always'' be a gun to make sure he has something to do before he gets stuck in.
**If you insist on double melee, he can take two sets of talons for 20 points total (which will give you 5 attacks with them), which is strictly better than talons and boneswords; rending claws or lash whips and boneswords can both be paired with a pair of boneswords, giving you 4 attacks with the better weapon and 1 with the boneswords pair, '''but your points efficiency will be garbage at that point''', except against multi-wound targets with T6 and higher (with regards to the rending claws/bonesword combo specifically) If you’re fine with points inefficiency however (or say you’re using power levels) you can get up to 6 attacks base if you take a pair of monstrous scything talons and use them as the Scythes of Tyran relic, and then take a pair of monstrous boneswords, for 5 S7 AP-3 D3 attacks with even MORE attacks on 6+ to hit and 1 S6 AP-2 D3 attack (and also a tail attack), making this the strongest melee tyrant you can build. With toxin sacs, this tyrant actually outperforms the Swarmlord ''against T5/6''. You can also make a 'budget' Swarmlord by taking two pairs of monstrous boneswords and making one of them the Slayer Sabres for 6 S6 AP-2 D3 attacks.
*'''Balanced Tyrant''': In general, a balanced loadout with one close combat and one ranged option looks to be the early approach on how to build a Tyrant. Adrenal Glands for advance and charge bonuses is a must, Toxin Sacs synergises nicely with Monstrous Rending Claws which are a free and effective close combat option, and a pair of Devourers with Brainleech Worms are great horde mulchers, or a Heavy Venom Cannon against heavies.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Malanthrope</div>

[[Image:Malannthrope.jpeg|thumb|left|A lot less insidious than he looks.]]









Moved to HQ (again), but still can be taken in broods of 3, is still a synapse creature, and still has the Venomthrope's ability to debuff the to-hit chance of enemies, which works on all units rather than just {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} (FAQ confirms this benefit is conferred to units with a model in range like the old Shrouded rule). Being a character with 9 wounds now means it's harder to hit than ever before, and while it can only use a grasping tail to attack its ability to cause mortal wounds on a 4+ means most foes won't try to engage it in melee in the first place. And any time the last model in a unit is slain with the Malanthrope 1" away, '''all units with the same {{W40kKeyword|<HIVE FLEET>}} keyword''' re-roll 1s to hit against any model that shares the Faction keywords of the slain enemy. As a result, you can gain re-rolls against every Imperial army just by killing off a Guardsman near it. Use against the jackass who thinks his <'''WU-TANG CLAN'''> Taudar army is hot shit.












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* Malanthropes are great babysitters for backfield artillery units like Exocrines, Biovores, and Tyrannofexes with Rupture Cannons. Their slow speed isn't a factor and the protection they offer is much appreciated.
*On the other hand, even an assault army can benefit from it quite a bit, the -1 to be hit in the first turn allows you to worry a bit less of how you set a unit of hormagaunts or genestealers as long as you babysit them with a Malanthrope (see daisy chain) 
**While using them to babysit your backfield is a perfectly viable strategy for these things, you will get more out of them if used more aggressively to support your frontlines. While Malanthropes are well priced, Synapse and -1 to hit is a bit of waste for the points if it's only being applied to a couple of backline gunbeasts, particularly given that the sort of single shot weapons that will be blasting big holes in them are the perfect home for shooting phase CP rerolls. On the other hand, that kind of support is invaluable for your big squads of Stealers and Gaunts ''where -1 to hit will likely reduce their incoming damage by 25 or 33%'' depending upon your opponent's BS, and getting up close and personal makes it that much more likely that you'll get to actually capitalise on the Malanthrope's other abilities. The issue of course is keeping up with them; consider using the Metabolic Overdrive stratagem to effectively double their speed.
*Malanthrope became a bit least perfect unit, since Chapter Approved changed it's point value from 90 to 140. Ouch. That's 55% price rising.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Neurothrope</div>

[[Image:Nuerothrope.jpeg|thumb|left|Leechy.]]











Shifted to HQ, but otherwise still a bigger, nastier Zoanthrope for all intents and purposes. It retains the ability to heal itself and nearby Zoanthropes with Spirit Leech, but only for 1 wound. It also allows nearby Zoanthropes (and itself) to re-roll 1s on psychic tests.












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*Strangely, it can cast 2 powers but only knows 1 in addition to Smite, basically forcing it to be a Smite spammer.
*Consider making this thing your Warlord; they have a nice invulnerable save and few enough wounds that they can reliably hide behind a screen of other nids. Adaptive Biology is a relatively solid choice for the Warlord Trait; not only can you turn it on yourself via Perils, you can regenerate the wound you lose to turn it on via Smite.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tervigon</div>

[[Image:Tervigon.jpeg|thumb|left|A fellow fa/tg/uy hissing at his Mum for coming into the basement without tendies]]

Though no longer able to cheese out by becoming a Troops Choice, it still remains an incredibly useful resource. Use the Termagants in order to shield it, as it has a degrading Movement, BS, and WS, and if it dies, nearby friendly {{W40kKeyword|<HIVE FLEET>}} Termies eat d6 Mortal Wounds. In other words, stick to few big units to mitigate the backlash. Unfortunately, its gun is pretty terrible for the cost, and it can't hide behind the Termagants it's supposed to be babysitting, so it's usually not a great idea - it'll just evaporate in short order to incoming lascannons. Instead, consider a Neurothrope with Onslaught or Catalyst, if you want Termagant support.

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*The bitch has quite a lot of wounds, can take Chameleonic Mutation for -1 to hit, and she'll probably die not earlier than 2-3 rounds. That's a whole squad of Termies that can fill the cracks formed in your 1st locust wave. I'd say it's worth the points if your shock troops can get stuck in.  
*Friendly {{W40kKeyword|<HIVE FLEET>}} Termagants within range re-roll hit rolls of 1 when shooting, which is fantastic with the amount of shots a big blob of them pumps out. 
*It's a Level 1 Psyker that can cast or deny one power a turn and knows one power from the Hive Mind Discipline. Consider ''Catalyst'' to make that blob of Termagants more durable.
*It can spawn a new clutch of 10 Termagants (which will cost you reinforcement points) or reinforce an existing mob within range (which won't), but these models can only use Fleshborers (in the latter case, only lost Termagants with Fleshborers can be returned). This will kill any incentive to use anything else if you buy one. However, since Termagants can mix and match weapons, you can take a unit with 10 ablative Fleshborers and 20 Devourers for actually hurting the enemy - bringing multiple Tervigons to replenish the same unit is legal, but a really bad idea.
*Just remember that most of the time it’s worth taking the Tervigon’s point value in Termagants rather than a Tervigon; she costs 180pts after CA 2019, which can get you a Termagant brood with 15 Devourers and 15 Fleshborers.
*All in all, the Tervigon is kind of useless in this edition. She has too many wounds to hide behind the little bugs she produces, you have to pay reinforcement points for a new group of maximum ten termagant - why don't you just buy and bring 'em? - and she will cause a fucklot of mortal wounds to her babies, if she dies. What probably happens in the enemies' first shooting phase.
*With a new point drop in CA 2019 and the rules from Psychic Awakening, she might actually have a purpose now. You can give her the Dermic Symbiosis ability for a 5++ save and slowed stat degradation, which helps her not explode on turn 1. Walk her up the board with her babies and she might be able to draw anti-tank fire from your other monsters.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2019)

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tyranid Prime</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Prime.jpeg|thumb|left|Bigger than a warrior, smaller than a tyrant, and just as hangry]]

The other {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} Tyranid HQ. It's still rather pricey, and it's still got the Warrior's share of weapons (except for the Bio-cannons, which it doesn't know how to carry). Unlike before, though, this has a use with other Warriors, as it adds +1 to Hit rolls for nearby Warriors and Shrikes (if you use the Index) of the same {{W40kKeyword|<HIVE FLEET>}}. Plonk down next to a blob of Deathspitter-Warriors and watch them shoot things to death or plonk him down in the middle of a blob of Bonesword-Warriors and watch them shred.  Because +1 to hit has a larger impact the worse the stat it buffs, this means his net impact is usually more felt when used for ranged support than melee support (although he can do both).  Also, note that because he doesn't buff himself and carries worse weapons, once he's inside a Warrior blob, he's usually the least useful unit in it, as he buffs Warriors up to matching his own accuracy.

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*Math-wise: Everything may vary based on the equipment and if you prefer a versatile character or more wounds, but generally, if you plan to take a lot of warriors, Prime buff is price-effective for around 7 warriors (7 warriors+prime > 12 warriors)
*CA 2019 reduced the cost of Warriors by 2pts per model to a total of 18. 12 Warriors with Deathspitters fire 36 shots and hit with 18; this will cost you 23pts per model or 25pts with boneswords for a total of 300pts. For the same number of points, 9 Warriors and a Prime all with Deathspitters and boneswords fire 30 shots and hit with 20. This doesn't account for any bio-cannons you may have snuck into your Warrior units, but obviously you want those expensive guns to hit. If you're running lots of Warriors and have HQ slots to fill, a Prime isn't a bad choice, though keep in mind that keeping 9 Warriors within the Prime's bubble limits the units' mobility somewhat (only one model from the unit of warriors is required to be in range of the ability for the buff to apply).
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)

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====Special Characters====
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Old One Eye</div>

[[Image:Old One Eye.jpeg|thumb|left|Who needs two eyes if you only charge in one direction?]]










This bastard got more focused on '''''smashing''''' now, and with his regeneration of 1 wound on each of your turns, he worries a lot less about damage, expecially since he's got 9 wounds, so that he is able to hide behind other units! A great buffer piece for a Carnifex-heavy army.








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*Charging gives him a 4+ chance to deal d3 Mortal Wounds to whatever he gets into melee with, and adds +1 to his hit rolls on the first turn of charge. On top of that, for any hit roll of 6+, he gains an extra attack with the same weapon (tail excluded). With its charge bonus and Alpha Leader rule, effectively giving him +2, that means on a roll of 4 or more he gets an extra attack, multiplying his attacks (outside of debuffs) by 1.5 with his talons (7.3 total on average, after accuracy), or by 1.33 with his claws (5.5, after accuracy). '''Yummy.'''
*Nearby friendly {{W40kKeyword|<HIVE FLEET> CARNIFEX}} gain +1 to hit in melee, ''including himself'', making him a natural leader for a crew, and meaning he usually hits on a 2+, even with his claws.
*If he's your Warlord, he has to have Adaptive Biology, which is particularly nice for synergy with his regeneration, making him incredibly hard to kill.
*He's obviously bad under {{W40kKeyword|Kronos}} or {{W40kKeyword|Hydra}}, and pretty bad under {{W40kKeyword|Jormungandr}}, but {{W40kKeyword|Gorgon}}, {{W40kKeyword|Kraken}}, and {{W40kKeyword|Behemoth}} all make him better at his job, and {{W40kKeyword|Leviathan}} heaps even more durability on him, if you didn't bring ''Catalyst'' along.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Swarmlord</div>

[[Image:The Swarmlord.jpeg|thumb|left|How does one design a Tyranid? Take an old one, add 100% swords, 200% Size and 99999% the price!]]

The Biggest Beast with a Beastly Pricetag. He's still the boss for combat with his Bone Sabres and a Pincer tail, but his Movement, Strength, and Attack scores will decrease as he takes damage, and if he dies, he has a chance to deal d3 Mortal Wounds to all nearby units. Maximum combat damage output is 27 wounds, meaning the Swarmlord is capable of decking an Imperial Knight in a single round of combat (though statistically unlikely), taking into account damage from the Swarmlord’s level 2 psychic abilities. Expect to see many, if not most, Nid armies with him as warlord. 

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*He's stacked with a 4++ (upped to 3++ in melee), something he was missing last edition, and can really be felt (on average 15.43 astartes lascannon shots are required to kill him [same for other hive tyrants]).
*He can grant a nearby unit the ability to move and/or advance during his shooting phase as if it was the movement phase, which is incredibly awesome to have for a choppy army. Remember he only affects one unit with this, so make sure it's a big unit, and combine it with Onslaught to allow shooting or charging without penalties. ''If the Swarmlord Hive Commanders and Onslaughts himself, his total charge threat range is, on average, a whopping 33"!'' 
**'''This does not mean he should run off on his own and get himself shot to death'''. His place should be with the rest of you army, providing that sweet synapse and psychic powers, all this while launching hormagaunts, carnifexes and genestealers units at the enemy.
*He's a Level 2 Psyker (meaning he can cast or deny 2 powers a turn as well as learning Smite and 2 powers from the Hive Mind Discipline) with an 18" range for Synapse and Shadow, like all Hive Tyrants, except for the improved Deny.
*He has two weaknesses to be aware of. Annoyingly enough, he doesn't have any kind of AoE re-roll buff, which most characters have this edition, not even anything like the scything talon hit or rending claw wound re-rolls that normal tyrants can get. This makes his damage output somewhat unreliable despite being probably the best single-model melee unit in the codex. As such care should be taken when engaging units with Hit debuffs or high toughness, particularly if said units are also strong in melee (knights, primarchs etc.), but also in cases where they aren't, as if he charges a tank and fails to kill it the enemy will likely fall back and blast him to pieces next turn (actually, the latter is probably even more likely to happen if he does kill it). Secondly like the other Hive Tyrants he has 12 wounds, so the enemy can always choose to shoot him, and being stuck footslogging that is not good news if the enemy is aiming all their guns at him (not when we're strangers to [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|that special, but guarranteed scenario]]). Though you really should have either Tyrant guard or extremely high threat saturation (you are playing Tyranids after all) to combat this.
*Avoid sending him up against Guilliman before he has died for the first time. Mathematically the Primarch has a huge edge on the tabletop - he hits and wounds on the same numbers but can re-roll both, has a better chance for a lot of mortal wounds, and doesn't degrade. You need lucky rolls to kill him before getting drowned in mortal wounds, or worse maimed down to your last set of stats, at which point you have very little chance of winning. Watching in frustration as your expensive beatstick flails around with 4 S6 attacks and a tail attack, with no re-rolls against T6 2+/3++, is not fun.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)

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===Troops===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Genestealers</div>

[[Image:Genestealer Brood.jpeg|thumb|left|Yeah, Genestealers and the 'Nids are pretty much bros]]

One of the best troop choice for Tyranids, and maybe even in the game, with a shiny 5++ invulnerable. They are no longer infiltrators, so they now set up with the rest of your army. To help with this, they can now advance and charge in the same turn. With a base move of 8", that means they have an impressively long maximum threat range of 26" (average 21.5"). But remember they are less glass cannons and more laser scalpels duct-taped to a pencil and are very much like Howling Banshees  in that they are going to be shot at A LOT, and are likely to be wiped out after the first use. While craftworld Eldar get to enjoy their cozy Wave Serpents (though on the other hand you can actually kill things, instead of just being tarpits) you have to use other tricks and even with a proper deployment you still can lose a lot on overwatch, especially against flamers/heavy flamers. Learn your lesson, charge monsters first.

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* Don't leave them footslogging, even if you have 90 genestealers on the board it is still a bad idea. Infestation Nodes are your saving grace, as well as strategems. If you are feeling crazy enough you can even take a Tyrannocyte.
* Can take free Scything Talons as well if they wish. Adds a bit of flexibility against unarmoured opponents as they can re-roll 1s to hit; combined with the Broodlord ability. This means means they are hitting on 2s re-roll 1s for maximum dismemberment.
* If 3 attacks (4 if the unit is 10 or more strong) at -1 AP with rending AP -4 on a 6+ to wound isn't enough you could always buy them toxin sacs to make those 6s also cause 2 damage. But at 4 points a model that could get pricey. DO THIS against TEQ and keep a pocket unit of exactly 10 hidden in the nodes to slay unsuspecting heavies that though they were tough enough to leave their deployment zone. 
* '''One in 4 can take an Acid Maw for no cost''', which is ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING, allowing the 'stealer to dish out power sword hits at no additional cost. Also, one in 4 can pay for flesh hooks.
* If you can swing the points and elites slot for it, and for the memes, it might be worth investing in their culty brethren for one simple reason, [[Chimera Transport|trans]][[Goliath_Truck|ports]].
* For 2 extra points, Extended Carapace causes them to lose their ability to advance and then charge, but will also give them a shiny 4+ armour save. Fortunately, Stratagems can compensate for the drop in mobility. With Jormagundr's Hive Fleet Adaptation, they'll have MEQ-tier saves at all times, not to mention access to a potent subterranean deep strike stratagem for advantageous positioning. Stack this with the Adaptive Physiology : Dynamic Camouflage and you can give 20-40 Stealers fucking Terminator-level saves (T4, 2+, 5++).
*They absolutely love Kraken's Hive Fleet Adaptation- not only does it let them make the most of their ability to advance and charge in the same turn, the ability to Fall Back and then charge lets them escape from hard-hitting melee units that have the potential to curbstomp them if they get the first swing in (e.g. A Space Marine with double chainswords can really fuck you up). With the Stratagems they can reach truly ludicrous speeds, as in faster than a Stormraven.
* Instead of deploying normally, up to 4 Infestation Nodes can be placed in your deployment zone. Genestealers can deep strike within 6" of any of these nodes, but like the Terminators' Teleport Homer the node will be destroyed if an enemy gets too close.
* These old-skool space hulk trippin' TDA-shreddin' classics absolutely adore the new Blood of Baal "Senses of the Outer Dark" fleet adaption giving them a FNP4+ to all overwatch damage, especially when stuffed into a Tyrannocyte or being the recipients of Catalyst.  Don't overlook the new stuff!  Adrenal Webs is also a fantastic unit adaption, because nothing wipes the smirk from a Tau player's face when he thinks that his units are safe and your 'Stealers consolidate 2D6" up his <strike>rectum</strike> back-line into a unit over 3" away, totally bypassing overwatch and their FTGG ability.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Hormagaunt</div>

[[Image:Hormagaunt Brood.jpeg|thumb|left|'Lil mantis friends]]










These little murder machines are fast and cheap and all around fantastic. Their movement stat is a staggering 8" and their Bounding Leap allows them to pile in and consolidate up to 6", making them very fast. Additionally their talons let them re-roll Hit rolls of 1 and if they're in the numbers you should be fielding them they also re-roll 1s To Wound for good measure, and all that with 2 attacks for each bug. '''Yikes'''. Play units of 30 and shove them across the board. ''Keep your paws off those Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs though'', as they will increase their cost rather astronomically.










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*'''Alternative Take''' - Toxin Sacs could just be worth it if you mentally dedicate that Hormagaunt squad to tackling stuff they're only going to be wounding on 6+ anyway. If you're tackling a vehicle or monster you'll need 6 to wound regardless so why not make every wound count twice?  It's a 40% price increase for a 100% damage output boost which is pretty good when you consider you always reroll 1s to hit, and 1s to wound as long as there's 20+ in the squad.
*Great synergy with Hydra's Hive Fleet Adaptation; if your Gaunts aren't outnumbering their target in melee, you are doing something horribly wrong.
*Ironic truth is that Genestealers now coast more than Chaos Space Marines and are now frankly overkill in most situations. Hormaguants are a good cheap alternative when you simply need to clear out a lot of GEQ.
*The true differentiating factor between Gaunts and Stealers is the ability to charge after advancing, then AP. Let the Gaunts assume vast numbers and casualties, preserve your stealers. 


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ripper Swarms</div>

Hit on 5+ so don't expect much. Are now always burrowers so make use of it to get close to the enemy (or, more likely, objectives).
*Always remember that these are {{W40kKeyword|SWARMS}}, and hence not {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}}. While this has some downsides, like trying to get cover from various terrain pieces, it has upsides as well - many enemy abilities are {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} specific. Many, many, many abilities are {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} specific, and it will behoove you to become familiar with these if you field Rippers.

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[[Image:Ripper Swarm.jpeg|thumb|center|Remember 'Effing Worms?]]


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Termagaunts</div>

[[Image:Termagant Brood.jpeg|thumb|left|Your pretty little kittens, pointy tails, happy smiles, skinborrowing flesheating worms]]










Your little dakka bugs. Use them to bubble wrap important characters. Always remember that they can mix and match their weapons, so always place a few (like 5 to half of em) Devourers on the unit so it has some decent shooting but also keep enough other weapons along to soak up the damage they will draw. In big units of 20+ models they re-roll 1s To Wound when shooting and when next to a Tervigon they also re-roll 1s To Hit, in case you didn't have enough incentive to place them next to a Tervigon yet. If you don't appreciate the fact that you can arm every single one of them with a weapon that hits like a heavy stubber, you don't have a soul.










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*May have a new lease on life with Psychic Awakening. While it might seem strange to give a pseudo-WT to a fodder unit, consider that a Jormungandr brood with Dynamic Camouflage can have 4+ armour in the open, and Mommy (who received a point drop in CA 2019) can replenish the ranks each round while also providing 5+ FNP. A unit with 20 Devourers, 10 Fleshborers, and a Tervigon to back them up may not be the most deathy of deathstars, but they can be surprisingly difficult to shove off the board for opponents used to seeing them die in droves.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tyranid Warriors</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Warriors.jpeg|thumb|left|Router Squad]]










Your only Synapse Troops, the Warriors keep your swarm together and with Instant Death being gone this may now be their place to shine as they can survive Missile Launchers to the face far better now. The Warriors are generally useful all-rounders, but this time it may be in your best interest to give each Warrior a Deathspitter and a pair of Boneswords. This combination gives them a bunch of decent attacks in melee and a nice gun to shoot with. Only go with different equipment if you can't afford this. ''Alternatively, since you KNOW that they'll be shot at, keep them cheap and use the points for more models or Venomthropes or something.''








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*TL;DR take boneswords and deathspitters as the best all-round loadout. Don’t ever troll yourself by taking two pairs of boneswords unless you really have a hard-on for [[swarmlord|four-armed bugs with pointy ends]] - you’ll still [[fail|only get 1 extra attack]] (as per the FAQ)
*Obviously, Warriors make excellent babysitters for Gaunts, as they're Synapse and carry melee and ranged weapons, allowing them to buff up the weak melee of Termies and ranged of Hormies.
*If you do go warriors, always bring the Prime. While this combo is still fairly vulnerable, it can do work on the offense. 


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===Dedicated Transport===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tyrannocyte</div>

[[Image:Tyrancocyte.jpeg|thumb|left|It's a spongy floating ball of marshmallow... Full of buddies... Covered in guns]]








Fleshy Drop Pods that you can stick either a Monster of your choice (but only if it has 14 max wounds or less- no shoving a Hierodule in there; Sporocysts and '''other Tyrannocytes can't be put inside a Tyrannocyte either''') or up to 20 Infantry models into. Disembarking models must be placed 9" away from the enemy, but with all your great guns, that shouldn't pose a problem. And after the Tyrannocyte has released its cargo it isn't a helpless kill point waiting to happen, as it floats across the battlefield shooting its 5 guns into the enemy. The main problem with the Tyrannocyte is its BS of 5+, which means you pay out of your nose for its guns, knowing full well that two third of its shots won't do a thing. The Barbed Stranglers are twice as expensive as the Deathspitters, but they also increase accuracy when firing upon larger units. With the crappy base-BS, this makes a huge difference. Just make sure you are actually able to fire at a large unit, either by dropping the Tyrannocyte right next to one or by providing synapse support... possibly from inside the Tyrannocyte itself.








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*Being so versatile means lots of odd combos exist beyond just podding the Swarmlord. Any infantry/critter can be housed. Venomthropes, Zoanthropes, Shrikes, Tervigons and many others can be re-positioned. You can save 40 points, drop a Tervigon and have 10 gaunts insta-charge tanks. You can also have a small variety of toolbox units and choose which one goes in pods during deployment. Another element could be to pod in a Swarmlord and a Harpy or flying hive tyrant to give vast agility in re-positioning your army.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)

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===Elites===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Haruspex</div>

[[Image:HaruspexGW.jpeg|thumb|left|He looks familiar because he starred in the tentacle hentai you just watched]]










The Haruspex's primary function is infantry chewing and almost everything in its arsenal is meant to help with that. Its Maw makes D3 Hit rolls for each attack allocated to it, meaning it averages 8 attacks, and for every model it kills with said Maw, it gets to make another attack with its claws, so it can rack up a pretty impressive body count if you send it at the right units. And if there is no tough infantry to chew, just throw it at a transport, which it can crack open with the claws. Its tongue gun heals it when it kills something with it, and if it kills at least one model in melee it also heals a wound, so throw it at the opponent and watch it heal all the damage the opponent painstakingly put into it. That said, don't expect the Haruspex to kill too much. If the opponent knows about it, he will do his damnedest to shoot it down before it can reach his gunline, which is also great because then he doesn't focus on the rest of your army, and with T8 13 wounds and a 3+, this is easier said than done.







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*Haruspexen cost a ''whopping'' 198 points, which is ultimately why they will reliably disappoint you. In general, any problem you would solve with a Haruspex, you should be solving with a Carnifex.
**Alternate alternate take: The maw gives an average of 8 attacks, for 4 hits. Against GEQ, that's about 3 dead. You then get to make 3 more attacks with your claws, killing another 1~2. So this monster whose purpose is supposedly to kill lots of infantry will kill about an average of only 4~5 guardsmen per turn in melee. Which, for ~200 points, on a model with 7 inch movement that needs to get within 12 inches of the enemy to do anything at all, is quite pathetic. It really would need to get a lot more attacks to be even potentially viable. Else no matter how tanky it is, your opponent can just safely ignore it. Therefore, the Haruspex is probably the worst monster in the codex. Considering that the codex already dropped the points cost by about 80 compared to index, that is ''really'' sad...
**As of Chapter Approved 2019 a Haruspex will only set you back 150 points and it seems from Blood of Baal that GW are really trying to make Haruspexen a "thing". With the right combo of hive fleet traits (think Prey Sight + Metamorphic regrowth) you can have yourself a Haruspex that hits on 3+ on the charge and gains a wound back at the start of your turns even before it's gobbled anyone up. Then consider dropping Dermic Symbiosis on it for a 5++ OR Murderous Size to make that maw into a strength 8, AP-2, damage D3+1 MEQ killer. Either or those adaptive physiologies, combined with the unique Haruspex strategem, may finally make them into the murder machines they were always meant to be. They certainly aren't an auto-take, but they might have a future in some lists.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Hive Guard</div>

[[Image:HiveGuard.jpg|thumb|left|That Pink-thing from Doom, but with a bigass gun]]










Once, the premier transport killers, the Hive Guard are still a fantastic ranged unit. Both their weapons are great at killing vehicles, but the Impaler Cannon is also great at killing Monsters and hiding in bunkers while doing so, ''because it doesn't need line of sight''. If you don't want to take a Tyrannofex and still want some anti-vehicle firepower, take a unit of these and have done. Do note that Impaler Cannons are Heavy, so you'll be at -1 to hit if you move, but with reasonably competent deployment and 36" range on these now, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Unlike most 'Nids, Hive Guard are dedicated to shooting and are good at it; Impaler Cannons are BS3+ Heavy 2 S8 AP-2 D1 d3, so a good salvo from these has a fair chance of knocking out or at least seriously degrading medium tanks.








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* Alternately, the Shockcannon is an Assault weapon, so you can move and fire without penalty, albeit at shorter range. It has the irritating random 1d3 shot thing going on, but with a minimum of three models per unit, you'll probably average out to 2 per. Also, mortal wounds vs vehicles on a 4+ in addition to other damage (and potentially even more on a 6+). Mathematically, a full squad of 6 armed with Shockcannons will average 5.33 extra mortal wounds against any vehicle, which is already enough to outdamage a full unit of Impaler Hive Guard and the similarly priced (238 to Shockcannon Guards’ 234) shoot-twice Rupture Cannon Tyrannofex against Land Raiders and the like, not even factoring in the damage that the actual shots do. They’re also cheaper than Impalers, but of course the problem is their range at only 24”, consider deepstriking them with Jormungandr strat/Tyrannocyte. And they’re going to die faster as you can’t hide behind walls and bunkers and still shoot at things without having line of sight, but then again you can accomplish significantly more vehicle damage with Shockcannon guards than with Impaler guards while they’re alive, which somewhat counteracts this. 
**With Impaler Cannons, these things are a great way to preserve your firebase vs the inevitable massed lascannon Alpha Strike to which things like Exocrines are unfortunately quite vulnerable. Assuming your table has even halfway decent LOS blocking terrain, a squad of three shouldn't be difficult to stick behind a solid wall or similar, and you can then cheerfully rain salvos on your opponent without fear of retaliation, because you can fire without being fired upon.
***''A full squad of 6 with Hive Fleet Kronos and the Single-Minded Annihilation strategem is pumping out 24 S8 shots at 3+, re-rolling 1s. Go think about that for a while and bring the tissues back when you're done.''
****''Oh wow Kevin, that witty line about the tissues really makes me wonder a haruspex makes you do...yeesh...grow up you balding neckbeard 


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Lictor</div>

[[Image:Lictor.jpeg|thumb|left|The Fluff says these guys are Hot Shit, the Codex says they're just shit]]










A single Lictor isn't particularly scary. It has a scary profile, but a full unit of anything won't be too impressed. However, each one has a 47.84% chance of making its charge when it pops up (which won't stack with {{W40Kkeyword|behemoth}} in any way), and Chameleonic Skin makes them completely immune to anything with WS6+, which means a pair of them will usually (72.8%) be able to tarpit a problematic tank that's been left outside of its bubble wrap. Lictors also have access to a couple of the best stratagems you have, which have the usual problem of not being able to be spammed - Feeder Tendrils lets you gamble on a 2/3 chance to make a CP profit, and Pheromone Trail lets you deliver Genestealers or Trygon Devilgants next to the Lictor instead (which is where you'll really notice your inability to spam the Stratagem). They also intrinsically don't care about Synapse, since they're 1-model units and don't have Instinctive Behaviour.








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*That said, Lictors are pretty bad. Their best trick is Pheromone Trails, which is why {{W40Kkeyword|Jormungandr}} has ''absolutely'' no use for them - The Enemy Below ''is'' spammable, because you use it outside of any game phase.
*A points drop in Chapter Approved 2018, and an additional Lictor-specific strategem in 2019, might have breathed some life into the old mantis stalkers. For 1CP you have a model with the potential to shut down an entire unit's worth of overwatch with a +1" re-rollable charge. Just imagine your opponents face when his Knight Valiant is denied its Conflagration Cannon's overwatch for the sake of a 34 point resin model, and your 'fexes make it in unmolested!


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Maleceptor</div>

[[Image:Malecepter.jpeg|thumb|left|Looks like an amalgam between the queen from Alien and a gummy bear]]










A giant Zoanthrope stuffed in an oversized Carnifex that doesn't quite fit either role. The Maleceptor has some impressive survivability with T7 W12 3+/4++, but it fundamentally costs 172 points - enough to buy ''two'' Neurothropes with plenty of points left over, and they can hide behind your army, with a better invuln save and the ability to heal with their Smites. It has massive scything talons it can't drop, but M7 A3 WS4/5/6+r1 S7/6/5 AP-3 D1d6 really isn't scary for the points. Its psychic capabilities are... weird. It knows Smite and one power from the Hive Mind discipline, and can cast and deny two powers per turn, but it also gets +1 to cast and deny, so it adds a bit of reliability. It can also forego casting its power and instead send out a shockwave that hits up to 6 enemy units (the maximum drops as it is wounded) within 6" for an average of 1 1/6 mortal wounds each, kind of like a Mawloc, but with more range and fewer wounds dealt. If it had a way to get that close when it needed to, this would be a very different discussion, but it just isn't very fast and it can't deep strike. Save yourself the trouble - you have better sources for everything the Maleceptor offers (Synapse and Mortal Wounds spam).







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* Well there is one way you can deliver a Maleceptor. Be Kraken, Advance and use your fleet stratagem, then use Metabollic Overdrive and advance too. You have about 30" of movement. Is this viable at all? No, but it can be plenty of [[fun]].
* There is one and ONLY ONE reason to take a Maleceptor over 3 Zoanthropes... and that's if you're using {{W40Kkeyword|Jormungandr}}. With Jormungandr your Maleceptors gain a 2+ save anywhere they go, giving them much better survivability, maximizing your use of your Hive Fleet as well as gaining the Psychic and Synapse support you'll definitely want.
*Well, two reasons. On the flip-side, point for point the Maleceptor is possibly the best single-unit mid-backfield defensive Synaptic-line-anchor in the codex. Cheaper than a Tervigon by far, it's also way more resilient to S9+ -2AP+ heavy weapons fire thanks to it's 4++ invuln., where things like lascannons wound it and a Tervigon on 3s but the 'Ceptor shrugs off 50% of the hits on average.  Sure, autocannons are 50% more effective vs it than a Tervigon (going from wounding 2/6 to 3/6 of the time, 50% increase) but if autocannons are chipping away at this buffing-synapse lump they're not hitting anything else.  It's tougher than equal points of Zoanthropes and can hold it's own in melee better than most other Synapse units where it's decent T7, Sv3+ & 4++ combined with Overload can help it survive vs other melee Elites until help arrives, even vs thunder hammers.  You don't need to worry about the model's 7" move so much if the enemies are coming to you.  The deciding factor is how important Synapse is to you in 8th edition (and if you want to run lots of Monsters or not)...
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Pyrovore</div>

[[Image:PyrovoreGW.jpeg|thumb|left|Finally made it]]










The formerly worst unit in the whole game got yet another buff. They now seem to be predestined to be shoved into a Tyrannocyte, as their Flamespurt has just high enough range to be used right after disembarking, but that's a loooot of points to pay for delivering a maximum of 3 Pyrovores. They're also better in melee then they used to be, and are decently cheap now. Considering how awesome Biovores are now, your Pyrovores will probably still be counts-as-Biovores. If you could legally fit multiple units into a Tyrannocyte, these guys would be a ''lot'' better. For now, at the very least they are cheap efficient melee deterrent, with flamer-overwatch, acid blood, ''and'' the ability to explode.









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* {{W40Kkeyword|Jormungandr}} can pop them out using their hive-fleet specific strategem The Enemy Below as well... but with those 60mm bases (and a Trygon or squad of Raveners as well) you're going to need a lot of real-estate or it's going to be a tight fit.
**Alternative take: Don't forget that these chuck out mortal wounds as they die. AND they have a longer range heavy flamer and a power sword. For 25 points. While being tougher then a warrior. They might not be amazing, but they can definitely make your opponent think twice if they get too close. 
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tyrant Guard</div>

[[Image:Tyrant Guard.jpeg|thumb|left|Flunkies for your Big Evil Monkey]]










Dedicated bodyguards for your Hive Tyrant. These guys can intercept shots meant for your Hive Tyrant, which is great as it keeps your big boss safe that much longer. Should the Tyrant die regardless, they all gain 1 extra attack the turn after it dies. The Guards themselves have a pretty decent profile with 7" movement, WS3+, S/T5, 3 attacks and 3+ armour and can take some great gear.











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*With crushing claws they become decently scary hitting on 4+ with 3 S10 AP-3 DD3 attacks each, giving them tank-wrecking power enough to contest with Carnifexes or Hive Guard and making them a veritable threat against elites that don't have good invulnerable saves. This loadout is costly however at 49 points per model before even considering adrenal glands/toxin sacs (though Hive Guard with impaler cannons are a close 48 points per model).
*''With the wording at the moment, if your Tyrant manages to cast Catalyst upon himself then the Tyrant will first get his normal save, then his Catalyst save, and finally his 2+ guard save.'' This may be FAQed in the future.
*Unfortunately rather cost-inefficient considering their lack of the {{W40Kkeyword|character}} keyword, and easily killed, because aside from wounds, they're actually rather fragile. Could be decent on a Walkrant.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Venomthrope</div>

[[Image:VenomthropeGW.jpeg|thumb|left|Yeah, you saw these guys in your hentai too]]










These are mainly used to keep the rest of your swarm safe. Enemy units take a -1 To Hit penalty when shooting at any infantry that hugs Venomthropes, so keep them in the middle of your swarm, preferably behind some Monsters, since the Venomthropes aren't characters and so if the opponent can draw line of sight to these rather tall models, he can hit them.










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*The codex changed the aura to a 6" and can shroud Monsters if they have 3 models in a unit, with 6 models in a unit it becomes 9". So the choice between Venomthropes and Malanthropes depends on your taste. Malanthropes can survive longer, give re-rolls when they wipe out a unit, and are Synapse (especially important in a Leviathan detachment) but their range is miniscule, Venomthropes can be easily shot at, but have higher damage output and longer range in addition to the ability to use the Feeder Tendrils stratagem for farming CPs.


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{| class="wikitable"
|'''[[Zoanthrope|Zoanthropes]]''': Once the Tyranids' premier tank killers, the Zoanthropes took a couple of hits this time. First, you now have to field them in units of 3 or more. Second, their ability to blow holes the size of a Predator Tank into a Predator Tank has been reduced to them shooting out a slightly stronger ''Smite'' at a longer range, though the power boost only applies in units of 4 or more 'thropes (although 2d3 or 3+d3 mortal wounds isn't to be sneezed at). That said, in units of 4 or more, they can also cast a second power, which makes them much more useful, but also forces you to play at least 4 or 5 of them.
|
|}

====Special Characters====

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Deathleaper</div>

[[Image:Deathleaper.jpeg|thumb|left|A boi that will kill the guy you spent 6 months painting]]










Deathleaper remains a character killer, even more so in an edition where characters can no longer hide inside large units to avoid him.














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*His '''superior chameleonic skin''' forces enemies to subtract 2 from their hit rolls. That includes ranged AND melee. That is quite a debuff, especially for characters that normally hit on 3+. In addition, he adds 2 instead of 1 while in cover, giving him a cool 3+ anytime he's hiding.
*'''It's after me!''' is now a re-roll to hit and to wound in the fight phase on a character chosen at the start of the game. He no longer has his amazing deployment rules and is now forced to deploy like a Lictor, that is, 9" away from all enemies. This severely neuters what was a pretty good harassing unit or character killer. He got two wounds to compensate so... yay? Still, his -2 to hit, re-roll charge on the turn he pops up, and 6 wounds mean he's well suited to tying up irritating heavy weapons squads or big angry tanks; denying them a round or two of shooting can pay for him straight up regardless of whether he actually kills anything.
**Do watch out for "Heroic Intervention" and similar abilities when doing this. Deathleaper won't be tying up much of anything apart from his own innards if a CC monster like Abaddon is within 3" of whatever you want not to shoot.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Red Terror</div>

[[Image:The Red Terror.jpeg|thumb|left|]]










A super Ravener to make your other Raveners hit better. If you want to take him, make sure he has some of his buddies with him. Ideally, you want an Trygon Prime to spread Synapse around, the Red Terror, at least 6 Raveners and something to come out of the Trygon's tunnel to pull this off. If you have all these pieces together, you can do some [[/d/|unspeakable things]] to your opponent's army with extremely accurate Raveners that don't run ever.
**He is also the 2nd cheapest elite slot unit (lictors are cheapest), and his '''Swallow Whole''' ability allows him to devour any model, so long as you can roll equal to or greater than that model's maximum wound characteristic with a d6. Since he is so cheap, and a very fast character with deep-strike, you can use him as an assassin to instakill a character or elite infantry model, ignoring any saves or feel-no-pains! Though you want to have 1 CP at hand in case you need to reroll the Swallow. With some luck, he can even swallow an Ad-Mech [[Ironstrider Ballistarius|chicken walker]]! [[Anal Circumference|(Best not to dwell on the logistics of that one...)]]











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*It is easy to overlook The Red Terror's '''swallow whole''' rule, as it needs all 4 of its attacks to hit before even rolling to see if it goes through. Made worse considering it only has 4 attacks and the tail slap doesn't count. However, then you realise it hits on 2+ and has 2 pairs of scything talons, giving it 1 more attack and allows it to re-roll 1s to hit. Hitting 4 out of 5 attacks on 2+ re-rolling 1s looks very possible, then roll 2+ to instantly take out a pesky Terminator or roll a 6 and swallow a whole Broadside. '''Bon appetit!'''
**An additional note on this rule: it specifies rolling above the target's wound characteristic i.e. their maximum number of wounds, not current number of wounds, so the dreams of The Red Terror scoffing down a wounded Chimera will sadly never be realized. It may be a Tyranid, but it has the decency to at least open its lunch box. With an exception for Ork Warbuggies (and Eldar Vyper/Venoms), those are slim enough to fit into The Red Terror's diet.
***An additional additional note: swallow whole specifies the attacks must come from his scything talons. This means that if he somehow gets in a position where he can't use his talons due to a specific rule or some-such (i.e. against Jain Zar), [[fail|'''he cannot swallow''']].
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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===Fast Attack===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Gargoyle</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Gargoyle.jpeg|thumb|left|A bat with a gun]]










Have blinding venom which gives them some use in combat. They have finally been acknowledged as flyers so they can make use of being able to fall back and shoot, even if it's only with Fleshborers. Squads of 20 or more get to re-roll 1s when shooting like termagants. Seem a bit pricey.
* Not mentioning being able to deep strike in?  Pretty useful for putting 10-30 fast moving (12" base) blobs of dakka harassers into someone's back-line (if they'll fit!) or into the path of a major threat heading towards your back-line.  Combined with the Endless Swarm 2CP stratagem, Gargoyles are a good bet for a late-game line breaker VP, or to tie-up fire support units, you know, the usual back-end mischief (ooooooooohhhhh).
* It could be better as Gargs only have a single attack each, but Blinding Venom makes them a useful hammer to an enemy unit already in combat vs the anvil of another unit.  No overwatch, Gargs charge in and even 10 attacks should just about kill 1 MEq which is all you need for that unit in the gribbly sammich to get -1 To Hit, stacking the odds even more in your favour.  Cackle as that power fist or thunder hammer flails about needing 5s to hit.
* Also dropped in price, so the MSU is now just 50pts.









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Nothing to see here.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Mucolid Spores</div>

[[Image:Mucolid.jpeg|thumb|left|Big. Floaty. Goes Boom]]








Beefed up Spore mines. 20 points a pop nets you T3 W3 6+ Sv that behave exactly as Spore mines, but when they explode on a roll of 2 - 5 they inflict D3 mortal wounds or D6 on a roll of 6. Decent for trolling flyers, as all mines in this edition have the {{W40kKeyword|FLY}} keyword. 










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Nothing here. Move along


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ravener</div>

[[Image:Ravener Model.jpeg|thumb|left|Sword Snake]]






Goddammit Raveners we've wanted to like you for about six editions now and we may finally have our chance. Their two biggest weaknesses ie. cost and no frags have both been fixed. They're cheap now, real cheap; (<30 if you don't dick about with Devourers or Deathspitters, why are you doing that?) and swing first on the charge. Additionally they can still deep strike and attempt to charge that turn, but the real beans of these guys is the sheer number of attacks they put out. With Spinefists and 2 x Talons they're putting out NINE attacks a turn. '''NINE'''. Granted the Spinefists are only hitting on 4+ at S3 but the 5 CC attacks are S4 and hitting on 3+ with re-rolling 1s. For two more points and the sacrifice of one attack you can have rending claws instead; DO THIS. Marines will have to save a LOT of wounds on 4+ even before the inevitable rends. A full squad of Raveners with claws and Spinefists comes in at around what a Landraider used to be, which isn't bad when they're getting a 4+ in cover vs small arms fire and they're no longer subject to instant death vs S8+.






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*Comparison with Shrikes - Both move 12" but Raveners don't fly, so Shrikes are slightly better at bouncing around and can charge flying things. Shrikes also have the better save (4+ vs 5+ and being Synaptic they'll never have to worry about morale making half the unit run away, but then again on the other hand Raveners can pop up and try to charge the turn they arrive; at most they'll have to sit for a turn before getting into combat whereas Shrikes are perhaps more likely to get tagged a couple of times on the way in. Shrikes have more flexibility in weapons loadout (no Boneswords for Raveners) and on the whole are probably about 25% better, but they're also 25% costlier. Point for point, 9 Raveners is about 7 Shrikes, at which point the former is somewhat better against infantry while the latter is somewhat better against vehicles. ''On balance, if you're already taking foot Warriors for combat and are having them pop up with a Trygon, take Raveners to accompany them. If you're fielding neither Warriors or Raveners, the Shrikes are a good compromise between the two''.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Sky Slasher Swarm</div>

[[Image:Sky Slasher Swarm.jpeg|thumb|left|Like the worms in your ears, but with wings]]




Skyslashers have been around for 3 editions now and have never been any good. That hasn't changed but now at least they're as amusing as hell so that has to count for something. They're Swarms and with the Fly rule they ignore terrain. With cover changing they're never getting better than a 5+ save but now can't be doubled out by S6+ and unless your opponent turns d3/d6 weapons on them they're not going to be evaporating big chunks of these in a hurry (moral victory to you sir/ma'am if your opponent starts turning Missile Launchers or Lascannons from your big bugs to these goons). They've also lost Hammer of Wrath, but nobody ever used them anyway so that's hardly a loss. Additionally they only hit on 5+ now which ''sucks in so many ways'' it's probably fair on balance to say that they have (somehow) been nerfed. ''On the other hand at 11 points base'' they've become significantly cheaper and for 2 more points a base (ie an 18 point investment for a full sized unit) they can all have S2 pistols that fire FOUR shots each. Given that pistols can now be fired in or into combat, '''that's a hilarious 8 papercuts a turn per base'''. Picture the look on your opponent's face when they get shot with 36 BS2 S2 pistols then charged with what amounts under 7th ed thinking to 36 WS1 S3 attacks; any kill is a victory and will annoy the hell out of them. In terms of mathhammer, this unit will land 4 wounds vs MEQ in the shooting phase and another 4 in the assault phase so it all takes is a little bad rolling and half a squad of the ''Emperor's finest'' have had their faces eaten off by low flying and extremely hostile alien piranhas. '''And don't forget that since they fly, they can jump out and shoot again in their own turn.''' They cost very little and while they're unlikely to be particularly effective they're going to be worth huge laughs. Make sure to talk about how funny it will be if they take the last wound off a very big and very damaged centrepiece like a Land Raider or a Wraithknight; your opponent will kill it himself before he lets that happen.




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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Spore Mines</div>

[[Image:Spore Mines.jpeg|thumb|left|Small. Floaty. Smelly. Goes Boom]]










3" move. 7+ save. Purchased units can "Float Down" (Deep Strike). They cause between 0 and D3 mortal wounds if there is ever an enemy model within 3". Do not award VPs, cannot claim objectives. In Matched Play, they and Mucolid Spores do not detract from reinforcement points if they're created by other units (e.g. Sporocysts, Biovores, etc.).










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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Shrike</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Shrike.jpeg|thumb|left|A warrior on uncle's crack cocaine]]


Now with 4+ saves so they're carbon copies of warriors plus wings. Sexy as hell, they've gone from being blasted away by Bolters to standing up to Heavy Bolters, Autocannons, and even being able to shrug off a few Krak missiles with some luck. Also one of the scariest things a soldier can face. Sure Gargoyles are a lot swarmier and Flyrants and such are bigger and deadlier, but at least you can watch gargoyles drop and monsters stay in the sky or don't come in large numbers. Shrikes are in that perfect combination of deadly and swarmy and flying to be downright terrifying. If groups of 9 foot tall monsters with huge swords that cleave through armour like butter and acid spitting <strike>machineguns</strike> auto-shotguns descending on you doesn't make you shit your pants then you clearly [[Space Marine|are brain dead]]. Since they can obviously {{W40kKeyword|FLY}}, give them double Boneswords and sicc them after enemy fliers, which they are allowed to assault. Sure, that flier can fall back and still shoot, so you won't be able to tarpit it, but with AP-2 and a whole bunch of attacks after your shooting, you will put quite a dent into them before they can fly away.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Dimacharon</div>

[[Image:Dimachaeron.jpeg|thumb|left|Fun fact: This boi can munch as much as a pothead, but still stay this skinny]]






Degrading M, WS and A. The Dimachaeron's new incarnation is interesting to say the least. He's sporting 6 attacks that are kinda hindered by -2 AP, but his Sickle Claws make for a decent anti-tank weapons if you really have to wreck some Russes around. He also no longer have access to FnP, but now every time he '''NOMS''' some {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} pleb he gets himself 5++ for the rest of the game, which is really nice considering the amount of plasma your opponent will spew at him. Oh, and his signature skill, '''Leaper killer''', is really trollworthy - whenever the Dimachaeron moves, you do not count any vertical distances it moves against the total it may travel. And he moves '''[[Awesome|12 WAFFLING INCHES]]'''. Use Swarmy's "Hive commander on him" or the Metabolic Overdrive stratagem and watch your opponent's face as the Big Bad Lictor literally crossed half the board on turn 1.








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*FAQ alert: the grasping talons and thorax weapon has been FAQ'd. When you roll a 6+ to hit with this weapon, the strength value changes from 7 to <strike>12</strike> 14 (it's Sx2; weapon's S, not the unit's) and the damage increases from 1 to d6.  <3


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Meiotic Spores</div>

[[Image:Meiotic Spores.jpg|thumb|left|Boom. Skibbedi pap-pap]]

Boy, isn't this edition cruel to the poor mines. They no longer produce ordinary spores upon death, and in terms of gameplay, Meiotic Spores are just -1 T, W and Sv Mucolid Spores. Did i mention that min size squad costs 54 points? Avoid x3.

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*However these spores come down before the movement phase 12" away from enemy units, this allows them to move then charge giving them only a 9" charge compared to the other spores 12" charges.
**Alternate take: Why charge when you can use metabolic overdrive, move, run, then overdrive with hive fleet kraken - is almost a guaranteed turn 1 bomb.

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===Flyer===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Harpy</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Harpy.jpeg|thumb|left|Bombs your opponent's backline like during a good day in Vietnam]]


Now costs the same points as the Crone as of CA2019, but trades with flier hunting buffs for more reliable shooting and the ability to carpet bomb your opponent with spore mines. Its decent damage output is hampered by your average tyranid BS, although its Stranglethorn Cannons gain +1 to hit against units of 10 or more models (ideal for an infantry meta, whereas the Heavy Venom Cannons are better suited towards vehicle hunting). 

Their ability to drop spore mines is, however, useful, and a valuable source of mortal wounds. The Harpy works best as a backline harasser, helping you deal with those pesky Predators/Basilisk/Onagers. 

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* Be very careful when using the Harpy. They're fragile and will get shot down if focused, so use your ability to charge to your advantage; use it to protect your bae from being shot down by forcing your opponent to fall back with their backline unit (or if you're lucky: units). 
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Hive Crone</div>

[[Image:Hive Crone.jpeg|thumb|left|A biiig harpy, but without the bombs]]










Crones got a bit of a boost in this edition, simply because there's more stuff that can {{W40kKeyword|FLY}}, and their Tentaclids re-roll failed to hit rolls against units with this keyword. The Tentaclids also deal mortal wounds against vehicles on a 4+ and you're going to need those as the damned things are only at Strength 5. Low Toughness and a disappointing save make the Crone a '''maybe''' rather than a ''must'', but still- probably worth taking 2 if you want to ruin a Tau player's day. Degrading M, WS and BS. Just like the Harpy, the Hive Crone is not {{W40kKeyword|HARD TO HIT}} and suffers the same fate.










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*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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===Heavy Support===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Biovore</div>

[[Image:Biovore8E.jpeg|thumb|left|Be careful of your opponents flipping the table]]










They don't need to roll to wound, they just skip to rolling Mortal Wounds damage roll: 1d6; 0 on a 1, 1 on 2-5, 1d3 (average 2) on a 6, for a total average of 1 per hit. If you miss, you get to place a Spore Mine that the opponent ''has'' to walk around, due to the magical 1" barrier all models have during the Movement phase, and can optionally charge into to eat the damage (but shouldn't). Sometimes missing with them is better than hitting to create a temporary wall or to get that surround on a transport, so consider moving and using instinctive behaviour to stack negative hit modifiers. 










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*No, really. You can damage LAND RAIDERS AND TITANS on a 2+, and even if you "miss", the spore mine will not only wound them anyway, but can block forward movement if you manage to get two off and space them 4" apart, since they can't move within 1" of enemies. '''[[That Guy|Just spam Biovores and Malanthropes and you win.]]'''
*Consider this. 3 squads of Biovores is 150 points, and is not only intrinsically immune to Morale, but also doesn't mind Instinctive Behaviour, since it's so often better to miss anyway. On a triple miss, those 150 points add 30 points to your army without using reinforcement points. Bear in mind you don't actually need to charge with them and eat overwatch; you just need to be within 3" at the end of the charge phase, so the mines can get there via regular movement. There's only so much incidental firepower the average person will be able to throw at them while managing other threats, so as turns pass and their guns are either killed or tied up, you'll have more of these building up and slamming mortal wounds into special snowflakes with increasing regularity. Now, also consider that you can't target characters unless they're the closest unit, but you can target (and miss) the unit next to them, then place the Mines as close as possible to said character. ''If you want to be a troll, move the Biovores first'' while outside of Synapse, to increase their odds of placing a Spore Mine to 5/6 (5 or less).
**Make sure to clarify how Biovores work with your opponent if you're using the new beta deep strike rules. These rules, by RAW, would apply to any spore mines created by the biovore's ability, which means you may not be able to produce spore mines outside of your deployment zone turn one. ''This is incredibly stupid, and you probably shouldn't play with anyone who insists on it'', but be aware. 
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Carnifex</div>

[[Image:Carnifex.jpg|thumb|left|Classic Crabby lad]]





The old mainstay had its ups and downs. Currently it is an extremely cheap to field model (as in: you-can-field-a-Carnifex-for-fewer-points-than-a-unit-of-Warriors) with tonnes of versatility. Stat-wise it's pretty much a Dreadnought, and is far more customizable than the rotting tuna cans. Living Battering Ram lets it add +1 to hit when it charges, in addition to dealing 1 mortal wound on a 4+. The options given back to the 'Fex can suit them into any role you want<strike>, and sometimes even better at it than the monsters made for the job (looking at you, Haruspex)</strike>. There are multiple ways to take one, but ''always'' take the Spore Cysts, so your Carnifex will survive long enough to do some work. As a result, ''never'' take Spine Banks. More details follow below, but you should also be avoiding the bio-plasma and the chitin thorns. Here are a few common ways to build a 'Fex:





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*Dakkafex:  Ignore the Deathspitters and the Stranglethorn; even if you think you have a use-case for them, you should be looking at a Thornback for that (see below). Take 4 Devourers with Brainleech Worms (7 each) for 24 S6 shots, Enhanced Senses for 25% more shots hitting (usually 16, rather than 12), and, of course, Spore Cysts. That's 115 points for generally landing 16 S6 shots. While usually not the best idea, the Monstrous Acid Maw could be useful if you don't want your Dakkafex to be completely helpless in melee, especially since the Devourers only have an 18 inch range. 
*Meleefex:  Ignore the Maw. It looks good (and it is), but you've got enough melee weapons already - and the crushing claws, which usually only boost you from wounding on 5+ to wounding on 3+ against enemy heavies, at a relatively severe accuracy penalty (''unless you charge, in which case you're fine''). Take the Tusks and keep the basic two pairs of monstrous scything talons, Spore Cysts to live long enough to get there. Naturally, you will want adrenal glands and toxin sacs, and you should grab a bone mace tail. Assuming you charge - ''which you need to'' - that's A6 WS3+r1 S6 AP-3 D3 (D4 on wound rolls of 6+) and one WS3 S8 AP-1 D1d3 (D1d3+1 on wound rolls of 6+), plus half a mortal wound, which will wreck the majority of heavy infantry or light vehicle/monster opponents, like Rhinos, all for 111 points.
*Hybrid: While it may be tempting to take pure dakka or melee carnifexes, the more optimal loadouts revolve around a mix of the two as they can be far more points efficient in smaller numbers (2-3 ish) by being able to shoot as they stomp towards the nearest tin can, whereas with pure melee, you are risking the carnifex being blown away before it makes back a single point. There are three main builds worth considering, the 2nd of which are helped immensely by OOE. The first is MST, Devourers, and Enhanced Senses, allowing you to advance up the table while picking of light chaff and providing another immediate target your opponent has to deal with. The second is Monstrous Crushing Claws, Devourers, and Enhanced Senses or Tusks, which when paired with OOE, transforms them into tank blenders by now hitting on 3s with 4 Strength 12 attacks on the charge while still contributing in the opening turns of the battle. Additionally, swapping enhanced senses for tusks, gives a better chance at wrecking tanks in one go. The third option is MCC, HVC, and Enhanced Senses which featured in the winning Nid list at the London GT in 2018. While not the most optimal choice, especially how the meta has shifted, it can still pack a punch both at range and in combat. 



[[Image:Screamer Killer.jpeg|thumb|left|Stabby Crabby lad]]







'''Screamer-Killer''': The classic Carnifex, now with its own datasheet. Two pairs of Scything Talons, and a free Bio-Plasmic Scream that's Assault d6, S7 AP-4, and 18" range that gives it something to mess up MEQs as it moves into charging distance. In addition to Living Battering Ram, it makes enemy units within 8" add 1 to any Morale tests they take. As one more bonus, they can take Spore Cysts, which penalises the hit rolls of opponents shooting at them by -1. It doesn't stack with a Venomthrope, but those shouldn't be following Carnifexes into melee to start with.
*Do consider that Screamer Killers are more expensive than regular Carnifex (90 points instead of 67) for the Bio-Plasmic Scream and the special rule. It cannot take a tail nor Tusks. As stated above, a regular Carnifex with a melee build is around 111 points, if you take all the Biomorphs listed above, while a Screamer Killer will cost 124 and it won't have the additional attacks from the Tusks and the tail. Make sure to use that Bio-Plasmic scream on something if you take it, since that's its main draw. 







[[Image:Thornback.jpeg|thumb|left|Shooty Crabby lad]]







'''Thornback''': A more specialised anti-infantry version of the Dakkafex, the Thornback makes up for its comparative weakness in melee combat with several tricks that will deter assaults on it. Thorned Battering Ram lets it inflict d3 mortal wounds rather than the usual 1 when charging {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}}, and the compulsory Chitin Thorns further discourage assault troops. More importantly, its attacks ignore the cover bonus to saves for {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}}. It starts with monstrous scything talons, which it can and should swap for a Stranglethorn Cannon (unless you have a specific plan to use Thorned Battering Ram a lot, such as against Tau) and two Devourers with Brainleech Worms, which it should be swapping for two Deathspitters with Slimer Maggots, as well as buying Enhanced Senses. The lack of Spore Cysts hurts, but you're still looking at 114 points for typically landing 4 S7 AP-1 D1 and 2.33 S7 AP-1 D2 shots that bypass cover saves on {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}}, making it better than a Dakkafex at wiping out TEQs/two-wound models in cover and taking potshots at light vehicles.







[[Image:Stone Crusher Carnifex.jpeg|thumb|left|Pesky Tankybreaky Crabby lab]]







'''Stone-Crusher Carnifex (Forge World)''':  The tried and true vehicle (and building) Murder-fex. These babies cost a fair shake more than a stock 'fex or Thornback. Like a Thornback, their mortal wounds from charging increase to 1d3 against their chosen target, which for them is {{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}}s or {{W40Kkeyword|buildings}}s, but they don't get +1 to hit from charging. They're also the only breed of 'fex that can't take toxin sacs or adrenal glands, and they use the old Index definitions of the thresher scythe and bone mace (because they are printed directly on the model's datasheet), meaning the scythe is an auto-buy over the mace (you can't field them without tails). It comes with two wrecker claws; you can swap one claw out for a bio-flail ''if you're deliberately trying to make the 'fex worse'', as you'll make it more expensive and worse at melee at the same time (anything you'd attack with the bio-flail, you should be attacking with the scythe). 
*Those wrecker claws are absolute beast; for an 18 point pair, you get Sx2 (S12) AP-3 D1d6, ''and'' they'll re-roll both failed hits and failed wounds against {{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}}s and {{W40Kkeyword|buildings}}s. You can buy bio-plasma, which really isn't a bad gun, it just won't do much against the targets you'll be trying to shove your Carnifex into. All told, your Stone-Crusher should come out to 105 points with two claws and a scythe and no bio-plasma. You'll be inferior to a stock Fex in most regards (no glands, sacs, cysts, or tusks, no +1 to hit when charging): combining to make your nidzilla a sad panda - but wrecker claws are legitimately strictly better than crushing claws in every possible respect, and your thresher scythe doesn't come with its own attack but ''can be used with all 4 of your stock ones'', letting you fall back on it against hordes to double your swings on average, so this Carnifex can be surprisingly punchy, and if you can get it to the enemy alive, will absolutely wreck some face.
*Note that the [[RAW|specific wording]] of the Wrecking Claws means that a 'fex armed with 2 Wrecking Claws re-rolls hits with it's Tail Weapon as well.
* For Hive Fleets, Jormungandr are a great choice considering now that they get Land Raider armor against shooting. Kraken are good if you want to use a lot of Melee-fex as second-wave charging unit. The others benefit them not as much as these two.
* All in all, an incredibly flexible unit capable of acting either as a melee Dreadnought or somewhere between a Predator or Razorback equivalent. Sacrificing durability for mobility and cheapness.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Exocrine</div>

[[Image:Exocrine.jpg|thumb|left|The Shootiest 'nid lad]]






A massive middle finger for anyone bitching about Tyranid AP being bad. Its gun is 36" Heavy 6 S7 AP-3 D2, and if it doesn't move it gets to shoot twice and add 1 to its 4+ hit rolls. Show those Terminators what scary dakka means when you hose them down with <strike>acid</strike> plasma from 36" away. Even though the Nids now have a real Plasma Cannon, try to avoid long range shootouts with other [[Tau|Plasma]] [[Dark Angels|Spam]] [[Adeptus_Mechanicus|armies]]. Seriously, don't do it, unless you want Heavy 1d3 or worse for the return fire. Like other long range artillery, they need meat shields for their survival.






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*One thing to consider about the Exocrine is that the number of shots he fires and the BS he uses fluctuates wildly and that's even before he starts to degrade through damage. If he stands still and foregoes charging (why would charging be a serious option, though?) he can fire 12 shots at 3+ (well technically he fires six shots twice so two different targets if need be). If he moves, that's 6 shots at a miserable 5+. Not only do you miss out on the +1 to hit for not moving or charging, but you take a -1 to hit penalty for moving and firing heavy weapons, because despite being dedicated to shooting, he lacks the Bio-tank rule of the Tyrannofex which allows it to ignore said penalty. Best used parked in cover at the rear, beside a Malanthrope, meaning he's safely in synapse range with a synaptic 9 wound character who is unlikely to get sniped while shooting directed at him are -1 to hit, and he has a 2+ save for his 12 T8 wounds. Like the Tyrannofex, Kronos will make sure its shots count.
*Blood of Baal introduced a strat that allows the exocrine to move (but not Advance - FAQed!) and still gain the bonuses for standing still at the cost of 1CP, giving our favourite pseudo-plasma gun beast a much needed manoeuvrability boost. 
*Blood of Baal also granted Tyranid players some new psychic powers and adaptive physiologies that seem purpose built for Exocrines. Symbiostorm will make your sixes count as two hits (especially nice for Kronos players) and Voracious Ammunition will see any unit that's lost models to your shots take an additional D3 mortal wounds if the unit somehow survived. Bye-bye Terminator squad!
*As of Chapter Approved 2019 it costs 155 points to field one of these fellas. An Exocrine now cost 10 points less than a single squad of 5 Hellblasters, whilst having 6" more range, 2 more shots (at ALL ranges), and doing 2 damage without the overcharge risk!! Sure, no S8, but you can't have everything!


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Mawloc</div>

[[Image:Mawloc.jpeg|thumb|left|"Maw" means mouth, btw]]






The '''Terror of the Deep''' no longer relies on random scatter to go off, meaning it just deep strikes in at >1" away from the enemy and 6" away from your other Deep Striking Mawlocs, then it deals an average of 1.5 mortal wounds to every enemy unit within 2". It can't charge the turn it surfaces, but a gigantic gob worm rising right in the enemy ranks works as a neat [[distraction carnifex|distraction]]. You end up paying 104 points (105 if you buy a Toxinspike, or even more if you spring for the Adrenal Glands or Toxin Sacs) for 1 mouth attack which is anti-tank, then 8 anti-infantry attacks from its talons, then 1 anti-infantry attack from the tail, ''but not on the same turn you sprang up'', meaning if you want to do anything with it other than spring it up as a shiny red ball to get shot, you want to be {{W40Kkeyword|Kraken}}, so you can Fall Back from the inevitable tarpitting, and still charge (nothing you do will let the Mawloc Burrow out of a tarpit). Perhaps its best ability is simply Deep Striking so close to the enemy, which means you can reliably shove it onto an objective much of the time.






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*Mawlocs are very cheap and the submerge ability allows for some flexibility. You can deploy them normally, allowing you to qualify for the 50% rule, and then burrow and join in the fun. It's not a full null-deployment, but it's a tool that depends on your opponent. The ability to shut down a strong shooting model for a turn via charging will also pay dividends. Of course, they excel at harassing a whole group of units, forcing tough choices. The ability to appear anywhere on the board post turn three is also powerful in objective-based games. They cost very little, have an unique ability in 40K, and come in at less than ten points a wound. By focusing on the Strength of the Mawloc, you don't have to buy a Trygon and another unit to do backfield harassment; they do this role on a budget.
**One highly overlooked ability of the Mawloc is to block off corridors. The model is on a 120 by 90 mm base. If you deep-strike it into a street or other corridor, the opening would need to be almost ten inches wide for Space Marines to scoot past it (120mm base + 25mm to either side because enemies cannot move within an inch of it + 32mm for the base of the space marine). While it will likely get shot off the board the turn after you set it down, it can easily slow down your opponent getting onto an objective by a turn, and in a game that usually only goes for 5 turns, that can swing the game your way quite a bit.
**With the new beta rules, the mawloc might be the worst unit in the codex. It can't arrive in enemy deployment until turn 2, which means it can't charge a backline unit until turn three. 


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Toxicrine</div>

[[Image:Toxicrine.jpeg|thumb|left|The big daddy of Hentai]]










Nothing is really safe from a Toxicrene. Everything it does re-rolls to Wound, which combined with Strength 7 means that unless you consciously target monsters with it, it will usually wound with all its hits. It has some scary (if low-ranged) shooting and in melee it strikes before everything else and has 6 attacks. The real kicker however is its Hypertoxic Miasma which has a chance of inflicting a mortal wound on every enemy ''model'' within 1" of it.










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* Like the Haruspex, this big old hentai monster suffers from not being durable or fast enough to make it into combat, and it's degradation chart really hampers it even if he does.
** With the new Codex the Toxicrene hits on 3+ before degradation and has an AP of -2 with his tentacles, which improves his close combat damage quite considerably.  
* Chapter Approved 2019 has further reduced the cost of a Toxicrene to 125 points. They're now barely more expensive than a well-equipped Carnifex and look a lot scarier, which might make them a nice distraction. They also look like a nice place to put the "Murderous Size" adaptive physiology, since that would make their hentai tentacles Strength 8, AP -3, Damage D3+1. Since they can already re-roll wounds that could make them into a genuine threat to vehicles.


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Trygon</div>

[[Image:TrygonGW.jpeg|thumb|left|Scares babies and Space Marines alike]]










With three sets of Massive Scything Talons (which have no purpose since you only get one extra attack as per the FAQ) and six attacks, the Trygon is once again a proper murder machine.
* Its Subterranean Assault ability lets it appear anywhere on the table, more than 9" away from the nearest enemy, at the end of the movement phase.










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*You have the option of dragging along a unit of troops, but they also have to be placed more than 9" away from the nearest enemy, which means assault is a somewhat iffy proposition, even if you plan on spending command points for re-rolls and have Adrenal Glands. Or just place them in a Behemoth detachment to pretty much guarantee the charge. Jormungandr's Stratagem can open up far more potential for this, since it will allow the Trygon to bring along two units instead of one. 
*''However'', if you pop the Trygon up sideways, just shy of 12" away from your enemy, you can place ~25 devilgants able to shoot in the same direction around it. If you do this, you are required to bring a bucket of dice with you.
'''Trygon Prime''': A slightly meaner Trygon bawss. [[Hive Mind|Wields the Tyranid Matrix of leadership]] and has the Character keyword, so you can give him relics and warlord traits.
* Starts equipped with Biostatic Rattle which adds +1 to Morale rolls for any unit taking unsaved wounds from it.
* Facing off against Leman Russes, Eldar tanks, or other T7 W10+ Sv3+ units? Take a Trygon Prime! Psychic Awakening has a few fun toys for him to play with. Kit it out with Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs. Give it the Murderous Size Adaptive Physiology trait. Deep strike 9" away from the target. Spend 1 CP for rolling your charge distance on 3D6-drop the lowest, and then add +1" from your glands. Now that you're in, watch your opponent's eyes well up as you attack with 7 S8 AP-4 D6+1Dmg (D6+2Dmg on wound rolls of 6+), averaging 17 damage. That'll outright kill most things that don't have an invul or a good FnP. If you need more insurance (or if you're dealing with a T8 Repulsor) spend 2 more CP and re-roll all failed wound rolls. Now you're pumping out a whopping 23dmg (19dmg against T8 = dead Repulsor)! If you're worried about taking Overwatch, you can always put the Trygon in a detachment with the custom Hive trait that gives you a 4+ FnP against Overwatch.  
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Tyrannofex</div>

[[Image:Tyranno.jpg|thumb|left|You point at a target and it's gone with this beasty]]








Versatile fire support that might actually be seen with other loadouts than Acid Spray this edition, now that it can move and fire heavy weapons with no penalty, but can shoot twice if it stands still, so you still won't move it if you can help it. It carries a compulsory Stinger Salvo for 8 points, which combines nicely with the Spray or Hive for clearing out infantry.
* Can be equipped to deal with a variety of enemies:
** The '''Acid Spray''''s strength degrades as the Tyrannofex is wounded, but with 7 shots hitting compared to the Hive's usual of 10, better AP and Damage mean that against almost all targets, it's a better gun than the Hive on multi-wound targets or anything with an armor save.








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** The '''Fleshborer Hive''' is better against big hordes that don't rely on saves (like Horrors), and can be buffed with Scorch Bugs to wound MEQs and GEQs on 2s, but it's not useful in remotely as many contexts as the Acid Spray.
** The '''Rupture Cannon''' costs a fuckton, driving the dude's cost up to 230 points, but it will fuck up very heavy targets with 2x3 S10 lascannon-equivalent shots. Taking it with Kronos' adaptation all but guarantees that tanks will die.
*(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)


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===Fortification===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Sporocyst</div>

[[Image:Sporocyst.jpeg|thumb|left|Not sure if we copied Starcraft, or Starcraft copied us]]






Degrading Str and A. Can shoot its weapons even when in combat, which is useful, seeing as it can't move. Set up more then 9" away from enemy models just before the first turn, has synapse itself if in synapse range, and spews out spore mines or mucolid spores (as an actual weapon, so if there're no targets within 9" you can't make any splodey things). If you're not paying points, then go all Barbed Stranglers for 5D6 S5 AP-1 shots at 36"(with BS 4+ against units of more than 10+ models).






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*Amusing in objective missions, given that it "deploys" anywhere outside 9" of an enemy unit after deployment is finished but before T1 starts - pop the thing on a vacant objective your opponent is likely to try to claim and hurl Mucolid Spore Mines at them when they try. With 12 wounds it's unlikely to evaporate to small arms, and with the ability to deal d3 to d6 mortal wounds, plus a hail of ill-aimed gunfire to back that up, your opponent won't be claiming that objective with a couple of otherwise useless incidental dollies, although, like all your big bugs, it will go down in a screaming heap if isolated and eating heavy weapons fire.
*The codex gave them a point reduction and the ability to spawn spore mines ''in addition'' to firing them, and you don't have to pay reinforcement points to do so either. Left alone they can fill the board with spores. Hope you have enough models!
*As you are going to have to take a separate detachment to get even 1 of the guys anyway, remember that you must have the same {{W40kKeyword|Hive Fleet}} keyword as both the {{W40kKeyword|Synapse}} unit and the rest of your army in order to get any benefit.


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===Lords of War===

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Barbed Hierodule</div>

[[Image:Barbed Hierodule.jpeg|thumb|left| Doesn't look much like the other 'nids]]







As the better Hierodule in the previous edition this guy is still no pushover. Having 22W, T8,  and a 3+, this guy is pretty tough to kill. As with all of our big bugs, it has a degrading movement, BS, and attacks. He is armed with 2 Bio-cannons and Massive Scything Talons. The cannons are Heavy 6 (which doesn't matter as he's a {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} {{W40kKeyword|MONSTER}}) S8, AP-2, and D3 damage at BS 4+ to start. All in all, this guy is a pretty strong ranged unit. Like all scything talons, his re-roll 1s to hit, and with S10, AP-3 and D6 Damage at WS4+, this ranged monstrosity can hold his own in CC.
*Both versions of the Hierodule have a special rule called Agile, which is simply Turbo-boost from most Biker units: they can advance a flat 6 inches instead of rolling. In addition, they roll 3d6 and drop the lowest when charging. This makes them remarkably quick when they need to be.






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*In terms of both cost (monetary and point wise) and stats, the Heirodules are very comparable to the imperial knight in 8th (especially with the latter getting a price hike). The Barbed Hierodule will deal more damage than a Knight Paladin at 36", even with the latter's higher BS (though if a Knight Paladin has a Stormspear Rocket Pod, it will inflict 0.33 more hits - and two of its hits will do 1.5 more damage). Regardless, it can give the other patterns a decent run for their money. However, the lack of invulnerable save and having 2 fewer wounds than a Knight can hurt a Hierodule in the long run. 
**One way to solve this is to use the new Adaptive Physiologies and give it the Dermic Symbiosis. This would increase its survivability immensely and the doubling wounds characteristic makes it hit harder for longer. 
*It can really benefit from hive fleet traits, Behemoth to re-roll his already impressive charge, Leviathan for a nasty 6+++, Jormugandr for the cover and so on. The Hydra one is really the only one wasted on him.
*It takes relatively few missiles or lascannons shots this edition to cause a problem for both Hierodules. They're somewhat less effective as a [[Distraction Carnifex]], which is a shame because that's really what they should be doing.
* At its current points cost you would be better served by running 3x Exocrines instead of 1x Barbed Hierodule (more shots, 1 better BS, higher AP, reliable damage, and 14 more wounds).
**Another alternative (if you really want to save points) is a 6-man unit of Hive Guard with Impaler Cannons. For only 258 points, they have the same 12 shots, 1 better BS, same strength, AP, and damage. What's better is that their shots ignore cover, they can fire twice for 2CP, and they don't need line of sight. So, you can keep them hidden from enemy fire while they cause their mayhem.    


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Scythed Hierodule</div>

[[Image:Scythed Hierodule.jpeg|thumb|left|Hierodule with more pointy ends. And looks like an oversized Zergling.]]










The melee cousin of the Barbed Hierodule and cheaper by 30 points. Trades the bio cannons for an extra set of talons and a bio acid spray. This 8 attack monster wants to be in melee, so get him there quick. Degrades on movement, WS, and attacks.












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*In a fight between an Imperial Knight and a Scythed Hierodule, the entire fight can come down to a single lucky roll of the dice. The Hierodule has twice the number of attacks as a Knight and hit just as often (if not more so), but the Knight's reaper chainsword will deal more damage with each hit, taking huge chunks from your monster. Try and mitigate this by being the first to launch a charge and by softening up a knight before closing for the kill.
* With the Adaptive Physiology: Dermic Symbiosis the Hierodule gains a distinct advantage over a Knight in melee, as it will have a 5++ save while its profile only degrades by 1/2. Stack with Catalyst for a 5+++ FNP. For 3CP the Hierodule can also fight twice, an ability that for Imperial Knights is hard-locked to only one Household. The Hierodule can also easily make a T1 charge with help from the Swarmlord's Hive Commander ability + Onslaught, with the caveat that you will need to clear a path through your opponents screens to get it where it needs to go.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Hierophant</div>

[[Image:Tyranid Hierophant.jpeg|thumb|left|This thing is kind of like if they made Big E playable.]]






Last edition, this cost nearly half an army's worth of points and was a bitch to take down without an opposing Lord of War. Now it costs over 1800 points and is all kinds of terrifying. Defensively, it's toughness 8, 2+/5++, and most importantly '''50 fucking wounds'''. 38 average shots from lascannon Devastators and it still won't be dead, ''or 3600 lasguns to bring it down''. Cast catalyst and you are almost immortal. Offensively it is almost as terrifying. For ranged - has two Macro 6 Dire biocannons that are S10 (which can double for the price of taking D3 mortal wounds, like Tau units overcharging), AP-2, 2D6 damage (doubled against buildings and other {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units), and a heavy flamer that's pistol 2D6 shots. In Melee it has S10, 6 attacks base (degrades as it takes damage) at (degrading) WS3+, that it can use with Monstrous scything talons that is Sx2 AP-5 D2d6, or lashwhip pods that are SU AP-1 D1 and makes 3 to hit rolls per attack. In conjunction with its 12" base (degrading) movement, ability to walk over enemies, and massive footprint it is a threat anywhere it lays its gaze. It can also pick either incendiary ichor to deal mortal wounds to units that hurt it in melee, or an incubation chamber for transport capacity for troops units and tyrant/hive guard.






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*Note that unlike the Imperial/Chaos Titans and their Void Shields, your invulnerable save doesn't degrade and works against melee attacks as well as shooting attacks. Use this to your advantage, as the Hierophant is the only Titan which has an invulnerability save in prolonged combat, with imperials having no extra save while eldar Titans will lose there’s a turn later after not moving.
*Maths-wise, the Hierophant will outshoot most targets once in range, with ONE of its guns dealing 18.6 wounds against a Warhound, meaning that if you dedicate all of the Hierophant's shooting something, '''it will die''', unless it’s Reaver-size or up (see [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Apocalypse(8E)]] for the numbers).


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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Harridan</div>

[[Image:HarridanGW.jpeg|thumb|left|It's a dragon]]










A 30 wound flying version of the barbed Hierodule. A titanic transport monster, the harridan has four damage tiers and a degrading M, WS, and BS. It is armed identical to the Barbed Hierodule with two bio-cannons and Massive Scything Talons. It's hyperactive metabolism rule allows it to add d6 to the cannons strength in return for taking d3 mortal wounds. It also retains a vector strike-like ability to deal d3 mortal wounds to a unit it flies over, and with a base move of 30", you can bet it will reach something. Finally, it can also carry 20 gargoyles into battle. Downside is that in a 1k point game, the Harridan will eat 4/5th of your points.










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