Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Tyranids

This article related to Warhammer 40,000 is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it

This is the current 10th Edition's Tyranids tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.

Why Play Tyranids

Pros

• Now in 10th edition the faction has recieved a bunch of new units, some of them brought from past editions, either by looks like the Screamer Killer Carnifex or by name like the Von Ryan's Leapers.
• Last edition's Synapse daisy chaining for temporary benefits has been severely cut down.
• Deathleaper, one of the few Tyranid "characters"/Epic Heroes got a plastic update that makes him look more distinct from a normal Lictor.

Cons

• Due to the simplification of rules, weapons, and datasheets, much of the customization of many units has become simply cosmetic if the index is anything to go by.
• You can only use Shadow in the Warp once per battle. If it doesn't scare at least half the army, you've wasted it.
• Synapse is now even more vital as some stratagems require you to have creatures inside it in order to make the most out of them.
• Nothing in your army can use the Tank Shock, Grenade, or Smokescreen stratagems, putting you at an inherent disadvantage out the gate.

Faction Rules

• Synapse: While a unit is within 6" of one or more Synapse models, it's within Synapse range. Each time it takes a Battle-shock test, use 3d6 instead of 2d6.
  • On an Ld8+ unit, which is most of your army, this more than doubles your chances of passing the test (41.67% -> 83.80%, a 2.01x multiplier). On Ld7+, which is your bravest elite, it's still significant (58.33% -> 90.74%, a 1.56x multiplier).
• Shadow in the Warp: Once per battle, during either player's Command Phase, if one or more units with this ability are on the battlefield, each enemy unit must take a Battle-shock test. If someone tries to out-horde you in the hopes of occupying objectives, use this to flip them back to your control - Battle-shocked units have OC 0, which means they may as well not be present for the purpose of holding objectives.

Detachments

Invasion Fleet

The Index's general-use detachment. Gives your army a general focus while also allowing them to gain some extra uses when using Stratagems in Synapse range.

Special Rules

• Hyper-Adaptations: Gives you one of three buffs you can pick between for the entire game. You're naturally going to gravitate towards Hyper-Aggression because routinely your attacks will be fine on accuracy but struggle to wound.
  • Swarming Instincts: Any attacks against enemy Infantry and Swarm units gain Sustained Hits 1.
  • Hyper-Aggression: Any attacks against enemy Vehicle and Monster units gain Lethal Hits.
  • Hive Predators: Any critical hits against enemy Character units gain Precision.

Stratagems

<tabs> <tab name="Battle Tactic">

• Adrenal Surge (1 CP): When one unit fights (two if they're both within Synapse range), they score critical hits on a 5+.
• Rapid Regeneration (1 CP): One unit gets a 6+++ FNP against the enemy's shooting attacks, upped to a 5+++ if the unit's within Synapse range.

</tab> <tab name="Strategic Ploy">

• Death Frenzy (1 CP): When a unit is attacked in melee, any models that die before fighting can still attack after the enemy on a 4+ before going down.
• Endless Swarm (1 CP): During your command phase, two units with the Endless Multitude keyword (so Neurogaunts plus your 3 Battleline units) that are within your Synapse Range can have up to d3+3 destroyed models returned for each one selected.
• Overrun (1 CP): A unit can consolidate 6" instead of the usual 3" so long as they end movement within engagement range of another enemy. If the unit's within Synapse range, that consolidation range is boosted to their full movement speed.
• Synaptic Insight (1 CP): One unit (two if they're both within Synapse range) get to use one Hyper-Adaptation that you didn't pick at the start of the game for the turn.

</tab> </tabs>

Enhancements

• Adaptive Biology: Bearer gets a 5+++ FNP. At the start of any turn, if the bearer has fewer than its starting number of wounds remaining, until the end of the battle, it has a 4+++ FNP instead. Best on a Flyrant or Tervigon, who need the protection more than anything.
• Alien Cunning: After both players have deployed their armies, select up to three units from your army and redeploy them. When doing so, you can throw them into reserves.
  • Excellent for anyone since it doesn't really care who it's used on. If you do take it, try to also take Deathleaper, who can make optimal use of the redeploy; it's also very, very good on Leapers.
• Perfectly Adapted: Bearer gains a 1/turn ability to re-roll one Hit, Wound, Damage, Advance, or Charge roll, or one saving throw.
• Synaptic Lynchpin: Bearer gains a 9" bubble of Synapse range without getting the actual keyword. Great on a Parasite of Mortrex.

The Vardenghast Swarm (Combat Patrol)

One of the first Combat Patrols released for 10E. Pretty much here to showcase the power of this new gameplay format.

Composition: 1 Vardenghast Terror, 1 Psychophage, 20 Termagants, 3 Von Ryan's Leapers, 5 Barbgaunts

• Vardenghast Terror: A Winged Prime. "Lost" the squad benefit, but that was wasted anyways. Instead, it can fight after dying on a 4+, making for a pseudo-Deadly Demise.
• Psychophage: Has the advantages on eating up a weakened enemy, but lost the FNP aura.
• Termagants: Come with Fleshborers for high-powered shooting. Can be split into two squads of 10, allowing for more coverage.
• Barbgaunts: You get five of them to slow down the enemy while your Leapers can run them down.
• Von Ryan's Leapers: Your main melee force. Expect to spam Heroic Intervention a LOT to protect your gaunts.

Enhancements

• Psychostatic Veil: The default enhancement gives Lone Operative and a 4++ save, which is fine enough since this box lacks any warriors for the Vardenghast Terror to hide behind. In addition, any melee attacks against the bearer suffer -1 to hit.
• Secretion Goad: Once per turn, you can make the Vardenghast Terror target a friendly unit within 6" that's about to fight or shoot, improving the AP of that unit's weapons by 1.

Secondary Objectives

• Alpha Xenoform: Default. Score 4VP at the end of each phase if the Vardenghast Terror destroyed one or more enemy models.
• Chitinous Tide: Score 5VP at the end of your turn if you control one or more objectives within 6" of your opponent's deployment zone.

Stratagems

• Teeming Broods (1 CP): During the movement phase, you can either resurrect d3 models from an existing unit of Termagants or recreate a new squad of 2d6 Termagants if you lost a unit.
• Hyper-Reactive (1 CP): During your opponent shooting or fight phase when one of their units has selected their targets, if its an Tyranid infantry, each time an attack targets that unit, substract 1 from the Hit roll.
• Voracious Assault (1 CP): On your shooting or fight phase, select one of your units that hasn't attacked that phase. Until the end of the phase, models of that unit can re-roll Hit rolls if it targets the closest elegible target.

Equipment & Weapons

Highlighting changes from 9th to 10th editions in parenthesis. Blue means improvement and Orange means degradation. Remember a +AP is a degradation.

Melee Weapons

• Bone sabres: TWIN-LINKED A8 WS2+ S9 AP-2 (+2) D3. Worse against armour now, but better against high T thanks to re-rolling to wound.
• Genestealer claws and talons: Vanguard Predator A4 WS2+ S4 AP-2 (+1) D1
• Screamer-killer talons: A10 WS3+ S10 (+4) AP-2 (+1) D3
• Xenos claws and teeth: A1 WS4+ S3 AP0 D1

Ranged Weapons

• Bio-plasmic scream: ASSAULT, BLAST 18" Ad6+3 (+3) BS4+ S8 AP-2 (+2) D1
• Fleshborer: ASSAULT 18" A1 BS4+ S5 AP0 D1
• Rupture cannon: HEAVY 48" A2 (-1) BS3+ S18 (+4) AP-4 D2D6 (-0.5)
• Termagant devourer: 18" A2 BS4+ S4 AP0 D1
• Termagant spinefists: ASSAULT, PISTOL, TWIN-LINKED 12" A2 BS4+ S3 AP0 D1
• Bio-Cannon: BLAST, HEAVY 24" AD6 BS4+ S5 AP0 D1

Psychic

• Synaptic pulse: PSYCHIC, TORRENT 18" AD6+3 S5 AP-1 D2
• Psychic scream: IGNORES COVER, PSYCHIC, TORRENT 18" A2D6 S5 AP-1 D2
• Psychic overload: BLAST, PSYCHIC 18" AD6+3 BS+3 S10 AP-2 D3
• Warp Blast:
  • witchfire:
  • focused witchfire:

Unit Analysis

Characters

• Broodlord: While this is a psyker that can be attached to a mob of Genestealers, it lacks the Synapse keyword and merely has an ability to make a unit it fights suffer -1 to hit. Leading a pack gives them all Devastating Wounds, which not only is already applied to its own claws (on top of Twin-Linked for all the re-rolls to wound) but also lets the smaller ones rip through terminators with familiar ease. They're wasted otherwise.
• Hive Tyrant: Your monstrous leader for the nids and your mainstay for most cases. Each one can let a unit within 12" use a free strat, even if that strat has been used before.
  • As a monstrous unit with at least T9 W10 with a 2+/4++ save, they're very hard to ignore. Fortunately, each comes with a paired bonesword and whip, coming in at a lethal S9 AP-2 D3 with a healthy number of Twin-Linked attacks. You can replace these with less impressive scything talons (S7 AP-2 D2 with Extra Attacks so they can at least pair up with something else), a Heavy Venom Cannon (for W3 MEQ) or a Stranglethorn Cannon (better suited for actual MEQ as well as TEQ now that TEQ is T5).

<tabs> <tab name="On Foot"> Gets bumped to Toughness 10 and capable of attaching to some Tyrant Guard, just as the hive mind intended. Onslaught gives them a 6" bubble that lets units gain Assault on their guns, which at least gives them some use when camping next to a Tyrannofex or some warriors that need to rush in.

• As they have two sets of arms to work with, replacing the bonesword+whip for scything talons doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you have a second pair anyway. Instead, replace the scything talons with a Stranglethorn Cannon (since you'll grant it Assault) and leave the sword+whip to actually stand a chance in melee.

</tab> <tab name="Winged"> Airborne (M12" Fly) and thus unable to accompany anything, but has Deep Strike. Paroxysm gives them something akin to an older power, robbing an enemy within 12" of 1 attack on all melee weapons on a 2+. At least this gives them the ability to annoy things as they fly around.

• Your weapon options are as follows: you have to have Tyrant Talons, so you can take a Heavy Venom Cannon or Stranglethorn cannon as mentioned above to pair with your Tyrant Talons, or you can take Scything Talons so your melee is Scything + Tyrant, or you can take the default bonesword so your melee is Bonesword (since it's strictly better than Tyrant).

</tab> </tabs>

• Neurotyrant: The big psychic monstrosity from the reveal trailer, attended by two smaller floating brains. Not only does it have a power that forces anyone suffering from the Shadow of the Warp to take -1 from their Battleshock tests, it also has the ability to give two friendly units within 12" the ability to always count as if they were under Synapse, making it incredibly useful for any Neurogaunts that aren't in their retinue.
  • Any unit it joins (of which can only be Neurogaunts or Tyrant Guard) gains +1 to hit and +1 to wound if the enemy is battle-shocked. Neurogaunts won't be doing much of either with only S3 AP- claws, but it might mean a bit more when you think about the Tyrant Guard...
• Parasite of Mortrex: Another Lone Operative with Deep Strike and Stealth so they can arrive wherever you need them to rush the enemy. While their melee attacks are plenty decent, the real feature is that single ovipositor strike, a devastating S3 AP-2 D3 hit with Anti-Infantry 3+ to guarantee that anyone it kills spits out d3 Rippers to double down on the irritation. After all, not only do the Rippers rob enemies of OC, the Parasite itself forces enemies to take battle-shock tests to potentially flat-out rob enemies of an objective.
• Tervigon: Absolutely necessary if you're spamming Termagants out the ass. Not only do these replenish 3+d3 gaunts to a mob within 6", all termagants within 6" get Lethal Hits, which can prove to be incredible with the amount of dice you'll be dumping. Unfortunately, it can't hide behind those gaunts.
  • While it has Stinger Salvoes for shooting, they won't mean much and should never be needed for anything. In melee, the option between talons and claws mostly depend on what you imagine it to be up against - While it should never be in a fight, it'd be preferable to just leave the talons on it to help swat away an aggressive melee mob.
• Winged Tyranid Prime: Comes with the Shrike's Wings, but Shrikes don't seem to be making any comebacks. Instead, you'll only be able to keep your flying speed if you join a pack of Gargoyles (who'll die as pitifully as you'd expect). Fortunately, S6 AP-1 D2 talons make him more than a capable threat and joining a pack of Gargoyles or fellow Warriors sees everyone making use of Sustained Hits 1

Epic Heroes

• Deathleaper: The Super-lictor, complete with a cape. Essentially identical to any other Lictor with one exception - Instead of Pheromone Trail for a free use of a stratagem, instead making enemies within 6" forcing enemies to worsen their Leadership by 1 while half-strength units in that bubble have to take battle-shock tests or else realize the definition of Squad Broken.
• Old One-Eye: This ancient bastard can pair up with some other Carnifexes, granting them re-rolls to hit with all weapons, but it's unknown if it also applies to himself too. That said, he's got no guns of his own, instead relying on the split profiles of his claws and talons to either swat aside hordes or pop tanks. While he's only got T9 W9 2+ to protect himself, he can at least heal d3 wounds each turn for some durability.
• The Swarmlord: A bit shifted defensively, losing wounds (W13>W10) but making it up with increased Toughness (T8>T10) and no longer having a damage track. Its Boneswords remain pretty potent at WS2+ S9 D3, but the loss of AP to AP-2 does severely affect its effectiveness against tanks. Its psychic power also took a blow from the loss of tables, as its lone power is also its only ranged attack, an S5 AP-1 D2 Torrent psychic heavy flamer, making it capable of melting marines if nothing else.
  • Though not nearly the psychic powerhouse, Swarmy is more of a tactical one. Aside from its expanded 9" Synapse bubble, it also gives you 1 CP each turn and gives you the 1/game ability to make one strat your opponent uses cost 1 CP more for the rest of the game.

Swarms

• Ripper Swarms: Never leave home without some if you take the Parasite of Mortrex (otherwise, always do - they're trash on their own). While they remain utterly pathetic, their annoying factor has dialed up some by making enemies engaged with them have their Objective Control halved; what cripples them as a unit is their OC 0. What saves them with the Parasite is that they get delivered directly into melee near a model (the Parasite) that can potentially take the objective thanks to their OC debuff.
  • Remember that the Core Rules simply do not address how to properly halve an odd number.

Beasts

Otherwise called "The Mines".

• Mucolid Spores: Not worth taking on their own if you're buying a Sporocyst. They're essentially T4 W3 roadblocks, preventing enemies from starting or ending an advance anywhere within 6" of them. Any enemies who move within 3" of them set them off to explode, dealing d3 MWs on a 2+ and d6 MWs on a 6.
• Spore Mines: You're never going to take these on their own, although you can; you'll instead buy the models as ammunition for your Biovores. Nowhere near as durable but more numerous. They can still stop enemies from starting or ending an advance anywhere within 6" of them. However, their explosions are much weaker - a 2+ deals just 1 MW while a 6 does d3, the weakness is offset by their numbers.

Battleline

All of these have the Endless Multitude keyword.

• Gargoyles: Flying Termagants stuck with Fleshborers. Fortunately, they're not only faster with 12" movement, but they can fly 6" after shooting, allowing them to more easily kite enemies, and they have Deep Strike, meaning you can Deep Strike them, shoot, and then move them (what happens to an attached Winged Tyranid Prime if you do this is deeply unclear). Speaking of which, you can do that, but it'll make the Prime easier to kill with Precision weapons due to them resolving against T3.
  • Note that Tervigons have no particular interaction with Gargoyles.
• Hormagaunts: Blindingly fast by charging after advancing. That said, S3 AP-1 won't really amount to much on their own, so you'll be needing all those numbers to use these. Endless Swarm is an absolute necessity on these because you will be running through bodies.
• Termagants: Stats remain the same, with an OC of 2 and Ld set to 8+. They also got a speed boost by being able to move 1d6" if an enemy moves (normal, advance, or fall back) within 9" of them, so they can always keep their distance from moving foes. The Spinefists are their most powerful guns, with 12" A2 BS4+ S3 AP0 D1, Assault, Pistol, and Twin-Linked; the Fleshborer is their weakest gun but is most easily brought into range with 18" and Assault, while the Devourer is also range 18" and more powerful but lacks any special rules and hence is less mobile. Let's not kid ourselves, you'll always take the Spinefists.

Infantry

• Barbgaunts: Another new gaunt variant providing heavy firepower. Their stock Bio-Cannon gives them 24" Ad6(Blast) BS4+(Heavy) S5 AP0 D1 to at least handle most mobs. Fortunately, any hits trigger Disruption Bombardment against infantry units, inflicting -2" Movement and -2 to advance and charge rolls, making it good covering fire for your choppy gaunts and Genestealers. The reason to take these over Biovores is to spread the love around: each model will hit at least once 84% of the time and a pair shooting the same unit will jump to 97%, jumping to 92% and 99% respectively if you aren't moving them.
• Biovores: 48"(Indirect Fire) Ad3(Blast) BS4+(Heavy) S6 AP-1(Devastating Wounds) D2 is just better dakka than Barbgaunts have, except you can't slow down enemy infantry. Instead, you can waste your shooting to spawn a pack of Spore Mines within 48" of them and more than 9" away from any enemy units, with a number of models equal to the number of biovores in the squad. That's better area denial than Barbgaunts as well, at the cost of having to choose between debuffing movement and inflicting damage directly.
• Genestealers: Got a bit of a buff by gaining an extra wound in exchange for making its Invuln save a fixed 5++. Offensively, they're A4 WS2+ S4 AP-2 D1, re-rolling 1s to wound, with full re-rolls to wound if the target is within range of an objective and Scouts 8" to help them rush onto an objective - but they're only OC 1 and have precious little ability to chew through a tanky target without a Broodlord sticking with them.
• Hive Guard: Sadly, this is a bunch of guns that can't keep up with other, better guns you have. The Impaler cannon might be able to ignore any cover it sees, but its range is its only real benefit when you could instead grab a Pyrovore to make that same enemy unable to use cover or a Biovore who can instead drop some spore mines so they can't move out of cover. The Shockcannon, while incredibly reliable at wounding tanks with Anti-Vehicle 2+, sadly only has AP-1 so any tank with armor worth a damn (meaning anything above a Russ) will easily shrug it off. The one advantage they have is that they can hit on a 5+ (4+ when around an objective) when they fire overwatch.
• Lictor: Another unit for whom Lone Operative was made - combined with Infiltrators and Stealth, they can be anywhere at any time with plenty of protection against any sudden snipers. Fortunately, it's just as good at taking down enemy characters thanks to its weapon having Precision and you get 1 CP whenever you kill an enemy character. They can also use the Rapid Ingress strat for free, but this requires them to start in strategic reserves since they lack Deep Strike. Their melee is A6 WS2+ S7 AP-2 D2 with Precision, but they're a lot slower than their main competition, Von Ryan's Leapers, since they're M8" rather than M10" and Leapers have infinite-use 0CP Heroic Intervention. Unless point costs end up deeply strange, you'll be better off using Leapers as your Infiltrating Stealthy Fights First gribblies (Deathleaper is still good, since that model tosses the Rapid Ingress ability in favor of a seriously useful Battle-Shock manipulating ability).
• Neurogaunts: One of the two new infantry units, and absolutely pointless. Their Neurocytes make them more of a Synapse amplifier, giving them the Synapse keyword while they're within range of another Synapse creature, but they're slow and weak both offensively and defensively.
  • Can also act as a Neurotyrant's retinue if you're thinking about giving such a giant floating brain such a disposable meatshield. Being attached makes their Synapse-sharing rule rather pointless.
• Pyrovores: While no longer variable, they do possess a pretty effective weapon at 12" Ad6+1 S6 AP-1 D1 with Ignores Cover, Torrent and Twin-Linked, so it can take care of plenty of things. Even better, the units it flames can't hide behind cover for the rest of the turn, so you can have them set up for a firing line of Warriors. Unfortunately, absolutely crippled by being M5 without even Assault on their gun to mitigate the problem, paired with their gun only being 12". Their gun is fantastic at Overwatch, of course, but something is deeply weird if that's your solution to being charged by GEQ.
  • Surprisingly, Deadly Demise 1 actually makes them a bit less lethal than they were before when you consider how many of your own monsters get something like Deadly Demise d3. Still a bad idea to keep things around them though.
• Raveners: A deep-striking menace with a barrage of Twin-Linked S5 AP-1 swipes that they can bury the enemy with. The funny part is that they can jump back into reserves at the end of the enemy's turn if they're not engaged with anything, so you can very easily use them as a cleanup force on multiple fronts. Can also take S4 Thoracic Bio-Weapons (What? Spinefists not unique enough for you?) if you really need them to shoot.
• Tyranid Warriors: Your elite troopers in the swarm, given a dependable T5 W3 Sv4+ and Synapse to support your gaunts when your leaders can't. Sadly, the fun of the various melee weapons have gone away alongside things like power weapons and combi-weapons. More troubling is the fact that you can no longer kit out your nids however you wish anymore - all melee warriors and gunner warriors are segregated into their own units. Fortunately, the flying Prime (which is separate from your sergeants, which are the base Primes) can add Sustained Hits 1 on either pack.

<tabs> <tab name="Melee"> A6 WS3+ S5(Twin-Linked) AP-2 D1, and you get to pick whether you re-roll hit rolls of 1 or save rolls of 1, so you're at least somewhat able to work. Regardless, ranged Warriors will, in practice, murder things better - even in melee - because they can supplement their melee with shooting. </tab> <tab name="Ranged"> Can shoot and charge after falling back, which will mean a lot since that's why you bought them over melee warriors. Their melee is worse nearly across the board in isolation: A5 S5 AP-1 with no option for re-rolling hit rolls of 1. Of course, you can just fall back, shoot, and then charge back in, making up for the loss of melee output with ranged output. Each one comes with a Devourer, which is a pretty basic bolter-tier gun with 18" A5 S4 AP0 D1, or any model can swap to an inferior sidearm, which you won't do.

• One per three Warriors can equip a Barbed Strangler and another 1 in 3 can equip a Venom Cannon to replace their Devourers, which you will always do, because both are better against nearly every possible target than a Devourer. The Barbed Strangler is 36" Ad6+1(Blast) BS4+ S6 AP-1 D1 and the Venom Cannon is 36" Ad3(Blast) BS4+ S9 AP-2 D2.

</tab> </tabs>

• Tyrant Guard: The absolute best bodyguards you will ever want, each with T8 W4 and a 3+ save as well as giving their charge a 5+++ FNP, protecting them from any snipers. Each one comes with scything talons and claws, giving you something decent on tier with power weapons, though you can swap out any of them for either the more reliable bone cleaver+whip+claws (Fewer attacks but at D2 with Twin-Linked) or far more dangerous crushing claws+claws if you need something like a power fist.
• Venomthropes: Akin to Zoanthropes but worse, you take these dudes because of their 6" aura providing Stealth to non-monsters and Cover to everything - it's better than Zoanthropes defensively on non-monsters and not great on monsters, although they stack.
• Von Ryan's Leapers: Your new mix between Gaunt and Lictor, and they're absolutely looking to threaten the tentacled stalker with T5 W3 and a 4+/6++ save. Their entire business is rushing into units and fortunately they have a very impressive 10" movement and the ability to use Heroic Intervention for free once per turn.
  • Just to emphasize, if you have 3 units of Leapers and, say, 1 Deathleaper, Deathleaper can pay 2 CP to use Heroic Intervention, and then all three Leaper units can Heroically Intervene, because each one makes it free for itself and ignores prior uses (if you do the Leapers first, nothing else can HI later, though). It's very, very close to simply having HI as a passive rule on the unit, with the exception that they block other users of the strat later.
    • That means if you position 3 units of Leapers properly, you can force your opponent to pick 1 to charge and then counter-charge with both of the others.
• Zoanthropes: The Neurothrope has lost his individual profile and is now integrated in the Zoanthropes datasheet; in exchange the classic brainbugs gain access to the Spirit Leech ability to heal a wounded model if it has one (healing is 1d3 on a W3 model, primarily serving to nerf your healing so if a model is at 1 wound remaining it only heals to full 2/3 of the time). Zoanthropes are practically an auto-include, as they emit a 6++ aura you'll be desperate for and carry a powerful gun, a rarity in your army.
  • Their psychic weapon chooses from 2 profiles to use - the witchfire is a pretty effective blast with 24" Ad3 BS3+ S7 AP-2 Dd3, but the focused witchfire is a way more powerful 24" A1 BS3+ S12 AP-3 Dd6+1 with Lethal Hits made to punch through tanks and monsters like they were nothing.

Monsters

• Carnifexes: Your classic death-engines, ready to take on plenty thanks to the AP nerfs. Unlike many things in this game, you can kit each fex out however you wish without changing datasheets. Blistering Assault effectively lets them charge d6+2" after getting shot, so you're not worrying about any Overwatch. You have, essentially, 1 mandatory melee weapon in the form of your token set of teeth, 2 optional guns you can take or not, and 2 sets of weapon arms you can swap out or not. Until we get point costs, there's no reason not to take the optional guns.

<tabs> <tab name="Extra Talons"> The weapon arms that come as Extra Talons by default are the ones that have the most flexibility in what they can be swapped out for, and note that if you don't swap them out, you have no way to avoid being some other monster but worse (most likely a Screamer-Killer, but if you go gunless, definitely also a Haruspex). Your options that only these arms can swap out for (see the other tab for the remainder):

• Extra Talons: If you keep the other arms as melee and want even more melee this is the only real choice, but again, you'd be better off with a non-Carnifex for the same role.
• Heavy Venom Cannon: This is the same output as the extra talons, but 36" out and with Blast. Keeping the talons over this is always a mistake.
• Stranglethorn Cannon: More A*D (9 on average, as opposed to 9) than a Heavy Venom Cannon in exchange for worse S and AP, this is a MEQ-slayer and often your best choice for these arms.

</tab> <tab name="Talons">

• Melee choices are both 18 A*D. The only good reason to take keep these arms as melee is to support the guns you took on the other arms, but it's honestly not the worst reason, because your gun choices aren't stellar.
  • Scything Talons (the default): A6 S9 AP-2 D3, use these to mulch TEQ.
  • Crushing Claws: A4 S12 AP-3 Dd6+1, use these to rip tanks open.
• Gun choices: you can choose 2 guns that other arms could also choose, but they're only listed here because they're both worse than the guns the other arms can be.
  • Deathspitters with Slimer Maggots: Worse than a Stranglethorn cannon for by and large the same targets, you need a target to be Sv2+ for this to beat your Devourers option against almost anything worth shooting. Never take this on either arm.
  • Devourers with Brainleech Worms: This is a lot of dakka - the most A*D (12) of any gun you can take - but at S6 AP0 D1, it's only good at clearing chaff your entire army is good at clearing. Clearly the better gun choice here and hence the "right" take for a gunfex, it's just that you have plenty of other ways to murder GEQ, you know?

</tab> </tabs>

• Exocrine: A cannon on legs: M8" T10 Sv3+ W14, and the gun is 36" Ad6+3 (Blast) BS3+ (Heavy) S8 AP-3 D3. Anyone it hits is marked so other units can re-roll 1s to hit them on the same Shooting phase, so it's got uses as a set-up. Broadly speaking, this is a Maleceptor but worse.
• Haruspex: Nearly pure melee monster that has a tongue for a gun with Precision so it can snipe out a hidden hero. You took it for its melee though - and it is a helluva lot of attacks with its giant mouth of hentai while its two claws can paste something else. The last word in melee output, its only downside is that it's too large to fit inside a Tyrannocythe so it has to walk up the field while getting shot.
• Maleceptor: M8" T11 Sv3+/4++ W14 and a fairly delightful Synapse monstrosity with uses regardless of range. Its psychic gun is 18" Ad6+3(Blast) BS3+ S10 AP-2 D3 and its melee has two profiles: A3 WS3+ S9 AP-2 Dd6+1 swipes or A6 WS3+ S7 AP-1 D2 strikes. It also has a 6" psychic aura of -1 to hit rolls for enemy units, and also -1 to wound rolls if the enemy unit is Below Half-Strength. Make use of those screens to tie up enemies while having this debuff those enemies.

• Mawloc: You take this for the mortal wounds it hands out when it Deep Strikes: every enemy unit within 12" takes d3 MWs on a 2-4, while on a 5+ it takes 3 MWs and must test for Battle-Shock. That's an average of 2 MWs and 1/3 of a Battle-Shock test, although it's very swingy, per unit. It also has some decently credible melee attacks, but at M10" T10 Sv3+ W14, after it fails its charge it will typically get quite demolished by a prepared force.

• Psychophage: A monster with a mouth that can potentially put the Haruspex to shame and your army's medic, somehow: it has 5+++ FNP and a 6" bubble that lets friendly nids within 6" a lesser 6+++ FNP. Base stats are M8" T9 Sv3+/5+++ W10. Its melee is Ad6+1 WS3+ S6(Anti-Psyker 2+) AP-1(Devastating Wounds) D2 with Feeding Frenzy: +1 to hit units below Starting Strength and +1 to wound units Below Half-Strength. Its gun is 12" Ad6 BS(Torrent) S6 AP-1(Ignores Cover) D1.

• Screamer-Killer: Now has its own unique model instead of just being a Carnifex and is M8" T9 Sv2+ W10 OC 3, making it far tankier than it once was. Its talons got a stupid-ridiculous buff with A10 WS3+ S10 AP-2 D3, enough to offset the loss in AP. In exchange, though, the Bio-plasmic scream got a debuff, being 18"(Assault) Ad6+3(Blast) BS4+ S8 AP-2 D1. That blast is also the vehicle with which it can deliver the Death Scream ability, forcing the unit you hit with that blast to take a battle-shock test at a -1 penalty.

• Sporocyst: Because it is M- T10 Sv3+ W10, this functionally requires a Tyrannocyte wrapping so you can plunk it down somewhere credible. Remarkably, it gets to shoot any time an enemy unit starts or ends a Normal Move, Advance Move, or Fall Back move within 24" of it, at full BS, four times per phase, and it can comfortably use up its shooting phase to set up a Mucolid Spore. Its gun is 24" A5 S5 AP-1 D2 - That's not great (and it's OC0), but if you use a Tyrannocyte to drop it square in the middle of the table, your opponent is going to get very tired very quickly of getting constantly shot up; provided both this model and its Tyrannocyte carrier are cheap enough, that kind of harassment could be justified.

• Toxicrene: A monster with a laughably short-ranged gun that hasn't got Assault or Pistol, the Toxicrene prevents engaged enemy units from Falling Back on a 3+ (forcing them to Remain Stationary instead) and furthermore at the end of your Movement phase every enemy unit within 6" of the Toxicrene suffers an average of 1.58 mortal wounds. This datasheet is a mess of rules that can't decide how the model wants to behave, and the end result is something that's bad at everything: no-one who wants to charge you is going to be seriously dissuaded by a screening Toxicrene, and its practical output offensively is trash. Take a Maleceptor instead for the purpose GW presumably failed at here.

• Trygon: Don't take this - it can deep strike very close to the enemy (at least 3", so pretty close to consolidation range) but it's unable to charge after the enemy and hence only use its shitty gun, or it can show up farther away and risk botching the charge. The only real niche is stealing an objective despite usual deep strike tactics (pending price tag will tell). You can also make good use of the new Rapid Ingress stratagem but be prepared that every single enemy gun will turn at the big bug.

• Tyrannofex: Absurdly durable at M9 T12 Sv2+ W16 with damage reduction on incoming attacks (to a min 1 as expected), and carries some serious dakka. The only gun choice you're ever going to make is its Rupture Cannon because you don't want to be hard-countered by very durable opponents, so here's its profile: 48" S18 AP-4 D2d6 with Heavy. It also has an stinger salvos as a sidearm for swatting at chaff.
  • If you're possessed to take something else, the Acid Spray is pretty much made to drown MEQs like they're nothing. The Fleshborer Hive is an absolute bucket of dice to throw at the enemy, but you already have enough ways to drown them with your gaunts.

Dedicated Transports

• Tyrannocyte: A giant flying drop pod that can carry up to 20 infantry models (each model with W2+ takes up 3 slots) or 1 monster with up to W12 (meaning if you want to be stupid, you can fit a Tyrannocyte inside a Tyrannocyte). Naturally, it can only show up via deep-striking - thankfully, while its points cost counts against any limits imposed on your Reserves, it doesn't count against any limits you might have from a Mission special rule on number of units in Reserves, and it can always deep strike on turns 1-3 even if a Mission rule says otherwise. When it does show up, its occupants must disembark outside of 9" horizontally from the enemy. Fortunately, while it can't carry anything else, it at least has a couple weapons to at least defend itself against infantry.
  • For convenience, here are the monsters that won't fit inside your Tyrannocyte:
    • Exocrine
    • Haruspex
    • Hierophant
    • Maleceptor
    • Mawloc (but you wouldn't even if you could, as it deep strikes on its own and does it better than a Tyrannocyte)
    • Tervigon
    • Trygon (but you wouldn't even if you could, as it deep strikes on its own and does it better than a Tyrannocyte)
    • Tyrannofex
    • Any Hive Tyrant or Neurotyrant with a retinue.
      • Any other monster will fit, even a Harpy or Hive Crone.

Aircraft

• Harpy: Effectively a bomber, letting you either deploy d3 Spore Mines on the field or fly over a unit to roll 6d6, each 3+ dealing a MW. Both of these work after the end of its movement, so it can do all that and then blast the enemies with either its anti-MEQ twin stranglethorns or anti-TEQ twin heavy venom cannons. With Twin-Linked on both cannons, they're ready to blow up anything.
  • It has Hover, so you can let it just be a flying monster that can blast anything it sees.

• Hive Crone: The dogfighter of the two. The drool cannon and stinger salvoes let it cut through weaker foes, the real shining point are its Tentaclids, S7 AP- D2 missiles with Anti-Fly 2+ and Devastating Wounds so it can blast apart enemy aircraft, especially with +1 to hit those same Fly units. While it also has some decent melee attacks, the main star here is the single Thorax Spur strike, a weapon that can wound other aircraft with laughable ease thanks to Anti-Fly 2+.
  • This also has Hover, but it's not quite as valuable since you're buying it only to take on enemy aircraft. Unless the other flyer is hovering, you shouldn't need to.

Titanic

• Hierophant: The giant spindly beast returns as part of the Titanicus Codex. While a bit weedy in terms of titans with only Toughness 14 and 30 wounds, it has a 2+/5++ save to keep it alive. It's also very mobile, able to walk over any terrain below 4" in height and anything that isn't also Titanic which does wonders for its transportation business.
  • Its Bio-Plasma Torrent gives you a massive S7 AP-2 flamer that can pretty handily melt through MEQs like they're nothing. The Dire Bio-Cannons give it a higher-yield bombardment weapon that has more use in taking care of TEQs and smaller monsters at S10 AP-3 D3. In melee, the focus is all on those Monstrous Scything Talons as they're Strength fucking 20 AP-2 Dd6+1. It also has Lashwhip Pods for some supporting attacks with Extra Attacks, but they're nothing too stellar.

Tactics

Specific Tactics

• 3 units of 6 Zoanthropes each (for their guns) mixed with 3 Venomthropes in the middle (for their aura) gets you this:
  • The 3 venomthropes in the middle are offensively nearly entirely harmless, but aggravating to murder: T5 Sv3+ (4+ in cover)/6++ W3 with Stealth.
  • The Zoanthropes are all T5 Sv4+ (5+ in cover)/4++ W3 with Stealth.
  • Adding a Psychophage gives you a 6+++ on the above, plus the Phage (with its gun and melee) at T9 Sv2+ (3+ in cover)/6++/5+++ W10.
  • At this point, you can add Tyrannofexen... Tyrannofices... 1 Tyrannofex or more and/or Maleceptors (with their own aura that makes engaging you in melee a deeply terrible idea). The whole monstrous ball isn't just durable, it's a fairly involved question for your opponent to decide what has target priority - for example, shooting up the venomthropes takes out a defensive buff but doesn't remove any offensive output to speak of (and if your meta favors shooting them up, take more venomthropes MSU style to counter).
    • If you want to lean into OC instead, a Tervigon and a bunch of Termagants can be added to this mess and your opponent will have the same issue going on: the rest of the ball is providing murder and defensive buffs, but the Tervigon+Termagants bundle is good at occupying objectives and aggravating to simply wipe off the table.
  • The biggest problem with this, of course, is that you're using a bunch of 6" auras to pull it off, so the whole army has to be kept annoyingly compact, although nothing in it is unique, so you can make multiple bundles (the biggest downside of this is wasting points on Venomthropes who genuinely bring nothing to the table but their aura, making it less than ideal every time you pay for another unit).

<tabs> <tab name="10th">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (10th Edition)

General Tactics	General Weapons Terrain
Imperium	Space Marines (Black Templars, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Deathwatch, Space Wolves) Grey Knights
	Adeptus Mechanicus Adeptus Titanicus Imperial Knights Imperial Guard Sisters of Battle
	Adeptus Custodes & Sisters of Silence Imperial Agents (Inquisition, Rogue Traders, etc.)
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines (Death Guard Thousand Sons World Eaters)
	Chaos Daemons Chaos Knights Chaos Titans
Eldar	Eldar (Craftworlds, Corsairs, Harlequins, Ynnari) Dark Eldar
Necrons	Necrons
Orks	Orks
Tau	Tau
Tyranids	Tyranids Genestealer Cults
Votann	Leagues of Votann

</tab>

<tab name="9th">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (9th Edition)

General Tactics	General Movement Psychic Fortifications Tactical Terrain Weapons Apocalypse
Imperium	Space Marines (Blood Angels Dark Angels Deathwatch Space Wolves) Grey Knights
	Adeptus Mechanicus Adeptus Titanicus Imperial Knights Imperial Guard Sisters of Battle
	Adeptus Custodes & Sisters of Silence Inquisition Officio Assassinorum Rogue Traders
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines (Death Guard Thousand Sons World Eaters)
	Chaos Daemons Chaos Knights Renegades and Heretics
Eldar	Craftworld Eldar Dark Eldar Harlequins Ynnari
Necrons	Necrons
Orks	Orks
Tau	Tau
Tyranids	Tyranids Genestealer Cults
Votann	Leagues of Votann

</tab>

<tab name="8th">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (8th Edition)

General Tactics	General Movement Psychic Fortifications Apocalypse
Imperium	Space Marines Blood Angels Dark Angels Deathwatch Grey Knights Space Wolves
	Talons of the Emperor (Custodes and Sisters of Silence) Adeptus Mechanicus
	Adeptus Ministorum (Sisters of Battle and minor factions) Adeptus Titanicus
	Imperial Knights Imperial Guard Inquisition Officio Assassinorum
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines (Death Guard Thousand Sons)
	Chaos Daemons Chaos Knights Renegades and Heretics
Eldar	Eldar Dark Eldar Harlequins
Necrons	Necrons
Orks	Orks
Tau	Tau
Tyranids	Tyranids Genestealer Cults

</tab>

<tab name="7th">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (7th Edition)

General Tactics	General Movement Psychic Fortifications
Imperium	Space Marines (Siege Assault Vanguard) Blood Angels Dark Angels Deathwatch Grey Knights Space Wolves
	Adeptus Custodes Cult Mechanicus Skitarii Adeptus Sororitas
	Imperial Knights Inquisition Officio Assassinorum
	Imperial Guard (Armoured Battlegroup Death Korps of Krieg Assault Brigade Death Korps of Krieg Siege Regiment Elysian Drop Troops D-99)
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines Khorne Daemonkin Chaos Daemons Renegades and Heretics
Eldar	Eldar Dark Eldar Harlequins Corsairs
Necrons	Necrons
Orks	Orks Ork Dred Mob
Tau	Tau
Tyranids	Tyranids Genestealer Cults

</tab>

<tab name="6th">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (6th Edition)

General Tactics	General Movement Psychic Fortifications
Imperium	Space Marines Blood Angels Dark Angels Grey Knights Space Wolves
	Adeptus Sororitas Inquisition
	Imperial Guard (Armoured Battlegroup Death Korps of Krieg Assault Brigade Death Korps of Krieg Siege Regiment Elysian Drop Troops) Militarum Tempestus
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines Chaos Daemons Renegades and Heretics
Eldar	Eldar Dark Eldar Corsairs
Necrons	Necrons
Orks	Orks Ork Dred Mob
Tau	Tau
Tyranids	Tyranids

</tab>

<tab name="All">

Warhammer 40,000 Tactics Articles (All)

General Tactics	General (8th) Movement (8th 7th) Psychic (8th 7th 2nd) Fortifications (8th 7th) Tactical Terrain Apocalypse (8th)
Imperium (8th)	Space Marines (8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd) Blood Angels (8th 7th) Dark Angels (8th 7th) Deathwatch (8th 7th) Grey Knights (8th 7th 6th 5th 3rd, AKA Daemonhunters) Space Wolves (8th 7th 6th 5th)
	Talons of the Emperor (Custodes and Sisters of Silence) (8th 7th) Adeptus Mechanicus (8th 7th) Adeptus Ministorum (Sisters of Battle and minor factions) (8th 7th 6th 3rd, AKA Witch Hunters) Adeptus Titanicus (8th)
	Imperial Knights (8th 7th) Imperial Guard (8th 7th 6th 5th 3rd) Inquisition (8th 7th 6th) Officio Assassinorum (8th 7th)
Chaos	Chaos Space Marines (8th 7th 6th 5th) Death Guard (8th) Khorne Daemonkin - 7th Edition Thousand Sons (8th) Chaos Daemons (8th 7th) Chaos Knights (8th) Renegades and Heretics (8th 7th 6th)
Eldar	Eldar (8th 7th 6th 5th) Dark Eldar (8th 7th 6th 5th 3rd Revised) Harlequins (8th 7th)
Necrons	Necrons (8th 7th 6th 5th 4th)
Orks	Orks (8th 7th 6th 5th 3rd) Ork Dred Mob - 7th edition (6th 5th) Ork Kult of Speed - 3rd edition Feral Orks - 3rd edition
Tau	Tau (8th 7th 6th 5th)
Tyranids	Tyranids (8th 7th 6th 5th) Genestealer Cults (8th 7th)

</tab>

</tabs>