Editing Warhammer 40,000/6th Edition Tactics/Tyranids (section)

===Elites===
The first thing one notices about Tyranid Elites is that you actually have options and possible upgrades for a number of the choices. Tyranids have a lot of Elite options, but many players generally opt for Hive Guard or Zoanthropes as their one stop purchase for reliable ranged anti-vehicle firepower, something not as easily found in the rest of the codex. In the transition from 5E to 6E mech lists took a hit in that glancing hits on vehicles would have off 1 of maybe 2-3 hull points. As a result Tyranids gained a lot of ability to tear mech lists apart with other units and thus Elites are more free form.

*'''[[Hive Guard]]:''' Hive Guard are the premier Tyranid armour hunters. For five points more than a Land Speeder, you're getting model with two wounds, T6, and a 4+ save armed with the bastard offspring of a Krak Missile and a Storm Bolter. Firing two BS 3, Strength 8 shots a turn, a unit of three, or even two, of these guys will bust open transports, light skimmers, or even heavier armour should they be able to flank-it (or just glance often enough). Like everything else in the Tyranid codex, it maintains full fire-efficiency on the move. The only drawback is 24" is a relatively short range for popping light transports. For some unfathomable reason its gun only has AP4, making it useless against single-wound MEQs (which may have been to stop it from being an MEQ killer, remember GW luvs Space Marines). However, the Hive Guard does not need line of sight to hit a target, and it does not give a fuck about any intervening cover. Also the gun's special rule allows it to ignore cover saves from night fighting as well as anything attempting to benefit from the new jink rule and anything that popped smoke the turn before. Even with a slight nerf they are still an auto-take. And now they come in a box where you can make 3 of them from they have become even more attractive.
**Hive Guards now have a new gun called the shockcannon. Check out the Ranged Weapon section for more details.

*'''[[Lictor]]s:''' Oh boy, where do we start from here? Lictors are now cheaper, and they still keep their stats and weapons. However, they got a lot of Special Rules to help them  and the army out. They don't scatter from Deep Strike, and what's interesting is any units that comes into play via Deep Strike doesn't scatter within 6' of the Lictors. Just think of it, Mawlocs that don't scatter now have a better chance in gobbling up a unit camping on an objective! Fear is meh, but Hit and Run and Stealth is always handy. They can't assault from Deep Strike or Infiltrate, but have some tricks to compensate if you can protect them. Their close combat ability is limited by only 2 attacks, but rending and S6 make them mildly effective against HQ's... but for that matter, why aren't you taking deathleaper? Overall Lictors are better than previous editions. They are, incidentally, one of the three Tyranid models with Frag Grenades. Best used as a very good distraction/homing beacon.

*'''[[Pyrovore]]s:''' Back in fifth edition, Pyrovores were almost-universally viewed as the most pointless, useless, and confusingly detrimental unit in the entire Tyranids Codex. How about now? Well, it's gotten better, but then it's would've been hard to go anywhere but up with this model. It received a 5 point price reduction and a buffs to a few stats (an extra Wound there, a little more Initiative there), which is... better? But then it still doesn't seem to serve a purpose in the army, especially given you can still take Hive Guard, and Venomthropes are a lot better now. There's also some [[RAW]] wording-loophole shenanigans about its Volatile rule; basically, it says that ''every unit on the board'' takes hits equal to all non-Pyrovore models within [[D6]] inches of a Pyrovore hit by Instant Death, but most players would be smart enough that you wouldn't get away with it. Also, the biomorphs it has (Acid Blood and Acid Maw) were pretty much nerfed but not too badly, the latter being reduced to a single AP2 attack instead of all of the critter's attacks ignoring armour. The only good thing is that it seems that it benefits from the Promethium pipeline in Stronghold Assault, so... there's that? Honestly, it's still one of (if not ''the'') worst units in the game. But hey, now you can take packs of them!!! :D  :|.
**Alternate Take: a brood of 3 dropped in a pod behind enemy lines is a veritable wall of death and can only do good things; 1) they get shot off the board - less shots at other things 2) they get charged, can overwatch and will then likely die in spectacular fashion (and to be honest they are arguably better when they die anyway) 3) opponent says, "meh...Pyrovores...how bad can they be?" and ignores them (unlikely but moron's do exist). Really any way you look at it, 3 in a pod is a win-win all round 

*'''[[Venomthrope]]s:''' Venomthropes are a solid choice in 6th edition. All <s>models</s> units within 6" of them get Shrouded. They're fantastic support units for protecting against gunlines, and they also confer a save to monstrous creatures in a Nidzilla style army, like the Trygon or Tyrannofex or even a Heirophant.  Units with stealth, such as Lictors, can take a 4+ cover save from being near Venomthropes increasing the screening potential of Rippers if they need to advance across open ground. If night fighting is in play, anything near a Venomthrope is nearly unkillable with the cover saves they will receive. Venomthropes also have a 2+ poison and the toxic miasma biomorph (once per game an enemy unit suffers a number of hits equal to the number of models from their unit in base to base with the Venomthrope.  The hits have the poison as well and ignores cover USR)  but they don't really belong in close combat... but they aren't pushovers any more either. I6 from lash whips and 2+ poison are pretty good. Don't have them charge alone: use them as finishers instead. Since Venomthropes give Shrouded they can be used to boost the cover save provided by units, meaning that a big blob of gaunts can provide a 3+ cover save to a unit of Venomthropes and whatever else you can stick behind the gaunts and in the Shrouded bubble. A possible way of getting footslogging tyrants, warriors and MCs across the board without getting utterly obliterated. Doesn't work when the enemy has Ignores Cover of course. Like all of those flamers out there that absolutely facerape gaunts to begin with.
:'''An Alternate Take:''' Something to consider in addition to Venomthropes in your army is the Aegis Defense Line. If you line one up straight across middle of the board, you can give everything behind it a better cover save of 4+, besides Trygons, and barring the oddly angled shot on an MC. It is also cheaper, can't die, doesn't take up a valuable Elites slot, and can sometimes block LoS completely. It works both ways, but that usually isn't a problem since most of our AP values are too low to hurt MEQ's anyway. It's a toss-up between the utility of the Venomthropes' defensive grenades versus the cost and reliability of the ADL's cover save. Pro Tip: Take both! Venomthropes giving shrouded to Exocrines, Tyrannofexes, Hive Guard and the like for a 2+ save! Crones when they glide or fly on near a Venomthope will get 5+ cover out in the open as well, 3+ if they choose to dive (not a bad idea due to their main damage being their vector strike). The Venomthrope is going to be the lynchpin in a lot of lists.

*'''[[Zoanthrope]]s:''' This WAS another unit that any player would be a fool not to consider investing in. Now, they have some trouble with synergy. They are still arguably some of the best anti-armour units in the game, using a S10 AP2 LANCE attack to punch through any heavy armour on the field. They also have a S5, AP3, blast template to throw at Space Marines that get too comfortable with their good saves. A brood of them can lay down touhou esque barrages of firepower with FUCKING MIND BULLETS. Three full broods of them can lay down an truly epic amount of mental dakka that will fuck up the shit of everything and anything in front of them. The only drawback to Zoanthropes is that their attacks are psychic, and that their lance attack is short range, only 18". Also, guess what you can't take anymore? Pods are gone, along with all access to core rulebook psychic powers, so they have trouble getting into Lance range. What did they get in exchange? Brotherhood of Psykers (Mastery Level 2) and a special version of Warp Blast where they can make multiple shots in each Psychic test as long as they have multiple models in the brood. Plus, these are your cheap and reliable source for Synapse Creatures, and they can extend their range from Dominion. Unlike Warriors they aren't easily instant killed, and for how much they cost per a model, that's nothing to sneeze at. They're not exactly ''bad'' now, but the loss of Mycetic Spores really hurt them more than any other single unit.  However, thanks to the rewording of the Trygon's tunneling rules, these suckas can come out and [[rape|raep]] those bastards hiding in the back (provided the Trygon puts the tunnel in a spot where they can hit something when they come out).  Now your opponent will definitely be focusing them down, but boy can they eat up fire like candy, leaving the rest of your horde unfucked for that turn.
:The Brotherhood of Psykers actually helps these guys out a lot. Remember having a brood of 3, and when you finally got within lance range, you took THREE psychic tests, and your opponent took THREE deny the witch rolls before you even got to roll for hits and pens? Not anymore! One psychic test and one deny the witch for all 3 shots! (Wouldn't one DtW for each lance be better than 1 DtW to deny all three?) fewer perils of the warp! And that one time when the tank does deny your 3 S 10 AP2 shots, throw your dust collecting useless genestealers into his eyes! Remember, all enemy units can use Deny the Witch, even tanks, as they count as an enemy unit. [[Awesome|The drivers within use the power of vehicle love to extend their force of will to the hull of their tanks.]]

*'''[[/d/|Haruspex]]:''' This hentai monster wannabe is a designated infantry-killer, with a rape-tongue of S6 AP2 (Assault 1, Precision Shots on a To Hit of 6, 12" range), A3, and 5 wounds. While unimpressive on paper, each <strike>hit it successfully lands</strike> unsaved wound it causes gives it an extra attack in that combat (extra attacks do not generate extra attacks) and it can restore one wound a turn if it successfully lands an unsaved wound on an enemy. Combined with Regen, it manages to out-[[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] the Carnifex. [[Games Workshop|Coincidence? I think not]].  Now if only Tyranids could still deep-strike... But weighing in at $80 a pop for 3A at WS3, then considering missed wounds, you're not doing much better than other options, and some may not really be able to justify the absurd price tag for an altogether mediocre unit. The 'Gulp!' tongue just smacks of uninspired. The GW website promises he'll gobble up units, but that's not really likely.
:It's good to remember that with the addition of the Haruspex, Nids now have Monstrous Creatures available in every single force organization slot.