Thus, Always Tyranids, part 2
Back when we got our 4th edition codex, a lot of people were confused by the changes to the army, and quite a few thought the Tyranids were now pigeonholed into only 1 or 2 effective lists, not the diversity they used to be capable of. At the time, I put out an article explaining how the changes affected different units and then I went through a number of different ways to play the Tyranids effectively. Given the changes we've gotten in 5th edition, it's time to revisit the Tyranids and see what our options are, and how things have changed.

Changes for the Good
First off, the general changes that can help us or hurt us. I like to think positive, so let's take a look at how things have changed for the better.

Run
While it's not as good as Fleet, Run allows our non-Fleet units to get close-up more quickly. The units that benefit the most from this are probably a Walking Tyrant with Guard and CC Carnifi, but some other units can also use this to good effect.

True Line of Sight
TLOS is nice for us, because not only do we get more cover saves now, but our Gaunts can now block LOS for most of the rest of our army, which hasn't worked in a while. In addition, TLOS tends to benefit our army more than most, because we generally have crappy saves and almost no invulnerable saves. Even looking at it from the other side of the equation, most of our ranged weapons don't have very good armor-piercing qualities, so the added saves for our enemies don't hurt us much, either.

Outflank
If you have never run outflanking Genestealers into the side or rear of an opponent's army, you have not lived! Having Genestealers in Reserve and Outflanking means that they can potentially come in on either of the short board edges and gives them a threat lane of 13-18"! If your opponent doesn't want to risk it, he'll be giving up 3 _feet_ of board and be sandwiched into the center third, which helps you as he can't spread out.

Rear Armor in vehicle CC
Now that close combat attacks against vehicles without a Weapon Skill are resolved against the rear armor, it vastly improves the chances of killing vehicles in CC. There are a few that are immune to this, such as the LandRaider, but those are few and far between.

Preferred Enemy Change
This used to be sort of a weird biomorph to take. It would allow a slightly better chance to hit, but it was only available to units with extremely high WS already. While it did give that bonus to nearby units, it wasn't really a fabulous advantage for them and it was wasted on the models that actually had it. Now, though, it allows a reroll to hit! (turning a 50% chance to hit into a 75%) This is a big deal now, so take a careful look at what models can take it.

Expanded Torrent of Fire
Under removing casualties for complex units, we have another potential boon, that doesn't do as much to us. Under the old 'Torrent of Fire' rules, if you caused more wounds than the unit had, you could pick a specific model and make it take one of the Wounds. This gave you a better shot at taking out the Lascannon gunner or the Powerfist Sergeant, whereas they would otherwise always be the last ones removed as casualties. This is now expanded so that all the wounds have to be assigned. There are much better chances now of removing the upgrades (heavy or special weapons, characters, etc.) than before. Against us, it's not as big a deal, because most of our units don't have any one special model. (In addition, given that most of our broods are fairly large, it won't come up very often anyway.)

Easier to Kill Characters
Independent Characters used to be able to hide near units. If you could see a unit other than the IC, you had to shoot at that. That rule is gone now, so ICs out of units can easily be picked out as separate targets. Even if they are in a unit, they can be subject to the casualty removal rules, and can also be targeted independently in Close Combat by models that are in base contact with them.

Changes for the Bad
Now for the bad news. This is what has changed for the worse for us bugs.

Run
This rule can also be bad for Tyranid armies, since it makes our Fleet units only barely faster than any other army unit, so Tyranids aren't as fast as they used to be, relative to other armies. On the other hand, enemy units using Run cannot also be shooting at us, so it's not completely awful.

Blasts
Since Blast weapons now automatically scatter and do not require a roll to hit, they have an easier chance of hitting _something_, and in an army that tends toward very large units and that can be cramped for space due to a high model count, that puts us at a disadvantage. In addition, partial hits count as full now, so there'll be more wounds per marker. Basically, it means we can expect many more Wounds from Blast weapons than before.

No Retreat
Units that lose a fight but are fearless or otherwise immune to morale tests now take additional Wounds. This is exceptionally bad in two areas. For Gaunts, who are generally expected to lose combats, but keep the enemy unit stuck like glue, this makes them much less durable as tarpits. It is also very bad in mixed combats involving Gaunts. Let's say that your Carnifex joins a combat with a group of Gaunts. Your opponent can target the Gaunts (much easier to kill them) and win the combat, and force your Carnifex to take extra Wounds.

Glancing Hit Table
With the advent of the combined vehicle damage table (which reduces Glancing results by 2) we find our best ranged antivehicle weapon much less effective. The Venom Cannon can only get glancing hits, and no Glancing hit can now be worse than an Immobilized or Weapon Destroyed result. While these can end up killing the vehicle if you get enough of them, it makes the VC much less effective, and tends to put the antivehicle duties back into close combat. Given that we were already fairly weak against vehicles, this makes our army even weaker in that regard.

Consolidation
With the new rules, we can no longer consolidate from one close combat safely into another. Now when we win a combat on our turn, we will end up in the open in front of their guns before we get a chance to charge again. This makes fragile, powerful units (like Leaping Warriors, Genestealers, Raveners, etc.) much less effective. Either they can win big in the first round and then get shot at, or they can try to not do as much damage on the first turn (hoping to have a draw) and take some damage, then fight again and try to win on the second turn of CC. (Or you can hope to engage or decimate enough enemy units that very little will damage you on their turn.)

Rending
Rending used to occur on a 6 to hit, bypassing Wounds and Armor Saves against models with Toughness. Now it only occurs on a 6 to Wound and only bypasses Armor Saves. That means that Rending is much less likely to occur now, so units that used to rely on Rending can no longer do so. This is a pretty big blow to Genestealers, Raveners, Lictors and CC Warriors. In addition, Rending can only add 1d3 to the armor-penetration roll against vehicles. This makes Rending creatures much less effective against vehicles than they were previously. I remember taking on a Titan with my Godzilla army in 4th edition. It pretty much trashed me for 2 turns until the Genestealers got into base contact, then it died immediately. Genestealers can no longer hope to damage AV14.

Unit Choices
Now let's have a look at each of the unit choices available to us, and see how 5th edition rules have effected them. I'll start with the effects of the changes, then comment on how Tyranid players generally make use of them (or not.)

Hive Tyrant
Rule Change Effects: Hive Tyrants can get cover from broods of Gaunt now, and more cover in general means better survival. Note that Wings and Tails specifically don't count for purposes of drawing LOS to models. Walking CC Tyrants with Guard can now Run, making them much more reasonable.

Common or Suggested Usage: The Dakka Flyrant (2xTL-Devourers and Wings, other spice to taste) is probably the most popular Hive Tyrant right now. The walking Tyrant with VC (and usually, but not always, another gun) comes in second and the CC Flyrant comes in third. All of them are fairly common and definitely effective. For biomorphs, consider whether their primary targets are rank and file troops, Independent Characters or vehicles.

Tyrant Guard
Rule Change Effects: Similar to the Hive Tyrant, these guys can now get cover from Gaunt broods and in general will have better survivability against those armor-penetrating weapons like Lascannons and Plasma weaponry. In addition, the Run rule can allow them to either get into CC faster or to reposition more quickly.

Common or Suggested Usage: Pretty much any time you use a walking Tyrant, you take these guys. The options for equipping them are all pretty handy, it just depends on whether you want them to be very defensive (Lash Whips) or do more damage.

Broodlord
Rule Change Effects: Between Infiltrate allowing Outflanking and the Run rule, Broodlords can be much more effective now. In addition, with cover saves being more prevalent now, they are more survivable as well.

Common or Suggested Usage: If you give the Broodlord Feeder Tendrils, the Retinue will be able to benefit from it and save a few points (that might be best put toward Flesh Hooks, which you are hopefully also giving to the Broodlord.) Also recommended: Toxin Sacs to Wound Space Marine Equivalents on a 2+. On the other talon, you can probably skip Extended Carapace. While Implant Attack is usually really good against Characters and multiwound models, Feeder Tendrils are usually better, and between the Broodlord and Retinue, you should be causing plenty of Wounds anyway.

Tyranid Warriors
Rule Change Effects: Close Combat Warriors can now use the Run rule, but their Rending Claws are less effective, so it's kind of a wash. While Warrior Broods can easily be built to take advantage of the casualty removal rules, most players feel it isn't worth it. (They don't have enough resilience to take advantage of it, and if you mix their bioweapons too much, they won't be effective. The change in Blast rules has led to a lot of players experimenting with Deathspitter or Barbed Strangler Warriors.

Common or Suggested Usage: Generally, players optimize their Warrior Broods for 1 role, so they either give them 2 CC bioweapons or Twin-link their ranged bioweapons. In terms of CC weapons, Rending Claws and Scything Talons are still better than 2 sets of Scything Talons against models with good armor saves. Common ranged choices are Extended Carapace, Toxin Sacs, Enhanced Senses, TL-Devourers (slightly more efficient vs Space Marine Equivalents than non-TS ones) or Extended Carapace, Enhanced Senses, Toxin sacs, TL-Deathspitters.

Lictor
Rule Change Effects: Because Deepstrikers count all Difficult Terrain as Dangerous Terrain you almost always have a chance of taking a Wound when you deploy, which is annoying. The nerfing of the Rending Rule also means that they are even less effective in combat than they were before. On the other talon, getting to hit the rear armor of vehicles keeps them effective in that regard.

Common or Suggested Usage: Most players simply don't use Lictors. They are expensive, fragile and often ineffective. To get any use out of them you'd probably have to make use of all of their special rules and abilities. Pheremone trail, Secret Deployment, Feeder Tendrils, Stealth, and probably assault a vehicle as well. If you do use them, try to use them together or give them something else to support them. 3 Lictors will average 5-6 Space Marine kills on the charge. If you wipe out the unit right away, you are still in cover and get your improved cover save.

Genestealers
Rule Change Effects: Less effective Rending has really hurt Genestealers, but the improvement of Feeder Tendrils really makes up for it. In addition, Outflanking Genestealers are truly wonderful, and the prevalence of cover saves is a big boon, which can make up for the fact that they can no longer consolidate into another unit after a combat.

Common or Suggested Usage: Most use them with Scuttlers and Feeder Tendrils. Outflanking, effective and somewhat cheap (for Genestealers) they work pretty well. Adding Scything Talons makes them even more effective, but also more expensive. And if you really want to go whole hog, Scuttlers, FT, ST and Toxin Sacs are brilliant in CC, but extremely expensive. One drawback is that Genestealers cannot take both Feeder Tendrils and Flesh Hooks, so they can run into problems versus units in cover. One option is to leave the FT to another unit nearby. Just make sure the unit stays close, though.

Gaunts
Rule Change Effects: No Retreat has got to be the biggest change for the Gaunts. This rule makes them less effective at being tarpits, which is how they are generally used. On the other talon, they do get some advantages, too. The first is TLOS, which allows them to provide cover for other units again! In addition, Without Number has become a real option now, with 2/3 of games being decided by scoring Troops units.

Common or Suggested Usage: Spinegaunts are still cheap and cheerful and work pretty well. Many players are experimenting with small WON (Without Number) broods to hold objectives in or near the Tyranid deployment zone. There are also a couple of unusual options. People still experiment with Devourer Gaunts as shooters, but I'm not really impressed with the results that I've heard myself. In my mind, however, the Toxic Termagant is interesting because it can penetrate AV10 vehicles like Landspeeders. I wouldn't take a lot of them, but a small brood or two could be very useful.

Hormagaunts
Rule Change Effects: Often overlooked in 4th edition in favor of Fleet Genestealers, the lowering of Rending may have brought these bugs back.

Common or Suggested Usage: Scuttling Gaunts are still cheaper and just as fast for tarpit duty, and most players don't use Hormagaunts. On the other Talon, if you give them WS5, I5 and S4, they can do real damage and are much cheaper than Genestealers.

Rippers
Rule Change Effects: The new rules don't really do Rippers any favors, at first glance. After that first glance though, take another look. Run allows them to be nearly as fast as Gaunts, and TLOS allows them to give cover to (very close) units.

Common or Suggested Usage: Pretty much nil. While Leaping, Toxic Rippers can actually be effective, that's giving up a Troop slot to a non-scoring unit that isn't as good most of our other choices. If you really like them, though, they are no longer a really bad choice.

Raveners
Rule Change Effects: With more cover saves, they should live a little longer, but with Rending getting changed, they aren't as effective as they once were. In addition, the consolidation rule means they can no longer win a combat quickly to avoid return Wounds, then consolidate into another combat. Finally, with Killpoints winning 1/3 of games now, those old broods of one just aren't good anymore.

Common or Suggested Usage: It's hard to see what these guys can do that Warriors or Hormagaunts can't do at least as well. (And given that those are already not the most optimal choices, Raveners aren't getting a lot of love right now.) If you like Horms but want to take up less space or have fewer models, maybe these are the answer. They each cost as much and do as much damage as 3 upgraded Hormagaunts, and are about as resilient as 2.5 of them. I guess if you want some (or some more) Hormagaunt-type speed and damage but don't want to spend a Troop slot on it, Raveners might be your best choice. One other option springs to mind: suicidal deepstrikers. With the ability to get a S5 Deathspitter and drop in behind an enemy vehicle, it might be a way to get a little bit more antivehicle firepower in your list, and when they kill it the next turn, it saves the rest of your army from a little bit of firepower and only costs 44-ish points. I don't know that I'd hinge my plans on it working, though.

Sadly these are not my Raveners. They belong to Dreachon of Warpshadow fame.

Gargoyles
Rule Change Effects: Probably the biggest change for Gargoyles is the TLOS. Since they are flying, they will block some LOS to any of our larger creatures at pretty much any distance. The lessened effect of Glancing hits will hurt them, as previously their S4 Fleshborer and Bioplasma could be used to take light vehicles by surprise.

Common or Suggested Usage: As they are metal models, people rarely take them. Those that have the money to buy them or that convert them from Gaunts often use them either as screens for Flyrants or as Hormagaunt substitutes. They are fast and actually slightly more efficient on the charge (if you can shoot and still charge) than Hormagaunts.

Spore Mine Cluster
Rule Change Effects: Blast marker changes mean that Spore mines do more wounds, but the rule that is bad for them is far worse. Kill Points. It was bad enough when Spore Mines cost us VPs (since they suicide when they attack.) Now that each cluster costs us a Kill Point, they are an even worse choice.

Common or Suggested Usage: Basically, don't. They seem like an interesting idea, but they really aren't worth it.

Zoanthropes
Rule Change Effects: Run can allow Zoanthropes to reposition quickly if needed (for safety or as a Synapse anchor.) The greater likelihood of cover saves will also definitely help these guys survive.

Common or Suggested Usage: While Carnifi are more popular, there are still a significant number of players that use Zoanthropes. There are basically 3 purposes for Zoanthropes: Synapse Anchor, Warp Blast or Psychic Choir. Fortunately, they can each take 2, so don't take the one that's not important. (As a note, though, even if you don't need extra Synapse you should consider putting it on one of them, then run the others within that range to keep them from getting insta-killed.)

Biovores
Rule Change Effects: The new blast rules, where partial hits count as full, give these guys a little boost. Unfortunately, it's not enough to make them worth-while, really.

Common or Suggested Usage: None. They are competing for Heavy Support slots with some very effective models, and they really come up short. The one possible decent use that I've heard for them is Vehicle-Hunting, and even that is really limited. The Average armor-penetration value for the Bio-Acid Mine is only 10 and, while it could potentially Penetrate a LandRaider, that's only going to happen 1 time in 36 actual hits!

Carnifex
Rule Change Effects: Running CC 'fexen, need I say more? Well, maybe a little more. More cover saves will keep the big guys alive a little bit longer, but the changes to the Glancing hits table make it a lot harder for it to kill vehicles with shooting, which is a big blow.

Common or Suggested Usage: While CC Carnifi are now better with the Run rule, shooting Carnifi are still our best option for taking out or at least stunning vehicles during the first turn or two of the game. Against AV14, a Carnifex with BS3 and TL-VC has 75% of causing a damage result per turn. The next best is the Carnifex with BS3, VC/BS with a 60% chance. After that the chances go way down: Hive Tyrant with BS4, S6 and a VC at 33% and Zoanthrope Warp Blast at 21%. (That counts the multiple shots for the weapons that get them and any result on the vehicle damage table.) The most common builds for Elite Carnifi are the Devilfex (BS3, 2xTL-Devourers) the Ninjafex (WS4, Toxic Miasma, Flesh Hooks and 2x Scything Talons) and the Bomberfex (Barbed Strangler/Scything Talons) for some S8 large template damage.

Army Options
I'll start looking at some of the different army styles I listed last time around, and explain how they've changed under the new ruleset. When I've written the first one, you'll be able to find it here.

If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know

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