Showing posts with label rules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rules. Show all posts

Saturday 15 February 2014

Mycetic Spores - In Memorium

As we bask in the afterglow of our wonderful new Codex I thought we should hold a minutes vigil for arguably the greatest casualty to the Tyranid arsenal - the Mycetic Spore. I'm not sure we can accurately know why we no longer have access to this little beauty. I think it's probably a financial one ahead of any other mooted reasons. The cost of making the molds and the potential market given how folk made their own or found alternatives is probably the real reason. There's no point GW investing money in something that won't sell, which makes sense but I can't help feel the true hobbyist is being penalised for their creativity. Well, I would say that given that's what I did with my 'Pong Pong Pot Pourri Pod'.


And then again with my two [oft-maligned] Plasma Hatcher conversions. I never quite understood the dislike these created, sure they're not perfect in their standard version but they were pretty much the right size, very nid-like and on occasion extremely cheap [until folk realised they could sell for lots to those that wanted to make Spore Pods]. Luckily my conversion continues to make them viable as an alien Vengeance Weapon Battery, which I may well have some fun with in the future.


But I'm not the only one to suffer, Otty had this beast of a Spore Pod. I'm not sure if it'll work as another form of Fortification. It's Bastion sized but extremely difficult to use as something with Battlements


And what makes it worse is he'd just finished another pod of more sensible proportions before the 'extinction event' happened. He'd built this out of a toy heart or other internal organ. He may be able to get a Weapon Battery out of it but it's still a disappointment no doubt. There'll be more pictures at the end of this post.


Of course the major impact is the loss of our ability to get nids all over the battlefield. Situations like this 2nd turn 'beta-strike' will never happen now. The funny thing is given the FAQ that gave us a 6" disembarkation showed renewed love for the Pod it feels like a double kick in the plums that it was removed completely. Obviously that made the Doom even more effective. Deviations meant very little when you could still get out and move to leech as many units as possible. Even though I was a little weary of my nids at the end of the old Codex it was the ability to switch things around, deep striking or foot slogging it was the extra Spore Pods that gave me the versatility to keep playing them interesting. It also allowed me to be competitive in different ways, learning how to get that 'beta-strike' in place but even then you were reliant on the dice, it certainly wasn't over-powered.


Here we have probably the last great thing my Spore Pods did, Smashing a Triarch Stalker to pieces in assault!


Getting the Doom exactly where it needed to be, the number 1 reason to take a Mycetic Spore. Even if he died he was usually a turn of people shooting at it instead of the rest of the gribblies.


Here's a Spore Pod Tervigon Sandwich.


And I had some fun with the rumours before the Codex hit.


And then the actual reality of what the rumours turned out to be.


But we can still not forget then iniquity whereby Tyranid Primes were not allowed in a pod with their Warrior brethren unlike practically every other Independent Character specifically being able to join a unit in their transports. Presumably this was more to do with Primes joining Carnifex in a Pod to make them more durable but that was an easy fix but they went for the hard one instead.


Anyway, here are more pics of Otty's insane last hurrah for the Spore Pod. See if you can identify all the bits ;) Let us hope one day they return to the Tyranid arsenal. I don't hold out much hope for these Data Slates, they promise much but deliver so little but they still feature Spore Pods in the artwork so maybe one day... we can but hope.








Friday 10 January 2014

Happy Tyranid Eve [?]

I originally wrote this post earlier in the week, that'll learn me as many of the rumours have since been replaced by facts and plenty more facts that have come that we wish were in fact sick rumours. So please take that into account, I'm not about rewrite something already written when in fact a lot of it is still valid. Obviously the Spores ARE gone, and there's no indication we lose Fortifications [and no indication we don't get use Emplaced weapons at full BS but I expect a day one FAQ to remedy that].

The Tervigon still suffers though, only one psychic power, no ability to confer biomorphs to spawned gaunts and when it pops it does so at a 12" range - so much for that big blob of 30 that made it a troop - good luck getting all of them at least 12" away, out of Synapse where they'll revert to Instinctive Behavior, doh! Oh and the lovely spawn rush I used to do - spawn 6", move 6", shoot 12" and assault 2D6" it was awesome, it was certainly unique. Now they spawn at the end of the turn and look to have the same rules as most models arriving from reserve/deep strike. That draws it into line but does remove the 'special' ability and is less fluffy as a quickly advancing horde. Still, as they now spawn at the end of the movement phase it will make it easier to get them into range of an objective and spawn 6" and Run D6" to claim/contest. Crushing claws at least do have Armourbane and +1Swhich means I can average 13 armour penetration with a potential 18 on it's 4 attacks on the charge. I was excited about this against Lords of War until I realised the 5-9 Warp Speed Smash attacks would have been ranging from 11-16 [and we get to re-roll vehicle damage]. I'm not sure what the maths is on that but I'm thinking this was a better beast in the old Codex.

Still, the Winged Tyrant has gone pretty much unchanged but cheaper and a higher BS which is great news, although Hive Guard losing a BS?! This does make the twin Flyrant list almost mandatory, which was another issue needing to be fixed. With a Tyranid Prime now over a third more in cost I don't think I'll be fielding either of my, better than the new Official model, conversions. However, it makes it essential I put the Tervigon in troops, but with Termagants now being mix and match I'm wondering whether to have a brood with 10 Devgaunts backed up with 20 Fleshborers to save points. It'll at least be something the real nerd net-listers can work out. Anyway, on to my outdated whinge.


As I'm currently cresting the wave of my most productive hobby efforts for months I'm trying to continue the momentum as I push on with my Tyranid Skyshield. It's daunting as it's complicated, it's not 'out of my comfort zone' because before X-factor we didn't have those, it was something I was 'inexperienced in' or 'unfamiliar' now we all have these 'comfort zones', anyway I digress.

So although I'm thrilled with the hobby aspect and hoping I can continue with it, gaming wise I'm a bit down. Really all my expectations for tomorrow's new Codex have been stripped away. Surely this can't be right? Shouldn't I be really excited? Instead months of rumours followed by recent photographic facts have put paid to that. We still don't know for certain about the Mycetic Spore but I've accepted the loss, and the loss of the Doom. Biomancy too has not been completely ruled out but I think it will. Now I read Ymgarls are gone :( and by the looks of the rules in White Dwarf standard Stealers have had no extra rules that would make them the 'ultimate shock troops' so described in those pages.


If Fortifications are denied us too then that will be it but right now the thing that has upset me the most are the changes to the Tervigon. Now I know a lot of opponents will feel that these changes make them fairer. Currently you can run five of them, three as troops and when they're Iron Armed up they become nigh invincible. But you know from the blog I run two, and was considering a third just because the £ price was cheaper than the new figures. But now the deal to make them troops is 30 Termagants, not 10 and as far as the tiny little picture in White Dwarf indicates for each full brood of 30 you can unlock ONE Tervigon as troop, not all as initially thought. So the Tax got a whole lot more for these. It doesn't end there though, without Biomancy they are easier to kill with no access to Iron Arm and Endurance. Without Warp Speed I  can't get my extra D3 Smash attacks and apparently Crushing Claws are rumoured to no longer add D3 attacks but possible be increased strength so you don't need to Smash. That helps the likes of Tyrant Guard but suddenly my 5-9 S10 Smash attacks on the charge becomes 3!


The Tervigon can be played in a variety of ways, it can spawn, it can hold objectives, it can be the corner-stone of your force and it can be the spearhead. I've used it in pretty much every one of those configurations and although I've used it as a HQ choice and think it makes a great one I also know I need to take advantage of those slots with other creatures. The WD battle report also shows they now cost more, so ultimately it seems as though they've nibbled at every aspect of the model and made it worse. 

   

The ridiculous thing is that they were tough but they weren't overpowered. When you spam them, sure, it was a way of losing friends but two was always a gamble on whether I'd win or not, three was a better chance. I've no idea how I'm going to run them in the future, the brood of 30 gaunts... well I can't decide whether to mount up a further 10 Devgaunts and have a big blob, but I don't want to shoot 90 Devourer shots at one target, certainly with no way to deploy them. However normal gaunts are now 1pt cheaper so I can spend 120 pts to unlock a more expensive troop choice that's now potentially less durable and/or effective!

So, as I lay down to sleep tonight I can honestly say I am not completely looking forward to tomorrow. I know that a lot of people were let down by the 5th edition codex, but when my son chose 'nids we practically came into it new and bypassed the transition and the pain that went with it. I fear though that all the things that worked, or were eventually made to work with 6th Edition rules will have been broken and we'll have nothing left. The only thing I think that remains is maybe Devourers on Winged Tyrants but even then I've read we no longer get the -1 modifier to the victims Leadership roll! We will have to wait and see but I think this may well be a dropped ball. All those rumours of 'every unit viable' may have just been nonsense. I hope I' wrong, but my appetite for what may come is rock bottom. I've a game lined up with Ben using the new Codex a week on Sunday we will see how it fairs then. 

In the mean time I'm going to continue modelling but I've not much blog material for it at the moment, I've been 'doing' not 'recording' again, so please be patient should I miss a days posting or two.

Just clarify, I truly think we should all, as Tyranid players, be rampant with excitement. I don't feel that, I feel there are are lot of things we've been let down on. Things that did need to be fixed - Trygon tunnel rule for instance have not. There are some good things, but this is by far from a universally anticpated release. In fcat the attitude is predominantly hostile on most of the forums I've been on. I can't imagine this is what they expected. No one sets out to make something rubbish but I think the information so far is a release that will not inspire people to pick up the bug, if they haven't already and will anger those already bitten. A shame, I'll muddle through but this feels like knocking us back to January 2010

Tuesday 31 December 2013

FREE - Battle Mission - Ephemeral Scuffle - Knowledge is Power


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The other week at 1:30 in the morning as I struggled to get to sleep, following my epic confrontation with Ben and his Necrons, my mind was racing and in a brief epiphany I had an idea for a Battle Mission. Not only that, but I could give it away, like for FREE! Once again, who doesn't like free stuff? I do and it's the season for giving afterall. So to see out 2013 [good riddance!] and hopefully usher in a new more benevolent and fun 2014 I thought I'd make it a reality.

For all I know this mission may already exist, it's probably not the most original idea, but then again, what is? Anyway, in my typical fashion of coming up with a suitably flippant 'Aldi' naming convention for the flipside of an Eternal War mission [GW like their wordplay too] I came up with these alternative titles [and you can tell which one I chose but let me know if you prefer another]

  • Ephemeral Tussle
  • Ephemeral Tiff
  • Ephemeral Scrap
  • Ephemeral Ruckus
  • Ephemeral Struggle
  • Ephemeral Skirmish
  • Ephemeral Scuffle
  • Ephemeral Conflict

To download the first Ephemeral Scuffle mission data-blurt, point your Cogitator here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B97Rk-BalgZbOFpKamx3eDZmYkE

Let me know what you think, if I'm visited by the voices again maybe they'll come up with another FREE mission?


Thursday 26 December 2013

New Warhammer World order - Escalation and Stronghold Assault [what it means to me]


Recently the Warhammer World Facebook page was the forum for a 'ruling' on the use of Escalation and Stronghold Assault at their events. The question was asked very soon after the release of the two supplements, additions that at that point I really had no interest in. After a brief pause for the Events Team to get to grips with the rules themselves it seemed only one of the supplements would be in use, I forget which because pretty much as soon as it was mentioned that it was confirmed that both would be allowed.

Escalation

Suddenly I actually have to take notice of these new rules. Escalation is pretty much a non starter, the only Lord of War available to Tyranids is a Harridan from Forgeworld and that is never going to be on my shopping list. So instead I have to turn my gaze to Stronghold Assault. Now this is something I can get behind, literally! The ability to take numerous fortifications, if only I had more than one... Oh, I do! An Aegis, Bastion and Skyshield... and even try and shoehorn my redundant Mycetic Spores as Vengeance Weapons Batteries!

Stronghold Assault
There's plenty to think about and it doesn't end there because although the idea of 'fortifying' my Hive appeals, I'll still need to 'man' it with creatures and in January those options will be completely different. I'll continue to develop the buildings but I need to ensure I've actually got sufficient models to win against someone who doesn't turn up in Escalation mode, or those who turn up in Stronghold mode too.


Ultimately I believe the choice of the the Events Team to take on board the supplements is the right thing. Warhammer World is GW HQ and they should showcase all the best that GW has to offer. I'm not sure how the mission setups will go but that's their problem to overcome, its a bold move

However, I do feel that those who invest in their army will be at a distinct advantage . At this moment in time I would not be able to face any Lord of War with my Tyranids, I'd struggle to do any damage whatsoever. The prospect of spending £62.50 on a ticket to an event where I may as well leave my models in their box doesn't appeal to me, and that's not including the money on travel and hotels too. This is my only reservation, Warhammer World is supposed to be fun, competitive but not at the expense of enjoyment. Including the supplements could end up like taking a knife to a gunfight. No one wants to be outclassed before turning up and those with lots of money to buy the big new shiny toys are at a distinct advantage.

I hope the atmosphere will still be the same and there won't be those who use the supplements as a route to win at all costs. I think the advantage with Stronghold is at least my options are defensive, I'm just hoping to stay alive and conveniently showcase all my Tyranid bio-architecture at the same time

Thursday 17 January 2013

FAQ looky - New FAQ's


So new FAQ's came out yesterday and for Tyranids there was very little pink to get excited about boiling down to just:


Page 54 – Mycetic Spore, Transport Spore.
Change the second paragraph to read “A Mycetic Spore can carry a single unit of up to 20 infantry models or a single monstrous creature within its armoured shell. Once a Mycetic Spore has landed, all creatures within must immediately deploy – place the unit such that every model is wholly within 6" of the Mycetic Spore. If any models cannot be deployed because of impassable terrain or enemy models within 1", those models are destroyed. A unit that Deep Strikes via a Mycetic Spore cannot move or assault in the same turn it arrives but may shoot or run.”.
For some reason I immediately thought of the advantage to my Devgaunts despite not using them with the Spore Pod for quite a while. Face/palm later I'm realising just how much this impacts the Doom and how he's going to be much easier to position to maximise his leeching potential. Still no carsharing though


And still no repeal for the Broodlord Psychic rerolls

WHY?!

More importantly has my much hoped for Quad Gun mad it into the FAQ's as per this comment from the Warhammer World team:



Hey Dave - I have spoken to Simon and Jervis from Games Development (note - this isn't something we normally do, but given the pressing time limit, I went and did it!) and the answer is this - "Only emplaced weapons (such as those found on a Bastion or Fortress of Redemption) have the option to be fired either manually or automatically. Weapons attached to an Aegis defence line are gun emplacements, which cannot be fired automatically. The Tyranids FAQ document states that Tyranids cannot fire weapons manually, therefore as much as they are free to use Aegis defence lines, they will not benefit from any attached gun emplacements. We are, however, aware that this is a problem and will be reviewing the situation when we begin writing the next batch of FAQs in a few weeks." I hope that answers your question :) Nick
Erm, the answer is NO, so back in the box quad gun:



Meanwhile in the rulebook FAQ:


Q: If an attack with the Rending special rule rolls a 6 for their Armour Penetration roll against a vehicle and subsequently scores a Penetrating Hit, does that hit count as being AP2 as it would if the attack rolled a 6 To Wound? (p41)
A: No.
So Genestealers have been declawed. In fairness I can see the rules do in fact read this way, it just infers that as wounding infantry is equivalent to AP2 therefore a penetrating 'rend' would confer the AP2 +1 modifier to the damage roll. I'm obviously a bit miffed but lets face hit how many AP2 weapons are there? What is the point of having a AP2 modifier to the damage chart if you're going to only have a few opportunities to do damage. Anyway, time to re-think the old Stealers again. I think they're going to do even less now with only their Broodlord psyker unlocking potential.

Obviously there was all sorts of Vector Strike issues and only figures in weapon range being able to be wounded by the wound pool, which I kind of felt was the correct way it should be anyway. Every time I'd come to take figures off it was a double take moment of should they be wounded or not. I'm sure it'll actually impact me more than I realise but I can live with it.

Anyway c'est la vie!

Friday 14 December 2012

Allied with what?

I'm currently under a certain sense of confusion, I can't work out whether the internets have deluded me or if I've misunderstood something but I'm having real difficulty getting a handle on 'allies'. I know as Tyranids we don't get allies but on the many discussions on blogs, forums and whatnots relating to Tyranids and the allies matrix I was led to believe that we could at least ally with another Tyranid force. The main reason for doing so was to open up more Elite slots - the slot with most of the goodies according to other people. Personally I was hoping to get some more troops but that's by-the-by.

So up until this point I haven't really looked at the rules but when I wanted to try out a winged Hive Tyrant band still see if I can get a Tyranid Prime and a Tervigon I was curious to see if I could fudge it with another allied detachment of nids. I start reading and I think I understand the bit where it says a single allied detachment for each primary attachment but it was this bit on p109 that suddenly made no sense to me

As with the primary detachment, all units in the allied detachment must be chosen from the same codes, and this must be a different codex to the one used  for the primary detachment. 
Now I've just looked at the next page and I see that for battles of 2,000pts or over you can have another primary detachment FOC but it must be from the same codex, which explains where folk were excited about the extra nid elite slots. But what of the sub 2,000pt games - the popular 1,500pt ones and what have you. Admittedly the inability to choose a secondary detachment from the same codex affects everyone but given nids can't actually ally with anyone it hits us that little bit harder.

The fact is allies throw up some interesting options for folk and we saw that at Throne of Skulls, Necrons with Imotekh the Stormlord night fighting for most of a game whilst the Tau allies with night vision shot with impunity! However, I'm more inclined to stick to one codex. To return to my old martial art of Kendo there are different ways to fight.

The standard style - chudan no kamae both an attacking and defending stance that everybody learns and is the most widely taught way to do kendo.


Then there is jodan no kamae, I've mentioned this before when I was looking to pose my son's Wraithlord in a kendo stance. Jodan is a purely offensive stance, using the projectile like attack from on high to reach your opponent long before they get in reach. The real problem with this technique for a beginner is that you do not have the wonderful bamboo sword acting as a measuring stick between you and your opponent telling you they're within distance. Kendo is very much about distance and you need a certain level of experience to judge the right distance and even more so without the sword to help. So this is an advanced technique and quite often people will stick with chudan for their entire kendo lives as that is sufficiently challenging enough.


Lastly there is nito, or 'two sword technique' this involves the use of a long and a shortsword. The long sword is used in a similar fashion to how you would do jodan but obviously with one hand. The short sword is used as a parrying weapon. It's very difficult to master and very few people will practice it although many people will have a wish to do so as it is an exciting challenge in itself, oh and it looks cool.


All I'm really getting at is that for me personally there is far more to master from using a single codex than to try and master two or discover the optimum synergy between them. That's not to say there aren't ways to do that - the Tau/Cron pairing was obviously inspired but for me it's a way focus how I play, even if it is a flawed belief. Ultimately though the opening up of the Force Organisation Chart with allies and the ability to field what you want, although inviting abuse, is once again a bonus to all, except Tyranid players! Marginalised yet?



Wednesday 17 October 2012

'nids part 61 - Much ado about quad guns


Ever since Fortifications became an entity in 6th and the first FAQ came out there's been a big question over Tyranids and their ability to use emplaced weapons. Of course the initial belief back in June was that they couldn't as the FAQ quite clearly stated:

Tyranid FAQ:
Q: Are tyranid units inside buildings subjected to instinctive behavior and can they manual fire emplaced weapons.  
A: No to both questions
However as hyv3mynd pointed out on his blog synaps3 the Aegis Defence Line isn't in a building, it's in 'battlefield debris'. These 'gun emplacements' do not have the same rules as 'emplaced weapons', in fact they don't autofire and can only be fired manually. The main reason everyone is keen to field such items is to combat flyers. With so few items that can hit them reliably a quad gun is a G.O.D.-send. But the FAQ, and lets think for a second just who was 'frequently asking' this question in June, before 6th came out? kind of dumps on 'nids, no other army seemed to get singled out in such a fashion. Then again we've been in this situation before.

The question is if they are not able to use them why not? Is it that access to long range high AP weapons, like the Quad Gun and Icarus Defence Laser changing the fundamental dynamic of the army? If so, haven't they seen that allies does that [unless you're nids of course]. Now you can potentially match whatever army you have with another force that can fill the gaps in your primary forces abilities. So no longer are you choosing a force for one specific type of play.

Hopefully, this is just another oversight on GW's description. I obviously went on to finish my quad gun off and aimed to pose the question to the FAQ folk in advance of Throne of Skulls and hopefully it wouldl swing in my favour so there'll be no arguments. Of course if it didn't I'd have wasted time, effort and a decent Tyrannofex weapon I could have offloaded on ebay! I certainly didn't want to be arguing semantics on the day as some are less than convinced of the above 'they can' argument, although plenty of forums seem to support it more than argue against.


Now we come to today and the recent FAQ updates cleared up the mess [although not in the hoped for way:

Tyranid FAQ:

Q: Are Tyranid units inside buildings (i.e. the Bastion) subject to instinctive behaviour tests?Furthermore, are they able to manual fire emplaced weapons or weapon emplacements?
A: No to both questions.


So this managed to plug the loophole for all us 'pro-activists'. However, whilst all this was going on my friends had contacted Warhammer World and ask the question [amongst others] and their response was that nids could still benefit from the autofire rule which confused me again because it brought us back to the part of the issue that stated quad guns didn't get auto-fire on an Aegis Defence Line, only in a building. So I wanted to resolve the matter once and for all, and contacted Warhammer World through their Facebook page so I could then move past the issue and just concentrate on a list worth using. I'm really pleased at the response, it may not be the answer I was hoping for but it was one that certainly implies they understand the difficulties we now find ourselves in.



Hey Dave - I have spoken to Simon and Jervis from Games Development (note - this isn't something we normally do, but given the pressing time limit, I went and did it!) and the answer is this - "Only emplaced weapons (such as those found on a Bastion or Fortress of Redemption) have the option to be fired either manually or automatically. Weapons attached to an Aegis defence line are gun emplacements, which cannot be fired automatically. The Tyranids FAQ document states that Tyranids cannot fire weapons manually, therefore as much as they are free to use Aegis defence lines, they will not benefit from any attached gun emplacements. We are, however, aware that this is a problem and will be reviewing the situation when we begin writing the next batch of FAQs in a few weeks." I hope that answers your question :) Nick

Ultimately though it begs the question what is the point in Tyranids? I'm not bemoaning my choice in using them but I'm really getting the feeling they've fallen out of favour. After Chaos, although some would claim ahead of Chaos, the Great Devourer is the biggest threat to the Imperium but the battlefield reality is they're just cannon-fodder. I've had great games with them and some of those have been balanced but I'm currently struggling to see them as masters of any type of fighting. They certainly don't scare any of my regular competitors and I'd imagine they'll be looked down upon the same at Throne of Skulls. Hopefully that will be the advantage I need - underestimation.

We can only hope that some of the rumours regarding new forces and changes to the Pyrovore rules will mean a rekindled love for the gribbly. The Codex is a long, long way from being looked at again, there's plenty more Codices due for update before nids get a look in but I think something has to give to try and make them stand equal in the eyes of gamers.


Lastly, if you ever need to ask a FAQ, here's the email to send it to:

gamefaqs@gwplc.com


Sunday 16 September 2012

FAQ looky - Aegis Defence Line

Now this is one that I don't like. If you recall when I posted the Eldar Defence Line details pictured below I agreed with comments about it's single fixed build. Not just for transport reasons but it's not versatile and it can't be split and scattered over the battlefield, well it IS 'Battlefield Debris' afterall.


Here's the FAQ:

Q: Can you deploy the Aegis Defence Line sections in two or more groups of two or more sections apiece (this way, they will still be in base contact with at least one other section)? (p114)
A: No – the Aegis defence line sections must be deployed in an unbroken chain, though they can be connected end-to-end such as in the example shown on page 114.
So it would seem it's only 'debris' insomuch as it's in one solid piece. Of course this disappoints me as I feel if you're paying the points for a tactical reason you should be able to pursue those tactics. However I have reconciled my disappointment as being able to split the line and position 'staging posts' allowing you to creep from cover to cover is perhaps a little shady. I still think it could have been resolved with a middle ground approach of suggesting that it could form no more than two lines perhaps...

Sadly, it's just a loss of something before I've even got to benefit, well not true I've used it twice now and both times it was split but I'm not entirely sure that tipped the balance of play. It makes a mockery somewhat of 'short' and 'long sections' but nevermind we live and learn.

Friday 14 September 2012

FAQ looky - Scout/Infiltrate



New FAQ's came out the other day. Obviously we all look for the the thing that interests ourselves. Sometimes you miss the other stuff so I thought I'd look through and pick out some things that struck me, explain why I got struck and then maybe you might see something you've otherwise missed. I'll be adding these in amongst my other posts so bonus content for all.

One big thing for me was in relation to my oft bemoaned 6th Edition issue that primarily focussed around the inability to assault from outflank because Stealers get the Infiltrate rule. Of course you can still Infiltrate but equally the Infiltrate rule states:

"A unit that deploys using these rules cannot charge in the first turn."
However the new FAQ has a precedent that changes the implication of what this means, it's the same terminology, but in reference to Scout.

Q: The rulebook states "A unit that makes a Scout redeployment
cannot charge in the first turn." Does this mean that if your
opponent has the first turn and you go second, your Scouting unit
can charge? (p41)
A: Yes.
Therefore when you reread the Infiltrate rule and apply the the above FAQ:

"A unit that deploys using these rules cannot charge in the first turn."
It must effectively mean that if your opponent has the first turn and you go second, your Infiltrating unit can charge! So G.O.D. help anyone who starts the game in a position where my Stealers are hiding 12-18".

Monday 7 March 2011

'nids part 17 and 'List maker'

'

OK here's another army list from a while back. Some of it has changed but some is still relevant. First up I have to admit it isn't legal, there are 7 troops, but that's because the Alice 40k Warhammer club listmaker treats the Tervigon as a unit upgrade to the Termagant squad, not as a HQ that can now be taken as a troop. I think I later got round this by making the Ripper Swarms flying instead of tunnelling which would have achieved the same Deep Strike 'annoyatoit' antics that I see them as

HQ - Tyranid Prime with Pair of Boneswords, Synapse Creature

HQ - Hive Tyrant with Lash Whip and Bonesword, Heavy Venom Cannon, Synapse Creature, Psychic Scream, Leech Essence

ELITE - The Doom of Malan'tai 90
  Mycetic Spore with Barbed Strangler

Troops - Tervigon with Catalyst
Troops - 10x Termagants with Devourer
Troops - 16x Hormaguants with Toxin Sacs
Troops - 3x Tyranid Warriors with Barbed Strangler, Deathspitter
Troops - Broodlord Squad Member with 7x Genestealers
Troops - 8x Genestealers
Troops - 3x Ripper Swarms with Tunnel Swarm

Fast Attack - 10x Gargoyles

Heavy Support - Trygon
Heavy Support - 1x Biovore

1504pts

Saturday 19 February 2011

Carsharing in a Mycetic Spore, NOT!


I recently read a comment on one of the blogs I frequent [I'm not sure which] where someone said that since the Tyranid FAQ came out it had 'nerfed' the use of Tyranid Prime's with a Warrior Brood in a Mycetic Spore. I read this and moved on but it kept niggling away at me and so I checked out the Tyranid FAQ.

And here's the FAQ in particular

Q: If a Tyranid unit takes a Mycetic Spore, can an Independent Character join the brood before deployment (and hence deep strike in with the brood)?
A: No.

I mean REALLY?! What is that? There's just one Tyranid Independent Character - the Tyranid Prime and he's got special rules regarding how he interacts with his standard Warrior bretheren he adds +1 to WS and BS. As an IC the Prime can join this unit and according to the 5th Edition rules an 'IC may begin the game already with a unit, by being deployed in coherency with them' [p48]. So a Prime begins the game with his unit in their pod and it's not like there isn't room, nine Warriors can fit in one pod so if you only take a brood of three there's room for the kids and a couple of DVD players for the trip!

Additionally the rule book covers Dedicated Transports and states 'The only limitation of a dedicated transport is that when it is deployed it can only carry the unit it was selected with (plus any ICs).' So an exception for Independent characters that start attached to a unit, and specifically mentioning that an IC can start with a unit inside a dedicated transport (just not Tyranids).

So why specifically do the Tyranids not like to share their Spore Pods? I even asked the manger at my local GW and he said he'd been shocked when it came out. Lets be realistic though, this isn't the fault of the rules, the Prime or the Warriors this was an FAQ that seemed to answer a question that really didn't need asking with an answer that most would have thought the opposite of all existing rules. I'm sitting here now, wondering who were all these people asking this rule? I mean all the exisiting rules state this wasn't an issue so which idiots went and made the rule Tzars at GW shine a light on something that didn't need fixing only for them to fix it with a bolter round to the cortex!

I can understand the furore over the Doom of Malantai leeching wounds from mounted troops. That's a rule that conflicts with the core rule set to the advantage of the Tyranid player, but this is a rule that is amended to be different to the core rule set to the disadvantage of the Tyranid player. It might have been nice to have had a little clarification for this answer, a simple 'No' just doesn't cut it in my book.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

White Dwarf


Just bought White Dwarf. Not a regular subscriber or purchaser but I do like the Stormraven and if they do open it up to all chapters and I'm in the market to dish out £40+ for a baby drop-ship then it's nice to have the rules. GW take note, new rules made a purchase. Of course recent discussions on BoLS indicated that White Dwarf rules often fall by the wayside which I don't gather because back in the days of Rogue Trader they collected all the White Dwarf rules in the Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, which I still have. Sure it's not as neat as having all your races rules collected together in a single codex but this was an additional sale on top of the White Dwarf you originally got the rules in. Not to mention there was Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Squats, Harlequins, Robots, Dreadnoughts and all manner of other rules so this was a purchase that every 40k player needed not just those sticking to one race.


On a different point I noticed the Battle Report is Blood Angels V's Dark Eldar. Now if you haven't read it and don't want to know the result don't carry on but it's an easy guess. Latest Codex darlings V's latest big buy model. Is there ever a Battle Report where the latest army loses? Do they think we're that fickle we won't go for a new force if they lose in the magazine? How many games must they play to engineer the result they wish to $ell? Of course this battle required them to be both appealing so you can work out the outcome easily...

Thursday 16 December 2010

'nids part 7. Strangleweb conversion [for what it's worth, which ain't much!]

++ Contact 06/45#a ++ Xenos bio-symbiote evidence ++ Web-based non-lethal excretor ++ Threat level - zero ++

I think in the first game my son played with his cousin the flamer and it's template really cam into effect. A huge slew of Termagants were BBQ'd. So when I was looking in the Tyranid Codex I thought I'd found an equivalent in the Strangleweb upgrade, I was wrong, but at the time I didn't see it.

Anyway, I actually think this was the first conversion I completed. I think the Tyranid Prime was started at the same time, but of course this was so easy to do it was completed in minutes, if not seconds. All I really needed was one of the many spare Deathspitters from the original Tyranid Warriors from Advanced Space Crusade.

The arms are already attached and you just need to add a bit of pressure on the joints to bend them a bit into position and hold them in place as the Poly-glue bonds the joints. Lastly you need to ensure the Termagant's head is angled a little bit so it looks like he's actually looking at what he's about to 'gob' on!

Here's the model on it's own, instead of the Inquisitorial vid-feed...



 

I mean he looks impressive, especially when you're looking down the barrel of that 'thing', but there's two flaws. 1. the balance is quite difficult, he's prone to tipping and 2. The Strangleweb is effectively useless. I don't actually think my son's ever fired it, in anger or other wise.


However this forum thread seems to indicate it odes have it's uses, so long as all the planets are in alignment!

Friday 10 December 2010

'nids part 5. What's the point in Rippers?

Taking a little hiatus from the Tervigon tutorial I ask the above question, just what is the point in Rippers? Don't get me wrong, I love them, I love the fluff [as they say] I like the fact you can put 4 on a base, or 3 if you're cheeky, the fact they come as part of  the Termagant, Hormagaunt and Warrior sprues, and you can have them winged or tunneling for deep strike shenanigans. But why take them when two Hormagaunts in their place would do a better job for a few points more and not take up another troops slot?


I mean I've had some good results, a brood of three killed a terminator once and another time they deep striked [using tunneling] and secured an objective, until I got home and read that the GW store manager was wrong - swarms can't capture objectives [but Hormagaunts can, another +1 for them].

Please, someone give me a solid reason to have them. My son's got 3 bases so far and I've another 2 to add but seriously the only reason they'll be on the battlefield is if he chooses them in a list or we've run out of Hormagaunts, which isn't likely.

P.S. did I not mention they have a WS of 2?!

Thursday 18 November 2010

A ruin of a rule

As I stumble through my new experiences with whatever edition 40k is on now occasionally a rule will come up I don't have an answer for, I'm sure we all suffer this. Anyway my son was playing a game with his cousin. He had a Tervigon and 16 Termagants in tow. A squad of terminators were on 3 floors of the ruined building pictured below.


Now they never actually got into combat because the game had to finish, that's the price you pay when your battlefield is the dining table! But afterwards I debated what my son should have done and it raised these questions.

The termagants aren't going to want to assault through the ruin as that'll make their Initiative 1 so what if the Tervigon destroys the building then the Terminators are denied their cover, so I asked the following on the Bell of Lost Souls forum for answers

Tervigon assaults the building- it penetrates roll on vehicle damage table.
Immobilised - does nothing.
Wrecked - terminators disembarks up to 2" away and pinning test [would you put a crater down? would it be difficult terrain? would the termies be allowed within this cover considering they had to disembark].
Explodes! - everyone takes a S4 hit and positioned where the building used to be and pinning test [no crater placed, or would it?].
If the tervigon's termagant spawn then assault any pinned or even unpinned occupants would the occupants get the 'assaulting through cover' bonuses?
What I'm getting at is if models are in a building and you destroy the building which was giving them the 'assaulting through cover' bonuses would they still get them if you destroyed the building?

The responses were mixed but I think I understand what would happen now and there's a fundamental difference between a 'building' and a 'ruin' [or 'ruined building']. Apparently a structurally sound building is like a vehicle, you can assault it and destroy it just like any transport. A ruin though is difficult terrain, you cannot assault it, you cannot destroy it so there is no opportunity for the mighty Tervigon to smash a rickety unstable ruin to pieces.

Which just makes no sense to me.

When you consider most of GW's building kits are 'ruined' I'm surprised this isn't a major issue. Together with the fact even in the rule book they suggest often it is better to assault a building than trying to assault the occupants because of the Initiative modifier. However, as the moving through difficult terrain test suggest that people use micro grenades, cutting tools, or acid to dissolve holes to negotiate the terrain you could easily suggest, in a friendly game, if a Monstrous Creature walks through a ruin and passes the test the ruin is flattened. Although I still prefer the idea a ruined building should be a valid assault target, so that may be our house rules.

Of course even if my option of destroying the ruin was agreed with an opponent and the Terminators were 'dismebarked' outside of the cover the Termagants would not be able to assault because you have to nominate who they're assaulting before any assaults take place. If you nominate the Terminator squad they'd have to be in the building when the Tervigon rampaged through it.