I wanted to hear some more thoughts on these, hence the separate thread. Here's a couple of options, feel free to put forward your own as well.

Option 1: Keep them as a unit

I don't like this because it grants the Tyranids a cheap, stalling activation, and doesn't really fit with the fluff I've read. Once more, they can be broken which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. They're floating mines, what do they care for self preservation?

Option 2: Abstract them out into a special rule (removing AA from Gargoyles as well)

I like it because it fits the fluff better and gets rid of the problems above. I don't like it because it's another special rule. I'm thinking of something like this:

1) all aircraft formations take a BM after their approach move (alternatively all AC units suffer an AA9+ attack after their approach move)
and/or
2) all aircraft formations take a BM as part of their disengage move (alternatively all AC units suffer an AA9+ attack as they leave the table)

While the chances of taking down an AC is 0 or very small, it'll make activating them more difficult. I think that simulates the effects of the spores pretty well.

Option 3: Make them a character upgrade

+X points for the following on every unit in the formation:

Meitoic Spores CH n/a n/a n/a n/a - Spore Mines 30cm AA9+ (see below)
Notes: One unit in every two (rounding up) has Spore Mines.

Kind of a combination between the first two options. It's more fiddly than option 1 but not a special rule.

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Squats 2019-10-17

Option 1 with the caveat that the Meiotic Spore Swarm can't be used as an activation. It "activates" automatically in the End Phase and always makes a single move of 2D6+3cm in a direction of the Tyranid Players choosing.

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I'd really prefer to keep them as a unit, for several reasons:

Firstly, they're units in 40k, and they're the closest thing the nids have to an AA unit. Sure the 40k rules are mostly about them floating around on the ground blowing up, but that's a scale thing. There are pictures of them floating high in the atmosphere screwing with planes in IA4. With regards to the fluff, think of the AA attack as also representing an area full of small spore mines near the Meiotic Spores, and them exploding etc.

Secondly, with a range boost to 30cm, they work ingame, especially if you add scout. In a list that's overstuffed with special rules, do we really want another one when we can achieve the same thing by using normal units?

Thirdly, it's much fairer and less frustrating for an opponent to have units to shoot or avoid with their aircraft rather than some default special rule that automatically hurts their planes with no way of avoiding it whatsoever. I really dislike things like that.

Fourthly, for the same reason you want to keep the slugtanks etc; people have them modeled. I know I certainly have a formation modelled and painted up that I'd really like not to have been a waste of time and money.

They don't have to be in Onachus if you don't want them, but for Leviathan they deserve to stay.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

The models are another good argument that I meant to bring up. They wouldn't be used for option 2 but option 1 and 3 could use them.

Those points speak mostly to #2 though, #3 would grant the army AA without a cheap stalling activation. Thoughts on that one?

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Squats 2019-10-17

My units are modelled AND based.... that doesn't work for a character upgrade.

Also, why exactly would the meiotic spores be following the nids in the formation around? Why are they killed when the nids die? It's a weird semi-abstraction that's neither elegant enough to be acceptable nor very good at representing the spores.

Remember, these spores are sentinel sized and floating on the wind, not just some little thing floating next to other nids.

As to the stalling activation, so what? The nids will usually be notably out-activated, so what's wrong with a stalling activation? Hell, give 'em scout and make them 200 points and they're not that cheap any more. Plenty of other lists get much cheaper activations (sentinels etc). In my experience activating them hasn't usually been for stalling anyway, but to keep the AA bubble over my front lines.

If you were that against the activation you could make them a formation upgrade rather than a seperate formation, though they'd need a speed bump.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

I'd like to see them stay a unit myself.

I would recommend a high unit size with scout for 175-200 points. That way they don't boost activations so much but can cover swathes of the table.