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Tyranid v6.1
Jaldon	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:43 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:38 am Posts: 720 Location: Utah, pick a Pacific Island the other half of the year.	The list follows this introduction. This is the last list I am going to post in this style and I am going to start work on a clean PDF version. Commentary on v6.1 Please finish reading this before moving on to study the v6.1 army list, otherwise you will probably want to start calling me all sorts of bad names without understanding just why things were done the way they were. In this way you will be able to at least be able to rationalize why you support/condem what was done. WEAKNESSES JJ has said many times that an army is defined as much by it?s weaknesses as it is it?s strengths, maybe even more. Not only do I agree with this statement but it is my intention to insure that the Tyranid army has weakness it must work around, and that an opponent can exploit. IMHO the biggest should be that the Nids have few very capable units and this forces them, 90% of the time, to resort to the use of overwhelming numbers as a solution. Link this with what is going to be discussed in synapse below and the entire picture should become pretty clear. Now this view is all fine and dandy, but an army reduced to depending on sheer numbers all the time would be a real boring army to use, and play against. The solution is to give the Nids some unique flexibility in their formations, and to temper all those weaker cheap units with a few effective, but still relatively inexpensive, bug units. SYNAPSE Up until the introduction of v6.0 the Nid army was able to hurl lesser bugs out of synapse range, and off into the blue. Then later in the turn other synapse creatures would move up and take them over. This ?Hand Off? tactic, combined with a couple of other tricks this allows, produced a Nid army that was almost the equal of the Tau or Eldar in battlefield maneuverability. This is most definitely not the vision of a Horde Army as created by the background fluff. In fact the exact opposite should be the case, it should be more difficult for the Nids to pull off deft maneuvers, though not impossible. Forcing the lesser bugs to stay in synapse range, and in normal coherency, during the course of an entire turn  prevents Nid players from being able to use the above described trick all the time. This also forces the Nid players to have their synapse creatures operate in a more forward position ion the swarm. Last, it forces the Nid player to think in terms of mass maneuvers 90% of the time when using the army?s main swarms. All of these things IMHO are as it should be. However, this itself cannot be taken too far otherwise we will end up creating a very one dimensional army, which again would be real boring. Hence the determination of who belongs to what swarm at the start of the turn has been loosened up, and nodes are still allowed to ?spin off? brood creatures, thus retaining some of the old flexibility. Some complaints have arisen concerning the Lesser Synapse Node being turned into a target waiting to be killed. Yup, that is exactly why it was changed. With this version of the Lesser Node players will no longer be able to just hurl them around anywhere they like and start spawning like crazy. If in the enemy rear areas this forces the poor opponent to turn 1/3 to 1/2 of their army around to contain the ever growing monster in their back door. In a number of battles I have seen this taken to the extreme with Lesser Nodes raining down all over the place, and it has to be stopped. IMHO there has to be more risk involved when attempting to perform this type of deep strike otherwise it remains too easy. The intention of this change is to force Nid players to think hard about their placement, and to force them to consider the proximity of nearby forces to support the insertion. Hence to make them think and plan for their use instead of just dropping them anywhere, and spawning an army out. Now if the present version of the Lesser Node makes it impossible to perform any kind of deep strike mission it will then need to be changed, and it shall. But it is not going to be allowed to go back to the drop anywhere you please and let the enemy worry about it. Either way you are getting a lot of flexibility for only a 30pt investment. THE NEW UNIT STATS JJ?s entire goal from the start of the Tyranid project has been to create an absolute Horde Army that presents a veritable wall of cheap expendable bodies that just keep coming at the enemy. Increasing units stats, increases per unit capability, which increases per unit costs, which reduces the actual number of units available, and that is moving directly away from the Horde Feel we want to create. From v1.0  to the present unit capability has gone up, this has driven up per unit costs, this has resulted in a lessoning of the Horde Feel, and caused a re-think of the way the army is built to compensate for it. Soon it would have led to a host of ?new special rules? to try and get the feel back, and to me this is a dead end. The Nid army doesn?t need more capable, more expensive units, it needs less capable, cheaper units, so that the Horde Feel is created naturally by the army itself. Understanding this point we are cutting back per unit capability as far as possible while still maintaining individuality in each unit type. This is going to cause in a drop in per unit costs which will put more bug units on the table, and in my book is a good simple solution. Now this is most definitely going to cause some problems to arise as playtesters have become used to the more capable units. Also, there are probably  a host of unknown problems that are going to arise as these new stats start to get playtested. When these problems do arise we must try to solve it, if at all possible, by not increasing per unit costs. In some cases this may not be possible, and we may have to bit the bullet, but we will address each of them as the arrive in our collective laps. NID TANKS The Nid tanks in the following list are being offered in more then one version, and including notes on what they represent per old AMTL, and this is probably going to be more ?variety? then JJ wants. I am already for him to axe half of them and put those onto the ?Collectors List?, but at least then they will have been tested for play balance for future players use, or if JJ decides to expand the list further. LV....LV....LV Some units have gone from being infantry to being LV, and in some cases the reverse has happened. LV status is, and should remain, a very narrow classification for a unit. Early on JJ defined it after a number of questions were asked about the classification, and the absolute number of figures on a stand WAS NOT a clear definition for deciding if a unit would be LV or not. Instead it was only one of a couple of definitions to be used. If posters feel that a unit should/shouldn?t be LV then don?t just use a single criterion for believing it is so because it will not pass muster. I feel I must keep repeating this to keep things clear. I am not a closed door on any issue, and will do my best to be clear on why I do something, or how I feel on an issue. Even if I disagree I note the issue down, in my new note book for the Nid army work, so that I have a reminder to pay attention to that issue in upcoming battles to see if it holds water. However, posting that you think this or that without telling me, or anybody else for that matter, why you feel that way isn?t all that helpful. Basically put, if you don?t give me a decent rational reason for considering an idea don?t expect it to get much consideration. It helps a lot to know why a poster is making their point because I cannot read your mind! For our ?English as a Second Language? friends, and I do mean friends. Often they apologize for having difficulty using the written English language, they shouldn?t. Truth is some of the best, most clear, and articulate posts I?ve seen over the years I have been working on the Epic-A project have been written by these fine people. If I do have any doubts about the points someone is trying to make I will ask for a clarification, and if it still a problem I will e-mail the individual personally to work it out. Heck you can even e-mail me if you think I am not getting it, really I?ll read them and answer. In closing, I don?t for a moment believe that the stats that are presented here are perfect, in fact I expect them to change. But I do think this is the direction they should be going in and this is a good place to start. Jaldon _________________ Brave sir Robin, when danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled, Brave sir Robin.
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Jaldon	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:45 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:38 am Posts: 720 Location: Utah, pick a Pacific Island the other half of the year.	Phase IV ?Subdual? Tyranid Army List v6.1 T1.1 SPECIAL RULES Strategy Rating: 1 Initiative Rating: 2+ T1.20 UNSTOPPABLE Tyranid formations never receive blast markers and therefore can never be suppressed or broken by them. As long as they are under the control of the greater hive mind they, quite literally, don?t know the meaning of fear and will mindlessly sell their lives to bring victory to the greater hive mind. Tyranid formations ?that lose an assault must still make a withdrawal move, and any units that end their move within 15cms of an enemy unit will be destroyed, but the formation itself is not broken. T1.40 SYNAPSE GROUPS Every swarm is controlled by a Synapse Group which is formed before the start of the battle and is made up of from one to three selections from the Synapse Creature list. Once formed this group cannot be added to, nor control more then a single swarm. ? ? ? ? T1.30 TYRANID SWARMS The Tyranid army is divided into three basic types of units, these are; Brood Creatures, Independent Creatures, and Synapse Creatures (with Brood Creatures themselves being further subdivided into Uncommon Brood Creatures, and Common Brood Creatures). Each creature?s type is noted on their individual data sheets and in the army list that follows. Independent Creatures are organized into formations like other units, and are treated in all ways as if they were a normal formation in Epic-A, as this concerns coherency, and formations. Synapse creatures and brood creatures are treated a bit differently. Instead of having a fixed formation brood creatures are purchased as individual units that will become part of a swarm that is controlled by synapse creature group. It must be understood that the Swarm is the formation, and that both the synapse creature(s) controlling it, and the brood creatures in it, are a single formation containing units. At the start of the game the Tyranid player first makes synapse groups from synapse creatures. One group can have one or more synapse selections (eg. Tyranid Warriors are assigned in groups of three). Note that these groups can not be changed later. Then the player simply assigns one, or more, brood creatures to a synapse creature groups, thus creating a formation called a swarm, until all the brood creatures have been assigned. All such swarms must be set up in a legal formation using the instructions for the scenario. In addition the units must be set up within 15cm of the synapse creature group. If the Tyranid player wants they may hold some brood creatures back and not assign them to any synapse creature group. These unassigned brood creatures may be used when a swarm spawns during the game (see T1.40 Spawning). Starting with the second turn, and all subsequent turns, a swarm consists of it?s original synapse creature(s), and all the brood creatures within 15cms of those same synapse creature(s). Brood creatures that are within 15cms of synapse creatures from different swarms may join either swarm as designated by the Tyranid player (We recommend that the units that are in doubt be turned to face the swarm they belong to, to avoid confusion later in the turn). Further, Tyranid ?units must maintain coherency within their swarms as normal (ie 5cms for normal units, DC x 5cms for war engines) and brood creatures must also maintain 15cm coherency distance with a synapse creature from their swarm for the turn. Aside from the additional requirements of synapse coherency, normal coherency rules apply. It is important to note that the death of a swarms synapse creature(s) doesn?t prevent that swarm from taking an action during that turn, (all they must do is remain in normal coherency), and it will have no possible adverse effects on them till the start of the next turn. The only exception to synapse coherency is if the swarm is under the sole control of a synapse node (either type). This swarm?s brood creatures are allowed to move beyond both synapse and normal coherency of the node as part of a single action. This action has no adverse effects on the node. Any brood creatures that start a turn not within 15cms of a synapse creature will go to ground and are removed from play. Although not dead it is assumed that the creatures have reverted to their animalistic instincts and are lurking on the battlefield waiting for an easy chance to get their next meal. These brood creatures may return to the game using the Spawning action (T1.50) described below. In all cases the organization of the swarms is determined at the very start of the turn before anything else, like Teleports, Strategy Roll, etc. T1.50 SPAWNING ACTION One of the most terrifying things about fighting the Tyranid army is there seems to be no end to the number of creatures in the army. Even if an attack is stopped more tyranids will soon appear to renew it. Some of these will be brood creatures that have gone to ground earlier in the battle but now have been incorporated back into the hive mind?s control, while others will be reinforcements sent by the hive mind to sustain the attack. To represent this endless stream of claws Tyranid formations that carry out a Marshal Action may spawn instead of regrouping. Spawning allows the Tyranid player to return brood creatures to play that have been killed, gone to ground, or were held off table before the start of the battle. Also note that only brood creatures can be spawned, not synapse creatures, or independent creatures as these creatures are to rare to be spawned back in this manner. Each swarm may return 1D6 spawning points worth of brood creatures back into play, plus an extra 1D6 spawning points if there are no enemy units within 30cms of any unit in the swarm. The swarm may also add 1D6 spawning points for each myecetic spore that is added to the swarm during the spawning action (up to a maximum of three myecetic spores may be added to a single spawning action). Last, a swarm under the control of a Dominatrix rolls an extra1D6 spawning points because this creature is considered a Brood Mother by the army?s lesser creatures and they have a tendency ?to move towards her as part of their instinctive behavior(so a swarm under the control of a Dominatrix rolls a base 2D6 spawning points). The Tyranid player uses the number of spawning points rolled to return brood creatures that are off table and return them to the battle. Each brood creature type has a spawning value based upon it?s general availability, or lack there of, to the Tyranid army as a whole. The cost for spawning back a creature is noted in their data sheet under notes as Brood (x) where in x equals the units spawning points. Place any units spawned back by a swarm within 5cms of any synapse creature(s) from that swarm. Spawned units may not be placed in the zone of control of an enemy unit, or in impassable terrain. T1.60 WAR ENGINE REGENERATION Really large Tyranid creatures (the size of most Imperial War Engines) are covered inside and out with symbiote creatures that swarm in and around the creature healing wounds, repairing damaged tissue, and stemming the flow of vital bodily fluids. This makes Tyranid war engines dangerous foes indeed as an unwary Princep may think he has given one of them a mortal wound only to have that same creature pull itself up from the ground and attack. To represent the actions of these symbiotic creatures during the Rally Phase the Tyranid player rolls 1D6for each starting DC capacity of a war engine. For each roll of 6+ that war engine recovers on of it?s lost DCs. As these symbiotes cannot increase the size of a Tyranid war engine, nor make it stronger, these rolls can only be used to replace a war engines lost DCs. Also, regeneration may not be used to bring a WE back to life once it?s dead, it is dead. T1.70 GT VICTORY CONDITIONS AND TYRANIDS Because of the unique nature of the Tyranid army, and the completely alien Hive Mind that controls it, it doesn?t ?see? military objectives in the same way that most sentient commanders, of any number of known races in the, galaxy do. For example a sentient commander would keenly feel heavy losses in personnel, while the Hive Mind thinks no more of expending gaunts in battle then most sentient commanders would ammunition. This ?alien outlook? requires some changes in the way that GT objectives are treated by the Tyranid army. T1.71 Objectives Brood creatures can be best described as almost mindless drones whom the Hive Mind gives some direction to, while at the same time letting that same creatures instinctive behavior do the rest. In effect the Hive Mind only tells the brood creatures where to go and how fast to get there and leaves the detailed work of fighting to the brood creatures instinctive behavior. So the real truth is the brood creatures have no idea why they are going where they are going, nor what they are supposed to be doing once they get there, so they could walk right past the objective they have been sent to secure! Fortunately the Hive Mind does provide this ?more detailed? bit of information to the ?higher creatures? (Independents and Synapse) that make up the army so that at the very least these positions, that it deems vital, can be secured. To represent this effect in the Tyranid army only independents creatures and synapse creatures (not brood creatures) can be used to gain control over, or contest battlefield objectives. T1.72 Break Their Spirit The Tyranid army basically has no morale that any opponent can take advantage of, in fact their behavior is so instinctive in nature that it is doubtful that they have any feelings at all. While this is one of the great strengths in the way that the Hive Mind uses it?s lesser creatures, it also requires that the army use centralized control, via synapse creatures, to keep the mindless mass moving where it needs to go. So while it is impossible for an opponent to attack and degrade the Tyranid army?s morale, it is possible to eliminate the synapse creatures providing the link between the Hive Mind and it?s drones and degrade the effectiveness of the army. To represent this trait the Break Their Spirit goal is based upon the number of synapse creatures still on table in the Tyranid army. If the number of synapse creatures left on the table is equal to, or less then, the number of synapse creatures in the dead tray off table then the opponent has achieved the Break Their Spirit goal. T1.73 Tie Breakers All armies, including Tyranids, are effected adversely by losses in both personnel and equipment. In all other armies these losses directly effect the formations that make up the army with losses of 50%, or more, resulting in that formation becoming combat ineffective till it can be rebuilt. In effect the army has lost 100% of that formations ability to fight until it?s return. The Tyranid army doesn?t suffer attrition in this way. Synapse creatures can scower the battlefield and in mere minutes scoop up enough brood creatures that have gone to ground to put together a fit ready to fight formation ready to have at the enemy. When one speaks of attrition and the Tyranid army one must ignore what occurs on even a major battlefield and think on a planet wide scale, and even this itself makes it more difficult to judge what effects losses have had on them. The only thing that is clear is that the effects of attrition vary with what types of creatures the Tyranid army looses, difficult to produce synapse creatures losses are keenly felt, while gaunt brood creatures losses are far less noticed, but not ignored. To represent these effects on the battlefield the Tyranid army doesn?t use formation size at the end of a battle to determine points the opponent receives for a Tie Breaker. Instead the opponent receives the following points for each creature, by type, that is in the dead tray, or off table, at the end of the battle. Synapse Creature units are worth two times their point value Independent Creatures units are worth their full point value Brood Creatures units are worth half their point value rounded down. ARMY LIST SYNAPSE CREATURE (up to 1/3 of the armies points may be spent on these groups) Dominatrix: 1 x Dominatrix unit: 500 points Harridan: 1 x Harridan unit: 250 points Hive Tyrant: 1 x Hive Tyrant unit: 100 points Tyranid Warrior Group: 3 x Tyranid Warrior units: 150 points Synapse Node: 1 x Synapse Node unit: 100 points Lesser Synapse Node: 1 x Lesser Synapse Node unit: 30 points Vituperator: 1 x Vituperator unit: 350 points INDEPENDENT SWARMS (up to 1/3 of the armies points may be spent on these swarms) Genestealer Swarm: 6 to 9 Genestealer units: 25 points each 0-2 Lictor Swarms : 2 to 5 Lictor units: 50 points each Hierophant: 1 x Hierophant: 300 points Hydraphant: 1 x Hydraphant : 400 points Expecorator Swarm: 1-2 x Expecorators: 150 points each UNCOMMON BROOD CREATURES (up to 1/3 of the armies points may be spent on these units) Biovore 35 points Carnifex 35 points Haruspex 50 points Hierodule 100 points Zoanthrope 35 points Exocrine 50 points Myecetic Spores 25 points COMMON BROOD CREATURES (At least 1/4 of the armies points must be spent on the following Brood Creatures) Ravaner 20 points each Gargoyle 20 points each Termagaunt 15 points each Hormogaunt 15 points each UNIT DATA SHEETS SYNAPSE CREATURES Dominatrix Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 20cm / 4+ / 4+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Warp Blast / 30cm / AP4+ AT4+ AA4+ Bio-Plasmic Breath / Template / MW5+ AA5+ / Ignore Cover Monstrous Claws / Base Contact / MW(TK) / +2 attacks Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms notes: DC-8, Supreme Commander, Fearless, Walker, Reinforced Armor, Synapse Critical Hit: Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Dominatrix?s Symbiote is killed and it is no longer treated as a Supreme Commander. Harridan Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 35cm / 4+ / 4+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes 2xBio Cannon / 45cm / MW5+ / Ignore Cover Bio-Plasmic Breath / Template / MW5+ AA5+ / Ignore Cover Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW / +2 attacks notes: DC-2, Reinforced Armor, Skimmer, Synapse, Transport (Four Gargoyles, Gaunts, Hive Tyrant, Ravaner, Tyranid Warrior) Critical Hit: Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Harridan is killed Vituperator Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 30cm / 4+ / 4+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes 2 x Bio Cannon / 45cm / MW5+ / Ignore Cover Bio-Plasmic Breath / Template / MW5+ AA5+ / Ignore Cover Monstrous Claws / Base Contact / MW(TK) / +2 attacks Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW / +1 attacks notes: DC-4, Reinforced Armor, Skimmer, Commander, Synapse Transport (Eight Gargoyles, Gaunts, Hive Tyrant, Ravaner, Tyranid Warrior) Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Vituperator is killed Synapse Node Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 0cm / 4+ / 6+ / 6+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Ripper Swarm / (15cm) / small arms notes: DC-3, Reinforced Armor, Fearless, Synapse Critical Hit: ?It?s dead Jim? Lesser Synapse Node Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 0cm / 5+ / 6+ / 6+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Ripper Swarm / (15cm) / small arms notes: DC-1, Reinforced Armor, Synapse, Teleport Hive Tyrant Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 15cm / 4+ / 2+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Venom Cannon / 30cm / AP5+ AT6+ Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW / +2 attacks notes: Commander, Fearless, Invulnerable Save, Synapse (May be given wings then it is Speed 25cm Armor 5+ and is also given Jump Pack) Tyranid Warrior Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 15cm / 4+ / 3+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Venom Cannon / 30cm / AP5+ AT6+ Death Spitters / (15cm) / small arms Scything Talons / Base Contact / CC weapon +1 attacks notes: Fearless, Synapse INDEPENDENT CREATURES Genestealers Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 15cm / 6+ / 3+ / 0+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Rending Claws / Base Contact / CC weapon notes: First Strike, Infiltrator, Scout, Independent Lictors Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 15cm / 5+ / 3+ / 0+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW / +1 attacks notes: First Strike, Infiltrator, Invulnerable Save, Scout, Teleport, Independent Hierophant Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 25cm / 4+ / 4+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Bio-Plasmic Breath / Template / MW5+ AA5+ / Ignore Cover Monstrous Claws / Base Contact / MW(TK) / +2 attacks Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms notes: DC-6, Reinforced Armor, Walker, Independent Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Hierophant is killed Hydraphant Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 20cm / 4+ / 4+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Warp Blast / 30cm / AP4+ AT4+ AA4+ Bio-Plasmic Breath / Template / MW5+ AA5+ / Ignore Cover Monstrous Claws / Base Contact / MW(TK) / +2 attacks Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms notes: DC-8, Fearless, Walker, Reinforced Armor, Independent Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Hierophant is killed Expecorator Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 15cm / 5+ / 6+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Super Spore Mines / 45cm / 2BP / Disrupt, Indirect Fire notes: DC-2, Walker, Independent Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The Expecorator becomes slow firing 6: The Expecorator is killed UNCOMMON BROOD CREATURES Haruspex ?A? (True Haruspex) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 20cm / 4+ / 4+ / 3+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms Acid Spray / 15cm / MW5+ / Ignore cover Big Claws / Base Contact / MW / +1 attacks notes: Walker, Reinforced Armor, Brood (3) Haruspex ?B? (Malefactor) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 20cm / 4+ / 3+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW / +2 attacks notes: Walker, Reinforced Armor, Brood (3) Carnifex ?A? Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 15cm / 3+ / 4+ / 6+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Spore Cysts / (15cm) / small arms Big Claws / Base Contact / MW / +1 attacks notes: Fearless, Invulnerable Save, Walker, Brood (2) Carnifex ?B? Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 15cm / 3+ / 4+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Spore Cysts / (15cm) / small arms Venom Cannon / 30cm / AP5+ AT6+ notes: Fearless, Invulnerable Save, Walker, Brood (2) Biovore Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF LV / 15cm / 5+ / 6+ / 5 + Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Spore Mines / 45cm / AP5+ AT6+ / Disrupt notes: Walker, Brood (2) Zoanthrope Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF LV / 15cm / 5+ / 6+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Warp Blast / 30cm / AP4+ AT4+ AA4+ notes: Walker, Brood (2) Hierodule ?A? (True Hierodule) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 15cm / 4+ / 3+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms Acid Spray / 15cm / MW5+ / Ignore cover Huge Claws / Base Contact / MW(TK) / +2 attacks notes: DC-3, Reinforced Armor, Walker, Brood (6) Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Hierodule is killed Hierodule ?B? (Trygon) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF WE / 15cm / 4+ / 4+ / 3+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Cluster Spines / (15cm) / small arms Bio Shock / Template / MW4+ / Disrupt Big Claws / Base Contact / MW / +1 attacks notes: DC-3, Reinforced Armor, Walker, Brood (6) Critical: : Roll 1D6 and consult the following chart; 1-5: ?The creature loses one DC and one of it?s Monstrous Claw attacks 6: The Hierodule is killed Exocrine ?A? (Dactylis) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 20cm / 4+ / 6+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Spore Cysts / (15cm) / small arms Big Spore Mines / 45cm / 1BP / Disrupt, Indirect Fire notes: Reinforced Armor, Walker, Brood (2) Exocrine ?B? (True Exocrine) Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF AV / 20cm / 4+ / 5+ / 4+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Spore Cysts / (15cm) / small arms 2xBio Cannon / 45cm / MW5+ / Ignore Cover notes: Reinforced Armor, Walker, Brood (2) COMMON BROOD CREATURES Ravener Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 20cm / 5+ / 4+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Death Spitter / (15cm) / small arms Scything Talons / Base Contact / Assault Weapon notes: Brood (1) Gargoyle Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 30cm / 6+ / 5+ / 6+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Flesh Borer / (15cm) / small arms Bio Plasmic Attack / Base Contact / Assault Weapon notes: Jump Pack, Brood (1) Termagaunt Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 15cm / 0+ / 6+ / 5+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Flesh Borer / (15cm) / small arms notes: Infiltrator, Brood (1) Hormogaunt Type/Speed/Armor/CC/FF Inf / 20cm / 0+ / 4+ / 0+ Weapons/Range/Firepower/Notes Scything Talons / Base Contact / Assault Weapon notes: Infiltrator, Brood (1) _________________ Brave sir Robin, when danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled, Brave sir Robin.
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Markconz	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:04 am
Purestrain Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2003 10:43 pm Posts: 7925 Location: New Zealand	My initial impression from a quick skim is that this is a good change in design philosophy. Time for playtesting. _________________ http://hordesofthings.blogspot.co.nz/
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lackofbrain	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:38 am
Brood Brother Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:18 pm Posts: 12	Looks good to me, although if and when I'll ever get to playtest it I'm not sure (unless anyone else lives in manchester???). Only one problem leaps out at me, and thats the lesser synapse node being a DC1 warengine. I understand the reasoning, and even argee with it, but, unless something happened while I wasn't looking (eminently possible admittedly), there are no other DC1 warengines in the rules, and any attempt to make anything into one (notable the land raider, and knights) have been blocked by JJ. As the LSN is actually so vital for adding variety of tactics and terror, I think it needs to be changed, wither to an AV or a DC2 warengine. To be honnest, now so many of the "large infantry" are not LV, and it is more expensive to spawn all the AVs and LVs AV may make it vulnerable enough. Just a thought anyway...
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Jaldon

Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:02 am

Brood Brother Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:38 am Posts: 720 Location: Utah, pick a Pacific Island the other half of the year.

Only one problem leaps out at me, and thats the lesser synapse node being a DC1 warengine. I understand the reasoning, and even argee with it, but, unless something happened while I wasn't looking (eminently possible admittedly), there are no other DC1 warengines in the rules, and any attempt to make anything into one (notable the land raider, and knights) have been blocked by JJ. Yup, JJ has blocked them but more for reasons of the unit themselves rather then the idea. Landraiders are AV, period and that is not going to change because an LR is most definitely not a WE. The Knights really didn't work well as WE DC-1 at all, it drove their costs up, and because of that you couldn't field an effective group of them. My gut feeling is that you are correct and they will end up being AV, but for now I really want to see what happens under maximum exposure and this will most definitely do that. Really I am not trying to be cruel to the playtesters or Nid fans I do have a number of good reasons for giving this a go. As Richard M. Nixion said, "Trust me I have a plan" Jaldon _________________ Brave sir Robin, when danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled, Brave sir Robin.

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RavenBlackwolf	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:41 am
Brood Brother Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:00 pm Posts: 3	Jaldon, I really like the direction the list is taking and I must say most of the changes are exactly what I was hoping to see. There are only two things that I would like to mention. The changes for the harridan confuses me, as it has lost one point of DC, one biocannon shot and its CC value has been decreased by one, and yet it has gone up in cost? I didn't realize it was considered that over powered. The second thing is more book keeping. For those war engines with only 2-DC Its really not neccessary to have the split critical chart as if they take an extra wound, they are dead anyway. Nice list, I am hoping to play test it within the next week. RBW _________________ "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
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Jaldon	Post subject: Tyranid v6.1 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:56 am
Brood Brother Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2003 6:38 am Posts: 720 Location: Utah, pick a Pacific Island the other half of the year.	This is confusing. Can the synapse group have only one selection or three selections? Not two or four? Or is that a reference to Tyranid Warriors group of three? If reference to tyranid warriors then remove the words "one or three" as it does not help any. Should have been from one to three, I fixedit thanks. 1. Genestealers. My favored unit. No possibility of move 20?

This list had been getting some playtesting here (Before I was askedtotake over the Nid list which is another storey), and I have a vocal little group that wants a bit more convincing before it is needed. Myself I want to see what happens first, then decide on a change, but I am inclined to believe it is going to become 20cm eventually.

2. Exocrine. Dactylis version, remove the reinforced. Perhaps brood(3).

I agree this could be an undercosted unit with RA, but again I do want to playtest it a bit to be sure.

3. Hierodule. Trygon version. Should the template be the same as in old epic? Should be said what it is (and have the graphical presentation to pdf version).


We are using the present Breath Template.

4. Tergagant. Infiltrator?


It makes them more flexible in assaults and we have liked the results achieved so far. Not game breaking but handy.

5. Gargoyle. They have armour now? Which makes them a whole lot better.


I felt for a long time they were undercosted, and decided adding a bit of armor instead of something else. We will see how it goes.

6. Haruspex. IMHO I would make the haruspex A to fire support version (even though it was not in old epic strictly speaking). By moving the CCMW to FFMW. This would create different feel to them.


The Tanks will probably change the most of all the units, and this is one of the possibilities I am concidering, because it creates a different feel. We do have time to experiment and I want to use it. Feel free to give it a try and give me a report on your findings. I really want to encourage experimenting, e-mail if you don't want to post, I'll answer.

Now the Infiltrators have a cap on how fast they can move in engage. Was the idea to allow them to leave synapse range in engage not good?


No it is a good idea, I am just trying to figure out a way to word it clearly, and in short sentences. But I did want to get the list up with the new data ASAP so you guys could get down to having some real fun.

Thanks for the imput.............

Jaldon