(Hena @ Apr. 01 2007,07:11)
QUOTE
- You can attack them with normal weapons
- They interact with ground forces (block movement and so on)
- The AA weapons are then better against smaller amount of aircraft than larger
- They can end up in cover
- They can be destroyed if they stop over terrain
- Are cheap activation for Tyranids
It requires 5 sentences to explain them. That is about same as Wraithgate, so it's definitely not too much. And you will need extra rules on your case as well.
I don't think they are nearly as problematic as you are portraying, Hena. The stats E&C proposed are actually rather elegant in that regard.
Think of the units as big clouds that reach from where their tendrils just graze the ground up to a height that would interfere with aircraft. Most of your objections vanish with that concept.
Normal units could fire at them.
The "unit" is really somewhat dispersed. Like Scouts, their 5cm ZoC would be attributable to things like dispersion, erratic movement of the tendrils being blown by the wind and so on, rather than actual physical presence.
They could potentially become fouled in terrain and be "destroyed" when the cloud breaks up or if a balloon mis-identified something blows up, setting off a chain reaction. Skimmer/5cm move (i.e. always moving cautiosly) would make that rather rare, but it is not unreasonable for it to be possible.
The only explanation required would be that they cannot claim cover saves.
Cheap activations are a matter of appropriate formation composition and pricing. After all, Nids can rack up on cheap Lictor formations or Genestealer formations as well if they want to jack up their activation count.
