Brood Brother |
 |
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 11:45 pm Posts: 85
|
Hey gang. I was about to start playing in an Epic map campaign with the new 8.4 'Nid rules, and I had some questions on the thought processes behind some of the changes from the older lists.
1) AA fire. It would appear that the only AA now in the list is the Dominatirx (1xAA5+, 30cm), the Mieotic Spores (1xAA5+, 15cm), and the Gargolyles (1xAA6+, 15cm).
Thats IT? I hope there are some misprints in there... The Dominatrix, well, I would hardly ever use her. 450 points of utter fragility...a lot of my opponents field Cobras, Shadowswords, Deathstrikes, etc. She just won't last. Not and be useful, anyway.
That leaves the Spores, which are ALWAYS Instinctive (i.e. ONLY allowed to Hold or Engage, which is useless...), and thus simply drift around 10cm per turn hoping like hell the enemy comes within their range (for 150 points!), and Gargoyles (??? What...are they flying up there and clogging up the engines?) who will often be hitting on 7+ or even 8+ (Double move plus the -1 Penalty for shooting at disengaging aircraft after flak-rushing them). Useless.
Was this list even tested against serious air power? I.e. the Royal Ork Air Force, heavy Tau/Eldar/Empire air power, etc.?
I think this is FAR too little and FAR to ineffective air defense. Even my Feral Orks have much better (AA5+ MW on the Wyrdboyz!).
What are the authors (and others) thoughts on this? Is it meant to be this bad?
2) Zoanthropes...and, to a lesser extent, Biovores. The only Light Vehicles in the list, which means that they can be picked out of most Swarms (Warrior Brood + Gaunt Swarms + Zoanthrope = Dead Zoanthrope, every time. Ditto if you put him in an AV formation, i.e. Tyrants and 'Fexes). Basically, the enemy simply shoots the crap out of the formation with the appropriate weapon (AP or AT), but then, instead of all the OTHER type being wasted, they pound it all into the LV's. Thats REALLY bad for their survivability, and couple with the overall uselessness of a 30cm AP4+ shot as their only real weapon...
Does anyone even consider buying these guys anymore? Zoanthropes, I mean...the Biovore actually has a decent weapon. Why did the Zoanthrope lose all AT and AA ability? Is there a justification for that? I was under the impression Warp Blast, in 40k, was a really nice Tank Killer, and, as a Psychic Ability, its probably the only thing in the Tyranid list/fluff thats fast enough (speed of thought) to target Aircraft.
3) Bio-Titans...from the original list I started using, i.e. 7.1 on the SG site, to this...at this point, every Bio-Titan has lost fully half of their regenerative ability AND all of the "on foot" Bio Titans have lost 25%-33% of their DC as well (2 points across the board), the Hierodule being the lone exception to that last.
Thats an ungodly nerf to something that already had zero defense against TK weaponry. Nearly every army, if not every one, can simply wipe these guys off the map with a single volley from certain units...the aforementioned Cobras (BP TK d3!), Shadowswords and Deathstrikes (2+ TK d3 or d6!), not to mention Titan-mounted weaponry. Even just some dedicated MW fire can obliterate these guys.
What am I missing here? Whats the thought process behind this? Because right now, unless you happen to KNOW your opponent isn't fielding this stuff, there is very little incentive to bring these big boys to the party...
4) And a minor quibble...the Trygon. A DC2 War Engine-sized Ravener, but it doesn't have a single MW attack in CC? That seems a bit goofy, considering the Carnifex, Haruspex, Broodlord, and Lictor all have MW attacks in CC...what caused you to leave this guy out, especially after he lost a DC, Reinforced Armor, his Flamer Template MW, and still remanined the same cost?
Just some questions...I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts on the matter. Maybe I'm just not using these guys right, or something, but these seem like some glaring issues to me. 
|
|