Warhammer 40,000 Faction Focus: Tyranids

The Tyranids are as ravenously hungry as ever in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000, and today we’re looking at three new detachments at their disposal.

We’ve had a lot of questions about how the new detachments work with army building. We can confirm that all of the new detachments featured in this series cost a single Detachment Point (DP). Remember, in a 2,000 point Strike Force-sized game, you’ll get three Detachment Points. This means you could take all three of these new detachments together, or bolt one onto many of your existing Codex detachments (most of which are 2DP) to create all sorts of powerful and thematic combinations.

Now then, we’re going to… wait, do you hear that? Sounds a little like something creeping through the underbrush. Tyranids don’t sneak around though, that’s preposterous. Whoever heard of a stealthy Tyrani–

Ambush Predators

There goes another intern. On the plus side, the new Ambush Predators detachment is a good bit of sneaky, stabby fun, letting you get your assassin bioforms right up close before bursting out of concealment in a whirlwind of xenoviolence. Characters beware.

‘Quivering mind-meat’. Lovely, we’ll take two, plus a side salad.

Lictors will find it especially easy to Deep Strike in the new edition, as they only have to fit their 50mm base 8” away from enemy units, while the new Hidden rules mean they can sequester themselves in some dense terrain and dare trigger-happy troops to come near if they want to get a shot off.

Controlling the battlefield with stalking predators extends to the detachment’s enhancements and stratagems too, with Encircling Horrors allowing several of the vanguard organisms to get a free move whenever the enemy comes close. This can make them especially tricky to charge unless you can get really close to begin with, and if your opponent scuffs their roll, the initiative is back in your favour.

Those aforementioned Hidden rules can work doubly in your favour too, as enemies trying to keep away from your Barbgaunts, Tyrannofexes, and Hive Guard can set themselves up for a deadly charge. Lictors particularly love Counterpredation against Space Marines, as the +1 Strength ensures their naturally 2 Damage attacks wound most of the Adeptus Astartes on a 2+, and extra AP is never a bad thing against power armour.

Talons of the Norn Queen

When quietly assassinating priority targets doesn’t quite cut it, you can always just smash them into the dirt with giant Tyranid monsters. Norn Emissaries and Assimilators are already quite good at swinging battles thanks to their Singular Purpose ability – becoming more lethal against a chosen target or more durable on a chosen objective – and the Talons of the Norn Queen detachment lets them straight up re-pick once per game.

Each one gets their own do-over too, so if you bring a handful of the big guys into battle, you’re not stuck only shifting priorities for one of them. This is a great way to extend their impact into the late game, and keep the pressure on your opponent.

If you have a particularly pesky character clogging up your advance, you can also unleash the Destabilising Predation enhancement from your Norn Emissaries, letting them turn Characters of all shapes and sizes into mush with their Psychic Tendril. One of its fire modes even has Precision, so you can burst their brain from inside their Bodyguard squad before tearing the rest to bits in the Fight Phase.

The monstrously high Toughness and Save* characteristics of these towering terrors mean that mortal wounds are an efficient way to chip away at their lifespan, and the Hive Mind couldn’t disapprove more. Even these lethal attacks can be turned away by the sudden activation of a Catalytic Biofortification, and it only costs a single Command Point.

Warrior Bioform Onslaught

The average Tyranid swarm is mostly made up of uncountable Hormagaunts, Termagants, and other lesser creatures, but on particularly deadly battlefields the Hive Mind has been known to spawn Tyranid Warriors in extreme numbers to lend a spot of skill and durability to their assaults. The Tyranids created as part of a Warrior Bioform Onslaught are endowed an extra sliver of the Hive Mind’s will, fortifying their bodies and letting them take a greater part in the overall battle plan.

That’s right, having only one Wound is so passé. Make your rank and file really pull their weight, and with Synapse emanating from your Battleline, you’ll never need to worry about being outside that sweet, sweet +1 Strength melee attack range.

Since Tyranid Primes are the archetypal leader for these big Warrior blobs, it stands to reason they get some bite out of this Detachment’s Enhancements. Elevated Might is a simple but tasty boost that makes your leaders even more deadly in close combat, and it’s especially good on the Lash Whip variant who gets an enormous pile of attacks that love re-rolls To Wound in particular.

We know what you’re thinking, “That sounds great, but I really wish they were even more difficult to kill,” which is a very sound assessment. You’ll be glad to know that the Warrior’s Alien Physiology can be fortified even further, just in case your unfortunate opponent thought a pile of high-Strength weapons were going to be enough.

The Hive Mind is ever-adapting, and clearly that’s still the case in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. We’ll be back tomorrow with another Faction Focus, and this time we’re gathering around an eight-pointed sigil to summon the dark forces of the Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Daemons. Get your robe and sacrificial dagger ready!

* Not to mention their 4+ Invulnerable Save.