So at long last the Tyranid FAQ is come! You can find it here. Also as a side note, the Blood Angel's FAQ was also released, but I have yet to read through it. There are more pressing matters at hand. So here is a brief overview of the tyranid FAQ and how it will effect the Tyranid Players out there.
The good:
Basic clarifications are given. They are much needed, like the ruling that tyranids can use multiple weapons like in the past. Some obvious Instictive behavior rules and Tyrant abilities. Hive commander bonus does not stack, and you can't outflank more than one troop choice! Mawlocs abilities are also clarified.
The Eh:
Doom of Malant'tai got his rules clarified. We all saw this coming. I for one never played him and don't care much either way, but from what I've heard from those that do play, some rulings are horrible. He does not effect units in vehicles. That is obvious ruling and everyone is pretty much fine with. He counts as a Zoanthrope, so yes he does have Warp Field thank you very much. Yes failing perils of the warp on his Cataclysm power can kill him with bad luck and effects strength beforehand. The bad part, you get cover saves from his Life leech. So he can only hit disembarked units, that are within 6 inches of him, and they get cover saves if possible, and in this edition, very likely. So really, they just cut his power back by near 75%.
The Horrible:
And here is the giant crap that GW decided to take on the Tyranid players.
1. An independent character cannot join a unit deepstriking via Mycetic pod. That's right, no more Primes with warriors dropping in and causing havoc. Oh, space marine players, keep doing what you've been doing, it's fine.
2. Shadow in the Warp does not effect units in Vehicles. WTF!! It is bad enough our psyker defence is already horrible at only 12" range, and doesn't cancel out powers but simply adds a dice (most good psykers are Ld 10, which still passes half the time on 3d6). But now we can't use it against models in vehicles? So every AV model out there now is made from the bones of the Emporer and blessed with the faith of sisters of battle. Again, Space marine Hoods, keep being amazing and all that jazz.
Sigh... This is a large sum of Fail on GWs part. Are they trying to piss me off? Are they trying to turn away tyranid players?
Oh I forgot to mention the best part. Remember how ICs can't join units in Pods? The unit taking a Pod, it has to deep strike in the Pod. That is right, no options, you can't have the squad start on the board and just have the Pod drop in. Again, everything space marines can do, we get the opposite crap end.
These are horrible rulings, and as someone on the forums had mentioned, "WTF? Did they use a random answer generator for this FAQ?" That made me laugh cause it seems to be true.
What are everyone else's opinions? How do you think this will effect tyranid players?
I think this has solidified my growing feeling of switching armies. Maybe I'll read up on the BA FAQ and see how bad that one is and decide.
The Shadow ruling was just to be consistant with their lazy Spirit Leech wording. Instead of errata it to specifically say that it does not affect embarked units(it already specifically does not affect vehicles) they just say no. But to be consistant in the FAQ it has to say the same for Shadow since it just measure distances to models also. Ofcourse they ignore consistancy across books since Hoods use the exact same measurement determination so also should no longer work but I doubt any space marine player will believe that and since nids are the only army without transports they take all the punishment without any gain even if hoods were ruled to not work on units in transports.
ReplyDeleteA point I like is comparing the tyrant guard blind rampage and BA priest references to furious assault. Only way those two work together in a logical way is to have the requirement that you must have furious charge both when you charge and when you actually get to make your attacks.
I'm glad the Doom silliness was finally sorted... not being able to join IC's to a unit pre-Podding is just silly. The rules are now written so that IC's can join before something's on the board (so that you roll 1 die to see if the entire unit comes on). This goes straight against that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I *really* don't like the vehicle protection from Shadow... because Mech's not powerful enough, our psyche defense (and no other) needs to get the shaft? It's, as you point out, not even that powerful (definitely no more than a well placed hood). More plentiful, but short ranged to balance. It's good, and our version. Workable.
Unless you own a Rhino.
On the plus side, the BA FAQ indicates that scouting vehicles CAN pop smoke during their scout move. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, the Nids didn't need this kind of nerfing.
RIP Drop Nids, I hardly knew ye.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I really would like to know just what in the holy fuck those guys are smoking up there in Nottingham. Seriously. That must be some good shit, to nerf an army that doesn't need nerfing, apart from Doom, which I'm fine that they clarified that. But to have this all pervasive shadow in the warp, heralding billions of tyranids coming for you, scratching at your mind, until you hop in your rhino and put on some soothing music on the CD player, and all is well. Balls.
ReplyDeleteI think that when you do see Nids, they'll be Tervigons, Hive Guards and Tyrannofexes.
ReplyDeleteMatt Varnish:
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah :P
'I cant take it anymore, they're all around me, scratching, tearing, biting. They're inside me, I feel them in my mind, we're all doomed, there is no escape! Oh dear Emperor, men get in the transport!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx_p43eNDAU
"Nothings ever gonna change my love for you, you ought to know by now how much I love you..."
(They're singing about the Emperor, of course ;))
I distinctly recall some of the fluff, eg about Tyran, and Kryptmann, saying that the Astropaths were being boned in the head by the Nids despite being in ships. I fail to see the difference - HOWEVER, you fail to note one of the most important parts of the format. Y/N answers can be reversed with little fuss.
ReplyDeleteHive Commander not stacking is way more relevant than a lot of the other stuff- it invalidates an entire build from the codex. Doom giving saves is kinda crap, same with Primes and Pods, but they don't make-or-break the army. Without 2x Hive Commander, a reserves list simply doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteYou can stack with Swarmlord... :/
ReplyDeleteYou really think that coming in on a 2+ is a requirement to play a reserves list? I have to say that seems a bit harsh. Even a 3+ is pretty nice, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt is not just bad that the reserve bonus doesn't stack, but the outflanking a troop choice doesn't stack as well. And sure you can stack with a Swarmlord, but a Normal Hive tyrant is overcosted enough as it is, around 400 points for The swarmlord is only viable in 2k+, and having both is probably only worth it in 2.5k+
ReplyDeleteWhat really killed the pod army as I see it is the fact that units selecting a Pod have to deploy via pod. Having that option is huge, if you know you'll need some units early game, especially since we lost a +1 bonus and do not have droppod assault rules.
Everyone keeps saying that the FAQ is not final, and that the Y/N format makes it easy to fix. Well I waited six months for them to brake these things, I don't feel like waiting for them to take their sweet time "fixing" it.
Until then, Nids are shelved. Straw that broke the camels back.
3+ is pretty nice, if you want to get piece mealed. 2+ on turn 2 is required for a competitive army, especially when our survivable units cannot take pods, and primes can't join units in pods to keep them alive.
Not to mention Synapse networks with inconsistent reserves.
I play an entire drop list.... unfortunatly, now i don't. if i have one guy just standing there all like "guys... guys where are you??" my prime is going to die. i dont get why he can't jump into a unit before they drop... just not right. i was just starting to get really into this codex. oy. guess i'll just play orks.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I'd let a prime join in pre-podding. And I'm not speaking as a Tyranid player, but as someone who's read the core rules, where IC's can join units before said unit enters play.
ReplyDeleteI see very little as "required for a competitive army". I have a couple units that always use reserves, and a couple more that often do.. and I don't have any bonuses other than the haphazard Pheromone Trail. I don't have any serious problems with the army.
Of course, I also don't play a full Pod army (or full reserves, or any such thing). Even so, I'd give it a shot. The reserves ruling doesn't hurt my feelings as much as the Prime thing... but that just means I'd take a Flyrant instead of the Prime (or two). Synapse woes are, it seems to me, fixed by having more, smaller broods of synapse beasties. I'd probably do 2 broods of 4 each Warriors instead of my normal brood of 5, and try for 2 broods of Zoanthropes instead of just 1. Along with the Flyrant, that's 5 separate units. 6 if you take Shrikes as well. Weight of numbers, as always.
If anything, the Prime got that nerf to sell more Tyrants. Perhaps they will release a Prime kit, and reverse it then?
ReplyDeleteThe Doom's syphon getting cover isn't a surprise, (see eldar mindwar), but disapointing. The mawloc DS getting cover saves is silly, and I concur with everyone about the SiTW *uck-up. The loss of a second +1 to reserves hurts the variety of builds available and so does limiting the Prime's drop ability. I would have liked to have seen a second flanking troops, even if you can't stack the +1 reserve roll?
ReplyDelete