Here’s a fun Nid tactica I’ve been using, lately.
So, let me tell you about my boy the Broodlord. He is a champion!
Genestealers in general took a hit this edition with the loss of charging from reserves or Infiltrate top of turn 1, overwatch, no grenades (still) etc. They are just too fragile to really get the job done which stinks as they are such an iconic unit…and because I have 40 of them painted! haha
However, due to some of the changes to 6th ed rules, the Broodlord has become an absolute BAMF.
So, for those of you who don’t know (you didn’t see him much last edition) the Broodlord is the big dog Genestealer. He comes on a 40mm base and has strength and toughness 5, WS and I 7 and 3 attacks, base, plus 3 wounds and a 4+ with rending attacks. He’s better than most ICs just base and at a lower points cost to boot.
Why he is such a chiefton though, is because he also has some excellent abilities. Hypnotic gaze is awesome, a model in BtB with him and he both role a D6 and add their LD. If the Broodlord rolls equal or higher, his opponent does nothing for that assault phase! His other power creates a 12″ bubble that lowers enemy ld by 1 and stacks with itself. That is obviously great for psychic checks, ld checks, etc. Best of all, both powers target the Broodlord and as such, do not trigger a DtW roll.
Further, you can buff him up with some great options. ScyTals (reroll 1’s to hit), poison, furious assault, and, best of all, Instant Death attacks on a 6, which also rend.
What this all adds up to is a bad ass in a challenge and a debuffer. The Broodlord goes in, issues a challenge, if the enemy accepts, he takes a LD check with good odds of failure (particularly if the enemy has LD9 or lower) and just stands there attacking as the Broodlord’s punching bag, if not, the Broodlord will still almost always swing first, and with 4 attacks, rerolling 1’s to hit and often, rerolling to wound rolls, your odds of rolling that 6 are really good. That means frequently, the Broodlord is going to 86 anyone who doesn’t have EW in a challenge, quick-style. If not, he’s still toughness 5, 3 wounds. He’s probably not going anywhere. If the other player doesn’t accept the challenge, take them out of combat and he slices and dices infantry.
In all, he is a really great addition to a Nid army and a reason to take some Genestealers again. You can min max them, taking multiple Broodlords, or you can take a solid unit of 10 with the Broodlord for a really powerful assault unit. Don’t forget the -1ld bubble, either, it is super useful. While it doesn’t work in your shooting phase, it does work in the enemy phase which is great for the Doom popping his power in their phase and for throwing a monkey wrench into enemy psychers’ plans (and don’t forget it makes Shadows even better!).
Note, readers have been telling us about the Sealer star, which is new to me, in which you take a unit of 20 Stealers juiced up on upgrades, and support them with more ICs (Tyranid Primes) and Psychic buffs to create a very powerful shock unit. -ed
In all, the Broodlord is a boss!