Hey everyone, Danny from TFG Radio here, and today, I am going to finish up my review of all the big bugs in the Tyranid codex in light of the absolutely, 100%, no embellishment glow up that the Army of Renown, Crusher Stampede, has brought to our hungry, hungry hippos. If you haven’t, be sure to check out Part 1 that covers HQs, Elites, Fast Attacks, and a few Heavy Supports, and of course, don’t forget to keep up with all the goings on over at Frontline’s ever-growing library of articles at the Tactics Corner.
Alright, so again, if you haven’t read my review of Crusher Stampede, now would be a good time to get familiar with the rules, strats, and powers. Ready? Let’s get back into it and look at a motley crew of Heavy Support, Flyers, Dedicated Transports, a Fortification (did ya even remember we have one of those?), and of course, the chonkies. Let’s do it:
Trygon/Trygon Prime
More sneks! The snakes have always had a durability issue, but a 5++ and -1 damage certainly mitigates that. Their T6 wasn’t protecting them from much, but again, a 5++ and -1 damage helps make those 12 wounds a lot harder to chew through. As these snakes are ambush predators, they do excel at getting into enemy objectives, and counting for up to 12 models can help steal objectives as needed. They can take adrenal glands, so an 8 inch charge is a lot more manageable than 9, especially if you throw in the CP for a reroll or use some of our other tricks to boost the charge like Hive Instinct or Hunter’s Drive. They are S7 with 7 attacks that are AP-3 and Dd6, so they make great choices for Thunderous Impact against a hard target. Against more elite armies that rely on heavy armor (or Knights), you can even start them on the board and use Swarmlord to missile them forward after being loaded up with Aggressive Surge and Bio-Weapon Bond, getting them to essentially 2+ rerolling 1s with 8-11 attacks that are wounding on 4s (with a reroll from Voracious Appetite) that is Dd6+1 if hitting another Monster or Vehicle. That’s a lot of heat that can easily spike to one dead Knight, especially for only 150 points base. That’s really where they stand out, more so than their native reserve ability, is that they have Damage d6 base attacks at only 150 points. Let’s not forget that they can take Warriors with them when they arrive, so if you are building towards certain secondaries, they can help you with that. If you really love the CrushP super Warriors, a Trygon makes a great delivery mechanism for them to pop up and lay down some fire out of nowhere while also giving you another threat in the same area.
So really, there are several ways to try and run these snakes, either as backfield objective assassins that pop up, charge in, and try to take objectives away and force your opponent to either shift their focus to their back ranks or just concede control, or you can leverage that they actually hit pretty hard and are one of our cheapest bugs. Don’t forget that they actually pair really well with Warrior heavy builds. They have a lot of flexibility, and if you are building a list where you want more bugs, a basic Trygon actually isn’t a bad pick at all. Also, because they can reserve on their own and generally do some good work without much help, you can save buffs for other targets.
More tekky than sheer killy, but I could see a build or two where Trygons very much do work.
Tyrannofex
One of the biggest non-forgeworld Bugs around, the Tyrannofex get a lot of mileage out of both the 5++ and the -1 damage. Coming in at T8 with 14 wounds and 175 points for the Acid Spray gun, the Tyrannofex becomes a great mid-table control piece. Few units want to take up to 4d6 autohits, and the Tyrannofex now has the defense to sit pretty comfortably on an objective outside of your deployment zone. Anything coming in with melee has to contend with the flamer, and even if the Tyrannofex charges, with a base Strength of 7 when healthy and 14 wounds, it makes great surprising use of Breaking Through. Since it also counts as up to 14 models, a Tyrannofex is great at missions with multiple objectives on your side of the board as it can sit there and just lay down fire, and few things are going to want to absorb its overwatch, and it isn’t easy to shift at range either. A nice perk of the Tyrannofex is that it also doesn’t generally need Bio-Weapon bond as the flamer just does what flamers do. If you are taking a Maleceptor, then its Link is pretty helpful to get more value out of their Dd3 hits. If you are going with either of the other variants, then you run into their usual problems, which CrushP has not addressed. The Fleshborer Hive is cool, and with Bio-Weapon, hitting on 3s for 40 shot is fun, but again, with only 18″ range, the Tyrannofex has to move out to get into the kill zone, and it’s overwatch is no longer such a tangible threat. The Rupture Cannon is fun as hell, but with only up to 6 shots, you need Bio-Weapon, but then, you also really want The Maleceptor Link for rerolling the damage.
The biggest downside to the Tyrannofex is that it is not a super effective piece on turn 1 unless going second against a very aggressive army. The Tyrannofex is generally going to have to move out on turn one, maybe even advance, to be able to get into position for Turn 2. That can not be that big of a deal if you have Swarmlord to put turn 1 pressure with another beast, and well, it doesn’t hurt a list to have one or two units that are designed to stay away from the fight and mostly keep an objective safe. Still, the Tyrannofex isn’t as plug and play as other options, but if you are trying to stack as much T8 as possible into a list, the Tyrannofex is quite a bargain when you factor in how tough it is.
A big improvement, but you need to build a list to maximize their use rather than just drop in.
Toxicrene
This has long been one of my favorite bugs as the model is so characterful (if not a bit hard to actually use well on the table), but with Crusher Stampede, a key weakness is addressed. With a 5++ and -1 damage, their 12W at T7 goes much farther, but don’t forget that they are only 150 points. That’s a good deal, and the Toxicrene is a bit hardier than any other cheaper bug, and really, it provides some fun tek that other monsters don’t. One of the main benefits of the Toxicrene is their bespoke stratagem, Grasping Tendrils, which allows them to stop an enemy’s Fall Back on a 3+ (or 2+ if Infantry). Being able to stop a unit from escaping is critical on several levels: first, it can ensure that a Toxicrene has several rounds of combat to get to munching as its total offensive output isn’t amazing, at least without Aggressive Surge, so having 2 rounds of combat helps. Second, it stops your opponent’s forward momentum as their frontline unit cannot push forward to take the center, and especially if they do not have a lot of Flying units, you can start a traffic jam, especially helpful against horde armies that have units with big footprints. Lastly, you can tie up a major shooting element, forcing it to either sit and do nothing or have to put its firepower into the Toxicrene while your other threats move up unimpeded. The Swarmlord/Toxicrene combo is a great first turn move as while it lacks the sheer damage of say a Dimachaeron or Hierodule, it can cause more movement problems later while saving your more expensive pieces.
In terms of offense, the Toxicrene loves Aggressive Surge or Infused Energies, as it has 6 attacks when healthy, so getting it up to 9 is pretty sweet, especially if you are rerolling those at a healthy WS 3+. The Toxicrene naturally rerolls to wound, saving you CP, and at -2 AP and Dd3, it can actually do decent damage against Primaris bodies. Most importantly, the Toxicrene has Always Strikes First, which is key for helping in the Death Guard/Drukhari matchup where there are a lot of Always Strikes Last, so even if the Toxicrene isn’t fighting first, you can still interrupt with it. It also has inherent Acid Blood, nice for doing chip damage back, and it has solid anti-horde tek with its aura that causes a mortal on a 6. Finally, if going Leviathan, it also has one of the best Nid explosions for straight 3 mortal wounds to anyone within 3″. This makes the Swarmlord combo better as you can send the Toxicrene in, let it do some damage, lock down an important unit from Falling Back, and if they kill it either in melee or the locked down target can shoot into it, you can make it explode for 3 mortal wounds.
I think the Toxicrene is a sleeper hit here with a lot of utility that most opponents won’t be prepared for.
Harpy/Hive Crone
Our maligned flyers are here, and well, at least in one specific way, they suddenly got some legs under them. At 12W on T6 with a 4+, that 5++ is just sweet. Massed Bolter fire is still a problem, but a lot of standard D2 weapons aren’t as scary with the -1 damage. This makes them just a bit more resilient, granted, still pretty weak as monsters go, but they are also some of our cheapest options.
Where they really shine is that while they are Flyers, they do not have the AIRCRAFT keyword, meaning they can actually score objectives and generally traverse the board with blazing speed while still getting secondaries. Their biggest boon is really that as Leviathan, you can Hive Mind Imperative them and boom, you have what constitutes 12 Obsec bodies suddenly showing up on an objective 30″ away. This can really throw a wrench into your opponent’s plans, and to be real, few people are going to expect a Monster Mash list to mess with them on the objective game, but the Harpy and Crone are there, waiting to do it. You can absolutely set tempo in the game right from the start, and guess what, you don’t need Swarmlord to do it. You can also easily first turn charge with them, so if your opponent underestimates their speed, one can move up, fire some guns, and then charge in with admittedly weak melee, but maybe enough to knock down a squad or at least keep it from being able to really hurt them back, all while claiming that objective. It forces your opponent to shift their attention to their own backfield, and yes, a Harpy/Hive Crone isn’t going to survive much attention, but it requires some to be sure.
Lastly, the Harpy also brings a little bit of tek, namely it has Always Strikes Last for units that it has successfully charged. This can be crucial if going against a really hard target that is unlikely to die to just one monster coming in with the swing or if going against Death Guard/Druhkari who have a plethora of either Always Strikes Last or Always Strikes First. It may not come up at all times, but it can be a nice utility piece that pays off in certain matchups.
Their stock is up, but mostly if you are taking Leviathan.
Tyrannocyte
Our little drop pod isn’t exactly popular, but it is actually our cheapest Monster at 95 points for 5 Deathspitters. It also doesn’t take up any coveted slots in a detachment, so that’s a plus. Really, the 5++ and -1 damage are huge improvements here as it is only T6 with a 4+, so you are going to rely on that 5++ quite a bit. With 12 Wounds, that -1 damage can keep multi-damage weapons from just removing it, but still, the Tyrannocyte is more afraid of massed bolterfire as any real AT shot at it is just value for you. The thing that about its defense is just that it costs 95 points, so any attention it takes is sparing your other units, and again, those defenses add up.
Offensively, The Tryrannocyte does love Breaking Through against infantry. With 12W and S5, at full health, it is likely to get the max 6 Mortal Wounds against anything T5 and below. That can be pretty hilarious, and it opens up an avenue of threat that your opponent might not consider. With Bio-Weapon Bond, those 5 Deathspitters become fairly accurate, but really, the Tyrannocyte is much more about surprising bursts of damage or delivery system.
With how deadly a Hive Tyrant can be now, putting a Reaper or Slayer Tyrant into a Tyrannocyte isn’t too bad of an idea. Setting up a charge from reserve is certainly doable between Adrenal Glands on the Tyrant and our two stratagems, Hunter’s Drive and Hive Instinct, and while this is more expensive than just giving the Tyrant wings, it does give you another Monster that can float around and grab objectives. Granted, I tend to find my lists pretty tight with points, but I do think Tyrannocytes have some room as disposable chaff that also deposit a larger threat where it needs to go, like say an Acid Spray Tyrannofex, which is fun as hell to put on your opponent’s side of the board. Even just defensively, one Tyrannocyte hanging out can help you hide a crucial monster like Swarmlord from really heavy alpha strike lists, and since it is a Monster, if you need the cheapest possible Monster to take another Infantry unit, the Tyrannocyte has got you.
Some improvement, but certainly still not optimal.
Sporocyst:
Our little Fortification is easy to forget, but it is a Monster, and it has some unique abilities that warrant attention. The first is that its rather sad defensive profile of 12W at T6 with a 4+ save are much improved with a 5++ and -1 damage. Again, not the hardest bug, but certainly tougher. It makes it far less trivial to kill, which is good since it’s primary mission is to get in the way, and the longer it does that, the better.
With the ability to drop down and deploy more than 9” away from enemies makes it great at taking a side objective immediately, changing the tempo of the game and forcing your opponent to shift plans. When healthy, counting as 12 models means that vehicles can’t just snag an objective away from it, so your opponent either has to put Obsec near it or just flat out kill it, but again, that is spending shots that aren’t going into your main threats. It also creates spores, either big ones or little ones, which again are all about movement blocking and forcing your opponent to make quick decisions, which leads to sub-optimal plays. It also acts as a Synapse beacon, allowing you to string out Synapse and more importantly, Synaptic Link plays. It is most certainly a tek piece as it really lacks consistent damage although Bio-Weapon bond never hurts, and since it is immobile, it cannot charge, so it cannot use Breaking Through.
Again, this is 115 points for essentially some higher level play about board control and tempo. I can see an argument for it, and it is better, but it is very much a tek piece that may not yield much at all in a game. it also needs its own Detachment, which is a bit bleh.
Harridan:
Here we are now, the big ones. The Harridan already sees some competitive play, but with CrushP, it is just more of a nightmare to handle. With a 5++ and -1 damage, a lot of armies are going to struggle to do much to 34 wounds of T8 , and let’s not forget that if in Airborne mode, an inherent -1 to hit. Especially if you are rocking a Maleceptor with a -1 Strength aura up, even those new spicy T’au railguns are going to struggle a bit. Seeing as CrushP really maximizes one monster at a time, loading up a Harridan with +d3 attacks, +1 to hit from Warriors, and Infused Energies and our Synaptic Barrier for either full rerolls to hit and/or a 4++ invulnerable save, and of course, Catalyst for a 5+++ Feel No Pain, you can rocket a Harridan forward on the first turn, and with its Hovering movement of 20”, it can get right into combat without Swarmlord, letting you either drop him to help save points or rocket another threat, so your opponent is now dealing with 2 monsters right into them from the start. Of course, you can also Swarmlord the Harridan if you really want to get into their backfield, but that does drop their shooting, and the Harridan brings that ranged heat that can be essential for an army. The Harridan really benefits from Aggressive Surge to make its melee a bit more impactful, but really, you can load it up and have it be just an absolute unit that your opponent has to try and handle, and if you get all the buffs up, it will likely be incredibly difficult for most armies to actually stop the Harridan. It is not going to clear any target in the game when it hits, but between 16 S10 AP-3 D3 shots, pretty much guaranteed 6 mortal wounds on the charge from Breaking Through, and then 5+d3 attacks at S10 Ap-3 D6, there isn’t much out there that can take that and shrug it off smiling.
Even as a gunboat in the backfield, the Harridan can stay out of the scrum, lay down fire on super hard targets that threaten the other monsters, and mostly just be a horrible pain to bring down, especially again since the resources required to kill it are substantial, your opponent is going to struggle to do any meaningful damage to your other monsters. The only downside to the Harridan is that it has the Aircraft keyword, meaning it cannot hold or contest objectives, so it really is more a major threat that is about taking down essential targets than anything else, but for 700 points, it needs to be doing work and lasting.
Hierophant
Still one of my favorite models, and Crusher really gives it some new life. At 850 points, it is going to dominate your list, but that said, it also gives you a pretty clear focal point for buffs. The 5++ isn’t important as it already has that and a 2+ armor save, but the -1 damage goes pretty far with 34 T8 wounds. Like the Harridan, if you really load up this big boi, you have one of the tankiest models in the game. Between Synaptic Barrier, Catalyst, and Encephalic Diffusion, there really isn’t a shooting threat out there that is going to take down 34 T8 wounds that also happen to have a 2+/4++,5+++ Feel No Pain that also imposes -1 strength to anything shooting at it, all with -1 damage on top. The Hierophant really becomes the living fortress in which it has been described.
In terms of other benefits, +d3 attacks isn’t bad at all, especially when it has 6 base with those big S10 AP-3 D6 hits, and it also has 10 S5 AP-1 D1 attacks as well in melee. It is going to get 6 mortal wounds from Breaking Through, so it has the volume of attacks to really threaten larger units. It shoots just like the Harridan with those 16 big shots, but it also has 2d6 auto-hitting S7 AP-3 D1 shots (or 2 if you pop Pathogenic Slime), so it brings a lot of volume of fire as well. While it cannot navigate the board as easily as a Harridan, it still has the FLY keyword as well as the Titanic Rule, so it can navigate the board a bit, but also due to its rather odd design, terrain can really cause some headaches about where it can actually legally move. That said, I tend to think of it as just my backfield. It counts for 34 models when healthy, and it can essentially dominate your backfield objective and keep it safe, hopefully for the whole game. If running Leviathan, which again, right now is the best choice, you can make it Obsec, and because of its massive size, no 30 strong unit is going to be able to get close enough to get enough bodies to take the objective.
Again, at 850, it is almost half your list, so the problem here is having enough monsters on the board to actually play the objective game and get your opponent’s objectives. I have been theorycrafting lists with it that rely on Trygons and Mawlocs with Harpies to navigate the board and take objectives. Taking a Hierophant certainly forces a lot of tough decisions, but I do think it can do some work with CrushP.
Well, that’s it. That’s every monster that Tyranids have and how our new Army of Renown works with them. There are so many combinations that I am really excited for LVO 2022 as I know the Hive Mind will represent, and I look forward to seeing all the different variations of Crusher Stampede. Thanks as always for reading, and if you are going to LVO 2022, please do say hi at the Judge’s table or if you see me walking around as I tend to do. One last thing: TFG Radio is hitting a big milestone, so we have three different contests going on right now, so come find out what you can win. As always, play games and be nice to each other.
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