BREAKING NEWS!

Wow. You won't believe it, loyal blogslaves. I go onto the Games Workshop website, expecting the same old message about the new Finecast WHFB models, and guess what? Only the arrival of 6th edition 40k, my friends!

I personally feel that Games Workshop are going a bit too fast with this. Are we really ready for another edition? Then again, a new Tyranid codex is bound to lead to new units, which is bound to lead to me being very, VERY happy, which is bound to lead to another friendly killing spree! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I think I'll make flame shoot from my fingers at innocent bystanders..

Wow a new codex! Thanks (COUGH, Tyranid Armour Value, COUGH) Games Workshop!

Please leave a comment telling me what YOU think.

No comments on my mental health please, that's just bullying. I'll tell on you.

5th edition overview

Guten Tag, Freundin!
It turns out that all my previous posts have been using the 4th edition codex.
Oh.
Ah, well, a quick glance through a friend's copy of 5th edition told me all I needed to know about the units I have. Termagants are WAY better, having gone down by a point in cost and gone up by 1 in leadership. Great! Hormagaunts didn't fair quite so well. WS3???? WTF F FOR FROG I DON'T KNOW WHY! Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, hormagaunts. They may have gone down by 4 points and had an initiative increase, but that lowering of weapon skill really stings. I won't be using them again (I recommend Genestealers for CC).
What about warriors. Kind of a mixed bag there. They're now a whopping 30 points each, but they do have 3 wounds. That's right, 3 wounds. Plus, a 4+ save, which is pretty decent, especially for nids.
They also now have the option to be upgraded to a Tyranid Prime; a hulking 80pt, WS6, BS4, S5, T5, I5, 3+, 4 wound sunuvabitch. Who can give his WS and BS stats to any brood of warriors he joins.

Finally, what about my lil' Carnifex. Well, I can say that in his favour he's gained +1 BS. BUT HE'S ALSO 160 POINTS! AND YOU CAN'T UPGRADE HIS STRENGTH! I MEAN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GAMES WORKSHOP?!!
I'm disgusted, and something must be done about the Carnifex's cost. In fact, GW, if you're reading this, I'm gonna get some of my hardest lads, they're gonna come round your house, bash your door in and give you a strongly worded letter of complaint. And those words are going to STING! You'll be crying for a month!!
WOO HAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry guys, gotta go. Mum says I need to take my medication now.

CoDF

RESULTS: Tyranids vs Necrons vs Orks vs Blood angels

 I recently went to war with a couple of friends. It was a 4 way, roughly 1000 point battle, (we weren't too strict, being eager to start). Here are the armies, followed by results.

TYRANIDS

1 Tyrant Guard w rending claws and spinefists
1 Carnifex with scything talons, barbed strangler, enhanced senses, toxin sacs, adrenal glands and spore cysts (with mycetic spore for deep striking)
1 squad of 3 Warriors all with scything talons, 1 w venom cannon, 1 w deatspitter and 1 w devourer
2 squads of 10 termagants with fleshborers and extended carapace
1 squad of 8 hormagaunts with adrenal glands
1 squad of 8 Genestealers
3 Ripper Swarms
Spore mines (2 spore markers, 2 bioacid spore mines, 1 toxin mine and 3 frag mines)
Hive

BLOOD ANGELS

Mephiston Lord of Death with plasma pistol and Sanguine sword
1 Tactical squad
1 Devastator squad with 2 lascannons
1 Terminator squad
1 scout squad with snipers
Dreadnought with drop pod

NECRONS

1 Doomsday Ark
3 squads of 12 warriors
1 squad of Deathmarks
1 Overlord with Resurrection Orb
5 scarab swarms

ORKS

1 Warboss with Shoota and Power Klaw
4 Deffkoptas
1 Squad of boyz 1 with big shoota
1 squad of Nobz

Pretty much everyone ganged up on the poor Necrons, seeing them as a huge threat. This was good news for tyranids and blood angels, as tyranids thrive on outnumbering other armies, and with the Necrons thinned, they had an advantage. The Blood Angels were pleased because we hugely underestimated them; they are a massive threat. The Orks didn't  last long at all, charging into battle and being slaughtered, but taking an impressive two wounds off Mephiston with the Warboss.
The final result was
Blood Angels win, with scouts, mephiston, tactical squad, 1 terminator and mephiston still alive
Tyranids 2nd
Necrons 3rd
Orks 4th

BLOOD ANGELS ARE SO UNFAIR!

ronan

hi ronan

REVIEW: Carnifex

WOW. WOW. WOW.

Or really?

Carnifexes have many uses. Customisable to the point of insanity, the 'fex can be prepared for any role. I personally gave it a Barbed Strangler, Scything Talons, Mace Tail (because it looks cool), Spore Cysts, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs and Enhanced Senses. About 140 points in all. I plan to use it for crushing larger units.

However, the Carnifex is also surprisingly poor in places. Armour saves are 3+ (that's the same as a NORMAL space marine) but for only (SARCASM) 20 points you can increase that to 2+. It also has a rather poor weapon skill (3???) which is bested by its smaller teammates.

But I suppose STRENGTH 9 (which can be brought to strength 10 for 6 points) and toughness 6 (20 points to bring up to 7) kind of make up for all that. Plus, it looks. so. AWESOME!!!!

More Tyranids on the way

A Carnifex and some more Termagants will be heading my way very soon, so make sure to watch out for a review on the classic hulking Tyranid beast. What weapons and what biomorphs do you think the Carnifex should have?


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REVIEW: WARRIORS

The final brood I started off with: the Warriors. As Synapse Creatures, they are useful units to start with as they'll keep your lesser 'Nids in check. Highly adaptable, Tyranid Warriors can be equipped with all sorts of weapons, from Spinefists up to Venom Cannons, from Rending Claws to massive Scything Talons. They also come with many of the usual Tyranid Biomorphs, as well as some of the more advanced ones, like Wings and Enhanced Senses. They're good at staying alive and blasting the enemy until they reach the front line, where they are virtually unstoppable. I would recommend supplying each unit with a medium ranged weapon (Devourer or Venomspitter) and Scything Talons. In large broods, equip one Warrior with a heavy ranged weapon (Venom Cannon or Barbed Strangler, but I personally prefer the Venom).


 



Barbed Strangler



REVIEW: Hormagaunts

Aah, Hormies. So reliable.
Speedy and deadly in close combat (with a WS of 4 and 2 attacks) the Hormagaunt is an essential unit. One of the "swarmy" types of Tyranid, they are, like Termagants, helpful for covering more important units. Although you may want to keep them alive, because once they reach the front line, there's no stopping them!
Hormagaunts have only one weapon: a pair of Scything talons, but there are many Biomorphs available to them as well. Like Termagants, they can have Adrenal Glands (a very very good idea, at only 1 point extra), Toxin sacs, Extended Carapaces and Flesh hooks.

STATS:

WS:4  BS:3  S:3  T:3  W:1  I:5  Att:2  Ld:5  Sv:6+

REVIEW: Termagants

The termagant is a cheap little critter, at about 6 points, or for free if spawned with a Tervigon.

While pretty rubbish on their own in terms of Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill,  they can be great for covering more important units and soaking up enemy fire. Plus, you never know, you may get lucky and pick off a couple of enemies!

Termagants come with three different weapons: Fleshborers (for a 6 point Gaunt), Devourers (for a 7 pointer) and Spinefists (5 point Gaunt). Devourers are by far the better guns, with an 18 inch range, (compared to the others 12 inch), double the strength of the Gaunt and Living    Ammunition, a helpful rule which lets you reroll any failed attempts to wound.

They come with a large array of available biomorphs: toxin sacs (+1 strength) Adrenal Glands (+1 WS or Initiative) and Extended Carapaces (+1 Armour Saves). They also have a helpful special rule known as Without Number, which means for 3 extra points, your termagant brood can respawn at the board edge when wiped out.

Fleshborer



Devourer

IN SHORT: Tervigon/Tyrannofex

Tervigon

Tyrannofex

The Tervigon is a hulking Tyranid incubator which stores a clutch of termagants inside its massive brood pouch, ready to release them into the enemy lines (at no points cost whatsoever!) Up to 18 termagants can be released per turn with a Tervigon, so its worth considering adding one to your army. The tyrannofex is a massive creature of war, with claws, teeth and huge bio-weapons, including the massive rupture cannon, ready to smash down any foes. And with armour save 2+, it is pretty hard to kill too!

BREAKING NEWS!

Games Workshop has released two new tyranid Multi-part kits: The Tervigon/Tyrannofex and the Hive Tyrant/Swarmlord. Neither are Citadel Finecast, but I see that as a bonus as they'd be much more expensive! Each one is about £33.

The Ultimate Question

Now, time for a question. Leave your answer in the comments box.
OK, get ready. This is more important than Life, the Universe and Everything.

WHICH WARHAMMER 40K ARMY IS THE BEST?

Also, leave a reason why you chose your army.

Testing the Tyranids.

I've tested my army against some Space Marines. Scouts, a tactical squad (I think, anyway, they had bolters, plasma guns, melta guns and flamers.), a biker and some guy with a jump pack, plasma pistol and power fist. Results weren't too good. I lost 3 out of 4 matches, but I suppose he probably had an infinitely larger number of points than me. When my army has expanded, then we'll see who's boss!!
Hi, Xavier. I can promise that there will be a rematch when my army's bigger! SO WATCH YOUR BACK! If its possible.

First Steps

Ok. So this is my new blog charting my journey from modest Warhammer 40k collector to owner of a real house of 'Nids. Starting off my collection is 16 Gaunts and 3 Warriors equipped with whatever I think looks cool (also, each set came with a ripper swarm, so I've got two of those). My next purchase shoulds be the codex, but if I get sidetracked and decide to get a model, it will probably be an Elite. Maybe a Lictor. Maybe a Hive Guard. From there, who knows where I'll end up...