Tyranid Confirmations and Thoughts

I got the Advance Order email in my box today, and the new Tyranids are finally up. They gave away some clues in the email, and here's what I figure:

Trygon/Mawloc: Looks great. The Mawloc is a bit weird but still pretty cool. I don't have enough information about it, I wish I knew if it was a 0-1.

Pyrovore: Appears to be a close combat monster, and an Elites choice. Sure seems that the Tyranid Elites are filling up. And, we'll finally get to use the flame template. Furthermore, it looks almost like a Tyrant Guard, so it may have similar toughness. It will need that if it is indeed a front line creature.

Venomthrope: Wounds on a 2+, always. From other rumors, it generates a 5+ cover save for anything within 6". I doubt it has psychic powers, since nothing was mentioned. Here's my idea. If Lash Whips work as rumored, being able to target a specific model, put one of these near a group of Carnifexes and they'll get cover, plus the Lash Whips can keep those powerfists out of the action.

Hive Guard: They shoot out two S8 shots per turn, and don't require LOS. For these guys, AP will be VERY important. I hope it's at least a 3, and since it doesn't require LOS perhaps it ignores cover. If they get a template, that would be nice too but from the sound of it (Impaler Cannon, sounds like a single target weapon) probably not. It seems Tyranids will still be lacking ranged heavy vehicle killing power, though we have yet to see what will come of the Venom Cannon.

The new Raveners (small rant here but guys, it's not ravenor. Ravenor is the inquisitor. Ravener is the Tyranid.) look nicer than I originally thought with those blurry cell phone pictures. Check out the sprues, you can see what the weapon biomorph thoraxes look like. Plus, there appears to be an armored thorax...could Raveners be allowed to take Extended Carapace? That would be nice.

The Gargoyles also look better than I thought on my first impression.

Genestealers are still in the Troops section, along with the Broodlord. It appears that he will be a squad upgrade. Another small rant here, but guys, Genestealers were never "going back to" elites. They have always been troops. Genestealer cults don't count. You internet kids can get off my lawn.

Zoanthropes have been moved to Elites as well. Now it seems like I'll actually have to make a choice in my elites section!

There's also a note in the email that Hormagaunts cost half what they cost now. That would make them 5 points. Not too shabby!

Spore Mines appear to have been removed from the Fast Attack section.

Well, the rumors will probably slow to a crawl now. Hopefully we'll get a bit more info so I can start planning out my next purchases.

Putting Together The Fortress of Redemption

I'm in the process of putting together this behemoth...seriously, it's huge. It's not a difficult build, but I noticed some creativity on GW's part. The missile silo is two sided, one side has the missiles and the other has the platform for the lascannon (which pivots and rotates with a full range, I couldn't help but make gun noises while moving it around). I thought it was a rather clever way to put the sprues together.

I'm not looking forward to painting it, as I said this thing is massive.

Based on the size of this kit, I think it it totally possible for Games Workshop to do a plastic Thunderhawk. Sure, it's mostly a joke by now (like Duke Nukem Forever) but you never know. GW is getting way better with their sprues, fitting tons more options in creative ways. Think back to the Space Hulk Terminators. The way everything was positioned, the figures with their rich detail, all in such a way that mold lines were minimized.

Working projects this week: Finish putting together the Fortress, and work on the Ravenwing. I may throw up a Ravenwing tutorial later, as I spent a long time figuring out how to paint them and keep it interesting.

Number Crunching On The New Tyranid Battleforce

The new Tyranid Battleforce is up for order now. Here's the contents:

3 Warriors
8 Genestealers
16 Hormagaunts
16 Termagants
3 Ripper Swarms

That's 46 models total. At a price of $105, that's $2.28 per model. Let's break it down more specifically.

3 Warriors are $35
8 Stealers are $30
16 Hormagaunts are $33.27 (new packaging with 12 for $24.95)
16 Termagants are $33.27
Rippers are free, practically.

The grand total separate is $131.54. You save 25%. Now let's compare it to the old Battleforce.

3 Warriors $35
8 Stealers $30
8 Hormagaunts and 8 Gaunts $35
1 Carnifex $45
2 Rippers

Separate, the total is $145. It used to retail for $90, at an average of $4.09 per model. You saved 61%.

(edit: For some reason that number looks wrong. I have triple checked my numbers and I still get the same result. I am very bad at math, so any math people that could help me out would be appreciated.)

Now I'm wishing I got the old Battleforce when I could. Oh well. The new one is still a deal, especially if you get it at the Warstore or somewhere, and especially if you need lots of gaunts it is a better deal in that regard. But the old Battleforce was nice because it was a very cheap way to get a Carnifex.

Now I'm really wishing that I had got that Tyranid Assault Brood back in the day...

Games Workshop, You Read My Mind

For the past two weeks, I have been complaining to my gaming group that I'm kind of bored of the missions in the rulebook (though Planetstrike is still fun) and that I was going to take the missions in the 3rd and 4th edition rulebooks and adapt them for 5th edition. This morning, I got an email from Games Workshop about how they are releasing a Battle Missions book with all kinds of raids, assaults, etc in it (30 something missions, too!). It is supposed to be coming out in March.

I was going to sit down and adapt a few missions later today. Seriously. Well, now it seems I won't have to. Perhaps instead of adapting those old missions I'll write up my tunnel fight scenarios and have some fun with those. I'm almost as excited for this release as I am for the new Tyranids. I hope they release some race-specific missions as well.

The Solifugid Campaign, Radiation Rules

This week saw the aggressors remain on the offensive, with the Dark Angels recovering from a rough start to a victory, while the Imperial Guard turned tail and ran at the sight of the Eldar host! Seeking to keep their momentum, both armies planned some daring attacks on their foes...

Well, my opponent never showed up so I guess I win by default. Here are the rules for how we work the daytime radiation of Solifugid.

I was inspired by the story of Tallarn, and I wanted vehicles to be safe, and I also wanted Terminator armor to be pretty safe as well (it's designed for working in a vacuum), and for power armor to be meaningful, as marines are resistant to radiation while unprotected hordes will suffer. To reflect this, at the beginning of every game turn for turns 1 and 2, all models take a S1 hit with no cover save allowed. On turns 3 and 4, the strength is increased to 2 as the sun gets higher. For turns 5+ the strength is 3. Since Daemons, Necrons, and Tyranids have no options for transport vehicles to protect themselves they receive Feel No Pain against this hit to represent their otherworldly constitutions.

I considered making it just a dangerous terrain test, but that makes elite, well armored armies suffer more than horde armies. I also considered make it a straight 4+ wound, but then monstrous creatures suffer disproportionately.

I am considering making the hits stronger. In our test games, it's caused a casualty or two (late game it causes a lot more, however) but I really want to strike fear into the generals, to get everyone into bunkers or transport vehicles. Perhaps every turn the strength increases by one, to a max of 4, or I should keep it the way it is and have the hits occur every player turn.

Next I'll go over some mission types, and some expanded bunker rules we're working on.

New Tyranid Pictures Finally Up!

In case you haven't seen them, here they are. Here's what I think of them.

Ravener: Not a huge fan, but at least they'll blend in perfectly with the old metal ones. I'm not a big fan of the Warrior head, I hope there's more options.

Gargoyles: I'm glad they're finally plastic, and I like everything but the wings. They look a little too...undead. I'll still buy bucketloads of them, however.

Venomthrope: Ok, wow. This looks so much better in the Kraken color scheme. It brings the detail out better than the Leviathan scheme. I love the tangle of tentacles.

Hive Guard: The picture really isn't clear on this one. I'm not sure if I like it...is this a quadruped Tyranid? I like the upper body, but I'm not sold on the lower. Also, I thought this model was supposed to be very top-heavy? Doesn't look so.

We still have yet to see the Trygon or the Pyrovore, let's hope those come out soon!

The Solifugid Campaign, Intro

Solifugid is a planet in Segmentum Obscuris that is extremely rich in adamantium, promethium and various other minerals. It is full of vibrant and exotic flora, many of which produce medicines and other useful commodities. The one problem with this planet is that it receives an inordinate amount of radiation from its sun, a neutron star. The plant life has adapted to this (which is why the products they produce are so useful) but during the day the surface is bombarded with many forms of radiation, excessive neutrinos, as well as dangerous heat. The Imperials have developed specialized bunkers in which to hide their workers during the day. Tunnels dug under the surface provide protection as well, though some of these are laced with promethium veins which is a danger in itself.

For unknown reasons, the Eldar have attacked this planet. In their wake came a small Tyranid hive fleet. The local PDF general could not determine why the two seemed to be acting in tandem. Later reports indicated that the Eldar were now avoiding the Tyranids. The general put out a call for help to the nearest Marine chapter, with the Emperor's Dragons responding.

Later, another chapter responded and the PDF commander's hopes soared. To his dismay, the green armored Marines were not the Dark Angels, but the Fallen themselves, led by Lord Cypher, chasing their own unknown goals.

Finally, the Imperial Guard arrived with a regiment of Cadians. A lengthy breakdown of communications saw the Imperial guard attack the Emperor's Dragons as though they were traitors. Stunned, the Marines were forced to fight for their survival, while trying to unravel the mystery of the communication failure.

Each faction vies for control of the planet's bunkers, for they hold the key to life on the planet. During the day, tanks and armor reign supreme while at night raids and ambushes keep the foes from sleeping. Underneath the planet's crust, forces clash in cramped, deadly firefights. During the confusing, the Tyranid Hive Fleet seems to have vanished, though auspex scans reveal unusually large fauna masses where none should be able to survive.


Ok, so the fluff isn't the best but this is the campaign my group is starting. I'll post rules on how we represent various things later, but this should serve as an introduction.