Tyranid Unit: Heavy Support Units 1 and 2

Here are my current two Heavy Support choices for the Tyranids. Two Carnifexes, one designed as a mobile gun platform and the other as a close-combat monster.

Note that these were originally designed before the current edition Codex was released, which ended up making them less effective than they were previously. I just couldn't be bothered pulling them apart to remodel them. In time I may replace them with newer versions but that will require time and money.

Tyranid Unit: HQ - Hive Tyrant

Here's the completed Hive Tyrant from my Tyranid swarm.

Although I now field him with a wider variety of options, the original build had it down with a twin-linked Devourer throwing out Assault 6 with re-rolls on missed shots, at S6 with -1 to LD tests caused on the target unit for shooting casualties suffered. A Dessicator Larvae Thorax Swarm which is a Wounds on 2+ template weapon for mopping up an survivors of the Devourer.

Psychic Scream was on there to allow it to attempt to lower the target unit's LD before combat - but this was at the expense of using one of the above shooting weapons. As a Monstrous Creature, it could also choose to use the Paroxysm psychic shooting power to lower a target's WS and BS to 1. If it then charged into combat against this unit with it's own WS of 8, it was guaranteed to hit on a 3+. I have since dropped this option as it's only really useful against targets with a WS of 8 or more, unless used to soften up a target for another unit, which if done prevents the Tyrant from charging anything other that the target of the psychic shooting attack.

Indescribable Horror means that anyone wishing to charge into close combat must pass a LD test first, or be left unable to charge and will then be a sitting duck to be charged by the Tyrant instead. With 4 Attacks, 5 when Charging all at S6 (7 during first round due to Furious Charge from Adrenal Glands) with re-rolls on to hit rolls of a 1 due to a pair of Scything Talons and that ignore Armour Saves; that's not a great prospect.

Any close combat attacks that Wounds on a natural 6 causes Instant Death regardless of target Toughness due to the Implant Attack. Combined with the number of Attacks and re-rolls from Scything Talons this is a killer - literally - to many multi-wound models that lack an Invulnerable Save.

On top of that due to it's Acid Blood, each Wound taken by the Tyrant in Close Combat results in an Initiative test for the enemy unit which if failed results in an automatic Wound to that unit with no Armour Saves or Cover Saves allowed as they are sprayed in virulent acid! Even when they hurt it the enemy gets hurt back. To add insult to injury the Tyrant may then Regenerate any Wounds taken on the roll of a 6, rolled for each wound suffered so far at the start of it's turn.

This rolls in at about 295 points, so I've normally reserved this build for larger point games. Granted it still needs a bit of tweaking, but it performs fine most of the time.

Hobby Update: Tyranid Monstrous Creatures

I recently completed both Carnifex units and the Hive Tyrant. Pictures and unit details will follow soon.

All that is left for the Tyranids are the Spore Mines and the Genestealers. For now though I have shifted my focus to completing the Space Marine Command Squad so that I can start on the Marine Vehicles.

Hobby Update: Army Painter Sprays

My birthday has come and gone, and as a present to myself I ordered a couple of The Army Painter system spray primers.

After some thought I settled on Skeleton Bone for my Space Marine vehicles and remaining units, and Army Green for the Tyranids as it was the best match that they had for my existing colour scheme.

The sprays arrived half way through my week off, and so the next day I spent several hours outdoors with both cans spraying most of the stuff that hasn't been base-coated yet.

All in all I used most of the 400ml can of Skeleton Bone while spraying the two Commanders, Command Squad, both Rhino chassis, the parts for the Whirlwind, Razorback and Predator tanks, and the Drop Pod!

Once these were done I started on the Tyranids, and sprayed the last of the two Gaunt broods, the Hive Tyrant, both Carnifexes, and a Broodlord. There's still plenty left for the Genestealers, and oddments that I have left.

   

The Army Green colour is an exact match for Games Workshop's Knarloc Green Foundation Paint colour. Originally my Tyranids were base-coated in Gretchin Green which is lighter, but I think I can get round the shade difference with a good drybrush of Gretchin Green after all the shading is done. Here is the first completed Gaunt from the Army Painter primed batch:

Overall I have to say that I was very impressed with the Army Painter primers. They were easy enough to spray (as long as you shake them for about 3 minutes before you start) and the finish is really smooth and even. I highly recommend these products to anyone who is thinking about trying them.

Next time I need a spray can I 'll be getting it from Army Painter!

Tyranid Units: Elite Choice 1

Here's the finished Tyranid Zoanthrope.

Although they can be fielded in broods of 3, I currently only have the one. I really wish they'd release them in plastic as I'd buy more but the current metal model is a pain to put together.

A potent Leadership 10 psyker in the game, it is 'armed' with two psychic shooting attacks; a Warp Lance and a Warp Blast.

The Warp Lance has a range of 18" as Strength of 10, with an AP of 1 which allows it to ignore enemy armour saves, and do increased damage against vehicles. In addition it also has the Lance rule which makes any enemy vehicle armour value higher than 12, count as 12!

Warp Blast is a 24" range Assault 1 Blast weapon with S3 AP3 using the small blast marker and is ideal for killing Space Marines. It once killed an entire squad of Ork Nobz in one shot with this power.

It acts as a Synapse Creature and so helps control the lesser Tyranid creatures such as the Termagaunts by allowing any within 12" to ignore their Instinctive Behaviour, and it causes enemy psykers to  take any Psychic Tests on 3D6 instead of 2D6.

There will be more of these in time, it just comes down to getting everything else done first.

Tyranid Units: Termagaunt Test Models

Here are the two Tyranid Termagaunts that I painted up as testers for the army colour scheme.

Finally settled on a quick paint scheme of the following steps:

1. Spray Chaos Black Undercoat.
2. Base coat of Gretchin Green foundation paint.
3. Paint all armour plates with Hormagaunt Purple foundation paint.
4. Paint claws and blades Chaos Black.
5. Wash entire model with Badab Black wash.
6. Wash armour plates and body with Leviathan Purple wash.
7. Paint eyes and tounges with Iyanden Darksun yellow foundation paint.
8. Paint base.

This is a quick paint scheme as after step 1, steps 2-5 can be done in a single sitting. After step 5 you need a day for the wash to totally dry, after which step 6 can be done, and a day later steps 7 and 8 can be done to finish up.

After step 6, further highlighting of the armour plates can be carried out using Hormagaunt Purple on the raised edges if required. This was done on the Zoanthrope as it was a larger model and has some  prominent armour plates with good ridges to highlight.

Using a batch painting process I should be able to do batches of 10 models and get through the 60ish Gaunts in no time.

Random Update - More Painting

Just finished painting the following units:

• The first Tau Crisis Suit Team, albeit without their Shield Drone.

• The two test Tyranid Termagaunts by painting the bases up - they now match the Zoanthrope.

• The Tau Etheral (HQ unit), also without Drones. This features my first real attempt at blending as the folds of the cloth were too tempting not to try it. I think it looks fine for my first attempt.

Pictures and unit descriptions will follow in due course.

Batrep 14-03-2010 - Nova Storm Marines v New Codex Tyranids

Approx 790 points

Marines (21, 1 Dread, 2 Vehicles)

Force Commander

Tactical Squad 1 (Sergeant with SB & PW,  Heavy Bolter, Plasma Gun) in Drop pod

Tactical Squad 2 (Sergeant with Storm Bolter & PW, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun)

Dreadnought with Multimelta

Whirlwind

Tyranids (29 and 14 Spore Mines)

Hive Tyrant

21 Termagaunts

Zoanthrope

6 Warriors

3 Spore Clusters (5,5,4)

Mission

Capture and Control with Dawn of War deployment

Pre Game

Marines win first turn and choose deployment edge

Choose to deploy on side with both hills to provide clear lines of fire

Place objective in crater 4 inches from edge in left hand half of board

Tyranid objective in opposite corner in Wooded Area Terrain

Spore Mines deploy using Orbital Deployment and land in 3 groups in Marine Deployment Zone

Marines deploy with Force Commander on hill, and Tactical Squad 2 split into Combat Squads. Combat Squad 2a with Sergeant and Plasma Cannon deploy next to the Marine objective, while Combat Squad 2b deploy further towards the middle line of the board to advance towards the Tyranid Objective.

Dreadnought and Whirlwind and left to come on in Turn 1, with Tactical Squad 1 in Drop Pod in Reserve.

Tyranids deploy with Hive Tyrant and 21 Gaunts near the centre line, ready to advance. The Warriors are next to the Wooded Area Terrain and Objective, but crucially not within 3" of it.

Tyranids attempt to Seize Initiative and fail, so Marines still get first turn.

Turn 1

Night Fight is in effect.

Marines

Tactical Squad 1 arrives by Drop Pod, landing in the Tyranid corner with the objective and crucially not scattering off the board (rolled a hit on the scatter dice!) Deploy into Combat Squad 1a with Sergeant and Plasma Gun, and Combat Squad 1b with the Heavy Bolter. Combat Squad 1a is within 3" of Tyranid Objective after deployment and Marines capture the enemy objective!

Combat Squad 2a attempt to shoot the spore mines nearby and kill them with Bolter rapid fire, unfortunately the Plasma Cannon shot scatters 6" back towards the Cluster of 5 marines and hits the Plasma Cannon marine and the Sergeant, killing the both despite their cover save from the crater!

Tyranids

The remaining Spore Mines scatter randomly but are all too far away to be of major consequence.

Gaunts and Hive Tyrant advance on the Marine Objective, but are unable to spot any targets or are out of range.

Warriors shoot at Combat Squads, but fail to wound.

Zoanthrope comes in near the Drop Pod, fires its Warp Lance power at it and destroys the Storm Bolter!

Turn 2

Night Fight is now lifted.

Marines

Dreadnought moves towards the Gaunts and fires Storm Bolter failing to do any damage.

Combat Squad 1b fires 8 Bolter shots and 3 Heavy Bolter shots at the Zoanthrope and kill it.

Force Commander joins Combat Squad 2b and moves up the board, shooting at the Warriors with the Force Commanders Hellfire Rounds and Auxiliary Grenade launcher which cause 3 wounds.

Dreadnought Assaults the Gaunts, tying them up in Combat and preventing them from moving and capturing the Marine Objective as the other Tyranid Troops choice, the Warriors is occupied with clearing Marines from their own Objective! 6 Gaunts and killed in the charge, but they are incapable of hurting the Dreadnought! Due to the proximity of the Hive Tyrant they are fearless and stay in the fight.

Whirlwind hits the Warriors causing several wounds.

Tyranids

The remaining Spore Mines scatter randomly but are all too far away to be of major consequence.

4 more Gaunts die in assault with the Dreadnought.

Warriors kill 2 marines in Combat Squad 1b, and they fail their Morale Check and fall back far enough to bunch them together near the other Combat Squad.

Turn 3

Marines

Dreadnought fails to kill any Gaunts in Combat.

Combat Squad 1b rallies fires at the Warriors causing several wounds.

Combat Squad 1a fires at the Warriors causing several wounds.

I totally forget to move the Commander and Combat Squad 2b!

Whirlwind may or may not have hit the Warriors, killing 1 of them.

Tyranids

The remaining Spore Mines scatter randomly, two are getting near the close combat, one runs into another and is removed.

Hive Tyrant moves up to assault the Dreadnought, but cannot yet as his own troops are blocking the charge! It fires at Combat Squad 2a on the Objective and kills 2 of the remaining 3 marines. The last one fails the Morale Check at LD8 and flees off the board (he was only 3" from it!). This leave the objective contested by the Whirlwind and in danger of being captured.

Warriors shoot at Combat Squad 1b again, but don't do much.

2 more Gaunts die in Combat.

Turn 4

Marines

Both Combat Squads from Tactical Squad 1 fire at the Tyranid Warriors who have now taken two wounds each, and they begin to die. The Whirlwind assists them. There are only 3 Warriors left.

Force Commander and Combat Squad 1b move across the  board towards the Hive Tyrant, and run to make up ground.

Dreadnought kills 1 more Gaunt, which opens up a gap for the Tyrant to charge into!

Tyranids

The remaining Spore Mines scatter randomly, one goes between the Tyrant and the Close Combat and into the potential path of the Force Commander.

Warriors continue their fire fight with the Combat Squads 1a and 1b, but are still unable to dislodge them from the Objective.

Hive Tyrants uses the Paroxysm power on the Dreadnought (we ruled that although it is a vehicle and RAW prevents it from being used, the Dreadnought has a WS and BS value, and is piloted by a living being and could therefore be affected. Until this is FAQ'ed by GW this will work for me).

The Dreadnought has WS and BS reduce to 1 by the Hive Tyrant, which then charges in to combat. It hits with all 5 attacks, and causes 4 penetrating hits; a Crew Shaken, Weapon Destroyed, Crew Shaken and Destroyed - Wrecked. The Dreadnought is destroyed, and the remaining Termagaunts consolidate towards the Marine Objective. The Tyrant moves towards the Force Commander.

Turn 5

Marines

Force Commander splits from the Combat Squad, and moves towards the Tyrant. He passes his LD test to charge it and charges into Combat after firing both the Flamer and Auxiliary Grenade Launcher at it - both fail to wound.

Combat Squad 2b moves back towards the Marine Objective to try and stop the Gaunts from taking it.

Tactical Squad 1 still hold the Tyranid Objective - just, and their Drop Pod is still close enough and intact so that it would be contesting it even if they died, and the Warriors claimed it back.

The Whirlwind moves as close to the Marine Objective as possible to ensure that it is contesting it if needs be. It moves into the crater and passes it's Dangerous Terrain test, but I wasn't too bothered if it did fail as I had no intention of moving it any more.

Force Commander does 2 Wounds to the Tyrant in Combat, but takes 1 back due to its Acid Blood. The Tyrant hits the Commander 3 times, wounding twice and the second wound causes Instant Death due to the Implant Attack rule which states that any 'To Wound' roll of a 6 causes Instant Death! The Force Commander is killed despite having a single wound remaining.

I will now point out that I totally forgot to use his Iron Halo Invulnerable save against all the Wounds caused by the Tyrant in combat! So he might not have died! I think I just got a bit over-excited.

Tyranids

The remaining Spore Mines scatter randomly but are all too far away to be of major consequence.

Hive Tyrant regenerates all 3 lost wounds, and advances towards the Marine Objective and the Whirlwind sitting next to it. It opens fire at the Whirlwind with 6 twin-linked, Strength 6 Devourer shots in a desperate attempt to at least destroy the tank and force a Draw, but fails to damage it.

The remaining 3 Gaunts move towards the Marine Objective, but can't get close enough to it.

Tyranid Player rolls for Random Game Length and rolls a 2. End of Game.

Result

Marines win.

They hold the Tyranid Objective, and the remaining Tyranid Warriors are just too far away to be contesting it. The Marines are not holding their own objective, but the Tyranids have not captured it either.

Random Update - Follow-up from Christmas and minor progress

So, it's been a few weeks since Christmas and in that time I have managed to finish the last Space Marine Tactical Squad that was actually assembled and waiting for painting, and another Terminator Marine.

That means I have so far painted the following:

1 Chaplain
40 Tactical Squad Marines
10 Devastator Marines
10 Scouts
6 Terminators

All I have to do now is finish another 4 Terminators, 5 Assault Terminators, 1 Dreadnought, 5 Command Squad Marines, 1 Commander and 5 Assault Marines and I can finally start on the vehicles!

On the Tau front, I've finished the last 6 man Fire Warrior Squad, so that's all the basic Troops done (other than repainting squad markings). Just waiting for my new Gorilla Super Glue to arrive so I can start on the 5 metal Vespid Stingwing troops, the 2 Broadsides, and the Sniper Drone team then I can start on the second wave of Tau painting which also includes a repaint of 1 previously finished Broadside, four built Crisis Suits, an Ethereal and the Commander (Forgeworld model) and Bodyguard.

I'm painting up a second test piece for the Tyranids to refine the speed technique before I embark on painting 53 basic Troops. When the weather gets a bit drier I can use the new Citadel Spray Gun I bought myself at Christmas and batch spray entire squads with the base coat - that should speed the job up!

For a Summer project I have a nice new Citadel Realm of Battle modular game board to paint and decorate. This definitely has to wait for summer though as it's a big job; 6 2x2 foot panels that need undercoating, base coating, drybrushing and flocking as fast as possible.

When the new glue arrives (see above), I can also build and paint my Griff Oberward Collectors Range mini from Christmas, so I can field him as my No 1 Team Captain Blitzer in my Human Bloodbowl team; the Altdorf Imperialists.