Melee Bio-Weapons
The first thing to note is that Tyranids can now get a bonus attack from having two pairs of close combat weapons. In the old book this was "already included in their profile" which means a lot of units have now got an extra attack.
- Boneswords - reduced to AP3 (still AP2 on MCs) but automatic Instant Death on a 6. Probably better for a single sword but no point taking a pair now. More expensive too.
- Crushing claws - +1S, AP2 and Armourbane. AP2 is a bit useless on MCs but useful for Tyrant Guard. Still Unwieldy and MCs would probably be better with the old +D3 attacks
- Lash whips - now boosts the model's Initiative rather than reducing enemy's. Probably better in most cases
- Lash whip and bonesword - simply a combination of the two as you'd expect but now 5pts more than before in most cases
- Rending claws - no change
- Scything talons - HUGE change, simply gives AP6 (who cares?) and no longer allows re-rolls to hit. That's a massive blow to Tyranids. Everything from Hormagaunts to Tyrants will suffer because of it
- Barbed strangler - no change
- Venom cannon - no longer penalised against vehicles and cheaper
- Twin-linked deathspitter - cheaper but otherwise unchanged
- Twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms - no leadership penalty but same profile
- Stranglethorn cannon - cheaper but no rules change
- Heavy venom cannon - no longer penalised against vehicles and cheaper
- Toxin sacs - no rules change, cheaper for warriors and hive guard but more expensive for gaunts
- Acid blood - must roll to wound now with S5, same cost and more widely available though.
- Adrenal glands - now gives fleet but more expensive
- Regeneration - now gets a wound back on 4+ but only one roll regardless of the number lost that turn. Now costs the same for every unit which feels unfair as some units see a big increase in its cost
Thorax Biomorphs (Tyrant, Tervigon, Tyrannofex)
Massive 15pt price reduction for hive tyrants so worth considering. Also available to Tervigons now.
- Dessicator larvae - no change just tidied up with Fleshbane
- Electroshock grubs - gains haywire and at S5 has potential as anti-tank
- Shreddershard beetles - gain shred
Bio-Artefacts (Tyrant, Tervigon, Prime, Trygon Prime)
- Maw-claws - nice way of getting Preferred Enemy and not too pricey
- Miasma Cannon - situational and expensive, great for fire warriors though!
- Norn Crown - expensive but potential for 30" synapse
- Ymgarl Factor - could be useful to give tyrant 2+ save in combat, pricey though
- Reaper of Obliterax - offers Shred and +1S but otherwise just expensive lash whip and bonesword
ConclusionThe big news here is scything talons. Not such a big deal for units like the tyrant who usually swapped them out anyway but hormagaunts have suffered because of the change. Seems a shame as I don't think they were particularly overpowered in these days where combat units struggle anyway.
Boneswords probably aren't as good as they used to be. Basically the capacity for instant death is now in your hands rather than your opponent's but there really isn't any point taking a pair of them unless I'm missing something.
In some ways I can understand why regeneration is now a standard costs across the board but it's a shame that there's a huge increase in cost for some models. The mechanic is probably better though as you've got a good chance of getting a wound back. Those situations where you were flukey and got three wounds back won't happen anymore but probably a fair trade.
Unless I've just not spotted them it seems Implant Attack and Toxic Miasma have vanished as upgrades. Neither of these are a huge loss and venomthrope have retained their toxic miasma which I'll cover in their review.
Otherwise things are pretty similar. There's a few nice little bonuses here and there be they price decreases or extra rules. Right, now onto the units themselves.