Tyranids¶
This page is a work in progress!
Attack Rating¶
Tyranids have a starting attack or initiative rating of 3.
Synaptic Control¶
Only hive ships have a leadership value, which is purchased at a fixed value from the Hive Fleet list. During the Movement phase, each hive ship can make a Command check to change or ignore Instinctive Behaviour for themselves or another ship/squadron within 45 cm. If the test is successful the Tyranid player has control of the ship/squadron and may place it on special orders if desired, without requiring a second command check.
Attempts to use synaptic control count as a Command check. However, if one hive ship fails a command check this does not prevent another hive ship attempting to use synaptic control. In effect each hive ship can make at least one attempt to override Instinctive Behaviour.
You may test for synaptic control over a ship which failed the test the same turn, including other Hive ships, as long as there is another Hive ship within range.
Tyranid ordnance (fighters, assault boats, torpedoes) is not subject to synaptic control or Instinctive Behaviour – just move them like normal ordnance.
Movement & Special Orders¶
All Tyranid vessels follow Instinctive Orders unless the Hive Mind (i.e. you, the player!) tells a ship or squadron to do something different via the psychic conduit of the hive ships.
For ships or squadrons using Instinctive Behaviour, read down the flowchart opposite and give the ship/squadron the first appropriate action or special order you come to. No Command check is needed for special orders, but there may be specific activities that must be undertaken in the vessel’s movement.
For example: A Tyranid cruiser wishes to move towards the enemy fleet in support of its hive ship but fails the Ld test. We check the Instinctive Orders table – there are no celestial phenomena or enemy ships close or in range but there is a planet on the table. The cruiser has to move towards the planet even though this actually takes it further away from the enemy fleet it wished to close with.
Brace for Impact¶
During either players’ turn, Tyranid ships/squadrons can go onto Brace for Impact orders by testing against the leadership of the nearest hive ship within 45 cm. If no hive ships are within range then bio-ships use a default leadership of 7 for the test instead.
As normal this order is only removed at the end of the Tyranids’ next turn. Ships on Brace for Impactorders which are acting instinctively obey the movement restrictions listed above but do not change their special orders.
All Ahead Full¶
If a ship goes All Ahead Full under synaptic control (by leadership test) instead of Instinctive Behaviour, it may move an additional +4D6 cm instead of +2D6 cm. Having the Adrenaline Sacs refit adds +1D6 in either case.
Instinctive Behaviour Flowchart¶
Navigation¶
All Tyranid ships are naturally adapted void-swimming organisms and make all Leadership checks to navigate celestial phenomena on a default leadership of 10.
Shooting¶
Tyranid ships always target the nearest enemy ship unless a special Vanguard drone ship ‘highlights’ another enemy within range. No leadership test is allowed for Tyranid ships to select a target other than the nearest. Ordnance markers are always ignored and may not be fired on at all.
Vanguard drone ships highlight all enemies (including ordnance) within 15 cm, and these can be targeted freely by any other vessels in the Tyranid fleet which are within range, without requiring a separate command check to ignore closer vessels.
Boarding¶
Tyranids are a horror in Boarding actions. A fearless, animalistic rush of clawed, fanged monsters has been the death knell of many a ship.
Tyranids always count double their boarding value, plus they roll 2D6 and use the highest result in boarding actions.
Tyranids ignore all blast marker effects when boarding enemy vessels. They do however lose a measure of their spore protection for being in contact with blast markers due to placing one on the target vessel when boarding; place the blast marker at the point where the target and the Tyranid vessel make contact. While they ignore all blast marker effects when boarding, the target vessel does not. As such, Tyranids get a +1 for the enemy being in contact with blast markers.
All Is Lost¶
No crew would ever surrender their vessel to the Tyranids, or let themselves be consumed by the horrors one by one, trapped in their metal tombs. Many times desperate vessels have destroyed themselves rather than succumb to that fate. To represent this, Capital ships can attempt to self destruct when boarded by Tyranids (not when boarding a Tyranid vessel) by passing a Leadership test in the End phase. If the test is failed the crew must face their terrible fate at the hands of the Tyranids. If the test is passed roll a D6; on a 1–3 the ship suffers the catastrophic damage result of plasma drive overload. On a 4–6 the ship suffers the warp drive implosion result instead.
Hit-&-run Attacks¶
The nightmarish innards of a bio-ship are an environment hostile enough to rival the worst death-worlds. Even finding a target amongst the organs, nerve centres and arteries is difficult, and in the face of a horde of enraged Tyranid bio-constructs it often becomes fatal.
Because of this Hit-&-Run attacks against Tyranid ships roll 2D6 and take the lowest result.
When conducting Hit-&-Run attacks of any type against Tyranid escorts, roll 2D6 and take the lowest D6 for the roll, destroying the escort on a roll of 4+.
Tyranid ships can make Hit-&-Run teleporting attacks just like other ships in the End phase. The Tyranid player adds +1 to the result when making Hit-&-Run raids.
Tyranid Weapons¶
Bio-plasma¶
Bio-plasma is treated like a lance shot – roll one dice per point of Strength, and it hits on a 4+ regardless of armour. Because it is a relatively slow moving attack, like that of a bomber squadron, bio-plasma ignores shields, but cannot be shot down by turrets.
Unfortunately, this factor also limits the range of bio-plasma to 15 cm.
Bio-plasma is affected by special orders and crippling just like ordinary lance batteries.
Bio-plasma does not ignore holofields or reactive hull saves.
Feeder Tentacles¶
Many Tyranid ships have huge tentacles which they use to ‘feed’ on planetary atmospheres, and which can also be used to punch through the hull of a ship allowing the Tyranid organisms inside to assault the enemy. When the ship moves into contact with an enemy ship, it attacks with its feeder tentacles. Roll a D6.
On a score of 1, 2 or 3 it makes this many Hit-&-Run attacks on the target as scattered broods of Tyranid creatures rampage through the vessel.
On a score of 4, 5 or 6, enough bio-engineered nasties are delivered to score one point of damage on the ship and a Hit-&-Run raid (the damage can cause critical damage as normal too).
The Tyranid ship can continue moving after making the feeder tentacle attack and shoot/ launch ordnance later in the turn, but may only attack one ship per turn. Feeder tentacles are unaffected by special orders of any kind. If a bio-ship becomes crippled, its feeder tentacles may no longer attack.
Feeder tentacles may not attack a ship that made contact during the opponents turn. However, the Tyranid player can elect in its own turn to immediately attack vessels in base contact with feeder tentacles instead of moving normally. Keep in mind that a ship can still complete its move normally after a feeder tentacles attack.
For example: A Tyranid ship equipped with feeder tentacles is in contact with an Imperial ship. It rolls a D6 and scores a 4, inflicting a point of damage and a Hit-&-Run raid on the target ship. In addition the Tyranid vessel may continue moving and still fire its weapons in the Shooting phase.
Massive Claws¶
Tyranid vessels are terrifying in combat at close quarters. Not only are they packed full of bio-engineered killing machines, often the ships themselves have specially evolved claws designed to rip through the armour of its target, or crushing mandibles that latch onto the ship’s prey and then slowly but inevitably tear through decks and gantries. When the Tyranid ship moves into base contact with an enemy, roll 2D6 for each pair of massive claws, each roll of a 4+ inflicts one hit on the target, ignoring shields but not holofields.
If the claws hit only once or not at all, the Tyranid ship can continue moving after making the attack and shoot/launch ordnance later in the turn, but may only attack one ship per turn.
If two or more attacks hit, then the vessel has grabbed the target in its fearsome grip and will not let go until either it or its prey is destroyed. Neither vessel can move if they are of the same class or smaller, a larger class vessel may still move but only at half rate.
The sizes for the purposes of continuing movement while grabbed by Massive Claws are exactly the same as ramming, so from biggest to smallest:
Defence > Battleship > Cruiser > Escort
For example, a battleship with a bunch of Tyranid escorts hanging on should be able to move (and be cool to see!). An Imperial escort latched by a Tyranid cruiser should pretty much behave like a speared fish!
If a ship is grabbed by Massive Claws it cannot attempt to disengage until free of them.
Both ships may shoot at half effectiveness (nova cannon and similar special weapons cannot fire). Either ship may conduct boarding actions as normal.
In every End phase roll to attack again. Additionally, if any two attacks hit when a vessel is already grappled then it takes a third additional hit.
Massive Claw attacks can cause critical hits as normal.
Massive Claws are unaffected by special orders of any kind. If a bio-ship becomes crippled its Massive Claws may no longer attack. Massive Claws may not attack a ship that made contact during the opponents turn. However, the Tyranid player can elect in its own turn to immediately attack vessels in base contact with Massive claws instead of moving normally.
Pyro-acidic Batteries¶
These Tyranid weapons work by launching compact organic shells containing virulent toxins and pyro-acids. These can cause considerable damage on impact, but it is the release of their ravening payloads into the confines of a ship that can prove the most deadly. Pyro-acidic battery fire is worked out in the same way as an ordinary ship’s weapon battery. Any ship which is hit by pyro-acid weapons has a chance that they will continue to be eaten away by the deadly bio-agents.
Ships which suffer a critical hit from a pyro-acid weapon automatically receive an additional fire critical result as well (it’s not actually a fire, but the long-term effect is comparable). Pyro-acid batteries are affected by special orders and crippling just like ordinary weapon batteries.
Spores¶
Tyranid ships do not have turrets or shields in the normal sense, and instead rely on emitting a constantly replenished physical barrier of spore clouds. Every spore is a Pandora’s box of viral compounds, acids and even nucleonic mutagens capable of eating through hull armour with alarming speed. The combined effect of the millions of spores produces an ablative armour effect as they absorb weapons fire and ordnance directed at the bio-ship they surround.
Tyranid vessels at the beginning of their turn have a number of spore clouds equal to their number of spore cysts, which are specified in the bio-ship’s characteristics. Spore clouds are not cumulative and never exceed the spore cyst strength of a given vessel, they are also unaffected by the ship’s special orders. If a Tyranid ship is crippled, its spore cyst strength is not affected as the vessel’s self-defence organisms go into over-time to try to protect their host creature.
Spores as Shields¶
A spore cloud will absorb any hit generated by weapons fire except from those that specifically ignore shields, such as Warp cannon or Particle Whip rolls of 6. Special weapons designed to affect shields will affect spore clouds in an identical manner.
Spore clouds are affected by Blast markers just like shields on an ordinary ship, place a marker in base contact for each cloud that absorbs a hit. Spores will also protect a bioship against shooting and potential damage from celestial phenomena in the same manner as shields.
If an enemy ship gets in base contact with a Tyranid vessel it will suffer spore impacts. Enemy vessels treat this similar to blast markers. They lose -5 cm speed and ships with a Shield strength of 0 (i.e. Eldar or ships suffering the Shields Collapse critical) also suffers a point of damage on a D6 roll of 6. However, this test only needs to be done once per Movement phase, regardless of how many Tyranid ships make base contact with the same enemy vessel. If a Tyranid vessel and an enemy vessel end their movement in base contact with each other, a blast marker is placed between the two ships.
Spores as Turrets¶
If attacked by ordnance a bio-ship treats its spore cysts as the number of turrets it can bring to bear. Each Blast marker in contact with the ship will reduce one spore cloud to hitting on a 6+ instead of 4+. If a spore is already rolling against ordnance that requires 6+ to hit with turrets (such as against Eldar attack craft), being in contact with blast markers has no additional effect.
Unlike normal turret fire, both torpedoes and attack craft can be targeted by the spores in the same turn.
Bio-ships can mass their spore cysts in close formation against ordnance as described for other ships, but they do not gain any shielding benefits by doing so. Tyranid spore clouds will NOT intercept Tyranid ordnance.
The number of spores a ship has is subtracted from a bomber's die roll to determine number of attacks made like a true turret value. Blast markers in contact have no effect on this.
Ordnance¶
Some Tyranid ships may have launch bays or torpedo batteries. Tyranids may only launch boarding torpedoes, fighters and assault boats, or rather their biological equivalents in the form of giant hull-boring worms, ether-swimming brood carriers, protazoid enzymes, ravening limpet mines and the like. It is also possible for the Tyranid fleet to contain ordnance independently of launch bay equipped vessels. For reference, the ordnance speeds are as follows:
| ATTACK CRAFT | SPEED |
|---|---|
| Fighters | 20 cm |
| Assaults Boats | 15 cm |
| Boarding Torpedoes | 15 cm |
Tyranid attack craft consist only of fighters and assault boats. As they cannot have bombers, they obviously cannot have torpedo bombers.
Ordnance Limits¶
Tyranid bio-ships are virtual living factories, spawning their ordnance as needed. Furthermore their broods are virtually autonomous and do not require maintenance or refuelling and rearming in the same way as conventional craft. As such, they may have up to twice the number of attack craft markers in play as they have available launch bays.
However, if a bio-ship becomes crippled its generative capacities will be turned completely to self preservation and it may no longer launch ordnance (note that spore clouds will still be produced as noted above).
Crippled¶
To summarise, Tyranid ships suffer the following penalties when crippled:
- Speed: -5 cm
- Spore cysts: Full strength
- Bio-plasma: Half strength
- Pyro-acid batteries: Half strength
- Feeder Tentacles: May not be used
- Massive claws: May not be used
- Torpedoes & Attack Craft: None may be launched
Designer’s note: I’ve deliberately opted to trade off Tyranid ships becoming less offensive when crippled but remaining difficult to finish off. This is to encourage a greater reliance on escorts to protect the larger vessels and to encourage hive ships and cruisers to attempt disengagement, boarding actions or ramming when crippled.
Tyranid Ship Types¶
Tyranid ships are much more flexible than the ships of other races, as new designs are constantly being evolved and encountered by the Imperium. To represent this, rather than picking a fleet from a selection of pre-set ship classes, a Tyranid player can design certain elements of their ships themselves. The ships are broken down into several categories, based upon their size and role. This gives the ship its basic statistics. It may also be given some ‘fixed’ weapons (including the number of spores it can launch). The rest of the entry details the various weapon options available, which can be purchased at the appropriate points cost as shown in the fleet list.
Each ship is limited as to how many weapon choices it may have on a given location, but where more than one weapon is permitted you may select multiples of the same weapon (e.g. a Tyranid hive ship which can have up to three port/starboard weapons could pick three sets of launch bays if you wish).
Critical Hits & Catastrophic Damage¶
Tyranids do not use the normal critical hit and catastrophic damage tables. Instead they use the tables presented here. If a critical hit is rolled which cannot be applied, for example a ship with no prow weapons gets a Prow Armament wounded critical, apply the next highest critical instead. In this case the ship would suffer thorax armament damage.
Tyranid Critical Hits Table¶
| 2D6 Roll | Extra Damage | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | +0 | Spore cysts injured: The ship’s spore cysts are badly damaged by the hit. The ship’s spore cysts may not be used until they have been repaired. |
| 3 | +0 | Starboard armament wounded: The starboard armament is severely injured by the hit. The ship’s starboard armament may not be used again until it has been repaired. |
| 4 | +0 | Port armament wounded: Heavy damage wounds the port side weaponry. The ship’s port armament may not be used until it has been repaired. |
| 5 | +0 | Prow armament wounded: The bio-ship’s prow is ripped open. Its prow armament may not be used until it has been repaired. |
| 6 | +1 | Thorax armament wounded: A large tear in the vessel’s thorax prevents its weapons discharging. The ship may not use its thorax weapons until the damage is repaired. |
| 7 | +0 | Heavy wound! Internal organs are ruptured and massive bleeding weakens the vessel. Roll to repair the heavy wound in the End phase, if the wound is not repaired it causes 1 point of extra damage and keeps bleeding. |
| 8 | +1 | Discharge vents wounded: One of the huge biological valves that manoeuvre the ship through the ether are crippled. The bio-ship may not turn until the damage is repaired. |
| 9 | +0 | Synapse severed: The nerve bundles which connect the ship to the Hive Mind are badly damaged. The bio-ship cannot have its instinctual orders overridden by the Hive Mind until the damage is repaired. |
| 10 | +0 | Spore cysts ruptured: The ship’s spore cysts suffer larvae failure and seal up. The bioship may no longer use its spore cysts. This damage cannot be repaired. |
| 11 | +D3 | Severe wound: A huge gash is torn in the ship’s hull, vital fluids freezing instantly as they spill into the void. |
| 12 | +D6 | Massive haemorrhage: The armoured hide of the ship suffers immense damage, spraying alien ichor far into the void. Make a bio-plasma attack with Strength 1 against any other target within 2D6 cm. Holofields do not protect against this damage. |
Tyranid Catastrophic Damage Table¶
| 2D6 Roll | Extra Blast Markers | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2-7 | +1 | Drifting carcass: The limp remains of the bio-ship drift through the void, pushed forward by sporadic death spasms. The wreck moves 4D6 cm forward in each of its subsequent movement phases. Place a blast marker in contact with the corpse’s base after each move. |
| 8-9 | +1 | Death throes: The ship is wracked by violent muscle contractions, and ichor seeps from dozens of horrendous wounds. The wreck moves 4D6 cm forward in each of its subsequent Movement phases. Place a Blast marker in contact with the corpse’s base and roll on the Catastrophic Damage table again after its move. |
| 10-11 | Half Damage | Biological eruption: The ship spectacularly explodes, hurling gobbets of viral slime and acid over a wide area. Remove the ship from play, leaving behind a number of blast markers equal to half its starting number of hits. Make a pyroacid attack against every target within 3D6 cm, with a firepower equal to the ship’s starting damage. |
| 12 | Starting Damage | Bio-plasma detonation: With a blinding flash the ship’s main arteries explode with bio-plasma engulfing the creature and spraying dangerously in all directions. Remove the ship from play, leaving behind a number of blast markers equal to its starting number of hits. Make a bio-plasma attack against every target within 3D6 cm, with a Strength equal to half the exploding vessel’s starting damage. Shields and holofields are not effective against the detonation. |
Evolution of the Hive Mind¶
As the hive fleet sails relentlessly on through space, it is continually evolving to meet the enemies that it faces. Individual organisms adapt and refine themselves with each new encounter, while the hive ships perpetually alter the morphology of the new organisms birthed by the fleet. As such, the hive fleet is a continually changing mass, both individually and collectively. This natural adaptation is represented in the Tyranid fleet list in the way that other races have special refits.
They may gain refits in the course of a campaign. These refits can only be used in one-off games if both players agree.
These refits can be incorporated by capital ships or individual escorts except where specifically noted otherwise for the cost indicated.
During a campaign, no one ship can gain more than one different kind of special refit before each battle. With the exception of reinforced carapace and extra spore cysts, no single bio-enhancement may be granted more than once. No hive ship may ever have more than three different special refits, no cruiser more than two and no escort more than one.
These improvements represent the only means of evolving against increasingly capable foes, for Tyranids operate under Instinctive Behaviour or under direction of the Hive Mind, and thus they cannot take on any crew skills, even in the course of a campaign.
Example: A Hive ship can have four reinforced carapaces, two extra spore cysts and one other refit, resulting in no more than three different refits.
Because the equivalent of Tyranid torpedoes are always boarding torpedoes, Tyranids cannot use the torpedo refits available to other races.
If a degree of randomness is desired the following refits can be rolled against 2D6 using the restrictions listed previously.
2: Solar Vanes ...................................... +15 pts
The ship has bio-engineered solar wings that spread to absorb the smallest amount of ambient radiated energy from surrounding space. The ship gains +5 cm speed.
3: Adrenaline Sacs ............................... +10 pts
The primary propulsion valves and constrictor muscles at the rear of the bio-ship have grown in size and strength. The ship gains +1D6 when on [All Ahead Full] special orders.
4: Psychic Scream ................................+20 pts
The bio-ship’s connection to the Hive Mind is so pervasive that an indelible psychic reverberation surrounds the ship, marring its visage to one even more ghastly and fearsome than normal and instilling visceral terror in any that approach. Any enemy vessels within 15 cm suffer -2 Ld. Intended solely for hive ships.
5: More Discharge Vents .................... +15 pts
The number of discharge vents along the beast’s length has increased dramatically. The creature reduces the distance it needs to move before turning by 5 cm. Not intended for escorts.
6: Extra Spore Cysts ....................+10 pts each
The ship gains one spore cyst. No more than two spore cysts can be gained in this manner. As Tyranid Kraken do not have spores, they cannot evolve the ability to use spores and thus cannot take this refit.
7: Reinforced Carapace ...............+10 pts each
The creature has grown to an inordinate size with correspondingly reinforced internal endostructures and additional ablative carapace, increasing its total mass and capacity to sustain damage. The ship gains +1 Hit. No more than four additional Hits may be gained in this manner for Hive ships, and no more than three for cruisers. If rolling randomly, a cruiser which attains 10 Hits in this way matures into a hive ship! Keep in mind that if the fleet does not desire or by restrictions cannot have another hiveship, then the fourth reinforced carapace refit cannot be taken by a Tyranid cruiser. Not intended for escorts.
8 Mucous Membrane...........................+20 pts
The bio-ship is covered with a slimy coat of mucous making it difficult for relatively slower moving ordnance to attack or damage it effectively. Bombers and assault boats suffer a -1 modifier (in addition to any other modifiers) when rolling their Attack roll, and all torpedoes must roll +1 to hit (maximum of 6+). Ranged weapon hits remain unaffected.
9: Accelerated Healing ........................ +10 pts
The bio-ship has enhanced its ability to heal critical wounds, enabling capital ships to roll two extra dice in the End phase when attempting to repair critical damage. They are added after the halving of the dice for having a Blast Marker in contact with a vessel. Not intended for escorts.
10: Drone Link ....................................+20 pts
The creature maintains an unbroken link with the Vanguard drone ships and hive ships of the swarm. When within 15 cm of a Vanguard drone ship, all pyro-acid batteries benefit from a left shift on the Gunnery table (before all other modifiers).
11: Tenacity ..........................................+20 pts
The creature has evolved the capability of effectively bringing its weapons to bear on its enemies even when following the prerogative of the Hive Mind. When on [All Ahead Full], [Burn Retros] or [Come to New Heading] special orders, its pyro-acid batteries and bio-plasma weapons are unaffected.
12: Mega-Spore Mines......+10 pts/launch bay
Ships equipped with assault boat launch bays can exchange all their launch bays for spore mine launchers. Each launch bay can launch one megaspore mine In the Ordnance phase Mega-spore mines follow all movement and ordnance rules mines do on [???] of the Remastered Rulebook, but when rolling against armour to inflict hits, it inflicts that number of fire criticals instead. Not intended for escorts.
Scenario Notes¶
Cruiser Clash¶
Tyranids can use one hive ship and three cruisers instead of the four cruisers. If this option is used, refits or escorts cannot be taken, and the hive ship cannot be higher than Ld 8. For the purposes of this scenario, Ld on Brace for Impact orders is 7, and Ld when navigating celestial phenomenon is 10.
The Bait¶
No modifications needed – this will be typically a single hive ship plus its immediate escorts either being lured off or ambushing an enemy away from the main hive fleet. Also makes a good scenario with Vanguard drone ships and Kraken.
The Raiders¶
No modifications needed, Tyranids work equally well as attackers or defenders.
Surprise Attack¶
A good scenario for either an attack on a Hive fleet stripping a planet or an unexpected Tyranid incursion. No modification needed.
Blockade Run¶
Either an escape attempt from a doomed planet trying to get past the encroaching hive fleet or Tyranid forces trying to return to the main fleet after scouting a new world to consume. As such, no modifications are needed.
Convoy¶
Tyranids don’t have convoys, being a voiddwelling race. They make good attackers though.
Planetary Assault¶
The classic Tyranid scenario – an attempt to invade and subdue a populated world. Tyranid hive fleets don’t add extra transport ships but instead score 1 Assault Point for each spore cyst on ships which get within 30 cm of the planet’s surface. Each Strength point of torpedoes and each assault boats marker which reaches the surface also scores one Assault Point. On defence the Tyranids can spend additional points for planetary defences on Ordnance.
Escalating Engagement¶
Tyranid hive fleets tend to remain concentrated yet their slow speed hive ships make them vulnerable in this scenario. To balance this the Tyranid player adds +1 to the roll for divisions to arrive on the tabletop.
Exterminatus¶
Tyranids will never be the attacking forces in an exterminatus scenario – substitute Planetary Assault instead if randomly generated. Worlds infested by Tyranids are all too often the recipients of Exterminatus, however, so hive fleets make good defenders. On defence the Tyranids can spend additional points for planetary defences on Ordnance.
Fleet Engagement¶
Tyranid hive fleets operate with no modification in a fleet engagement.
Vanguard Fleet List¶
Tyranid Vanguard fleets represent elements of the hive fleet snaking out ahead of the main fleet. Vanguard fleets lack hive ships, but do allow their vessels to have some degree of autonomy. Vanguard fleets offer an alternative to the full Hive fleet list, and make an ideal raiding force, or a force for smaller games in campaigns.
Vanguard Drone Ships¶
Your fleet may include any number of Vanguard drone ships.
Vanguard drone ship (pg. 416) .................. 20 pts
A Vanguard drone ship must be armed with one weapon chosen from the following list:
Pyro-acid battery ........................................+5 pts
Feeder tentacles ...........................................+5 pts
Kraken¶
Your fleet may include any number of Kraken.
Kraken (pg. 415)......................................... 25 pts
A Kraken must be armed with one weapon chosen from the following list:
Pyro-acid battery ...................................... +15 pts Feeder tentacles ...........................................+5 pts Massive claws............................................. +10 pts Bio-plasma discharge ............................... +10 pts Torpedoes ................................................... +15 pts
Squadrons¶
Tyranids do not follow the normal squadron rules when forming up the fleet. Vanguard drone ships and Kraken may be deployed in squadrons of 6 to 12 models. You may combine the two types in a single squadron if you wish.
Leadership¶
Vanguardf leets contain no hive ships and instead are acting on a heightened form of instinct, moving ahead of the main fleet in order to scout out new worlds ripe for conquest. Escort squadrons in a Tyranid Vanguard fleet each have a Leadership value equal to the number of vessels remaining in the squadron (up to a maximum of 10).
Instinctive Behaviour¶
Escort squadrons in a Tyranid Vanguard fleet may take a Leadership test at the start of each turn in order to override their Instinctive Behaviour, just as if they were in range of a hive ship. Each squadron uses their own Leadership for the test (you can’t use that of a nearby ship or squadron) and if failed, uses Instinctive Behaviour as normal.
You may test to override Instinctive Behaviour for all your squadrons even if a squadron fails.
Hive Fleet List¶
Fleet Commander¶
The Tyranid player may opt to include the direct influence of the Hive Mind in lieu of having a fleet commander. These take the form of Hive Mind Influence re-rolls and Hive Mind Imperatives. Hive Mind Influence re-rolls work in the same way as normal fleet commander re-rolls. Hive Mind Imperatives cause a Command check or Leadership test to be passed automatically. The decision to use a Hive Mind Imperative must be taken before the dice are rolled.
Hive Mind Influence re-roll...................... 30 pts
A maximum of one Hive Mind Influence re-roll can be purchased per hive ship in the fleet.
Hive Mind Imperative................................ 40 pts
A maximum of one Hive Mind Imperative can be purchased per two hive ships in the fleet, though a single Hive Mind Imperative may be purchased as long as the fleet contains at least one hive ship.
Hive Ships¶
Each hive ship allows the Tyranid player to purchase 6–12 escort ships and 0–2 capital ships.
Hive ship (Ld 8) (pg. 412).........................200 pts
Increase to Ld 9 .........................................+40 pts
A hive ship must be armed with weapons chosen from the following list:
One prow weapon
Pyro-acid battery ......................................+30 pts
Feeder tentacles & massive claws ........... +15 pts
Bio-plasma spines .....................................+20 pts
Boarding torpedoes ..................................+25 pts
One thorax weapon
Pyro-acid battery ......................................+30 pts
Bio-plasma discharge ...............................+20 pts
Launch bays ...............................................+20 pts
Up to Three Port/Starboard Weapons
Pyro-acid battery ...................................... +15 pts
Bio-plasma discharge ...............................+20 pts
Launch bays ...............................................+20 pts
Capital Ships¶
You may include up to 2 capital ships for each hive ship in the fleet.
Cruiser (pg. 414) ........................................ 80 pts
A Tyranid cruiser must be armed with weapons chosen from the following list:
One prow weapon
Pyro-acid battery ......................................+20 pts
Feeder tentacles ......................................... +10 pts
Massive claws...............................................+5 pts
Boarding torpedoes .................................. +10 pts
One thorax weapon
Feeder tentacles ......................................... +10 pts
Massive claws...............................................+5 pts
Boarding torpedoes .................................. +10 pts
Up to two Port/Starboard Weapons
Pyro-acid battery ...................................... +15 pts
Bio-plasma discharge ...............................+20 pts
Escorts¶
You may include between 6 and 12 escort class ships for each hive ship. If no hive ships are chosen, only Kraken and Vanguard drone ships may be included in the fleet.
Vanguard drone ship (pg. 416) .................. 20 pts
A Vanguard drone ship must be armed with one weapon chosen from the following list:
Pyro-acid battery ........................................+5 pts
Feeder tentacles ...........................................+5 pts
The fleet must have at least six escort drones for every hive ship in the fleet. If desired, this may be in addition to the 6–12 escorts (of any type) that may be taken for every hive ship in the fleet.
Escort drone (pg. 417) ................................ 10 pts
A Tyranid escort drone must be armed with one weapon chosen from the following list:
Pyro-acid battery ...................................... +10 pts
Feeder tentacles ...........................................+5 pts
Bio-plasma discharge .................................+5 pts
Kraken (pg. 415)......................................... 25 pts
A Kraken must be armed with one weapon chosen from the following list:
Pyro-acid battery ...................................... +15 pts
Feeder tentacles ...........................................+5 pts
Massive claws............................................. +10 pts
Bio-plasma discharge ............................... +10 pts
Boarding torpedoes .................................. +15 pts
Squadrons¶
Tyranids do not follow the normal squadron rules when forming up the fleet. Tyranid Escorts come as squadrons of 1 to 12 vessels, while all other types are individuals and may not deploy in squadrons.
Ordnance¶
Up to 10 % of the fleet’s points allowance may be spent on Ordnance markers as long as at least one hive ship is chosen.
Strength 4 boarding torpedo marker ...... 12 pts
Assault boat marker ..................................... 8 pts
Fighter marker ............................................... 7 pts
Ordnance may be formed up into waves which are treated as squadrons for the purposes of deployment. In a campaign, ordnance does not form a permanent part of the fleet and is ‘used up’ in a battle.
Weapons¶
Most Tyranid vessels are permitted to choose their weapons from a number of choices by paying the additional points cost indicated. This should all be fairly self-explanatory, but one thing to remember is that when buying ‘port/ starboard weapons’ the points cost indicated provides you with one port weapon and one starboard weapon (of the same type) for the points cost indicated. So, if you chose port/ starboard launch bays for a hive ship, you should remember to note down that the vessel has port launch bays and starboard launch bays. Each port/starboard weapon uses the profile given (i.e. don’t ‘split’ their firepower).