The Tyranid Sporocyst in a new addition to the Warhammer 40000 Tyranid army. Its rules can be found in White Dwarf weekly no. 41. You can download this from the Black Library site ( for £2.49 ) here.

General Tyranid Sporocyst Tactics

The Tyranid Sporocyst’s rules are not well written, leaving some big holes it the rules that you maybe able to exploit, or need to agree house rules with your opponent before battle commences. These rule holes come from the fact that the Tyranid Sporocyst is half Monstrous creature  and half fortification. For example the rule for firing the weaponry is written as if the Sporocyst is a fortification with automated weapons. However the creature is listed as a Heavy Support Monstrous Creature. This means that when the rules say:

“Each weapon on this model automatically fires at the nearest enemy unit within range and line of sight”

We are expecting that each weapon has a different firing arch. However as Monstrous Creature have 360 degree fire arch for all their weapons, so all the weapons  should be shooting at the same target. I highly recommend that you agree with our opponent if the weapons  have a fire arch before you start the game. I suggest that the weapons should have a 180 degree fire arch, but this is up to you. A 360 arch for each weapon will make the creature much more valuable!

Where to place your Tyranid Sporocyst

The Tyranid Sporocyst is immobile. This means that where ever you place the Sporocyst at the begging of the game, that is where it will stay. The Sporocyst does not have the deepstrike special rule ( despite the fluff saying that they are dropped on to the battlefield ), however they do have Infiltrate. This means that you can decide where to place your Tyranid Sporocyst after your opponent has placed his forces on the table. This it turn may give you an idea of his strategy and an idea on how to use the Sporocyst to disrupt these plans. Another bonus is that you can place the Sporocyst outside our deployment area as long as you follow the infiltrate rules. This means that you can use it to contest or provide cover fire for an objective.

The Tyranid Sporocyst also have a psychic resonator that allows Hive Mind creatures nearby ( 6″ ) to extend the reach of their Hive Mind reach by 6″. This means that you will want to place your Sporocyst some where where Hive Mind Creatures will be passing or hanging out for the duration of the game. This usually means placing the Sporocyst as close to the centre of the table as possible.