Mk3 Tyranid Carnifex.
In this section we will look at Tyranid Heavy Support choices and their tactics. Heavy support for a Tyranid army generally means bigger scarier monsters that can rip tanks and larger enemy creatures apart with ease.
General Tyranid Heavy Support Tactics
The Tyranid Heavy Support is there to crack those tougher nuts! Tanks and other monstrous creatures should be prime targets for your Tyranid Heavy Support. Keep in mind that other Monstrous Creatures may be even tougher than you are, so you may want to gang up with other units to be sure to take down your target.
Tyranid Heavy Support choices are generally slower than the other Tyranid units. That said, they can still run during the shooting phase, and their shooting weapons are assault weapons. This means they are still fairly quick.
Tyranid Heavy Support creatures do not get invulnerable saves. This means that you will want to use whatever cover you can find to protect your expensive strategic troops from Melta weapons and sniper rifles.
> Also See: Tyranid Carnifex Tactics
> Also See: Tyranid Tyrannofex Tactics
> Also See: Warhammer 40k Monstrous Creature Tactics
Tyranid Biovore Brood Tactics
Mk1 Tyranid Biovore
The Tyranid Biovore is a living cannon who’s main purpose is to launch spore mines, but they are not too bad in a fight either! It is the one Tyranid Heavy Support that is not a Monstrous Creature. This does mean that is is a cheaper option if you are playing a low points game ( under 2000 points ).
Spore Mine Launcher
The Spore Mine Launcher is now a 48″ assault weapon. This means that your Biovores can now be running around the table chucking out Spore Mines as they go! Whats more, if you miss your target the shots are not lost, but become spore mine units. The number of spore mines in the new unit depends on the number of Biovores that where in the barrage unit, from one to three.
From the Tyranid rule book we are told that the Spore Mines become a unit at the end of the shooting phase. This means that they exist before the assault phase, so they should be able to assault if there is a viable target that turn.
> For more Spore Mine Tactics, See Tyranid Troop Tactics
Not Bad In A Fight
Close combat is not the main role that the Biovore is supposed to fulfil, but if it does get caught by a surprise attack you can expect the Tyranid Biovore to take a few of the enemy down too.
Tyranid Trygon Tactics
The Tyranid Trygon is a new addition to the Tyranid army. And what a monster it is too! The model for this creature is 8 inches high! and its stats are truly frightening too.
The Tyranid Trygon is not a Synapse creature, so it will fall back on the instinctive behaviour if it is our side synapse range. It has a height leadership value so you may take the risk. However if you have a hive mind in range, this will bolster your change of success.
The Tyranid Trygon is fulfils two roles. in it is a Monstrous close assault creature, and other broods that are still in reserve can use the Tyranid Trygons’s tunnel to enter the battle field. More about this in the next section.
Special Rule: Subterranean Assault
If being big and scary it not enough, the Tyranid Trygon has a ‘ Subterranean Assault’ special rule. What is good about this is that the Tyranid Trygon can allow other units to enter play from its tunnels, even if they do not normally get the deepstrike special rule.
Once the Tyranid Trygon has entered the battle field the tunnel stays open, but you will need to keep the entry point marked. One way to do this is to place a large blast marker template sized creator where the Trygon enters play. Games Workshop do packs of creators that work well, or you can create your own using papier-mâché.
Tyranid Trygon Prime Tactics
The Trygon Prime is a Tyranid Trygon with Hive Mind abilities. This allows you to have Hive Mind control over the broods that are entering the battle field through the Trygon tunnel. However you can only have one Tyranid Trygon prime per army.
Tyranid Mawloc Tactics
The Tyranid Trygon’s ‘little’ brother is the Tyranid Mawloc. The Tyranid Mawloc model is as scary as the Tyranid Trygon, but is looses some weapon skill and number of assaults
Special Rules Terror from the Deep and Burrow
What the Tyranid Mawloc looses in close combat skills in makes up for with these two special rules. I will deal with them together as they are best used together.
> Also See: Warhammer 40k Monstrous Creature Tactics
Tyranid Toxicrene Tactics
The Tyranid Toxicrene is a new Tyranid Heavy Support option resently releaded with the rules published in Vol 40 of the White Dwalf weekly. You can find this publication on the Games Workshop Black Library for £2.45 site here!
The Tyranid Toxicrene is a monstrouse sized Tyranid Venomthrope. However the rules are quite different, for example the Toxicrene is more of a close combat creature, and does not provide the spore cloud cover fr nearby Tyranids like the Venomthrope does.