Let's dive right into the Tyranids heavy support.
Carnifex Brood - Carnifex broods are the poster boys for Tyranids hives, since 4th edition ever nids player has had a hand full of these models. They have lost 40 points to their price tag and one attack compared to fifth edition. 120 points is a nice price level to start off with. The special rule Living battering Ram has been changed to D3 hammer of wrath attack instead of one, which isn't too shabby seeing how they have 9 strength.
This unit is pretty versatile with being able to handle most things in melee and laying down serious fire power. Immediately, the first thing I see is putting two Twin-linked devourers on one of these guys and letting him go to town. 12 strength 6 shots on a monstrous creature, with regeneration for 180 points is money. If you put two of these in a squad you can push up their life expectancy by shuffling the wounding model back, while the other soaks up wounds. If your opponent gets to close you can charge them with 8 strength 9, AP2 attacks. Also don't forget the hammer of wraiths hits.
You have the option of putting crushing claws on a Carnifex but I don't think they are really worth it. It pushes you put to strength 10 and give you armourbane, except you can already smash so save the 15 points. You can also have a tail. So yeah, that is a thing now. The Carnifex brood gets two rampaging ,giant, screaming bug thumb ups from me.
Biovore Brood - There is nothing wrong with including a barrage unit in your army, especially since sniping is so important in sixth edition. You can including up to three of these guys in a group so that means dropping three large, strength 4, AP4 blast a turn. Their stats are decent for what they will be doing and hopefully they will be out of LOS for most of the match anyway. I can definitely see Biovore in the competitive meta game.
Trygon - The Trygon's biggest biggest assets is its special rule Subterranean Assault. The first part of the rule is just like deepstriking with drop pods, where you will move 1" to avoid models or impassable terrain. The second part of the rule says that other models can arrive from reserve from the point where the Trygon arrived. The downside of this rule is that you can only bring in one unit per turn using these rule and it can only be used in turns after the Trygon's arrival.
I have to say the Trygon has some sweet stats. 6 wounds, toughness 6, with a 3+ save is nice when you will be close to your enemy. The Trygon has a base of 5 attacks, which means he will have 7 attacks on the charge. The Trygon also has a decent gun that fires off 6 strength 5, AP5 shots.
The Trygon Prime is only better because it doubles the amount of shots and gains an extra 6" on it's guns. It is 40 more points but gives you the much needed Synapse, leadership 10 and also access to the Bio-artefacts.
Mawloc - The Terror from the Deep appears to rip your opponents to shreds. The special rule Terror from the Deep means you can deep strike on a friend or foe and hope to damage them. If you arrive on another model you place a large, strenght 6, AP2 blast over the models. If after resolving wounds you still aren't able to fit in the spot, you do it again. If after the second time you cant fit you then roll on the mishap chart. The Mawloc can continue to hit units with this ability because it can return to reserve with burrow and attempt to do it again next turn.
The stats of the Mawloc are comparable to the Trygon but it is only 140 points, which isn't bad. The unit is a hit or miss to me. It has it's places but I don't think you could put it in every list.
Starship troopers had a good idea with the plasma bug
Exocrine - If you need AP2 here is where you look. This new unit has a very nasty gun that can be an assault 6 plasma gun or a large plasma blast. The the most important part is it doesn't have gets hot. The creature also gains 1 BS if it doesn't move so it can tear apart units with marine accuracy. It has comparable stats to the rest of the monstrous creatures in the heavy support section, toting a healthy 5 wounds. This is an interesting addition to the new codex and has its places.
Tyrannofex - The Tyrannofex comes with acid spray and a stinger salvo. These weapons aren't that impressive so I think the best thing would be to upgrade to a Fleshborer hive or Rupture cannon. The Fleshborer hive is pretty hilarious, come with 18" of me and get shot in the face with 20 strength 4 shots you big jerk. I love anything with volume of shots so this would be the choice for me. Alternatively you can use the Rupture cannon which is strength 10, AP4. That weapon is pretty much only for vehicles because with only two shots you wont be killing a lot of infantry with it.
The crowning achievement of the Tyrannofex is it's 2+ save, the hive mind apparently only envisioned one unit to have it. And no , giving the best protection to something like the commander of the army or at least a unit with Synaspe would just make too much sense. I guess beggars cant be choosers so I am glad at least something has it.
Alright, we did it. We have finally reviewed all the units in the Tyranids Codex. I have to say that the heavy support slot outshines the rest of the book by a far margin. It is the only one where you actually have comparable options. There isn't just one unit that is glaringly the best and another that is unplayable. The Carnifex is my favorite for sure but I could make a list where any of the choices could fulfill a role.
The next post will be my ideas behind competitive lists and just parting thoughts on the codex. So you know the drill, drop me a comment with your opinion and follow me for awesomeness.
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