REVIEW: Tyranid Codex (6th edition) [UPDATE]

A revision to the outdated Tyranid codex was long overdue, and it brought sweeping changes. Read on for my thoughts.


I was very, very excited about the new book and model releases. The previous codex didn't nest very well with 5th edition, and several units were either rendered useless, or had no model at all.

Unfortunately, the realm of possibility and anticipation didn't bear fruit, and the codex brought broad changes (some motivated by business and politics) that stripped many useful powers, and added only a few promising new features.

I had hoped that glaring issues like the uselessness of units like the Pyrovore, and lictors, as well as the absence of ANY mode of transport (there was no official model of the Mycetic Spore) would have been addressed. But, instead, they were ignored - or in some places, gutted entirely.


CHAPTER HOUSE BLUES
It's no secret that GW and Chapter House Studios have been embroiled in a protracted legal battle over products offered by CHS. Those unfamiliar with the case should know that CHS created resin models for units that GW hadn't bothered to create (like the essential Mycetic Spore). GW sued them, and LOST. By verdict, CHS could continue to create and sell those units.

I've learned that part of the court's decision in the case disallows GW from making models for units that Chapter House Studios created. So GW was legally UNABLE to create the units we wanted. Unfortunate for everyone, as GW can't make money providing much desired models, player's can't have the units they wanted, and CHS doesn't make any money with their ugly resin designs because the units were removed from the rules.

[UPDATE]
As noted by Nick, from Chapter house studios, in the comments, GW is not prohibited from creating models for the units in question. But it looks like, in a fit of insane corporate short-sightedness, instead of creating official models for those units (that everyone would have bought), GW instead reworked the entire army, removing the units CHS made models for. By removing the mycetic spore, ymgarl genestealers, parasite of mortex, and the doom of malan'tai, GW gave a huge "FUCK YOU" to chapter house - and in turn - their loyal player base.

NOT-SO-SCYTHING TALONS
Scything talons were cool. When I first started playing warhammer 40K, (and my first army, Tyranids) I had no idea that the talons conferred any sort of bonus. I had only skimmed the codex, and when I played my first game, and the store rep was coaching me, he told me I could re-roll missed 1s on my hormagants' to-hit rolls. I thought that was neat. It made my guys seems special, and it made sense -- they're a flurry of claws and teeth. The rare chance to re-roll symbolized that on the tabletop really well.

When I built my first trygon/mawlock, I learned that having two sets of talons let you re-roll ANY missed attack, and conferred an extra attack. I thought that was cool, too. It made sense. There are a three sets of talons flailing and slashing. Re-rolling missed attacks was a great way to represent that.

Well, that's all gone. No benefits now, whatsoever. None. My genetically engineered, alien killing machine that's has two giant scythes for arms is just the same as a human in close combat. Uh...


REGENERWHATNOW?
Regeneration used to be a 1 in 6 chance to regain a wound at the end of a turn. Again, the probability was low, but the POSSIBILITY of regaining multiple wounds made my army feel unique. The chances of regenerating 3 wounds was nearly astronomical, but if it ever did happen, it would be a "water cooler" moment your gaming group would talk about for years.

Now, it's 10pts more expensive, and you regain a wound on a 4+. But, only ONE wound max. So, a possible epic moment (in a tabletop game that's supposed to be about epic battles fought between bitter foes) is reduced to something less memorable than a feel no pain save. "meh, I regain a wound".


MOMMA GETS THE NERF BAT
The Tervigon was a lynchpin unit in 5th edition. It served as HQ, spawned new units, and could support new units with catalyst and onslaught. Hell, if you paid the cost of a 20 gaunt squad, you could also bring it as a troops choice.

All that was a bit too much, apparently, because this thing got the brunt of the changes in the codex. It must now roll its powers randomly, spawned gaunts cannot move or assault in the turn they are spawned, upgrades like toxin sacks and adrenal glands no longer benefit the units she births, she has to pay for thorax swarms when they used to be free, you now need to take a squad of 30 gaunts to field it as a troops choice, AND the synaptic backlash (a destructive wave that kills spawned units when the Tervigon is killed) DOUBLED to 12".

So what WAS a lynchpin is now a weaker, more expensive time bomb waiting to kill the underpowered units she created. Awesome.


NO SOUP FOR YOU!
5th edition wasn't great for Tyranids, but being able to take powers from the biomancy psychic table was a bright spot. Of course, "Iron Arm" could turn your monstrous creatures into near unstoppable juggernauts, if you were lucky enough to get it, but other powers like "warp speed" and "endurance" were great too.

Too bad, because you don't get them anymore! And while some of the new powers that are Tyranid only are pretty great, the fact that this is the ONLY army in the ENTIRE game that doesn't get access to the powers in the big rule book is a lopsided design choice. You took this away because my Tyrant could become a ST9 T9 creature? What about the deamon princes in the Chaos codex that stat out the same with "Iron Arm" on? Why do they still get access to the BrB psychic powers?


LET'S ALL PLAY WITH RYU!
Good games are about balance. But balance doesn't mean homogeny. Street Fighter is a good example. Ryu is very different from Guile or Blanka. The game is balanced in such a way that the play styles of those characters are VERY different, but are often equally matched. Good game designers know this and implement it. Poor game designers do not understand this, and try to balance everything by making all the units the same. Let's all play using the shitty, lame, vanilla karate guy!

But you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you've stripped the powers that make my army unique, like scything talons, or regeneration, because they "aren't balanced" (they are, that's bullshit) to make everything the same, then you CAN'T deny me access to the psychic powers that EVERYONE else has access to.


ON THE UPSIDE
Lower point carnifexes with the biomorphs back in the rules! YAY! And the venomthrope got a pretty serious boost to its abilities and close combat. (but still no plastic kit? BOO!)

And hey, spore mines got new rules because... uhm. Im sure we've all got TONS of those things floating around, right? I mean, since they're only sold in a finecast pack of 4 or with a biovore. (idiots)

-trip