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The Battle for Oghram Tyranids Reveal Roundtable
TheChirurgeon: It's cool to see Space Marines lose here, even if the results are "a meaningless planet gets kind of eaten," if only because it means we can wait a little longer on seeing what new, fucked-up meta-destroying marine units we're going to get. Also the new nids models rip and are much more interesting than "multi-part Terminators who are 20% bigger than anything created before."
Genestealers
Genestealers have finally gotten a new kit! Any seasoned tyranid player will tell you the old kit was kinda a pain to build. The mold lines were rough and you got 8 of them at a time. It sucked.
Summer: The new Genestealers kit comes with 10 models per box. This brings justice to all the people wondering why the 10th Edition datasheet has a 5-10 unit size when the old box only had 8 models.
There was always a new kit in the pipes. The inclusion of a full set of gribbly Ymgarl heads is perfect, as I vastly prefer that betentacled maw. It’ll also make for a wonderful head swap piece to other models in the range.
Norman: You already fucking know I’m doing only tentacle faces. This kit isn't all that different from the old one on its face to be honest, but the genestealer design is kinda dialed in at this point. The only thing I see is that the bases are still way to small for these models, get some washers ready to weigh down those bases.
TheChirurgeon: Somehow they managed to make new, better-sized Genestealers, yet imbue them with all of the same problems as the older models, including the one there with a contact point the size of a toe.Aesthetically these are a big improvement over the ancient models, and one of the most-needed updates in the entire 40k range. Can't wait to be absolutely wrecked by a unit of these in Tyranids armies when they get an updated datashseet, then laugh as they're still garbage in Genestealer Cults for another year. Though GSC hardly need the help.
Termagaunts and Hormagaunts
Both Termagants and Hormagaunts have also received glow-ups in the new line. This was pretty expected given that the Leviathan boxed set introduced us to new Termagants, but the surprise here is a new multi-part kit that includes 3 special weapons options in their box. And from the look of things, they can mix them up in their squads. The kit also comes with a base of Rippers.Summer: I think the Hormagaunt kit won the aesthetic battle. The new poses are positively filled with animalistic menace. Leaping, skulking, and charging in all manner of lovely poses. If the kit has socketed arms, then no two bugs in your swarm will ever be identical.
Another subtle addition is the enlarged tail which counterbalances the model (as it would a real running animal). They should now tip over less and look more ‘real’.
Swiftblade: Holy shit, it only took over a decade, but I finally know what a Spike Rifle and Strangleweb looks like! I remember seeing these weapon options in the 5th edition codex, when they didn’t have official models for those guns and you had to proxy them. The new Tryanid stuff has done a great job digging up Tyranids' past and bringing it to the current range, like we saw with Von Ryan’s Leapers. Happy to see these long forgotten pieces of wargear make their return!
Charlie B: Yeah, 100%. Whenever I look at doing a new army, the first question is always how much I like the basic troops. These are everything I wanted, and the variety of guns for the termagants is something I didn’t even know I wanted (sighs in mono-weapon Primaris Marine squads). Can’t wait to paint a carpet of these wee champions.
Norman: It's about damn time. There was a minute there where I thought they might update the termagaunts but not the hormagaunts and boy am I glad to have that fear dashed. Only thing I was hoping for was for this to be a single kit that could build both of these and also gargoyles just to get all the little gribblies in one kit. That said the hormagaunts have some sick dynamic poses going on so I sort of get why they have a different basic shape.
TheChirurgeon: An area where I think the new kits are very good, but possibly a bit too detailed for models which require you to paint 30-60 of them for your army. That said, there isn't a ton in the nids range that still needs updating thanks to the other reveals so it's a perfectly fine update to make. Not sure how I feel about mixed special weapons in a unit of cheap little bugs, but we'll have to wait to see the datasheet before we know how that's working out.
Lictor, Neurolictor and Deathleaper
After decades of waiting, the Lictor finally gets a plastic model to replace its tiny little finecast kit. And we get more than just a lictor - the sneakiest models in the army get a huge face-lift plus two new models: An updated Deathleaper and a new variant called the Neurolictor.
Michael: Two things: both these lictor models are awesome, and this and the bio/pyrovore release means that Tyranids are a faction without Finecast. Ideally, all 40k armies will be in this state by the closure of 10th ed. The lictor is the perfect upgrade to the old kit, and the neurolictor is an awesome option. Unless you’re running both in an army, you can probably also build whatever version you prefer and run it as the better datasheet.Now, my only comment on the Deathleaper is a question: why does he have Maugan Ra’s cape?
Swiftblade: This release was a pleasant surprise. When the Deathleaper got teased a few weeks ago without any word on the generic lictor, I had assumed that this meant that we weren’t getting an updated kit. Fortunately, not only was I wrong, we get two different Lictors to boot. Looking at the poses of both generic Lictor bits, I would bet that the new box probably comes with two Lictors or something, like the new Warlock box did, since the poses are so different between the two Lictors teased.
The Neurolictor keeps the Tyranid slam dunk fest going with a fine addition to the collection of big brain Tyranid models. Lictors are already supposed to cause fear and paranoia on denizens of the soon to be devoured planet, so I guess the new one will be extra good at doing that in a psychic way? Or maybe he will have some ability tied to the Shadow of the Warp ability, like the Neurotyrant?
Charlie B: Love love love the new Lictor, but as for the other variants: there’s a lot to like, but the new aesthetic of ‘how about an armoured head, but then some light trepanning to make sure shrapnel flies straight into your brain?’ is something that makes… a limited amount of sense to me.
TheChirurgeon: The Lictor needed a model so bad that when I first saw the Deathleaper my only response was "cool, is this kit also going to replace Lictors? I think my favorite part about the new kit is the ability to build it different ways so you can have one that's more crouched and prepared to strike from the shadows rather than just having one with his hooks extended way up into the air in a way that makes him impossible to transport.The Neurolictor looks really cool though and I like the way it combines the aesthetics of a Lictor and a Zoanthrope. I think the Deathleaper looks kind of dumb, to be honest. The cape is just stupid.
Biovore and Pyrovore
Finally a dual kit. The Biovore and Pyrovore have also left resin behind to a brave new world of plastic casting. These models see major departures from their original models with their redesign leaning way harder into the bug aesthetic.Summer: It’s an ugly planet! A bug planet! The new Biovore/Piovore looks to be leveraging the best of contemporary CAD sculpting to make a wonderfully ‘alien’ creature that the often-bipedal Tyranid range is missing. This skittering abomination has steadily grown on me since it was showcased, and I think it does a great job at cementing Tyranid ranged fire as being large and slow, which differentiates it from the numerous heavy infantry ranged options of other factions.
Michael: Sooo I can’t tell the difference between these two kits. They both look AWESOME. They’re fantastic. They lean even more into the ‘bug’ look of the Tyranid ‘bug-dinosaur’ aesthetic. But I cannot tell the biovore from pyrovore at a glance.
Swiftblade: RIP to the dumb smile on the Resin Biovore. I wish I could say that you will be missed.
Norman: Fucking love my new bug friends. If spore mines stay the way they currently are, then that biovore kit is gonna go fast. I’m hoping they update the datasheets a bit for these, because right now if you want to run a pyrovore, you run them in squads of 3 and this does NOT look like a cheap kit.
TheChirurgeon: Much as I miss the aesthetic introduced in 3rd edition of having Tyranid monsters which are clearly drawing genetic material and visual identity from the races of the 40k universe - Biovores were for a time based on Orks, while Zoanthropes were based on Eldar (still my favorite design for the psychic bugs), and Tyrant Guard were based on Space Marines. Still, these are much more visually striking and less goofy, and a better fit for the modern Zerg-heavy aesthetic Tyranids seem to be going for.
Norn Emissary and Norn Assimilator
The biggest boys in the plastic range now, the Norn Emissary and Norn Assimilator (starting a countdown for someone on the Goonhammer staff to call it the Norn Ass) debut after some hinting in recent lore blurbs and books. These guys are big, mean, and cool as hell.Swiftblade: Speaking of bringing back stuff from Tyranid’s past, an actual Norn Queen model. The biggest and baddest of the Tyranids. These really have been around for years just causing problems in the lore as the apex Tyranid threat, so to see them modeled rocks. I did think they would be bigger though, I got wildly excited when I thought the model was as tall as a Wraithknight, but being taller than a Wraithlord is cool too I guess.Out of the two, I think the Norn Emissary looks way cooler than the Norn Assimilator, but in fairness I think the pictures that we got of the Assimilator are either really busy or at odd angles. The Emissary just looks so menacing and dangerous though, even with a better angle I think it will remain my favorite of the two kits.
Charlie B: Weirdly I was going to say the opposite, that the Assimilator excites me the most, largely because I love a head without brain-holes in the carapace. That said I do agree that the Assimilator is a bit busy, and those vesitigial limbs on its shoulders seem like a bridge too far. It may be a case of being a great mini if one doesn’t quite glue everything on; that ol’ chestnut of dialling a GW sculpt back down to 10. Leaving off the flesh hooks and the deltoid stabbers might be the move here. Side note: the gribbly Tyranid stuff sprouting out from under the metal decking on the base is cool as hell. I do like how the new range is conveying the way Tyranids infest their environment.
Norman: Guys, they’re both pretty. The whole rough and rugged carapace look is really doing it for me. Which one I’m gonna build is probably gonna come down to rules for me. Regardless though, very much looking forward to having some more big huge boys to lead my monster mash lists.
TheChirurgeon: I just think it's cool that Tyranids finally have a knight-sized monster to throw around on the table, and I like the nod back to the Norn Queen, a model only seen in passing in Epic 30 years ago. I'm going to weigh in and say that I prefer the Emissary, but that's partly because the paint job does a good job breaking up the model with some additional color on the glowing brain. The Assimilator is also pretty cool and looks like it'll be a total chore to kill on the battlefield.That wraps up our look at the new models. What were your favorites? Was there something you were hoping to see that didn't get revealed? Drop us a note about it in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.
