Tyranid Codex In Depth Review: Part II (HQ and Troops)

Army Special Rules:  Yikes!  Here are a couple of really big hits that people are complaing about.  Synapse Creatures remain the same, except now they aren't Eternal Warriors and can be instakilled.  Shadow in the Warp can now cause Perils of the Warp results, but is only 12" instead of all over the board.  It's also a given ability instead of an ability that you purchase.  

Tyranid players will now have to be more careful with their multiwound monsters, as they can now be instakilled.  I can't say I hate this, as it will make people more careful with their units, instead of the previous 'Nidzilla tactic of just running everything straight forward without worrying too much about the big guns.  Shadow in the Warp is interesting.  The power wasn't that expensive previously, and the 12" range is a big hit.  Many psychic powers don't really need to get that close to work. 

Note:  We'll hit the Special Characters later in the week. 

HQ

Hive Tyrant:  He's more than twice as expensive as before, without upgrades, so that's rough.  He does come as a Psyker now, though, and can give units within 6" of him Preferred Enemy.  He's still a beast, but he's a bit more pricey than before.  Tyrant Guard is available as protection.   B.

Tervigon:  This thing is great, but can be chosen as a Troops choice, where it is an amazing option.  We'll touch on it there.

Tyranid Prime:  Powerful Upgraded Warriors who give their abilities to Warrior Units.  Giving WS 6 to Warrior units makes them pretty great, as most Characters will then hit them on 4's instead of 3's.  This is a great choice in my book.    A.

Troops:

A big thing here is Mycetic Spores, which allow Tyranids to Drop Pod down. 

Warriors:  Warriors are almost twice as expensive as before, but are troops now and gain a wound!  Combined with a Tyranid Prime, these suckers are really nasty!  B+ (A if with a Prime).

Stealers:  These bad boys got cheaper, can take a Broodlord as an upgrade (who is also cheaper), and didn't really get a downgrade.  I like them a lot, and with fleet and infiltrate they can do some real damage.  A

Gaunts:  Termagaunts are a point more expensive than before.  For every 10 strong unit, you can have a Tervigon as a Troop choice.  Hormagaunts remain roughly the same. (Termagaunts get an A, if only for the Tervigon...I've never cared for Hormagaunts much, but they still do what they do well, so a B for them.)

Tervigon:  So here we have a Monstrous Creature that can score, and can also spawn more Termagaunts.  I think we'll be seeing a lot of these around, as they're an absolutely fantastic troops choice.  A+

Ripper Swarms:  Still great for tying other units up in close combat, these units have gained the ability to Deep Strike as well.  B+