The reason the Hive and Tyrant guard don't have eyes is because they're meant to be extensions of the Greater beasts they defend, and "see" through the synaptic link with that creature. The Hiveguard sit motionless and recieve sensory input from the hive mind, literally firing through walls when they're commanded to, since they already "know" what they're firing at. The Tyrand Guard are slaves to the Tyrant they're defending, and can be commanded to intercept attacks against it. It's little details like this that make me love the Tyranids.
The same as the Exocrine it’s the massive living gun thar does the targeting as it has many eyes. Exocrine and the hive guard are slaves to their weapons as they are two organisms living symbiotically
They are also supposed to be near impossible to kill and one of the weak points for nid is the eyes (that's why most have small eyes close to the carapace) and if hive guard and tyrant gaurd don't have any then they have no true weakness
The best thing about the tyranids for me is that you can paint them however you like and have whatever characters you want in the army. The worst part is that my boys, Biovores, are stuck in Finecast hell along with Lictors, Pyrovores, Deathleapers and probably some other stuff. Well, that and the points per £ ratio isn’t very good for the smaller sculpts. Also, weren’t the Hive Guard sort of like replacements for Zoats? They have a similar body shape. Hive guard don’t even need to see, they can shoot around walls and stuff because their ammunition does the aiming themselves. Genestealers look SO much better when not all one colour. I can’t stand the all-white Milk Bottles they’ve got on the GW store.
From what I recall, the Hive/Tyrant Guard were evolved with Space Marines in mind, or something like that. Biovores were the ones influenced by Ork DNA. This is a few editions old, though.
back to the wall of the trench... drenched in whatever this foul world had thrown at him... the guardsmen then peered over the edge of the imperium into the tide of xenos death and exclaimed..... WHOS A BEEFY BOY!?
I wish Nids had a huge Knight equivalent! The hive and tyrant guard see through psychic shenanigans. For the tyrant guard the Hive Tyrant does the seeing, and on the hive guard the gun and ammunition does the seeing which is psychical streamed to the guard whose visual cortex is slaved to that. All their visual processing cells are devoted to that so they don't have the processing for their own eyes.
Adrian Duly ya I looked at some of their stat lines and realllly doesn’t seem worth it model or rule wise. I do really like the heirophant just wish it was cheaper and didn’t break its own legs.
I adore the Tyranids. It's one of the most comprehensively "good" ranges in the hobby. It would be lovely to get some more options and updates, but their range is one of the best. Between them and Tau, they have the most up-to-date and high quality ranges among the Xenos factions.
Completely agree, but soooo many Tyranid players on the Tyranids Facebook group whine constantly about how little love the faction supposedly gets and how GW hates them; they have an incredible range of minis, and are decent on the tabletop (although not top tier by any means) but sooo much whining!
Garl Vinland I think Orks are cheating since even if a model is old or ugly it’s still gonna look and feel like an ork since their aesthetic has (and always will be) just brutish and nonsensical in their presentation.
I can only suggest going the second hand ebay route. Most of the sculpt haven't changed and the smaller ones, you can usually pick up a large bulk of the troops for a quid a mini.
The Termagant and Hormagaunt kits are I believe the oldest kits in the Tyranid range and still look amazing. It's a testament to the great job their designers and sculptors did that they absolutely do not need updating the same way the Lictor and Biovore do.
Personally, I would disagree. I think both Termagant and Hormagaunt models need and upgrade, as well as the Tyranid Warriors. They lack in aesthetic detail that other Tyranid models have. In addition, they also have a flawed design. Both Termagant and Hormagaunt models have poor weight distribution, which causes the models to fall over frontwards. A couple of months ago, I bought a set of Hormagaunts, and only four of them would stand up, the rest of them kept falling over, regardless of the terrain. It's been 21 years. They need an upgrade.
@@Inconvenient_NPC Also, going by some of the descriptions, both should be smaller than their models would suggest. Ones that don't need a weighted base would be nice
I started planning a Tyranid army called Hive Fleet Charybdis. It was comprised entirely of serpentine units (Raveners, Zoanthropes, Trygons) and I was planning to convert and paint them to look aquatic, and put them on broken ice bases as if they are emerging from the water beneath. Then I checked how much 2,000 points would be. It was £880, just for the Tyranid models. I then shelved the idea (for now).
Grumpy Squat I had made up two hive fleets that had formed a symbiosis named Scylla and Charybdis years ago. The idea was that they had weird defects and could only produce melee and shooting nids respectively. I would have painted them in inverted colours accordingly. It didn't necessarily make sense but I was proud of the idea, never made it though.
@@reginlief1 That does sound cool, and I love the idea - reflecting the idea of trapping people between two equally dangerous but very different threats, which is the origin of the myth.
@@tiredtortoise3396 I’m glad the idea translates. Although I must be honest I was a 10 year old at the time and I was just obsessed with Greek myths. Anyway, aquatic nids sounds super cool.
Tyranids are one of the armies I’m thinking of after my Orks, but I’m considering doing it as a small elite army based around the monsters instead of another horde.
Just play Tyrannofex with cannon and some termagants and venomthropes, maybe a malanthrope and brood lord aswell. That’s pretty elite already and then throw in what you want
Yeah there isn't really a "Nidzilla" style build that is gonna be competitive. However, if you're just building a themed "Nidzilla" army for the sh*ts and giggles then I say go for it👍
@kirioth hive guard can psychically see through the eyes of all nearby nids, and their ammo have wings so they just guide the bullets to its destination via what other nids see
I don't like the spores because they're floating. I prefer if they were just terrain pieces in the next edition; half-sunken into the ground after landing from orbit, cracked open like an egg to allow whatever has been transported to rush out or immediately start lashing out with scythed tentacles or weapon symbiotes. Pretty much most of the Tyranid line is 4th edition. Gaunts/Gants/Rippers are 3rd edition, As are warriors but they've had a couple of recasts for some extra bits. Carnifex, Genestealers, Lictors are 4th edition. The current Tyrant, Zoanthrope, Guard and Raveners were metal but got plastic kits 5th edition onward. Gargoyles, Trygon/Mawloc, Venomthropes, Harpy, Hive guard, Pyrovore and Biovore are 5th edition sculpts. Despite having rules, the Tervigon/Tyranofex and Mycetic Spore didn't get their models till 6th edition. The rest is 6th edition onward.
I wish the absorbing of defeated DNA could be used to upgrade the nids. I mean with Ork Dna they can replicate faster with photosynthesis. And spess mahreens a tougher body over all. And Eldar their psychic powers could increase the Hive mind's reach.
Swift_Scythe kind of like the Ynarri soulburst but faction specifc? If you kill a unit of x get x buff? Or maybe it should be determined by unit role, like if it’s fast attack, troops, heavy, or elite you get different buffs?
There's an important distinction between Tyranids and other "space bug hives minds" in the rest of fiction. Things like the Zerg and Arachnids look like giant animals scaled up. But Tyranids pull from HR Geiger, in that while everything about them is organic, a lot of what they are seems like specifically designed and constructed armor and mechanisms.
Awesome video! I love the Tyranid range, assaulting from aerial, underground, or charging across the battlefield, and weilding immense psychic powers! The Tyrannocyte is an awesome transport. After spewing out it's passengers, it can float around the battlefield making attacks with it's five ranged weapons. Hard as hell to assemble, but a great addition to a Tyranid invasion force!
The increase in horror with the nids has been disgustingly awesome Except for the zoanthropes, I prefer their old models, with less carapace and a more fœtus-like silhouette
Ahh, one of the better Xenos ranges... I love Nids, would never collect them as I'm awful with biological painting, but they're up there as one of the better ones, like Tau and Necrons. Would love to see your Tau opinions too!
As regards the tyrant guard they are born from the same flesh as their tyrant and yeah they needn't see cause they are directly linked to the tyrants, it can move the guards like its own limbs haha
The Trygon claws are indeed significantly larger than the Mawloc ones. The set comes with 5 pairs of claws, all different sizes. Trygons use the biggest 3 while Mawlocs use the smallest 3. I personally assembled mine with the Mawloc head and Trygon claws, because nobody i play with can tell the difference while they're on the table anyway, so i might as well make them as cool as possible! Regarding the Exocrine, the 'gun' is in fact the main intelligence and it dominates the holder beast when aiming! I did use the claws for my Exocrine as i magnetized the head and that's enough to identify which monster it is on the table.
it’s the tyrant guard that are suspected to be created with Astartes biomass. Also they were specifically created without eyes so that the enemy couldn’t exploit the weakness of blinding the creature nor would it hesitate in front of an enemy larger than itself.
I'm a Tyranid collector, I started collecting after the Battle of Macragge boxed set. After seeing you review the range I'd agree it a pretty decent range. I also think it just could do with a few new mid sized miniatures. The big models look good and I'd hate them to update the smaller ones, too much time invested in painting swarms of genestealers and gaunts. I've still got a bit of metal in my army, the Biovores and Lictors before they became resin. They still look okay but if they were updated as I only have two Biovores and one Lictor I wouldn't be upset. Tyranid warriors are in my opinion still good miniatures, there are so many options for them.
The thing is about the Tyranids, some of them have an unkind body to themselves, if they cared about any form of pain or anything, they'd hate their own bodies, and I think that's one of the things that makes them so cool, their own bodies torture them by simply existing, and it's frankly fantastic and it fits
I´ve got a small-ish tyranid army to change a pace of things from my CHSM and I had a lot of fun painting them and playing them. They are really superb army and they really look like one.. swarm, one body on the table. Considering how old most of the range is, it´s really holding more than nicely !
I absolutely love Hormagaunts. Love the little fuckers! They look SO bastarding good!!!! Perfect core to an army, to ANY army, they're light, nimble, clearly focused and driven to charge forward, and deadly with giant stabbing spikes! They're so perfect, just so perfect, not as imposing as Starship Troopers bugs, but little enough they can herd up, and they actually FIT, they fall into a beautiful flock where every model fits in next to the others. Hormagaunts, Warriors, Carnifex and Tyrant are so essential visually in a Tyranid army, they have such a strong identity. Personally I never even add guns, it's all about scything talons for me.
I just started assembling a Tyranid army. Could you make a video about the tactics that Tyranid swarms should employ? Especially when they are melee focused?
gotta love the nids. That said in terms of the actual Tyranid warriors I much prefer the really old design with the more reptilian almost saurian head and were you could see the guts under the ribcage. If they took that model and popped the crest on it from the newer ones it would be awesome.
Tyranids were my first army when I started back in 4th edition and to this day they are still my favourite army. I remember how hyped I was when they brought out the Trygon and the Ravener kits. And tbh most really have held up really well except for the red terror and the biovore. With that said I would still love some new models
Not a massive update needed, but for such iconic units, in the fluff as well, lictors and biovores need an update. The fine cast is just so poor, full of bubbles. Blood of Baal made lictors worth taking as well.
I understand you thinking the gargoyles are cute because I find the hormaguants cute too. Even asked WarComTeam on Twitter if they ever thought of plushies.
Not that it is all that important but, the tervigon does not have 6 legs. Although it does look like legs, those are actually arms specifically sything talons. They can also be replaced with Monsterous crushing claws. But it would not surprise me if a tervigon did use it's arms as extra support considering the extra weight it carries
Startet with my Tyranids this year and i have to say that their model-range is very solid and fun to build and paint. It's sth. different and nice to paint an army which is completely organic/ without metal or armor.
When I was first exposed to the Tyranids I was instantly in love, from the HR Geiger inspiration to the cruel simplicity of their faction. I decided they were my favorite faction since they weren’t just “human 2” like the other Xenos. Not that I despise the other Xenos or anything but at the end of the day they all still look human in some capacity, Nids on the other hand? Absolutely not and I love it
Still waiting for the Lictor to get the Zoanthrope/Venomthrope treatment, because I do recall Zoanthropes weren't always in a box as a set. I don't even play Nids anymore, but if they release a box of three Lictors, all in plastic, like they've done for the Zoanthropes, that's an insta-buy from me.
I still have huge affection for the original plastic Tyranid Warriors that came in the Advanced Space Crusade/Tyranid Attack game back in the mid-90's, I'd love to see those re-imagined. I don't mind 'fine-cast' as a material and I've got 3 Lictors, in person they're still cool looking models - but yeah, the old resin models are in desperate need of an update. Perhaps we'll get some new bio-forms that have evolved to deal with the Primaris? I'd have far more big bugs in my army if GW didn't have half the range locked behind it's 'Available to Order' nonsense.
I love the Tyranid aesthetics and fluff with for example ammo being beetles expelled at high speed and burrowing through enemy armours. I reckon this range is still solid and consistent but I agree with you it could do with a refresh to replace some resin kits or old looking models: deathleeper and lictor, biovore and pyrovore, red terror. Also I would love to see tyrannid warriors with wings! I would be so much threat with great mobility
The Exocrine gun doesn't look like it has eyes, it has eyes. The body has enough mental capacity to know how to walk and eat, the gun does all the thinking.
Also Hormagants and Termagaunts haven't changed since late 2nd ed/very early third. Neither have the Rippers. Genestealers are nearly as old. Gargoyles are I do believe 4th edition (same time as the Carnifex), as previously they had been these ancient metal lumps that never stayed on their stands. Warriors were updated to their current form in 3rd, then updated in 6th with the Prime and lashwhip and bonesword option. But the actual models themselves weren't touched. I personally really like them but a lot of people seem to not to. They normally change their minds after painting them though. Tyranids could do with new gaunts/gants, Shrikes to come back fully, and a few of the Epic models to make the transition like the Trygons and Exocrines did. But mostly we need good rules again that don't feel like an after thought like Blood of bloody Baal clearly was.
Tyranids are fun to play because of the flexibility to run lists of all big monsters or massed hoards. They also work well as either a shooting or close combat army. Tyranids should get a lord of war knight equivalent to spice up the model range though.
Hive guard have a special thing according to lore is they have a very weak synaptic link so they see through the bullets they shoot and the tyranids around em see
Those you mentioned that were dated could use a new head entirely. Those Cthulhu-like mouth tentacles clash thematically with the aliens-y teeth-&-long tongue aesthetic of the others.
Termagants/Hormagaunts are 3rd. Genestealers are 4th. Hivetyrant and Carnifex are 4th designs (though the HT got a plastic version with same sculpt design at around 6th? mabye) Trygon came in at 6th with Harpy and tervigon/tyranno, raveners. 7th was the Tyrannocyte, new zoas/venom, Haruspex/Exocrine, Maleceptor, new Tyrant/Hiveguard, new repackage warriors too i think. Might have missed some.
Trigon claws are bigger because they are supposed to be scything talons used to attack while the Mawloc's claws are just burrowing claws used to dig also for the Haruspex those aren't gribbly mouth talons. those are gribbly stomach talons, it is spitting its stomach out to grab food with it funny that you should mention the Hive Guard looking ork like, there are multiple types of Tyranid that were made using DNA from various other races and I'm fairly certain that the Exocrine, Biovore, Pyrovore and Hive Guard (most of the specilized shooting nids) were made from Orks (meanwhile the Tyrant Guard were made using Space Marines and the Zoanthropes are made from Eldar)
Warriors, Raveners, Lictors, and most definitely the Biovores could get updates. Being 'mid-tier' units, an update shouldn't hit hard. Troops are old, but I agree that when they're in a swarm they don't look so bad. The only troops I'd be interested in updating are perhaps genestealers, since they're between two ranges and wouldn't hit quite as hard compared to gaunt/gargoyles (which any self respecting tyranid player would already have hundreds of). The rest of the range is solid and newer than some might think, nothing is really bad (except the derpy biovore. That bug has always had derp models).
I think the Lictor could do with a more dynamic pose (not jumping), as though it was stalking or something like that. It just seems to be standing there. I also think that one of my main issues with the genestealers is that they are one solid colour, and the white doesn't look great on them imo. I've seen more interesting paint schemes and they look a lot better.
They need to update my boy, the Lictor, desperately. Such a cool model, but it really does sit on the side of the fence, where it's age just shows a bit too much compared to anything post 4th edition. All in all I think Tyranids generally have one of the best ranges and some of the recent models' grotesqueness has really added to the Tyranid's alien-ness.
Fun fact: The exocrine's gun has a bigger brain and is more intelligent than the exocrine itself The actual bug is quite dumb and is only there to carry the bigass gun The gun generally has to take control of the thing to point where it wants to shoot
Always wanted to get a Tyranid army and paint it up like a Bug army (sort of like the one in Starship Troopers but maybe in slightly different colors) to fight against my Astra Militarum army. Should probably finish some existing armies first though...
While i miss the unique flavor of the old screamer-killer, the carnifex kit is really nuce and holds up well. And the tyrant kit is spectacular. Don't much care for the gaunts, they're too big, imo, the long staight tails are awkward, and the connection to the bases on the hormagaunts in particular are awkward and weak. Would love to see a new gaunt kit.
When you talked about the tryanid drop pod and it looking weird is that it looks like it should be upside down. The top looks like it is supposed to armored to crash into things and then the soft bits rupture and spews out gribblies and spores.
I love mixing the older metal minis with the newer plastic ones. Particularly love the old metal Term , Horm and Raveners. The old ravener model is so much nicer than the current one, they look a lot more similar to the red terror than the current ones. Most of my nids are ebay rescues only way to get the smaller ones in bulk for a reasonable price. =P
I've just started a nids melee horde army. I don't like guns on the models... Or gross bits, but that still leaves me with a great range to choose from.
That lictor model was THE model that got me into the hobby back when i was but a little 6 year old in 2001 🤣 that say's everything about the age of it 🤦♂️ but when they do an update you can bet i'll come back to nids in a heartbeat
Carnifexes are definitely some of the best units we Nid players have, but sweet Mary are they annoying to put together... Somehow the torso just doesn't fit together properly, so you normally end up with having a really uneven and disconnected back piece of Chitin. I have around seven of these guys and people in Nid groups I'm in have shared identical issues with it which is a massive shame for such a great model. If they were to update it, which I hope they do, they shouldn't do much to change it aside from fixing the flaws in the mould.
I still think the way the weapons are semi-attached to the models looks a bit weird. I liked the bug artillery of Starship Troopers a bit better, as they were both weapon and alien in a single combined entity. Feels a bit more believable that way. The melee ones are freaking awesome though!
GW just got through redoing the warriors, what I found weird about that is they left them in their 3rd ed look. It was just an update to the sculpts. I agree with the resin models Need to be redone in plastic.
The tyrannofex has different art work in the 6th ed book it’s gun was comming out of its mouth and had massive scything tallons on the front, that’s would be a change I would like to see
It makes perfect sense to me that tyranid flyers don’t have legs. They just dive into the biomass and recycle themselves after they’re done with the planet anyway, so why would they ever need to land?
One thing about the Tyrannofex/Tervigon is it's size. I brought a Tyrannofex to a game and my friend didn't believe it was meant to fit on its own base!
The reason the Hive and Tyrant guard don't have eyes is because they're meant to be extensions of the Greater beasts they defend, and "see" through the synaptic link with that creature.
The Hiveguard sit motionless and recieve sensory input from the hive mind, literally firing through walls when they're commanded to, since they already "know" what they're firing at.
The Tyrand Guard are slaves to the Tyrant they're defending, and can be commanded to intercept attacks against it.
It's little details like this that make me love the Tyranids.
What this guy said
They also more than likely have other sensory organs(probably heat detection) in case there's a break in their synaptic link.
The hive guard don’t have eyes in their heads but they can see as the weapons/guns have eyes but the tyrant guard are slaves like you said
The same as the Exocrine it’s the massive living gun thar does the targeting as it has many eyes. Exocrine and the hive guard are slaves to their weapons as they are two organisms living symbiotically
They are also supposed to be near impossible to kill and one of the weak points for nid is the eyes (that's why most have small eyes close to the carapace) and if hive guard and tyrant gaurd don't have any then they have no true weakness
"there's a human element to the hive guard."
ORDO XENOS WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION
I go get the BIG RED BUTTON ready for the planets end
Well they are using space marine genes
I actually agree with this statement and these are my least favorite bugs because of it (those and warriors, way too human looking)
The best thing about the tyranids for me is that you can paint them however you like and have whatever characters you want in the army. The worst part is that my boys, Biovores, are stuck in Finecast hell along with Lictors, Pyrovores, Deathleapers and probably some other stuff. Well, that and the points per £ ratio isn’t very good for the smaller sculpts.
Also, weren’t the Hive Guard sort of like replacements for Zoats? They have a similar body shape.
Hive guard don’t even need to see, they can shoot around walls and stuff because their ammunition does the aiming themselves.
Genestealers look SO much better when not all one colour. I can’t stand the all-white Milk Bottles they’ve got on the GW store.
From what I recall, the Hive/Tyrant Guard were evolved with Space Marines in mind, or something like that. Biovores were the ones influenced by Ork DNA. This is a few editions old, though.
True that, mine are purple with black chitin that goes toward strong blue with black claws. Look really OG genestealer-y
Feels like it’s been years since they got a new model.
Feels like it’s been years since they got a new model.
F P mine have dark brown skin with yellow/green/blue chitin, you can do anything and it looks cool :)
back to the wall of the trench...
drenched in whatever this foul world had thrown at him...
the guardsmen then peered over the edge of the imperium into the tide of xenos death and exclaimed.....
WHOS A BEEFY BOY!?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the tyranids forgeworld line.
Dimachaeron all day friend.
$$$$
From a model and design standpoint nothing beats the bio titan (not flying), looks great and very unique
I wish Nids had a huge Knight equivalent!
The hive and tyrant guard see through psychic shenanigans. For the tyrant guard the Hive Tyrant does the seeing, and on the hive guard the gun and ammunition does the seeing which is psychical streamed to the guard whose visual cortex is slaved to that. All their visual processing cells are devoted to that so they don't have the processing for their own eyes.
Adrian Duly closest is the forgeworld stuff! But those are also so expensive in points.
@@dariuschoksy6934 and money. And the kits are resin and Fragile as heck. Not to mention pretty ancient
Adrian Duly ya I looked at some of their stat lines and realllly doesn’t seem worth it model or rule wise. I do really like the heirophant just wish it was cheaper and didn’t break its own legs.
Adrian Duly trygon’s roughly the right size
@@queencyrys6309 it's almost tall enough yeah, but a lot less bulky, and not nearly on par stats or rules wise. It's a deepstriker not battering ram
0:22 It's official! Kirioth loves nice, chunky, beefy bois =P
Who doesn’t? :)
@@aidanobrien9226 Lesbians and hetero dudes?
@@vladdrakul7851 Good point!
He’s one himself after all lol
80% of your questions on how does this work can be answered simply with, Power of the hive mind.
I adore the Tyranids. It's one of the most comprehensively "good" ranges in the hobby. It would be lovely to get some more options and updates, but their range is one of the best. Between them and Tau, they have the most up-to-date and high quality ranges among the Xenos factions.
Completely agree, but soooo many Tyranid players on the Tyranids Facebook group whine constantly about how little love the faction supposedly gets and how GW hates them; they have an incredible range of minis, and are decent on the tabletop (although not top tier by any means) but sooo much whining!
I’d count orks as some of the most timeless
Garl Vinland I think Orks are cheating since even if a model is old or ugly it’s still gonna look and feel like an ork since their aesthetic has (and always will be) just brutish and nonsensical in their presentation.
I can't afford to Nids but the urge to paint some something in the style of Starship Troopers Arachnids will probably win out in the end :(
I can only suggest going the second hand ebay route. Most of the sculpt haven't changed and the smaller ones, you can usually pick up a large bulk of the troops for a quid a mini.
Aaaand my day has immediatly gotten better
The Termagant and Hormagaunt kits are I believe the oldest kits in the Tyranid range and still look amazing. It's a testament to the great job their designers and sculptors did that they absolutely do not need updating the same way the Lictor and Biovore do.
Personally, I would disagree. I think both Termagant and Hormagaunt models need and upgrade, as well as the Tyranid Warriors. They lack in aesthetic detail that other Tyranid models have. In addition, they also have a flawed design. Both Termagant and Hormagaunt models have poor weight distribution, which causes the models to fall over frontwards. A couple of months ago, I bought a set of Hormagaunts, and only four of them would stand up, the rest of them kept falling over, regardless of the terrain. It's been 21 years. They need an upgrade.
@@Inconvenient_NPC Also, going by some of the descriptions, both should be smaller than their models would suggest. Ones that don't need a weighted base would be nice
I started planning a Tyranid army called Hive Fleet Charybdis. It was comprised entirely of serpentine units (Raveners, Zoanthropes, Trygons) and I was planning to convert and paint them to look aquatic, and put them on broken ice bases as if they are emerging from the water beneath.
Then I checked how much 2,000 points would be. It was £880, just for the Tyranid models. I then shelved the idea (for now).
Grumpy Squat I had made up two hive fleets that had formed a symbiosis named Scylla and Charybdis years ago. The idea was that they had weird defects and could only produce melee and shooting nids respectively. I would have painted them in inverted colours accordingly.
It didn't necessarily make sense but I was proud of the idea, never made it though.
@@reginlief1 That does sound cool, and I love the idea - reflecting the idea of trapping people between two equally dangerous but very different threats, which is the origin of the myth.
@@tiredtortoise3396 I’m glad the idea translates.
Although I must be honest I was a 10 year old at the time and I was just obsessed with Greek myths.
Anyway, aquatic nids sounds super cool.
Tyranids are one of the armies I’m thinking of after my Orks, but I’m considering doing it as a small elite army based around the monsters instead of another horde.
That's what I did and it worked well..........before the doctrines
Just play Tyrannofex with cannon and some termagants and venomthropes, maybe a malanthrope and brood lord aswell. That’s pretty elite already and then throw in what you want
Warriors and Guard. And you'll need heavy artillery to support them
Yeah there isn't really a "Nidzilla" style build that is gonna be competitive. However, if you're just building a themed "Nidzilla" army for the sh*ts and giggles then I say go for it👍
Forgot the tyranofex and take Exocrine for artilery. You'll get more from it than the Tyranofex.
@kirioth hive guard can psychically see through the eyes of all nearby nids, and their ammo have wings so they just guide the bullets to its destination via what other nids see
I don't like the spores because they're floating. I prefer if they were just terrain pieces in the next edition; half-sunken into the ground after landing from orbit, cracked open like an egg to allow whatever has been transported to rush out or immediately start lashing out with scythed tentacles or weapon symbiotes.
Pretty much most of the Tyranid line is 4th edition.
Gaunts/Gants/Rippers are 3rd edition, As are warriors but they've had a couple of recasts for some extra bits.
Carnifex, Genestealers, Lictors are 4th edition. The current Tyrant, Zoanthrope, Guard and Raveners were metal but got plastic kits 5th edition onward.
Gargoyles, Trygon/Mawloc, Venomthropes, Harpy, Hive guard, Pyrovore and Biovore are 5th edition sculpts. Despite having rules, the Tervigon/Tyranofex and Mycetic Spore didn't get their models till 6th edition.
The rest is 6th edition onward.
Didn’t it used to be lore that hive guard were the result of the tyrnids absorbing space marine genetics?
Yep, like zoanthropes were eldar and biovores were orks.
I wish the absorbing of defeated DNA could be used to upgrade the nids. I mean with Ork Dna they can replicate faster with photosynthesis. And spess mahreens a tougher body over all. And Eldar their psychic powers could increase the Hive mind's reach.
Swift_Scythe kind of like the Ynarri soulburst but faction specifc? If you kill a unit of x get x buff? Or maybe it should be determined by unit role, like if it’s fast attack, troops, heavy, or elite you get different buffs?
The "something" guard units sort of remind me of zoats. All of them are vaguely centaur and less insectoid than most of the other models.
Exocrene makes Slaaneshi go: "You are overdoing it!"
There is no such thing as "overdoing" with Slaanesh. The entire theme of Slaanesh is that they can _never_ get enough of anything!
@@RokuroCarisu That's kind of the joke here. ^^
There's an important distinction between Tyranids and other "space bug hives minds" in the rest of fiction. Things like the Zerg and Arachnids look like giant animals scaled up. But Tyranids pull from HR Geiger, in that while everything about them is organic, a lot of what they are seems like specifically designed and constructed armor and mechanisms.
I’d run at the haruspex. It’s a plastic model.
I wish you would also include how old the models are (release year) in your reviews
Awesome video! I love the Tyranid range, assaulting from aerial, underground, or charging across the battlefield, and weilding immense psychic powers! The Tyrannocyte is an awesome transport. After spewing out it's passengers, it can float around the battlefield making attacks with it's five ranged weapons. Hard as hell to assemble, but a great addition to a Tyranid invasion force!
No way... My start collecting box came yesterday :)) perfect timing
The carnifex is my favourite model after it's assembled, my most hated before so.
Oh yeah, the assembly is a pain. It was one of the first if not THE first large plastic non-tank mini. It shows the industry growing pains :)
The increase in horror with the nids has been disgustingly awesome
Except for the zoanthropes, I prefer their old models, with less carapace and a more fœtus-like silhouette
Ahh, one of the better Xenos ranges... I love Nids, would never collect them as I'm awful with biological painting, but they're up there as one of the better ones, like Tau and Necrons. Would love to see your Tau opinions too!
TYRANID ASSAULT!
- Thaddeus, Bloody Magpies
the trygon kit in the instructions uses different talons entirely to the mawloc combining the two is honestly better looking
That's because the Mawloc isn't supposed to be using its talons to fight. It's sole purpose is to eat stuff from underground
As regards the tyrant guard they are born from the same flesh as their tyrant and yeah they needn't see cause they are directly linked to the tyrants, it can move the guards like its own limbs haha
Maybe an update to the Tyranid warriors with the option for the old Tyranid shrikes to come back could be good
Thanks for the video Kiri! Any chance you could do a range review of some of the Horus Heresy units?
14:55 I always figured they saw by using the eyes of other Tyranids close by. Hive mind and all.
The Trygon claws are indeed significantly larger than the Mawloc ones. The set comes with 5 pairs of claws, all different sizes. Trygons use the biggest 3 while Mawlocs use the smallest 3. I personally assembled mine with the Mawloc head and Trygon claws, because nobody i play with can tell the difference while they're on the table anyway, so i might as well make them as cool as possible!
Regarding the Exocrine, the 'gun' is in fact the main intelligence and it dominates the holder beast when aiming! I did use the claws for my Exocrine as i magnetized the head and that's enough to identify which monster it is on the table.
it’s the tyrant guard that are suspected to be created with Astartes biomass. Also they were specifically created without eyes so that the enemy couldn’t exploit the weakness of blinding the creature nor would it hesitate in front of an enemy larger than itself.
Goddamn if Tyranid rules weren’t at the bottom of the barrel I would start an army in a heartbeat
I'm a Tyranid collector, I started collecting after the Battle of Macragge boxed set. After seeing you review the range I'd agree it a pretty decent range. I also think it just could do with a few new mid sized miniatures. The big models look good and I'd hate them to update the smaller ones, too much time invested in painting swarms of genestealers and gaunts.
I've still got a bit of metal in my army, the Biovores and Lictors before they became resin. They still look okay but if they were updated as I only have two Biovores and one Lictor I wouldn't be upset.
Tyranid warriors are in my opinion still good miniatures, there are so many options for them.
The thing is about the Tyranids, some of them have an unkind body to themselves, if they cared about any form of pain or anything, they'd hate their own bodies, and I think that's one of the things that makes them so cool, their own bodies torture them by simply existing, and it's frankly fantastic and it fits
At 23.47 is any one else seeing a smiley face in the Lictors Groin?
I´ve got a small-ish tyranid army to change a pace of things from my CHSM and I had a lot of fun painting them and playing them. They are really superb army and they really look like one.. swarm, one body on the table. Considering how old most of the range is, it´s really holding more than nicely !
I absolutely love Hormagaunts. Love the little fuckers! They look SO bastarding good!!!! Perfect core to an army, to ANY army, they're light, nimble, clearly focused and driven to charge forward, and deadly with giant stabbing spikes! They're so perfect, just so perfect, not as imposing as Starship Troopers bugs, but little enough they can herd up, and they actually FIT, they fall into a beautiful flock where every model fits in next to the others.
Hormagaunts, Warriors, Carnifex and Tyrant are so essential visually in a Tyranid army, they have such a strong identity. Personally I never even add guns, it's all about scything talons for me.
I just started assembling a Tyranid army. Could you make a video about the tactics that Tyranid swarms should employ? Especially when they are melee focused?
gotta love the nids. That said in terms of the actual Tyranid warriors I much prefer the really old design with the more reptilian almost saurian head and were you could see the guts under the ribcage. If they took that model and popped the crest on it from the newer ones it would be awesome.
Tyranids were my first army when I started back in 4th edition and to this day they are still my favourite army. I remember how hyped I was when they brought out the Trygon and the Ravener kits. And tbh most really have held up really well except for the red terror and the biovore. With that said I would still love some new models
Not a massive update needed, but for such iconic units, in the fluff as well, lictors and biovores need an update. The fine cast is just so poor, full of bubbles. Blood of Baal made lictors worth taking as well.
I understand you thinking the gargoyles are cute because I find the hormaguants cute too. Even asked WarComTeam on Twitter if they ever thought of plushies.
Loving your range review series, I think we all just browse GW website regularly to look at stuff we will never buy hehehe.
Not that it is all that important but, the tervigon does not have 6 legs. Although it does look like legs, those are actually arms specifically sything talons. They can also be replaced with Monsterous crushing claws. But it would not surprise me if a tervigon did use it's arms as extra support considering the extra weight it carries
Startet with my Tyranids this year and i have to say that their model-range is very solid and fun to build and paint. It's sth. different and nice to paint an army which is completely organic/ without metal or armor.
When I was first exposed to the Tyranids I was instantly in love, from the HR Geiger inspiration to the cruel simplicity of their faction. I decided they were my favorite faction since they weren’t just “human 2” like the other Xenos. Not that I despise the other Xenos or anything but at the end of the day they all still look human in some capacity, Nids on the other hand? Absolutely not and I love it
Still waiting for the Lictor to get the Zoanthrope/Venomthrope treatment, because I do recall Zoanthropes weren't always in a box as a set. I don't even play Nids anymore, but if they release a box of three Lictors, all in plastic, like they've done for the Zoanthropes, that's an insta-buy from me.
I still have huge affection for the original plastic Tyranid Warriors that came in the Advanced Space Crusade/Tyranid Attack game back in the mid-90's, I'd love to see those re-imagined. I don't mind 'fine-cast' as a material and I've got 3 Lictors, in person they're still cool looking models - but yeah, the old resin models are in desperate need of an update. Perhaps we'll get some new bio-forms that have evolved to deal with the Primaris? I'd have far more big bugs in my army if GW didn't have half the range locked behind it's 'Available to Order' nonsense.
I like to go over concept art for the final models when converting tyranids and coming up with a mix of both
I love the Tyranid aesthetics and fluff with for example ammo being beetles expelled at high speed and burrowing through enemy armours. I reckon this range is still solid and consistent but I agree with you it could do with a refresh to replace some resin kits or old looking models: deathleeper and lictor, biovore and pyrovore, red terror. Also I would love to see tyrannid warriors with wings! I would be so much threat with great mobility
The Exocrine gun doesn't look like it has eyes, it has eyes. The body has enough mental capacity to know how to walk and eat, the gun does all the thinking.
My favourite part of the range is not having to paint any metallics. A nice change after Custodes and IG
Also Hormagants and Termagaunts haven't changed since late 2nd ed/very early third. Neither have the Rippers. Genestealers are nearly as old.
Gargoyles are I do believe 4th edition (same time as the Carnifex), as previously they had been these ancient metal lumps that never stayed on their stands.
Warriors were updated to their current form in 3rd, then updated in 6th with the Prime and lashwhip and bonesword option. But the actual models themselves weren't touched. I personally really like them but a lot of people seem to not to. They normally change their minds after painting them though.
Tyranids could do with new gaunts/gants, Shrikes to come back fully, and a few of the Epic models to make the transition like the Trygons and Exocrines did.
But mostly we need good rules again that don't feel like an after thought like Blood of bloody Baal clearly was.
ROCK LOBSTER SLAYER MEETS THE B 52's REIGN IN BLOOD FROM A LOBSTER IN THE SKY!
'MASHUP - SLAY-52s - "Raining Lobsters"
Tyranids are fun to play because of the flexibility to run lists of all big monsters or massed hoards. They also work well as either a shooting or close combat army. Tyranids should get a lord of war knight equivalent to spice up the model range though.
Love to see Orks done too! Currently checking out all your videos. Thanks for the upload :D
Hive guard have a special thing according to lore is they have a very weak synaptic link so they see through the bullets they shoot and the tyranids around em see
The hive guard are like the xenomorphs in aliens, they have no eyes either..very creepy
Those you mentioned that were dated could use a new head entirely. Those Cthulhu-like mouth tentacles clash thematically with the aliens-y teeth-&-long tongue aesthetic of the others.
Termagants/Hormagaunts are 3rd. Genestealers are 4th. Hivetyrant and Carnifex are 4th designs (though the HT got a plastic version with same sculpt design at around 6th? mabye)
Trygon came in at 6th with Harpy and tervigon/tyranno, raveners. 7th was the Tyrannocyte, new zoas/venom, Haruspex/Exocrine, Maleceptor, new Tyrant/Hiveguard, new repackage warriors too i think. Might have missed some.
The claw's on the Trygon kit are nightmare to get to sit right.
Once a harpy is released it never lands unless it is shot out the sky
I think I'm gonna pick up a gene stealer cult and tyranid start collecting box as soon as I've finished a few more projects
Winged hivetyrants are also amazing base for winged demon princes
Harpies and Hive crones don't land, they are born from the hive ships and would fly back into them or latch onto them.
I wish you’d also do the Forgeworld models, I really love this series
"The Tervigon has 6 legs"? You what ?!?!?!?!
The Red Terror did get updated, that's what the Mawloc is.
Trigon claws are bigger because they are supposed to be scything talons used to attack while the Mawloc's claws are just burrowing claws used to dig
also for the Haruspex those aren't gribbly mouth talons. those are gribbly stomach talons, it is spitting its stomach out to grab food with it
funny that you should mention the Hive Guard looking ork like, there are multiple types of Tyranid that were made using DNA from various other races and I'm fairly certain that the Exocrine, Biovore, Pyrovore and Hive Guard (most of the specilized shooting nids) were made from Orks (meanwhile the Tyrant Guard were made using Space Marines and the Zoanthropes are made from Eldar)
Warriors, Raveners, Lictors, and most definitely the Biovores could get updates. Being 'mid-tier' units, an update shouldn't hit hard. Troops are old, but I agree that when they're in a swarm they don't look so bad. The only troops I'd be interested in updating are perhaps genestealers, since they're between two ranges and wouldn't hit quite as hard compared to gaunt/gargoyles (which any self respecting tyranid player would already have hundreds of).
The rest of the range is solid and newer than some might think, nothing is really bad (except the derpy biovore. That bug has always had derp models).
Lorewise Harpies and Crones don't land. They're spawned flying in space and don't ever land even in ground assaults.
I think the Lictor could do with a more dynamic pose (not jumping), as though it was stalking or something like that. It just seems to be standing there.
I also think that one of my main issues with the genestealers is that they are one solid colour, and the white doesn't look great on them imo. I've seen more interesting paint schemes and they look a lot better.
"Exocrine is dissapointingly normal" and "it have a same chassis as haruspex" is.... one of a sentence
As a noob (still waiting on my 1st order of nids new) this vid has been a massive help thanks dude 😁
They need to update my boy, the Lictor, desperately. Such a cool model, but it really does sit on the side of the fence, where it's age just shows a bit too much compared to anything post 4th edition. All in all I think Tyranids generally have one of the best ranges and some of the recent models' grotesqueness has really added to the Tyranid's alien-ness.
Fun fact: The exocrine's gun has a bigger brain and is more intelligent than the exocrine itself
The actual bug is quite dumb and is only there to carry the bigass gun
The gun generally has to take control of the thing to point where it wants to shoot
Always wanted to get a Tyranid army and paint it up like a Bug army (sort of like the one in Starship Troopers but maybe in slightly different colors) to fight against my Astra Militarum army. Should probably finish some existing armies first though...
I ordered my first model today always seen them thro the window as a kid an wanted to command an army now I will
About the tyrant guards, i like them better without the shoulder plates, it's a "less is more" kind of deal for me.
While i miss the unique flavor of the old screamer-killer, the carnifex kit is really nuce and holds up well. And the tyrant kit is spectacular. Don't much care for the gaunts, they're too big, imo, the long staight tails are awkward, and the connection to the bases on the hormagaunts in particular are awkward and weak. Would love to see a new gaunt kit.
I liked the art design of the 5th ed tyrannofex. I feel it portrayed the idea of what the creature is better
When you talked about the tryanid drop pod and it looking weird is that it looks like it should be upside down. The top looks like it is supposed to armored to crash into things and then the soft bits rupture and spews out gribblies and spores.
I love mixing the older metal minis with the newer plastic ones. Particularly love the old metal Term , Horm and Raveners. The old ravener model is so much nicer than the current one, they look a lot more similar to the red terror than the current ones.
Most of my nids are ebay rescues only way to get the smaller ones in bulk for a reasonable price. =P
Damn that Swarm Lord is amazing
I've just started a nids melee horde army. I don't like guns on the models... Or gross bits, but that still leaves me with a great range to choose from.
That lictor model was THE model that got me into the hobby back when i was but a little 6 year old in 2001 🤣 that say's everything about the age of it 🤦♂️ but when they do an update you can bet i'll come back to nids in a heartbeat
Carnifexes are definitely some of the best units we Nid players have, but sweet Mary are they annoying to put together... Somehow the torso just doesn't fit together properly, so you normally end up with having a really uneven and disconnected back piece of Chitin. I have around seven of these guys and people in Nid groups I'm in have shared identical issues with it which is a massive shame for such a great model. If they were to update it, which I hope they do, they shouldn't do much to change it aside from fixing the flaws in the mould.
I still think the way the weapons are semi-attached to the models looks a bit weird. I liked the bug artillery of Starship Troopers a bit better, as they were both weapon and alien in a single combined entity. Feels a bit more believable that way.
The melee ones are freaking awesome though!
It certainly is one of their better ranges of models. Would love to collect some eventually...if I win the lottery maybe...
We need an updated review based on recent events hehe
GW just got through redoing the warriors, what I found weird about that is they left them in their 3rd ed look. It was just an update to the sculpts. I agree with the resin models Need to be redone in plastic.
The tyrannofex has different art work in the 6th ed book it’s gun was comming out of its mouth and had massive scything tallons on the front, that’s would be a change I would like to see
It makes perfect sense to me that tyranid flyers don’t have legs. They just dive into the biomass and recycle themselves after they’re done with the planet anyway, so why would they ever need to land?
the trygon set comes with 12 talons, the mawlock is supposed to use the 6 smaller ones, however it looks awesome with the long ones
One thing about the Tyrannofex/Tervigon is it's size. I brought a Tyrannofex to a game and my friend didn't believe it was meant to fit on its own base!
I struggled to build mine because of that. The front legs just didn't feel like they wanted to be on the base at all.
The hive yard see by using the synaptic Link to the rest of there army to aim the cannon and the bullets can swerve around cover