ImgLink_Test




Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Tyranid Archive: Looking forward to 6th Generation

If you've been keeping up with my Tyranid Archive posts, you'll know that I've spent the last month or so documenting the successive iterations of the Tyranid codex since 1st Edition, focusing mostly on how the Tyranid model line has evolved. Though there are some yawning gaps in my Tyranid history (Space Hulk and Genestealer cults to name a few), I've got a guest expert or two lined up to fill these gaps.

As last Wednesday's article brought us up to speed with 5th Edition and its models, I thought that this week I should open things up for a bit of wishlisting/predictions for the next Tyranid model release.

So, I'll start with my own predictions/hopes for the next generation of Tyranid models, but I'd also like to hear what you all think will be coming up next for Tyranids when their codex is eventually revised and the line is refreshed. Please focus on the models rather than on the rules, and post your ideas/wishes in the comments below.



  • For me, I think the obvious bet for a 6th Generation Tyranid model release is a Mycetic Spore. Half of the Tyranid codex can choose to take one, and nearly a dozen third-party casting companies seem to have jumped on the Spore bandwagon and are peddling their own at this point. You'd think all those unofficial kits would have GW rushing the model out the door, but no one seems to have heard anything about a Mycetic Spore kit in the works. Here's hoping that when the kit is eventually released, it's in plastic and it is more than a bloated sac festooned with female genitalia. (In the interim, if you're looking for a Mycetic Spore stand-in, look no further than the following discussion thread on Warpshadow ;) )
  • Oh, crap. There is also the Plastic Harpy kit, which has been rumoured for some time and associated with the vaporware Summer of Fliers release. However, as I intend to prove when I finally get my claws on the plastic Tyrant kit, the Plastic Winged Hive Tyrant IS the Plastic Harpy...or close enough that it could take on the role with minimum conversion effort.
  • Next up on my wishlist, I'm hoping that the low-detail Finecost bonesword/lash whip frames get dumped in favour of a re-cut Tyranid Warrior frame. I love Jes' models, and I think there is no need to resculpt the plastic warriors, but a sprue recut would be the perfect way to provide for a number of options not currently included in the kit (like the aforementioned swords and whips, as well as wings for shrikes and unique bits for converting Tyranid Primes). It would be just like what was recently done with the Tyrant: all the awesome options in one pretty little box without needing to re-create the perfect models.
  • I'd like to see some more bits included in a re-cut Genestealer sprue so that Broodlords and Ymgarl Genestealers could be created from the one box, but I think that one is even less likely than a recut Warrior sprue.
  • Even less likely would be a recut Termagaunt sprue to include spike rifles and stranglewebs, but I think that kit would be at the absolute bottom of the list, and I'd assume GW would be more inclined to just dump the extra gun options from the codex rather than including them in a new box.
  • Beyond that, I'm not really sure what to wish for. There is, of course, the obvious issue that special creatures like the Parasite of Mortrex and Doom of Malant'ai haven't got models and are, likely, slated for a Finecast release. However, as that means they'll be expensive and filled with bubbles, I'm not that interested. The recent re-release of Old One Eye and The Red Terror in Finecost likely eliminates any possibility of those models being resculpted.
  • Other missing models include Sky Slashers/Winged Rippers, but those models are probably further down GW's release schedule than they are on our list of wants, and I'm pretty sure that they're pretty low on Tyranid Players' lists of wants. As evidence of how sure I am that winged rippers will never be released by Games Workshop, I need only point you to the recent Finecost release of Ripper Swarms...15+-year-old ripper swarms.
  • While we're in fantasy land, talking about being able to buy decent numbers of cheap rippers for love or money, I'll move on to my most wishiest of whishes: a combined, plastic, Tyrant Guard/Hive Guard boxed set. I'd love to see these things resculpted to be slightly bigger/beefier and done up in plastic. That would be sexy, and there'd be more argument for the kit than for a plastic Ravener kit. To give further justification to the plastic kit, why not give the Hive Guard the weapons options of the Pyrovore and put that confused, short-ranged-but-poorly-armoured-and-pants-in-combat creature out of its misery. The kit could be justified by moving the Hive Guard into the Elite/Heavy Support role previously occupied by Warriors. By the Skymother, there's a kit/evolution that I could sink my teeth into.
So, now that you've heard about me, how about you? What do you think of these ideas? What voids do you see in the current Tyranid model line, and what would you like to see included in the next generation?

5 comments:

  1. Good article as usual :P Here are my thoughts on the upcoming nid stuff. I am looking at GW as a brand. So rather than what would make sense game wise I look at the things what would make sense business wise. I also take a look at our ruleset.

    - I think 6th edition will be all about a deep strike list. With reserves becoming more controllable I see a major use for Trygons, Winged Tyrants, outflanking etc. Some major bugs (no pun intended) in the codex will be fixed for example the useless Trygon tunnel, the lictors pheromone trail etc.

    -Since Harpies will likely become fliers they will be hit on 6s so maybe we will see a harpy kit anyway since GW wants to make money with its new "hard to hit" model. I don't need a harpy since the flying tyrant can easily be converted but we will see

    -I would love to see a recut warrior sprue but I am not shire about it. Has this ever happen? I am not enough into sprue history to say it has ever been done before. I can see an extra sprue added to the warrior box featuring boneswords, lahswhipes, wings and the new strangler and venom cannon. To keep the box small they could drop the sprue with the old talons in it.

    - A tyranid prime box would be cool. Small and nice like the space marine captain or the chaos space marine lord.

    - I am not shire about a mycetic spore box. I don't know how wanted this piece is so I am not shire we will see this.

    - I am pretty shure we will never see spike rifles etc since they would need to recut the gaunt sprue for a weapon no one wants. I see them getting dropped in the net dex.

    -If GW is smart they do to the Hive guard what they did to the carnifex. making them as bad as possible. Most tyranid players have at least 6 of them. If I would be in GW shoes I would push the pyrovore until its a must have in ever army, so everybody wants to have 6 of those. Make them DS3 and shoot like a hellhound with a minimal point increase and each tournament player will field 9 of them. Take away pressure from the elite section with zoantrophes going back to the heavy slot.

    - I would also push the tyrannofex since most player will buy the boy for a tervigon. The tyrannofex is pretty weak and most players do not consider him for a game so make him pretty good so that every player wants at least one or two of them.

    - I don't know why but I see a plastic malantrophe in the next release. Its a pretty popular molded and easily made into a good plastic box costing around 35 euro

    - I also see a relaunch of the Broodlord, since the model is damn ugly and we have already seen a new one. make a nice plastic box out of it like I mentioned with the tyranid prime

    - maybe we will see a white dwarf article about a horvigon. I don't think it gets a model since we have the tervigon and it would have been in this box but changing some bits here and there and we have a hormagaunt breeding machine.

    - if we look at how every army has something against psykers nowadays we might see a new type of creature with the role of attacking Grey Knights etc. we will see what comes along the way. I think we will see at least 3 new creatures since GW wants to make money with new good stuff.

    Here a quick summery of actual model releases I think we gonna see:

    -plastic Malantrophe
    -plastic Tyranid Prime
    -plastic Lictor
    -plastic Broodlord
    -new creature
    -new creature
    -new creature

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can see there being a new Prime and Lictor model for 6th ed.

    I'd like to see a new unit that helps with transport. My thoughts on how that could be possible: a tunneling mycetic spore (which would hopefully allow you to assault on the turn you arrive), an MC that is basically armoured plates that allowed troops to hide behind as it runs forward, or maybe something related to a Zoanthrope that has a psychic shield "bubble" (maybe giving units within 6" a 3++ save or something).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your extensive feedback, Katan :), though I can't see any justification for releasing a plastic malanthrope as I don't see it filling a niche the nids need right now. Making the Tyrannofex better seems like a fairly obvious move as it's a good way to sell more of the new kit, so I think you'll likely be right on that one.

    6th Degree, I guess prime and lictor could be a good candidate for sharing a new plastic kit?While it is a little odd that Tyranids lack a transport when they're not really fast enough to move around quickly without one, someone convinced me a while back that transports are fundamentally un-Tyranid-y. Why protect bugs when you can just make more? I guess this is the idea behind the Tervigon. What's more, since the mycetic spore still hasn't been released yet, I would be surprised if it and ANOTHER transport showed up in the next Tyranid release.

    I completely agree with you, though, that Tyranids need some kind of Mycetic spore that allows them to assault on the turn they deepstrike. Gribbly, clawed, voracious space aliens who just stand around and fire guns when they arrive via mycetic spore? How un-fluffy is that?!

    ReplyDelete
  4. there are actual skyslashers released, as you will see on the forgeworld website - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tyranids/TYRANID-RIPPERS-WITH-WINGS.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but the point I was trying to make is that these models are not widely available. You cannot easily buy them off the shelf in a Games Workshop. They are a specialty model that you need to pay a premium for, then pay to ship them to yourself, providing that Forgeworld actually has the product in stock and can get it to you in a timely manner.

      Delete