So the last time I posted it was a little on the serious and dark side, which is something I tend to do when it is a subject that angers me, I get overly passionate. Sorry about that guys, I really much prefer humour and silliness, and that is what I am returning to today. Yes my dear friends, it is time for some more fun with tyranids, YAY.
FUN WITH TYRANIDS: SNAKE MADNESS
Ok, so the title is kind of misleading, but what I am alluding to is the focus on the various snakey guys of the Monstrous Creatures of the Tyranid army. We will be examining the Trygon vs Trygon Prime vs Mawloc, the fun things you can do with all of them, and how strong they are comparatively. I will focus on the Trygon and the Prime first as they are very similar but for a few things, then we will move on to the silliness that is the Mawloc. So let us get into this poop already, cause we are up poop’s creek without a paddle, so time to get messy, lol.
Now for the Trygon Prime vs the Trygon this is pretty easy, as I have used this baby many a time, and when used correctly either version can really wreck face. Many faces get wrecked you could almost say. They both have the same stat line but for the leadership roll (which is 8 for the trygon, 10 for the prime), and the 40 point upgrade to the prime gains you a few really cool things, but for that though they are the same unit. The prime gets an extra 6 inches of range on its ranged attack, and an extra 6 shots from said same weapon (so that means the prime shoots 18” STR 5 AP5 Assault 12) and you would be surprised how much poop this wrecks.
So when you upgrade the Trygon to the Prime, it costs you 40 points, gets you those extra attacks at a greater range and the Trygon becomes a Synapse creature. While the shots are almost worth the points alone, the Synapse is DEFINITELY worth the extra points, especially when you run a list light on the synapse. The cool part is all 3 versions of this snake are target numero uno for enemies, so used properly they can be used as a really awesome bullet magnet. While that may seem like a waste of points, often times they can survive it and keeps those shots from more important units for that particular game. Really it is just a matter of situation to be honest, use it in the way which is most advantageous.
Now on to the fun part.
THE MAWLOC, and oh boy does this thing have a really fun and cool ability that you can use to really mess with people. Sure technically this little guy is weaker than the Trygon counterparts are, lower stats, no ranged weapon, no scything talons to re-roll misses, so by all prospects this sounds like a bad choice. When it comes down to it, from a competitive standpoint, it really is an inferior choice compared to the Trygon. We are here for fun and silly stoof though, so let us talk about why this little guy is just a bucket of fun.
First off the little guy has Hit and Run which makes getting out of assaults really easy, so you can burrow the next turn, you heard me right burrow. This thing, on its movement phase, can burrow down into the ground and come back via deep strike on the next turn. Now by itself this is really just paltry, but with the next special rule “Terror from the Deep” it gets to be really silly now. You can put a blast marker on the table, even on enemy units (that is kind of the point actually). The Mawloc deep strikes on that spot, and any enemy units underneath the template takes a STR 6 AP2 automatic hit for every model in the unit under the blast template. You then move the enemies that may have survived from this out from under where the template was and place your Mawloc there. This btw also works on vehicles and pushes them, even immobile ones. Any enemy model under it that survived gets pushed away and you get to be there now. So literally your Mawloc explodes out from under your enemies and throws them into the air, hopefully hurting them.
Seriously, does that not sound fun as hell, and the bloody thing costs only 170 points to field without upgrades, and its just silly and fun. Run one some time just for the sake of it and have fun with it, I say go for it. It is just tons and tons of fun.
This is your friendly neighborhood ERW signing off,
Rachel