Bad TheoryHammer: Hive Fleets

 Bad TheoryHammer:  Hive Fleets

(Image Credit:  GW)

In case it isn't obvious, I love my Hive Cults.  Love those squiddly boys.  But how do their big, hungry brothers play out?

Turns out, they play pretty darned good.  They are something of a "gatekeeper" Faction in Kill Team.  You have to be able to handle them, because you know you're going to have to face them at some point.  So let's get into things a bit.

Roster

Tyranid Warriors

(Image Credit:  GW)

I'm going to include them all here for ease of writing this thing up.  What, it takes time!

Warriors are basically big beefy bugs.  They have incredible stats, albeit they are a LITTLE (just a little, mind you) weak on the melee side of things (don't hang me yet!).  By a little, I mean they are outperformed up close oftentimes by Genestealers, which, let's be honest, outperform just about anything up close.

They make up for it, however, by having incredible stats.  18+ wounds is just nice.  You can, of course, make them more survivable with Equipment, and a LOT more killy likewise (more on that later).

I strongly suggest taking a Leader with Boneswords and Bonesword and Lash Whip, as this gives you some nasty potential for close combat, a bit of a ranged weapon (just a bit, mind you!), and the Weaponbeast bonus.  With the right Equipment, it'll be chewing up Operatives left, right, and center.  You can do the same with your Fighters, but somehow I think maybe switching up to taking a Deathspitter/Devourer and Boneswords might be better for more options?  I don't know.  You do you, boo.

For the Heavy Gunner (which you should pretty much always take), my heart says always go with the Venom Cannon and a Lash Whip for the free parry.  My head says they are only APL 2, so take melee weapons to do damage rather than to survive, because you're not going to be able to fall back and shoot.

I'll take a moment here to point out their Synapse ability, which means that nearby Hive Fleet operatives basically don't count as injured.  This is just all kinds of amazing.

Genestealers

(Image Credit:  GW)

Okay, these guys are good.  Really good.  But you already knew this, didn't you?  Genestealers have been a mainstay since way back in the day, and to be honest, I think they have featured in almost as many standalone games as Space Marines.

They are fast.  They are sneaky.  They hit like a truck in melee (not so much at range, but you can take Equipment for that, at least).  I genuinely prefer Double Rending Claws, but Scything Talons are technically potentially better against anything with 12 or 18 wounds.

You will probably want 10 of these guys on your Roster, including a Leader.  Maybe more to have options.

Swarm

(Image Credit:  GW)

Meh, I honestly wouldn't bother.  No offense meant to the people who like them, but Terms and Horms don't do a whole lot for me.  They can add bodies if you really need them, but with 10 Genestealers and (at least) 3 Warriors being pretty standard for a roster, there just isn't a lot of room for them.  I suppose you could theoretically run 7, with one having a Devourer, to round out a roster, but let me ask you this:

Would you rather have 7 Gaunts or 5 Stealers?  Yeah, me too.  At least they are GA 2, which could be useful.

Archetypes

Security is slightly less useful for Tyranids than most other Factions that can take it.  Seek and Destroy isn't a bad idea.  After all, you're going to be getting up close and personal with most of your troops, so why not?

Equipment

Here's where Hive Fleets get interesting.  Please understand that I'm going to point out a bunch of strange things here.

First and foremost, you can take some ranged weapons for your Genestealers and Weaponbeasts.  This is really nice, because it extends your threat range a bit.  But it's just a little bit nice.

Extended Chitin is nice, but I wouldn't necessarily take it unless I was going for...  see below.

Feeder Tendrils can turn a Weaponbeast into a self-sustaining blenderator.  It's a great way of keeping your guys going after they take a hit or two killing something.

Toxin Sacs make Boneswords amazing.  Turning that Lethal 5+ into a double crit is fantastic.

Adrenal Glands can go on anything and anyone and be instantly great.  I would highly recommend them on Genestealers, for example, just for extended charge ranges.  Please note that this does not give them a 4" Dash action.

So, here's a fun little trick you can do, which is pretty much "All your eggs in one basket."  Take the Weaponbeast Warrior Leader and add Toxin Sacs, Feeder Tendrils, and Adrenal Glands.  This is a lot of EP on a single Operative, but the benefits are somewhat hilarious--the Warrior is faster, hits harder, and heals each time it kills something.  What's not to love?

Ploys

Hive Fleets get some great Strategic Ploys.  Stalk, Lurk, and Feed are all fantastic.  You'll likely be using Stalk quite often.  Feed will turn your blenders into even more blender-y.

Tactical Ploys are also great.  Unseen Hunter lets you sneak up and then pounce on someone (and remember, unless I'm horribly wrong here, a free Move action made out of activation does not prevent you from performing a Charge during your activation).

Sample Roster

Warrior Leader:  Lash Whip, Bonesword, Boneswords

Warrior Fighter:  Devourer, Scything Talons

Warrior Heavy Gunner:  Venom Cannon, Scything Talons

Genestealer Leader:  Double Rending Claws

4x Genestealers:  Double Rending Claws

5x Genestealers:  Rending Claws, Scything Talons

6x Termagants:  Fleshborer

1x Termagant:  Devourer

Yeah, this is just a little bit of everything thrown into a Roster.  You can easily pull the Gaunts and put in more options (including a second Warrior Fire Team), but I wanted to just sample a bit of everything here.