Categorised an alpha-class threat by Imperial cryptosavants after a series of brutal battles along the Vardenghast Line, this swarm of Tyranid warrior organisms has reaped a bloody toll of Human prey. Flowing into the fight like a single, many-bodied entity, these vicious aliens swiftly close the distance to their enemies before riddling them with gruesome bio-ammunition or tearing them limb from limb.
Book | Kind | Edition | Version | Last update |
The Vardenghast Swarm | ||||
The Vardenghast Swarm | Index | 10 | June 2023 |
Some Tyranids serve as synaptic conduits or nodal relays through which a portion of the Hive Mind’s iron will flows, overriding the natural instincts of the swarm to direct the teeming warrior-beasts to function as a single, gestalt organism on the battlefield.
While a TYRANIDS unit from your army is within 6" of one or more friendly SYNAPSE models, that TYRANIDS unit is said to be within Synapse Range of those models and of your army. Each time a TYRANIDS unit from your army takes a Battle-shock test, if it is within Synapse Range of your army, take that test on 3D6 instead of 2D6.Tyranids flood the battlefield with the psychic signature of the hive fleet – an icy, alien dread that gnaws at the minds of their prey and smothers even the most stalwart courage. When faced with such unfathomable horror, many are driven insane or suffer catastrophic neural damage.
Once per battle, in either player’s Command phase, if one or more units from your army with this ability are on the battlefield, you can unleash the Shadow in the Warp. When you do, each enemy unit on the battlefield must take a Battle-shock test.Grotesque neuro-symbiotes squirm through the encephalitic meat of this organism’s cranial node. They emit a nauseating barrage of localised psychostatic that triggers dread, revulsion and visual hallucinations in nearby prey. Foes whose only chance is to steady their aim and strike true against this vile monster instead stagger back, weapons falling from shaking hands, survival instincts drowned by a flood of panic and pain.
The bearer has the Lone Operative ability and a 4+ invulnerable save. In addition, each time a melee attack targets the bearer, subtract 1 from the Hit roll.By palpitating a bio-implant within its thoracic cavity, this creature is able to trigger a surge of hyper-acidic secretions in the venom glands of nearby warrior organisms. Battle armour and flesh alike bubble and dissolve under this sudden caustic onslaught.
Once per turn, when a friendly TYRANIDS unit within 6" of the bearer is selected to shoot or fight, the bearer can use this ability. If it does, until the end of the phase, improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of weapons equipped by models in that friendly unit by 1.This organism is linked to the ineffable alien might of the Hive Mind and serves as a conduit of its will. There is no action it takes nor dread deed of butchery it performs that does not further – on however minor a scale – the designs of the wider galactic super-predator.
At the end of each phase, you score 4VP if your WINGED TYRANID PRIME model destroyed one or more enemy models that phase.Tyranids attack in living waves of predatory warrior organisms whose only impulse is to overwhelm and tear apart their foes. Allowing such an enemy to break through your defence lines and choke off your routes of retreat is a sure way to seal your own doom.
At the end of your turn, you score 5VP if you control one or more objective markers that are within 6" of your opponent’s deployment zone.MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Prime talons | |||||||
Prime talons | Melee | 6 | 2+ | 6 | -1 | 2 |
RANGED WEAPONS | RANGE | A | BS | S | AP | D | |
Psychoclastic torrent [ignores cover, torrent] | |||||||
Psychoclastic torrent [ignores cover, torrent] | 12" | D6 | N/A | 6 | -1 | 1 | |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Talons and betentacled maw [anti-psyker 4+, devastating wounds] | |||||||
Talons and betentacled maw [anti-psyker 4+, devastating wounds] | Melee | D6+1 | 3+ | 6 | -1 | 2 |
RANGED WEAPONS | RANGE | A | BS | S | AP | D | |
Fleshborer [assault] | |||||||
Fleshborer [assault] | 18" | 1 | 4+ | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Chitinous claws and teeth | |||||||
Chitinous claws and teeth | Melee | 1 | 4+ | 3 | 0 | 1 |
RANGED WEAPONS | RANGE | A | BS | S | AP | D | |
Barblauncher [blast, heavy] | |||||||
Barblauncher [blast, heavy] | 24" | D6 | 4+ | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Chitinous claws and teeth | |||||||
Chitinous claws and teeth | Melee | 1 | 4+ | 4 | 0 | 1 |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Leaper’s talons | |||||||
Leaper’s talons | Melee | 6 | 3+ | 5 | -1 | 1 |
Mighty heroes fight at the forefront of battle.
Some CHARACTER units have ‘Leader’ listed on their datasheets. Such CHARACTER units are known as Leaders, and the units they can lead – known as their Bodyguard units – are listed on their datasheet.Assassins and other covert agents are difficult to track and pinpoint in the swirling maelstrom of battle.
Unless part of an Attached unit (see Leader), this unit can only be selected as the target of a ranged attack if the attacking model is within 12".Whether shielded by force fields, enveloped in mystical energies or simply possessed of preternatural senses and lightning-fast reflexes, some warriors are protected by more than mere physical armour.
Some models have an invulnerable save listed on their datasheet. Each time an attack is allocated to a model with an invulnerable save, the controlling player must choose to use either that model’s Save characteristic or its invulnerable save, but not both. If a model has more than one invulnerable save, it can only use one of them – choose which it will use.The TYRANIDS and INFANTRY keywords are used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
The TYRANIDS keyword is used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
Some units make their way to battle via tunnelling, teleportation, high-altitude descent or other extraordinary means that allow them to appear suddenly in the thick of the fighting.
During the Declare Battle Formations step, if every model in a unit has this ability, you can set it up in Reserves instead of setting it up on the battlefield. If you do, in the Reinforcements step of one of your Movement phases you can set up this unit anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" horizontally away from all enemy models. If a unit with the Deep Strike ability arrives from Strategic Reserves, the controlling player can choose for that unit to be set up either using the rules for Strategic Reserves or using the Deep Strike ability.Tyranids flood the battlefield with the psychic signature of the hive fleet – an icy, alien dread that gnaws at the minds of their prey and smothers even the most stalwart courage. When faced with such unfathomable horror, many are driven insane or suffer catastrophic neural damage.
Once per battle, in either player’s Command phase, if one or more units from your army with this ability are on the battlefield, you can unleash the Shadow in the Warp. When you do, each enemy unit on the battlefield must take a Battle-shock test.Some Tyranids serve as synaptic conduits or nodal relays through which a portion of the Hive Mind’s iron will flows, overriding the natural instincts of the swarm to direct the teeming warrior-beasts to function as a single, gestalt organism on the battlefield.
While a TYRANIDS unit from your army is within 6" of one or more friendly SYNAPSE models, that TYRANIDS unit is said to be within Synapse Range of those models and of your army. Each time a TYRANIDS unit from your army takes a Battle-shock test, if it is within Synapse Range of your army, take that test on 3D6 instead of 2D6.The TYRANIDS keyword is used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
The INFANTRY keyword is used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
The GREAT DEVOURER keyword is used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
The VANGUARD INVADER keyword is used in the following The Vardenghast Swarm datasheets:
Weapons powered by unstable and dangerous energy sources pose a substantial risk to the wielder every time they are used.
Weapons with [HAZARDOUS] in their profile are known as Hazardous weapons. Each time a unit is selected to shoot or fight, after that unit has resolved all of its attacks, for each Hazardous weapon that targets were selected for when resolving those attacks, that unit must take one Hazardous test. To do so, roll one D6: on a 1, that test is failed. For each failed test you must resolve the following sequence (resolve each failed test one at a time):
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Shattered ruins and twisted wreckage afford much-needed shelter from enemy salvoes. Even heavily armoured warriors unfazed by small arms fire are thankful for such cover when foes bring their biggest guns to bear.
Models can sometimes gain a measure of protection from terrain features. The rules below detail the conditions under which a terrain feature confers the Benefit of Cover on a model.Many warriors thunder headlong into combat, using the impetus of their charge to bring swift death to their foes.
Each time a unit makes a Charge move, until the end of the turn, that unit has the Fights First ability.Precision attacks can pick high-value targets out in a crowd, whether through the unerring aim of a sniper or the pinpoint accuracy of a blade-master’s strike.
Weapons with [PRECISION] in their profile are known as Precision weapons. Each time an attack made with such a weapon successfully wounds an Attached unit (see Leader ability), if a CHARACTER model in that unit is visible to the attacking model, the attacking model’s player can choose to have that attack allocated to that CHARACTER model instead of following the normal attack sequence.Some attacks are so powerful that no armour or force field can withstand their fury.
Some rules inflict mortal wounds on units. Each time mortal wounds are inflicted on a unit, each of those mortal wounds inflicts one point of damage to that unit, and they are always applied one at a time. Each mortal wound is allocated to a model in the same manner as allocating an attack. Excess damage from mortal wounds is not lost if the damage can be allocated to another model. Instead, keep allocating damage to another model in the target unit until either all the damage has been allocated or the target unit is destroyed.From detonating ammo stores to corrosive innards or frenzied death throes, some targets are deadly even in defeat.
Some models have ‘Deadly Demise x’ listed in their abilities. When such a model is destroyed, roll one D6 before removing it from play (if such a model is a TRANSPORT, roll before any embarked models disembark). On a 6, each unit within 6" of that model suffers a number of mortal wounds denoted by ‘x’ (if this is a random number, roll separately for each unit within 6").Some warriors refuse to be laid low, even by what should be fatal wounds.
Some models have ‘Feel No Pain x+’ listed in their abilities. Each time a model with this ability suffers damage and so would lose a wound (including wounds lost due to mortal wounds), roll one D6: if the result is greater than or equal to the number denoted by ‘x’, that wound is ignored and is not lost. If a model has more than one Feel No Pain ability, you can only use one of those abilities each time that model suffers damage and so would lose a wound.Some weapons are designed to root enemy formations out of entrenched positions.
Weapons with [IGNORES COVER] in their profile are known as Ignores Cover weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, the target cannot have the Benefit of Cover against that attack.Torrent weapons shoot clouds of fire, gas or other lethal substances that few foes can hope to evade.
Weapons with [TORRENT] in their profile are known as Torrent weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, that attack automatically hits the target.Certain weapons are the bane of a particular foe.
Weapons with [ANTI-KEYWORD X+] in their profile are known as Anti weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon against a target with the keyword after the word ‘Anti-’, an unmodified Wound roll of ‘x+’ scores a Critical Wound.Assault weapons fire so indiscriminately that they can be shot from the hip as warriors dash forward.
Weapons with [ASSAULT] in their profile are known as Assault weapons. If a unit that Advanced this turn contains any models equipped with Assault weapons, it is still eligible to shoot in this turn’s Shooting phase. When such a unit is selected to shoot, you can only resolve attacks using Assault weapons its models are equipped with.High-explosives can fell several warriors in a single blast, but firing them where your comrades will get caught in the ensuing detonation is simply unwise.
Weapons with [BLAST] in their profile are known as Blast weapons, and they make a random number of attacks. Each time you determine how many attacks are made with a Blast weapon, add 1 to the result for every five models that were in the target unit when you selected it as the target (rounding down). Blast weapons can never be used to make attacks against a unit that is within Engagement Range of one or more units from the attacking model’s army (including its own unit).Heavy weapons are amongst the biggest guns on the battlefield, but require bracing to fire at full effect and are unwieldy to bring to bear at close quarters.
Weapons with [HEAVY] in their profile are known as Heavy weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, if the attacking model’s unit Remained Stationary this turn, add 1 to that attack’s Hit roll.Some warriors attack with blinding speed, landing their blows before their foes can react.
Units with this ability that are eligible to fight do so in the Fights First step, provided every model in the unit has this ability.Many armies employ reconnaissance units who can sit concealed, waiting for the right moment to strike.
During deployment, if every model in a unit has this ability, then when you set it up, it can be set up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" horizontally away from the enemy deployment zone and all enemy models.Some warriors are masters of disguise and concealment.
If every model in a unit has this ability, then each time a ranged attack is made against it, subtract 1 from that attack’s Hit roll.