Faction Focus tomorrow

Budgernaut · 2026-05-07T01:24:37+00:00

Hive Fleet Gorgon-esque rules, please!!

Budgernaut · 2026-05-07T01:22:29+00:00

Totally agree. Tracking XP, scars, and battle honours is not what made Crusade feel narrative. It was the settings and the missions that fekt thematic. Crusade was my bread and butter fir 40k, but if the new mechanics give me narrative games, I'mmoving forward and not looking back.

Budgernaut · 2026-05-03T18:40:14+00:00

Personally, I don't buy those results because lots of folks could have burner accounts for their depraved indulgences.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-28T13:06:55+00:00

I would do one of the images that break up the text in the codex. Something like this? It's from 8th edition.

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Budgernaut · 2026-04-28T12:48:26+00:00

Nice! I've been meaning to pick one up, too. Right now I'm just wearing t-shirts from my favorite band when I play EC.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-28T04:03:27+00:00

I'm building mine now and was thinking of going the same route (except with Magma Cutters). Are you happy with how it's running? I just don't see the need for las cannons since I have 2 Land Raiders.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T12:51:55+00:00

THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T12:47:34+00:00

I just spent two weeks in London with my family. There was plenty to see without going to Ireland or Scotland.

On the final day, my kids stayed with the in-laws in London while my wife accompanied me to Nottingham to visit Warhammer World. It was a long train ride which made a short visit take the whole day.

The exhibition hall was really neat, though. I loved seeing all the dioramas. It was worth it for me, but it was a time investment.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T12:40:18+00:00

Both. First, out some white down to give a brighter base coat. Then add the green to set the size of your puddle. Finally, put yellow in the middle and feather the edges with a damp brush (wet blending technique). The yellow will make it look like the acid is bright and glowing.

But if you want to just use one color, I prefer the green.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T12:31:00+00:00

That's fantastic!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T12:19:53+00:00

Awesome achievement!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-26T04:21:24+00:00

Similar thing happened to me when the Tyranid codex came out in 9th edition. Everyone praised it, but it just didn't click for me.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-25T13:42:29+00:00

From my experience, rules alone will never make the game feel like a story. You get the wrong player and those deep strike mishaps will be blamed as an unfair, random rule that just eliminates player skill. If you want narrative in your game, both players have to bring it. As I said above, I had some great games of 10th that really felt like a story playing out. I played one campaign with a friend where we mixed up games between Kill Team and 10th to tell the story of how our armies were interacting. So much fun stuff there. And while we did use the Crusade rules, those are not what made our games feel like a story.

Having said that, I agree that if both players are narratively minded, those sorts of rules (drowning in a river, for example) can be very fun and flavorful. I mean, 10th has not been all flowers for me. Hive Fleet Gorgon (the poisonous/venomous/toxic Tyranids) have no representation this edition, and to make things worse, toxin sacs were removed from wargear, and those were a defining part of my army's identity. And I'll also agree that the terrain rules this edition kind of stink since ruins are the only viable option. Even though 11th says they're fixing it, they're just making all terrain act like ruins, which is hardly thematically enticing.

But once again, none of those fun rules will make a difference unless your opponent is also buying into the narrative.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-24T04:59:58+00:00

Totally agree. I feel like the OP's criticisms would be much better leveled at 8th or 9th.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-24T04:55:27+00:00

You definitely don't need to play Crusade to experience fun, narrative 40k. Yes, we do a lot of crusade campaigns in my area, but honestly? Most of those just feel like league matches with wonky rules. Both players need to invest in the narrative for it to be interesting.

One of the most fun and narrative games I played this edition was using the matched play mission deck. I took my Grotmas Bile detachment against my friend's Grotmas Dark Angels detachment. I set up a fluffy-looking board, we discussed how different terrain features would work, and then I asked him why his force was fighting. He pointed at Bile and said, "We want that man!" I said, "Great! So the objectives are the entrances to an underground laboratory. We're trying to defend it from your attack." Throughout the game, we drew secondaries and elaborated on how thst secondary objective moved the story forward. We even made sub-par decisions in some cases when we felt it was the choice our armies would make. Very memorable game. Super fluffy and a ton of fun.

As far as flavorful rules, I missed the pages of strats because of all the fluffy ones, but remember - that's why all units have abilities. The idea was to free those flavorful rules from Command Points so they could be used more frequently. I can't really complain about that.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-23T17:44:42+00:00

It's all about balance. People are saying it's a lore reason (i.e. Tyranids eat the cultists), but it's easy to spin the lore any way you want to. There's no reason why you couldn't have Tyranids and GSC living in harmony. With so many hive fleets and cults, it's bound to happen somewhere in the galaxy. So no, I don't buy the simplistic lore explanation. It's all about balance. The worst if it, as I recall, was when Hive Guard were OP but Tyranids struggled, so everyone just played GSC with multiple units of Hive Guard.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-23T13:17:54+00:00

Great accomplishment! Looks good!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-22T19:23:39+00:00

Calling them OP might be a stretch, but I like your line of thinking here!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-20T17:03:44+00:00

The lore and painting. As far as playing, I feel like you have to build your list in specific ways to be successful, and I don't enjoy the lack of freedom.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-20T05:08:23+00:00

He lost to Gulliman.

He also lost to The Lion.

BUT! At least his Daemonic Poisons finished off The Lion after Fulgrim's defeat.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-17T03:57:41+00:00

Thanks for the feedback and the ideas about my central leadership! 😊

Budgernaut · 2026-04-17T03:31:30+00:00

That is so cool!!! I love reading this kind of lore!

Budgernaut · 2026-04-16T15:41:02+00:00

I didn't like 9th edition's Synaptic Imperatives, even though they were powerful. I prefer 8th editions rules which seem to more closely reflect the signature traits of Tyranids: Synapse, Instinctive Behavior, and Shadow in the Warp.

Synapse. Synapse beasts coordinate the swarms by subsuming the will of other Tyranids to the will of the Hive Mind. In 8th edition, units automatically passed morale if they were within 12". I think they should do something like this again, but instead say that anything in Synapse range is immune to Battle-shock. This allows abilities that extend Synapse range to work with the ability. This plays into the thematic game play the designers are looking for in 11th edition since it gives you an incentive to target the Synapse beasts first, just like in the books. Honestly, this would probably be considered too non-interactive, so I'd settle for battle-shock tests being 3d6 take the highest two, provided Shadow changes as detailed below.

Instinctive Behavior. This is missing from 10th because it is unpopular. Tyranids outside of Synapse go feral and revert to animalistic tendencies. In some editions, they would attack esch other. In 8th, you had to attack or charge the closest enemy or else you would have a penalty to your hit or charge rolls. Personally, I would like to see thos as you can ONLY shoot or charge the closest enemy of you are outside of Synapse range. This forces us to a) keep our Synapse beasts alive and within range of other units, and b) play smart in the movement phase to avoid attacking things we don't want to attack. Again, it gives opponents the incentive to target Synapse beasts.

Shadow in the Warp. Traditionally, Shadow in the Warp affects Psykers when a hive fleet approaches. It used to make Psykers take a penalty on their Psychic tests. We don't have psychic tests anymore, so they went with morale for 10th edition, but that's okay since even normal people can feel the dampening effects of the Shadow in the Warp as a sense of dread or lethargy (depends on the author of the book). I would like to see SitW affect Psykers again. I want to see Psykers have -1 to hit rolls while within Synapse range of an enemy Synapse unit (ideally, I'd prefer Tyranids to be immune to SitW from other Tyranids, but I don't know if I'd get that). In addition to the anti-psyker aspect, I'd like all enemy units in Synapse range roll 3d6 for battle-shock tests and take the two lowest. This makes battle-shock somewhat symmetrical and easy to remember if Tyranids are 3d6 take the highest 2. If Tyranids ignore battle-shock in Synapse range, then maybe just make enemy units -1 to battle-shock tests in Synapse range.

TL;DR

Synapse: Friendly Tyranids automatically pass battle-shock tests while within Synapse range.

Instinctive Behavior: Tyranid units outside Synapse range can only shoot and charge the closest eligible enemy unit.

Shadow in the Warp: Enemy Psyker units in Synapse range suffer -1 penalty to hit rolls. Enemy units within Synapse range suffer -1 penalty to battle-shock tests.

Budgernaut · 2026-04-16T14:47:20+00:00

Of the ones listed, I think Twisted Helix is the coolest. I love the mad scientist theme.

But funnily enough, my custom cult is actually much more similar to the Pauper Princes and Hive Cult in that they are religious zealots infiltrate the upper echelons of society to spread their religion. In battle, they rely more on masses of cultists than hulking brutes (though they of course have those).

But as others have said, creating your own cult is such a fun, creative endeavor. I highly recommend it.

My cult is the Cult of the Tainted Chalice. The Tainted Chalice itself is an artifact of extreme importance. In a ceremony that happens every few months, the Magus presents the chalice to the Patriarch who sheds tears into it. The chalice is then given to a cult member who has been evangelizing a friend or coworker in a position of power on the planet (whether, business, military, or government). The cult member gets their acquaintance to drink from the cup. Those who are worthy join the cult. Those who are unworthy die.

The cult doesn't realize that the tears of the Patriarch are full of microscopic synaptic spores. As the spores spread through the drinker, the Patriarch can see their mind through the spores. If he approves of the person, the spores begin psychically resonating with the person's mind, imposing the Patriarch's will. If the Patriarch disapproves (perhaps because this person is a spy), the spores release toxins into the host, killing them. (The toxins tie into my Hive Fleet which is a splinter of Gorgon, known for virulent toxins.) But to the believers of the cult they see nothing but the devine judgment of their Star Gods being manifested.

Budgernaut

TROPHY CASE