WARHAMMER 40,000 CODEX:

T YRANIDS

Official Update Version 1.2

Although we strive to ensure that our codexes are perfect, sometimes mistakes do creep in. In addition, we occasionally print new versions of our rules, which require amendments to be made in older versions of our codexes. When such issues arise, we feel that it is important to deal with them as promptly as we can, and we therefore produce regular updates for all of our codexes. When changes are made, the version number will be updated, and any changes from the previous version will be highlighted in Magenta. Where a version number has a letter, E.g. 1.1a, this means it has had a local update, only in that language, to clarify a translation issue or other minor correction. Each update is split into three sections: Errata, Amendments, and Frequently Asked Questions. The Errata corrects any mistakes in the codex, while the Amendments bring the codex up to date with the latest version of the rules. The Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) section answers commonly asked questions about the rules. Although you can mark corrections directly in your codex, this is by no means necessary just keep a copy of the update with your codex. Page 41 Chameleonic Skin, second paragraph. Add Independent Characters cannot join a Lictor Brood before it arrives from reserve. between the first two sentences. Page 43 Harpy, Spore Mine Cysts. The first sentence of the asterisked note should be changed to: *If, after the final position of the first blast marker in the barrage Page 48 Biovores, Spore Mine Launcher. The first sentence of the asterisked note should be changed to: *If, after the final position of the first blast marker in the barrage Page 48 Spore Mines, Living Bomb. The penultimate sentence of the second paragraph should be changed to: resolve any hits at Strength 4 AP 4. Page 51 Mawloc, Terror from the Deep. This rule refers to using a large blast template. The word template should be changed to marker throughout the paragraph.

ERRATA
Page 33 Synapse Creature, second paragraph. Change the last sentence to If a unit that is falling back is within synapse range before it moves in the Movement phase, it automatically regroups, regardless of any normal restrictions. Page 33 Shadow in the Warp, second paragraph. Change to Any enemy psyker within 12 of a Tyranid with the Shadow in the Warp special rule must roll an extra dice when taking Psychic tests, and will suffer a Perils of the Warp attack on the roll of any double 1 or double 6. Page 33 Instinctive Behaviour, second paragraph. Change to All unengaged Tyranid units that are not falling back and have not gone to ground, must take a Leadership test at the beginning of their Movement phase: Page 35 Tyrant Guard, Blind Rampage The first sentence should be changed to: If a Hive Tyrant (including the Swarmlord) is killed

AMENDMENTS
Note that this is an older Codex, written for a previous edition of the rules. You will therefore need to consult the Reference section of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook for an up to date list of Unit Types and Vehicle Hull Points. Youll also find that some of the weapons in this Codex are written out longhand, rather than using the weapon profile format in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Dont worry these are functionally identical, unless noted otherwise in this document. Two Toughness Values Where a model has two Toughness values presented on its profile, one of which is presented in brackets, always use the bracketed value. Ignore the other value entirely.

WARHAMMER 40,000: CODEX TYRANIDS

Psychic Powers Any model with psychic powers may use the psychic disciplines found in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, instead of those in Codex: Tyranids. If it does so, for each psychic power it has from Codex: Tyranids (including those it has purchased), generate a new power from either the Biomancy, Telekinesis or Telepathy disciplines (in any combination) before armies are deployed. Page 33 Instinctive Behaviour, Feed. Change the second paragraph to read A unit that Feeds is subject to the Rage special rule. In addition, the unit may not fire any weapons in the Shooting phase, though it may still run. Page 34 Hive Tyrant, Indescribable Horror. Change the second paragraph to read Units wishing to declare a charge against a Hive Tyrant with the Indescribable Horror upgrade, or the unit it is with, must first pass a Leadership test. If the test is passed then the unit may charge as normal. If the test is failed then the squad falters and may not charge that turn. This has no effect on units that have the Fearless special rule. Page 35 Tyrant Guard, Shieldwall. Change the first sentence of the second paragraph to read A single Hive Tyrant (including the Swarmlord) may join a unit of Tyrant Guard exactly as if it had the Independent Character special rule and, while part of the unit, is treated as such for the purposes of Look Out Sir! rolls, Challenges, Precision Shots and Precision Strikes. Page 43 Harpy. Change Unit Type to Flying Monstrous Creature. Page 43 Harpy, Sonic Screech. Change the second paragraph to read Harpies do not suffer the penalties for charging enemies through cover, but instead fight at their normal Initiative in the ensuing combat. In addition, any non-vehicle unit that is charged by a Harpy must halve its Initiative value (rounding up) for the duration of the Fight sub-phase. Page 45 Venomthrope, Spore Cloud. Change the second paragraph to read The Venomthrope unit and all friendly units within 6" of the unit have a 5+ cover save against any shooting attacks. Any non-vehicle enemy model that charges one of these units must take a dangerous terrain test to represent the toxic effects of the spore cloud. In addition enemy units do not gain their bonus Attacks for charging a Venomthrope Brood. Page 48 Spore Mine Clusters, Orbital Deployment. Change the third sentence to read If any scatter off the board or into impassable terrain then the cluster is destroyed.

Page 54 Mycetic Spore, Transport Spore. Change the second paragraph to read A Mycetic Spore can carry a single unit of up to 20 infantry models or a single monstrous creature within its armoured shell. Once a Mycetic Spore has landed, all creatures within must immediately deploy place the unit such that every model is wholly within 6" of the Mycetic Spore. If any models cannot be deployed because of impassable terrain or enemy models within 1", those models are destroyed. A unit that Deep Strikes via a Mycetic Spore cannot move or assault in the same turn it arrives but may shoot or run. Page 56 The Swarmlord, Swarm Leader. Change the first sentence to read At the beginning of your Shooting phase, the Swarmlord can bestow one of the following special rules onto any one friendly unit within 18": Preferred Enemy or Furious Charge. Page 59 Deathleaper, Where is it? Change this entry to read Deathleaper has the Shrouded special rule. Page 62 Hypnotic Gaze. Change the first sentence of the second paragraph to read This psychic power is used at the beginning of your Fight subphase, after any challenges have been issued and accepted or declined. Page 62 Tyranid Psychic Powers, Onslaught. Change the last sentence to read A unit under the effect of Onslaught may not charge that turn. Page 82 Heavy Venom Cannon/Venom Cannon. Change the asterisked section of text to read Unless the target is an open-topped vehicle, any penetrating hits inflicted by a heavy venom cannon suffers an additional -1 penalty to rolls on the Vehicle Damage chart. Page 83 Crushing Claws. Change the second paragraph to read A Tyranid with crushing claws gains an extra D3 Attacks in close combat (rolled for at the beginning of each Fight sub-phase) but strikes at Initiative step 1, regardless of any modifiers. Page 83 Close Combat Weapon, Lash Whips. Change the second paragraph to read Any enemy model that is in base contact with a Tyranid with one or more lash whips at the beginning of the Fight sub-phase counts their Initiative value as 1 until the end of the Assault phase, regardless of their actual Initiative. Page 84 Biomorph Upgrades, Wings. Add the following sentence to the end of the paragraph: Hive Tyrants with the Wings biomorph are Flying Monstrous Creatures. WARHAMMER 40,000: CODEX TYRANIDS 2

FAQs
Q: Are Tyranid units inside buildings (i.e. the Bastion) subject to instinctive behaviour tests? Furthermore, are they able to manual fire emplaced weapons or weapon emplacements? A: No to both questions. Q: Do Tyranid models have to test for Instinctive Behaviour on the same turn they arrive from reserve? (p33) A: No. Q: Do units who begin their turn more than 12" from any Synapse Creature have to test for Instinctive Behaviour if a Synapse Creature arrives from reserve within 12" at the beginning of the Movement phase? (p33) A: Yes the model has begun its Movement phase outside of synapse range. Q: Does Shadow in the Warp affect psykers who are taking a Psychic test whilst embarked within a transport vehicle? (p33) A: Yes. Q: If I have more than one Hive Tyrant with the Hive Commander ability, do their bonuses to reserve rolls stack? Also, do I get to outflank with one Troops unit, or one Troops unit per Hive Tyrant with this upgrade? (p34) A: No, the reserve roll bonuses do not stack. You can only choose to outflank with a single unit of Troops, regardless of how many Hive Tyrants you have with this ability. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is a Hive Tyrant? (p34) A: Mastery Level 1. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is a Broodlord? (p40) A: Mastery Level 1. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is a Zoanthrope? (p44) A: Mastery Level 1. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is a Tervigon? (p52) A: Mastery Level 1. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is the Swarmlord? (p56) A: Mastery Level 2. Q: What Psychic Mastery Level is the Doom of Malantai? (p58) A: Mastery Level 1. Q: Is the reserve roll bonus for having a Hive Tyrant with the Hive Commander ability cumulative with the reserve roll bonuses granted by a Lictors Pheromone Trail and/or the Swarmlords Alien Cunning rules? (p34, 41) A: Yes.

Q: Can a Hive Tyrant or the Swarmlord choose to leave a unit of Tyrant Guard once it has joined them? (p35) A: No. Q: If a unit of Tyrant Guard, joined by either by a Hive Tyrant or the Swarmlord, launches an assault in which the Hive Tyrant/Swarmlord is killed before the surviving Tyrant Guard have struck any blows, will they gain Strength bonus due to Furious Charge even though they didnt have this special rule at the time when they initiated the assault? (p35) A: No. Q: How many victory points is a unit of Tyrant Guard that has been joined by a Hive Tyrant (including the Swarmlord) worth? (p35) A: Two. Q: Can Raveners in the same brood be equipped with a mixture of Scything Talons and Rending Claws? (p37) A. No, all Raveners in the brood must have the same options. Q: Can a Tyranid Broodlord (which has BS 0) use a witchfire psychic power that doesnt require a roll To Hit? If not, is he able to re-roll the psychic power because he cannot use it? (p40) A: No to both questions. Q: Must a Lictor brood be placed in unit coherency with each other when arriving from reserve? (p41) A: Yes. Q: Are the blast markers for a Harpys Spore Mine Cysts placed following the rules for multiple blasts, or multiple barrages? (p43) A: Multiple barrages. Q: Do all Zoanthropes in a brood have to use the same psychic power in the Shooting phase? (p44) A: No. Q: When a Zoanthrope brood uses a psychic power, do I need to take a Psychic test for each individual Zoanthrope in the brood, or just one test for the whole brood? (p44) A: Each Zoanthrope in the brood must take a separate Psychic test. Note that this means that a wound caused by Perils of the Warp will be allocated to the Zoanthrope that suffered the attack. Q: Must every non-vehicle model in a unit that assaults a Venomthrope brood take a Dangerous Terrain test? (p45) A: Yes. Q: Do enemy models assaulting a Venomthrope brood, or another friendly Tyranid unit within range of its Spore Cloud, have their Initiative reduced to 1 for assaulting through the cloud? (p45) A: No, as the Spore Cloud is not a piece of terrain.

WARHAMMER 40,000: CODEX TYRANIDS

Q: Can a model take a cover save from wargear such as smoke launchers or an Ork Mekboys kustom force field against shooting attacks made by Hive Guard impaler cannons? (p47) A: No. Q: If a brood of Hive Guard fail their Instinctive Behaviour test and are forced to lurk, can they still fire their impaler cannons at a target that is within range but not within line of sight? (p47) A: No. Q: Can a unit take cover saves from any source other than the terrain they are in, or touching, against Wounds caused by an impaler cannon? (p47) A: No. Q: Can a model take a cover save from the Jink special rule against shooting attacks made by Hive Guard impaler cannons? (p47) A: No. Q: Does a Spore Mines random movement replace its normal movement, or is it in addition to it? (p48) A: It replaces its normal movement. Q: Also, can a Spore Mine move in the Assault phase? (p48) A: No. Q: What happens if an enemy unit assaults a Spore Mine? (p48) A: As soon as an enemy model comes into base-to-base contact with the Spore Mine, it immediately explodes. Resolve any damage from the explosion. If the enemy model that initiated the explosion (presumably the model that was closest to the Spore Mine) has died, then the remaining squad members will not be within distance to assault the enemy and so no other model is moved. If the enemy model who initiated the explosion survives, any remaining squad members are allowed to complete their assault move to maintain squad coherency but they cannot then make a sweeping advance, consolidation move etc. Q: In scenarios where players are trying to capture objectives, are Spore Mine Clusters placed before or after the objectives? (p48) A: After. Q: How far away must my opponent deploy from any Spore Mines from clusters that have arrived by Deep Strike? (p48) A: 1". Q: Can infantry units without wings that were going to arrive from reserves using the deep strike or outflank rules, instead choose to arrive via a Trygons Subterranean Assault ability. (p50) A: No.

Q: Can a Mawloc choose to Deep Strike onto a point occupied by an enemy model on purpose in order to use the Terror from the Deep special rule? (p51) A: Yes. Q: Are Zooming Flyers or Swooping Flying Monstrous Creatures affected by Mawlocs Terror From the Deep special rule? (p51) A: No. However, if the Mawloc cannot be placed because a Zooming Flyer or a Swooping Flying Monstrous Creature is in the way, move the obstructing model by the shortest distance so that they are 1" away from the Mawloc when it is placed. Q: Can I take cover saves from a Mawlocs Terror from the Deep attack? (p51) A: Yes. Q: If an Independent Character has joined a unit of Termagants that are within 6" of a Tervigon, will they gain all the benefits of the Brood Progenitor special rule and, when it is slain, could they suffer damage due to the Brood Progenitor special rule? (p52) A: Yes to both questions. Q: At what point does my model need to be in range of a Tervigon to gain the bonuses of Brood Progenitor special rule? (p52) A: When you put the bonuses to use, i.e. when the model is charged or when it makes its close combat attacks. Q: Can a Tervigon who has used the Onslaught psychic power (a psychic shooting attack) on a friendly Tyranid unit, fire a weapon at an enemy unit or launch an assault in the same turn? (p52) A: No. Q: Can a Mycetic Spore be subject to a Tank Shock and, if so, can it still choose whether to Death or Glory or simply move out of the way? (p54) A: Yes, but it must choose to make a Death of Glory attack as it cannot move for any reason once it has entered the battle. Q: If a Tyranid unit takes a Mycetic Spore, can an Independent Character join the brood before deployment (and hence deep strike in with the brood)? (p54) A: No. Q: If a Tyranid unit takes a Mycetic Spore, can it choose to deploy normally whilst the empty Mycetic Spore deep strikes on its own? (p54) A: No. Q: A Mycetic Spore cannot move itself once it has entered the battle, but can it be moved by another model (e.g. by a Mawlocs Terror from the Deep special rule)? (p54) A: Yes.

WARHAMMER 40,000: CODEX TYRANIDS

Q: Tyranid Special Characters. Are Tyranid Special Characters considered to be special versions of the standard creatures of their type for the purposes of using psychic powers, biomorphs and special rules? For example, is the Swarmlord considered to be a Hive Tyrant for the purposes of using Hive Tyrant psychic powers? Similarly, is Deathleaper considered to be a Lictor for the purposes of Chameleonic Skin and Pheromone Trail, is the Doom of Malantai considered to be a Zoanthrope for the purposes of Warp Field, is Old One Eye considered to be Carnifex for the purposes of Living Battering Ram and are Ymgarl Genestealers considered to be Genestealers for the purposes of Brood Telepathy? (p56-61) A. Yes in all cases. Q: If the Doom of Malan'tai successfully uses the Cataclysm psychic power but suffers a Perils of the Warp attack when making its psychic test, does it take the wound before or after determining the Strength of the attack? (p58) A: Beforehand. Q: Can cover saves be taken against wounds inflicted by the Doom of Malantais Spirit Leech ability? (p58) A: Yes. Q: Does the Doom of Malantais Spirit Leech ability affect units embarked in transport vehicles? (p58) A: No. Q: Tyranid Ymgarl Genestealers use their Alter Form rule at the beginning of the Assault phase. If I choose them to have a Protective Carapace, will they benefit from Toughness 5 against Overwatch fire? (p61) A: Yes. Q: The rulebook states that nobody can attack on the same turn that they arrive from Reserves. However, the Ymgarl Genestealers Dormant special rule contradicts this. Which is correct? (p61) A: Ymgarl Genestealers may charge on the turn they arrive from Reserves. Q: Can Psychic Scream affect units embarked within a transport vehicle? (p62) A: No. Q: If a model with a lash whip is slain by enemy models not in base contact and at a higher Initiative step, when do the enemy models that were initially in base contact and affected by the lash whip (and therefore reduced to Initiative 1) actually fight? (p83) A: The effects of the whip coils/lash whips take place at the beginning of the Fight sub-phase and last until the end of the Assault phase, so the affected models would still fight at Initiative step 1 that turn.

Q: If a model makes a Pile In move which brings it into base contact with a model with a lash whip, does it then fight at its normal Initiative step or must it wait until the Initiative 1 step? (p83) A: It fights at its normal Initiative 1 step. Q: If a model with lash whips is attacking a model with an Initiativeboosting rule/piece of wargear (e.g. Furious Charge, an Eldar Banshee Mask etc.), which order are the Initiatives modified? (p83) A: As a set value modifier the lash whip effect is applied after all other modifiers. If the model is affected by another set value modifier, roll off to see which is applied first at the start of each Fight sub-phase. Q: Do lash whips affect Sweeping Advances? (p83) A: No. Q: Do Tyranid models combine the effects of multiple Tyranid close combat weapons in an assault? For example, if I have model that has both Scything Talons and Rending Claws, do I re-roll results of 1 To Hit and still have the Rending special rule. (p83) A: Yes. Q: When attacking models with the acid blood biomorph, when are the Initiative tests taken? (p84) A: Resolve any tests and remove any casualties at the end of each Initiative step. Q: If a model with acid blood takes an unsaved Wound from a Walker, does the Walker get to take an Initiative test, and only if it fails this test do you roll to see if it suffers a glancing hit? (p84) A: Yes. Q: When a Tyranid model with the regeneration biomorph (including Old One Eyes Rapid Regeneration) rolls to recover lost wounds, can it attempt to recover wounds suffered in the battle that have already been regenerated? (p84) A: No. When rolling to regenerate wounds roll a number of dice equal to the difference between the models current number of Wounds and its starting number of Wounds. Q: Can Harpies and Hive Tyrants with the wings biomorph deep strike? (p84) A: Yes.

Last updated January 2013

WARHAMMER 40,000: CODEX TYRANIDS