WARHAMMER 40,000: FURY OF THE

SWARM
Version 0.2

Welcome to Warhammer 40,000’s answer to horde mode. It’s extremely WIP, which is why
you’re reading it in a Google Doc. If you have feedback or questions, you head to the
feedback form, email contact@goonhammer.com or reach out to me (Charlie) on
Instagram. If you’re a Goonhammer patron, you can also @ Charlie B on the Discord server.

In Fury of the Swarm you take on the role of the defence forces of a planet haplessly
caught in the path of a Tyranid splinter fleet. The missions can be played in isolation if
desired. Perhaps more importantly, they are designed to work as part of a campaign that
charts the progress of the invasion, ultimately allowing you to save your planet, or perhaps
to try and escape when it all goes terribly wrong.

The Second Most Important Rule: Always Be A Masochist

If Fury of the Swarm is too easy, it will feel flat and self-indulgent. While these rules intentionally allow you
to trick or trap the Tyranids, the rules also require you to act in good faith. Should it ever be ambiguous as
to what the rules compel the Tyranids to do, you and your fellow players should always have the Tyranids do
the nastiest thing possible. You’ll usually know what that is. If you can’t pick between a few vicious
options, don't spend serious time thinking about it, just randomise which one occurs.

Designer’s note: using Crusade armies in Fury of the Swarm

My instinct is that while players shouldn’t earn Crusade XP playing these Missions (you ought to fight a real
opponent for that!) you can absolutely use your Crusade army. However, such legendary warriors are
expected to take on the nastiest missions. As such, the Tyranid force should increase in size by 20 points
for each Crusade Point you deploy. Brace yourselves.

Obviously these rules are purely here to facilitate fun, and like any wargame rules are ultimately a set of
guidelines you can choose to use or alter. If you think it would be more fun to play a FotS campaign whilst
tracking Tyrannic War Crusade upgrades, then I have neither the power nor the inclination to stop you!

Designer’s note: this probably shouldn’t be your first rodeo

These test rules assume a fair degree of familiarity with Warhammer 40,000. As the rules are refined, I’ll
endeavour to make it more beginner friendly. A copy of the Core Rules and the relevant army rules will be
needed.

The Players' army in Fury of the Swarm

While Fury of the Swarm can be played solo, the expectation is that it's played with one or more friends by
your side. When playing co-operatively, it is assumed that the points will be divided evenly between the
players to avoid it being co-op in name only. The missions will tell you what size of army the players are
expecting to bring.

Each player's army is treated as a fully independent army that shares a turn sequence. This means:
● Rules which affect friendly units in the same faction (e.g. Phobos Incursors providing a bonus to
the wound roll for friendly ADEPTUS ASTARTES units) will only affect units in that Player's force, not
any other Player forces.
● Each Player generates one Command Point during the Command phase, and each Player can only
make use of their own pool of Command Points.
● Unless the mission specifies otherwise, each player may place 25% of their points in Strategic
Reserve, but cannot give their own allowance to their teammate.
● You only move on to the next phase of the Player turn once all Players have finished acting in the
current phase.

Player units arriving from reserve

When Player units arrive from reserve, they follow all the normal rules for doing so, but with one exception:
they can be placed within 9” of Tyranid units, so long as they are not within engagement range. However, if
they are placed within 9” horizontally of any Tyranid units, they cannot declare a charge that turn.
Make it your own: If all players agree, you should feel free to modify these rules. Perhaps you want the
additional challenge of having to share one shiny Command Point per battle round; perhaps you would like to
enhance the co-operative feel by having unit abilities being allowed to benefit any friendly model with the
correct faction keyword, or to have one army coming on from reserve to rescue the other army. I’ve avoided
these things as default setting to avoid unintended interactions, but that shouldn’t discourage you from
doing that which brings all the players more hobby joy.

The Hive Mind: behaviours and brood composition

By default, the rules in this section are always in effect regardless of which mission you’re playing. They
define some common terms and behavioural protocols.

FORMING A TYRANID ARMY IN FURY OF THE SWARM

Unless otherwise specified in the Mission briefing, these rules assume you are fighting a well-rounded
Tyranid force available from your collection, with a mix of unit types and weapons. As a very rough guide, for
each MONSTER unit, you will also want at least one elite infantry unit (such as Tyranid Warriors, Hive Guard,
Genestealers, etc) and at least one ENDLESS MULTITUDE unit. There should also be a relatively even spread
between melee-focused units and ranged units.

To make totting up the swarm’s points easier, you can use this Google Sheet. As an example, here is a
swarm worth about a thousand points:

Above: A small but balanced Hive Fleet Kraken Swarm containing three monsters (Hive Tyrant, Carnifex, Tyrannofex), three elite
infantry units (Tyranid Warriors, Hive Guard, Biovore) and four broods of light infantry (3x termagants and some hormagaunts).
Additionally, this force contains a mixture of melee and ranged threats.
Detachments, Enhancements and Stratagems
The Tyranids in Fury of the Swarm do not use the rules for detachments or enhancements, nor do they use
Stratagems unless otherwise specified.

Synapse Clusters
When setting up a mission, it may instruct you to divide the Tyranid army into a number of Synapse
Clusters. These are groups of units clumped around a unit with the SYNAPSE keyword. If a Hive Tyrant is
present, it should form the first Cluster. After that, work your way down the remaining SYNAPSE units order
of descending points cost, excluding any SYNAPSE units with the Deep Strike ability. For guidance on Deep
Striking units, see below. Once you have a SYNAPSE unit for each Cluster, divide the Tyranid units - including
any surplus SYNAPSE units - between the Clusters as evenly as possible (in points terms).

If you do not have enough SYNAPSE units to lead the number of clusters required, then for the clusters you
don’t have a leader for, use the most expensive available non-SYNAPSE units.

Theming Clusters
Certain units are natural broodfellows, and others aren’t. If you’ve got both Termagants and a Tervigon, then
clearly they belong in the same Synapse Cluster. If no particular themes emerge, or if you’re not very familiar
with the Tyranid army, then don’t worry about it!

Deploying Synapse Clusters

The SYNAPSE unit leading the Cluster is placed first, with the other units in the Cluster being placed within
6” of it. So far as is possible, the Cluster should be placed wholly within 6”, but the vagaries of terrain and
differing unit sizes means you shouldn’t worry too much - just place them as close as possible.

Deep Striking & Infiltrating Tyranids

Tyranid units with these abilities are not assigned to a Synapse Cluster. Instead, any units with these
abilities will always use them. If this would place them in reserve, they will arrive in the Tyranids’ second
turn. When deploying Tyranids by Deep Strike, or Infiltrating, randomly pick a Preferred Prey unit (see
in-game behaviours, below), and attempt to find any place they could be deployed as close as possible to
that target. Remember, when doing so, to obey the Second Most Important Rule!

Scouting Tyranids
By default, units with the Scouts X" ability must be deployed at the edge of their Synapse Cluster as close
as possible to their Preferred Prey, and will execute a Scout Move as normal, heading straight for their
Preferred Prey.

Tyranids with the AIRCRAFT keyword

Any of these units, such as Hive Crones and Harpies, will always enter play in Hover mode.

Do Clusters have to stick together in game?

No; they will naturally break apart as each unit reacts to its surroundings.

Tyranids LEADERS and attached units

To assign leaders to bodyguard units, begin with the most expensive leaders and work your way down. When
it’s a leader’s turn to be assigned, assign them to the most expensive unoccupied bodyguard unit they are
eligible to join, if one is available.

IN-GAME BEHAVIOURS

Preferred Prey
The rules below refer to a Tyranid unit’s Preferred Prey.
● The Preferred Prey of Tyranid weapons with a Strength of 8 or less is any non-VEHICLE or
non-MONSTER unit.
● The Preferred Prey of Tyranid weapons with a Strength of 9 or more is any VEHICLE or MONSTER
unit.
● Any weapon with the ANTI-X keyword will always count the appropriate unit type as its Preferred
Prey..
● For Tyranids with split attack profiles (e.g. Zoanthropes’ ranged attacks), compare the closest
Preferred Prey of each profile, then target the most expensive Player unit from those options.
○ e.g. a Zoanthrope brood is close to a unit of Intercessors and a Repulsor. Since the
Repulsor is the most expensive unit, the Zoanthropes will use focused witchfire rather
than regular witchfire, and will target the Repulsor.
● Tyranid units will not charge or attack any unit which they can only wound on a 6+ unless they are
in melee with it and have no other targets. They will attempt to fall back from such units in their
Movement phase.

A note to experienced players: this ready reckoner based on the Strength value will inevitably return
imperfect outcomes. Experienced players will no doubt be familiar with the way in which weapons in
Warhammer 40,000 are generally fairly clearly optimised to engage either light infantry, heavy infantry, light
vehicles/monsters or heavy vehicles/monsters. If you understand a weapon’s intended purpose, you should
usually overrule Preferred Prey’s default setting if there’s a clearly more optimal prey available to them.
Don’t worry too much though; if it’s ever ambiguous or unclear what the Tyranids would do, just fall back on
the standard guidance above.

Shadow In The Warp

The Tyranids’ signature army ability will automatically trigger in the Command phase of the Players’ third
turn.

Tyranid Unit Abilities

Targeted Unit Abilities

If a unit has an ability which targets a specific unit, then if there’s any uncertainty about which target would
be best for the Tyranids to pick, choose the most expensive viable target.
● For example, if a Broodloord is in combat with full strength units of Bladeguard (100 points) and
Intercessors (95 points) then the Bladeguard would receive the Broodlord’s Hypnotic Gaze ability
because Bladeguard both cost the most points, and are the greater melee threat. If however the
Bladeguard were down to their last member while the Intercessors were still at full strength, the
Broodlord’s Hynotic Gaze will instead fall upon the Intercessors. In short, one should always be
guided by the Second Most Important Rule.

Tyranids with Highly Contextual Abilities

Some Tyranid units, such as Termagants, have abilities which are quite contextual in their use. In time I may
go through the roster and present suggestions of how (if at all) to use these abilities, but for now that
would make the rules prohibitively long. In general I would ignore such abilities unless they have an
extremely obvious use case at the time.

There's Always More

At the start of the Tyranid Command phase, roll a D6 for each destroyed Tyranid unit. On a 6+ that unit
enters strategic reserve, regardless of the game turn. ENDLESS MULTITUDE and TYRANID WARRIOR units
instead pass this roll on a 4+. Units which cost 200+ points instead pass this roll on a 6+ followed by a
4+.
If a unit with the Leader ability was assigned to a bodyguard unit at the start of the game, do not roll for
either the Leader or its Bodyguard until both have been slain. Then, roll for them once as a group.

At the end of the Tyranid Movement phase, roll a dice for each unit now in strategic reserve and place them
wholly within 6” of the correspondingly numbered spawn point, as denoted on the Mission map.

Units should be placed as close to their Preferred Prey as possible. Furthermore if there are other units or
pieces of terrain in the way, just place the unit as close to the spawn point as possible while remaining at
least 1” away from the Players’ units.

Additionally, roll a D6 for each ENDLESS MULTITUDE unit currently in play. On a 4+, up to D3+3 destroyed
models are returned to each of these units. Place the new arrivals at the back of the unit, i.e. on the far side
of the nearest Player unit.

Surplus Biomass
When playing a mission with the surplus biomass rule, destroyed units gain a +1 bonus to respawn (i.e.
5+/3+).

Assault Organisms
Most Tyranid creatures are designed to assault enemy positions, and by default follow these guidelines:
● At the start of the Movement phase of the Tyranid turn, you always start by moving the Tyranid
units closest to Player units, and work your way backwards through the Tyranid force.
● A Tyranid will always move towards their closest Preferred Prey (see above). If there is no Preferred
Prey within 24”, or no Preferred Prey for whom the unit can get range and Line of Sight, they will
instead Advance towards the closest objective currently controlled by the players.
● They will only advance if doing so won’t prevent them shooting or getting a <10” charge on a
target.
● Tyranid units will always shoot and charge their closest Preferred Prey. Units should be chosen to
shoot, charge and fight in descending points value. If multiple units cost the same points, making
it hard to decide, roll a D6 for each of these units, with the highest rolling units being resolved first.

Designer’s commentary: why aren’t the Tyranids going for the objectives?
By default, the swarm wants to eat you. But in certain missions, their behaviour will be modified as the Hive
Mind pursues more specific goals, attacking weak points in defence lines or perhaps hunting vital personnel
it’s identified as a threat.

Scuttle around the ankles

In games of Fury of the Swarm, Tyranid units can move freely through each other whether or not they have
the MONSTER keyword, although obviously none of them can end their move somewhere there’s no room for
their base.
Ranged Support Organisms
Some Tyranid creatures are designed purely for ranged combat. These organisms follow the guidance for
assault organisms above, with one exception: they will move the minimum amount necessary to get range
and line of sight on their Preferred Prey, unless they have [INDIRECT FIRE] weapons, in which case, they’ll
move towards the nearest piece of concealing cover and fire upon their closest Preferred Prey during the
Shotoing phase. They will not attempt to Charge. The following are classed as Ranged Support Organisms:
● Pyrovores
● Zoanthropes
● Exocrines
● Biovores
● Hive Guard
● Tyrannofexes
● Barbgaunts
● Purely ranged Carnifexes

Assigning hits to Tyranids

When removing Tyranid casualties and/or assigning wounds during the Shooting phase, always assign
wounds to the miniature closest to the firing model when possible (wounded models must be removed
before unwounded ones as normal).

In the Melee phase, hits are instead assigned to the farthest models, thus preserving engagement range as
long as possible.
 CAMPAIGNS
The concept of this co-op/solo way to play Warhammer 40K is that each mission will slot into one of the
three phases of a Tyranid invasion. As of version 0.2 there is one mission for each campaign phase. As I
work towards Version 1.0, more missions will be added. There’s a bunch of mission concepts already stored
for development, but feel free to share your own ideas with me!

Campaign length & structure (pick one option)

OPTION 1: THE THREE GAME MICRO-CAMPAIGN

This is the smallest length of campaign. First, play one Sporefall mission. If you lose, this triggers additional
conditions in some Fuclrum missions. Next, play one Fulcrum mission. If you win that, play an Extermination
mission. If you lose your Fulcrum mission, then play an Evacuation mission instead. You can choose to play
whichever missions you like during each phase, possibly choosing according to which ones best suit your
collection of Tyranids and/or terrain.

OPTION 2: THE FIXED-LENGTH CAMPAIGN

With this style of campaign, you decide up front to play as many Missions as you like in each invasion phase
(that’s right, you can’t lose a game and start shouting “best of 3! No wait, best of 5!”). You must then try to
win the majority of the missions you play in each invasion phase, so it’s best to go for an odd number! For
example, you could play a campaign with 3 Sporefall missions, 5 Fuclrum missions, and 3
Extermination/Evacuation missions. Alternatively, you could play 9 Sporefall missions, and only one Mission
in the other phases. It’s entirely up to you! A good default is probably 3 of each.

OPTION 3: THE REGROWING SWARM

This last option has the potential to go on for longer than expected because it adds the potential for the
Tyranids to come back from the brink of defeat. Play a fixed-length campaign as described above, but if you
win the Fulcrum but then lose a majority of the subsequent Extermination missions, the Tyranids will
recuperate and launch their own counter-offensive! The campaign reverts to the Fulcrum (phase 2) as if you
had just won the Sporefall phase.

MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER CAMPAIGNS

If you have multiple teams of players, then having each team play at least one game during each Phase is a
good way to immediately widen the scope of the emergent story.

SWITCHING PLAYER ARMIES OVER THE COURSE OF A CAMPAIGN

If you own multiple armies that might conceivably team up to take on the Swarm, you could switch between
those armies during each campaign phase, so as to give the impression of the defenders doing their best in
the planet’s various theatres of war, effectively giving you multiple sub-plots as you follow the fates of
multiple field commanders and their detachments.
Campaign Phase 1: Sporefall
The opening phases of a Tyranid invasion are critical. Orbital defences and anti-air assets must all be
protected so that they can cause maximal damage to the incoming Hive Fleet. The Tyranids are never
passive, though, and vanguard organisms like Lictors and Genestealers seek to weaken the Swarm’s prey.

If you lose the majority of missions during Sporefall, this will trigger additional advantages for the Tyranids
during the Fulcrum.

Sporefall missions:
● Big Guns Musn’t Tire

Campaign Phase 2: The Fulcrum

The most decisive engagements of the invasion are fought during the Fulcrum, where the defenders try
desperately to keep the Swarm from overwhelming them. If they succeed, the Swarm might just exhaust
itself. Every inch of ground, every scrap of biomass that can be denied the Tyranids, is one painful step on
the tenuous path to victory.

If you lose the majority of missions during the Fulcrum, then in Phase 3 you can only play missions from the
Evacuation category. If you win, however, you unlock missions from the Extermination category as you go on
the offensive.

Fulcrum missions:
● Retake and hold (note: this is the most generic and thematically flexible mission in FotS)

Campaign Phase 3: Extermination/Evacuation

By now it is known if the defenders have failed to save their world, but what remains to be seen is what
happens to them. Do they escape on the last shuttle as the Swarm envelops the planet, or did their
victories during the Fulcrum enable them to torch the Tyranids’ spore chimneys and spawning pools?

If you won the majority of the Fulcrum missions you played, then proceed to Extermination missions.
Otherwise, proceed to Evacuation missions.

Extermination missions
You held out against the swarm, somehow thwarting its assault on the planet. Before other splinter fleets
can be drawn to the psychic spoor of the remaining Tyranids, you must destroy them all. If you win the
majority of the missions you play during this campaign phase, your planet is safe for now. Should you fail,
then while the planet is largely yours, you are sure to face further invasions in the near future…
● Let None Escape

Evacuation missions
The defences are shattered, and the planet is doomed. All the remaining defenders can do is look to their
own survival, or deliver one last defiant blow to the Tyranids. There is no longer a chance of victory, but
these missions give you a chance to harm the swarm, perhaps giving their next prey world a better chance.
Perhaps your characters will even find a way to escape their deaths even as this world burns.
● The Last Shuttle

MISSIONS
Missions are split into four types: Sporefall, Fulcrum, Extermination and Evactuation. Refer to the
Campaigns section for more information on the different phases of a Tyranid invasion.

Sporefall Mission: Big Guns Mustn’t Tire

Hive ships are entering low orbit, and every shot fired by an orbital defence weapon is a chance at killing
Tyranids before they make planetfall. You are defending one such weapon, ordered to keep it firing even as
the Swarm’s vanguard burst from mycetic spores and rush in at you from multiple directions.

Designer’s note: what’s the weapon?

For the uninitiated, an orbital defence weapon could be anything from a missile silo (think ballistic missile
silo), or a giant gun turret the size of a building. Since most of us don’t have a giant piece of terrain
specifically designed to represent a defence laser silo (or similar) we’ll just have to improvise; assuming
you don’t intend to build an awesome piece of bespoke terrain, you may find yourself defending anything
from a Fronteris landing pad serving as a missile silo, “turret” made out of a Pringles tube on a shoebox, or
simply an objective marker cheerfully labelled ‘GUN’. Here’s an example using the Sector Fronteris terrain to
represent an isolated missile silo:
1: MUSTER ARMIES
By default this scenario is assumed to revolve around a small garrison force of about a thousand points, but
whatever size army the Players wish to field, the Tyranids will have a 50% points advantage over them (so a
Player army of 1,000 points will face 1,500).

Thematically, the more Tyranids with deep strike, scouts, or infiltrate the better, but regular ground forces
are fine too - they’ll just have to run at the objective on foot/claw/hoof. Thematically, you’ll want to avoid
ripper swarms as they’re not usually spawned until later in an invasion.

2: MISSION OBJECTIVES
There is only one objective in this scenario: a fortification in the centre of the table. It can be any size,
according to whatever suitable terrain you have available, but it should be at least somewhat visible from
the short board edges. It has a Toughness of 9, no Save, and a number of wounds equal to the Players’
combined points total divided by 20 (so if the players have a 1,000 point army, the objective will have 50
wounds). If it is destroyed, the Players lose.

3: CREATE THE BATTLEFIELD

The battlefield size for this mission is 60”x44”. You can use a larger battlefield if desired, just make sure
that it doesn’t affect the positioning of the Tyranid spawn points.
Place a terrain piece in the centre of the board as described in Step 2 above. Next, place six counters to
represent spawn points as shown in the map below. D6 are perfect for spawn point counters, since they’re
also numbered 1-6.

Finally, place the rest of the terrain. This is meant to be a secure, defensible position, so feel free to add
perimeter fences and other fortifications around the middle, while leaving the edges of the table as an
empty killing ground.

4: DETERMINE ATTACKER
The Tyranids are the Attackers in this mission.

5: DECLARE & DETERMINE BATTLE FORMATIONS

In the order stated below, you decide:
● Which of your Leader units will start the battle attached (you must specify which Leader unit is
attached to which Bodyguard unit).
● Which of your units will start the battle embarked within Transport models (you must specify
which units are embarked within which models).
● Which of your units will start the battle in Reserves (including Strategic Reserves). The players can
place as many units as they wish into Strategic Reserves, representing the defenders sending
urgent reinforcements to the site. In this scenario, reserves may only ever enter from the long table
edges.
Tyranid deployment
The Tyranid army is not divided into Synapse Clusters in this mission. If the Tyranid force contains any DEEP
STRIKE units, these are placed in reserve, and will arrive in turn 2.

6: DEPLOY ARMIES
First, the Players’ army is deployed in its entirety. Next, any Tyranid INFILTRATORS units are deployed as
close to their Preferred Prey as possible. The rest of the Tyranid army is not deployed; see Step 9 for more
information.

Designer’s note: are the Tyranids going to charge us in turn one?!

If you deploy aggressively, then possibly yes, depending on what spawns where! Just because you’re
allowed to deploy up to 18” away from the centrefield doesn’t mean it’s always the right move!

7: DETERMINE FIRST TURN

The Tyranids get the first turn in this scenario.

8: RESOLVE PRE-BATTLE RULES

Resolve any pre-battle rules your army has, after which the Tyranids’ pre-battle rules (if any) are resolved.

9: BEGIN THE BATTLE

The first battle round begins with the Tyranids’ opening turn. Continue to resolve battle rounds until the
battle ends.

Mass spore drop

The Hive Fleet is disgorging a vast wave of mycetic spores on either side of your position. Many of those
spores will be destroyed by friendly anti-air assets, resulting in a chaotic deployment by the Tyranids. Sadly
their numbers are such that the defences can’t possibly stop them all. It’s up to you, now!

One at a time in descending points cost, roll a D6 for each Tyranid unit that is not on the table and is not
arriving via deep strike to determine which spawn point it arrives from. That unit moves on from the table
edge at that spawn point, and will act as normal, performing either normal moves, advances, shooting and
charging as determined by the usual in-game behaviours. If they cannot be placed on the table due to
models or scenery, place them as close as possible to the spawn point, outside of engagement range.

The Swarm’s Intent

The objective counts as a Player unit so far as rules around Preferred Prey are concerned. If it is not
destroyed at the start of the Tyranids’ fourth turn, then any Tyranid units that can wound it on a 5+ or
better will attempt to shoot/charge it if they are able to do so.

10: END THE BATTLE

The battle ends when the objective is destroyed, or once the fifth battle round has ended (whichever comes
first).
11: DETERMINE VICTOR
If the objective is destroyed, it is a win for the Tyranids. If not, then the Players are victorious.

Fulcrum Mission: Retake and Hold

The Tyranids have taken a key location, and you’ve been sent to get it back before they can consume
everything in the area.

Designer’s note: the first mission is the vaguest

This mission has been designed to be a sort of ‘default’ mission much like Only War on p59 of the
Warhammer 40,000 Core Rules; a highly replayable scenario to try out Fury of the Swarm for the first time.
It should work OK regardless of whatever you have in your terrain collection, from weird alien landscapes to
stacks of books.

If you have an extensive terrain collection you could easily switch up the theme of this mission from game
to game. It could be about defending a major population centre, evacuating non-combatants from the
objective points, or just as easily it could be about holding an agri-complex full of grain silos that you really
don’t want the Tyranids eating. Maybe it’s a crucial supply cache. The possibilities aren’t endless, but
they’re substantial.

1: MUSTER ARMIES
You may deploy any size of army you like for this scenario, but it’s suggested the Player forces have a
combined total of at least 1000 points. The Tyranids will have a 25% points advantage over you, and should
ideally be an all-rounder force with at least two SYNAPSE units and at least one ENDLESS MULTITUDE unit.
If not, just do your best with what you’ve got!

Modifying the scenario for tiny armies

If the Tyranid army is less than a thousand points, perhaps because you haven’t had a chance to collect
and/or paint sufficient units but want to try this game mode anyway, then change the win conditions from
11 Victory Points to 6, and replace the four objective markers with two halfway up the battlefield.

2: MISSION OBJECTIVES
Starting from the second battle round, at the end of your turn, you gain 1 Victory Point (VP) for each
objective marker you control. Details of how to control objective markers can be found on page 58 of the
Warhammer 40,000 rules.

3: CREATE THE BATTLEFIELD

The minimum battlefield size for this mission is 60”x44”. It will work just as well, and possibly even better,
on a 6’x4’ battlefield.
Place four objective markers and six counters to represent spawn points as shown in the map below. D6 are
perfect for spawn point counters, since they’re also numbered 1-6. Then, place a temporary counter on
Tyranid deployment zones A and B.

Now to throw down some scenery. If possible, place a large terrain feature on or adjacent to each of the
objective markers (these represent the key strategic features you are trying to hold). If possible, there
should be some taller terrain features in the centre of the table.

If you need to move the Tyranid deployment zones to adjust for a satisfying terrain layout then go for it, just
keep the Second Most Important Rule in mind when you do so.

4: DETERMINE ATTACKER
You are the Attacker in this scenario; the Tyranids are the Defender.

5: DECLARE & DETERMINE BATTLE FORMATIONS

In the order stated below, you decide:
● Which of your Leader units will start the battle attached (you must specify which Leader unit is
attached to which Bodyguard unit).
● Which of your units will start the battle embarked within Transport models (you must specify
which units are embarked within which models).
 ● Which of your units will start the battle in Reserves (including Strategic Reserves).

Determine Synapse Clusters

The Tyranid army is divided into two Synapse Clusters in this mission. If the Tyranid force contains any
DEEP STRIKE units, these are placed in reserve, and will arrive in turn 2. Any INFILTRATORS units are not
assigned to Synapse Clusters, and will deploy independently.

6: DEPLOY ARMIES
First, the Players’ army is deployed, excepting any INFILTRATORS. Each Tyranid deployment zone is then
randomly assigned a Synapse Cluster. Next, the Players deploy their INFILTRATORS. Finally, any Tyranid
INFILTRATORS units are deployed as close to their Preferred Prey as possible.

7: DETERMINE FIRST TURN

The Players get the first turn in this scenario.

8: RESOLVE PRE-BATTLE RULES

Resolve any pre-battle rules your army has, after which the Tyranids’ pre-battle rules (if any) are resolved.

9: BEGIN THE BATTLE

The first battle round begins. Continue to resolve battle rounds until the battle ends.
● Sporefall defeat condition: if the Players lost the Sporefall phase of the invasion campaign, this
mission uses the Surplus Biomass rule outlined in the rules section that explains how There’s
Always More.

10: END THE BATTLE

The battle ends when your army has been wiped out, or once the fifth battle round has ended (whichever
comes first).

11: DETERMINE VICTOR

If you earned 11 or more victory points, you are victorious. Any other result is a win for the Tyranids.

Extermination Mission: Let None Escape

The Tyranids are endeavouring to escape your forces so that they can withdraw to the wilderness, where
they hide away and, eventually, grow new horrors to assail you with. They cannot be allowed to escape.

Your forces have chased a swarm of the creatures into a high-sided canyon, and are herding them into a
trap. Once they see your allied force coming from the other direction, they will try to fight clear. Do not let
them; it is unknown if even a single creature might deposit spores capable of starting a new infestation
given enough time.
1: MUSTER ARMIES
The Players’ forces can be of any size in this mission, although at least a thousand points is recommended.
The Tyranid forces will have the same points value as you. It should not have any units with the FLY
keyword, since those will already have fled.

2: MISSION OBJECTIVES
You must destroy all Tyranid units, and prevent any single Tyranid breaking through your lines and escaping
the battlefield. See the alterations to deployment and also the survival imperative rules in Step 9.

3: CREATE THE BATTLEFIELD

The ideal battlefield size for this mission is 60”x44”. Place three temporary counters for Tyranid deployment
zones A, B and C. After that, place any terrain you like on the battlefield so long as it won’t significantly
slow the Tyranid forces down in their passage across the board.

If you need to move the Tyranid deployment zones to adjust for a satisfying terrain layout then go for it, just
keep the Second Most Important Rule in mind when you do so.

4: DETERMINE ATTACKER
You are the Attacker in this scenario; the Tyranids are the Defender.

5: DECLARE & DETERMINE BATTLE FORMATIONS,

In the order stated below, you decide:
● Which of your Leader units will start the battle attached (you must specify which Leader unit is
attached to which Bodyguard unit).
● Which of your units will start the battle embarked within Transport models (you must specify
which units are embarked within which models).
● Which of your units will start the battle in Reserves (including Strategic Reserves).

Determine Synapse Clusters

The Tyranid army is divided into three Synapse Clusters in this mission. In this mission, if the Tyranid force
contains any DEEP STRIKE and INFILTRATE units, such units are assigned to Synapse Clusters rather than
using these rules.

6: DEPLOY ARMIES
First, the Players’ army is deployed, excepting any INFILTRATORS.

Then, roll a dice to determine which of the short battlefield edges the Tyranids will attempt to escape from.
Once this has been done, each Tyranid deployment zone is randomly assigned a Synapse Cluster. Deploy the
Tyranids facing the short edge they’re going for to make it clear which direction they’re heading in.

Finally, the Players deploy their INFILTRATORS. Remember, Tyranids cannot use INFILTRATE or DEEP STRIKE
in this mission.

7: DETERMINE FIRST TURN

The Players get the first turn in this scenario.

8: RESOLVE PRE-BATTLE RULES

Resolve any pre-battle rules your army has, after which the Tyranids’ pre-battle rules (if any) are resolved.

9: BEGIN THE BATTLE

The first battle round begins. Continue to resolve battle rounds until the battle ends.

Survival Imperative
In this mission, the Tyranids are trying to escape above all other concerns. They will move as quickly as
possible towards their chosen short battlefield edge (hereafter referred to as their escape route). As soon
as a Tyranid model’s base is touching the designated battlefield edge, or its unit is wholly within 3” of it,
that unit is removed and is considered to have escaped.

Note the following alterations to their standard behaviour:

● They will only charge Preferred Prey if doing so would move them closer to their escape route.
● If in engagement range at the start of their turn, Tyranids will fall back and move towards their
escape route if able to.
● They will advance if doing so will not prevent them shooting, or attempting a charge of <8” that
meets the criteria above.
 ● Units such as the Carnifex or Termagants that have the ability to move in response to enemy
actions will use this to get closer to their escape route.
● If an advance move of 4” or less would enable a Tyranid to escape, it will attempt an advance
towards its escape route regardless of any other imperatives.
● As ever, remember the Second Most Important Rule!

10: END THE BATTLE

The battle ends after the Tyranids’ fifth turn, or when one side has no units left in play..

11: DETERMINE VICTOR

If all Tyranid units have been destroyed, and no Tyranid units left the table via their escape route, you are
victorious.

Evacuation Mission: The Last Shuttle

A group of battle-scarred survivors search an uninhabited port for any space-worthy shuttle they can find.
They find one, then immediately realise why it’s still there: it needs refuelling.

1: MUSTER ARMIES
At most, the Players’ army should have a combined value of 1000 points for this scenario. There is no
minimum points value. Produce an army of Tyranids worth the same number of points (suspiciously
generous, no?). If possible, the Tyranids should have no units that cost over 190 points.

2: MISSION OBJECTIVES
The Players must achieve all of the objectives described below:

Objective: Grab the fuel

Upon getting into base contact with the fuel dump (as displayed on the mission map) with a normal move,
one Player INFANTRY model can forego both shooting and charging that turn in order to activate the
refueling drone. At the end of this and all subsequent Players turns, the drone will move 9" directly towards
the shuttle, but will stop moving when it gets within 2" of any TYRANID units. The drone can move through
Player units unless they are VEHICLES or MONSTERS, as long as there's room for the drone's base on the far
side.

If the refueling drone is within 3" of the shuttle during the Players’ Command phase, it will begin fuelling.
This will be complete in the Players' subsequent Command phase.

Objective: Prep the shuttle for takeoff

Upon reaching the shuttle with a normal move, one model from the Players' army can be removed from play
to board the shuttle and begin preparations for takeoff. This model cannot be a MONSTER or SWARM. If the
Player model that is removed from play is a VEHICLE, then leave the vehicle in place as terrain (counting as
a hill) - its crew have abandoned it, but it might still be useful as cover!

Including the turn in which the Player model is removed from play, the shuttle will be prepped for takeoff
after two Player turns. However, it won't be able to escape orbit until it's been refueled.

Objective: Takeoff
Once the shuttle is fuelled and prepped for takeoff, it can blast off at the end of any of the Players'
movement phases. Player units can embark on the shuttle once within 3” of it; if any vehicle units do so,
leave the vehicles in place as terrain (hill).

Designer’s note: representing the fuel drone & shuttle

Obviously this will vary according to what you have in your collection, and the race whose shuttle port this
is (I’m generally assuming that your army will be that same race). Any flying model will do even if it doesn’t
have the AIRCRAFT keyword. Aeldari transports like Wave Serpents can canonically fly, they just go low to
the ground for combat.

For the Imperium, the fuel drone will likely be some sort of servo-hauler pulling a big ol’ tank, but the
specifics don’t matter so long as you know where you’re going and what each objective marker represents.
It’s entirely up to you if you want to just plonk down a small box to count as the shuttle, or whether you
wanted an excuse to build all sorts of cool terrain and/or a particular mini that could serve as the shuttle.

3: CREATE THE BATTLEFIELD

First, place miniatures (or proxy miniatures) for the refuelling drone and the shuttle, as shown on the map
below. Then, place six counters to represent spawn points in the locations indicated. D6 are perfect
counters, since they’re also numbered 1-6. Then, place a temporary counter on Tyranid deployment zones A,
B and C.
With the shuttle and fuel drone down, fill out the rest of the table and do your best to make it look like a
small shuttle port, terrain permitting. Here’s an example, albeit with a rather imprecisely placed fuel drone
(the yellow servo hauler):
If you need to move the Tyranid deployment zones to adjust for a satisfying terrain layout then go for it, just
keep the Second Most Important Rule in mind when you do so.

4: DETERMINE ATTACKER
You are the Attacker in this scenario; the Tyranids are the Defender.

5: RESOLVE PRE-BATTLE CASUALTIES, THEN DECLARE & DETERMINE BATTLE FORMATIONS,

In this scenario, the Players cannot use reserves of any kind, even if they have units which would normally
allow them to deploy via deep strike regardless of the mission.

The last ride home

The Players’ units automatically pass all battleshock tests in this scenario.

The battered survivors

Here at the end, your forces are reduced to a sorry state. They’ve been through hell, and most of them
haven’t made it this far. Go through each of your units, rolling a D6 for each wound in that unit (so for a unit
of 10 2-wound intercessors, roll 20D6). For each roll of a 1-2, that unit loses a wound. Once you have rolled
for all of your units, you can re-roll the dice for one of those units. Wounds lost in this way cannot be
regained during play by any means; they effectively count as the starting strength of your units.

Designer's note: why can't I fix my vehicles/injured models in-game?

In-game wound recovery represents quickly jury-rigging a repair or minor injury that won't drastically affect
combat performance. But even the best mechanic/medic can't use a spanner to replace major components
that are simply gone, or magically mend a broken bone in five minutes. That's why the wounds lost due to
the Battered Survivors rule above can't come back during this mission. Don't worry, your medics and
mechanics will be even more crucial than normal as they try to heal wounds lost during play, since you don't
have as many to lose!

Once you have resolved this, you can declare battle formations. In the order stated below, you decide:
● Which of your Leader units will start the battle attached (you must specify which Leader unit is
attached to which Bodyguard unit).
● Which of your units will start the battle embarked within Transport models (you must specify
which units are embarked within which models).

Determine Synapse Clusters

The Tyranid army is divided into three Synapse Clusters in this mission. If the Tyranid force contains any
DEEP STRIKE units, these are placed in reserve, and will arrive in turn 2. Any INFILTRATORS units are not
assigned to Synapse Clusters, and will deploy independently.

6: DEPLOY ARMIES
First, the Players’ army is deployed, excepting any INFILTRATORS. Each Tyranid deployment zone is then
randomly assigned a Synapse Cluster. Next, the Players deploy their INFILTRATORS. Finally, any Tyranid
INFILTRATORS units are deployed as close to their Preferred Prey as possible.

7: DETERMINE FIRST TURN

The Players get the first turn in this scenario.

8: RESOLVE PRE-BATTLE RULES

Resolve any pre-battle rules your army has, after which the Tyranids’ pre-battle rules (if any) are resolved.

9: BEGIN THE BATTLE

The first battle round begins. Continue to resolve battle rounds until the battle ends.

10: END THE BATTLE

The battle ends when the Players have no units left in play (i.e. there is no hard turn limit).

11: DETERMINE VICTOR

If any Player units ecape in the shuttle, you are victorious.

Changelog
16/07/2023 [v0.1 hotfix]
 ● Assault organism objective approach range reduced from 36” to 24”.
● Fulcrum Mission: Retake and Hold victory condition reduced from 12 victory points to 11.
17/07/2023 [v0.1 hotfix]
● Scouts, Aircraft, and Deep Striking SYNAPSE creatures clarified.
● Added guidance on forming and using a co-op player army.
28/07/2023 [v0.2 release]
● Document sections reordered.
● Campaign section expanded with more advice. Mini campaigns now (mostly) playable; I couldn’t
quite get the time to refine and test the mission Extermination: Burn the Nest.
● Two new missions added.
○ Sporefall: Big Guns Shouldn’t Tire
○ Evacuation: The Last Shuttle
31/07/2023 [v0.2 hotfix]
● Clarified phrasing in Mass Spore Drop rule in Sporefall mission: Big Guns Mustn’t Tire.
01/08/2023 [v0.2 update]
● New mission added. Mini-campaigns are now fully playable, since there’s one mission for each
campaign phase.
○ Extermination: Let None Escape
11/08/2023 [v0.2 hotfix]
● Clarified pre-game wounds taken in The Last Shuttle cannot be regained during play.
● Added clarifications around units with the Leader ability (under Synapse Clusters and There’s
Always More).