Excitement for the new Codex: Tyranids is at fever pitch, and there’s still so much to see inside. We only just finished a look at the new Detachments yesterday, and we haven’t even brushed against the new miniatures, new Crusade rules, and new lore.
Now, you could listen to us talk about it until we’re blue in the face, but there’s no beating insider knowledge. That’s why we spoke to Rich and Andy from the Warhammer Studio about the new Codex, and what it was like to work on such a momentous project.
Warhammer Community: Thanks for giving us a peek behind the curtain. We’re just on the cusp of Codex: Tyranids releasing – is there anything significant that you feel makes it stand out against the Codexes that have come before?
Rich: The new Codex contains the most diverse set of ways to collect and play a Tyranid army that have ever been presented, while simultaneously containing some of the most streamlined and user-friendly rules ever designed for the faction.
Andy: Then of course there's the wealth of new units and – the bit I'm most excited about from a gaming point of view – a treasure trove of Tyranid Crusade content. It charges hobbyists with consuming worlds and recycling their opponents' armies into raw biomass, enhancing their gaming experiences with yet more warrior organisms to add to their swarm.
Rich: Combat Patrol has also provided a really achievable entry point for starting a brand new army. I’d previously found it intimidating to even consider building and painting 2,000 points of miniatures. I personally love playing the Tyranids Combat Patrol – The Vardenghast Swarm – and being able to build and paint a game-ready force in really short order has made this Codex one of the most personally exciting for me.
WarCom: What were some aspects of Tyranid warfare that you most wanted to highlight when designing the new Detachments?
Andy: From a background point of view, our aim with the Detachments was to fully express their lore, and help contextualise each one within the wider Tyranid battle plan. This was a really fun task, as each Detachment does a great job of embodying a different phase in the gruesome cycle of invasion.
Rich: Choosing a Detachment, from the Unending Swarm to the Crusher Stampede, gives you access to a wide array of gameplay styles that reflect how the Hive Mind goes to war. These are intentionally designed to show the adaptability open to all Tyranid swarms, as now any hive fleet can play in any style they like – the only limit is the imagination of the player.
WarCom: The Tyranids are the big headline threat in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 – did this prominence inform any of the decisions you made when writing the Codex?
Andy: It certainly pushed us to make sure that there was some focus on the opening events of the Fourth Tyrannic War. With Tyranids firmly at the forefront of the ongoing Warhammer 40,000 narrative right now, we've been careful to focus some attention on what hobbyists will already have learned from diving into the Crusade: Tyrannic War book, in particular.
There's some really atmospheric and – frankly – pretty horrifying bits of short fiction in there as well as timeline boxouts, all of which will help new and existing Tyranid collectors alike to immerse themselves in this monstrous faction. A lot of these were inspired by the wealth of great new pieces produced by our studio artists depicting the horror of war against the Tyranids!
WarCom: Speaking earlier of the new miniatures – what’s your favourite unit from the new Codex?
Rich: I've always been a massive fan of the Lictor – I love the idea of an unknowable alien assassin, huge and powerful, and yet silently stalking and all but invisible to onlookers. With the introduction of Von Ryan's Leapers, the new Lictor model, Deathleaper's new miniature, and the Neurolictor, I feel like this Codex is a major celebration of the assassin archetype, and I am entirely here for that. Soon I’ll be forced to create a purely Lictor-themed army.
Andy: For me, it's all about those new Biovore and Pyrovore models. The old ones were classics, but the complete aesthetic design refresh really pushes them to the forefront for me and makes them look every bit as ghastly, alien and menacing as they deserve to. Of course, it's also hard to ignore the scuttling tentacle-mawed horror of the Psychophage – that thing's a real terror, and leans far into the insectile nastiness that makes the Tyranids such a cool and engaging faction.
WarCom: Finally, a simple one. How worried should the galaxy be?
Rich: Not very. They're only bugs, after all.
Andy: Well, they say you are what you eat. So if it's any consolation to the rest of the galaxy, they'll all get to make valuable contributions to the Tyranids' all-consuming invasions given time…
Thanks guys! You’ll have your own chance to decide whether the Tyranids are truly the menace they seem to be when Codex: Tyranids goes up for pre-order on Saturday. If you want a peek inside before then, check back with Warhammer Community later today for an in-depth study on the fearsome new Norn Emissary.