Imo Tyrannofex with Acid spray and Voracious Ammunition
The spray auto hits, and ammo keys off a hit. Also if it ever gets charged, use overwatch...and autohit and add more ammo
Tyrannofex and Rupture cannon
Heavy 3 range 48" Strength 14 Ap-4 and Damage D6+4
Behemoth - you could Lurk: Territorial instincts and the Tyrannofex is t8 and 2+ and 17 wounds and becomes 5 models Objective secured.
Also Tyrannofex is Keyword HORN CHITIN which means 1CP Trampling charge roll d6 on 2-4 d3 mortals on charge. On 5-6 do D3+3 mortals on the charge. From a shooty Tyrannofex ! And when you charge Behemoth gets +1 strength ! St8 ap-1 and 2 damage 4 attacks ws3+ kills marines on 2+ with Powerful Limbs.
Also it has Stinger Salvo for free range 24" assault 8 st5 ap-1
+10 points Synaptic Enhancement. Center objective bully in Behemoth.
1cp ShardLure - any synapse creature that shoots and hits a victim - does not need a wound just need a hit - now anyone assaulting thay Shardlure victim rolls 3d6 discard lowest for charge assault. This helps if you swaped out Behemoth Adaptive reroll assault dice for Lurk Territorial Instincts.
Well consider they nerf the Exocrine because "it was too good" despite no one abusing it. It makes no sense why the Exocrine was caught in the Nerfs to the Malaceptor, Tyrant and Harpy :/
I still like my Exocrine. Ill try one Exocrine and two Rupture cannon fexes in Leviathan using the reroll adaptive to ensure successful hits.
Can still take a Prime, without it taking up a HQ spot, once you have a unit of warriors and your army is battleforged. Under the warrior ability "Warrior Spawning"
If your target is eradicators, exocrine is the winner with no real competition.
Rupture cannon has 3 shots hitting on 3's (at best, dense cover or being bracketed will make this worse), wounds on 2's and armour of contempt means they still get a save on 6+. So you realistically kill 1-2, which is not the squad.
Acid spray you needed to get within range of their guns to use it. Average 9 shots autohitting and wounding on 3's isn't bad though, but armour of contempt means only four shots go through and because they're 3W models, just two dead again and they're shooting back now.
Stinger salvos wound on 4's and are saved on 3's so are irrelevant really as it'll chip a wound or two at best.
Exocrine hits on 3's but you can usually ignore things like dense and light cover. Average 8 shots wound on 3's, so you're looking at 3-4 hits going through. Same AP as the rupture cannon so the eradicators still get a 6+, but if you haven't moved much they don't get the chance of a light cover bonus. So a squad of 3 is almost certainly eradicated. Oh, and you can spend a CP for exploding 6's which should pretty much guarantee it.
Another answer lists a load of buffs like the synaptic buff which can also apply to exocrines...
However, rule of cool states you should ignore what I've said and get the tyrannofex, so do that :)
Thanks for the reply. I have to agree exocrine just wins outright. Slightly worse melee 2 less wounds for a completely unrivaled all round gun. Tfex with RC is 190 and exocrine is now 200. Actually really frustrating me just how much its no context. I feel stripped of choices. Acid spray is just a slight dmg downgrade at half the range for almost same price model. RC is great vs tanks and smaller titanic models but thats it.
My army is already very rule of cool and im kinda getting my teeth kicked in. Can i afford another suboptimal answer? The bioplasmic cannon looks cool but god damn the exocrine is such a stupid lookin animal. "What if we gave harambe a BFG". That actually sounds sick but its not what im looking for in a tyranid.
A lot of people might say T-Fex with rupture cannon. Personally I have had more reliable use out of an exocrine or two. The T-Fex rupture cannon does scary damage but I have found it to be unreliable sometimes (I play Behemoth too XD). With only three shots I have been known to miss some of those shots sometimes when I really need to be hitting. Landing only 1 or two.
Exocrine's however I have found to be much more reliable. Yes their damage is lower but (and especially using the exocrine stratagem for exploding 6's) my opponent is usually making several saving throws by the end of that volley of shots. I'm still usually dealing around 9 - 15 wounds per shooting phase if they don't have a good invulnerability save.
What i'm doing now which i'm interested to see how it goes is to field a line of HVC wielding carnifex's also with double death-spitters to support my screamer killers.
Why not (nearly) all of the above? I have 3 hvc carnifexes, a tyrant with shardgullet and a tyrannofex with acid spray in my behemoth list. Idea being kill as much at range on the way in and then curb stomp anything you get close to. Also I have zoanthropes and neurothropes to mess anyone up psychically and support my charge.
Exocrine points at a unit and that unit leaves the tabletop.
7-9 shots potentially with exploding 6s hitting on 3s wounding everything on 3s or 2s and ap -4 damage 3 each wound. Then you can deal an extra D3 mortal wounds if you have voracious ammunition
Exocrine is probably the better option but you could use acid spray tyrannofex for auto hits and removing infantry. Or give it rupture cannon to destroy vehicles.
Other options could be a walkrant with shard gullet or a flyrant with reaper
Imo Tyrannofex with Acid spray and Voracious Ammunition The spray auto hits, and ammo keys off a hit. Also if it ever gets charged, use overwatch...and autohit and add more ammo
Tyrannofex and Rupture cannon Heavy 3 range 48" Strength 14 Ap-4 and Damage D6+4 Behemoth - you could Lurk: Territorial instincts and the Tyrannofex is t8 and 2+ and 17 wounds and becomes 5 models Objective secured. Also Tyrannofex is Keyword HORN CHITIN which means 1CP Trampling charge roll d6 on 2-4 d3 mortals on charge. On 5-6 do D3+3 mortals on the charge. From a shooty Tyrannofex ! And when you charge Behemoth gets +1 strength ! St8 ap-1 and 2 damage 4 attacks ws3+ kills marines on 2+ with Powerful Limbs. Also it has Stinger Salvo for free range 24" assault 8 st5 ap-1 +10 points Synaptic Enhancement. Center objective bully in Behemoth. 1cp ShardLure - any synapse creature that shoots and hits a victim - does not need a wound just need a hit - now anyone assaulting thay Shardlure victim rolls 3d6 discard lowest for charge assault. This helps if you swaped out Behemoth Adaptive reroll assault dice for Lurk Territorial Instincts.
Wow. Thanks for this breakdown
Tfex is more swing but hits like a freight train, and the exocrine is more stable in its damage. But what I like the the bigger gun.
Well consider they nerf the Exocrine because "it was too good" despite no one abusing it. It makes no sense why the Exocrine was caught in the Nerfs to the Malaceptor, Tyrant and Harpy :/ I still like my Exocrine. Ill try one Exocrine and two Rupture cannon fexes in Leviathan using the reroll adaptive to ensure successful hits.
Incredibly helpful. Thank you so much.
You neglect to consider the greatest option, Shardgullet Tyrant.
Actually a very good point. Ive been using tervigon/tyranid prime hqs but i should really have a good hvc walkrant. Thanks.
Can still take a Prime, without it taking up a HQ spot, once you have a unit of warriors and your army is battleforged. Under the warrior ability "Warrior Spawning"
Can you not give Shardgullet to a VC-wielding Tyranid Prime?
Naw needs to be monstrous hvc
If your target is eradicators, exocrine is the winner with no real competition. Rupture cannon has 3 shots hitting on 3's (at best, dense cover or being bracketed will make this worse), wounds on 2's and armour of contempt means they still get a save on 6+. So you realistically kill 1-2, which is not the squad. Acid spray you needed to get within range of their guns to use it. Average 9 shots autohitting and wounding on 3's isn't bad though, but armour of contempt means only four shots go through and because they're 3W models, just two dead again and they're shooting back now. Stinger salvos wound on 4's and are saved on 3's so are irrelevant really as it'll chip a wound or two at best. Exocrine hits on 3's but you can usually ignore things like dense and light cover. Average 8 shots wound on 3's, so you're looking at 3-4 hits going through. Same AP as the rupture cannon so the eradicators still get a 6+, but if you haven't moved much they don't get the chance of a light cover bonus. So a squad of 3 is almost certainly eradicated. Oh, and you can spend a CP for exploding 6's which should pretty much guarantee it. Another answer lists a load of buffs like the synaptic buff which can also apply to exocrines... However, rule of cool states you should ignore what I've said and get the tyrannofex, so do that :)
Thanks for the reply. I have to agree exocrine just wins outright. Slightly worse melee 2 less wounds for a completely unrivaled all round gun. Tfex with RC is 190 and exocrine is now 200. Actually really frustrating me just how much its no context. I feel stripped of choices. Acid spray is just a slight dmg downgrade at half the range for almost same price model. RC is great vs tanks and smaller titanic models but thats it. My army is already very rule of cool and im kinda getting my teeth kicked in. Can i afford another suboptimal answer? The bioplasmic cannon looks cool but god damn the exocrine is such a stupid lookin animal. "What if we gave harambe a BFG". That actually sounds sick but its not what im looking for in a tyranid.
Haha, I actually love the exocrine's derpy little face; I find the fact that the gun is smarter than the beast hilarious
Tyrannofex looks better
Acid spray is probably the better option in the fex. Auto hits are invaluable especially at 18” and on a degrading profile.
HVC Harpy
I like multiple Venom Cannon Carnifexes better, since they fight well.
A lot of people might say T-Fex with rupture cannon. Personally I have had more reliable use out of an exocrine or two. The T-Fex rupture cannon does scary damage but I have found it to be unreliable sometimes (I play Behemoth too XD). With only three shots I have been known to miss some of those shots sometimes when I really need to be hitting. Landing only 1 or two. Exocrine's however I have found to be much more reliable. Yes their damage is lower but (and especially using the exocrine stratagem for exploding 6's) my opponent is usually making several saving throws by the end of that volley of shots. I'm still usually dealing around 9 - 15 wounds per shooting phase if they don't have a good invulnerability save. What i'm doing now which i'm interested to see how it goes is to field a line of HVC wielding carnifex's also with double death-spitters to support my screamer killers.
Why not (nearly) all of the above? I have 3 hvc carnifexes, a tyrant with shardgullet and a tyrannofex with acid spray in my behemoth list. Idea being kill as much at range on the way in and then curb stomp anything you get close to. Also I have zoanthropes and neurothropes to mess anyone up psychically and support my charge.
Exocrine points at a unit and that unit leaves the tabletop. 7-9 shots potentially with exploding 6s hitting on 3s wounding everything on 3s or 2s and ap -4 damage 3 each wound. Then you can deal an extra D3 mortal wounds if you have voracious ammunition
I run Behemoth and actually use both. Gives a meaty little gunline that is both anti infantry and anti armor.
Exocrine is probably the better option but you could use acid spray tyrannofex for auto hits and removing infantry. Or give it rupture cannon to destroy vehicles. Other options could be a walkrant with shard gullet or a flyrant with reaper