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Everyone else has them, so why don't we have them?  Sure, maybe it's acid or something, but why don't nids have anything that uses a flamer template?  Tyranids aren't so good at shooting, so wouldn't it make sense for them to have a weapon that doesn't depend on skill?

So, how do we fix this?  Well, you could introduce a new weapon:

Liquifier  - S: X-1 (max: 5), AP: 3, assault, flame template

It's profile matches something that already exists, namely acid mines, but without the vehicle killing (I blew a Demolisher up with acid mine last night, box cars on the pen roll, no real point to this I'm just bragging).  I'd be willing to raise the AP if I could also raise the S to X (max: 6) or something. 

Or maybe we could take an existing useless weapon and bump it a little.  Say that the deathspitter has two modes of fire: one where the projectile, a fat grub-like creature stuffed with horrible poisonous liquid, is launched at a distant target, and another where the projectile is made to burst as it's leaving the barrel, spraying it payload in a short area immediately in front of the gun.  It would have the same stats as a normal deathspitter shot, but would use a flame template instead. 

So, could the Tyranids use a weapon like this?  I could see small groups of flying warriors using these on marines entrenched in the woods.  Would the change make the deathspitter useful enough to take, even with a bump in cost?  Would any of this be unbalancing? 

See, I remember the old gargoyles flamespurts (and 'flying high', gee I wonder where they got that rule...), and I most certainly remember 3rd ed acid spore mines using the flame template, back when they were useful and not complete crap. Thats why I wanted to see something like that again.

The Tyranids dont care how targets are killed, just that they stop fighting. The rippers are going to eat everything on the planet, everything. Even if the acid can hurt the rippers when it first gets fired, it won't be dangerous forever.

I think it should be AP5 too, but I wanted to model on something that already existed. The nids already have lots of light AP weapons, I was kinda hoping for something that could hurt marines. I'd be fine with a S3 AP 3 flamer, but in the interest of balance (read: GW's no one is allowed to hurt space marines policy) AP5 will have to do. I'd like to be able to make it so the S of the weapon is dependent on the S of the wielder, just like all the other weapons. S-1 with a max value or S/2 might work.

True. I was thinking more of having something to fire into woods with, or a decent weapon to give to warriors. I also like the deathspitter thing. It would also be nice to hit something more than 50% of the time.


Also true. But the odds of that happening aren't very good. Tyranids have been moved over to the assaulty side of the equation, and havent been balanced since before 3e. Even with a zilla army, its the volume of high S shots that hurts, not the accuracy or great guns.


A Tyranid version of the Hellhound? Yeah I'd take that in a second. A big carnifex looking bug with a nozzle sticking up out of its back. It could work.