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I bought some Tyranids a while ago to use in skirmish games, and since I got two measly bases of Rippers to go with the Tyranid Warriors and Tyranid Gaunts boxes, I decided to base them individually. Recently I've been piling them on spare 40mm bases while proxying Tyranid armies, and it occurred to me that doing so was annoying. So I decided to write some rules for individually based Rippers 'based', as it were, on the idea that there are advantages and disadvantages to squeezing together into a swarm.

Ripper Broods
Pts2 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld5 Sv6+

Brood: A Ripper Brood consists of between 10 and 30 Rippers

Bioweapons: Teeth and claws (counts as close combat weapon)

Biomorphs: A Ripper Brood may have three Biomorphs from the following list
Adrenal Glands(+1WS) or Adrenal Glands(+1I)...1pt
Enhanced Senses(+1BS)...1pt
Extended Carapace(Sv5+)...1pt
Flesh Hooks or Spinefists...1pt
Scuttlers or Leaping or Winged...1pt
Toxin Sacs(+1S) or Feeder Tendrils...1pt

Special Rules: Small Targets, Without Number (+1 pt if 3pts apiece or less with Biomorphae).

And to complement that because, let's face it if moving 60+ Rippers is a hassle, then doing the same for Gaunts is too.

Any brood of Gaunts may form into swarms. Swarms of Gaunts are modeled on 60mm bases.

Pts12 WS4 BS2 S3 T3 W3 I3 A3 Ld10 Sv6+

Brood: A Gaunt Swarm consists of between 3 and 10 Gaunt bases

Bioweapons: Teeth and claws (counts as close combat weapon)

Biomorphs: A Gaunt Swarm may have three Biomorphs from the following list
Adrenal Glands(+1WS) or Adrenal Glands(+1I)...3pt
Enhanced Senses(+1BS)...3pt
Extended Carapace(Sv5+)...3pt
Flesh Hooks...3pt
Scuttlers or Leaping or Winged...3pt
Toxin Sacs(+1S)...2pt

Weapon Symbiote: A Gaunt Swarm may have one from the following list
Twin-linked Devourer...4/6pts
Twin-linked Fleshborer...3/6pts
Twin-linked Spinefist...2/4pts
2x Scything Talons...4/8pts

Special Rules: Fleet of Claw, Mindless, Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates

I don't like the sound of that idea mainly because you would be free to ignore instant death rules. mabye if you got rid of the synapse rule in regards to instant death? and then there should be no problems

I understand where you're coming from but something about S3 T3 for 2 pts just doesn't feel right. I also feel like it is just a way to ignore the vulnerable to template rule for no good reason. In other words, there is no disadvantage to taking them in this format and I don’t see why rippers are a really important unit that needs to be boosted in strength in the nid codex (other than making Nidzilla a more abusive list by making even cheaper troops.)

Aristotle, the Gaunt swarm being able to ignore Instant Death when within the Synapse distance is entirely intentional. The trade-offs for swarming certainly make up for the ability to occasionally ignore Instant Death, and the debility to triple damage on Gaunt units via the Instant Death rule.

Zargyboy: That S3 T3 does not have Fleet of Claw, takes more casualties from blast and template weapons than as a swarm, and simply reflects something that Rippers already have. So rather than ignoring the Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates rule it takes it a step further, and back to the usual effects.

Furthermore you may notice that I am not proposing to boost the strength of Rippers as a choice in Codex: Tyranids. I am proposing a treatment for individually based Rippers such as I currently have. The rules are simply adjusted to main the parity of aesthetic basing choices.