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Nobody, that’s who!

Which is a shame because from a fluff perspective they are really a
fun model. I had an idea for a new rule set for Rippers that would
make them a more viable option. Here is what I was thinking:

EDIT: My orignial post seems OP, I think dropping rending and FNP might be a little more inline with the point costs.

Stat line: WS 2 BS 0 S 2 T 2 W 6 I 2 A 6 Ld 10 Sv +6
Unit type: Infantry
Cost: 16 points per unit (use medium base)
Brood size: 3 to 10 units

Weapons: Tiny teeth and claws

Special rules:

A sea of teeth and claws: Ripper attacks count as rending and rippers count as having frag grenades.

Swarm (universal rule)

Fleet of Claw (universal rule)

Move though cover (universal rule)

They just keep coming!: Rippers count as having Regeneration and have
the following universal rules: Eternal Warrior and Feel No Pain.

Mindless: Unit has the Rage and Fearless universal rule. If Rippers
fail their instinctive behavior the unit suffers 2D6 wounds.

Biomorphs:

Tunneling Rippers: For an additional 5 points per unit a brood can
gain deep strike.
Winged Ripper: For an additional 10 points per unit a brood acts as if
it were where jump infantry. Also winged Rippers do not have an amour
saves (They have thinner carapaces to save on weight)

Fluff justifications:

A sea of teeth and claws: This takes into account that when Rippers
attack there are so many of them that one is bound to find a chink in
even the most armored foes (or a small some opening in a vehicle to
attack the crew.) The frag grenades is to show that taking cover would not help much as they would just swarm over it.

Swarm: Rippers travel in swarms.

Fleet of Claw: Rippers are fast

Move though cover: Rippers are small

They just keep coming!: These rules are to reflect the idea of an
endless mass of rippers. Regeneration: Though the rippers are not actually regenerating this is
to show that endless nature of a ripper swarm. Feel no Pain is there
because rippers are mindless eating machines that have two settings
“eating” and “dead.” Eternal Warrior is to show the ripper base is a
swarm and not a model with many wounds. If a lascannon shot hits a
ripper you have got one dead ripper, but the swarm is still there.

Mindless: Rage just make since for rippers and I gave rippers a high
leadership skill because there minds are so simple that there
instinctive behavior is sufficient to keep them operating and their
minds are so simple that that psychic attacks simply go unnoticed. As
for the wounds suffered if instinctive behavior test are failed. This
is because ripper brains are more like remote control units then a
functioning brain that perform on it’s own. If a rippers is not in
contact with the hive mind through a synapse creature there is chance
its brain functions will just cease.

How to use the new rippers in the game:

Rippers are not really meant to be a killing unit as much as tar pits
to guard flanks, protect monstrous creatures and tie up enemies in
close combat so they cannot shoot.

I kinda like it...

Alright so I can now never lose as tyranids. Maximize Trygons, Tervigons, and Rippers. Infinite scoring troops, decent antitank, rippers are the best CC units in the game...

6W@Eternal Warrior means that even rerolling to hit on 3+/2+ gives you only 89 out of 100 attacks wounding. 15 of those save. You need almost 100 attacks at maximum chance to hit/wound just to kill 12 bases. ALWAYS.

If that wasn't bad enough, double it if they're not power weapons.


On the charge, for 192 points, I get 84 attacks. MEQ, 42 hits, 7 dead meq. I lose nothing in return. Against 5 termies with hammers, I get 2 dead termies and lose 1 model in return assuming best rolling available by termies. Against 5 incubi, I lose 2 models assuming best rolling, and then kill all 5.

That's right. For less points than one of the best dedicated CC units in the game, you kill them, and you can kill all of the things that kill them.

The only thing rippers have to worry about is AV12 or better. Ever.

Hmm, all the numbers I was running was for smaller squads. I can see the problem. What I dropped rending and feel no pain and kept the cost the same? And made the max squad size 6?

Eh, I'd say squad 10, drop the Rending in favour of Toxin Sacs as base, points at 14. This gives you a squad that ignores metallic things while slowly munching on the digested remains of.... everything else >

Does a swarm with eternal warrior take double wound from blast weapons still? I read the rules a couple of times, they could be interpreted to be contradictory to each other.

What? I don't see where you're getting that from. Please re-read Eternal Warrior and tell me what parts of it you think contradict.The Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates makes no mention of Instant Death or Eternal Warrior, so there should be no conflicts.

I think that the only problem is if your giving rippers eternal warrior 6 wounds a base might be a bit steep, maybe go 4-5. but i agree rending and FNP are a little too good on them for their points cost. possibly put toxin sacs as a biomorph? otherwise i would get on board with these little guys, but as posted above currently they would destroy things in cc as 6 w and eternal warrior is a little crazy.

Dear god, this is screwy.

"Paladins? NOM NOM NOM OM NOM OM NOM!"

"Long Fangs? NOM OM NOM OM NOM NOM NOM!"

"Guard Platoon? MON MO MON MO MON MON MON!"

not necessarily destroy...
Just lots of fights that go nowhere forever

That is sort of idea of a super tar pit unit. It seems to fit with what rippers are suppose to be. Think of it like ants. If you have an ant infestation you need to either kill the queen (or in this case take out the local synapse creatures (I think maybe a leadership of 8 would be better than 10), or you use bug spray (or in 40k flamers and frag rounds)

I'd honestly have them Ld5, with Feed as instinctive. At ~14PPM with Toxin, W4 A5, I think they would support their role very powerfully.

I use them.

Deadshot wrote:I use them.

Same. They aren't that useful, but I like the look of them, so why not, right?

So, a blast from a Vindicator shouldn't wipe them out either?

Get rid of Eternal Warrior.

I used ripper swarms, 1 or 2 squads of 5. They were really fun to use. They're a popcorn unit. You let the enemy eat them while more pertinent threats get things done.

@Crazyterran Why should an explosion kill a literal tide of flesh, controlled by the undeniable will of the Hivemind? They absorb it and move on. Rippers are used to literally carpet planets and suck up every tidbit of organic molecule, to be transported into space via giant mouth-vacuums. It doesn't need to make sense.

Their wounds come from numbers.and a blast can.kill lots.

If a blast hits an area, and lots of little rippers are in that area, they should all get hit. playing with 1/2" bases is just too annoying to play with each ripper modeled individual.

I would actually like to see rippers have eternal warrior, 1 lass cannon should not kill small swarm. Rending makes them a bit spooky and a possibly effective tar pit. However 6 wounds is a bit much especially with eternal warrior, I'd drop it back to the regular 3 wounds, it would still be plenty tough but kill able and really squishy to a blast.

Also a boosted ripper would make the parasite way more fun

I don't think they should have eternal warrior. Maybe against non templates but even that is a stretch for me.

It only protects them from instant death so stacking wounds is still effective essentially it keeps one power fist from destroying a small swarm, which makes sense.

No, it makes for a good aweful tarpit. As bad as Nurglings, but with rending. A powerfist or Thunder hammer or Relic blade would slash through multiple rippers at a time.

I think you should put 4 wounds on each but chrisrawr said (i think) eternal warrior would represent individual creatures rather than a single organism being vaporized so they should have it. poison sacs would be fairer than rending because then they could take out pretty much any infantry model. 14 points... i don't know because 'cron scarabs are very similar and just destroy tanks even small squads! 13 seems more digestible than 14 compared to scarabs.