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Ok this is an unashamed attempt to give Nids decent AA.


A Flying Monsterous creature may elect to fore go shooting to assualt a Flyer.

In order to do this you must declare you are attempting to assualt the flyer in your movement phase. Move into base to base contact with the flyer. Note all other restrictions apply to the movement of the FMC's.

In the assualt phase, resolve the attacks as you would against a normal vehicle with the following exception.

The FMC must first pass an initiative test, if this is passed the unit assualts as normal, if it fails the FMC has failed to attach it self to the Flyer and can't assualt ( move bases apart so units are 1" apart)

Close combat attacks are resolved as normal against the vehicles side armour.

Note. A FMC may not Vector Strike in the same turn it elects to perform an Aerial Assualt

Sounds fair enough, but what is the initiative of a flyer ?

What ever their initiative is on the profile, YMV per Flyer.

But flyers dont have an initiative on their profile - they are vehicles....

He is talking about fmc I thought they did. I think all flyers should have ram.
Like with tanks.

Well in the original post it says; 'The flyer must first pass an initiative test' Flyer = vehicle - easily misunderstood, thanks for pointing it out, my bad

Flyers with Ram ? get the Caestus Assault ram ? a normal flyer with ram would destroy both of the flyers involved in fluff and rules.
I think orks could pull it off though haha

Good spot Warp Angel, I've now changed that to FMC.

Any comments on the rules balance wise, would it work in terms of gameplay etc?

Use it as a vector strike

wargey wrote:
Use it as a vector strike

Care to elaborate?

The wey it would work

wargey wrote:
The wey it would work

They wasn't really an elaboration, care to explain what you mean?

I think a simpler fix would be to modify Vector Strike for FMCs rather than add something new. How about this:

"When a flying monstrous creature performs a vector strike, they hit using their strength + 1 rather than S7."

Lets you take more advantage of S upgrades while also being significantly cleaner rules-wise.

Only helldrake a vector at 7 currently, this would mean Nids do it at 7 and dp's at 6 I believe. So still not exactly providing a great solution to anti air.

Or, y'know, just let Skyfire Blasts hit Flyers/FMC but not ground targets. Like when you fire at ruins you can only hit one level? Idea. But Templates cannot hit fires because they are moving too fast.

I read this idea elsewhere, but perhaps kamikaze gargoyles would be cool? You crash gargoyles into a flyer, representing the flyer colliding with them. You lose a bunch, and cause a certain number of hits that are S4 rending or something similar.

Another way to do it is do what Tyranids would realistically do to counter flyers: passive abilities that damage the flyers before the reach the battlefield. After all, Tyranids interfere with a planet's atmosphere and the like:

-A warlord trait that gives enemy flyers and non-Tyranid FMCs -2 to reserve rolls("Turbulent Storm" or something like it)

-Special skyfired spore mines that hit flyers? Possibly can be fired from a Biovore, or bought as normal? ("Sky Spores")

-A Warlord trait or perhaps unit ability that has enemy flyers arriving from reserve have a chance of losing a hull point automatically("Acidifying Atmosphere")

-Some sort of tentacled, floating spore creature, that lashes out with its scythes at passing flyers within a radius for massive damage, and can fire the smaller sky spores

Just brainstorming, really.

 Larmsword wrote:
I read this idea elsewhere, but perhaps kamikaze gargoyles would be cool? You crash gargoyles into a flyer, representing the flyer colliding with them. You lose a bunch, and cause a certain number of hits that are S4 rending or something similar.

Another way to do it is do what Tyranids would realistically do to counter flyers: passive abilities that damage the flyers before the reach the battlefield. After all, Tyranids interfere with a planet's atmosphere and the like:

-A warlord trait that gives enemy flyers and non-Tyranid FMCs -2 to reserve rolls("Turbulent Storm" or something like it)

-Special skyfired spore mines that hit flyers? Possibly can be fired from a Biovore, or bought as normal? ("Sky Spores")

-A Warlord trait or perhaps unit ability that has enemy flyers arriving from reserve have a chance of losing a hull point automatically("Acidifying Atmosphere")

-Some sort of tentacled, floating spore creature, that lashes out with its scythes at passing flyers within a radius for massive damage, and can fire the smaller sky spores

Just brainstorming, really.

I see where you are coming from and its a cool idea, but whilst I was proposing this to help out my Nids, I did also want to make it a universal ability. I just think the most realistic way a Flying Monster is going to try to take down an aircraft, would be jump on to its back and tear chunks out of it.