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Lictors are not inheirently bad units, like a pyrovore, it's just that for just about everything they can do reliably, there is something else in the codex that can do it better and/or just as well without taking one of the coveted elite slots. You can certainly make them work, but most of their abilities are pretty situational, or require a fair amount of luck to work. I've used them in freindly games and games where we agreed to tailor armies to each other, but I would not feel comfortable taking them in an all-comers or tourney list. If you do take em, you need to take full broods, and if you can take 2 broods, you are better off to do so to have a better chance of getting a brood when you need it.

Luck should have nothing to do with it: Lictors are Fleet, and Move Through Cover, and have Stealth. You can confidently stick it out of sight and mind, and use the Lictor to start jumping units. They can make nice assassins, but they're better at picking fights thanks to their mobility and protection.

The Lictor is kind of interesting in that it's an assault unit, but it's just a first wave unit. It has Hit and Run and it needs to keep exiting combats so it can run down more units for the swarm. The Flesh Hooks are assault grenades (among other things) so no worries if prey is in cover, and no worries next turn when your Hormagaunts/Termagants/Gargoyles mob the unit that had been hiding in difficult terrain without suffering an Initiative penalty.

In this way they can also function as a fireman unit by which the Tyranid player can swap forces amongst close combats, and as a big nasty distraction alongside regular assault troops. Having some broods of Lictors running around playing mop-up in the end game is also pretty handy too.

SumYungGui wrote:Darth if all you've got is 'you're not good enough to understand why this unit is great, lurn2play' then we're done. Redo what you posted without any personal attacks and we can continue.

I don't get the 'personal attacks' bit here, it sounds like you're making a personal attack by insinuating that Darth is making a personal attack; redo what you posted so we can continue.

Also, he's got a point. Proper Lictor use requires a much higher level of strategy, tactics and unit synergy, from the list to the table, than a lot of people's armies are able to utilize. That doesn't make them bad players and I don't think anyone is saying that, but it DOES NOT make the Lictor a bad unit because it doesn't work in their list.

Lictors have been and always shall be your friend.

Glad to hear some sense from someone.

Oh, I forgot to mention some units.

The Doom of Malan'tai (Which confuses me utterly as to why people wouldn't take such a monster).

The Parasite of Mortrex (Ok, so, I haven't got him in any of my lists, but that's only because I don't often take Rippers).

Rippers/Sky-Slashers (No, I don't take these much either, but that's because I don't like swarms, as oppsed to not liking Rippers and Sky-Slashers in particular.

Squigsquasher wrote:
The Doom of Malan'tai (Which confuses me utterly as to why people wouldn't take such a monster).

Why is this confusiing? Like many units he's situational and not terribly reliable. He's 130 points in a pod, which is the only viable way of using him. If you're facing a completely mechanized force, he can't use his primary ability, spirit leech, until some of those cans get opened. Without having leeched his wound profile up to 8 or more wounds, he's not in a position himself to open those cans. Bad scatter upon arrival can neuter him effectively too. He has to get within 6" of multiple units on the drop in order to do his thing.

So with these caveats, it shouldn't be all that surprising that people would opt not to take him in one of their precious elite slots when hive guard offer more reliability and are more straightforward in their application.

Squigsquasher wrote:The Doom of Malan'tai

He *IS* nice, i personally don't like the price tag for what i get (you are pretty much forced to use him in a spod), and IMHO it takes a bit to 'build up steam' on the unit, and god-forbid your target makes cover/invuln saves. Then you are stuck with an Emo Zoan that'll bleed itself out before you can heal it.

Squigsquasher wrote:The Parasite of Mortrex

i LOVE the Parasite of Mortrex!!! I get a flying synapse creature that spawns D6 bases of cannon fodder half the time he kills someone, that comes free with instant death and rending. I join this bad boy with a brood of gargoyles, and fly them around to harrass the out of any outlying (or entrenched) enemy infanty.


i've been trying to get him, and three of the Critters in OP in a solid list for a bit now. with This list over here being my latest attempt

Im also noting that (and very sadly) the carnifexes are disappearing in the new nid players armys,I mean, in our local gw im the only one
who still fields carnifexes (much carnifexes ) not including a guy,who didn't saw for...euh... a year?
Its really sad,because they have much potential .

I agree with a lot of what you say except that I see people who use trygon primes, mawlocs and raveners.

well I use Ravengers and harpies and mawlaws, vemothropes in all my army.... that five up cover save is great, and ravenger with death spitters are nasty too, and the mawlaw is there for those turtle up guards units that cant move becuase there blocked by there own units....