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You may have looked at the title and thought "Wait Pyro, who the heck allies Grey Knights with Tyranids?" And normally you would be absolutely right! Though with the new 7th Edition rules, this is completely ok so long as you don't mind being allies 'Come the Apocalypse!'

...This list does not mind. If it helps your peace of mind, let me give you a quick background as to why I even built this list, and then why I think it is as scary as it is.

I created this list because I wanted to find a good use for Pyrovores *gasp!*
Let's face it, they pretty much suck. Or at least everything is better than them and you'd rather spend the points and slots on something else which does their job better than them; right? Great. Either way, I thought there was hope for them so I started pouring through the rules for the Pyro as well as any FAQ data I could find (sadly, and thankfully there didn't turn out to be anything in either the 6th or 7th edition FAQ data on the Pyrovore! yay!)

Let's talk a bit about the rules before I get to the actual list. The main thing that caught my eye while reading and re-reading the Pyrovore was it's 'Volatile' ability. The rest was kind of meh; it has a nice heavy flamer, but no way to get it there. I couldn't think of a way to get it close fast, so that was out. It has a decent melee weapon with that Acid Maw, but again, no reliable way to get it there. But then I read volatile: (page 51) "If a Pyrovore is slain by a Wound that inflicted Instant Death, every unit suffers a Strength 3 AP - hit for each model (excluding Pyrovores) within D6" of the slain Pyrovore (resolve damage before removing the Pyrovore as a casualty.)"

Did you catch that? It says Every Unit suffers hits. Not just enemy units, not just units within some range, but EVERY UNIT friend or foe.

That couldn't be right. I looked through the rules again; read them a third time. Then I checked the 7th Edition FAQ. Then I checked the 6th Edition FAQ (just out of curiosity). Nowhere does it mention any change to the Pyrovore's Volatile ability. If a Pyrovore blows up from a Strength 8 or higher hit, all units on the field are taking hits!

Holy crap! I've gotta pile tons of cheap things like Termagaunts around this guy to maximize the number of hits that everything takes! But wait... that would mean that someone would have to willingly single out my stupid Pyrovore with something Melta or bigger instead of taking the easier route of hitting it with bolter fire.

Dang.

Or maybe... maybe I can kill it myself! Sadly (dripping with sarcasm there) GW will not allow you to attack your own units, probably because you could do silly things with that.
...Except there was this one guy who can attack his own units. Inquisitor Karamazov! I know! I'll ally him with the Nids and shoot at that Pyrovore with S10 orbital strikes!
Reading Karamazov's ability "By Any Means Necessary" states: (page 46) "When Karamazov's orbital strike relay is 'fired', you can choose to place the template so its centre is over a friendly model, rather than an enemy - even if that friendly model is in combat. If you do so, the shot does not scatter. All models under the template are hit as normal."

Cool! So I can shoot at my own friendlies! Alas, being allies 'Come the Apocolypse' specifically states that models "...treat each other as 'enemy units' that cannot be charged, shot at, attacked in close combat, or target with psychic powers, and cannot move within 1" of an allies of convenience model." So no shooting directly with an orbital strike...

...but, what If I just walk another GK close enough that the blast also ends up being over the Pyrovore?

And this is where the list comes in:

Main
1x Inquisitor Karamazov (HQ - 200pts)
2x (5 man) GK Strike Squad (Troops - 200pts, held in reserve for DS)
-One squad comes with a Psycannon (10pts)
1x (12 man) Warrior Acolyte squad (Elite - 48pts, meant to maximize Pyrovore potential)

Allies
1x Deathleaper (HQ - 130pts, held in reserve for DS)
1x 30 man Termagaunt squad (Troops - 120pts, piled as close around the Pyrovore while still allowing an Acolyte to get within 1")
1x Pyrovore (Elite - 40pts)

Note
I considered running a smaller bunch of Acoyltes, but couldn't think of what better to spend the points on. Maybe take one less Acolyte for one more psycannon in the other strike squad? Or for every two Acolytes you drop you get another Strike Squad model? If I fielded half as many Acolytes, I could run 6 man Strike Squads with psycannons. Either way, not sure yet.


Here's how it works:

Deploy
1. Leave your strike squads and Deathleaper off the field. No sense in them getting blown up early; they get to be the mop-up crew.
2. Deploy Karamazov out of line of sight. No need to present a target for your enemy if they get to go first.
3. Deploy your Pyrovore as far back as possible, surrounded on three sides by Gaunts. Pile those guys in as close as possible, leaving only enough room to get a GK Acolyte in there.
4. Deploy your Acolytes 12" away from your Pyrovore, because you have to. Come the Apocalypse rules say so.

Turn 1
1. Don't roll a 1 when checking for "One Eye Open." If you fail your Instinctive Behavior rolls, who cares. Move your Pyrovore and all the Gaunts 6" closer to the Acolytes.
2. Move your Acolytes 5" closer to the Pyrovore. You really only need one Acolyte up close and personal, because in the shooting phase, when you target your Acolyte that is 1" away from the Pyrovore, that small blast will just hit it.
3. Roll high on your Volatile d6, and watch as Every Unit on the map takes somewhere between 5 - 42 Strength 3 AP - hits! Sure it'll kill your Gaunts. Sure it'll kill your Acolytes, but Karamazov with his T5, W4, and 2+ save will probably be just fine. As for everything else on the field, that's an average of 23 hits per unit!

[b]Consecutive Turns/b]
1. DS your strike squads, using the psycannon to take on big targets that survived the initial blast; DS your Deathleaper using him to mop up whatever he wants.
2. Walk around with Karamazov to mop up, or just keep firing your orbital strikes on things.
3. Cap a few points with Strike Squads.

It's a silly list. It's a stupid list. It's a fun list. But the rules are RAW, and if any of the Inquisitors were going to walk onto the field with a Pyrovore on a leash, it would be Karamazov.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

It's amusing for sure. I think you'll find that the damage won't be much unless you're playing against tyranids or orks on foot. All vehicles will survive and anything with decent save and toughness will shrug it off. It's one of those things that would be fun to do once against an opponent that it would actually hurt... then reset and play a real game.

It's one of those things that would be fun to do once against an opponent that it would actually hurt... then reset and play a real game.

That's really the point of it. Strength 3 will really only hurt Guard, Tyranid, Ork or Tau infantry, and even then they get saves. Mainly, it was a silly idea to actually get some use out of the Pyrovore, haha

Surely it the meaning of that rule is basically 'Your gaunt squad will take a hit for every model within D6 inches of the pyrovore' and every other unit that is within D6 inches of that pyrovore will suffer likewise...

I don't think it means that the pyrovore goes up like a nuclear missile wiping all infantry units off the map lol

Well, then it should have been worded properly.

Should Helldrakes be able to vector strike with the tip of their wing? No, but the rules say they can....

Sometimes what should be, and what are, are completely different.

Surely it the meaning of that rule is basically 'Your gaunt squad will take a hit for every model within D6 inches of the pyrovore' and every other unit that is within D6 inches of that pyrovore will suffer likewise...

Probably something along those lines, but like Roxor8 said, it should have been worded properly; especially after FAQs with the same rules on a model. Also, this isn't just one of those "well I suppose you could take it in that light..." sort of things, like the whole "The rules say this counts as a jump infantry for movement, so I should be able to embark my Dreadknight in a transport!" bull, this is just following the wording as written and un-FAQ'd

If you say so, I'm surprised so many people seem to think it isn't obvious to be honest, I seem to be in the minority! Although to be fair I haven't seen the exact wording of the rules.

edit: nvm