So now that we have covered the basic troops and HQs, we want to take a look at our elite section. This used to be the most hotly contested section for our codex in 5th. Due to several characters moving to different slots of being removed all together, this is not so difficultly filled any more.
Lets start with the pyrovore. I mentioned in the last section that rippers weren't the worst thing we have. THESE GUYS ARE! These guys are just bad. If you want flamers, pay for thorax swarm templates. Cheaper than the pyrovore and it leave the slot open for other elites. Pyrovores are really only good against orks or other nids anyway. His acid maw attack is good except you trade all attacks for it. Just not so great.
Next is the lictor. Now I love what these guys are, their fluff, and pretty much everything except for their rules. Don't misunderstand me though. They have their uses. They don't scatter when they deepstrike and if you infiltrate them they are beacons for anything else coming in. They are also great for shooting tanks in their back armor. A local guy just enlightened me to an interesting strategy. Lictor infiltrates or deepstrikes in area terrain. He gets shot so go to ground. You will have a 2+ cover save. Next turn move a flying tyrant into synapse with the Lictor, Lictor automatically stands up and acts as normal. A bit shinaniginny but kinda cool. I haven't used it yet but I plan to try it.
Overall they aren't terrible but are outshined by the other options.
Next we have the hiveguard. These are still our go-to light vehicle hunters. They now have an option for haywire but lose their ignores cover weapon. Use them to snipe vehicles especially those with jink saves. I usually bring one unit to deal with vehicles but they aren't auto bring.
Venomthropes have a new value. They lost the defensive grenade and passive miasma damage and now are lurk. What they did gain is they grant shrouded. This is huge giving them a 3+ in most cover and even MCs will gain that now. Great defensive unit. I bring a unit in medium to large games. I have strung out a unit into a ruin while guarding my tervigon from a charge. Because wounds are taken on the closest model, the ones in the ruins got the 2+ cover.
Next is the zoanthropes. These have always been useful if not necessary. They still kill both tanks and heavy infantry, but now can be a support as well with the extra power they get. Being synapse is invaluable and Brotherhood of psykers is a double edged sword but these guys still pull their weight. I always bring them before any other elite option. Most certainly our best ranged anti-vehicle.
Haruspex, the new bug. It's ok as a MC mele destroyer,but that function can be fulfilled by any other MC. The advantage this bug has is its elite, opening up the now more coveted heavy slots. His ranged shot is cool but not the most useful thing and he is gonna be a beast in H2H, only killable by Ranged shots or heavy terminator equivalents. Overall he is meh and I would rather the points and slot be given to a different unit.
Lets start with the pyrovore. I mentioned in the last section that rippers weren't the worst thing we have. THESE GUYS ARE! These guys are just bad. If you want flamers, pay for thorax swarm templates. Cheaper than the pyrovore and it leave the slot open for other elites. Pyrovores are really only good against orks or other nids anyway. His acid maw attack is good except you trade all attacks for it. Just not so great.
Next is the lictor. Now I love what these guys are, their fluff, and pretty much everything except for their rules. Don't misunderstand me though. They have their uses. They don't scatter when they deepstrike and if you infiltrate them they are beacons for anything else coming in. They are also great for shooting tanks in their back armor. A local guy just enlightened me to an interesting strategy. Lictor infiltrates or deepstrikes in area terrain. He gets shot so go to ground. You will have a 2+ cover save. Next turn move a flying tyrant into synapse with the Lictor, Lictor automatically stands up and acts as normal. A bit shinaniginny but kinda cool. I haven't used it yet but I plan to try it.
Overall they aren't terrible but are outshined by the other options.
Next we have the hiveguard. These are still our go-to light vehicle hunters. They now have an option for haywire but lose their ignores cover weapon. Use them to snipe vehicles especially those with jink saves. I usually bring one unit to deal with vehicles but they aren't auto bring.
Venomthropes have a new value. They lost the defensive grenade and passive miasma damage and now are lurk. What they did gain is they grant shrouded. This is huge giving them a 3+ in most cover and even MCs will gain that now. Great defensive unit. I bring a unit in medium to large games. I have strung out a unit into a ruin while guarding my tervigon from a charge. Because wounds are taken on the closest model, the ones in the ruins got the 2+ cover.
Next is the zoanthropes. These have always been useful if not necessary. They still kill both tanks and heavy infantry, but now can be a support as well with the extra power they get. Being synapse is invaluable and Brotherhood of psykers is a double edged sword but these guys still pull their weight. I always bring them before any other elite option. Most certainly our best ranged anti-vehicle.
Haruspex, the new bug. It's ok as a MC mele destroyer,but that function can be fulfilled by any other MC. The advantage this bug has is its elite, opening up the now more coveted heavy slots. His ranged shot is cool but not the most useful thing and he is gonna be a beast in H2H, only killable by Ranged shots or heavy terminator equivalents. Overall he is meh and I would rather the points and slot be given to a different unit.
These are our elite options and they aren't bad. There are no autopicks (except maybe the zoanthropes) so you can cater to your own strategies. I like the flexibility and I have seen all the options used successfully except for the pyrovore. The biggest downside to these are low model count with the non-MCs. And these units cannot be split like marines so you have to think about where you want them focused. Look for the next section and feel free to add any extra points in the comments!
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