RUMORS: New Tyranids Swarmlord & Hive Tyrant 40k Rules!

By Travis Pasch | February 8th, 2022 | Categories: rules, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tyranids, Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Community

New rules datasheets for the Tyranids 40k Swarmlord and Hive Tyrant have been spotted- check out what they can do in 9th Edition now!

Obviously, these are rumors and sometimes these types of datasheets can be wrong, but still, it gives a great idea of how the units will be changing. So, let’s first check out what other rumors we’ve seen for new models coming for the Nids, then get into the rules.

Games Workshop Teases Tyranids Next 40k Codex After Eldar

Here is what Games Workshop has said about the upcoming Tyranids Codex release, along with the latest rumors because there isn’t much to go on yet from GW…

This isn’t just an exciting time for Aeldari, but for all Warhammer 40,000 xenos players – after the craftworlds touch down, there’s something gribbly and chitinous coming. We don’t want to say too much right now, but there are lots of them, they’ve come a long way, and they’re VERY hungry. For biomass. Okay, you forced it out of us – it’s the Tyranids.

And that was pretty much all they said. However, it was more than enough for us to dig up these old Tyranids rumors below.

Plus don’t forget to check out all the new Tyranids Crusher Stampede rules they just got as well by clicking here.

New Tyranid Model Rumors

Now, let’s check out the pics that could easily be a new giant bug!

That is a clear Tryanid model! With a very large tail, and wings, maybe the Flying Tyrant is getting an update? Either way, it looks huge!

For a split second, you can also see what appears to be a tentacle-like appendage from higher on the model. Plus from the side what may be the torso is clearly visible before the model spins revealing a wing.

While this probably is for the gargantuan creature, that doesn’t mean we won’t see a new Biovore kit as well. Plus, we’ve also seen other Rumor Engines from not that long ago that point at other new Nids.

New Tyranids or Nurgle: GW Rumor Engine

This new bit is clearly some Insectoid/Exoskeleton thing, but what faction does it match? There are only really two options, Maggotkin, because we know their update is coming and they do use a few flies and such. Second Tyranids, do need some model releases, whether that be updates or new ones and they have exoskeletons on pretty much all of their models.

While Tyranids do look like a possibility, they are much more alien than insectoid, which somewhat makes us lean more towards Maggotkin or even a one-off Warband model for a specialist game.

That being said, it could definitely still be Tyranids, with so many out-of-date models, a slight design tweak and updated look could go miles for the Xenos faction as they could definitely use the love.

Well, we’ve already taken a guess at this one. It just looks too much like a Tyranid tail for us to think much further. Just the tantalizing idea of new Tyranid minis seems to be scrambling our brains. While it could always be something else, it just looks too alien for many other factions. They also mention it could be man-made by more advanced humans.

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Could they be unveiling a new line of beings behind the Hive-Mind? Probably not, but hey it’s a rumor engine so why not speculate?

While it’s not identical to the Venomthropes tentacles, it does have a very similar look with the bend in it before it gets to the spikey bits (like what we did there…). We would also hope they actually update the minis if they’re getting new stuff, so it shouldn’t be identical. This isn’t the only candidate, however.

The Tyranid Harpy also has a very similar-looking tail. With just a couple of tweaks, we could see this being on here as well. But, it’s not as likely because the tail doesn’t seem beefy enough to match the size of this one. That brings us to one of the most hated Tyranid units to actually build and play with…

While it’s not identical, it could also be an updated Gargoyle kit. They are more than do for some better models that aren’t the most finicky thing on the planet! Lastly, it could be an update to a very core unit. Now, let’s jump into the Swarmlord first, then check out the Hive Tyrant rules.

RUMORS: New Tyranids 40k Swarmlord Rules Spotted!

Old Rules

New rules spotted on social sites.

First up, its base stats are getting much better. With more Wounds, Attacks, better Save, and more Toughness. So right off the bat, we’re pretty excited. Then, it gains an additional AP. Still, there’s plenty we don’t know:

Special Rules?
Weapon Rules, do you get Mortals Still?
Is the Tail attack gone for good? It would be fine with the additional attacks already built-in.
Psyker traits?

The sheet doesn’t show too much, but it’s looking good. Now, let’s check out the Hive Tyrant rules.

Hive Tyrant Rules

Old Rules

New Rules

Attacks, BS, and Strength are all increased in the new sheet, so again, some decent buffs. It looks like they are really trying to increase the power of the big bugs, which makes us excited for how everything will shape up. Let’s check out the weapon changes:

Heavy Venom Cannon: Set at 3 attacks, no longer D3 so way stronger as well as -3 AP, we can’t see the damage but hope it stays the same or improves.
Stranglethorn Cannon: D3+3 (decreases variance) along with better Strength and more AP. So quite a large buff right off the bat.
Bonesword: Now gives an additional +3 Strength instead of the user along with 2 more AP. Much stronger now.
Monstrous Rending Claws: Strength still user still-3.

What We Don’t Know:

Special Rules?
Weapon Rules? Do you get mortals and extra attacks?
What other wargear options will you have?
Psyker traits?

Either way, exciting times are on the way for Tyranids along with rules and models via all the latest rumors and reveals.

Here’s all the latest on the upcoming rules updates and points changes for Warhammer 40k.

All the Newest GW Model & Rules Previews For 2022

What do you think of the new Tyranids rules and model rumors so far?

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