Tyranids - Barbgaunts

Aha, the new light living artillery of the Tyranid Swarm. Though they are called "guants", these are a bit tougher than the smaller gaunts at Toughtness 4, a 4+ Save and 2 Wounds each.

They have a Barblauncher each with is Heavy and Blast. This means they get a +1 to Hit when remaining stationary and they get +1 shot for every 5 models in the target squad, rounding down.

The Barblauncher shoots D6 shots, at 24"(rifle range), hitting on 4+(or 3+ standing still), is Strength 5, AP 0 and Deals 1 damage each.

You field Barbgaunts in 5's or 10's but I think if a Hive commander is clever, he would field 2x5 instead of 1x10.

They are tough but not tough enough to field in big blobs. Their best defence is being unobtrusive while using, in my opinion their best value: their ability.

Ability

Disruption Bombardment

While it is good to kill opponents, but having a cheap way of controlling the battle is another thing entirely.

Barbgaunts only need to HIT a target to use this ability on one squad per squad of Barbgaunts. This is why 2x5 is better. If you split fire and hit two targets you can only Disrupt 1 target.

That target is at -2" Movement and -2 to their Advance and Charge rolls!

This is great for keeping some enemy units out of combat for a turn while the rest of your army kills off those that can move freely. It can also help strand units out in the open or prevent units from taking control of an objective!

A great target for Barbgaunts are heavy and slow infantry like Terminators. They already have M5" and now they have M3" and advance D6 -2. So the best you can roll is a 6-2 = 4 for a grand total of 7", minimum of 4".

But even against some other targets like Knights or fast units, this ability can turn the tide of the battle!

Thank you for reading this post! I hope that you enjoyed it!