Biovores: Worth it?

[The Madman]

Simple question to Tyranid players; are Biovores worth investing in? the reason I ask is that I’ve noticed that the Biovores are £25.00 and come on a 60mm while a Pyrovore is £22.50 and comes on a 60mm also.

I already have 30 + spore mines from previous editions so I was thinking on buying the Pyrovores (with their awesome model and all) and fielding them as Biovores with a few alterations to the model to make it more biovore-y (open up the gun barrel, make the sack more squishy and remove the bloated sack from underneath it’s head).

[alshrive]

i personally prefer the biovore model and would just pay the couple of extra quid to save time, although i am sure a pyrovore could be converted into a very nice biovore with a bit of work....

[Dlatrex]

If you're asking about their effectiveness on the table-top it of course depends on what direction you're taking your army. Huge range and barrage weapon are balanced by low strength and moderate AP value. And like any good artillery piece, the bivore will fold quickly if directly confronted by...well, anything.

Against low armor targets the bivore is wonderful: you will usually deny cover with large blasts and tear through units of Orks or Guard. That said, if you fill up your heavy support with monstrous creatures you probably won't have room for the bivore even if they are very cheap (points wise).

I think using a pyrovore would be stellar!

[Mr Mystery]

In tactical terms, they have different levels of use against different armies.

Take IG. Typically, they have lots of low resilience scoring units. Biovores here can happily seed any objective with enough mines to make it a lot less desireable to your opponent. They really pay off in this sort of scenario.

Against high reslience armies, they aren't useless, but they aren't likely to make a massive impact.

[Anggul]

For only 135pts, a trio of Biovores is excellent. People have mentioned that Guard and Orks take a beating from them, along with other Tyranids, but let's just take a look at a Necron Warrior shall we? Yes, yes that's right. They really, really don't like Biovores.

Even against 3+ saves, the sheer amount of S4 hits you're landing on a squad for only 105pts and with very little retaliation due to range means you are easily going to make up your points spent. Three large blasts will get plenty of kills over the game even against Marines and Immortals, and you might even get some Pinning if the dice go your way. Also the possibility of having a Spore Mine floating around even if you miss is just another added bonus.

[The Madman]

yeah i was asking for it's tactical value on the TT, and it sounds pretty good. think i will invest in some. thanks for the advice gents.

[AdamHarry]

Look at the Biomancy powers, specifically enfeeble.

If you can manage to nail a unit with enfeeble once or twice, and drop their toughness down to 2-3, suddenly biovores become much more deadly. Check out the wound allocation rules for Barrage weapons as well.

[Tynskel]

I like Biovores. A squad of 3 can really make someone annoyed!

[DarkLink]

Barrage sniping is a nice boost as well. Drop all three templates on the squad leader's head, and you'll likely cause enough wounds to force at least one failed save, which very well can go on the character, or on a special weapon.

[KrewL RaiN]

I totally looked over Biovores, as 5th ed left me rather bitter. Everyone just hid in their tin cans, making them and a lot of things bloody useless.

I had no idea what the new barrage rules did either and if you can do that, then omg! Looks like I have to convert some up now... as much as I would love to convert 3 Pyrovores (I love that model so much), I just can't afford to do that and have to penny pinch it. I don't think many people would let me play with my 2nd ed/3rd ed ones. Enfeeble just keeps getting sexier too lol. That power just combos too good with a lot of the Tyranid stuff.

I am still struggling to stay positive with my Tyranids, but some things have gotten a bit better while other things still are rather meh.