Getting the most out of - Pyrovores.

[Mr Mystery]

How do?

Thought I'd try something a little different on this one, and depending on how it goes, might make it an irregular series of similar articles.

What I'm trying to do is take an objective look at some of the more maligned units out there, starting with the humble Pyrovore. Now, I'd rather avoid any pointless snarky comments about 'just take X, hurr' because we all know the poor bugger struggles to find a place in people's lists.

To start off, lets have a butchers at its downsides. Well, first up, it's in the Elites section. In amongst far more roundedly useful Bugs (like Zoanthropes, Venomthropes, and of course the Haruspex). Then, for it's statline, it's price seems a wee bit on the high side. So overall, it's understandable it's not everyone's go-to bug of choice.

But that's being all negative and stuff, and worrying far too much about squeezing the absolute most out your list for competitive advantage. Fact is, it's quite a nice looking model, and it's not completely without it's uses.

Main weapon? Essentially a Heavy Flamer. Not too shabby. Heavy Flamers are pretty useful, once you get in range. S5, AP4, ignores cover - There's quite a lot to like about the humble Heavy Flamer. Traditional downside is the aforementioned 'once you get in range'. Not too bad on a tank or in a unit of other stuff. But when the entire squad has them? Bit trickier. I'd recommend using other bugs to screen them. Though due to the presence of it's Volatile rule, I'd stop short of actually putting it in amongst another unit - kind of just asking for trouble!

It also benefits from Acid Maw, and Acid Blood. And those to me, are the aces in the hole of this odd little creature. Lets look at Acid Maw first. Well, what can I say? S5, AP2 Melee weapon. That's pretty cool. But, only two attacks on the profile, and a max of three Pyrovores to a Brood. This prevents them from being a threat to largeish units.....or so you'd think You see, you also have the quite lovely Acid Blood.....

Yes folks, Acid Blood. Make your opponent pay for pulling all you legs off and beating you round the head with them! In short, for every unsaved wound you suffer during an Initiative step in combat, your opponents unit has to take an Initiative test. Fail it, and that's a S5, AP2 hit on them.... The potency of this is often overlooked because Pyrovores only have two wounds. But......that just means after you've suffered that second wound, you're removed from play. And models are removed from play at the end of each Initiative step....so you can actually force a lot more tests than your opponent might be expecting.

Can you see where I'm going with this? With careful target selection (a unit with the same I value throughout, and plenty of attacks) you can trick your opponent into doing horrendous damage. Consider a mob of 30 Orkses..... Why, they're all I2....and pretty decent in combat. You're almost certain to die. HURRAH! Get. Stuck. In. The more they slap you around, the more danger they're in!

Another prime target for selection would be something akin to Terminators. If they've all got Powerfist equivalents, your Acid Maw gets a crack at gribbling them first. And if that doesn't work (bloody Storm Shields), you get a second bite of the cherry by weeing acid all over them. Remember.....every Instant Death counts as doing wounds, and thus forces Acid Blood checks.

Is this an ideal tactic? Nope. Is fielding deliberate suicide units just what the doctor ordered for everyone? Nope. But, they are things to consider about the humble Pyrovore.

So that's my take on them. Over to yourselves now. Tell us any tricks you've found. And please. If you're just here to point out that the unit isn't all that and a bag of potato chips, save the wear and tear on your keyboard and not bother eh?

- - - Updated - - -

Also - No idea how that smiley got on the title....

[YorkNecromancer]

I always think of Pyrovores in terms of 'if this was a Space Marine...'

If a Pyrovore was in the Marine codex, it would be the equivelant of two Space Marine Scouts with a Heavy Flamer and Power Sword on a 60mm base, for the price of a Terminator. Only it can't scout, can't move through cover, and can't get in a dedicated transport.

Yeah, it ignores armour, but almost literally everything else can kill it in assault - even mediocre combat troops.
Yeah, it gets the acid blood - but that's a one-trick pony and not even an especially good one, because it involves the Pryovore dying too. A TH/SS Terminator costs the same points as these things, and they do equivelant damage while simultaneously being FAR more survivable.
Yeah, Heavy Flamers are great - but you'll never get in range to shoot them because an Imperial Guard squad can kill you with its flashlights!
And finally - your model costs twenty quid. Twenty quid! Five Marine Scouts cost fifteen!

So, I love that you're trying to look on the upside, I really do. And yes, the Pyrovore is better than it was in 5th, where it was an abject joke.

But the Pyrovore is still absolute turd. It's complete, unusable turd. It cannot be saved, because it's got a schizophrenic weapon loadout which is not backed up by its statline, it cannot survive to assault, and even if by some miracle it does, its only actual strategy is 'let them hit me until I die'.

It just sucks. It sucks the farts from a dead duck's colon.

[hyudun]

Promethium Relay Pipes. All of your Pyrovores near it now have Torrent and an optional 4+ save (even though it does have a chance of exploding).

Competitive? No clue - I don't play 'Nids, but it's gotta improve their value somewhat.

[daboarder]

leave it out, it is for all intents and purposes usless.

In fact without spores the pyrovore is even worse off now than it was last time.

It does not cover any role that cannot be done by spending 10 pts elswhere

[Mr Mystery]

Guys, I think you may have missed the point of this thread.

It's not about suddenly claiming Pyrovores are utterly ace, but providing hints and tips to those who wish to field them. And no, 'seek psychiatric help' is not suitable advice

[daboarder]

I'll put it this way Mystery.

In both Eels, and my tacticas for nids, we both basically agree that its hopeless. there is just no saving the rules for that thing. It is the worst rules set in the game.

[Mr Mystery]

Which....nobody is attempting to deny.

It's about looking at the positives, no matter how limited those may be.

[daboarder]

.....its a good paperweight?


Oh no, finecast, sorry my bad.

its a wonderful looking model but use it as a biovore if you have one and just want to see it on the table....or perhaps proxy it as a miasma cannon prime.....

[michael79]

How to get the most out of your Pyrovores... I like it! Here's some biomass for thought:

First: most 40k players think about nids backwards... multiplicity and damage output are want you want, NOT survivability so much. Strength in numbers is the game. If anybody says, "Well I'll just shoot my melta's at your pyrovores and kill them in one round" then they are forgetting that there are also likely two flyrants, an exocrine and a Trygon also coming their way, too. Just becasue of their "low priority" status, pyrovores will probably out-live a lot of other units in the nid army.

Second: I think what hurts the pyrovores the most is its SLOW speed and short range. Sure those heavy flamers are great, but you have to get in range to use them. So pyrovores might be best as defensive interceptor units... midtable support and control against aggressive lists might be the best way to go. If you really really really want to get them across the table and in your opponents face, I think a good option might be trygon tunnels with an aegis com-relay. Its a bit of a crap shoot, but with some luck, you can get a trygon tunnel forward on turn 2 and your squad of pyrovores in the opponents backfield on turn 3. The more Trygons and pyrovore units you have, the better your chances are, but that is quite a heavy investement.

Last thoughts: Some units are definitely NOT as bad as the internet makes them out to be. Most people's opinions are based on theorycrafting and not on actually playing with a squad of pyrovores. Give em a try (proxy them in if you don't want to pay the steed price) and see what happens. Also remember that using them just once is not a very good statistical sample to determine their actual value. Play a few games and try out different combos to get a more accurate feel for them.

[Mr Mystery]

That's a fair point. I tend to think of them as quite aggressive units - one to be hurled toward the enemy.

But used defensively, kept out of sight near bigger support bugs, they can pose a nasty surprise should anything non-MEQ attempt to overwhelm the big ones in combat. Quick bit of roasty toasty, and then hurl it into combat. Single Heavy Flamer turned on a tightly bunched unit of Orks for instance can reap a hefty tole.

Again, not what I think anyone could consider a prime choice unit, but there are uses for it.