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This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. The detachment rule, stratagems and enhancements below are taken from the free Tyranids Faction Pack version 1.2, the release that arrived with the 26 August 2026 balance update and is legal for matched play from that date; we re-checked this card against that PDF on 27 August 2026. The Detachment Point cost and enhancement points are not in the pack; those come from the official Munitorum Field Manual version 1.3, updated 26 August 2026. Points move with every update, so confirm them in the Warhammer 40,000 app before a game.
Friendly Deathleaper, Lictor and Neurolictor units have Deep Strike. Friendly Lictor and Neurolictor units' attacks that target a Character unit can re-roll Hit rolls of 1.
1CP. A Deathleaper, Lictor, Neurolictor or Von Ryan's Leapers unit selected to fight gets +1 Strength and +1 Armour Penetration on attacks that target a hidden unit.
1CP. One of those same ambusher units picks a visible enemy unit within 12"; that enemy gets +6" detection range.
1CP. Place one unengaged Deathleaper, Lictor or Neurolictor unit into Strategic Reserves so it can strike somewhere else.
Neurolictor, Lictor or Von Ryan's Leapers unit only. In your opponent's Movement phase, when an enemy unit ends a move within 8" of this unit, it can make a Normal move of up to D3+3".
Von Ryan's Leapers unit only. This unit has -3" detection range, so it stays hidden longer.
The premier character-hunter, and one of the three units the detachment rule grants Deep Strike.
See the box: price and offersDeep Strike plus the anti-Character Hit re-rolls, and a Counterpredation target.
See the box: price and offersThe same ambush benefits plus a debuff aura; the Faction Pack also added Synapse to its keywords.
See the box: price and offersNot covered by the detachment rule, but named in both stratagems and the only unit that can take Cryptophotaic Camouflage.
See the box: price and offersA monster core that has no easy answer to a hidden enemy character.
A horde core that scores well but needs a precision tool to remove enemy leaders.
A slow, grinding core that benefits from a fast ambush element striking behind the line.
How to play Ambush Predators — the 1-DP detachment that deep-strikes Deathleaper and Lictors to hunt and delete enemy characters.
Sprue Sentry strategy commentary for 11th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly; always confirm against the current official rules and latest update before a game.
Ambush Predators is a Tyranids assassination and ambush detachment at just 1 Detachment Point — a cheap package that deep-strikes Lictors, Neurolictors and Deathleaper to hunt enemy leaders. It reflects Warhammer 40,000 11th edition and is a natural support to bolt onto a 2-DP core.
This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. The rule, both enhancements and all three stratagems below are printed in full in the free Tyranids Faction Pack version 1.2, the release that arrived with the 26 August 2026 balance update and is legal for matched play from that date. We re-checked this page line by line against that PDF on 27 August 2026. The DP cost and enhancement points are not in that document, so confirm them in the Warhammer 40,000 app before a game.
Your Deathleaper, Lictor and Neurolictor units gain Deep Strike, and Lictor and Neurolictor attacks that target a Character unit re-roll Hit rolls of 1. The whole detachment is built to drop hidden infiltrators next to the enemy's key leaders and tear them apart — exactly what you want into buff-character armies like Space Marines.
Note the split: the detachment rule covers only those three units, but Von Ryan's Leapers are named in every stratagem and in both enhancements, so they are very much part of the plan even though they don't get Deep Strike from the rule.
All three cost 1CP and all three name Deathleaper, Lictors, Neurolictors and Von Ryan's Leapers:
There are only two, and they go on units rather than characters:
(Points move with dataslates; confirm them in the app.)
At 1 DP it's a support package, not a whole army. Bolt it onto a 2-DP core when you want a Deathleaper-and-Lictors assassination element to deep-strike in and delete enemy characters and support pieces — ideal into armies that lean on key buffing leaders. It also plays a disruptive, hidden-unit board-control game.
Sample gameplan: hold your Lictors, Neurolictors and Deathleaper in reserve. Manipulate detection — expose a target with Hypersensory Adaptations while keeping your own units hidden with Cryptophotaic Camouflage — then drop next to an enemy character. Use Mindhunger's re-rolls and Counterpredation's +1 S/AP to reliably wound and pierce armour, Encircling Horrors to reposition into a charge or block enemy moves, and Scanner Gheist to recycle a unit into Reserves after it strikes.
1 DP, making it a cheap support detachment. At a 2,000-point (3 DP) game it pairs with a 2-DP core like Invasion Fleet or Unending Swarm to add a character-hunting ambush element.
Mindhunger: your Deathleaper, Lictor and Neurolictor units gain Deep Strike, and Lictor and Neurolictor attacks that target a Character unit can re-roll Hit rolls of 1. It is built to ambush and delete enemy leaders.
Deathleaper as the premier character-hunter, Lictors and Neurolictors for the Deep Strike and anti-Character re-rolls, and Von Ryan's Leapers, which the detachment rule skips but every stratagem and both enhancements name.
Armies that rely on key buffing or support characters. It deep-strikes in and, with Counterpredation's +1 Strength and +1 Armour Penetration against hidden targets, reliably cuts through power armour to reach those leaders.
Written by Sprue Sentry, grounded in the cited sources. Original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.