How to Play Tyranids in Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition

The structural change is Detachment Points. In 10th edition you chose one detachment; in 11th you get a DP budget — roughly 2 DP at 1,000 points and 3 DP at 2,000 points — and spend it on detachments that each cost 1 to 3 DP, so you can now combine detachments.

The Faction Pack ported all nine Tyranid detachments into this system and set their DP costs: three at 1 DP (Ambush Predators, Talons of the Norn Queen, Warrior Bioform Onslaught), five at 2 DP (Crusher Stampede, Assimilation Swarm, Unending Swarm, Synaptic Nexus, Vanguard Onslaught), and one at 3 DP (Invasion Fleet, the flexible generalist). There's no full 11th-edition codex yet, so a future book could change things — but this is the current, live state.

Synapse is the backbone of a Tyranid army. Units within range of a friendly Synapse creature (Warriors, Tyranid Primes, big monsters, the Neurotyrant and friends) are steadier and deadlier — they pass Battle-shock far more reliably and hit harder in melee. Keep your synapse web intact and the swarm functions as one organism; let it collapse and your smaller bugs start to falter.

Shadow in the Warp turns your presence into a psychic weapon: it forces enemy Battle-shock tests, worse the closer they are to your Synapse. The 11th-edition twist is huge — because Battle-shock no longer clears automatically each turn, an enemy unit you shock can stay debuffed (halved Objective Control, no stratagems on it) for the rest of the game. Timing Shadow in the Warp to lock down a key enemy unit is now a real play.

Your DP budget scales with game size: about 2 DP at 1,000 points and 3 DP at 2,000 points. Costs:

• The 3-DP detachment (Invasion Fleet) fills your whole 2,000-point budget with one strong package.
• 2-DP detachments (Crusher Stampede, Assimilation Swarm, Unending Swarm, Synaptic Nexus, Vanguard Onslaught) leave 1 DP spare for a support.
• 1-DP detachments (Ambush Predators, Talons of the Norn Queen, Warrior Bioform Onslaught) are the glue — bolt one onto a 2-DP core to add ambushers, Norn support, or a durable Warrior battleline.

The new list-building question is "one big 3-DP detachment, or a 2 + 1 split?" A 2-DP core plus a 1-DP support gives you two detachment rules and two stratagem/enhancement lists to draw from.

Nine detachments are legal. By role, with DP costs:

• Invasion Fleet (3 DP) — the flexible all-comers generalist with a menu of Adaptations. Start here.
• Crusher Stampede (2 DP) — big monsters that grow more accurate and deadly as they take damage.
• Unending Swarm (2 DP) — a gaunt horde that keeps coming back for attrition play.
• Assimilation Swarm (2 DP) — Harvester regeneration that heals your monsters and units.
• Synaptic Nexus (2 DP) — leans into the Synapse network and its buffs.
• Vanguard Onslaught (2 DP) — fast, infiltrating vanguard bioforms for early board control.
• Ambush Predators (1 DP) — Deep-Striking Lictors and Neurolictors that hunt characters.
• Talons of the Norn Queen (1 DP) — flexible Norn-monster support.
• Warrior Bioform Onslaught (1 DP) — makes Tyranid Warriors a durable Battleline core.

Pick a core from your collection and playstyle:

• All-comers / unsure → Invasion Fleet. Big monsters → Crusher Stampede. Gaunt hordes → Unending Swarm. Monster-heavy durability → Assimilation Swarm. Fast infiltrators → Vanguard Onslaught.

If your core is a 2-DP detachment, spend the leftover DP on a 1-DP support:

• Ambush Predators to add character-hunting Lictors and ambush pressure.
• Warrior Bioform Onslaught to field a tough, synapse-carrying Warrior battleline.
• Talons of the Norn Queen if you run a Norn monster and want it more flexible.

A concrete example at 2,000 points: a Crusher Stampede 2-DP monster core + 1-DP Warrior Bioform Onslaught gives you a wall of big beasts plus a resilient Warrior spine that keeps your synapse web alive. (Invasion Fleet, at 3 DP, instead uses your whole budget as a single flexible package.)

Two habits win Tyranid games. First, protect your synapse web. Position Warriors, Primes and big synapse creatures so your smaller bugs stay in range; if the opponent snipes your synapse, the swarm's steadiness and melee bonus evaporate. Second, weaponise Battle-shock. Because shock now sticks, use Shadow in the Warp and shock-inflicting stratagems to lock a key enemy unit out of stratagems and objectives at the decisive moment, rather than spreading the effect thin.

And since 11th edition lets you run two detachments, remember you can use both detachments' stratagems — a 2 + 1 split widens your toolbox.

If you're new or returning, build an Invasion Fleet list first. Its Adaptation menu is forgiving, it teaches synapse positioning without extra sub-systems, and almost any Tyranid collection fits inside it. Once you're comfortable, try a 2 + 1 DP split to add a support detachment that suits your swarm.

Because Tyranids are still on a Faction Pack rather than a full 11th-edition codex, watch for a future codex that could re-tune detachments and points. Until then, everything here reflects the current, live rules.