Alien Hives Tactics

Alien Hives
Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future, Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Alien
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Alien Hives

Alien Hives rules embody the prototypical scifi horror monsters; either big monsters or endless all-consuming swarms, rampaging through the field or emerging from the rear where least expected. In game terms, you're looking at an aggressive play style, with a lot of melee focused units and somewhat limited ranged options. Ideally your force should strike a balance between monsters and horde as well as including some ranged support. Otherwise, you'll be left vulnerable to units with blast, deadly and aircraft respectively...

Pros:

• A variety of options for both hordes and super tough monsters
• Strong melee units supported by either Fast or Ambush rules.
• Powerful Psychic Spells granting Regeneration, -2 to enemy Morale Tests and even move terrain!
• Alien Hives are able to put out extra units during the game, giving you more activations.

Cons:

• Limited Ranged Options. Alien Hives aren't terrible at shooting but can't compete with range oriented factions.
• Lack of Anti-Air options leaves you vulnerable to aerial attacks.
• Horde Units have low quality and defence that makes it hard to justify upgrading them.
• Large Monsters are vulnerable to deadly attacks.

Army Special Rules

• Corrosive: Whenever this model takes a wound in melee, the attacker takes 1 hit.
• Explode(X): The reason the mines self-destruct. If a model with this rule is ever 1" away from an enemy unit, it immediately dies and the enemy takes X*3 hits. This model automatically passes all morale tests.
• No Retreat: Whenever this unit fails a morale test, you must kill one of its models, and the morale test counts as passed instead. Note that this is a mandatory sacrifice, which can hurt in cases where you'd rather have the unit flee.
• Pheromones: Once per activation, before attacking, pick one friendly unit within 12” of this model, which may move by up to 6".
• Psy-Barrier: This model may block spells as if it had the Psychic(2) special rule. If it is a Psychic then it gets +2 to spell block rolls.
• Psychic Synapse: This unit counts as having Psychic(1), but only one model can cast each activation. Fortunately, you can roll a number of dice equal to the number of models and pick the best when casting so you can guarantee that your spells can go off.
• Shrouding Mist: When activated, two models within 6" gain Stealth for the next time they get shot at.
• Spores: If a weapon with this rule misses, you can immediately drop a unit of 3 Spores or 1 Massive Spore 12” away from the intended target, but the position is decided by your opponent. While convenient in letting even your misses leave a mark on the battlefield, letting the enemy decide where the spores go and the fact that these can't be activated on the turn they were deployed does hamper its busted appeal.
• Surprise Attack: This model counts as having a special sort of Ambush that can let it show up right next to the enemy. Once deployed, roll 2d6, dealing three AP(1) hits to one enemy unit within 3” for each 2+.
• Takedown: When this model is in melee, may pick one model from the target and roll one die. On a 2+ it takes 1 hit with AP(1) and Deadly(3). giving you a decent hero-killer.

Psychic Spells

• Terror (4+): Target 2 enemy units within 12” get -2 to their next morale test.
• Psychic Blast (4+): Target enemy unit within 6” takes 1 hit with AP(2) and Deadly(3). Bad news for any solo units.
• Animate Flora (5+): Target 2 friendly units within 6” get Flying next time they activate.
• Shriek (5+): Two enemy units within 12" suffer three AP(2) hits each. Pretty much built to give you breathing room without being Psychic Blast tiers of deadly.
• Infuse Life (6+): Target friendly unit within 12” gets Regeneration next time it takes wounds. An absolute godsend for your softer units.
• Overwhelm (6+): One enemy model within 12" takes three AP(2) hits. If you wanted to focus fire on Shriek, this can be more reliable damage than Psychic Blast.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Hive Lord: A very flexible but also expensive pick. In low points games, it may struggle to get where it needs even with wings. Can be upgraded to be either very shooty, very choppy, or a mix of both, along with some support options. The Hive Lord is actually best run on its own, as with Tough (12) and a 2+ defense it can take a beating and doesn’t offer any benefits to the unit he joins besides a morale boost.
  • Melee: Two sets of razor claws means that you throw out a bunch of attacks at a troop-rending AP(1) on top of a surprising four stomps, also at AP(1). Each of these can be swapped out for a number of tools, such as the crowd-wiping Serrated Claws (which actually discount the lord's cost), the Piercing Claws for Rending and the Smashing Claws for AP(4). Perhaps the most dangerous are the Sword Claws and Whip Limb+Sword Claw, both providing Deadly(3) at differing AP to slay monsters, but their cost will likely limit you to one of those.
  • Shooting: Any of those claws can also be swapped out for some guns, offering a variety of different roles. Heavy The Spitter Gun is your cheapest gun, providing Blast(3) to handle small crowds. The Rapid Shredder Gun gives you heavy fire at mid-range with Rending to handle most infantry. The Rapid Heavy Ravager Gun provides you a rapid-fire gun that can trash high armor with AP(2). The Heavy Barb Cannon provides you genuine artillery with Blast(6) and AP(1), though it's quite costly. Even more expensive is the Heavy Acid Cannon, a long-range anti-tank gun with Lock-On to let it reliably catch aircraft.
  • Personal Upgrades: The Hive Lord has several upgrades that can be taken at the same time, but in most cases you'll likely be taking only one. Psychic Conduit provides you a very powerful Psychic model, well protected and capable of fighting at any range. Hive Guardian can supplement this by making your lord even more effective at blocking enemy spells with Psy-Barrier, though it can also be taken on its own if you don't want spells. Bio-Recovery grants Regeneration, a possible safeguard against the copious amounts of focus fire you will likely draw. Wings give you a decent bit of mobility with Flying and Ambush lets it pop up wherever you want, but it is also very costly. Hive Leader is also expensive, but provides Pheromones to help the mobility of your crowds.

• Snatcher Lord: The only Psychic among the Heroes by default. The combination of Fast, Scout and Strider all make this hero incredibly mobile out of the gate, and for much less. Its claws also have Rending on them, making short work of armor. However, its uses are limited to what it has out of the gate. Keep it behind cover until it gets the chance to rip through the opposition.

• Prime Warrior: Though only at 4+ quality and defense, these guys remain as flexible as the Hive Lord for about half the price. They can't purchase Psychic, but everything else remains on the table for them, providing you a smaller-scale weapons platform.
  • Shooting: While all the melee weapons are near-identical the Hive Lord (albeit at a cheaper price), the guns have a few changes, least of which being that you can only take one gun. The Spitter Gun remains a decent crowd-controller, but it's now refunding points for buying it, while the Twin Spine Guns are absolutely free mid-range guns. The Shredder Gun and Heavy Ravager Gun give you affordable ways to take care of armor. The Barb Cannon lets you handle small crowds at long range while the Acid Cannon lets you take care of Tough targets wherever they may hide with Lock-On.

Infantry

• Assault Grunts: An angry mob of teeth, providing Fast and Strider to leap into the fray. Two of their lot can purchase different weapons, adding Blast(3), AP(1) Rending, AP(4), or AP(2) Deadly(3) to that tide of attacks. They can also take Furious, No Retreat and/or Poison for some reinforcements. However, do remember that these guys are going to die quickly, so consider how long they're meant to last when you buy them.

• Shooter Grunts: At the same price as Assault Grunts, you can buy a pack of grunts with mid-range guns in exchange for Fast. With the number of bodies in a unit you'll be laying down quite a curtain of fire. While they can buy the same special rules as the Assault Grunts, No Retreat is the only one worth serious consideration since Furious won't mean a whole lot and Poison is seriously wasted on a unit that has one melee attack each.
  • Shooting: As mentioned, the shooters get Bio-Borers to provide a decent rate of fire at mid-range. If you're looking for something to use in even closer-range, you can give anyone Bio-Spiners with half the range and AP(1) at no cost. The Bio-Ravagers are another option for the entire squad, improving their range a decent bit for 5 points, making it a decent pick for a squad claiming an objective. The squad can also get two special weapons. The Bio-Fuser gives you serious anti-tank power, but the range is incredibly short and leaves you needing to cross the field in order to use it. The Bio-flamer is appealing, with even more shots, but similarly forces you into close quarters. The Bio-Shredder gives you a slight bit more range and provides Rending for the occasional armor-rending. The Bio-Plasma actually lets you maintain range with the rest of the squad, with the trade-off of shots for AP(4). The Bio-Spiker gives you your most expensive gun, but AP(1) and Sniper allow the gun to pick off other special weapons in an enemy squad before the rest of the squad can close in.

• Winged Grunts: Shooter Grunts, merely given Ambush and Flyer for 30 points more. Due to their increased price these are less of a chaff unit, and can serve two main roles. One is to be a late-game objective grabber, where they are protected from a turn or two of shooting. In this case giving them a Bio-Spiker can be a good choice alongside some Bio-Spiners. The other is to harass backlines, which will only be useful if your opponent has fragile long-range units. In that case, running them with Bio-Flamers and possible Bio-Spikers can result in a lot of dice being rolled. In either case however, this is a specialty unit which should only be used in situations where that Ambush is vital and you can't take flying Hive Warriors.

• Soul-Snatchers: Your elite melee units. There's less of them when compared to Assault Grunts, but your weapons are also AP(1) Rending that hit on a 3+ and you have a Scout move so you can make an alpha strike. This also makes them great for nabbing early objectives. If you buy the upgrade, you can also make one of them a Psychic, providing some additional support and freeing up more valuable casters.

• Hive Warriors: Generally flexible all-rounder units, each one capable of going between melee and ranged with most of the options given to Prime Warriors (though nowhere near as generous in price and some of the heavier guns can only be taken on one model on top of having to replace a Ravager) while their 4+ defense and Tough(3) allow them to withstand most situations. It also helps that they also have Fearless to keep fighting despite any losses. You can also grab wings for the unit, which gives them a boost to mobility.

• Hive Guardians: The toughest of the goons. A 3+ save and Tough(3) means that he won't be going any time soon. Each one can take melee weapons at the same prices as Hive Warriors and despite lacking any special rules for the job, they remain dangerous adversaries. What they do have, however, is Relentless, which is where their guns come in. Each model can grab either the Heavy Ravager for affordable AP(2) firepower, the Shock-Harpoon's long-range Deadly(3) delivery or the Heavy Shock-Gun for mob removal.

• Hive Swarm: Fairly tough for the price and can be given Ambush and a rapid-fire gun fairly cheaply. Again, there are two main roles here; objective holder or cheap suicide unit, especially now that a Spawning Beast can fart more out. For 65pts you can get a unit which can appear on any objective, and requires likely a full unit’s firepower or more to deal with. That can draw fire away from your Grunts, or make your controlled objectives harder to shift. Alternatively, for 15pts you can drop them in next to whatever unit you need to deal with and drop 18 dice on them, but with only 5+ quality don’t plan on hitting much.

• Ravenous Beasts: Pure elite assault types. These guys lack any shooting and two sets of claws that can use the same weapons as the Hive Warriors, so you'll be needing to make use of Fast and Strider to avoid fire. You have only two options for special rules: Tunnel Attack so you can grab Ambush and then rush in on an enemy, or Rapid Strike so you can start fighting sooner with Scout. The choice between the two ultimately boils down to when you want these guys to begin slicing into the competition.

• Synapse Floaters: Synapse Floaters are actually pretty durable for artillery. They still have a 4+ save and Tough 3, but they get to use Stealth for additional protection and buying Regeneration lets them tank some more. Their central rule is Psychic Synapse, which allows the entire unit count as Psychic to reliably cast any spells. Combined with their remarkable blasts, this can make them into a veritable strongpoint to rally your forces around.

• Venom Floaters: Your floating cover generators. Where the Synapse Floaters provide support via casting powers and blasting crowds, the Venom Floaters provide Stealth to fellow units thanks to Shrouding Mist. Unfortunately, their lack of any shooting does limit their value to just being cover generators.

• Shadow Hunter: The premier assassin unit. Between Ambush, Fast and Strider you're going to have plenty of options for getting them on the field and into the fight so they can tear apart their targets while Stealth and Tough(6) allow them to survive a lot of abuse. Fortunately, they not only have a wide selection of melee weapons on par with the Hive Warriors (and even if you don't buy anything, you get an impressive pair of four AP(1) attacks to handle most things), but they can also buy Takedown to provide an extra stinger before even fighting.

Monsters

• Carnivo-Rex: An absolute battering ram with Tough(12) and a 2+ save as well as a powerful attack that's always present. You'll be either wanting to get up close and personal with this beast, in which case you'll also be eyeing either Regeneration or Impact(3) as well (and possibly a tail weapon as a backup), or a heavy cannon if you plan on having it be a gun-tank.
  • Melee: The Carnivo-Rex comes with a terrifying array of melee weapons, between its AP(4) jaws, some AP(1) stomps and most importantly, its pair of A3 AP(1) Razor Claws. Each set of claws can be swapped out for whatever weapon you see most fit; Piercing Claws provide cheap Rending, Serrated Claws sacrifice AP for Blast(3), Smashing Claws give you armor-crushing AP(4) swings and Sword Claws provide AP(2) Deadly(3) in order to demolish tanks.
  • Shooting: Each set of Razor Claws can be replaced for heavy weapons, making the Carnivo-Rex into something of a battletank. The Heavy Spitter Gun gives you small Blasts at a good range and its price makes it fairly reasonable to double up. The Rapid Heavy Ravager Gun gives you a good barrage at AP(2) to handle armored infantry at mid-rage. The Heavy Barb Cannon makes the Carnivo-Rex an artillery platform with long-ranged Blast(6) to blast mobs. The Heavy Acid Cannon, while very expensive, also gives you a weapon capable of nailing any tanks, including aircraft thanks to Lock-on.

• Toxico-Rex: Oh, is this a big boy. Its lone ranged attack packs a punch with Blast(3) and Poison at mid-range, while its melee has a flurry of Poison strikes on top of the stomps. Adding Stealth and Shrouding Mist means that this thing will enjoy having friends around to take blows for it. All you can do is grant it either Regeneration or Impact(3).

• Psycho-Rex: The Psycho-Rex also comes with the power of Psychic(2) as well as Stealth to make it a super-tanky casting beast with the same melee options as the Carnivo-Rex to reinforce its melee power. It can also grab Pheromones or Psy-Barrier so you can boost its supporting game even further. Even if you go all-in on melee, this beast carries a ranged attack akin to the Synapse Floater to make it a light artillery beast as well.

• Devourer Beast: Even heavier than the Rexes at Tough(18) and with enough to kit out for both melee and shooting. The Devourer Beast with a really dangerous AP(4) Deadly(3) Sniper, making it dangerous for most heroes. From there, you can opt for some extra killing by replacing any of its three sets of claws and buy Impact(6) for more power on the charge. Even if you spring for regeneration, never leave this beast alone because this is a very big target.

• Tyrant Beast: The rapid-fire monster compared to the more precise Devourer Beast, though it remains just as much of a menace up close. Its Toxic Spray allows to burn through mobs with its deluge of AP(1) shots. Replacing that with Bio-Pods will provide you even more shots at a better range, but at the cost of any AP, while purchasing the Fracture Cannon gives it a costly gun that can destroy all but the biggest tanks.

• Artillery Beast: The bio-artillery it's known for is a long-ranged small blast with Rending, but Indirect makes it prone to not moving much. This gun can be swapped off for the Spitter Bio-Artillery for another shot with AP(1), The Acid Bio-Artillery for AP(3) Deadly(3) to handle backline monsters or the Plasma Bio-Artillery for AP(4) when you need to break Battle Brothers. While you could take melee weapons so it can defend itself, you probably shouldn't and Impact certainly is not doing you any favors when it's denying you the ability to fire your costly big gun.

• Spawning Beast: It's fairly unremarkable offensively, with only two sets of claws (that can be upgraded like the rest) and a rapid-fire Stinger Cannon with Rending to defend itself, that's not the reason you take it. No, that's because it can birth a pack of 5 grunts of any kind or 3 Hive Swarms each turn to flood the table. And you absolutely should because this makes your most disposable units even more disposable than they should, meaning you get more activations to run with. They'll lack any upgrades, but who cares about that? You got free grunts!

• Burrower: A massive bomb you can drop upon any enemies thanks to Surprise Attack. Even before it can use its four sets of claws, it can deal a couple hits upon nearby attacks upon the enemies it so rudely interrupted with its arrival. This nightmare can grab any of the melee weapons of the other beasts for each set of claws and getting Impact(6) can make charging even more of a nightmare.

• Flamer Beast: A smaller Tough(6) monster toting a Heavy Flamethrower-alike. This cannon has a decent enough range to not need to be in close combat, but it's as durable as any light tank and it can still take a set of melee weapons like any other monster here.

• Mortar Beast: A Tough(6) monster carrying one of the biggest cannons out there. Indirect means that you can park it in cover and just rain down spores. It’s only hitting on a 4+, but even if you miss, you spawn spores! That means another for your opponent to deal with, even if they choose where to drop it. It may not be the most directly useful choice, but in the right army it can be handy, especially if you like to overwhelm the enemy in targets. Against hordes, this is incredible with a monstrous Blast(9) though a lack of AP limits its appeal against anything with good defense.
  • Spores: Great chaff. They die to a stiff breeze, but they offer two big advantages. One, they’re a very cheap unit that your opponent has to deal with, and two, they are one of the cheapest activations in the game. They’re especially useful against hordes or units with low defense, as 9 automatic hits is nothing to scoff at for 45pts. But the main utility is that cheap activation. It means that you have more capability to outmaneuver your opponent by forcing them to move first when it may not be advantageous, because you can just stall them with these.
  • Massive Spore: The same thing as Spores, but with one Tough(3) model that deals 3 damage instead. That means they don’t lose effectiveness as they take damage, but are susceptible to Deadly weapons and combining isn't as effective.

• Invasion Spore: Your only transport is also capable of Ambush, which is a pleasant way to drop its cargo. This means that you can indeed throw in a pack of Grunts or Hive Warriors backed up by a Hero at the worst possible flank to snag a point. However, it can remain viable once the cargo, as opposed to something like the Battle Brothers' Drop Pod where the value drops after unloading the cargo.
  • Shooting: While by default it merely has a set of melee attacks, you can also grab guns: The Spitter Gun Array lets it handle crowds, the Shredder Gun Array gives rapid fire with Rending, the Barb Cannon Array gives blasts with AP(1) to handle more elite infantry, and the Acid Cannon Array gives you an expensive weapon that can pop most monsters at any distance.

• Artillery Spore: The more focused variant of the Invasion Spore, sacrificing its speed and transport capacity for the Mortar Beast's Spore Gun. This gives you another means for spitting out spores and you can purchase another gun from the Invasion Spore's list. Slow isn't as much of an issue for this spore as Indirect discourages moving anyways.

Aircraft

• Rapacious Beast: Your lone aircraft is rather modest with only Tough(6) and a 2+ save, but its cheapness allows you to bring more of them where most armies have to dedicate a good quarter or so of their budget to just bring one.
  • Shooting: Taken stock, the Rapacious Beast comes with two sets of mid-range barrages, one of which comes with Rending. The Caustic Cannon (which lacks AP) can be replaced with either the long-range Twin Barb Cannon to handle crowds or the Twin Acid Cannon for long-ranged tank-popping with Lock-On to negate cover. In addition, you can buy two different close-range bombs, either massive Blast(9) Spore Bombs to provide additional spores or armor-busting AP(3) missile bugs with Lock-On.

Titans

• Hive Titan: An absolute colossus of a beast, coming in at Tough(24) with Regeneration and 2+ defense and bristling with tank-busting jaws and a frenzy of stomps. This makes it a massive target, but you do have means to reinforce it with either wings for mobility, Corrosive for a counter-attack in melee, or a massive Transport(21) to let it house most of your army.
  • Shooting: While it lacks any guns off the bat, you can buy Toxic Breath for a torrent of Poison shots and Explosive Spit to make it long-ranged artillery to pop things like Battle Brothers.

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Alien Hives
• Alien Hives Quickplay Armies
• Grimdark Future Tactics
• Grimdark Future List Building
• Grimdark Future Strategy
• Grimdark Future

Alien Hives
Overview - Tactics - Firefight Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Firefight Quickplay Armies

Grimdark Future tactics
List Building - Strategy - Special Rules
Alien Hives - Battle Brothers - Blessed Sisters - Custodian Brothers - DAO Union - Dark Elf Raiders - Dwarf Guilds Elven Jesters - Eternal Dynasty - Havoc Brothers - High Elf Fleets - Human Defense Force Human Inquisition - Infected Colonies - Jackals - Machine Cult - Orc Marauders - Prime Brothers - Ratmen Clans Rebel Guerrillas - Robot Legions - Saurian Starhost - Soul-Snatcher Cults - Titan Lords - Wormhole Daemons