Part of a series on creating an Exodite Army under the new 7th Edition Codices and Ally rules.
In this article, I will review each unit within the codex that can represent an Exodite equivalent. I will cover their backstory, wargear, special rules and modeling suggestions. As with each of these codex specific articles, I will be treating each codex independently so there may be modeling suggestions that are common to multiple codices for completely different units.
Since most players favor a single army and don’t knit together several codices as I have done, it will be up to the individual modeler to determine how best, within his own army, he can use the same base model for different units from more than one codex. In reality, the possibilities are almost unlimited, especially with the variety of old and new models for most of the Games Workshop units available now, so it would be beyond the scope of these articles.
The units will be presented in the order they appear in the codex and if I have not written an Exodite equivalent unit for that entry, I will try to explain the challenge I faced. Maybe the reader can see something I missed and add even more Exodite flavor to the codex. If the unit is one I use as-is, then it will be listed at the end of the unit list with some general comments as needed for that unit.
One final note, as I explain the backstory of the unit, you will see a mix of traditional Exodite fluff coupled with my own interpretation to match the story of my own Maiden World. My intent is not to rewrite the fluff but to simply write my own story for a single Maiden World located on the Eastern Fringe in Tau space. It should serve as a starting point for the reader to launch out on his own interpretation or craft it to be more in line with the traditional Exodite fluff.
Basic Principles and Concepts
Some of my fellow gamers, especially Eldar players, are still in disbelief that I am using the Tyranid Codex for any part of my Exodite Army. It really is an ‘out of the box’ approach but by keeping a few key concepts front and center, the codex serves as a great guide to making some of the most iconic Exodite Units.
To reinforce the concepts, I have named these Exodites the Dragonmasters and will refer to them as such in this article. This reinforces the idea that they are controlling the local beasts of Lorien. The Eldar psychic abilities are very strong and, with inspiration from legends of Sylvan Elves being able to talk to and command forest creatures, it was not hard to build the story that some of the Eldar who spent a great deal of time caring for their dragons would eventually develop a telepathic bond that would provide them with abilities not seen in their craftworld kin.
There are three main types of units in the Exodite world, the dinosaurs, the Exodites who fight on or alongside them and the great drakes that are basically the classic dragon of fantasy. Dragonmasters are Exodites who can control the dinosaurs and, except for those that have lost their dragon mount, will always ride one of the many types of dragons and shun the use of vehicles entirely. This is a perfect match for a codex that has absolutely no vehicles in it but plenty of infantry and monstrous creatures. The dinosaurs themselves are the units that must be controlled by the Dragonmasters and have the Instinctive behavior special rule. Finally, the Great Drake and other dragon like units round out the army and form another type of dinosaur commanding unit.
Warlord Traits and Special Abilities
The Tyranid have some pretty interesting abilities that, once you strip away the Tyranid fluff, have a very Exodite feel. First is the Instinctive Behavior rule. This rule easily reflects the natural instinct of the dinosaurs and other creatures that fight for the Dragonmasters. As predator, even when not under direct control of a Dragonmaster, they are still a real threat to those around them.
The Synapse Creature rule represents sets apart the Eldar Dragonmaster better than any other single rule in the entire game. The whole concept off an Eldar warrior being able to telepathically command the creatures of his home planet just screams Exodite!
Shadow in the Warp is a neat rule, though it does not really have the impact it did when it was first introduced. The best way to describe this effect in terms of Exodites is that the telepathic links with the beasts of Lorien, which use camouflage to get close to prey or hide from predators, coupled with their desire to keep their new home hidden from those who would seek to exploit and destroy their paradise world, has manifested itself by the creation of a ‘dead zone’ around Dragonmasters that diminishes the abilities of psykers.
As for the Warlord traits, they can each be reinterpreted in a very Exodite manner. Nature’s Bane represents the Dragonmasters ability to command the smaller forest creatures and even the plants themselves to fight the invaders. Heightened Senses is simply the ability for a Dragomnaster to see through the eyes of some of the local creatures and share what he sees with those close to him. Neither of these traits need to be renamed.
Synaptic Lynchpin simply represents an dis renamed “Master Dragonmaster” who has honed his ability to work over a larger area. Renaming Mind Eater to “Dragonmaster Champion” represents a leader who favors the elimination of enemy leaders as a combat tactic.
Digestive Denial is renamed “Master of Deception) and is a variation on the Nature’s Bane trait. In this case, instead of calling on the smaller forest creatures to attack invaders, the Dragonmaster is causing the flora and fauna in a terrain feature to expose the enemy within. Forest plants stand straighter of lie flatter, exposing the enemy to fire or roots and branches pull down or create gaps in the walls of ruins denying the enemy of some protection.
Finally, Adaptive Biology becomes “Adrenal Boost” as the Warlord’s mind reacts strongly when his body is injured and releases large doses of adrenaline to suppress the pain. Many creatures possess the ability to fight on well after receiving a mortal wound and the Dragonmaster’s telepathic link has allowed him to tap into that ability himself.
Power of the Hive Mind – Power of the Dragon Mind
The Psychic powers for the Tyranid are a great way to make the Dragonmasters stand out as a bit different from their Craftworld kin but still remain Eldar. The most important ability the Dragonmasters have is their control over their dragons and the Primaris power increases this range and really does not even need a name change. With the new 7th Edition rules, every psyker HQ qill have this option for those situations where the army is spread out too much.
Catalyst is a strange name for the power so you can choose to change it if you wish, but the basic ability is like the Adrenal Boost Warlord Trait. The model uses its telepathic link to another unit to enhance its ability to withstand pain. The Horror is also an “as-is” power where the psyker telepathically links with the target and floods it with strange images from the minds of the different dragons in the army allowing the target to see the eagerness with which the dragons are seeking to devour the target.
Onslaught gives the ability to give a version of the Eldar Battle Focus rule to another unit, allowing it to run and still shoot. Paroxysm, on the other hand, is similar to the Eldar Rune of Battle, Drain and affects the opponents ability to fight.
Psychic Scream is not much different than the telepathy power Psychic Shriek so it fits very neatly into the fluff. Warp Blast, however, it unlike other ability. It still represents an Exodite ability even as written, but by describing it as a fiery attack like a Great Drake’s breath weapon, the feel can be enhanced.
Just as with other aspects of an Exodite Army, the words you choose in describing what your army is using can make or break the illusion you are trying to create with your models.
On Weapons and Bio-Morphs
The greatest challenge with the Tyranid Codex is that all of the weapons are biological in nature. Though it is possible to give some of the dinosaurs a biological weapon, like venomous spit, most will not have one. However, the drakes and wyrms can have all sorts of biological weapons. All of the Drakes have some form of breath weapon and the many blast and template bio-weapons available lend themselves well to these.
Since the Dragonmasters have their own weapons and their beasts may have their own biological weapons, many of these bio-morphs will have to have an alternative, mechanical interpretation so that the Exodites can have meaningful weapons.
Since the Exodites left before the Fall, they have brought with them many examples of more ancient Eldar technology and weapons or crafted their own from the resources available to them on Lorien. Due to the Tyranid weapon stat lines being what they are, most of the weapons are ancient tech or modifications to Eldar tech. At the end of the article, there will be a list of the Tyranid weapons and the Exodite or Dragon equivalent but I would like to call out some specific weapons that are crucial to making the Exodite warriors shine in this codex.
The most identifiable Exodite unit in the fluff is the Dragon Knight who is typically armed with a dragon lance. If you step back and think about a lance, it is a long range weapon that almost always strikes first in combat because of the reach and is very deadly since the entire mass of the mount and rider is being focused into the sharp tip of the lance. Looking through the melee weapon stat lines, the “Bonesword & Lashwhip” jumps out as the dragon lance. Here is a weapon that allows the wielder to strike earlier than usual and have the capability of dealing a death blow during the combat. That is a perfect match in my mind.
Since several synapse units have a ranged attack, specifically the Devourer, there needed to be an Exodite one-handed ranged weapon so that the model could also be equipped with the Dragon Lance when needed. I decided that the Exodite handbow could be used here as well. It lost its AP value but increased its range by 50% so I chalked that up to the Dragonmasters using a lighter dragon tooth bolt instead of a psychically charged one. I figured that the Dragonmaster reflexes would allow them to fire it more rapidly as well.
Since almost all of the units start with a pair of scything talons, there needed to be a standard melee weapon for these units. Since the scything talons stat line is identical to the scorpion chainsword, it lent itself well to being a standard razor sharp sword. The Dragonmasters, relying more on close combat, have mastered the art of blade sharpening.
In the subsequent articles reviewing the specific units, I will not spend much time on all of the possible upgrade options for many of the units. By following the basic concepts in this article, you should be able to build from the ideas I will present to incorporate different upgrades I may not have included in my versions.
On Bio-Artefacts
Bio-artefacts do not make any sense for dinosaurs but can make some sense in terms of the great drakes or the Dragonmasters themselves. However, even then, not all of them work. Here are my interpretations of the Bio-artefcats.
Not only do the Dragonmasters have the ability to telepathically link with and command the beasts of Lorien, Great Drakes and Great Wyrms (think classic dragons with or without wings) also have the ability to command the beasts near them. Because of this, when a Dragon Lord rides a Great Drake or Great Wyrm, their abilities synergize and their telepathic control range is increased. So, the Norn Crown becomes a Dragon Lord Rider.
It is also possible to make the Norn crown an actual psychic helm or crown that would allow a Dragon Lord to increase his range but it is not as dramatic as the Great Drake with an Exodite rider.
The Miasma Cannon reminded me of my D&D favorite, the Green Dragon. Here we have an ability to breath deadly poisonous gas in two different profiles, both over an area. Obviously, this would make no sense on a dragonmaster because how would an Eldar sized individual be able to wield a weapon like this. For this reason, I restrict the use of this to only my Great Drakes.
Finally, the Reaper of Obliterax can be an ancient relic dragon lance since it has the same profile as a Bonesword & lashwhip with the addition of Shred and increasing the user’s strength. I kept the name the same but model it with an ornate lance. Alternatively, it can represent the teeth, claws and tail of an Ancient Great Drake that can devastate its enemies in close combat.
I have not found a satisfying Exodite explanation for the Maw Claws or the Ymgarl Factor so I have not included them. However, as you can see, most of the Bio-artefacts can be interpreted as Exodite and further enhance the illusion.
Metabolic Upgrades and Herbal Agents
The following three upgrades fit an Exodite army well. The upgrade name can be used as is from the Tyranid codex but if it enhances the Exodite feel, you can reinterpret them as follows.
Herbal Poisons (Toxin Sacs): Herbal poisons are very common on Lorien and widely used by both the independent clans and the dragonmasters. In some cases, the poison is applied to weapons and occasionally applied even to their dragons’ claws.
Herbal Stimulants (Adrenal glands): The Independent Clans first developed herbal stimulants for wide use in combat and the dragonmasters soon learned that they could use some of these same stimulants on their dragons to increase their ferocity in combat.
Herbal Medicines (Regeneration): The ultimate use, and pinnacle of the dragonmaster herbalist art, are the various forms of herbal medicines that they have developed for use in battle. These potions, taken prior to the start of battle, actually heal the wounds of the dragonmaster and/or his dragons
An alternative to Toxin Sacs is “Expert Predator”. A creature can be so skilled that it possesses an uncanny ability to find its prey’s weak spot and can bring down even the largest creatures.
Mechanical Weapons Glossary
Blake Drake Cannon (Acid Spray)
Prism Cannon (Bio-plasmic Cannon)
Flechette Gun (Clusterspines)
Hook & Chain (Flesh Hooks)
Auto-Spiker (Fleshborer hive)
Spiker Cannon (Stinger Salvo)
Dragon Rockets (Tentaclids)
Missile Pod (Bio-electric Pulse w/ containment spines)
Spiker Pod (Bio-electric Pulse)
Dragon Sword (Scything Talons)
Spiker Carbine (Spinefists)
Exodite Pulse Carbine (Deathspitter)
Pyroclastic Projector (Barbed Strangler)
Drake Venom Projector (Venom Cannon)
Twin-Linked Exodite Pulse Carbine (Death Spitter)
Twin-Linked Heavy Dragonmaster Handbow (Devourer w/ brainleeches)
Starfire Cannon (Stranglethorn cannon)
Nova Cannon (heavy venom cannon)
Sundered Lance (Rending Claws)
Dragon Glaive (Boneswords)
Dragon Lance (Lashwhip and Bonesword)
Electric Field Projector (Electoshock grubs)
Poison Gas Thrower (Desicator larvae)
Acid Thrower (Shreddershard beetles)
Bio-melee Weapons
Scything Talons – replace ‘talons’ with claws, teeth, horns, etc.
Rending Claws – does not need a name change
Crushing Claws – can change claws to beak or horns
Boneswords – can be Massive Bite, Power Bite
Lashwhip & Boneswords – Add a long neck or fast reflexes to the above Bonesword options.
Biomorphs that can represent Breath Weapons
With the following Biomorphs, any of the traditional chromatic and metallic dragons can be represented.
Electoshock grubs – Lightning Breath
Desicator larvae – Poison Breath, Fire Breath
Shreddershard beetles – Frost Breath, Acid Breath
Heavy Venom Cannon – Fire Breath
Stranglethorn Cannon – Lightning Breath
