# Ymgarl Genestealers > Hive Guard



## MidnightKid333 (Feb 2, 2011)

alright, we all know hive guard are great for taking out APCs, but there is something else that will protect the rest of your army with excellent results. 

Ymgarl gensetalers are fun to use, and have awesome results when attacking anything that does not move much or does not move at all. 
Ymgarl genstealers pop up and destroy anything that will destroy your trygons, tervigons, hive tyrants and even your carnifexes, if you use them.

Ymgarls will save your monstrous creatures from:
BROADSIDES
Lootas
Devastators(long fangs aswell)
Hammerheads
guardsmen heavy weapon teams
Dark Eldar Ravagers (not sure if these move much or not, but the batrep i saw, they didnt move once)
Exorcists

They also save your light infantry from things like:
Shokk Attack guns
Whirlwinds
Basilisks
Mortar teams
devastators as well (you may have guessed, devs are a tasty treat for ymgarls)
even things from your own army like biovores and tyrannofexes

In short, anything that stays static for the game.

if there are no static units in the army youre against, just try to get as many of them as possible in terrain in the middle of the board. there's bound to be some enemies there when you pop up, or within the 13 - 18" threat bubble, which is another thing!

if your enemy knows where youre ymgarls are showing up, somehow (possibly from repetitiveness), his entire plan will be upset by the ymgarls. he cannot prepare for them to appear because most armies infantry guns are short ranged and have to be dangerously close to use them, in which case theyll get shredded by the ymgarls when they show up. Their long range weapons are either shooting at other things, or have already died from other ymgarl genestealers appearing right next to them, since almost every long ranged heavy weapon STANDS STILL TO FIRE! If the long ranged weapons are still there, theyre often too strong to be directed at the ymgarls, things like autocannons and lascannons. Heavy bolters are their only real threat, but not alot of people use the heavy bolter. its only seen if its a stock weapon for a vehicle, and missile launchersare actually too weak to kill enough of them. theyre s4 and the ymgarls would be t5 after combat.
the ap is a measly 6, so ymgarls still gain a trusty 4+ to save themselves. 
If the enemy DOES decide to fire missile launchers at the ymgarls, that is good, since thats a couple of krak missiles not flying towards your trygons and tervigons. Theres still the possibility that the missiles will veer off course and explode in some deadzone location on the table. 

At the beginning of the game, get the BIGGEST piece of *area terrain* and plunk it down smack dab in the middle of the table!!!

also, put some smaller area terrain next to any big huge buildings or vantage points that would be good for any static models to bunk in. 

if the enemy puts a bunker in the corner of the table, put a little piece of area terrain right next to it.

if he puts a big sniper building observation tower down, plunk a nice piece of area terrain right next to it!

Excellent area terrain for ymgarls:
trees
small hills
craters
crashed ships ( the 5-piece GW crashed ship is all over the place and has plenty of room for ymgarls. )
big huge two level hills (alot of people have big styrofoam hills on their boards ready to be used. if one is up for valid terrain, dont hesitate to plunk it down in the middle of the table)

remember, you massacre move d6, so if youre close enough to your prey, you wipe the out, then massacre move d6 inches back to the area terrain you popped out of. remember to declare +1 toughness on the turn, so you survive being shot at next turn. rending is really all you need in this case. extra strength or attacks is a bit superfluous, unless youre attacking an APC, in which case the extra attacks really come in handy, since youll be hitting most likely on 6s.


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## Xela (Dec 22, 2010)

2 Hive Guard and 1 unit of Ymgarls is the way to go


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## jfvz (Oct 23, 2010)

midnightkid333 said:


> remember, you massacre move d6, so if youre close enough to your prey, you wipe the out, then massacre move d6 inches back to the area terrain you popped out of. remember to declare +1 toughness on the turn, so you survive being shot at next turn. rending is really all you need in this case. extra strength or attacks is a bit superfluous, unless youre attacking an APC, in which case the extra attacks really come in handy, since youll be hitting most likely on 6s.


They are a good shock troop, as long as you are sneaky and dont give away where they will be deploying them by constantally going back and looking at a peice of area terrain, through you could do that to "bluff" your opponent into thinking that your deploying somewhere other than where you are.

Also I read through the codex entry of Ymgarl stealers again, and the wording caught my attention. "At the start of every assult phase ... . The benefits last untill the end of the phase", so folowing the raw they wouldnt get the 1+ toughness bonus in the movement or shooting phases. I dont know if there has been any clarification on this (another faq) but it seems most people, including me, have been playing these critters wrong.


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## oblivion8 (Jun 17, 2009)

ya you only get the benefit until the end of said assault phase. 
You should only be taking the T5 if you are fighting S3 or maybe a unit where they have lots of power weapons but a small amount of men (like honour guard etc...) otherwise +1A is the way to go, the +1 S is useful as well against T3, but anything higher you may as well be getting more rends.


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## OddJob (Nov 1, 2007)

The OP goes on about manipulating terrain to suit the Ymagarls, but realistically this isn't possible in competative games. It's also the ymagarls biggest problem- being totally dependant on the terrain layout.

However, despite this problem Ymagarls are a decent TAC choice because they are good against the armies that nids (at least my army) are traditionally weak against- mech guard and the likes that are happy to sit on the other side of the board lobbing lead at long range. They won't be useful in every game (at least not as good as an equivalent points worth of regular stealers) but when they are good, they tend to be very good.

The thread title though- if I had to choose HG or ymagarls only for my army it would be HG every time.


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## MidnightKid333 (Feb 2, 2011)

deploying terrain is an actual rule of the game in the rulebook, so if anything, the deploying terrain phase should be enforced, rather than disregaded and just playing on a preset table. me and my friends deploy terrain all the time and we dont even play to win very often, its just fair sportsmanship to satisfy the terrain layout for both sides, so it doesn't seem malicious or as though the table has been rigged for a certain army to win.


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