Warhammer 40,000: Conquest – The Great Devourer
Warhammer 40,000: Conquest – The Great Devourer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Deck Customization
A Tyranids deck has different deck customization rules than those presented in the core set rules, and is restricted to the following.
A player first selects a Tyranids warlord and a Tyranids synapse unit. His deck then includes:
- The 8 cards from the chosen warlord's signature squad (mandatory).
- Up to 3 copies each of any non-signature Tyranids card(s).
- Up to 3 copies each of any neutral non-unit card(s).
- A minimum of 50 total cards, not including the warlord and the synapse unit.
Synapse Units
This expansion introduces synapse units into the game. A synapse unit is a new unit type – it is not a warlord, army unit, or token unit. When a player selects a Tyranids warlord during deck construction, that player also chooses a Tyranids synapse unit. This synapse unit starts the game in a ready state in its owners HQ, along with his warlord.
During the command phase, the synapse unit is committed to a planet at the same time as your warlord. The planet to which the synapse unit is committed is chosen secretly during the Dial Selection step, using the special Tyranids command dial included in this box. Use the left-hand dial to determine the planet to which you are committing your warlord to and the right-hand dial to determine the planet to which you are committing your synapse unit to. The synapse unit can be committed to any face up planet in play and does not need to be committed to the same planet as the warlord.
A synapse unit is also bound by the following rules:
- When a synapse unit commits to a planet, it maintains its state (ready or exhausted).
- After a battle ends, a synapse unit at that planet returns to its HQ at the same time as a warlord would, maintaining its state. If a warlord is also at that planet, they return to their HQ simultaneously.
- As the last step before the combat phase ends, if the synapse unit is still at a planet, return the synapse unit to its HQ, maintaining its state.
- A synapse unit cannot be sacrificed.
Termagant Token Unit
These miniature cards are not a part of a player's deck and are used only as indicated by other abilities. Termagant token units are bound by the token unit rules found in the Rules Reference Guide included in the core set. (See Page 15 of the Rules Reference Guide for more details.)
Infestation
Some Tyranids abilities allow a planet to be infested, providing a boost to various Tyranids capabilities.
During Setup, place all infestation tokens in the token bank.
If an ability causes a planet to become infested, place an infestation token on that planet. That planet is now considered "infested". Only a non-infested planet can become infested, so it can only ever have a maximum of one infestation token on it.
A non-Tyranids player may choose to clear an infested planet (removing its infestation token) after he wins a battle at that planet. This choice must be made before choosing whether to trigger the planet's battle ability.
Planets that are out of play (which includes facedown planets) cannot be infested. If a planet leaves play, return its infestation token (if any) to the token bank.
Specializations
A specialization is a word or phrase that serves to categorize an ability and link it (both thematically and mechanically) to other similar abilities. A specialization is indicated by an italic word or phrase printed at the beginning of its ability text.
For example, some cards in this box set have the "Hive Mind" specialization. All units with this specialization provide a bonus to Termagant tokens at the same planet. Other card abilities can also refer to and interact with this specialization, allowing them to work together in a unique manner.
Specializations are neither keywords nor traits. If a unit loses its specialization (for example, by its text box being blanked), the unit is considered not to have that specialization or its associated ability.
Component Notes
Dial Assembly
Assemble the Tyranids command dials by using the plastic dial connectors to attach the dials to the faceplate, as shown in the diagram below.
[Diagram: exploded view showing two plastic dial connectors and the dials being attached to the faceplate.]
Expansion Icon
This icon appears on all cards included in the The Great Devourer deluxe expansion.