DISTRACTION CARNIFEX
DISTRACTION CARNIFEX!
EVERYONE START SHOOTING!!
Overview
A well-known tactic from 4th Edition, which was actually kind of clever for use by Tyranid players. The idea was to use the reasonably-priced Carnifex of yore as a gigantic distraction during games. It worked pretty well, since the first inclination of any player seeing a Carnifex on the table is to blast the ever-loving shit out of it with every weapon they have. Because it was very easy to back up the Carnifex's 6 toughness with a 2+ armor save, it was actually pretty difficult to bring down one without using shit like Lascannons. Every round that you had say, a Leman Russ Battle Tank firing all its weapons at it and NOT at your swarms of Gants was generally a good thing, and since it was easy to make a distraction Carnifex mildly intimidating with nothing more than a weapon biomorph (giving it a barbed strangler was a good example), this tactic was very successful against smaller but more elite armies and helped considerably to deal with certain offensive builds.
Why It Doesn't Work Anymore
In fifth Edition, Carnifexes don't get extended carapace (so their armor save is, at best, 3+), and they cost a lot more. This generally prevents Carnifexes from being used in the DISTRACTION CARNIFEX role they used to occasionally serve in. The higher cost for biomorph enhancements is another reason it doesn't work. The big reason, though, is the combination of costs and armor reduction; a lot of weapons that were only reasonably likely to put a dent in a Carnifex in 4th (Missile Launchers, Battle Cannons, etc) are now quite capable of fucking its shit up en masse now.
Haha WTF
During one particularly notorious game post-codex update in New York, a Guard player allegedly killed a Carnifex on turn 1 by hammering it with Hunter-Killer Missiles after CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED-ing a mechanized platoon into position. Just as planned.
This isn't that wierd, though. I mean, the carnifex only has four wounds and it doesn't get saves from anything AP3 or better. You'd need, what? Four accurate missiles to kill one? Thanks to higher vehicle survivability and the Imperial Guard being the most frustrating mechanized army out there - more difficult to bring down than Nidzilla ever was, so thanks Robin Cruddace - most all-rounder armies have more than enough heavy weapons to kill a carnifex on a single turn.