i will be a defender on this issue.
tyrant guard were not 'late entries' into the codex, as they were in the 3rd version codex. i understand why they put this rule in this codex, as it was not in the last one. in the last codex, they were billed the bodyguard, but this was very vague and they were a useless unit, as they conferred no real protection for the tyrant and you could still focus all of your big gribblie killling firepower on the tyrant. this rule gets rid of the vague language. you cant target it in close combat, no if, ands, or powerfists to the face.
speaking of which, fluff wise this rule also makes sense. the hive mind wants to protect its swarm leaders. if you have are assaulting the tyrant, the guards sole job is to protect him. the seargent with the powerfist throws a punch at the tyrant, the guard jumps in front of it and takes the blow. he cant protect against range attacks because he is to slow to stop a lascannon traveling at X mph.
rebuttal? |