Dawn of War II - Walkthrough - Day 10 - Hand of the Hive Mind

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The available missions are:

• Calderis (3 Foundries) - Greenskin Weaponsmith, Hand of the Hive Mind
• Typhon (1 Foundry) - Brood Swarm, Thundering Terror (replaced Defend the Array at that map location)
• Meridian (2 Foundries) - Angel Gate

Our first objective on Day 10 is to secure two additional deployments. With the Defend Mission on Typhon gone (replaced, not expired), we look to Calderis and the three Automated Foundries there to make sure we get two additional deployments. Both of the Calderis missions offer Communications Arrays to capture, but Hand of the Hive Mind also reduces the Tyranid infestation, so we chose to do that one for maximum benefits.
Additionally, both of the available Typhon Missions were on maps where we had already secured both strategic points, whereas the Calderis ones still allow us to capture strategic points (Communications Arrays).

Brood Swarm and Thundering Terror:

• These are not marked as Prime Gene samples, but they will both contribute toward the Bio-Toxin plot goal (signalled by in-game dialogue and the appearance of the Into The Hive mission, which is the third and final mission to get the Bio-Toxin as well as to add Davian Thule as a squad member).
• Both are straightforward search-and-destroy missions with no special major boss.
• If we do the Brood Swarm mission, Thundering Terror is removed, Hand of the Hive Mind remains, and the mission Into The Hive is added on Typhon.
• If we do the Thundering Terror mission, both the Brood Swarm mission and the Hand of the Hive Mind missions are removed, and Into the Hive is added on Typhon.

Mission 18 Hand of the Hive Mind

• Day 10, Fury 5, Resilience 5, Speed 5 (10 minutes), two extra deployments awarded (at 11/15 and 14/15).
• Infestation Calderis 5 (2 after this mission), Typhon 5, Meridian 9.
• Because you already captured one strategic point on this map in the early Gutrencha mission, you will need to be careful about Retreats since your squads might end up running through thick enemy forces to that strategic point if it is closer. We captured the Automated Foundry earlier, so we headed in that direction and spread outward. In this way, we could predict our retreat route.
• This mission has several hives that quickly spawn large squads of Termagants.
• Split your force into two: Cyrus and the rest in an Assault Force. The Termagants that spawn tend to follow a route. Identify that, set up a kill zone, and destroy them with your Assault Force.
• Do not let Cyrus get tied up fighting these because they will just bog you down. Go for the source of the Termagants instead: The Brood Nests. Path Cyrus to them and use whatever demolition you have on them.
• You could also grind for white wargear for Recycling on this map since the respawns are so quick, although the drop rate is a mere 1% for these units, which are classed as "swarm" by the game in simulation\attrib\tuning\tuning_info.rbf.
• The Assault Force should avoid Hive Nodes as they fire quickly and on Primarch are very lethal in addition to making your squad vulnerable because of the knockdown. It is best to wait for Cyrus, but you could charge them and lob two grenades if the area is clear and you have a rally point nearby to replace losses.
• The village has three levels: The top tier where you land, a middle terrace, and the floor level. Clear the middle terrace only on your way down to the bottom. If you spend time clearing it early, you will just be slowing yourself down fighting the endless streams of Termagents that come up the stairs and flank you. Go down one side and fan outward to draw attention while Cyrus destroys the Brood Nests. Once all the spawning buildings are clear, grab the strategic resource you didn't get before. 
• To destroy the Tyranid buildings quickly and safely, use Cyrus. The Demolition Charge Packs are good enough, but if it is safe to do so, go in and prepare a Remote Detonator charge as that will take care of nearby enemies as well. Also, the big Hive can be brought down by a single Remote Detonator blast.
• If Cyrus is detected while planting the Remote Detonator, and a Hive Node is nearby, it could launch a Spore Mine that will explode at or near the Remote Detonator device, causing it to explode. In such a case, you could abort the placement of the Detonation device and instead lob a Demolition Charge Pack at the Hive Node.
• We encountered one Carnifex. If you do this mission early you will face only Tyranid Warriors with Barbed Stranglers. In later missions, you get Raveners and Zoanthropes sprinkled about.
• The Relic Flamer we got from the Greenskin Armour mission really helps (level 14, but has no level requirements to equip), but even better is the Flame of Terra flamer if you have it, as the need for setting up the fire arc means the user won't wander into melee while the weapon reloads since that unique flamer requires no reloading. Our Force Commander has a ranged combat build and the Deadly Aim trait, so swarms were generally destroyed quite quickly with the flamer.
• Once all Tyranid structures are clear, grab the strategic resource, clear the map, then charge the Zoanthrope. Put your Force Commander up front only if he has full health in order to make sure he survives a hit from the Zoanthrope boss. Then unload on it before it can charge up another attack.
• If you are using a mid-mission save mod for Dawn of War II, a reloaded game might not award extra deployments properly.