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I got an offer to trade for the following Tyrranid models. I don't have the Tyrranid codex (would come with the deal), so I wanted to get a feeler as to whether or not this would be a good start. I don't want to pull the trigger if all I'd have to do is turn around and spend a ton of money on a bunch more models to achieve semi-competitiveness (I know the new Codex is popularly viewed as a less competitive codex in general).

Not even sure what here is HQ, Troops, FA, etc, so bear with me.

1 x Broodlord
1 x Lictor
1 x Tyranofex/Tervigon
1 x Mawloc/Trygon
1 x Hive Tyrant
8 x Genestealers
19 x Termigants
11 x Hormogaunts

Are these models in boxes or painted assembled/unpainted?

Its not what I would call the best of lists. Hive tyrant would be your HQ... you can't field a tervigon without 30 termagants so that isn't an option in this set up.

Broodlord would go with the Genestealer unit.

Depending what you are trading/paying for this... there could be better ways to go.

 Roci wrote:
Are these models in boxes or painted assembled/unpainted?

Its not what I would call the best of lists. Hive tyrant would be your HQ... you can't field a tervigon without 30 termagants so that isn't an option in this set up.

Broodlord would go with the Genestealer unit.

Depending what you are trading/paying for this... there could be better ways to go.

You can actually field a Tervigon as a HQ choice. You only need the 30 termagants brood to make it a troops choice.


From the list you provided, it's a decent force. Not many people are fielding genestealers (+ broodlords) or lictors in a competitive list.

Lots of bodies are essential to a good Nids army. So the hormagaunts/termagants you will need.

Best HQ choice by far is the flyrant.

Many people aren't too fond of the Tervigon anymore due to its nerf. Tyrannofexes are a strong choice.

Mawlocs/Trygons are decent choices as well.

You'll want to pick up more troops, a carnifex or two, and more definitely more synapse. Warriors or zoanthropes perhaps. Venomthropes are also a very strong elite choice.

It's not a bad start. As kenneydee said, nids win through having more bodies on the field than anyone else. You will definitely need to buy more termagants, hormaguants, and maybe some warriors. But this would be a decent starting point. You've got a good HQ (tyrant) and 2 good heavies (trygon and tyrannofex). You could play casual games with what you have now, and with some more troops and maybe another heavy or FMC you would have a good semi-competitive list.

 Roci wrote:
Are these models in boxes or painted assembled/unpainted?

Its not what I would call the best of lists. Hive tyrant would be your HQ... you can't field a tervigon without 30 termagants so that isn't an option in this set up.

Broodlord would go with the Genestealer unit.

Depending what you are trading/paying for this... there could be better ways to go.

So, from the email it looks like the great bulk are either on the Sprue or assembled but not primed nor painted. Anything that is painted is, quite honestly, a good bit better than I could do (now, anyways!)

I put an ad up for trade at my flgs for an old box of Chaos Dameons (the one with 20 Bloodletters, 10 Horrors, 10 Daemonettes, and 5 Seekers) + 15 more Seekers and a box of Plaugue Drones, and this is what the guy emailed me about...models plus the Codex and some paints.

I haven't done a price comparison yet, so not sure if this stuff is relatively equal to my Daemons or not. I first wanted to get an idea if this would be a "semi-ready" army (i.e. not having to buy much, I don't have alot of extra $$$ at the moment). From what you guys have told me, looks like a No.

I'd say it is a semi ready army. Using all models you could do something like this:

HQ: Flyrant with Devourers

Troops: 8x Genestealers with Broodlord
Troops: 19 Termagants
Troops: 11 Hormagaunts

Elite: Lictor

Heavy support: Trygon Prime
Heavy Support: Tyrannofex

Comes in at 988 points bare bones. So you could alter things here and there get a couple of upgrades to get a solid 1000pt army. Infiltraing stealer brood, sneaky lictor, flyrant cruising around the place. The Trygon Prime would probably have to run across the board with your main blob as synapse cover. From there it is buying a unit here and there to increase points and customising the army to how you like it.

Yeah you won't win any major tournament with this set up, but is that your goal right now?

Just my 2c.

I'd actually say you are getting a stellar deal. If you do the price comparison ($wise) you are basically doubling (if not more) you value. Plus, you are dumping a bunch of not so great models (Bloodletters) some ho hum stuff (other Troops), and then the Plague Drones for some pretty pricey models (I'm looking at you Tervigon and Tyrant). As was just posted above mine, the list there is pretty solid. The only suggestion I'd add is to switch up the Trygon for a Mawloc, then add a Zoanthrope with the extra points. Using the Lictor to bring in the Mawloc without scattering is always entertaining.

Good luck!

Mad.. wrote:
Yeah you won't win any major tournament with this set up, but is that your goal right now.

Nah, not a tournament player anyhow.

Mad.. wrote:
HQ: Flyrant with Devourers

Just so I know, is this another box entirely, or can this be made out of the kit in the OP? I couldn't find "Flyrant" or "Devourers" on the GW website

My gawd...retail on Tyrranid troops is (relatively) cheap!

Not sure what is included in your deal.

If it is the Swarmlord/hive tyrant box then yes the wings are included. If it is just a walking hive tyrant model as is you will have to hunt down some wings from somewhere.

Flyrant is just the common term for a flying hive tyrant, so on the GW site you just need to search Hive tyrant/Swarmlord.

Cheers.

Looks like a decent start to an army to me

Mad.. wrote:
Not sure what is included in your deal.

If it is the Swarmlord/hive tyrant box then yes the wings are included. If it is just a walking hive tyrant model as is you will have to hunt down some wings from somewhere.

Flyrant is just the common term for a flying hive tyrant, so on the GW site you just need to search Hive tyrant/Swarmlord.

Cheers.

Added to this, Devourers don't come in the box. So there's two ways to get MC Devourer arms for a Flying Tyrant - either hunt down bits from a Carnifex kit, but you'll need to do some conversion work since the Flying Tyrant loses an arm point for the wings, or just buy the Forgeworld Dual Devourer arms.

Mad.. wrote:
Not sure what is included in your deal.

If it is the Swarmlord/hive tyrant box then yes the wings are included. If it is just a walking hive tyrant model as is you will have to hunt down some wings from somewhere.

Flyrant is just the common term for a flying hive tyrant, so on the GW site you just need to search Hive tyrant/Swarmlord.

Cheers.

Here's a pic...apparently all the kit is still there to complete the model, the guy just wanted to paint the stuff before he attached limbs and such.

Is this the start of a Flyrant?

Looks like it, if you snag a "Swarm " box down the way (the current Tyranid box) you will have most of what you need to build a playable Tyranid army at higher point levels.... (Likely you'll still want a second Tyrant, some Zoenthropes....etc)

 jasper76 wrote:
I got an offer to trade for the following Tyrranid models. I don't have the Tyrranid codex (would come with the deal), so I wanted to get a feeler as to whether or not this would be a good start. I don't want to pull the trigger if all I'd have to do is turn around and spend a ton of money on a bunch more models to achieve semi-competitiveness (I know the new Codex is popularly viewed as a less competitive codex in general).

Not even sure what here is HQ, Troops, FA, etc, so bear with me.

1 x Broodlord
1 x Lictor
1 x Tyranofex/Tervigon
1 x Mawloc/Trygon
1 x Hive Tyrant
8 x Genestealers
19 x Termigants
11 x Hormogaunts

I replied in your other thread regarding the other question.

Regarding semi-competitiveness, that is a pretty open-ended question. So i'll try and not be overly negative.

Them models together create a disaster. Generally speaking offensive wise, you need 40 Gaunts to kill or tarpit.

Trygons and Mawlocs require 2 or 3 if deepstriking, unless there is quick support (aka a flyer). A Hive Tyrant without wings or guard is next to useless.

A Tervigon and Tyrannofex need support but generally hold their own, in their own suitable situations.

Genestealers are absolutely useless if infiltrating, even with a Broodlord. Add in the Lictor and you have no more usefullness. Double the numbers listed and you may get a result.



You basically have some monstrous creatures and a few Gaunts. I suspect to be near semi-comp standard you'll need to invest double what you have listed. Not including the Genestealer, Broodlord, Hormagaunts, Lictor.
Nids can't just bring anything to the table and expect to hold their ground like Marines.

Trigger has been pulled. Come this Saturday, I'll be part of the Hive.

Thanks for all the feedback, advice, warnings, etc!

In response to your earlier question, yes, the model on the far right of the image you posted above is the beginnings of a Flying Hive Tyrant. Also, if you just google search for dual devourer conversion I'm sure you'll find plenty of examples of how to make them. Additionally, there are lots of bits websites out there that you can get Termigaunt devourers for the conversion.

 djm55 wrote:
In response to your earlier question, yes, the model on the far right of the image you posted above is the beginnings of a Flying Hive Tyrant. Also, if you just google search for dual devourer conversion I'm sure you'll find plenty of examples of how to make them. Additionally, there are lots of bits websites out there that you can get Termigaunt devourers for the conversion.

Thank you! I will most certainly be looking into that.

 jasper76 wrote:
Trigger has been pulled. Come this Saturday, I'll be part of the Hive.

Thanks for all the feedback, advice, warnings, etc!

Welcome to the hive... nice to see us getting more biomass to consume the galaxy with!

So I got the nids and the Codex and the paints and stuff. And I got the green flag from the wife to get some more, so I found a Tyranid Hive box and one of those 2xCarnifex boxes on the cheap(ish).

So my current army options looks like this:

HQ
1 x Hive Tyrant (irreversably modeled as a Flyrant, which I think isa good thing...my next purchase will be another one of these)

Troops
8 x Genestealers
1 x Broodlord
64 x Termigants
52 x Hormogaunts

Elites
1 x Lictor (since I only have the 1 Lictor, I could also use this guy as the Deathleaper)

FA
10?x Gargoyles (however many come in that Swarm box)

Heavy Support
1 x Mawloc (the head of this unit is completed as a Mawloc head...I like the rules for the Mawloc alot so I'm pretty sold on this kit configuration)
3x Carnifex

Which leaves me with:

1 x Tyranofex/Tervigon

I cant decide which way to go with this kit. The popular consensus on these forums seems to be that the Tervigon was nerferd too bad and costs too much to be a desireable option.

However, coming from someone who has never read a letter of the last codex, after reading through the new Codex, the Tervigon options seems vastly more fun than the Tyranofex option. In fact, when I read the Tervigon rules, I thought, THIS is the type of army I want to play.

I mean pooping 3D6 models onto the battlefield every turn is crazy...is there any other Codex that can do that??? (Canoptek Spyders, by contrast, poop out ONE scarab per round, and Ghost Arks poop out D3 Warriors up to the original troop size....and I thought THAT was cool)

To me, parking a Tervigon with Regen in the backfield on top of an objective behind Cover, and maybe even behind an Aegis Defense line wth a Venomthrope (2+ Cover Save, right?), and pumping out nasty little Termigaunts seems alot funner than a high strength gun that shoots 2 shots a round. It even seems to me to be the better tactical choice, even with the big Synapse Backfire and the chance to flicker out with doubles.

Of course, I'd rather have both! Maybe 1 day.

Am I horribly wrong here? Are Tyranofexes just an obvious better choice here?

Also, if someone could please advise, I'm really not sure WTF to find the dataslates on the GW website. Are they the 14.99 a pop downloads? If so, that is completely off the hook BS. The Helbrute dataslate for CSM is only like 5 bucks (and of course all this DLC should be FREE as an incentive for poeple to buy ACTUAL product).

Anyway, advice would be welcome, if you are so inclined.

P.S. I realize I am still short on Synapse coverage...was planning to fill this gap with anothe Flyrant + Zoanthropes...they're auto-power looks pretty damn sweet to me.

 jasper76 wrote:
And I got the green flag from the wife to get some more, so I found a Tyranid Hive box and one of those 2xCarnifex boxes on the cheap(ish)..

Always good when you can get green lights from SWMBO.

Tervigon vs Tyrannofex debate, you can go either way, depends on a lot of factors.

However you talk about using the Tervigon as a troops choice and using it as a support unit... to me that is a solid use of the unit, and like you say, being able to spawn more troops is always fun. Personally I have run a tervigon at the moment, and find it does a solid job even with the "nerfs"

In your specific list above... my opinion is to go with the Tervigon option using dominion to extend synapse range to give you more synapse coverage, as you have solid Heavy support choices already.

Good luck!

1 Tervigon can be a good option --- more than 1 now no way.

Mawloc is very strong.

Tyranofexes w/ acid spray and Shock grubs have been working very well for me.

Exocrines preform really well.

My Crone and and Harpy have been doing very well.

I just haven't liked the Carnifex. Too few wounds for the points and easy to kill unless you have a bunch of Fexs and a few venoms.

I want to like Stealers but I just can't. Maybe a min sized group to get line breaker if your going to use them?

The 2nd data slate has the skyblight and it is the only one I plan on getting but I don't think any of them are really needed.

 Mythra wrote:
I just haven't liked the Carnifex. Too few wounds for the points and easy to kill unless you have a bunch of Fexs and a few venoms.

I mostly got them as an economic ($-wise) way to get MCs on the board. The swarm box comes with one, and then they have the discounted x2 box. If Necrons have taught me anything, it's that 2 is better than 1, and 3 is better than 2 for Heavy Support MC like Spyders that can come in 3s.

I'll probably magnetize the weapons and so forth but I really like the dakkafex loadout and also the heavy bio cannon for long range support, at least on paper. In any case, I think the models are sweet.

P.S. Carnifex, the metal band...you are ruining my google image searches!

I generally consider Tyranofex as an alternate to a Carnifex Brood, so building a Tervigon looks like a good way to go...

I do reccomend magnitising the Carnifexen, there's no telling what build you'll end up liking...

I would not reccomend Regen for your Terv, you're just not likely to get your value back out, at most add some more shooty, like a Thorax Hive. Remeber that it can "poop out" at any time, so don't depend on it always working. I like to have 5 to 6 troops, including a Terv, so that I end up with 9+ (less the ones that die )

I personaly prefer the Tyranofex, the way I explain it is some thing like this: Tyranofex,Adrenal Gland, Thorax Hive (Rending Beatles, or Electro bugs) 200, Zoey Brood x2, 100. Total cost 300

Dakkafex Brood, x2 cost 300.... make no mistake Dakkafex are made out of epic win, but for me the economics argues in favor of Tyranofex

When I do build some Carnifexen, I plan on going "Gunfex", (Strangle Cannon, Brain Leeches) Because I already have a Tyrano for close in fighting. So plopping down big Pin Test templates sounds good (and with magnets, I can swap it out if it dosen't work out )

It's hard to reccomend Genestealers, but you may like Outflanking a Brood, with a Broodlord. The Horror can make up for not having grenades, and limit shooting losses....