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I'd like this list to be a competitive hybrid list for Tyranids- hybrid meaning, I don't just want an airforce, I want a really strong ground pounding element. This list includes self-allying.

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45

15x Gargoyles - 90
Crone - 155

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
2x Dakkafexes - 300
Mawloc - 140

Bastion - Comms Relay - 95

1850

My real question is- should I swap the Gargoyles and Crone for a third Flyrant? I feel like I need the Gargoyles in there, because there is absolutely no "bubble wrap" otherwise, and they can provide mobile cover for the Tyrannofexes. Without them, against a drop pod army the enemy could land right in front of my Tyrannofexes and just melta away.

Thoughts appreciated!

Personally, I'd go with the 3rd flyrant over the gargoyles+hive crone. The flyrant is the best unit in the codex and also it's most flexible. Moreover, gargoyles are just there for the short game. They distract and then they die. Flyrants are there for the long haul, meaning that they will be useful the entire game.

As for the t-fexes, if your opponent is trying to melta away the t-fex over your flyrants (or even the dakkafexes), then be very happy. That is the wrong target prioritization by your opponent. Besides, your t-fexes will be getting at minimum 5+ cover in the open from the malanthrope and 2+ cover if he is actually in or touching ruins.

Can't argue with the advice... But...Styles vary, and I would want bubble wrap/ OS Troops... so I would drop the FA slots and buy troops...245 points will buy ...49 Hormagaunts? That gives you 3 Broods of x15, enough to bubble wrap all three Heavys (the Mawloc doesn't need it) And with Big Bugs shouting hey! Shoot me! the Hormies might even make contact. 45 Hormies leaves enough to buy an upgrade or two some place...

I'm guessing you plan on Malanthrope in a box? If so, the Mawloc makes a fine body guard for a round or two.

Yes, I have studied at the school of jy2 and my Malanthrope will most definitely be going in the box . Also, do you mean parking the Mawloc in front of the Bastion to give the Bastion cover... or something else? It will probably get cover from the Tyrannofexes already.

I'm going to build an extra Flyrant and an extra Crone, so that I can try out jy2's above advice by putting in another Flyrant if self-allying is allowed.


If self-allying isn't allowed, I will do one of the following to remove a heavy support and add in a second Crone:

1. Drop the Mawloc and a unit of Rippers, Add 5 Gargoyles and a Crone
OR
2. Drop the Mawloc and change a Tyrannofex to an Exocrine, Add a Crone


I think having 2 Tyrannofexes, 2 Dakkafexes and a Malanthrope-in-a-box on the ground, with 4 fliers in the air, might be a pretty scary single CAD list! So, I'll have both options . I can always add gaunts, but honestly picking them up each game was not fun. I'd like to try more of a Nidzilla build for now.

 RiTides wrote:
Yes, I have studied at the school of jy2 and my Malanthrope will most definitely be going in the box . Also, do you mean parking the Mawloc in front of the Bastion to give the Bastion cover... or something else? It will probably get cover from the Tyrannofexes already.

I'm going to build an extra Flyrant and an extra Crone, so that I can try out jy2's above advice by putting in another Flyrant if self-allying is allowed.


If self-allying isn't allowed, I will do one of the following to remove a heavy support and add in a second Crone:

1. Drop the Mawloc and a unit of Rippers, Add 5 Gargoyles and a Crone
OR
2. Drop the Mawloc and change a Tyrannofex to an Exocrine, Add a Crone


I think having 2 Tyrannofexes, 2 Dakkafexes and a Malanthrope-in-a-box on the ground, with 4 fliers in the air, might be a pretty scary single CAD list! So, I'll have both options . I can always add gaunts, but honestly picking them up each game was not fun. I'd like to try more of a Nidzilla build for now.

Nope...I was thinking I like to start in Reserve, as I should, I just like having it pop up and chow down on the assault team after it forms up, then I can follow on to take out the support units. I works even better with a "Lictor in a box" but I still just plain like it.

Even if self ally is off the table, you could jigger around to x2 CAD...unless that too is not "OK"...

If you get a chance, post some outcomes, I'd like to hear!

So, I'm clear on what to do if self-allying is allowed (drop crone and gargoyles for a third flyrant) but I'm not so sure about how to make this work for a single CAD.

In that case, losing the Crone, Gargoyles, Mawloc, and comms relay gives me 400 points. Enough for a Living Artillery Node! Would that work well with this list? I think it might because the Biovores can hide behind the Bastion, and the Exocrine has lots of other big bugs on the board to take the heat off of him.

 RiTides wrote:
So, I'm clear on what to do if self-allying is allowed (drop crone and gargoyles for a third flyrant) but I'm not so sure about how to make this work for a single CAD.

In that case, losing the Crone, Gargoyles, Mawloc, and comms relay gives me 400 points. Enough for a Living Artillery Node! Would that work well with this list? I think it might because the Biovores can hide behind the Bastion, and the Exocrine has lots of other big bugs on the board to take the heat off of him.

You are also part way to Bio-Blast. If tweaking the original list that's the way I'd go -- much less new stuff to add and potential 7 heavy supports. Something like

Flyrant
Flyrant

Malanthrope

rippers
rippers

Biovores
Mawloc
TFex

TFex
Dakkafex
Dakkafex
DakkaFex
Warriors

Roughly 1835. Can tweak to get that 3rd ripper, or rework the HS to allow for 2nd malanthrope, some FA or comms.

 RiTides wrote:
So, I'm clear on what to do if self-allying is allowed (drop crone and gargoyles for a third flyrant) but I'm not so sure about how to make this work for a single CAD.

In that case, losing the Crone, Gargoyles, Mawloc, and comms relay gives me 400 points. Enough for a Living Artillery Node! Would that work well with this list? I think it might because the Biovores can hide behind the Bastion, and the Exocrine has lots of other big bugs on the board to take the heat off of him.

I suggest drop the Mawloc... , and two Gargoyles, and add a Dakkafex.

Nice suggestion, winterman! This has been a very helpful process... here's what I'm thinking now for the variations of the list.


If self-allying is allowed:



Single CAD with Living Artillery Node:



Single CAD with Bio-Blast Node:



Pinecone, if I add that third Dakkafex I've got all the MCs from a Bio-Blast node present, so I'd likely use the formation.

 RiTides wrote:
Nice suggestion, winterman! This has been a very helpful process... here's what I'm thinking now for the variations of the list.


If self-allying is allowed:

Spoiler:

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
2x Dakkafexes - 300
Mawloc - 140

Bastion - Comms Relay - 95

1845

Single CAD with Living Artillery Node:

Spoiler:

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Warriors w/ Barbed Strangler - 100

Dimaecheron - 200

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Dakkafex - 150
Dakkafex - 150
Exocrine - 170
3 Biovores - 120

Bastion - 75

1850

Single CAD with Bio-Blast Node:

Spoiler:

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Warriors w/ Barbed Strangler - 100

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray - 175
Tyrannofex - Acid Spray - 175
Dakkafex - 150
Dakkafex - 150
Dakkafex - 150
Mawloc - 140
2 Biovores - 80

Bastion - 75

1850

Pinecone, if I add that third Dakkafex I've got all the MCs from a Bio-Blast node present, so I'd likely use the formation.

Sounds like a plan! If you have the models...The Warrior Brood for Living Artillery should probably take a Venom Cannon, the Special rule gives "pinning" so Venom gets the most benefit. (and you get a stronger blast. ) you lose in size, but you get to re-roll scatter, so you'll miss less anyway. This is the only time I recommend Venom Cannon for Warriors though.

Ah, thanks for that! I was planning on building 4 warriors, so that I could swap the venom cannon and barbed strangler in and out, but that is very helpful to know.

Also, now that I know Bastions can be upgraded with 10-point barricades that can be 6" long and provide 4+ cover... I am really thinking I should be taking 2 of those! One to put on either side of the Bastion and give my Nids guaranteed cover to start out in (buffed to a 2+ save with the Malanthrope ). Any flaws in this plan? Just have to free up another 20 points in each list, or swap the Comms Relay for them.

Quick update, what about this tweak to get a screening unit into the Living Artillery Node list?

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
26 Hormagaunts - 130
3x Warriors w/ Venom Cannon - 100

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
2 x Dakkafexes - 300
Mawloc - 140
Exocrine - 170
3 Biovores - 120

Bastion - 2 Barricades - 95

1850

Without the barricades, I could make it a full 30 hormagaunts . Not sure if that's really scary these days, but it's an option! I could also go the other way and drop them down to 22 to fit in a Comms Relay to keep the lone ripper unit off the board longer.

Alternatively, I could eschew subtlety and put in the second Tfex here instead of the Mawloc. If I lose the barricades, I could still fit in 21 Hormagaunts (or 26 regular Gaunts... the Horms seem better here on paper to me because they're taller to screen with, and faster to run ahead of the big bug push).

I would suggest against the comms relay. You'd be spending 20 points to keep your 45 point unit off the board. That doesn't seem like a good point investment to me.

I'd go so far as to say that you probably don't even need the bastion. As far as I can tell, you'll be using it for either the Warrior unit or the Malanthrope. Due to the high probability of your opponent brining some sort of weaponry to down the bastion, I'd suggest reinvesting those 95 points into a gargoyle unit.

I think the "synapse/shrouding in a box" strategy worked great previously because opponents typically only had a single unit that could threaten it. Now, because of Knights, people have to have redundancy in that department and the bastion has become a less reliable way to protect our units. I do however, see the value of a Bastion in added LOS blocker....so I guess it's a crapshoot there.

That's great feedback, roxor08, and in this round of building I'm accounting for possibly not bringing a Bastion- but it doesn't affect my lists too much because if I don't take the Bastion, I am 100% going to swap in a second Malanthrope for it, which is about the same cost! I can't see my single Malanthrope living out in the open otherwise (and might easily give up first blood if I don't put it in a brood of 2).

Hey guys, as a new player, I had a few questions on designing my tyranid army list, using this one as a base.

Do formations completely ignore the Force Organization Chart, in that you dont need to run an HQ+Troops for that formation, just the exact units ?

Why do people prefer the Malanthrope/Venomthope in the Bastion rather than 2-3 Malanthrope/Venomthrope staying with the group in clumps?

Have you guys preferred Living Artillery or SkyBlight as your go-to formation?

What are you guys using the ripper swarms for? I mostly see people taking objectives, can they really do much else?

Thanks!

 RiTides wrote:
That's great feedback, roxor08, and in this round of building I'm accounting for possibly not bringing a Bastion- but it doesn't affect my lists too much because if I don't take the Bastion, I am 100% going to swap in a second Malanthrope for it, which is about the same cost! I can't see my single Malanthrope living out in the open otherwise (and might easily give up first blood if I don't put it in a brood of 2).

I'd strongly recommend this, the second Shroud can keep the LA alive just fine, just park them in a Ruin. Late game you can bring the Malanthrope forward to help clean up, by then counter battery should be in the "problem solved" list. And that still leaves 10 points to spend on something.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

DoggieDoo wrote:
Hey guys, as a new player, I had a few questions on designing my tyranid army list, using this one as a base.

Do formations completely ignore the Force Organization Chart, in that you dont need to run an HQ+Troops for that formation, just the exact units ?

Why do people prefer the Malanthrope/Venomthope in the Bastion rather than 2-3 Malanthrope/Venomthrope staying with the group in clumps?

Have you guys preferred Living Artillery or SkyBlight as your go-to formation?

What are you guys using the ripper swarms for? I mostly see people taking objectives, can they really do much else?

Thanks!

1) Formations are separate from CAD, shoot you can take them "naked" if you are "unbound".

2)Not everyone likes "Veno in a box" ...but it is a proven strategy, it provides a safe deployment vs alpha strikes vs most things. I however prefer Multiple Thropes running around, it's really a "style" thing.

3) Both see a lot of use, I personally don't much like Skyblight ("Style" ) because it takes so many points it kinda writes the whole list. Living artillery is lower cost, and is a very strong answer to gunlines (less common, but still often seen)

4) Rippers....well they are very inexpensive...and, they can Deep strike. This is a "style" thing again, if you want to spend on non Troops then Rippers are a very good buy. If you want your Troops to do most anything beyond "show up, and hang around" You'll want something else.

Just posting this here for my reference: I may run a modified version of the list in the OP, depending on how timing goes for updating the army for MechaniCon:

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
10x Termagaunts - 40

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Dakkafex - 150
Dakkafex - 150
Mawloc - 140
Mawloc - 140

Bastion - Comms Relay - 2 Barricades - 115

1850

This uses double force orgs just to get more heavy support slots. I know it's not the most optimized, but I just have to paint a Bastion, Flyrant, Tyrannofex, Malanthrope and the Rippers to run it. So it may win out for that reason! We'll see how timing goes

 RiTides wrote:
Just posting this here for my reference: I may run a modified version of the list in the OP, depending on how timing goes for updating the army for MechaniCon:

Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240
Flyrant - 2x TL-D's, Egrubs - 240

Malanthrope - 85

3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
3x Rippers - Deepstrike - 45
10x Termagaunts - 40

Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Tyrannofex - Acid Spray, Egrubs - 185
Dakkafex - 150
Dakkafex - 150
Mawloc - 140
Mawloc - 140

Bastion - Comms Relay - 2 Barricades - 115

1850

This uses double force orgs just to get more heavy support slots. I know it's not the most optimized, but I just have to paint a Bastion, Flyrant, Tyrannofex, Malanthrope and the Rippers to run it. So it may win out for that reason! We'll see how timing goes

I like the look of this list. Good luck at the Con.