Hi all,

I've been lurking for a while and have decided to create an account and make my first post.

I have gotten back in to 40k after a 13 year hiatus and have a reasonably sized Blood Angels army. I've played a number of 6th and 7th edition games and I pretty much have the hang of it. Now I'm looking to begin a new army.

I've just purchased a copy of Space Hulk and the Terminators will be joining my Blood Angels army. I would really like to use the Genestealers from the set and build a new force to include them. Most of the games that I play are around the 1750 points mark and I aim to build and paint a new army around that size by the end of the year. I know very little about Tyranids, I just reckon they look cool and I am keen to paint some (plus I have a few models already).

I like the idea of a low number of models comprising mainly of big beasties. I don't play competitively, but I do like to win occasionally, so I'm looking for a fun list that I won't lose interest in due to being wiped from the table every game. I'm planning on starting with a small force (maybe 1 HQ and 2 Troops) and steadily increasing it's size.

How do you guys reckon I should proceed? What should I look at getting to start with?

Thanks,

-StolleMan-

depends if you want to play competitive or more fu.
if you like the big ones, maybe start with a hive tyrant, some tyrant guard, a few warriors, some minor bugs to fill up the gaps and 2-3 of the flyers. (crone) theyre quite competitive.Also Dakka Fexes seem to be the way of chioce nowadays

Cool!

A Hive Tyrant $90
3 Tyrant Guard $90
3 Warriors $65
3 Hive Crones $345
3 Carnifexes $213

TOTAL: $803

If I add my Genestealers and my Broodlord that makes roughly 1750 points.

If I start of with just one Crone and one Carnifex (I can add a couple more of each later), I will have roughly 1000 points to build from at less than $500. I like the sound of that.

2 flyrant is a must.
crones seem good on paper but they arent that good in reality. Definately get 3 flyrants before even considering getting a single crone.
warriors are terrible, only get them if you go with the living artilery node.
You need to have cover saves vs the nasty shooting from most armies nowadays so consider venomthropes.
add some sort of tarpit as your troop choice. Personally I go with terma / devilgaunts and deep striking rippers. lots of people use hormas but I find them really underwhelming when it comes to cc. genestealers are a big waste of points btw. look at it this way, would you rather screen your army with bodies that cost 4 points or 13 points ? They WILL get shot down so its only a matter of how many points you concede per shooting phase. Take a serious look at the tarpit effect and you should be on your way

StolleMan wrote:
Cool!

A Hive Tyrant $90
3 Tyrant Guard $90
3 Warriors $65
3 Hive Crones $345
3 Carnifexes $213

TOTAL: $803

If I add my Genestealers and my Broodlord that makes roughly 1750 points.

If I start of with just one Crone and one Carnifex (I can add a couple more of each later), I will have roughly 1000 points to build from at less than $500. I like the sound of that.

Not much to add...I always recommend for "starting out" That you grab the Tyranid Swarm box, a Tyrant, and a box of Warriors...I recommend you magnitise if you can...you'll almost certainly want the Tyrant to fly if you aren't "handy" enough to use magnets.

The swarm box contains a boatload of gaunts, a Brood of Gargoyles, and a Carnifex, toss in the Warriors, and a Tyrant, and you have a good "winnable" force for up to 1200 pts or less. Then you can add Big Bugs once you get a feel for what sort of army you like. If you build and play at 1000 or so, adding a Formation will sort of take you to 1750 "organicly".

Sadly Genestealers are currently badly overpriced for what they do. But that does not stop you from using them. You might add a Broodlord, if you can find one on sale. (or second hand. )

In any case... good luck! And welcome to the Hive Mind!

cyberjonesy wrote:
2 flyrant is a must.
crones seem good on paper but they arent that good in reality. Definately get 3 flyrants before even considering getting a single crone.
warriors are terrible, only get them if you go with the living artilery node.
You need to have cover saves vs the nasty shooting from most armies nowadays so consider venomthropes.
add some sort of tarpit as your troop choice. Personally I go with terma / devilgaunts and deep striking rippers. lots of people use hormas but I find them really underwhelming when it comes to cc. genestealers are a big waste of points btw. look at it this way, would you rather screen your army with bodies that cost 4 points or 13 points ? They WILL get shot down so its only a matter of how many points you concede per shooting phase. Take a serious look at the tarpit effect and you should be on your way

Trying to think of the nicest way to put this. I disagree? Yeah, that'll work.

Spamming Flyrants is cheesy and boring, Tyranids have a lot more to offer. Warriors are vital. 30 points for 3 T4 wounds, and options for good guns? Plus, good in melee? Plus, Synapse? I've used them in every single game since I started playing, and most people hate fighting them, as they never die, and kill a good amount of stuff.

Also, Genestealers have become more attractive since 7th Ed. A Broodlord gives you another warp charge, plus Pinning now prevents Overwatch. How is that not useful? And also, they Infiltrate, so your opponent will HAVE to deal with them right away or have something of theirs killed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
But, to answer the OP, if you want big, bad beasties, I recommend an Exocrine, as his shooting is extremely useful, a Trygon Prime, as they kill a crap ton of stuff and are hard as heck to kill, plus serve as a great distraction. Mawlocs are fun, if you can tag-team with lictors for maximum effect.

Also, if you REALLY want a badass MC, use the Swarmlord.

I am pretty handy with magnets, although I've gone a bit overboard lately and am thinking I need to make my models a little more static.

Is the swarmlord box the same as the hive tyrant, giving me the option to make both?

Warriors seem like a safe bet, maybe I will get a box of them and a hive tyrant to begin with. That will give me one HQ and two Troops.

I reckon I'm keen on monstrous creatures because I've never had access to them before.

 krodarklorr wrote:

cyberjonesy wrote:
2 flyrant is a must.
crones seem good on paper but they arent that good in reality. Definately get 3 flyrants before even considering getting a single crone.
warriors are terrible, only get them if you go with the living artilery node.
You need to have cover saves vs the nasty shooting from most armies nowadays so consider venomthropes.
add some sort of tarpit as your troop choice. Personally I go with terma / devilgaunts and deep striking rippers. lots of people use hormas but I find them really underwhelming when it comes to cc. genestealers are a big waste of points btw. look at it this way, would you rather screen your army with bodies that cost 4 points or 13 points ? They WILL get shot down so its only a matter of how many points you concede per shooting phase. Take a serious look at the tarpit effect and you should be on your way

Trying to think of the nicest way to put this. I disagree? Yeah, that'll work.

Spamming Flyrants is cheesy and boring, Tyranids have a lot more to offer. Warriors are vital. 30 points for 3 T4 wounds, and options for good guns? Plus, good in melee? Plus, Synapse? I've used them in every single game since I started playing, and most people hate fighting them, as they never die, and kill a good amount of stuff.

Also, Genestealers have become more attractive since 7th Ed. A Broodlord gives you another warp charge, plus Pinning now prevents Overwatch. How is that not useful? And also, they Infiltrate, so your opponent will HAVE to deal with them right away or have something of theirs killed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
But, to answer the OP, if you want big, bad beasties, I recommend an Exocrine, as his shooting is extremely useful, a Trygon Prime, as they kill a crap ton of stuff and are hard as heck to kill, plus serve as a great distraction. Mawlocs are fun, if you can tag-team with lictors for maximum effect.

Also, if you REALLY want a badass MC, use the Swarmlord.

I'm actually not sure if you're joking. Maybe your area has a very different meta than the norm.

Flyrants cheesy and boring? Not really. Flyrants are useful, fast, and efficient. One of the few places to get electroshock grubs, too - and the only one that can fly.

Warriors are not 'vital', unless you mean to unlock formations. They're neat, they're good in fun lists, but are NOT 'good'. I wish they were - I have 25 - but they die quickly to almost everything and cost too much. In both respects. They are, as above, a 'fun' choice.

Genestealers. ...No? Even with Broodlords. Again, fun choice for fun lists against fluffy opponents' lists. But still cost too many points, and die to everything. Think: Will this absorb a shooting phase plus overwatch and remain viable in even one combat? Probably not. Your opponent will deal with them, yes. Easily. And at a high cost to you. Want pinning? Take a few stranglethorn cannons, no Perils, longer range, plus you'll kill a few models too.

Exocrine - I like them. Good call.

Trygon Prime... Not a chance. Take a Flyrant with Devourers. Trygon's so many points for a model that excels only at killing infantry - which the rest of your army should be having no issues with already.

Mawlocs are fantastic.

Lictors are super fun, but suffer from 'lots of points, T4 and worthless armour save' syndrome.

Swarmy is powerful, but too slow and not competitive. I want to use the Swarmlord, but... he never makes it across the board :(




Automatically Appended Next Post:

StolleMan wrote:
I am pretty handy with magnets, although I've gone a bit overboard lately and am thinking I need to make my models a little more static.

Is the swarmlord box the same as the hive tyrant, giving me the option to make both?

Warriors seem like a safe bet, maybe I will get a box of them and a hive tyrant to begin with. That will give me one HQ and two Troops.

I reckon I'm keen on monstrous creatures because I've never had access to them before.

The Tyrant box will give you options for Swarmy or a Tyrant/Flyrant. Warriors are good to have, they'll fill a synapse hole well or allow you Formation access, just don't rely on them for killing anything more than light infantry. In a fun list, they're great. Don't put them up against Nobs, TH/SS Termies, Grey Knights, MC's ...etc.

MC's are a blast, and fun to magnetize. Carnifexes with dual TL-Devourers are possibly the best heavy support in the Codex. I am also a fan of the Tyrannofex, which many people view as a 'less than competitive choice' - but the only model with a 2+ save in the book.

Venomthropes. Buy two. They'll give you a 6" shrouded bubble, and increase MC survivability against low AP weapons significantly.

 krodarklorr wrote:

cyberjonesy wrote:
2 flyrant is a must.
crones seem good on paper but they arent that good in reality. Definately get 3 flyrants before even considering getting a single crone.
warriors are terrible, only get them if you go with the living artilery node.
You need to have cover saves vs the nasty shooting from most armies nowadays so consider venomthropes.
add some sort of tarpit as your troop choice. Personally I go with terma / devilgaunts and deep striking rippers. lots of people use hormas but I find them really underwhelming when it comes to cc. genestealers are a big waste of points btw. look at it this way, would you rather screen your army with bodies that cost 4 points or 13 points ? They WILL get shot down so its only a matter of how many points you concede per shooting phase. Take a serious look at the tarpit effect and you should be on your way

Trying to think of the nicest way to put this. I disagree? Yeah, that'll work.

Spamming Flyrants is cheesy and boring, Tyranids have a lot more to offer. Warriors are vital. 30 points for 3 T4 wounds, and options for good guns? Plus, good in melee? Plus, Synapse? I've used them in every single game since I started playing, and most people hate fighting them, as they never die, and kill a good amount of stuff.

Also, Genestealers have become more attractive since 7th Ed. A Broodlord gives you another warp charge, plus Pinning now prevents Overwatch. How is that not useful? And also, they Infiltrate, so your opponent will HAVE to deal with them right away or have something of theirs killed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
But, to answer the OP, if you want big, bad beasties, I recommend an Exocrine, as his shooting is extremely useful, a Trygon Prime, as they kill a crap ton of stuff and are hard as heck to kill, plus serve as a great distraction. Mawlocs are fun, if you can tag-team with lictors for maximum effect.

Also, if you REALLY want a badass MC, use the Swarmlord.

Yeah I just can't help but feel you are the first and only Tyranid player in your meta and people just haven't learned the very simple tricks to deal with them yet...or you play in a very low powered meta.

Spamming Flyrants is boring and slightly cheesy, you are right there. But Flyrants are the crutch the the Tyranid army, without them they codex only has one leg to stand on and falls apart rather quickly against a moderately decent opponent.

Warriors are okay...until you come up against a single S8 template which isn't that incredibly rare, or any S8+ weapon for that matter. The myth that every S8 shot that goes towards warriors is one that doesnt go towards your MCs is so overblown because of how expensive Warriors are, they cost far to much to just be distractions and if you buy upgrades like you suggest they QUICKLY become a points sink. They are best run as a small 3 man group with a stranglethorn for back up synapse and ObSec, also as apart of living artillery.

Genestealers are bad, doubly so with a Broodlord. A minimum squad of Stealers with Lord is 130 points, that is a lot of points to put into a unit with T4 5+Sv, infiltrate often means you get to deploy 6" forward from the rest of your army and just means you get into small arms fire before the rest of your swarm. The Horror is decent enough for pinning but as someone else said, just take a Stranglethorn on some backfield Warriors for pinning.

Trygons and Trgon Primes are awful, just a sad shell of what they used to be. They NEED the rerolls they used to get with Scything Talons. 6 attacks, 3 hits on average, 3 wounds...for 190/230 points...Yes you get some shooting and Synapse but they are really costly. I wouldn't say they are useless but they cost a lot of points for not a lot of damage output.

For the new Tyranid player I advise you to accept that most units in this codex will be leaving you feeling underwhelmed, you will probably feel after a couple of games that it wouldn't be so bad if you could field JUUUUUST a little more. If you are set on the army here are my picks for the slots;

HQ:
Flyrants
Deathleaper

Elites:
Zoanthrope
Venomthrope
Hive Guard (MAYBE)

Troops:
Warriors (MAYBE)
Termagants/Tervigons
Rippers (Best Choice)

Fast:
Hive Crones
Gargoyles

Heavy:
Mawloc
Exocrine
Carnifex
Biovore

Just make sure to take as many Flyrants as possible, I regularly play in a not so competitive meta with so many substandard units because damnit I love my Lictors and Haruspex, but they are just awful and in their Haruspex case worthless. I could make a decent Tyranid list but I have no desire at all to play that way. I started collecting this army in 3rd because I wanted to play a melee horde that charged up the table and threw themselves at the enemy. I didn't want to play a gun line with flying gun boats.

It seems like a Hive Tyrant will definitely be my first purchase. Obviously the meta is different from place to place and I am taking all suggestions onboard.

I am still keen on fielding mainly big gribblies, even at the expense of maximum efficiency. It's a shame that many people feel that genestealers aren't very good as I already have a unit of them.

If I get time, I'm going to pick up a hive tyrant tonight. I'm just going to have to figure out what each weapon actually is! I'm far more familiar with the weapons of the imperium.

The Twin Linked Devourers are not on the sprue for the Tyrant, if I recall correctly. I have a link in my signature to my P&M blog, which has a step-by-step for converting the Heavy Venom Cannon into the TLDEV, if you're interested in going that route.

Do you have the codex already? It has an image section on the weapons, and is relatively accurate to the models. I've sent you a PM.

If you want to use Genestealers then a small squad with a Broodlord can be used as cheap warlord that sits back. This leaves you free to use the hive tyrants more aggressively without risking your warlord.


For the rest it's quite basic.

Two flying hive tyrants. They are the backbone of most Tyranid armies.

A venomthropes or a Malanthrope is recommended.

Troops are all poor at best. One or two units of termagants/3 ripper bases and a box of warriors will do.

Heavy support is where the decent stuff is, you cant go wrong with Mawlocs, Dakkafexes, Exocrines and Biovores. The living artillery formation is really nice which can be made with the warriors.

One or two Crones/Harpies (easy to magnetize) are okay choices if you want to go flyer heavy or face a lot of vehicles.

It honestly makes me sad to read most of this stuff. It comes down to the same ting as Eldar. Anyone who is anyone only uses Wave Serpent with min squads of DAs simply because it's cheap Wave Serpents.....Why even play at that point? You're not playing "Eldar", you're playing Wave Serpents.

And no, my meta is about the same, though I stay away from actual tournaments. I've fought your generic, TAC lists of Tau, and won every time with Tyranids. I've practically tabled Eldar and Space marines, as well as Chaos. I also tabled my Blood Angel friend. The only army I have little chance of beating is my Dark Eldar friend, but with the changes in their new codex, hopefully I'll have a fighting chance.

If all you're going to be doing is running Devilgaunts with 3+ Flyrants with Devourers with the Living Artillery Node (Which, I admit, is my favorite formation), then why play Tyranids? They have an abundance of stuff that people overlook because oh no "It costs too much". I've tabled my Ork friend with a Trygon Prime practically doing all of the work.

I've also had warriors in combat with a variety of things, and I'll tell you guys what I've told my Ork friend. Yes, your unit can kill mine in CC (Powerfists will annihilate Warriors), thats why I have other things to deal with them. Gaunts. My termagaunts have wiped out Terminators as well, simply because they can't kill them all, meanwhile my Warriors target things that they can kill easily, which is pretty much anything besides a dedicated CC unit.

My friend complained that Meganobz cost a crap ton and can't take a Trygon Prime head on after it charged. Of course not. They're not meant to, but they will destroy anything ELSE they touch. Just send them after the right target.

It just pains me everytime I hear people only buying certain models because there's apparently no other way to play. At that point, why play the game?

So...nids are good because your opponents are bad?

Incidentally, the current nid book made me retire my 15k, 10 year old nid army. Take that as you will.

Listing decently competitive models for 'initial purchases' is a good way to start an army. Would a new player be happy (honestly) if told to load up on Genestealers and Warriors? I think those first games would include a feeling of frustration and hopelessness after being wiped out repeatedly.

At least this way, we have shared the current 'top units' for perusal - take them or leave them, it's good to have the information. If one knows the best and worst choices, one can make an informed decision about one's several hundred dollars worth of models. As I said, I have hundreds of dollars in Warriors alone kicking about, and if those were my first purchases? I may not have continued the army due to non-viability.

Buy Venomthropes!!!

-Redacted-

Also the Mawloc (big blast nom attack fo cheap) and the Tfex (toughest monster in the Codex 'sides flyers) are fairly good heavy support choices and give you more variety.

Hormagaunts are good for being fast and even more tarpitty/cannon-foddery than Gargoyles (cost less points and can be taken in bigger broods although MSU is usually the way to go)

Lictors might be good with the Deathleaper formation. I don't know yet, never seen it played.

The harpy is meh. The Hive Crone is an anti air option. Which is stupid since its "main weapon" is a template. It's best to just tackle the flyer and shoot it with a tentaclid. You actually have an okay chance to wreck a Stormraven or Vendetta that way. D3 str8 hits and 1 TL (seeking) haywire missile. I think the drool is just to help the poor stupid thing in case you come up against the one person in the whole game that has 0 flyers.

I can't, with a clear conscience, recommend the Haruspex. It's just too bad.

Genestealers are... not good. But I still think they can have a place in the army. They're an easy to place denial unit: They can go anywhere with outflank and infiltrate. They can go to ground then pop right back up with Synapse. They have rending claws to threaten pretty much everything. An abundance of high WS, high I attacks.

I think a mid sized brood of 10-15 with no upgrades (broodlord optional, it's up to your tastes) can be a good tool in the tool box. Kind of like a Mawloc. They are obsec so if your opponent wants to score that objective, they have to be removed. If they charge a pinned unit (or a unit that's already been assaulted by something else like gants or a fex/tyrant) that's trying to advance on them, they will tear it apart. And if you've got venom/malan support nearby they become durable against shooting with a 2+ or 3+ cover save.

Genestealers in a vacuum, against wave serpents, are terrible. Genestealers in a balanced 2000 point list can be downright terrifying.

You could feasibly "try" to force a T2 assault with a large unit with a Tyranid Prime with Maw-Claws/Rending Claws/whipsword and flesh hooks for grenades. But I think that is a bad idea and then you get into lots of debates on ppm effectiveness, upgrades, broodlords, efficiency and statistics.

I prefer to just view them and use them as they are meant to be: fragile, ambush predators. Hide, then attack when the opportunity presents itself.

Just my 2c.

 bocatt wrote:


Genestealers are... not good. But I still think they can have a place in the army. They're an easy to place denial unit: They can go anywhere with outflank and infiltrate. They can go to ground then pop right back up with Synapse. They have rending claws to threaten pretty much everything. An abundance of high WS, high I attacks.

I think a mid sized brood of 10-15 with no upgrades (broodlord optional, it's up to your tastes) can be a good tool in the tool box. Kind of like a Mawloc. They are obsec so if your opponent wants to score that objective, they have to be removed. If they charge a pinned unit (or a unit that's already been assaulted by something else like gants or a fex/tyrant) that's trying to advance on them, they will tear it apart. And if you've got venom/malan support nearby they become durable against shooting with a 2+ or 3+ cover save.

Genestealers in a vacuum, against wave serpents, are terrible. Genestealers in a balanced 2000 point list can be downright terrifying.

I prefer to just view them and use them as they are meant to be: fragile, ambush predators. Hide, then attack when the opportunity presents itself.

Better to hear this than most of the other advice here.

 krodarklorr wrote:
It honestly makes me sad to read most of this stuff. It comes down to the same ting as Eldar. Anyone who is anyone only uses Wave Serpent with min squads of DAs simply because it's cheap Wave Serpents.....Why even play at that point? You're not playing "Eldar", you're playing Wave Serpents.

And no, my meta is about the same, though I stay away from actual tournaments. I've fought your generic, TAC lists of Tau, and won every time with Tyranids. I've practically tabled Eldar and Space marines, as well as Chaos. I also tabled my Blood Angel friend. The only army I have little chance of beating is my Dark Eldar friend, but with the changes in their new codex, hopefully I'll have a fighting chance.

If all you're going to be doing is running Devilgaunts with 3+ Flyrants with Devourers with the Living Artillery Node (Which, I admit, is my favorite formation), then why play Tyranids? They have an abundance of stuff that people overlook because oh no "It costs too much". I've tabled my Ork friend with a Trygon Prime practically doing all of the work.

I've also had warriors in combat with a variety of things, and I'll tell you guys what I've told my Ork friend. Yes, your unit can kill mine in CC (Powerfists will annihilate Warriors), thats why I have other things to deal with them. Gaunts. My termagaunts have wiped out Terminators as well, simply because they can't kill them all, meanwhile my Warriors target things that they can kill easily, which is pretty much anything besides a dedicated CC unit.

My friend complained that Meganobz cost a crap ton and can't take a Trygon Prime head on after it charged. Of course not. They're not meant to, but they will destroy anything ELSE they touch. Just send them after the right target.

It just pains me everytime I hear people only buying certain models because there's apparently no other way to play. At that point, why play the game?

You are confusing a competitive spam build like Wave serpents with the restrictions the Tyranid codex imposes on the players. Nids are very dependent on synapse and 7th edition is heavily favors shooting, even for the Nids. Most of the light armored close combat units lack frag grenades, and footslogging close combat MCs won't make it across the board with their 3+ saves. Pretty much half the units in the codex are at best of situational use in large point games in casual settings.

The advice in thread that separates the weat from the chaff is quite useful for someone deciding where to spend their money on.

I actually don't hate Genestealers, but I think if you're going to take them, you need to use them carefully and take a decent amount of them. There's no point to Genestealers being a bullet bag for other units, since they are so expensive you might as well just have taken more "other units". You have to take enough Genestealers and use them in a way that some of them actually get in to combat otherwise you're just burning points and should have taken Termagants.

Warriors... suck. Before 7th the main reason to take them was they were the only Synapse in the troops slot, with 7th edition that doesn't matter as much, take more Termagants/Hormagaunts/Rippers to unlock another CAD and just take more Zoanthropes.

Warriors die to S8 shooting and they also die to massed AP4 (Heavy Bolters and the like). A single S8 shot will kill a 30+pt Warrior, a S8 template could kill multiple, might as well have spent the points on another Carnifex who costs 30pts per wound naked or 37.5pts per wound with TL devourers.

The only good think about Warriors is they are Synapse, but they're so delicate that they aren't reliable Synapse anyway, a Leman Russ drops a template on them and there goes your Synapse.

Thanks for all the info guys, so much to take in!

I picked up a Hive Tyrant and he is 3/4 assembled using magnets. I'm thinking I may pick up a couple of carnifexes next and perhaps an exocrine. The real struggle is picking the troops.

Pick up the Tyranid swarm box set. Basically you are getting a free Carnifex and Gargoyles with all those gaunts.

If you don't want gaunts then I guess it will not be good for you, but I never seen a Tyranid army without any gaunts at all.

Thing about Nids is that you have to decide what you want to build your list on.

The first purchase I always recommend is the Flyrant, people praise them for good reason.

Then you have to think about where you want your Nids to go. Skyblight? Then you'll want to invest in Gargoyles, Harpies/Crones and Ripper Bases. Ground Based lists will want to look at Gaunts, Thropes and Heavy Support.

Warriors have their place in an army, they are not bad per se, but you really need to spend minimal points on them (ie, basic Biocannon and be done with them). As someone said, they rapidly become a points sink if you invest too much in them. They can make their points back quite easily if you just sit back and fire off Barbed Strangler shots with them. If you're looking for CC Warriors, you really want Shrikes who are faster and therefore get there quicker. I will say this about Tyranids that people seem to be debating - a S8 shot fired at your Warriors (who can get a cover save) will make their points back simply for being the target instead of the Gaunts or MC's, who are the heavy hitters in the dex.

Genestealers are again, not bad- it's just the current edition does not suit them. If they could Outflank and charge in the same turn, they would no doubt be a good choice - they are extremely vicious in CC. As it stands, they need to take some shooting and T4 5+ isn't that tough to take out.

Think about your units and how they compliment each other. Gaunts for example have short-range guns, so how might you utilize them? You can run them up with your army in large blobs so that you have some shots when you get there, or you can put them in front of your TMC's and give them a cover save, which can be further increased by Venom/Malanthropes, or simply having a toe in terrain.
How might you use Biovores? A group of Warriors with a Biocannon can fire shots off with the Biovores while providing Synapse for them. What about Hive Crones? FMC's in general work better when you have more than one so the opponent has more threats to deal with. How do we make the MC's more survivable or faster? Zoanthropes with Psychic Powers and Venomthropes/malanthropes with Shrouded. Gargoyles? A group of 20 wounds can catch and tie up that one Wraithknight that is about to chomp all over your MC's. (About Gargoyles and Gaunts in general, you have an abundance of tarpit units to remove units from commission or the game by locking them in CC with lots of wounds to get through, use this to your advantage to pick off the rest of the opponents army and capture objectives). Synergy is key to winning with Nids - you don't have power lists such as SerpentSpam, FarsightBomb, CenturionStar or DropPods, so you need to have force multipliers within your army.

I have also included a link to the Tyranids Tactic Page on Dakka so you can get advice there.

I realise that you are no 'newb' to 40k - but this is a new army so I reasoned that some tactics might help you out a bit while you get to grips with them.

@your question: Carnifexes and Exocrine's are particulary good Heavy Support options to take in an army. For Troops, I like running basic Hormagaunts - sometimes with Biomorphs sometimes not, depends what I need them to do. Generally Nids work like Orks: boyz over toyz.

I will say this about Tyranids - expect to lose. I say this as you are just starting out and Tyranids are not an easy army to master. However, once you become proficient with them and learn how to play them, you will be a much better tactician than if you had played more forgiving armies.

Frozocrone wrote:


Warriors have their place in an army, they are not bad per se, but you really need to spend minimal points on them (ie, basic Biocannon and be done with them). As someone said, they rapidly become a points sink if you invest too much in them. They can make their points back quite easily if you just sit back and fire off Barbed Strangler shots with them. If you're looking for CC Warriors, you really want Shrikes who are faster and therefore get there quicker. I will say this about Tyranids that people seem to be debating - a S8 shot fired at your Warriors (who can get a cover save) will make their points back simply for being the target instead of the Gaunts or MC's, who are the heavy hitters in the dex.

Genestealers are again, not bad- it's just the current edition does not suit them. If they could Outflank and charge in the same turn, they would no doubt be a good choice - they are extremely vicious in CC. As it stands, they need to take some shooting and T4 5+ isn't that tough to take out.

That's the thing I feel people are ignoring here. If they're firing battle cannons and melta guns are Warriors (Which almost always have at least a 3+ cover anyway), then that's wasted firepower that isn't going towards other things. My girlfriend has wasted Lascannons and melta guns trying to kill them, and still has never wiped them out doing so.

One thing about Tyranids that I've noticed quickly when starting to play them, is you have to give your opponent many options in which they have to deal with, and hope they shoot at distraction units. Yeah, Warriors are good Synapse, but are instagibbed by S8. Okay? Like I said, they've been extremely survivable in every game I've played, meanwhile my other stuff isn't getting shot at.

 krodarklorr wrote:

Frozocrone wrote:


Warriors have their place in an army, they are not bad per se, but you really need to spend minimal points on them (ie, basic Biocannon and be done with them). As someone said, they rapidly become a points sink if you invest too much in them. They can make their points back quite easily if you just sit back and fire off Barbed Strangler shots with them. If you're looking for CC Warriors, you really want Shrikes who are faster and therefore get there quicker. I will say this about Tyranids that people seem to be debating - a S8 shot fired at your Warriors (who can get a cover save) will make their points back simply for being the target instead of the Gaunts or MC's, who are the heavy hitters in the dex.

Genestealers are again, not bad- it's just the current edition does not suit them. If they could Outflank and charge in the same turn, they would no doubt be a good choice - they are extremely vicious in CC. As it stands, they need to take some shooting and T4 5+ isn't that tough to take out.

That's the thing I feel people are ignoring here. If they're firing battle cannons and melta guns are Warriors (Which almost always have at least a 3+ cover anyway), then that's wasted firepower that isn't going towards other things. My girlfriend has wasted Lascannons and melta guns trying to kill them, and still has never wiped them out doing so.

One thing about Tyranids that I've noticed quickly when starting to play them, is you have to give your opponent many options in which they have to deal with, and hope they shoot at distraction units. Yeah, Warriors are good Synapse, but are instagibbed by S8. Okay? Like I said, they've been extremely survivable in every game I've played, meanwhile my other stuff isn't getting shot at.

No! Just no! This is wrong! Warriors are not cheap enough to play that role. For 90 points you can buy three warriors which is effectively 3 wounds against S8 shooting, that is not cost effective at all given how little damage output they have without upgrades, with upgrades they become so expensive for is still effectively a single wound.

Don't even get me started on the possibility of a S8 pie plate, which really aren't that uncommon even if you don't play against them.

If Warriors were 20 points a piece then I would be behind this line of though 100%, but as it is they are to expensive to play that role very well PLUS a smart opponent wont shoot at them with S8 weapons until they are the last target because they aren't a threat. If you deck them out to make them threats then they will and they will cost FAR to much.

Okay, so why use Wave Serpents because Lascannons can explode them? They're extremely overcosted because of that.

Or why field a Wraithknight because Grav Guns, Snipers, and poison? He's extremely expensive just to be killed.

Or why should Dark Eldar play at all? Because their vehicles can be killed by Bolt pistols.

In fact, why play anything, since it can all be killed pretty easily?

Because all of those things are more than capable of fighting back and inflicting a lot of damage. And/Or rapidly transporting units which are also threats.

Warriors are only really threatening in close combat (and only when upgraded with expensive weapons). However they are too slow to make it into combat on their own terms, and lack any kind of option to improve this.

Played offensively, their only option is to slowly bumble their way across the table. Hoping to be ignored in favor of scarier units.
Given that just about every class of weapon is at least moderately effective against them, they aren't going to have a great time. Bolters struggle to harm monstrous creatures, and if someone fires a lascannon into your termagants then you laugh. However both of those things can wreck warriors.

Playing them defensively (min sized squad with a barbed strangler sitting in your backfield) is about the only way to make them work.

The idea behind taking a unit for the purpose of absorbing hits is that the absorbing unit has to be a more immediate threat AND less points per wound than "other things" in your army that are less immediate threats and cost more per wound. They also have to be things that aren't integral to your gameplan.

If you're taking Warriors because they're synapse and you want to plug synapse holes in your army, this is bad because if your enemy targets them early you're left with synapse holes.

If warriors aren't being taken for synapse (you have other things covering the synapse) then they are not immediate threats and they are very costly per wound so don't do a good job as a distraction unit. I said it earlier:

Warriors die to S8 shooting and they also die to massed AP4 (Heavy Bolters and the like). A single S8 shot will kill a 30+pt Warrior, a S8 template could kill multiple, might as well have spent the points on another Carnifex who costs 30pts per wound naked or 37.5pts per wound with TL devourers.

So what I was getting at, if you're taking them as bullet bags for MC's, you really should just take more MC's. What's a better bullet bag for a Carnifex than another Carnifex? Then you have the fact it's not JUST S8 shooting they suffer from, it's also massed AP4 shooting, so your opponent doesn't even have to dedicate their S8 to the Warriors if they have a few Heavy Bolters lying around.

That means they can't work as S8 target saturation because your opponent doesn't NEED to use S8 against them. If you take 3 Carnifexes, that's 12 wounds that need to be taken out with high S weapons. If you take 2 Carnies and 4 Warriors, that's 8 wounds that need to be taken out with high S weapons but then the 4 warriors can be either taken out with high S weapons or low S weapons... so instead of your opponent going "ZOMG I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LASCANNONS!" they go "ZOMG... oh wait, I have all these other guns here as well".

Warriors simply aren't scary enough and cost too much to be considered a good distraction unit. They can be killed by a variety of weapons so don't work for target saturation. They are too easily killed to be good at filling holes in your synapse.

Nearly finished my Hive Tyrant. I reckon he's coming along ok, painting isn't my strong suit.
Still haven't decided on troops, will be picking up some carnifexes next and hopefully an exocrine.
Then I'm thinking venomthropes and some troops after that.

StolleMan wrote:
Nearly finished my Hive Tyrant. I reckon he's coming along ok, painting isn't my strong suit.
Still haven't decided on troops, will be picking up some carnifexes next and hopefully an exocrine.
Then I'm thinking venomthropes and some troops after that.

Looks dang nice!

Looking good, definitely want to see more pics as they come along.

As for what troops, you can't really go wrong with Termagants, but I prefer Hormas, just because I prefer the imagery of a horde of slashing monsters bounding across table being gunning down in droves but having so many numbers you just get overwhelmed... of course the reality is usually just that they get gunned down and that's the end of it But I still prefer them to Termagants.

Also it's always annoyed me that the Termagant models are physically large. They are bigger than Space Marines.

Thanks for the kind words. Would it be sensible to get a tervigon to spawn termagants?

Adding on to the warriors debate.

You need to build a list around them if you want them to function well.
Even then, they are not even close to amazing (shame too)

You would need venomthropes to shield them and then either 2x flyrants or exocrines / zoanthropes / guard to hunt anything capable of dropping a S8+ template, as this will wipe out a small unit with ease.

However, tyranids are quite often played as a fun army due to the units available and you can still pull off a win with them.
Its just situational.

Any unit from the book can be good depending on the situation.
However, some units work alot for efficiently in those situations.

Stealers are nice, but any gunline army gives them alot of trouble.

If you want to run a stealer heavy list, think into mawloc's, flyrants and crones as you need target saturation and something to hold units up.

Usually someone panics when a flyrant gets dragged into CC with a blob as it wont be leaving it.
However, a unit of stealers will tear through tarpits quite easily.

However, nids have always been down to play style, so its usually a case of tinkering and working out what works best for you.

I'm looking at picking up the swarm box, another carnifex or two, an exocrine, one or two venomthropes and a tervigon. I may grab some of these tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, obviously everyone's local meta is different and it has been good to get a wide range of opinions.

Ok guys - I have a 1750 point game in 2 weeks and I'm planning on using my new Nids.

I'm hoping to have them all painted and ready to go by then, this is a massive ask for me... I'll do my best.

My list isn't amazing but I think it's reasonable given I will be using basically all the models I have (will have by then).

HQ

Winged Hive Tyrant

ELITES

Venomthrope

TROOPS

9 x Genestealer w/ Broodlord

20 x Hormagaunt

20 x Hormagaunt

30 x Termagant

Tervigon

FAST ATTACK

10 x Gargoyle

HEAVY SUPPORT

3 x Carnifex w/ 2 TL Devourers

I've painted the Hive Tyrant, 2 Carnifexes, 22 Genestealers and a Broodlord so far. The Tyrant and the Carnifexes are fully magnetised.

Here are a couple of dodgy camera phone photos of what I've done so far. Be gentle I'm no Picasso

Those are some great looking miniatures there, friend! Keep it up!

 Mumblez wrote:
Those are some great looking miniatures there, friend! Keep it up!

You're too kind!

Very nice work mate!

Nice work!

Finished my tervigon last night...

Nothing wrong with those paint jobs... Those models look tabletop ready to me. Nice work!

I like the list you are taking to your game as well, has some of our strong overall units mixed in with the less seen units like genestealers (which I love).

Just watch that Tervigon, make sure she has cover with venomthrope and screening as you are light on synapse without her, and those gribblies will eat each other.

Subscribed to this thread so I can see how your game goes and how the painting progresses

Nice looking models.

My only suggestion is that you are very light on Synapse. Basically only the Tervigon, because the Flyrant won't be tremendously effective Synapse (it has to fly 12+" each turn and can only reposition 90 degrees, so best case scenario you have it flying in a 12" box, but realistically in many games you will want to fly it out over the battlefield to get side/rear shots on enemy armour).

The Tervigon is really not that hard to kill, if you can find some terrain to hide it behind along with the Venomthrope it will get a 3+ cover save which is nice, but given it's your only synapse that isn't flying away, it just feels a bit risky to me. I'd probably invest in a couple of Zoanthropes.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Nice looking models.

My only suggestion is that you are very light on Synapse. Basically only the Tervigon, because the Flyrant won't be tremendously effective Synapse (it has to fly 12+" each turn and can only reposition 90 degrees, so best case scenario you have it flying in a 12" box, but realistically in many games you will want to fly it out over the battlefield to get side/rear shots on enemy armour).

The Tervigon is really not that hard to kill, if you can find some terrain to hide it behind along with the Venomthrope it will get a 3+ cover save which is nice, but given it's your only synapse that isn't flying away, it just feels a bit risky to me. I'd probably invest in a couple of Zoanthropes.

Funny you should mention that. I bought the Tervigon after putting a list together and realising that the Hive Tyrant was my only Synapse Creature! I've pushed the budget pretty hard and don't reckon I can add anything more before my first game but I will definitely look into adding more synapse (especially if my Tervigon gets killed early on and anarchy ensues).

Thanks to everyone for the praise on my painting, and cheers for all the advice so far. I'm not feeling hugely confident that I will win, however I haven't been this excited about the hobby in a while. Tyranids have definitely sparked new interest for me and I'm keen to get em on the table even if it means they're going to be wiped out


Automatically Appended Next Post:
...and then there's this happy little fellow

Nice Venomthrope.

If money is no issue you may get more mileage out of a Malanthrope which provides Shrouded and Synapse on a T5 W3 3+ with Regeneration for 85 points.

Also so you know there are new Tyranids on the way...could be exactly what they need

 Frozocrone wrote:
Also so you know there are new Tyranids on the way...could be exactly what they need

There are? When and from where? We only just got the new codex, dataslates and new models at the start of this year, I'm not expecting new nids for at least another year.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Frozocrone wrote:
Also so you know there are new Tyranids on the way...could be exactly what they need

There are? When and from where? We only just got the new codex, dataslates and new models at the start of this year, I'm not expecting new nids for at least another year.

They are from Forgeworld:

Model - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tyranids/TYRANID-MALANTHROPE.html
Rules - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/IMPERIAL_ARMOUR_VOLUME_FOUR_THE_ANPHELION_PROJECT_SECOND_EDITION.html

There's also rumours of 2 new kits, supposedly that will 'add punch'. Some blogger who may be a store owner (?) Mentioned it.

 flukezor wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Frozocrone wrote:
Also so you know there are new Tyranids on the way...could be exactly what they need

There are? When and from where? We only just got the new codex, dataslates and new models at the start of this year, I'm not expecting new nids for at least another year.

They are from Forgeworld:

Model - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tyranids/TYRANID-MALANTHROPE.html
Rules - http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/IMPERIAL_ARMOUR_VOLUME_FOUR_THE_ANPHELION_PROJECT_SECOND_EDITION.html

Yeah but those are already out, I figured "on the way" meant they were not out yet.


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SBG wrote:
There's also rumours of 2 new kits, supposedly that will 'add punch'. Some blogger who may be a store owner (?) Mentioned it.

That I haven't heard, got any links? Is it a reliable rumour?

Update: Still waiting for my Swarm box to arrive in the mail. I was hoping it would arrive today as I have my work cut out getting them painted before the 26th! If my box doesn't arrive tomorrow I may look at buying another synapse creature (to replace genestealers perhaps?) Any suggestions?

I will post photos as I complete models.

 cyberjonesy wrote:
2 flyrant is a must.
crones seem good on paper but they arent that good in reality. Definately get 3 flyrants before even considering getting a single crone.
warriors are terrible, only get them if you go with the living artilery node.
You need to have cover saves vs the nasty shooting from most armies nowadays so consider venomthropes.
add some sort of tarpit as your troop choice. Personally I go with terma / devilgaunts and deep striking rippers. lots of people use hormas but I find them really underwhelming when it comes to cc. genestealers are a big waste of points btw. look at it this way, would you rather screen your army with bodies that cost 4 points or 13 points ? They WILL get shot down so its only a matter of how many points you concede per shooting phase. Take a serious look at the tarpit effect and you should be on your way

I don't want to play with you. Go to tournament where a lot of people will.

StolleMan wrote:
If my box doesn't arrive tomorrow I may look at buying another synapse creature (to replace genestealers perhaps?) Any suggestions?.

Zoanthropes are worth a look. Not crazy about the models, but the rules are pretty nice IMO. Synapse with an Invul save and some decent psychic power. Take a look at their rules in the Codex.

 jasper76 wrote:
Zoanthropes are worth a look. Not crazy about the models, but the rules are pretty nice IMO. Synapse with an Invul save and some decent psychic power. Take a look at their rules in the Codex.

They do seem pretty nifty. Do people tend to run them in broods or can they operate more efficiently solo?

It's not an issue now but a bit later down the track when I have more models to choose from that elites spot will be hotly contested.

StolleMan wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:
Zoanthropes are worth a look. Not crazy about the models, but the rules are pretty nice IMO. Synapse with an Invul save and some decent psychic power. Take a look at their rules in the Codex.

They do seem pretty nifty. Do people tend to run them in broods or can they operate more efficiently solo?

It's not an issue now but a bit later down the track when I have more models to choose from that elites spot will be hotly contested.

I believe Tyranid players usually tend to run them in squads of 2 or 3. If you put only 1 out there, and you're relying on him for synapse, and he gets popped, you'd be SOL (not to mention a unit of 1 Zoanthrope is an easy VP for your opponent). Hopefully, some more experienced Nid players can chime in here. I have never run less than 3 in a unit, myself.

People seem to use them singly for warp charge batteries, but I like to run them in broods of 3 - when I run them. I'm by no means competitive, however.

Mostly used for Synapse for me!

Yeah, it will be partially determined by your local "meta". If you run Broods of one, you scam off of the fact that each Brood is a Lvl 2 psycher. But volume of fire will toast your brain bug in a hurry. A second reason to run multiples is that each Brood gets a shot per Zoey with Warp Lance, so that greatly increases the chance that Warp Lance will do something useful. I tend to run them in Broods of x2, that saves a few points, but still adds a fair bit. When points are scarce (ie all the time ) I run one Brood of x2, and one Brood of a solo Zoey. I just make sure to keep the solo Zoey as well hid as possible.

The third slot is for Venomthrope...I like to run them as x2 as well, for durability.

 jasper76 wrote:

StolleMan wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:
Zoanthropes are worth a look. Not crazy about the models, but the rules are pretty nice IMO. Synapse with an Invul save and some decent psychic power. Take a look at their rules in the Codex.

They do seem pretty nifty. Do people tend to run them in broods or can they operate more efficiently solo?

It's not an issue now but a bit later down the track when I have more models to choose from that elites spot will be hotly contested.

I believe Tyranid players usually tend to run them in squads of 2 or 3. If you put only 1 out there, and you're relying on him for synapse, and he gets popped, you'd be SOL (not to mention a unit of 1 Zoanthrope is an easy VP for your opponent). Hopefully, some more experienced Nid players can chime in here. I have never run less than 3 in a unit, myself.

Actually us nid players tend to run them solo as warpcharge batteries and for better powers chances. Being Brotherhood/Brood of Psychers they work better that way since you lose some functionality when taken in broods of 2 or 3. And lets face it, nids are always going to be on wrong end of kill points.

barnowl wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:

StolleMan wrote:

 jasper76 wrote:
Zoanthropes are worth a look. Not crazy about the models, but the rules are pretty nice IMO. Synapse with an Invul save and some decent psychic power. Take a look at their rules in the Codex.

They do seem pretty nifty. Do people tend to run them in broods or can they operate more efficiently solo?

It's not an issue now but a bit later down the track when I have more models to choose from that elites spot will be hotly contested.

I believe Tyranid players usually tend to run them in squads of 2 or 3. If you put only 1 out there, and you're relying on him for synapse, and he gets popped, you'd be SOL (not to mention a unit of 1 Zoanthrope is an easy VP for your opponent). Hopefully, some more experienced Nid players can chime in here. I have never run less than 3 in a unit, myself.

Actually us nid players tend to run them solo as warpcharge batteries and for better powers chances. Being Brotherhood/Brood of Psychers they work better that way since you lose some functionality when taken in broods of 2 or 3. And lets face it, nids are always going to be on wrong end of kill points.

Seconded. When I played Nids I always did this, the extra chance to get Onslaught or Catalyst for my Carnifexen almost always paid off.

Those dice are also useful for getting Catalyst off on your Flyrants, two more dice could mean the difference between FNP or not.

I will see how my first game goes but I'm considering getting 2. At $41 each they are quite an investment.

Yeah they're insanely priced. I bought all mine off ebay and 2nd hand shops for less than half the retail price (got some metal ones and some resin ones).

If your using a Zoanthrope for backstop synapse I'd run a single model and try hide it behind LOS blocking terrain. They are tall and skinny, so watch they don't pop out over the top of their cover

Then if/when your Tervigon gets mulched and those gribblies start running backwards the zoanthrope can try to catch them all.

Should be finished painting tomorrow. Will post pictures when I'm done. It has been a huge undertaking so I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved in a limited time frame.

StolleMan wrote:
I will see how my first game goes but I'm considering getting 2. At $41 each they are quite an investment.

WTF? All things equal, according to the price of a Zoanthrope in the US (24.75) and the current USD-AUD exhange rate, you should be paying 28.12 retail for these. I can understand a little more for shipping, but 13 bucks/model???


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StolleMan wrote:
Should be finished painting tomorrow. Will post pictures when I'm done. It has been a huge undertaking so I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved in a limited time frame.

Looking forward to it. Your first batch of models looks pretty ace to me!

 jasper76 wrote:

StolleMan wrote:
I will see how my first game goes but I'm considering getting 2. At $41 each they are quite an investment.

WTF? All things equal, according to the price of a Zoanthrope in the US (24.75) and the current USD-AUD exhange rate, you should be paying 28.12 retail for these. I can understand a little more for shipping, but 13 bucks/model???


Automatically Appended Next Post:

StolleMan wrote:
Should be finished painting tomorrow. Will post pictures when I'm done. It has been a huge undertaking so I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved in a limited time frame.

Looking forward to it. Your first batch of models looks pretty ace to me!

The reason is the "Australia Tax".

Does that mean you have high taxes in Australia, or does that mean GW just decides to charge more to Austrailians?

Everything is more expensive here. Just how it is it seems. GW does and has always charged more too.

I think it used to be somewhat legitimate, but with the Aussie dollar going up and the markets kind of balancing out for us you would think GW would put prices in line with the UK and US but they didn't. Just left them as they were.

 flukezor wrote:
Everything is more expensive here. Just how it is it seems. GW does and has always charged more too.

Not everything, just what many d-bag companies can get away with.

Well, I'm a bit aghast. I hope you have access to US or UK ebay. I don't know how ebay works internationally.

 jasper76 wrote:
Well, I'm a bit aghast. I hope you have access to US or UK ebay. I don't know how ebay works internationally.

Yeah we can order stuff from the US and UK ebay but then usually pay a tonne in shipping prices so it doesn't help a lot of the time unless its a bulk buy. Although depending on weight that can also be a bad choice.

StolleMan wrote:
Should be finished painting tomorrow. Will post pictures when I'm done. It has been a huge undertaking so I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved in a limited time frame.

Looking forward to seeing the painting results

And Jasper76... Zoanthrope are at $48 mark in New Zealand, so we face something similar to our Aussie cousins.

Lets see here $48NZD = $38USD $41AUS = $36USD Guess that's what we get for living on giant islands?

Still got the rippers to go but I wont be using them on the weekend. As promised, here is what I've painted so far.









I just noticed I didn't get a close up of the gargoyles, the pics are pretty fuzzy anyway.

Whoa. That is impressive! You should be proud of getting that much tyranid painted up so fast and to a good quality standard.

Makes me feel a bit sheepish about my slow speed heh.

Well done, and I look forward to hearing about it in action

Lovely!

Mad.. wrote:

StolleMan wrote:
Should be finished painting tomorrow. Will post pictures when I'm done. It has been a huge undertaking so I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved in a limited time frame.

Looking forward to seeing the painting results

And Jasper76... Zoanthrope are at $48 mark in New Zealand, so we face something similar to our Aussie cousins.

Lets see here $48NZD = $38USD $41AUS = $36USD Guess that's what we get for living on giant islands?

Not to mention having an unfair proportion of the world supply of pretty girls!

Great painting and fast too!

Thanks everyone for all of the encouraging words!

I caved in and bought a zoanthrope today



I also painted up these guys.





He's in for a world of hurt methinks.

Tomorrow is the big day, 3 games against 3 different armies. I will let you all know how I go.

Man, it's amazing how good your minis look in so little time. I'm very impressed!

You're actually inspiring me to work more on my boys, so thanks for that.

Good luck with your games tomorrow, hope you have fun!

Only had time for 2 games in the end. I actually won both! The first was against a Inquisitor/Grey Knight alliance with 3 Dreadknights and the second was against Guard with heaps of Stormtroopers.

The Genestealers were as underwhelming as everyone promised and I was definitely light on synapse. I have to go away for work for 4 weeks, but when I get back I reckon I will be adding another Zoanthrope and a Mawloc to replace the Genestealers and Broodlord.

Heh, that IG soldiers day is about to get pretty messy... nice work on the ripper unit!

Nice to win two games even with an underwhelming unit, I still love genestealers, and if they ever make it into assault its fun times, shame they very rarely get there now days.

I still take a brood when I am playing my brothers Tau, purely because he fears them so much due to one game where they tore through his troops. Probably helps that I keep talking about them to keep the fear alive

Haha....that Ripper base is awesome!

Thanks guys/girls.

My revised list:

HQ

Winged Hive Tyrant

ELITES

2 x Venomthrope

2 x Zoanthrope

TROOPS

20 x Hormagaunt

20 x Hormagaunt

30 x Termagant

Tervigon

FAST ATTACK

10 x Gargoyle

HEAVY SUPPORT

3 x Carnifex w/ 2 TL Devourers

Mawloc

I'm happy with it, the main issue I see myself having is with high AV targets. The Hive Tyrant is the man but he can't be everywhere at once and is only S6 with his devourers...

Electroshock grubs..... thorax weapon for your hive tyrant. Is 10 points, haywire template weapon.

Will help you out with the anti tank issue. Could even slap one on your Tervigon as well.

Nids struggle with high AV. Electroshock grubs can help.

Also, if you can get them there, your Carnifexes should be able to rip apart some heavy armor in CC with S9.

And the Zoanthropes can hurt heavy armor with Warp Blast / Lance profile.

The only issue I see with the Grubs is they can only take 1 HP per turn and it may mean that I can't fire the TL Devourers at a different unit. It didn't occur to me that having 2 Zoanthropes with their warp blast will be quite dangerous to tanks... I should be able to use them to limit the movement of enemy Landraiders and such.

I'm not really aiming to get my Carnifexes into combat, but they can be used as a backup plan.

Thanks for the replies!

Well I got back a couple of weeks ago and played two games with this list:


+++ Tyranids (1750pts) +++

++ Tyranids: Codex (2014) (Combined Arms Detachment) ++

+ HQ +

Hive Tyrant [Electroshock Grubs, Prehensile Pincer Tail, Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms, Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms, Wings]

+ Elites +

Venomthrope Brood [2x Venomthrope]

Zoanthrope Brood [3x Zoanthrope]

+ Troops +

Hormagaunt Brood [20x Hormagaunt]

Hormagaunt Brood [20x Hormagaunt]

Termagant Brood [30x Fleshborer Termagant]

Tervigon (*30 termagants) [Crushing Claws, Electroshock Grubs, Regeneration, Stinger Salvo, The Norn Crown]

+ Fast Attack +

Gargoyle Brood [10x Gargoyle]

+ Heavy Support +

Carnifex Brood
····Carnifex [Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms, Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms]
····Carnifex [Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms, Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms]
····Carnifex [Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms, Twin-linked Devourer with Brainleech Worms]

Mawloc

Created with BattleScribe (http://www.battlescribe.net)

It went really well but the mawloc didn't go so great. I'm sure I'm not using him right. He mishapped and died during the first game, then mishapped on game 2 and my opponent placed him in the corner out of synapse range where he ran off the table.

The Hive Tyrant performed amazingly as usual!

I'm loving the Tyranids a lot, I feel I am far more proactive with so many models on the table and I am able to control the battle a lot more than I am able to achieve with my Blood Angels (just came back from 3 losses with them today).

<Deleted for bad info>

 jasper76 wrote:

StolleMan wrote:
It went really well but the mawloc didn't go so great. I'm sure I'm not using him right. He mishapped and died during the first game, then mishapped on game 2 and my opponent placed him in the corner out of synapse range where he ran off the table.

How exactly did the Mawloc mishap occur? I was under the impression if you landed on top of any units, you did your large blast earthquake damage, then if you can't place the Mawloc, the earthquake strikes again, and if you still can't place the Mawloc, it goes back into reserves. Did you scatter off the table or into impassable terrain?

If after the 2nd blast he still can't be placed it then mishaps. But there is a decent chance that mishap will put him into reserves again.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
So I was deinitely wrong about the Mawloc Terror from the Deep rule...not sure where I got that. I've deleted the bad info.

Yeah, in game one he scattered into a building and in game 2 he still couldn't be placed after 2 rounds of large blast damage. How do people use him effectively?

Using a few lictors can stop scatter.

I think you got fairly unlucky however with the mishap rolls.

If you want to start small, then get a mainly troop army. Then, once you get to around 1300 points, start adding stuff like (but not limited to) Heirophants, Harridans, Carnifexes, Zoans, Neuros, and Venoms, Crones, Warriors, guard, and other big models for best 3000 - 4000 beast army.

lliu wrote:
If you want to start small, then get a mainly troop army. Then, once you get to around 1300 points, start adding stuff like (but not limited to) Heirophants, Harridans, Carnifexes, Zoans, Neuros, and Venoms, Crones, Warriors, guard, and other big models for best 3000 - 4000 beast army.

Cheers for the response. I currently have roughly 3000 points fairly evenly distributed over the force org chart.

I began working on a bit of terrain yesterday. This is what I've come up with so far:











Really just experimenting with craters

Nice use of carnifex bits in that crater... that looks awesome!