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We all know about 'Nidzilla as a competitive list. Frankly, I find it boring and I'm looking for alternate competitive 'Nid builds. So what I want to konw is what other 'Nid builds are competitive?

Other competitive builds that I know of are Stealer Shock and Warrior Spam. I don't know much about these builds so that is why I need your help.

If you have any tips or tactics for either of those alternative armies, please post in the thread. Also, if you know of any other competitive builds for 'Nids, please post them in this thread.

I don't have a complete understanding of how a cookie cutter Stealer Shock list would work, but my list at 'Ard Boyz worked quite well.

A large portion of my troops (3 units of 10 each) Genestealer units with scuttlers (scout)...allowing them to outflank. This, coupled with Fleet, allowed them a 2/3 chance (given the outflank rules) to assault a unit on the turn they come out, as long as they're 13-18" from the board edge. Placing objectives on or near board edges gave my opponent more incentive to stay on the sides, where they would be vulnerable to such an assault.

Having Lictors in your army allows you a greater chance of having these 'stealers come out early, which is key to prevent you from getting too shot up in the meantime.

Personally, I had shooty units (gaunts with devourers, stranglefexes, etc.) run up the middle...and they were usually less of a target than the 'stealers coming in from the sides...but that's probably not how most do it.

I've never heard of Warrior Spam, but I'm still looking for new strategies myself, so I'll keep on the lookout for you

Basically, what all the effective nid builds have in common is taking one aspect of the list and maximizing its potential.

Godzilla - Monstrous Creatures
Stealer Shock - Scuttling Stealers en masse, backed by MC shooting.
Warrior Spam - Massed template silliness

This is all true and good, but those are known ideas. I think we're trying to come up with new ones.

I for one am also quite weary of these same three variations. Unfortunately, with the tools we have available, I don't see any fresh, new alternatives.

The other day I tried to come up with a list that tried to max out on Raveners, but they're really not all that spectacular and are too expensive to be a really competitive list.

Thanks for all of the responses.

The thread is meant to help me because I don't know much about competitive 'Nid lists outside of 'Nidzilla. For example, I would like to have the following questions answered:

How do you run a Warrior Spam list?

How do you run a Stealer Shock list?

I've really been leaning toward giving Warrior Spam a try, based purely on my experience using 2 5-warrior squads in the few 5E games I've run my nids in so far. The lack of anti-tank begins to worry me, though.

They look to be absolutely devastating against horde armies, though.

To address the OP's question:
Warrior Spam (as I see it) involves making use of multiple large units of warriors packing deathspitters, maybe a barbed strangler, and scything talons. Screen with plenty of cheap gaunts. Throw 20-30 S6 blasts around each turn.

Stealer Shock armies have a large part (or even majority) of the troop slots taken up with scuttling genestealers, allowing them to Scout at the start of the game, or outflank from reserves. Add flesh hooks and Lictors for extra fun.

In both cases, the rest of the army needs to be able to handle the tasks that your spam/shock components can't.

With stealer shock remember to give your stealers Feeder Tentacles. It's a bargain at the price and the new preferred enemy rules are really good.

Has anyone given the CC Horde idea a try now that warriors and carnifexes can run? I would be interested in running that kind of army if I hadn't spent the last ten years playing horde orks...

Da Boss wrote:With stealer shock remember to give your stealers Feeder Tentacles. It's a bargain at the price and the new preferred enemy rules are really good.

This.

I played at 'Ard boyz with these, but misunderstood the rules and only "counted" my feeders against one army. The difference it made was slowed...these are pretty much an auto-add imo.

I've played my Genestealers with both Feeder Tendrils and Flesh Hooks. In my experience, Flesh Hooks have been the better choice almost every time. This may well be fallout of the amount of units my usual opponents place in cover, but it in my opinion being able to charge into cover and still go at I6 beats re-rolling hits the few times I catch a unit in the open. Also, the lack of re-rolls tends to prevent my from wiping out the unit I charged in my turn, allowing me to instead finish them off in my opponent's turn and avoid getting shot off the board.

All-CC NidZilla is an interesting 5th Ed variant - only masochists ever did it in 4th Ed, but it's now actually playable.

I'm not sure about Warrior spam - have the new template scatter rules really made it _that_ much better than in 4th when most playesr didn't take warriors? But all those deathspitter templates bouncing around could certainly be amusing

all cc nidzilla is very playable. I was usuing it for a while until i slapped the guns back on my fex's for ard boyz.

As one would imagine it loses to poor run roll's. My only loss in a normal game was to a necron army that managed to veil on top of an objective in turn 5 and the game ended on a 2. I would have phased him out next turn.

At 1750 I was using:

Hive tyrant - scytals, LW + BS, acid maw, AG(ws), implant attack, toxin sacs, SiTW, 3 guard with lash whips

Hive tyrant - scytals, LW + BS, acid maw, AG(ws), implant attack, toxin sacs, catalyst, 3 guard with lash whips

Elite Fex - 2x scytals, AG(ws), miasma

Elite Fex - 2x scytals, AG(ws), miasma

10 WoN spinegaunts

10 WoN spinegaunts

8 stealer's with scuttlers and tendrils

8 stealer's with scuttlers and tendrils

Heavy Fex - 2x scytals, AG(ws), miasma, chitin, carapace

Heavy Fex - 2x scytals, AG(ws), miasma, chitin, carapace

Heavy Fex - 2x scytals, AG(ws), miasma, chitin, carapace

pretty boring army the first few turns. Guants are to give tyrant units cover saves. Tyrant guard can be used to give fex's cover saves. Stealers can outflank or stay with the main grp for tendrils. You pretty much run at them and hope enough survive's. usually I only lose a few fex's on the way in and the tyrants and remaining fex's can clean up.

I'm sorry,

IMHO nidzilla, is the ONLY viable nid list. You get choice in what you stick in after 6 carnifexes. Broodlord or not! Raveners or warriors! A lictor or not!

One reason is because the carni in CC is your best anti tank option.

Another reason is because the carni Barbed Strangler is your best gun.

Then there is the little fact that tougness 6 and 4 wounds at 3+ armour is your MOST survivable unit.

There is no logical reason not to take 6 except an inability to afford the models.

And the best reason of all, simplicity of play on the table. You certainly can field 150 gaunts if you want to, but do you seriously want to make every game twice as long in terms of moving all the little bastards, not to mention twenty minutes putting them away as they die die die?

Boring? Maybe! But sound.

Orc Town Grot wrote:I'm sorry,

IMHO nidzilla, is the ONLY viable nid list.

That's a ridiculous statement. Just because it may be the best Tyranid build doesn't mean its the only viable one (and it isn't).

There is no logical reason not to take 6 except an inability to afford the models.

Perhaps because taking that many MCs can sometimes leave the army with too few troops units to actually win objective games?

Or perhaps people enjoy more variety in their unit choices?



Personally I believe it is possible to build successful Tyranid armies with a much wider variety of units in 5th edition because the new screening and run rules and the removal of Escalation make a whole bunch of units that were essentially unplayable in the last edition usable again.

Tooled up Hormagaunts screened in the first turn by scuttling Spinegaunts can be an absolute potent combination. The only thing that really hindered giant Hormagaunt armies in 4th edition was the looming threat of Escalation. Since that rule is dead I'm waiting for someone to come along playing the giant Hormagaunt force again. . .it should be pretty nasty.


However, the big challenge with Tyranids is now killing enemy armor, especially the really heavy stuff like Monoliths and Land Raiders. Venom Cannons can still be used to immobilize or stop some armor from moving and/or shooting but you really need to have a unit to get in there and finish off the tanks. The rending nerf means that against these AV14 all-round behemoths only a Carnifex or Tyrant in CC has a chance to hurt 'em.

That means in a competitive list you really have to have a Hive Tyrant and some Carnifexes that are moving (running) forward in order to take out the heaviest vehicles.

So I do think it is impossible to get completely away from MCs in a competitive Tyranid army lest you end up facing a Land Raider army, but I do think that you can make an effective army with a wider array of units than before.

You know if you want to play stealer shock you can support it with 3 lictors. This makes your army arrive when you want, AND the lictors come with feeder tendrils. That way you don't have the expense of doing it on every genestealer because you charge them in together. I played David Fay's stealer shock at the LVGT and that combo was really effective.

Thanks for all of the responses.

I think that no matter what list you run, you're going to have to have run a VC fex or 2 and a CC fex or 2 for AT purposes.

I'm intrigued by this hormagaunt horde. How would you recommend tooling up the hormies yak?

(From Left Field) How about a flying build?

30 Gargoyles castling a full squad of flying warriors with Deathspitters and rending claws. Flyrant taking care of business. Hide hormagaunts/raveners/stealers behind the castle. Have a couple small WoN gaunts.

The Great Devourer demands plastic Gargoyles.