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I am tempted to make a little Tyranid side project army but the only models that interest me are
Warriors
Trygon
Carnifex
maybe Gargoyles

Can one make a semi-competitive army from just those 4?

Considering you have to convert the best units in the nid list , I would say yes.

You flip the Carnifex's torso upside down ,
you get instant hive tyrant

Well, Tyranid Primes (aka Alpha Warriors) are pretty decent HQs, and Warriors make for some awesome troops. Carnifexes might be ok, but I wouldn't take a whole lot of them because they limit the number of trygons (which look to be superior in this 'dex) you can put in.

You don't like genestealers? Those are plastic, and they are really good in some situations.

FoxPhoenix135 wrote:Well, Tyranid Primes (aka Alpha Warriors) are pretty decent HQs, and Warriors make for some awesome troops. Carnifexes might be ok, but I wouldn't take a whole lot of them because they limit the number of trygons (which look to be superior in this 'dex) you can put in.

You don't like genestealers? Those are plastic, and they are really good in some situations.

Never been a big fan of Genestealer, I think they look a little goofy to be honest.

My worry is that while the Alpha Warrior and Trygon are both pretty tough choices that Warriors as troops will be to easy to kill and Carnifex too expensive.

For 1.5k game I was thinking of something kinda like this:
Tyranid Prime + 5-6 Warriors in a Spore. Everyone has Deathspitters.
2x Carnifex of some type (HVC/CC maybe?)
1x Trygon, Regen
2x 5 Warriors, Barbed Strangler
1x 5 Warriors, 2x Talons, A. Gland

But it seems so small, 3 MCs and 20+ Warriors. Its almost like playing a Terminator/Dreadnought army.

FoxPhoenix135 wrote:
For 1.5k game I was thinking of something kinda like this:
Tyranid Prime + 5-6 Warriors in a Spore. Everyone has Deathspitters.

I thought you couldn't take a Tyranid Prime attached to a unit in a spod seeing as they count as two units (and the spod can only take one).

Buy a box of Genestealers anyways: The Ymgarl heads are handy for converting Warriors into Lictors. Use the Warrior heads and some greenstuff and Hormagaunt bodies to make Zoanthropes.

What about Raveners? They're plastic.

I thought you couldn't take a Tyranid Prime attached to a unit in a spod seeing as they count as two units (and the spod can only take one).

When the IC joins a unit they count as 1 unit.

For 1.5k game I was thinking of something kinda like this:
Tyranid Prime + 5-6 Warriors in a Spore. Everyone has Deathspitters.

Good starting point but I'd throw a pair of boneswords on the Prime to fulfill the same role as a PF in a marine squad.

Rest looks OK, the HVC on the Carnifex is a total waste of time and space. The weapon isn't good for anything.

Without Hive Guard or Zoanthropes your list is crippled against vehicles. If you are talking competitive you are against a lot of vehicles. So no not competitive, could be good in friendly games against other non-optimised lists but that is about it.

FlingitNow wrote:
Without Hive Guard or Zoanthropes your list is crippled against vehicles. If you are talking competitive you are against a lot of vehicles. So no not competitive, could be good in friendly games against other non-optimised lists but that is about it.

So you can't rely on MCs assaulting vehicles for your anti-tank?

Actually the Heavy Venom Cannon is good for something: Keeping vehicles Shaken/Stunned/Damaged. Against open-topped vehicles you don't even have the -1 on the damage table. Use it to deal with stuff like Pirahnas, Land Speeders, Vypers, etc, and to put vehicles on their back heels while your Carnifex closes for the kill.

So you can't rely on MCs assaulting vehicles for your anti-tank?

Not walking across the field on foot whilst shooting you can't. Eldar will just fly away from you laughing whilst other armies will have already got their troops in position before you can take out their transports which at that point will be moot.

Actually the Heavy Venom Cannon is good for something: Keeping vehicles Shaken/Stunned/Damaged. Against open-topped vehicles you don't even have the -1 on the damage table. Use it to deal with stuff like Pirahnas, Land Speeders, Vypers, etc, and to put vehicles on their back heels while your Carnifex closes for the kill.

That is relatively niche though plenty of armies don't take light skimmers and your chances of hitting and penetrating are pretty low and anything that neds to keep moving will most likely have SS or EA or equivaklent to keep it moving...

So yes they can be good against squads of light (preferably open topped) skimmers is that really worth spending 810 points on though?

They're likewise good against Rhinos, Razorbacks, Chimeras, and whatever else is around. Likewise Killer Kans. Who cares if they have extra armour? You just need to stop them from shooting you up. Any Immobilized results are just gravy. According to my Codex that's definitely worth 75pts per brood. After all, its not like the Carnifex wielding it will lose any attacks, like they use to, and will prevent it from simply being a moving target. With a blast marker they can even do anti-infantry in a pinch.

I liken an all-warrior army to playing a deathwing army... a handful of hard troops. Keep in mind, even terminators can die to a lucky bolter shot, so troops are not that vulnerable when you compare the two (except that battlecannons and other S8+ pie-plates will massacre them). All you need, in addition to your hard core of warriors, is reliable anti-tank to remove vehicles with those dangerous pie-plates. I don't see how you are going to get around fielding zoanthropes, as they will be the best method of dealing with those tanks.

It is true that you cannot take the IC attached with the warriors in a pod, 1 unit limit (and it makes no provisions for independent characters).

FlingitNow wrote:

I thought you couldn't take a Tyranid Prime attached to a unit in a spod seeing as they count as two units (and the spod can only take one).

When the IC joins a unit they count as 1 unit.

Oh, okay, all I remember is that there was one huge kerfuffle about it in YMDC and I didn't stick around to see through to the end result. Good to know!

FoxPhoenix135 wrote:It is true that you cannot take the IC attached with the warriors in a pod, 1 unit limit (and it makes no provisions for independent characters).

... and now I'm confused again.

No, it doesn't count as a single unit for purposes of transport. Regular transport VEHICLES make a special provision for independent characters. The pod has no provision, and thus you can't take the IC with a squad in a spore.

Of course, I may be wrong because I don't have my rulebook on me as I write this, but that is how I remember it. If somebody looks it up, I'm sure I might be off a bit.