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True, but the classic setup of 2-3 Tervigons, a Trygon (Prime) or two and a Flyrant or two is still a LOT more varied that 3 Wraithlords and some wraithlord troops. And they work very well together in a list.

I too would suggest nids do 'zilla lists in the most intuitive fashion. It's not really an option with them, you generally really want to have some MCs in your collection for most lists. Plus they are not particularly difficult to get the most out of.

Chaos Daemons are second. Great variety of MCs most of which are fairly useful. In my opinion, their MCs are actually more powerful than the Tyranid ones, but it's a difficult army to play. I would not really suggest them if you just wanna play a game with big monsters, you need to want to play a completely different playstyle to other armies, and be prepared to lose a lot at first. This is mostly due to their unique deployment. You can make the most powerful 'zilla lists with them though.

Eldar, GKs and Necrons kinda need to really stretch it to get a lot of MCs, as they tend to have one MC each, and it tends to be pretty specialized. It can work, but it's pretty limited.

I would not really count the Forgefiend etc as MCs, they are clearly not. If you are going for model looks, the whole discussion is irrelevant, you go with what you like the looks of. They do make for a decent walker focused list.

 JGrand wrote:

I'm not arguing whether or not it's effective. Spamming one MC to the max because it's your only choice, and it just being a really tall dude, has to be the most boring option available for an MC-focused list. Not trying to knock Eldar but MC is not their thing a long shot.

I don't really understand this comment. Wraithlords are actually pretty amazing. Yes, they are "really tall dudes", but they are also toughness 8 and have very customizable weapon loadouts in addition to st 10 and dual flamers. The Eldar/DE list I posted has three different types of MCs and 5 MCs overall. Plus, it isn't quite as generic as some other monster mash options.

Nids have:

Tyrants (foot, flying, Swarmy)
Tervigons
Carnifexes (standard, Old One Eye)
Trygon
Mawlock
Tyrannofex

Though these is a larger variety, many of these are relatively sub par. The Old One Eye is complete crap. The Tyrannofex is massively overcosted. The Mawlock is pretty mediocre as well. Not to mention that the bottom 4 options are fighting for 3 FOC slots (along with Biovores).

Most Nid lists end up using a number of MCs, but 2-3 are almost always Tervigons (for good reason). In addition to limited FOC, many of the others get expensive fast. Not saying that Nids can't do MCs well, just that the "diverse range" might not be quite so large when you actually look at it.

Post an incomplete list (Harpy), combine completely seperate units like Swarmlord to make the Tyranid list looks smaller, when it's easily the largest in 40k and call it low on diversity because Eldar have ONE MC they can switch guns out on. Do keep flailing Eldar fanboi. And don't mention Tyranids having Psychic MCs (Tervigon at S/T9 lolz at WL, Invisible SL no biggie) can also change weapons, can fly, can regenerate, etc. Please keep on going though. Really loving your point about Tyranids have so many MC that they are in nearly ever FOC slot hahaha!!! What a bain to MC lovers, the agony!!! It must rock lovin MCs and only having the option of spamming one, in one FOC slot. I'm overloaded with options, help!!!!

Options for MC-centric army
Eldar: One small MC with a sword, and some spammable tall dudes with different guns
Tyranids: Huge burrowing MCs, flying MCs, Psyker MCs, MCs that spawn troops, MCs that have lots of guns, MCs that are force multipliers and can smack down Avatars/WLs with a laugh, MCs that excel in wiping hordes, Etc.

Post an incomplete list (Harpy), combine completely seperate units like Swarmlord to make the Tyranid list looks smaller, when it's easily the largest in 40k and call it low on diversity because Eldar have ONE MC they can switch guns out on. Do keep flailing Eldar fanboi. And don't mention Tyranids having Psychic MCs (Tervigon at S/T9 lolz at WL, Invisible SL no biggie) can also change weapons, can fly, can regenerate, etc. Please keep on going though. Really loving your point about Tyranids have so many MC that they are in nearly ever FOC slot hahaha!!! What a bain to MC lovers, the agony!!! It must rock lovin MCs and only having the option of spamming one, in one FOC slot. I'm overloaded with options, help!!!!

Woah there buddy, sorry to leave out the Harpy. Forgot it because I'm going off of memory. And not a fanboi of any army (I actually have played almost all of them), just trying to drum up conversation. I fully agreed that Tyranids can do more MCs on paper. I brought up Eldar/DE to give the OP an example of a monster mash that people don't see very often. I made no value judgement as to what was "better", simply stating that it wasn't as bland as people think.

As for combining the options, the Swarmlord is a Tyrant. It just happens to be a more jacked up version of one. And you are right, Nid MCs are completely amazing this edition thanks to psy powers. Overall, I'd agree that Nids do the best monster mash, but then again, we are here to discuss options and ideas and IIRC, the OP wanted to think about something that is a bit different.

Options for MC-centric army
Eldar: One small MC with a sword, and some spammable tall dudes with different guns
Tyranids: Huge burrowing MCs, flying MCs, Psyker MCs, MCs that spawn troops, MCs that have lots of guns, MCs that are force multipliers and can smack down Avatars/WLs with a laugh, MCs that excel in wiping hordes, Etc.

Again, don't forget allies and the Avatar. While 5 MCs of 3 different varieties isn't quite to the level of Nids, it is a MC oriented list and thus falls under this discussion. There are lots of builds worth considering here in terms of variety, fun, and competitiveness.

@60mm - You make quite the valid point (be it in a rather undignified manner) that Tyranids DO have a huge variety of MCs to take. I agree with what you're saying, you can't beat them on variety. However, don't discount Wraithlords so easily. They are literally the only T8 unit in 40k, and with STR10 they can hold their own against most of the 'Nids MCs. No, they aren't diverse, but I think you ought to give them a little more credit than you have in your posts.

@JGrand - Thank you for your insight! I will certainly have to look further into DE allies and the Talos now. Beautiful models, and it could be a good way to add some good Horde squishing abilities to my list that it's currently lacking!

As I said in previous post, I am not arguing about Wraithlord effectiveness. If you want an MC-centric army you simply can't do it with Eldar. You can do a Wraithlord spam list. That is it.

Tossing in you can use allies to get someone else's MC in doesn't boost Eldar as an MC army, by a long shot.

I like Eldar and I'm sorry if my post sounded "undignified" but an argument for Eldars being a great option for an MC-centric list was the most ridiculous thing I've read in some time. That'd be like me responding to a post about wanting a 3+ save-centric army and recommending IG over SM because IG has 2 guys with 3+. It's ludicrous, but the same line JGrand tried to debate.

As I said in previous post, I am not arguing about Wraithlord effectiveness. If you want an MC-centric army you simply can't do it with Eldar. You can do a Wraithlord spam list. That is it.

Tossing in you can use allies to get someone else's MC in doesn't boost Eldar as an MC army, by a long shot.

I like Eldar and I'm sorry if my post sounded "undignified" but an argument for Eldars being a great option for an MC-centric list was the most ridiculous thing I've read in some time. That'd be like me responding to a post about wanting a 3+ save-centric army and recommending IG over SM because IG has 2 guys with 3+. It's ludicrous, but the same line JGrand tried to debate.

It certainly depends on your definition of "monster mash." In 5th edition, some people played a 3 Dred, 3 Defiler, 2 DP CSM list as a "monster mash." Only two of those choices are actually monstrous creatures. In general:

(The following list is off the top of my head, so my apologies if I forget one or two, but I should be about right here)

Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Sisters of Battle, Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Tau, Space Wolves, and Orks are "out of the running" if you want to run a list around monstrous creatures (not counting things like Dreds, Kans, or Meph).

Daemons have up to two MCs in the HQ slot and 3 more DPs in the heavy support option. So, without allies, five.
Chaos Space Marines have up to two Daemon Princes in the HQ slot. So, without allies, two.
Grey Knights have up to three Dredknights. So, without allies, three.
Eldar have up to three Wraithlords and the Avatar, so without allies, four.
Necrons have up to nine Tomb Spyders, so without allies, nine.
Nids can cram 2 HQ, 3 Troop, 3 FA, and up to 9 HS, so Nids can max out at seventeen.

As you pointed out, in terms of both variety and numbers, Nids are the obvious choice for monstrous creatures. However, saying that other armies don't belong in the consideration is very false. The criteria of "monstrous creature centric" is both arbitrary and limiting as it stands. Nids are just about the only army that could spam MCs into a 2000 point list and still have the ability to take more. That doesn't mean, however, that they are the only option. If you max out the second most numerous (Crons), you are spending between 450 and 585 (if you put Gloom Prisms on all of them) on MCs. Even Chaos Daemons (third most numerous) will top out at around 1300 points (if you take the most costly Greater Daemons and fully kit out the Princes). Three fully kitted Dredknights can clock in around 750, 3 kitted Wraithlords+ Avatar can push past 650.

My point here is that your Imperial Guard analogy is a faulty one. Nowhere did I state that Nids aren't the best MC centric list. But again, if you want to apply limiting criteria, you have to realize that the playing field is also equally narrow. When only six armies have the ability to "spam" MCs, you can't rule any of them out completely (especially when they can reach 5+ with allies).

I'm currently planning a Daemon Monster Mash list, based on the following outline:

Bloodthirster / Keeper of Secrets
Skulltaker on Chariot
The Masque
3 Daemon Princes
Skyshield Landing Pad
Extra Elites & Fast Attack to taste
Plaguebearers and Horrors to fill the FOC and allow you to actually win without wiping the opponent.

This has four true Monstrous Creatures (any number of which can fly), with a lot of flexibility in exactly how they're kitted out, plus an extra pseudo-monster in the form of Skulltaker (who's basically a Khornate Daemon Prince without wings or Smash but with several other special rules). The Masque makes it easier to charge when appropriate, which is definitely useful if you go for an army with comparatively few fliers, and the Landing Pad makes it much, much easier to control your landing.

EDIT: JGrand, quick reminder - Necrons can also take C'Tan Shards, which are Monstrous Creatures. I don't recall if the Shards are Unique or not, but it's either 10 or 12 total, not 9.

would running daemons with CSM allies be worth it if say you took a DP for a hq something cheap for troops idk min cultist or something then Spawn over taking fiends/crushers.

what i was thinking of running was
1-2 Chaos MC hq(pref winged)
0-2 heralds

2-3 Dp (with wings tzeench?)

then troops maybe horrors or horrors/plague bearers dont really know what would be best

with allied
CSM DP(wings and black mace? nurgle/ tzeench?)
troops?
Spawn(nurgle?)

+ other stuff not sure on points for this stuff

I would love to try out a necron tyranid army, get 9 Spyders and 1-3 C'tan shards (depending on points limit) and then just add in some triarch stalkers if there was some points after the HQ and troops. How effective it is I'm not sure, maybe not much, but it would be fun.

I have never had wraithlords be more than a bullet magnet, they can help bring 4 MCs to a table, but as people have pointed out, so can other armies, plus with 6th they don't have much that other MCs can't bring. They have some nice weapon loadouts and T8, but that high toughness only just makes up for the fact that they only have 3 wounds and even T8 is not so unique anymore.

9 Spyders was great fun in 5th, they're different in 6th though.. Not necessarily worse, just different.

If you want lolz:

Destroyer Lord, 2+, MSS, Cybork body 165
Destroyer Lord, 2+, MSS, Cybork body 165

(5) Immortals, tesla carbines 85
(5) Immortals, tesla carbines 85
(5) Immortals, tesla carbines 85

(6) Wraiths 210
(5) Scarabs, 5x Cybork body 100
(5) Scarabs, 5x Cybork body 100

(3) Spyders, 3x Cybork body 165
(3) Spyders, 3x Cybork body 165
(3) Spyders, 3x Cybork body, 1x Gloom prism 180

Mad Dok 160

(30) Slugga boyz 180

= 1845

Its a terrible list, but hey, its got lots of MC's. The Wraiths and DLords are kinda like MC's, right? When you spawn more Scarabs they get the Cybork upgrade for free, btw

Have Mad Dok follow your Wraiths/Scarabs/Spyders into combat, they're the nearest "enemy" unit after all, they can lead him around on a leash until he goes into CC.

Light on troops and nothing against Flyers, but its funny