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I have played Nids for 2 years now and from what I have learned I have decided to share with Dakka Dakka
Now let's get to some facts ey?

Hive Tyrants

The most adaptable Monster a Nid play has, but is it worth its points?
I have mixed feelings about the king of the bugs, it only has 4 wounds, no Invulnerable save and is no problem for a squad of TH/SS Terminators.

I would say do not EVER Take a Tyrant without either Wings, or Armoured Shell.
The Shell will make Krak missiles cry, and wings mean you will take some hits but then smite them in close combat in around 2 turns

I Believe that the only weapons a Tyrant should have are either 2 sets of devourers, or bare-bone.

As for Special Rules, Indescribable Horror is USELESS!! Don't use this... ever...
Hive Commander is amazing as I would say, I would never bring in troops from reserve without this. And the Outflanking? GENIUS!
Old Adversary is also a lot of fun, Re-rolls to hit, and you only need 2+ to wound.. this is outright awesome.

Tyrant Guard... got armoured shell? Hell why not? These guys are a brick of screw you and are guna ruin your opponents day >:] (Recommended)

But for the points, your running a fairly squishy unit, I give this guy a B+

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Swarm Lord

I LOVE this guy, even though I said don't take a tyrant without Wings or Shell, Just give him some Guards, he is just too dangerous in melee,
and if your opponent knows who he is then they are guna aim everything on him, so Guards are an absolute.
The Swarm Lord is the most badass melee monster around, Re-roll invulnerable saves on attack AND have instant death effect? Them Termies will be running for the hills.

Also, The Lord has many advantages that make him truly amazing, like the abilites to re-roll outflankers, now I know that he himself does not allow the outflank rule, but if you got say another Tyrant with Commander, PLUS the Swarmlord, you get 2+ on reserves with re-rolls to come in on sides. AMAZING!!

If he isn't sold to you already, then how about having every Tyrant physic power? How about having an 18inch Synapse Range? How about using 2 Powers a turn?.

I know 280points is a lot but for what your getting... he has easily earned an A+
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Parasite of Mortrex

Very few people use this model, and I get why, but there is some truly horrific power in this creature.
For a modest price of 160points, you get a Mega Gargoyle on drugs.

The stats of this model show that it is not something to run up the board screaming "IM BIG AND SCARY!"
WS 5 BS 3 S6 T4 W3 I6 A4 LD10 SV 3+
So he's pretty much a Winged Demon Prince without and Invulnerable save lower WS, one less wound and an extra strength.
Sounds ok?

Oh but did we mention that it summons D6 ripper basses per casualty?
And can screw with outflanking teams and can aid Rippers 24in across the board.

This guy with a flock of Gargoyles could be a huge threat.

I give him an pretty ok A-
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Tyranid Prime

A great guy, truly without a doubt.
The Prime is a better warrior in an HQ slot.

Now, a prime is a handy bloke to have on the field, increasing the WS and BS of other warriors that he is joined with to the same as his own, and having some higher stats, the prime is nasty bloke.

He can also join almost anything, Carnifex broods being one of them, (there is debate, but I believe he can).
This unlocks a cover save for your carnifex, you could keep the Fex out in the open but keep the Prime in cover and Oh Look! your krak rocket just missed me xD. This is also handy seeing as he can take regen and have a 3+ sv sooo... he can take a hit or two and your fex can slug on while you heal up.

The Prime I believe is most effective outflanking with other twin Bone Sword warriors and unleashing death and destruction on your enemies.

On another note, this guy is dirt cheap!! for only 100points, you could have a Prime with Twin Swords (power weapons that often instant death) and say Adrenal Glands/or Sacs.

I give this great Prime a solid A
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Tervigon

This does not belong here...

It should only be taken as a troops choice, so I will not comment on it.

Tervigon as troops A+
Tervigon as HQ C


And that's my view of the Nids HQ, hope it's helpful.

I do believe the Prime cannot join a unit of outflanking warriors. Infiltrate is lost by ICs joining a unit without and vice versa.

I do like the Parasite, but creating rippers ins't always ideal. In KP's you are just offering the win to your opponent. Now in semi-competitive to casual play he can be a star, but the rippers ability isn't optional and can be an auto-lose for you in some situations.

And I think the tervigon has a place as an HQ in certain situations. It all depends on the list you are running, though that can be said with all HQ choices. There isn't a best HQ for 1750pts, there is an optimal HQ dependant on the list you bring to the table.

The best HQ is the one that fits best with your list. In Nids, HQ choices are primarily support units as opposed to all out hammers. Most can certainly be applied as hammers, but your first concern needs to be "how does this help the rest of my army?" In my current lists, I take winged tyrants with OA, BS/LW, TL devs, Leech, and Paroxysm. It creates incredible synergy with the large amounts of gargoyles I employ, but I would not recommend the same tyrant to someone who is not using gargs or other winged unit choices. Likewise, Swarmlord with a guard is one of the most dangerous units in the game in CC, but if your list is built around speed or alternative deployment options, then it's a pretty poor choice.

A breif summary of what I see each HQ as:

Hive Tyrant: Flexible, expensive, but pretty much has to have ranged power. Great Favoured Enemy bubble.

Swarmlord: Expensive, but great offensive punch, large Synapse bubble. Great vs Invulnerable saves.

Tervigon: Best as troops, but if you do not want any of the other HQ's, a good choice.

Tyranid Prime: the cheapo HQ. Great, because it doesn't take up a huge volume of points that could be better spent elsewhere. A must-Have if you want to take warriors.

Parasite of Mortrex: Good Fun in friendly games.

Lukus83: I do believe he can as it says one Infantry unit, which a warrior squad is, but in saying that the Prime is HQ, I duno I don't have my codex on me atm xD
And I fully agree with you on the Parasite
But I would not suggest a Tervigon as HQ, simply because there are some far better options.

Maelstrom808: So true so true, the Nid must suit the player and his/her army, however I believe that a Tyrant is just too squishy without guard or a 2+ save at range, so the Wings I would only use to get me into cc asap.
your so right tho, Swarmlord is a slug and takes a while to get across the board.

Crazy_Carnifex: Your right is most ways but I would disagree with a ranged tyrant, Tyrants are monstrous creatures, as I see it, he gets stuck in a kicks someones teeth out xD but that's just me

*matthewbland282* wrote:
Maelstrom808: So true so true, the Nid must suit the player and his/her army, however I believe that a Tyrant is just too squishy without guard or a 2+ save at range, so the Wings I would only use to get me into cc asap.

Well, that'as why he runs with the gargoyles. 20+ gargoyles can get him a cover save without too much trouble, and his OA makes the TS/AG gargs a pretty potent CC threat in their own right: rerolls on hit and wound rolls against most opponents and any 6s on your to hits being auto wounds. More killy than genestealers point for point and quite a bit faster.

Edit, not to mention they actually have a ranged attack as well...just a fleshborer, but it's better than nothing.

*matthewbland282* wrote:He can also join almost anything, Carnifex broods being one of them, (there is debate, but I believe he can).

The part where the debate comes from, I believe, is from page 48 of the rulebook. "Independant characters are allowed to join other units. They cannot, however, join vehicle squadrons (see the Vehicle Section) or units that always consist of a single model (like most vehicles and monstrous creatures)."

Rulres as written, they can join a Carnifex brood, even a brood consisting of a single model, since the brood does have a unit size greater than one. It just happens to have a minimum size of one. Rules as written, this would mean it cannot join, say, a Hive Tyrant, which is just a monstrous creature, not another independant character (which they can also join, so two Primes together is perfectly fine).

It's one troops choice. So when you attach the prime (who is an IC) I think the unit would lose the ability since the HQ can't outflank.