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I'm playing Nids right now and my favorite HQ is swarmlord because...well because he's pretty kick ass and a bit broken. Not Mephy broken but, pretty good.There is no way you can effectively foot slog him alone because he's too slow, and too "Well im gonna pelt him with Lascannons so it doesnt get any closer" ergo the Tyrant guards but all totaled up with 2, it becomes about a 400 point unit which is a bit steep in general and impossible in lower point games. So i just wanted some advice from any experienced Nid players on HQs they have good experiences running. Like maybe the parasite of mortex?

Tyranid Prime thrown in with a pack of guants, can be deadly and is certainly affordable in small games. They carry the wounds while he packs the punch with Boneswords/Lashwhips or whatever strikes your fancy.

Mortrex is nice with gargoyles.
Prime is good with gaunts/hive guard, carnifexes.
tervigon is nice because he has a marching shield, take catalyst and he can make the gaunts get fnp as he marches.
if you love swarmlord, take 3 tyrant guard. my preference is prime though. cheap, and synapse, can take regen, and only id by s10/force weps(and equivlant)

Tervigon are way better as Troop Troops. How about Tyrants? Does no one use them anymore?

depends on how you play em. I got a buddy who plays all flying bugs, and has 2 HT with wings. gives em big guns, and tends to roflstomp assault armies.
i like em with the armored shell, 3 tyrant guards, lashwhips all around. if you get it into cc, it will wreck anything nearly.
I've played a shooty tyrant now and again, they're pretty interesting, if you want to shock your opponent. shooty nids are deadly just because they're unexpected. It's a common misconception that nids are assault only, but shooty tyrant, shooty prime, 2 units of hg, 1 on zoans, 3 units of dev gaunts, 1 of shooty warriors, 2 of genies, 3 gargoyles broods, 2 shootty fex broods, and 1 of biovores=amazing. that set up has only lost twice out of 15 times.

Feeder_of_life wrote:Tervigon are way better as Troop Troops. How about Tyrants? Does no one use them anymore?

They can be a point sink, depending on how you play them. How would you use a tyrant? If you can do the same thing or better with a Prime, then just use that.

For me, my current list has a Prime attached to Venomthropes (so people can't insta-gib the thropes), projecting a Synapse bubble as the Venomthropes move up behind my wall of stealers and hormagaunts. No one is going to assault the stealers/gaunts with difficult terrain and defensive grenades, shooting them will give them a save and I run two tervigons for FNP as well, so my initial vanguard is fairly tough to take down.

I tried the Parasite with Gargoyles, but I wasn't overly impressed. The jury is still out on that one. I love tyrants, but I think the build has to be right for them, or they'll get downed fast. Tervigons and primes are the choice HQs in my eyes.

And Swarmlord. He's a beast.

The Swarmlord works with Genestealers better than any other unit. He allows them to re-roll which edge they enter play, adds +1 reserves and even if the Swarmlord himself can't enter a melee he can ensure a unit of poison stealers does the business on pretty much any unit out there by giving them preferred enemy or furious charge. Also great with Ymgarls since they can get to S6. The only issue is his cost which means he really is only for use in 1500pt games or more (and 1500pts is real tight).

Now Primes are just great at all points levels. Solid performers.

Tervigon is the only feasable MC in a low point game. I've tried using a Hive tyrant and I actually got outnumbered by Eldar. While I did win, and the Hive Tyrant being almost unscathed, I still felt it would have been a wiser choice to go with a prime.

I would suggest a squad of Warriors for the Prime if you dont want to use his IC rule to some other effect, as a squad benefiting from his Alpha Warrior rule is quite scary.

The best cheap HQ for Tyranids is a Warrior Prime. He's probably the cheapest combat capable HQ unit in the whole game, apart from a Tau Crisis Commander.

Stick him in with a unit of Warriors to boost their WS and BS. He can also soak wounds that would ID a Warrior.

If you want to spend the points you can buff up a Warrior Prime and his Warriors with a variety of useful shooting or melee weapons.

Yep, Primes are one of the best low-level HQs in the game. VERY good for their points.

I hear the Nid Prime is a good cheap HQ. Though apparently it can't be put in a spore pod.

Mortrex is nice with gargoyles