Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I played against Tyranids today for the first time in FOREVER (not many people I know at all play them) and I got stomped. I had some good times with burnas and tank shocking with 4 battlewagons w/ deff rollas, but it just wasn't enough. His MC's really gave me a hard time. Anyone have some advice on fighting them?

As always, telling us what your typical list looks like, and what your opponents list looks like. Other then that is all going to be a generalization.


MC - Boyz mobs are good against these guys, because the boyz soak up wounds and the PK nob does the damage. Also spamming rokkits is a great Anti MC trick as well, all you have to do is hit, its a 2+ to wound and ignores everything but armored shell, and only the Hive Tyrant has that. Never send your important guys against them IE warbosses or BigMeks, it almost never ends well.

If your using alot of vehicles, remember to move6+ inches, specially when they look close, if you make it so the Nids have to roll 6s to hit your vehicles, then you have little to worry about. Also, Ork shooting does wonders against the rank and file, as the gaunts get no saves and genestealers have a bad enough save, that they will drop like flies.


But until you give a better idea of what youve got and what he/she has, thats about all I can say

Grotzookas and "BurnaWagons". Fantastic against da crawlies

Lootas are also nice against the bigger crawlies.

Outside of that... KingCracker has the right of it. Seeing a list of yours would help.

My biggest issue has always been the Doom. Toughness 4 makes me sad :(

If When the doom hits, I'm never really sure how to proceed.

I could get a power klaw into it, but that means feeding boyz to it instead of getting my boyz outside of its doom-y range. At the very least, leadership 10, plus KFF saves generally allows the casualties/wound intake to be minimal.

I could get a Walker into it, but if the Doom saps enough, it could whack the walker :(

Lootas are decent against MC, but when Im playing against a skilled Nid player, I tend to drop the lootas and start pumping in rokkits. No armor saves and 2+ to wound. But again, Ill wait more for an idea of what is on the table to give more advice

This was my list. Off the top of my head (not too sure of names) he used 2 Tervigons (the things that make and buff bugs I think), 2 carni's, a hive tyrant, 2 mawlocs, tyranid gaurd (?), several gargoyles, several gaunts.

My battlewagons had a field day shocking his front lines, it was a great time! My burnas took down at least their value in points before getting overwhelmed. I was new to fighting nids so I was very unfamiliar with what everything did. Hopefully you guys can give me some insights

HQ - 310 points
Big Mek w/KFF
Ghazzy

Troops - 1010 points
20 slugga boyz w/Nob & PK

20 slugga boyz w/Nob & PK

12 slugga boyz w/Nob & PK, Trukk w/Red Paint, Armor plates, reinforced ram

7 Nobz w/ 1 Battlewagon w/Red Paint, Armor Plates, Big Shoota, Deff Rolla

Elites - 225 points
15 Burna Boyz

Fast Attack - 140
1 Deff Kopta w/TL Rokkits, Buzzsaw

1 Deff Kopta w/TL Rokkits, Buzzsaw

Heavy Support - 390 points
3 Battlewagons w/ Red Paint, Armor Plates, Big Shoota, Deff Rolla

TOTAL=2000 points

"Shoot the big ones, and pray some of them are the leaders"

Now to be serious, here's my input as a Tyranid player:

Low numbers of Rokkits means MC's can fight very aggressively. Swarmlord/Tyrant Deathstar with Gaunt screen and Tervigon-provided FNP is going to walk through everything without even bothering to protect itself. As an army that throws lots of dice at problems, FNP-provders halve your damage and need sorting out.

Hive Guard are a very popular unit but will struggle to find a decent target other than your Deffkoptas and Nobz. So by presenting their S8 guns with nothing other than AV14 or infantry blobs, you can make them a wasted unit.

Tyrannofex knows that almost everything will bounce off it and it's got plenty of good targets. There's an argument to use your Koptas to kamikaze it and get some wounds past 2+sv - but you'll need a lot more Rokkits elsewhere to deal with other MC's. But if you're not facing them, nvm

Battlewagons can have a Kannon that can fire a pretty accurate anti-horde shot as a defensive weapon and try to throw an extra wound on an MC.

In an objectives game, Snikrot and his ladz would make short work of most Tyranid units used as home base objective holders. With the Deffkoptas helping, they could probably take out a Tervigon.

I swear by this one against Nids. Looted Wagon + Boomgun. YMMV

Boris420 wrote:I swear by this one against Nids. Looted Wagon + Boomgun. YMMV

Ill agree, specially a tag team. Then again, Ive found that works rather well on most things

I find deffkoptas are quite good vs warriors. No saves besides cover that they may be able to out maneuver, and instant death.
Also nobs w power klaws vs their mc. No armour saves is awesome.

Long as you can keep them a safe distance away from Hive Guard and Tyrannofexes (mercifully absent from the opponent's list) then the Boomgun Wagons should rack up kills like nobody's business. Couple of Rokkit Launchas will do nicely to help them tick off Carnifexes.