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Just started a nid army and was wondering what people think about going soley with genestealers for troop choice.
This is for a 1500p army also if this isnt to bad a road to go down how many would balance out a 1500p list
Thanks

Make sure they are nice and cheap and you should do well.

Who just stealers, what an army...

Iggyrocksall wrote:Who just stealers, what an army...

running tons of stealers, all infiltrated to just outside your lines, can be absolutely horrifying and somewhat difficult to counter, you pretty much /will/ be 1st/2nd turn assaulted by an entire army that is really really good at close combat.

The usual problem with that is lack of ability of getting guys out of their boxes. Doesn't matter if you have a quick assault if all you are doing is scratching paint. So as long as the genestealers have some fire support for the other slots, it can work.

I have been told that running two big units of stealers with two tervigons to cast catalyst on them every turn is very effective. FNP plus T4 and good use of cover is actually slightly better than a 3+ armor save versus anything under Str8.

Support them with some hiveguard, Ymgarls and maybe a trygon or two, and that's a viable army.

Just add in some hive guard for anti tank and you can make a fun army from just stealer's.

Stealers can open most tanks, actually. Exception is a landraider, in which case the only way to even glance is a genestealer with adrenal glands that hits it, rolls a 6 to rend, and then a 5 or 6 on the d3.

But for everything else, its usually rear armor 10. Rends will auto pen.

I love using Genestealers. Sometimes I just play a whole army with just Genestealers and The Swarmlord.

Doomthumbs wrote:Stealers can open most tanks, actually. Exception is a landraider, in which case the only way to even glance is a genestealer with adrenal glands that hits it, rolls a 6 to rend, and then a 5 or 6 on the d3.

I dont see that as too much of an issue, since the stealers really should have adrenals, and the moment you stun (which while unlikely isnt too bad) it you can keep recharging it and surrounding it until it gets wrecked and its contents automatically die.

Doomthumbs wrote:Stealers can open most tanks, actually. Exception is a landraider, in which case the only way to even glance is a genestealer with adrenal glands that hits it, rolls a 6 to rend, and then a 5 or 6 on the d3.

But for everything else, its usually rear armor 10. Rends will auto pen.

Yeah, rends are nice, when you get them (and if your opponent is moving, they don't happen all that often). And pens are nice, when you get a result that matters. But then the cargo inside hops out and hits you with bolters and/or flamers, or you are hit with explosion first, then hit by bolters and flamers. I've played my fair share of daemons, using seekers, daemonettes, and fiends as anti tank... and it sucks having to assault transports that cost 35-50 pts with 100+ point units, only to get torrented by shooting after you do.

Relying on assaults to open tanks should be a desperation measure, not a primary plan.

Well wasnt planning on only running stealers just was going to field as many of them as possible instead of using gaunts i do have about 6 warriors, 2 carnifex, zoanthrope,
lictor not sure y i bought this and a biovore. I only started nids 2 weeks ago so my first few purchases were fueled by coolness of model more than anything else i am now working out which of these units i will actually use with my masses of stealer plan

Grundz wrote:

Doomthumbs wrote:Stealers can open most tanks, actually. Exception is a landraider, in which case the only way to even glance is a genestealer with adrenal glands that hits it, rolls a 6 to rend, and then a 5 or 6 on the d3.

I dont see that as too much of an issue, since the stealers really should have adrenals, and the moment you stun (which while unlikely isnt too bad) it you can keep recharging it and surrounding it until it gets wrecked and its contents automatically die.

This. Doomthumbs did this to me once and killed abbadon. I thought I was going to cry blood.
But adrenals? Really? Toxin sacs every time.

Texas Instrument wrote:But adrenals? Really? Toxin sacs every time.

Well yeah, I was an avid tyranid player, toxins win, all the time forever

however in an all genestealer army, a squad of two of both isnt a bad idea You're eventually going to run into a land raider anyway.

genestealer swarm was an excellent counter-meta list that can do some horrifying things to alot of armies that bring lots of anti-tank firepower and rely on a few turns of shooting to soften up a foe, unlike alot of swarm/cc armies, the game is pretty much decided by the end of turn 2

hoorah orbitral lance strikes and GK CC weapons LOL

bring me some stealers, i'm hungry.

(ok seriously, that would be fun to see and fun to play against!)

Grundz wrote:
however in an all genestealer army, a squad of two of both isnt a bad idea You're eventually going to run into a land raider anyway.

Lets do some math on that. Best case scenario first.
20 genestealers assault a landraider that didnt move or shoot at them due to the power of magical love. (Or some other nonsense)
Thats 60 attacks that will autohit. S5 (on the first charge) genestealers need a 6 to rend. 1/6 of 60 is 10.
Ten rends need a 5 or a 6 to glance. That means three will do this. Well, 3.33333 but lets say 3.
Now on the glance, you need a 6 or a 5 to do any measurable damage to that raider, again taking a third of the pens to do this, that's one.

One genestealer with adrenal glands that survived the horrors of heavy bolter fire will live to do an immobilized or weapon destroyed result.

And then the landraider says "Well thats about enough of that then. Brrrraaaaaapppppp".
And the genestealers do a funny dance.


So just toxin sacs, since everything else except a landraider still dies on a 6. No sense in increasing the glance results, which is all adrenals will do. S5? great!, You still need a 6 to pen.

Flavius Infernus wrote:I have been told that running two big units of stealers with two tervigons to cast catalyst on them every turn is very effective. FNP plus T4 and good use of cover is actually slightly better than a 3+ armor save versus anything under Str8.

Support them with some hiveguard, Ymgarls and maybe a trygon or two, and that's a viable army.

Yep, run that army or something like it and it does pretty well. Two tervigons minimum (HQ and/or troop, both have plusses and minuses), 6 Hive guard minimum and two big blocks of stealers are core. After that there's room for a number of additions or tweaks, wether its more of the core choices or other additional units.

Well wasnt planning on only running stealers just was going to field as many of them as possible instead of using gaunts i do have about 6 warriors, 2 carnifex, zoanthrope,
lictor not sure y i bought this and a biovore. I only started nids 2 weeks ago so my first few purchases were fueled by coolness of model more than anything else i am now working out which of these units i will actually use with my masses of stealer plan

I've had to use stealers as my only scoring units from time to time and it is not ideal. Much prefer to have the threat of the stealers scoring backed up by something else (usually gants, either bought or spawned from a tervigon) that can take the objectives that are further from the enemy.

I still use carnifexes, usually setup with 2 devourers but occasionally with 2 scything talons. I've had good luck using Tyranid primes attached to carnifexes -- getting that all important cover save for the MC and psuedo T6 for the prime. I'd personally turn 1-2 of those warriors into primes if you intend to use the carnifex.

Zoathropes are ok. I kind of hate them actually but use them from time to time. Having to rely on a psychic test for them to do anything of note is tough when half the armies in a given tournament have hoods or better. They have their other uses though, backup synapse and providing cover saves to stuff behind them being primary.

Lictors, they are an all or nothing thing (take a list built around using them or don't bother) and even then are tricky to use. Try him out but probably best used later when you have had more experience. Using it as a death leaper is another option, but again tough to use well. If 6ed rumors come true or close, they could be quite useful though -- so I'd hold onto him.

Biovores are ok. For the points pretty good. I personally do not like them in a stealer oriented list but a shooty/tervigon based list they could work well.

What you need more then anything is some hive guard. 4 is the absolute min, 6 is really better. After that, tervigons are quite helpful. They are not mandatory but I prefer to use them.

Anything else, imo, other then pyrovores, all have their uses.

Im definately going to be converting some tervigons as i like the idea of spawning some freebies, already have 2 of my warriors converted to primes so i guess the next thing to try out would be the hive guards.