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So I decided to shoot for 1500 points in nids, simply because I always like how they play out. I am looking for a fairly balanced list and will be getting the codex soon. Already bought a broodlord/chuck liddel. I have a general idea of what I want to field but I am not sure if this would be balanced and I don't have the codex to do the math. I read up on the best units for 5th edition. So what would you suggest I purchase for an army, units you think are a must? I got access to 20 cheap genestealers and will probably focus my elites on Zoanthropes and Hive guards. Troops would be a pack of warriors. Not sure if I should opt to focus more on Terms or Hormagaunts? I know I will be taking a Trigon for sure. Unless you think a Carnifex with S talons and something shooty would be better. I am pretty up in the air, so anyones feedback would be appreciated. I might push it up to 2,000 points depding on how much money I pull in near the beginning of December. Thanks dakka!

HQ wise go for a prime in 1500 points, cheap and reliable.

Elites, Zoanthropes aren't the best, but come in handy, and hive guard are just anti tank bustin machines.

Troops, no warriors, they die in the first turn, go for termies with a tervigon, and genestealers are awesome in CC, drop the broodlord though.

Like the trygon, maybe turn it prime if you have any extra points.

I have a mixed selection featuring a Warrior Prime HQ (cheap).

My Elites are (6) Zoanthropes, (6) Hive Guard and (3) Venomthropes, in various proportions. Troops are a Tervigon and usually two lots of 15 vanilla Termagants. The Tervi can of course pop more Termagants during a game. I have some Warriors and often include them to take advantage of the HQ's Alpha Warrior rule.

Nothing in Fast Attack as I haven't built my Gargoyles yet.

Heavy Support includes two Trygons (can be Prime) and a Tyrannofex.

A 1,500 point list might feature five Warriors, one Trygon Prime, the Tyrannofex, a couple of Zoanthropes in a Spod, three Hive Guard and a Venomthrope or two. Various upgrades on some of the MCs.

I don't think it is a hard core optimised list as I play with what I like to build. I have won as many games as I've lost, though, so it can't be a terrible list. I'm sure there are lots of other good units but this is what I have experience with.

Looking at your list...

Genestealers are good.
You should take more Hive Guard than Zoanthropes. If you take Zoeanthropes, they are best put in a Spod to allow you to get them down within 18 inches of an enemy gun line
Termagants go very will with a souped-up Tervigon, who can give them Adrenals and Toxin. Just beware of the effects if the Tervigon is killed.
The Trygon is probably the best Heavy in the book. The main question is whether to run him as a Prime. I usually do as I think the Synapse is worth it. The extra shooting can be good too.

The main tactics with Tyranids are to close as quickly as possible and run multiple threats to try and stop the enemy from taking out a key component of the army such as your Synapse creatures.

The main difficulties are the short range of weapons and weak saves, meaning you can take a lot of losses while trying to get into range, also, Tyranids don't have a lot of good anti-tank weapons. Table quarters versus an IG army is very difficult.

Genestealers, Spods and Trygons can be used to infiltrate or deep strike close to the enemy line.

A trygon is simply more effective than a trygon, for similar points it is much more dangerous and a trygon prime is a very powerful unit.

Personally I think warriors are highly effective and venomthropes are underappreciated, especially as cover for the incoming hordes. They are pretty fearsome themselves wit their poison attack.

I want to use a tervigon but they never released an official model. So do you just use a carnifex to convert. Sorry, I am just really new to actually playing nids.

Isengard wrote:A trygon is simply more effective than a trygon.

What?

Is this meant to be a joke? because I do not get it.

DeathReaper wrote:

Isengard wrote:A trygon is simply more effective than a trygon.

What?

Is this meant to be a joke? because I do not get it.

Probably a typo, maybe meant to say a trygon is more effective/ carnifex idk.

XCom wrote:

DeathReaper wrote:

Isengard wrote:A trygon is simply more effective than a trygon.

What?

Is this meant to be a joke? because I do not get it.

Probably a typo, maybe meant to say a trygon is more effective/ carnifex idk.

Yep, it's a typo it was meant to say that for a similar amount of points a trygon is a better bet than a carnifex, if for no other reason than the critically low initiative on a carnifex which means many other MCs (e.g. Avatar) and HQ types (e.g. Draiog) will get the drop and probably do enough to cripple it, added to a lack of an invulnerable save and you have a big hard lump that is likely to die before it can hit if the enemy handle it sensibly. Whereas a trygon has less options but is a better all-round bet.

Yeah the prime is a very effective unit, I personally just use him as the old broodlord. With a lashwhip and bone sword it reduces the I of the opposing squad to one and ognores armour with a chance of instant death. Add tox glands you're re-rolling failed wounds (3+ vs mech) and this makes it probably capable of fighting most HQ one on one in the game.

In theory, taking warriors with lash whip and bonesword could give them the power and I to kill terminators (multiple attacks and ws5 if they go with the prime) but generally they're too vulnerable to enemy shooting and it would be a risk to take them. If your opponent has all CC then by all means.

Genestealers are obvious but I tend to take them unupgraded, these are the things you send forward to do the killing.

Same time get two trygon primes, the extra shooting can be useful and the synapse is always useful for leadership. Add venom glands to re-roll wounds due to poison (with re-roll due to multiple scything talons) and it should carve through most meq+tanks. Fleet on a mc is especially useful.

Twenty gargoyles with venom glands. They are a steal pts wise, hit harder than gaunts, are reliably quicker and are useful for saturating the battlefield with targets.

The rest should go on your 'support' units to capture objectives in your deployment. Two broods of ten gaunts and a single zonathorpe/ squad of warriors should suffice. the stealers can sieze enemy objectives as they push forward.

Generally this works extremely well among my friends armies, mostly traditional non mech Imperial guard armies (don't ask why, one of them even has steel legion and all the chimera's but he's convinced they'll die). It also gave a good account of itself against a blood angels army I fought with only a blood talon dreadnought left on the table. I would have won if I had taken the lash whips when my nid prime's bodyguard unit crashed into the death company and immobilised the blood talon early in the game.

HQ-Tervigon w/ AG/TS 195
HQ-Tervigon w/ AG/TS 195
T-Tervigon w/ AG/TS 195
T-Termiguants x 13
E-Hivegaurd x 2
H-Trygon Prime w/ Ag 250
H-Trygon Prime w/ Ag 250
H-Trygon Prime w/ Ag 250

1500pts.