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I was wondering what is the best HQ for the nids a Tyrant or a Tervigon because there is a lot of different opinions on the matter. Then what upgrades would you give it?

I vote for Tervigon, because thats one annoying thing to play against ( ok i play against 3 of them )

3d6 gaunts spawn even in combat
can give whole squad upgrades ... fnp...
6 wounds, which works perfectly for regen while you have
Miasma.... get stuck in combat and poison them to death

Depends on the list, but most people will tell you;

Tyrants are too fragile by themselves, and too expensive with guard. Only take them for the special abilities of Hive Commander or Old Adversary and only if you have a list built around them.
Tervigons should be taken as troop choices. Hard to beat a scoring T6, W6 3+ save MC. Only used as an HQ if you want to run 4 or more Tervigons.

Most people will suggest Tyranid Primes as your HQ, to act as a missile catcher for one of your other squads. Also the cheapest option.

Tyrants I find are a pretty excellent HQ choice. They are a bit pricy, so shouldn't be taken in anything less than 1500 point games. Generally, Two sets of twin-linked devourers seem to be the best loadout most of the time.

Tervigons should almost always be taken as a Troops choice, since they are pretty tough to move from an objective.

Personally I run a Flyrant. He's expensive but I think he's worth it. Either run a Tyrant or a Tyranid Prime. Tervigons should only be taken as troops.

So take Tervigons as troops and Tyrants for HQ thanks that answers that question. What is the most competitive way to run a Tyrant?

I run a relatively cheap Tyrant deathstar (Talons, Lash Whip/Bone Sword, Old Adversary, Armoured Shell, 2x Tyrant Guard), it can be a pain to take out and acts as a bullet-magnet.

Tervigons, on the other hand, are relatively poor on their own. You need 2-3, and those should be taken as Troops so they can camp objectives.

I have a lot of success with a naked Flyrant, usually as a HQ hunter. Paroxism generally makes sure it doesn't get hit, LW makes sure it hits first, and bonesword takes care of any characters it hits.

necron overlord wrote:So take Tervigons as troops and Tyrants for HQ thanks that answers that question. What is the most competitive way to run a Tyrant?

It really depends on your list. I tend to run a Flyrant with two pairs of twin linked devs, and a large brood of Gargoyles.

I always like running my Tyrant with Wings, Lash Whip and Bonesword, Heavy Venom Cannon, and Old Adversary. Psychic Powers Leech Essence and Paroxysm. I use him to mainly glide around and pop vehicles/squads. I guess he's mostly a big support unit for my bugs, screened with gargoyles.

Tervigons should almost never be an HQ choice. They should always be in the troops slot if possible.

I'd go with Tyrant/Swarmlord or Tyranid Prime in the HQ slot.

In my current list I take both as HQ's, though I do have an additional Tervigon in the Troops slot too. My Tyrant is run with 2 Guard and is pretty bare-bones except for Old Adversary. Why? Because my list is all about threats. 40 Poison Genestealers infiltrate, they are given FnP. Tyrant is running right behind them giving them Preferred Enemy and following them are 8-9 Hive Guard. There are also no short supply of Gaunts to keep throwing at your opponent. In short, whatever your opponent destroys doesn't matter, something else will just get them instead.

To me, this seems like it can depend a lot on your point level.
Sometimes you'll want that tervigon regardless of whether it is scoring for you, because it is doing more for you than a prime would at a really lean point level. It seems like, because Nids have trouble working utility into their normal units, and require so much support, that you have to have more variety than other armies.

In many of these cases, a tyrant seems silly, given how expensive it is for the little it does for you at these point levels.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to make an army list later on today.

I think Tervis in general are non competitive since SW armies can literally rape them from 24". They are great for a fun list but are no good for competitive play.

-666- wrote:I think Tervis in general are non competitive since SW armies can literally rape them from 24". They are great for a fun list but are no good for competitive play.

I think it doesn't matter which HQ you field because this point is still the same. Being Monsterous and near impossible to hide is a real pain. The Space Wolves point is valid and I've found that Orks are pretty handy at this too. My lootas and deff koptas are usually pretty effective at thinning out my neighbor's really big bugs. They are scary, but they can't hide and with speed from the koptas and range with the lootas they definitely won't get to my main line.

End result....big grease spot and scratch one bug. It isn't as effective as say the marines because my boyz don't shoot so well, but that is cool.

The bug response is that while I'm shooting like wild fire at his big guys the swarms of things are running up on me. I'm cool with that because I'm running a Kan Wall with supporting dreads and 90 boyz. A hand to hand close quarter combat is right up my alley. Besides.....what are gaunts going to do to a dread or kan anyway? Zelch....

Bugs need better methods for killing armor from range. Once I wipe those big guys I stroll through the rest of his army.

Tyrant only is removed on a roll of 6 versus JotWW so yes it actually does matter.

-666- wrote:Tyrant only is removed on a roll of 6 versus JotWW so yes it actually does matter.

He's immune with wings

Claiming that Tervigons aren't for competitive play means you haven't played against a well run nid list, or dare I say it, a good General. I have run against SW many times and if if they are getting within 24" to get JotWW off then you are doing it wrong. By using conga lines you can keep the Tervigons at the back until you have dealt with the Rune Priest. It also helps FnP go off without Psychic Hood interruption. With sheer weight of numbers you can limit enemy mobility, and really, who wants to tank shock their Rhino through 20 Genestealers? You may get to that Tervigon, but then you are losing the Rhino, the Rune Priest and whatever was excorting him. Not a great trade.

The only truly terrible match-up is DE. Their mobility, range and the sheer volume of poison attacks takes down the big dudes so fast it ain't even funny.

I do agree at lower points levels you should stay away from big bugs if possible. The points just aren't there.

I personally like and run swarmlord sooo my vote goes with tyrant.

I forgot that wings make the Tyrant immune to JotWW. That's pretty cool!

necron overlord wrote:Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to make an army list later on today.

I made the army list 1500 points . The Tyrant does have wings and the Tervigons are troops.

Would you mind putting it up? Giving it a critique isn't a bad idea.

Lukus83 wrote:Would you mind putting it up? Giving it a critique isn't a bad idea.

Its posted on the 40k army list.

With nids you build the HQ around the list, not the list around the HQ.

Maelstrom808 wrote:With nids you build the HQ around the list, not the list around the HQ.

That about sums up 'Nid strategies.