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Alright as the title states I am considering building a Tyranid force to mix up my playing because I play with nothing but power armor armies (Ultramarines and Space Wolves). Is there anything that I should take into consideration before going forward with the army other than the sheer number of models I will need to paint? I

I am a Tyranid player. Alot of people will tell you, they are not top teir army. They are an army that needs patience to learn and master. Tyranid codex is no Space Wolf codex where you will be able to have easy victories.

I find them fun, win or loose. Frustrating agaisnt vehciles since I don't know how to handle agaisnt them, but they can be what ever you want.

Shooty, assaulty, hordes or Monsterous Creatures, or a combination of all of them.

Tyranids don't have the "easy" button like most SM armies do, and no real power builds. If you are not worried about winning all the time, Tyranids can be great fun.

Just rememeber alot of the models will be removed because there is not great saves like SM's have and can't hide in vehicles either for protection so cover will be need to be used alot.

As for putting them together, I have a hard time putting mine together because of the sheer monotoney in building them, same thing over and over.

So best thing to do is, 5 or 10 gaunts, then treat yourself to a MC or a Warrior or so, then back to another 10 gaunts and off to another bigger mini to break up the bordedom of gaunts.

Ok, where to begin...

Well Tyranids are an army that need patience, they are one that can take an age to master, but once you have mastered them, you'll rarely lose in my experience. That said, there are a few things you need in a tyranid army. they are as follows:

Synapse: this is gobsmackingly obvious I know, but It needs to be said. Unless your doing a genestealer army, you need synapse, as without it your critters are running around like headless chickens failing every IB check they need to make. Personally I favour the Tervigon and Flyrant, as they are both awesome MC's, but also have big roles to play in 5th ed nids. but i'll get onto them later.

Anti-Tank: As 5th ed 40k is pretty much mech-hammer. Tyranids suffer in the current edition due to it, which is a shame, but they do have a modicum of AT in the form of Hive guard (good mid range AT for lightly armoured tanks.), and for anything else there is the Tyrannofex which is great at long range AT. but one thing you have to consider is the BS of Nids, as it's not great and you do run the risk of missing a lot. So your other option for AT are Trygon's & Mawloc's, now I know a lot of people cannot stand the Mawloc, but I love it, even if it is a bit gimmicky... but either way, these two MC's are also good at AT, S6 + and adrenal gland will give you 7x S7 attacks on a Trygon and 4xS7 attacks on the mawloc, both getting 2D6 against vehicles. The nid army does suffer against skimmer lists. but with patience you'll form your own tactics against those, usually Zoanthropes in a mycetic spore lance shooting them.



now with those two things I mind you can begin constructing your list. My only advice here is, stick to those two things above, and then add a bit of what you love, BUT, remember if your playing 1500pts its all about compromise with what you put in the list. Now if you want an example of my lists, click the link in my signature below. I tend to favour Tervispam lists. but there are other ways to do it as well. Here are some examples of themed lists:


Genestealer hoard: nothing but stealers as the name suggests. but as for HQ you might need to take something big or random as Genestealers no longer have HQ's... that said, you have Ymgarl stealers for elites, which are rather fun to take,

Tervispam: this list requires a couple of ten man termagant units and Tervigons with AG, TS and Catalyst. as Gaunts within 6" gain the bonuses of AG and TS from the Tervigon... but be carefull if your Tervigon dies... it blows up gaunts within 6" too with a psychic backlash... tis quite funny when it happens tbh. pretty much anything else goes in this list within reason. but i do suggest Trygons and Hive Guard as standard with two tervigons to make tervispamming the best it can be.

Warriors, come out and plaaaaaaaay: as the name suggests, warriors and nothing but warriors... now this list can struggle against S8 and higher, but, if kitted out properly it is both fast, and deadly at range and in combat. with both warriors and shrikes in the list it can be great fun. not forgetting Primes who sit in your warrior units giving them their BS and WS to use... which is terrifying!

Nidzilla!: This tends to be a list for advanced gamers, but is fun to play if you just want a non competative list... as it suggests it is nothing but MC's. Flyrants, Tervigons, Trygons, Carnifex, and Mawloc's are all welcome here! If you chose this list I suggest the following: Flyrant (2 if you can wedge the points in for it) Tervigons with two units of ten termagants to make them troops, then three trygons. it might seem small, but, it canpack one hell of a punch when it hits.



Now I may be forgetting a list or two, but that should cover the basics. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!

AnUnearthlyChilde wrote:and for anything else there is the Tyrannofex which is great at long range AT. but one thing you have to consider is the BS of Nids, as it's not great and you do run the risk of missing a lot.

The Tyrannofex is not great at long range anti tank for the same reason you posted right after it. While you're firing two shots and statistically one should hit, the Rupture Cannon is fairly unreliable. I actually prefer Zoanthropes for my heavy armour damage, though you need to watch out for Psychic Hoods and Runes of Warding. Pod them as required, though I haven't had issues floating them up the board.

I meant that they are great within the context of Tyranids. compared to other armies they do blow a tad...

Having said that, a Tyrannofex is quite awesome with a Fleshborer-hive, but that is only useful for anti-troops tbh.

Btw Loki, check out my short story, would love to have some feedback on it (in my siggy)

Even for Tyranids the rupture cannon is unreliable. The issue with the fleshborer hive being good at anti-troop is, well, so is everything else in the Tyranid army. And even then, a unit of 3 biovores would be better than a Tyrannofex with fleshborer hive for nearly 1/3 the cost.

I like the Tyrannofex with Rupture Cannon. If it works, it can do some serious damage. But it's an expensive gamble.

For cracking tough armour, I still prefer podded Zoanthropes. But then, I don't have to worry about psychic hoods against people I play.

-Loki- wrote:Even for Tyranids the rupture cannon is unreliable. The issue with the fleshborer hive being good at anti-troop is, well, so is everything else in the Tyranid army. And even then, a unit of 3 biovores would be better than a Tyrannofex with fleshborer hive for nearly 1/3 the cost.

I like the Tyrannofex with Rupture Cannon. If it works, it can do some serious damage. But it's an expensive gamble.

For cracking tough armour, I still prefer podded Zoanthropes. But then, I don't have to worry about psychic hoods against people I play.

Its really one of those individual choices tbh, based on what your opponents take in their regular lists. I don't take T-Fexes or Zoan's, but thats because I've got a specificly themed list, but also I rate other things higher than them.

Tyranids require synchronization..

REQUIRE IT.

Genestealers are nice, broodlords let you murder people, and stop them from attacking.

Don't really bother with carnifex's or tyranofex's..overcost for what they do now.

Hive Tyrant with Old Adversary is awesome. If you want a drop list than HT with Commander and Swarmlord are good choices.

If you want the swarmlord, RUN TYRANT GUARD.

Hive guard are the bomb diggity. Str 8 no LOS needed 2 shot 24" weapons are awesome to take out transports.