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Here is the list of models that I already own (still in boxes):

1 Broodlord
1 Hive Tyrant
2 Tyrant Guard
3 Zoanthropes
1 Lictor
1 Biovore
4 Carnifex
15 Warriors
4 Ripper Swarms
9 Spore Mines
3 Raveners
32+6 Genestealers
40+10 Gaunts
40 Hormagaunts


I actually have quite a few questions as I've yet to even build these models, but I will start with Gaunts.

I thinking to build mostly Fleshborer standard Gaunts, but I'd also like some opinions on the other options. I am thinking in particular Devourer Gaunts (is there a name for these?). In this edition what have you guys found most useful?

Thanks!

Standard fleshborer gaunts are the most popular, as they are what get spawned out of Tervigons. They are also commonly taken as a minimum sized brood just to unlock a Tervigon as a troops choice (Tervigons are one of the strongest options in the codex, so you see them in most lists).

I don't see any Tervigons in your list of models, but if you plan on picking one up at any time in the future I strongly recommend having lots of fleshborer gaunts.

Devourer gaunts (some people call them devil gaunts or dakka gaunts) are the other viable option. Double the cost, just as squishy, but they can put out a huge amount of firepower.

All the other termagant guns just aren't worth using.
Spinefists are equally as effective as fleshborers, but cost an additional point.
Spike rifles cost an additional point, then also lose a point of strength and their AP value, all for the benefit of an extra 6" range. Weak.
Stranglewebs cost twice as much as the model using them, and are S2. Nuff said.

Dome of my advice/experience with some of those units.

With 50 gaunts, I'd recommend 20 with Devourers and 30 with Fleshborers. Use the Devourer gaunts (usually referred to as devilgaunts) as your requisite gaunt unit to take a Tervigon as a troop choice, then use the 30 fleshborer gaunts as spawn. Devilgaunts are expensive and fragile, but if you drop them in a pod, they can deliver massive hurt on a squad before eating inevitable return fire.

Warriors are a bit of a debatable point. Depending on your meta, they can be terrible (if there's a lot of high strength, low AP weapons spammed, thus resulting in them being instant deathed by nearly everything pointed at them) or really durable (the reverse - not much high strength, low ap weapons). I've had good success with a small unit with deathspitters and a venom cannon as a synapse point/objective camper unit. They make decent assault units if you give them boneswords as well, just avoid units with power fists.

Hormagaunts are often decried because Termagants buffed by a Tervigon are better. Well, they sort of are. Hormagaunts still have their place - the same place they're described as filling in the fluff. Take a big unit, 20-30 of them. If you have the points, throw toxin sacs on them (adrenal glands isn't worth it anymore since it doesn't buff their Initiative). Throw them are the enemy. That's not a squad they want to ignore, and it'll keep some firepower off the rest of your army. They will die. That's their pupose.

Carnifexes are another debateable point - same weakness as Warriors, they evaporate when a lot of anti tank is aimed at them, and they're slow. But you can make them work. Either naked with scything talons as a cheap, tough shock assault unit to shove down your enemies throat, or two sets of devourers each to throw out a staggering amount of shots. One brood of 3 can throw out 36 twin linked S6 shots. That's enough to make a Terminator squad sweat. And with devourers, they're still beasts in assault, again, just avoid those power fists. Trygons are preferred over them, but since you don't have one, you can make do with Carnifexes.

Zoanthropes are simply amazing in 6th edition. Since they all roll on the pshycic power chart separately, a brood of 2 or 3 can get some great army buff powers or offensive powers. I haven't even bothered keeping their standard powers in 6th, I just roll Biomancy for them. While Iron Arm and Warp Speed aren't what you want on Zoanthropes, you can swap them for Smite if you roll them. Getting 2 Enfeebles and a Hemorrage if you're lucky can reduce any squad to combat ineffectiveness, and if you get Endurance, even better.

Hive Tyrants, I run mine as a winged Tyrant with dual devourers. With good target saturation, your opponent won't have much to focus on it to ground it. With those devourers, you'll wither any squad you aim it at, same with low AP vehicles. I add Telekinisis powers, because I'm a big fan of Telekine Dome and Crush, but Biomancy is popular for Iron Arm and Warp Speed, but Iron arm doesn't help me much when I'm facing Dark Eldar. Either will serve you nicely.

Wow awesome responses guys, thank you.

Just a rules question, I might be thinking of the previous codex, because I can't find anything in this one... but I was under the impression that certain broods, like maybe Lictors, Venomthropes and/or Zoanthropes didn't need to stay together as a unit. Can someone point me to that rule if it does exist?

I am ordering some FW Wings for my Warriors to make Shrikes... do you guys have any advice on those?

Neither of you mentioned Hive Guard... I've rarely faced a Nid army without them. Are they really worth it?

Gunzhard wrote:Just a rules question, I might be thinking of the previous codex, because I can't find anything in this one... but I was under the impression that certain broods, like maybe Lictors, Venomthropes and/or Zoanthropes didn't need to stay together as a unit. Can someone point me to that rule if it does exist?

You're right, it's from 4th edition. Now those units need to stay as units. It's unfortunate, because GW did breakable units before and after the Tyranid book. Just one of those things that feels like Cruddace half assed.

Gunzhard wrote:I am ordering some FW Wings for my Warriors to make Shrikes... do you guys have any advice on those?

Same weaknesses as Warriors, but less durable due to a 5+ save. However, grab the Warrior weapon packs from GW, either dual Boneswords or Lashwhip and Bonesword. They're expensive armed like that, but they'll hit like a ton of bricks.

Thanks again Loki. What are your thoughts on the Venomthrope?

Everyone looks past it, but I played against it once or twice in 5th and it had an unbelievable impact. Especially if you run expensive, small elite units - all of the those dangerous terrain checks hurt among the other stuff it does. Does anyone use it in this edition?

imho the Venomthrope isnt a bad option if you have ran out of other models to play. But, if played right and with a lot of luck he can deliver a world of hurt. I think a 5+ cover save to units within 6" and dangerous terrain test for your opponent along with toxic miasma. He can be great for giving a few squads that extra bit of survivability. Stil he is very fragile and takes up one of your valuable elite slots that you normally would use to take hive guard and zoanthropes.

Hive guard are teken alot since they are the best thing Nids have to pop light vehicles. With an assault 2 str 8 rather lacking in the ap with a 4 a brood of these can quickly and easily pop ground vehicles up to av 13 reliably. for 13's and 14's thats what you normally take a pod of Zoanthropes for add in a tyranid prime to take those nasty str 8 shots and you are golden till mass anti tank spam. Also something you should look into is Doom-in-a-can (my group proxy soda cans as drop pods for the most part).

The Venomthrope is solid if you know you won't be facing too many vehicles, as it removes a valuable Hive Guard or Zoanthrope slot.

As they are, I find them good for what they do. If you can manage to hide one relatively well from enemy anti tank (a single missile launcher will pop one like a balloon) and conga line your large gaunt broods back to it, you will give them another turn or two of effectiveness.

It's important to note that with the majority of cover going to 5+ now, what a Venomthrope provides is the average, not below average. In addition, having one near a unit holding a particularly contested objective can help immensely from assaulting units needing to take Dangerous Terrain tests.

Basically, it's one of those units the internet tells you not to use, but depending on your meta, they can be quite useful.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Nomster13 wrote:
Hive guard are teken alot since they are the best thing Nids have to pop light vehicles. With an assault 2 str 8 rather lacking in the ap with a 4 a brood of these can quickly and easily pop ground vehicles up to av 13 reliably. for 13's and 14's thats what you normally take a pod of Zoanthropes for add in a tyranid prime to take those nasty str 8 shots and you are golden till mass anti tank spam. Also something you should look into is Doom-in-a-can (my group proxy soda cans as drop pods for the most part).

I run two Zoanthropes and two Hive Guard. In all my games of 6th, my Hive Guard have been complete dead weight. My flyrant deals with light vehicles fine (12 S6 shots will do that), and I've actually managed to take care of medium vehicles with my Carnifex due to longer charging. The sole game I had a heavy tank used against me (a Godhammer Land Raider) I simply ignored it.

I keep Hive Guard in my army as habit from 5th edition, and because I love the models. I'm seriously considering swapping them out for more Genestealers if they keep performing theyway they do. As it is, light vehicles don't even get in range of them before my flyrant tears them to peices. My Zoanthropes saving grace is I ignore their book powers and roll on the Biomancy chart. Hemmorage, Enfeeble, Smite and Endurace have paid for themselves more then Warp Lance ever did.

Thanks guys! ...I just remember playing my small elite (Blood Angels) army against a Venomthrope and hating that thing!

I know the Tervigon seems to be the unit of choice as well... does the "doubles" thing play a big factor though? I literally just rolled 3D6, 12 times and exactly half of those rolls had doubles... I'm not sure what the typical odds are though. Seems to me like you'll never really get much yield from him Termagaunt wise. What have been your experiences?

I don't have a Tervigon yet, so I have to do everything the hard way.

However, the best thing I heard to do is either run two - chances of them both constipating early are slim, or run one and only poop when you need a new squad for something. They will constipate, so just either run multiple to make sure you'll always have one pooping, or run one and poop conservatively.

I think someone did the maths on Tervigon's and it came up at about 45% of pooping out, add in the new psi powers and they are a solid choice. I've recently wondering however if they aren't a crutch when it comes to really getting to grips with the army and am looking to see if phasing my one out inspires me to find some new approaches to things.

I tend to run my Tyrant on foot with guard which is the other way to go, I find it makes him a very powerful anchor for your army, especially if you take the Old Adversary ability. With Twin Devourers and being a character he'll happily snipe special weapons out of squads as he advances laying down a storm of firepower and still murder most things in melee.

I like Devilgaunts but I find them rather too squishy for their cost but some folks swear by them. It's a playstyle thing as I tend to field my gaunts as bullet catchers in big broods of 30, drive em forward into the enemy guns and tie up their units. If the Tervigon can keep up they are nasty in melee but thats purely a bonus, their job is to make getting the scarier bigger creatures lives easier for getting up close.

In 6th psi is king for Nids, between Tyrants, Zoanthropes, Tervigons and Broodlords you can easily be throwing 6 powers a turn with 12 rolls which can mean a lot of Endurance, Iron Arm and Enfeeble. Suddenly finding yourself in a challenge with a S8/T8 Broodlord is not a place anyone really wants to be.
And if someone is trying to stop your psi powers with Runes or Runic well, thats what we have one of the only charge from reserve units for. Ymgarls are a fine choice for assassination runs on enemy Psi defence, mine have claimed many a head attached to a psychic hood in 5th and will continue the tradition into 6th.

Awesome advice guys thank you. Honestly I think I'd rather not field a Tervigon but instead go more hoard like.

I plan to make use of the Raveners too, because I've got the models, and because Beasts are looking nice to me in this edition. I just need to figure a way to keep them alive... perhaps that 30 gaunt shield/interference is the key.

I hadn't even really thought much about the Psi but you make a real good point Dunklezahn and the Ymgarls do seem like a solid choice.

Psychic powers had won games for me in 6th. I don't even keep the standard powers on my Zoanthropes anymore.