How to start with Tyranids?

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**Tyler_Knudsvig**

My Friend wants to get in to Warhammer 40k. After much consideration he wants to use the Tyranids first. As an Early B-day present, I am using some of the money from selling the Chaos half of the new Dark Vengeance set and helping him buy some Tyranids.
My question to you guys is what should he buy? I don't have much experience with the army, so I was hoping that one of you guys may shed some light on this matter. Thanks!

**PrinceRaven**

Tyranids are a hard army to start, as you'll generally have a lot of stuff to paint immediately, I recommend a Tervigon and a few Termagants, if possible buy a Warrior off of another Nid player in the area to use as a Tyranid Prime in low point games.

**Valek**

Tyranid prime

2 hive guard

Tervigon
30is termagents

2 Biovores

Would be a good start...

**Niiai**

I agree with valek. That is a good start, I wanted to suggest it myself.

20 of those gaunts needs to be armed with the basic gun.

**Wagguy80**

Hive guard are much better now that they've been FAQ'd and flyers don't get their Jink saves against them.

So while your only getting 6 shots from a unit hoping for a 6 to hit that hit won't be bounced off on a 5+.

**Kroothawk**

What's wrong with the "How to start with Tyranids?" thread from yesterday http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/514485.page ? Or the hundred other threads on that topic?

**aceface**

The battle force and a hive tyrant some HG

**PrinceRaven**

Kroothawk wrote:
What's wrong with the "How to start with Tyranids?" thread from yesterday http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/514485.page ? Or the hundred other threads on that topic?

Looking at that one, the OP clearly wanted something specific (hordes and no Tervigons, semi-competitive) so the responses were tailored to that, rather than a general "how to start with Tyranids".

**-Loki-**

Wagguy80 wrote:
Hive guard are much better now that they've been FAQ'd and flyers don't get their Jink saves against them.

So while your only getting 6 shots from a unit hoping for a 6 to hit that hit won't be bounced off on a 5+.

They're also more redundant when you consider Devourers mounted on MC are far, far better at stripping hull points. Hive Guards only niche now is being able to hurt AV13-14, but they don't even do that well.

Not that they're bad, far from it. They're just pretty redundant if you have a lot of MC Devourers kicking about your army. And if you've got a lot of MC Devourers, you've for a decent amount of MC's, that can now more easily catch the now slow vehicles in melee and Smash them. MC Devourers also have the benefit of kicking out far more shots, so they're also when vehicles are dead, they're not dead weight.

**barnowl**

Your friend needs to decide if he is going horde or MC as that does change the begining choices a bit. Still can't got wrong with a trevigon, Hive tyrant or boxes of termagaunts.