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I'm trying to think of a little Kill-Team or 500 point army to create alongside my partner starting a small tyranid force.

He's a fan of Assaulty 'nids and flying creatures.



I was considering modelling a ramshackle Imperial guard force where they're forced to patch vehicles together and are reduced to smaller mechanised groups of veterans due to losses.

Alternatively, perhaps a melee astartes chapter, running low on supplies, ammunition and fuel, fighting tooth and nail against the bugs.



I'd love to hear what the Dakka community would think makes a super fluffy/cinematic opponent for Tyranids.

Pulse carbine tau with a helios crisis suit commander and a short range oriented riptide if it is cheap enough. You would always have to go for the synapse and then pin small bugs with the pulse carbines, ninjaing distances. It will be a very climatic army.

Honestly, Only one reply for this? I figured this kind of question would be pretty popular for opinions and such.

Ultramarines.

Chaplain Cassius, sternguard as tyranic war vets, some support elements. We really hate nids.

It's been a while since I read up on eldar, wasn't there a craftworld that got nommed pretty hard by the nids? Might be a fluffy option.

 Nevelon wrote:
Ultramarines.

Chaplain Cassius, sternguard as tyranic war vets, some support elements. We really hate nids.

It's been a while since I read up on eldar, wasn't there a craftworld that got nommed pretty hard by the nids? Might be a fluffy option.

I'm asking about armies and not specific chapters. I'll chalk you down for 'vanilla space marines', lol.

I'll never play a 'pre-designed' chapter.

Edit: That Craftworld Was Malan'tai, I believe. As per the 'Doom of Malan'tai' Tyranid special character. Unfortunately, the Craftworld was stripped of all life, including it's infinity circuit.

A cinematic army against Nids could really be anything honestly... Orks, Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Eldar... Tau now I guess as well.

 Atheos wrote:
A cinematic army against Nids could really be anything honestly... Orks, Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Eldar... Tau now I guess as well.

Pretty much the above. DEldar, Chaos, and Crons, as well as GK, are pretty uncinematic. The armies have little history.

Rustgob wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Ultramarines.

Chaplain Cassius, sternguard as tyranic war vets, some support elements. We really hate nids.

It's been a while since I read up on eldar, wasn't there a craftworld that got nommed pretty hard by the nids? Might be a fluffy option.

I'm asking about armies and not specific chapters. I'll chalk you down for 'vanilla space marines', lol.

I'll never play a 'pre-designed' chapter.

Edit: That Craftworld Was Malan'tai, I believe. As per the 'Doom of Malan'tai' Tyranid special character. Unfortunately, the Craftworld was stripped of all life, including it's infinity circuit.

Malan'tai was destroyed and Prince Yriel's one got put on the brink of extinction as well

Imperial Guard using infantry platoons (perhaps some veterans, but only a squad or two) - it could represent the garrison of an isolated outpost, who maybe thought they'd got an easy guard duty assignment, trying to fight off the swarm.

 Hlaine Larkin mk2 wrote:

Rustgob wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Ultramarines.

Chaplain Cassius, sternguard as tyranic war vets, some support elements. We really hate nids.

It's been a while since I read up on eldar, wasn't there a craftworld that got nommed pretty hard by the nids? Might be a fluffy option.

I'm asking about armies and not specific chapters. I'll chalk you down for 'vanilla space marines', lol.

I'll never play a 'pre-designed' chapter.

Edit: That Craftworld Was Malan'tai, I believe. As per the 'Doom of Malan'tai' Tyranid special character. Unfortunately, the Craftworld was stripped of all life, including it's infinity circuit.

Malan'tai was destroyed and Prince Yriel's one got put on the brink of extinction as well

That was Iyanden

Least fluffy really, would be daemons. Tyranid's would get very little out of it, and daemons have no interest in the tyranid's since they are pretty much emotionless, and would have no "souls" to speak of to claim, seeing as how they are more a single mind.

Best, I would say, is Imperial guard. Something about average guy's, trying to fight off an endless wave of gribblies, is very cinematic.

Tau, is also a good choice, because they have confronted before, and it's like the best tech weapons, vs the best biological weapons.

Cinematically, Guard. Possibly Elysians.

I mean, Tyranids are designed to echo every alien swarm from a movie ever. Their inspirations are Aliens, Predators, Bugs (Starship Troopers)... all of whome are fought by hardarse soldiers with light armour and basic rifles in the movies (although Starship Troopers' original book had power armour that makes Marines look under-equipped).

I would say Guard, echoing the others.

It's just the visions of Starship Troopers, Aliens, and other books/movies is just too cool. Plus, you can do so much scenario wise (is it a last-ditch attempt at survival, or just another routine bug-hunt?)

The more I think about Tau though, the more I like it...

I could, perhaps, attach a small tau force to a guard army as allies and do a sort of 'Tau presiding over a seceded Imperial World' idea.

My favourite things in the world, however, are heavy robotics. (Necrons are too 'nanotech') and super-heavy guns and thick armour.

I'm tempted to go all-out Tau given the new releases, but on the flipside, there's the Imperials with their brute force tanks and low-tech machinery.

As always; I can never, ever, bloody decide. This has to be my 4th 'talk armies with me' thread. Lol.

Oh, and Furyou Miko; I'm known as Cobalt Scars on the B&C forums, you complimented my DIY chapter paint scheme once.

Of course, I never actually built that chapter, haha!

You could do an Iyanden force, with some nice modification, they got pushed to the brink before getting rescued by Yriel. In fact, now that I think about it, you could put together a really cool force of eldar corsairs, since they are what saved Iyanden from the Nids.

 Vortrey wrote:
You could do an Iyanden force, with some nice modification, they got pushed to the brink before getting rescued by Yriel. In fact, now that I think about it, you could put together a really cool force of eldar corsairs, since they are what saved Iyanden from the Nids.

I could wait to see what the Eldar update (rumoured) has in store, I suppose. Of course, I'm not as much a fan of the Eldar as some other armies. Too aloof.

If it´s all about the cinematics I´d like to see something desperate like an Imperial Guard Vet-Regiment that has been attacked by Dark Eldar on their search for some new playmates forced to unite their firepower to fend off the Tyranids attack.

Scythes of the Emporer - the chapter was almost destroyed by a Tyranid swarm and now they only survive by salvaging.

I think a blood angels (name in codex only) fighting tooth and nail against hordes of tyanids would be cool as hell.

That's a good idea. Assault is one of the most cinematic things about the game (if only it wasn't one of the weakest aspects of 6th)

 washout77 wrote:
That's a good idea. Assault is one of the most cinematic things about the game (if only it wasn't one of the weakest aspects of 6th)

The Blood angels are also backed up with some serious tyranid-wasting (thematically) firepower, such as Flamestorm(?) cannons and plenty of assault cannons.

I'm inspired. Maybe I can hang onto this idea for more than a week, lol!

Edit: I might even try to model the marines and their vehicles/equipment as severely battle-worn and damaged, make it look like they're absolutely on their last legs; Patched up plating and scratched armour.

Tau vs Nids.

Gundam vs Godzilla!

 Fifty wrote:
Tau vs Nids.

Gundam vs Godzilla!

Haha, a fun idea, but certainly less Grimdark!

You could go with Orcs for those horde clashes in the middle of the board...

 Fifty wrote:
You could go with Orcs for those horde clashes in the middle of the board...

I'm a little more inclined towards 'elite' armies than hordes, but don't tempt me with Ork convershuns. I'm barely able to refuse!

I was leaning away from Imperial Guard, but you could convert them all to be wearing trophies made of bits of bugs.

Either a Tau or Guard gunline would be my choice. Lots of tech and heavy firepower means an initial defender advantage... but then once the swarm reaches the lines, the slaughter begins and inevitable defeat emerges. Very dramatic.

 Anfauglir wrote:
Either a Tau or Guard gunline would be my choice. Lots of tech and heavy firepower means an initial defender advantage... but then once the swarm reaches the lines, the slaughter begins and inevitable defeat emerges. Very dramatic.

I'm interested in seeing if I can capture the 'fight against Inevitable defeat' with the BA codex marines. Rather hard to make super-human warriors look vulnerable though.

I'd recommend:
- Ultramarines (Cassius + Tyranid war vets): Insanely thematic
- Imperial Guard: Always cool for fighting off Tyranid swarms. One of the classics.
- Tau: The Tau's flexibility and maneuverability combined with the fact that they have already been rather successful in fighting the tyranids make them a nice choice
- Eldar: Not a fan, but most people here already explained why.
- Deathwatch: If you can build a thematic deathwatch army, that would be amazing against Tyranids!

Rustgob wrote:
I'm interested in seeing if I can capture the 'fight against Inevitable defeat' with the BA codex marines. Rather hard to make super-human warriors look vulnerable though.

Well, harder than human or tau foot-sloggers, sure. But still perfectly doable. It depends on what your modelling aspirations are when it comes to "capturing the fight against inevitable defeat". This is something that can be brought out easily in fluff and dioramas, but is more difficult with a normal tabletop army.

My advice would be to make use of spent mags and shell casings, show how the BA have cast aside their spent boltguns and are readying their chainswords and combat-knives for the charging nid swarm. Make their armour battle-damaged and weathered, have fallen Marines litter the field. Have their poses be of being backing into a corner, or defiantly raging and charging their death head-on. Consider getting some nid minis yourself and use them either as mounting corpses in front of a heavy weapons Marine, or perhaps as falling on some of them for brutal close-quarters.

Like I said, these things are easy to do as dioramas and/or as mini-dioramas to be used as scenery for your tabletop. Capturing it with a normal army to be used for standard play is harder, but not impossible. It all depends on what you and your friend are aiming for, I suppose.