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Still to play a game of 40k but collecting and building space marines and tyranids and was hoping for some advice and clarifications on the cheeky xenomorphs;
1) can I field a 3 model tyranid warrior unit with 2 deathspitters and 1 of either barbed strangler or venom cannon?
2) was thinking of arming termagaunts with devourers, is it worth the upgrade?
3) want my hormogaunts to have toxic sacs, would I run into wysiwyg troubles if my models don't have the upgrades (not even sure which they are!)
4) what in people's experience is optimum size for hormy/terrmy broods?
5) lastly, any idea where you get a strangleweb for your termys..?

Sure more questions will follow but would really appreciate your views.

cheers

1. Yes.

2. In general, I would say no. They're expensive, still extremely easy to kill, and have short range. If you want to put a large number (15+) of them in a Mycetic Spore, that can be more effective.

3. Definitely not. Most people can't even tell our various gants/gaunts apart, let alone the various upgrades.

4. Hormagaunts should be run in larger broods of 20+. Anything less than that and they won't be much of a threat.
Termagants, it depends on what you want them to do. If you only want to unlock a troop Tervigon, the minimum 10 is enough. I usually take 10 and add a few extra bodies if I have points at the end, so I'll often end up with a random number (12 or 13 gants).

5. I don't think there is an official bit for the strangleweb. You would have to convert your own. Fair warning, the gun isn't a very competitive choice.

Next round of questions! (Hope this helps a bit)

thanks for the responses Siphen... you mention Mycetic Spore, is there any obvious model proxy?

Not really. There are some nice conversions out there, but there's no standard model.

I would say to check out your local craft store. You can probably find something cheap there. Look for something roughly the size of a drop pod (3-5" in diameter) and see what you can do.

The strangleweb has an official, if OOP, model. Just like the Spikerifle, as below. The Spikerifle is the one at the back, which is hard to see. The reason there's no current model is GW dropped the option with 3rd edition. Cruddace thought it would be fun putting the option back in. And it would have been, if a. he made them actually worth taking and b. they released a resin conversion pack for them to put on current termagants.

simple31 wrote:
thanks for the responses Siphen... you mention Mycetic Spore, is there any obvious model proxy?

Lots of people make their own out of styrofoam eggs or these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mega-Bloks-Plasma-Hatchers-Dino/dp/B00172RCQA

If you don't mind 3rd party models, there's plenty around I like Maxminis. The only one on the market that has carapace and talons that match the Tyranid aesthetic, so it doesn't stick out like an odd model out. Large enough to realistically fit the largest model you can put in it, a Carnifex. The only downside is there's no mount for a ranged weapon.

The obvious downside for 3rd party models is the price, not so bad when you've only got 1 Mycetic Spore, but how expensive would 5 be?

 PrinceRaven wrote:
The obvious downside for 3rd party models is the price, not so bad when you've only got 1 Mycetic Spore, but how expensive would 5 be?

It came to $50au. Which is $5au cheaper than a drop pod. Granted, that was ordered through my FLGS. If I ordered it direct from Maxmini, it would have been $51au, $4au cheaper than a drop pod.

Generally, 3rd party models come out cheaper than GW models or at least on par, though there are some outliers (like Hydracast, though their stuff is fantastic, are priced terribly).