Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi Dakka!

I'm an Imperial Guard player who is considering starting a Tyranid army. I'm posting to ask people what they think about the current Tyranids, and what they think I should consider when playing them/how I should run them against Tau! I have been hearing that the Tyranids have been nerfed in their latest codex, and I also realize that since I'm going to be playing against my friend who runs Tau, I'm gonna have a hell of a time trying to win with this army.... But! they look cool! and it seems like it would be a nice change of pace from guard.

So I've been doing some research over the past couple of weeks on what the army is like. Here is what I've come up with so far, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Tyranids are obviously stronger with melee than ranged weapons. The army doesn't have as much variety in unit choices as some, but does have a wide range of strengths and sizes (from tiny, crappy ripper swarms to powerhouse S/T/W 6 Monstrous creatures). As such there are two directions that most people like to go in for their armies: Massive hordes of small creatures, or huge MC circus. I would like to do a little of both until I figure out what works best for me. Tyranids also seem to have a problem with armor penetration and overall range in their shooting attacks, which means I would have to compensate with sheer volume of fire. Keeping units with instinctive behavior in synapse range seems like it's a pretty important thing, so I want to make sure there are plenty of "mind bubbles" on the field.

Here's a list that I came up with based on what I can most effectively buy (to start with):

HQ
230 - Hive Tyrant: Wings, Twin-Linked Devourers (Flying death)
145 - Tyranid Prime: Lash Whip/Bonesword (Attached to Hormagaunts for Synapse/ Possibly Warlord??)

Troops
180 - 8 Genestealers: Broodlord w/Sything Talons, +2 more Sything Talons in unit (Outflank to cause chaos)
160 - 30 Termagaunts: x20 Fleshborers, x10 Devourers (hanging in back/on objective with Tervigon)
195 - Tervigon: no upgrades (Looking scary)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (charging forward to plow the road/cannon fodder)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (dido + Tryanid Prime)

Elites
165 - 3 Hive Guard: no upgrades (moving behing the Hormies/hiding in cover to take out anything close by)
50 - Zoanthrope: no upgrades (moving forward behind Carnifexes as synapse/tankhunters)

Fast Attack
80 - 10 Gargoyles: Toxin Sacs (charge closest unit possible)

Heavy Support
275 - 2 Carnifexes: One w/ Bio-Plasma, other w/ Bone Mace (Tank Hunting!)
240 - Trygon Prime: Toxin Sacs (Pop-up in the enemy lines and kill/ fight the riptide)
80 - 2 Biovores: no upgrades (pop the troop line)

Total: 2000

I plan to buy the Swarm box, and a box of warriors to start. I'll make a Tyranid prime and convert the other two warriors into Biovores. Then get genestealers, hive guard and slowly acquire the other parts of the army...

Is there anything you would recommend that I change, focus on or swap out? How should I deal with death rain from Tau Broadsides as early in the game as possible, so that everything else doesn't die!? lol

Thanks for your input and help

If you can trade the tyranid prime for another flyrent then do it

Would not wast the points for the sything talons on genestealers

There is also no point for the bone mace on the carnifex they are already s9 ap2 due the smash rule I would trade that out for twin linked devours with brain leach worms

Awesome! Thanks for the reply.

Is the prime too weak as an HQ choice? Can I depend on the synapse bubbles of the Flyrants to keep the Hormies/Hive guard in Check?

The Scything talons on the genestealers were just some extra points I had when making the list, but I realize now that I could have just reallocated them to something better.

Should I swap out both upgrades on the Carnifexes for Brainleech devourers? Sounds like it will make them more well rounded units

They tyrant is even harder to kill while nI swooping mode you have plenty of synaps and plasma is ok not sure if it is better or worse then bevorers though

drop the genestealers. with tau supporting fire they'll never make it.

 bearhouse wrote:
Awesome! Thanks for the reply.

Is the prime too weak as an HQ choice? Can I depend on the synapse bubbles of the Flyrants to keep the Hormies/Hive guard in Check?

The Scything talons on the genestealers were just some extra points I had when making the list, but I realize now that I could have just reallocated them to something better.

Should I swap out both upgrades on the Carnifexes for Brainleech devourers? Sounds like it will make them more well rounded units

The general rule for Nids is avoid upgrades, just buy more models...so you always want to make sure an upgrade is justified. A tyrgon Prime is a nice durable source of Synapse, but it cannot be a HQ. If you get one, I strogly suggest you use magnets. You will likely get the most use out of a Mawloc...so if you magnetize, you can try out all the options.

The "Dakkafex" is the gold standard right now. But again magnets rule You can make CC Carnifexen work, so don't let the chorus of advice stop ya (but they are right. ) Two Winged Tyrants is the best you can do...Buy one, and add one later when you want to grow your army.

I always suggest you build a small army, say 500 to 1000. And learn your own style. Then buy additional units. I recommend a Formation, unless your local environment is unfriendly to them.

I also suggest you get a box of Warriors, and maybe a second box down the line...

If you get the Swarm Box, a Tyrant, and a Warrior Brood, you can build a very functional force from 500 to around 1250... The swarm Box includes a Carnifex, and you can get more if it appeals to your style.

Good luck, and welcome to the Hive Mind!

Thanks for the advice pinecone77!!

Yeah that same rule about quantity over quality definitely applies to the guard too. I was just hoping these guys would be more durable.

This will change up my shopping list priorities as well I didn't realize (until looking it up) that the Warriors were synapse creatures! I was scared about keeping the other units in synapse while the Flyrant was roaming around.

I magnetize almost all of my models with other viable options, so we should be good there

Thanks again!

If you insist on the Trygon Prime, get rid of the Stealers and put in some Raveners. Spinefists get overlooked a lot but that's Twin-linked 3 shots on the Ravener. Weak but gives a good valume before closing into Assault. Maybe even adding a Lictor so they don't scatter, but that's an expensive 50pts against an army that can ignore the cover the Lictor needs to stay alive in. My lictors haven't come against Tau so I have no idea on the survivability there. But, Deep Striking the Trygon, Gargoyles and Raveners into the Tau gunline can really cause the panic you are going for, and the Trygon Synapse bubble will keep them all going.

A bit of housecleaning in there, getting rid of the Tyranid Prime, unless you use Warriors is a pretty much a must do. The prime will slow down the Gaunts and the Prime is meant to buff a squad of Warriors to a higher BS. Deathspitters all around and you have a good amount of shots. Five warriors tend to be a good choice with 3 S5 AP5 shots each. Rending claws is another great weapon option if you have the points to spare. I wouldn't bother with the insta-killing boneswords at only AP3 on the Warriors because of how the rules are worded. You have to roll the six to wound, opponent has to roll the one for his Armor Save on that wound specifically. I don't know the mathhammer but that is what's needed and up to you on the risk. A 6 to wound on the Rending is AP2 and I always prefer to remove a step of dice rolling when making my own decisions.

Though, I won't say to start with smaller games when dealing with Nids. They're very weak and expensive points-wise in smaller games. Unable to really bring their swarm style to play when a single 'must-have' Tyrant is 240pts (electro grubs are missing from yours but not completely necessary against Tau with weak rear armor)

That Zoanthrope won't really do much unless you desperately want another Psyker level and can be dropped easily. Genestealers, even though they're my favorite creature in 40k, won't work too well against Tau as said above. The Tyranid Prime and one of the Hormagaunt broods can be next on the chopping block depending on points.

If you run a Trygon Prime, you gotta kit him out. Maw-Claws of Thyrax is the best upgrade you can give him. Kill something in melee, and he gets Preferred enemy against that codex, which translates into his shooting attacks as well. Also, Yrmgarl Factor. That, with Adrenal Glands, he can take on anything. I Instant Death-ed a unit of Meganobs with a painboy and a weirdboy the turn I assaulted. You would annihilate any unit you charge if it's Tau.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, Biovores are obnoxious against Fire Warriors. I always recommend bringing 3.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Another thing to try is Outflanking a Tervigon with the Miasma Cannon. Fire warriors in a ruin? Poison 2+ AP4 Template will greet them nicely.

Thanks for the advice guys!
My idea was to have as many things in my list that can get on the other side of his gun line and shake things up as possible, or it will just be a battle of attrition, which I doubt I'd be able to win given how much a lot of these units seem to cost points-wise. This is of course taking into account the possible troops I can take within reason. I don't have the money to go out and buy multiple of everything in the codex right off the bat, as I'm sure you understand :/

I actually changed up that list so that I could test out Tyranids with my friend, by proxy-ing in the guard models I have as Tyranid models. Also, now that I know warriors are Synapse creatures, things have changed around a bit. BTW I don't understand why the warriors don't either have T5 or 3+ armor... it seems like they're just such an easy target for how much they cost and what they're capable of doing. Anyways, below is the updated list. I want to use biovores against Tau, but I ended up dropping them to test out the exocrine as well. I need a way to get rid of the broadside death rain on my first turn or I'm screwed! I want to run two Flyrants, but I don't have another tank/large unit that I can use to proxy for it, and I also wanted to test out Tyranid prime attached to Carnifexes as a steady synapse for them/wound distributor. Obviously until I actually play them I'm only speculating, so the advice of people who run Tyranids definitely trumps my best guesses haha

So, here's the new list

HQ
230 - Hive Tyrant: Wings, Twin-Linked Devourers (Flying death)
145 - Tyranid Prime: Lash Whip/Bonesword (Attached to Carnifexes)

Troops
40 - 10 Termagaunts: (hanging in back objective with 1 group Warriors)
110 - 3 Warriors: 1 Barbed Strangler, 2 Deathspitters (backfield protectors)
110 - 3 Warriors: 1 Barbed Strangler, 2 Deathspitters (hormie synapse security)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (charging forward to plow the road/cannon fodder)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (dido)
172 - 8 Genestealers: Broodlord (Outflank to cause chaos)

Elites
165 - 3 Hive Guard: no upgrades (moving behing the Hormies/hiding in cover to take out anything close by)
100 - 2 Zoanthropes: no upgrades (follow Trygon out of tunnel/provide synapse+anti tank)

Fast Attack
80 - 10 Gargoyles: Toxin Sacs (charge closest unit possible)

Heavy Support
270 - 2 Carnifexes: 1 Twin-linked Brainleech Devourer each
200 - Trygon: Toxin Sacs (Pop-up in the enemy lines and kill/ fight the riptide)
170 - Exocrine: no upgrades (attempt to destroy broadsides after drones are taken out)

Total: 1997

How does this sound? Obviously it would be better to have 2 flyrants, and I will eventually do that. Any thoughts on the Exocrine?

Prime can't attach to any MC, so it won't work with the Carnifexes. Attach it to the Hive Guard if you must use it, since you can use LOS and majority toughness rules to keep it alive for a long time. Do not attach it to Hormagaunts - it will slow them down.

Warriors are... not bad. Yes, no T5 or 3+, but if you present a lot of big targets they tend to get ignored in favor of Flyrants, Carnifexen, whatever is wrecking their face at the moment, etc. Just keep em really cheap - cannon is really all you need, although Deathspitters are a cheap and justifiable upgrade (the extra Strength can come in handy, and against certain armies like Orks and Guard the AP5 can come in handy).

Also, check out the main Tyranid thread in the Tactics section. Lots of good analysis in there.

Finally, why only one TL Dev for each Fex? They should carry two unless you are putting Crushing Claws on them.

You're wasting 150 valuable points to camp an objective in the back that isn't strong enough for the Tau to even bat an eye at. Either they will be ignored, which makes wasted Synapse, or slaughtered when the Tau get bored, which is wasted points and takes 3 valuable warriors away from the front line.

I'm seeing 542pts of wasted points or things that aren't going to survive after the turn they come on. Bonesword on Prime, Trygon (no longer a Prime so should be downgraded further to a Mawloc), camping units, the three warriors are going to die in your front line too if your opponent is even slightly competent against Nids, Genestealers and your Zoanthropes can't be used effectively the way you think they can. They follow the Trygon from Reserve through the hole, they suck in assault and will be gunned down immediately.

 SharkoutofWata wrote:


Though, I won't say to start with smaller games when dealing with Nids. They're very weak and expensive points-wise in smaller games. Unable to really bring their swarm style to play when a single 'must-have' Tyrant is 240pts (electro grubs are missing from yours but not completely necessary against Tau with weak rear armor)

That Zoanthrope won't really do much unless you desperately want another Psyker level and can be dropped easily. Genestealers, even though they're my favorite creature in 40k, won't work too well against Tau as said above.

I would disagree about the smaller points game. Sure they are not quite the ugly they used to be 500pts, but you can still get nice solid fun lists at 1000pts, especially if playing maelstrom games.

I use solo 'thropes for synapse catch nets since I tend to run several blobs of various guant types.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
If you like Biovores you need to get the Living Artillery formations: 3 Warriors, 3 Biovore and exocrine for the Pinning, TL blast goodness.

you only running one set of devourers on each fex? Also something I noticed in the opening post, you will have better luck looking at nids as short range volume fire army with good assault than if you look at them as an assault army.

I've played Tau against Tyranids very often (VERY) so I will throw in two cents from my perspective.

To simplify things immensely and to echo what others have already said, you need to focus on target saturation as much as possible.
Fast, basic swarms are the best way to win because the greatest weakness of Tau is absolutely in the assault phase. If they can't kill you
before you get into close combat then you have won just on the fact that they lack the ability to hurt you anymore.

Genestealers = Bad. Just generally speaking and not specifically referring to Tau, I have only let Genestealers get into close combat once, and when they got there I killed them in a single assault phase.
The unit is overcosted and slow, anyone who has run them against me defends them by saying "they are really dangerous in close combat" but this doesn't matter because they will never get there. And
if you say they are now used as a fire magnet then the issue is that they are expensive and far less durable than a MC.

MC spam against Tau can work, but you really need to have numbers here as well. Tau have access to a lot of high strength weaponry that they can frequently deploy in fairly high volume, your survivability
increases greatly if you stick as many wounds on the table as possible. More-so than any other units, once the MCs get into assault they will wipe basically anything in the Tau army.


That's all I can really think of, I don't want to be a downer and I totally get why you want to play Nids. But I have never lost a game against them, it will be an uphill battle for you to say the least.
But then that isn't a bad thing IMO.

Stealers against Tau, can work using Manufactorm broods for that stupid close infiltrate. They act as a very good deployment disrupture and are surpisingly hard to kill. Being in ruins or builds they are either out of LOS or pulling a 3+ save. And since they are forced to be MSU you are getting 5 "free" troops to help with target overload.

 SharkoutofWata wrote:


I'm seeing 542pts of wasted points or things that aren't going to survive after the turn they come on. Bonesword on Prime, Trygon (no longer a Prime so should be downgraded further to a Mawloc), camping units, the three warriors are going to die in your front line too if your opponent is even slightly competent against Nids, Genestealers and your Zoanthropes can't be used effectively the way you think they can. They follow the Trygon from Reserve through the hole, they suck in assault and will be gunned down immediately.

We've had pretty successful games against Tau, but we would have been slaughtered had we used this list.

Seriously, drop the genestealers and keep them for fluffy games. Ditch the prime and swap the trygon for a mawloc, which is pretty good against Tau. Personally I'd ditch the hormagaunts, they suck too. Put two devourers on the carnifxes if you use them. I think a second flyrant is obligatory and put eGrubs on both. Add a venomthrope, altho the markerlight will neutralise him that will still stop them targeting something else.


At 2,000 points this list doesn't really have any serious threats to the backline, nor is it very fast. TO build on what you have, I'd suggest using the living artillery mode (I've not used it myself); and increase the number of gargyoles, only 10 will be vaporised super-quick.

 bearhouse wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys!
My idea was to have as many things in my list that can get on the other side of his gun line and shake things up as possible, or it will just be a battle of attrition, which I doubt I'd be able to win given how much a lot of these units seem to cost points-wise. This is of course taking into account the possible troops I can take within reason. I don't have the money to go out and buy multiple of everything in the codex right off the bat, as I'm sure you understand :/

I actually changed up that list so that I could test out Tyranids with my friend, by proxy-ing in the guard models I have as Tyranid models. Also, now that I know warriors are Synapse creatures, things have changed around a bit. BTW I don't understand why the warriors don't either have T5 or 3+ armor... it seems like they're just such an easy target for how much they cost and what they're capable of doing. Anyways, below is the updated list. I want to use biovores against Tau, but I ended up dropping them to test out the exocrine as well. I need a way to get rid of the broadside death rain on my first turn or I'm screwed! I want to run two Flyrants, but I don't have another tank/large unit that I can use to proxy for it, and I also wanted to test out Tyranid prime attached to Carnifexes as a steady synapse for them/wound distributor. Obviously until I actually play them I'm only speculating, so the advice of people who run Tyranids definitely trumps my best guesses haha

So, here's the new list

HQ
230 - Hive Tyrant: Wings, Twin-Linked Devourers (Flying death)
145 - Tyranid Prime: Lash Whip/Bonesword (Attached to Carnifexes)

Troops
40 - 10 Termagaunts: (hanging in back objective with 1 group Warriors)
110 - 3 Warriors: 1 Barbed Strangler, 2 Deathspitters (backfield protectors)
110 - 3 Warriors: 1 Barbed Strangler, 2 Deathspitters (hormie synapse security)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (charging forward to plow the road/cannon fodder)
100 - 20 Hormagaunts: no upgrades (dido)
172 - 8 Genestealers: Broodlord (Outflank to cause chaos)

Elites
165 - 3 Hive Guard: no upgrades (moving behing the Hormies/hiding in cover to take out anything close by)
100 - 2 Zoanthropes: no upgrades (follow Trygon out of tunnel/provide synapse+anti tank)

Fast Attack
80 - 10 Gargoyles: Toxin Sacs (charge closest unit possible)

Heavy Support
270 - 2 Carnifexes: 1 Twin-linked Brainleech Devourer each
200 - Trygon: Toxin Sacs (Pop-up in the enemy lines and kill/ fight the riptide)
170 - Exocrine: no upgrades (attempt to destroy broadsides after drones are taken out)

Total: 1997

How does this sound? Obviously it would be better to have 2 flyrants, and I will eventually do that. Any thoughts on the Exocrine?

Well...if you are just building...why do 2000? I suggest building/buying to 1000, then 1500, then look at 2000...

On to your list...

The Winged Dakka'rant is the gold standard, it will always be a good choice (till the rules change, ) But I suggest a Thorax Hive full of Electro-bugs...10 points you'll never regret spending.

The Tyranid Prime...just not a good purchase, too expensive. For 140 you can get a Mawloc, and have 5 left over. And you can no longer attach a IC to MC 's...so it works even poorer... I'd lose this, and spend the points elsewhere. (I'd find 95 more, and buy a second Tyrant )

The Termigants usually work best in larger Broods, I suggest x20, and more than one Brood...
The Warriors look good, as built, if you want "Living Artillery" then one should have a Venom Cannon...

Hormies are hard to use, they're are both good, and bad...I tend to run them in Broods of x15..that would save you 50 points you can spend elsewhere...

Hive Guard...I don't much like them myself, I suggest you use a Brood of x2, and use the 55 points to buy a Venothrope. Epic good, though sadly, not so good vs Tau. (and you can afford a Thorax Hive as well)

The Carnifexen...dude...find 30 points and x2 Brain Leech them, they will be star players for you.

Tyrgon, Toxic...I don't know that this will add enough for the points...for 200 I would buy a Tyranofex, with Adrenal Glands, and a Thorax Hive. This will delete Marker Lights like nobody's business! If you flat drop it points are free for other uses...

Exocrene, I don't use this myself, and my impression is it is best vs Space Marines....so I dunno If you drop the Trygon, and buy Biovores x3, you can run Living Artillery, and that should do well vs Gunlines.

Sorry to harsh out on ya, but the best time to ask hard questions is before money gets spent.

Oh...the Stealers with Brood Lord, I'd drop one Stealer, and save 14. Almost no change to effectiveness, and save some points.

In any case, good luck! And welcome to the Hive Mind!

Hey guys! Thanks again for helping me with all of the advice!

So unfortunately... I ended up running the most recent list I posted before I got a chance to check replies, and pretty much everything you guys pointed out was dead on:

- Genestealers came on and luckily got cover behind one of his own tanks, but died after I took it out
- Trygon got wiped out by interceptor before he did crap!
- Hormies couldn't touch them.
- Warriors that were in range disappeared
- Flyrant sadly got taken down on his first turn and gave him First Blood and Slay the Warlord.
- Hive guard did fairly well.
- Carnifexes performed beautifully, but I had illegally attached the Prime to them (without knowing its now illegal) and I should have added another devourer.
- Zoantrhopes popped out of the trygon tunnel and died after killing one crisis suit.
- But!... He was too distracted by everything running at him to touch my backfield so I reached his deployment zone and only lost by one point lol

I'm definitely running Living artillery next time I test Tyranids, and I like the Idea of the Mawloc a lot more now lol; the most disappointing part of that game was definitely losing the Trygon in its own movement phase!! I'm going to look into Tyrannofexes. I'll also increase the amount of gargoyles and play with some of the other unit sizes.

What should I do for troops choices if Hormies can't make it, and Warriors are easy targets? I'm guessing Termies with a Tervigon?? Apart from parking them in the back field, what would they be good at? It sounds like I should have everything other than my troops choices be big and scary so they can run forward and take the brunt of the fire, then send gaunts forwards to take objectives behind them. Again, I appreciate all the help and I'll reformulate the list after looking into the new options. luckily I haven't bought anything yet, so It makes changes so much easier!
SharkoutofWata what do you think I should use those points on instead?

At 2000 points I run 2 Dakka Flyrants with E-Grubs (basically at any point level above 1000 tbh), for Troops 30 Spinefist Gaunts, a Tervigon, and 3 Warriors w/ a Barbed Strangler for the Living Artillery, 3 solo Dakkafexes, 3 Biovores, an Exocrine, 2x2 Broods of Venomthropes (although as mentioned hamstrung by Tau), and then experiment with the remaining ~200 points.

Vs. Tau specifically, A Mawloc or two would be good, as would the aforementioned Acid Spraying, E-Grubbing Tyrannofex. Hapries and Hive Crones can also help to take the pressure off your Flyrants and drop ample amounts of pie plates/templates.

Now go out and dine on some little blue men!

Warriors are a necessary weakness. There are ways to keep them alive, like keeping them behind something bigger that is meant to absorb fire. A Tyrannofex with regeneration. Expensive, but the warriors can close in with crisis suits, hug cover and maybe stay alive if the brood is big enough.

You can use the points saved from the Stealers to drag in an extra Mawloc. They run well in pairs so fire is soread between them. They'll still get hurt, but very good chance one or both will have enough wounds for a round 2 with the gunlines. The Tyranid Prime can be gotten rid of for 4 More Warriors, two groups of five using as much cover as physically possible and hiding behind bigger threats. Other than that, a shift in upgrades as has been suggested. I don't think you'll have the points for a second Tyrant and I'm not going to suggest taking one.

Kinda depresses me that Tyranids nowadays are all 'flyrant and dakkafex or it's gonna lose!'. I mean, it's mostly true but I still don't like how cookie cutter a Tyranid army is now when we used to have so many options. So I'll push more for the Mawlocs so you can use Deep Strike and that nice underground attack since that seems to be your interest.

 bearhouse wrote:
Hey guys! Thanks again for helping me with all of the advice!

So unfortunately... I ended up running the most recent list I posted before I got a chance to check replies, and pretty much everything you guys pointed out was dead on:

- Genestealers came on and luckily got cover behind one of his own tanks, but died after I took it out
- Trygon got wiped out by interceptor before he did crap!
- Hormies couldn't touch them.
- Warriors that were in range disappeared
- Flyrant sadly got taken down on his first turn and gave him First Blood and Slay the Warlord.
- Hive guard did fairly well.
- Carnifexes performed beautifully, but I had illegally attached the Prime to them (without knowing its now illegal) and I should have added another devourer.
- Zoantrhopes popped out of the trygon tunnel and died after killing one crisis suit.
- But!... He was too distracted by everything running at him to touch my backfield so I reached his deployment zone and only lost by one point lol

I'm definitely running Living artillery next time I test Tyranids, and I like the Idea of the Mawloc a lot more now lol; the most disappointing part of that game was definitely losing the Trygon in its own movement phase!! I'm going to look into Tyrannofexes. I'll also increase the amount of gargoyles and play with some of the other unit sizes.

What should I do for troops choices if Hormies can't make it, and Warriors are easy targets? I'm guessing Termies with a Tervigon?? Apart from parking them in the back field, what would they be good at? It sounds like I should have everything other than my troops choices be big and scary so they can run forward and take the brunt of the fire, then send gaunts forwards to take objectives behind them. Again, I appreciate all the help and I'll reformulate the list after looking into the new options. luckily I haven't bought anything yet, so It makes changes so much easier!
SharkoutofWata what do you think I should use those points on instead?

Well...I am a big fan of Tyranofex, I run her with Adrenal, and a Thorax Hive. Fleet scares the foe, and a second Template makes scagging Troops a trivial task. I'd suggest keeping one Brood of Hormies, and using them to bubble wrap the Tyranofex. Add a Synapse, and go to town. It will attract all the firepower available, and it is both Tough (T6), and has a 2+ save.

I use a Tervigon now and then,(more "then" than now. ) and I always like to Outflank it with Hive Commander. It is Synapse, is a Big Bug, and can spawn her own bubblewrap. I always toss a Thorax Hive on her, and with Outflank targets are plentiful.

You've already hit on the key to Nids doing well. "Maximum Threat Overload" Give the foe too many targets, then exploit the mistakes.

Mawlocs are a good unit (opinions do vary though. ) I find them extra nice vs Tau. You can munch on Marker Lights, and Broadsides are a tasty treat as well.
The advantage Termagants have is they have the ability to shoot. Since 6th, that has come in real handy. The main advantage of our Troops is they are cheap, and therefor plentiful. Not everyone uses this, but I sure do.

If you cruse around Army Lists, and Tactics, you'll find plenty of good ideas to try out.

A good way to start out is the Swarm Box, a Tyrant, and a box of Warriors. That will give you a wide range of figures to use, and once you hit on a "style" you can buy to suit.

Good luck! And welcome to the Hive MInd!