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New to Tyranids...

Ok so a friend of mine is getting into the hobby and wants to play Tyranids so I'm trying to figure out some things to recommend. I don't want to just point him at a box set for fear of him having lots of stuff that's left over and not practical (what happened to me with Space Marines). So here's what I'm thinking..

I'd like to come up with an "escalation league" style list of things to buy using models that he can use both early in low point lists, and keep using as we raise the point level. Would something like this be a good starting list (I don't know much about the Nids, so any advice is much appreciated!!)

750 points

Hive Tyrant - wings, twin-linked devourer x2
Tervigon - (troop version)
Termagants (30) - devourers
Gargoyles (14) - flesh borers

He likes the idea of "flying" creatures, so I'm thinking that the flying Hive Tyrant is useful now and later, and the Gargoyles add to the fluff factor and can be filled out later.. and the Tervigon seems very useful to spawn more troops... and I think if the gargoyles hang near the Tyrant, and the Termagants near the Tervigon, synapse should be ok (maybe?)

Any advice on a 750 point list and how to scale it up (towards some sort of flying, swarm and overrun army) is welcomed! Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the Hive Tyranids are in a tough place as it is as they do not have a power Codex (as say Tau or Eldar) but with the right builds they can successfully win games. It's a challenging army to master as it punishes mistakes more than say Space Marines but it's satisfying to win with and more than capable of giving the top tier armies a run for their money (I myself have a win:lose ratio of 4:1 against my Tau friend with Nids).

Now that that's out the way, let's get on with what models to collect. At this points level he can afford to invest in the Hive Tyrant with Wings and Twin-Linked Devourers. Some people (such as myself) like to put on Electroshock Grubs for Haywire as Tyranids have problems dealing with AV13/14 (with Smash being nerfed, the only reliable sources are Carnifexes with S9 hits that need to get into Close Combat and Warp Lance, which has it's problems being a Psychic Power).

The problem with the Tervigon I find is that it's not going to do much aside sit on Objectives and babysit the Termagants that it's spewing out - and it's quite a points sink in a small points list, on top of the 120 points you're shelling out for the brood of Termagants so you can take it as a Troop choice. On top of that, it's not always guaranteed to create ore babies (one game I had, I rolled a 2+2+1 on the first turn! Talk about a letdown) and when it dies (as opponents will likely target it) it will make the Termagants go berserk and fall back half of the time, not to mention it will most likely kill a few Termagants it was babysitting due to Synaptic Backlash). For troops choices instead I would invest in Warriors as they have Synaptic Creature so won't require babysitting and can invest in long range weapons (Basic Biocannons) so can sit on Backfield objectives while still causing a few problems to infantry. I personally would invest in a Barbed Strangler per group as it causing pinning and leave it at that, however, a Venom Cannon, while having a small blast and no pinning, does pack more of a punch, can hurt light vehicles, so your friend needs to decide which is going to be more useful in his meta. They both cost the same, so (if your FLGC allows it) he can proxy them before making a final decision over which to take.

With the Hive Tyrant as mentioned above and the Warriors as suggested comes to 440 and satisfies the FOC - which means we can invest in the wings. I would start off by adding a Hive Crone as it provides more AT with Haywire Tentaclids and S8 Vector Strikes (and helps the Hive Tyrant by presenting another FMC for opponents to deal with).

I would then load up on Gargoyles. Two squads of 12 and 13 Gargoyles will give your friend the 'swarm' aspect of Tyranids as well as provide more targets for the opponent to deal with..

So to summarise, I would use this list for your friend at 750 points, basing this on a vehicle meta:

Hive Tyrant
-Wings
-Twin Linked Devourers with BLW
-Twin Linked Devourers with BLW
-Electroshock Grubs
=240

Tyranid Warriors x3
-Barbed Strangler
=100

Tyranid Warriors x3
-Barbed Strangler
=100

Hive Crone
=155

Gargoyles x12
=72

Gargoyles x13
=78

Total = 748 (with 31 models split between 6 units and having to fire Snapshots at two of those units).

If your meta is more infantry based, then a Harpy in place of the Hive Crone and upping the number of Gargoyles in each unit is more than acceptable. (14+15 with a Stranglethorn Cannon Harpy, 14 in each for a HVC Harpy)

EDIT:

As to where to go from this...you're friend is going to want to collect Tyranid Dataslate: Rising Leviathan 2. This grants you access to the well known Skyblight formation, which on top of FOC, gives you another Winged Hive Tyrant, Hive Crone, two Harpies and three sets of Gargoyles, with the Gargoyles having Objective Secured like troops, but having the chance that when wiped out, can renter the battlefield on a 4+! That is pretty good Perhaps the first buy if you increase to 1000 points is another Flying Hive Tyrant, for more Synapse and helping the first Tyrant out a bit by again, more FMC to deal with.

Other worthwhile investments are Venomthropes and Forge World Malanthropes as they provide Shrouded to an army that desperately relies on cover as well as Zoanthropes for Psychic powers and Hive Guard for light tank killing. Heavy Support in general are all good choices to go with (except the Trygon, which requires too much investment for it to be semi-viable).

I hope this was informative and I wish your friend all the success with Nids!

To be honest, the Tyranid box set is a great buy. From a exclusive, long time Tyrnaid player, I'd suggest to get the boxed set to start.

Yes, the Flying Hive Tryrant is awesome, but at 750 points it's a huge investment and I'd almost say "over powered". At that point level, he'll run into lots of army lists that simply will not be able to do anything to it.

While a Tervigon isn't what it once was (in the previous edition of the codex) it is an awesome, yet not over powered unit that you can bring at 750 points. Done properly, magnetizing it will ensure that he'd be able to use it as a Tyrannofex down the road if he wants to.

With those things in mind here's a fun, starter list that will help him get a feel for how a Tyranid army works and he'll learn a lot:

Hive Tyrant w/ Heavy Venom Cannon and Twin linked Devourers + Tyrant guard

14 Hormagaunts
Tervigon w/ crushing claws
30 Termagants
3 Tyranid warriors with a barbed strangler

750 on the dot

This list has lots of synapse for the gibblies, some shooting power, ability to take on high armored tanks, and swarm potential. Best part is, that in my option, it will also be very hard to beat played properly because there's lots of Objective secured units.

While this list doesn't necessarily have any flying aspects to it, it's a great start where he can eventually add flying units to it.

Make sure he's painfully aware that Tyranids are a very synergistic army and rely on multiple facets to be successful unlike Tau, Eldar, and Space marines who have units that can stand alone and still be very effective.

Not much to add...I always recommend the Swarm Box, a Tyrant, and a box of Warriors.... Every thing in the box is usable. I set aside 10 of the Hormagaunts, and converted them into Devilgaunts (Devourer Termagants)

Just that will work all the way to around 1250, and by that point he'll have a good idea of what style of list works for him.

750? A Winged Tyrant, Brain Leeches x2, Thorax hive, a Dakkafex (Carnifex, Brain Leeches x2), and two Broods of Termagants x20 should run 550. That is already a stompy list, and there are 200 points left to spend.

So I'd toss in some Gargoyles, Toxic (10 come in the box) and some Warriors (x3 Brood, Strangle Cannon) and take Hive Commander, or some other fun upgrades, and let lose the Bugs of War!

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, this is a great starting point and has been very helpful so far!

So greatful to read this thread. I'm in the OPs position as well. Great advice guys.