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As the title states i'm trying to help a buddy of mine get into 40k and he decided Tyranids. Now, I know very little about them so that is why I have come here. What are some options he should look into buying? I was doing some checking online and noticed they have some big box deals for about $170. I do see they have that new spore pod thing which is pretty cool and I told him about that thing. He likes the idea of dropping big crushy bugs down from that thing. I wish I knew what sort of list he should build and what HQ choices would be best. So, any tips? I don't want to lead him down the wrong path for this army.

The Tyranid half of the Deathstorm box is actually pretty good. It has a Broodlord, 8 Genestealers, 3 Tyranid Warriors, and 1 Carnifex. A pretty good starting point. It also has a pocket-sized BRB too.

Yeah that does seem like a pretty nice starting point. He could also start some BA on the side as well with that.

Buy the Baal Deathstorm box, tip the Tyranids into the bin and play as the Blood Angels.

As everyone knows, once everyone has rushed out and bought the 'Nid models, a wild nerfbat will appear

 Wulfmar wrote:
Buy the Baal Deathstorm box, tip the Tyranids into the bin and play as the Blood Angels.

As everyone knows, once everyone has rushed out and bought the 'Nid models, a wild nerfbat will appear

Zero basis for this statement and should be ignored.


Deathstorm plus Hive Tyrant, Tervigon and 50 Termagants will be a great place to begin. So the Wrath of the Hive Mind box, plus more Termagants because a Tervigon poops them out fast.

I like the idea of a Tervigon pooping out bugs. I will talk to him and find out what he wants to do. Is the flyer any good?

There's multiple flyers. The Crone is good, the Harpy not so much. The Flying Tyrant is of course the best.

The Tyranid Tactica thread on here has a good unit breakdown for the entire codex. Talks about advantages and disadvantages with each unit. And there are many 'wrong' units to take.

Tyranids can have a variety of different builds, so the models he should get rely on what kind of army he wants. the wrath of the hive mind box is nice if your friend wants to go with a swarmy build, with synapse creatures, some termagants, and a tervigon to spawn more gants in-game. There is a tyranid swarm box that is a good deal if he decides to go the swarm route as well. If he decides to go another route, then it might not be such a valuable deal for him.Regardless of how he decides to build his army, a Tyrant is a must-have. Give him wings and 2 sets of devourers and he is one of the best units available to us.

He will want to make sure he has synapse covered, but after that, it is going to be mostly what models appeal to him. I personally love the flyers and big nids, so my lists always have as many of those as I can, but he may decide that he likes another build. Maybe he likes the idea of sneaky nids and so goes with genestealers and lictors led by the deathleaper. Or maybe he likes the idea of an army of burrowers, so gets a bunch of ravenors, mawlocs, and trygons. There are lots of builds possible out there and while some are inherently stronger than others, he is going to have the most fun playing with the style and units he most likes.

Depending on much he wants to spend, getting one of each of the Nid big box deals (Wrath of the Hive Mind and Tyranid Swarm) will basically give you a 1500ish list right off the bat, with a horde of gribblies and a trio of big monsters, one of which can fly. With online discount on top, this is a pretty cheap way to get a good army going.

Plenty of good advice. The wrath of the hive mind would be a good "topper" then he can fill out as suits his style.
A second Tyrant is likely the only must buy ....
Oil

pinecone77 wrote:
Plenty of good advice. The wrath of the hive mind would be a good "topper" then he can fill out as suits his style.
A second Tyrant is likely the only must buy ....
Oil

Oil? For painting?