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Hello all,
Here is a recent list used against my brother's Tyranids comments and advice welcomed:

Chaplain on Bike w/crozius

Librarian on Foot Psyker level 2, force sword

Dreadnought
Extra Armour, ML & TL Heavy Bolter

Tac Squad w Plasmagun & Cannon in Rhino
Sergeant w/Plasma Pistol and Chainsword w/melta bombs

Tac Squad w Meltagun and ML in Rhino
Vet Sergeant w Plasma Pistol & Power axe

Nephilim Jetfighter w/ Avenger Mega Bolter

6 bike Ravenwing Attack Squadron w/ Melta and plasma gun
Attack Bike w/Heavy Bolter
Land Speeder Typhoon w/heavy bolter
Sgt w/ Power Maul

Deimos Predator w/ Plasma Destroyer(36" S7 AP2 Heavy 3 Blasts for those who don't know) and Lascannon sponsons


Total 1476pts

Drop the nephilim for some black knights. Same with the attack bike.

 TranSpyre wrote:
Drop the nephilim for some black knights. Same with the attack bike.

Don't own any black knights lol

I normally write takes-all-comers lists, so if you know you're facing Nids, some of my comments can be safely ignored:

I'm not keen on the heavy weapons in the Rhino units, unless you'e planning to combat-squad them?

Where does the Librarian go? There's no room in either of the Rhino units (unless you're combat-squadding them) and he can't keep up with the bikes, so presumably he's hiding behind the Predator casting Prescience? If that's his only job the. He doesn't really need the extra level IMO.

Also not keen on the Plasma Pistols, they're expensive upgrades that you only get to use once or twice - I prefer Combi-weapons to add firepower (even though they are also limited, a Combi-Plas gets both shots in the same turn for less points than a Plas pistol that needs to survive twice as long to get 2 shots in). I'd guess they're there as the first squad appears to be from the DV set?

The Power axe on the sarge is also a bit of a liability - any Tyranid worth axe'ing (2+ save) will go before the sergeant (due to the axe being Unwieldy) and probably be a character (so can challenge the sarge directly) and a MC (so will ignore the sarge's save).

With the RWAS, I like to have two of the same special weapon rather than one of each - normally my suggestion would be double melta, but that's because most lists include vehicles - against Tyranids plasma is better, but if you want plasma on bikes Black Knights really are the way to go (yes, I know you said you don't have any).
Likewise I'd have a Multi-Melta on the attack bike, due to the same reasoning as above. If you're facing Nids using the points to instead upgrade both Rhinos to Razorbacks will net you mode firepower (but this is reliant on combat-squadding, otherwise the units don't fit).

Most of the above is limited if you aren't prepared to change wargear, but could be useful to bear in mind when assembling new models.

Firstly, cheers for the comments and advice (FYI for future posters this is a friendly match not tournament)

@Quanar: Thankfully I've modelled my Rhinos to be interchangeable between Rhino and Razorback (or Whirlwind lol) for flexibility so that's not too much of a problem to change. I do use combat squads a lot in my games, as I've found I don't get murdered quite so fast as having unified squads.
I agree that the power axe might be a bit of a liability, but a S6 hit is worth having (generally do quite well with it in CC to be honest). I agree with the melta on the Attack Bike, but I quite like having the 3 shots rather than just the 1. That and I can shoot things from further away.

Might invest in some Black Knights (or possibly a RW Command squad for the Chaplain to ride with- still get plasma talons anyway)

I'll probably change my Sergeants over to Combi's though- worth having the extra bang for your buck.

The Libby will accompany one of my Tac combat squads in a Razorback.

 angelofvengeance wrote:
I agree that the power axe might be a bit of a liability, but a S6 hit is worth having (generally do quite well with it in CC to be honest).

(S5 btw), and if the Librarian is with the unit you can manage challenges slightly. I'm not usually keen on Veteran Sergeant upgrades, but they are worth it if you've upgraded the melee weapon - I'd probably keep a pistol on him (Plas or, more likely, Bolt) to ensure maximum use of the Axe - if nothing else it might make your opponent think more before charging.

 angelofvengeance wrote:
The Libby will accompany one of my Tac combat squads in a Razorback.

What Discipline were you planning on using?

 Quanar wrote:
(S5 btw), and if the Librarian is with the unit you can manage challenges slightly. I'm not usually keen on Veteran Sergeant upgrades, but they are worth it if you've upgraded the melee weapon - I'd probably keep a pistol on him (Plas or, more likely, Bolt) to ensure maximum use of the Axe - if nothing else it might make your opponent think more before charging.

For some reason I had +2 in my head on power axes.I might have that confused with Mauls. I usually throw the Vet Sgt in for the extra attack he gets to be honest.

 Quanar wrote:
What Discipline were you planning on using?

Can't remember the Psyker powers off-hand but probably something Pyromancy related or Biomancy related.

 angelofvengeance wrote:
Can't remember the Psyker powers off-hand but probably something Pyromancy related or Biomancy related.

I haven't play against nids very often, what is their leadership like? I generally run telepathy on my librarian, simply for the pure power of Psychic Shriek (3d6 minus their leadership wounds, no armor or cover saves), but it's more effective against armies with a lot of heavy armor.

Do you ever run terminators? I'm DA too, and I always like to have a squad of deathwing knights drop in near the bikes (you can get them in 18 inches if you use the scout move of your bikes) on turn 1, but to be fair they do cost a lot of points.

In general the nephilim is meh. With the megabolter on there you can chew up nids easy enough I suppose, but they're rarely worth the points (again, black knights, one of the best DA units you can invest in).

Looks like a pretty solid list though, doesn't need any drastic changes (change out for razorbacks that was mentioned is the only other change I'd recommend)

 kingbobbito wrote:

I haven't play against nids very often, what is their leadership like? I generally run telepathy on my librarian, simply for the pure power of Psychic Shriek (3d6 minus their leadership wounds, no armor or cover saves), but it's more effective against armies with a lot of heavy armor.

Most nids have pretty good leadership if I remember rightly.

 kingbobbito wrote:
Do you ever run terminators? I'm DA too, and I always like to have a squad of deathwing knights drop in near the bikes (you can get them in 18 inches if you use the scout move of your bikes) on turn 1, but to be fair they do cost a lot of points.

I've run Deathwing Knights vs nids and they are quite effective for smushing the larger creatures with Smite Mode.

 kingbobbito wrote:
In general the nephilim is meh. With the megabolter on there you can chew up nids easy enough I suppose, but they're rarely worth the points (again, black knights, one of the best DA units you can invest in).

I dunno, looks promising . The missiles look like they could be effective. The Megabolter feels like a better investment than the lascannons in this instance, as it probably makes a mean combo with twin heavy bolters going there too.

It just hit me that they don't have very much that can bring a nephilim down. In this case I'd say they're pretty good actually.

My brother does like to use Hive Guard with those naughty homing spike things. He may use a Flyrant as well which could cause me some problems..