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I bought the Deathwatch Overkill game a while ago, and recently picked up the GSC codex, and I'm wondering how to use the GSC codex to give my Tyranids a lift.

What I'm thinking so far is an Allied Detachment with the following:

HQ - Pick your poison from Patriarch, Magus, or Primus - not sure I've decided which one i like best yet.
Troops - 1 min unit of Neophyte Hybrids with Mining Lasers for a little more AT
Elite - 1 unit of Purestrain Genestealers. Due to the Invul, this codex might give me an actual reason to play with my Genestealers...I figure I can use Cult Ambush to put some serious pressure on my opponent as the big bugs move in.
HS - A Lehman Russ squadron w/ Battle Cannons squadron for some long range support (I'd have to buy these. Would anyone care to recommend whether 2 is sufficient, or should I be thinking about 3?)

Is there anything else I should be considering from GSC to help bolster my Nids?

Note: I'm not trying to do a full-fledged CAD or Cult Insurrection detachment. Just looking for a relatively cheap way to take what I already have from DWOK, and add a bit to it to give my Nids a shot in the arm.

Coming from a guardplayer, so i wont comment on general tyranid stuff:
For the leman russ i would recommend the eradicator to get around barrage/snapfire plus ignores cover. Standard russ suffers from snapfiring secondary armament. And that battlecannon is a last resort against vehicles at best. Also i think two tanks will suffice, three is not only expensive but might also overkill all that MSU that's around these days.

One of the Tyranid problems is we've got nothing S8 or higher at AP3 or lower, and nothing besides a Mawloc that can that can hit at very long range (besides a crappy weapon called the Rupture Cannon, but that is a no go because it costs a fortune to field, and while it's S10, it's only AP4 so armor saves all day for MEQs).

I've got some S6 AP2 unlimited range, no line of sight required, ignores cover in the form of 2 Mawlocs, so the Eradicator may be redundant with those guys. (Also the Eradicator is not Barrage on the GSC codex...is it Barrage in the AM codex?).

I'm attracted to the Battle Cannon, because of (a) the 72" range (2 times longer than anything I've got...and whatever 36" weapons I do have are low test) and (b) the AP3...we literally have zero shooting weapons that are AP3.

I get your point about the secondary snapshot thing. Maybe I wouldn't even splurge on any extra secondary weapons. Then again I could swap HB for a LC to have an anti-tank shot if everything's in transports and the BC would just get 1 hit anyways.

Honestly I think using GSC to get shooting for Nidz is kinda sub par. Yes they do have a couple of toys that can do things that Nidz can't but the two real things that GSC bring to the table are psychic abilities and Cult ambush.

For psychic abilities I'd go with CAD
Magus ML2(with crouchling) and a ML2 Patirarch:
Fish for summoning with 5 chances it's like a 75%+ chance to get it and even if you don't the other powers are all good as well.

I'd take 1 Neophyte Squad to hide the Magus in and then depending on your points take Acolytes in squads of 6-8 to put pressure on the enemy to let the rest of your army close and if they survive use them to cap objectives.

Honestly a full insurrection isn't that expensive and gives you so much more though. It allows you to concentrate all your Tyranid points on big stompies and flyers rather than gribbles and puts pressure on the enemy which will cause him to make mistakes.

I tend to use an almost 50/50 points wise Tyranid and GSC and it works brilliantly.

Timeshadow wrote:

Honestly a full insurrection isn't that expensive and gives you so much more though. It allows you to concentrate all your Tyranid points on big stompies and flyers rather than gribbles and puts pressure on the enemy which will cause him to make mistakes.

Would you mind sharing which route you took to get the Cult Insurrection?

I already bought the Leman Russes (I absolutely need long range help for my Nids).

I figure with the stuff I have, I'd need 2 boxes of Acolytes/Metamorphs to get to a Brood Cycle (with a little bit of kit bashing). Then I could use the tanks as Brood Brothers.

Or I'd need 2 Chimeras and a Sentinel to do a Neophyte Cavalcade, and use my Genestealer as Shadow Skulkers.

It seems like the Brood Cycle would play better to the Cult Ambush rules and the Cult Insurrection benefits.

How do you do it?