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I'm thinking about starting another army and I'm stuck between CSMs and Tyranids. Both codexes look good and I love the aesthetic of both, so I'm wondering which codex you guys think seems more competitive and flexible in a TAC list?

I don't know a ton about the CSM codex, but I think the nid codex just might be the poster child for internal balance right now. There are so few to no dud options. Everything has a place in the right build and so many ways to build.

I think they have receive both two of the most internally balanced Codex of 8th, and compared with how they have been the past 5-6 years they have in a very, very nice spot right now.

Chaos is just another imperial army. Well that is cool. Nids are way cooler. You wont have any trouble finding people who want to play against you. Because starship troopers.

True, CSM does mirror SM quite a bit. My first army is Ad Mech though and while the gunline is very effective, I'd like to try something a little different. At least with Chaos they can mix assault and backline fire support effectively. Tyranids are intriguing and would definitely shake up my local meta a bit. Ironically though, I'm not too stoked to paint up a horde of 100 gaunts which is why CSMs being lesser in quantity but more quality per models appeals to me. Granted if I wanted to go with Nids, the closest thing to horde I would do is 2 units of 20 Genestealers. Do Nids have a lot of effective anti-vehicle options? My local meta is pretty vehicle heavy.

Mr. Funktastic wrote:
True, CSM does mirror SM quite a bit. My first army is Ad Mech though and while the gunline is very effective, I'd like to try something a little different. At least with Chaos they can mix assault and backline fire support effectively. Tyranids are intriguing and would definitely shake up my local meta a bit. Ironically though, I'm not too stoked to paint up a horde of 100 gaunts which is why CSMs being lesser in quantity but more quality per models appeals to me. Granted if I wanted to go with Nids, the closest thing to horde I would do is 2 units of 20 Genestealers. Do Nids have a lot of effective anti-vehicle options? My local meta is pretty vehicle heavy.

Hive Guard, Exocrines and Tyrannofex are all excellent anti vehicle shooting.

How about AV CC units? Also are Nids best going all in on assault/shooting or can they work just as well mixed?

Mixed in my opinion. You CAN go full assault or shooting but nids work best with MTO (Maximum threat overload) you want big guns shooting, things in their face. Everything needs to be dealt with NOW so the enemy can't deal with it all and something will get through and break the lines. If you show up with only one strategy you are setting yourself up to loose to a couple of hard counters. Bring it all and support guys against their weaknesses.

Chaos is a very solid and well-rounded codex. Tyranid looks to be the same, but it will probably take a month or two before we know if it is as good as it looks like.

 Lance845 wrote:
Mixed in my opinion. You CAN go full assault or shooting but nids work best with MTO (Maximum threat overload) you want big guns shooting, things in their face. Everything needs to be dealt with NOW so the enemy can't deal with it all and something will get through and break the lines. If you show up with only one strategy you are setting yourself up to loose to a couple of hard counters. Bring it all and support guys against their weaknesses.

How well does Chaos do in MTO? I've made Alpha Legion lists that specialize in multiple threats coming at the opponent at once (Heldrake in your face, Maulerfiend and DP quickly coming up the board, Obliterators deep striking in your backline, Lascannons from Havocs and Helbrutes shooting down vehicles while squatting on objectives, etc) and to me it seems suitably fluffy and threatening, AL specializes in multiple simultaneous threats.