Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi guys, i'm thinking of buying an army of tyranids so i'm trying to decide a list before buying things i won't use.
The list doesn't need to be perfect meta but i want it to be good enough to go into a tournament. This is what i'm thinking right now:

HQ
winged hive tyrant
swarmlord
neurothrope

TROOPS
5 warriors
5 warriors
5 warriors

ELITES
1 maleceptor
3 tyrant guard
3 tyrant guard
3 zoanthrope

FAST
3 raveners
3 raveners

HEAVY
1 exocrine
1 exocrine

This list would be 2 patrols, the exocrines holding the back and the idea is to abuse the bodyguard rule to put the tyrant/swarm in the middle while the warriors helps in the next turn.
The warriors are my favourite units, if they weren't so god damn expensive i would play 30 of them.

My input:

Winged Hive tyrant: I would go for Bonesword/whip combi and give it the 'reaper' relic. Add some stratagem stuff (+d3 attacks or reroll wound) and that thing really kills stuff. use the overrun stratagem to jump back towards the tyrant guard for protection.

Swarmlord: I would drop this one. To slow to use, considering the current 40k climate in which case you need to do/take a lot of damage turn 1 and 2.

Neurothrope: I would always pick the 'synaptic tendrils' WLT. use the warp siphon on the neurothrope to get catalyst and onslaught, and also on the maleceptor for -1 Strenght against ranged.

Warriors: think about the secondary missions. maybe rather go with: 9 warriors + 3 warriors + 3 warriors. 9 warriors get the most out of the -1 damage stratagem, catalyst, et cetera. 3 warriors can be used for secondary objectives.

Tyrant guard: I would combine the two units. you can protect both with catalyst and also use offensive upgrades for the big unit (+1 attack). boneswords and whip is the obvious pick.

Zoanthropes: nothing wrong with that.

Raveners: not a fan, still cheap but I think points can be spend in something better. Either better shooting or a faster meaner close combat threat..

Exocrines: nothing wrong with that.

You wrote that warriors are your favourite unit, but be carefull that you don't get a bit overly enthusiastic. Warriors have always been decent at everything but masters at nothing. That is still the case. I think units of 3 warriors are great for objectives considering the low point cost and one big unit of 9 can really push towards an objective as long as there are other threats on the battlefield and the enemy got to make difficult choices. But take 3x9 warriors and the enemy will kill them in time eventually. Simply because you don't have enough points for other tyranid units that are really specialised at something (anti-tank or in your face units..).

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply:

Full agree on the winged hive tyrant.

I know the swarmy isn't probably the best anymore but i like it so i'll try it and maybe then switch into a walking tyrant.

On the warriors i was thinking units of five for 1 cp strat and blast vs tau but maybe you're right, the full 9 blob can be protected better and can use the full rerolls from swarmy.

On the tyrant guards is different tho, i really don't care if they die, they need to hide behind terrain if they can in order to abuse bodyguard. I will never buff them probably and in that case killing two units of 3 is much more difficult.

The raveners are there to have a cheap deep strike unit in case someone leave to little on home objective, 10 S5 attacks between ranged and melee is stupid for a 30 point model.

P.s. After i saw it in a game i definitely want to put an harpy in here so i'll have to think about it a bit again.

I think I would take the Swarmlord out and replace him with a walkrant with AG + HVC. Take one Warrior out of each squad and place them into a new squad and add one. You still come out 5 points less than having the Swarmlord, for an arguably more versatile list.

I like the Swarmlord on paper but he's extremely one dimensional (and expensive), especially with the Tyrant Guard with him. That's 360 points dedicated to CC, and not super mobile (unless you choose a Hive Fleet like Kraken or Behemoth), so they're only really getting involved on Turn 3 most likely. In my opinion if you want to abuse the bodyguard rule, it's best done with a shooting unit that can sit there and pick things off with impunity. A walkrant with a HVC or even one of the relic cannons does this very well and, with the Exocrines behind him, helps to shut down large swathes of the board. On the flipside, what scares the opponent about an un-targetable Swarmlord in the open? He can't shoot them, just glare angrily at them

With regards to the rest of the list, I like a lot of it. My only question is why Raveners? Again, quite a killy unit in CC, which is great, however they actively discourage you from taking ranged weapons and they're not super survivable with that 4+ and especially in 3-man units. I feel they're the kind of unit that will annoy the enemy for a turn after DS in but then get quickly obliterated. For that 180pts you could take another Exocrine.

100% agree on the walkrant, as i said i like the swarmlord but it will probably be converted into a walkrant not much later.
I like the ravaners stats and to have some DS units but after seeing an harpy i think i'll use that instead