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Ok, I'm contemplating running nids for the first time ever. Just getting my head around the codex. I've noticed they ONLY have access to their own powers nowadays... I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm contemplating a list of two flyrants, two tervigons and two zoanthropes, truth is, I'm not sure what to take powers wise. What to hope for, or what to trade for base?

Any hints/tips or help would be awesome!

It's a massive nerf and spelled the end of the Tyranid psychic choir.
I'd pass on psyker heavy lists or give GW the finger and houserule TP, TK, and Biomancy back in.

Yeah, I'd love to house rule them back in too. But I wanna start attending some tournaments and most won't allow that. The units I'm taking aren't being selected for their powers, more for their other abilities. But that being said I want to make as much use of their powers as possible.

Wait until 7th Edition.

Tyranids DO NOT get the Demonology Psychic discipline, that was explicitly stated.

Who knows... may mean other tables are back in!

Catalyst and onslought are very good ( need a shooty unit for onslought). Paroxysm too if you want to nerf an enemy unit.
The horror can be good if the enemy isn't fearless and your army could use pinning. (mine doesnt really care)
Psychic scream is very short range, so only good on Flyrant it seems. Or maybe if your enemy likes to deepstrike and assault your backfield.
Warp Blast is good for the Lance, but obviously only with Psyker ML 2+. More chance to work if you use multiple zoans in the same brood.

Just about every Tyranid player saw the changes as a nerf, myself included. However, I now believe it was not a killer change. The Tyranid book powers is honestly the all-around best table, second to divination. It laks a single really good power like Iron Arm, but every single power is pretty useful, whereas Biomancy had some really bad ones as well. A brief rundown...

Catalyst is best. Never exchange, ever. FnP on two units is self explanatory.
Onslaught should also never be exchanged. Use it to give Flyrants side armor shots or to put an exocrine in range, etc.
Paroxysm should never be exchanged. Use it on a snooty unit that you can't afford to deal with, or a tough assault unit, like Wraiths.
The Horror is situationally useful. Very good againstost armies, but if your opponent is fearless or Daemons, exchange.
Psychic Scream is good on Flyrants, but on Tervigons and other backfield Psykers, you can affor to take dominion.
Warp Blast depends on your opponents army. It's amazing against vehicles, and Flyrants should always keep it. Note that Tervigons and Zoeys must reroll if they get this.

 Khaine's Wrath wrote:
Ok, I'm contemplating running nids for the first time ever. Just getting my head around the codex. I've noticed they ONLY have access to their own powers nowadays... I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm contemplating a list of two flyrants, two tervigons and two zoanthropes, truth is, I'm not sure what to take powers wise. What to hope for, or what to trade for base?

Any hints/tips or help would be awesome!

Well, I'd run one Tervigon, and two Broods of x2 Zoeys. The runor is that if you use one list (like Nids Must.) then you get Primarchus free. If this is true, then it will really rawk. Zoeys are durable Synapse, and do a good job of buffing with Psycher abilitys. The Warp Lance/Blast is just gravy. Zoeys are also ML2 aren't they?

 Kain wrote:
It's a massive nerf and spelled the end of the Tyranid psychic choir.
I'd pass on psyker heavy lists or give GW the finger and houserule TP, TK, and Biomancy back in.

This is true currently, but wait for 7th edition. I believe that we will be able to deny the witch like NO OTHER, especially because Shadow in the Warp has to do SOMETHING to screw over psykers. What that may be, I don't know. But I believe that psychic choir will be much more viable than it was in 6th, especially as a line of defense against psychic shenanigans.

luke1705 wrote:

 Kain wrote:
It's a massive nerf and spelled the end of the Tyranid psychic choir.
I'd pass on psyker heavy lists or give GW the finger and houserule TP, TK, and Biomancy back in.

This is true currently, but wait for 7th edition. I believe that we will be able to deny the witch like NO OTHER, especially because Shadow in the Warp has to do SOMETHING to screw over psykers. What that may be, I don't know. But I believe that psychic choir will be much more viable than it was in 6th, especially as a line of defense against psychic shenanigans.

Taking psykers mostly just so that other people's psykers aren't functioning does not a choir make.

Two okay buffs (onslaught not letting you assault and run is baffling though) which while good can't compare to endurance, Eldar buffs, and divinitation, a witchfire which got nerfed because reasons, copy pasta'd psychic shriek, a boring synapse extender, and paroxysm which remains a nice enough malediction. And the horror which would be nice if half the armies in the game weren't nearly impervious to it.

It's better then the terribad Chaos powers, but the Eldar tables gak all over it and it's overall just boring for such a heavily psychic army and is an oddly specific screw you to the Tyranids when nobody else with psykers is stuck with one table.

#ForgingTheNarrative

Tyranid psychic powers are good. I no longer miss Biomancy.

 jy2 wrote:
Tyranid psychic powers are good. I no longer miss Biomancy.

Quite frankly I would roll on the Nids table even if we had Biomancy. The powers are more consistently useful, and we can no longer just roll in hopes of Iron Arm with less ML on Tervigons.

 jy2 wrote:
Tyranid psychic powers are good. I no longer miss Biomancy.

I miss having a Swarmlord who didn't get his gak wrecked with trivial ease by Ironfather Smashfether.

Old SitW was awesome as was old Synapse granting everything EW. Those were the days of useful Warriors.

 PipeAlley wrote:
Old SitW was awesome as was old Synapse granting everything EW. Those were the days of useful Warriors.

The new SitW is pretty cool and is more versatile than the old one. EW for free was admittedly over the top, but I like DOW 2's system of certain synapse creatures granting small but palpable bonuses along with synapse, for example; adrenal gland warriors boosted melee damage while the swarmlord gave a speed buff.

 Kain wrote:
It's a massive nerf and spelled the end of the Tyranid psychic choir.
I'd pass on psyker heavy lists or give GW the finger and houserule TP, TK, and Biomancy back in.

Biomancy was such a crutch. Nids are a good army. They aren't toppling Eldar or Tau tourney lists, but for the vast majority of players out there, Nids can beat some face.