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So I've recently got back into 40k after a couple of years off and picked up the newest Tyranid book and played a few games against an Eldar opponent.

I'm not gonna lie, it's been a struggle, I don't remember being this bad a player! My biggest problems by far have been:

1) Jain Zar and the Banshees. Can pretty much walk their way through anything that isn't an MC, but I can't use them to take them down because,

2) The Wraithknight tends to wreck up all my MC's in fairly short order.

It should be noted we've been playing with fairly limited cover, so I'm struggling to get cover for the monstrous Creatures, but still, I've not found a good way to combat these guys yet. Any suggestions?

 GMR wrote:
So I've recently got back into 40k after a couple of years off and picked up the newest Tyranid book and played a few games against an Eldar opponent.

I'm not gonna lie, it's been a struggle, I don't remember being this bad a player! My biggest problems by far have been:

1) Jain Zar and the Banshees. Can pretty much walk their way through anything that isn't an MC, but I can't use them to take them down because,

2) The Wraithknight tends to wreck up all my MC's in fairly short order.

It should be noted we've been playing with fairly limited cover, so I'm struggling to get cover for the monstrous Creatures, but still, I've not found a good way to combat these guys yet. Any suggestions?

Well you can use a screening unit, and a Veno/Malanthrope to provide a cover save for MC's. The "standard" answer to a stomper unit is Tar pit/ ignore...or Mawloc. I would probably look to use a "Bug star" of some Hormagaunts (screen) a Veno, a Zoey (Synapse) and a Tyrannofex with Acid Spray, and a Thorax hive. . A Torrent of S6 AP 4 Acid should rearrange their schedule quite nicely. A second Template can always be useful, and you have enough Wall of Death for everyone.

But sadly Everybody tends to struggle vs Eldar.

Wraithknights have gotten even more OP...Tarpit is barely possible these days... So the "best" answer is kill everybody else first...

I'm no tyranid player, and I've never had the pleasure of using or facing a wraithknight, but I have a couple of ideas.

For the wraithknight, I suppose your best bet is to tie it up with something expendable for as long as you can, tyranids should have plenty of units capable of that task. As for actually killing it, I'm not so sure. At toughness 8 and with all the bells and whistles of gargantuan creatures, it's a tough one to be sure. Perhaps a nid player can help you there.

Banshees on the other hand, I can give a bit of advice on. They'll fold quickly to anything AP4, unless Jain is leading the way with her 2+ save, which I assume she is. I believe spore mines are ap4, and can be fired as a barrage from a biovore. You land one of those in the middle of the squad, and Jain won't be able to tank the hit, as wounds are allocated from the centre of the template. Also, since it's a barrage attack, you should be able to hide them from the Wraithknight before it can obliterate them. I would also guess that the lovely ladies are using a wave serpent to get around. If this is the case, it might be an idea to hold the biovores in reserve to keep them safe until the banshees pop out of the truck. Then they can wander on and fire away!

I'm not sure where biovores stand on general viability, but if you want to kill banshees, you can definitely pick worse units.

Cover is very important, but the Eldar are often fast enough that they can get around it without much trouble. A big thing about this, especially if you've been gone for a couple years, is that the Eldar are "the new hotness", and their book is widely considered one of the strongest in the game. You can still beat it though! I'd suggest the following:

#1 - Talk with your opponent about the Wraithknight
It's a big deal in the game right now that Wraithknights are bonkers, and there's extremely little in the Tyranid arsenal that can fight it. All of its versions are extra-lethal to Tyranids (range-D, or close combat-D, and even the Suncannon is pretty mean). Perhaps talk with your opponent about maybe not including this particular unit in their army. Wraithlords are another matter, as they're not protected by Feel No Pain, invulnerable saves, and immunity from poisons/instant death boneswords.

#2 - Consider Venomthropes
These guys carry the cover around with them, and if you get into even a tiny bit of actual cover, buff that cover up to a staggering amount! A Venomthrope or a unit it's affecting has a 2+ cover save while in Ruins; that'll be a lot harder for them to shoot off!

#3 - Mawlocs are Like Giant Cannons
Read the rules on these guys. They pop up and eat enemies! I can't remember if Jain Zar has Eternal Warrior or not, but if she doesn't, the S6 AP2 hit will instant-kill her. The cool thing about the Mawlocs is that their attack is treated as having come from the centre of the blast. This means that placing the blast marker right on top of Jain Zar herself will cause all the wounds to have to go through her first! If she fails a single "Look Out Sir!" save, then munch munch munch! Combo the Mawloc with a Lictor for some extra fun.

#4 - Big Bugs are Best
The game right now does heavily reward playing the old "Godzilla" lists you're probably more familiar with. Don't be afraid to take multiple "Flyrants" - Hive Tyrants with wings and two sets of twin-devourers with brainleech worms! They pack a huge punch against mostly any target (again, more instant-killing S6!), and can't be assaulted because they're flying. Take that Banshees!

Good luck!

Jain zar is T4 and has EW I'm afraid, but a mawloc could eat a lot of banshees! Me, I'd throw a big squad of expendable gaunts at them. Have fun ignoring my 6+ save.

Don't have an answer for the wraithknight though. A properly kitted melee tyrant could have a chance, but were talking as many/more points than the wk with a mediocre chance to kill it. Tarpit with gargoyles maybe?

The best thing to take it out would probably be... Genestealers!

For the same cost as the Wraithknight, you could have 21 'stealers. Assuming half die (rounded up) from shooting and the other half actually get into close combat with it, then:

10 Genestealers charging = 30 attacks @ WS6
66% hits = 20 hits
16.7% rend = 3 rending hits
33% saved with FNP = 2 wounds

Unlikely that all the Stealers die from return attacks, but it does seem that the Genestealers eventually lose out. Still - better than most stuff in our 'dex!

EDIT: I can't help but feel that there must be SOMETHING better than this! This is pretty bad!

OK, looks like there's a few options to look at here. I like the Biovore idea for squashing banshees, assuming I can get them out of the transport, the barrage should make short work of them! I feel like Jain Zar would then be manageable on her own...

Also, it seems Venomthrope screens are a good bet for increasing survivability on the MC's, I'll have to give it a try.

As for the Wraithknight, it seems like just clogging it up with gaunts might be the only way!

Thanks for the ideas guys! Any other suggestions are always welcome too.

Clogging a WK with gaunts is something we could do last edition, now that is impossible. They will get stomped too fast.

Honestly if you are not playing an highly competitive list (i.e. no less than 4 Flyrants), ask your opponent to take that model away from his army, it's just not fair.

If you've got enough small little guys, it's doable, barely. I make sure to include a Tervigon or two when against Eldar. Just gotta keep replacing the gaunts that are getting stomped all over the place.

That said, in a competitive list, where are they going to go? HQ's should really be filled with Flyrants and there is a huge points tax for a TroopsGon.

I think your best bet against the wraithknight is ask your opponent not to take it. Eldar can still outmatch nids even without one, but I find it makes the game more fun for both sides if there isn't an unkillable unit on the board.
As an Eldar player I'm always happy to tone down my lists against lower tier armies, it gives me the chance to use my lesser used units and it just makes the game more fun in general.