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So iv been building my first ever 40k Army and wanted to get some opinions. I only have the Tyranids Codex so iv been using that and Wahapedia to get everything set up. its 1k points and 48 power. Please let me know if its valid and what rules I should be aware of. I did not build this to be "Meta" since i have no idea what the current "Meta" is. Its just for fun.

Army List
Swarmlord(300)
Old One-Eye(200)
Carnifex(67) + M Scything Talons(14)+ H Venom Canon(25) + Bio-plasma(9) + Tresher Scythe(7) + Spore Cysts(10) + Chitin Thorns(5) = 137
Carnifex(67) + M Scything Talons(14) + Stranglethorn Cannon(25) + M Acid Maw(10) + Bone Mace(2) + Spine Banks(2) + Chitin Thorns(5) = 125
Tyranid Warrior(20) + Scything Talons(0) + Deathspitter(5) + Fleshhooks(2) + Toxin Sacs(4) = 31 x 2=62
Tyranid Warrior(20) + Scything Talons(0) + Barbed Strangler(10) + Fleshhooks(2) + Toxin Sacs(4) = 36
Tyranid Termagants(4) + Devourer(4) + Toxin Sacs(1) = 9 x 10=90
Tyranid Hormagaunts(5) + Scything Talons(0) = 5 x 10=50

Looks pretty fun for a first pick up and play list. Certainly heavy on the monster side of things. You're a little light on Synapse, but given that you've mostly got monsters, I don't think it's that big of a deal.

The only thing to consider now really is what Hive Fleet Adaptations you want. Unless you've already picked one for flavor reasons, a good fit for this list would be one that helps monstrous creatures. I'd go with a Custom Hive fleet and take 2 of these 3: Metamorphic Regrowth, Morphic Sinews, or Prey-Sight.

Welcome to the swarm! First thing, please remove the individual points costs from your list, it's against forum rules. Second I put your list through battlescribe to make it easier to understand. Your points are off as the codex has been updated a number of times, I'd recommend battlescribe for up to date point values.


++ Patrol Detachment -2CP (Tyranids) [47 PL, -2CP, 967pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Detachment Command Cost [-2CP]

+ HQ +

Old One Eye [11 PL, 220pts]

The Swarmlord [14 PL, 240pts]

+ Troops +

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]
. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Termagants [3 PL, 80pts]: Toxin Sacs
. 10x Termagant (Devourer): 10x Devourer

Tyranid Warriors [4 PL, 97pts]: Flesh Hooks, Toxin Sacs
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Scything Talons
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Scything Talons
. Tyranid Warrior (Bio-cannon): Barbed Strangler, Scything Talons

+ Heavy Support +

Carnifexes [12 PL, 270pts]
. Carnifex: Bio-plasma, Chitin Thorns, Heavy Venom Cannon, Monstrous Scything Talons, Spore Cysts, Thresher Scythe
. Carnifex: Bone Mace, Chitin Thorns, Monstrous Acid Maw, Monstrous Scything Talons, Spine Banks, Stranglethorn Cannon

++ Total: [47 PL, -2CP, 967pts] ++

What I'll say about your list is that even for a casual list you have a lot of redundant points and upgrades. First off drop the toxin sacs and flesh hooks off everything, same goes for the chitin thorns, acid maw and bio plasma from the carnifexes. Your falling into the trap a lot of people get caught into, putting too many eggs in the same basket. Also I'd choose either the swarmlord or old one eye at 1000 PTS, half your list is in two characters and (whilst cool) it is not good to do that. I'd drop old one eye myself, carnifexes get +1 to hit on the charge and you can't get better than +1 now so his aura is less needed.

If you make the changes I've suggested you'd have just over 300 points left to spend. I'd recommend some shooting,ba unit of hive guard or an exocrine would serve you well. You could also bulk up your warrior squad to 9 models and then take a prime as HQ to buff them up.

Is the 8th edition Tyranids Codex not accurate for points anymore? I thought it was the most up to date for Tyranids

Games Workshop has been updating points regularly in the Grand Tournament Packs. You'd be looking for the most recent.

Or a far simpler option would be to use battlecribe (its free too, unlike the tournament packs...)

I also agree with dropping the toxin sacs, they are decent (if expensive) on genestealers but nor really worth it on warriors.

Is using the base Codex still allowed in non-tournament games? like at a local game store?

Not really, you need to use the updated points values. Updates come out for codexes all the time, part of playing is keeping up. If space marine players decided to avoid the changes eradicators would still be fielded on mass. To be honest the points changes have helped us, lots of units have come down in points.

Megalovaniac wrote:
Is using the base Codex still allowed in non-tournament games? like at a local game store?

If you're playing kitchen table with friends, you can do whatever you want. For anything official, yeah you need the latest/greatest. That being said, wahapedia is a great free resource to keep tabs on that as they keep it fairly regularly updated.