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Yes, 400, not 500

Tyranid Prime (Scytals and Devourer)
20 Termagants
7 Genestealers
2 Hive Guard

No shortage of models, should I take more or less gants and genestealers to keep the units alive? Should I have 3 Hive Guard?

Should I take a Deathspitter, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, or regeneration on the prime? Should he be joined to the unit of gants? I know he won't give them Alpha Warrior, but I figure that's the best way to keep him alive so they don't lose synapse.

Intended to be an all-comers list, I'm probably fighting MEQ and Guard.

Honestly, this list seems pretty sound for 400 points. I just really hope you don't have anyone in your area that is TFG and will figure out a way to take a squad of terminators or something.

Personally I'd swap the Genestealers out for a min squad of Warriors. Keep the warriors stock or swap the devourer for a rending claws. With that, give the Prime dual boneswords. With that, you've got an answer to everything and can tank the few S: 8 weapons on your prime while LOS'ing the others onto your warriors.

The idea is that the Hive Guard should be killing most big things and the genestealers should have the job of ultimately of clearing Marines off the enemy objective (if 7 are enough to weather their shooting).

Would three warriors really be better than seven genestealers in CC with a Marine squad?

How about 16 Hormagants in place of the 7 Genestealers?

Genestealers are much better at killing, I won't argue that point with you at all.

Warriors just have much better staying power. Trading 3 warriors for 7 stealers nets you two more wounds, a 4+ save, and you trade rougly 9 attacks with reroll 1's for 14 attacks. So yes they have less output, but that shouldn't make a huge difference compared to their staying power at this level. A 5 man squad with bolters has a very good chance at killing off the genestealers at range before they even get touched.

If you want to play the # of bodies vs amount of ammo game you'll probably win. Swapping the genestealers for hormagaunts is not a bad idea. Hordes tend to win out at small point games.

I haven't run warriors in full-point value games in a long time (because Tervigons exist, so why bother), but they really are a workhorse of a unit. I love my genestealers, but I think you're right, I'll have them sit out this game. Maybe an even mix of termagants and hormagaunts plus a unit of warriors with one Prime and the Hive Guard:

Tyranid Prime 80
Tyranid Warrior Brood (x3) 90 (no upgrades)
Hive Guard Brood (x2) 100
Termagant Brood (x10) 50
Hormagaunt Brood (x13) 80

400 pts

I can see that list working well. You've got a big block of synapse that is going to be hard to budge.

The only thing I can see a problem with is the tendency you'll have to give up first blood. Other than that, most everything else you can do may make you look like TFG haha.

The list I would bring?

Troops
-Tervigon, toxin
-12 termagants

HQ
-Tervigon, toxin

But I'm a big fan of big bugs. Take the s5 large blast on the Tervigons. Fun!

SBG wrote:
The list I would bring?

Troops
-Tervigon, toxin
-12 termagants

HQ
-Tervigon, toxin

But I'm a big fan of big bugs. Take the s5 large blast on the Tervigons. Fun!

Unfortunately we're playing Combat Patrol rules, so no monstrous creatures allowed. I also don't have to take a HQ, so I think I'll drop the Prime.

Tyranid Warrior Brood 90
Termagant Brood x20 100
Hive Guard Brood x2 100
Hormagant Brood x16 96

I could drop a few Gaunts if anyone would like to suggest biomorph upgrades for the gaunts and warriors

 rabid1903 wrote:
Honestly, this list seems pretty sound for 400 points. I just really hope you don't have anyone in your area that is TFG and will figure out a way to take a squad of terminators or something.

Personally I'd swap the Genestealers out for a min squad of Warriors. Keep the warriors stock or swap the devourer for a rending claws. With that, give the Prime dual boneswords. With that, you've got an answer to everything and can tank the few S: 8 weapons on your prime while LOS'ing the others onto your warriors.

You mean like this?

---HQ--
Librarian -- 65

--Troops---
Scouts -- 60
Snipeer x 5

Scouts -- 55
Bolters

--Elites--
termies -220
Assualt Cannon

BWHAHAHAHA.

Or

---HQ--
Librarian -- 65

--Troops---
Scouts -- 55
Bolters

Scouts -- 55
Bolters

--Elites--
Assualt Termies - 225
TH/SS x 5

Or IG

--HQ--
CCS- 75
Las Cannon

-TROOPS--
Vet Squad -85
Flamer x 3

Vet Squad -85
Flamer x3

--Heavy---
Leman Russ Battle Tank - 150


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Each is 400pts exactly

Kayla,

I actually still recommend taking the prime. It gives you some very nice AP 2 (with dual Boneswords), a multiwound model that isn't very vulnerable to instant death, and a 3+ save that you can LOS anything AP 3 to another model for. Not to mention being a force multiplier for your warriors.

Force multipliers I feel are especially valuable in low point games. It ultimately is your decision, but I highly recommend:
-Tyranid Prime (dual BS, Regeneration)
-3x Tyranid Warriors (either stock or replace devourer with rending claws)
-2x Hive Guard
-22x Gaunts

Maybe trade 2 gaunts for a Barbed Strangler if you want a pie plate. Biomorphs aren't nearly as valuable as bodies at this point level. Regeneration is the exception because it only costs as much as 2 gaunts and a single regenerated wound earns it's points back.

However, as I said before it is your decision and don't let me force you into anything you don't want to run. The list you said would work, but I'd trade a Hive Guard and single Hormagaunt for a Zoanthrope and Termagant (I think those points work out.) Reason being is to give you another synapse bubble. Warriors on their own are too fragile to be your only synapse.

Lemartes,

That's exactly what I was afraid of haha!

i Don't know enough about Tyranids but in a 400 point game as marines i'd go with list 2.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So watch out for that.

Honestly if I saw that list and I was using the list I suggested, I'd drown them in gaunts and send in my Prime to mop them up. Just LOS onto so many bodies if for some reason the Prime would get hit. AP 2 with I think 4 attacks will kill about 1 terminator a turn. Plus I'd have initiative for when you eventually break.

The Hive Guard I'd have poke at your librarian until he popped. If he was joined to the terminators that'd work out even better for me because I'd just challenge him. It'd be suicide to accept.

Just my personal tactics though.

I would be rolling on biomancy and he would be with the Termies. Hoping for either A) Iron Arm or B) Warp Speed.

It'd be an interesting fight, almost tempted to test it out haha.

I still think you just couldn't cut through the number of bodies though. You'd kill around 5 a turn once you finally made it. The chances all 5 terminators make it through all of that is low too.

By the end of it I'd have mopped up your scouts and I'd just have to grab a single objective.

Honestly I think that investing that many points in terminators at this point level isn't that great of an idea. Chances are the army that'd win out vs this one is a green tide list. Take 50 ork boyz and a warboss. I don't think much of anything can take that out.

hehe what are the combat patrol rules anyway? Force building wise.

So looked up higher and since you are not required to bring an HQ i would be more worried about this.


Scout Squad (5man)-- 80pts
Heavy Bolter
Hell Fire Shells
Cammo Cloaks
Sniper x 2

Scout Squad (5man)-- 80pts
Heavy Bolter
Hell Fire Shells
Cammo Cloaks
Sniper x 2

Scout Squad (5man)-- 80pts
Heavy Bolter
Hell Fire Shells
Cammo Cloaks
Sniper x 2

Scout Squad (5man)-- 80pts
Missle Launcher
Cammo Cloaks

Scout Squad (5man)-- 80pts
Missle Launcher
Cammo Cloaks

Now that list is much more worrisome. It's basically built to counter Tyranids. It has it's own hard counters, but at this point level it's pretty hard to avoid rock paper scissors.

I wound up going with 2 hive guard, 20 gaunts, the prime with a deathspitter, 2 deathspitter warriors, and a barbed strangler warrior.

I had two matches, against Blood Angels and codex Marines.

Blood Angels player just had 15 Death Company and a librarian, there was a bunch of terrain around the edges and one empty tile in the middle, so we pretty quickly met there. He shot up most of my gaunts with bolter fire and none actually made it to assault, so for three turns he took all his attacks against my Prime while I attacked his Angels. The game ended at the bottom of turn six right after he finally managed to kill my Prime. He only had 4 Marines and his Librarian left, but with First Blood and Warlord Kill versus my one objective within 3", he won. The Hive Guard were pretty much wasted points in this game, but I got a few Marines with deathspitters and probably would have won easily if I'd taken dual boneswords and not a deathspitter on my Prime.

The map I fought the Marines on had ruins in the center and buildings almost everywhere. No fighting took place on the open parts. The Marines had a Whirlwind, 10 Tac Marines in a rhino, and 10 bolter scouts. We deployed in board quarters and I put my hive guard and gaunts as close to the center as possible, in the ruins, with the Warriors outside the ruins so they could move to flank. He infiltrated his scouts close to my warriors and I managed to wipe them out in 2 turns, only taking one wound. To be fair, he forgot his ATSKNF and the last three were Sweeping Advanced when they shouldn't have been, but that only saved my warriors a few turns. He dropped a pie plate on the gaunts and killed 6, then focused on the Warriors after they wiped the scouts out. The Hive Guard popped the Rhino and he dismounted into another set of ruins, but some very lucky Barbed Strangler rolls killed four tac marines and my gaunt shooting got a couple more. I moved the Hive Guard out of the ruins and past the center of the board to shoot the Whirlwind and assaulted the surviving tac marines with both my warriors and my gaunts. He conceded the game at the bottom of the 5th with one hull point remaining on his Whirlwind and one surviving Marine locked in combat.

Everything about my list worked perfectly that game, though my Warriors might not have done so well if the Scout Marines had gotten a chance to shoot at my warriors instead of breaking. The Barbed Strangler was a great purchase. What I took away from this is that Dakka was right and that shooting on the Prime was wasted and I should have taken dual boneswords instead. We might be playing at 500 next week, in which case I think I'll add the dual boneswords and rending claws to my prime, plus some Hormagaunts with Adrenal Glands and Toxin sacs.

For some reason I thought Warriors were useless in 6th, not sure why. Thanks for the help, Dakka, this is one of the more fun lists I've run in a while. Tyranid shooting isn't really terrible so long as you keep in mind it's just softening up the enemy so you can charge them.

I'm really glad to hear that it went so well

For the changes you anticipate for 500 points, I'd suggest this:
-Just add the dual boneswords and regeneration to the prime. Rending claws isn't as important as the boneswords and scything talons work better in combination.
-I'll leave the next choice up to you:
---Take 3 more warriors in a different squad. Make these your shooty warriors and convert the other three to rending claws and scything talons. Stick your prime with the shooty warriors.
---Horde it up and take 15 hormagaunts (I think that's how the points work out.)
---Add in another Hive Guard, Warrior, and more gaunts.

At 500 points I'd see an increase in the number of S: 8 weaponry though. Still not so many to worry, but be ready for it.

I think I'm going for 12 Termagants with adrenal glands and toxin sacs. 12 because that's how many I have painted

Honestly, I'd keep the gants naked. They die so easily that upgrades on them just aren't worth it. Upgrading a Tervigon is different, because she's very tough and buffs the gants around her.