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My friend and I are returning to 40k after a several year hiatus and I'm diving back in with Tyranids. He is picking up Blood Angels and I am fairly certain I know what he will be fielding so I wanted to tailor a list that will work well against MEQs.

-HQ-
1x Flyrant w/ 2x TL Devourers w/ Brainleech Worms, Electroshock Grubs & Regenerate

-Troops-
3x Warrior (barebones)

5x Genestealers w/ Broodlord

20x Termagants w/ 10x Devourers

-Elite-
3x Zoanthropes

1x Hive Guard (barebones)

1x Hive Guard (barebones)

-Heavy Support-
1x Carnifex w/ 2x TL Devourers w/ Brainleech Worms & Regenerate


I'm pretty sure he will field something like this

1x Captain in Terminator Armor

1x Librarian in Terminator Armor

5x Death Company w/ Jump Packs

5x Terminators w/ Assault Cannon

5x Tactical Marines

5x Tactical Marines

1x Furioso Dread (Maybe?)

1x Baal Class Predator w/ Assault Cannon & Sponson Heavy Bolters


So looking at that, I'm hoping someone out there would have some pointers specifically regarding the following questions:

-Regenerate...is it worth it? It's a major point sink that seems useful for bumping MC lifespan, but if I drop regen on my Flyrant and Fex I could easily bump my Genestealer brood by 5 or take a brood of 10 Hormagants w/ adrenal glands (MOAR BODIES)

-Should I give the Fex talons and crushing claws instead and make it a can opener? Brainleech devs are sooooooo sexy, and between the Fex and the Flyrant that is 24 shots that re-roll. Is it more valuable to have the DAKKA?

-Regarding Termagants. My whole theme with this list is DAKKADAKKADAKKA so I opted to give half the brood devourers. That said, if I drop the devs altogether I can boost the brood size from 20 to 30 meaning...MOAR BODIES but less DAKKA.

-And regarding the Genestealers. I took them because...well...Broodlord. I want them to pose an early threat to draw my opponents attention away from the main army, but if they die outright it is kind of a waste for the points spent. Dropping them in cover and spamming DA HORROR seems fun, but it would be moot if ATSKNF negates pinning tests. Long story short...is this unit a worthwhile investment? Or is the hefty sum of points best spent on MOAR BODIES?

Please give me any advice you have regarding the list, my questions, or any general advice you have. I've spent the last few hours combing through Tyranid tactica to make this list but I am rusty as hell with 40k so your delicious insights will be much appreciated.

I can see why you're going Zoanthrope heavy if he's taking a Librarian. That's going to be one crazy Psychic phase for 1000pts!

That said, I'd consider dropping one of them. As a Nid player you should be enjoying a significant numerical advantage. Against a Marine player you should be looking at a 2-to-1 ratio, if not 3-to-1. Right now it looks like you a barely breaking even. With the points from a single Zoanthrope you could stock up on a few more gribblies just to keep hanging around. After all, if he's shredding your mooks in combat it shouldn't matter so long as you have your heavies ready to bash them right back in the aftermath. Those stealers will come in handy against other MEQ lists, I guarantee you'll be faced with a Thunderfire cannon or some other annoying piece of backboard artillery sooner or later that a swarm of stealers will gobble up nicely enough unless your opponent dedicates a hefty amount of his force to gaurding them.


TL;DR MOAR BODIES, but from one less Zoanthrope instead of the Genestealers.

My best friend is a tyranid player and I've recently picked up genestealer cults, so I've got a feel for some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Hive Mind, but I wouldn't rely too heavily on my advice. I'm normally a chaos/marine player.

On the subject of zoanthropes, I've found them nigh unkillable for some reason - it's not as if 3+ is unbeatable, but they do have a lot of sticking power, and you'll need them to annihilate any tanks and walkers. Fexes are sadly quite puny in this day and age, as there are plenty of weapons that can wipe them out, particularly in marine armies, and sadly they're not even that good in combat. Sure, you might be able to wreck a dreadnought with your Hammer of Wrath hits, but if you don't you can be sure he will punch your beloved fex into juicy giblets - especially seeing as he will hit at a higher initiative and with a better weapon skill (and more attacks!) so I would definitely go with twin-linked devs with brainleech worms. MOAR DAKKA.

I wouldn't go with regen for the fex, as it will probably be all but wiped out in one turn, so spend the points on more termagants or more stealers. I would keep regen for the flyrant though, as he'll be pretty durable and difficult to hit anyway, so giving that bit more survivability will keep your warlord in the game for longer.

Marines can in fact be pinned, so I would rely on this mechanic to try and prevent overwatch from blunting your charges. That way you can get your stealers into the termies and rip them apart (although maybe taking an allied detachment from Genestealer Cults would make them more effective - an extra attack and a 5+ invuln and Cult Ambush for no additional points cost. Even if you take ordinary genestealers, they're still worth it to creep up on devastators or backline units, and they can kill tanks with rending hits - would be a good way of ridding you of that pesky Baal Pred (provided it doesn't get a chance to shoot at you.)

 Humble Guardsman wrote:
TL;DR MOAR BODIES, but from one less Zoanthrope instead of the Genestealers.

It was a lot questions for a single army list, I know. I tend to get carried away in details

That said, I realized that I had made a typo in my first list. It should have been only 2 Zoanthropes to begin with! But, to your point, I also worried that this list would not have the numerical advantage necessary. Someone brought to my attention that the Hive Guard may not be needed in this list for the purposes of playing against my friends BA army (which has no Rhinos as far as I know). So I made some Minor modifications to the list and came out with 1000 points on the nose.

-HQ-
1x Flyrant w/ 2x TL Devourers w/ Brainleech Worms, Electroshock Grubs & Regenerate

-Troops-
3x Warrior (barebones)

15x Genestealers w/ Broodlord

30x Termagants

-Elite-
2x Zoanthropes

-Heavy Support-
1x Carnifex w/ 2x TL Devourers w/ Brainleech Worms


This list bumps the Nid to BA ratio up to 2-to-1 and includes a metric poop-ton of rending attacks from the boosted Genestealer brood. That ought to be enough to rush an early assault and survive. While the Stealers bog him down, the Flyrant come get across the board and start picking off his HQs or just glance his vehicles to death. All the meanwhile my main horde can advance up the board or ObSec as needed.

@Drakeslayer: I'm definitely considering Genestealer Cults in the future. They have a lot of character and people seem to be gushing over them.

Thanks for the pointers!

Maybe consider take the Mawlocs instead of Carnifexes, or the Exocrines. That gives lots of AP2.

Yes, a Mawloc or a Trygon is a far more horrific prospect to face than Carnifexes, which have to slog across the battlefield before they get there; a Trygon comes up from below and I think they have some nasty bio-electricity attacks, so they don't just sit there like a lemon on the first turn of arriving from deep strike either.

Exocrines are marine killers. No doubt about it - it's what they were designed to do. The Hive Mind knows how you'd go about painting one, but it's a worthy investment.

As much as I would like to field a Mawloc or an Exocrine I simply don't have the minis right now. This is a "working with what I have" list. Ideally I would be able to bring some AP2 to the table, but that won't be an option for another pay period or two. Being an adult is lame.

That said, in lieu of AP2, I am compensating with volume of fire. If I can force him to roll a lot of saves his MEQs and TEQs will eventually fail. The caveat being, of course, that as he kills my bugs I will be losing DAKKA. If I can hit him hard with an early Genestealer assault that might give the bulk of my force the distraction it needs to run up the board. And the Flyrant will be able to strike ahead of the main brood and hopefully bring down a unit or two while the other bugs are slogging. It isn't a perfect strategy, but it is what I can work with for now.

twin linked devourere with brainleech worms are amazing, definitely take them over the talons.

I like the barbed strangler on the warriors allowing them to do something as they move along

Zoan are cool but I prefer keeping them in teams of one since it generates as much warp charge as teams of 3.

lose regenerate on fex, maybe on flyrant too.

use these points to get more bodies, or maybe a venomthrope or even better a malanthrope if you are ok with forgeworld