First Tyranid List, 2000pts

[Son of Guilliman]

Ok guys, after 13 years of nothing but power armor, I have bought my first xenos army. Tomorrow, a big ol' box of Tyranids is arriving on my door from Neal over at the War Store. So today, I am making up some list builds and this is what I have ended up with.

Hive Tyrant
---BS/LW, Devourer, Armored Shell, Old Adversary, Paroxism, Leech Essence

3 Tyrant Guard

Tyranid Prime
---BS/LW, regeneration

10x Ymgarls

2x Hive Guard


2x Hive Guard

Tervigon
---Scything Talons, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands, Catalyst, Dominion, Troop Choice

16x Termagants

16x Termagants

16x Hormagants

16x Hormagants

Trygon Prime

Trygon Prime

1997pts.

Now, I kind of feel like a fish out of water, this xenos thing is all new to me, so if you see something that i have done wrong let me know!

[gcsmith]

why soooooo many termigaunts, :)

[Son of Guilliman]

I guess i thought I needed them, like I said, I am new to all this Xenos stuff, should I not run that many?

[Lemt]

I play tyranids, so let me give you some tips.

-Armored Shell is too expensive for what it does. If you want the Tyrant to live longer, you have Tyrant Guards, that's more than enough.
-You may want to give your Tyrant Guard Lash Whips. They are inexpensive, and tend to keep CC specialists from causing too much damage to your Tyrant.
-Is the Prime going to join the Tyrant? Then the Tyrant regeneration too. If you cut Armored Shell you should have enough points.
-Leech Essence is bad. You'll rarely gain any wounds from it, just do the math. Paroxysm is great, so keep it, and both The Horror and Psychic Scream can be useful. Pick one of thore two instead.
-Ymgarls tend to work better in smaller groups IMHO. 5-8 is what I'd go for. It really depends on what you play against and what terrain you use, but more than 8 tends to wipe units in a single round of assault and makes it easier for some of them to die to placement. Both are things you want to avoid.
-ScyTals are cheap, but not really needed on a Tervigon.

[Son of Guilliman]

I play tyranids, so let me give you some tips.

-Armored Shell is too expensive for what it does. If you want the Tyrant to live longer, you have Tyrant Guards, that's more than enough.

Ok, so a few questions. Now please don't take any of this the wrong way, I am not trying to nerd rage, or be a know-it-all, I am just curious, so please take my questions as such. Without the 2+, how do you protect the squad from AP3 such as ML's and the like?


-You may want to give your Tyrant Guard Lash Whips. They are inexpensive, and tend to keep CC specialists from causing too much damage to your Tyrant.
-Is the Prime going to join the Tyrant? Then the Tyrant regeneration too. If you cut Armored Shell you should have enough points.

I thought about the lash whips, but I wasnt sure if they were worth the points. Now that it has been voiced by more than just me, I may have to try them out. Yes, the plan is to run the Tyrant and the Prime together.


-Leech Essence is bad. You'll rarely gain any wounds from it, just do the math. Paroxysm is great, so keep it, and both The Horror and Psychic Scream can be useful. Pick one of thore two instead.

ok, yeah, I looked at it and kkinda thought the same. Regen gives you the same end result with less dice rolls/chance


-Ymgarls tend to work better in smaller groups IMHO. 5-8 is what I'd go for. It really depends on what you play against and what terrain you use, but more than 8 tends to wipe units in a single round of assault and makes it easier for some of them to die to placement. Both are things you want to avoid.

ok that makes sense, i may shrink them down a bit


-ScyTals are cheap, but not really needed on a Tervigon.

Yeah I figured at 5 pts why not

[Lemt]

Ok, so a few questions. Now please don't take any of this the wrong way, I am not trying to nerd rage, or be a know-it-all, I am just curious, so please take my questions as such. Without the 2+, how do you protect the squad from AP3 such as ML's and the like?

RAGE

:D

Well, mostly you just take them like a boss. The main offenders are MLs and Lascannons, and mostly you'll face lots of shots from Long Fangs. Screen your Tyrant Guard with some of your gants, and get a free cover save. Those points can usually be better spent elsewhere. People tend to spam Meltaguns anf Plasma Guns to deal with MCs, so the 1 extra point of armor isn't really worth that much.

[Tynskel]

termagants! No problem taking lots of those---- just go to ground for a 3+ and shoot someone if they get too close.

I use leech essence. I think it works great. I use it in combination with psychic scream (trading off, depending on how the tyrant is doing). Typically, I'll put a wound on the tyrant and use leech to get it back. With an average of 2 auto hit, you have a pretty solid chance of killing 1 marine, gaining that wound back. It only blows when you Perils of the Warp yourself!

Now my tyrant is a gun hound-- 1 pair of devourers, 1 psychic power, and either shreddershard beetles or electroshock grubs. People will often tell you on the forums that it's a waste, but I have not had a problem with my tyrant. I usually get at least 3 rounds of shooting per game.

[Son of Guilliman]

RAGE

:D

Well, mostly you just take them like a boss. The main offenders are MLs and Lascannons, and mostly you'll face lots of shots from Long Fangs. Screen your Tyrant Guard with some of your gants, and get a free cover save. Those points can usually be better spent elsewhere. People tend to spam Meltaguns anf Plasma Guns to deal with MCs, so the 1 extra point of armor isn't really worth that much.

That makes sense, cause armored shell aint cheap!


termagants! No problem taking lots of those---- just go to ground for a 3+ and shoot someone if they get too close.

I use leech essence. I think it works great. I use it in combination with psychic scream (trading off, depending on how the tyrant is doing). Typically, I'll put a wound on the tyrant and use leech to get it back. With an average of 2 auto hit, you have a pretty solid chance of killing 1 marine, gaining that wound back. It only blows when you Perils of the Warp yourself!

Now my tyrant is a gun hound-- 1 pair of devourers, 1 psychic power, and either shreddershard beetles or electroshock grubs. People will often tell you on the forums that it's a waste, but I have not had a problem with my tyrant. I usually get at least 3 rounds of shooting per game.

hrmm may give that a try.

Are y'all seeing anything fundamentally wrong with the list, or is it mostly little things/personal preferences? What do you think this list will struggle with the most?

[Tynskel]

list seems a little bland for my tastes, but I like to have many different types of bugs. All n' all, it is a solid list that could probably tweaked to the end of time.

as for personal preference, I do not like the 'prime' configuration of the Trygons. I would use the 80 points for a bunch of gargoyles, since your list is a swarm list, anyhow. Or flying rippers with all the CC giggles, hanging by your Tyrant. 15 re-rolling to hit n' wound attacks makes anyone freakout--- especially backed up by rending claws and monsterous creature stomps.

[newtoncain]

Try running a 25-30 count unit of termagaunts (they just run foward, with FNP and in synapse they can tie up a dread for several cc phases).
Gargoyles are great in 20+ broods with TS

Std GS of 10-20 brood are nasty out flanking.

[Son of Guilliman]

How is the best way to run gargoyles effectively? seems like they are so fast that their fragility would be exposed and they would run out of synapse range

[FTE-Charge!!!]

Looks good!

I know this may be a problem due to your Elites slots being full, but have you considered 1-2 Venomthropes? Placing them in a central location behind the main swarm of Gants/Gaunts could really help covering the open fields. Plus, they present a psych out to your opponent; I have seen several players shoot at the Ven. constantly bc they were afraid of their ability. Then the Gants ate them alive.

You could possibly go for basic Genestealers to open the slot. They too get lots of attention that could let your main swarm survive better. Just food for thought.

And thank you for starting that army, it is way too underplayed in my area!!! :D

[Son of Guilliman]

Looks good!

I know this may be a problem due to your Elites slots being full, but have you considered 1-2 Venomthropes? Placing them in a central location behind the main swarm of Gants/Gaunts could really help covering the open fields. Plus, they present a psych out to your opponent; I have seen several players shoot at the Ven. constantly bc they were afraid of their ability. Then the Gants ate them alive.

You could possibly go for basic Genestealers to open the slot. They too get lots of attention that could let your main swarm survive better. Just food for thought.

And thank you for starting that army, it is way too underplayed in my area!!! :D

Yeah, i noticed the Venomthropes yesterday, that save would be nice, as well as the terrain stuffs. Once i can afford to make another order, i will prolly pick some up. Also, I am now the only Tyranid player in my area, so yeah it should be interesting. That is part of the reason I started playin them, cause i never played them at home and then i would go to tournaments and get wiped off the table by them cause i had no idea what they were or how to fight against them. Best way to learn em is to play em!

[newtoncain]

How is the best way to run gargoyles effectively? seems like they are so fast that their fragility would be exposed and they would run out of synapse range

I usually run 2 Tervigons w/ Catalyst to start.

I rig my Gar's with TS only.
Put a group of 20-30 guants in front of them (gives them cover if you go 2nd or int gets siezed).
T1-Catalyst them Jump 12, run d6. With so many Gar's you can stagger a 1/4 of them back so you are in synapse range. T2- (Catalyst again) Jump 12 shoot/assault something that is not a AFV.
This last weekend 24 Gar's killed 2 Wraithlords in 1 round do to wounds inflicked and fearsless armor saves for losing the combat.
24 gars x 2 attacks = 48 attacks, 4's to hit = 24 hits which any 6's are auto wounds (blinding venom), 24 hits @ 4+ posion to wound (rerolls vs T3 units) = 12 wounds, 3A save = 4 wounds.

It is a susicide unit for sure.
Usually lasts 2-4 CC rounds if you can maintain the synapse.:)
Of course guestimate range = so you assault and are not assaulted to achive maximum effect.