Nid question

Is there a difference between the tyranid prime model and the hive tyrant? Like are they interchangable?

For starters there isn't a Tyranid Prime model as far as I know. Second, no they're not interchangeable. Tyrant is a MC and Prime is an IC. Most people use Warriors as the base for their Prime conversions.

Oh...well I'm trading my DE for some nids I think. DE are too similar to tau for my taste. Anyway, I got offered a prime but the list I want to run doesnt use one. I guess I'll decline that offer.

Primes are good at what they do. What were you looking at running?

I'm thinking something like Stelek's shooty 2k army...I really like the idea of high str shots at bs 4, plus big nasty MCs.

http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2010/01/steleks-best-of-tyranid-mc-shooting/

Had wrong link, editted in the new one. And I just realized he is running a prime...

Other than eat up the HQ slot, don't really see the purpose of the prime in that list. Interesting list though.

It's almost certainly just to fill the HQ slot while filling all other slots with good stuff and scoring MCs. However, blake, you're replacing shooty DE with shooty Tyranids to get away from Tau?

He's also an assault deterrant, he hangs out around the Tervs and makes it so if you charge one and don't completely kill it, you lose that unit next turn if not sooner.

Good point brent...I just can't escape my shooty nature. What's the good assault list?

Blood Angels.

My personal silly assault nid list... not competitive in the least but it looks like a fun list.

2000 Pts - Tyranids Roster

Total Roster Cost: 2000

HQ: Hive Tyrant (1#, 250 pts)
. . 1 Hive Tyrant, 250 pts = (base cost 170 + Adrenal Glands 10 + Toxin Sacs 10 + Wings 60)

HQ: Hive Tyrant (1#, 230 pts)
. . 1 Hive Tyrant, 230 pts = (base cost 170 + Adrenal Glands 10 + Toxin Sacs 10 + Armoured Shell 40)

: Tyrant Guard Brood (3#, 180 pts)
. . 3 Tyrant Guard Brood, 180 pts = 3 * 60

Elite: Zoanthrope Brood (3#, 180 pts)
. . 3 Zoanthrope Brood, 180 pts = 3 * 60

Troops: Termagant Brood (30#, 210 pts)
. . 30 Termagant Brood, 210 pts = 30 * 7 (base cost 5 + Adrenal Glands 1 + Toxin Sacs 1)

Troops: Termagant Brood (30#, 210 pts)
. . 30 Termagant Brood, 210 pts = 30 * 7 (base cost 5 + Adrenal Glands 1 + Toxin Sacs 1)

Troops: Termagant Brood (30#, 210 pts)
. . 30 Termagant Brood, 210 pts = 30 * 7 (base cost 5 + Adrenal Glands 1 + Toxin Sacs 1)

Troops: Tervigon (1#, 160 pts)
. . 1 Tervigon, 160 pts

Heavy Support: Carnifex (1#, 185 pts)
. . 1 Carnifex, 185 pts = (base cost 160 + Heavy Venom Cannon 25)

Heavy Support: Carnifex (1#, 185 pts)
. . 1 Carnifex, 185 pts = (base cost 160 + Heavy Venom Cannon 25)

Blood angels are good at close combat, but there are better armies. I'd go wolves before angels. Though you could always play around with the all DC angel list.

Wolves have some better CC units, no question. But as an assault Force, the Angels form a stronger front between extremely high mobility and reliable fire support. Wolves are more of the bridge between Angels and C:SM. C:SM are pretty slow and shoot a lot, Angels are very fast and excel in the assault phase (although they can run with the shootiest). Wolves are an all around solid, flexible(annoyingly so) army with a few combat threats and extremely solid long(fangs) range fire.

I want to play Nids for sure. The way I see it, there are a couple things that are a must in a competitive nid army.
1. hive guard and lots of them (4-6)
2. two carnifexs in the troop slot
3. some sort of HQ with bone sword and the thing that makes them I 1.


Atleast, that's what I've seen plastered all over the internet. In practice, I am clueless.

1. 3 units of 2 IMHO
2. Tervigons... not Carnifexes. Important distinction to make ^_^
3. I'm not thrilled with Nid HQs overall, I've seen them effectively used as an extra blast/suppression fire to some effect.

Go read Purgatus's stuff at Best Overall

or

Kirby n' friends have a ton of nid stuff at 3++ but it can be a little hit or miss sometimes.

and

Brent over at Strictly Average is starting up Nids in much the same way he did his daemons. Definitely worth a look.

I'm sorry for the change of direction in this thread, but what makes this list good?

Tervigon + ag, ts, cat, cc
Tervigon + ag, ts, cat
Hive Guard x3
Hive Guard x3
Zoanthropes x3
Genestealers x20
Genestealers x20
Genestealers x15
Gargoyles x26 + ag


I saw that it won 4th at adepticon. Do the termagaunts that the tervigons produce count as scoring units? Also, I thought gargoyles sucked?

Also, why would I not want to take a Tyrannofex? They seem unreal...2+ save, toughness 6 and 6 wounds. It would take me firing probably 3 or 4 rounds with all my broadsides to kill one of these bad boys in cover..

Yes the spawned are scoring, they are termagants in every way.

Not sure, never read much about genestealers in the new book.

Gargoyles make the best screen in the history of screens.

He won at least one game by infiltrating genestealers along every edge vs. his opponent who reserved everything.

Id run something like this, I think:

Elite: The Doom of Malan'tai (2#, 130 pts)
1 The Doom of Malan'tai, 130 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Claws & Teeth; Reinforced Chitin; Instinctive Behaviour - Feed; Absorb Life; Fearless; Psychic Strength; Psyker; Shadow in the Warp; Spirit Leech; Warp Field; Cataclysm)
1 Mycetic Spore (Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Hardened Carapace; Lash Whip; Ripper Tentacles; Deep Strike; Fearless; Immobile Pod; Limited Sentience; Transport Spore)

Elite: Hive Guard Brood (3#, 150 pts)
3 Hive Guard Brood, 150 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Claws & Teeth; Hardened Carapace; Impaler Cannon; Instinctive Behaviour - Lurk)

Elite: Hive Guard Brood (3#, 150 pts)
3 Hive Guard Brood, 150 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Claws & Teeth; Hardened Carapace; Impaler Cannon; Instinctive Behaviour - Lurk)

Troops: Termagant Brood (12#, 60 pts)
12 Termagant Brood, 60 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Chitin; Claws & Teeth; Fleshborer; Instinctive Behaviour - Lurk; Move Through Cover)

Troops: Termagant Brood (12#, 60 pts)
12 Termagant Brood, 60 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Chitin; Claws & Teeth; Fleshborer; Instinctive Behaviour - Lurk; Move Through Cover)

Troops: Tervigon (1#, 185 pts)
1 Tervigon, 185 pts (Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Bonded Exoskeleton; Claws & Teeth; Stinger Salvo; Synapse Creature; Brood Progenitor; Psyker; Shadow in the Warp; Spawn Termagants; Toxin Sacs; Dominion; Catalyst)

Troops: Tervigon (1#, 185 pts)
1 Tervigon, 185 pts (Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Bonded Exoskeleton; Claws & Teeth; Stinger Salvo; Synapse Creature; Brood Progenitor; Psyker; Shadow in the Warp; Spawn Termagants; Toxin Sacs; Dominion; Catalyst)

Troops: Genestealer Brood (10#, 140 pts)
10 Genestealer Brood, 140 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Reinforced Chitin; Rending Claws; Brood Telepathy; Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover)

Troops: Genestealer Brood (10#, 140 pts)
10 Genestealer Brood, 140 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Reinforced Chitin; Rending Claws; Brood Telepathy; Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover)

HQ: The Swarmlord (1#, 280 pts)
1 The Swarmlord, 280 pts (Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Bonded Exoskeleton; Bonesabres; Synapse Creature; Alien Cunning; Blade Parry; Psychic Monstrosity; Psyker; Shadow in the Warp; Swarm Leader; Leech Essence; Paroxysm; Psychic Scream; The Horror)

: Tyrant Guard Brood (3#, 195 pts)
3 Tyrant Guard Brood, 195 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Bonded Exoskeleton; Rending Claws; Instinctive Behaviour - Feed; Blind Rampage; Shieldwall; Lash Whip)

HQ: Hive Tyrant (1#, 195 pts)
1 Hive Tyrant, 195 pts (Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Bonded Exoskeleton; Synapse Creature; Psyker; Shadow in the Warp; Scything Talons; Old Adversary; Leech Essence; Paroxysm)

: Tyrant Guard Brood (2#, 130 pts)
2 Tyrant Guard Brood, 130 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Bonded Exoskeleton; Rending Claws; Instinctive Behaviour - Feed; Blind Rampage; Shieldwall; Lash Whip)

2000 on the nose

There are zero Trygons in this list. Trygons are awesome models, but in my experiences with the army they are not what makes the army effective. In this list I have tried to maximize what I feel is effective in the list and taken a pair of deathstars as the primary means for eliminating the enemy threat.

The Swarmlord goes into the group of 3 Tyrant Guard. The Hive tyrant goes into the pair of Hive Guard. Both units advance directly across the board at the most elite of the enemy units or move to clear off enemy objectives. Hive Guard are armed with whips to reduce the enemy to initiative 1 while the Tyrants beat on things. Both units take one of the units of termagants as bubble wrap initially.

Doom drops in on the enemy, hopefully after a transport has been emptied or it targets any rearward susceptible units. The perfect place to drop the pod is on an enemy objective forcing them to have to remove it. If possible doom pops out with the pod giving him cover from the rest of the enemy units. If things go to plain, doom starts causing havoc immediately. Swarmlord helps doom come in early.

Troops are maxed. You have a pair of Tervigons one to generate babies in the backfield and provide synapse to creatures near objectives. The Tervigons also pass on poison to the termagants in the list and also to those it births. Two units of genestealers to outlfank to keep your enemy balled up in the middle of their deployment zone. The swarmlord also gives +1 to the reserves roll.

I have no idea on the rest but from what I remember you definately need the Doom of Malatia.

Not to toot my own horn, but I have played a fair amount of games with nids (with better than average results). IMHO, here is what works and what doesn't. In a nutshell:

You are a cc army, don't dilute your self with thinking you will out-shoot people. Stick to eating face.
Mech will give you trouble. The shooting you have to deal with mech is limited. Your anti-tank and synapse coverage are your Achilles heel. Another thing that will hose you is assaulting into cover. Nids don't have grenades and crappy armor saves spell epic fail.

WORKS:
Deathstar = tyrant (hive comm and old advers) + 2-3 guard + prime (2x bone swd and adrenal)
Hive guard
Zoanthropes in a spore
Genestealers (with toxins for a reroll to wound)
Hormagaunts (if you keep them close to synapse)
Tervigons (toxin, adrenal, catalyst)
Gargoyles (with toxins and adrenals)

DOESN'T:
Everything else

Also, go over to theytyranidhive if you want to learn more from the general nid community.

The Doom of Malan'tai just sounds like so much fun to run...is it going to be one of those things that really disappoints me?

Pre FAQ he was run in just about every list because of the vagueness of the insta death power. That allowed even troops inside transports to be affected. Last year GW faqd it and said that they do not have to test. Now you don't see him run as much but he is very affective against horde armies. Power him up and he's droping str 10 ap 1 blast. It's just that he is a shot magnet. Bloters arethe best way to drop him because of his 5+/3+i

I'm definately going to build jesters list...the idea of dropping that then giving a pteradactyl like shriek excites me. Also, I think my hive tyrant should be a t-rex wearing a diaper

This army seems pretty big...Got offered it today. Based on your experiences, how hard would it be to simple green these?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/355767.page

I use brake cleaner. Let is soak, outdoors, for about 20 minutes and your golden. Make sure you wash the model thoroughly and dry again before you attempt to re-paint it.