Helo 40K Players,
The Tyranids were the 2nd army for me as a 40K player and really introduced me to hand-to-hand compared to my shooty Dark Angel Space Marines. I loved the feel of waves of chitterling claws running at a gun line with alien speed and fearless determination. So many movies give you great ideas of how and why Tyranids attack and consume their enemies (like Alien, Starship Troopers, etc). I think of lines like, “If just one of them make it inside, it’s game over”. I have seen one genestealer hit a full Tau Fire Warrior squad and watched them fold like paper. I recently charged a brood of genestealers at the Necron Lord Oberron with 10 immortals and killed them all before they ever had a chance to strike back. I have had one Genestealer destroy a Blood Angel dreadnought within one assault phase and flipped a Chimera transport tank with a squad inside with lethal precision. But, things have changed in the world of 40K.
For those that have played or played against bugs, one challenge that Tyranid players have in this edition is armor. With Hormagaunts not able to be str 4 base anymore and rending attacks reduced to d3 instead of d6 for armor penetration, along with the venom cannon being a small blast template instead of 3 solid shots and the barbed strangler being reduced in overall strength, the ability to deal with tanks has hurt this army.
Recently, my army build and tactics have changed with how I play Tyranids after watching Bulletsponge play a Spore Pod drop army with great success in Joplin at Changing Hands. His “Peek a Poo” list was able to adapt to the battlefield faster than a standard list and created line of sight issues for the enemy with Spore Pods randomly appearing on the board.
After watching this list in action, and a strong push to try out the Doom by Lawndart, I put the below list together and have had very good success. Currently, in non- tournament play, my record is: 1 minor loss Vs Eldar, 1 draw Vs Eldar, and 8 wins vs. Necron, Orks, Space Marines (Pedro), Chaos Demons, Tau, and Blood Angels. A lot of my wins have also been full board wipes against my enemies.
Tactics for this list starts with the first die roll. Enemies of bugs usually like to go first to get as many rounds of shooting before the Tyrands hit your line. With this army, similar to the tactic Chaos Demons use, it wants to go 2nd in the round. While you may give up a nice deployment zone with awesome terrain, do not worry…You will be in that zone in due time. With most missions, after you enemy deploys, your done deploying as well. Your entire army goes in reserve in one fashion or another. With the Trygon, Zoanthropes, and the Doom deep striking, Genestealers outflanking, and the rest of your army coming in your long board edge or the hole that the Trygon leaves when he pops-up, you get the chance to deny a full 2 rounds of shooting by your enemy. This is what the Bug army needs….To reduce the amount of shots that the army takes before it is allowed to do its job.
Ticks in the pod give great anti-armor ability since they can show-up close to use their 18” lance psychic ability. Also, the strength 6, 6 inch pods attacks can suppress vehicles with rear/side armor attacks with not huge difficulty. Another great tool with armor is the Trygon Prime and the Hive Guard. With 12, str 5 shooting attacks deep striking up, the Trygon can stun or shake lots of the light APCs in the game these days to prevent movement or shooting from it and the squad inside. With the Hive Guard walking in from the long edge or coming up out of the dirt the round after the Trygon shows up (or deployed in terrain that the enemy has no LOS to the brood), it brings great str 8 shooting attacks that ignore most cover saves currently available to vehicles through wargear or moving flat out (check the Tyrand FAQ on GW’s website regards the Impaler Cannons,,ouch).
The Genestealers outflank with the additional toughness of the Broodlord gives the unit the staying power to even hit units in cover and still be able to get their attacks. Toxin sacs giving the reroll to wound increases your odds of not only causing more armor saves, but gives you a 2nd chance for rending.
For me being an old Rogue Trader player, four troops choice is the bare minimum I would run at 1750pts. The nice thing is the Tervigon helps with that issue with counting as a troop choice and spawning additional free troops choices. Also, as long as the gaunts stay within 6”, they get the advantage of momma bugs toxin sacs and adrenal glands.
The Doom…Wow!! It has been the MVP for so many games. Sure it dies from one str 8 or higher hit that I do not save, but its leech ability has killed entire units, tough HQ characters, then destroyed vehicles with wreckless abandon with a str 10 large template blast. Try to find multiple units of infanty nearby and let the pod be your postman for the Doom. (Thank you Lawndart for the advise!)
Last but not least (especially with its point value!) is the Swarmlord with the tryant guard. First off, I know it is A LOT of points for an HQ. And, with it coming off the board edge against foes, can I justify using it and getting any real value? I will be honest, I have had some matches were I never got to hand to hand. But, its value for this list goes beyond his assault abilities. First thing, Alien Cunning. The +1 reserve and the reroll outflank ability really helps make this army function correctly with pretty much the entire army in reserve. 2nd ability, 18” synapse. This helps keeps the army fearless for much the entire match with the ticks, Tervigon, and Trygon Prime helping to cover the majority of the board. 3rd ability, giving preferred enemy or furious charge or acute senses to a brood within 18”. Sure is fun to give a gaunt squad preferred enemy with this ability while the Tervigon 6” away is giving the squad toxin sacs and adrenal glands.
When it comes to a nasty hand to hand unit, the Swarmlord with his guard are a rough group. Lash whips help slow down the halberds and fast Elder along with not allowing the Swarmlord to be targeted directly in hand to hand or shooting while they are alive. 4+ inv save in Hand to hand plus the ability to cause instant death and your enemy having to reroll successful inv saves makes many enemy commanders want to avoid assault with this group. I have become a fan.
So, below is what I am running and I would be interested to hear your feedback. If you have suggestions or thoughts, please share them so I and others can benefit from your ideas.
Hive Fleet Freezing Rain (Tyranids) 1750pts
1) Trygon Prime 200pts -Heavy Support-
Options: Regeneration; +25pts/ Upgrade to Trygon Prime; +40pts
265pts
2) Ticks (Zoanthrope) (2) 120pts -Elite-
Options: Mycetic Spore; +40pts
160pts
3) The Doom of Malan’Tai 90pts -Elite-
Options: Mycetic Spore; +40pts
130pts
4) Hive Guard Brood (2) 100pts -Elite-
100pts
5) Genestealer Brood (10) 140pts -Troops-
Options: Toxin Sacs; +30pts/Broodlord; +46pts/ Scything Talons; +2pts
218pts
6) Genestealer Brood (10) 140pts -Troops-
Options: Toxin Sacs; +30pts/Broodlord; +46pts
216pts
7) Termagaunt Brood (13) 65pts -Troops-
65pts
Tervigon 160pts -Troops-
Options: Scything Talons; +5pts/ Adrenal Glands; +10pts/ Toxin Sacs; +10pts
185pts
9) The Swarmlord 280pts -HQ*-
280pts
10) Tyrant Guard Brood (2) 120pts -HQ*-
Options: (2) Lash Whips; +10pts
130pts
Total: 1749pts
HQ: 410pts [1/2] (23.4%)/ Elite: 390pts [3] (22.3%)/ Heavy Support: 265pts [1] (15.2%)/ Troops: 684pts [4] (39.1%)
