Building a Winning Tyranid Army
Hey everyone it’s your friendly neighborhood BBF returning from lurking the Internets! Today we strike back for the Hivemind!
The new book is out and Bugs seem to have lost most everything that made them competitive in sixth edition… oh noes !!! Basically this is a dairy free codex—there is no cheese… lots of nerd raging going on now !!!
So it’s time to start trying new things which can be exciting if you’re willing to spend the time and take a chance. A lot of people are saying the codex is the worst ever which sounds exactly like when the fifth edition codex was released. The big question is Can we prove the Internet wrong ?
I played Tyranids for over a year towards the end of fifth edition and did okay. While I never won a tournament with them I always placed high and could consistently beat the big three from one edition back—Grey Knights, Imperial Guard and Space Wolves. I finished with a 5-1-1 record at WarGamesCon two years ago and my only loss was to the captain of the American ETC team. I then shelved the army and started to play Necrons. Therefore I’m in somewhat of a unique position since I did not play Tyranids as yet in sixth edition and I have more of an open mind rather than being frustrated, which is a good thing in my mind. I did win several tournaments with Necrons so I should be very honest… It’s going to be a challenge to design a really competitive Tyranid army but I don’t think it is impossible either. Challenges can be fun and playing Tyranids in fifth edition made me overall a much better tactical player. I like the challenge of trying to build a good army that is very tactical. At first I was not looking forward to reading the codex—there has been so many negative things said but after finally taking a peek it’s not nearly as bad as what I was lead to believe. Maybe I’m naive but I will definitely give the new codex a try.
– WARNING
People have forgotten how to play Tyranids. For example iron arm Tervigon spamming meant you did not have to think about putting together an effective synaptic network… Prior to this iron arm crutch instinctive behavior was part of the double edged sword that is the Hive Mind. The time is ripe for a new generation of Tyranid players – those that are not hung up on the past… It’s a new beginning.
The First Step
Before I attempt to design any army list I think the first step is to develop a strict set of specifications focusing on what you want to accomplish. Tyranids have always been strong in melee and we can still take that for granted. The primary goal for tournament play is to design a list that can beat the current top tier armies:
- Chaos Daemons
- Eldar
- Tau
Chaos Daemons tend to be highly mobile, highly psychic and are strong in melee. Eldar tend to be highly mobile, highly psychic and strong in shooting. Tau tend to have limited mobility and are very strong in shooting. Let’s make a list of the common elements we have to counter and adapt to accordingly:
- Mobility
- Psykers
- Shooting
Daemons are the only melee-centric army of the three and this can actually be exploited by Tyranids since the Bugs are also melee-centric… Daemonic Instability is their proverbial Achilles’ Heel if you can take advantage !
Shadows in the Warp is still one of the best deterrents to enemy Psykers plus the -d3 across the board for all leadership tests… That’s definitely one of the really good things in the new codex.
Board control is one tactic to limit your opponent’s mobility… Which Tyranids can do well since they are by their very definition a horde army. There is a significant point reduction for gants and I think a good approach is no upgrades for the fodder to take advantage – better to spend the saved points elsewhere. Gants are cheap as chips now… seriously that it’s pretty amazing.
So yes the cheese is gone but there are also some really good things too and if you can design a list that consistently beats the top three then it should also be able to handle all the rest. It’s going to require hard work and some dedication.
Looking Back
I have seen a good number of discussions how to build a competitive Tyranid army—some of the elements from fifth edition Tyranids have cropped up again such as using Venomthropes. While both Eldar, Space Marines and Tau can all bypass cover saves this is not the case for most armies—besides psychic powers Eldar are mostly limited to the Serpent Shield and Space Marines have the ever ubiquitous Thunderfire Cannon… Make sure every gant is 2″ apart (wink wink). The main point is we can look back just one edition to see what could be useful again.
No Gimmicks
HQ
Hive Tyrant *, **
– Wings
– Adrenal Glands
– Twin Linked Devourer w. Brainleech Ammo
– Bone Sword & Lash Whip
– Hive Commander
Alpha Warrior *, **
– Adrenal Glands
– Flesh Hooks
– Toxin Sacs
– Rending Claws
Troops
3x Warrior *, **
– Adrenal Glands
– Flesh Hooks
– Rending Claws
– Toxin Sacs
– 2x Deathspitter
– Barbed Strangler
14x Genestealer
– Toxin Sacs
Broodlord
– Toxin Sacs
15x Genestealer
– Toxin Sacs
20x Termagant
20x Termagant
20x Termagant
Heavy Support
Trygon Prime *
– Toxin Sacs
Trygon Prime *
– Toxin Sacs
Tyrannofex
– Rupture Cannon
* Synapse
** Shadows in the Warp
Synapse Network
Five units total.
Troops
Six broods total… 120 models.
Monstrous Creatures
Four total.
These are all units I enjoy playing and I already have them. There are plenty of new units such as the Crone and Exocrine I want to eventually play as well. There’s definitely something to be said for playing what you like… Give it chance.
Hive Tactics
1) Alpha Warrior joins either Genestealer brood which outflanks.
2) Other Genestealer brood infiltrates if needed.
3) Warrior brood is rear guard and provides synapse for other broods that are falling back.
4) One Trygon Prime deep strikes – disruption unit.
5) Second Trygon Prime forms up the vanguard along with the Hive Tyrant.
6) Termagants are for board control and are surrounded by synaptic creatures.
I know lots of people are going to say Genestealers, Warriors and the Alpha Warrior are not competitive… I had lots of success with them in fifth edition so I will give them another shot.
The Alpha Warrior (aka Tyranid Prime) was a staple in my fifth edition army… In many ways it’s a jack of all trades like a Space Marine commander and can do many things for you… It’s a true beast in melee too against most enemy units.
If your Warriors are in the backfield most of your opponents won’t focus on them… If you do it right then they’ve got a lot of other broods up in their grill.
Genestealers are Gods of War in melee—scoring, T4 and immunity to instinctive behavior is a great combination for this codex… If you really don’t like them then field more gants, just make sure you have enough synapse. Not being able to assault directly from outflank hurt but there are truly very units left that can assault immediately after arriving from reserve… The game has changed. Broodlords closely match what the Alpha Warrior brings to the table. It’s all about maximizing synergy now.
This a first attempt at an army list so try to be kind (lol)… It will evolve over time… which is exactly what Tyranids can do so well. My next article will be about using adaptive tactics to win with Tyranids showcasing what they’ve got that no other race does.
