Goatboy’s Monday – Day Off and I am Thinking About Nids
Goatboy here and I will say it again – Nids are not as bad as people give them. Here’s why:
I think there are lists that will work it is just not the book everyone wanted. But hey – people said that about CSM, Marines, Daemons, Eldar, Tau… just about every book. I think the only book that people were pretty happy with when it came out was Grey Knights. Well just the people playing them haha.
So with that in mind I have been thinking of gribbly bug lists. It is 1850 right now as most players locally play that. I am not sure what to do to get it to 1750 for the LVO but hey – someone can work it out.
Nid Highlander v.4000
HQ: Hive Tyrant, TWL Devourers X 2, Tyrant Guard X 3
HQ: Alpha Warrior, Norm Crown
Elites: Venomthrope
Troop: Termagaunts X 10
Troop: Termagaunts X 30
Troop: Tervigon, Regeneration
Heavy: Carnifexes X 3, TWL Devourers X 2
Heavy: Biovores X 3
Heavy: Mawloc
Fortification: Firestorm Redoubt
This is a Highlander list beyond just one duplicated troop choice. It comes out right to 1850 and let’s go over the choices.
HQ Choices.
Hive Tyrant, TWL Devourers X 2, Tyrant Guard X 3
I went with a walking Hive Tyrant because the flying one just seems to die so quickly. The Flying MC’s that do well have multiple saves (DP), 2+ armor, or at least some kind of force multiplier that they can guarantee. The Flyrant – while good, just seems to die rather quickly and doesn’t kill enough. Plus you really need to have that Synapse that is not just easy to remove. The 3 Guard give the monster 6 extra wounds to get through. I would say Dominion is great to have unless you get Synaptic Lynchpin.
Alpha Warrior, Norm Crown
The big trick to this list is joining this guy up with the Venomthrope and hiding inside the Firestorm Redoubt. You get a big brick of shrouding/synapse that can help keep your backfield working well. I will go over why the Firestorm is good too but you could swap the Venomthrope for a Zoan to help out and drop the Alpha Warrior for something else. Still this gives you a huge foot print of Synapse plus lots of shrouding in your middle.
Elites:
Venomthrope
I talked about this above but this guy can help. You can have him hide in the building, let him stink it up, and profit by his smelly underpants. If you see lots of Wave Serpents locally then drop this guy for something else. Hive Guard in the Firestorm could be fun too.
Troops:
Termagaunts X 10
Termagaunts X 30
Tervigon, Regeneration
This is just a good set up for scoring. The Tervigon got kicked in it’s birth sac pretty hard but I its ability to push out more troops will be helpful. This guy will hide behind another fat bit of terrain with hopefully it’s foot at least covered by the stink cloud. Everything else is just for scoring and the 10 man blob of guys should be in reserves.
Heavy:
Carnifexes X 3, TWL Devourers X 3
Biovores X 3
Mawloc
Here is a good mix of stuff you need to get Nids to work. The Fexes will walk with the Hive Tyrant and push forward. Make sure to shuffle them around as you need to keep the wounded jerks in the back and keep he fresh ones up front. The Biovores will win you games as they do a number on Xenos. Some funky rules issues as Spore Minds can charge after getting pooped out. The Mawloc needs to just be that perfect knife to remove those pesky options an opponent has. I can see him eating Broadsides and other hidden troops. Hopefully he can get a good deep strike.
Fortification:
Firestorm Redoubt
This little goofy kit is a big help to the army. It gives you anti flyer damage as well as a real awesome 2+ cover save on things behind it with the Venomthrope. Plus you don’t have to control the guns and let it shoot all over the place. Remember that if you are not in it during the first turn – they can’t shoot it. It needs to be occupied to be shot at, assaulted, etc.
The other ideas I have had is remove the Alpha, look at Death Leaper and some other options. I just don’t like my HQ’s not giving me synapse. You could also hide Warriors in the Firestorm. What have you found to be good in the new book? The Fortification is a bit expensive so maybe a Bastion might be a better option. This is just something that gives you what the army is missing – decent anti air. I’m sure you can bugz-up a niddy looking Firestorm with all your leftover mycetic pods you have lying around.
The plan is to move up, take the center and hold it with as many beetle bullets as you can muster and hold the back line. I also thought looking at Stealers to outflank might be a decent option too. Or maybe try to find a way to do a horror bomb as you can quickly have an opponents army test all over the place with pinning checks and other options.
Will it work? You tell me? Have fun out there!
