Best/most popular Warrior Builds in 7th?

[biomega]

Hello hive brethren,

I've been in the process of repainting basically my entire army, and I know that new rules are out, with which I am not familiar because I don't exactly have the money to shell out on a new codex (or rulebook, for that matter).

One thing I know is that a lot of the rules surrounding weapons and biomorphs have changed, sometimes to profound effect.

Without necessarily going into the specifics, could anyone give me their favorite warrior builds for specific combat roles, including any weapons and biomorphs that would be represented on a WYSIWYG Tyranid Warrior model?

For instance, what are your favorite weapon/biomorph loadouts for:

Shrikes (shooty or cc)

Footslogging Warriors

Outflanking Warriors

Close Combat Warriors

Tyranid Prime (I have 2)


Any info regarding how weapons work would be extremely helpful as well. For instance I know that rending claws are now AP5 in CC, are they still "rending?" What is the difference between a pair of boneswords and BS/LW? Can warriors only shoot one gun per shooting phase?

Also, isn't it kind of (please do not swear) that having a pair of scytals only give you plus one attack? if you do the math, they should give you at least two extra because compared to a humanoid fighter, tyranids have another pair of extra arms (bolt pistol and chainsword= +1, deathspitter and TWO scytals should= +2).

I've already started repainting two teams of warriors with scytals, deathspitters and 1 barbed strangler per group. How do these fare as basic troops? I have another group outfitted with rending claws and devourers, and a team of shrikes with boneswords and scytals. Also I have an old squad of the "leaping warriors" from 3rd ed. Anything I should do to change these models?


Shrikes


Prime with BS/LW and Deathspitter


Leaping warriors (could count as raveners?)


Newly repainted standard sloggers (they have Toxin sacs, but from what I heard this is no longer a good upgrade on them?)

[WestRider]

The main Warrior build you'll see is three with a Barbed Strangler, as backfield Synapse and an Objective Camper.

Some people use Shrikes in a similar role as well, but Shrikes are also fast enough to work as an Assault Unit. Still want to keep them cheap, tho: Mostly just Rending Claws and Flesh Hooks, maybe Adrenal Glands, and then one or two with LW/BS.

Rending Claws are AP5 on Wounds that don't Rend, but Rending still takes that to AP2 when you get 6s.

Dual Boneswords are just cheaper than BS/LW. It's just extra cost for the Init boost, no other benefits for the pair.

The key, in general, is to keep them as cheap as possible, while still doing the job. Warriors aren't inherently bad, but they're badly overpriced for their durability, and get more and more so as you start adding on options. Tyranid Primes are ridiculously overcosted, and basically only worthwhile if you're building a good chunk of your list around protecting one as a durable Synapse Node/Warlord.

[biomega]

Thanks Westrider!

By the way, I was wondering, if you take an outflanking squad of gaunts (using Hive Commander I think?), does a Prime buried in that unit get to outflank with them?

[fuerchtegott]

Assault Shrikes all the the way. 5er or 4er unit. 2 or 3 with Scy-Tals and sometimes Rending Claws. Better to keep them cheap. 2 Shrikes with Swords and Whip. The aim is to get the 2 Sword Shrikes in melee with anything but Terminators. Poison enables them to hunt monstrous creatures. Adrenal is a must. You need the 20-22 attack move. The HoW attacks are irrelevant. Fleshhooks to let them attack with initiative. To run assault Shrikes you have to run them expensive, atleast the Sword/Whip Warriors.
2 or 3 will die on the way, but if your Sword/Whips Shrikes reach the enemy they will kill and kill and you will feel like a real tyranid player again.

Normal Warriors only as westrider described it with the exception of Apocalypse. Your Command Formation allows a unit to march 18 inch and attack. I use 10 assault warriors with Alpha Prime. Wonderful! Makes no sense in normal 40k games.

The Prime may outflank with the Gaunts.

[forteh]

Second melee shrikes as well, I've had great success running a brood of 3-4 with a min squad of naked gargoyles for overwatch sponge and cover screen. As already stated they need to be expensive, flesh hooks and adrenal are essential, 2 rending with 1-2 whip/sword with scytals makes a very killy unit against meq, best to avoid teq though.

In the last two games they have single handedly wiped out a raven wing command squad and a 30 strong guard blob in a single turn. They fold to bolter fire though so essential to give then the cover save and avoid flamers!

[biomega]

I know I can substitute in Genestealer rending claws for the scything talons on the shrikes' "feet," so I might go that route (since apparently Genestealers aren't hot stuff anymore). From what it sounds like, you can do some mixing and matching with the weapons again, which sounds like it could be fun.

[Yautja]

As far as I know, Rending 6s are still only AP5.

[Jabberwocky]

They're ap2 against non-vehicles as it's gained on the To Wound rule.

The brb clarifies they don't gain ap2 on penetration rolls though.

[biomega]

yeah, as far as I know, rending is rending, so that's an 'automatic' wound (or ap 2) if you roll a 6 to wound.

[N.I.B.]

Is it really necessary to include those couple of Sword/Whip Shrikes? I'm thinking, ScyTal/Rending Shrikes shouldn't lose combat against marine-esque units, and against things like Walkers (which I see a lot of) and 2+ save units, you want the cheaper Rending Claws.

[Jabberwocky]

I think having a sword/whip or 2 makes the unit a very credible threat to Wraithknights and other MCs, though whether you want your shrikes to be any scarier is questionable.

[biomega]

The boneswords on those guys were both a stylistic choice on my shrikes as well as the fact that back in the old codex they ignored all armor! I'm open to changing, the only downside is that these models are hurtin' from already undergoing a lot of conversion work!

[Squire]

My own warriors in my 1850 list are as follows;

3 warriors, barbed strangler (100)

^ Basic backfield synapse node with a long ranged weapon

3 warriors: barbed strangler and 2 deathspitters (110)

^ I'm not really keen on deathspitters and don't think they offer enough for their points cost, but they look good and I've got a few guys built like that already

4 warriors: 3 rending claws, 4 toxin sacs, 1 lash/sword and talons, barbed strangler (177)

^ This one is really my fluffy unit. Apart from the guy with lash/sword and scything talons, they have either devourers and rending claws or a barbed strangler and rending claws. All have toxin sacs but it's a cheap upgrade and is mostly for the CC guy so he can maximise his CC ability and deter or potentially kill wraithknights. Mostly it's a way to use my prime model.

I think rending claws, devourer and toxin sacs is okay, if a bit expensive. As long as a unit isn't sitting at the back I don't think it's a bad use of points to turn a barbed strangler platform/synapse node into a unit with some CC capability. On an MSU unit you could add the claws and sacs for 24 points while still keeping the devourers and barbed strangler

[WestRider]

Aug 29, 2014 20:42:37 GMT N.I.B. said:

Is it really necessary to include those couple of Sword/Whip Shrikes? I'm thinking, ScyTal/Rending Shrikes shouldn't lose combat against marine-esque units, and against things like Walkers (which I see a lot of) and 2+ save units, you want the cheaper Rending Claws.

The sword/whip combo also allows you to play Wound Allocation games with good placement to "snipe" out enemy Characters and such. Get it so only one of the BS/LW Shrikes is in BtB, and that it's in BtB with, say, a PowerFist Sergeant, and the Opponent is forced to start all the Wound Allocation in the I7 step from that Sergeant. There are only so many 4+ LoS rolls he can make

[drakiskier]

mostly i run my warriors stock with no upgrades, sometimes a venom cannon in it.

what i cannot stress enough though, DO NOT RUN MIN SQUADS DANGIT!

3 warriors can be either wiped out completely or crippled with relative ease by most shooting, be it S8 instant deaths, or just piling on wounds. however, in every game ive had with warriors where i run them in 5 or 6.. the extra models makes my opponent rethink even bothering to shoot at them because it wont make a big enough dent for the firepower they are putting towards it. and if they still shoot, they have to dedicate even more firepower to take out those extra 2 or 3 models... taking away from the shots going at my carnifexes or tyrant or tfex or other things that can deal more damage.

just today i had a battle where my opponent (astra militarum) tried to take out my squad of 5 warriors. the warriors were in the open after a bad run roll, so no cover.. and after 2 missles from a taurox, 12 lasguns at long range and 6 hot-shot lasguns in double-tap range... i still had 3 wounds left split between two warriors. and those warriros finished making it into the ruin they were running for where a pair of venomthropes were waiting.

and those units that tried to take out the warriors, were not shooting the 3 carnifexes beside them... which wrecked face that next turn as well.

reiterating, im a firm believer in bodies before buffs. i regularly run 30 man gaunt squads... i never take min squads... most of the time its either 2/3rds or max. (EG, i run zoans in 2s, venoms in 2s, warriors in 5-6s. gaunts in 20-30, ect.) singletons die too easy, and make themselves too big of a target for one-shots, and min squads die too easilly.